Disney Food Post Round-Up: February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wow! What a week! Two days at Disney World can be exhausting! Here are a few links to some news and info reports from the World this week:

Cinderella and princesses now attending dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table
The foodie side of the Mega-Canned-Food-Sculpture in Walt Disney World this week

Stay tuned for more stories this week from my trip to Disney World! Now, on to the round-up!

Disney Geek reports that corn dogs are on the menu at Disneyland’s Stage Door Cafe while the Corn Dog Castle is closed for refurb through 2011.

@Marcomboy, via twitter, shared some Valentine’s Day Desserts at Disneyland’s Storytellers Cafe. In the photo: Red Velvet Mini cupcake, Snickers cheesecake, and flourless chocolate cake. Also available are a heart-shaped chocolate raspberry tart and a heart shaped strawberry mousse.

Disney Family.com has some great Alice in Wonderland ideas! Check out these edible teacups, this smiling Cheshire Cat cupcake, and this cool make-it-yourself Alice cupcake topper!

The Red Carpet takes us along with her as she dines at Disneyland’s Club 33!

Main Street Gazette shares a memory of an extinct restaurant, the Polynesian’s Papeete Bay Verandah, along with one of its lost recipes: Chicken Toa Nue.

DisneyShawn shows us the detail of Pinocchio’s Village Haus.

A World View shares a review of Cat Cora’s Kouzzina.

Disney Parks Blog shares their top WDW Romantic Restaurants. (You can also check out the DisneyFoodBlog top three romantic restaurants in Disney World, based on our reader survey!)

Chip and Co shows us how to do a DIY breakfast from the Kona Cafe!

Cinderella and Princesses Now Appearing at Fairytale Dinner

By AJ 2 Comments

Cinderella Poses at a Character Breakfast

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Cinderella’s Royal Table will add princesses to their character line-up for dinner!

Now, guests usually can expect to see Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora and Belle during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The royal beauties stop by each table to chat, pose for photos and sign autographs.

For years, Cinderella only visited the restaurant for breakfast. Now, your little princes and princesses will be able to see her — and her royal friends — at dinner as well! Get your dialing fingers ready, though; you’ll need to call or book online 180 days in advance to get an Advanced Dining Reservation for this hot ticket character meal!

A Foodie Hidden Mickey

By AJ 4 Comments

Usually don’t post on Saturdays, but I had to share this (as I’m sitting in the Orlando airport, delayed for 3 hours…). I was at my favorite cupcake place, Starring Rolls Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this morning for a snack. Guess what I found while doing my “research” for the Disney Food Blog…?

Cupcake Hidden Mickey

Have a GREAT weekend!

Disney Canned Goods Sculpture — A Breakdown

By AJ 6 Comments

So, being the person I am and writing the blog I write, it’s natural that I hung around after the canned goods sculpture reveal at the Disney “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” press event and took a few photos… 🙂 The world record-setting sculpture (yep — Guinness World Records authenticated it) was made up of 115,527 canned goods. The canned goods were donated to food banks in Orlando, Fla., Miami, and Atlanta.

This was part of a massive media event promoting what I believe to be one of the most game-changing Corporate/Non-Profit partnerships in the history of philanthropy. Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” volunteer program aims to encourage 1 million people to volunteer one day of service at a local nonprofit in exchange for one free day in a Disney park. Why is this game-changing? Because that 1 million people includes thousands of children, who will learn why it’s important to volunteer and help out in the community — and I don’t mean just getting a ticket to Disney World. This program will introduce thousands of people to the outstanding benefits volunteering can bring — both personally and to the community.

To date, Disney’s already hit the 600,000 person mark…and that’s in just six weeks. I’m guessing they’ll hit their 1 million person goal in no time flat.

But on to the Sculpture…
One thing I really wanted to capture was how many different types of items were used to create the sculpture, as well as the innovation of the “artists!” According to a Disney press release,

The sculpture contains approximately 44 tons of food – everything from albacore tuna and apricot halves to spaghetti, stewed tomatoes and mixed vegetables – destined to become more than 70,000 meals for the needy.

Let’s begin with a photo of the full sculpture. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a cool time-lapse video of the sculpture being built!!:

NEW WORLD RECORD SET AT DISNEY

Here are a few breakdown photos that I thought were pretty interesting uses of canned, bagged, and boxed foods:

Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse was made up primarily of flesh-toned Kirkland Salmon cans. Black olive cans were used for his ears and nose, and pineapple chunk cans made up his eyes. All of the characters had popcorn plates for pupils!

Mickey’s paintbrush was made out of boxes of lasagna noodles, bags of spaghetti, and [Read more…]

My Disney Food Day: In Pictures

By AJ 12 Comments

I’ve had a busy and rewarding day at the Walt Disney World “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” media event; and while you’ll be seeing in-depth blogs over the next few days about my adventures, I wanted to share with you as soon as possible a few of my favorite Disney photos from today.

So, come along with me on this mini-photo-trip-report!

My Disney Day in Photos
First, we got up early-early-early to head over to Epcot for our Akershus breakfast with the Princesses. I think this is just about the most true-to-“life” Snow White I’ve ever seen:

Snow White at Akershus Restaurant

Then it was off to the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” Media Event, but what do I see as I’m walking around World Showcase? Giant tin cans!! These were used throughout Epcot today as themeing for the Volunteer Events! This one indicated that a VERY cool Detroit radio station would be broadcasting live from Epcot today! (Shout out to Jake Edwards!)

Detroit 96.3 Radio Station Broadcast Location Marker

Finally made it around the Showcase in time for the big World Record reveal and Media Event. This is the World’s Largest Sculpture Made of Canned Goods! Be sure to check out our breakdown of the foods used for each character!

Canned Goods Sculpture Reveal at Disney World

And of course I needed to get Pluto’s picture in front of his canned-good likeness!

Disney's Pluto with Canned Goods Pluto

I was thrilled to see that Mickey’s fingers were made out of huge-mongo bags of [Read more…]

Chef Robert Irvine Cooking “Dinner:Impossible” in Epcot?

By AJ 12 Comments

Chef Robert Irvine from Food Network’s Dinner:Impossible is running around the World Showcase today with a team of Disney volunteers. What are they doing? Looking for food! Chef Irvine, it’s been reported, will be cooking our Give a Day, Get a Disney Day media event dinner tonight! (Update: to see the full meal and photos from the event, check out our Dinner:Impossible post here!)

Stay tuned for photos of the food. For now, here’s a few pics of Chef Irvine headed around Epcot and getting to work in his kitchen.

Chef Irvine and Team Run to Find Food

The Chef and His Team Pause to Deliberate

Chef Irvine's Advance Team Prepped Each Upcoming Location for Filming

Chef Irvine's Kitchen in World Showcase

LIVE Food News and Photos: Disney World Media Event

By AJ 6 Comments

UPDATE: Read about the Opening Date for Be Our Guest Restaurant and Reservations Info!

I’m reporting this week from the Walt Disney World Media Event showcasing the new Give a Day, Get a Disney Day volunteer program! Last night was the kick-off event, and we heard some fun dining news and got to taste some great eats over at the ESPN Wide World of Sports! (Psst — if you just want to see pics from the kick-off party, scroll down.)

Disney Food News
Unfortunately, I didn’t hear any BRAND new Disney food news, but recently opened restaurants Kouzzina and Sanaa were mentioned, along with the upcoming Be Our Guest restaurant and Gaston’s Tavern, to be found in the new-and-improved Fantasyland in 2012.

Other fun mentions that some of you might not have heard about are the two new, “interactive” restaurants on board the brand new Disney Cruise Line cruise ship, The Disney Dream. These include the Enchanted Garden, which magically transforms your surroundings from early morning to a night sky while you dine, and the Skyline Lounge, which has walls that change to reflect a new city scape each day!

Skyline Lounge

Enchanted Garden

Media Event Treats and Eats
The event kick-off was held in the ESPN Wide World of Sports on Walt Disney World property. The first part of the evening was a [Read more…]

Sucker Punch!

By AJ 5 Comments

There are some quintessential theme park foods that come to mind when you think of Disney World — funnel cakes, Dole Whips, Mickey bars, and, for me, lollipops. Maybe it’s because I don’t eat them very often, maybe it’s because they’re so shiny and colorful, maybe it’s because I associate them with vacations from my childhood, but I always want to buy a big, ol’ swirly lollipop.

They’re an eye-catching hallmark of a Disney vacation. Their colorful sugar swirls captivate the eye in any shop, and I think they’re actually pretty artistic. So, for today’s mid-week pick-me-up, I wanted to share a few of my favorite sucker shots with you guys. Sit back, relax, remember when you were a kid, and let the colors take you away to YOUR happy place. 🙂

long disney lollipop

disney red and yellow lollipops

disney princesses lollipop

Pirate Mickey Lollipop Disney World

Mickey-shaped lollipops disney

More after the break! [Read more…]

Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms Resort

By AJ 10 Comments

I was kindly invited to a complimentary dine-around at the restaurants at Gaylord Palms Resort the last time I was in Orlando, Florida (you can see my photos and description of the Sora Sushi Bar here).

Gaylord Palms Resort is just a few miles away from Disney World’s main gate, and is a quick taxi ride or drive away from any Disney park or resort. On my evening at Gaylord Palms, one of the most impressive restaurants I got the chance to sample was a Gaylord brand signature spot, Old Hickory Steakhouse.

Gaylord Palms Old Hickory Steakhouse

Atmosphere
For those who haven’t been to Gaylord Palms Resort, the many guest rooms surround a huge indoor atrium separated into the resort’s three distinct themed areas — Key West, St. Augustine, and the Everglades. Old Hickory Steakhouse is located in the Everglades district, which is evident in the architecture and decor of this completely stand-alone restaurant.

Old Hickory Steakhouse, (c) Gaylord Palms Resort

Old Hickory Steakhouse is a traditional and upscale restaurant, with a chef who’s [Read more…]

“What IS That Stuff?”: Favorites from Boma

By AJ 28 Comments

I mention Boma around here a LOT. It’s a breakfast and dinner buffet over at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort, and it’s a great buy for adventurous eaters who want to try something a bit outside the fold from burgers and ribs. And for people who do prefer burgers and ribs, Boma can be a fun and delicious step out of your comfort zone. Thanks to our friends at AKLResort.com for collaborating on this post.

Boma Sign

While dishes on the Boma buffet change daily, there are a few authentic African options that are available more often than not. Picky eaters (including myself) are often scared off by unfamiliar names or ingredients that aren’t found in the typical American diet, so I’m going to use a post to showcase some of these items, tell you what’s in them, and show you pictures. Sometimes a little familiarity is all it takes for these dishes to be worth a try the next time you’re at Boma!

Pap and Chaka Laka
Pap is a dish made from corn flour, butter, and water, and is seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s a staple of African cooking almost everywhere. Chaka Laka is a spicy South African vegetable relish that often features peppers and chiles, beans, and other vegetables, and can be flavored with curry powder. Pap is very often served with some sort of meat or vegetable relish/topping — when you try this, you know [Read more…]

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