"Toy Story 2" Movie & Snack Night

As it turns out, counting down the 100 Days To Disney is a very busy and tasty undertaking! Recently, we decided to add one of Disney's most successful movie franchises into the mix. The sequels in this series are so fantastic, actually, that we didn't even watch the original as a part of our Movie and Snack Night but, rather, the second movie in the series - simply because we wanted to see more than just the first set of characters. Okay, enough beating around the bush, let's talk about:

Toy Story 2

This is the first movie on our list that is not part of Disney's official Animated Feature collection. That's because the Toy Story movies are actually Pixar Animation Studios films. While Pixar is now owned by the Walt Disney Company (they weren't at the time to Toy Story 2's release), they continue to keep their animation studios relatively separate, though they are both run by Chief Creative Officer, John Lasseter. Toy Story 2 was released in 1999, and continues the story of Andy's toys - Buzz, Woody, and the gang. This sequel introduces us to new friends, Jessie the cowgirl and her horse (technically Woody's horse, I suppose), Bullseye.

Posing with Buzz & Woody
at Hollywood Studios

Toy Story characters and attractions can be found all around the Disney Parks, making this movie  a great one to watch before a trip to Disney World! In the Magic Kingdom, Woody and Jessie love meeting with guests next to the Splash Mountain queue in Fronteirland. And, when I say "next to the queue," I totally mean it. You're not going to be able to find the line for this meet without going underneath the overpass that separates the Splash Mountain line area from the rest of the park. It's the one that also has a small playground for little ones under there. Just head through and look to your left - you'll find it! Buzz Lightyear meets with his loyal fans in Tomorrowland, right next to his own ride - Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This attraction gives you the chance to blast away at the Evil Emperor Zurg and his minions! The Toy Story fun doesn't stop when you leave Magic Kingdom. At Hollywood Studios, you can enjoy the ever-popular ride, Toy Story Midway Mania. This attraction is a carnival-themed, 3D, interactive adventure for the whole family. Just across the way from this one is a great opportunity to meet best friends, Buzz and Woody, together in front of a super fun, Andy's Bed backdrop. There are also some fantastic photo opportunities along the line for this meet, so that's a good time, too! Looking for a place to rest your head that is also Toy Story themed? Disney's All-Star Movies Resort has a whole section featuring many many larger than life statues of the lots of our Toy Story favs, including Green Army Men, Buzz, Woody, Bo Peep, and more!

Since we picked Toy Story 2, we had to go with a snack right out of the movie itself: Cheese Puffs! If Toy Story series too, after all! If you remember, Al, from Al's Toy Barn, can be seen with his orange cheese-coated hand dangling over a upside-down bowl and a minefield of cheese puffs all over the floor, below, as he sleeps on the couch with Woody's torn arm in his pocket. If you've ever had cheese puffs,  you know that they can make you awfully thirsty. And, so, we added some lemonade to tonight's snack. To keep with our theming, we dropped some food coloring in, to turn the lemonade green, and taped on some alien eyes for good measure. The three-eyed, green aliens are some of the heroes of the series and it was nice to give credit where credit is due!

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"The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh" Movie & Snack Night

As we make our way further along our 100 Days To Disney countdown, we decided to pair a classic movie with a delicious snack, borrowed straight from Walt Disney World itself! You'll see which tasty treat and understand why it goes so well once we talk about the movie and why it's a great one to prepare your family for Disney:

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The 22nd Animated Feature for the Walt Disney Company, this 1977 film is actually a compilation of many different adventures starring Winnie the Pooh. Hence the title, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The three animated shorts (all based on the original Winnie the Pooh stories, written by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepard) are Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (in which Pooh attempts to get honey from a tree inhabited by bees, and featuring the sequence in which Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's front door), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (in which a storm floods the Hundred Acre Wood and Piglet must be rescued), and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (in which Rabbit tries to un-bounce Tigger).

This is such a perfect movie to watch before a trip to Disney World because Pooh and Friends can be found in all sorts of places at the Walt Disney World Resort. The most obvious, perhaps, is on the ride, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride became a part of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom in 1999, when it took the place of the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attraction. Winnie the Pooh is a slow moving ride that takes you on a trip through scenes from the Pooh Bear movie, while riding in a honeypot. It also features a super fun, interactive queue, to keep little ones busy while they're waiting in line. Just outside of the Pooh ride, you can actually meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger (other friends, such as Piglet and Rabbit, also appear from time to time), take pictures, and all of that good stuff. The Hundred Acre Wood Friends are also available for a Character Dining experience at the Crystal Palace, also located in the Magic Kingdom. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this one isn't just Pooh and Tigger. Piglet and Eeyore are also on hand. And, in our many experiences here, the characters happen to be super fun at this location - possibly the most fun of all the Character Dinings on the Disney property. They are just overall fun, sill, and goofy... the last time that we were there, Tigger grabbed our autograph book and started having a conversation with us by writing his end of it down on the pages. Talk about feeling like the characters make time for you! Pooh and Tigger have another dining that they like to participate in. This one is over at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort - the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast, also featuring fellow United Kingdom friends, Alice in Wonderland; the Mad Hatter; and Mary Poppins. Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too!) are also available to meet with you at Epcot's World Showcase, in the United Kingdom.

Everyone knows that bears love honey and no bear loves honey more than Pooh Bear. That's why this movie's snack absolutely had to feature something with honey. And, where better to look for something that will remind us of our Hundred Acre Wood Friends then in Disney's wooded Resort, Fort Wilderness? The Trail's End restaurant at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground serves a delicious Sticky Bun Sundae that we decided to replicate for our Winnie the Pooh snack. Since the sundae's at Trail's End are served in mason jars, we decided to go ahead and use mason jars for ours, as well. 16 oz. jars were the perfect size for our family. Here's how we put them together, from bottom to top:

• Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream
• Caramel Syrup
• Little Debbie's Honey Bun (warmed up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds)
• Another scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream
• Whipped Cream
• Some more Caramel Syrup on top

Technically, Trail's End adds some chopped pecans on top of the sundae, but my family opted to skip them. With nuts or without, they are the perfect fix for a rumbly in your tumbly!

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"Alice In Wonderland" Movie & Snack Night

Still counting down the days until my family heads to Disney World and, this week, to pass the time, it wasn't the movie that the kids were begging for as much as the snack. When I tell you what the snack was, you'll probably find it really silly - there's nothing to it. But, let's start with the movie:

Alice in Wonderland

Disney's 13th Animated Feature,  Alice in Wonderland was based on the books, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," and "Through The Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" written by Lewis Carroll in 1865 and 1871 respectively. The books, and the movie alike, follow the story of a girl named Alice and the many characters whom she encounters along her travels there - the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter & the Dormouse, and Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, just to name just a few. A curious girl, always looking for an adventure, Alice shrinks, grows, has conversations with flowers, and escapes from a deck of playing cards - all while hunting down the mysterious White Rabbit who seems to be "late for a very important date."

Alice - or, more properly put, the Mad Hatter - has a ride of her own, right along the outside edge of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. The Mad Tea Party is inspired by the the scene of the same name in Alice in Wonderland, and has guests sit in oversized tea cups that go spinning around and around. A wheel in the center of each teacup allows guests to spin their individual cups even faster. And, right in the center of the attraction, you'll find the sleepy old dormouse, popping up and down out of a teapot. There's also a really cool topiary of Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter in that area, as well. Just outside of the ride, next to the topiary, is your opportunity to meet Alice, often along with the White Rabbit, at the Magic Kingdom. If you are lucky enough to be one of the first guests of the day to enjoy the Mad Tea Party, you might even get to ride with the two characters! If you ask me, Alice is one of the most fun characters to meet at Disney World. She is just so silly and nonsensical, she is aways good for a laugh or two... or more! And, most people must agree with me because, for a non-Princess and a non-Fab 5 member, she is really available to talk, take pictures, and sign autographs in quite a few places. In addition to her Magic Kingdom location, Alice also heads over to the United Kingdom in Epcot's World Showcase to meet with guests. Want to meet and eat? You can join Alice at the Grand Floridian Resort's 1900 Park Fare restaurant for the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. Here, Alice is joined by the Mad Hatter, as well as Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger too! The Wonderland Tea Party is also available at the Grand Floridian. Kids, ages 4-10, are invited to this hour long party, hosted by Alice and her Wonderland Friends. Kiddos get to make cupcakes and then eat them, along with some delicious tea that tastes suspiciously like juice. They will also get to listen to a story as well as make flower bouquets.

So, what was that snack that had my own children begging my wife and I to pick Alice in Wonderland for our movie night? It was a tea party of our own, with Graham Crackers and Nutella to eat and Iced Tea to drink. Before our Disney World trip last year, no one in my house had ever tried Nutella and I wasn't sure that they would like it at all. But, needless to say it was a big hit and a favorite snack of theirs now. This repeat tea party was the best one yet!

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"The Three Caballeros" Movie & Snack Night

As we count down the days until our Disney Vacation, starting at Day 100, my family enjoys watching a weekly Disney movie that we haven't seen in a while - one that is also represented in some way at Disney World. We have found that keeping the movies fresh in our minds adds even more to the Disney fun on vacation. Along with the movie, it's always a great time to include a themed snack - nothing too fancy... we do have 4 kids and, suffice it to say, we often find ourselves a little limited for time, money, and, well, energy! This week's movie was one of my daughter's favorites:

The Three Caballeros

Released in 1944, The Three Caballeros was The Walt Disney Company's 7th Animated Feature. The movie stars Donald Duck, who happens to be celebrating his birthday, and receives three gifts from his friends in Latin America. The opening of each gift leads to several short segments, featuring tons of information (as well as plenty of humor) about the many beautiful areas of Central and South America and their cultures. We are also introduced to an old friend of Donald's, José Carioca, and are on hand when Donald makes a new friend in Panchito. Together, Donald, José, and Panchito form The Three Cabelleros and enjoy singing, dancing, games, and good times with one another.

The Three Caballeros can be found at several locations throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. They are a water squirting statue in the center of the Calypso Pool at Disney's All-Star Music Resort; Disney's Coronado Springs Resort gift shop, Panchito's Gifts and Sundries, is designed with a Three Caballeros theme; And, most famously perhaps, The Three Caballeros can also be found at Epcot's World Showcase, in the Mexico Pavilion, starring in their own attraction: The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros. This boat ride follows José Carioca and Panchito as they search for Donald throughout the streets and landscapes of Mexico, hoping to reunite with him before the concert that they are schedule to perform that evening. Donald Duck, dressed in his Mexican best, is also available to meet, just outside the Mexico Pavilion.

And, so, when it came time to watch the movie, we thought that we'd stick with the Latin American theme and decided to enjoy The Three Caballeros with some delicious and crispy Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips, with Salsa and Sour Cream for dipping! A fun night for sure, and one fun day closer to Disney World.

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