Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! I have one clear favorite snack when I go Walt Disney World and based on this poll released on Disney's pinterest page , I'm not exactly alone. Beating out that Disneyland favorite, churros, and the iconic Mickey Bar, this is the one dessert at Walt Disney World that I really, really miss when I'm on a Disney Cruise. As in, the absence of this snack regularly makes my comment cards. Ah, the humble Dole Whip Float Location: Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom Cost: $4.99/Dole Whip Float or $3.79 for traditional Dole Whip Is it a nearly perfect snack for indulging and cooling you off or is it breakfast? I mean pineapple is a fruit and fruits are a part of this balanced breakfast, right? Now if you really want to take it over the top, just order a nice Dole Whip Float and you are in business!    "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Photo Courtesy of Kuleen from The Disne...

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 thousands of my own pictures every vacation and hope to share a bit of my experience with you. With how easy it is to pick up an iPhone and take a photo, it's only fair to let the mouseketeers enjoy a crack at it once in a while. My DDs perspective particularly delights me. She's clearly been watching me take photos of the details on vacation because the first three she took when she got a hold of my iPhone at breakfast last vacation involved: Detail of her chair back.  The Patterned Carpet And last but not least... A Clo...

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 thousands of my own pictures every vacation and hope to share a bit of my experience with you. If you've been paying attention in my trip reports, you'll notice that sometimes my vacation pictures may go a little odd and occasionally leave you seeing double. Why? Well, sometime on my first cruise Ben took a picture of me.  Just watching the ocean I rather loved the view of the ocean and it was a neat way to remember my first cruise. Trying to replicate the photo on our second cruise with me at the edge of a panorama shot at the front...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! World's Largest Turkey Leg Location: Parrot Cay Lunch Buffet, Disney Wonder Cost: Included in Cruise Fare So as we headed into lunch on embarkation day on the Disney Wonder, my son was mesmerized by the roast beef shank at the end of the hot foods section. Asking him what he thought of it, he replied, "That's the biggest turkey leg I've ever seen. How big do turkeys get?" Adult in background for scale. My husband enjoyed his "turkey leg" immensely. I'll get back to my regular longer posts after I'm done sorting through hundreds of vacation photos and finish uploading to my flickr page.

Welcome Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia blog hoppers.  Thanks again to Jodi from  +Magical Mouse Schoolhouse , Heidi from  +Heidi's Head , and  +Mike Ellis  for co-hosting! Did You Know... Savvy Adjective shrewd, well-informed and perceptive. It is reported that Johnny Depp added this line improvisationally during filming of The Pirate of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl. No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on *my* ship, and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy? Captain Jack Sparrow  "I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically." Thankfully, they kept it. This slight misuse (in the movies, it is understood better as "got it?" or "clear?" than the traditional definitions) became one of Captain Jack's signature catch phrases. Both peculiar and unique enough to fit his character, but s...

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. As we all know a rainy day at Disney is better than a sunny day at home, but sometimes we forget to take pictures of anything that isn't practically perfect on vacation. The sad part is that all these little imperfect moments make up the most magical memories!  Rainy days. Falling asleep on the Magical Express. Cloudy days. Tired out after running in and out of the lagoon at Castaway Cay's Family Beach. Waiting for the start of the Pirates in ...

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. Bright eyed, or not such a bright idea? As much fun as the blinded in the light squinty eyed look is, sometimes it better to hit the shade. Remember back when we talked about the golden hour ? Unfortunately, as far as photography goes, magical moments occur all day long rather than evenly within an hour of sunrise or sunset.   For more beautiful outdoors photos, where you can actually see those beautiful baby blues instead of a lot of squint...

I received some pixie dusted email this afternoon! I am moving on to the second round of applications for the Disney Parks Moms Panel as a Disney Cruise Line specialist!  My Survivor inspired Moms Panel Applicant Logo... For all those not moving on, trust me, I know how you all feel! I got the rejection and sadness and "what did I do wrong?" when I logged on Monday morning. I may yet feel that rejection again as I move onto the future rounds of the search. There are many AMAZING applicants on the DISboards group, the Mickey Moms Club Super Group and of course my blogging Disney buds! To paraphrase Doug Ingersoll from his interview on the Passporter Moms, to claim any of us who get through the applications know more or love Disney more is patently false. All each of us can do is be ourselves and show who we are to the best of our ability. If that is what they are looking for, great! If not, well, we keep moving forward and loving Disney like the pixie dust nuts we c...

Welcome Favorite Food Friday Blog Hoppers! Mushroom Risotto served in a rustic bread bowl Location: Palo, The Disney Magic Cost: $20 per person for the meal plus cruise fare After Sylvester presented this lovely family style serving of risotto, Chef Silvio dropped by to let us know that this particular dish is how he would serve risotto at his home for his daughter. Ben and I found it delectable.  Warm, homey, vegan comfort food. Warm, chewy basil bread baked to a pleasant crunch on the outside housed a beautiful (nondairy) risotto. The sharp crisp counterpoint of the celery greens played beautifully with the earthy flavors of the mushrooms and the richness of the Chianti reduction over the creamy risotto. Basically Ben and I polished this off in it's entirety in under ten minutes. Delicious in every sense of the word. If you aren't vegan or special ordering for allergies, I believe the wild mushroom risotto is usually served as a single serving ...

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 it's all good to capture the serious, beautiful profound moments for posterity. Capture the absolute reflective mood of your children. And sometimes it is time to get a little "Goofy" This is not one of those times. Disney Magic, Travel Size for your convenience.  Ben's fourth cruise so he's in the photo four times. I like the "peeking over the railing Ben", personally.  Yep, they like being a little Goofy. So tr...

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. One of the wonderful ways to bring simple emphasis to a photograph is to capture the patterns around you.  Thankfully Walt Disney World, in it's attention to details, leaves beautiful patterns everywhere. Repeating lifeboats around the Promenade Deck. Reflective tiled floor patterns. Sorcerer's Apprentice Broom, multiplied   “I do not like to repeat success, I like to go on to other things.” ~Walt Disney So get out there, make mistakes, try a ...

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. One of the first things you learn when taking pictures is that, ideally, the light should be relatively behind you and your subject in front of you. In this way the light shines on the subject and you get a clearer view of whomever you are photographing. Which is nice idea most of the time but sometimes, it's a good idea to take a trip to the dark side. At the beginning of this basketball game, I took a few action shots of Chris shooting some hoops. Nothing is really...

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. Angles can really make the whole attitude of a shot. Try getting above (pretty easy when photographing children) or below your subject sometimes.  These angles tend to change the way the light appears to emphasize the texture and capture the emotional feeling of the moment. Let's say you are approaching one of the dozens of attractions or experiences at land or sea where the cast member offers you a set of 3D glasses.   high angle showing her huge attitude a...