Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Welcome Blog Hoppers to The Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere "Shorts Saturday" Blog Hop for the week of November 30, 2013. Every week, we host this link up blog hop to share a short and sweet version of our Disney love as we answer Disney related questions. I'd love for you to grab the button and link up your post! We all love comments, so half the fun is visiting each other's blogs and commenting on their thoughts. Our short and sweet prompt this week is "How to Pack for Disney <50 Words" Make a list; check it twice. Break everything in before vacation! Stash outfit parts in Ziploc bags then use the bags to wrap souvenirs. Pack suitcases by day rather than person. If bags get lost, everyone has clothing! Disney is full of shopping locations, so don’t stress or over pack!   The Organizing Phase Now it's your turn! Link up and comment away. Thank you for joining in my blog hop!!!   <a href="http://magicalfamilya

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Berry Basil Dessert Pizza Location: Palo, Disney Magic Cost: $25 fee plus Cruise Fare A classic Palo dessert that isn't always on the menu, the Berry Basil Pizza is (in my mind) worth the cost of a cruise as I've previously discussed . From the crisp, warm crust to the ripe, sweet, fresh berries and basil, this is (again) a work of art and a beautifully balanced dish. November 2012. Best. Pizza. EVER!   The crust, crisp enough that you could eat this with your hands like a traditional pizza, remains soft inside. Rather than flouring the work surface with flour, powdered sugar acts as a sweet substitute without being too sweet in the finished pie.  February 2013, back for seconds. Chef Silvio Jr. let me know that he liked playing with this recipe so each subsequent cruise I received variations on the original. This one incorporated more of the berry reduction and less whole berries. Still delicious. Still worth a cr

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!   My and my Minnie-Me    My Very Young Padawan My Prince Charming  The Whole Gang

I am thankful to be spending some time this week at my family's house.  To add a little Disney while we're there, I found some beautiful printables, available here: http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-parties-and-holidays/pkg-disney-thanksgiving-printables/ Today I am thankful for all the lovely people I've met through Disney social media.  I love my blog buddies! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

#SilentSunday

Welcome Blog Hoppers to The Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere "Shorts Saturday" Blog Hop for the week of November 23, 2013. Every week, I host this link up blog hop to let all Disney bloggers share a short and sweet version of their Disney love as we answer Disney related questions. I'd love for you to grab the button and link up your post! We all love comments, so half the fun is visiting each other's blogs and commenting on their thoughts. Our short and sweets  prompt this week is "Best Disney Memory < 100 Words" Satisfied after a lovely dinner on our first visit to Palo, my prince charming and I lingered over dessert. He wrapped up a truly magical evening by reminding me to take the time to wish on a star. They glistened beautifully overhead as I wished that Captain Mickey send the Disney Magic to our home state, Texas. Five months of faith, trust and pixie dust later, our wish came true! Now I spend a little time each cruise rememberi

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Strawberry Basil Sorbet Location: Palo, Disney Magic Cost: $25 for the meal and the cost of a cruise After a rich Antipasto Freddo , a rustic white bean crostini , a crisp salad course , a cozy mushroom risotto , and possibly a pizza or two ... You would think I'd begin to run out of Palo food that I love. You would be wrong. Generally served as a side to the Panna Cotta, the Strawberry Basil Sorbet is a dessert in it's own right. Sweet, but not overly this seemingly straightforward dessert hides layers of flavor complexity. With the surprising freshness of the herbs and tartness of the blackberries, this is anything but another ordinary sweet strawberry sorbet. Again, at Palo it is all about balance. Served separately from the Panna Cotta (due to dairy) And of course yumminess. I love this dessert soooooo much. There is still one Palo dessert I (arguably) love more and still haven't reviewed, but I'll get to th

Thanks to Heidi (Of Heidi's Head Fame) I'm joining a new blog hop today: Three Things Thursday!  (Be sure to link up on her blog !) Since I already have a blog (and three preceding this one) what haven't I already shared? Once Upon a Time... 1.) I am the mayor of my church on foursquare.  Actually I'm the mayor of both buildings and I'm not even on staff. One of our pastors wondered out loud at a conference who on earth is here that often. Answer? Me. My children attend the preschool, I volunteer in the children's ministry on weekends, my kids are in the Upwards sports leagues and I co-lead a Bible study so I'm pretty likely to be there whichever day you drop by the building.  2.) I loved girly things but despite how Kylee seems to be turning out...   I never even liked pink until my late 20's.  Now I love it!    3. I love the great outdoors and camping.   Would you like a Gluten Free Non-Dairy S'More?

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!   Quarter Masters  Quiet Cove Quarters    

Welcome Tiggerific Tuesday Blog Hoppers!   Thank you again  to our hosts, Magical Mouse Schoolhouse , My Dreams of Disney , Heidi's Head and Disney Babies Blog . Did you know that the Disney Magic features over 20,000 pieces of signage? Low ceiling warning? Check. While the vast majority of signage in any part of the ship is for safety (emergency directions, precautions, etc.) it also eases your navigation around the ship. You won't be needing to pull out a map as ship directories are (nearly) everywhere!  Park Ship Map, check! Just to put this amount of signage in perspective, Disney's Animal Kingdom (the individual largest Disney Park in the world) covers 580 acres of land using 12,000 signs. The Disney Magic and Wonder each feature 20,000.  

And in other news... I am sick.  More blogs after I can comfortably type. 

#SilentSunday

Welcome Blog Hoppers to The Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere "Shorts Saturday" Blog Hop for the week of November 16, 2013. Every week, we host this link up blog hop to share a short and sweet version of our Disney love as we answer Disney related questions. I'd love for you to grab the button and link up your post! We all love comments, so half the fun is visiting each other's blogs and commenting on their thoughts. Our short and sweet prompt this week is "3 Alternate Names for My Blog" Whosits and Whatsits - Still Disney loving, but more emphasis on the little Disney details.   Princesses and Pirates - Disney centered but with more emphasis on my children and Disney with kids.   The Cove Café - Pretty much the same as my current blog...a DCL centered blog that shares my love of all things on deck. If you have a question, order an espresso, pull up a lounger and ask away! Now it's your turn! Link up and comment away. Thank y

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! The Taste of Defeat Location: Disney Parks Moms Panel Former Hopefuls, The Internet Cost: Putting Yourself Out There This week is going to be a little different...brought to you by the following scene from Mary Poppins, since she is practically perfect in every way. Bert: Uncle Albert, I got a jolly joke I saved for just such an occasion. Would you like to hear it?   Uncle Albert: [sobbing] I'd be so grateful.   Bert: Well it's about me granddad, see, and one night he has a nightmare. He was so scared, he chewed his pillow to bits. Bits. In the morning, I says, "How you feel, Granddad?" He says, "Oh, not bad. A little down in the mouth." [Bert laughs, Uncle Albert sobs harder]    Bert: I always say there's nothing like a good joke.   Uncle Albert: [sobbing] No, and that was nothing like a good joke. Down in the Mouth is not technically a food, but at least it's a bad pun and those are a

Or maybe a few so I could share with my new #DisneyMP hopeful friends. Just a few hours left!

Now that the round three emails for the 2014 Disney Parks Moms Panel search will be going out any minute:   I thought it was a good time to look back at the dawn of the panel. Back in September of 2007, a search for ten to twelve helpful Disney experts began. The 10,000 who applied during the month long application window answered three essays, one hundred word each. One introducing essay introduced yourself, one introduced your family and one last essay explained why you would be an excellent match for the panel. The reward for the lucky panelists? The joy of spreading their help to guests, a seat on the first panel and a very desired pink jacket. Easier Said Than Done. Six years later, the panel has included over forty moms (and dads). Rechristened in January of 2013 as the Disney Parks Moms Panel, the panelists now specialize to cover not only Walt Disney World, but Disneyland, DVC, ABD, runDisney, DCL and ESPN WWoS. Phew! That's a lot of pixie dust. So far

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!   My #DisneySide All ready to book my next cruise! #DisneySide 

Welcome Tiggerific Tuesday Blog Hoppers!   Thank you again  to our hosts, Magical Mouse Schoolhouse , My Dreams of Disney , Heidi's Head and Disney Babies Blog . Did you know that while the Disney Magic was built in two section in the Fincantieri shipyards of Venice, Italy, the Disney Wonder's construction took place in one location? Due to the two part construction, the Magic features a seam on the outer hull, visible on deck four just forward of Assembly Station I. No worries if your stateroom is on the seam, as many cast members state that this seam is actually the strongest most reinforced segment of the ship.  Starboard birthmark on the Magic. If you happen to be on the Wonder, however you still will notice a seam in approximately the same location. According to the Art of the Theme Show Tour , the imagineers were so invested in keeping the ships identical during the initial construction, that the Disney Wonder received a "tattoo" of sorts. Des

I think that the magic of a Disney vacation exists in three wonderful parts: the dreaming of planning, the pixie dust moments during trip itself and the memories you take with you for years to come. Since I can't live in the Cinderella Castle Suite or even on property year round, pictures help bring a bit of the fairytale back into my everyday life. In my enthusiastic pursuit of remembering the Magic, I take hundreds of my own pictures every vacation and hope to share a bit of my experience with you. Sometimes my children love to play along and primp and pose. My Little Princess. Sometimes they don't.  Her #DisneySide. She's a feisty little princess! Now you can just take a bunch of funky, bug-eyed attitude photos. I personally find them hilarious and as much an accurate portrait of my kiddos as the perfectly fairytale photos. But eventually, the kiddos just don't want to pose. The infamous "I'm Bored" face. I've found that