All Ears® Guest Blog

Guest Blogger Jeff Onorato shares his recent experience dining at Paradiso 37!

During my September visit to WDW, I had the opportunity to dine at Paradiso 37. The restaurant is located in the Pleasure Island district of Downtown Disney, between the Adventurer’s Club and Harley Davidson Orlando.

On the night of my visit, the restaurant was surprisingly empty given that it had only been open for a few months. I expected a more sizable crowd. The fact that it was mid-week undoubtedly played a part.

The theme of the restaurant is eclectic and colorful, as evidenced in the Cuervo Chandelier hanging above the entryway. There are 2 bars within the restaurant, and seating is split between the main level and an upper-level of the building.

Patio tables are also available for outside dining. They offer a nice view of the boat dock and Saratoga Springs.

The menu at Paradiso 37 is inspired by the “Street Foods of South, Central, and North America”. That mantra perfectly sums up the broad array of food offered. Tequila is the main attraction here, and they have 37 varieties of it (as referenced in the name). The only type I didn’t see on hand was Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo brand.

In celebration of this I opted to start off the meal with their signature Mangled Margarita, which is a mixture of Sangria and a typical Margarita. I found the drink to be slightly sweeter than a typical Margarita, and perfectly blended. By the time I finished the first one I was ready for another!

For those folks who are interested in beer, the restaurant takes pride in serving the coldest beer in WDW! As evidenced on the thermometer hanging in the Dining Room, their beer is served at around 29 degrees.

For my appetizer I chose the Queso Fundido ($7.99) which was a good way to start the meal. The chips were served hot in a large bag adjacent to the bowl of Jack-cheese dip, which was garnished with Scallions. The appetizer was very hearty, and could be served as a meal in and of itself.

Service of my Entrée was nicely paced so as not to rush the meal. I decided on the Baja Burritos ($14.99), which are stuffed with either Chicken or Beef - I chose the Beef. Alongside the generously portioned burritos were Black Beans & Rice. I did not find the meal to be especially spicy and the need for a firehouse was not felt. The BBQ flavor was prominent in the dish, and I would liken it to Pork BBQ in texture and taste.

The food was quite filling and a good value for the money. While the desserts they had on offer were more than tempting, there was no more room at the Inn! Next time, I will skip the appetizer in favor of the Churros or Mini Ice Cream Cones.

My visit to Paradiso 37 was a solo one. In light of this, I did not feel rushed or out-of-place. In fact, I noticed several other solo diners in attendance that night both in the dining room and at the bar. My server did not seem to mind either; he took ample time going over the menu with me and making recommendations on what to try on my first visit.

I would recommend this restaurant for families visiting Downtown Disney or couples looking for a night out on the town. While they do serve alcohol with an emphasis on tequila and specialty drinks, I don’t think that children will feel out of place here. I would most liken the restaurant to the Maya Grill at Coronado Springs or San Angel Inn at Epcot, with more menu options. Paradiso 37 is open from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant directly ((407) 934-3700) and were not available through Disney Dining Reservations when I checked. Also, they do not accept reservations during peak Dinner hours, only up until 4 o’clock.

There are currently no discount offers for Annual Passholder or Tables in Wonderland when I inquired with my Server. Also, Paradiso 37 does not currently accept the Disney Dining Plan.

Related Links:

Paradiso 37 Menu

Readers Rate and Review Paradiso 37

About Jeff: I am 33 years old and from Gettysburg, PA. By day I work in the Accounting Department of a Newspaper Publishing Company. My first visit to WDW was at the age of 2, and have been back around 35 times since then. I often travel solo to WDW, as well as with family. I make good use of my Annual Pass, and trek to Orlando about 5 times per year to visit my favorite travel destination. My favorite resort is the Polynesian, but have stayed at all of the WDW resorts at least once. In fact, my favorite aspect of visiting the Walt Disney World Resort is trying out the different Resorts and Restaurants. I also enjoy the many restaurants and sampling different foods that I normally would never try at home! (such as Escargot at the France pavillion).

http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2009/06/d23_flower_fireworks_celebrati.htmlIn the first half of this D23 Sip & Stroll report, I went over the Check-In and the Welcome Presentations at the Odyssey Center, a few tastes from the Food & Wine Festival, and the Wine Seminar & Culinary Demonstration at the Festival Center. When we left off, we were just let out for our second free period – an hour before the “Eat To The Beat Concert”.

BREAK #2: FASTPASSES OR A TRIP TO THE CAR

This break would’ve been a good opportunity for Sip & Stroll-ers to finish using the FastPasses we were given or to have another taste or two from the Festival booths. But I decided to use this time to make a stop by the car to drop off some stuff. Apparently some other Sip & Stroll-ers had the same idea because I spotted the familiar lanyards on a couple walking back from the parking lot, and we gave each other a friendly wink and nod as we passed by.

I had parked a ways off, so I basically had just enough time to walk to my car and then all the way back to the American Gardens Theatre.

EAT TO THE BEAT" CONCERT featuring Jon Secada

A D23 cast member was waiting at the theatre’s left entrance to escort me to the front rows where there were seats reserved for Sip & Stroll-ers. The cast member also mentioned that we were going to gather by the left side of the theatre after the concert for more instructions.

Jon Secada performed five songs in this first “Eat to the Beat” show of the evening:

- “Do You Believe In Love”
- “I'm Free” (English and Spanish)
- “Angel” (jazz-version, English, Spanish)
- “Always Something”
- “Just Another Day”

Jon Secada was a lively performer, moving about the stage to cover the entire audience. As it was still warm outside, he took a moment to take off his jacket and then joked “that’s as far as it goes.” He was very charming and surprisingly quick on his feet.

During the show, Jon Secada also sang with a lot of passion, especially “I’m Free” and “Angel” which he sang partly in Spanish.

For more pictures of Jon Secada and his band, please check out Michael Bachand’s Blog:

Jon Secada acknowledged the D23 section during the show, but not to the same extent that Tony Orlando did at D23’s Flower & Fireworks celebration. I shouldn’t expect any extra special attention by the entertainer during the show, but I think it would’ve been a nice touch for Jon Secada to also have led us in singing the Mickey Mouse Club's "Alma Mater", like Tony Orlando did during his concert, as some sort of D23 tradition.

Still, everyone had a good time at the concert, and afterwards, we gathered along the theatre's left wall as previously instructed.

We were surprised with the opportunity to go backstage to meet Jon Secada and have our picture taken with him. For me, the excitement was two-fold – first, to meet someone I enjoyed listening to growing up, and second, just to see the area behind the stage. I’ll let you discover backstage on your own, but here’s the picture of me and Jon Secada in his dressing room.

The VIP treatment continued as we were let out for our third and final break.

BREAK #3: THE AMERICAN ADVENTURE

After going backstage and meeting Jon Secada, we had an hour free to walk around before we were scheduled to meet-up for dinner.

Without much to do in the area besides sampling more food (and possibly spoiling our dinner), a few Sip & Stroll-ers and I decided to catch the 6:00pm show of the American Adventure. Afterwards, we made our way to the World Showplace.

"PARTY FOR THE SENSES" DINNER at the World Showplace

After the American Adventure, we made our way to the gate in front of the World Showplace, where we saw some familiar faces gathered and a cast member holding up a D23 sign.

It wasn’t long before we were escorted into the World Showplace.

Our private “Party for the Senses” dinner was held in the Wine Place Lounge portion of the World ShowPlace venue. As we walked in, a server was positioned to hand us our first drinks.

At the far end of the room, a four-piece band performed on a small stage.

In the center of the room were about a dozen small tables – enough to accomodate everyone comfortably – and each place-setting included a Mickey-shaped tray and a "Party For The Senses" wine glass.

The Mickey tray was supposed to be used to transport the food from the stations to our tables with the right ear of each tray designed to hold our wine glass, but many of us found this arrangement too cumbersome and just walked back-and-forth to the stations bare-handed (asides from cameras).

There was a total of eight food/beverage stations to our left and right; and they including one well-stocked open bar. I’m afraid that I didn’t get good photo-coverage of these stations, but I did get a good sample of food pics.

D23 had posted the menu beforehand on the Sip & Stroll event webpage:

First Course
Artisan Cheese selection served with Complimenting Accompaniments

Second Course
European Greens tossed with Aged Sherry Vinaigrette served with Warm Goat Cheese Polenta Cake and Heirloom Tomatoes

Third Course
Pan Seared Scallop over Lobster Risotto with Piquillo Peppers and Asparagus

Perigourdine Braised Beef Shortrib with Parsnip Mash, Crisp Leeks and Petit Brioche

Pan Seared Poulet Rouge with Wild Mushrooms, Shallots and Fig Reduction

; Dessert
Vanilla Bean Gelato with Whiskey Sabayon and Candied Cinnamon Almonds

Apple Tarte Tatin with Aged Stout Cheddar

Petit Baileys Chocolate Soufflé served with Crème Anglaise
Biscotti

Each dish had its own wine pairing, and an additional cast member was at each food station ready to refresh our wine glass.

Because of lactose issues, I decided to skip the selection of gourmet cheeses, and the salad was at the same station, so unfortunately, I overlooked that course completely.

Many of the night’s recipes included dairy products, but I remembered to bring some lactose pills and did try to sample all of the other dishes.

I hardly had to wait in line at any of the food stations, and all of the servers were friendly and very attentive.

The pan-seared scallop was well-prepared, and the lobster risotto was very savory. I also enjoyed the beef shortrib, and the accompanying pasnip mash was a new experience.

I didn’t enjoy the chicken with the mushroom-fig reduction; the chicken was dry and the sauce just did not pair well with it.

As for the desserts, I passed on the vanilla gelato but heard from others that it was very good, especially the almond brittle pieces. I tried the apple tarte tatin with cheddar, but I didn’t care too much for it.

Then I had the Baileys chocolate soufflé, and it was absolutely incredible; I tried for seconds but they had ran out.

By the end of dinner, everyone was stuffed, and we couldn’t imagine having any more dessert at the IllumiNations viewing. Time seemed to have flown by.

As we left the World Showplace, each guest was given their own "Party For The Senses" wine glass plus a bonus piece of stem ware – a D23-exclusive Arribas Bros. wine glass.

These parting/thank you gifts were handed to us at this point knowing that there probably be no better opportunity. And in addition to the wine glasses, tucked away in one of the bags was a pair of special "3D" glasses for us to wear during IllumiNations.

DESSERTS & ILLUMINATIONS at Italy Isola

On the walk over to our private IllumiNations viewing area at Italy's Isola, we passed by a couple other private-viewing areas set up, and it was interesting to see the variety of experiences Epcot offers special guests.

The Italy Isola is the area by the World Showcase Lagoon near the gondolas at the Italy Pavilion; it is accessible by crossing either one of the pavilion’s two bridges (Isola is Italian for "island") . I took pictures of this area earlier in the day.

For the D23 event, there were several small tables and chairs set up for us, and it was again very comfortable – although I wouldn’t want to imagine 200 people in this same space.

For the refreshments, there was a staffed hot-beverage station with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water.

...and a table with a lovely assortment of truffles:

- White Chocolate Truffle with Sprinkles
- Dark Chocolate Truffle with Pralines
- Milk Chocolate Truffle with Coconut

There was just enough time for us to get a few truffles and a drink (another coffee for me), and put on our special 3D glasses before the narrator blew out the torches and IllumiNations began.

At the first explosions, we all erupted with chuckles and applause. The 3D glasses we were wearing produced swarms of Mickeys – it was like Epcot’s own “Spirit of 3D”.

To many of us, the 3D glasses really made the event – a simple gesture, but one that was really that cool. It was IllumiNations as we've never seen before – although I'm sure it won't be the last time.

CONCLUSION

D23’s Sip & Stroll was similar to the earlier Flower & Fireworks celebration in that they both involved a concert and fireworks, but Sip & Stroll-ers were treated to so much more – more giveaways (park tickets, gift card, wine glasses), more experiences (food & wine presentations, private dinner), and more opportunities (hospitality suite, going backstage and meeting Jon Secada). It was truly an all-day event – the pace was brisk but relaxed – and very much worth the price.

The D23 team did a fantastic job organizing this event – everything ran smoothly – and I thought it was nice that some of them were able to join us and experience it from our perspective. Really, it just felt like we were one big family. And I think that’s what makes these events so special – D23’s Sip & Stroll was another opportunity for Disney fans of all types to get together and celebrate a brand we love. Thank you D23 team, and I look forward to Magic & Merriment in December.

Guest Blogger Cedric Ching is back! This time he has an extensive review of the D23 Sip and Stroll Event!

INTRODUCTION

On Sunday, October 18th, 2009, D23 held its second official member event in Florida: D23’s Sip & Stroll at Epcot.

Event Description from the D23 website:

“Join D23 at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World Resort during the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, as we raise a glass to our Charter Members and their friends and family.

This exciting day begins in the exclusive D23 Hospitality Suite, where Members can relax and enjoy engaging presentations from some very special guests, including Marketplace Cookbook editor Pam Brandon, Epcot Vice President Dan Cockerell, and Marianne Hunnel, the woman who leads the team behind the Festival — with some truly magical surprises mixed in along the way! Following these behind-the-scenes presentations, guests will receive a gift card, which they can use to "sip and stroll" through Epcot's Food & Wine offerings to create a personalized Festival experience!

After lunch, attendees can savor one of two Food & Wine sessions — a mouth-watering culinary demonstration or a palate-pleasing wine tasting — exclusive to D23 Members and their guests. Afterwards, with dusk descending, guests will head over to the American Gardens Theatre to enjoy reserved seating for Jon Secada's "Eat to the Beat" concert. After the show, they'll indulge in a private D23 "Party for the Senses" — the Food & Wine Festival's signature event — reserved for our Members and their guests! Each delicious dish will be complemented with its own wine and/or beer pairing, and a live, three-piece band will entertain throughout the meal. After a day of culinary and musical highlights, it's then time to top it all off with a VIP viewing of IllumiNations featuring a mouthwatering specialty dessert, the perfect backdrop for mingling and reminiscing about the day's adventures.”

Before I go into the events of the day, I feel like I have to make a quick recap of D23’s first official event in Florida – D23’s Flower & Fireworks Celebration earlier this summer – as a point of reference:

D23’s Flower & Fireworks, also held at Epcot, was an event back in May to both celebrate the D23 members here in Florida and to celebrate the end of the Flower & Garden Festival. The event included reserved seating at the “Flower Power” concert followed by a private dessert party that overlooked the World Showcase Lagoon and the IllumiNations fireworks show. The recognition by Tony Orlando at the concert was envigorating, the selection of Walt’s favorite desserts was thoughtful and delicious, and the set of D23 buttons given to us as we were leaving was an unexpected second “kiss goodnight”. The event was at no costs to participants – members just had to register online beforehand – and the event’s 200-guest limit was met.

That said, D23's Sip & Stroll event was not sold out – actually, far from it – probably due to its seemingly-hefty price of $240 per person. But taking into account all of the experiences and extras involved (plus other, unannounced surprises), I was able to convince myself that the cost was well-justified and signed-up.

This trip report will be given in two parts: Part 1 covers “Check-In” up to the “Culinary Demonstration”, Part 2 covers the rest of the evening, from the “Eat to the Beat Concert” to “IllumiNations”.

CHECK-IN & WELCOME at the Odyssey Center/D23's Hospitality Suite

The day began with a drive over to Epcot. I arrived at 9:00am and stopped by the Guest Relations window to the right of the park's front gates. There, I showed the cast member my confirmation email, D23 membership card, and driver's license, and received an envelope containing my two complimentary 1-day, 1-park tickets, in case I needed it for admission. But like most of the event's attendees, I was a WDW Passholder, so we'll be able to use these tickets to treat family or friends, as long as we do so before December 30, 2009.

From there, I did stop by Innoventions East and considered checking out The Sum of All Thrills before the lines got too long but decided to just continue onto the Odyssey Center for check-in.

The Odyssey Center served as the hospitality suite for today's Sip & Stroll. Its entrance was roped off, with a castmember stationed nearby. As I approached, she greeted me and welcomed me in.

Inside, the first thing I noticed was how open the area was – there were only nine small tables set up. And although there wasn’t a lot of decoration, I felt that it was enough to establish a casual, easy-going tone for the event.

I imagined that there would to be a larger crowd. When I saw the number of packets on the check-in table, I quickly adjusted my expectations – I later learned that there were only 34 guests (including 2 that managed to sign up day-of).

Anyways, there were a couple of beverage stations set-up for us: one with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, and one with water and cold sodas.

And these refreshments would be available to us here at the Odyssey Center throughout the day until 4:30pm.

I made myself a cup of coffee then took a look through our guest packet. In addition to the two 1-day, 1-park passes in the envelope from Guest Relations (#1 in the picture below), there were the the following:

2. a Welcome Letter from Steven Clark, Head of D23
3. a D23 Sip and Stroll Itinerary sheet
4. a "Presenter Biographies" sheet
5. a Food & Wine Festival Guide
6. a pair of Sip & Stroll lanyards (as a single guest, I wasn't sure why I received two)
7. a $50 Gift Card
8. two complimentary DisneyQuest passes, and
9. pairs of FastPasses to Soarin’, Test Track, and our choice of Maelstron, Mission:Space, or Living With The Land.

Also, when we were handed our packets, we were asked if we would be interested in attending the 2:00pm Wine Seminar, the 2:45pm Culinary Demonstration, or both. Originally, due to the limited number of reserved seats, we would have had to choose one or the other, but because of the actual turnout, everyone was able to to participate in both sessions (the tickets for those events are #10 in the picture above). [Note: Stitch was not included in the packet.]

As other D23 members and guests got checked in, prepared themselves a drink, and looked through their packets, Clay Shoemaker, one of Walt Disney World's two WDW Ambassadors, was going around to each of the tables making sure everyone was having a good time and entertaining any questions guests had. It wasn’t much longer before the event began and Clay welcomed everyone again to D23's Sip & Stroll event.

Clay introduced to us our host for this opening session, Barry Jacobson, Director of Corporate Meetings & Events and General Manager of the D23 Expo.

Barry talked about this 30 years with the Disney Company and the D23 Expo back in September. And he briefly introduced us to one of his associates in planning the D23 Expo, Joanna Pratt, Disney's Senior Corporate Communications Specialists who works on the West Coast – it was Joanna’s first time at Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival and her first visit to Florida (later in this report, there is a picture of both her and Barry.

During his Q&A portion, Barry was asked about the official attendance number for this year's D23 Expo –although he couldn't say what it was exactly, he told us that it was safely over 30,000. When asked about the location of next year’s D23 Expo, he said that it will again be held in Anaheim, mainly because of the size of their convention center. He also emphasized to us that there should be an announcement soon about next year's expo.

Next, Barry introduced Dan Cockerell, Vice President of Epcot. Dan talked about his experience with the Disney Company, including how he starting off in the parking lot at Epcot Center and how he also acquired "parking lot experience" at Disneyland Paris.

During his Q&A session, Dan was asked about the possible return of the Tapestry of Nations – to which he said that Epcot is always taking into account feedback from guests. Then, when asked about the possible addition of new countries to the World Showcase, he says that are frequently approached by various groups who want to support new nations and that Epcot definitely has the land to expand, but they want to ensure that the country would be a good fit into their storyline.

Dan apologized for not being able to stay longer – he had a couple of his children's soccer games to attend – but he did leave us with a few recommendations for the Food & Wine festival: the Lobster & Scallop Fisherman's Pie at Cork, Ireland; the Seared Sea Scallop at Wellington, New Zealand; and (for those of age) the Raspberry Chiller at Krakow, Poland.

Next was Marianne Hunnel, the Event Content Development Area Manager for the 14th Annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Marianne talked about coordinating the festival and how, when deciding on which tastes to offer, she and her team tries to take into consideration both guest feedback and emerging trends -- such as the increasing popularity of spirits as food pairings. She also mentioned that her husband was also a chef – he works at Victoria & Albert’s – and how, for their last vacation, they actually went to Disneyland.

For her Q&A session, she was asked about the possibility of the return of a large exhibit (like those for Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Australia in recent years), and she was asked for any plans for having “hands-on” cooking seminars. Marianne didn’t say much about a large pavilion exhibit for next year except that she and her team are always open to the possibility. As for “hands-on" cooking seminars, she said that they're looking at possibly offering activities such as sushi-rolling and cake-decorating.

Then, before leaving, Marianne made a couple Food & Wine recommendations of her own: the Seared Barramundi from Melbourne, Australia and also the Fisherman's Pie at Cork, Ireland.

The last presenter of the morning was Pam Brandon, an award-winning journalist and author, who worked as a senior publicist for Walt Disney World Resort and who helped produce several cookbooks for Disney Publishing. In setting up for her portion of the presentation, she brought with her a stack of cookbooks she’s worked on.

She quickly touched on each one, sharing the idea behind them – for instance, with the Food & Wine Festival recipe binder, she and her creative team imagined guests returning to the festival year-after-year being able to purchase more recipes for it, but that idea didn’t really take off. Also, Pam admitted how, for the first couple Disney cookbooks, the recipes were more-or-less untested (so if they don’t turn out quite right, you’ll know why).

Of course, they have thoroughly tested each recipes ever since – though she did share with us a funny anecdote of someone calling her up out of the blue to tell her how one of the recipes for chateau briand never said to put the meat in the oven. I found this presentation to be the most insightful and enjoyed her openness and enthusiasm.

A self-taught cook, Pam told us that with each dish, she tries to share a story – the central idea behind the only non-Disney cookbook she brought with her, her “Culinary Confessions of the PTA Divas”. We then experienced an Oprah moment as she told us that we were each going to receive a copy of the cookbook and that she’d sign it for us. And that concluded the morning presentations.

After I received my autographed copy of Pam Brandon’s cookbook, I made myself another cup of coffee, mingled with some of the other D23 guests, then headed out to the next adventure.

Everyone was all on their own to explore the Food & Wine Festival, etc until 2:00pm, when we were to meet up at the Festival Center for the Wine Presentation and Culinary Demonstration.

BREAK #1: THE SUM OF ALL THRILLS & EXPLORING THE WORLD SHOWCASE

The first thing I did after leaving the Odyssey was head over to Innoventions East to visit The Sum of All Thrills. I met a couple of fellow Sip & Stroll-ers in line, and we went through the process together.

I won’t go into detail (just check out Jack Spence’s article about the attraction) – but I’ll say that I would've gotten right back in line and could've spent the rest of the break in both Innoventions. But the focus of this trip was the D23 Sip & Stroll, so I made my way to the World Showcase to scout out some food.

I’ve been to the Food & Wine Festival these past couple weekends, trying a few samples each time –my favorites so far being the Tostada de Pollo at Mexico City, Mexico, the Beef Empanada at Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Escargots Persillade en Brioche at Paris, France. This time, I wanted to continue to try some new tastes, including a couple of the ones the presenters called out as their favorites:

First, I went to Santiago, Chile to sample their Rock Shrimp Ceviche. The interaction between the flavors of the buttered popcorn and the ceviche wasn’t as well-defined as I’d hoped, but I was pleased with the amount of shrimp in it. Anyways, it was at this booth that the cashier saw my Sip & Stroll lanyard and gave me an extra smile and nod.

Next was the Seared Sea Scallop with Vegetable Slaw and Lemon Oil from Wellington, New Zealand – one of the items Dan Cockerell recommended. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for it. My scallop had an uneven sear, I happened to bite into a chunk of salt, and I found the slaw to be just too tangy.

The last thing I tried this time around was the Lobster & Scallop Fisherman's Pie at Cork, Ireland – recommended by both Dan and Marianne. And this has to be my new favorite dish. It had really good flavor and texures, plus my sample had a generous portion of lobster and scallops. I will definitely have this one again.

I was able to make only a little dent into the gift card and halfway through the World Showcase before I decided to make my way back to the D23 Sip & Stroll Hospitality Suite for another cup of coffee and to sit down and relax before the next event.

Perhaps I could’ve been more aggressive with the sampling, but I knew that I needed to save some room for the culinary demonstration and "Party For The Senses" dinner to come. I enjoyed talking with another couple of Sip & Stroll-ers at the Odyssey Center, and when the time came, we walked over the Festival Center together.

WINE SEMINAR & CULINARY DEMONSTRATION at the Festival Center

As participants of D23’s Sip & Stroll, we were given priority seating at both the wine seminar and the culinary demonstration. This was a nice perk, and it did feel very VIP.

Wine Seminar w/Kate MacMurray

At the wine seminar we attended, we were able to sample three varieties of wine from the MacMurray Ranch – the MacMurray Pinot Gris, the MacMurray Russian River Pinot Noir, and the MacMurray Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

The presenter for the seminar was Kate MacMurray, daughter of Disney Legend Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor).

Kate gave us some background, telling us how her father in 1941, at the age of 32, purchased the large parcel of land in Sonoma County, California that became the MacMurray Ranch. She told us how her father had wanted to but was unable to enlist in the military because he was deaf in his left ear from years of shooting guns without hearing-protection. He still wanted to help out efforts, so, as advised, they diversified their farming and raised a variety of animals/livestock. Then, every couple weeks or so, a truck would come by to pick up the surplus crops to support the troops. She noted how the crops they supported evolved, and how the history of the ranch was really the history of agriculture in Northern California.

Kate also mentioned other facts about their operations. For instance, they employ the services of a falconer to fend off birds instead of netting their crops which could damage the plants. And she also said that they used other natural techniques such as planting red clover on every other row to attract good bugs.

Kate also spoke of her father’s close friendship with Walt Disney, and how Walt personally asked her father to star in The Shaggy Dog. She shared her memories of being with her father at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that opened Epcot Center in 1982. It was an honor just to have attended this particular session. Kate was well-spoken and listening to her, it was like being in the presence of a Disney Legend.

Here’s a picture of Barry Jacobson and Joanna Pratt at the Wine Seminar.

After the wine presentation, D23 event castmembers escorted us directly to the culinary demonstration, where we were also given priority seating.

Culinary Demonstration w/Chef Andy Trousdale

This session began with a brief presentation about the 2005 Jack London Cabernet, the wine-pairing for the dish that was going to be prepared.

Then, the host of the culinary demonstrations, Pam Smith, made mention of the D23 club and acknowledged us before introducing everyone to Chef Andy Trousdale from Le Bistro Restaurant in Lighthouse Point, FL .

In this session, Chef Andy prepared his Roasted Beef Tenderloin "Diane".

Chef Andy started off the hot pan with shallots & garlic then added veal glaze/stock which provides a meat flavor to the sauce. He mentioned how cooking was about building up flavors and how it required a level of intuition – because sometimes measuring ingredients takes more time than just cooking. And he told us how these cooking demonstations were always a pleasure to do because all the ingredients are already prepared and so beautiful, like the variety of mushrooms provided. He added some more ingredients to the sauce, but pointed out that he let the mixture cook and reduce further before adding the cream to the sauce.

To prepare the beef tenderloin, Chef Andy demonstrated a couple techniques for tying up the meat. He then seasoned it with salt, pepper, and oil before browning the beef in a heated sauté pan.

I've attended a number of these culinary demonstrations at this year's Food & Wine Festival, and this session took the longest before sending out the food for us to sample, or it just seemed that way – we were all getting hungry watching him cook, but when we got our food, it was quite a treat. The beef was very juicy and the mushroom sauce worked out wonderfully to compliment.

And that ended our events at the Festival Center. I went to get Chef Andy’s autograph and a picture with, then had about an hour of free time before the D23 group was to regrouped at the American Gardens Theatre for the “Eat To The Beat” concert.

Coming Soon, Part 2!

On Sunday, September 27, 2009, I attended one of the Passholder previews of the new Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure movie -- a month before its Oct. 27th release on Disney DVD and Blu-ray; there were five of these preview held over the weekend.

The Passholder previews were held at the Town Square Theatre at the Exposition Hall on Main Street U.S.A., Magic Kingdom -- the same place the Wishes! fireworks presentation was held earlier this year. The building donned Halloween/Fall decorations:

As a 28-year old bachelor without kids, who honestly didn't care too much for the first Tinker Bell installment, I went into the preview more interested in the "event" than the movie. Going in, I didn't know what to expect, but I'll say right now that I ended up very pleasantly surprised on both accounts.

Upon check-in, guests were given a small ticket to exchange at their concession stand for our choice of snack: a bag of popcorn, a candy bar, or as a healthy option, a piece of fruit -- I opted for a banana:

There was also water available:

Food in hand, I entered through a set of doors and entered their Pixie Hollow of sorts (I was accompanied by Kermit for this trip):

I had gotten there early (always a good idea), and at about half-an-hour before the presentation was scheduled to start, Jen, a WDW Passholder Events cast member, who had previously hosted many of these Passholder events, welcomed everyone to the preview then shared with us a couple of sneak peeks.

We watched one of the bonus features from the upcoming DVD/Blu-ray disc: "Pixie Hollow Comes to Walt Disney World", a behind-the-scenes look at what went into designing and planning the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden for last year's Flower & Garden Festival.

We were then shown a slide with the layout for next year's Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden -- it will be three times as large and will feature two new fairy topiaries, Terence & Vidia. Next, we saw the music video for Demi Lovato's "The Gift of a Friend" -- which can be found on YouTube, but seeing it on the big screen was pretty cool.

By then, everyone was in a "fairy" good mood and ready to watch the movie, which we did... after a brief reminder that any recording (video or otherwise) was prohibited and after we were introduced to Jerome, a security guard there to be sure that everyone behaved, which we did. :)

That said, I thought the movie was a lot better than the first. I really enjoyed it. By not having to re-introduce every type of fairy or re-explain the fairy world, the movie was able to focus on telling a good story, which it did.

Here's my attempt at a synopsis ofthe movie:

"Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure opens as the fairies are preparing for the upcoming Autumn Revelry. Tinker Bell has been chosen to create the septor for the special occasion, which is extra special this year because it coincides with a blue harvest moon.

For this task, Tinker Bell receives some help from her friend Terence, a dust keeper, but of course, things do not go as smoothly as planned and an adventure ensues. Along the way, she meets some new characters including an adorable firefly/lightning bug named Blaze, who everyone will love, and a pair of out-of-practice trolls."

After the screening, Justin Muchoney Disney's first CMO (Chief Magical Officer), had the microphone and encouraged the audience to stay in their seats because there were more surprises.

Justin introduced Michael Rola, from Walt Disney Studios, who presented us with an exclusive sneak peek of the trailer for the next movie in the series, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (currently slated for an October 2010 release on Disney DVD/Blu-ray). Michael then announced the names of the other two Tinker Bell movies in works -- Tinker Bell: A Winter's Tale, and Tinker Bell: Race Through the Seasons.

Next, the audience was introduced to the the newest member of Pixie Hollow at the parks, Terence, who should be showing up at the Meet & Greets by late October. It was a photo moment if I knew one, but since the start of the movie, I had been sitting on my hands not to take any pictures. So, once I saw another person in the audience take out her camera (and saw that Jerome didn't tackle her), my camera was out and back in commission:

:)

Well, as mentioned, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure introduces some new characters, including a couple of trolls, of which there were life-sized cut-outs of on the stage.

A little girl from the audience was given the opportunity to ask Grimsley, one of the trolls, some questions. He replied, and we learned that he and the other troll have been friends for 348 years, that the worst name he has been called was "Dobby", and that he is friends with Brad Pitt, Mylie Cyrus, and of course, Tinker Bell.

At this point, Justin introduced Rob Paulsen, the voice actor for Grimsley and Bobble in the Tinker Bell movies. Among Rob's other voice credits are Jose Carioca (from The Three Amingos), Experiment 625 (from Lilo & Stitch: The Series), Pinky (from Pinky And The Brain), and Yakko Warner (from Animaniacs). And it was as Yakko that Rob Paulsen sang the "Nations of the World" song -- I remember watching that on television growing up. So cool.

After that, Justin instructed us of how the rest of the event would go: row-by-row, we would have the opportunity to have our picture taken with the Trolls, then with Tinkerbell and Terence, and then Rob Paulsen would be available for pictures and to sign autographs.

And for those who were waiting, Justin had some Tinker Bell Trivia. Here are a couple examples:

"Who is Tink's adorable mouse helper?"

and "Who is this?"

Anyways, Justin and Jen (and Jerome) were great, along with all of the special guests. They looked like they were having as much fun as we were.

And it was in no time that it was my turn for pictures!

Trolls (not to be confused, I'm the one in the center)

with Terence and Tinker Bell

and Rob Paulsen

As I exited the theatre, a Castmember was there, ready to hand guests a parting gift -- a Tinker Bell cup with a couple trinkets. It was a nice, unexpected touch.

I thought that the WDW Passholder Team did a superb job with this event. It was well-organized and immersive with lots of special touches. The movie was also very good. I can't wait until next year when they'll hopefully have a Passholder preview for Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

And if you are interested in any of the Tinker Bell DVDs, visit the AllEars Amazon.com Store!

Our First Trip "Home"
by Guest Blogger Laura Fox

A Little Background

My husband and I have been Disney fans for a long time now. (My first trip was in 1983.) We live in the Northeast and have been to WDW numerous times and tried many of the different resorts.

Back in 2001 we listened to the information on the Disney Vacation Club. At the time, they were just opening the Beach Club Villas and had we bought at that time it would have been our home resort. For various reasons, we chose not to buy at that time but it was always in the back of our minds.

Fast forward to the year 2008 and now with two children things had changed. First of all, friends of ours traveled to WDW in June and became members on that trip with Saratoga Springs as their home resort. This sparked our age old interest again and I ordered the DVC video and my husband started doing research online. Long story short, in Fall 2008, we decided to purchase a resale and now have Old Key West as our home resort. When I shared with a co-worker that we had become members, she being a member herself and knowing our love of Disney exclaimed "It's about time!" So I'm writing to share my experience. Hopefully it will help prepare any of you first timers like us for your first trip "home" or for you more seasoned guests, just get you excited for your upcoming trip.

Going "Home"

Our first trip home started on August 25, 2009. We chose The Boardwalk Villas for our inaugural trip as Members while our friends decided to stay at the Beach Club Villas for theirs. We felt since the resorts were so close by, that it wouldn't matter if we were in different hotels even though we were traveling together.

We originally booked a one bedroom Boardwalk View room for our entire stay but about a month before our trip, Grandma decided she couldn't disappoint her begging Grandchildren and decided to join us. At that time we contacted Member Services to see if we could switch to a Two Bedroom for the duration of our stay at either the Boardwalk Villas or Beach Club Villas. It ended up due to availability that we were only able to have our last 4 nights in a two bedroom so my Mother spent her first three nights at the WDW Swan (which was very nice) before joining us in the two bedroom at the Boardwalk. This turned out to be very exciting for our six year old who had a few sleepovers at the Swan with Grandma.

We traveled by plane to Orlando Intl Airport and made use of Disney's Magical Express. We were undecided if we wanted to use the baggage tags Disney provided and have our luggage go straight from the plane to our room or whether to gather our luggage after our flight and bring it with us on the bus. I always feel like one more person touching your luggage is one more chance for something to get lost. However, being that we were traveling with two small children, we decided that using the tags was the way to go and we packed a change of clothes and bathing suits in our carry on since we were told it could take up to three hours to receive our bags.

We made our way to the Magical Express area which was very easy to find (For you uber planners, it's located on the B side of Level 1.) and we checked in with a cast member who checked our Magical Express booklet and told us which line to get on. There were several lines grouped by which resorts they went to. Through the window to the street you could see several buses lined up loading passengers. We got in the line for the Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Club resorts. It took about 10-15 minutes before they were calling our row to board the bus where we presented our booklet again and the cast member scanned our transportation voucher. The buses used were Disney's Magical Express, Disney Cruise Line, and Mears Motor coaches. We were on a Disney Cruise line bus and the seats were decorated to match the theme as you can see. Once we were on our way, our bus driver, Angel, confirmed the resorts we were going to and showed a guest video with various information that played right up until we reached our first destination.

We were very excited to make it to the Boardwalk Villas and were happy to hear the Cast Member at the doors to the main building "Welcome" us "Home" and ask our name. When we told him our name, he said "Oh, yes, Fox" like he had been expecting us and directed us where to go to check in.

When we arrived at the front desk there was no line for regular check in. However, we had done online check in and had to wait for the guest in front of us. We were waiting for what seemed to be a long time when the Concierge Desk assisted us and gave us our information. Our room was not available yet so we decided to walk over to the Swan and check my Mother in there and get something to eat at Picabu in the Dolphin.

Now our friends had checked in the day before at the Beach Club Villas and when they arrived early they were given the option of leaving their cell phone number to get a text when their room was ready. My husband wasn't given the option so we just took our time exploring until it was close to 4pm and then got our room keys rather quickly. We also received a whole Welcome Home package that had park maps, hotel maps, the "Boardwalk Bugle" listing information on the Boardwalk and it's amenities, an Activities Guide and a copy of the Portable Perks brochure which lists all the DVC discounts and tours available.

Our room (1 bedroom Boardwalk View) was Room #4051. Facing the Beach Club we overlooked the right side of the Boardwalk (Inn) and Boardwalk Courtyard.

As you may or may not know, the Boardwalk is currently undergoing a refurbishment. This room was one of the unrefurbished rooms. We, however, had no complaints. We loved the location. It was close to the elevators and the view was great! Everything was in working order and clean. We were very happy with the amount of space we had for ourselves and our two boys (ages 4 and 6). They were so excited and explored every inch. They were especially happy with "the bathtub with the jets".

We had ordered a large grocery order through Garden Grocer to delivery that evening. However, much to our happy surprise, while we were on board the Magical Express enroute to the resort, I received a call letting us know that our groceries had already been delivered and were being stored with Bell Services! Wonderful! Within an hour of getting into our room we had received our luggage and our grocery order. They had stored our perishables appropriately so that all our refrigerated items were cold and our freezer items were still frozen. The Garden Grocer service worked great and Bell Services was superb!

Now, I've read the reviews regarding the unrefurbished rooms at the Boardwalk and I'm not blind. Yes, the carpets are somewhat worn and there were some scrapes and paint chips on the furniture etc but from some reviews I read I was expecting to be disappointed if we received a unrefurbished room and I most certainly was not. I did not find anything glaringly wrong that would prompt me to write about it. I feel this is a good statement to make since our switch to the 2 bedroom pool/garden view was in a completely refurbished room so I've been able to see the differences first hand. More on that later.

Member Perks

We were able to take advantage of some Member Perks this trip. We spent our second day at Epcot and made reservations at Le Chefs de France. Members save 20% off their lunch check at this restaurant. This was a bonus since we had plans on eating here anyway. The look on my four year olds face when the kind French woman asked us if we wanted to meet the chef and then presented us to Remy from Ratatouille was priceless. He is a favorite so this restaurant was on our list of must-dos this trip. And saving 20% made it that much more palatable. Thank you Theibault for an enjoyable meal!

The other perk we were able to take advantage of was the PhotoPass Resort Photo Shoot. We've read that this was available at select resorts and since we were overdue for a family picture we made a reservation with the PhotoPass people at the Beach Club. As Members we saved 20% off the price of the package. Our PhotoPass Photographer (Mickie) took us to a beautiful room in the Beach Club and then down to the beach to get some nice family pictures. My husband appreciated that it was quick (about 20 minutes total) and we were able to get some great pictures to go home with.

As an aside, each evening PhotoPass photographers are set in the resorts where there there is a PhotoPass Desk and you can you use your PhotoPass card and have impromptu pictures taken and added to your card. We took advantage of this when we did an adults night out at Jiko in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The photographer was set up in a certain area and all you had to do was walk up and hand him your PhotoPass card. Our friends did the same thing one night when PhotoPass Photographers were set up out by the Lighthouse at the Yacht/Beach Club.

Enjoying the Resort

Our third day we decided to skip the parks and spend the entire day in the Epcot Resorts area. We spent the morning at our pool at the Boardwalk. Our kids LOVED the slide there. The pool was clean, comfortable and in the morning when everyone is at the parks, EMPTY. All the Cast Members we met were friendly and accommodating. When we entered the pool area, I had one Cast Member ask me if we "were a part of their family". It was our first time at Disney where we could answer yes. We were home. Just don't bring your fruity drink concoction from the bar too close to the pool or you will be chastised.

After spending a few hours at our pool and thoroughly enjoying the slide, we decided to join our friends at the Beach Club for lunch. As you may know, the Yacht/Beach Club pool area (Stormalong Bay) is for guests that are staying at their resort only. They take this seriously. Our friend had to meet us outside the pool area and escort us to the tables they had reserved
so that we could have lunch together. Guests making us of that pool use wristbands to identify themselves. So note that the pool hopping restriction is enforced. I have to add though that one late evening our friends were riding the slide with guests that were staying at Port Orleans which leads me to believe that rules are more relaxed late in the evening. While waiting for our meal, the Cast Member checking bracelets and handing out towels shared toys and games with our little ones which kept them happy and busy for a little while. Thanks to our waitress, Raquel from Boston, for her great friendly service for our large group and for making sure the food was safe for our son who has a severe peanut allergy.

Later that day we checked out of our one-bedroom villa and into our two-bedroom villa. Since we were planning on spending the day at the pool we had bell services come and store all of our items in the morning until we could check in again at 4pm. Once again bell services exceeded our expectations and stored all of our luggage and perishables and returned them
to us once we were settled in our new room making it an easy transition.

We were given room 3010 and 3008. Our reservation was for a pool/garden view and the view from our room was of the waterway leading to Hollywood Studios and the Swan. It was a long walk down the hallway to our room from the main area but we didn't mind. As we came closer to our room we noticed that the carpet changed and we were now located in the already refurbished section of the resort. Our refurbished room was very nice and comfortable. Everything was freshly painted or new - carpets, drapes, lamps, appliances etc. We enjoyed several meals in our kitchen and everything was in working order. It was extremely convenient having my Mother in the connecting Studio and she was more than pleased with her accommodations.

Upsides to this resort were so many: Space!, kitchen facilities, view, location, free internet access, DVD player in the room, great pool and slide, access to the nighttime entertainment on the boardwalk, easy access to walking or taking a water taxi to Epcot or Hollywood Studios, did I mention Location?!.

Downsides to both one bedrooms we occupied were that the toilet would not flush twice (but both times was quickly rectified by maintenance) and that the dryer took a loonnngggg time to dry.

Bottom Line: We would definitely stay at the Boardwalk Villas again.

Our trip wouldn't have been complete without spending a little time at Community Hall. Our six year old loved that they had several Playstation 2 games set up to play and also enjoyed playing Air Hockey with his little brother. There was a large flat screen TV and a couch and tables set up for crafts. They had several activities at Community Hall during the week like
painting pottery and you could rent DVDs (free to DVC members) here as well. Community Hall was located adjacent to the quiet pool and the kids loved the time they spent there.

Miscellaneous

Staying at the Boardwalk Villas we were spoiled with the easy, convenient and comfortable access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot via foot or water taxi. The bus service to and from this resort can be long since there are stops made at the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Beach Clubs. Several times when coming back via bus we got off at the Swan (1st stop) and walked over the bridge to the Boardwalk rather than staying on the bus. We were definitely in our room much quicker doing so. This especially comes in handy when your six year old announces on the bus that they have to "go" really bad. Public restrooms at the Swan were clean, close and convenient and then there was a nice leisurely walk back to the Boardwalk.

Being a veteran traveler to Walt Disney World it still amazes me that there are so many things that I have never done. This trip I had my first visit to Tom Sawyer Island which we all (especially the kids) loved. After recommending it to several friends based on reviews I've read, we were finally able to experience a relaxing dinner at Jiko. We also made our first foray into Le Chapeau for Mickey Ears! Although I was mentally able to cross off some of the things I counted as "must-sees" for this trip, there were so many that we didn't get to do. This was totally okay, though, because as Members, we know that we will be back again and again and again.

So I'm saving my marshmallows for roasting with Chip and Dale until next trip. My husband summed up our first experience as Members by saying "We should have done this years ago!" My sentiments exactly.

Laura has blogged for AllEars® before. Check out her series on Traveling with Little Ones to Walt Disney World:
Introduction
Day One and Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
The Finale

Town Square Exposition Hall
by
Emily Owens Pickle

One of the greatest characteristics of Disney is an immense sense of vision. For me, it is the cause of the ‘Disney waterworks’ that Mike Scopa recently wrote about and the reason that walking down Main Street USA never seems to lose its luster; it keeps the magic of Disney fresh and emerging year after year for all loyal mice.

Recently while flipping through a family photo album I happened upon some pictures taken in a Steamboat Willie scene about fifteen years ago with my sisters. I couldn’t for the life of me remember where these pictures could have been taken in Disney. They looked very Magic Kingdom-esque but I couldn’t quite place them…

Then I had a head-smacking moment while reading All Ears! With the glitz and light of Main Street and the castle pulling you forward, it is sometimes easy to get lost in the big picture and overlook hidden gems. Main Street USA is designed as the opening credits of the Magic Kingdom Park and nothing here is a coincidence. Think about the ‘movie posters’ that line the tunnel as you enter the park, the design of the cast member outfits, and the smell of fresh popped corn as Main Street finally comes into your view. Doesn’t this remind you of the beginning of a highly-anticipated feature presentation? Well of course that is exactly what it is! This vision and construction from Walt and his Imagineers is why we feel a part of the magic at Walt Disney World.

The ‘room’ I found in the pictures with my family is actually an exhibit within the Town Square Exposition Hall. The Hall is in fact one of the only full-size buildings on Main Street USA as part of the ‘forced perspective design’. This optical illusion is the reason a modestly tall Cinderella Castle (189 ft) feels so large—as you move down Main Street, the buildings are actually getting smaller.

The next time our clan stepped into the Magic Kingdom I steered us towards Exposition Hall. Note that the Hall does not exist in the same form at Disneyland—at the Happiest Place on Earth this structure is named the ‘Opera House’. We skipped the front entrance of the Hall, opting for the secondary entrance on the far right side, underneath the lattice walkway.

This attraction is sponsored by Kodak and in the gift shop you can purchase many film and camera related products and services. The Walt Disney World website also says ‘Guests with digital cameras can download their images and other media information from a digital media card and burn these images onto a CD at this photo location.’…nice!

Being sponsored by Kodak, the Hall features display cases full of camera memorabilia and time points throughout American history.

As you move further into the Hall, you will find a small movie theater surrounded by photo opportunities. The theater plays continuous Disney classics that can be enjoyed in classic comfy-style.

The photo ops include Steamboat Willie, Toy Story, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White scenes. These are fun for the reluctant…and not so reluctant models.

A long and detailed timeline along the back wall of the theater presents Disney-history. This is a leftover from the time when the Exposition Hall was a showcase for upcoming Disney world parks and attractions.

From my limited research, the Hall has been host to many exhibits over the years pre-Kodak sponsorship. Once called the Gulf Hospitality House, the Exposition Hall has been a mini-Disney museum, venue for upcoming Disney parks and expansions, and more (see Lou Mongello’s All Ears article for a great overview of the Hall’s history).

Even if you decide not to venture into the theater, this small sitting area towards the back of the hall provides a cool and quiet moment for over-exerted mouseketeers.

So, if it is at all possible, tear your eyes away from the castle sometime and hang a right towards the Town Square Exposition Hall. And if you can, spend a few extra moments looking through the Disney timeline so that we never forget all of the laughter, memories, and magic started with a dream and mouse.

Hi everyone. I am Mari May and I am writing my very first blog to tell you about my experience at D23. I live 25 minutes from Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure and I am a frequent flyer at both parks. D23 was a Dream. When I look throught my pictures, go through my swag or look throught the guide book, a bit of menalcholy sets in. I miss D23 already! Enjoy my thoughts and pictures of D23.

Oh, D23, what will you be like? For a few weeks my anticipation had grown until I was ready to explode. My excitement was difficult to contain.

Finally, Thursday, September 10 had arrived. After rising about 05:30am, I made my way to the Convention Center, parked and was in line by 06:45am. So were a ton of other people!

The doors opened a bit early and the process for receiving our wristbands was a snap. Then, guide book and pre-printed, well gone over schedule in hand, off to the main floor. First stop, the ever present Disney queue for the Dream Store. MUST get pins! This was one of the under-whelming parts. Lots of merchandise that can be purchased in the park, D23 items, beautiful artwork and items from Disney on Broadway. Then, behind curtain #1, another queue for the cash (or credit card) registers. All in all, not a terrible experience.

The two main venues I wanted to see had lines so long that hope of getting in was quickly abandoned. So, I wandered around the convention floor looking at the different vendors’ wares.

Everything was there from furniture to scrap booking to makeup, pins and artwork, and of course, travel agents and books. MouseFanTravel.com's booth was my respite..friendly faces in a sea of humanity.

I was able to attend 2 seminars that afternoon - Beauty and the Beast panel and the ABC’s of Disney. On the last seminar they made us turn in our cell phones, cameras and Blackberrys. Both were fantastic seminars…Paige O’Hara is so sweet…definitely Belle! As for the ABC’s of Disney, the excitement was very palpable and the energy and excitement flooded the room! What a great feeling! Unfortunately I had to leave early, but I left feeling satisfied and excited and looking forward to Day 2!

Day 2, Sept 11.

After personally saying my own remembrance of that day 8 yrs ago, this seasoned explorer of Day 1 was off again to the Expo, food and water in my bag. The food prices are a bit expensive. Budgeting for ’stuff’ not food! Oh yes, and comfortable, sensible shoes.

First stop was DCL seminar. Thankfully my friends found me or I never would have seen the presentation!

What exciting news was revealed. Alaska 2011 complete with a nice, warm scarf for all who attended.

Even tho I had my sessions pre-decided, those choices went out the window after walking around a bit and lots of walking was done. Disney Movie Magic was phenomenal. Again the confiscated all electronics. It was rather a zoo to retrieve them afterwards, but Disney did the best they could.

I must say one of my favorite sessions was the Evolution of Mickey with Dave Pacheco and Andreas Deja.

After an interesting presentation on 1920’s Mickey to today’s’ Mouse. Dave donned a Mickey costume, complete with Ears, and break-away red shorts! He was the model for Andreas’ sketches.

Both of these men were very funny, comfortable and were so engaging. Dave was in many poses for Andreas and was moving constantly. Oh the laughter! It was just delightful. An early day for me again….darn…family beckons. Next year, they are just going to be on their own!!!

Day 3, Sept 12.

Here early again today, I must see the Disneynature presentation. Oh my goodness. It was better than I ever imagined. How these cameramen (and women) capture the essence of these animals is spectacular. The future presentations of Disneynature are formidable and challenging and I am so looking forward to viewing them. Jaw-dropping, oohs and ahhhs..

I then attended the Snow White panel and screening. Marge Champion, the model for Snow White, was among the panelists. What a great lady and very funny, too.

I spent time in the Walt Disney Archives seeing the costumes and accessories used in making the different Disney productions.

Then again, I wandered about the arena and somehow managed to see things I had missed, getting autographs of artists, it was so wonderful to meet these clever and creative people, and talking with so many people from around the world. What a nice time for me!

The Disney Corporate Responsibility Pavilion was great. We made blankets, planted seeds, painted pictures and bagged after school snacks for the kids. Very nice. There was also an area to drop off canned goods and the cast members were making a castle of the items. What a nice touch, to be able to do something for others while having so much fun.

Day 4, September 13.

I have many sessions again marked, but I just can't do them all. Between the unending queues for some sessions and over-lapping times, it is just not possible to see all of my choices. So, new choices were made! After the long queues on Thursday I did bring a crossword puzzle book to the other 3 days. I must say, I finished quite a few pages in that book, especially waiting in line for Disney and Pixar presentation.

Between this and the showing of the Tinker Bell movie, I wandered the floor of the arena, speaking with different vendors, which was fun, taking pictures, (I found my dream bedroom décor), making an autograph book at a scrap booking vendor’s booth, I checked out the new toys and decided just to sit and people watch for a while.

I wandered around ‘Celebration’, up and coming events and attractions at the parks, especially Disney Hong Kong. Photo ops abound not just with Disney characters, but with pieces of Disney history, Wall-E, the snail from Electrical parade, Lucky the dinosaur just to name a few. It was much too much fun! And the imagineers who come up with these concepts, brilliant.

When it came time for the Tinker Bell movie, I thought the line would be quite long. Not so. The Disney Theatre was not full, much to my surprise. The movie was fantastic, the animations was great, the colors were vivid and the message of the movie was timeless - take care with your friends, we all need them.

I did meet new friends, enjoyed my friends I knew and had a great time. I had very ambivalent feelings about the last day. I was glad it was over as I was very tired, but sorry it was over because it was so much fun.

Looking back on those four days, I ran the gamut of emotions - joy, excitement, wonder, disappointment, tears.

There were highs - seeing Johnny Depp, Miley Cyrus, Travoltas, Dave Pacheco, Disneynature, DCL and of course, TinkerBell.

And there were lows - some how I thought there might have been more vendors and oh those interminable lines. I think Disney was caught unaware of how popular some of the presentations would be. Larger rooms are needed for next year. And the schedules, great ideas, presentations, but some could be presented more than once (and some were). There were many disappointed and disgruntled people turned away from great sessions in much too small of rooms.

Am I sorry I went? Absolutely not! I am ready to do it all over again. Unfortunately I’ll need to wait for a year to do it again. But, I’ll return with knowledge and preparations I didn’t have this year and I’m certain I’ll enjoy it just as much if not more.

Now watch, since I feel I am so prepared, Disney will change everything and I’ll be back to square one!

Backstage Magic Tour
by Krystal Thomas

I am a Disney Geek. I admit it freely and proudly. So for this last trip down to my home away from home, Walt Disney World, I wanted to take one of the behind the scenes tours. I had not taken any tour at Walt Disney World since I was a kid. I had once toured World Showcase and Discovery Island through the Disney Institute but I had not taken a tour in years. So, as a combined birthday/graduation gift, my parents gave me the Backstage Magic Tour. This tour is actually still run through the Disney Institute. Bet you thought that wasn’t around anymore – it focuses more on teaching businesses now, helping them discover the "Disney" way of doing business.

It was an absolutely beautiful day when I arrived at our meeting place, outside Epcot’s Guest Relations promptly at 8:45 a.m. Our tour group was fairly large -- 28 of us -- but we had two tour guides, one coordinator and our own personal transportation. Carmen and Cyndi arrived with Fran, who coordinated our whole day and made sure we didn’t take any location by surprise. Fran was only there for this period in the morning as we got organized. Carmen checked each person in individually. You need to have valid photo ID on you for this process. She also took this time to ask where everyone is from and learn a little about why you were taking the tour. She also had us think of our ideal job at Walt Disney World.

Meanwhile, Cyndi was giving us our name badges which made us honorary cast members for the tour and allowed us to follow them through the doors marked "cast members only." Fran also handed out our personal "pal" for the day – each person on the tour was given a headset so everyone could easily hear both Carmen and Cyndi. These were really great; I never had a hard time hearing either of them throughout the tour no matter how far away from them I was.

Once everyone was checked in, badged and wired for sound, Carmen and Cyndi took the time to introduce themselves and how they’d come to work for the Disney Institute. They also told us what our agenda was for the day and what time we should return to Epcot. They made sure no one had early dinner plans in case we ran long and they also asked if anyone was celebrating anything special. I did say I was there to celebrate my graduation from graduate school and was congratulated heartily by everyone. We then headed to the bus. The Institute partners with Mears Shuttle for their transportation. We had a large Mears Coach to ourselves. There was also chilled water available for us on the bus the entire day.

As we made our way to our first stop, Carmen went around and had the groups on the tour introduce themselves and what their ideal jobs would be. We had some fun ones, a young man with his father on the tour said he wanted to be Prince Charming, others mentioned with transportation host, greens worker, and costume designer. Throughout the day, Carmen and Cyndi then made an effort to mention these jobs as we found them. If your interest wasn’t going to be on the tour, they talked about what they knew on the bus. As I am getting my degree to be an Archivist, that is what I am most interested in with the Walt Disney Company. Carmen told me about meeting David Smith when he came to visit the Institute a few years ago and everything she knew about the Disney Archives. As we were doing this, we were driving into the backstage area of Epcot. As we crossed into the backstage area, a security guard did need to board the bus to check bags. This happened every time we entered a new park.

Our first stop backstage at Epcot was the American Adventure. Cyndi walked us around to the front of the building and showed all the tricks the Imagineers were using to make us think the building is only three stories high. In actuality, the guests see almost five stories from the front of the building. Also, she pointed out the details on the building, which places it in the 1700s. Next time you walk through, look at the clock face on the tower and pay attention to the Roman Numerals. We then walked around to the back and saw just how huge this building really is. It is seven stories high in the back with a second building added on to hold the rear projector system, as Carmen called it, "the biggest afterthought ever". We then went into the building and saw the scene changer, the massive machine that holds the 37 audio-animatronic scenes in the American Adventure. Did you know the same computer that launches the space shuttles controls the show? It was truly amazing to have such an up-close look at this attraction and each part of the show is explained in detail.

After we left the American Adventure, we drove around to the Epcot Cast Center. You enter through a hallway that has been painted with murals by the different cast member teams at Epcot. It was amazing some of the special effects they included; one by the safety team had a motion detector so that Figment speaks to you when you walk by. We were then at the "crossroads" of the center. To the left were the Cast Cafeteria, company store and professional development offices. To the right were the lockers for the Cast Members. We walked this way to visit the Wardrobe for the "operational" costumes for the park. The size of this facility was incredible and it was only for one park! We then walked through the small sewing shop at Epcot that can do minor repairs to costumes. Here was one of my favorite "thrills." This building is where the princesses put on their make-up and wigs. It is also one of the reasons why no one under the age of 16 can take the tour. As my tour guide mentioned, kids would not take well to seeing the "best friend of Snow White" with her Capri sweat pants on and cell phone to her ear. It does sort of add a new element to the magic. I liked it though; it was like watching the cast of a huge stage show get ready for their performance.

After this, we got back onto the bus and headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. On our way there, Carmen told us the story of the Tower of Terror Attraction and explained how the Florida version is different from its counterparts around the world. We then got off the bus and went into the shop next to the Tower of Terror and had a ride vehicle explained to us - all the safety features and how the ride actually works. We also saw them putting new sensors into the backs of the ride’s seats. Apparently some guests were putting bags and boxes behind their backs so their safety belts would have a lot of slack during the drops. The new sensors will be able to tell that a human back is firmly against the seat back. After we saw the ride vehicle, we took the bus around to the backlot area and had a tour of the creative costuming building. Here we spoke to Larissa, one of the costumers on the lot. She showed how the patterns are designed using the computer and how designer’s version is realized through the pattern and the fabric chosen. She took the pieces out she was currently working on either designing or fixing. We were able to see a part of Snow White's outfit from SpectroMagic, which is extremely heavy (poor girl!) and it was only the bodice part of the outfit. Larissa also took off the inside layer of protection so we could see all the wires and grommets keeping the lights in place on the costume. Larissa has also put together some neat exhibits on the walls of the office for the tour groups that come through. She even had some of the costumes and art from the Tapestry of Dreams parade on display. After we spoke with Larissa, we walked through the workshop. At this time, they were working on lots of the flying bird costume from Festival of the Lion King, and costumes from the Beauty and the Beast stage show at Hollywood Studios. After this stop, it was time for lunch.

We ate at the Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge. I had not eaten here before -- it was quite the experience. The moment our group walked into the restaurant, every server started yelling how they had been waiting for us and what had taken us so long? Our group was set up in a back area of the restaurant and waited on by two "sisters," the cute one and the fluffy one. They were constantly yelling back and forth at each other and at us. It was a lot of fun as they took our drink orders and we got settled in. Lunch came out shortly after our drinks. Big platters full of chicken, BBQ ribs, pork sausage, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and pork and beans were served family style. Each table had two platters to themselves and they were refilled as many times as we asked for it. There was also corn bread and cole slaw on the table. Our drinks were also refilled constantly. Once everyone was stuffed, they brought our dessert and coffee. It was peach and strawberry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream – so good. Once everyone was pretty much done, the sisters got back in front of us to say goodbye and asked if anyone had their master’s degree – they’d been tipped off about me though luckily I was stuck in the corner booth and I escaped having to sing with them in front of everybody. I thought the atmosphere of the restaurant was a lot of fun and our table enjoyed watching the kids ride their stick ponies around the restaurant and join in the singing a couple of times throughout the meal.

Once lunch was over, we did a quick walking tour through the Wilderness Lodge lobby as Carmen pointed out some of the details in the lodge including a few hidden Mickeys in the fireplaces. We then were back on the bus and headed out to the North Service Area, the location of Central Shops and one of the Textile Service locations. For me, walking through the Central Shops was very neat. Here is where they built and maintain many of the vehicles, furniture and audio-animatronics on property. It is also the location of the Character Shop, the only place in the world where the faces of the character costumes can be made so that Mickey looks the same in Florida as he does in Tokyo. As we walked the floor of Central Shops, we saw lots of ride vehicles from Dumbo, Rock ‘N Roller Coaster, Spaceship Earth, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Triceratops Spin, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. We also saw some of Cinderella’s Carousel horses being repaired and repainted as well as new "skins" for the hippos at the Jungle Cruise. It was here we also got to "play" with some audio-animatronics. Bonnie Appétit and a bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room are set up for tour guests to try them out. We also got to speak to an "audio-animatronics" doctor here who spoke about what was making the audio-animatronic work and some of the challenges they often face.

Our next stop was just down the road at Textile Services, otherwise known as the laundry. The one in the North Service Area is primarily responsible for the costumes on property; two other laundries deal with all the linen from the resorts and the linens from the restaurants. This stop made me appreciate the amount of work that goes into a simple thing like doing the laundry for a resort the size of Walt Disney World. They have an intense operation; mostly computer driven but the clothes are hand sorted, hung and streamed separately. From here we went to our last stop on the tour, the Magic Kingdom. This was one of the few times we were on stage for any length of time. Because we were there close to the 3PM parade, we had little time to discuss the window on Main Street USA though Carmen did point out Roy’s window, the M.T. Lott window and Walt’s window over the Ice Cream Parlor.

Once we did that, we walked back down Main Street, went backstage again and down into the Utilidors. Another Disney Geek dream come true; say all you want about how they are just glorified underground tunnels, it was cool. We were back out of the Utilidors and out on Main Street just in time to watch the parade as it finished. We watched from in front of the firehouse so we had the dancers right in front of us and even had them ask how we liked our tour before they started their dance to finish up the parade. After this, we waked back to the bus and headed back to Epcot for the end of the tour. We made it back right at 4PM, making it exactly seven hours from the start. As we left, Carmen and Cyndi handed our special pins for us and wished us well and were also happy to answer any last questions you’d thought up on the way back to Epcot.

I loved the tour and I am so glad I got to get this very unique and exclusive view of how the magic is created behind the scenes. Cyndi and Carmen were very friendly and informative. If you asked something they didn't know, they often had the answer once we got back to the bus between the two of them. Because of the size of our group, we often were split into two smaller groups, which let you get to know your tour guide, and they get to know you and point out things they think you’ll like. There was very little opportunity for photos on the tour as you spend most of the day backstage. Even when we were in front of the American Adventure, because World Showcase was not yet open, we were still "backstage". I am unsure about how wheelchair friendly the tour is however; we took a lot of stairs and the bus was not wheelchair accessible. I imagine this would be different if needed and perhaps even where the tour stops would be tweaked a little. Also, bathroom breaks are well planned throughout the day.

Backstage Magic definitely gave me a greater appreciation for the work that goes into running WDW and I can understand why guests under 16 are not allowed. The tour lets you see how the magic is done which some guests on my tour did mention ruined a little of Walt Disney World for them. Not for me, it made me love it more. As Carmen said, "it takes a lot of work to make it magical" but the idea is the guest should never know that. Backstage Magic gives you a glimpse into how that magic is created and maintained every day, 365 days of the year. Whether you are a Disney beginner or have an annual pass, this is a tour that is well worth the time and money.

About the author: Krystal Thomas, 24 years old, has been going to the Disney parks since she was 18 months old. She currently lives in Baldwinsville, NY and recently received her Masters degree in Archives and Records Management from the University of Michigan. Her father is Picture This! photo blogger Scott Thomas.

Kalimera! (ka-lee-MEH-ra) is "Good Morning" in Greek, and that was how I was greeted Saturday morning when I walked into Cat Cora's new restaurant Kouzzina at Disney's BoardWalk. This was their first morning open to the public -- their grand soft opening -- and I was looking forward to trying an Iron-Chef-sanctioned breakfast.

Kouzzina's hours of operations for breakfast is 7:30am-11:00am.

I arrived before they opened just to get settled and was fortunate to have the lobby all to myself for a few minutes. I took the opportunity to take some pictures:

When you walk in, you see the check-in counter with the wall behind it featuring some Greek artwork, bottles of wines, and a couple of Cat Cora's cookbooks.

To the right, you'll find on the wall some framed, vintage photos of people. Also, you'll find an entrance to the adjacent Seashore Sweets store.

On the wall opposite of the picture frames, there's an Old World map of the Mediterranean Sea region.

Beside the map is an olive press (written on it were the words "Olio di Oliva", or "Olive Oil" in Italian). Behind it in the picture are the doors to the dining area...

...and a hidden Mickey.

And just for good measure and perspective, here's a picture facing the doors back to the BoardWalk.

On the Disney World website for Kouzzina [http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/board-walk-inn/dining/kouzzina/], the breakfast is labeled "American" though the menu does has a number of Greek-inspired offerings, including the Spinach, Tomato, and Feta Scrambled Eggs, as well as what I ordered: the Turkey-Sweet Potato Hash.

The dinner menu is more-evidently "Mediterranean" with lamb and seafood selections. Both menus can also be found on AllEars.Net -- breakfast (http://allears.net/menu/menu_kouzb.htm), dinner(http://allears.net/menu/menu_kouzd.htm).

Note: as they're in soft opening, prices and menu offerings are subject to change.

With the Turkey-Sweet Potato Hash, I had a choice of toast and how I wanted my eggs to be prepare -- I went with wheat and scrambled, respectively.

The lead manager Kouzzina, Tom, stopped by my table to inform me that I was Kouzzina's first customer and that they'd take care of my breakfast! Woo!

It didn't take long at all for the food to arrive, and it wasn't very long after that for me to get my picture taken with it.

Here are 2 pictures of my meal:

The Turkey-Sweet Potato Hash was very flavorful. Nice was how the eggs were sandwiched between the savory turkey-sweet potato hash and the arugula's gentle peppery taste. I thought that all of the dish's flavors and textures worked.

I talked with my server, Morgan, about the dinner menu and asked her for recommendations. She suggested the Slow-cooked Lamb Shank and the Fisherman's Stew; she also said that their Char-grilled Lamb Burger was very delicious. I will definitely get a group together and come back another time for a dinner service.

The servers and managers were all very attentive to any feedback their guests had. Tom mentioned that they had completed a couple days of soft openings just for Cast Members, and that they're excited to have this time to get all the details worked out before their official grand opening next month (scheduled for September 17, 2009).

Overall, my experience at Kouzzina was pretty great, and I believe that it's a very good option for breakfast before visiting the parks -- Epcot's just a short walk away. I know that I'll be back for another round, but by then the restaurant will have had a lot more services under its belt, and we'll see if this Iron Chef's cuisine reigns supreme. :)

Morgan and me:

Kouzzina as seen from the Epcot Resorts:

Please share YOUR review of Kouzzina with us

Guest Blogger Carol Cruise returns with a report from this year's Pin Celebration at Walt Disney World!

The Museum of PIN-TIQUITIES: Disney Pin Celebration 2009

June 26th – June 29th

This was my 5th Disney Pin Celebration; I was by now a seasoned attendee however this year I was traveling solo, sort of. Gary had decided that since he was not a pin trader and did not want to endure the heat and humidity of Florida in June, he would stay home. The event has traditionally been held in September but this year, due to several other events being held in September, Disney changed the pin event to June. I flew out of Syracuse and met up with my fellow Canadian pin trader and friend Susan at Walt Disney World. We shared a room at Disney’s All Star Movies Resort and spent the week enjoying the event and pin trading together. We also decided that since it was so hot and we had so much stuff to tote around we would rent a car, which was a real benefit for this trip.

The event was managed the same as previous years, it was announced on the Disney events site, registration opened February 25th and if you registered early you were entitled to a $15 discount off the registration fee and a early bird pin. Your RSP (Random Selection Process) request was due May 25th; this is when you list the pins you want from the merchandise catalogue and hope that you get lucky when they run your choices through the random selection process. There were more low edition pins this year than previous years and for the first time I did not get everything I wanted.

Thursday was registration day. It was held at the Yacht & Beach Club Convention Centre from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. We arrived just at noon and the line up was through the queue across the main room and out the door. I turned to Susan and said that we would be standing in lines all weekend, lets pass on this one and get some lunch. She agreed so we went to Beaches & Cream and enjoyed a leisurely lunch before returning to the hall. When we got back the line had dissipated and we picked up our packages. The registration package included:

The product/pins you were awarded on your RSP

A 4th RSP request for items that are left over

2 Disney gift cards $15 each

A “Partners” pin from the other Disney Resorts

Early Bird Pin

A voucher for a snack valid on Saturday

A voucher for your gift package valid on Saturday

A list of the new Hidden Mickey pins being released at the event only

After we had picked up our package we went around to the other side of the room where there were table’s set up for people to sit at and trade pins or just have a conversation. We joined some of the friends we have met over the years and before we knew it we were getting hungry, it was dinnertime. Disney had announced that the pin trading room would remain open until 10 p.m. and it would be open to the public at 7 p.m. Rather than lose our spot, Susan stayed at the table and I went to get some take-out from the Market Place in the Beach Club.

The evening of trading concluded at 10 p.m. and we had good intentions of returning to the room to get good nights sleep, but as we exited the parking lot we both decided that it was too early so we went to Downtown Disney. This was to be the first of many evenings spent at Downtown Disney, wandering the shops and sitting along the ledge enjoying an ice cream from Ghirardelli’s. 

Friday morning we were off and running; we arrived at EPCOT with our bags of pins along with several other participants. Disney was ready for us, they had a private entrance set up for the pin attendees and sniffer dog Taz was doing his job. Once through the security check we proceeded to World Show Place. I love walking into this building for the event, you never know what to expect but you know it will be awesome. Disney does not lack when decorating for this event, I am always so impressed.

Disney decorates to match the theme of the event and the pins that they have released for the event. I am a collector of Pluto pins, my first choice of pin for my RSP was a Pluto pin, when I walked through the doors of World ShowPlace the first thing I saw was the display of Pluto with the dinosaur matching the pin I had ordered. The dinosaur was so big I had trouble capturing it in a picture.

Once inside World ShowPlace there was a queue to the tables manned by several cast members. This area was called the store and you could purchase pins that did not sell out. On the other side of the room there were several glass display cases that housed the items for the silent auction. This year was the first year they did not have a live auction. I wandered around to look at the items, and would have been thrilled to own any one of them, but the bids were way out of my price range.

Moving on through the building to the left were the “partners”, this year there were displays from Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Shop and Disney Cruise Line. There were also displays from Vinylmation, Kooky Klickers and Mickey Monsters, something else to catch the collector’s eye! There was also a guest services area for guests with items to return.

To the right of this part of the building were the pin trading boards, each board had a theme behind it similar to one of the pins that was available for the event. Each board had a queue that on average took 45 minutes to get through. The rules were simple, you gave the cast member two of your pins and you got to take two pins off the board. The catch, you had one minute to make you choice and there are hundreds of pins on the board.

My eyes immediately look for Hidden Mickey’s, I can’t help it, I collect them and this year the completer pins for last years Hidden Mickey’s were only going to be available at the event. Lots of people do look for other goodies, such as limited editions pins or AP (Artist Proof) pins. Apparently this year there were lots of them there, but I pretty much stuck to collecting my Hidden Mickey’s.

There was also a large stage set up in the middle of the pin board area and there were numerous activities going on throughout the day. Off to the left of the room there was also a kid’s area supervised by a couple of cast members. The kids had their own trading board but mostly I saw them colouring and doing other crafty activities.

During the day there were visits from some of the Disney elite pin people such as Digger and Lovey, a wonderful couple who entertained us. Scoop Sanderson was present and joined Steven Miller (project manager for pin trading) on stage to conduct a pin trading 101 session for all the newcomers. Later in the day a couple of Disney Design Group Artists, Alex Maher and Monty Maldovan, signed pins for the guests.

There were several Disney Trivia games held on stage and the winners were awarded pins as prizes. At one point they called up a young lady to play one of the games, Crystal was asked to draw a name from a hat for the next contestant. When she drew the name it was Shelby, her boyfriend! Well, they made a fuss about that and then handed the microphone over to Shelby. He got down on his knees and said, “ I may not be Prince Charming but you are my Princess, will you marry me?” Well, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. She of course said yes and everyone applauded and Disney presented them with some wonderful gifts.

At the back of the building, in a room the size of a convention centre ballroom was the pin trading area. There were rows and rows of tables and chairs and they were all filled within an hour of opening. Some traders had bins and suitcases full of pins, but me, I travel light, I had one pin-trading bag that fits in my backpack. I did however enjoy walking around looking at all the pins and was able to make a couple of great trades.

Friday was also the deadline to return any unwanted pins and hand in a final RSP, it’s a chance to pick up any of the sold out items that had been returned. There was one pin I wanted but didn’t get so I completed the form.

At 6 p.m. they announced the event was closed for the day and everyone shuffled out, tired but excited by the days events. Susan and myself and two friends from PA, Ann and Mike stopped at the Electric Umbrella for dinner on our way out of the park. Our next stop was Port Orleans Riverside.

Our good friend John Rick, founder of the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders and co-host of the Disney Pincast had organized a pin-trading gathering from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the food court at the resort. When we walked in there were many traders and a lot of familiar faces. It was a great evening and I made a great trade so I was happy.

We left POR at 10 p.m., dropped Mike and Ann off at their resort, then looked at each and Susan said, “It’s too early to go back.” so we went to Downtown Disney for an hour or so. When we got back to All Star Movies we sorted through the pins we had traded for, organized our pin bags for the next day and turned out the lights.

Saturday was pretty much the same routine in the morning until we arrived at the Show Place. When we entered on Saturday we went to one of the tables and picked up our final RSP to see if we had won any additional pins. We were given a sheet of paper telling us how many Event Exclusive promotion pins we were each eligible for. These pins were limited to one per person, based on how much you spent. There were six different pins in total and you were allowed to purchase one pin for every $75 you have spent at a bargain price of $3.00 each. We went directly to the Event Store to buy our pins. After the event any remaining Event Exclusive pins are destroyed.

During the day, in addition to the pin trading boards and back room trading there were several Disney Trivia and other games. There was a 1 o’clock Pin Chat with Scoop Sanderson and various announcements about upcoming pin activities and events. At 4 p.m. there were Snacks distributed, consisting of a drink and a rice krispie Mickey head dipped in chocolate. The Auction winners were announced and the Grand Prize Winners were announced. Information was announced about next year’s event which will be held in August and the theme is Trade City USA. It will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Pin Trading. They said it would be a cross between Radiator Springs and Main Street USA.

The event closed at 6 p.m. and once again we dragged ourselves out of the building. This evening we decided to eat at the Land in Sunshine Seasons, there was Susan, Mike, Ann and myself. It was nice to just sit and talk and the evening seemed to fly by. Mike and Ann were walking back to their resort so Susan and I headed to the parking lot, found the car and what else, went to Downtown Disney. We hadn’t thought about it being Saturday night and all, but it was crazy busy so we got our ice cream and just sat and people watched for a bit, then headed back to All Star Movies.

Sunday morning the event was open to the public at 11 a.m., so we quickly got in the lines for the boards to get some more Hidden Mickey pins before the doors opened. Once the public is allowed in they change the boards and the new and special pins are no longer available. Even after the building opened up we decided to stay and do a couple more boards. I am glad we did, it was a chance to meet some new pin traders. They were full of questions and between us we were able to help them out understanding just what they were getting themselves into. They didn’t seem to mind and were having a blast as we left the building for the final time.

There were five of us heading over to the Magic Kingdom, Susan, Ann, Mike and Gabe, another Canadian pin trader and me. Our mission was lunch and the Annual Passholder preview of the Hall of Presidents. It was a great way to cap off the weekend; we also got to do a couple of rides before we all said our good byes. Susan and I had to take the car back to the Dolphin and then it was time to pack, I was leaving first thing in the morning.

It’s hard to say what next year will bring but I do hope that I can manage to make it to the event in August. I not only enjoy the pin trading and activities, I look forward to seeing the many wonderful people I have met over the years.

Read Carol's Blogs on the 2008 Pin Event:
Part 1
Part 2