All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
Visiting Dinosaur World in Plant City, FL is a great activity for kids to do with their families. There are so many dinosaurs to see and learn about.
I love living in Central Florida because there are so many great things to do, just a short drive away. One day, after school, my friend and I took our kids to Dinosaur World. We had so much fun!
…Celebrating our birthdays with family in Florida means there’s fun everywhere. My Mom’s 60th birthday celebration was a blast in Orlando. So much food, sun, & fun!
Last month, I had a wonderful weekend celebrating my mom’s 60th Birthday. A weekend full of fun and food. And it was just us girls!
We enjoyed a scrumptious lunch at The Polite Pig in Disney Springs, a fun afternoon hanging in the pool at the Wyndham on I-drive, and then dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at Universal’s City Walk. We then spent our Sunday enjoying a soulful brunch at Homecomin’ Kitchen in Disney Springs. It was a fantastic way to enjoy this big birthday celebration.
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When you bring friends, you’ll be sure to have a Spooktacular Night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. There is fun around every corner for everyone.
Thank you to Disney for inviting me to spend a a wonderful night at the Magic Kingdom enjoying the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!
It seems like Mickey always has something fun up his sleeve. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party had so many new things this year. It was our 4th time, but felt like my first since every visit is so different. (Check out my recaps from my September 2017, August 2018, and September 2018 visits)
I greatly appreciate when I receive media invites for Disney events, because they are so much fun. I love going to the parties or getting to see new attractions. But what I love the most is getting to invite our friends to the events, I always try to spread some happiness so I always take a different friend with us. This time, it was our awesome neighbors, Danielle and Raegan.
As usual, things run awry when I am trying to plan something out. In this case, I couldn’t find the Bo Peep costume that Autumn wanted to wear in her size. Multiple trips to various stores!! Eventually, I decided that we just would just run into Target on the way to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. So, the 4 of us loaded up in the car after getting the girls from school, and we were on our way. With some Lizzo blasting, of course!
But, luck would have it, we missed the exit for the Target. Like, for real, can we please have a giant billboard like 2 miles away like “Target welcomes you in 2 miles. Don’t miss it!” ha! Anyway, the point is, we didn’t have costumes, but we still had a magical time.
As soon as we walked into the Magic Kingdom (just before 5pm), we headed with the crowd to the Market Street Welcome Trick-or-Treating.
To enjoy this great trick or treating and photo op spot, stick to the right side of the Main Street area, walking towards Tony’s Restaurant. We walked through snapping pictures and kicking off the trick or treating. The cast members handed out bags of candy. As well as supplied trick or treating bags.
It was dinner time and the girls were hungry so we headed over to Casey’s Corner. It’s an easy stand by that my family loves going to. Big hot dogs and fries- perfect for hungry kids.
I really treated myself to the Loaded Corn Dog Nuggets ($10.99). I dug into a bed of Corn Dog Nuggets that were topped with Cheese Sauce, Chile-Lime Seasoning, Sliced Jalapeños, Diced Tomatoes, Garlic Ranch, Corn Chips, and Green Onion. It was messy and utterly delicious. I added more jalapenos from the toppings bar too.
I would 110% get this again. It had great flavors and textures. It was like ordering a cross between corn dogs, walking tacos, and nachos. So so good! The Chile-Lime Seasoning was great finishing touch on the whole mess of goodness. Plus, I love anything with spice, so those pickled jalapenos were perfect for me.
After dinner we went to Splash Mountain for our first ride of the night. The girls certainly know how to kick things off with a bang! Plus, it was great that the line was so short. We only had to wait a few minutes, and even then it felt like the line was always moving. (We were walking on at 6.03 and seated on the ride at 6.13!)
Oh man, I got soaked! I was a bit worried at first with my light shirt (whoops!) but it was okay. I love the ride and getting splash was so fun and ended up being refreshing for the hot night.
A short walk and short wait later, we were ready to ride the Haunted Mansion ride.
This was a new ride for Autumn to enjoy. I felt she might have been too scared from it last year, but I thought she might like the spooky fun this year. She really enjoyed it and wasn’t scared in the least bit. She asked some questions about the crazy room before the ride, but just went with the flow and liked the hitch hiking ghosts.
Bonus, I left inspired to add on our to Haunted Mansion themed graveyard decorations. I saw some great things that we can add to the spooky decor next year.
As we we walked from Liberty Square over to Tomorrowland, we hit up some great Trick or Treating spots. Compared my my past visits, the cast members were generous with the candy. The girls typically got 2 handfuls of candy at each stop. (Now, I’ve see pictures of people going back to their hotel rooms, and practically covering their beds with candy. We didn’t have that much candy! But we certainly got more per trick or treating location than we ever did in the past.)
In all, we did 6 trick or treating spots and get a nice amount of candy. It was great for the night.
The girls LOVED the Descendance Party at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. It was a fun dance party that had everyone on their feet dancing to songs from the Descendants movies and fun pop songs. The cast (minus Cameron- RIP) recorded fun messages, that were displayed on monitors on the stage. So much fun!
Autumn is finally tall enough to ride Space Mountain!!! I was so trilled! I love the ride so I was really excited that she could go on it as well.
She loves Slinky Dog Dash so I was hoping she would love this coaster as well. However, I was a but nervous about her riding in a solo seat. My friend Danielle suggested the I ride behind her, so I could grab hold of her shoulders. Then I could reassure her that I was there.
For Halloween, they turn the lights off and play a new Halloween-inspired soundtrack. Because it’s one of the few rides that has a spooky Halloween spin to it, it can have some ‘long’ wait times. We waited about 20 minutes to ride Space Mountain.
I really needed a pick me up at this point, so we decided to stop by the Starbucks on Main Street. The timing was perfect got as the parade was just winding down, so we ended up getting in line just before the crush of people came in. Had we been about 5 minutes later, we would have been swept up in a crazy busy line. Instead we got our treats quickly and were able to get back outside to grab spots for the fireworks without any problems.
Loving all things related to Hocus Pocus, we tried the party exclusive Amuck Amuck Amuck Cupcake. It was described as a ‘Trick-or-Treat Candy Cupcake with Peanut Butter Chips, Chocolate Candy Bits, and Toffee filled with Caramel Sauce, iced with Chocolate Buttercream and topped with a Chocolate Cauldron’. In summary, it had a lot going on, but not in a good way. The biggset disappointment was the amount of frosting on the cupcake. It just felt like it was overpowering the cake.
Give the Amuck Amuck Amuck Cupcake a try to see what you think at the Main Street Bakery (Starbucks). Don’t forget to also try a Cinderella Latte. (A Pumpkin Spice Latte with White Chocolate Syrup added. Yum!)
Disney always does a wonderful job with their fireworks displays. They are really magical. Of course, I love the fireworks but my favorite part is the laser show on the castle. It’s basically spellbinding with how intricate it all is as it is illuminated on the castle. I love it!
Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular was NEW this year, as it replaces Happy Hallowishes. It was so fun to see the new fireworks show and compare it to the show I had previously seen at past parties. The show kicks off with “This is Halloween” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Then Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero, flies off carrying everyone along on a trick-or-treat adventure. You’ll get to join Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy in a mysterious haunted house. It’s 20 minutes of fun!!!
Somehow Autumn slept through the Not So Spooky Spectacular firework s show and Raegan was barely awake when the show ended. We asked Raegan if she wanted to stick around for the next Unfortunately, while on the ferry ride back to parking, that we should have stayed. We could have just moved over from our spot, allowed the girls to sleep (in stroller/lap), and watched the show. Ah, shoot! Next time, we will just take pop a squat and let the girls catch some ZZZZ’s
We had a blast the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! I hope you get to enjoy it too!
Park hopping at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom is a fun way to spend the day soaking in loads of Disney Parks magic. We enjoyed our day at Animal Kingdom, and then Magic Kingdom.
It’s been a week, and I’m still decompression from an awesome past few weeks. I went to Atlanta with my friend and her daughters for a few days. Then I got back, had a day to ‘decompress’, and then headed over to Disney for their Social Media Conference on Friday. From there I went directly to St. Pete for a wonderful, much needed, Momcation! We had a blast hanging out together, having 2 kid free nights, and a relaxing day on the beach.
I woke up up crazy early on Sunday, left by 6am, and grabbed the family to head to Disney for a fun day there. We figured we would spend the day Park Hopping because we always try to maximize the fun!
And, a few days later, I attended a Disney Villains After Hours party with a few friends. Lots of late nights and tons of driving around, but it has all worth been it!
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Disney’s Villains After Hours Party is a great way to spend a night out with friends & family while your favorite villains rule the night.
Thank you to Disney for the invite for attending the Disney Villains After Hours event.
Last summer I was invited to attend the Disney After Hours event at the Magic Kingdom. I had a blast with my friend Melissa as we enjoyed so many rides with short lines and ice cream treats. So, I was thrilled to be invited to attend another late night Disney event. Any After Hours event is fun, but Disney Villains After Hours takes it to the next level!
The Disney’s Villains After Hours event is a 3 hour long party that is focused on your favorite Disney Villains.
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In 2019, The “On the Road” Disney’s Social Media Conference taught bloggers how to be better story tellers to grow their blogs. Plus, they got a sneak peak at Galaxy’s Edge!
Years ago logging into AOL and hearing ‘You’ve got Mail” was a thrill. Now, that is my favorite movie, but I get more excited when I see an email from Disney in my inbox these days.
So, when I saw the invite for Disney’s Social Media “On the Road” Conference in my inbox a few weeks ago, I was basically jumping for joy!
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You can enjoy a day full of magic at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Visit both parks to be fully immersed into all the Harry Potter fun and action.
Going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the number one thing that my best friend, Emily, and I had to do while she was visiting from Seattle this spring.
When we both lived in Boston, we would see the movies together when they were released. And, ever since I moved to Florida we talked about getting to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter together.
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Peach Picking at The Southern Peach Company in Lithia, Florida is a fun family activity that results in so many beautiful ripe peaches. Get ready to take a big juicy bite.
One of the things I love about living in Florida is having so many fun things to do around us. Honestly, it feels like there are endless things to do in Tampa Bay area to keep you busy. A fun weekend activity is to go fruit picking. Recently, we had a wonderful time picking peaches The Southern Peach Company.
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We enjoyed a wonderful day at Hollywood Studios starting with a visit to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. It was a filled with action and trills. Fun!
Thank you to Disney for inviting me to spend a wonderful day at Hollywood Studios.
It was a happy coincidence to get an invite to get to enjoy Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios while my mother in law was visiting. I was so excited to be able to show her all the fun things that Hollywood Studios has to offer. I’m always so happy getting to check out the different sections of the park- so much to see and do.
Plus, it would be so fun for her to get to experience it with Autumn and Hunter. Disney with your grand kids is always so much fun.
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10 Reasons to go to a Red Sox Spring Training Game- you’ll have a blast enjoying a Sox game while enjoying some fun in the sun!
Nellie’s Free Range Eggs, the official egg of the Boston Red Sox, graciously invited me to attend a Red Sox spring training game. This post is sponsored by Nellie’s Free Range Eggs, but all opinions are mine.
I lived in Boston from August ’03 to February ’16, so I had so much fun watching Red Sox games, attending them, and celebrating their wins. I had some great views of the World Series Championship parades from my office’s windows. When I moved to Boston I wasn’t much of a baseball fan, but when I left for Tampa, I was a big Red Sox fan. It’s in the water up there. You just can’t resist it.
Although I am in Tampa now, I am not far from seeing them play. The Red Sox play in the Grapefruit league, so they play their ‘home’ spring training games in Ft. Meyers, FL. That’s about 2 hours South of Tampa.
Nellie’s Free Range Eggs, recently became the official egg of the Boston Red Sox, as they can power up the players and the fans with healthy eggs. They recently invited me to attend the Red Sox spring training game against the New York Yankees. It was the perfect game to attend! It was the World Series Champ’s first pre-season game (besides the traditional Red Sox vs Northeastern game) against the Yankees!!! PLUS, they beat the Yankees!
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Fresh Harvest’s Champagne Brunch is the perfect place to enjoy bottomless mimosas while dining on food from around the world. Leave happy & full!
Tampa’s Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel graciously hosted us for Fresh Harvest’s Champagne Brunch.
The first Sunday of the month is dedicated to my Mom’s Brunch with my friends. We hold this spot in our busy calendars so that we can get together to reconnect, gossip, drink some great cocktails, and stuff ourselves silly with some awesome food.
We recently enjoyed brunching at Fresh Harvest. The premier buffet spot in the Seminole Heard Rock Casino and Hotel is the perfect spot for brunch. It has something for everyone so it’s great for a crowd. You can kick off a day at the casino by enjoying brunch at Fresh Harvest. Or you can end your weekend stay at the hotel with a scrumptious brunch. It might just help you nurse that hangover while you celebrate your winnings. Or you can gather an awesome, hungry group of girl friends for a brunch. I think the bottomless champagne might be the perfect thing! Cheers!
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Everyone needs to pet a sloth at least once in life, and you can do it at Wild Florida. It’s so much fun and so memorable. Add this to your bucket list!
Wild Florida hosted us for a day of fun, getting to meet sloths and take an airboat ride.
My friend Brittany’s husband left for a deployment in the Middle East at the start of February. Any deployment is a big deal and a huge sacrifice for everyone involved. But this is a 14 month long deployment, so it really stinks. A whole year and then some. So, I was thinking that Brittany needed to do something fun to do to take her mind off the fact that she and the kids just said good bye to their Navy Captain.
Clearly, my idea of fun meant that I would need to ‘kidnap’ her for the day, to take her on an adventure.
She loves sloths the way that Kristen Bell loves sloths, so once I discovered Wild Florida and their really cool Sloth Experiences I knew that we needed to go!
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