Chef Mickey's Buffet Review - Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World

On our recent trip to Walt Disney World, one of the places we wanted to try was Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary.  So many times on the monorail, we've zipped through this beautiful hotel and glimpsed Chef Mickey's down below.  So we wanted to experience it for ourselves!  Back in June, I was able to get a 9:15 pm reservation for our first night at Disney. Because yes - you have to make reservations that far ahead!! But it was oh so worth it!

We spent our first afternoon here at the Magic Kingdom, then went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.  We decided to drive to the hotel and parked there before taking the elevator up to the restaurant.   We got to the hostess stand right at 9:15.

They gave us a pager, and we waited in the lobby for about 10 minutes to be seated - they had a photographer available for pictures, too.

We had a wonderful waiter named Glen who told us about the buffet and took our drink orders.
The main buffet had salads, breads, and lots of entrees and sides.  My choices were sloppy joes without the bun, polenta, green beans with a dab of butter, short ribs, grilled chicken with a little honey mustard, and some carved turkey breast.  There was also some salad under the ribs, ha!

My son chose chicken, chicken nuggets, bread, and macaroni and cheese.  We thought everything was really good.  Our waiter was great about removing empty plates and refilling our drinks before we had to ask.

He noticed we had our birthday buttons on (I got them at the check-in desk at Pop Century), and surprised us with a birthday card signed by all of the characters, plus a cupcake to share!

And speaking of characters:

Dessert was awesome - they had so many things to choose from!  I didn't take pictures of all the options.  David had ice cream with candy on top.  I chose these three mini desserts!  The key lime tart was my favorite!

The restaurant has plenty of room, and the decor is bright and fun.  After dinner we walked around the hotel a bit and looked at this huge Frozen gingerbread castle!  The Christmas decorations were beautiful.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we had the free dining plan, so we had a free table service meal for each day of our stay. So this meal only cost us the 20% tip we left!  Without the dining plan, our dinner would have cost $106.50!  I highly recommend the dining plan if you want to have lots of character meals!

We truly enjoyed this restaurant and the character interactions.  It was a lot of fun and we'll definitely be back next time we visit The Magic Kingdom!  Here is a link to the menu if you want to see more of what they offer!

Stay tuned for more Disney posts coming soon!

Garden Grill Restaurant at Walt Disney World Epcot

My son and I just returned from a wonderful eight day vacation in Florida.  The majority of our time was spent at Walt Disney World, and I'll be sharing some of our favorites from our trip over the next few weeks!

First up is our lunch at Garden Grill Restaurant.  It's located in The Land building towards the front of the park.   This is what the lobby of the building looks like, when you first enter.   (Click on any pic for a larger view)  Garden Grill is on the main level (2nd floor) straight ahead.

Here's a closer view of the front of the restaurant:

You really need a reservation for any of the table service or character meals at Walt Disney World.  I made our reservations back in June for this trip!  We saw many disappointed people during our trip who tried to walk up and get in at restaurants.  So make sure to plan your trip well in advance, then you can start making dining reservations 180 days from your trip date.

We checked in a few minutes early, and were given a pager.  This lovely Christmas tree was in the waiting area and was so pretty to look at!

Once the pager lit up, we were quickly taken to our table.  The restaurant rotates very slowly, and you get to see portions of the interior of Living With the Land ride as it moves.   Our waitress was named Jenna and she was AMAZING.  Everyone there was friendly and helpful, and you can tell they love their job! 

She took our drink orders, then brought them plus fresh rolls with clover honey butter, and a gorgeous salad that contained fresh veggies grown in the greenhouses at Epcot! It was tossed in a ranch dressing and was delicious.  The rolls were fluffy and the honey butter was out-of-this-world fantastic! (I haven't eaten rolls or bread in 3 months, so that might be part of the reason they tasted so good, ha!) 

Next up was the entree.  She brought David a serving of mac-n-cheese (topped with goldfish crackers) and sweet potato fries, in addition to our main entree skillet.  It contained turkey with a delicious bacon and leek dressing, cranberry sauce, tender pot roast with buttermilk  mashed potatoes, sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and green beans.  Everything was perfect!  I tried a little of each and my favorites were the pot roast and the turkey.  Both were really tasty.  Dessert was a blueberry and strawberry shortcake, with vanilla bean whipped cream. YUM! 

While we ate, we were visited by some adorable characters!  The coolest part?  They came by several times during our meal! That never happens at other character meals we've had!

We were on the free dining plan, so we paid nothing for lunch, except for our 20% tip.  But this is what it would have cost if we'd had to pay out of pocket.

If you can book a trip and get the free dining plan- DO it!! We had 6 table service meals, 6 quick service meals, and 6 snacks each - for free.  Totally worth it!! All you will pay is your tips - please tip your servers well!   Actually, now that I think about it, we did pay a little for our plan, because we switched from the Coronado resort to Pop Century, and just upgraded the dining plan.  It was a very nominal fee, though.

My travel agent was Jo Vagos with The Magic For Less.  We paid a $200 deposit back in April, and paid a little on our trip each month.  The balance for our trip was due one month before travel.  I really suggest going this route and being able to save for your vacation throughout the year.  Please be sure to tell Jo that Aimee Ransom referred you if you use her!

Jo Vagos ~ Travel Specialist

Affiliated with The Magic For Less Travel

Email: Jo@themagicforless.com

Phone: 407-568-2789

More Disney information to come - we had a magical vacation with lots to share!  Tusker House, Chef Mickey's, Ohana, Be our Guest, and more! 

The best cookies at the Magic Kingdom! #WaltDisneyWorld #MagicKingdom #DisneyDiningPlan

We love, love, love Walt Disney World.  We've been several times over the past 8 years, and we're going again in December!  Today I wanted to share one of our favorite snacks at the Magic Kingdom. We always pick a few of these up when we are at Walt Disney World!

These Minnie's Bake Shop cookies are the best I've ever eaten!! The only one we've gotten is the Chocolate Chip Supreme and there is no reason (in my opinion) to try any other variety, as this one is heavenly!  (Actually, in December I'm going to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip - I will review it then)

These cookies are HUGE.  They are moist and delicious, with crunchy sugar crystals on top.   They are made to share, but we usually don't. We just eat half of the cookie, then save and enjoy the other half later!  

See how moist and dense they are on the inside? Perfect!

The sugar crystals on top add a delicious crunch to every bite! 

You can find these amazing treats at many of the shops and stands throughout the Disney parks, but we usually pick them up at Main Street Confectionary in the Magic Kingdom, or at Goofy's Candy Company in Disney Springs.  They cost $3.99 per cookie, and they are considered a snack option on the Dining Plan!

The bad news? They are not-so-good for your waist!! But since we only get these once a year or so, it's ok. You can check out the nutritional info below:

Next time you visit Walt Disney World, try one of these yummy cookies - you'll be glad you did!  For more about Disney, and other travel reviews, click the Travel link at the top of my blog.  Thanks for stopping by!

Travel - A Perfect Resort close to Disney World!

Looking for the perfect resort in the Orlando area? Find out more about Terra Verde Resort in Kissimmee!

When planning our trip to Disney, my sister-in-law Lia and I started looking online for rental houses last winter, because we needed a large house.  One with a master bedroom downstairs for my Aunt, and we also wanted a pool for the kids to enjoy.  Of course we also needed to be close to the parks.  We wanted to find and book a place early on so we'd know how much to budget for our lodging costs in Florida.

We both searched sites like VRBO, Hotels.com, FlipKey, and HomeAway.  Lia found the perfect home for us in a really nice gated resort community, called Terra Verde.   It was a little out of our budget, but my brother talked with the owner and was able to negotiate a better deal for our stay.  (It never hurts to ask - the worst that can happen is they say no!) 

Surprisingly, a house cost us much less than each of us getting hotel rooms, especially since we split the cost between us all. Rental homes with private pools are as cheap as $95 a night, sometimes less! Larger homes cost more, but we still paid less than $200 a night - so less than $50 per night per family!

My Aunt, David & I arrived mid-day Wednesday at the resort.  We had to show our confirmation email to the security guard at the front gate.  He gave us a card to use to open the gates when we re-entered the resort, and we headed to the club house to check in.  The staff there were very nice, and offered us a folder full of information about the area, and our rental.

Aunt Anne & David in front of our rental house.

We got to the house and it was on a very quiet street.  The three of us took our bags inside and settled in for the next week.  We had a great kitchen, so we took alot of our own food for several dinners, plus breakfasts and snacks while at the parks.

That first day, we made a quick trip to Walmart for things like coffee creamer, almond milk, eggs, etc.   It was about 10 minutes away - very convenient!

I chose a bedroom upstairs with a queen size bed.  David chose one with bunk beds.  Aunt Anne had the master bedroom downstairs. There were 7 bedrooms in all, so plenty of room for our group! This house was a perfect fit for our large group (consisting of four families).  Later that night Lia, her friend Jennifer, my four nieces and nephews, and Jennifer's daughter arrived at the house.  The kids all picked their rooms for the stay, as did Lia and Jennifer.  Since there are two master suites - one upstairs, one downstairs - this house is perfect for multiple families.

I took so many pictures on this vacation - over 1000! - but not many of the house itself.  Sorry the kitchen one above is so blurry.  But there are a few from the resort that I'll include here.

This was the view from my bedroom the first morning - what a gorgeous sunrise, right?

Like I mentioned before, we had a private (small) pool in the backyard.  David was out there every single day - he loves to swim!  There was a safety fence between the house and the pool to keep little ones safe. 

The garage of our house was converted to a game room - there was a pool table, air hockey and a comfy couch to sit on.  Upstairs in one of the boys' rooms there was a Wii game system with a few games for the kids to play.  The boys rooms were decorated with a Cars or Sponge Bob theme. The girls room was princess themed.  Our kids loved the house!

I also took David to the resort's pool several times while we are there. He LOVED it!  They had a huge pool, a hot tub, a poolside bar, and more outside.  Inside the clubhouse there is a nice lobby with seating, a gym, and a little arcade.  They had events for guests to participate in throughout the week, as well.

Being in secure, gated community (with a security guard on duty at the gate) made us all feel safe on our trip.  Everyone working there was so nice, and very helpful.  Sometimes you don't know if an area you will be staying in is "good" when you are going on vacation.  We never felt unsafe at all here!  It was in a nice part of town, close to everything we needed.

Takeout/Delivery menus were in the folder provided by the resort, so one night we ordered in Chinese food.  The rest of the time we either cooked, or picked something up on our way home from the parks.  The kitchen was stocked with most every thing we needed to cook meals.

We had plenty of towels for the bathrooms and the pool.  Our house had a laundry room, so we brought our own detergent and dryer sheets.  We also brought dishwashing tablets, spray cleaner for the kitchen, paper towels and toilet paper.  (There were a few rolls of toilet paper provided, but no paper towels.) The house was also stocked with hotel-sized soaps in each of the three and a half bathroooms.

Our house was located just a few miles off Hwy 192 which has restaurants, shops, attractions and more! So much to do, and just a few minutes away.  We were about 12 minutes from the entrance to the WDW parks.  It was an easy drive, and traffic wasn't bad at all, even though there was construction right outside the resort. (I am sure that is probably finished by now!)  One of our favorite places we found: Abracadabra Ice Cream!

We had such a wonderful time on this vacation, and I'm happy to share information about our rental home and the resort with y'all.  I do not receive any compensation for sharing it - just wanted to hopefully help someone else who is planning a trip to the area!

If you plan to visit the Atlantic Coast for some beach time, please check out my review of Ormond Beach's Coral Sands Inn.

I also have a review of Orange City, which is halfway between Orlando & Daytona Beach.  It is a nice place to stay if you are doing a day at the parks and a day at the beach!

We will definitely look for a home in Terra Verde on our next Disney Youth Education Series trip in 2017.  It will probably just be three of us next time, so we won't need a home this large.  Luckily, they also have townhomes and smaller homes in Terra Verde.

Have you ever rented a house on vacation? Which do you prefer: house or hotel? Let me know by leaving a comment below this post! Thanks for stopping by!

Travel - Perfect Beach Hotel in Ormond Beach, FL

                                                    

Looking for a quiet spot on the Atlantic?  Read more about Coral Sands in Ormond Beach!

So, it finally got cold here in Georgia, and I'm dreaming of the beach. Which reminds me of the fun we had on vacation back in September.   My son, Aunt & I went to Florida for a 9 day whirlwind trip to the beach, Disney and Kissimmee! I have so much to share with y'all.  Here in Georgia, a trip to Disney is only an eight hour drive away.  I grew up going to Disney & other Orlando-area theme parks fairly often, as my Grandparents lived in Orlando.  It still makes me so incredibly happy to visit the magical world that Walt Disney created.  This was our first trip in 8 years, so I wanted to enjoy it and make lots of memories!

I've mentioned before that my son David is homeschooled via k12.com.  That means we have a little more flexibility than most families, and can easily take vacations throughout the school year.  This trip was actually planned by another K12 mom and wow, did she ever do an amazing job!   It was a Disney YES (Youth Education Series) trip, and because it included a Disney class for our kids at the park, we were able to take advantage of some amazing ticket prices.  We each got the four-day park hopper pass, and the cost was what you would normally pay for two days at one park only - wow!! 

We drove over to Alabama early Tuesday morning to pick up my sweet Aunt Anne.  She was going with us to Florida, and at the last minute we decided to leave a day early so we could see the ocean. The beach is probably my favorite place in the world.  The sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, the breeze - it's my happy place.  Being so close and not seeing the beach would have been SAD!
So we picked her up, then came back through Atlanta to take I-75 South to Florida.  We stopped for meals and breaks, so it was almost 11 pm when we pulled up to the motel I'd found on hotels.com.
(I am still using swagbucks and I like to use hotels.com for my reservations so I get cashback via gift cards from Swagbucks.)  This room was only $80 using a $5 off coupon I found online.  I wasn't expecting much for that price - just a view of the beach, and probably a long walk to get there.

Despite the late hour, we easily checked in to the Coral Sands Inn in Ormond Beach, Florida, and took our luggage up to the room, which was on the 5th floor.  As it was pitch black, and there were no lights (it was turtle hatching season), we couldn't see the beach, but we sure could hear the waves.

Night view from the balcony in front of the room.

The room was nice - nothing fancy, and honestly, a little dated, but perfectly fine. We even had a little fridge, microwave and sink, plus a little counter space for our cooler.  We all collapsed into our beds and slept very well!  In the morning, I opened the curtains and happily discovered this view:

Stunning view of the beach - totally worth $80, right?! 

We quickly got dressed and headed to the beach to let David play in the surf and collect a few shells.

I took this picture standing in the waves, looking back at the motel.  

Picking up shells...

After about 30 minutes on the beach, we headed out to get breakfast to bring back to the room.  Ormond Beach is a SMALL town, so we didn't have a lot of choices.  We ended up visiting House of Donuts, just down the street from the motel.  They have a wonderful breakfast menu: everything from donuts - fancy or regular, to breakfast sandwiches, juices, coffee and iced coffee.  David chose the oreo donut, I got a bavarian cream, and we picked a key lime pie donut for Aunt Anne.  Everything was fresh and delicious!

David really wanted to take a quick dip in the pool, so off we went....

Then it was time to grab a luggage cart and haul our stuff back down to the car.  Checking out was easy and fast, and it took just about 1 1/2 hours to get to our rental in Kissimmee once we left here.
Ormond Beach is lovely, and I really can't wait to get back down there and explore the area a little bit more! And of course we will plan to stay at Coral Sands!  I can't believe I'm sharing this hidden gem but it was such a great value that I had to tell y'all about it too!

FYI: I didn't receive any discount, incentives or anything from the hotel for writing about it, I just love it! :)  If you are heading to the Atlantic Coast or central Florida, I hope you'll make a stop at Coral Sands and enjoy the view, the pool and that amazing beach!  Such a relaxing place to stop and unwind for a night or two!  Then come here and let me know what you think about Coral Sands!

Leave a comment below with your favorite beach in Florida! I'm always looking for a new place to visit!

Travel - Fun things to do in Kissimmee: Abracadabra Ice Cream Factory!

If you will be in Orlando, you are probably visiting the theme parks. But what else is there to do in Kissimmee?  We were very happy to find this family-friendly ice cream shop that has a great play space, too!

Last month David and I went on an amazing trip to Disney.  We signed up for this Disney Youth Series trip with a new friend who is also a GCA mom.  She organized everything so well! We were able to purchase discounted tickets that allowed us to stay longer than I normally could have afforded.   We rented a nice big house in a resort community to hold us, my aunt, my sister-in-law and her four kiddos, plus her friend and her daughter.  I have some fun things to share about this trip over the next months, and hope that some of these tips, ideas, etc will help you in planning your next trip to Florida!

Today I want to share a fun little dessert spot that we visited twice during our week in Florida. Located in downtown Kissimmee, it's a must see!

Abracadabra Ice Cream Factory  is a unique ice cream shop.  Instead of  scooping out your favorite flavor, they use liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze your ice cream right in front of you.  They take fresh ingredients, add your mix-ins, and abracadabra.....you suddenly have ice cream!  It's a fun "magic" show that both kids and adults will enjoy.

I took David on Sunday to get some ice cream and bring some home to Aunt Anne.  I got the Mocha Madness - it is divine!   We also went back on Tuesday after a trip to the former Downtown Disney, now known as Disney Springs.

There are plenty of toss-in options, and they also have some Suggested Combinations listed on the menu board.   The small size that we all chose was actually pretty big - it was more than enough ice cream for each of us. 

My son loved watching them add the nitrogen and then quickly scrape everything into a frozen concoction. 

Here is a video I took of the process.  

They also sell pizza and other foods.  There is a nice little arcade in the building while you wait for your ice cream.  

After we paid for our ice cream, we enjoyed our treats out back, where there is plenty of covered seating and several bounce houses and playground equipment for the kiddos to enjoy.  It's a perfect stop along the way in Kissimmee!

If you will be in the Kissimmee/Disney area,  I highly recommend you check out this fun ice cream shop.

Abracadabra Ice Cream Factory is located at: 520 N Main Street, Kissimmee, FL 34744

What is your favorite thing to do (besides the theme parks!) in Florida? Please leave a comment below...

FREE Disney stick family decal for your car!

We are counting down the days til my son and I head to Florida for a homeschool trip with some other k12 families for Disney!  David gets to take a really cool class about Animation at Hollywood Studios, and then we have 3 other days at the parks.  Can't wait!

I've been scouring the internet for tips, recommendations and more for this trip.  We haven't been to WDW since 2007!  I want to have a great time and plan everything we want to see, do, and try!  I'll have more posts about this after we get home, but this freebie I discovered is too good not to share right now, and it's for a limited time.

Visit this link to design your own Disney stick family decal.  You get to pick the hats, clothes, wands and other accessories, add pets if you 'd like, and you even pick the park for your background! Then Disney will print this and mail it right to you.  The best part about this? It is totally, completely, FREE!!


Whether you have an upcoming Disney vacation or you are just dreamin' of Disney, you can make one for your family

Here is the one I made for our trip - my husband is staying home this time, so I just put my son and I on our decal, and of course,  David wanted his kitty on there, too!

Did I mention this is FREE?!

I'd love to see a screen shot of your design once you finish - leave it in the comments if you would like to show yours off!