Wordless Wednesday Magic Kingdom Christmas

Welcome to this week's Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by the fun fun fun Focused on the Magic! 

Here is a pic of the Magic Kingdom Christmas Tree in December 2001 (plus my thumb lol). This was the only day we experienced the holidays in the parks because we spent one day here before leaving on the then-new Magic cruise ship!

Now hop on to the next stop!

Favorite Food Friday: Food and Wine Singapore

Welcome back to another Favorite Food Friday hosted by the dulcet Disney Day by Day!

First of all, my college mascot is a Tiger, so we HAD to get a shot of this awesome Tiger beer.  Even though I don't like beer at all and didn't buy any for myself.

I KNOW it doesn't look great - but you guys, this was one of the top three or four dishes from Food and Wine 2012: Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice (sans rice).  No we're not low carb here at No Privacy; they were just out of rice when we went there first thing in the morning.  Or rather the rice wasn't ready yet.  Whatever,  it was REALLY GOOD.  

The Mahi Mahi with Singa sauce paled by comparison.  It was maybe a bit too firm?

Now hop on to the next stops!

And don' t forget to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Kill, Marry, Refurb: Disney World Thrill Rides

I'm joining the magnificent Mouse on the Mind for the Kill/Marry/Refurb blog hop!  This week's theme is Thrill Rides.  I'm focusing solely on Disney World (not Land) rides for this one.

1) Kill: Splash Mountain

Wah wah wah, it's a classic.  Whatever.  I hate the drop.  HATE the drop.  Plus you get wet which is sometimes uncomfortable.  Plus the line is STUPID long.  Kill it.  Murder it.  Bury it in an unmarked grave.

Honorary Mention: Tower of Terror.  Because: drops.  

2) Refurb: Expedition Everest

LOVE this ride!  The themeing is impeccable.  The thrill factor is perfect for me.  Let's just fix the bird and the Yeti and then we'll talk engagement and marriage k?

3) Marry: Space Mountain

I think I proposed to Space Mountain several years back, so it's been a long engagement, but we are happy together.  Yes, it's older and a bit creaky.  I don't mind a bumpy ride, which, so far, hasn't hurt me yet (but if it does, I reserve the right to dump this guy - no abusive relationships please!).  I LOOOOVVEEE the star tunnel music.   I love the sparklyness.  I love the Halloween overlay in the Disneyland version.  I love it all.  Let's never part Space Mountain (but I will be asking for a prenup).  We are registered at the disneystore.com.

Thanks for reading along!  Now hop on to the next stops!

Favorite Food Friday: Food and Wine Germany

Welcome back to another Favorite Food Friday hosted by the distinctive Disney Day by Day!

We're continuing my Food and Wine 2012 tour with Germany.  This booth was ultimately a disappointment. The nudels needed more flavor and the because the bun was so much thicker than the sausage, by the time you bit it down to bun size, the bread:meat ratio was way off.  The apple strudel was nothing special either. 

Now hop on to the next stops!

And don' t forget to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop: One Last Snack for the Road

Welcome back to another Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by Deb at the fabulous Focused On The Magic!  My Disneyland trip at an end, and even though I had just gotten a snack at Jolly Holiday Bakery, I had one more snack I had to try....

My very first ever corn dog!

This was from the famed corndog cart at the end of Main Street (towards the hub), and it was delicious!

With a full stomach, I finally left Disneyland.  Until we meet again, Disneyland!

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop: Jolly Holiday Bakery

Welcome back to another Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by the jolly Deb at Focused On The Magic!  My Disneyland trip was coming to a close, but not before I headed over to the fairly-new Jolly Holiday Bakery!

I LOVE Mary Poppins and I LOVE baked goods and I had one in particular I had to try.

When I got to the front of the line, in addition to ordering that very particular baked good, I also wanted to try the Practically Perfect Punch.  The cast member suggested I try a free sample first because some guests find it too sweet.  Of course I said yes!

The punch was practically perfect to me!  Not too sweet.  But since the free sample provided me with all the taste I needed, I didn't buy a whole cup.  I DID, however, buy this delicious Mickey cookie tart:

Guys, you know how when you're not hungry at all (and kind of full), you can't fully enjoy the food you're eating, although if you WERE hungry you'd know it would be delicious?  That was NOT the case here.  It was STILL DELICIOUS.  That is saying something.  And I still had one more snack to try before the day was out.  But you'll see that next week.

Now hop on to the next stops!

Favorite Food Friday: Food and Wine Australia

Welcome back to another Favorite Food Friday hosted by the demure Disney Day by Day!

Ah the Australia booth.  The ONE mistake in my otherwise perfect 2012 Food and Wine tour.  Let me walk you through this horrible tragedy.

The booth has these beautiful tiles of Australian animals.  They were so lovely.    The grilled lamb chop with mint pesto and potato "crunchies" (read: chips) was fine.  I'm not a mint fan but the mint was very mild.

  

We also got the famous shrimp on the barbie.  But I was SO distracted with photos that I didn't get to taste it!  I didn't realize this until later and was DEVASTATED.  It is the ONLY dish I wanted to try that I missed.

The lamington was fine.  Unremarkable but I was happy I got to try such a typical Australian dessert.

Close up of the pretty tiles:

Now hop on to the next stops!

And don' t forget to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop: Disneyland's Small World!

Welcome back to another welcoming Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop 

hosted by Deb at Focused on the Magic!  

At LONG last, I finally got to experience the Disneyland version of Small World.  Third time's the charm I guess!  It's mostly the same except for the beginning, which starts outdoors (love that perfect Cali weather), and the Mary Blair-ed Disney characters that are sprinkled throughout the ride.

Now hop on to the next stops!

Favorite Food Friday: Food and Wine Greece

Welcome back to another Favorite Food Friday hosted by the deluxe Disney Day by Day!

I missed the link up last week but still have a post so if you'd like to see my thoughts on the Scandinavia booth, click here!

Okay guys, we have to talk about the Greece booth.  I was SO excited to try the griddled cheese with honey and pistachio, I could barely contain myself.  First we have the chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce and the spanakopita (I skipped the greek salad which looked pretty basic to me and that suspicion was confirmed by my companions).

It's hard to displease me with Greek food.  But the cheese. 

O.

M.

G.

It was in a three-way tie for first place of all the food I ate at the festival - and I tried about 90% of the offered dishes.  Frankly, the experience was so elevating I'm not sure I can discuss it further.

 

Now hop on to the next stops!

And don' t forget to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Caffeinated

Welcome back to another Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by the decaffeinated Deb at the flavorful Focused on the Magic!

Although I had stayed at the Disneyland Hotel before, I never noticed this little coffee shop before.  I think perhaps it was hidden by construction?  It's not much to look at but it's clean and a nice way to grab a quick breakfast and caffeine fix on the way to the parks:

Favorite Food Friday: Food and Wine Scandinavia

Welcome back to another Favorite Food Friday hosted by the decadent Disney Day by Day!

The Scandinavian booth at the 2012 Food and Wine festival was great for adventurous eaters such as myself.  I enjoyed the cured salmon and shrimp salad.  Even the herring was okay.  The cracker was....boring, but authentic. 

The rice pudding wasn't really rice pudding - it was more whipped cream -esque.  But I don't love rice pudding anyway so this was just fine with me.  Strawberries and cream?  With some rice in there?  Okay!

The meatballs with lingonberries were fine.  I could have gone for more.  I like trying new flavors so this was a fun dish to experiment with.

Now hop on to the next stops!

And don' t forget to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fastpass to History! Vintage Disney Photos

I'm linking up with the fulsome Frontierland Station for their Fastpass to History Blog Hop.

I came across some old Disney photos recently.  The first one is dated March 1989 and the other two were with the first one so I think they're all from the same trip.  

We have here a view of the Seven Seas Lagoon from the Polynesian, where we always stayed.  I am sorry I don't know how to rotate it.  I tried a bunch of different ways.

Next I *think* this is from Discovery Island?

Finally, a shot of the jumping water fountains from the Imagination Pavilion, back in it's glory days. 

Now link up and hop on to the next stops!

Welcome to Fastpass To History, your ticket to Disney history! Each week this blog hop will quickly provide access to a variety of Disney history facts, photographs, and more - giving them a Fastpass to history.

How it works: We will post an interesting piece of Disney history. You do the same on your blog. Then add the inlinkz code (found at the bottom of each week's post by Frontierland Station) to your post. Next, use the link below to add your post to the blog hop.

Once you've joined the blog hop, be sure to share it on Facebook and twitter. Also, be sure to check out the other posts in the blog hop and leave comments. Thanks for linking up!

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Disneyland Earl of Sandwich

Welcome back to another Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by Deb at Focused on the Magic!

Although I've done fairly well trying stuff at Earl of Sandwich in New York (which doesn't offer this treat - I know, crazy right?), I hardly ever make it to the one at downtown Disney in Orlando.  

Since DTD is much more easily accessible in Anaheim (actually you can't really avoid it!), I decided my Disneyland trip was the perfect time to finally get the legendary brownie frosting sandwich

Although the frosting sandwich was listed on the large menu on the wall, I didn't see any pre-made, so I asked a girl behind the counter.  She ended up making one of each for me fresh!  This one was probably my favorite: a chewy chocolate chip brownie with vanilla frosting.  But honestly, the chocolate frosting and peanut butter filled ones were good too! Now how to petition EoS to get them on the menu in New York.....