It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right the Flower and Garden festival is back at EPCOT. This is my absolute favorite festival and today was my first of many visits. 

First, lets talk about the gardens and topiaries. There are some new topiaries this year. A popular one is Groot. You can find this topiary over by the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. There is also Miguel and Dante from the beloved Pixar film Coco. You can find them near the entrance to the Mexico pavilion. A couple of my personal favorite topiaries are Huey, Dewey, and Louie over by Test Track. I think I like this one because these rambunctious ducks remind me of my own boys. I also love the Princess Tiana topiary over in the American pavilion. She is absolutely stunning. And of course all of EPCOT is just covered with gorgeous and colorful flowers. 

Spike's pollen nation exploration scavenger hunt is also back. The scavenger hunts are always a big hit with my kids. I must say that the prize this year for the scavenger hunt is the best one I have ever seen. It is a mini corn hole game, perfect for your desk. You have the choice of picking a corn hole board with either orange bird, spike the bee, butterflys, or Coco on it. 

And of course I did not forget about the food! I have to say the food at the Flower and Garden festival is some of my favorite. The frozen violet lemonade and the frushi are some of the staple food items for flower and garden and are defiantly must tries. Another must try every year is the Honey Bee-Stro booth. This booth never disappoints and is always one of my favorites every year. I was sad they did not bring back the flatbread pizza as this was one of my favorites from last year. However, the honey-glazed cauliflower was delicious and one of my favorite dishes I tried for the day.  

The Flower and Garden Festival is going on now until May 27th.

Festival of the Holidays is back at EPCOT! This is my second favorite festival just behind The Flower and Garden Festival. 

We spent today checking out all this festival has to offer this year. We started off at the Creations Shop to check out all the Festival of the Holidays merch. This year there is a cute crossbody Loungefly and a very fuzzy spirt jersey that I had my eye on. After checking out the merch we headed to the World Showcase to start trying the food. We started off with the China booth where we had the chicken skewer. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it. Some other favorites were the sushi tree from Japan and Creme de Saumon Fume en Brioche a l'Aneth Concombre from France. My favorite drink of the day was also from the France booth and that was the Le Joyeux de Noel. This was a coffee cocktail, and I love my coffee. 

I also completed the cookie stroll as well. However, I learned from last year that eating five large cookies in one day is just not possible for me so I brought Ziploc bags with me this year. This way I was able to put the cookies in the Ziploc bags and enjoy them at home. Plus this gave my stomach more room to try even more food at the different festival booths. This years prize for completing the cookie stroll is a Wish cookie and chocolate ice cream. 

The Olaf scavenger hunt is also back this year. My children love the scavenger hunts that EPCOT offers at the different festivals. The scavenger hunts are especially great for my older child because he loves focusing on tasks and the scavenger hunt gives him a task to focus on while enjoying the World Showcase. This years prize for completing the scavenger hunt is a cookie cutter. You have the choice of Olaf, Sven, Ana, and Elsa. 

We ended our day with a ride on Living with the Land. Living with the Land does an amazing Christmas overlay every year and it is defiantly worth checking out. 

Festival of the Holidays is going on now until December 30th at EPCOT. 

It's been a busy travel month for me. I just got back from a quick stay at Aventura Hotel. This was my first time staying at this resort. Here are 4 things that I loved about Aventura Hotel. 

1 - Each room at Aventura is equipped with an iPad. The iPad allows you to control features in your room like the lights, temperature, and television. You can also request items for your room or order food. 

2 - If you are staying at Aventura make sure to check out the rooftop bar, Bar 17 Bistro. This bar features breathtaking views as well as a great food and drink menu. 

3 - If you are walking through the hotel lobby you might come across Relay the robot. This robot navigates the lobby and elevators to deliver requested items to guest. 

4 - When we stayed at Aventura we spent the day at Volcano Bay and loved that this resort was just a short two minute walk to Volcano Bay. 

It's that time of the year again....SPOOKY SEASON, which means that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is back in full swing. 

This is one of my favorite special ticketed events at Walt Disney World. At the Halloween party you get to trick or treat around Disney World, try specialty snacks, ride some rides with shorter wait times, and meet specialty characters. Don't forget this is also the only time that everyone (adults included) can go to the parks in costume. This year I went as Rapunzel. Since it is still very hot here in Florida I did not go in full costume. 

Here is my personal experience in attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I arrived to Magic Kingdom around 3:45pm to get in line to enter the park at 4pm. The line was already very long when I arrived but it moved quickly and I soon had my wristband and was ready to go. The party does not officially kick off until 7pm. I was able to get on some rides prior to the party officially starting at 7pm. 

Don't forget at 6pm if you want to ride TRON during the Halloween Party you will need to join the virtual queue at this time. 

A little before 7pm I was able to ride Space Mountain with the Halloween overlay. The Tea Cups and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor are the other two rides that have a Halloween overlay for the party. At 7pm I headed over to Pecos Bills to try some of the party exclusive food offerings. I had the Cajun Burger which is served on a black bun (very spooky). I very much enjoyed this Burger. After I was nice and full I headed over to the one character meet and greet I wanted to do at the party, meeting the 7 Dwarfs. This was the longest line I stood in of the night (waited about an hour). Then it was about time for the Halloween Party Fireworks where Jack Skellington makes an appearance. During the fireworks my boarding group for TRON was called and I headed over to ride my favorite ride of the night. After TRON I watched the second Boo to You Halloween Parade at 11:15pm. This parade is my favorite part of the party and should not be missed. After the parade it was almost time for the party to end so I headed over to one last candy stop before heading out. 

The Halloween party hours do go by fast and I was not able to get everything done I wanted to. However, I did prioritize my must do's during the party and am happy to report I was able to do all my must dos completed. 

We spent the day at Animal Kingdom today. This park actually has so much to do for little ones. Here are my top three non ride things to do with little ones at Animal Kingdom. 

1. The Boneyard Playground - This is Disney World's largest playground and a favorite for my children. Often my kids ask to go to Animal Kingdom just to be able to play on this playground. This playground offers tons of slides, climbing areas, and a large space for the kiddos to run around in. There is also a bridge in the playground you can cross. Here you will find the dig site where your little ones can dig for fossils. The best part is the dig site is not sand but tiny pebbles so you don't have to worry about your children being covered in sand for the rest of the day. 

2. Wilderness Explorers - This is a fun free activity that children and adults alike will enjoy. This is also a great way to explore the park. When you first enter the park you will see a Wilderness Explorer stand. Here you will pick up your Wilderness Explorer Handbook. You will then go around the park collecting badges and learning about animals and their habitats. Once you have collected all your badges you can head back to obtain your senior wilderness explorer badge.  

3. Rafiki's Planet Watch (Conservation Station) - Over in Africa you will find the Wildlife Express. You will take this train over to the conservation station. Not only is there so much to do over at the conservation station but my little one loves riding the train back and forth. Once at the conservation station you will find interactive learning areas, a petting zoo, and the animation experience. At the animation experience you learn to draw a Disney animal character. We recentley did the animation experience for the first time. I was nervous on participating in this experience before because I was unsure if my toddler would sit still. However, a cast member provided my toddler with crayons and coloring sheets and he was happy as can be while my older son and I learned to draw Timon. 

We enjoyed the day at Universal Studios Orlando and we were able to check out the newest ride, Villain-Con Minion Blast. This ride is currently on technical rehearsal and is set to open sometime later this summer. 

I would consider this ride as more of an attraction then a ride. You do not actually sit in a ride vehicle but rather stand on a moving sidewalk and hold a blaster. On the moving sidewalk you are given a dot to stand on for the duration of the attraction. 

The attraction does not have a height limit but does require children to be able to stand on their own, meaning no handheld infants. I was a littler nervous to bring my 2 1/2 year old on this ride as he is very active and I was worried he would not stand on the dot for the duration of the attraction so I did not take him on it this time. However, after riding it you are placed fairly close to the person if front of you and behind you plus there are railings on either side of you. I believe if I stood on one side of my toddler and my husband stood on the other side he would be fine. There is also tons to look at through the attraction that would keep my toddler's attention. 

I was at first very apprehensive about this ride as I am more of a thrill rider person myself but I actually very much enjoyed it. It is a totally different ride concept then I have every experienced before. I also like that this attraction is family friendly and something the whole family will defiantly enjoy. My 10 year old son gave the ride a 10 out of 10. 

Today I was able to check out Minion Café an all new quick service restaurant a part of Minion Land at Universal Studios Orlando. Minion Café is currently open for a soft opening phase. No exact date has been announced for Minion Land to fully open just that it will open sometime this summer. 

Minion Café is split up into three different dining areas. The area you walk into first is the kitchen. Here you can get a glimpse of the tools and gadgets the Minions use to create your food. The second room to the right of the kitchen is the break room. This was my favorite room. Here guest can dine in the Minions hang out space complete with lockers full of bananas and a vending machine again full of bananas and even a fart gun. The third room is to the left of the kitchen and this is the dinning room. This space is decorated with artwork created by the Minions. 

One thing I really like about this quick service restaurant is that instead of standing in line to order your food and then trying to find a seat to eat, you find your seat first. Once you are seated you order your food from the Universal mobile app. Each table has a table number located on it and you will put that table number into your app. Once your food is ready it will be brought to your table. I really like this concept especially since I often visit the parks with just me and my two little ones. Instead of struggling with a tray of food and a stroller while trying to find a seat the food is just brought right to your table. I plan to eat at Minion Café often just due to this fact alone. 

Now lets talk about the food. Overall the food was ok. We started off with the two specialty drinks, PX-41 Punch and The Antidote. Both the specialty drinks where good and very sweet. I also tried the banana bread beer which I really liked. The beer did have a hint of a banana bread taste to it. We also ordered a side of the Minion tots and these where a fan favorite. I had the chicken Stuart's Szechuan Surprise and my son had the children's Mac n' Cheese. My food was ok, I think I will defiantly try something else next time we go. My son did not like his mac n' cheese but I should note that my son is a very picky eater. He does not like mac n' cheese with the white cheese and that's what this mac n' cheese was. The children's meal also came with a side of minion tots and a mini banana. 

Overall we enjoyed the experience at Minion Café. The theming of this restaurant is on point. We will defiantly be back.   

Today we spent the day at another one of our favorite theme parks, Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Orlando Resort. My older son loves this theme park as it is home to some thrilling roller coasters. 

It actually was not too crowded at the park today. We started off with only a 15 minute wait for one of my favorite rides, The Hulk. Then we headed over to Toon Lagoon where my husband and older son rode Popeyes while I took the little one to play on Me Ship, The Olive. Then it was off to our favorite area, Jurassic Park. My children love the Camp Jurassic play area. We also were able to ride the River Adventure water ride in this area. We then headed to Hogsmeade to get a Butterbeer. This is always my must have treat. My son and I also braved the 95 minute wait for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. It was so worth the wait! Last we headed over to Suess Landing to do some of the rides in this area.  

Roundup Rodeo BBQ is the newest table service restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort. This restaurant is located at Hollywood Studios in Toy Story Land. I was so happy I was able to snag a reservation for tonight. When you first enter the restaurant they handed my children ponies that they where able to ride to their table. Once we were seated the waiter took our drink order and the food started coming. This restaurant is served family style. You first start out with cheddar biscuits (these were delicious), followed by three different salads. You then get a platter with ribs, beef brisket, pork sausages, and BBQ chicken. They also have a plant based platter available as well. You also get your choice of four different sides for the table and of course you finish your meal with dessert. Let me tell you, you defiantly do not leave hungry from this restaurant. However, the best part of this restaurant is the experience. Your are truly emersed in the world of Toy Story as soon as you enter into this restaurant. The story behind this restaurant is Andy built this restaurant for his toys in his backyard and you are one of the toys enjoying the restaurant he built. There is even a part in your dinning experience were you here Andy coming and everyone in the restaurant has to freeze. We happened to be celebrating my son's birthday when we were here and instead of saying happy birthday the cast members at this restaurant said happy unboxing day (since my son was technically a toy at this restaurant). Overall this was a great dining experience. 

Happy Easter! Today we spent Easter at the most magical place on Earth, Disney World. The day started off a little rainy and windy so we started off with the ride The Sea with Nemo and Friends and then went and checked out the Aquarium. After we rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (my favorite ride) the rain had cleared up and the sun was coming out so we headed over to the World Showcase. Since it was Easter we completed the Eggstravaganza scavenger hunt. We searched each country to find large eggs that where decorated as some of Disney's famous bunnies. This was my first time doing this scavenger hunt with my kids and we had a lot of fun with this. Plus when we completed the Eggstavaganza map we where able to collect our prizes, which was an egg with a Disney character on it. My oldest chose the egg with Genie on it and my youngest selected one with Robin Hood on it. The Flower and Garden Festival was also in full swing and we enjoyed sampling food from multiple booths. 

Disney just released a new promo for Disney Visa Card Members just in time to start planning those summer vacations! 

Card Members can save up to 35% on rooms at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels this summer! This offer is valid when you book using your Disney Visa Card for stays most nights:

- May 14 to June 24, 2023

- July 5 to August 19, 2023

- August 27 to September 7, 2023