Tag: blog

Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary!

Processed with VSCO with e1 presetIt’s not news that Disneyland always delivers on themed celebrations ESPECIALLY when it comes to the food… but for Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary they really outdid themselves. We’ve tried a lot of foods in the past but this particular celebration has to be our favorite one that we’ve seen tasted so far.

 

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Let’s talk about souvenirs first. We originally were only going to get the popcorn bucket but then FOMO took over and we opted to complete the collection with the beignet holder and sipper cup. We’re crazy (we know) but these three hitchhiking ghosts make for the perfect Halloween decoration and we are very much our mother’s daughters when it comes to decorating the house for aaaallll the holidays. Now on to the food!

River Belle Terrace

  • Sliders Materialize– Spicy pork belly slider served on toasted brioche and topped with crisp cabbage slaw and pomegranate vinaigrette. Savory pork belly slider served on toasted brioche with black pepper bacon mayo, butter lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a crispy bacon “spike”
  • Hitchhiking Ghost Blue Velvet Cake– Blue velvet cake with blueberry puree, rice croquette brittle and vanilla-blueberry crisp

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The sliders were very tasty and packed with flavor but THAT CAKE…it is one of the most delicious things we’ve had in the parks. A bold statement but we stand by it. We went back again just for the cake and the cast member serving us said we weren’t the only ones there having cake for lunch. Breaks our hearts that this delicious treat is only here for a limited time.

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Churros

  • Bride Churro- Vanilla and sugar churro
  • Groom Churro- Dark chocolate and milk chocolate churr

Both churros were yummy but if we HAD to choose a side… we’d be team Bride!

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Mint Julep Bar / Royal Street Veranda

  • Blackberry Midnight Julep- blackberry, citrus and mint with lychee “moon”
  • Pickwick Ghost Punch- fruit and citrus juices with sherbert

These two are our top picks for drinks offered with this celebration. We’ve gone back maaaany times for these specialty drinks… we might have some separation anxiety when they finally depart from the parks…

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Harbour Galley

  • 13th-Hour Brew- Iced coffee with vanilla cream
  • Ghost Mariner’s Seafood Boil- Cajun buttered shrimp with red potatoes, corn, andouille sausage

The brew was good but the real star of the drink was the vanilla cream. We tried mixing it to get some of that flavor in the rest of the drink but it didn’t really work so we continued to drink off the top (hence the cream moustache). The Seafood Boil was flavorful and spicy and it was fun to see it come in a boiling bag but we thought that for the price, there should have been a little more.

Rancho del Zocalo

  • The Long Forgotten Duelist Tacos- Two fry bread tacos with grilled fajita beef and braised butter chicken served with mexican rice and pickled vegetables

I don’t know why we haven’t spent more time eating at Rancho del Zocalo but it is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to go. These tacos were impossible to eat with your hands but the fry bread yuummm.

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Pooh Corner / Hungry Bear Restaurant

  • Hitchhiking Ghost Rice Krispie- Rice Krispie covered with chocolate
  • Dead-Cadent Funnel Cake- Funnel cake with a brownie, white chocolate raspberry ice cream and chocolate pearls

There is nothing too complex about the first treat. It’s a chocolate-covered rice krispie treat. It’s cute AND it’s delicious. As for the Dead-Cadent Funnel Cake, it is a little more complex with its flavors and that’s why we love it. The brownie smothered with the white chocolate raspberry ice cream with whipped cream to top… we couldn’t think of a more perfectly dead-cadent sweet!

The French Market

  • The Wedding Cake- Buttercream frosting, cherries, cream cheese filling finished with a splatter of cherry sauce

How fun is this cake?!? and it tastes good too! Channeling our inner Mary Berry, this cake wins for great flavor and presentation.

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Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!

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Not too long ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Three siblings came together to journey to the Galaxy’s Edge on the planet of Batuu.

We still can’t get over our time in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. We had so much fun eating all the food, riding the Millennium Falcon and making a droid (Kenzie has never felt more motherly). It’s been a long time coming so we were well-versed on all the details about how to gain access to Galaxy’s Edge. One way to ensure your admission into the new land was by booking a stay at one of the 3 Disney hotels. We decided to stay at the Paradise Pier hotel as it was the most cost effective for us. After booking our room, we received our reservation for Galaxy’s Edge!…the 8am-12pm time slot on Sunday. In each of the Disney hotels, there is a Galaxy’s Edge reservation desk where you can make changes to your reservation and ask cast members any questions that you may have before entering the park. Once we got settled into our room, we headed into the park to look at all the opening day merch. This merch is located at the Star Trader shop in Tomorrowland. Courtney picked up an AP exclusive shirt from there and then we headed back to the hotel to get some shut eye… we had an early morning ahead of us!

If you had the 8am reservation, they were opening the park at 6am to allow enough time for everyone to check in and get their wristbands at the Launch Bay in Tomorrowland. Experiencing Disneyland in the wee hours of the morning is still so magical! After check in, we grabbed some breakfast at the Galactic Grill before lining up between Finding Nemo and the restaurant. Then we eagerly waited for the cast members to escort us to Batuu.img_7954

At 7:45a two rows of cast members escorted us to Galaxy’s Edge. You could feel the excitement and energy from everyone as we walked over and got our first glimpse of Galaxy’s Edge. It was a feeling like no other! Our first stop was Oga’s Cantina. There was a two drink maximum (not minimum) so we ordered a few things and shared.

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After Oga’s Cantina we headed to Docking Bay 7 to have our second breakfast of the morning. We ordered the Rising Moons Overnight Oats, Bright Suns Morning,the Mustafarian Lava Roll, Moof Juice and Phattro. Everything about the Docking Bay was amazing. The food, the decor, even the silverware and plates. You really felt like you were transported to another planet.

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Our next stop was Dok-Ondars Den of Antiquities. The store was filled with unique goods like rare crystals and jewelry, you can even buy the lightsaber of a famous Jedi…so many great finds! Kenzie was tempted and almost walked away with a Nabu head piece.

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After some shopping, we hopped in line for the Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. We found that if you waited about 2 hours into the reservation, the wait was only about 20 mins. If we’re being honest, even if we had to wait longer we wouldn’t have minded. The queue was filled with so many great details; there was always something to look at! I don’t think it could ever get old. This ride was an UNREAL experience… pulling that lever to take us to light speed…magic! Thankfully we had Cody who was a fantastic co-pilot and Kenzie as our gunner. We passed our mission and didn’t have too much damage to the ship. The ride is VERY interactive, it was something we really loved about it. Your outcome was based on how well you did on the ride.

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Post Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run…

While waiting in line for Smuggler’s Run, we mobile ordered the Blue and Green milk from the milk stand. Kenzie and Cody liked the Blue milk, while I much preferred the Green milk…more for me I guess! While we enjoyed our milk we roamed around the spire and even ran into Kylo Ren and a few stormtroopers.

 

Next up the Droid Depot! If you have a spare $25,000 you can buy your very own R2D2. If you don’t have that kinda change lying around, you can choose to build your own droid for $99! Kenzie decided that was going to be her splurge and so she created her own little droid baby. She picked all the parts at the conveyor belt, brought it to the building station and with Cody’s help her droid came to life. Welcome to the family BB Ben!

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Now it was time for Cody and I to do some shopping, so we headed over to the market. We picked up some popcorn at Kat Saka’s Kettle (which is something else we disagree on) I loved the sweet and spicy mix while everyone else wasn’t sold on it. We continued to wander through the shops and Cody got to pick out his own Jedi robe (NOTE: you’re not allowed to wear it inside Galaxy’s Edge) while I bought the cutest Chewbacca and Yoda plushies.

lrg_dsc00179After working up an appetite from all the shopping we decided to head back to Docking Bay 7 with BB Ben in tow. These droids are interactive and communicate with other droids nearby as well as react when they are in certain parts of the land. BB Ben got really talkative when we got to Docking Bay 7. It’s so much fun seeing them interact!img_8008

Sadly our time had come to an end. As we were exiting, we passed by some kiosks that were selling rebel merchandise, we even ran into Rey and Chewie! While we did a lot in these 4 hours, we felt like our time in Galaxy’s Edge was rushed. We never wanted to stay too long in one place in case we wouldn’t get the chance to do something else. A perfect example would be me scarfing down a wrap from Ronto Roasters and feeling sick almost immediately after doing so… don’t get me wrong, the wrap was DELICIOUS, it was just consumed too quickly. We had such a great time and we didn’t want it to end sooooo we made another reservation at the Disneyland hotel for this weekend!

Til the Spires!

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Why We Love Being Annual Passholders

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Last weekend, we ended our day at the park with a purchase at the Castle Holiday Shoppe in Fantasyland. The cast member helping us asked if we were annual passholders (we are) and then she asked us what our favorite part about being an annual passholder is. We haven’t been asked that question in a loooonng time and it made us think…what IS our favorite part about being annual passholders?

Kenzie: “You can be a little spontaneous! Many times when Courtney and I have been down in Orange County visiting our parents (and the dogs), we’ve made a pit stop for some churros or popcorn. We used to do it in High School too, after class we’d go to Disneyland for the night and just hang out. No pressure, no plans.”

Courtney: “My favorite thing about being a passholder is being able to go to the park any time. We can go just for dinner or to catch a parade or show that we haven’t seen in a while. Also, we get to experience Disney year round, through every holiday. I can’t wait to see the park all decked out for Christmas! It’s my favorite”

Cody: “The Food. That’s not really an annual passholder answer but my favorite part is the food…”