Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Sleepy Hollow

Date of Visit: September 26 & 27, 2014

Mik now has a new favorite place at the Magic Kingdom. He loves waffles, so I have no idea why we have always skipped past Sleepy Hollow before; but now that he has discovered it I am sure this will be a regular stop on our Disney World trips.

The first morning he tried the breakfast waffle with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and prosciutto. He did not really like the prosciutto part; but he loved the rest and it’s easy to take off.

During the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mik enjoyed the pumpkin spice waffle sundae.

Destination Info:

Sleepy Hollow

Magic Kingdom – Liberty Square

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Date of Visit: September 27, 2014

For us the Halloween Party was somewhat of a disappointment. It just seemed more crowded and hard to get between things compared to when we did the one in Disneyland. Of course, comparing anything at Disney World to Disneyland always ends with Disneyland winning in our opinion (we even once got into a debate with a cast member when checking in at Disney World that we were not at the Happiest Place on Earth like they said because that’s Disneyland).

We did go to three trick-or-treat locations and accessibility wise they are fine, but other than the one at the Tomorrowland Terrace they were hard to find the end of the lines for because of general crowd for the parade or going to other attractions depending on the location.

Mik thought it was all worth it for the Spiced Pumpkin Waffle Sundae at Sleepy Hollow, though, and I am happy to have picked up the Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom card for my collection. However, because we were frustrated just by the crowds and trick-or-treating, we didn’t even end up staying for the parade. That is the one thing I would have liked to see, but I also didn’t want to sit and get a spot for at the beginning of the party like we did last year for the Christmas party because Mik would have ended up asleep before it started like he did that time.

Overall we are glad we tried it out, but yeah Disneyland is better. I guess the biggest thing that makes Disneyland better is that the trick-or-treating is not as spread out because the whole park is more compact. However, I think there being no giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street was the biggest disappointment, as we wanted a Halloween shirt picture in front to go with our Disneyland one. We did accidentally end up with a spooky one with Dad’s hand as a shadow, though.

Destination Info:

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Magic Kingdom

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014 - Day 2

Date of Visit: September 26, 2014

On our second and last day at Disney World this trip, we headed back to the Food & Wine Festival and went around to the left insides of the right like the first day.

Our fist stop was for Roasted Verlasso salmon with quinoa salad and arugula chimichurri at the Patagonia booth.

At the Australia marketplace we tried the Garlic shrimp with roasted tomatoes, lemon myrtle and rapini.

Next Dad got a Lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney from New Zealand, which Mik ended up mostly eating because he loved it when he tried it.

From Poland we got the Kielbasa and potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream. Good pierogis, but they did seem odd to me so mini.

Mik most looked forward to trying the waffles in Belgium, which he had skipped the day before because we had waffles from Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom for breakfast that day. He had the chocolate one and like the Belgium style waffles. He tried my berry one, but didn't particularly like it because it was mostly blueberry.

Lastly we had Brazilian cheese bread, which Mik didn't really like, but was my favorite thing we tried.

Destination Info:

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014

Date of Visit: September 25, 2014

The main purpose of this Disney World trip was to check out the Mickey's Halloween Party before our Disney cruise. Mik did not want us to ever go to the Food & Wine Festival before he was 21, especially since it is only one more year. However, since we ended up at Disney World when it was going on this year and it was not specifically for the festival, he decided it was still worth going to for the food.

He started at the Hawaii marketplace with a Kālua pork slider with sweet and sour Dole® Pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise. He enjoyed the pork, but didn't really like the sauce.

Next we shared the Kerrygold cheese selection (Reserve cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout and Skellig) from the Ireland marketplace.

He was excited to try escargot with the Escargot tart with garlic, spinach, bacon and parmesan at the France marketplace; but he ended up not liking it at all because of the spinach.

Dad and I shared the Regal Springs premium tilapia with coconut lime sauce and steamed rice from the Brazil marketplace.

I got the Apple Maple Spice Latte iced in the American Adventure area. Mik tried it and thought it was pretty good considering he doesn't like coffee drinks.

Mik found nothing that really stood out as great of what he tried today. Thus, his favorite thing about the festival was visiting the miniature Romantic Road, which we almost missed, but went back to when he pointed out we missed his favorite thing to see at Epcot. He loves miniatures and it is also fun to see how they change it up depending on the time of year, such as the square currently having Food & Wine Festival banners.


Destination Info:



Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Lake Buena Vista, FL

National Air & Space Museum: Hawaii by Air Exhibit

Date of Visit: September 17, 2014

Hawaii by Air is a small temporary exhibit on the west end of first floor right outside the ride simulators. While small, it does provide a good overview to aviation history as it relates to Hawaii with particular focus on early flights from the mainland and the establishment of inter-island service.

I thought it was interesting how at several points it gave info on where to see examples of aircrafts elsewhere in the museum or other related artifacts at other Smithsonian museums such as a Hawaiian boat over at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Mik's favorite part was the diagrams that showed the layouts of the luxury passenger planes, such as Pan Am's clippers.

Accessibility Notes

• The museum's exterior is currently under renovation and the ramp entrance is on the west end of the building on Jefferson Drive (National Mall side of building).
• Check out the museum's Visitors with Disabilities page on their website for info on available accommodations and how to request accommodations if needed.
• Closest Metro stop is L'Enfant Plaza, which is served by the Blue, Orange, Silver, Yellow, and Green. Elevator/escalator outage info can be found here.

Destination Info:

National Air & Space Museum
Independence Ave & 6th St SW
Washington, DC

Once There Were Billions exhibit at National Museum of Natural History

 Date of Visit: September 5, 2014

"Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America" is an exhibit about some of the birds that have gone extinct from North America including the great auk and passenger pigeons. Mik found it interesting; but he ended up more impressed by the Birds of D.C. exhibit on the way to the elevators and he was impressed to see the different birds that can be seen around here. I had seen it before; but I forgot he has never been to this museum other than the IMAX and also hasn't been to the Field Museum.

Destination Info:

National Museum of Natural History
10th St and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC

Accessibility Note: The accessible entrance to the museum is on the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The Smithsonian Metro is usually recommended for the museum; but we find Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange, Silver) and Archives (Yellow, Green) more convenient since the elevator exit for Smithsonian is on opposite side of the National Mall.

Wilderness Forever exhibit at National Museum of Natural History

Date of Visit: September 5, 2014

This was the exhibit we came to the museum to see today; and if we were not looking for it, we easily could of missed it because there is just a little sign pointing to it being down the hall past the gem gift shop.

"Wilderness Forever: 50 Years of Protecting America's Wild Places" features photos of American wilderness areas taken by professionals, amateurs, and students. The exhibit honors the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

Besides the photos, there are also interactive screens to learn more about the wilderness areas in the United States. Our favorite part, though, was the movie that gave some history on the Wilderness Act and those behind it.

Destination Info:

National Museum of Natural History
10th St and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC

Accessibility Note: The accessible entrance to the museum is on the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The Smithsonian Metro is usually recommended for the museum; but we find Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange, Silver) and Archives (Yellow, Green) more convenient since the elevator exit for Smithsonian is on opposite side of the National Mall.