Since we were at Disney to celebrate Kristen's birthday we decided to do something really special on the day. We did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in the morning into early afternoon and then finished the evening with a very special dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table.
The Keys to the Kingdom Tour is a 5 hour walking tour of the park where you learn some fun hidden secrets behind the making of the park. A couple of rides are also included, we went on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, I'm not sure if they do any others. You do get to go inside the secret Disney "tunnels" and backstage areas but the majority of the tour is out in the park. It includes lunch and you also get a keepsake key to take home with you! It was a rainy morning so I had to buy an $8 poncho to keep dry.
Unfortunately no photos are allowed on the tour so no pictures there. I do HIGHLY recommend this guide if you're a huge Disney fan and want to learn more about the history of the parks. Our tour guide, Iyar (spelling?) was amazing, he really had a love for Disney and the parks. Even though it was raining for a bunch of our tour he still kept it fun and upbeat. I would do it again (even in the rain) in a heartbeat.
Dress: Elle (Kohl's), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
We had lunch at Pescos Bill during our tour. I got the chicken tacos and grabbed a corn medley as well. SOOO good!
On to dinner! We had previously done Cinderella's Royal Table with my sister back in December but one day I was randomly checking for reservations and saw one for the night of Kristen's birthday, it was a no brainer! The meal was amazing, as expected and we had some pretty great princesses to take photos with. We were there for the fireworks and unfortunately didn't have the best view to see them, but it was still really cool seeing the lights from inside the castle.
Kristen had the Charcuterie Plate and Beef Tenderloin Salad with The Clock Strikes Twelve. Since it was her birthday I also ordered a special signature dessert from the special events department. It included a dark chocolate slipper (you could also get white chocolate) filled with a chocolate mousse, a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered with a chocolate ganache and finished with a Happy Birthday chocolate piece. You can also get one that says Happy Anniversary or Congratulations.
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
The Keys to the Kingdom Tour is a 5 hour walking tour of the park where you learn some fun hidden secrets behind the making of the park. A couple of rides are also included, we went on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, I'm not sure if they do any others. You do get to go inside the secret Disney "tunnels" and backstage areas but the majority of the tour is out in the park. It includes lunch and you also get a keepsake key to take home with you! It was a rainy morning so I had to buy an $8 poncho to keep dry.
Unfortunately no photos are allowed on the tour so no pictures there. I do HIGHLY recommend this guide if you're a huge Disney fan and want to learn more about the history of the parks. Our tour guide, Iyar (spelling?) was amazing, he really had a love for Disney and the parks. Even though it was raining for a bunch of our tour he still kept it fun and upbeat. I would do it again (even in the rain) in a heartbeat.
Dress: Elle (Kohl's), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' (Moda Operandi), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
Food
Pescos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
We had lunch at Pescos Bill during our tour. I got the chicken tacos and grabbed a corn medley as well. SOOO good!
Liberty Square Market
In between our tour and dinner we were a bit hungry so we stopped for one of my favorite Mickey shaped treats, a pretzel! YUMMM!!
Cinderella's Royal Table
On to dinner! We had previously done Cinderella's Royal Table with my sister back in December but one day I was randomly checking for reservations and saw one for the night of Kristen's birthday, it was a no brainer! The meal was amazing, as expected and we had some pretty great princesses to take photos with. We were there for the fireworks and unfortunately didn't have the best view to see them, but it was still really cool seeing the lights from inside the castle.
(The photo above is from when we moved to the center of the room to see the fireworks, our view was of one of the side windows)
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| Princesses normally get wands, but Kristen and I asked for swords because they're cooler (and we already had wands from last time) |
Food
The menu had changed slightly since our last visit where I had the starter salad, Pan-Seared All Natural Chicken and "The Clock Strikes Twelve." This time I got the Castle Salad and "The Clock Strikes Twelve" again but tried the Beef and Shrimp as my entree. It was DELICIOUS. The steak was perfectly cooked and the shrimp were delicious. I'm not normally a huge fan of mashed potatoes but I ate them all. Super smooth and tasty.Kristen had the Charcuterie Plate and Beef Tenderloin Salad with The Clock Strikes Twelve. Since it was her birthday I also ordered a special signature dessert from the special events department. It included a dark chocolate slipper (you could also get white chocolate) filled with a chocolate mousse, a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered with a chocolate ganache and finished with a Happy Birthday chocolate piece. You can also get one that says Happy Anniversary or Congratulations.
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| Castle Salad |
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| Charcuterie Plate - A Selection of Cured Meats, Cheese, and other specialty selections of the Castle |
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| Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Sautéed Shrimp in a Shallot-Butter Sauce, and Potatoes Au Gratin with Braised Rapini |
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| Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Mixed Greens, Roasted Marinated Mushrooms, Blue Cheese Crumbles, and Fried Leeks in a Balsamic Vinaigrette |
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| The Clock Strikes Twelve - Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Dark Chocolate Ganache served with a Raspberry Coulis |
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| This royal dessert features a dark chocolate slipper or a white chocolate slipper, filled with a chocolate mousse. This is presented with a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, covered with a chocolate ganache. |
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| This royal dessert features a dark chocolate slipper or a white chocolate slipper, filled with a chocolate mousse. This is presented with a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, covered with a chocolate ganache. |
Princess Photos
It's always fun taking pictures with the Princesses. Before dinner you take a photo with Cinderella, and while you eat Snow White, Princess Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine come around to your tables. The Cinderella photo is done by a professional but you take the other Princesses on your own. My one complaint about this experience is the fact that the lighting is dark in the room so the photos you take with the other princesses are never as good as Cinderella. For the price you pay for the meal there should be a photographer with each princess to take professional photos. 
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
This is a continuation of Tuesday's post but I thought I would separate it out since there are so many photos. In the evening on Cinco de Mayo Kristen and I got tickets for the Frozen Ever After Sparkling Dessert Party.
Since we bought our annual passes in December it makes each day in the park less expensive the more we go (right now I'm at $55 per day,) so we decided to take advantage of that and add in a few extra things this trip. The Frozen dessert party being one of them!
The party includes unlimited drinks, buffet style desserts, fruits and fondue. I ate about 20 pieces of the grilled flatbread, SO SO SO good. We also went back up for at least four courses of dessert. If we had another hour I'm sure we could have rested a bit and ate a ton more. Definitely worth it if you want to add a bit of extra fun to your trip and love dessert.
What's really nice about the party is you get to sit during the fireworks with a pretty unobstructed view. No need to stand for an hour before the fireworks to get a good spot. Plus you get really fun glasses that turn the fireworks into snowflakes!
A full list of desserts:
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
Since we bought our annual passes in December it makes each day in the park less expensive the more we go (right now I'm at $55 per day,) so we decided to take advantage of that and add in a few extra things this trip. The Frozen dessert party being one of them!
The party includes unlimited drinks, buffet style desserts, fruits and fondue. I ate about 20 pieces of the grilled flatbread, SO SO SO good. We also went back up for at least four courses of dessert. If we had another hour I'm sure we could have rested a bit and ate a ton more. Definitely worth it if you want to add a bit of extra fun to your trip and love dessert.
What's really nice about the party is you get to sit during the fireworks with a pretty unobstructed view. No need to stand for an hour before the fireworks to get a good spot. Plus you get really fun glasses that turn the fireworks into snowflakes!
A full list of desserts:
- Kristoff's Kransekake Almond Cookie (YUM!)
- Wandering Oaken's Eclairons (REALLY YUM!)
- Hans' Key Lime Tarts with Orange Glitter Glaze
- Troll Rock Crispy Bon Bons
- Elsa's Blue Velvet Cupcakes (DELISH!)
- Kristoff's No Sugar Added Lemon Curd with Blueberry
- Freeze Fried Salted Caramel Popcorn
- Olaf's Warm Double Chocolate S'mores Pudding Cake (SOOOO GOOD)
- Anna's Warm Cottage Pudding with Salted Caramel Glaze
- Hand Dipped Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Sven's Fresh Fruits with Berries
- Grand Pabbie's Mystical Winter Spiced Snack Mix
- Duke of Weselton's Cheese Fondue—served with country bread cubes, broccoli, and grilled flatbread (couldn't get enough of the grilled flatbread)
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| One of the pillars welcoming us to the party |
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| The view from our table - number 27! |
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| Some of the alcoholic beverage options. I stuck with water and coke (and a couple sips of a margarita since it was Cinco de Mayo. It was too strong for me so I didn't drink much.) |
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| Some of the alcoholic beverage options |
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| Sven wants some of Olaf's Warm Double Chocolate S'mores Pudding Cake and Anna's Warm Cottage Pudding with Salted Caramel Glaze. The pudding cake was AMAZING! (I didn't try the other) |
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| Dessert is my favorite food group |
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| So many tasty treats to sample! |
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| A fruit and bread break in between dessert courses |
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| Look at all that tasty dessert! |
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| Kristoff's No Sugar Added Lemon Curd with Blueberry (notice the hidden Mickeys?) |
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| Hans' Key Lime Tarts with Orange Glitter Glaze |
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| Elsa's Blue Velvet Cupcakes - sooo tasty! I limited myself to one of these but I could have eaten so many more |
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| On my third or fourth helping of dessert |
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| Wandering Oaken's Eclairons were delicious! They're basically eclair shaped french macarons. |
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| Sven REALLY wants some of Olaf's Warm Double Chocolate S'mores Pudding Cake |
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| What the fireworks show looked like through our special Frozen glasses |
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| On the Frozen Ever After ride once fireworks were over. We walked right on to the ride thanks to the park being closed. It was so nice not having to wait in a huge line for the ride and afterward we just slowly walked out of the park which had emptied out by then. Plus, no need to waste one of your precious fast passes on the ride! |
You can see a video of the fireworks in my Instagram post:
On Cinco de Mayo we headed to Epcot to spend the day eating around the world during Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival! Each country had an outdoor kitchen where they had a tasting menu full of delicious treats! My friend Kristen and I tried quite a few, I'll post them all below my outfit!
Since it was the flower and garden festival I decided to go for a more fashion than Disney look and wore my Who What Wear for Target floral dress. I still wore my Mickey bag though, he goes with everything! One of the most fun things in Epcot are the character topiaries. There are so many throughout the park. I took photos with a few of my favorites.
Dress: Who What Wear x Target floral shirt dress, Necklace: Wall-E (World of Disney @ Disney Sprints), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Greece), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
I love visiting Epcot during their festivals that involve outdoor kitchens. They're such a great way to try different foods from around the world. Rather than eating meals, we sampled different cuisine and spent about the same doing that as we would have on a couple meals. The Flower & Garden Festival continues until May 28th so you still have plenty of time to go try some tasty treats! (If you're close enough, that is...)
Of course I started with dessert in France. I tried the Macaron au Chocolat en Sucette ($4.95) and my friend had the Tarte à la Tomate Provençale: Provencal Tomato Tart with Sautéed Onions, Fresh Thyme and Rosemary on a Flaky Pastry Crust ($5.50) Macarons are my favorite fancy dessert so I HAD to have this. It was DELICIOUS. I almost got another the second day we went to Epcot but decided to get my favorite chocolate ice cream from L'Artisan des Glaces in France instead (also photographed below)
Both my friend and I had never had a photo with Mulan so we decided to rectify that and wait in the half hour line for a photo with her. She asked us if we had any spicy food recommendations for Mushu, haha!
Since it was Cinco de Mayo we had to take a photo with Three Caballeros Donald! I'm actually not a Donald fan, but for some reason I just love him at the parks, he's so cute and lovable.
You can't go to Epcot and not ride some rides, so here are my don't miss rides:
Since it was the flower and garden festival I decided to go for a more fashion than Disney look and wore my Who What Wear for Target floral dress. I still wore my Mickey bag though, he goes with everything! One of the most fun things in Epcot are the character topiaries. There are so many throughout the park. I took photos with a few of my favorites.
Dress: Who What Wear x Target floral shirt dress, Necklace: Wall-E (World of Disney @ Disney Sprints), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Greece), Bag: Disney x Coach 'Patricia' with Mickey ears, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon)
Flower and Garden Festival
I love visiting Epcot during their festivals that involve outdoor kitchens. They're such a great way to try different foods from around the world. Rather than eating meals, we sampled different cuisine and spent about the same doing that as we would have on a couple meals. The Flower & Garden Festival continues until May 28th so you still have plenty of time to go try some tasty treats! (If you're close enough, that is...)
Fleur de Lys
Of course I started with dessert in France. I tried the Macaron au Chocolat en Sucette ($4.95) and my friend had the Tarte à la Tomate Provençale: Provencal Tomato Tart with Sautéed Onions, Fresh Thyme and Rosemary on a Flaky Pastry Crust ($5.50) Macarons are my favorite fancy dessert so I HAD to have this. It was DELICIOUS. I almost got another the second day we went to Epcot but decided to get my favorite chocolate ice cream from L'Artisan des Glaces in France instead (also photographed below)
Taste of Marrakesh
In Marrakesh I tried the Harissa Chicken Kebab with Dried Fruit Couscous Salad ($6) and Walnut Honey Baklava ($4). Both of these were super tasty. I could have eaten the whole thing of baklava but Kristen and I decided to share one so we could try more foods. Normally the chicken dish wouldn't be something I would try, but thanks to Blue Apron I knew I liked harissa.
Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market
In Germany we each had our own treats. I had the Potato Pancakes with House-made Apple Sauce ($4.25) and Kristen had the Warm Cheese Strudel with Mixed Berries ($4.25.) The potato pancakes were really tasty. I liked the apple sauce because it was chunky, unlike regular apple sauce that is smoother. The apples used were a little more tart than I like but they were great paired with the potato pancake. 
Lotus House
I can always find something to eat in China. My usual lunch spot is Nine Dragons where I get a side of fried rice along with the pot stickers appetizer. Super delicious! At Lotus House I tried the Fried Chicken Dumplings with Peanut Sauce ($6.25) and Vegetable Spring Rolls ($4.50.) On our first day of Epcot they were out of the dumplings when we went by the booth so on the second day I got the dumplings AND spring rolls because they were that good. 
Jardin de Fiestas
It was Cinco de Mayo so we had to stop in Mexico! The lines for margaritas were insane (I don't like them anyway) but luckily for us we didn't have to wait long at the outdoor kitchen! Kristen and I split a Pork Taco ($6.25) It's made with slow-braised Pork Taco served with Apple Relish, Goat Cheese and Chile de Árbol Sauce. I don't like goat cheese and Kristen didn't want the apple relish so we each took what we wanted. It was super good, I really enjoyed the relish so I was happy to have all of it.
The Berry Basket
My last stop was The Berry Basket where I got the Field Greens ($5). This salad is made up of fresh strawberries, crisp quinoa, strawberry vinaigrette and spiced pecans. It also came with tofu, which wasn't specified on the menu. I had to ask for a new one without it when Kristen found out it wasn't cheese (I don't like cheese either so she was going to eat it off for me.) I have two photos below, one with and one without tofu. Once the tofu was removed this was DELICIOUS, and it made me feel better because I was eating something healthy.
Hanami
In Japan Kristen had the Frushi ($5.95) It's Fresh Pineapple, Strawberry and Melon rolled with Coconut Rice, sprinkled with Toasted Coconut and Whipped Cream with Raspberry Sauce on the side. She had been to Epcot a few weeks ago and had this then and liked it so much that she wanted it again. So I feel very confident in recommending it!Other
And some things I wanted to sample but didn't have time (or room in my tummy for) were:- La Isla Fresca: Jamaican-braised Beef with Pigeon Pea Rice and Micro Cilantro($6.25)
- La Isla Fresca: Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut Lime Sauce ($6.75)
- The Honey Bee-stro: Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, charred vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Watercress ($5.25)
- Pineapple Promenade: Spicy Hot Dog with Pineapple Chutney and Plantain Chips ($7.50)
- Lotus House: Spicy Meatballs with Crispy Tofu ($5)
- The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews: Pulled Pig Slider with Coleslaw ($6.75)
- Hanami: Ginger Beef Yaki Udon: Thin-sliced Beef, Onions and Noodles tossed on the grill with Soy and Ginger (6.50)
- Florida Fresh: Watermelon Cucumber Slushy ($4.25)
Meeting Characters
Mulan
Both my friend and I had never had a photo with Mulan so we decided to rectify that and wait in the half hour line for a photo with her. She asked us if we had any spicy food recommendations for Mushu, haha!
Donald
Since it was Cinco de Mayo we had to take a photo with Three Caballeros Donald! I'm actually not a Donald fan, but for some reason I just love him at the parks, he's so cute and lovable.
Rides
You can't go to Epcot and not ride some rides, so here are my don't miss rides:
- Test Track
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- Spaceship Earth
- Living with the Land
- Frozen Ever After
- Even if you aren't a fan of the movie this ride is super fun! It's a little over 5 minutes long and takes you through different scenes. The line for this is always SUPER long, so try to get a Fast Pass. I never wait in line for this, if I can't get a fast pass, I skip it. I'll have more on this ride in a later post since it was part of an extra event we did.
