Main Street Wishes

Hi! I am a mom to two little ones. My daughter loves Disney and can't wait to go back to meet more characters. My son is a little young to understand, but I'm sure he will love it as much as his sister. As for me, I am a Disney enthusiast. What does that mean? Well, it means I could talk about Disney all day...if it didn't drive my husband crazy ;-) People have asked me for advice when planning their Disney trips and I love that! It doesn't matter if it's not my trip, helping to plan any Disney trip makes me feel closer to Disney World. I am not a travel agent...just a Disney enthusiast. There is just something about that place that always makes me smile. However, I don't wear blinders. I know Disney has their faults, but that's the thing about being a Disney enthusiast, you love Disney...faults and all! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! ⁰O⁰

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Lunch in Germany: Biergarten Restaurant

This is for Throwback Thursday, because the last time we ate at Biergarten was 2011, so it's a throwback for me. I'm hoping we can make reservations here for the next trip though. It was a lot of fun and we had some really good food! You can make reservations and see more pictures and info on Disney's website for Biergarten Restaurant. So, first we made our way to Germany.

When we arrived at the restaurant it was like any other restaurant at Disney, we gave our name to the cast member at the podium and waited a few minutes for a table. A cast member then guided us to our table. The way Biergarten is set up is for it to be family style dining. This means you might be sitting at one of their long tables and sharing it with other families. We didn't mind this, because the other people that were at our table were very friendly and it made for a really fun lunch!

Once we were seated, a cast member came over to explain the buffet lay out and take our drink orders. We took a minute to look around before we got up to get food. The restaurant is really impressive and it's fun to look around the huge dining room and look at all the little details.

After we were done looking around, we took turns going up to the buffet. I found the buffet offerings to be very generous. Of course, there was a lot of German food and it was delicious! I know not everyone enjoys German food, it can be very heavy, but I grew up with German food and while it might not be as good as my grandmother's cooking, it was still very good and worth the price (in our opinion).

If you are not a fan of German food, fear not! Like any other Disney restaurant they have standard offerings that less adventurous eaters will enjoy. When we dined here in 2011, there was a carving station, salads, breads, and pasta choices that would satisfy those who do not want to eat the German food.

What I really loved about this restaurant was the entertainment. They have a German band play at certain times throughout the day and it's so much fun! One of the guys from the band played "It's a Small World" with bells, that was pretty impressive. While they were playing, there were a couple of little girls who were dancing and skipping around on the floor in front of the band. It was so cute!

We loved all the food here and my husband was very happy with the beer flight that he ordered. We would both like to try this restaurant again and will probably make reservations there during our next trip. If you are looking for a fun dining experience with some good food and drinks, I highly recommend Biergarten Restaurant!

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Weekly Tip #4

To Plan or Not to Plan: Why it is Important to Plan.

Disney can be a very intimidating trip to take. There are four different theme parks, two waterparks, a couple of miniature golf options as well as some regular golf courses, over 20 on-property hotels to choose from, and hundreds of dining and shopping options. That's not even including all the extra things you can find to do, like the Exotic Driving Experience. Seriously, it's insane how much there is to do at Disney World and it's impossible to see it all in one trip. It's impossible to see it all in a few trips! There is just so much to do.

That brings me to this week's Weekly Tip...lists. It is so helpful to make a list before your trip, planning out everything you want to see and do. If you plan on making your advanced dining reservations (ADR) at the 180 day mark, or anytime before your trip, or you want to make your FastPass+ choices at the 60 mark, planning is pretty much a necessity. If you are not a planner, you can go with the flow, but just go in knowing you may not get to see everything you want to see or eat in a certain restaurant. Of course, the ability to go with the flow depends on what you want to do and what time of year you are going. If you are going during a really slow time, you should be able to get in to some restaurants without an ADR. However, if you go during a busy time, like summer or Christmas, I highly (highly) recommend making a list and planning in advance.

For me, planning is part of the fun. It makes me feel that much closer to my Disney trip, even if it is over a year away. The first thing I start thinking about is which hotel we are going to stay in. This is an easier decision than, say, looking at all your dining options. First, figure out your budget. This will help you decide on a category of resort hotels that will work for you. There are value resorts, moderate resorts, deluxe resorts, and deluxe villa resorts. When you look on Disney's website at the hotels, there is a compare option on the screen. You can compare up to four resorts, so that helps you to compare and choose all on one screen. Once you have decided on a category, you can start comparing all of the different resorts in that category and you can use the same compare function for this.

Just click where is says to compare. After

you pick your first hotel, you will then be

able to select an additional three to compare.

Here is the compare screen with all the

moderate resorts.

After you have decided on a resort and make your reservations, the fun begins! Now you know you are going, so you can start planning what restaurants you want to go to, what rides you want to ride, what shows you want to see, any extra activities you want to reserve, and even what shops you don't want to miss.

This is where the lists come in handy. We are not even booked yet and I already have a spreadsheet with all of the different table service restaurants we might want to see (not all, just ones that interest us). The categories I made for the spreadsheet are name, location, price, type of meal (table service or buffet), meals served (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner), whether or not they have characters at the meals, and I even have columns with links for pictures and menus. I am very obsessive when it comes to planning a Disney trip, but it does help to get everything in. Then by the time your 180 day mark rolls around (if you are staying on property), you will know what restaurants you really want to see. I wouldn't go overboard with the ADRs, leave some wiggle room, but the really popular ones (like Be Our Guest) are worth booking 180 days out, if you can.

Here is another tip, and I've heard this from multiple people, if you don't get your restaurant choice at first, keep trying. Some people have gotten reservations a week before their trip. So don't get discouraged if there is no availability at first. Cancelations happen all the time, so that is good news. You just have to be vigilant about checking everyday.

Here is part of the spreadsheet I made

for our next trip. This is only part of it,

but you get the idea.

Your next list, if you want to plan this much, would be for your FP+ picks. These you can get 60 days out from your trip (if you are staying on property). So, again, it involves a lot of planning, but if there are certain things you or your children really want to see, it might be a good idea to reserve early. The same thing applies to the FP+ picks as the ADRs, if you don't get your first choice the first time you look just keep checking. I have also heard a lot of stories of people getting their Anna and Elsa FPs or Seven Dwarfs Mind Train FPs a week before their vacation, so keep checking if you don't get want you were hoping for on the first try.

Another list you can look at making is one for any other things you don't want to miss seeing. Even if it's just little things in the parks or anywhere else on property. For instance, I have read about this Wish Book that is available for guests to write a wish in. It's available in Pinocchio Village Haus in the Jiminy Cricket room. One story from the Wish Book I heard was that a little girl wrote in the book that she wished to meet Anna and Elsa and later a cast member took her to meet them! Very cool Disney magic with that book. So, this is definitely on my "extras" list.

You can always make different lists for the different parks and incorporate any extras, like the Wish Book, into those lists. I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but most Disney enthusiasts that I know love the planning process. So making these lists is actually a lot of fun for us! It definitely helps with your trip when you do some planning beforehand.

One more tip, don't go overboard with the planning. I know, here I am telling you to plan and now I'm saying don't over-plan. Where's the line, right? Well the reason I say don't over-plan is because, there definitely needs to be some downtime penciled in. Days off from the park help everyone to keep their sanity. You need that relaxation time. Whether you're shopping, spending time at the pool, or just hanging out in the room, definitely make sure to have some days off from the parks. I have seen some major meltdowns (from both children and adults) that happened as a result of trying to cram too much in. That's no fun for anyone.

I hope this helps with your planning! I will probably add to this post as I start planning my own trip. There are always new things you learn about planning with each trip. If you have any questions or need help planning anything, feel free to ask me or you can ask in our Facebook Group (lots of knowledgeable Disney fans in that group). It's fun helping people plan a Disney trip!

Thanks for reading!

Liz °o°

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Tinker Bell Pumpkin Carving

We did it! We carved Tinker Bell into one of our pumpkins! The process was not easy by any means, but our daughter is very happy with the results. My husband and I are glad she is happy with it, but next time we will probably do things a little different.

If you like the Tinker Bell carving and want to use it for your pumpkin, the website with the pattern used for the pumpkin is here. The first time we printed it out, it was a little small for our pumpkin, but you can scan it with your printer and just enlarge the size to what would be right for your pumpkin. Once you have it printed out, you can tape it onto the pumpkin and start poking an outline.

It can be a little difficult to

get all the details. Just do

the best you can.

This is what it will look like when

you are done with the outline.

Next comes the carving. Now instead of cutting all the way through, we just took off the top layers so that the light will just glow through a thin skin of the pumpkin. For this task we used the Dremel with the smallest bit. They do have a pumpkin carving kit for the Dremel and I think for future pumpkin carving we might invest in one.

As you are carving the pumpkin, make sure you have a lot of paper towels around. You will need the paper towels to wipe away the wet pieces of pumpkin both off the pumpkin (so you can see what you are doing) and also off the table and floor (depending on the speed you set the Dremel to). Make sure to steady the tool with both hands, because it will help you keep a steady hand to carve.

One thing I would change for next time is that for the smaller and more intricate details I would use a small carving knife. The Dremel was great, but it was very hard to get the details of her face and hands with it and I think doing it manually with a little pumpkin carving knife would help with carving those details.

Starting the carving process.

Carving out one of the wings.

Be careful, pumpkin pieces will go flying!

Once you have carved/shaved out the silhouette of Tinker Bell, you can go back and finish any details that you think need to be neatened up. Also, I would make another swipe with the paper towels to make sure it is clear of all mushy and loose pumpkin pieces. Once that is done you can start on the pixie dust :-)

The pixie dust is very easy to do. First, draw an outline on the pumpkin of how you want the pixie dust to look. After you have your outline you are ready to make some pixie dust! For this we used the Dremel again. You can alternate between a small bit and a larger bit to have different sizes. Make sure you do a lot of it. My first round of pixie dust was too sparse and when we put the lights in the pumpkin it didn't give off the pixie dust feel. So, don't be shy, poke a lot of holes for the pixie dust. It looks cool when it is all lit up!

If you are using lights (like we did) instead of a candle, just carve out a little notch in the back where the cord can sit. This will help the cap stay on the pumpkin.

I took a bunch of pictures of it outside. Unfortunately, I don't think you get the full effect through the pictures, but you can get the idea. For a first try at this, and never having done anything like this before, I think we did a pretty good job. As my husband said, our pumpkin carving experience before this consisted mainly of triangle eyes, a triangle nose, and a standard pumpkin carving mouth...maybe with a tooth, if we were feeling fancy ;-)

So, here it is! She'll bring some magic to our Halloween this year!

What it looks like from farther away.

A "swoop" of pixie dust.

It's a little hard to see here, but we tried

making two little loops of pixie dust.

Again, it's hard to see, but there is some

pixie dust coming out of the wand.

Another view of the "swoop" of pixie dust.

Not going to lie, it wasn't easy to do. However, once it was time to put the lights in and see it outside, it was pretty cool. We know for next time to be careful with the little details, but we are pretty happy with how it came out. If you are looking for a different idea for your pumpkin, give this one a try! Bring a little magic to your Halloween too! :-)

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰