WDW Daily News

‘Tis the season of being surrounded by all things tasty and we all know Disney does delicious delightfully! This week I want to share some of my favorite treats throughout the parks. (I may have also been inspired to write about yummy things because I’ve been on a liquid diet since having my wisdom teeth removed and that is not so scrumptious.) Let’s jump in!

I’m going to start in the Magic Kingdom because I think they have the most must try sweets. My first recommendation requires a friend… or three. The huge Mickey head Rice Krispy treats in the bakery on Main Street are amazing. When I was a Cast Member, I shared one with a couple of coworkers and it lasted us at least a month. This monster sized treat is well worth the price and oh so delicious. The next snack seems to be hard to come by these days. If you ever spot a cream cheese filled pretzel, snag it! They used to be located in the snack stand near what used to be Ariel’s Grotto. On my last trip, I asked a Cast Member if they still make these and she informed me they do, but they move around from stand to stand. So you can either have a small scavenger hunt or a quick service Cast Member will probably be able to help you out. The Dole Whip has probably been suggested to you a zillion times by now, so I’m just going to remind you it’s delicious and move on.

Now let’s hop on over to Hollywood Studios. Honestly, there isn’t much if a difference between the Magic Kingdom bakery and the one in Hollywood Studios… except for what I buy the treats for. My snacks in Hollywood Studios are always for Fantasmic! I love that I can generally find a Jack Skellington caramel apple or a fresh bag of cotton candy. The fruit kabobs are also quite fabulous. Another treat worth mentioning is the Yoda cupcake my husband and I shared during Star Wars weekends. It was chocolate and Nutella. Scrumptious it was. Yes, yes….

Let’s take a walk on the wild side and explore the Animal Kingdom’s greatest snackage. The first thing I have yet to try, but I don’t see how it could be bad… the coconut rum Dole Whip. I hope it’s still there next time we make the trip because this adult take on a long loved classic sounds right up my alley. The only other food I’ve eaten at the Animal Kingdom is at the Yak and Yeti. All of their food is delicious, but since this article is about tantalizing sweets I can only testify that their fried wontons are delectable.

EPCOT is our final stop, and with so many choices from around the world this should probably be my longest list, but sadly I haven’t explored that many countries foods. I found something I love at Norway and that’s my go to. Lefse is a delicious flatbread with what taste like a cinnamon butter rolled in it. It isn’t overly sweet and it’s great to share because it comes with two pieces. Another tasty treat in Norway is School Bread. It’s a pretty large loaf with icing and coconut on top and filled with a custard. It also isn’t too sweet and easily sharable.

This concludes my list of must try treats. What are your favorite snacks in the parks? Do you recreate any of your favorites at home? Share your favorites and recipes with me on Twitter @hoodie_life. Hope your holidays are filled with delicious treats!

When visiting WDW, it is hard not to rush to that favorite attraction when you enter one of the parks. However, there are so many other forms of entertainment that are available in all of the parks. For example, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a special park for many reasons, but Streetmosphere is something that is definitely a unique experience.

What is Streetmosphere? If you are not familiar with this term, it can easily be explained. Streetmosphere performers are actors who assume a certain persona that is appropriate to the area of the park in which they reside. The characters in Hollywood Studios are all related to different aspects of movie making or people who might have inhabited the Hollywood that never was from the 1940s. You might see a director, a washed up starlet, a policeman, a team of workers from the Hollywood department of public works, etc. All of these characters never lose their personas while they are on stage. They will interact with individual guests, and sometimes they are part of a small show that may spontaneously occur on Hollywood Blvd or Sunset Blvd.

These shows are not listed in the times guide, but castmembers can usually tell you when they are going to be performed. The best part about these shows is the level of guest involvement that is encouraged and required for the show to go on. We have stumbled across many of these shows, and my absolute favorite involved an “episode” of the Hollywood Match Game. For this game, one park guest was selected to be the recipient of a date with the contestant who one the game. The park guest was blind folded, and she sat in a chair on Sunset Blvd facing the Sweet Spells store. After she had been seated and blindfolded, the contestants who could potentially win a date with her came out onto the scene. First, there was a Chef, Ben Appétit, who had a fake French accent and a tiny black mustache, then Leroy Small, who was dressed in a very mismatched getup of garish plaid, and then the policeman, Officer Peabody, who didn’t seem like he could hurt a fly. The host of the show was Shelby Mayer, who is a British film director. All of these gentlemen were hilarious, and each potential date for the guest had to come up with various ways to woo her. They came up with ideas for different types of outings and events, and they each had to answer questions that were posed by their director. In the end, Officer Peabody won, and we laughed so much throughout the show that I was sad to see it end.

In addition to the Match Game, we have seen contests for the funniest Citizen of Hollywood, and we have also seen the department of public works attempt to pick up a piece of glitter from the street. This trio is also hilarious. The group consists of the Boss, Frederick, and Sparky. Both Frederick and Sparky are not too intelligent, and much silliness ensues from them not being able to follow the Boss’s orders for them. Finally, we have seen some magic card trick shows from Jack Diamond, who is a talent agent, but he is also skilled with a deck of cards.

Whenever we go to the Studios, we seek out the Streetmosphere performances because they are so entertaining. Once we even participated in one of the shows. A few years ago on the 4th of July, we were in Hollywood Studios, and some of the Citizens of Hollywood were pulling people over and asking them trivia about America. We were chosen, and we were asked how many stars were on the American flag. Of course, we responded 50, but we forgot that we were in the early 1940s, and not 2011. Even though we were “wrong,” we still won! What did we win? Well, we left with a whole lot of money, completely fake of course, but we had a blast.

Next time you make a trip to Hollywood Studios, take the time to seek out these Streetmosphere performances. You will laugh, and you will be reminded of what true Disney magic is. Thanks to www.studioscentral.com for the background information on the Citizens of Hollywood. Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward!

I just spent a week at the Disney World Resort and in all of the years I have been traveling there I have never seen so many different construction projects going on at one time. There was once a time that most refurbishments took place well out of the public eye and almost under the cloak of darkness. That is certainly no longer the case.

Downtown Disney continues to work on a complete rejuvenation of the entire complex. The new reimagined Disney Springs has most of what is now West Side, Pleasure Island and the Marketplace a maze of plywood walls and detoured walkways. Gone is the Pleasure Island signage atop the structure that housed Mannequin’s Dance Palace. The bridge connecting the area where Rainforest Café and the Lego store is just about complete. They were installing lights the day I visited.

Speaking of lights, new pole fixtures with a gold patina and the new Disney Springs insignia (very reminiscent of the River Country Logo) are sprouting up throughout the property and some facades have been completed on new structures as well as existing ones. The color scheme is very “earthy” with soft landscaping and dry stack rock work. Plantings are more from a suburban- Midwest look rather than tropical. Think Evergreen Colorado if you’ve ever been there. The lines are clean, inviting and walkways are wider than before.

Many of the original structures have been razed but some that have been the topic of many articles in the past remain. Namely the Adventurer’s Club building and former Mannequin’s building. Downtown Disney is in desperate need of something to offer adults after hours and I am really hoping these venues will be redeveloped while keeping something in the line that they once offered.

The scrims surrounding the lagoon at Disney’s Animal Kingdom remain up as well as the walls hiding the work on Pandora. Most of the parking lot resurfacing and expansion have been completed.

The Magic Kingdom hub still remains walled off on either side with only hints of new planter areas and light fixtures in place. This has been going on for quite some time (my last three visits spanning 6 months) and looks like it will continue for a long while.

Work also continues at the Polynesian Village Resort around the main pool deck. The volcano structure has been stripped to the steel skeleton and “rock” work is being done on it as well as surrounding the pool area. Light poles and other uprights were laying on the beach awaiting installation, too. The Polynesian villas and bungalows on the water look really cool. I can imagine sitting on the deck over the water and watching the water pageant and nightly fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.

Inside the Polynesian, the pole and drape remains surrounding what was once the central water feature in the lobby. Rumor has it this renovation is close to completion and will be revealed soon. Outside the lobby adjacent to the monorail and check in area, the reflection pools have been drained and some of the heavy tropical plants have been removed.
Meanwhile at the Wilderness Lodge, a large section of their pool area has been closed off for the addition of a kid play area featuring interactive water features and climbing structures. The entire pool itself has seen the addition of a fence with gates and new seating areas.
The back side of Wilderness Lodge was covered in scaffolding and debris net for painting and woodwork maintenance while the entire beach area was walled off with those familiar plywood panels. I’m not sure what they have going on there.

The Back Lot Studio Tour which closed in September at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been shuttered. The former entrance has been cleared of any remnants of the attraction and now just has a closed garage door. Also boarded up is the American Idol Experience. In case you were wondering, the “hat” is still there but its removal is coming soon to make way for the Great Movie Ride’s update by the folks over at Turner’s American Movie Classics, et al. I like the structure of the hat, just not the location they put it.
On a side note: one of the holiday drinks offered throughout the parks is called a Gumdrop. While it tasted pretty good, I made a slight adjustment to kick up the spice element. Enjoy one of these at your holiday get together. And the gingerbread white mocha latte at the Joffrey’s Coffee kiosks is amazing!

For the Holiday Gumdrop:
¾ C ice
2 oz Stoli Raz (or any raspberry flavored vodka)
1 oz Chambord or similar
1 oz After Shock or cinnamon schnapps
2 oz cranberry juice
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lemon lime soda

Shake (hold tight or the top will blow off) and pour into glass. Serve skewer of spice gumdrops across the foam of the beverage. Cheers! (please note this is my take on the recipe, not Disney’s but uses the same ingredients with the addition of After Shock)

Epcot/World Showcase, with the exception of the closed Maelstrom remains fairly intact. By far the most unique of the holiday overlays, World Showcase had it’s usually offerings of holiday drinks and treats. Each country also offered a telling of yuletide traditions unique to its land and Illuminations never disappoints with the addition of the Peace on Earth ending.
Happy holidays to everyone near and far, and a very prosperous and healthy New Year, too!