A Few of Our Favorites Things at Disney World

We did two days in the Disney World parks.  The first day we went to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and the second day we went back to Hollywood Studios and spent the entire day there.
These are a few of our favorite things...

Nolan's absolute favorite thing was the Jedi Training Academy.

Upon arriving at Disney's Hollywood Studios the second day the first thing we did was head directly to the "Jedi Training Academy" to sign my Nolan up for this awesome Star Wars experience.  A friend had told me that classes filled up extremely fast, we got in just under the wire!  Phew!

Nolan said it was the best day of his life!  Here is the video of him fighting the dark side (second kid up)

Nolan's other favorites, Star Tours ride and the Lego store...

We all went on the Star Tours ride, it was very very cool (although I am a wimp and got a really "carsick")

Lego store at Downtown Disney

Buzz made out of Legos

Buzz, Woody and the rocket entirely made out of legos

If you ask my younger little guy, Sean, what was his favorite thing at Disney, he would tell you EVERYTHING!  He is four and was the perfect age to get that magical reaction when he saw Mickey & Minnie for the first time.  When hard pressed for details, he will tell you his favorite things were the pool at the hotel, the Dumbo Ride, Goofy's rollercoaster, Buzz Lightyear ride (at Magic Kingdom) and of course, meeting Buzz!

and meeting Buzz and Woody together...

Buzz & Woody Meet & Greet 

At Disney's Hollywood Studios we all loved the Toy Story Mania and the 3-D Muppet Show!

Mike and my favorite thing was the Tune-in Lounge in the 50's inspired Diner. 

Nana's favorite was the American Idol Experience - She is a big Idol fan!

This was my favorite thing...I love this picture.

Nana, Nolan & Sean

Some very sweet family memories were created on this trip.

I received two complimentary Disney World Park Hopper passes to facilitate this post.

Disney and Food Allergies

One of the reasons I initially wanted to take the kids to Disney World was I had heard they accommodate food allergies.  This is always a huge stress for me when we travel.

Disney has food allergy policies in place that really keep there guests safe and relieve some of the stress.  I made restaurant reservations on Disney's website.  When making the reservation I was asked to check off which allergies are in my party.  Then I was told to contact Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com and they sent me forms to fill out.  Those forms were sent to each restaurant.  They then sent a confirming email and asked that when we got to restaurant to mention the allergies once again and the chef will come out and talk to us.  Here is the lowdown on our experience.

The first full day of our vacation we decompressed at the hotel pool and then headed over to Downtown Disney for a late lunch and a little shopping.  We had a reservation at The Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe had a really fun atmosphere for the kids.  You were surrounded by lifelike jungle animals and huge fish tanks.  Every 20 minutes or so there was a "thunder and lighting storm."

We informed our server, Shawn, that we had two kids at our table with food allergies.  He send the chef out.

Chef Richard assured us Nolan could have the chicken tenders and that he would make something special for Sean--two plain hamburgers and fries that would cooked in a separate part of the kitchen.

After a long day at the pool, these boys cleaned their plates---so did the adults, the food was good.

One of the main reasons I wanted to check out Downtown Disney was Babycakes NYC.  This wonderful bakery is peanut and tree nut free, egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, sesame seed-free.

Sean could pick whatever he wanted... 

Sean ended up with two cupcakes, some chocolate chip cookies and chocolate frosted donut.  He has never had a donut!

We brought the box of treats back to the hotel and he saved one for each day.  He was so happy.  Mumma was so happy.

The first day in the parks we went to lunch in Magic Kingdom at The Plaza Restaurant.

This time two chefs came right out, armed with a book of everything they served and all the ingredients.  Nolan settled on a grilled cheese and Sean once again had a hamburger.  We were again assured that it would be cooked safely in a separate part of the kitchen.

sliced apples to start

Nolan with one of the chefs

 Sean could even have dessert.  They had Rice Dream ice cream, a dairy-free treat that he loves, with Enjoy Life cookies for ears!

The next day we had lunch in Hollywood Studios at The Backlot.

The Backlot was an express type restaurant, which I was apprehensive about.

When placing my our order with Cody, I informed him of our food allergies.  I have to say it was one of the best experiences.  Cody was so helpful and then Chef Christa came out with that magic book.  This time there were chicken tenders and natural cut french fries that Sean could have.  And more Enjoy Life cookies :)

Every restaurant, express and sit-down, has a food allergy book, as well as every snack stand.  Even the popcorn stand had a book.  Sean and Nolan could have the popcorn too.

All-in-all we had great experiences eating in Disney World.  Sean and Nolan eat like kings!


I received two complimentary Disney World Park Hopper passes to facilitate my reviews.

A Fun Way to Countdown to Disney

With 20 days to go, we told the kids that we are going to Disney World!  They were so excited.  Nolan got on the Disney website to look at the Star Wars attractions and these were his questions:  "can you buy Star Wars stuff there?  what can we buy?" (oh God).  Sean, my 4 year old was a little more clueless..."are we going today?" "No buddy not for a few weeks."  Sean: "tomorrow?"  I started to think maybe I should've told them yet, but I couldn't wait any longer!!  I knew I needed to do something so they would get the concept of how many days to go...maybe it might teach them a little patience?? Anyway, we make a paper chain at Christmas time (my husband's family tradition) they kids tear off a link to the chain each day leading up to Christmas.  So I thought I would make a Mickey countdown paper chain.

I "cut and pasted" a little picture of Mickey from the Disney website and shrunk it down...then I copied and pasted him a bunch of times and made numbered Mickey rows.

I cut them into strips on my paper cutter...

And then stapled together a chain.

Each day the boys take turns (they love taking turns LOL) tearing off a link to the chain and then they count how many days are left.

It's amazing how time flies.  I booked this trip 90 days ago!  I downloaded a "Disney Countdown" App on my iPhone (yup there's an App for that ;) that's how I've been counting down.  Can't wait!

Girls Night at Disney On Ice (and a discount code!)

Last night I attended Disney on Ice "Dare to Dream" at the TD Banknorth Garden.  Since it was all about princesses, I took my friend Maureen, her daughter Ciara and her friend Ella.  These two are quite the princesses!

We found on-street parking (free!) and grabbed a quick bite to eat at The Grand Canal.

Then we walked over to the TD Garden.

Before I go on about the show, I just have to point out that princess Ciara made the dress she was wearing!  That's right, she designed it, made the pattern, picked out the fabric and sewed it together.   She loves fashion and has been taking sewing lessons at "In-Stitches" in Quincy.  This is one talented mini diva!

Back to the show.  The girls loved it.  Maureen and I loved it.

There was the Princess and the Frog...

Cinderella  - a timeless classic.  It was great!

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald came out a few times.

There were so many little ones dressed in their princess costumes, it was so cute.  This little Snow White was sitting in front of us.

Tangled -- the story of Rapunzel--was our favorite!  Full of action and excitement and, of course, a love story...

At one point Rapunzel and Flynn were hanging from the ceiling, twisting around in the air like Cirque du Soleil!  All my pictures of that came out blurry, they were moving too fast!  I was amazing.

For the grand finale, all the famous princesses came out dresses in gorgeous white costumes.

We had a such a great time.  I asked the girls what was their favorite part --Ella said "Rapunzel!"  Ciara said "oh when we were in the hallway we saw a bald guy wearing a crown, that was so funny!"...giggle, giggle, giggle..."Oh and I liked the "lunch" scene in Rapunzel."
If you are looking for something fun for February vacation I have a special DISCOUNT CODE for tickets!  Go to Ticketmaster and use the code EARLYMOM to get kids tickets for $15
You will definitely enjoy this show!


I was given a 4-pack of tickets to review the show, no other compensation was received.