It's A (Late) Jolly Holiday

First, I would really like to apologize for the lateness of this post. It's crazy how fast life and other distractions can get in the way. I have lots to share and, hopefully, there will be lots of posts coming up this week. And now, on to my experience at Jolly Holiday!

I was really looking forward to seeing the new Jolly Holiday Bakery. It has been a tradition for quite a few years to make a stop at the Blue Ribbon Bakery to get hot chocolate and apple cider before watching the holiday fireworks every Christmas trip so I will miss it, but I am open to something new. I had read about some of the offerings at the bakery on the Disney Food Blog (which I love and is great for all Disney food related information) and was very excited for some tasty treats.

Got to love the details. Above the front entrance.

I know it's a little blurry but I only got this one. I love the penguins!

Upon first walking up you see a cute style building that fits right in on Main Street USA, seating is on the outside with very cute blue tables, yellow chairs and matching umbrellas. The line starts off as one single line that splits into two as you get to the door, both side are the same.  The line took a little bit of time but once we got our treats we knew it was going to be worth it.  While waiting to see what I was going to order I chatted with a few other people in line about the options and what we were looking forward to trying.  Deciding that the calories didn't count because this was research for a new blog post we got three wonderful looking desserts.

Details once inside

I loved this chandelier. 

A spoonful a sugar?

Mary and the kids

Some of the tasty treats

I think I want one of these when I go again

They have great looking lunch offerings as well

First was the fresh Fruit Tart. I love fruit tarts and knew the minute I saw this one that I had to have it. The fruit on top was very good, raspberries and blackberries with slices of peach, mango, kiwi and strawberry.  The custard filling was smooth in texture and not too sweet and the butter cookie crust had good crunch and a wonderful taste as well. Here is where I have my first critique, while I did say they cookie crust was very tasty and had good crunch, you had to pick it up and bite it to find out. It was all but impossible to take pieces with a plastic fork and the plastic knife just caused it to break off in small pieces. However, I have no problem appearing “not ladylike” in public and will not let this stop me from possibly ordering one in the future and do recommend that you try one as well if you are a fan of tarts.

Full tart

Andy decided to try the seasonal fruit pie which at this point is a personal sized apple pie with thin sliced apples in cinnamon and a crispy lattice top.  Naturally I had to try a bite and it did bring a smile to my face, it reminded me instantly of family holidays and I love that. The filling was a great mix of apples and cinnamon and the top crust was wonderfully flaky and crisp. The lattice had coarse sugar on it that helped with the caramelization of the dough and added a light sweetness. Andy thought it was very good.

Last but certainly not least, the one treat I had on my mind all day and was looking forward to very much, the Strawberry Lemon Cupcake.  Let me just say that this cupcake is a little intimidating upon first looking at it, it seems quite large, but the flavors meld so well together  it comes off fairly light. The cake itself is soft and fluffy with nice lemon flavor and the frosting is light and airy, the combination is fantastic. All this is topped off with a nice dollop of strawberry preserve. I loved this cupcake, it was everything I thought it would be and just the perfect snack to end my night.

In my husbands hand to kind of get a size look

Overall, the décor of the Jolly Holiday Bakery is right on par for Disney, the outdoor seating is a nice area is a lovely place to relax and watch the happenings in the hub and the treats are delicious. I look forward to going back and partaking in some of the great looking lunch options, don’t forget they also offer breakfast options in the morning. I highly recommend giving this place a try.

The menu out front

End of our night

Magic Kingdom Day Part 2.

WDW trip report.  October 2011, first ever visit and 5th wedding anniversary.

Wednesday  October 26^th, 2011

After a fun ride on the Haunted Mansion we walked around Liberty Square for a bit. I found this area of the park really interesting mostly because it’s an area we do not have locally at Disneyland,  see things that are new to us was a big part of this trip so I wanted to take some time to enjoy the lands.  The day was turning out to be fairly warm, the clouds have gone by this point and the humidity is picking up so we thought it was a good time to go for a ride on Splash Mountain.  Again, this is a ride that I don’t go on often back home but I wanted to experience everything I could to compare the differences. I actually think the side by side seating compared to Disneyland’s single line seating was very cool. We did end up thoroughly soaked by the end which is okay, we did go on a water ride after all.

Splash Mountain

Quickly drying in the Florida sun we made our way over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, another one of my favorite rides back home.  One of the things I really enjoyed about this queue is some of my views! The ride was very fun as always. Walking around the park taking in some of the sights I thought it would be a great time for a snack…. One that I was really, REALLY looking forward to, a Dole Whip Float. There is just something incredibly tasty about the pineapple soft serve mixed with fresh pineapple juice, I’m almost drooling just thinking about it.

The view from the Big Thunder Mountain queue 

Dole Whip Float

Yummy!!

Also while we were in the area I wanted to meet Aladdin and Jasmine but when we finished our Dole Whips they are just left and would be back in about an hour, so we decided to take a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean.  I went into this ride having heard on podcasts that it was quite different from the one in Disneyland and they were not kidding. The single drop instead of two, fewer rooms.. It was still an enjoyable ride and we had a good time.

Outside Pirates of the Caribbean

Waiting to meet Aladdin and Jasmine

Now, I am a fan of meeting characters. I have an autograph book and I love to get pictures with them. I often ask myself if this is seen as strange with me being an adult and all but decided that I was okay with it. When I walk through the gates at any Disney park I automatically feel like a kid so, in my head, meeting characters is part of the excitement and fun.  Aladdin and Jasmine were so awesome! I had a Jafar pin on my lanyard (other aspect of a day at Disney that I really love!) which Aladdin pretended to take and throw away saying he didn’t think I needed that one. I said it was okay because Jafar is in a bowling pin so we get to throw heavy objects at him, he responded with “Oh! Just like Abu throws apples at him!” I love conversations like this with cast members and characters; it always brings a big smile to my face and is part of what makes Disney parks special to me. (Sorry to go on with such detail but these things are some of my favorite moments that I hope everyone can experience once.)

Aladdin and Jasmine were awesome!

We then decided to head back over to Tomorrowland for another ride on Space Mountain and to check out Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. Both Andy and I really enjoyed the Laugh Floor, we were amazed at the interaction between the monsters and the audience. It was another thing I am glad we checked out. We spent some time at the point to walk around, check out a few shops and I did some pin trading with Cast Members.  I was realizing that we had not stepped foot inside Fantasyland yet and I, at the very least, wanted to walk through and see what was there. As I knew it would be, it was the most crowded area in the Magic Kingdom so we didn’t actually ride much. We went on It’s A Small World and watched Mickey’s Philharmagic. I truly loved Philharmagic! The music of Disney movies is something that sticks with me like most people and the films featured in this show are the ones I remember most from growing up, I’m such a softy when it comes to these memories that I’ll admit that I even teared up just a little.

Inside Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor

Riding Space Mountain

Starting to realize we were getting hungry we made our way across the park to where we had planned on eating dinner. We took a quick stop on the way to check out the Country Bear Jamboree. This is yet another thing that brings back memories of being a kid, going to Disneyland and watching the Jamboree with my mom and dad. Our favorite bear was always Big Al and to see him singing the same old song (Blood on the Saddle) really made me feel like a kid again. I love that kind of magic that Disney has.

Country Bear Jamboree

Big Al!

Being on the Dining Plan and having used a table service meal that morning we chose to go to a counter service location that evening. Based on a lot of the good things I read on the forums and heard on podcast (such as Lou Mongello’s WDW Radio.) we chose to go to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café.  

Pecos Bill’s was where we experienced a very cool bit of Disney awesomeness.  While waiting to get our food the lovely CM helping us out noticed our Anniversary buttons, asked how long we have been married, it was very nice. She then looked at one of the other CM’s and asked with a smile “should I do it?”  The other CM’s response was “Sure! It’s been a bit dull around here.”  That of course made Andy and I look at each other, a little confused on what was going on.  At this point the CM shouts loudly to the whole restaurant “Everyone, can I have you attention? Every day is a special day in the Magic Kingdom but we’ve got Andy and Jennifer here who are celebrating their five year wedding anniversary.  Now on the count of three I want you all to give them your loudest and rowdiest Yee- Haw! One! Two! Three!” And everyone in the restaurant yelled Yee-Haw really loud. Needless to say Andy and I were both a little embarrassed but, at the same time, we thought it was really cool that they would make a special announcement for us.

 We got our food and went to find a place to sit. Andy got the Deluxe 1/3-Pound Angus Cheeseburger that he added sautéed mushrooms to from the fixin’s bar and fries that he added the cheese sauce to.  I had the Taco Salad which was perfect for me, it comes with seasoned beef in a taco shell and you can add anything you want to it. I kept it simple with just lettuce and cheese, it was so good. We both got a chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies they gave us for our anniversary. The chocolate cake was REALLY chocolaty, and that is really saying something for me.  The meal was really good overall, both of us enjoyed it very much.

Andy's burger and fries

My Taco Salad

Very chocolaty Chocolate Cake

Tasty cookies!

We walked around a bit more, looked in a few shops, and then decided we should try to get s good place to view the Electrical Parade from. When we got to Main Street it was already fairly crowded but we found just enough space for the two of us very close to the curb. I love the Electrical Parade! I remember seeing this as a kid with my family, the music is such a classic tune and always brings an excitement in my opinion. It was awesome to see it.

Oh good grief!

A nice one

Okay fine.. We're strange

I love these guys

Elliot!

We jumped right into the crowd while the parade was passing to get a decent spot for the fireworks. We ended up at a really good spot with an awesome view of the castle, I was so excited. However.. Before the fireworks show they do “The Magic, the Memories and You” show on the castle. I was interested to check out this show but this is where I ran into my first major dislike. While the very large castle was very noticeable from where we were, the images they project onto it for this show were small and hard for me to see, so I found myself not really enjoying it like I hoped. We also were standing next to a group of individuals that included Disney workers who talked almost the whole show about how it was put together and everything they thought was wrong with it. I found this very rude and was ready to move to another spot by the time the show was over. Luckily we were able to move a bit closer and just enjoy the fireworks for what they were. I thought “Wishes” was a very pretty show and liked it a lot.

Such a magical day!

Overall it was everything I was hoping my first day in Walt Disney World would be!

Coming soon… EPCOT.