304...ADRs

ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) are an important part of your WDW vacation.  When you are 180 days away from checking into your Disney Resort you can begin contacting Disney to make your dining reservations.  The reservation system is very easy to use.  You can either call them at (407) WDW-DINE or you can also use their online system.

311...Bring on the Kitchen Sink

Ice cream is a staple at Walt Disney World.  You can find it almost anywhere and it can totally change the direction of a day at the parks.  Use it wisely and watch as the grouchy turn to angels, the exhausted become reinvigorated, and the underwhelmed become overjoyed.  You have your choice of Dole Whip, Mickey's Ice Cream Bars and Sandwiches, and the Plaza Restaurant Sundae just to name a few.  But I say if you are up to a challenge and want to have a mountain top ice cream experience, then you need to head over to Beaches and Cream and try the "Kitchen Sink."  Beaches and Cream is located in the beautiful Beach Club Resort.  The diner is small and quaint but the Kitchen Sink is huge and overwhelming.  It has eight scoops of ice cream, every topping they offer and a whole can of whipped cream.  Yes, a whole can of whipped cream!  And when we are talking about every topping we are talking about candy bars, cookies, some type of cake thing, nuts, cherrys and more.  Amazing!  They also flash the lights and make a big announcement as they bring it out to you.  The family will love it.  I can't think of a better way to spend $23.99!  Enjoy and thanks for reading.

Welcome to Beaches and Cream

313...Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

So, Maelstrom is a little more exciting than I told my kids it was going to be.  I don't think they will ride it again until they are teens.  The trolls and going backwards was a little too much for them.  On the plus side my 70-year-old parents loved it!

My three year old daughter recovered nicely

Thanks for stopping by!

315...One Major Overlooked Attraction

If we were to rank attractions by sheer number of visits our family's number one attraction would definitely be the Baby Care Center at the Magic Kingdom.  The Baby Care Center is located right next to the Crystal Palace.  The changing room has five tables and we are talking nice, big, soft tables! There is also a family bathroom there, a kitchen with microwave and sink, a room for nursing mothers and a "play" room with toys and a Disney video playing.  Obviously we used it when we needed to change a diaper but we also found that it was a nice place to cool off and let the kids play.  They had free water from a water cooler and from time to time would allow us to fill up a water bottle or two.  Awesome!  They also sell diapers, formula and a few other kid related products.  But I really think my favorite part of the experience is when the ladies working there had a British accent, it made me feel like I had Mary Poppins helping me.  All the parks have a Baby Care Center and below you will find their locations.
-At Epcot the Baby Care Center is inside the Future World Odyssey Center.
-At Disney's Hollywood Studios the Baby Care Center is in the Guest Services Building inside the Main Entrance.
-At Disney's Animal Kingdom the Baby Care Center is located behind the Creature Comforts store in the Discovery Island area.

My 6 month old enjoying the Baby Care Center.  See how big the tables are?!

318...Random WDW Tips

I have some friends who recently took their first family vacation to the World.  I showed them all the resources that I use to plan our trips.  (That info can be found in blog post 370)  A couple of nights before they left they sent me their itinerary.  It was amazing!  If I get permission I will post it.  They still had a few questions and so I sent an email that had just some basic and very random tips.  Below you will find those tips:


Just a couple of thoughts...

-the Rapunzel and Flynn Rider Meet & Greet is kind of like a show.  I guess they take groups of kids back at a time.  I have heard they have pretty long lines too.

-Captain Hook and Smee are usually around Pirates of the Caribbean

-Eat at Pecos Bill's; their fixin's bar is amazing.

-When waiting for the parade, try to get right up to the curb or tape so no one can get in front of you.  You may want to ask a cast member if you are in an ok spot just to be sure.  I like watching the fireworks from Main St.  Try for somewhere in the middle.  We usually start camping out an hour or two before the parade, and get some ice cream.  My mom goes shopping and we just hold the seats.

My daughter, dad, son, wife, me and my middle daughter

320...Wordless Wednesday!

My first picture with the greatest of all princesses!  

I'm the little guy with the 12 on his jersey.  The year was 1981.

322...The One Word of Advice.

If I had to give you one piece of advice to make your Walt Disney World trip a success it would be get to the parks early!  This is especially true during the summer.  I would recommend about 30 minutes before opening.  I understand you are on vacation and you want to relax.  There will be time for relaxing and sleeping or napping but not in the early morning hours at WDW.  You will be amazed at how much you can get done in those first few hours.  As it starts to get closer to noon, your progress will begin to slow incredibly.

Early morning at Magic Kingdom

325...The Five Best Attractions at Epcot

A cast member once told me that Epcot stands for "Every Person Comes Out Tired".  Funny and so true.*  Epcot is my second favorite park and I believe the walk around World Showcase is best stroll in all the World.  In this blog post I am going to do the same thing I did with the Magic Kingdom and list my five favorite attractions at Epcot.

5)  The Napoleon! - OK, you may say it's not an attraction, to which I would say you have not tasted the Napoleon.  You will find it in the France pavilion's Boulangerie Patisserie.  I got mine right before Illuminations and I'm not sure which I enjoyed more but put them together and it was an incredible evening at Epcot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyes0nme19/4713372586/in/faves-37744939@N02/

327...Wordless Wednesday

I took this picture while waiting for the parade.    We were on Main St. outside of the Plaza Restaurant.   

330...No More Flynn Rider at WDW

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Flynn Rider will no longer appear with Rapunzel at their meet and greet in the Magic Kingdom.  Rapunzel will still be at Fairytale Garden but she will be flying solo.  I have two little girls that are going to be very disappointed if they don't get to meet Flynn Rider.  Of course everything could change in 330 days.  I hope so.  What are your thoughts?  Have a great 4th of July and thanks for reading.

332...The Disney Card

So I went to the hardware store today to pick up some stuff for our painting job in the foyer.  I handed the lady my Disney VISA Card, you know the one with Mickey, Goofy and Donald on it and she says, "Cute, I guess your wife picked this out."  I had to inform her that nope that was my idea.  I stopped short of telling her I had a Disney blog too.  She went on to tell me that she liked the card and that she really wants to get back to Walt Disney World.  Her and her son went about 10 or 12 years ago and this time she would like to take her husband.  Wow, I learned all that just because I used my Disney card.