"Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me!"

Anna here to share my latest Disney adventure. Matt, my parents, and I started out our visit in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We followed Matt around as he played the final round of The Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom interactive game. I won’t give away what happens when you win, but he was pretty excited that he finished and we went to get a new set of cards. They also upped his level from easy to medium for the next time he plays. We then ate lunch and sought after a new undertaking.

A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas

We found that new adventure when my dad saw a small building in Adventure Land that was called, A Pirate’s Adventure. That seemed right up our alley, so Matt and my dad went inside. They came back out with a treasure map and a hint to their first destination. It was their goal to help Captain Jack Sparrow find the treasures of the seven seas. When we get to the first place on the map, Matt used his ticket (the annual pass) to make a parrot come to life to give us our next hint. We went long like this, discovering new places in Adventure Land and eventually finding one of the hidden treasures. There are several different maps you can go through to find different treasure, but we weren't able to do them all. We’ll pick it up next time for sure.

Kouzzina by Cat Cora® at Disney’s Boardwalk

Mine, Mom, and Matt's dinners

We left the Magic Kingdom by bus to head over to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. I had made dinner reservation months ago (you certainly don’t need to make them this far in advance) to eat at Kouzzina by Cat Cora®. If you are a Food Network fanatic like me, then you’ll probably recognize that name because Cat was one of the first female Iron Chefs to be on the popular TV show. Her inspiration for the food offered at this restaurant comes from her Greek heritage and also from being raised in the southlands of the U.S.
We started off our meal with an appetizer of Goat Cheese Sto Fourno. We saw it while we were waiting to be seated and thought it would be appetizing to eat after a long, hot day at the park. We were right, it was just what we needed and absolutely delicious. In the dish were baked goat cheese, pequilla peppers, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and greek olive oil. It was served with arugula topped with some oil and vinegar, and olive bread (her recipe for olive bread can be found at FoodNetwork.com). We all ordered different entrées. My dad ordered the Fisherman’s Stew which contained mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops. He loved it so much that he went up the kitchen to compliment the chef who made it. Mom ordered the Kouzzina Trio which consisted of portions of greek-style lasagna, chargrilled lamb burger, and cinnamon stewed chicken with orzo. She thought the lamb burger was a little spicy, but loved the rest of the dishes. Matt, thinking that the menu was a little strange and practically in a different language, opted for the Wood-grilled Steak seasoned with fresh herb salsa and sided with a seasonal vegetable and Kouzzina potatoes. He liked everything, but the vegetable which resembled broccoli, but tasted nothing like it. I got the Briami which is oven-roasted vegetables with oregano, topped with Greek cheese, served with herbed orzo pasta. I’m on a total orzo kick right now and absolutely loved it in my dish. I’m known for putting salt on everything (yes, I know it’s bad for me), but none was on the table and none was needed because everything was so perfectly seasoned. I definitely enjoyed my time at this restaurant.
While waiting for the bus at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort to head back to Magic Kingdom and our car, a bus came to drop off passengers with their destination being “Anna”. Of course this caught my eye and I took a picture. I wasn't gutsy enough to inquire where it was heading, but it still made my day.

Lights! Camera! Action!....Hollywood Studios!

     Ashleigh blogging about my last visit to Disney. Although, my title suggests I was only at Hollywood Studios in fact we visited Epcot and Magic Kingdom all in one day! Talk about park hopping! Well last Sunday was the visit and I should highlight it was marked the hottest day of the year too, we arrived at the park around midday to begin our trip. My trip wasn't with the usual, in fact, I was tagging along with my church friends, Brent, Tracey and Brandon. Upon arrival we decided to make our way to Tower of Terror. It didn't seem to have too long of a line and well most of the line is shaded. Believe me by the time we got in line I was sweating like a pig! In case we haven't mentioned it, the Tower of Terror is an actual Disney Channel movie probably from the 90s and about a group of people who died on the night of a big party in the elevator. Needless to say you ride the elevator up....and well I'll leave the rest for a surprise for those who don't know. It's a classic and a must go! We grabbed some fast passes for later at Rockin Rollercoaster and made our way to check out the Indiana Jones show. This show is family friendly and obviously action packed. It's actually really funny and you might have a chance to participate like Tracey did!

Now one of the biggest highlights of the day was our lunch/dinner reservation at 50s Prime Time Restaurant. Now this is a cool place and must to go eat and check out sometime! Definitely make reservations because it gets packed. This restaurant is based on the 1950s including classic furniture in funky colors, old black and white TVs and super friendly waiters/waitresses who talk the lingo. Needless to say the waiter we had made it awesome and enjoyable. In addition they have great "home cooked" meals and they are quite filling! It's not too bad on prices with typical meals between 15-20 bucks. And before leaving Hollywood Studios, we used fast passes over at Rockin Rollercoaster and of course rocked out :)

     After this, we decided on going over to Epcot for some drinks (although yes, we had some beers in Hollywood Studios). At Epcot we decided to make our way to Mexico and brave some tequila shots (which were really good) and road the boat around Mexico. Afterwards we continued our walk around stopping in at Germany for beers and snacks, England to enjoy pictures with Pooh and Tigger and some awesome music by the British Revolution band (and yes we danced unlike most people). We headed over to test track and in an effort to save time, we did single riders and had a blast! And of course, I couldn't forget to get Shannon two Star Wars Edition 2 vinylmations (one which she had and one she didn't).


Finally, we headed over to Magic Kingdom where we finished our day. Here we rode some classics like pirates of the Caribbean, the haunted mansion, tea cups, and buzz lightyear. I have to make a special highlight on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. On this ride, you shot targets with a laser gun to earn points. Needless to say, I unknowingly hit some high point targets because before I knew it I had over 500,000 points! I ended up maxing out at 999,999 points and feeling pretty amazing at winning! We rode the people mover to get a break before heading back home.

     As usual, it was a pretty epic day and awesome to do some things I hadn't before. My biggest advice on this trip is to be prepared for the heat and to make a reservation at a cool reservation to check out! You won't be disappointed!