My Top Five Disney Snacks

Eating is a very important part of life and therefore, and important part of any Disney vacation. And what's a vacation without snacking? NO FUN is what I say to that!

Needless to say, I enjoy snacking when I'm on vacation at a Disney park. I walk a lot (nearly 9 miles per day in the Parks) and I get hungry. A sister's gotta take care of herself. And when the scent of delicious confections fill the air, it's really hard to say "no." So I don't! :)


5. Mickey Ice Cream Bars. Those Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream bars. So simple, and yet so pleasing. Sadly, I can never finish a whole one. That doesn't stop me from trying.

4. Dole Floats. Take pineapple juice, plopped in a swirl of pineapple soft serve, and you have a treat that is delectable. The lines for this thing are out control sometimes, but dang, is it good. And refreshing!

3. Mickey Cake Pops. I tried one of these babies on my most recent trip and OH MY GOODNESS. Best cake pops I have ever tasted. Ever. The ears are marshmallow, and the inside is this ooey-gooey rich chocolate heaven. I devoured the entire thing without even thinking twice, that's how good it was.


2. Churros. I LOVE churros. I don't even care if they're stupidly overpriced. They're a perfect snack. Not too big, not too small. Not to sweet, not too savory. Just right. I can always go for a churro.

1. Marshmallow Wands. Disney World used to have those chocolate-covered marshmallow wands that were covered in tiny Reese's Pieces candies. They have recently discontinued these delicious, amazing treats, much to my disappointment. However, they still have the ones covered in mini M&Ms, and while they're not as good as the Reese's Pieces, they do in a pinch. My favorite snack at the Disney parks HANDS DOWN. I just really hope they bring back the ones with the Reese's Pieces. Soon.

Honorable mention: These big ole cookies. My son loves them.

Ten Trips to Garden Grill

Garden Grill is my favorite restaurant at Disney World. It's a family-style all-you-can-eat place, with fresh vegetables, succulent meats, and the best character interaction in the parks. Instead of going to a buffet, they bring the food to you. And the restaurant rotates, so guests are looking over the ride "Living With the Land" for part of their meal. This restaurant also has the best character interaction in all of Epcot and possibly Disney World.


The menu changes ever so often, but they tend to keep a few favorites: turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy; some sort of beef; some variety of fish; and a type of cobbler for dessert. They're often accommodating when I ask if I can have some of the macaroni & cheese from the kid's menu. They used to use Stouffer's macaroni & cheese, but this year they seem to have come up with their own recipe.


I've been on ten trips to Disney World, and managed to eat at Garden Grill on every single one. Check out this picture history!


August 2001 - my first Disney trip and my first time ever meeting Mickey Mouse!

May 2005

September 2008 - on my DisneyMoon with Adam

August 2009 - Chip and me.

January 2011

June 2011

Valentine's Day 2012.

February 2013

June 2013

November 2014
Interesting to note how the outfits have changed over the years! Mickey got a completely new makeover from when I first saw him. At one point, the chipmunks wore overalls. See?


Some things that have not changed though: amazing service, delicious food, and awesome characters. I will continue to go back to Garden Grill.

Food!

Food is an important part of any vacation. In fact, I daresay that eating is in the top five (maybe even three) things I get excited about, no matter where I go. Especially if I get a chance to eat food that I don't normally get, or that are not available where I live.

So, I have made our dining plans for Disney World. I used the online reservation system and it worked like a charm! I was able to search for tables and times, and then I got an email confirmation a few minutes later. Here are the plans for us:

Day One - Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
We had Liberty Tree Tavern for the first time last year when we took Aidan. It was a hit with all of us. OK, the mac&cheese was Stouffer's, but I'm not going to lie. I liked it, and thought it went well with everything else that was offered. Plus, the dining was free, so why would I complain? I remember really enjoying the turkey and gravy. Mmm, gravy.

Day Two - Breakfast at Crystal Palace
I tend to sleep in on vacation, and I do not want to do this for this particular Disney vacation. I want to be up and at 'em, ready for some magical times in the parks. So I scheduled a couple of character breakfasts to get me up early and excited. I was deciding between 1900 Park Fare and Crystal Palace, and both Adam and I agreed that we wanted to maximize our time in the park. So Crystal Palace it is!

Day Three - Dinner at Garden Grill
The Garden Grill is a must-do. Not only do they have the best character interactions, but I love their fresh food, the atmosphere of the rotating restaurant, and the all-you-can-eat family-style dining. It's always nicer than a buffet, especially at the end of the day, when I want to relax and be waited on for a bit. This place has amazing desserts. Last time I had something called a Blueberry Buckle, which made me want to run around slapping everyone, it was so good!



Day Four - Dinner at Boma: Flavors of Africa
Every time we go to Disney World, I try to schedule a dinner somewhere we have not eaten before. This year, it will be Boma, along with Eli and Melissa, and possibly Sharon and Rich. This is way outside of my regular food comfort zone, as I have never actively pursued African food before. Now, I am a picky eater, but I'll try just about anything once. Boma is a buffet, which means I can take just a little of something unfamiliar, and if I like it, I can go and get more. There are some tried and true things there too, it seems, such as wood roasted meats and salmon. The soups sound very good. I'm excited to try this place out--Eli and Melissa rave about it!

Day Five - Breakfast at Chef Mickey's
I am kind of tempted to change this to Ohana because I keep remembering those amazing eggs, and 1900 Park Fare has the Alice in Wonderland characters. But, Adam has never had Chef Mickey's (I warned him it was loud and there are napkin swinging parties), and I remember having a great time there when I went in 2005. I'm excited about going again and exploring the Contemporary a bit.

Disney Love

Fewer than 90 days!!!!

Today, my travel agent made my ADRs. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend using Mouse Fan Travel. I'd never used an agent before, but I will from now on. Not only can they quote you a package and hold it for a few days (which came in handy while waiting to get approval to take the time off), but they will proactively apply any discounts that arise while waiting to take your vacation. There are no fees to use them. On top of that, they make your ADRs for you, which is great because I TOTALLY forgot that my window opened today!

Suzy--the best travel agent ever--got me all of my first choices:

8/16: Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:40pm

8/17: 1900 Park Fare at 4:30pm

8/18: The Garden Grill at 7:20pm

8/19: Hollywood and Vine at 12:20pm

8/20: 'Ohana at 9:25am

YAY. Four character meals. Two places I've never eaten before. One good time!

* * *On a Disney bulletin board that I post, someone asked what our favorite non-ride things to do at Disney are. Just thinking about it made me smile. And I came up with this:

• I LOVE talking to all the different people from all over the country and the world.
• I like talking to cast members, the ones that are probably more invisible to most guests.
• I like sitting on the rocking chair and just relaxing.
• I LOVE meeting characters (might do autographs this year!)
• Fireworks. Parades. Character meals.

Just BEING there makes me happy. And thinking about all that stuff makes me think of even more things I love about Disney. Such as:
Wearing Mickey ears everywhere, and feeling left out when I don't.

And, in even more happiness, Touring Plans lowered its crowd predictions. If I am not mistaken, it will be similar to how it was when Adam and I went for our honeymoon last year. This is really good news! I enjoyed walking onto rides, and watching the parks all but empty when it rained. We don't leave when it rains. We pop on our ponchos and stick it out, because in the evening, once that rain clears up, the park is even more magical.

Meal Planning!

On May 18, the window opens for my ADRs. I like to try new places as well as stick to some old favorites. Because Aidan is coming along, it's going to be more tried and true places because he's pretty picky. I mean, really, who's heard of a 6-year-old who didn't like bread?

The new places I want to try this time around include:

• Liberty Tree Tavern
• Chefs de France
• Ohana

I also want to try different meal times for restaurants I've already dined at. For example, I'd like to try Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park Fare at dinner instead of breakfast.

The top places on my list for our August trip are:

• Garden Grill - The Land, Epcot
• Liberty Tree Tavern - Magic Kingdom
• Ohana - Polynesian Resort
• Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic Dinner Package.

I have a huge list of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices of places I want to eat each day. In some cases, I have a 4th choice! We will only have the meal plan for four days, but we have a late flight out on our 5th day, so I plan to treat them to breakfast at Ohana that day.