The Creative Princess

Some people have asked me where I am getting my info.  After all, the last time I went to Disney was 198something!  How can I possibly know and remember things since then!? Well, I am going to let you in on a few of my FAVORITE sites and tell you why I love them.  You will be a Disney expert in no time (or at least think you are). I started on the Disney website actually!  They have an AMAZING Moms Panel and trust me, every question you have has been answered!  Just do a search and away you go. It was while I was looking around on the Moms Panel that I found AllEars.net .  You can find a LOT of info here.  They have reviews on restaurants, resorts, parks, just about anything that can be reviewed at WDW is reviewed at All Ears.  And they are HONEST reviews.  They also have complete menus.  Some of the menus have not been updated recently so the actual costs might be a bit off but, it is a great place to start when trying to budget for meals. TheMouseForLEss.com has a lot of tips

Breakfast Potato Casserole Restaurant Akershus Norway - Epcot Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs Diced Potatoes 1 ½ lbs Shredded Potatoes 4 ounces Diced White Onions 8 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Reserve half for topping later) 8 ounces Shredded Jarlsberg Cheese 13 ounces Béchamel Sauce 8 ounces Sour Cream Salt to taste Pepper to taste 5 ounces Milk Directions: In mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix well by hand. Place in greased casserole or non-stick pan. Sprinkle with reserved cheese on top. Cover with waxed paper and then aluminum foil. Bake in 350-degree oven for approximately 40 minutes. Remove foil and paper for last 10 minutes to brown top if desired. Recipe found at WDWMagic.com

Have a half day/night or just want to take a break from the parks for the day?  Downtown Disney (DTD) is the place to go! This is the place you will find GREAT restaurants, a movie theater , the largest Disney Store in the WORLD, Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba , Characters-in-Flight , House of Blues , and of course BabyCakes NYC !  Just to name a FEW! How about some FREE things to do? Check out the interactive fountains where the kids may enjoy playing and getting wet.  Depending on when you are going, you may just want to splash around as well! The Lego Imagination Center has a 3,000-square-foot outdoor play area filled with thousands of LEGOs, plus some absolutely amazing and huge Lego sculptures for you to admire! Check out the magic demonstrations at the Magic Masters shop -- learn a card trick! There are a lot of FREE things to do as you walk around, window shop, check out some of the

Cheddar Cheese Soup Le Cellier, Canada - Epcot Ingredients: ½ Pound apple wood smoked Bacon (cut into ½” pieces) 4 Tablespoons butter 1 Diced red onion (about 1 cup) 3 Diced celery stalks (about 1 cup) 1 Cup all purpose flour 3 Cups chicken stock 4 Cups whole milk 1 Pound aged white Cheddar cheese (shaved or grated) 1 Tablespoon salt (to taste) 1 Tablespoon pepper 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce 1 cup warm beer Method of preparation: The number one rule in Cheddar cheese soup is “Low and slow”. This recipe takes about an hour to make, and if you try to turn the heat up and rush it, you will only ruin your work The number two rule is “Keep stirring”. This is a soup that can burn, and takes a lot of tender loving care. When in doubt, “Keep stirring". 1. In a large Soup pot (At least 1 ½ Gallon) render down the bacon. All you are looking to do here is to liquefy the fat in the bacon, you are not t

Restaurants at Disney are just as different as the resorts!  Whatever you may you want, you WILL be able to find! Maybe you are in a rush and need to grab a quick bite to eat, check out the Quick Dining restaurants around the property.  If you have the time try a sit down or character meal .  Planning something extra special or just want to go above the "regular" meals, if there is such a thing as a "regular meal" at Disney, try the Fine/Signature dining options. There is truly something for everyone in your party.  From hamburgers and chicken strips to sushi and Australian Kobe Beef with Garlic-Potato Purée, you will find something to fit your needs. Remember if you have a food allergy to let you cast member know when you make your advance reservations. For our trip we have a nice mix of pretty much every thing.  We have a few character meals, a few sit down meals and a couple of signature meals.  I can't wait! What is your favorite restaurant at Walt

Disney Resorts are as different from each other as Mickey and Donald! When I say there is a resort for everyone, trust me!  There is a resort for everyone! Maybe camping is your thing?  Weither it is camping in a tent or RV, Disney's Ft. Wilderness has you covered!  Maybe you don't want to actually "camp" but still have that "camping" feel?  There are cabins at Ft. Wilderness!  Maybe you still want the feel but still don't want to "rough it" in a cabin?  Not to worry!  You can also stay at the Lodge ! See what I mean about something for everyone?  That is just ONE resort inside the WDW property!  There are SO many others! Weither you want to stay in a Value or Moderate there is something for you and your family.  You can even stay in a top of the line Deluxe resort.  Of course the rooms get bigger and the resort gets nicer the higher you go, however you will still have a GREAT room no matter where you stay! Are you a military family

Pineapple Coconut Bread from Ohana Disney's Polynesian Resort Ingredients 1 3/4 C. Water 1 Egg Yolk 2 T. Shortening 4 1/2 C. High Gluten Flour 1/2 tsp. Salt 1/3 C Sugar 1 T. Instant Yeast Pinapple/Coconut Mixture: 1 C. Crushed pineapple 1 C. Unsweetened coconut 1 C. Sugar 2 T. Cornstarch Directions Pinapple/Coconut Mixture: 1. Combine pineapple and coconut in bowl. 2. Combine sugar and cornstarch in separate bowl and mix well. 3. Add sugar and cornstarch mixture into pineapple and coconut mixture and mix well. 4. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Bread: 1. Combine all ingredients in order of recipe in mixing bowl, and mix with dough hook until dough picks up on hook and the sides of the mixing bowl is clean. 2. Let dough rise until it doubles in size. 3. Roll out dough onto a floured surface until it is 2 inches thick. 4. Next spread pineapple/coconut mixture over the top of the dough. 5. Fold dough into itself and place in a greased 9"

  My baby of my two babies will be 2 soon, REALLY soon.....this weekend soon!  We have decided to have a Red, Black and White Mickey Mouse themed party.  Sorry, I have this thing against bright obnoxious primary colors.  When I see those colors together it is like nails on a chalkboard.  So I have opted for red, black and white. We are also going to be telling the girls about our Disney trip.  WooHoo!!  Can't wait to get THAT cat out of the bag!  You know I will let you know how it goes, may even get a pic or two or even a video of it. No party is complete without some sort of cake.  I have been going back and forth for a month 3 months about the cake.  UGH!  I was first going to do cake pops in the shape of Mickey's head (then quickly came back to reality)!  Then I was going to have my VERY talented friend Kandi make it but she is on a much needed and deserved vaca this week.  So today, 5 days before the party, I have decided what I am going to do! Growing up when we wen

Where do I begin?  There is just SO much to remember!  Don't forget extra socks!  Extra shirts!  Extra undies!!  Oh the list just goes on and on.  Here are my top 10 things to take with you and are a MUST! 10) Bring take and toss sippy cups .  Some locations in Disney do not offer lids/straws which make it hard for the little ones to drink.  Be sure to bring some sippy cups for them that you do not care about throwing away or loosing. 9) Disposable Bibs.  If your child will be wearing a special outfit one day (maybe a princess costume?) and you will be eating before taking some prime pictures Disposable Bibs are great!  They are easy to pack, they are very small, and you just throw them away when you are done.  Plus, they will help protect that special outfit. 8) Don't forget rain ponchos!   If you have never been to Florida, let me just tell you now....it rains.....a LOT!  I don't care what month you are going in, it will rain at least one day while you

  So, you have decided to fly to WDW rather than drive?  Freaking out that the cost to fly is going to be just as much, if not a lot more, than it is for your hotel, park tickets and meals combined?  Well, let me share a site with you. A friend of my moms (she has the most AWESOME friends) who is also my friend led me to Allegiantair.com .  What I discovered there was fantastic! I discovered that if we decided to fly that it would actually be affordable!  The last time I check it was going to be around $800 for all 4 of us, roundtrip.  Add in gas and 2 nights in a hotel and I am sure it comes out to just about the same, minus a few bathroom stops and a few hours. The catch is that they only fly out of certain small airports, we would have to drive about 2 hours to the nearest departure city, and they only fly into a few destinations.  The other catch is they only fly on certain days. HOWEVER!  $800 plus a tank of gas ($50) sure beats $2400 + a tank of gas to fly out of a bigger air

Because I have a VERY picky eater in my little family I am worried about some of the food at Disney not appealing to her little appetite.  Over the next few months I plan to try one new recipe a week from the people at WDW to make sure Miss Mads approves, others I will be making just because I want to make sure I like it before we try it at WDW.  Don't know where she gets her picky-eatingness from!  :) I have already shared one recipe, Tie-Dye Cheesecake , and plan to try it once my kitchen is back to normal.  I will review every recipe I try for you and also review it from our trip, just to compare. Enjoy!  If you have a fav Disney recipe you would like me to try just let me know, I am open to "almost" anything.

One of the things the resort we will be staying at features is the famous Tie-Dye Cheesecake.  The ONLY place you can find it at WDW is at the Pop Century resort. Doesn't it just look fun!?  The "crust" is made of red velvet cake!  The cheesecake part is just like any other cheesecake, except you color it with food color. Enjoy! Crust (red velvet cake)*: 1/4 c butter, softened 3/4 c sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon cocoa 1 ounce red food coloring 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 c buttermilk 1 c flour 1/2 tablespoon vinegar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9″ spring-form pan. Cream together butter, sugar & eggs. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the creamed mixture. Mix salt & vanilla in buttermilk & add alternately with the flour. Mix soda & vinegar separately, add last, folding in. Do not beat after adding soda mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake

  Before checking the prices against each other we went ahead and booked the DDP (Disney Dining Plan).  We opted for the Deluxe option which allows you 3 sit down meals a day per person and also 2 snacks a day per person.  To me it just makes it easier to go ahead and put the plan on our trip and have all of the meals paid for before our trip and not have to worry about coming up with the cash once we are there. In no partcilar order our Breakfasts include dining at: Hollywood and Vine , Akershus Royal Banquet Hall , Cape May Cafe and Chef Mickey's For Lunch we have opted for: The Plaza Restaurant , Le Cellier Steakhouse and 50's Prime Time Cafe And for Dinner ( I am REALLY excited about these) we will have: 1900 Park Fare , 'Ohana , Teppan Edo , and Cinderella's Royal Table !!! Adding the DDP is a cost of about $72/per day for adults and $21/day for children.  Four our stay this comes to a total of $660 . Now, let's add up how much it would cost per day if