Disney Food Blog Guidebook
Click here to plan your Disney Dining with ease.Tour the Parks
Buy from Garden Grocer
Get the scoop on Disney Food
Our web guys
Author Archives: DisneyDiva
Epcot’s Coral Reef Resturant Review
I remember in the 80′s when Epcot opened, my family visited the Living Seas. I remember thinking that it was one really huge aquarium as I descended in my hydrolater and then rode my seacab (does anybody remember those things?) to “Seabase Alpha”. In fact, the Living Seas IS a huge aquarium filled with 5.7 million gallons of salt-water and over 6,000 sea creatures.
The Coral Reef Restaurant actually opened in 1986 at the same time as the rest of the Pavilion. In the 26 years that it opened and all the many times we have visited Epcot in those 26 years, I have never made an ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) at the Coral Reef.
However, on the “girls leg” of my trip in February, my daughter said she’d like to eat somewhere different. So I went on my smart phone to the mobile Disney Dining Reservations site and booked a table for two, for later that day so we could “eat with the fish“!
We arrived at the Restaurant and checked in. There was actually a bit of drama all around us, as a large family was trying to get themselves coordinated to celebrate their parents anniversary. They took up, I kid you not, most of the dining room. I stood and waited significantly longer than I thought I would.
Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
If you’re looking for a character meal with maximum food and fun for minimum price let me suggest the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian.
My daughter and I ate there in February 2012 for the first time and really enjoyed the food as well as the opportunity to meet Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, Alice & the Mad Hatter. Yep, that’s FIVE characters!
Once you check in on the bottom floor of the Grand Floridian Resort at 1900 Park Fare and they take you to a backdrop where you can get your family 
photograph made while you wait.
The photo is not included in the price of your meal. They bring it around while you’re eating to buy if you want.
Your host then calls your name and takes you into the dining room to be seated. The wait-staff then come and take your drink order and you’re dismissed to the buffet which is AWESOME!
It’s honestly one of my favorite breakfast buffets at Walt Disney World.
And the stars of this delightful treat for the senses?
STRAWBERRY SOUP!! 
LOBSTER BENEDICT
and CINNAMON ROLLS 
This breakfast was not as crowded as many of the other character breakfasts I’ve been to, so we saw all of the characters twice AND they didn’t rush to get on to the next table. And it was so fun meeting the characters. Especially the Mad Hatter who you RARELY see in the parks.
We really had a great time and would recommend it to anybody wanting maximum time with characters and one really delicious breakfast!
Oh, one last weird thing. If you bring a stroller they take it when you go inside and put it on the OUTSIDE deck behind the Grand Floridian. So don’t be shocked when your stroller is gone. Just ask the person at the front desk to point you in the right direction or look for the signs.
Related articles
- Table Service in the Parks vs the Resorts – Which is Better? Part 1 (chipandco.com)
- Is Disney World Character Dining Worth it or is it Overpriced? (chipandco.com)
Magician Mickey Meet and Greet at WDW
With the closing of Toontown in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World you might be wondering where on earth you can meet the Big Cheese, the Main Mouse, you know… MIC- KEY M-O-U-S-E?!
Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered!
Mickey has now moved to Town Square Theater on Main Street which is just about..
HERE on the map!
Now yeah, its cool that you meet Mickey here, but the really cool part is the amazing details that they put into this area, both the waiting areas and the meet-up area itself!
Let me share some of my favorites!
Scrooge McDuck’s safe and moneybags
Cool posters from old-school Disney cartoons
-
Mickey’s Fan Mail!
Art and Publicity Department
Then you walk in to the meet and greet area.
Check out these awesome details!
I REALLY loved the potions and spells. They are Madam Mim’s (from Sword in the Stone)
And a bag of bird seed called… wait for it… Tuppence! (from Mary Poppins)
A Thank You letter from Angus MacBadger (Wind in the Willows!! Check that detail baby) to Mickey for buying the “horseless carriage” from Toad Motors.
And Magician Mickey Cards!
This is part of why I love Disney so much! They pay attention to every single detail and interweave those things so people looking for them will be delighted!
Enjoy your time with Mickey, but don’t miss these awesome details. Enjoy!
Related articles
- Family Magic Tour at Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
- Spring Break At WDW – How to Deal With the Crowds (chipandco.com)
Family Magic Tour at Walt Disney World
This February my family and I signed up to take the Family Magic Tour at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
We called 407-WDW-TOUR and signed up for four people. The cost is only $34.00 per person and let me tell you that it is totally worth every single penny!
This tour is ok for all ages and takes 1.5 to 2 hours and is a walking tour so make sure you wear comfy shoes and check the weather. Park admission is not included in the price so make sure you have tickets also.
So let me run down the experience for you, because I definitely think you will want to book this tour!
You will check in at the Chamber of Commerce. When you come into the park the Chamber of Commerce is on the far left. When you go in they will check your reservation and give you this cute name tag.
We only had one other family with us, but I don’t think they get much bigger than three families in order to keep it manageable. There is free water and coffee for you to grab before you get started and make sure you go to the bathroom next door before you get started.
Once everybody is there your tour guide will tell you about what you are looking for. Captain Hook has been up to no good in the Magic Kingdom and has been stealing some of the characters favorite things and hiding them all over the park. Mickey needs us to help retrieve the items and bring them back so he can get them to the characters.
There are clues that take you from item to item and they’re NOT easy. They really take some thought, but its fun to solve as a family. 
The clues take you all around the Magic Kingdom park, but it doesn’t have you crossing the park more than one time. You move sequentially through the park.
Our tour guide was AMAZING!!! She’s great at getting the kids to play along! But all of you fuddy duddy 
parents who NEVER play along like you are supposed to (like the ones who wont participate in Monsters Laugh Floor or Turtle Talk with Crush… really what is your problem people?!?) you need to play along in order to get your kids to!
Its fun to because there are random people in the park who have clues and hints to get you further in your journey! You never 
know who is going to help you next.
As a part of the tour you also get to ride a ride to look for a clue. Your tour guide will have fast passes for everybody so you will go directly into the ride. Our ride was Winnie the Pooh. This would potentially save you some time during your trip! 
AND, there’s a surprise Character Greeting with PETER PAN! Oh yeah! So no need to stand in line and waste all your time to meet him. You’ll get to play a game with him, get autographs a
nd take photos!
You can even take a second and CROW with Peter! Pretty cool!
Right after this we got to take a break as it was right around the one hour mark. We ate a little snack (we had brought one with us, one is not provided) and went to the bathroom.
As we continued on our hunt we suddenly heard someone talking to us about our quest. I turned around 
and it was PUSH THE TRASH CAN! I’m not going to lie, I squealed as I had never seen Push before!
Then we started playing a follow the leader game which was so fun! (Again, fuddy duddies… get with the program!)
Finally we had collected all of the items Hook had stolen and thought our tour was about to end when our tour guide informed us that we were going to get to return the items to the Big Cheese himself.
We went into a secret entrance and waited for a few minutes. We decided to take a picture with all of the kids and our guide because we had really all bonded at that point.
And then it was time! Our guide told Mickey and Minnie we had found all the items and we got to spend a good 10 minutes or so with them taking pictures, getting autographs and just going around all together! Talk about saving some time! Meeting Mickey, Minnie, Peter Pan, riding a ride, AND getting oriented to all of Magic Kingdom while having a great time as a family!
I highly recommend this tour to ALL of you! I was absolutely amazing and so super fun! Absolutely worth the money PLUS some and I feel confident your family will LOVE IT! Call 407-WDW-TOUR to book your Family Magic Tour! You won’t regret it!
Related articles
- The Avengers Monorail Debuts At Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
- Countdown to Disney: We’re Going to Walt Disney World! (aglassslippervacation.com)
SAVE money by renting a house at Walt Disney World
In my family we have four people. Two of them are under ten and don’t take up that much room. They’re past the age where they need five-hundred supplies just to survive, so as long as I stick to my PERFECT PACKING LIST our family unit meets the requirements to stay in just about any room at Walt Disney World. However, I always seem to feel crowded in my resort room!!
If I had baby #3 (which is NOT in the plan for me by the way) that means my options would become much more limited. You see, once you hit Five in your party your resort room possibilities are fewer, and usually end in you dropping SIGNIFICANTLY more money to stay “on-property” in places like the new Art of Animation Suites, Deluxe Villa, or a Cabin at Fort Wilderness. As blended families have become more common, this becomes an issue for parents and step-parents who want to bring ALL of the children to Disney at one time inexpensively. And even more commonly we bring grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, family friends on our trips. Which requires many more rooms. More rooms = more money.
Have you considered renting a house off property?
What I have learned is that at WDW what you don’t pay for in money, you pay for in time. So the more convenient something is the more it is likely to be expensive (the resorts on the monorail are a prime example). However, as long as you plan ahead being off property is not that bad. If a house is 9 miles away from Animal Kingdom Parking lot (which you can determine by using Google maps) once you add in the tram-ride from the parking lot you’re pretty close to the same amount of time (15-20 minutes) you would spend riding a bus from All Star Music Resort to that park (THAT’S ASSUMING YOU CATCH THE FIRST BUS!).
The second week in March I rented “Disney Villa” from Disney Sunshine Villas. We were bringing two families with us for a grand total of 6 adults and 5 children. So we rented a 6 bedroom, four bath house with a pool and a hot tub. During the time of the year we rented (mid – March) the house cost us $1,1195.00 (including taxes). You can check the price for the house when you might want to go by clicking HERE. So if you divide that by 3 families then each family would only pay $398.00!! You wont find anything on property for that! They do have smaller houses if you’re not needing that much space.
The house sleeps 15 people, and has two master suites (a king-size, and a queen-size), another queen size bedroom (with a bathroom across the hall), and three bedrooms with two twin beds a piece (which share a bathroom). The living room has three leather sofas, a 52″ television, a dining room that will seat eight people. It also has an air-conditioned game room with a pool table, sofa and tv, lets not forget the laundry room which saves on packing!
If we would have stayed at a Moderate resort , like Port Orleans- Riverside, it would run just my family $1,651.00 before we got a single park ticket or eat any food. That’s 1,253.00 MORE than what we actually paid to stay a week and $532.00 more than the whole 6 bedroom house for the week!!!
We loved the house. It really felt like home for us and when we went home for our mid-day break the kids loved swimming in their own heated pool and the adults loved soaking their tired legs at night in the hot tub.
We cooked many meals and even grilled out one night which saved us a A LOT of money on meals. The owner is so nice and really willing to accommodate any need or request you might have. He and his parents, who help tend to the house, both came around to check in on us while we were there. We also had a request and they went out of their way to fix it and fix it quickly. They actually own multiple houses in that same neighborhood so if you needed more people together for a family reunion they could still have you all very close together. They were great and I’m happy to recommend them to you.
If you are interested in potentially renting Disney Villa or another villa from them please contact their owner Lee by going HERE and PLEASE always tell him that Disney Diva from Chip and Co sent you!!! He might just cut you a deal 
