Meeting Tinker Bell in Walt Disney World

By Nick

I'm a collector. I started collecting comic books at 12 years old, and continued to do so on and off into my 30s. In my 20s, I started collecting Disney, which probably comes as no surprise. I still buy items from time to time, but, let's face it, my house is only so big.

I've tried to find things to collect that barely take up any space at all. Like experiences.

Some non Disney experiences include visiting all 50 States, all 50 State Capitols, and every National Park. As for Disney, I'd like to visit every Disney park.

I also collect characters. My goal here is to get a photo with as many characters as possible. I don't feel self conscious about it, as I'm a child at heart!

This all sounds like I'm making an excuse for a grown man to get a photo with Tinker Bell.
And, psychologically, you are probably right!

But enough of looking into my psyche, we're here to see where to find Tinker Bell!

At the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, you can meet Tink and other Disney Fairies at Tinker Bell's Magical Nook, a tiny piece of Pixie Hollow which has magically grown in Adventureland.
If entering from Main Street, it is found on the right, just before Aloha Isle. 

Wait times get long quickly, and the Fairies spend plenty of time with each group, so I suggest going as early as possible. We went right over at park opening, and there was already a short line.

Along the queue, you'll find photos from Pixie Hollow, but this is likely not enough to keep the attention of restless children, or adults for that matter, for very long.

Like the queue to meet Mickey and Minnie at The Adventurer's Outpost over at Disney's Animal Kingdom, I found this a good time to check Facebook and eMail.

Finally it's time to meet Tinker Bell and one of her friends!
We are magically shrunk down to the size of a Fairy, and we enter the Nook, which is very well themed and affords excellent photo backdrops.

There is a PhotoPass photographer there, and they are happy to take photos with your camera as well as theirs, so have it ready.

We visited the Magical Nook in January, so Tinker Bell was appropriately attired in her winter clothes.

There are usually other Disney Fairies in the area, but I have read that at various times there may be only one.

We had the fortune of meeting Tink's fraternal twin sister, Periwinkle, a Frost Fairy, which was fortuitous as it was cold out by Florida standards, so it gave us something to talk about. I asked her to dial the frost back just a notch!

The Fairies who appear may change during the day. Other Fairies you might see are Iridessa, Fawn, Silvermist, Vidia, Rosetta, and Terrence.


Nick co-writes and edits the Disney Musings Blog.

Tea For Two at Disney's Grand Floridian

by: Barbie

In January,  my husband Nick and I treated ourselves to Afternoon Tea in the Garden View Lounge at the Grand Floridian.  They are open from 2 pm-6pm daily. We were staying at The Villas at the Grand Floridian and we wanted to explore all of their restaurants. This one is right off the lobby, an open air lounge area that looks upon the gardens outside. Comfy chairs and sofas give this a very relaxed atmosphere.

Everyone starts off with a pot of tea, with many different varieties to chose from. The menu accurately describes the teas and their flavors and the wait staff is knowledgeable, if you have questions as well. They will happily make recommendations for you that will go along with your luncheon choices or taste preferences.

I chose: 
Prince Edward Tea - $30.00 Per Guest
This was the Chef's recommendation, a delicious array of assorted pâtés, and Cheeses, served with Cumberland sauce. It was accompanied by freshly baked scones served with jam tart. Included is your choice of tea with a glass of Fonseca Bin 27 Character, Port, which Nick enjoyed, because I don't really drink.

Nick chose: 
The Grand Tea - $35.00 Per Guest
The classic English tradition of Afternoon Tea, Grand Floridian-style. A variety of tea sandwiches, scones and jam tart, followed by a choice of freshly baked tea pastries, strawberries and creme or English trifle. This is served with a glass of Domain Ste-Michelle sparkling wine and choice of tea.

Scone and Jam tart

Nick and I had a wonderful Tea here. The food was lovely and we were having a wonderful time chatting with the young couple that sat next to us. We became fast friends, as so often happens at Disney when you meet awesome people!

This is not on the Disney Dining Plan, but Tables in Wonderland is accepted. This experience was well worth the price. The food and tea was delicious, and making new friends made it all the better.

Barbie co-writes the Disney Musings Blog

The Emerging Craft Beer Scene at Walt Disney World

Craft Beer at Walt Disney World

By: Nick

On our last 2 trips, in October of 2013, and this past January, I discovered several locations offering a fairly decent beer menu.

Let's start with what I found in October.

My wife, Barbie and I stayed at the Art of Animation Resort. The food court, Landscape of Flavors, has a fairly decent beer selection, including offerings from local Orlando Brewing. But I was really excited to find a couple of beers from the highly rated Cigar City Brewing out of Tampa Florida, as well as a couple other excellent choices from Bell's and Breckenridge Brewing over at Pop Century's Everything Pop food court.

I took a couple back over to Art of Animation to enjoy at the pool.

One of the best times for beer at WDW is during Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival. There are dozens of choices, with just about every food booth offering at least one beer. A couple of my favorites were found at the Florida Local stand.

Me enjoying a Cigar City Florida Cracker Belgian-style White Ale

 

In addition, there are booths dedicated exclusively to beer!

Menu from the Craft Beer stand.

 

It was on this trip that I also discovered one of Disney's best kept secrets located inside the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Epcot's Japan Pavilion. The Garden House Sake Bar serves Ginga Kogen, a wheat beer. It is awesome.

There is also a new permanent structure serving craft beer located outside of the United States Pavilion at Epcot called Block & Hans, which was a souvenir stand at one time. There were only a few beers to choose from, but they are quality choices. The cast member I spoke to said they would be expanding their selection in the future, which they have indeed done, as we'll see when we look at January's offerings!

One more stop from October can be found at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The Gardens is a gluten free stand which has some gluten free beers!

I confess, I didn't try any, but it's good to know these choices are available.

In January we stayed the The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, and I was very happy with the beer selection at the pools and restaurants.

Both Beaches Pool Bar & Grill and Courtyard Pool Bar have a good selection.

The menus even break down beer by categories to help you decide!

Further assisting your choices is a description of the beers!

While not quite as extensive as the pool menus, the beer choices at Narcoosee's located on the shores of the Seven Seas Seas Lagoon has a pretty good list.

Citricos, located inside the Grand Floridian also has a few nice choices.

Let's shoot over to Epcot. In the France Pavilion at Le Vins des Chefs de France you'll find one of my favorite beers, 1664 Blanc, as well as Kronenbourg 1664.

Over in the Mexico Pavilion, La Cava del Tequila is now offering beer from Dia de los Muertos. I did not try them because when in Rome, er, Mexico, I drink Tequila, but I intend to try these out if I ever see them at a local beer store.

Last but not least, we'll return to Block & Hans, where, as promised, the beer selection has become slightly more robust.

They are also carrying Mickey-shaped and Jalapeno Pretzels, which are excellent with a Hopageddon Imperial IPA from Napa Smith, maybe one of the best India Pale Ales I've ever had!

There is a great site to visit for a more comprehensive overview of beer in Walt Disney World called Beers and Ears, in fact I reviewed their app a few months back. However, things constantly change at Disney World, and clearly this topic requires much further investigation, and I will endeavor to do as much research as needed in the future.

Nick co-writes the Disney Musings Blog