A Blog About Disney Stuff

When it comes to finding water bottle refill stations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there’s certainly a disconnect going on. For a theme park whose very message is based on conservation, you’d think that every water fountain would have a water bottle refill station, which would encourage the use of reusable water bottles over single-use water bottles. Sadly, this is one of the more difficult parks to find and use the water bottle refill stations.

One small suggestion for Disney’s comment box — I’d love to see water fountains that have water bottle refilling stations included in the MyDisneyExperience app so you can search for them. It wouldn’t take much to add that, and it would be a very useful search option to have.

During our tour of Animal Kingdom, we were able to locate only two water bottle filling stations. Both were in Pandora and, sadly, both were in queues: one in the Flight of Passage queue and one in the Na’vi River Journey queue. When we asked if we could go in to refill water bottles, we were told no. You can only refill water bottles if you’re waiting in the line.

I truly hope that the lack of water bottle filling stations in Animal Kingdom is an oversight on Disney’s part and that water fountains could get water bottle filling stations added over the next year or so. They are relatively inexpensive (you can get a commercial-grade unit starting around $1500), and the benefits for conservation impact and guest satisfaction are invaluable.

Know of any water bottle filling stations that we’ve missed in our tour of the parks? Think there should be more, especially at Animal Kingdom? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The post Water Bottle Refill Stations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Walt Disney World (FL), water bottles

Sometimes you just need a little something sweet. Over at Le Petit Café at Disney’s Riviera Resort, you can find an assortment of sweets perfect for a quick afternoon pick-you-up. On a recent trip, one item stood out as our must-try item: the hazelnut-caramel profiteroles.

Although I’m pretty sure profiterole is French for “the most delicious dessert on planet Earth”, these are best described as small creme puffs. In this case, they are chocolate creme puffs with a hazelnut-caramel-chocolate filling.

For $6.99, you get 4 held together with more of the chocolate-hazelnut-caramel filling. To add to the presentation of this, a tiny bit of edible gold leaf is added to the top.

This dessert is delightfully light yet satisfying. When you order, you can get this packaged in a lovely pastry box to take with you for doing outside or back in your room. The serving size can be shared, but we think you may want to keep this one for yourself.

Does this look like a wonderful afternoon — or anytime — treat? Let us know what you think in the comments.

The post Hazelnut-Caramel Profiteroles at Le Petit Café Are Simply Divine appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Snacks, Walt Disney World (FL), Disney’s Riviera Resort, le petit cafe

Did you know there is wine that is exclusive to Disney Parks? Disney has a wide selection of wines by the bottle for sale all across Disney property.

On a recent visit to Disney’s Grand Floridian, two bottles in particular caught my eye and I decided to bring home some of the bottled magic. The Sogno d’Italia Chianti is from Tuscany, Italy and it is made exclusively for Disney Parks. Chianti is one of my favorite varieties of wine. I recalled the Sogno d’Italia Chianti debuting at Disney Parks years ago and I was inspired to give it a try.

The other bottle that caught my eye is not exclusive to Disney Parks. Once Upon a Vine is sold at a variety of retailers including Total Wine. While it is not a Disney exclusive, it is one of the most popular brands of wine sold at Disney shops. You can imagine the name Once Upon a Vine is a perfect match for Disney property.

The Sogno d’Italia Chianti and the Once Upon a Vine Enchanted Woods Bubbly were $17.00 each at the Grand Florida Resort merchandise and sundries shop on the first floor. The $17.00 price tag for the Sogno d’Italia Chianti is fair considering the quality, and that is it listed as $39.00 on the Disney Florist and Gifts website. Additionally, there are select Disney resort table service restaurants at which you can order takeout food via mobile ordering, which include wines by the bottle. These wines range from $20.00 to $35.00 on average.

The Sogno d’Italia Chianti tasted great! It was smooth, but had the dryness I expect from a chianti, without being too dry. There was a delightful balance between spice and fruit, like cherries. Chianti usually goes great with heavy foods like steak and rich pasta. Sure enough it paired wonderfully with our family’s simple penne pasta and sauce with Italian sausage.

A few days later we had some good news to celebrate as a family so I popped open the Once Upon a Vine Enchanted Woods Bubbly. This California sparkling white wine is said to be limited release. I sure hope that is not the case, because I truly loved this bubbly. Some sparkling wine can be too dry, too tart, or too sweet. The Enchanted Wood Bubbly was the perfect balance of it all. It was approachable and casual, yet was perfect for toasting a special occasion. At Total Wine this bottle of bubbly is $16.99. I think this the first time I have witnessed Disney not placing a huge markup on alcohol. In fact, in this case, there is no mark up at all.

If you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or any special occasion at Walt Disney World either wine would be a great choice. And at $17.00 per bottle both wines are affordable enough for an in-room toast, simply if all you’re celebrating is your Walt Disney World vacation itself. Cheers!

Do you enjoy wine at Walt Disney World? What’s the best wine you’ve had at Disney?

The post REVIEW – Wine at Disney Resort Merchandise Shops That’s Worth Raising a Glass appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Adults, Drinking, Resorts, disney drinking, disney on site hotels, disney wine

Accessibility has come a long way since Magic Kingdom’s opening in 1971. There’s still work to be done in this arena, but, as new buildings are erected, more companion restrooms are added. We’ve reviewed the locations of companion restrooms at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Now, let’s look at the companion restroom locations for Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom Companion Restroom Locations

Magic Kingdom has Companion Restrooms in almost every land. Liberty Square is missing one, although there is one nearby at the Tangled restrooms in Fantasyland. Here are the locations of Magic Kingdom’s companion restrooms.

• Main Street USA, Near City Hall
• Main Street USA, Center of Magic Kingdom, inside First Aid
• New Fantasyland, next to Gaston’s Tavern
• Fantasyland, at the Tangled restrooms
• Fantasyland, next to Pinocchio Village Haus
• Storybook Circus near train station
• Frontierland, at Splash Mountain, near the exit, in the courtyard
• Adventureland, across from Tortuga Tavern, near Frontierland
• Tomorrowland, to the right of Space Mountain

It is our hope that by listing these locations you’ll be able to plan ahead if you are traveling with anyone who has accessibility needs pertaining to restrooms.

What other information and tips would be helpful for you? Let us know in the comments!

The post Where Are the Companion Restrooms Located at Magic Kingdom? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Accessibility, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, epcot tips, magic kingdom accessibility, magic kingdom tips