Stars Fell on Disney Fans from Alabama: Wernher von Braun

I recently read a post on mydisneymania about Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun and immediatly thought I should share as a part of my "Disney Fans From Alabama" series.

Who is Wernher von Braun???  He was a German engineer who came to America after WWII and ended up in Alabama in 1950.  He worked on the deisgn of the V-2 combat rocket, helped build rockets that carried astronauts to the moon and served as the director of Marshall Space Flight Center in north Alabama. If you live in the Huntsville, Alabama area, you are very familiar with the name "von Braun!"  In this city you will find the von Braun Civic Center, the von Braun Astronomical Society and the von Braun Center for Science & Innovation.  He also created the Research Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  

image from space.com

In hopes of gaining public interest in the future of the space program, von Braun began working with Walt Disney and the Disney Studios to provide three television films about space exploration.  Man in Space, was the first to be aired on March 9, 1955 with 42 million viewers and the second highest rated TV show in American history.  The second show was Man and the Moon and the third was Mars and Beyond.  

Here is another great article from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL about von Braun and Walt Disney.

$25 Disney Giftcard Giveaway with Disney Food Report

Do you want another chance to win a $25 Disney Gift card?  You can visit from DisneyFoodReport.com and enter for your chance to WIN starting MAY 1!!!!  

You can enter several times by visiting our friend’s Facebook pages.  Just LIKE their Facebook page in the giveaway and you will get an extra entry.

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Be sure to visit our friends included in this giveaway!
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Destination Disney: 5 Favorite Snacks at WDW

Better late than never.... Here's my Top 5 Snacks at WDW with Destination Disney at Heidi's Head.

1. Cupcake(s).  I LOVE cupcakes.  Particularly chocolate cupcakes with white or white butter cream icing.  You can't beat the combination... I've tried.  I've had several different cupcakes at WDW and have a real hard time narrowing down which chocolate cupcake with white icing is my favorite.  For now, I'll go with the Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake at Animal Kingdom!

2. Mickey Shaped Pretzel.  While the "regular" soft pretzels are very yummy, there is just something about a soft pretzel shaped like Mickey!  On our last trip, I think we had 4 of these things in Frontierland. Yeah, I love em.

3. Mickey Shaped Chocolate Covered Caramel Apple.  I have to get one of these on each trip.  Usually I get it on our last day and bring it home with me.   They are soooo big it's hard for me to finish it in one sitting.  It's also a lot easier to eat if you have a knife to cut it into sections.  Plus, bringing it home means the Disney magic lasts a little bit longer!


4 Main Street Popcorn.  There is something special about the popcorn on Main Street USA.  It tastes, hands down, better than any other popcorn.  It's even better if it comes in a plastic, take me home with you, container paired with an ice cold Diet Coke!

5. Mickey Cookies and Cram Ice Cream Sandwich.  Delish!  On a hot day at Walt Disney World this hits the spot for me.  While others choose the Dole Whip, I'll pass on that and grab some chocolate Mickey shaped ice cream!







This post is joining in the Magical Blogorail Rides again hop on April 29, 2013!  Check out other Favorite Snacks at WDW at the hop!

Magical Blogorail Green: Favorite WDW Character Dining

Welcome to those of you joining me from Adventures of a Disney Princess and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 3rd stop on our Magical Blogorail.


Today we're sharing our favorite character dining experience.  While I've experienced a lot of different character meals, the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom is my favorite!  In September of 2011, my mom, son and I went to Donald's Dining Safari Breakfast for the first time.   We had reservations for 30 minutes prior to the park opening.  This made for awesome photos of the Tree of Life prior to the meal. Nobody was anywhere near us so I got a "people free" shot of the Tree!!

Once we arrived in Africa at Tusker House, we had a PhotoPass picture made with Donald.  This was the only time we saw Donald at the breakfast.  Once seated, we saw Mickie, Minnie, Daisy and Goofy greeting guests at their tables.  The waitress brought us our "jungle juice" and took additional drink orders, then it was on!!  We made our way to the buffet!  Of course I had to get Mickey waffles.  I'll eat almost anything shaped like Mickey and these waffles are no exception!

On the buffet, there were several different options:
fruit
cereals/ milk
muffins/ pastries/ cinnamon rolls/ etc
bread pudding with vanilla sauce
biscuits and gravy
oatmeal
waffles
scrambled eggs
eggs
potato wedges
frittatas- veggie and ham/ cheese
corned beef hash
quiche
carved honey glazed ham
and more!
As you can see, there is something for everyone.  My son had plenty he could eat and even vegetarians could find plenty of items to eat.


I think my favorite part of this meal was the characters- surprised?!?  We "met" all of the characters multiple times and they spent a lot of time at each table "talking" and playing with the kids.  C-man was in heaven interacting with his friends!  But, the clincher was the "parade" that Mickey led.  He passed out African inspired percussion instruments to all the kids and had them line up.  Each child played, rang, shook or beat their instrument as they marched around the restaurant following Mickey.  


If you have never experienced Donald's Safari Breakfast, I highly suggest you do!  You can get great food and meet the "best" of the characters in my opinion.  Make your reservations prior to park opening and get a few good photos before your meal too!

Laughing with Mickey.  Posing with Daisy.

Loving KK and Goofy.  Gearing up for the parade!

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is The CanaDisney Blog.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ Disney Living

2nd Stop ~ Adventures of a Disney Princess

3rd Stop ~ A Disney Mom’s Thoughts

4th Stop ~ The CanaDisney Blog

Final Stop ~ Your Highway in the Sky

Avengers Giveaway from Your Highway In The Sky!

Wouldn't you LOVE to win this Avengers Prize Pack from Your Highway In The Sky?  Enter to win HERE!!  You have until May 4th to enter... the day the movie is released!  Follow the Rafflecopter instructions on their blog.  Good Luck!

Wordless Wednesday: May Calendar Shot

September 2011

In honor of Mother's Day, here is my "Wordless Wednesday" post for my May calendar shot: My mom, my son, Pluto and me!  Thanks for hosting the Hop Deb!!

And The Winner Is.......

CONGRATULATIONS to Tammy L!  You're the winner of the Beyond the Attractions book!  Please check your email for more details.

Thanks to all the fans who entered this giveaway.  I appreciate all of your support!!

~Beth

Tuesday's Tip: Wishes from the Poly Beach

"Wishes" from the Polynesian Beach

On our most recent trip to Walt Disney World, we were able to see "Wishes" from three different perspectives: The rooftop of the Contemporary Resort, the beaches of the Polynesian Resort and the Hub in front of Cinderella Castle.

While I love seeing this fireworks show from Main Street USA, the beach from the Poly is a close second.  Before our reservations for dinner at 'Ohana one night, we went to the beach to watch "Wishes."  While it was fabulous, I do have one tip for you...

Bring a towel or a blanket to sit on!  We were planning on sitting on the lounge chairs on the beach and had a very hard time finding one without seagull poop all over it!  Instead of "lounging" on the beach to watch the fireworks, we balanced on the end of the lounge chairs trying to avoid the poop.

So, bring one large blanket for your family/ party to sit on, or bring several towels to lay on the chairs before you recline!

February 15, 2012 WDW Trip Report: Day 4

This morning was spent at Disney's Hollywood Studios, or MGM as we still call it!  We got their just after rope drop, but still managed to get a ride on Toy Story Mania without a long wait and grabbed fast passes for later in the day.  Once we got that "out of the way", the rest of the time at DHS MGM was a very leisurely!  The only other "ride" we went on was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.   The rest of our time was spent walking around, talking to cast members and finding "hidden treasures!"  

After our Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ride, we were strolling back down Sunset Bouleveard and spotted these two "cops" on the side of the street.  I managed to snap this photo as the one on the left spotted me!  He called me out, so we went over to chat!  They were very nice guys and told us about the World Famous Strawberry Shortcake in Plant City, FL.  The encouraged us to drive about an hour just to eat the Shortcake!  We didn't take them up on it though!  They also gave us some Disney Police badges and stickers for the boys.  

After some "cop talk" and sharing of stories, we said goodbye and made our way to the Sorcerer's Hat where the street performers were just about to get started.  We watched them for about 15 minutes and were "called out" of the crowd since we were celebrating our anniversary!  See where the kid is standing in the green shirt?  That's where Jonathan and I were.  They asked Jonathan some questions about how long we had been married, when our anniversary was and where we got engaged.  He got them all right and they were quite impressed that he knew the answers!  I was secretly hoping for a free fastpass or something for our special occasion, but no such luck.

Next, we walked around some more and found a few "hidden treasures" at DHS MGM.  First we found the "do not pull" rope outside of Indiana Jones.  Yes, we pulled!  Then we found the Toilet Paper Tree on the Streets of America.  Next, we found the umbrella from "Singing in the Rain" near the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show.  I also finally found one of the survey markers at MGM and took a picture, but I'm not posting it since I already have so many photos!  After we walked around, met Phineas and Ferb, Jake and some others, we made our way to Epcot. 

First we made our way thought MouseGears and headed towards Universe of Energy.  We decided not to ride and do Mission: SPACE instead.  We definitely did the green side since I was 10 weeks pregnant and already susceptible to motion sickness!  I did get dizzy, but nothing like the orange side!  Then we started World Showcase on the Mexico side.  We skipped Mexico and Norway and made our way to China for a bite to eat.  We wanted to eat at Lotus Blossom on a quick service dining credit, but they didn't have what I wanted, so we settled on Nine Dragons.  

We had eaten here before and had a good experience, but this time was definitely so so. Not sure I'll do it again.  I had chicken fried rice and Jonathan had some sort of chicken dish.  We had more fun writing in Chinese than we did eating.  After lunch we continued our way around the Showcase.  I stopped to take several pictures focusing on cast members.  

We saw the Voices of Liberty in America before taking in the American Adventure show.  We stopped for gelato in Italy and had the "pleasure" of hearing Mo'Rockin' for the first time in Morocco.  We eventually made our way all around the Lagoon and went back to the resort for a break. 

Since we were in our own car this time, we had our refillable mugs with us and decided to stop by the food court for a drink.  I fell IN LOVE with the Pomegranate Lemonade!  Back at our building at the French Quarter, we saw a few cast members starting a camp fire.  Yup, it was time for s'mores!  I made a few several before taking a quick nap before our dining reservations!

Our reservations were at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort for 7:45.  We arrived at 7:30 and the lady encouraged us to go to the beach to find a spot to watch "Wishes" at 8:00.  I was worried we would lose our reservation time if we watched the fireworks, but she assured me we could come after "Wishes" and we would be seated.  So, that's what we did!  

This was the second time we had seen "Wishes."  The night before we saw it from the rooftop of the Contemporary and honestly, I think I liked this view better.  They had the music piped into the speakers at the beach and they paused the night movie on the beach so that noise wouldn't interfere.  The only thing I wish I had had was a blanket to sit on... and I'll post WHY tomorrow for my "Tuesday's Tip!"

Dinner at 'Ohana was fabulous!  We ate WAAAYYYY too much, danced for our anniversary to the ukelele player and got leis.  It was a perfect night and I can't wait to do this again with our boys!!

Flashback Friday: Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work We Go!

I'll warn you... This is not a pleasant story, but it's pretty funny!  While we were at Walt Disney World in February we were passing through "the hub" during the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party."  Everybody was moving in all different directions not really paying attention to anyone else, just trying to get to the next float to meet characters.  That's when I noticed several cast members skipping around singing "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work We Go!"  I asked Jonathan what he thought they were doing and all he said was, "Look on the ground."  Yup, there was vomit right in the middle of the hub!  While two janitor type cast members were sprinkling the magic absorbent stuff on the vomit, the Main Street Cast Members were skipping around in a circle around the janitors singing the song!  I don't even think anyone else slowed down to even see what was happening!  Not only did I slow down, I grabbed my camera and snapped this photo.  I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen at WDW involving cast members!  I'm sure they didn't think it was too funny though...

I also learned on this trip that cast members don't refer to vomit as a "protein spill" anymore.  I didn't learn what the new word was... but don't think I didn't try!!

Do you know the new "code word" for vomit at Walt Disney World?

Destination Disney: Top 6 Disney Restaurants

For this week's Destination Disney with Heidi's Head, we are sharing our top 6 Disney Restaurants.  After looking at my list, I've decided that the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is lacking in "good restaurants...."  Anyway... on with the list!

#1 Le Cellier  My hands down favorite restaurant is now Le Cellier at the Canada Pavilion in Epcot.  We ate here on our last trip for the first time and will most likely go back on each trip in the future!  To start, the pretzel bread was amazing!  But, the steak was to die for!  It was the best steak I've ever eaten.  I could almost cut it with a fork it was so tender and it melted in my mouth.  In fact, my mouth is watering now just thinking about it!

#2 California Grill  Another new restaurant on our last trip was the California Grill located on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort.  Again, I had the steak.  While it was very good, it was not as good as Le Cellier.  The Plant City Strawberry Salad was very tasty and big!  What I would change about the steak is the barbecue type sauce used on the steak.  The dessert was good too, but the best parts were the view of the WDW resort and watching "Wishes" from the rooftop!

#3 Carnation Cafe  Breakfast at the Carnation Cafe on Main Street, USA in Disneyland is out of this world!  The cast members were extra friendly here and the view of Main Street as the park is opening is so fun.  This is where I had the chance to meet Oscar Martinez in 2010.

#4 'Ohana  Last February when we ate at 'Ohana in the Polynesian Resort at WDW we were lucky to be celebrating our anniversary!  We were asked to dance while Kahula played his ukulele!  It was very romantic in a Disney type of way.  The view of Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom were a nice touch, but the atmosphere inside the restaurant was actually better.  The food was delicious and PLENTY!  The servers were very nice and we look forward to sharing this experience with our boys!

#5 Yak and Yeti  We've only eaten at Yak and Yeti once, but it still stays on the top of our list!  Located in Animal Kingdom, you can order Asian dishes.  Everything we had there was top notch.  I would love to get a reservation around 3:00 and watch the Jammin' Jungle Parade from the window next to our table!

#6 50's Prime Time Cafe  This restaurant has a very unique atmosphere that I've never experienced anywhere else and the food is really good too!  It's set in the 50's with black and white TVs on each table showing reruns of I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, etc.  The servers make you "mind your manners" and aren't afraid to call you out if you don't behave!  I personally would suggest ordering the meatloaf and I've heard the PB&J shake is really good too!