Monthly Archives: May 2013
Disney Food: Coral Reef Restaurant
May 29
Coral Reef restaurant is located in the Land Pavilion of Epcot next to Turtle Talk with Crush and The Sea with Nemo and Friends. Every seat in the restaurant has a view of the panoramic windows of The Seas with Nemo and Friends aquarium. The aquarium is home to over 85 species of tropical fish, sharks, turtles, and sea rays. Every table contains a souvenir Fish Guide to help you identify the marine life. The cast members are also very knowledgeable of the marine life. If you are having difficulty identifying a species, just ask!
During certain times of the day, there are also divers in the aquarium. The divers will interact and feed the marine life and pose for pictures. They are quite entertaining! When one of the divers realized that we were taking pictures of him, he began to wag his finger at us as if he were scolding us and then made faces at us. The divers were certainly a highlight and memorable part of our dinner!
The menu changes seasonally and also contains a sustainable catch of the day, so be sure to ask your server what is new or what has changed. Kid friendly options include pizza, grilled fish, meaty macaroni, and grilled fish. Because we were on the Disney Dining Plan, my 11 year old stepdaughter had to order off of the adult menu. She is picky eater and was not very happy with her choices. Our server was kind enough to offer her popcorn shrimp and fries, even though it wasn’t on the menu. This made my stepdaughter (and me) very happy.
I had the grilled mahi mahi with laughing bird shrimp, hearts of palm, jasmine rice, cilantro, and coconut-lime sauce. My two year old (and non-picky eater) ate off of my plate and we both loved it. For dessert I had the Bailey’s and Jack Daniel’s mousse with a caramel crisp. It was amazing. But then again, I am a sucker for anything that involves Baileys. My stepdaughter reluctantly shared her chocolate wave with raspberry gelato with her little sister. I say reluctantly because my stepdaughter is a chocoholic. She tried to just give her little sister the raspberry gelato and keep the chocolate cake for herself. Even though she is two, my daughter knew better. She knew her big sister was trying to save the best part for herself and made her share.
Overall we enjoyed our time at Coral Reef. My girls enjoyed watching all the marine life and the divers. The adults enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. As much as we love character meals, it is nice to have one nice, quiet table service meal as well.
Alexia Christensen
Disney Trip Planning: Fashion vs. Comfort
May 27
I’m a girl. I hope that’s been obvious enough by now. But really what I’m trying to get at here is that I know how it is being a girl – I like making sure my hair is styled, not going out in public if my make-up isn’t done, and always wearing cute shoes. With that said, I have to say that when it comes to taking a Disney vacation, compromises must be made in order to be comfortable.
This post will mostly apply to girly things, but you men out there should feel free to keep reading, maybe this stuff applies to you, too! I won’t judge! Actually, I have always wondered if the Prince in Show White and the Seven Dwarfs wore lipstick, but if so, hey, more power to him!
So, when left up to choosing between either extreme from comfort to “fashion” in the parks, it’s always advisable to go with comfort. Of course you can either disagree with me and/or not take my advice here, but then you’ll probably end up with blisters all over your feet after the first morning of walking around the parks. But, hey, maybe that works for you!
There are some no-nos that are obvious here. Certain things are never a good idea for the parks, like high heels, mini skirts, and sock with sandals (the latter is not necessarily for comfort reasons, it’s just because – no, please don’t, ever). But, there are also things you might not consider, like – how humidity will treat your hair, how sweat will make your make-up run (ewwww), and how those sneakers weren’t actually previously worn-in enough to be walking in for a full park day.
So, now you’re like, “So, you want me to cover up these luscious locks with my boyfriend’s baseball cap, strap on some stinky old sneakers, and show off the bags under my eyes without wearing concealer?” My answer is – No! Part of the beauty of having gone to the parks about 10 times in my life is that I’ve learned some valuable lessons on these girly matters.
These solutions require a bit on compromise, but still wont require you to walk around in the oh-so criticized Crocs or reveal what all that make-up has been hiding!
Some tips include:
• Bring and wear a poncho on rides where you will get wet (like Splash Mountain) so your hair style doesn’t get ruined. Don’t let messing up your hair ruin your fun!
• Wear waterproof eyeliner, mascara, etc. Stuff that wont sweat off or run on water rides.
• Consider what shoes you will wear weeks before your trip and do a test “drive” long walk around your neighborhood before you commit to them for a whole day in the parks.
• Find cute versions of your shoe preferences that match more comfortable solutions. For example, I like wearing black flats, but none that I own would give me the right support for a full day of walking, but there are options out there.
• Wear big sunglasses if you don’t want to go make-up-less, but can’t seem to get it right.
• Avoid flip-flops which aren’t designed for comfort. (I think Crocs, some sports brands, and some knock-offs have good ones that are designed for comfort). I actually have a pair of Adidas flip-flops that I got at Dick’s Sporting Goods which I reserve just for my WDW trips!
• Don’t use skinny straps for purses and backpacks. By the end of the day, they will be digging into your skin.
• Dresses are fun and cute and girly, but you might want to consider wearing bike shorts underneath. Seriously, getting out of the Space Mountain ride vehicle in WDW would give the other riders a very un-flattering view of your crotch-ile-region.
Just remember that even though you want to look your best in all of your vacation photos, nothing beats having the time of your life and not worrying about the way you look while on your Disney vacation! (I say this, but will probably never stop flat ironing my hair before going to Blizzard Beach)
Angie Carreiro
http://www.ILoveAnimalArt.com
Keith’s Disney Cruise (Part 1)
May 25
In case you haven’t listened to the Modern Mouse Radio show, Keith has been overly excited about going on his first ever cruise. On top of that, he did 7 days. Throughout the next few weeks we will be showcasing his cruise videos. This is part one. Keith and family jump aboard the Disney Dream and Keith eats everything he can.
Keith Lapinig
http://www.KeithLapinig.com
Disney Film History: The Three Caballeros
May 22
World War II was a crazy time for the Walt Disney company as they had their hands full in propaganda shorts and several films that were being used to lead the United States to victory over Japan and Germany. We talked about Walt Disney’s 1941 Goodwill Tour of South America with the 1943 release of Saludos Amigos. (Which you can read about HERE!) Saludos Amigos was a success for the company. It was cheap to make and brought in revenue for the studio. So the studio went back to the drawing board and started on a second film about Latin America. The end result is the much more popular and memorable film, The Three Caballeros.
The Three Caballeros, “The Three Friends” in English, is set once again in South America but instead of focusing on Walt Disney and his group of artists, the film revolves around the main plot of Donald opening gifts from his friends from Latin America. The plot here seems much more put together despite the film obviously being chopped into segments. (This film is also considered the second of the “Package films” of the 1940s because of it’s segmentation.) Several segments combine music, comedy, and live action film to make this film an overall joy to watch from beginning to end. Where some people might find Fantasia as tedious or Saludos Amigos as too choppy, this film flows well from scene to scene and shows off the brilliant styles of the artists involved. In fact, this film and it’s back story is less about Walt Disney and more about one of the his artists on the South American tour, Mary Blair.
Mary Blair, who had worked in animation at Ub Iwerks studio, joined the Disney company in 1940, along with her husband Lee. Mary was one of many animators on the lot during a time period in which Disney had hundreds of people working for him. She didn’t know Walt Disney personally nor had much interaction with him, but when the Good Will tour came about and Lee Blair was asked to join the crew of artists going down to South America, Mary marched into Walt’s office and asked if she could join them on their 3 month journey. Walt agreed to her joining and within that trip, Walt and Mary became good friends. Mary also became Walt’s favorite artist at the studio and allowed her to move up the ladder upon returning to the studio. She first started out as an art supervisor for Saludos Amigos and had done concept art for the film while on the tour. Her breakout point, and the really noticeable distinction in her art, comes to focus in The Three Caballeros.
While in South America, Mary Blair found her own style of art and her concept drawings led to several scenes in The Three Caballeros including one scene of Jose and Donald taking a train across Brazil. Yes, that’s right Jose, as in Jose Carioca, the lovable, suave parrot from Rio. He returns to the film in several segments, taking a more prominent role in the film than in Saludos Amigos.
Speaking of segments, this film provides a better understanding of Latin American culture while providing memorable characters and lots of laughs through it’s many segments. Take “The Little Gauchito” for example. The narrator, speaking for the protagonist, a younger version of himself, gives us all kinds of cultural terms that fit the Uraguay and Gaucho lifestyles. Unlike the Gaucho segment of Saludos Amigos which stars Goofy and provides lots of laughs but little substance, this charming story is much more memorable and taught me things about a culture I didn’t already know. “Las Posada” is the story of Christmas traditions in Mexico as told by our new Disney friend, Panchito Pistoles.
Panchito is one of several animated characters that stand out in the film. Of course I mentioned the suave Brazilian bird, Jose Carioca. Along with Jose and Panchito, there are two other birds that make this film great: Pablo the Penguin and the Aracuan Bird. Pablo is a cartoon penguin looking to move somewhere warm and he takes over the first segment of the film, giving a nice comical, warm hearted segment to the film before delving into more cultural information and abstract animation. The Aracuan Bird, probably a cult favorite character of many, is a humorous bird that not only disrupts the other birds within his segment but also appears throughout the rest of the film disturbing the characters. He pulls apart a train by adding multiple tracks in a segment heavily influenced in Mary Blair’s artwork. He also finds ways to poke fun at Donald, Jose, and Panchito. I’d almost consider him the fourth caballero if there were such a thing.
The film had it’s premiere in Mexico on December 21st, 1944 and was given a mixed response by critics. Many saw Donald lusting over women as crude and unusual for a duck that was in love with Daisy. Why would Donald be going after Aurora Miranda and why are these girls flirting back with him? It doesn’t really make sense and critics felt it was in poor taste. More notably, most critics felt it was an upgrade from Saludos Amigos but it was more about technical animation than giving a true in depth experience for the audience. While that may be true, this wouldn’t be the last of the segmented “Package Films”. Like Saludos Amigos, it made money for the Walt Disney company and was cheap to produce. That doesn’t make this a bad film though. Could if have helped in winning the war for the United States? Maybe. Did it change the Disney company as a whole? Not really. However, it’s cultural references, beautiful art development, thanks to one Mary Blair, and it’s cast of truly unforgettable characters have made The Three Caballeros a cult favorite among Disney fans and might be one of, if not the best film of the “Package” era.
Josh Taylor
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Next Film: Make Mine Music
Disney Trip Planning: Where to Find Alcohol
May 20
This next blog post was actually sparked by a comment made on my last post from Colonel Brad (please let that be your real name). Mr. Colonel Brad states that he’s often questioned the availability of alcohol in the parks. Well, let me tell you, Mr. President Colonel Brad, as a young-adult-Modern-Mouse-keteer (I totally just made that up), I must say, I’ve “noticed” many an alcoholic beverage in the Florida D-World and West Coast resorts.
Let’s first get into alcohol availability in the resorts, then I’ll move onto what I think is the best way to go with it.
If you are looking for drinks in WDW, you wont find them for sale in Magic Kingdom (unless you want a glass of wine with dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant in New Fantasyland), but EPCOT is notorious for drunken-enthusiasts to “drink around the World” in World Showcase. There are even fan-created drinking games that encourage this sort of thing! MGM, Animal Kingdom, the water parks, and Downtown Disney also offer adult-drinks, but the same thrill of drinking in EPCOT tends not to apply here, (maybe if Downtown Disney’s nightlife scene comes back, it’ll get a little more appealing).
The California resort is sort of the same idea. You wont find alcohol in the more-innocent-atmosphere Disneyland park, but you will find it in California Adventure.
Resort hotels in both WDW and Disneyland have bars and restaurants serving mixed drinks, beer, and wine. Since we’ve been on a romantic kick with Josh, Keith, and Amanda’s last podcast discussion, I should also mention that restaurants offering wine let you purchase a bottle for the table for that special evening out (and if you don’t finish it at the table, you can take it and the romance back to the resort – bow-chica-wow-wow)!
Of course any drinks you get on Disney prope
rty are going to be like sixteen thousand times more expensive than you could make yourself at home, but not much more expensive than you might be paying back at home at a higher priced bar, restaurant, or event.
Now, I’m NOT saying that you should totally do this because it’s kind of completely awesome, but sort of and almost definitely against the rules, but it can be easy to sneak alcohol into the parks! As I mentioned above, WDW’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland don’t have alcohol for sale in the parks, but YOU can have it in the parks when sneakily concealed as a water, Gatorade, or sugary drink in your bag. It’s also much cheaper this way. Be warned – there are security guards that check your bags, so any sign of alcohol smell might get you kicked out, and this goes for if they suspect you are drinking it while in the park as well!
As for the resorts – if you are looking for a poolside mixed drink, it’s actually cheaper to opt-out of the resort bar and instead buy a refillable cup for around $15, fill it half way with soda, and either a.) bring your own alcohol from home, or b.) buy a bottle of your favorite booze from any resort gift shop and mix away! It’ll save so much money if you are planning on drinking a lot. In restaurants this is not an option, though but in the resorts it’s legal!
So, all in all, there is alcohol to be had in Disney. That makes Mickey kind of badass, right?
Angie Carreiro
http://www.ILoveAnimalArt.com
Modern Mouse Radio #19: Romance at Walt Disney World
May 19
It’s May which means there are a lot of reasons to talk Romance. Weddings galore, engagements, kids getting out of school. Well, there are some reasons, but we thought it would be appropriate to bring back our sponsor from http://www.Mouseketrips.com. Amanda Mann helps coordinate and plan Disney Weddings and Honeymoons as well as having great tips for those of you looking to just have a good time with a loved one.
Visit her site at http://www.livingthedreamhappilyeverafter.com to learn more about her Wedding and Honeymoon plans. Don’t forget to book your vacation with her to get a special gift basket to go along with your romantic trip or any trip for that matter.
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Art of Animation Resort Tour
May 18
During Keith’s April 2013 vacation, he stayed at the Art of Animation resort. Here he gives us a full tour of the resort along with his little cousins. They go through tunnels and play on slides. Enjoy
Keith Lapinig
http://www.KeithLapinig.com