Disney Blog Carnival 4th Edition Is Posted!

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For those of you who enjoyed the first , second, and third Disney Blog Carnivals, the fourth has now been published!

This time around, over 30 (!!!) Disney-related blogs and websites contributed some incredible articles covering a range of topics. There are posts about Disney food, hotels, smartphone apps, trip planning — even the unofficial rules for “Beers around the World” in Epcot’s World Showcase! 🙂

Just head over to DisMarks to see dozens of articles about Disney. 🙂

I think it’s [Read more…]

“You Won’t Believe This!” Snack: Zebra Cupcake

By AJ 20 Comments

So guess what I had to try — and add to our “You Won’t Believe This!” Snack Series — when I went to Disney World in April?

Zebra Cupcake

Guys, this Zebra cupcake is massive. Its construction is akin to one of our favorites [Read more…]

Disneyland Dining News

By AJ 5 Comments

Disney's California Adventure's World of Color Show (c) Disney

There have been lots of updates and rumors coming out of Disneyland in the past week, so I figured I’d gather them all into one big Disneylandia update! 😉

New Dining Coming Soon to the Disneyland Hotel

Disneyland Hotel will be renovating their Never Land pool area, and new dining will come along with it! Two new dining spots will be introduced in 2011, including one table-service restaurant reminiscent of the 50’s and 60’s era “Tahitian Terrace” restaurant. A lounge/bar will be added, which will draw from the “adventure” theme of the Jungle Cruise attraction. These additions will [Read more…]

World of Color Dining Packages Announced

By AJ 10 Comments

Dining Packages for the World of Color have been announced! The dining packages will work like Disney World’s Fantasmic Dinner packages. Guests will book their dining arrangements and eat well before the show begins. After dining, guests will receive tickets for reserved viewing at the shows. Ariel’s Grotto and Wine Country Trattoria are the restaurants participating in the package.
Update: After June 14, 2012, World of Color Dining Packages will no longer be offered at Ariel’s Grotto.

Dinner Seating Times

Dinner seatings for the 9pm show will be from 4-6:30pm. Dinner seatings for the 10:15pm show will be from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Ariel’s Grotto

A prix fixe meal with reserved viewing will be available in the elegant surroundings of Ariel’s Grotto on the edge of Paradise Bay. After dinner, guests will be offered admission to the “World of Color” Preferred Reserved Viewing area.

Wine Country Trattoria

Guests can enjoy a three-course, prix fixe dinner in the newly expanded and remodeled Wine Country Trattoria. Following dinner, the guests will be admitted to the Preferred Reserved Viewing area for the show. The Italian meal includes choice of starter, entrée and dessert plus a special wine pairing.

To Make Reservations, call 714-781-DINE. Note on Reserved Viewing: Each guest entering the reserved viewing area must have reserved viewing area admission. Children (ages 3-9) must be accompanied by an adult. Guests may only enter the viewing area during designated times and no early or late admission will be allowed. Guests in large parties may not be guaranteed admission within the same reserved viewing area. Separate theme park admission is required.

World of Color Picnic Meals

If table-service isn’t your style, consider ordering one of the World of Color picnic meals. Varying from cold fried chicken to delicious sandwiches, these can be ordered in advance or picked up (subject to availability) on the day you’re in the theme park! See details here on how to order the World of Color Picnic Meals! Here’s a World of Color Picnic recent review.

Other Disneyland Dining News…

See more Disneyland Dining News here.

Changes to Disney World’s Online Dining Reservation System

By AJ 19 Comments

Disney World recently announced a few changes to the online dining reservations system launched last Spring. To book, head over to the DisneyWorld.com website.

Most Noticeable Changes

The front page is now segmented into different dining experiences, including Signature Dining (which cost 2 dining credits on the Disney Dining Plan and are more costly than other restaurants), Character Dining, Most Popular Restaurants, Dinner Shows, and Special Experiences (like the Fantasmic Dinner Package).
The top of the front page now offers you the chance to search for restaurants based on cuisine type, dining experience, location, or restaurant name.
The front page is now a quick-search where you can input dates and times needed without going to the actual reservation page for the individual restaurants. (This is probably the best and most useful improvement, IMHO.)

Here’s a screen shot of the new quick-search system:

Head over and test out the new system! Like? Don’t Like? We’d love to hear your thoughts! 🙂

Guest Review: 1st Anniversary Dinner at California Grill

By AJ 11 Comments

This blog has allowed me to meet so many talented and dynamic individuals, one of whom was kind enough to put together this guest blog about one of my favorite spots, California Grill! Kristen Heptinstall, of Southern Web Girl, visited the Contemporary Resort’s top floor with her husband a while back. Take it away, Kristen!

Hi! I’m Kristen. My husband Brian and I live in Birmingham, Ala., where I work as a Web editor and he works as a chef.

Brian and I returned to Disney World the last week of April 2010 to celebrate our 1st anniversary. On our anniversary, April 25th, we celebrated by going to the Magic Kingdom for the day — a bonus was that MK was on Extra Magic Hours that day and open until 2 a.m.!

We decided to have our anniversary dinner at our favorite signature restaurant from our honeymoon in 2009, California Grill at the Contemporary Resort.

(Note: We have been to 2-credit signatures Jiko, Narcoossee’s, Citrico’s, California Grill, and Hollywood Brown Derby, but have yet to go to Artist Point, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Flying Fish or Victoria & Albert’s. So we’re about halfway there. Whoaaaa livin’ on a prayer!).

We left MK in the evening, changed at our resort, then returned to the Contemporary. Storms were threatening, and it had been overcast all day, so I was checking my iPhone constantly for radar [Read more…]

Goofing Around in Goofy’s Kitchen

By AJ 14 Comments

We’ve reached our last Mirror Image Post Day with our good friend, Ryan from Main Street Gazette. Just in case you haven’t been following our Wednesday posts, our two blogs have been showcasing “mirror-image” food topics in Disneyland and Disney World throughout the month of May (if you’ve missed ’em, check out the last paragraph of this blog to see all the links!). Today, we’re exploring two of our favorite character breakfasts — Chef Mickey’s and Goofy’s Kitchen!

Disneyland Hotel

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present — Disneyland’s premier (IMHO) character breakfast — Goofy’s Kitchen! For those of you who love Chef Mickey’s, Crystal Palace, and Disney World’s other character breakfasts, you’ll feel right at home at Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. While the setting might not be quite as dramatic, the characters are an incredible mish-mosh of rarely-seen folks and the food is an amazing spread.

Atmosphere
Goofy’s Kitchen seems like a bit of an [Read more…]

Tables in Wonderland Lunch With Cat Cora

By AJ 9 Comments

Tables in Wonderland

brings us another awesome event in June! Here are the details, and, as always, click on the image for the larger version — complete with menu and details!

Lunch with Cat Cora

Wednesday, June 30, 2010
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Kouzzina by Cat Cora® at Disney’s BoardWalk
Dress is Casual

$150 per person, plus tax, gratuity included

Join celebrity Chef Cat Cora at Kouzzina for a special lunch that features her time-honored Mediterranean family recipes and personal favorites that celebrate her Greek heritage. The menu will be paired with wine that is from Cat’s private label.

All of Cat’s cookbooks, including her latest cookbook, Cat Cora’s Classics with a Twist (release date June 1), may be purchased at this lunch. Cat will be available to sign the cookbooks and chat about the creation of her wonderful recipes.

For reservations, e-mail [email protected] with the following information: your interest to book, your name, daytime phone number, home address, and the number of people in your party. You will be notified on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Your credit card will be taken over the phone once your reservation is confirmed. The event is limited to 100 Guests.

2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Update

By AJ Leave a Comment

Some new info was released by Disney today in a press release, including the names of a few of the chefs who will be in attendance at the 2010 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival!

Check it out on our 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Page!

5 Best Quick-Service Dining Plan Values

By AJ 39 Comments

Wolfgang Puck Express

You heard about our Five Best “One-Credit” Table-Service Values last week, so I wanted to share what I believe to be the five best quick-service values today! These are my picks based on what you get for one quick-service credit on the Disney Dining Plan; they may not stand up as the best when we consider paying out of pocket.

Hopefully this will be useful to those of you heading down to the World for free dining this fall!

Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney (West Side and Marketplace)

With the famous (and delicious) rotisserie chicken ringing up at over $14 plus tax, it costs more than some table service meals. Some of the salads and sandwiches alone will cost [Read more…]

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