Trails End @ Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

A few days ago I finally got to try out a Chef TJ meal at Fort Wilderness's Trails End. Chef TJ is one of the Chefs at Trails End. He prepares the meals for guests with allergies at Trails End and also at The Hoop Dee Doo Revue next door. Trails End is a buffet style restaurant that serves Southern style comfort food in a lodge like setting. Vegans and/or people with food allergies would have a difficult time eating right off the buffet here. I am a vegetarian, but follow several Disney vegan blogs and pages because my son has a dairy allergy. I first read about Chef TJ in the Veg Disney Facebook group. He has been a celebrity amongst the vegan community for many years with his elaborate and delicious food creations. I have been dying to try his food for years but alas, I have no vegan friends (or vegetarian friends for that matter). I would have brought my son, because he actually is a pretty adventurous eater for a 6 year old, but the meal can last around 2 hours and that is pushing it for a 6 year old who gets bored easily. A few months ago, we found out my husband has a gluten intolerance and can no longer eat gluten. Since eating from a buffet opens up cross contamination risks with gluten the chef will bring out the food that is served on the buffet straight from the kitchen. So my husband agreed to try it out with me and off we went for our reservation a few days after Christmas. 

When you get to Fort Wilderness you have to park up front and then either take an internal bus to Pioneer Hall where the restaurants are which is at the other side of the resort or walk the approximate mile. Since it was a nice night (and we knew we would be eating a ton!) we decided to walk. 

Once we got there they surprisingly took us 20 minutes before our reservation, which I was surprised since it was Christmas week. But then again we were just at a resort and not one of the parks. 

When I made the reservation I noted our food allergies and they did confirm this when we checked in. Our server said he would send Chef TJ over to our table. Sadly I forgot to take a picture with TJ, but I felt like I was meeting a celebrity! He was super nice and always likes to walk his guests around the buffet to show them the options. As a vegetarian there would have been several options, but I really wanted his full vegan creation. I told him I would prefer if he made mine from the kitchen and added that I am not a fan of mushrooms and he was happy to accommodate. 

The first meal he brought out was a salad for my husband. If I wanted I could have gotten a salad from the buffet while waiting, but I opted to save room for the 4-5 course meal coming my way! Chef TJ dropped his salad off and we were both surprised to see it was topped with cheetos?! My husband who is not a fan of cheetos was actually pleasantly surprised that it did add flavor to his salad.

Shortly after I received my first meal, Chef TJ's famous samosas. I still have no idea what was inside them, but they were so delicious! I would go back for these alone! I think it was some sort of BBQ sauce that was drizzled on top. The inside did have a little spice kick to them as well which I do enjoy.

My next meal/appetizer were vegan nachos. The "cheese" sauce was actually quite tasty and again I have no idea what other sauce was on them. I am bad at identifying food! I brought home more than half of these and my son ate them the next day. Even cold and soggy he sad they were super yummy.

Chef TJ then brought out my husbands main course:

Basically every meat on the buffet was piled on his plate on top of corn, mashed potatoes, baked beans and roasted potatoes! (I was bummed my picture came out blurry, but you get the point)

I was expecting my main course when he came out with a soup dish. Again I really wish I had asked what any of these dishes were, but he was so busy I didn't want to take up any more of his time! The soup was creamy and smooth. It may have had a hint of ginger to it? I'm not usually a soup person, but I would eat this again in a heart beat!

 I finally got to my forth and main dish. 

I love tofu and this was cooked just how I like it. Soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. There was a red pepper, tomato and some other green vegetable? on top of a mix of rice I believe and some other stuff that I had no idea what it was? Wow I am really terrible at this! Around the outside with the tofu were zucchini and yellow squash. I was so full, but still ate a pretty decent portion because it was that good!

Lastly came the dessert portion.

When he brought these to the table he drizzled Hershey's Syrup over top of the desserts. Mine was cotton candy, mini ice cream sandwiches, I believe tofutti ice cream, strawberries, bananas and at the bottom of the mug was a candied apple! Instead of the ice cream sandwiches my husbands had gluten free cookies in his.

Chef TJ definitely makes sure you get your moneys worth out of the buffet! We gladly walked back to the car and even got to look at the many lights and decorations that people go all out with around the resort. 

Max's 6th Birthday Party: I Am One With The Force... Star Wars Party

Max had decided early on that he wanted a Star Wars theme for his 6th birthday party. Since we are all Star Wars fans in this family, I knew this would be a big one. So needless to say the party planning started much earlier this year... like 5 months earlier! 

I wanted to create a theme for each room that revolved around each movie. For A New Hope I wanted to turn our dining room into Mos Eisley Cantina, complete with the Cantina band music playing in the background.

Disney Fantasy 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 5

Day 5: St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Wednesday: Sept 14, 2016
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
Restaurant: Animators Palate 
Stage Show: The Ventriloquism and Comedy of Lynn Trefzger

Today was another port day, but unlike the day before we didn't have any excursions planned. We decided to just make it a casual day. The ship was actually pulling into port during my run that morning, so I stopped to take a few pictures .

Disney Fantasy 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 4

Day 4: Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Tuesday: Sept 13, 2016
Evening Attire: Pirate/Cruise Casual
Restaurant: Royal Palace
Stage Show: The Magic & Illusion of Shawn Farquhar

This day was a super busy, but very fun day. Our first port stop was Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The kids weren't too interested in getting off the ship so we decided to make this port day an adult only adventure. The great thing about Disney is they do allow you to leave your kids on the ship in the kids club at the ports if you choose. I was a little nervous about it, but it made me feel better that he would be with our friends three sons, the security they have in place, and the staff had been great with him the past few days. 

The port at Tortola

We chose the Tour to Virgin Gorda Port Adventure. When we got off the ship in Tortola we boarded an open air boat and cruised along the Sir Francis Drake Channel for about 30-40 minutes to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. 

Disney Fantasy 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 3

Day 3: At Sea

Monday: Sept 12, 2016
Evening Attire: Halloween/Cruise Casual
Restaurant: Enchanted Garden
Stage Show: Wishes

Our third day was another day at sea. We had a pretty laid back day. We started off the morning hanging out at the pool and grabbing a quick lunch by the pool at Flo's Cafe. Flo's Cafe has 3 quick service stations that include pizza, burgers, salads, chicken and sandwiches. My son pretty much lived on pizza and french fries during this trip!

In the afternoon we walked around the ship to take in some exploring and played the Midship Detective Agency game. This is a ship wide interactive mystery scavenger hunt game. You are given a detective badge that interacts with hanging pictures throughout the ship that will reveal clues to help you solve your mystery and send you to your next location on the ship. (Be prepared for A LOT of walking!)

Animal Kingdom Solo Morning Trip

Walt Disney World has several levels of annual passes. For the past several years we have been gold members which only has block outs during Christmas/New Years and spring break. We recently downgraded to silver which in addition to the above block outs also blocks out the summer. I decided to keep the gold for myself because the gold has the added benefit of included photopass photos. The silver pass seems to be a pretty popular choice (in my circle of friends at least!) Summers are hot and crowded at Disney, so if you have the option to go throughout the year you certainly wouldn't choose July! 

Now I have been to Walt Disney World over 80 times, but I have never been alone. Since I am the only one out of my family and friends with passes who is not blocked out right now I figured I would hit up the parks this summer by myself. I decided to go to Animal Kingdom for my first solo trip. I have been wanting to go back to Pandora to ride Flight of Passage and eat at Satu'li Canteen (the 2 things I did not get to do the first time we went).

After dropping my son off at summer camp I drove over which would leave me about 4 hours before having to get back to pick him up. I was lucky enough to snag a fast pass for Fight of Passage about a month ago and also picked up an Everest pass as well. I got to the park around 9am and hit up Everest. It felt a little strange walking around and just being there in general with nobody else, but it was kind nice to be able to just do what ever I wanted when I wanted. 

Disney Fantasy 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 2

Day 2: At Sea
Sunday: Sept 11, 2016
Evening Attire: Formal
Restaurant: Animators Palate
Stage Show: Aladdin

Sunday morning I woke up early and hit the running track. These early mornings became some of my favorite times on the cruise. The running track is on deck 4 and is mostly outside on the deck as you run next to the ocean, at the front and back of the ship you duck inside for a bit. I was out running around 6 or 7 most mornings and there were only a few other walkers and runners out. It felt a little strange running on a moving ship, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

After my runs I would then wander the ship. There were very little people around so it was nice to feel like I had the ship to myself. Here are some pictures I took in the mornings.

Disney Fantasy 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 1

Day 1: Embarkation Day
Saturday: Sept 10, 2016
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
Restaurant: Royal Palace
Stage Show: A Fantasy Come True

I realized that since I have only recently begun to be more active on my blog that I never recap'd the Disney Cruise my family and I went on last September. This may take awhile because it was a 7 day cruise, and so it doesn't become a crazy long post I will dedicate a different post to each day of the cruise.

This was mine and my sons first cruise ever and my husbands second. So of course we decided to go with a Disney Cruise! We were lucky enough to share this vacation with our good friends who have 3 sons and their youngest is my son's age. 

(on our way!)

Echo Half Marathon

This morning my alarm went off at 3:20 am to run a half marathon... in June... in Florida. I was so bummed that I missed out on 2 races that I had planned on this winter/spring because of my knee injury, I really wanted to sign up for something far enough out that my knee would have had time to heel and before the weather got too bad. This is when I stumbled upon the Echo Half in Osteen Florida. They sold me with a 6:15 am starting time and the promise of a mostly shaded oak tree canopied course. It was an hour and 15 minute drive for me. I could have driven up the night before and stayed somewhere but honestly I didn't feel like spending the money on a hotel, and a 3:30 am wake call is no different than if I was running a runDisney race!

The drive wasn't too bad but I have to admit I was a little nervous driving down State Road 46 in the pitch black with nothing around at 4 o'clock in the morning! I was thankful I just had my car serviced a few days ago! I got there at 5:15 which gave me an hour to pick up my packet, bring it back to my car, eat some last minute fuel, stretch, and make a final dreaded port a potty stop. It was super dark when I got there still and the sun began to rise just about the time the race started. The pictures didn't come out great because I didn't want to be that annoying person taking pictures with my flash on that early in the morning! 

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Pandora

Yesterday I finally made it over to check out Pandora, the new land at Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately we did not get to see it during the early access passholder preview dates before it officially opened, but I was glad I was able to check it out within the first week it opened. The forecast wasn't looking very promising with high percentages of rain and lots of orange and red on the radar maps, but it's Florida and you just never know so we grabbed our ponchos and headed out anyway. My family has the Silver annual pass and I have the Gold. The Silver pass has block out dates during the summer starting on Sunday June 4th and going through mid August, so this was the last opportunity for my family to see Pandora before the block out. I kept the Gold pass so we could still benefit from the photopass option that is included with the Gold and above passes! I also have some solo trips scheduled that I am looking forward too! 

My son has been close to the 44 inch mark for sometime now and a quick measurement at home with his sneakers on put him at 44.5 inches a few days before. We were pretty excited because that meant he may actually finally be able to ride Expedition Everest (as long as he stood up straight)! As soon as we got to the park we headed over there for our fastpass time and had the cast member measure him and sure enough his head hit the pole, he was in! So thankful my little guy inherited my love of roller coasters!

After that we headed over to Yak and Yeti for our dinner reservations. It was just about this time that it started to downpour. Looks like we were definitely ordering desserts this time! I ordered the Honey chicken but substituted the chicken with Tofu (for most of their meat dishes they can substitute tofu), and my husband got one of the specials, fried chicken and waffles. For my sons dairy sensitivity the chef always comes to the table to take your order. They made him a plain burger with rice and steamed vegetables. From our experience, Disney is always very accommodating when it comes to this and will really make whatever you want that they can accommodate.

Had to try the yak attack (a mango daiquiri with rum and berry flavors) it did not disappoint!

After dinner and dessert, the rain still hadn't let up so we put on our rain gear and headed out. We had a fastpass for Na'vi River later that night but we wanted to go and check out Pandora in the daylight (and rain!). It was actually pretty lucky that it did rain because I think it helped keep some crowds away and I have to admit the rain did add to the ambiance of Pandora! Thankfully it was just a light rain. I have only seen Avatar once when it was first released on DVD, so I didn't remember much of the movie. I really don't think you need to see the movie to appreciate Pandora. As usual Disney does an amazing job at creating an atmosphere that submerges you into that particular environment. The details that they put into this land is truly stunning. We were lucky enough to visit during the daylight and after it got dark. I definitely recommend experiencing the land during daylight and at night. 

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

... and the benefit of arriving at the parks early!

The one thing I always tell people when they ask me for advice on Disney is get to the parks at opening! The crowds are low and you can get on several rides before the lines get too long. Today my son and I took a drive over to Epcot. I still hadn't gotten out to see the Flower and Garden Festival this year and this was really my last chance since Monday is the last day of it. Like most people my son loves Test Track and Soarin', but with Epcots Tier system on their FastPasses you can only choose one. So we always pick one of those to get a FastPass for and then arrive early and ride the other. We arrived at Epcot 15 minutes before they opened and headed right over to Soarin' and only waited 15 minutes. Since we didn't have any other FastPasses until later we had the opportunity to wander around the park before the crowds got heavy. We headed over and rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends and then enjoyed having the Seas Pavilion practically to ourselves. 

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground

We had the opportunity this weekend to spend 2 nights at the Campgrounds at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort. Some friends of ours have a camper and invited us out to celebrate their daughters 7th birthday. 

We drove up Friday afternoon and set up everything. This was my first time visiting this resort. You really would have no idea you were so close to the Magic Kingdom. The grounds are very peaceful and you really feel like you are in the middle of the country surrounded by pine and cypress trees and not to mention all the birds, squirrels, rabbits, and deer. 

New Adventures...

This month marks 10 years since I graduated from nursing school. I can not believe that it has been that long! I haven't always been sure if nursing has been the right fit for me, but all of the experiences I have had in the past 10 years have definitely had an impact on me. There are patients I will never forget and hopes that I have made a difference in many lives over the years. I have always had a passion for helping people and nursing has fulfilled that. As obvious from my blog I am also passionate about Disney, running and planning events. I have been looking to pursue a different path with my career, something that will bring my passions together. I am not planning on leaving nursing, but I am looking to get into a Disney Travel Agency. I have helped many a friends in the past with planning their Disney vacations, and I absolutely love being able to share my knowledge to help them plan a magical trip! Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I love to plan things; be it a weekend trip, party, or a much longer vacation. So begins my new venture to get into this new field. I am wanting to use my blog as a starting point. I plan to highlight my trips to Disney to give people more information about different aspects that Disney has to offer. Some fun things I have coming up Disney related are camping at Fort Wilderness this weekend, Star War: A Galactic Spectacular viewing at Hollywood Studios, and a trip to Pandora the new land at Animal Kingdom. I will also update my progress of getting into the travel agency world and once I am hired on with a company I will share that information here as well! In the mean time feel free to ask me any questions you may have about Disney, I would be happy to share my knowledge! 

Calling all Padawans!

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple 

This past Saturday we finally had the opportunity to participate in Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios. I have seen parts of the show several times, but this is the first time my son actually participated in it. It is a super fun (if you are into Star Wars!) interactive show where kids ages 4-12 are led by a Jedi Master on how to use the force, a lightsaber, and then they each get about a 15-20 second battle with a Star Wars villain. 

So unfortunately at this time Jedi Training is not something you can schedule ahead of time thorough the fast pass system or by making a reservation online or over the phone. The only way to sign your child up is to go to the sign up outpost area in between the Indiana Jones show and the 50's Prime time Cafe restaurant. There are several times throughout the day with about 30 slots but they fill up fast! Show up before the park opens for the day, like 30-45 minutes prior. A lot of the times they will let you into the park early, you just can't get on any rides or into any shows until the opening time, but you are free to roam around. Or you can even make an early breakfast reservation at Hollywood and Vine and they will let you in early and you can sign up before you eat. So as soon as you get in the park make your way (run!) to the sign up. Basically follow the rest of the groups of people making a mad dash for the sign up area! We went on a relatively slower day, so it didn't fill up as fast as other days. If you get there after they fill up they do offer a few slots for alternates, but this does not guarantee you will be in the show, only if someone doesn't show up! 

Star Wars Celebration

Another perk to living so close to Orlando, besides having Disney so close is when Star Wars Celebration chooses the Orlando Convention Center as their location. My husband and I visited back in 2010 a few months before I became pregnant. Things have definitely changed a lot since then! Back before Disney purchased Lucasfilm and before their was any talk of more movies it definitely wasn't as crazy. Back then, we just walked up and waited in a very short line to meet and take a picture with Peter Mayhew and then walked up and met Jake Lloyd with no wait. 

This year we had just purchased a one day pass for Saturday and brought our son with us as well. I had been following the days before and was a little nervous hearing about the horror stories of people waiting 2-3 hours just to get in the building! (3 hours with no bathroom and a 5 year old, um no thank you!) Over the next 2 days they opened more entrances and things seemed to move a little smoother, when it came to entering the building anyway. Some friends we were with had pre-purchased an autograph/photo time with Peter Mayhew and unfortunately ended up spending half their day waiting in line for it. 

We got there a little before it opened and were in about 30 minutes after opening. We swung by and picked up some wristbands for the Star Wars and Disney Parks panel later that day and then headed into the showroom floor.  

Space Walk of Fame 8k

After missing out on several races I had planned on running this winter due to my bum knee, I was finally able to partake in one. Last Saturday I ran in the Space Walk of Fame 8k. This was comprised of an 8k run or walk and a 2 mile run or walk. 

This was a fun small run that had around 260 runners. It started and ended at Space View park in Titusville. This is a popular little park for rocket launch views located on the Indian River that is less than 15 miles directly across from the launch pads.