Wine Girl Mommy’s World

I‘ll admit, I don’t spend nearly as much time in Hollywood Studios as I do some of the other parks. But that’s not to say that I still don’t have favorites and things I try to make sure I do when I make it to the park. Now that they have Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge, as well as the new Mickey and Minnie ride, there is a lot more to do there. Here are my current favorites, since it has been a hot minute since I’ve been able to go to this park.( Side note, I did go to the park back in January but we were there all of a half hour before we got rained out and decided to leave)

Favorite Ride– Tower of Terror! I mean who doesn’t love a good trip on the Tower of Terror. I think this may be my favorite ride in all of Disney. I love the queue of this ride, and walking through the hotel lobby, I love that you never know how many drops and lifts you’re going to get, the story behind it all. It just is a great ride.

Favorite Shop– Mickey’s of Hollywood. I wasn’t quite sure which shop I was going to go with for this one. I don’t do a lot of shopping when I’m at Hollywood Studios, so I can honestly say, I had to sort of research this one out. I went with Mickey’s of Hollywood because this is the store that pretty much has all the different types of merchandise you could want. It’s easy to find all your souvenirs here, so that’s the reasoning behind my pick.

Favorite Show/Parade– Citizens of Hollywood/ Osborne Family Lights. For this one, I went with a past and a present, because the Osborne Family Lights should still 100% be around in my opinion. I love the Osborne Family lights, the music, the dancing, the feeling you get when you hear the songs, it’s just an amazing time. I’m so sad that it’s gone, and really hope somehow we can find a way to get it back to Disney in some capacity. For my present favorite, it would have to be the Citizens of Hollywood. These folks are a riot, and if you ever meet them on the street, or catch some of their shows, you definitely have to stop. How they are so quick on their feet, and come up with the material, and really stick to their characters is awesome.

Favorite Snack– Mickey Ice Cream Bar. I know you can get these in all the parks, but I really couldn’t think of any other snack at Hollywood Studios that I get often, or enjoy, and you can’t go wrong with the classic Mickey ice cream bar.

Favorite Quick Service Restaurant- Back lot Express. Another category where I really sort of had to think about, and do a little research on, because again, we never really go to Hollywood Studios, and when we do, we aren’t there a super long time, so I didn’t have a lot of choices I could really call out as a favorite. I went with a timeless one, the back lot express. You can get your basic american fare food here, so there isn’t a whole lot of specialty going on, but they are nice meals.

Favorite Table Service Restaurant– Sci Fi Dine in. Now this one I had no doubt in my mind about. I absolutely LOVE the Sci Fi Dine in restaurant. The food is good, it’s somewhat a step above theme-park basic food, but it’s always cooked great and tastes wonderful. My love for this restaurant falls on the ambiance of it. You get to sit in cars and feel like you are at a Drive-In movie, watching Sci Fi clips and ad’s. It feels like it’s dusk/night time, so it just makes you really immersed in it all. Either it’s becoming more popular, or they just don’t do as many reservations, because it’s been harder and harder to get a dining reservation the last few times I’ve tried.

Favorite Character Meet– Hollywood Studios is one where I honestly haven’t met a lot of characters. So with that, out of the few I have met, Vampirina is going to be my favorite. My daughter is a big fan of Disney Junior, so it was fun to see them interact, and they both had pigtails so it was almost like they were matching. Super cute!

After reading over this list, I have got to go back to Hollywood Studios and give it more of a fighting chance to have some decent favorites.

Continuing in my new semi little series discussing my Disney favorites so I can live through memories until I’m able to go back to the parks, we have Epcot. Epcot I think is my favorite park of any of the four located in Orlando. It didn’t always use to be, but it’s grown on me over the years. Now while there isn’t as many rides to ride like at Magic Kingdom, there is still so much to do at this park. Plus you are able to drink which as an adult is a major plus. Especially when bringing a toddler to Disney, by mid afternoon, you really could use a stiff drink or two.

Favorite Pavilion– All the countries in the world showcase hold a special place in my heart. But, my favorite of all of them would have to be the Mexico Pavilion. Not only can you get margaritas there, but the majority of the pavilion is inside the ruins, and once inside you are made to feel like you are outside at night time with shops and restaurants and the “Grand Fiesta” ride. I just love the ambiance of the pavilion. If you stay inside for a while, you can really believe that it’s night time and be in for a shock when you leave and realize that it is still in fact, the middle of the afternoon.

Favorite Ride– Hands down it is Soarin’ around the world. While I do sort of miss the Soarin’ over California overlay, the around the version isn’t bad. All the new sounds and smells just really make you feel like you are in those locations. 

Favorite Shop– There is a Christmas shop in the Germany pavilion and that wins my top spot for favorite shop within Epcot. I love all the glass blown ornaments, as well as the other options of ornaments they have there. It’s not a very large store, but it still is a great place to find souvenirs.

Favorite Show/Parade– With Epcot not having a parade, this winner had to go to my favorite show at the park. British Revolution, the rock band that played in the United Kingdom most definitely gets that spot. I have had so many memories of watching them play and Cameron loves their music too. Sadly, with Covid-19 and the closure of Disney, this band ended their run. I am really hoping they are able to come back once the parks open back up and things get back to a sense of normalcy, because they were awesome and always had the audience jamming and dancing.

Favorite Snack– Empanadas from Mexico. Now I’m not sure if these are really considered a snack, or if you want to consider them a meal. But I really love them. You can get them from the margarita counter on the outside of the pavilion. Paired with a margarita and you got yourself a great time.

Favorite Drink (Non-Festival and Festival)– I decided to add two favorites to this category since Epcot does so many festivals, I thought it was only fair to do my festival favorite, and my non-festival favorite for drinks. For my non-festival favorite, I chose the Blood Orange Margarita from Mexico. Are you sensing a theme here with my favorites? Clearly the Mexico pavilion is where I love to spend my time, as well as eat and drink. You can find this margarita inside the pavilion at La Cava de Tequila. Fair warning, if you want to get one of these from this location, go early, as lines for margaritas here can get lengthy at times. Now for my festival favorite, I went with the Limencello Cider from the Apple Orchard booth at Food and Wine Festival. This was a new booth last year in 2019, and it was one of my favorites, not only because I really enjoyed this cider, but also because it was located inside the Canada pavilion in the circle vision theater (which wasn’t operational at the time due to getting an update), so you could enjoy a little AC while sampling your festival choices. 

Favorite Quick Service Restaurant-  For my quick service choice, I picked the Katsura Grill in Japan. This is a small little location, tucked up on a hill like area in the Japan pavilion. Honestly, if you didn’t know it was there, you would legit walk right past it. I first learned of this place watching Adam Hattan’s vlogs on Youtube so decided to try it out myself. It was great, the dishes were overflowing, they were great flavor, and their prices were not that terrible. (As far as Disney prices go). We got the chicken teriyaki meal, and some sushi and were not disappointed. 

Favorite Table Service Restaurant– Garden Grill in the Land Pavilion is a great choice for a table service meal. Which is why it takes my favorite here in Epcot. Not only is it a character meal with Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Pluto, but it’s also served family style, all you care to enjoy, and some of the food is grown right there in the same pavilion. I personally enjoy the breakfast over any meal you can have there, but you can’t go wrong dining at any time. 

Favorite Character Meet– Epcot has a lot of princess meet and greets, they also have other characters, so when trying to choose a favorite I had to think back to all the memories I’ve had meeting the characters. With that being said, my favorite character to meet at Epcot would be Mickey. Yes, you can meet him just about anywhere, but he holds a special place in my heart, because the Mickey we met in Epcot, was the VERY FIRST character Cameron ever met during her first visit. Right there is enough reason for him to be a favorite for a long time to come.

Favorite Festival– Epcot has 4 great festivals. And while they are all great, my favorite is hands down the food and wine festival. The other 3 have a lot going for them, but the food and wine festival just has so much more in my opinion. As well as I believe it lasts the longest so you have more opportunity to attend. Not to mention, I really love fall at Disney so it’s another perfect time to go.

These are my current Epcot favorites. Did your favorites make the list? Did I miss out on anything?

Easter this year was already going to be different with most events getting canceled. No Easter egg hunts, no Easter bunny photos, no shopping at actual stores for candy or gifts and having to be participating in social distancing. Trying to make a good Easter basket could be somewhat difficult. Once again Amazon to the rescue. I had gotten a few things in store before all of the stay at home orders were put into place so I didn’t need that many things for the basket. I also was trying hard to not overfill the basket because we are at the point where we are trying to limit the amount of UN-useful items that we are getting Cameron at the moment.

Here’s what we put in Cameron’s 2020 Easter basket.

Mrs. Potato Head: We are working on getting Cameron to be more familiar with her body parts, so I thought what better way than a Mrs. Potato Head. She is also very much into the Toy Story franchise now so this was a double bonus.

I spy everything book: We are also trying to get Cameron more into recognizing pictures when we ask her to point to them, so what better than an I Spy book.

Coloring book: Coloring has become a favorite thing for Cameron, so figured we could throw that into her Easter Basket. Not to mention, it’s Toy Story themed so it’s perfect.

It’s not easy being a bunny book: I always try to do a book as it relates to the holiday. But I also like getting books that can be read even not around the holiday so as not to confuse her.

Nail Polish: Cameron is getting her first nail polish ever this Easter. I looked around and found a kid friendly brand of nail polish called Piggy paint.

Stuffed bunny and stickers. My husband decided to add a stuffed bunny and some sticker packs because this child is obsessed with stickers.

Her big Easter gift was a water table. Unfortunately due to the current situation it did not arrive on time, which is fine, delayed gratification and all.

For inside her eggs we are putting lifesaver gummies and fruit snacks because I’m not 100% ready to fill her eggs with full on candy.

She seemed a bit more into Easter and her basket this year. Still a little unsure and not fully understanding the Easter bunny and such so I think we still have another year before it really sinks in. All in all it was a great day and I’m very happy with how her basket turned out.

When you are stuck at home with your family for 24/7 it’s very easy to start to get a little stir crazy.

In a normal setting, yes, you do spend a good bit of time with your family, but depending on your situation, you may also get breaks from one another. Things get a little different when you are all “required” to stay at home. This can especially be a lot when your children are home with you at all times of the day, when normally they go to a daycare/preschool/school and so they spend their days there.

Recently there has been a daily schedule floating around the internet for what to do with your child when they are at home all day long. While that is all great, and I’m sure it’s a wonderful schedule, those of us who have kids know how hard it is to really get them to follow a schedule. So a friend of mine adjusted the schedule to make it fit “most parents” and told me I could share it on my blog. If you want to see the original schedule, you can probably google for it, or I’m sure it’s still floating around Facebook somewhere.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel so much better about myself knowing how many parents out there are hanging on for dear life while their kids are home. It’s so nice knowing that there are others out there that you can relate to in this crazy time. It’s also nice knowing that my child isn’t the only crazy-banshee type out there either.

With that being said, here’s some other ways to stay sane during all of this. (Remember, I’m not a professional in any capacity, these are just my fun loving opinions)

1. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We are all human, which means we all make mistakes, or let the child watch a little too much TV, or eat that Cheetos off the floor, or forget to shower/brush our hair/brush our teeth/get dressed. Right now it’s all about survival, so some things may need to fall by the wayside in order to get through the day, and that’s OK. Once this all passes then the schedule can get back to normal, but until then, cut yourself a break. We all know we could use it.
2. Take breaks. Even if they are a few minutes long. Make sure you are not running 24/7 trying to do everything. We have to be able to balance it all and have an understanding we may not be able to do it all. Taking breaks is a good way to slow down and make sure that at the end of this we aren’t so run down we get sick.
3. Go outside. No, I don’t mean try to go to the store, or do something with friends. I mean go out in your front yard, or back yard and just soak up some sun. Play with bubbles, or in your pool, or with a water table. Chase your kids around, have a picnic. Something that just gets you out of the house so you aren’t going stir crazy.
4. Facetime/skype/zoom. I get it, it’s hard to distance yourself from friends and family, but it must be done to help flatten the curve. With that being said, set up some time to Facetime/skype/zoom with them. Have a dinner party, or a happy hour, or just a chat. Having that connection with people can still happen while still social distancing.
5. Booze. Things are going to get crazy. Things are going to get bad. Your husband and kids are probably going to drive you mad. Booze can most definitely help you with that.

Now while this list may not be extensive, it is important to remember, this is a serious time, one that not a lot of people have had any previous experience with, so we are all doing our best to get through it day by day. And that’s OK. But we have to remember, that we need to take care of ourselves too.