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/

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.

Narcoossee's

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

-Walt Disney

I decided to use a quote on dreams because dinner at Narcoossee's really is like a dream. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people on reddit and disboards for all of my trip planning but particularly in searching for the most romantic dinner I could find and that search lead me to Narccoossee's. 

If you google romantic Disney World dinner most lists rank Victoria & Albert's as first, what I can't help but wonder is who eats there? Seriously that place is can be more than $100 per person! 

If you are that rich that place looks amazing, personally I don't think it's possible for a meal to be worth that much money but I guess I'll never know. 

Tied with Narccoossee's for second most recommended is The California Grill in Disney's Contemporary Resort this restaurant does seem stunning and worth a visit but I could only do one and chose Narccoossee's for reasons I'll go through in this entry.

Narccoossee's is a signature dining restaurant located in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. Narccoossee's is located on the water and can be seen from where the buses drop you off for the Magic Kingdom, so if you've been and not heard of them you've definitely seen it. As lovely as it appears in the day bright in the Florida sun with a view of palm trees, peaceful water and the distant bustling joy of the Magic Kingdom, night is Narccoossee's really shines!

The interior decor is a classy yet simplistic with a sea side theme , but the real beauty of this dining experience is the location. As I said before while I am sure this is still lovely in the day with their light and airy water side location the evening is when you can really appreciate this restaurant. 

My tofu dish was amazing!

 After listening to the lobby band and pianist for sometime in The Grand Floridian lobby which I also highly recommend doing before hand, we strolled a long the beach and back around for our 9pm at Narccoossee's. We arrived a bit early for our ADR and seated a little early as well. Narccoossee's has an entire vegetarian  menu and the majority of it can be vaganized ! When we were seated there was a bit of a mix up with the menu's because vegan comes up as an allergy from special diets to the restaurant first we were given the special allergy menu which is also available however nothing on that is vegan. Our waitress asked what our allergy was so I didn't even have to point out what happened as soon as I said we are vegan she said she had another menu she'd bring.

 I was so happy to see an entire vegetarian menu even if some wasn't vegan, what progress! 

My partner Jamie got a light oil based pasta dish and I got an Asian inspired tofu dish.

At 9:15 just after we had ordered the Electrical Water Pageant sailed by our window. The Electrical Water Pageant is one of Disney's lesser known shows, similar to the electrical parade in the magic kingdom, or if your from southern Ontario like me, like a floating version of The Festival Of Lights. 

Fairy tale-esque creatures and nails made up of sparkling lights float through the night sky tethered to nearly invisable boats glide around the Seven Seas Lagoon, a moment in which this body of water really lives up to it's name. 

As the water pageant ended our food was served. It's hard to call but I am going to say something controversial here, the food was better than trails end's off menu specials. For those of you who know Trails End as a mere buffet and not for the hidden treasure it 

really is all I can say is, subscribe cause it's a coming!

Jamie's pasta dish

 Narccoossee's food and atmosphere the whole experience was hands down the best dining experience of our trip. As we ate we heard that special music and knew it was time to take our champagne out to the veranda, Wishes was about to begin. Narccoossee's as a breath taking view of Wishes the full sky is open, the castle's towers are peaking out above the entrance area which is as close to empty as possible just across the lagoon. To add to the magical view Narccoossee's pumps in the sound track for the full experience. Let me tell you, absolutely nothing is more magical then standing in your loved one's arms out on that white veranda, with champagne in hand and watching the Wishes spectacular while it reflects off the dark lagoon.  Perfection.

I thought about including a picture of the view but none co

uld do it justice, this is something that can't be captured only experienced.

We did this one on our last night and I cannot picture a perfect story book ended to what was the best week of my life.

Be Our Guest!

Put our service to the test 
Tie your napkin 'round your neck cherie, 
And we'll provide the rest 

-Be Our Guest

I decided to review Be Our Guest first not because it was the best but because this is the parks most popular restaurant, to get a dinner seat you usually have to book the full 180 days in advance, sure some people will wait and still manage to get in but it's a real gamble. I woke up at 6am, 180 days in advance and made all my ADRs my best friend woke up at 8 the same day or day after and could not get in for dinner, she either did lunch or and early dinner I don't remember but for me dinner has to be after 5pm . 

Our ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) was for 7:35pm one thing we did that isn't in direct relation to dining but I cannot recommend enough is we planned to do enchanted tales with Belle just before our dinner and I highly recommend doing the same if your a Beauty and The Beast fan regardless of if you have children or not. Before my trip most sites were very vague on Enchanted Tales With Belle so the whole thing was a really big surprise to me so I wont go into detail I don't want to ruin it but I will say this is a great way to meet Belle and adults don't feel awkward jump into the magic.

Even the exterior to this restaurant is breath taking. Its a really an impressive optical illusion, it looks like you are at the gates at the bottom of a mountain with the castle at the top of the mountain in the distance and when you enter through the doors in the bottom of this mount it genuinely feels as though you've entered the castle you were just admiring.

When you enter the foyer you have been transported through space and time into a real life fairy tale you can see a head of you the grand ballroom you grew up envisioning right out of the film. I really cannot adequately describe how perfect the decor is. To add to the splendor we went at Christmas so there was a beautiful tree topped with Angelica from an Enchanted Christmas. The back wall of the ballroom is walled with floor to ceiling windows that allow you to look out into the enchanted forest I don't know what the weather is usually like in the forest but while we were there is was snowing. We were guided to our seats in the ballroom.
There are three dinning rooms you can choose from when making an ADR at Be Our Guest, The West Wing, The Ballroom and The Castle Gallery. When looking online I had a hard time choosing between The West Wing and The Ballroom and thought The Gallery was really lacking and I would not want to sit there. We ended up choosing the ballroom and I am glad we did it is glorious. That said after exploring the whole place the other two rooms are also lovely. Next time I am able to go I will choose the West Wing it's quieter and apart from the tables closest to the enchanted rose much more private, also you still get to walk through and see the ballroom without being right in the hustle and bustle. The Gallery in my opinion does have more of a lunch feel to it, however it is much, much nicer in person than the pictures online suggest. The photos online make it appear very plain and while it is less embellished than the other two rooms it does have its own charm to it and the painting on the walls tell you more about the relationship between Belle and the Beast. All of the rooms are good choices so if you don't get your first choice don't be upset it will still be just as enchanting I assure you.
Be Our Guest is worth visiting if only for the decor, that said the food is lackluster. We started with bread and vegan butter with onion soup I am told that sometimes they will have vegan cheese but they did not when we went still this was the best part of the meal, which is kind of sad. For the main we both had the only vegan option which was ratatouille, we both hated it. To make matters worse, and this is our fault really, we were confused about what the Disney dining plan covered so we had to pay for our soups which we wouldn't have ordered had we known. Although I am glad we got the soup because that was basically my meal. From others I have heard mixed reviews on the ratatouille so I am not sure if we just aren't ratatouille people or if it really was that bad, but in my personal opinion despite looking beautiful it was not appetizing at all. I have heard you can get pasta with pasta sauce ( just regular tomato but in Australia& New Zealand tomato sauce means ketchup and I don't want anyone being confused and thinking they will get ketchup noodles). In future visits I'd request the pasta or stick to the soup. Dessert the only option is sorbert unfortunately.

 It's strange here in Canada it's easier to find vegan desserts than vegan meals but in the States it seems easier to find meals than desserts. When I visited the famous Erin Mckenna's in Disney Springs a local woman was talking about what a big deal she makes to come to the springs to visit the bakery because its so hard to find baked goods and here my fiance switched his desserts before anything else because they're easy to get and as he always said "better than the regular versions" and "vegans make up for their lack of meat by nailing baked goods!" . So the lack of desserts was sad especially not being able to have the grey stuff which would be so so so easy to veganize! In fact I am (eventually) going to do any entry on how to make the grey stuff at home and vegan, your welcome.
After dinner you receive a slip so you can meet the Beast on your way out, despite there not being a line when we left this part did feel a bit more rushed than other meet and greets we had throughout the trip.
Be Our Guest is probably one of the best Disney restaurants for experience and ambiance but in all honesty when it comes to the actual food this was the worst dining we experienced during our trip.
So I do recommend going, but order something cheap so you don't end up feeling cheated, soup or pasta if your vegan is my recommendation, if your brave and like when vegetables really taste like vegetables then maybe try to ratatouille.
I hope I haven't come off as too harsh I do still 100% recommend making time for this experience just use caution in your orders.

'Til you shout "Enough, I'm done!"

Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest 

Tonight you'll prop your feet up, 

But for now, let's eat up    

The Yummiest Place On Earth!

Go on, unfold your menu 
Take a glance and then you'll 
Be our guest, Be our guest, Be our guest! 

-Lumiere 

Disclaimer : I am very laid back about cross contamination so still ask your server for clarification if you hold a high standard for purity.

I am going to highlight a couple experiences briefly before giving a quick easy run down of options and will give reviews of the places I tried as a series starting after this post.

Even though this one was prior to Disney its worth warning that in the Buffalo airport I got a black bean patty sandwich from a sandwich shop (I did not double check for egg I just assumed it was fine) regardless of ingredients I recommend waiting until you get to Orlando to eat. It was so gross I was almost scared away from all things black bean.

Savior of the black bean for our first trip was quick service at Pecos Bills, This was my favourite quick service of the trip! Pecos Bill's is a western themed restaurant which features Mexican cuisine. This location offers bean burritos and bean and rice bowls, be sure to specifically request plain white rice the cilantro rice it comes with by default contains dairy. This is one of the few restaurants that has a vegan dessert other than sorbet or enjoy life cookies.

We also went to the Ice Cream Parlor On Main which offers both Rice Dream and Tofutti ice cream. 

Vegan snacks available in the various parks include: Mickey pretzels! Popcorn! Dole Whip! Dark chocolate bars! 

At Disney I really felt I could walk in anywhere and not have to worry all I had to do was ask and vegan options would appear. Keep in mind though some places will be more prepared than others, if you don't call ahead the option you get may not be a full filling as if you had called ahead. 

Most quick service locations feature the basic veggie burger, be sure to double check the patty as they do change them and sometimes the default one will have egg. The standard dessert is enjoy life cookies as the dessert but there are some with more exciting options.

Pecos Bills as I mentioned offers burritos and burrito style bowls in Frontierland. In Hollywood Studios coming in an extremely close second for best quick service is Planet Pizza which offers veggie pizza with vegan cheese, an Italian side salad and you classic enjoy life cookies for dessert.

A 100% must do for all vegans and anyone interested in trying vegan food is Trails End in Fort Wilderness when Chef Tj is working. Currently Chef Tj is off on weekends so make your ADR for a Weekday ideally around 5 before the Hoop Dee Do rush hits due to using a shared kitchen. Tell your server you'd like Chef Tj he will come out and then allow him to surprise you with specialty multi course meal from heaven, 100% cruelty free too!

Easy Parks Guide

Magic Kingdom

Snacks ( Many of these available at various locations throughout all the parks locations given may not be the only location offering):
Hummus & chips, vegetables (without the dip which has dairy), apples (without the caramel which has dairy), fruit cup, and chocolate & regular soy milk at Gaston’s Pub & The Lunching Pad
Popcorn (including caramel popcorn) & Pretzels throughout the parks
Cinnamon glazed almonds & pecans and frozen pineapple bars
Tofutti & Rice Dream at Main Street Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (cone contains honey)
Dole Whip in Adventureland (Fruit flavors only)
Divvies Snacks at Main Street Bakery
Meals:
 Tony’s Town Square - pasta options
Crystal Palace -buffet (select items ask server)
 Peco’s Bills & Tortguga Tavern-Vegetarian Burrito and nachos (the cilantro rice in the burrito has romano cheese in it. Ask for plain white rice instead.)
Cosmic Ray's-Veggie burger and sandwich, fries in the dedicated fryer, 
green beans, gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, and mango gelato
Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station-Tofu & rice
Columbia Harbor House -Veggie sandwich (the Lighthouse sandwich) with no slaw, vegan chili, fries, and apple pie
Be Our Guest-Onion Soup (no cheese) or Layered Ratatouille  (really did not like)

Epcot

Coral Reef- Gardein ch'kn

America -Liberty InnVeggie burger w/avocado

Germany-pretzels

Japan-Kaki Gori, veggie rolls

Norway- Kingla Bakeri in Norwaysweet almond pretzel

Sunshine Seasons- Korma, packaged snacks & cookies
vegetable sushi,tabouli and hummus roll ups
middle eastern sampler, vegetable barley soup
tofu noodle bowl – no cracker,Sushi veggie roll

Morocco-veg platter – no pita, no lentil salad
China-mango tea

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood and Vine-tofutti ice cream (you have to ask) with strawberry syrup

50’s Prime Time – spaghetti with tomato sauce, tofutti sundae

Backlot Express-veggie sandwich on multigrain ciabatta – pesto is vegan

black bean salad,baked fries,southwest salad no chicken

Prime Time Cafe-veggie burger,vegan shake

Pizza Planet ! As previously mentioned does vegan pizza with vegan cheese and side Italian salad

Animal Kingdom

Dino Cafe - Veggie burger

Pizzafari- vegan cheese

Tusker House, Africa

 Vegan Waffles (upon request), Various Potatoes, Fresh Fruit

Option: Sautéed Vegetables, Couscous, Tabouleh, Tofu with Zucchini, Samosas, Various Dips, Breads

Yak and Yeti Restaurant, Asia

Vegan Option: House Salad, Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu

Harambe Market, Africa

Vegan Option: Chickpea Salad, Roasted Broccoli, Tomato Salad (all found at Kitamu Grill)

Mickey waffles throughout the parks and resorts (vegan upon request)

Starbucks is also available throughout all the parks and the vast majority of drinks can be made vegan with soy or coconut milk.

For more detailed lists (price ranges included) check out http://vegandisneyworld.com/

DisneyBounding

Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo 
It'll do magic believe it or not 
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

    Disneybound! Disneybounding is a growing fashion trend that allows you too subtly channel your favorite Disney characters and even parks adding a little magic to day to day life. Unlike cosplay which is full costume Disneybounds are subtle hints , they are outfits you could wear out and about that disney fans may pick up on but an unsuspecting on looker will not likely pick up on. Some fans like to blur the lines between cosplay and bounding I personally prefer to keep it separate, so for me no props,no wigs nothing that would begin to cross it over into cosplay territory.   Leo Camacho did a great vlog on the difference between the two as well which I will link below. 

   I bound pretty regularly the 2 I do most often are Anna and Ursula, I am not #teamvillains I just really like my outfit for her which is a cute purple crop top blouse with a high waist black mini skirt and because I am Canadian and its chilly here black thigh highs. As cute as the outfit is I am still #teamheroes sorry not sorry. Anyways for my trip I Disneybound-ed pretty much every day! Some were much less subtle than others and I'll go through and explain them. 

   

 The first Disneybound I did was Minnie Mouse. Here is a picture of my best friend and I both as Minnie, I had wanted to find a skirt with white polka dots but I waited to long to order online and couldn't find one in stores. That said the beauty of bounding is that its supposed to be subtle and not exact so it was totally fine. So for Minnie you would want either a red , or pink skirt with a black top, bonus points if you do yellow shoes, which we did not.

 The next bound was Princess Jasmine. Jasmines colours would be teal or mint with gold. For this one I did a teal dress with a gold necklace and gold head band. Its hard to see in this picture but I also twisted my hair around the headband on the sides creating a hair style similar to hers without the pony tail part.

 You can also do outfits themed after parks or attractions, not just specific characters. For Hollywood Studio's I did Star Wars/ Star Tours. For this outfit I did a high waist pleather mini with a Star Wars tee. So while not channeling a specific character I did go with the theme of the film and the park. Had I done the same outfit at home I would add black thigh high sock or real cute faux thigh high tights from hottopic where the top of the 'sock' is Darth Vader. However because I was in Florida it was way too hot for socks or tights.

 You can't really see it but what I love about this top is that it was Han and Leia in an embrace, you can sort of tell on my left boob (lol) and I love that it plays up the romance, because I am a hopeless romantic. On the other side it has Luke on a tauntuan because why not.




As mentioned one of my favourite and most frequent bounds is Anna from Frozen, I have two versions of this one. I have the one pictured below and one with a darker almost maroon coloured sweater depending on weather. Also not pictured but often used/recommended would be adding a gold belt and the Frozen faux thigh high tights also from hottopic which I am not entirely sure if they still carry.

 So basically when planning a Disneybound you want to find the characters main colours and use those , and channel their look in a subtle and modern way. Clearly I could wear this Anna Outfit any where and no one would find it weird or costume-esque but next to a picture of Anna its clear what I am doing. During this trip I also did Cinderella. For Cinderella I chose a light blue dress with a black choker necklace and silver hair bow. For Cinderella you will want light blues,whites,silvers. The most popular character among bounders  right now according to cast members is Ariel. For Ariel you would want green bottoms with a purple top, bonus points for fish themed earrings or her shell shaped necklace. For land Ariel you would want a dark blue skirt with a black top similar to my Anna outfit above, if your somewhere slightly cooler add a light blue sweater to really complete the look.
 
   Some as I mentioned are a bit less day to day like my Rapunzel. For this look I used a simple lilac dress with a double flower crown and pastel floral necklace. You can find many examples of Rapunzel online the main colors you will want are pastel pinks and purples.

 

  The last princess I did was my favourite, Belle! Belle was not only my favourite but she is actually one of the easiest to bound. For Belle I did my hair half up, half down similar to her hair in the ballroom scene. For most characters I did not try to copy the hair but because bounding Belle is basically as easy as finding a yellow dress I did want my hair somewhat similar to pull the look further into a bound and no just being a yellow dress. My bounders will also add red accents when doing Belle to pay tribute to the enchanted rose, I did have rose earring but honestly just did not think to wear them. I actually changed from my Rapunzel bound into my Belle bound the same day and while I was in the washroom pinning my hair the most precious thing happened a little girl behind me said to her mom "Momma is that girl Belle?". I nearly died, not only did she remind me so much of Chip the way she said Momma but I was at Disney World being mistaken for a princess!  I told the little girl that I just wanted to be like Belle and thanked her and we had a lovely little chat as I finished up. So because of that special moment I will end on Belle.

This is the link to the video I mentioned by Leo Chamacho on the difference between Disneybound and Cosplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flc3eo38VGw

Snap back to reality!

Stopping magic is a lot harder than starting

All good things must come to an end and my time at Disney World was not exception. The night before had ended in the most picturesque way possible with champagne and fire works over the castle just past the lake. Who could ask for more? 

  Letting it go still wouldn't be easy, lucky for us our flight wasn't until the evening so we went for a quick morning swim and then checked out leaving our bags with the baggage service which is no extra cost and good for those we want to fit some fun into their last day, you drop your bags off and you wont see or worry about them until your home. We still had dining credits due to opting to pay for a few meals out of pocket on prior days, so I headed to the cafeteria for one last Mickey waffle meal sadly it was a different chef working so I only got 3 waffles instead of 4. I cant really complain an adult meal is only meant to have 4 but because so few people request vegan waffles and the iron makes 4 at a time all week the chef had given me 4 so I was really looking forward to that on the last day, if you haven't had Mickey waffles you probably don't get what the big deal it and I cant explain it they are just the best waffles ever.

  We then headed to Disney Springs formerly known as Downtown Disney. We had planned to also do Disney quest but I lost our free admissions passes and those passes were the main reason we were going so sadly we did not go. Disney Springs is a dinning and shopping area a long a small lake or large pond depending on your point of view. It was all sorts of dinning from fun themed restaurants to fine dining. For shopping it offers a large Disneyfied selection including a Lego store with huge Disney themed displays  and the worlds largest Disney store fittingly named World Of Disney. 

  We explored the shops and bought some last second souvenirs and gifts and then headed to the famous Erin McKenna's Bakery formerly part of babycakes bakery. Much to our pleasent surprise they accept snack credits for things under 5$ so we used our last snack credits on donuts to take home I also bought a donut cup to bring home and an ice cream sandwich to eat there. The treats tasted very good but the one thing I was very disappointed by was nothing was Disney themed, now this could be due to copyright and things like that I have no idea but I was hoping for Mickey cupcakes or something and sadly there was nothing. 

   Before heading to the bus back to the resort to wait for our Magical Express to the airport we stopped at The Rain Forest Cafe to split our last table service credit. To be honest it's not that different from others of the chain like that in Niagara Falls so I would have much rathered gown to the T-Rex , same idea but dinosaur themed. Jamie wanted one last water side beer though so we decided on Rain Forest. The chef came out and gave me 2 pasta options that could be veganized so we had a light pasta that was fairly good. I forgot american iced tea is not like Canadian iced tea so despite ordering sweet tea could not finish my drink, dear fellow Canadians don't forget american iced tea, even sweet tea is probably not what your expecting! Still over all it was very pleasant we even got to watch a few amphicars go by. Then it was time to go. Off to the airport and back to Canada.

  Disney was the best, most magical 8(ish) days of my life which I'll never forget! I can't wait to go back! Now that the day reports are done I can't wait to walk you through, my haul, dining,planning etc 

Let the fun begin, and let's never forget it all started with a mouse.

Day 7: Final day in the kingdom!

"Adults are only kids grown up anyway."

-Walt Disney

 Our last full day. We woke up trying not to think about returning to reality the next day, stepping out on to the walk way at about 8am you could already hear the playful laughter of children, the upbeat surf music of the pool and families splashing around. Despite the deadline you cant help but feel the joy oozing from every corner. We made our way into the cafeteria for mickey waffles ! From there it was time t squeeze as much as possible into our last day.

   Our first fp+ was space mountain so we decided to do the park basically in order starting in Tomorrowland and working our way around. In Tomorrowland we did Space Mountain, and Monsters Inc laugh floor, I had already done Stitches Great Escape with Shell as well as the people mover so we skipped those and the lines for orbiter and Buzz Lighter's were too long so we moved on from there. Before leaving the night before we had managed to make it onto 7 Dwarfs Mine Train with only a 20minute wait at closing just before we went to watch Goodnight Kiss, so we didn't need to try and wait for that one luckily. Our next stop was Under The Sea ~ Journey Of The Little Mermaid! This was one of my favorite attractions of the day, despite Jamie almost falling asleep on it. From there is was off to meet Guston and Peter Pan!

   Now in between point A and point B what I vowed wouldn't happen did, the classic vaca melt down.  I wont go into details but some stressful news came up, this is part of why phones should be off during vacations unless you are going t meet up with someone within an hour. And it was hot , bags were heavy and all things came to a head. Our last day and for a few long moments I thought our last day would be ruined. We stopped so Jamie could call home and sort everything out, but it wasn't looking good. While he tried to get in touch with those he needed to speak to I went into Pinocchio's Village , I had wanted to find and write in the blue fairy's wish book, but to be honest all my wishes had been granted, as long as I could remember Disney was my wish. So with everything happening in the moment I wrote "For Jamie to be happy". I kid you not when I got outside Jamie said he had gotten a hold of who he needed to speak to, everything was fine and while he still needed to calm down he was sorry for over reacting. Magic is real. We went and met Peter Pan who cheered Jamie right up and from there the day was back to its happy status.

   Our final park day happened to land on a MVMCP day meaning after 7 we would have to leave the park. We made our way around seeing all we wanted to see and doing all we wanted to do and were done by a

bout 6. As we entered the Main Street area from Adventureland we saw a crowd forming and realized that the Frozen show was going to start soon so we decided to try and see it. We actually got really good spots on the edge of the crowd and I was finally able to watch Elsa light up the castle and actually see it happen!

    It was finally time to say good bye to the park. We made our way out slowly, taking time to appreciate all the store displays. We had a romantic ADR for Narcoossee's at 9pm so we headed to the boats to The Grand Floridian. The boat ride it's self was quite enjoyable and upon arrival we had lots of time to wander the grounds and enjoy the resort. After we changed for dinner we listened to the lobby pianist and then the lobby band, we took pictures and looked at the giant gingerbread house! We went outside wondered the grounds and watched part of Tangled which was that nights beach side movie under the stars. 

   We arrived to our ADR about 15 minutes early and were seated fairly quickly. Narcoossee's has a vegetarian menu and almost all the dishes can be easily veganized. shortly after ordering the electrical water pageant, which apparently a lot of people don't know about, passed our window. Its a cute little water parade of light up displays. Shortly there after it was time for wishes! Narccoossee's pumps in the Wishes music so you don't miss a moment of magic and it was the best view we had the entire trip! We went out and stood holding each other on the veranda sipping champagne and watching wishes. I really couldn't picture a more perfect ending. If there is any experience I would recommend its Narcoossee's during wishes.

Day 6: Back to the Magic Kingdom

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

  Day 6 we woke up slowly and took our time getting ready. We started the day with a swim in surf board bay, I needed to get some use out of my Minnie Mouse bikini and then we got ready for the park. I wore my Tangled Disneybound After our still fairly early fp+ we still had 3 hours until our next fp+ so we decided to get some use of our park hopper and fit in a quick Animal Kingdom visit. 

  Because out Animal Kingdom visit was spur of the moment we didn't have a plan or fast passes so we honestly didn't do a ton. I had researched Animal Kingdom a lot prior to the trip and while I did and do feel comfortable with the park and their treatment of animals it was still undecided if I'd take the plunge and visit it until that very day. When you first walk in you see The Tree Of Life which is an awe inspiring monument to the animal kingdom. From there we wandered to Its Tough T Be a Bug which is a disney show/ attraction based on, you guessed it, A Bugs Life. I really enjoyed this experience not only was the show entertaining and exciting but it did more or less have a vegan message, be nice,even to bugs.

  After that we wandered the park taking in the sites until we ended up in Asia the line for Expedition Everest was only 20 minutes and I had heard good things so we got in line. The wait felt very short given the interactive 'museum' que and the ride was intense and fantastic. The gift shop had ride specific gear that was actually really cool I got my friend who loves yeti's a yeti in a train car with Mickey and Jamie got himself and his bestfriend t-shirts. After that we wandered some more, stopped for a quick, quick service meal at the Dino Diner just your basic veggie burgers but what was nice is that they like many QS spots have a toppings bar so you can really load it up, they also offer free lemon water on the patio which was a god send. 

  After our quick lunch we rounded back and wandered into Africa unfortunately both the rapids and the safari had well over 35minute wait times so instead we took the train to Rafiki's conservation station. What I liked about this train ride is it takes you through the background so you get to learn about and see the behind the scenes facilities, the transparency that Disney demonstrates with it's animal care is too me one of its most impressive features and part of what won me over. I will do a more detailed blog on how I came to be ok with Disney's Animal Kingdom for anyone else on the fence. At the Station we met a giant belgian rabbit as well as Rafiki himself! Rafiki was really fun and danced with me for no real reason other than Disney is awesome and full of random, fun, magical moments! 

After meeting Rafiki it was time to head back to the Magic Kingdom. 

Back at the Magic Kingdom we headed to our next fp+ at The Haunted Mansion! With our fp+ we pretty much walked right into The Haunted Mansion which in my opinion like many Disney attractions is more of a visual experience than mere ride. After that I took some pictures in my Tangled Disneybound and then went to change into my Belle Disneybound for our next fp+  Enchanted Tales With Belle, I've noticed a lot of blogs don't go into detail about this experience in hopes it will be a surprise for guests so keeping with that spirit I wont say much except that this is a must do Beauty and The Beast fans of all ages and involves a character meet and greet making it a great way to meet a character with extra magic.In the bathroom while I was getting ready to add to the magic I had the best Dineybound moment when a little girl behind me said "Mommy is that girl Belle?"! I swear she sounded just like Chip! I turned and told her I just really wanted to be like Belle. Such a magical moment. 
  Tip: I scheduled out fp+ for Enchanted Tales With Belle to be just before our ADR at Be Our Guest. I highly recommend doing it in this order it really adds a bit of magic and it ensures you meet both Belle and Beast. 
  There was quite a wait for Be Our Guest but we didn't mind, dont stress when schedules change it accomplishes nothing but taking away from the magic , Disney isn't a place for negativity or stress. This seems obvious but I saw a few people getting lippy with the staff because they were frustrated they had to wait to eat in the parks most popular restaurant, its normal to have to wait for this kind of thing. Anyways lets not focus n the negativity of others and move on to happy thoughts! As soon as you walk in you know your in a castle, it really is breath taking! We ate in the grand ballroom which looks just like in the movie, it had a view of the enchanted forest and it was snowing out , the Christmas tree was complete with Angelique ! Disney's imagineers captured every detail of the castle to perfection. 
We explored the west wing which is probably where I'd request in the future it too is extremely detailed and very beautiful and a lot quieter. For dinner we both had french onion soup, they did not have dairy free cheese when I went so it had no cheese, bread with dairy free butter and ratatouille as the main, it  was beautiful and I am very glad we had this ADR that said I really, really did not like the food. I found out after you can get pasta with marinara sauce though its considered a kids meal and would definitely get that or maybe just the soup in the future because all the atmosphere is stunning the food in my opinion is not very good especially given the price tag. I should note though that many people love the ratatouille so maybe take my review with a grain of salt. 
  After dinner we walked through the castle gallery, which is another dining room, when I first saw the castle gallery online I thought that it looked really plan and it would be unfortunate to be sat there but after being there photos really dont do it justice and I is actually quite lovely. The castle gallery is probably the quietest during dinner so if your looking for that, this is probably the best room  for you and you can still walk through the others. After exploring the castle we met beast on our way out as everyone gets to, our timing was good and there was almost no wait. 
 By the time we left it was almost closing, we managed to get in line for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train before the cut off and only waited about 20 minutes! It had been one of goals for the trip to see Goodnight Kiss, which isn't really a show but a way of letting guests know its time to go home and for whatever reason I really wanted to experience it. So after the 7DMT we went and sat in the castle gardens to watch the kingdom say goodnight and just like that it was time to bid adieu to the Magic Kingdom and return to our resort for some much needed sleep.