Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary!

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset It’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.

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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.

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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!

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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…

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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.

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

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.

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

The Return of The Main Street Electrical Parade!

We are SO happy to have the Main Street Electrical Parade back at Disneyland. Last night was the first night of its return so we headed to the park to get some dinner and grab a spot for viewing. With the return of the parade, Disneyland has released some Main Street Electrical Parade themed merchandise and treats! By the time we got to the parks, a lot of the treats were sold out so we’ll have to come back to try some of the deliciousness! The Main Street Electrical Parade is only here for a short time with two shows a night until September 30th. Hurry to the parks, you don’t want to miss it!

Our First Trip to The Magic Kingdom

lrg_dsc08172

We finally made it to Walt Disney World! This all started with our Aunt asking if we wanted to fly with her to Orlando over a weekend and of course, we all said YES. A little background, our Aunt is a flight attendant and a lot of our childhood/youth was spent on planes with her. Most of our trips were spontaneous and last minute just like our trip to Walt Disney World. Since this was our first time to the Magic Kingdom and our time there was limited, Courtney made an itinerary. She also booked our hotel, made dining reservations, bought our tickets and booked our fast passes (our own little travel agent!). Since we bought our tickets ahead of time, we were able to pick them up at our hotel. We stayed at the World Swan which was conveniently located next to Disney’s Boardwalk with only a 10 min drive to the Magic Kingdom.

While picking up our tickets, we were helped by Brent. Brent was great. We loved Brent. We told him we would blog about him because of how great he was (Hi Brent!). But seriously, he was the best. He reassured us that our itinerary was top notch, shared some fun WDW facts and gave us advice on the best (and quickest) way into the park. Per Brent’s recommendation, we used the Lyft app to order a “Minnie Van” (cute right?) to take us to Magic Kingdom. Unlike regular rideshare services, when you use the Minnie Van selection in the app, you will be dropped off right in front of the park. If you use regular Ubers and Lyfts you will be dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket Center and then have to take the monorail or ferryboat to the front entrance of the park.

First in line! We’ve done many rope drop mornings at Disneyland so we knew what to expect or so we thought… We’ve seen it at Disneyland, the fast walking and slight jogging once the rope drops with everyone trying to get to their favorite ride but we were not prepared for the actual speed and running agility of some folks visiting the Magic Kingdom. We tried to keep our group together but realized we lost our Mom…she was already ahead of us as she too was running (never underestimate a Mom).

After rope drop and our first ride of the day (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), we stopped in front of the castle for some photos because LOOK AT IT. It’s so beautiful.

lrg_dsc08989

After our castle photoshoot, we stopped in Liberty Square for some breakfast at Sleepy Hollow. This quick service restaurant was delicious, serving aaalll the waffles. We just ordered enough for the group and shared everything.

What we ordered:

Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich
Mickey Waffles with Strawberries and Whipped Cream
Breakfast Egg and Cheese Waffle Sandwich
Mickey Waffle with Powdered Sugar
French Vanilla Iced Coffee

lrg_dsc08181

lrg_dsc08198

Mom just couldn’t stop looking at the castle… we don’t blame her, it was UNREAL. Just wait until the firework pictures…

lrg_dsc08285

lrg_dsc09011

We loved Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion. It was big and grand and we loved the additional rooms with all the different details. We’re trying not to spoil the ride for those who haven’t been on it yet, but 10/10 must ride if you are at Magic Kingdom. We went on it twice!

We spent a lot of our time in Frontierland. First, we had to see the Country Bear Jamboree. This is something we miss dearly at Disneyland. The bears were out roaming so we just grabbed some popcorn sat on a bench and watched them cause some trouble.

lrg_dsc08646

Brent’s Fun Fact- Keep an eye out for artist Mary Blair in “It’s a Small World”! Mary is responsible for designing the magical and dazzling style of the iconic ride.

lrg_dsc08308

lrg_dsc08462

There was so much room for detail at the Magic Kingdom. We loved waiting in the lines so we could look at everything around us. We felt completely immersed in each world.

lrg_dsc08581

Courtney made a reservation for us at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant around the same time as the parade. She asked if we could be seated on the patio so we could watch it from our table (She’s just too good).

What we ordered:

Caprese
Spaghetti with Meatballs
Scampi pasta
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Chocolate Cake
Tiramisu

lrg_dsc08698

lrg_dsc08705

lrg_dsc08744

Next up the Peoplemover! The best way to see Tomorrowland!

lrg_dsc08817

lrg_dsc08820 lrg_dsc08857

lrg_dsc08803

The sun was starting to set and we were starting to crash… so we decided to lay low and stake out our spot for fireworks. No one was as excited for the firework show as Courtney and we are so glad that she put this on the itinerary because this show was spectacular. It was definitely worth the wait and the crowds… Bravo!

lrg_dsc09349

lrg_dsc09361

Food & Wine Festival 2019

Today is the last day to enjoy all the deliciousness at the Food & Wine Festival in DCA. We bought the Sip and Savor Pass ($49 with AP discount) which we love doing for all of the food events that take place at DCA. We were able to mosey along to each vendor, try what we wanted and come back at a later date to try some more! We really enjoy trying all the different foods – we’ve posted some of our favorites below!

0694bc35-bf92-4650-9550-775edb4ce85a

It was a bit chilly when we first went to try some food so we decided to stop and get the Fiscalini White Cheddar Lager Soup from the Nuts About Cheese booth. The soup was served in a mini Boudin sourdough bowl so you could eat every last bite of this delicious dish.

Close by was the California Craft Brews booth where Cody got the Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Columbia Street, Amber Lager and Courtney got the Pepperoni Pizza Egg Rolls. I’ll say this now, us three siblings all have very different tastes in what we like and what we agree on. These egg rolls are something we will never agree on. I won’t name names but some thought it was amazing and others thought that that person was CRAZY.

Another glimpse into our disagreements of tastes… Kenzie was not sold on the Esquites Sweet Corn Nuggets but Courtney loved them so much she had them twice! Also, Cody loves Churros (not part of the Food & Wine Festival but worth noting).

6dd35986-ccc1-4ca5-9bd8-6e49521af8e6

Like I mentioned before, we love taking advantage of our Sip & Savor Pass. We went back to DCA on another weekend to eat more food!

These next few vendors had some of our favorite dishes from the festival.

The Spice Roasted chicken on Pita with Avocado Hummus and Garlic Sauce
Artichoke Toast with California Olive Tapenade
Deconstructed Teriyaki Chicken Musubi with Pineapple Relish

Some honorable mentions:

Asian-Style Beef Barbacoa Taco with Pickled Ginger
Chocolate Crunch Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Churro

Posting this made us hungry…Until next year Food & Wine Festival!!

Fall Dapper Day 2018

With Spring Dapper Day coming up this weekend, we decided to (finally) post our first Dapper Day experience at Disneyland! We had so much fun getting all dolled up and going into the park. We made a whole weekend out of it and booked a room at the Disneyland Hotel. Since the Dapper Day expo was taking place in the hotel they were offering discounts on rooms if you purchased your expo tickets ahead of time.

lrg_dsc00799 Once we checked in we went downstairs to check out the expo. We got there just in time to watch the San Andreas Sisters perform and we LOVED seeing everyone on the dance floor!

lrg_dsc00867 We then roamed around the exhibit hall to look at all the vendors and found a couple of shops that we really loved. Leo found a hat shop that had so many great options he couldn’t decide on what hat to get and ended up leaving empty-handed. The pressure was too much! Kenzie, on the other hand, walked away with an adorable Mickey fascinator by Hat & Mouse.

The next day we got up bright and early to have breakfast with Minnie & her friends at the Plaza Inn.

lrg_dsc00927

That moment when you see your favorite character…

lrg_dsc01009

After breakfast, we met Cody back at the expo to get our tintype photographs done. We saw this booth set up the day before and put our names down to get a portrait done. Jason Madsen, the photographer is great and if you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, he frequents the Melrose Trading Post so you can grab your tintype photo there too!

Voila! The final product!

We headed back into the park to walk around, grab a bite to eat and take some pics of our Dapper Day attire. Kenzie had an outfit change because she said “wearing a dress is hard work”.

lrg_dsc01046 lrg_dsc01050-1

We had so much fun on our first dapper day. Can’t wait to do it again soon!

Christmas Time at The Parks

lrg_dsc03406 We LOVE visiting the parks during the holiday season, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until we’ve been to Disneyland! Every year we watch the Christmas Fantasy Parade… we typically grab a snack (popcorn, pretzel, churro. What’s your vice?) and mosey on down Main Street to find a spot for viewing. There were a lot of new foods to try this season, so we did our best and tried as much as we could! Lots of peppermint and eggnog treats were consumed… You can see more of our Christmas at the parks below!

lrg_dsc03534-1

lrg_dsc03612-1

The gingerbread cookies in the parade are just as cute as the ones at Red Rose Tavern!

Processed with VSCO with kp3 preset

The look of love…and an eggnog mustache. We weren’t kidding when we said that we consumed a lot of eggnog treats. We tried the Holiday Frozen Eggnog from Red Rose Tavern, the Eggnog Latte Cheesecake from the Jolly Holiday Bakery and these Churro Bites with Eggnog Gelato from Hungry Bear.

Processed with VSCO with kp3 preset

Now on to one of our favorite treats from this past holiday season. We found out about these Churro Sundaes from the Golden Horseshoe during their last run for Halloween. We were sad that we didn’t have more time together SO when we found out that they were making a comeback for the holidays, we were first in line. We loved this one so much that we decided to recreate it at home! (you can see how we did that here)

The best part about this sundae is the caramel filling inside of the churros. A very sweet surprise…as expressed by Courtney below.

Processed with VSCO with kp3 preset

Cody loves going into the Penny Arcade to look at all the sweets. Also, can anyone actually eat a beignet without getting it all over the place?? We loved these Candy Cane Beignets at the Mint Julep Bar.

Kenzie is an avid affogato consumer, so when we found out that schmoozies was putting a holiday twist on their affogato she HAD to get it…even if it was cold and raining.

Some of our favorites from the Festival of Holidays this year.

Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
Blood Orange Ginger Mule
Turkey & Stuffing Tamale with Cranberry Relish
Braised Pork Belly Adobo
Jalapeño Latkes with Chipotle Crema (spicy)
Nashville Hot Fried Turkey with Dill Pickles (So friggin spicy)

Processed with VSCO with kp3 preset

We’ll miss you Christmas!! Until next time…

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

LRG_DSC00629

The best part about Halloween is PUMPKIN SPICE! Okay- that’s just Kenzie’s personal opinion but is she wrong?? I don’t think so. As we approached October, we started to deck our halls in orange and black and thought it would be festive to make some cookies for the occasion. We looked online for pumpkin spice recipes and found The Mommy Mouse Clubhouse’s recipe on Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies. It was our first time making these cookies and I think we found our new Halloween tradition!… All Abooooaardd!

LRG_DSC09876

Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours. While the dough is in the fridge you can start prepping the icing or if you’d rather use store bought icing like we did, then you can watch a little Halloween movie instead while the dough is setting!

LRG_DSC00329

LRG_DSC00460 LRG_DSC00483

For the icing, we originally used this recipe on the pumpkin-shaped cookies but found that the flavor of the icing took away from the flavor of the cookie so we went with some good old fashion Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting for the skeleton-shaped cookies.

LRG_DSC00570

LRG_DSC00596

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Servings: 30
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 cups All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin spice, salt, and baking powder to the mixture. *Note: Next time we would add a little more pumpkin spice so we can REALLY get a stronger flavor* Stir in the flour just until mixed. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough until 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Decorate as desired.

All Aboard: Disneybounding!

Typically, we only dress like our favorite Disney characters during Halloween but this new(ish) Disney trend is giving us the freedom to dress like them whenever we want! We’ve been noticing some folks in the parks taking part in the Disneybounding craze and we can’t wait to try our hand at it! Kenz created these inspiration boards for some of our favorite characters. You can find all of our Disneybounding inspiration here.

Why We Love Being Annual Passholders

Processed with VSCO with l7 preset

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…”