Disney World

Tasty Tuesday–The Official Disney Parks Cookbook

Summer vacation is coming to an end, which means I won’t have as much time for cooking “fancy” dinners. So even though I still have a lot of recipes left to try in The Official Disney Parks Cookbook, here’s a look at the ones we’ve tried so far. Unlike Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World, a cookbook of recipes from only Disney World which was the inspiration behind many of our Disney Dinners last year, this cookbook contains recipes from Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and beyond, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and beyond, and other Disney locations including Vero Beach and Aulani.

  • Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
  • Walt’s Chili and Beans
  • Shrimp Boil Tacos with Andouille Sausage and Corn
  • Honey Crunch Cake
  • Totchos
  • Tres Leches Cake
  • Key Lime Pie
  • Charred Nebraska Corn Chowder
  • Pork Goulash with Sauerkraut Pierogi
  • Caramel Hawaiian Sweet Bread Pudding
  • Chef Mickey’s Breakfast Pizza
  • Pink Leilani
  • S’mores Gelato Shake
  • Watermelon Lemonade
  • Goofy’s Kitchen Cherry Tomato and Bocconcini Salad
  • BLT Flatbread
  • Red, White, & Blue Sprinkle Whoopie Pies
  • Naan Bread with Cucumber Raita
  • Mango Lassi
  • Tomato Florentine Soup
  • Lemon Soda Float
  • The Hollywood Brown Derby Cobb Salad
  • Beef Sliders with Pimento Cheese
  • White Chocolate Peppermint Bar topped with Peppermint Meringue Kisses

I really love our Disney Dinners, and I’m really excited about the newest cookbook in this series, Delicious Disney: Disneyland, which comes out this fall!

Tasty Tuesday–Dole Whip Day

One of the things I was most looking forward to when we went to Disney World last year (and again when we went to Disneyland in June) was having a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve if you’ve never had the opportunity to indulge), and I was also excited to discover that “Dole Whip Day” (which fell on July 20th) was a thing!

My love of all things Dole Whip, from the treats at the park to handbags to frozen treats at home, is fairly obvious:

I was really excited to recreate the treat at home last summer according to the recipe in Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World:

I was also excited to discover that the recipe for “Growth Potion” in Alice In Wonderland: The Official Cookbook, which featured pineapple juice and cream soda, was the perfect drink for this year’s Dole Whip Day:

But the thing I was most excited about was that the Disney Parks blog “Disney Eats” section shared a recipe in the for Pineapple Cupcakes inspired by Dole Whips (yellow cupcakes filled with pineapple mousse and topped with pineapple buttercream frosting), like the ones they serve at the Contempo Café at Disney World’s Contemporary Resort! I was already planning on trying to recreate the recipe (without ever having actually tried one myself), but they made it so much easier for me! I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made…I don’t know how they compare to the ones served at the Contempo Café, but they’re amazing on their own!

This was such fun and delicious way to celebrate Dole Whip Day, and I’m looking forward to making them again!

Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella

I thought it would fun to take a side-by-side look at the two Disney castles I’ve visited. Of course, the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland is the original, and is iconic, but there’s no denying that the Cinderella Castle at Disney World is much grander (both because it’s actually taller and also because they didn’t screw up the forced perspective). I love that I got to see each of them decked out for a special anniversary!

From the back, the Sleeping Beauty Castle almost reminds me of a child’s castle blocks set, while the Cinderella Castle is fancier:

Walt and Mickey stand proudly in front of each!

I’m not the type of person who wants to visit every Disney park, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing “Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant” at Disneyland Paris someday, too!

Stitch’s Bread

The one thing Ladybug would have like to done while we were at Disney World, or the one thing she’d like to go back and do someday, is go to the “Ohana Breakfast” and share a meal with Stitch at the Polynesian Village Resort. I don’t have a time machine or the ability to produce another trip, but I did find a copycat recipe for the pineapple-coconut bread they serve, and we made it on Friday.

There must have been a big air pocket in the dough, because there’s a tunnel running through the bread, but that doesn’t effect the taste, and it’s a fabulous recipe…it was nice to have a taste of the tropics in the middle of winter!

The Top Five–Vacation Photos of 2022

I took so many photos on our vacation this summer, and so many of them turned out better than I hoped, so it was almost impossible to choose a selection for this “Top Five” list. Yes, there are six photos, and no, I’m not sorry…the fact that there is only one bonus photo is a miracle, and I refuse to apologize for it!

We’ll start at the beginning of our trip with this photo of the Washington Monument as seen from the German-American Friendship Garden. It’s probably not my best photo of the landmark, but I love the lighting, I love the fountains, and of course I love the monument standing tall in the background:

This photo captures that boardwalk feeling in Myrtle Beach, SC perfectly!

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is such an immersive experience…you actually feel like you’re in one of the movies when you’re there! Also, this may be the best picture I took on our trip.

I took many, many (MANY) photos of the castle at the Magic Kingdom, but there’s something special about seeing it lit up at night:

I know it’s kind of silly, but this picture I took at Disney Springs just looks so good! It has a real Rodeo Drive vibe:

On our final day at the parks, Bunny and I did a speed run through EPCOT looking to add 50th anniversary pressed pennies to our collection. We did pause to admire the view here, though, and it was a perfect moment, with the puffy clouds against the bright blue sky reflecting in the water and the colorful flowers in the foreground. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a monorail going by on the bridge!

Tomorrow I’ll wrap up my “Top Five” photos lists from 2022 with a look at everything else!

Sartorial Saturday–Disney Casual

This summer, I took a look at a chic Disney dress (and ears!) I wore on our vacation…now I’m taking a look at a more casual Disney look featuring a Disney World spirit jersey. I’m still not entirely clear on what makes a spirit jersey a spirit jersey, but it appears to be as simple as on oversized sweatshirt with writing on the back (in this case “Walt Disney World”). I love the gorgeous blue-purple color of this shirt, plus the fun confetti pattern which makes the Disney Castle appear in the negative space. And there’s even some subtle sparkle mixed in with the bright colors!

Speaking of sparkle, I also have the matching Loungefly mini backpack, which is covered in sequins!

The spirit jersey is also the perfect excuse to wear my Docs:

I love this look, and I also love that it will keep me remembering our vacation through the cold winter months!

Tasty Tuesday–A Look Back at Disney Dining

For the last few months, I’ve been sharing all of the Disney Dinners I’ve made…here’s a look at each dish we tried from either a Disney cookbook, or an online resource with copycat Disney recipes:

We also tried quite a few thing while we were at the Disney parks (my favorite was the Dole Whip!):

And we enjoyed one very special dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby:

This wraps our summer of fun Disney dinners, but I’m looking forward to trying (and retrying) recipes from our Disney cookbooks in the future, and I’ve already pre-ordered The Official Disney Parks Cookbook, which is scheduled to come out next February, so we’ll have even more new recipes to try!

Happy Anniversary EPCOT!

Today kicks off the celebration for the 40th anniversary of EPCOT, the evolution of Walt Disney’s original plan for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow! I’m so glad we had the opportunity to be there this year! Here’s a look at the park’s most famous landmark, Spaceship Earth, in the Florida sunshine and lit up at night:

And a closer look at its distinctive structure:

EPCOT is definitely my favorite of the Disney World theme parks (it has the World Showcase and Figment, plus it’s where I met both Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck!), and I really hope that I’ll have the chance for a return visit someday!

A Final Look Back at Our Disney Vacation

Here’s one final look back at the Disney portion of our vacation, focused specifically on a few pictures that didn’t seem to fit anywhere else, starting with me at Epcot’s World Showcase at the two places in the world I’d most like to visit: Germany and England (with Eeyore, of course!):

I managed to get a selfie with each of my daughters on a ride they really liked (the teacups, Dumbo, and the carousel):

And another pair of pictures of me at the Magic Kingdom…same day, but with an outfit change!

I think that’s about it for things I wanted to share…it certainly was the trip of a lifetime!

Tasty Tuesday–The Tenth Disney Dinner

Our tenth Disney Dinner was all about taking a second chance on the rib recipe that didn’t turn out earlier in the summer, but before we get to that, a drink I put a lot of effort into coming up with, the Frozen Sunshine from Disney’s Beach Club Resort. The more Disney Dinners we had, the harder it was to find drink recipes that didn’t include alcohol, or that could at least have the alcohol substituted out. I went through pretty much all of the recipes in our cookbooks, so I turned to the internet for copycat recipes, which is where I found this Creamsicle in a cup!

I was still upset about the “Disney Disaster” we had previously, so I gave the hoisin chili sticky ribs from Delicious Disney based on Chef Morimoto’s recipe from his restaurant at Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia, another shot, substituting baby back ribs for spare ribs. They were perfect…definitely the best ribs I’ve ever made!

For dessert, we had Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets with lavender sugar. Can you have too many Mickey-shaped treats?!?

This was a fun meal, and I really enjoyed the redemption when making the ribs!