I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween, but I figure you need to start planning early for trips to the World. My favorite time to go to Disney World is the end of September-beginning of October. It's a chance to experience a lot of Disney fun in one quick trip. We've gone to Disney three times during September/October and loved it every time.
It's fun to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, dress up in Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating around the Magic Kingdom. Bean's favorite part is the Boo to You Parade. The parade begins when the Headless Horseman rides down the parade route on his horse and holding a flaming pumpkin. At the end of the night, cast members will top off your trick or treat bag. The last time I went, they were topping off with Ghiradelli caramel squares... the big ones. We always come home with a huge pile of candy, some of which we give out at Halloween, as there is always too much.
For the adults, try the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, which runs during this same time period. It's a great chance to try a lot of food from a lot of different nations and see what appeals to you. My favorite mini plate is the cheese plate with three types of cheese, brown bread, Irish butter, and chutney from the Ireland stand. I eat it every time I go. I liked it so much that I have started buying Dubliner cheese at home too. My sister's favorite is the lamb slider from New Zealand. There are so many fabulous things to try that it would be impossible to pick just a few. I would recommend going as a group and having each person purchase one food from each nation and then everyone trying a bite. That's what we usually do and you get to try so many more things that way without getting overwhelmed.
You'll probably find something that you may want to eat even after you get back home. Fortunately, there are several websites that have
recipes from the Festival. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but they sound fantastic. Several of the countries offer demonstrations of various recipes and styles of cooking popular in their homelands.
Each year is themed, so a few years ago, there were stock pots and characters from Ratatouille everywhere. Another year was Alice in Wonderland. This year's theme is "Delicious Discoveries". They are changing the Goebel store in Germany to a Werther's Candy Shop and the new Via Napoli restaurant in Italy opens in September. There are also a lot of beautiful displays and decorations representing each of the countries. In all, its a fabulous Festival with something for everyone. And that's what make this my favorite time of year to travel to Disney World!
There are several new Star Wars pins that have been created just for this years Star Wars Weekends at Disney World. Several of the individual pins feature key scenes from the Empire Strikes Back including a dimensional AT-AT being circled by a Snowspeeder. A massive jumbo pin in the shape of the number 30 is filled with characters from the movie. A boxed set of six characters and there vehicles has been created. There's also a set of Muppet Star Wars pins, a R2-MK (like a red R2-D2 but with Mickey ears), and a special limited edition pin. My favorite is the passholder limited edition pin which features Han Solo in carbonite. Finally, there's a limited release pin featuring the logo for the Star Wars Weekends.
Just in time for the 30th Anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back, Williams-Sonoma has created some awesome Star Wars themed cookware. They have three new items: a kids apron with characters embroidered across the bottom and the Star Wars logo across the top, a set of four cookie cutter/embossers, and a set of three pancake molds. What better way to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of a true classic than with pancakes shaped like Darth Vader and Yoda? The set is hilarious! I can't wait to see it in the store.
Well, its that time of year again... Star Wars Weekends. Every year, I say I'll go, but I never seem to make it. This year guests will have a chance to ride one of the last trips to Endor on Star Tours. The ride is scheduled to close July 27 at Disneyland and September 8 at Disney World. They are going to be "reimagining" the ride with a new 3-D experience taking guests to familiar places in the Star Wars universe. They're also hosting a special "Last tour to Endor" party on August 14 during "Star Wars Celebration V" at Disney World. As this is one of Bean's favorite rides, I am rather sad to see it change. Sometimes I think Disney gets carried away trying to keep up with the latest and greatest. However, if it lives up to the promise and becomes an immersive 3-D trip through the universe of Star Wars, it may be alright. I just hope they don't totally change the outside of the ride as well. I love the Ewok village and AT-AT that shoots water from it's guns. Also, every year when we go, we take a picture of Bean on the speeder parked outside. It's a fun way of seeing how much she's grown. Here's hoping that the new ride is as much fun as the current one!
I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween, but I figure you need to start planning early for trips to the World. My favorite time to go to Disney World is the end of September-beginning of October. It's a chance to experience a lot of Disney fun in one quick trip. We've gone to Disney three times during September/October and loved it every time.
For the adults, try the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, which runs during this same time period. It's a great chance to try a lot of food from a lot of different nations and see what appeals to you. My favorite mini plate is the cheese plate with three types of cheese, brown bread, Irish butter, and chutney from the Ireland stand. I eat it every time I go. I liked it so much that I have started buying Dubliner cheese at home too. My sister's favorite is the lamb slider from New Zealand. There are so many fabulous things to try that it would be impossible to pick just a few. I would recommend going as a group and having each person purchase one food from each nation and then everyone trying a bite. That's what we usually do and you get to try so many more things that way without getting overwhelmed.
