Disney: Recommendation: Fantasmic!

Disney World does amazing nighttime entertainment is pretty great.  I love Wishes, love Illuminations and can't wait for Rivers of Light to start at Animal Kingdom.  I love all the nighttime shows in different ways but they really are all pretty great.  My favorite of them all is Fantasmic! This show is so fun!  It has Lion King and Princesses and Mickey getting back his imagination from the villains!  It has fireworks, projections on water and live performers. All of it put together is a show to fall in love with.  This show is all about Mickey's imagination. Mickey. All of the wonderful things that came from Disney pretty much came from Mickey's imagination (ya know since Walt invented Mickey and even voiced him for a time). Best part - the music.  What a great score! Fantasmic! is a very popular show so I recommend 2 courses of action. 1.) You can get a Fastpass+ for this.  Now rumor floating around is Fastpass is going away for the parades and shows so keep an eye on that.  2.) The way we use is to book the Fantasmic! Dinner Package.  You get to pick from 1 of 3 restaurants at Hollywood Studios (all of the restaurants accept the dining plan) and then you get VIP seating at the first showing of Fantasmic! (I mean it - it's center section seating). If you don't plan on using the dinner package be prepared to be in line early and for a long time or if you go on a night where there is a second show plan for the later one.  Back when we were newbies in 2010 we figured we wouldn't be making the first show with the line we saw so we grabbed some dinner and went to the later showing - it was neat.  It was about 11 when it was all over and the then 2 year old Cupcake asked what we were doing next.  It's a favorite of all 3 of us.  Here's some pictures...

 Ready to see our first show!  Cupcake - age 2 1/2 

It's a great time and a definite must see!

Take a sneak peek at this YouTube Fantasmic video but just remember you can't beat seeing the show live and in person. 

Disney: Snack Recommendation: Butterfinger Cupcake

So yes, today I'm talking cupcakes.  I love cupcakes and Disney makes exceptional ones. (They put grey stuff on cupcakes at Be Our Guest, come on!). Last time we were in Disney we finally stopped at the ever popular Starring Rolls Cafe. We tend to enjoy the soon to be gone Writer's Stop more but for 4 years we'd seen Starring Rolls at the top of lots of people's lists for yummy snacks and quick service. So we finally put it on our itinerary and tried it on our last trip.  Depending on when you stop the line can be long, the place is small so that means cramped and if you stop after breakfast time it's pretty much snacks only.  They didn't seem to have anything that made them stand out or different so it's not a must do for us.  However, I tried one of the most delicious and sweet cupcakes I ever had and it had my favorite - a mountain of icing on top with filling in the middle.  I discovered the legendary Butterfinger Cupcake.  First, it's a giant cupcake so you could eat it for a meal or share it with someone. It's a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache filling and it's topped with a peanut butter icing and covered in another layer of ganache with butterfinger crumbs.  There was so much icing! It took me a few bites to get to some actual cake.  This is a very rich cupcake so it will satisfy a sweet tooth and then give you a cavity.  I like the sweet stuff but even towards the end it started to be a bit much for me. I suggest using a fork to get through this thing because it's massive.  The cake was delicious - it was lush and dense and it worked well with the icing.  Make sure you have a drink, you'll need it.  It's a cupcake that worked for me and since it's a rich dessert it wasn't something I'd get over and over again which means it will always be a special treat. 

You can check out the Starring Rolls Menu here.

Disney: Restaurant Recommendation: Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano

Today we are going to talk about one of my top 5 restaurants in all of Disney World and definitely my favorite Hollywood Studios Restaurant. Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano will not disappoint - it redeems where Tony's Town Square disappoints. Read on to find out how delicious it is and if you book the right dining package a huge perk that goes along with eating here. 

Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano

Park: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Area: Streets of America (by The Muppets 3D)

View Menu Here

I've never had a bad meal at this place. They have all kinds of Italian dishes from pizza to pasta.  I love the atmosphere in the restaurant with the hanging grapes and twinkling lights.  You could be eating outdoors in Italy. The food has always been cooked well, nothing over done or under cooked. My favorite meal here has been the New York Strip Steak that comes with a side of mac and cheese. I've also tried the Chicken Parmesan.  I have nothing to say about anything I've tasted a bite of, it's always been spot on.  The staff has always been really nice and helpful.  The one visit Cupcake couldn't decide on what dessert she wanted and they brought her both.  The biggest perk about eating here is it's one of the restaurant you can book with the Fantasmic! Dining Package. You can choose from 3 different restaurants to eat at and then you get VIP seating at the first showing of Fantasmic! (like center section VIP seating).  Also, no matter what dining plan you are on you get an appetizer, entree and dessert.  There is no downside to not booking this package. This is a must eat at Disney. 

June 2014 - with the biggest steak ever.  Note the Cupcake giving me a hand with my expression

Disney: Ride Recommendation: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

You know the theme song. You probably have a few favorite episodes. Well in Disney you can step into the Twilight Zone and become the story. This is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Park: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Area: Sunset Boulevard

Height Requirement: 40 inches

Fastpass + Available

This is the second highest attraction at Disney World at 199 feet. (Expedition Everest wins by just half a foot).  When you are standing below it, looking up it certainly is a sight to behold.  Our family runs the gamut of emotions when it comes to this ride. Superman loves it. I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I hate it up until the moment of drop from then on I love it.  Cupcake hates it. She's rode it twice and when it's all over says it wasn't so bad but it is by no means at the top of any list. Just like all Disney attractions this has a back story and this is no exception.  You know you are entering a hotel as right on the building it says Hollywood Tower Hotel. The line queue brings you through the hotel lobby where you can tell it had its hayday back in the 1920's-1930's but as since been abandoned.  Everything is covered in cobwebs and a layer of dust.  Similar to entering the Haunted Mansion you are put in a room where you get the backstory.  So the mystery is in 1939 5 people mysteriously disappear in an elevator and you are there to "find out" what happened to them. It's all done on a TV as you were watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. Then it's time to board the elevator.  You ride to the top, your elevator moves forward and another seemingly elevator door opens before you - you can see Hollywood Studios and then whoosh! You're dropping.  This isn't an ordinary free fall ride. You don't just drop. You could drop 2 times or 4 times. You could go up first (this is true, I've ridden the ride when we went up first).  You never know what kind of drops you are going to get.  And hold on because once you start dropping and bouncing you are out of your seat, held down by your seat belt but your bottom is not touching a seat.  Last time my Photopass lanyard came up over my head and I had to catch it.  It's something you have to try and experience. I hate going through the elevator and the initial drop (I hate that kind of suspense, just drop me already!). But we keep going back over and over because at the end of the day its fun and you want to be in the story again and again.  They also snap your photo just as you are dropping and please stop by and take a look, we've always had some hilarious faces...check them out.

February 2013 (Cupcake's first ride)

June 2014 (We are on the right in the back - Cupcake was already losing it)