Buon Appetite-The Il Mulino New York Trattoria at the Walt DIsney Swan Resort

A Little Slice of Southern Italy

What happens when you take someone that has called Disneyand home since 1955 and plunks them down in the middle of the 40 square miles known as the Walt Disney World Resort?  Suddenly the security and comfort of knowing every nook and churro is gone and discovery, wonderment and amazement awaits.  As everyone knows, the Walt Disney World resort is known for many, many things, one of which is a plethora of fine dining choices. So to take this corn dog loving, churro addicted Disneyland fanatic and open up the floodgates and introduce her to the overwhelming amount of choices that is contained here-now that is Disney magic at its best.  As I quickly discovered, some of the best dining establishments were not located in the Parks, but in the surrounding resorts and I was on a mission to come to know as many as I could. 

My first stop was dinner at the Il Mulino New York Trattoria located in the Walt Disney World Swan Resort in the heart of the Epcot and Boardwalk area.  From the moment you enter this modern yet welcoming Italian Bistro, you feel as though you’ve stepped into a chic, upscale New York dining establishment. The attentive and knowledgeable wait staff went out of their way to explain in great detail the wide variety of menu choices that we were faced with.  

Our meal started with a complimentary Antipasti Selection of dried, cured Sausage and Eggplant Roasted with Vegetables as well as a bread basket containing several selections including a focaccia bread that I could have made a meal of all by itself. Our Antipasti selections were followed by Mussels and a mouth watering Caesar Salad. Truth be told, I had never eaten a mussel in my life and had never had the desire to eat a mussel in my life but the rule of the night was you had to take at least one bite of everything and I will be forever thankful for that. At this point, the only problem I had was to try to keep from over eating to save room for the main course. 

           For dinner I settled on the Manicotti stuffed with spinach and ricotta, which melted in my mouth. My dining companions chose to fill their pallets with the equally delectable meals.  One tip I quickly wish I had listened to is that the half portions are available as serving sizes are ample enough to feed even the hungriest of patrons. After an incredible Italian meal, the sorbet dessert was light enough to be the perfect way to polish off this rich and filling meal. 

So let’s review- done to perfection authentic Italian cuisine, New York chic atmosphere located on in Walt Disney World Swan Resort.  Dining at the Il Mulino New York Trattoria is the perfect way to cap off any day at the Walt Disney World Resort.   Traveling with children and are thinking of enjoying a meal on your own? Your child can enjoy two hours of complimentary time (a $20 value per child) at Camp Dolphin while you dine at Il Mulino New York Trattoria. One child admitted for each adult entrée purchased. Simply advise our Camp Dolphin attendant and present your dining receipt as proof of purchase when you pick up your children. Buon appetite everyone!

Kid's Korner Plants Seeds In Honor of Earth Day!

In Honor Of Earth Day We're Bringing Back a Favorite Activity From Our Summer Camp Series

 How to Make It Through the Summer

 Week 1-Growing Magic Beans

Walt Disney said it best when he stated, “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” Over the years I’ve come to realize that many of my core beliefs when I teach  match up with his -the need to teach through storytelling, the need for innovation and creativity and that people are the most productive when they are inspired by what they have done.  Never is this truer than when seen through the eyes of a child.

Welcome to Summer Camp. A new weekly series to help you combat the two most dreaded words of the summer “I’m Bored!”  Each week we will be offering to you simple activities that you can do with the children in your life with virtually no prep and no expense.  The only limits are your imagination. Sound like fun? Then let’s get started! This week we’re starting with seeds.

To Gather Ahead of time: Plastic Cups, Cotton Balls, or Dirt, Lima Beans

           

Watching lima bean seeds grow into to a bean plant is a common science project for young children. Bean seeds that are placed in a plastic cup with moist cotton  germinate rapidly. The cotton retains the moisture for the seeds and provides just enough for them to germinate. It also keeps the seeds from getting too moist and from rotting. Once germinated, the seedlings can be dissected if it's a science experiment, or they can be transplanted right into your garden.

To create the magic of the project, read Mickey and the Beanstock or Jack and the Beanstalk.

Step 1

Have the children fill a plastic cup with cotton balls. Dirt can also be used in place of the cotton or fill two cups- one with dirt and one with cotton to use as a comparison later on.

Step 2

Have the children place several beans in between the cotton and the cup. This will allow them to see the seeds and observe them as they grow.

Step 3

Moisten the cotton with water so that it is damp but not soaked.

Step 4

 Place the cups in a sunny window and watch for germination.  Lima beans geminate quickly and you should start to see plants within a few days. As you can see, we had a sprout within a few hours!

Step 5

Transplant the germinated bean plants into a pot or a garden if you want to grow them to mature size.

No cups available? Try placing a seed on a moist paper towel inside of a zip lock bag and tape the bag to a window that gets sunlight.

Extending the Fun:

Buy small clay pots and let the children decorate their posts so that their plants can be transplanted once they are grown

Go on a nature walk through the neighborhood.  Collect seeds and leaves along the way. Bring them home to collage. Put out scraps of construction paper and let them create their own flower designs.

Act out the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk    

If you’re one of the lucky families that will be heading to Walt Disney World this summer and want to further explore be sure not to miss The Land Pavilion in Epcot.  Here you will be able to see first-hand the future of agriculture and will be able to interact with amazing plants, insects and fish.  Be sure to check out Behind the Seeds, a one-hour tour of the fish and the 4 greenhouses that make up The Land Pavilion.  In the meantime, let us know what you used for your seed project and what creative ideas you are using this summer with your children. We would love to hear from you and share your ideas, stories and pictures .Be sure to join us next week for Summer Camp Disney Gal Style.

Guest Author Sunday Welcome Back Amy Mullins!

Guest Author Sunday

Welcome Back Amy Mullins - 40 Never looked so Good!

Disney Gals are thrilled to welcome back Amy Mullins as she takes us all along for part of her 40th Birthday celebration. I think we can all agree, turning 40 sure looks magical on Amy!

Part Two: Celebrating The Big 4 -0 Walt Disney World Style

 

Tick-tock, tick-tock… The day is fast approaching in which I will turn the BIG 4-0 and run my first ever half marathon, 50 days to be exact.  But I suppose if I “have” to turn 40 I want to be at Walt Disney World and want to make it memorable by running the Wine and Dine Half marathon.  Then I want to top it off by celebrating at EPCOT’s International Food and Wine festival.  Yup! That’s what I am going to do with some of my closest family and friends joining me in making this a birthday to remember. 

Guest Author Sunday

Welcome Back Chuck Jones

                                   An Unforgettable Week at Disney

                    

Our trip, which included me, my wife, and our daughter and son-in-law, was two years in the making.  It included planning, reserving, and putting up enough cash to pay for the whole thing, with enough Disney Dollars from our Disney Chase Visa Card to pay for any overages and souvenirs.  In doing so, we eliminated the number one worry of most vacations-- spending too much money.    When we checked into our two rooms at the Boardwalk Inn on Saturday, September 7^th, 2013, our whole trip was already paid for.  We got the free Dining Plan, so even our food was pre-paid. 

            

 
We opted for a 7-day Park-Hopper ticket, with 7 nights at The Boardwalk, with a water view.  The Boardwalk is a fantastic hotel, but unless you pay more for the water view rooms, you are defeating the whole purpose of staying there.  That purpose is to be in the middle of everything, 24 hours a day.  With our 2 rooms with balconies that overlooked the boardwalk and lagoon, we felt like we were in the action even when resting in our room.  The boardwalk is a cornucopia of activity, with the people strolling by, the boats that carry you to the Epcot and Hollywood Studios parks gliding smoothly over the lagoon, and the street performers at night entertaining the crowds.  All this can be seen from your balcony, or even your bed, if you feel the need to stretch out for an afternoon nap to re-charge for the evening’s activities. 

Guest Author Sunday

             Guest Author Sunday Meranda
                       

Disney Gals are pleased to welcome back Guest Author Meranda! We're so happy to have you as one of the Gals!

If you are visiting Disney for a honeymoon, anniversary, or just a special “couples only” trip, you’ll definitely want to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the parks for one evening and book yourselves a romantic Fireworks cruise. If you’re vacationing with more people than just the two of you, that’s okay too because this is an activity the whole family will enjoy!

We hosted a Wishes Fireworks Cruise to celebrate with some of our friends and family one evening before our Disney Wedding. We had a specific time that we all had to meet at the marina behind Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  Life jackets were provided for the little kids, and once we arrived on board snacks and drinks were provided.  A friend of ours even brought champagne to share.  Our captain for the evening was “Dave”.  He sailed us around the Seven Seas Lagoon, played a little Disney trivia with us, and gave us some background information on how the Wilderness Lodge was built.  I won’t give the whole story away, but the front of the lodge is supposed to resemble a very famous bear. Can you guess who?   We also got to catch a glimpse of the Wedding Pavilion from the water.  It looked like there may have been a ceremony going on because we could see candlelight in the windows. This was a special sighting because we would be getting married there in two days!      

As the sun had gone down, our captain parked our boat in front of the Magic Kingdom train station.  We had a great view and the music was piped in. One of the little kids in our group even pointed out that he saw Tinkerbelle fly by.         
                                                                         

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

The following year we booked an Illuminations cruise to celebrate our one year anniversary. This time we met our boat at the marina behind Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.  The captain took us for a cruise along Bay Lake and gave us some background information on the Epcot Resorts that we had gone by. Before too long we were anchoring our boat underneath the bridge at the International Gateway.  Snacks and beverages were served on this cruise as well.  We ate our snacks and watched the show. Seeing the show from on the water made it sound even louder and more explosive. It was a good show though.

If you want to book a fireworks cruise there are several options you have.                                                             
Do you want to watch Wishes or Illuminations?

*If you choose Wishes, you can choose from a 21’ Tracker Pontoon boat that will accommodate 8 guests for $292.88 or a 25’ Tracker Pontoon that will accommodate 10 guests and pipe in the Wishes music on the boat for $346.13.

*If you choose to take the Illuminations cruise, you may have up to 10 guests on board and the cost is  $325.

Snacks and beverages are provided on each cruise but you can also order private dining from several Disney resorts at an additional cost.

Other options for fireworks cruises including renting the Grand One Yacht which holds 18 guests, or the Breathless ( a 1930’s mahogany boat) that hold only 6 guest.

To book your own fireworks cruise you can call (407)-WDW-PLAY.

*Prices at time of publication.

A taste of Via Napoli's Carciofi pizza at home!

An original Via Napoli pizza - half Carciofi and half Quattro Formaggi

One of my family's favorite dining spots at Walt Disney World is Via Napoli, found in Epcot's Italy pavilion. From the decor, to the scrumptious desserts, to (most importantly!) the wood-fired pizza, it never fails to amaze.  In fact, my favorite pizza of all time can be found here.  It's the Carciofi, which translated from Italian literally means "artichokes."  Described on the menu as "white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil", it's beauty is in its simple, earthy flavors.  I was sure I could recreate this at home, even without a wood-burning oven!  Not only did I recreate it, but one smell of the piping hot pizza transported me right back to Via Napoli.  Bon appetit!

Carciofi Pizza Recipe

9 oz. fresh prepared pizza dough*
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
7 oz. canned plain artichokes (not marinated), drained, rinsed, and cut into quarters (if not already)
2 T. white truffle oil
Flour, for rolling out dough
Olive oil

*My local grocery store has these available in bags for around $1 and I've also seen them at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  If you can't find fresh dough for this recipe, canned pizza crust can be substituted, though the results aren't as authentic (but still yummy).  In this case, just skip #1 below.

Candlelight Processional

Booking for the Candlelight

Processional Packages

It’s that time of year again, yes it is only July 15^th, but it is time to book your Candlelight Processional Packages. If you have ever been to Walt Disney at Christmas time you can understand the excitement of being able to book your dinner (or lunch).  Who will be there to narrate on the night you book?? That is half the fun of planning your dinner.  I know people who have gone on more than one night just to get to hear someone else narrate.  We were able to see Gary Sense narrate on Christmas Eve the year our youngest son was stationed overseas with the Air Force and our oldest and his wife were stationed in Kodiak, Alaska for the Coast Guard (this was the reason we were at Disney on Christmas, our family was far away).  Gary Sense is very pro military and helps when and wherever he can the soldiers and their families and he have such a moving speech about the military being away from their families at Christmas that both my husband and I were sitting there in the front row crying. 

Guest Author Sunday

Guest Author

 

 

Chuck Jones

 

We are so excited to welcome back Honorary Guy Chuck Jones.  This week Chuck shows us that not matter what your age, everyone is a kid at heart when it comes to rides!

                        Top 5 Disney Rides for Seniors and the Motion-Challenged

By Chuck Jones

             This topic is for those that love the Disney rides, and particularly love the thrilling extreme rides but are unable to ride them because of advancing age or being afflicted with a medical sensitivity to motion.  I am one of those people.  I am 61 years old now, but as a young kid I used to ride every extreme ride that came along.  In Atlanta, Georgia, every fall we used to have a big traveling carnival called the Southeastern Fair come to town for two weeks.  They had to assemble every ride from the first plank to the last nail, and had a huge roller coaster that seemed to teeter and tremble to the point of collapsing at every turn and dip.  But I rode that thing with vigor and excitement too many times to count.  Then, in high school I played football and got several concussions (this was years before they realized the danger in this that the NFL is now fighting).  The first time I decided to do a ride after these concussions was in college.  Me and three of my college buddies were commuting back to campus one early fall Sunday night after a weekend at home, and came upon one of those shopping center carnivals.  They thought it would be great fun to stop and do the rides, and I went along hesitantly.  The first ride was the Tilt-A-Whirl.  It was also my last ride.  I told them I was sick and had to go back and wait in the car.  I barely made it to the parking lot when I stopped and threw up so much that I swore I could taste the cranberry sauce from last Thanksgiving Dinner.  I made it to the car and crawled into the back seat and closed my eyes.  The next thing I remembered was waking up in my dorm room bed.  Somehow they had gotten me out of the car and into the dorm.   After that, I knew I couldn’t do the thrill rides anymore, and to further establish that, about five years ago, I was diagnosed with vertigo.  So, being 61 years old with a history of concussions and vertigo, I have to choose my rides very carefully.  This is hard because I still love the excitement of the best thrill rides, so I have come up with this list of the very best ones that people like me can ride.  I promise you that these rides are sure to thrill, but not make you sick, so give them a try on your next Disney Vacation. 

Turn Your Kitchen Into the Patisserie

I am in love! It’s true, I’ve fallen completely head over heels for Palmiers. No, that is not a mysterious and handsome Frechman, rather a sweet and crunchy pastry found at the Patisserie in France. I’m talking Epcot of course, just in case you were about to look up airfare into the Charles de Gaulle airport. Now, Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie offers all forms of pastries, but there’s something about the Palmiers that can make me hop on a monorail, bus or boat from where ever I am, just to make sure I have one for the evening. There’s nothing more satisfying than watching Illuminations while peeling apart sugar coated, melt in your mouth layers of flaky goodness. Mmmmm

There is one tiny problem, this is a long distance romance. I do not live near Walt Disney World, or Paris for that matter, and these confections do not have a long shelf life, there is no taking home a couple dozen. Necessity is the mother of invention, and I certainly needed my fix, so I found a quick and easy recipe that will get me through until my next trip “home”. Give it a try and you’ll be hooked too.

Ingredients:

1c sugar

Pinch of salt

Frozen puff pastry dough (I like Pepperidge Farm)

Parchment paper

Directions:

Thaw dough in the refrigerator until it’s pliable but still cold. Mix sugar and salt together, then cover work area with 1\4 of the mixture. Place dough on sugared surface and unfold. Cover top of dough with 1\4 of the sugar mixture and roll into an 11 x 15 rectangle. 

There are 2 ways to form this cookie. The first way is to start at one end and roll the end to the middle of the sheet. Repeat with other side. Press both sides together gently. This process will give you smaller and more dense cookies. 

The second way to form the cookie is by folding the dough. Take both ends and fold towards the middle, take the new ends and again fold to the middle. Now fold the left side on top of the right, like you are closing a book. This will give you are larger, flakier cookie.


Repeat with second sheet of dough. 


Wrap dough and chill for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 450. Unwrap dough and cut into ½ inch pieces. Take each piece and dip both sides in remaining sugar mixture from your work area. Place 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. Your sugar should be nice and caramelized .



 Let cool on tray for a few minutes, then enjoy. Bon appetit!

Left - using fold method.   Right - using the roll up method.

Guest Author Sunday-Tamela Hansen

Guest Author Sunday

Tamela Hansen

Disney Gals welcome back one of our favorite Honorary Gals Tamela Hansen. Congratulations to Tamela for undertaking and completing a walk on behalf of Lupus on Saturday! So proud of you for always "believing in the possibilities and living your dreams!"

Hi it's Tamela Hansen from Alabama.  I just am so excited to talk about a subject that is endless.  Making special memories while on rides and watching different attractions!  This is a topic I could talk about forever but I will try to keep it to a minimum!  No promises!

As a child, teenager, young adult, wife, and mother with every stage of life the rides and attractions at Walt Disney World bring about new experiences.  As a child I always look forward to being old enough to ride different rides or maybe BRAVE enough.  Then the day comes when you accomplish all the Mountains at Magic Kingdom, Wow what an achievement!  Then O'my what a difference a shy teenage girl is after she has participated on stage in front of an audience.  That's one way to overcome shyness.  These are experiences that we encounter while at attractions and on rides at Walt Disney World, and they mold us into the people we are today. 

Guest Author Sunday-Krista Joy

Guest Author Sunday

Krista Joy

Disney Gals are excited to welcome a new Guest Author-Krista Joy of Disneyways.com  Please join us as Krista takes us behind the scenes of China at Epcot. Welcome Krista! We are so excited to have you as this week's Honorary Gal

One of Epcot's Best Kept Secrets!  - submitted by Krista from Disneyways.com

What comes to mind when you think of the gorgeous China Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase?

Sure, China has lots to offer. The pavilion is decorated with serene ponds, crossed by fantastic bridges, and is dominated by a replica of the Temple of Heaven. Here you will also find Reflections of China, a Circle-Vision 360° movie - and there is a museum containing several ancient Chinese artifacts. You don't see that every day.

China's Nine Dragons is one of the most beautiful restaurants in all of World Showcase, and the Lotus Blossom Cafe has some of the best orange chicken in town. Shopping at Good Fortune Gifts and House of Good Fortune is a wonderful air-conditioned past time in the hot Florida summers.