All Star Sports!

"A team isn't a bunch of kids out to win. A team is something you belong to, something you feel, something you have to earn."

-The Mighty ducks

Coming from Canada and during a low dollar saving money is key to making a Disney trip possible.

The cheapest way to do Disney is to camp at 50USD a night but I am not much of a camper so we did the next best thing, the All Star Sport Resort! The All Star resorts will always be your most affordable hotel option for on property. We chose sports because Jamie is a huge sport fanatic. 

My favorite thing about the all stars is how over the top themed they are! All of the All Stars have a very over the top, cartoon look and theme. 

All Star Sports has 5 sports themed buildings you can stay in which are : football,baseball,tennis,basketball, and surfing. There are 2 pools one baseball themed in the Home Run Hotel you can find a nautical baseball diamond complete with pitcher Goofy and his water cannon and over in , of course Surf Board Bay you can chill out to surf music around the second pool. 

We had originally wanted to stay in either the football themed Touch Down Hotel or the baseball themed Home Run Hotel but upon arrival we had the option of a free upgrade to a preferred room if we stayed in Surf Board Bay. Surf Board Bay ended up being nicer than expected we stayed in a room tucked to the back facing the trees that conceal a little playground. The rooms themselves are a little plain but again this is the lowest budget location so its to be expected I was however a little disappointed we didn't get towel animals which was something I was extremely excited about.

One of the greatest things about this resort is that it is the first of the All Stars on the bus route. So if your there during a slow time when buses are being shared you are more likely to get to and from the parks faster than guests from the other All Stars. I found the bus waits and rides from this location to generally be very fun and fast. The only exception was leaving EPCOT right at closing but of course leaving any park at closing will leave you waiting and if I am not mistaken I believe EPCOT was also the furthest so again wait is to be expected.

One thing I love about Disney resorts is that not only do they give guests quality h2O+  products but h2O+  doesn't test on animals and most of there products are vegan!(http://www.h2oplus.com/category/about+us/faqs.do)

For dinning All Star Sports has one busy food court! Options for vegans include vegan mickey waffles upon request with potatoes or toast for breakfast. For lunch and/or dinner the option is that standard veggie burger with fries, I didn't ask about pasta I did ask about the pizza and sadly they did not have vegan cheese but you could order veggie toppings no cheese. The food court as I mentioned is crazy busy most of the time but I still ate there almost daily I love mickey waffles and potatoes! 

Over all we both loved staying at All Star Sports Jamie doesn't want to stay anywhere else ever! I however do want to try POP Century which has more vegan options and/or The Art Of Animation because of how decorative their rooms are!

For further reading on the specs of the different resorts checkout http://www.wdwinfo.com/

Want to learn about Veganism?

"Have Courage and Be Kind"

-Cinderella

I put together this little pack for people interested in learning about veganism. I put it together quite a while ago but figured this might be a good time and place to share it. The links, books and films mentioned below answer pretty much every question I have ever asked or been asked about being and becoming vegan. Included are recipes, meal plans, information on environmental aspects as well as animal rights and the bottom is a list of vegetarian, vegan and/or plant based public figures. I hope this helps people on their journey and that you learn a little something. Articles: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/vegan-sources-of-protein/

<- site is great for healthy recipes http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/19/57-health-benefits-of-going-vegan/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/justin3.htm

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=article_samplenutritionprograms

http://greatist.com/health/complete-vegetarian-proteins

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html

http://www.peta.org/living/food/top-10-reasons-go-vegan-new-year/

http://nutritionfacts.org/?gclid=CNih35WdxMYCFQeLaQod1kILgw

Cook Books:

Thug Kitchen *contains swearing and possible cultural appropriation

Forks Over Knives Cookbook

China Study All Stars

Documentaries: (inrecommended watching order) Forks Over Knives (*disclaimer*some data debated) Food Inc (isnt related to cutting out meat but good food film) Cowspiracy (focus on enviromental issues&diet) Speciesism the movie (raises ethical questions) Recommended Books: Beasts : What animals can teach us on the orgins of good and evil By Jeffery M. Masson Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs & Wear Cows By Melanie Joy PhD The Pig Who Sang To The Moon: the emotional lives of farmed animals By Jeffery M Masson Skinny Bitch By Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin Famous vegetarians and/or Vegans: Intellectuals: Greek philosopher Pythagoras (known for Pythagorean theory, 6th century BC vegetarian activist) Plato Leonardo Da Vinci William Shakespeare Voltaire Leo Tolstoy Sir Isaac Newton Socrates Vincent Van Gogh Benjamin Franklin Nickola Tesla Einstien Franz Kafka George Bernard Shaw Mark Twain Tomas Edison Henry Ford Steve Jobs *rumored* Abraham Lincoln Susan B. Anthony Ghandi Gautama Buddha (founder of buddhism) Celebs :

Jon Stewart Richard Gere Steve-O Carrie Price (hockey player) Natalie Portman (PhD & Actress) Ringo Star Paul McCartney Stella McCartney Bob Dylan Bob Barker Dustin Hoffman Jerry Sienfield Travis Baker David Duchovony (there are obviously way more but this is becoming a novel lol) Atheletes : Patrik Baboumian - World Record holding Strong man Bill Manetti - body builder Carl Lewis- Olympic track star Joe Namath - NFL Quarterback Martina Navratilova - Tennis star Tony La Russa - NFL Manager Robert Parish - NBA star Prince Fielder - MLB David Scott - Iron man Billie Jean King - Tennis Star Jim Morris - 79 year old body builder http://www.greatveganathletes.com/

My Love Story

"I look at you, and I'm home"

-Dory (Finding Nemo)

Lately most of my posts have been reviews or tips on your Disney trip and I love Disney and this entry will also be Disney heavy but with a more personal aspect. This is my love story. 
I chose that quote from Dory for a very specific reason, it is probably the shortest most basic love quote, very basic and not full of fairy tale luster that I am usually drawn to but it really sums up not just love but my love.
I mentioned in my what Disney means to me entry that I didn't have a very good or stable childhood and that pattern followed me most of my life. From 15- very, very recently I was moving a minimum of once a year and couch surfing with family and friends after my mother decided I wasn't wanted anymore. Due to everything, I like many people had trust issues and issues with commitment because well, everybody leaves, don't they?
I remember when I first saw him, it sounds cheesy and fake but it's true. I was entering my second college lecture, I sat near the back but not too far back and off to the side. I scanned the lecture hall to see all my new classmates a room full of possibilities. Who should catch my eye but a long haired hippie boy with his long board leaning against his seat and a paisley shirt with the first few buttons open on his tan, toned skin. He reminded me of someone from a movie.

  The first time we spoke alone I was sitting in the hall outside of that same lecture hall I was late and far more scared of going in and having people stop and look at me than missing a class so I was sitting waiting for it to end. Jamie came out and asked what I was doing and I explained he offered to go in with me so it was less awkward but I was worried about finding a seat and my anxiety won so I declined.
At this point in my life I was coming off of a messy break up, dealing with on going family problems, thrust into the world of financial difficulty and was dealing with an unidentifiable health problem. It wasn't a great time for me.    When Jamie first told me he liked me my instinct was to not trust him, we had been drinking it was college , I was sure it was just a line and I told him that. He assured me his feelings were genuine but I was terrified of being hurt again.
For weeks I not only turned him down but I told him I would never date him. I was determined to make it on my own. Jamie was respectful never crossing boundaries but persistent. No matter how hard I pushed him away he stood there waiting for me to come back.
Slowly I began to trust him, I began to test if he'd really be there when I needed him and he was. In all honesty the first year if not two of our relationship was a roller coaster. I had trust issues and problems with anxiety, he had a long stemmed fear of commitment as well.
As with all loves we began to bend, through honest communication, a really under appreciated asset in relationships we learned to balance each other, to grow in ourselves while together and to heal together. We fell in love.
Fast forward 5 years after we met, 4 of a solid relationship. We were now probably one of the healthiest relationships ever despite ourselves.
All of my dreams were coming true, I had gained a new family, an anchor in my life. Things had settled down and I was finally happy and healthy and somewhere good with someone good.
If that wasn't enough my life long dream to go to Disney World was coming true and I was going to experience it with my best friend and my partner. When we got to Disney World the only people even close to my excitement level were the children everywhere, I think I spoke to more kids than adults on the buses because lets be real, they get it. When I saw the castle I cried. Jamie and I spent the next couple hours just taking it all in and exploring. In the early evening we met up with my best friend and rode some rides, until it was time to get a spot for Celebrate The Magic.
We got a spot near the bridge to Frontierland. They tried to get me to move to a more central location but I was scared of missing even a second of the show so we stayed put. Celebrate the Magic is an amazing show I was teary eyed the entire time. Then Wishes started.
I was sitting on the fence post that lines one of the gardens, Jamie leaned in and whispered about life moments that are worth repeating and how this was one of them, and then he got down on one knee.
It was both magical and terrifying , my wildest dream and a terror. I froze, and then I lunged into an awkward kiss. We stood there, me semi blacked out but standing for a few moments. They moved me out of the crowd and I whispered to Jamie that I had basically blacked out with all the people there and I wasn't fully aware still. By this point we had made our way to the wishing well and away from crowds and I was starting to come too.
I thought about leaving this part out but I thought it was such a testament to his love, patience and understanding that it would be doing him and the story a disservice to leave it out.
Shelley suggested we take some pictures, and Jamie realized this was an opportunity. He knew I had panicked and not gotten the full experience in crowd so he took a moment to do it again still by the castle but away from the crowd. The memories of both rounds are kind of jumbled together but I cant think of anything better than being proposed to by the Disney castle (twice!) because my love is so loving and understanding when it comes to things like my anxiety and he wanted me to have,experience and remember the entire thing. He even planned for my best friend to be there, be the que and to take photos! It was such an extremely magical and over whelming night.
Earlier that day I had wished, in that very wishing well and I told Jamie I didn't know what to wish for because I had always just wished to go to Disney and here we were, so I wished for magic and that night I got everything I wished for and more.

"To face the future with anther, who means more than any other, is to be loved"

-The Rescuers 

Cinderella's Royal Table : Dining with Royalty

"No doubt you saw the whole pretty picture in detail. 

The young prince bowing to the assembly. Suddenly, he stops. 

He looks up. For lo... there she stands. The girl of his dreams. 

Who she is or whence she came, he knows not, nor does he care, for his heart tells him that here, here is the maid predestined to be his bride."

-The Grand Duke (Cinderella 1950)

Cinderella's Royal Table is located as it should be right inside of Cinderella's Castle. When you enter that castle your royal family will be greeted as such and you will receive your royal invitation to dine with the princesses (a little ticket with your parties information on it). You shuffle into line to meet Cinderella before heading upstairs to the dining room. Fun fact while your in line look around, up and down you should be able to find some of Cinderella's friends have joined her in the royal life, that's Gus Gus and Jaq you can spot.

After meeting her highness 

Cinderella you take the spiral stair case up to the dining room. CRT is a signature dining experience so it is pricey, very pricey if you are paying out of pocket you are looking at up to 75$ per person (price does depend on age and time) or if your on the DDP 2 sit down credits. So this location is usually followed by "Is it worth is?". I would argue yes. More for the atmosphere than anything else.

 CRT is a character dining experience during which you get to meet 5 princesses including Cinderella. If you were to wait in line to meet each of the princesses separately you could easily spend an entire day just due to wait time of 20-60mins per character. A part from that you are getting the chance to dine in a castle! 

Your meal also comes with your choice of a wand and wishing star or a sword, they do tend to show gender bias on this but don't feel weird asking for which ever you want it was noticable during the make a wish ceremony that some boys felt left out as they waved their swords around like wands because they had no wand. If your an adult don't let them forget you, you are also entitled to your souvenir the stars go great in a scrapbook! 

We chose to do CRT for breakfast the main perk of a breakfast dining reservation particularly at this location is that if your reservation is early enough you can get in at take pictures in front of the castle with little to no crowd! For us this didn't work out as planned however because it was during the ABC Christmas special filming.

So as vegans there really isn't an on the menu option at breakfast other than mickey waffles (totally fine by me though). Our waiter was very courteous he brought us soy milk for our coffee and for our meal we got mickey waffles, potatoes , salad, oatmeal (which was a bit to bland not a fan) and fresh fruit. The good was OK but I was more there to meet the princesses than anything else. 

For lunch and dinner there is an on the menu option of seasonal gnocchi with roasted vegetables eggplant, mushrooms, and squash tossed with gnocchi, arugula, brown butter sauce, and finished with shaved drunken goat cheese and leeks.  Also available with Rice instead of Gnocchi.  As a Vegan Offering without cheese and butter sauce. The lunch and dinner option does sound better but I may again do breakfast so we can do morning photos but if your a foodie I'd say lunch and dinner sound like a better bet.

The princesses are rightfully announced by a trumpet sound, it can be loud in the dining room so you may miss it but you wont miss the princesses themselves, as they enter one by one and begin their tour of the dining room. It can feel like you are being skipped because it is hard to tell what the order they are doing it but be patient your turn will come. Each princess stops at each table for photos and a quick interaction which is really lovely and it feels more natural than the regular meet and greets in my opinion. I will say I wish I had stayed calm and not worried so much about holding them up so I could have gotten better photos I really didn't love any of the photos I got here sadly, but that was totally my own fault.

I would definitely recommend that people make time to do Cinderella's Royal Table if you plan to meet the princesses during your trip it's a much more fun and authentic way to do it compared to waiting in line for a 30sec meet and greet repeatedly throughout your trip. It will save you a ton of time and is one of the most fun ways to meet the characters and get lost in the magic.

Disney's Animal Kingdom: For Your Consideration

"I have a great love of animals and laughter"

-Walt Disney

*Disclaimer : This Entry maybe controversial to some I am giving information based off of my research and experience to help those deciding and am trying to be as balanced as possible.

When I first realized OMG I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO DISNEY! I started researching things like, what can a vegan gal like me eat? A puzzling result of this was that it seemed many of the best vegan options lay in or near the Animal Kingdom a park which I assumed the majority of vegans would be boycotting. While this is definitely a very controversial topic in the veg Disney fandom it's one I want to talk about, calmly and frankly to help others decide. 

My ultimate decision post trip is that the world we live in is not black and white, but rather grey. I don't think we can treat all animal captivity as equal for multiple reasons such as, habitat loss, danger to endangered animals,and injured animals. There isn't the free space there once was for animals to live wild natural lives we humans have gotten our greedy little hands into just about everything, if we haven't chopped down , invaded or polluted an area we've most likely infiltrated the area with poachers because of this creating safe and yes artificial environments is becoming in my opinion important. With that said it's important that we do so responsibly which brings me back to not all captivity is created equally. Some species like, whales really can't thrive in captivity their size paired with how much they move makes creating a space they could potentially be happy and healthy in impossible. I feel I should note here Epcot has dolphins and I was not able to get a satisfactory answer as to how they got there but my basic understanding on them is that they were born in captivity. 

This blog could really become almost a book going through each animals needs and stories I will touch on some and the pro's and con's. If you thought the beginning of this was too pro park let's get into negatives. The United States has very loose laws in regards to exotic animals and because of this they have problems with sketchy backyard zoos and private citizens owning animals they are to equipped or qualified to care for (for more view The Elephant In The Living Room). I haven't been able to 100% confirm this allegation so take it with a grain of salt but it is rumored that the state asked Disney to take animals from these sorts of situations and that Disney declined and imported animals needlessly. 

Similarly prior to the parks opening 31 animals died due basically to staff carelessness , 4 cheetah cubs drank toxic materiel, and several birds were ran over by safaris. Ultimately inspectors declared that the number of death verse the number of animals in the facility worked out to be very low. To Disney's credit though unlike many parks/zoos they did take immediate action to rectify the mistakes and to avoid future accidents. (For further reading : http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-05-14/news/9805140239_1_disney-animal-usda-inspectors-animal-kingdom )

Related to animal deaths in 2014 the Animal Kingdom was listed among the worst zoos for elephants, and it wasn't the first time they made the list. Questions have been raised as to whether or not their status was earned or if it was used to gain publicity for the list itself, which is worth considering. Considering elephants are still used and abused in circus's and some of the zoos I've witnessed I do wonder if they deserve to be ranked 10th worse, but that doesn't justify the carelessness that lead them to making the list. Unlike many facilities that make these sorts of lists do to poor day to day living conditions for animals Disney made the list due to specific events that could have been avoided (for further reading http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-animal-kingdom-elephants-20150112-story.html ) One of the incidents was the death of a pregnant elephant who died while being transported to another facility for treatment, it is my understanding that after this event Disney upgraded their prenatal care capabilities.

By now Disney's Animal Kingdom is looking pretty bad so lets move back to the pro's. As I mentioned each of these tragic events lead to immediate positive changes and upgrades on Disney's part, that seems basic but is really worth noting, it's not often that facilities admit to doing something wrong in words or action unless forced to by legal agencies or public outcry, but Disney seems quick to improve with little to know push needed, and that is important on many levels. Disney's quick response to these tragic events in my opinion shows an authentic care for the well being of their dependents. 

Another very important aspect to consider is the actual enclosures. One of the main problems many people have with many zoos are the enclosures. Often just in regular conversation this comes up when discussing zoos or similar facilities so let's look at what makes the Animal Kingdom different in that respect. The Animal Kingdom is 500 acres the largest of all the parks giving the animals more space than any other park/ zoo I know of. The habitats are made to appear and feel as large and natural as possible. For a more detailed look at the enclosure read here http://www.technicallydis.com/?p=58 .

It's also worth noting that unlike here in Canada which should never be home to exotic animals due to our climate, Florida's climate is generally very warm and more suited to host these sort of animals.

Disney's Animal Kingdom also does a lot of work for wildlife conservation so more animals can enjoy and maintain happy, healthy wild lives, which of course wold be ideal for animals. The Animal Kingdom has also worked with Jane Goodall and what Jane deems OK I am inclined to lean towards as well. For more on this see 1.https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/content/conservation-collaboration

2. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/environment/  

The number one positive I find about the Animal Kingdom is the transparency. Transparency should be common place, but it isn't and that's something that makes this facility standout. The train to Rafiki's Conservation Station leads you through a mini behind the scenes showing where the animals sleep and they can choose whether or not to enter the safari zone while I was there, there was an elephant that had chosen to stay in his/her pen despite the gate being open. At the conservation station in addition to learning about animals and conservation you can actually see parts of their veterinary clinic and watch minor procedures.  In additions to this for an extra fee you can take a complete behind the scenes tour. 

Currently Disney's Animal Kingdom is home to a mix of rescues and animals born in captivity that can't be released.

These pro's and con's and the gray world we live in leads me to put Disney's Animal Kingdom into a solid gray category. It's not as good as an actual conservation park, but is vastly superior to the majority of zoos and parks containing animals. From an abolitionist point of view which I don't entirely disagree with I understand why this isn't enough and from a welfarist  point of view this is about as good as can be expected from a for profit. 

So where do I stand? Well at the last second while there I did decide to check the park out, I only had about 3 hours there so I did not get to see it all but between my research, talking to staff past and present, and the state of the world in general, I am OK with it. Some of these animals when the park opened in the 1990s may have had a better life in the wild but now with the current population of those unable to live in the wild, the safety and care they are given I really can't hate on them. 

On quote that stuck out from a vegan former employee who supports the park was that Disney "treats the animals in it's care better than their human staff". 

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here, I get and respect all the reasons people give for boycotting this park, they aren't wrong. However I also see reasons why it's worth not boycotting. 

I hope the information given here will help people form their own opinions and make their own informed choices which ever it maybe.