Walt Disney World 50th Specialty Food, Drinks and Treats

I've covered many parts of Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary Celebration including the new "Beacons of Light" and decor, the new shows and the merchandise.  Today, I thought I'd cover one last thing before calling it good.  (For now anyways!)  After all, what's a party without the specialty food, drinks and treats!

There are so many tasty treats available for the 50th celebration.  (Apparently, there are over 150 new sips and bites!)  I won't cover them all, but I thought I'd share a few that I'd like to try when Eliot and I finally go "home"!  If you want to see everything available, Disney made a comprehensive guide here!  For now, let's check these out!

Magic Kingdom

Uncle Orville's Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow Sundae- This sundae made me laugh out loud when I saw it.  As soon as I saw the bathtub and the red, white and blue sprinkles, I immediately knew what it was for.  (No privacy at all around this place!)  Too cute!

Happy Haunted Milkshake- This looks very delicious!  I love blackberry ice cream and donuts.  Plus, this has an awesome Haunted Mansion Wallpaper paper straw!!!

The Toad Burger- This is such a cute nod to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!!! 

Cheers to 50 Years! Ice Cream- This sundae is giant and serves 4-6 people.  Eliot and I might have to phone a friend in order to finish this sweet treat!

Heigh-Ho Sundae- This sundae looks more my speed.  I love the chocolate gems!

Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar- This classic Disney treat has had a makeover with a festive new wrapper showcasing Mickey in his EARidescent finest!

Animal Kingdom

Hand-Dipped 50th Celebration Mickey Premium Bar- If you thought the fancy wrapped was cool, this premium bar is dipped in extra yummies!  It features a blue raspberry flavored coating and some 50th celebration sprinkles!  This is a must try!!!

50th Celebration Chocolate Gâteaux- This looks both fancy and delicious!!!

Hollywood Studios

Glimmer and Shimmer Pineapple Mousse- I love the pineapple shape of this!

Shimmer Over the Moon- This drink looks tasty and it comes with a glow cube!!!

Chocolate Mousse- Raspberry-dark chocolate mousse, chocolate-almond cake, and a layer of hazelnut crunch and whipped chocolate-hazelnut cheesecake.  Yum!

Epcot

Key Lime Tart- This looks so good.  I love the EARidescent shimmer and sprinkles!

EARidescent Croissant Doughnut- This donut looks like what dreams are made of.

Chocolate Mousse Bar- This includes dark chocolate mousse, caramel cookie pieces, milk chocolate shell, and chocolate shortbread cookie.

Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake- This mini Bundt cake has chocolate ganache, sprinkles, and icing dusted with EARidescent shimmer.  It also includes a chocolate 50th anniversary garnish!  (The plate they used in this photo is very pretty too!)

Disney Springs

50th Celebration Petit Cake- This little cake looks delicious and fancy!

50th Celebration Chocolate Bundle- It's pretty clear that this girl loves her chocolate.

Chocolate Pigñata- I love this little golden piggy piñata!  It serves two and even comes with a little mallet to break it open!  This is my kind of piñata! 

Sweet Nostalgia Pineapple Upside-Down Cake- The purple & blue cream looks pretty!

Disney Resorts

Chocolate Mousse- This looks like a giant purple Hershey Kiss and I'm here for it.

50th Celebration Cupcake- I love cupcakes and this one is pretty and looks yummy!

Petit Stump Cake- This is a gorgeous cake!  It almost looks to good to eat... almost.

50th Celebration Tart- This dome cake looks like an ear hat and makes me so happy!

Select Table-Service Restaurants, Lounges, Pool Bars 

EARidescent Sip-a-bration- If you're on social media, you've probably already seen this in action.  Yes, adults can play with their food too.  This lemonade is served with a character.  You drop the character in the cup and stir.  As it disappears, it reveals shimmering swirls of sparkles and flavor!

Magical Beacon Cocktail- I have a thing for sparkling drinks and I'm obsessed with glow cubes.  This drink is a must get for me as it includes some of my favorites: blue curaçao, Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, lemon, a souvenir glow cube and more!

There you have it!  Don't these treats look absolutely scrumptious?  It's time for me to start working out so I can make room for all these delectable specialty treats.  (Clearly, someone has a sweet tooth!)  I can't wait to see how they taste!!!  I think I also better start making my Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Bucket List now.  It's sure to be a doozy... plus, I have to make sure I include all of these treats!

Happy 50th Anniversary Walt Disney World!!!  °o°

All of the photos in this post were taken from the Disney Parks blog where you can also read more about each item featured in this post.

KTTW Christmas Exchanges

As I mentioned the other day, I love sending and receiving magical Mickey mail.  It's also no secret that I love my Key to the World travel agent family.  So when I found out we were planning to do a few holiday exchanges, I was definitely in for some fun!

We had an optional Christmas Card Exchange.  I signed up to participate along with about 40 other agents.  We had to send a minimum of five cards, but we were allowed to mail more if we wanted to.  This year, I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew since they already went in the mail a little later then they were supposed to.  (Moving into a new house and sending out Christmas cards at the same time can get dicey.)  I sent the minimum to my required list, plus a few extras to my close KTTW friends.

We also had a KTTW Sock and Sweets Swap.  I've never done one before, but it was a blast.  You basically send your partner a pair of socks and some candy, a snack or a treat.  I loved seeing everyone's pictures of their socks and sweets on our Facebook group page.  One of the guys sent another agent holey socks.  It was hilarious!

I was paired up with Jill.  I sent her a pair of fuzzy Christmas color polka dotted aloe infused socks and I got myself a pair so we'd be sock twins!  I also sent her a candy cane, Santa Pez, and a small box of Russell Stover chocolates.

Jill's package took a little longer to get to me, but it wasn't her fault.  (I had forgotten to update KTTW with our new mailing address!)  After my package went on the grand tour, it was forwarded to our new house.  Unfortunately by that point, our mailbox had been knocked over and was sitting on the ground.  Once the USPS tracking said it should be out for delivery, I knew it was sitting at the post office for me to pick up!

I retrieved my package and brought it home to open.  My jaw dropped- Jill got me five pairs of Minion socks!!!  She also included an 8 oz package of Disneyland peanut brittle!  Yum!  I love my gift and she really outdid herself.  Thank you so much Jill!!!

This was a ton of fun.  I'm honored to be part of this wonderful family of travel agents!  I really hope we do another Christmas swap again next year!!!  °o°

(Note: Sorry for the lack of photos.  This was right in the middle of me not having a cell phone so I wasn't able to take photos of my Christmas cards or my swap package!)

My 2015 Blog and Disney Goals

2015 is officially here!  I'm really excited about this year.  I have another blank canvas to create a new design.  365 blank pages of a book yet to be written.  In order to feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the year, I like to set goals for myself.  In fact, this year I added a lot of new items to my personal goal list.

Photo Source: Disney Store

Last year, I added Disney themed goals and blog goals to my list for the first time.  I shared a few in 14 Disney and Blog Goals for 2014.  I did pretty well in my efforts to achieve them.  (You can read my 2014 end of the year goal recap here.)

To celebrate 2015, I've decided to make 15 Disney and Blog Goals!  Sharing your goals with others helps with accountability; therefore, I'm going to share those goals with you guys once again!  Some of them are the same or similar to goals I had last year.  (I still want to get those 2014 goals completed!)  Some of these goals are completely new ideas!  Hopefully, I can achieve them all this year!  Bring it on 2015!

Melissa's 15 Blog and Disney Goals for 2015

1.)  Go to Walt Disney World- This is my goal every year, so it's always #1.  This feels like a "freebie" since I'm leaving for Disney this Tuesday.  However, I've also made a bucket list for this trip, so I'll include trying new things while I'm there with this goal.

2.)  Participate in the WDW 10K- This also feels like a "freebie" since I'm doing the Minnie 10K on Friday.  The "real" goal is to finish it since I didn't finish the half marathon last year.  I guess we'll find out how this goal turns out later on this week!

3.) Achieve Monthly Blog Goals- This was what I had a hard time with last year.  I've made a calendar template for myself so it'll be easier to achieve these monthly goals. Specifically, I'd like to do at least one tutorial each month, blog about one fun find each month, and do 12-13 posts each month so I can write 150 blog entries for the year.

4.)  Make Disney Décor for the Holidays-  I will make sure I get this done.  My list of "Disney Projects" is taking over my cell phone.  Plus, some of my ideas are incredibly awesome!  I really need to be on top of my holiday projects this year.

5.)  Design an Imagineering Project-  Back in college, I could design anything I wanted in my interior design studio class.  The sky was the limit and there weren't any money restrictions.  I want to do a personal project for fun since there's always money restrictions in the real world.  I have a great idea that I'm really excited about.  It's going to come to life in 2015.  This particular project is a huge undertaking- so it might not be completed totally at the end of 2015, but it's going to be well on it's way.

6.)  Have a Few Friends as Guest Bloggers-  My friends are huge Disney fans too. Last year, I had two guest blogger posts.  I'd like to have a few more posts this year. Thankfully, Eliot is on board so hopefully you'll hear more from him.  I'm sure I can persuade a few of my friends to write a post or two!  (You know you want to friends!!!)

7.)  Have a Disney Themed Party-  We had two parties last year.  Our Disney Side BBQ Party was a big hit and a great way to welcome summer.  Eliot and I are thinking about making it an annual event.  Also, I have a lot of other ideas I'm dying to try out.

8.)  Paint Disney Art-  Last year, I specifically wanted to paint Disney Wedding art for our dining room.  This year, I want to make some for our bathroom, dining room, my office, etc.  I've been dying to go to one of those paint bars where you have drinks and paint a picture.  I started a Pinterest board a while ago- it now has over 600 pins. I'm thinking I might just have to have a few of my own personal "paint night" events.

9.)  Continue Happily Ever Hatter's Growth- I am so proud of how far I came with Happily Ever Hatter last year.  My personal goal was to have 50 orders.  I ended 2014 with 40 Etsy sales, 4 PayPal orders, 2 orders from friends, and I made over 50 hats and headbands.  This year, I want to build on that.  I've got plans to release a bunch of new designs.  Here's to hoping I'll have at least another 50+ sales this year!!!

10.)  Make Disney Accessories-  This was another goal from last year.  However, this year, I want to make different Disney accessories.  I've got ear hats and ear headbands covered in goal #9.  I'm not quite ready to reveal all of my top secret business ideas, but goal this will take shape a bit differently than Happily Ever Hatter did last year.

11.) Take an Online Storyboard Class-  Yet another goal from last year that I didn't exactly accomplish.  I'm already signed up for the visual storytelling class over at Skillshare.  It's taught by an animator from Walt Disney Animation Studios!

12.) Read Disney Books- I have a bunch of Disney Imagineering books that I've collected since I was in college.  I've looked through them, but I haven't actually read them cover to cover.  I'd like to read a few of them this year.  I also want to get some of the art of Disney books where they show the concept art and how they created the movies we know and love.  (Frozen and Tangled are at the top of the list!)

13.)  Have Disney Movie Nights and Disney Game Nights- I've been wanting to do this for a while now.  Eliot and I had discussed having Monday Movie Nights and Thursday Game Nights.  (Along with Taco Tuesdays and Wii Wednesdays.) They haven't panned out since we're always so busy, but I'm determined to do these more often.  I'm not sure we'll be able to watch movies every Monday, but I'm going to try to watch more of the Disney Movies in our collection.  We also have quite a few Disney board games that need to be broken in a bit.

14.)  See Disney's Frozen on Ice- This seems silly to have as a goal but I really want to see it!  I used to go to Disney On Ice shows with my family all the time when I was a kid.  I absolutely love watching the performers skate.  Plus, I always dreamed about becoming a costume or set designer.  I love Frozen and I can't wait to see the costumes and set designs for this show!

15.) Work on Top Secret Blog Post Ideas- Well, this is certainly a tease, but that's all I can say for now!  I'm sorry!  Once said "top secret blog ideas" are able to be public knowledge, I will definitely let you guys know!  Since I can't outright tell you, I'll give you a little bit of a hint: I said my list of "Disney projects and ideas" was ridiculously long... there are many more ideas than just holiday projects on there!

Photo Source: Disney Store

I've got my work cut out for me again this year.  But I'm really excited about it!  I'm going to make 2015's word of the year GROWTH.  I've made a lot of progress with my blog and with my business endeavors this past year.  This year I want to build upon that progress and to make them all grow to be even bigger and better!

Happy 2015 Everyone!!!  °o°

My 2014 Blog and Disney Goals

2014 is here!  I've had to write the date numerous times today, and I didn't write 13 once! So far so good!  Let's see how long it lasts...

Photo from the Disney Store Online.

I'm really excited about this year.  I love the feeling of "newness" that a new year brings. I always feel refreshed.  It's like the slate is cleaned overnight.  I'm not huge on making resolutions because I feel like I'll break them.  Instead, I try to make goals for myself.  At the end of the year, I'm disappointed if I don't achieve all of them, but I don't feel like a complete failure.  I usually set the bar incredibly high with an unattainable list of things to try to do throughout the year.  A lot of the things I put on my list are things like "build a snowman" or "learn how to knit" or "travel somewhere new."  They're not exactly earth shattering, but I try to think of fun ideas!

This year, I decided that I wanted to make a few specific Disney goals.  Now that I have a blog, I want to give myself something to strive for.  Some people say that sharing your goals with others helps with accountability, so I thought that I'd share some of those goals with you guys!  Hopefully, I can achieve them all this year!  Bring it on 2014!

Melissa's 14 Blog and Disney Goals for 2014

1.)  Go to Walt Disney World- This is usually one of my "dream" goals every year.  I kind of feel like it's a cope out since we're leaving for Walt Disney World next Tuesday. But going to Disney is my goal every year, so it's always #1.

2.)  Participate in the WDW Half Marathon- This also feels like a "freebie" since I'm doing the half marathon next Saturday.  The "real" goal is to finish it, but I'm not sure if that'll happen.  I guess we will all find out about a week and a half from now!

3.)  Make Disney Décor for the Holidays-  I tried to make some new decorations for the holidays last year, but a lot of time I ended up running out of time before completing them. This year, I'm planning to start them early.  If it means making Christmas decorations in July, so be it.  I'll celebrate my own version of Christmas in July!

4.)  Do at Least One Tutorial Each Month-  This is something I really enjoy doing.  I like sharing how to make different things with you guys.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to come up with one tutorial a month for the entire year!

5.)  Design an Imagineering Project-  This stems back to my college days when I could make basically anything I wanted in my interior design studio class.  The sky was the limit and there weren't any money restrictions.  The real world does not work that way, so I wanted to do some designs for Disney where the sky is once again the limit.  I have a specific design that I'm itching to bring to life.  It's been top secret, and no one knows about it except Eliot.  He'll probably be glad to have me formerly working on it so he doesn't have to listen to any more of my crazy ideas!

6.)  Write 150 Blog Entries for the Year-  I started this blog last May and wrote 73 published entries so I basically figured that I could double that number for this year.  I've got a lot of fun ideas, so hopefully it won't be difficult to do more than 150!

7.)  Have a Few Friends as Guest Bloggers-  I have a lot of close friends who are big into Disney.  They're part of the reason that I am able to be as Disney obsessed as I am. I'd really like to get a few of them to do a few guest blogs.  So stay tuned!

8.)  Have a Disney Themed Party-  Eliot and I had been planning to have a Monster's University party once the movie came out on DVD but we weren't able to pull it off during 2013.  Now, I'm basically in love with Frozen and I'd love to do a Frozen party.  I love to decorate and have parties with a theme.  So before the year is over, we will have some sort of Disney party whether it's Monster's University, Frozen or something else entirely!  
9.)  Blog About One Fun Find a Month-  Last year, I did a few "fun find" posts about Etsy shops that I'd found online that had some cool Disney stuff.  I didn't get to post as many of those as I wanted to.  This year, I'll contact more sellers and write more posts! There are far too many fun things I've stumbled across to not share them with everyone!

10.)  Take an Online Storyboard Class-  There are so many online classes that I've stumbled across that I want to take.  One website that I recently discovered was Skillshare.  They do online classes on tons of artistic things.  There's even a visual storytelling class taught by an actual animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios!

11.)  Make Disney Accessories-  This is something that I've been dying to do for a while now.  I really want to make some Disney inspired accessories.  This will also come in the form of a few new Etsy shops.  I will not be the only one reaping the rewards of this goal!

12.)  Paint Disney Wedding Art for our Dining Room-  We have a ton of wall space in our dining area.  I've decided to make a collage style wall art design.  We already have a few Disney Wedding art pieces to put up, as well as the awesome artwork that Eliot's sister Elissa made us.  So, I've decided to add a few artistic pieces of my own to the collection!  The wall will be a perfect way to always remember that dreams do come true!

13.)  Finish Our Mickey and Minnie Bathroom-  We're making really good progress on our Mickey and Minnie themed bathroom.  I've already made the small flower pots and the Mickey hand shelf.  I have a few more art ideas for it.  And we still need to get the curtains designed and made.  I'm hoping to have this done sooner than later!

14.)  Make Disney Sweets-  I've always loved looking at the displays of the Main Street Confectionary.  Those candy apples are ah-maz-ing!  I've decided that I want to make some Disney sweets this year.  Maybe they'll be cake pops, or cupcakes, or a cake. Who knows?  Maybe I'll make all of them!!!  (That Disney Themed Party will be the perfect place to pawn off the sweets to my friends and family... share the calories!)

Photo from the Disney Store Online.

I've got my work cut out for me.  But I'm really excited about it!  I'm going to make 2014's word of the year CREATE.  As you can see, there are a lot of things that I want to design and create this year.  I'm most happy when I'm doing that.  That's the gift that I will share with the world this year!!!  Happy 2014 Everyone!!!  °o°