Garden Grill at Epcot

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Garden Grill is a character dining family style restaurant located inside Walt Disney World’s (WDW) Land Pavilion inside the Epcot Theme Park. Once you enter The Land Pavilion simply walk to the back of the top level and you will see the restaurant. There are also benches and bathrooms just outside in case you need them.

Garden Grill serves American food in a family style, meaning food is served in large plates with small plates for each person. You’ll be greeted upon arrival by a cute Mickey Mouse table setting!

Once seated you will notice the restaurant is actually moving! The tables slowly rotate in a circle and allow you to see scenes from The Land ride including homesteads, rain forests and prairies. Don’t worry it goes very slow. In fact, we did not make a complete circle before we were done eating. The food is great!!! They also serve mac and cheese for the kids (even though I particularly love WDW mac and cheese) and finish the meal off with a fruit cobbler.

While eating you will be visited by Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto so have your autograph books and cameras ready and on the table. Our family loves character dining because it saves us from standing in character lines in the park. Garden Grill also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also all the veggies served during meals at Garden Grill are grown inside The Land Pavilion!

We love Garden Grill! The food is delicious, the characters are fun and the restaurant rotates! Definitely one to add to your trip. Prices range from $35 for children to $60 for adults. This restaurant also has the option of Candlelight Processional tickets during the Holiday season.

Want to add this dining to your WDW vacation? Ask me how! You can message me at Callie@wanderkeep.com or you can find me on Facebook at Callie at Wanderkeep Travel. As always my services are complimentary!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

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Disney World,Fl

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party (MVMCP) is a hard ticket event that happens from the first week in November through Christmas at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Hard ticket means this event is separate from a regular park ticket and must be ordered specifically for this event. If you’re lucky enough to visit WDW during this time of year this is an event that’s not to be missed!

 

MVMCP starts at 7pm and ends at 12am. WDW closes Magic Kingdom at 6pm on party dates to regular guests. If you have a MVMCP ticket then you are able to get into the park starting at 4pm. This is a great way to save money on purchasing a full day ticket. Simply purchase a MVMCP ticket and come into the park at 4pm. The day of the party spend your day at Disney Springs or at your resort (it’s a great pool day!).

 

Once you enter Magic Kingdom simply scan you magic band or ticket on your smartphone. It holds your MVMCP ticket. You can also have a hard copy sent to your home (I always do this for myself and clients). You will then receive a special event party bracelet. This is how cast members keep track of who has MVMCP tickets and who are just regular day ticket holders. After 7pm you will not be able to get on rides, shop, get treats, etc without your MVMCP bracelet on. Make sure you pick up a map/events flyer as you enter the park! You will then be directed to the side of main street where you will get a sugar cookie, have photo pass opportunities and also be able to buy merchandise for the event. If you happen to already be in the park before the 4 pm bracelet distributions you will find several other spots-such as Fantasyland where you can grab your bracelet and cookie as well! Just ask any Cast Member where to go.

 

The MVMCP event will have rides open, snacks to grab, special character meet and greets and shows. YOU MUST PLAN! You won’t be able to get to everything but make a plan. The holiday parades are some of the most amazing parades and are not to be missed. Here’s a list of all the events.

  • A Frozen Holiday Wish – 6:15 p.m., 8:15 p.m.
  • Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration – 7:40 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 11:55 p.m.
  • Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade – 8:30 p.m., 11 p.m.
  • Holiday Wishes—Celebrate the Spirit of the Season – 10 p.m.
  • A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas – 7:45 p.m., 8:35 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 11:35 p.m.
  • The Edge Effect – 8:10 p.m., 9 p.m., 10:20 p.m., 11:10 p.m.
  • Club Tinsel – 7 p.m.-12 a.m.
  • Snowfall on Main Street – intermittently

It’s a good idea to make a family plan as to which events, rides, snacks and meet and greets each person is hoping to do. Our family has each person pick their top thing and plan on hitting those events. Everything else is icing on the cake! People will start sitting down in front if the castle immediately for good seats. Don’t be alarmed by this-there will be plenty of good spots later. Make sure you line up for parades a minimum if 40 minutes before. We ended up getting a spot right in front of the castle an hour before and were able to stay for the castle show, parade and fireworks!

 

Rare character meet and greets are available at this special event. People will start lining up at 6pm to get pictures with their favorite pals. Characters special to the event will not make their appearance until 7pm. Plan on a wait time of at least an hour per character. Characters often do not sign autographs at this time but will hand out a special pre signed card. Lines for characters will always be shorter during parade and fireworks times.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade is a popular event. It is by far one of our families favorite things. There are plenty of spots throughout the park to check the parade route. If you sit early enough you can grab a spot on Main Street where “snow” will fall! Take a seat and grab a snack! The marching toy soldiers are amazing. Make sure you wave to Santa as he rounds out the end of the parade. There are always spots in front of the train station by the front entrance. This is also great if you intend on leaving right after the parade.

 

A Frozen Holiday Wish is where Elsa performs her stage show in front of the castle culminating in “freezing” the castle. Breathtaking! Make sure you stop at a photpass location to get a picture in front of the lighted castle.

 

Holiday Wishes is the final fireworks show of the night. Tinkerbell will fly weather permitting in Christmas attire from the castle into Tomorrowland. Fireworks will literally be all over the park!

Cookies and hot chocolate will be available throughout the park at special snack stations designated by lighted candy cane poles and found on your event map. This is included in your price ticket. This year they also had a snowman soft pretzel and a snow cone. Make sure you stop by Pinocchio House to grab a handful of cookies-this location hands out multiple cookies at once! Families dress up for the event in a variety of ways from matching shirts, costumes for children and even matching pajamas!

Let me help you add this event to your Magical Walt Disney World Vacation! You can find me on Facebook at Callie at Wanderkeep Travel or feel free to email me at callie@wanderkeep.com. My services are complimentary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort

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I love to jump around from resort to resort at Walt Disney (WDW) when our family travels.  This past vacation took us to the lovely Coronado Springs Resort.

 

The Coronado Springs Resort (CSR) is located on the WDW property closest to the Animal Kingdom and has a Spanish flare to it’s architecture and design. CSR did not fail to meet the amazing Disney theming test. Disney has a way of creating a complete immersive environment when vacationing. Some Disney resorts scream Disney by decorating with a traditional Disney character theme but others like CSR create an environment with such attention to detail you can really feel the Spanish influence. We felt right at home since our move from Texas to Massachusetts with the food and the decorations it was perfect.

 

CSR consists of a main building or tower with check in, shopping, quick service and table service restaurants. Off to the side of the main building you will find a conference center. I was hesitant about the crowds due to the conference center but we honestly never even noticed. I was also concerned that since there were several conferences being held while we were on vacation that our resort buses would be more crowded but that was not the case either.

The resort rooms have recently been updated with a contemporary Spanish feel and they were honestly amazing. The beds were so soft and cushy-similar to Deluxe resort beds. The bedrooms did not include a blanket but you can simply ask for one from mousekeeping or bring from home (I know many people do this). The beds were slightly raised and perfect for storing luggage underneath. The showers had new rain shower heads and handhelds. We had a lovely view onto the courtyard and the bus stations are within quick walking distance from each section.

The resort has a pool in each “settlement”-Ranchos, Casitas and Cabanas. These are smaller pools but are also heated. There is also a main pool called “The Dig Site” complete with a Mayan Ruin, water slide, Jacuzzi and tiny splash pad for the little ones. We swam in December so make sure you always bring your bathing suit!

 

The food court offered a variety of every day food perfect for the whole family along with Tex/Mex offerings. The resort also offers a variety of activities such as an arcade, playground, jogging trails, movies at night, etc… They also offer seasonal events-we were lucky enough to stumble upon cookie decorating! There’s an interactive guide in the front lobby which you can always check for special events!

All in all we enjoyed Coronado Springs! The cons of CSR would be that the resort is spread out so if you’re walking from the main building to your room there will be quite a walk ahead of you but you can always book a preferred room that will guarantee you a room close to the main building. You can also catch a bus off the main building which will take you to each of the different settlement’s bus stops. This will save your feet after a Disney walking day but you will wait a bit for it. The pros of this resort are the updated rooms, attention to detail and friendliness of staff. I will honestly say the staff at CSR was amazing and went out of their way to help us in any way they could.

Would you like to add Coronado Springs to your WDW Bucket List? I would love to help you price out some options! You can comment below or find me on Facebook at Callie@ Wanderkeep Travel and let me help you make all you Disney dreams come true! You can also message me at Callie@wanderkeep.com Oh and my services are complimentary.