Fairytales and Fitness: 2023

End of the year hodgepodge

Hello! And welcome to our last post of 2023! I recently read over our last post of 2022 to see what was going on.

Fairytales and Fitness Disney Blog, Disney's Hollywood Studios best restaurant

The last time we ate at Hollywood and Vine, it was not a character meal. That tells you how long it has been!

Don't miss these 10 things at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

This past weekend we had a great time at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! How you spend your time at the Christmas Party is much different than how you would spend an average day at Magic Kingdom.

Your party ticket allows you entry to Magic Kingdom at 4:00pm but the party exclusives don't start until party time, which is 7:00pm. Let us help you make the most out of your party time.

The reviews aren't true about Tony's Town Square Restaurant at Magic Kingdom

Tony's Town Square Restaurant is probably my favorite restaurant in Magic Kingdom. I have no idea why I keep reading reviews about it being the worst restaurant. We have eaten here several times. Each time, I've ordered something different, and each time I have been pleased.

The menu here is listed as Italian, American. The food here is definitely more traditional.

We missed our monthly Coffee Talk last month, so thought I would do a Currently post to catch up with everyone!

What I did at Oktoberfest !

Welcome back! In my previous post I talked about our time in Dublin. You can read that post HERE.

We arrived in Munich and were ready for Oktoberfest! We were able to get checked in to our hotel right away. We were on a little time crunch because we had to meet my friend's colleague at one of the beer tents that were specifically reserved for that evening. We needed to make sure we dressed the part and luckily they were selling just what we needed in the hotel lobby. We changed into our outfits and we were off.

What I did in Dublin!

Last month I took a trip to Ireland and Germany. A friend and I spent a few days in each country and here is how it went!

We arrived in Dublin off of a red eye flight from Philadelphia.

Muncy Monster Dash

This past weekend I ran our local Halloween 5k race. This was the first time I ran this race. Years ago Meranda and my Mom ran this race and said they had fun!

Best Photo Ops at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Sadly, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is coming to a close. The most favorite things about any after hours party are the unique photo ops, character meet and greets, shows, and snacks.

We thought we would put a post together of "Not to be missed" photo ops at MNSSHP, so save this one if you plan to attend the party next year! So come along with me to MNSSHP!

Disney Food Feature: Happy Haunts Milkshake

Our Disney food feature this week is the Happy Haunts Milkshake at Magic Kingdom!

The Happy Haunts milkshake is a drink themed after the Haunted Mansion. Since the Haunted Mansion doesn't have a place that sells food and drink, you can pick up this tasty treat at Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square.

Garden Grill is one of those restaurants that I've been wanting to try for quite some time now but just kept putting it off. I've been putting it off for several reasons...

Steak House 71 at Disney's Contemporary Resort

We originally made reservations at the new Steak House 71 (Formerly the Wave) at Disney's Contemporary resort to celebrate Father's Day with our dad. However, our parent's flight got changed to a different time and they needed to leave earlier than they expected, so we cancelled without penalty.

After our parents headed to the airport, we hung out at Wilderness Lodge for a while before heading out for a late lunch ourselves. Although we cancelled our reservation for four, we thought we'd take a chance and see if just the two of us could get in to Steak House 71. Turns out, we could walk right in!

Joffrey's coffee at Disney at Contemporary resort

There are so many good food and drink items at Disney, that we thought we would start a series called "Disney Food Feature"

This week's feature just happens to be a drink.

This drink is called "The 5-Legged Llama! If you've ever been to Disney's Contemporary resort, than you know the 5-Legged Goat is iconic there. The drink "The 5-legged Llama" is a nod to that.

Fairytales and Fitness Disney Travel Blog

A while back we participated in the Skyliner Scavenger Hunt at The Disney Resorts. This hunt took us to the Art of Animation Resort, which is along the skyliner route. During this visit, our initial thoughts were "it's cute but I don't feel we are missing out by not staying here". The landscape was very barren, which made us feel like we were in the middle of the desert.

I know I'm way late for a coffee talk post this month ( or maybe I'm early for next month), so perhaps I should just do a "catch up" post!

September is here and that means fall races are in full swing. This past weekend I ran our local Harvest Festival 5k Race. I always look forward to this race every year.

Why the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota, Florida is a great choice!

Over the summer my mom, my sister, and I took a trip to Sarasota, Florida. I had never been to Sarasota before so I was not familiar with the area. We had marked out a few things we wanted to see and do while in Sarasota and then that determined where we chose to stay.

I am a true believer that where you stay on vacation can really help enhance your experience. We never skimp on hotels with the thought "I only need it for a place to sleep". You want to really enjoy where you are staying.

Our Weekend in Sarasota

Disney may be our favorite place in Florida, but we do travel to other parts of the state as well. We recently spent a long weekend in Sarasota and we definitely packed a lot in.

Here are the highlights of our four day trip.

Mickey Mouse Golf Cart, Fairytales and Fitness Disney Blog

One of our favorite things to do at Disney World is finding things outside of the parks to do. For a while now we've been wanting to try Foot Golf at one of the Disney Golf courses.

The month of August is Princess month at Disney World. The official Princess week started August 20th, but Disney kept the Celebration going all month long.

You may have seen lots of posts this month on social media of all the princesses at Disney. We thought we'd share with you where you can find all these fun photos spots with the princesses.

Last week my sister and I ran what was probably the last Derby Dash at Disney's Saratoga Springs resort.

As you may know, we are on a mission to stay at every Disney resort at Disney World. We are nearing the end of our mission, which is exciting. Simply just "visiting" a resort for dinner, shopping, or just to browse around does not count. We actually have to have a room booked and stay over night at least one night.

We are on a mission to stay at every Walt Disney World Resort on Property and this past week we got to check another one off our list.

We missed linking up with the Coffee Talk link up last week due to being on vacation, but we didn't want to miss doing our monthly recap.

We attended the first week of Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and this is how it went!

This year I had an opportunity to travel abroad with another flight attendant friend and we chose to visit Lisbon, Portugal. We were only there for 4 days, but that was just the perfect amount of time to see and do everything we wanted to. Here is how we spent our days.

New Rooms at Disney's Boardwalk Inn and so much more!

Oh Boardwalk, you may just be my favorite resort!

Savor the Savanna tour at Disney's Animal Kingdom

We finally did one of the behind the scenes tours. I've always been conflicted with those tours because I never wanted to risk "ruining the magic". I bet the Keys to the Kingdom tour is amazing, but I haven't had the heart to do it yet!

I really love Disney's Animal Kingdom and thought the Savor the Savanna tour would be perfect!

I try to run our local 4th of July 5k every year. It is usually so hot and so humid and this year was no exception. However, they did move the start time up to 8 am instead of 9 am like it had been in the past!

Should you ride TRON?

Are you excited to go "off the grid" and ride Disney's newest coater in the Magic Kingdom?

Although I've rode all Disney's other coasters, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Seven dwarves mine train, Rock n Roller coaster, and Expedition Everest, I am proclaiming that I am not a roller coaster person. I think my dislike has grown as I got older.

Coffee Talk

Welcome to another edition of Coffee Talk, where we can get off topic and catch up with what's been going on with each other!

Let's recap the month of June!

Better late than never.... We couldn't let the Flower and Garden Festival end without documenting our time there this year.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort, Blog review, Fairytales and Fitness Disney Blog

It's been a while since we've stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter ( like over a decade), so we thought it was time to check it out again. We remembered liking this resort last time we stayed here and knew the rooms had been renovated since then.

Try this snack at the Polynesian

There has been a snack at Disney we've been meaning to try for a while now and as far as we know, it is only found at the Polynesian resort.

Welcome to another edition of Coffee Talk, a time when we can get off topic and share what's been going on in life.

If we were having coffee, this is what I would share.

Disney's Beach Club Resort, Epcot Area Resort, Resorts can walk to Epcot, Skyline resort, Fairytales and Fitness Disney Blog

If you have been a long time reader of our blog, you may remember that we had a goal ( or more like a challenge) to stay at each of the Disney Resorts. This year we got to check a few more off our list!

We stayed at the Beach Club prior to going on our Disney Cruise.

The last time we visited Caribbean Beach resort, we had lunch at Banana Cabana and absolutely adored the place. We heard Sebastian's was the sit down restaurant on property but at the time, it hadn't opened back up yet since the pandemic. Fast Forward a year and as soon as we decided to stay at Caribbean Beach, we knew we wanted to make reservations for Sebastian's Bistro.

Coffee Talk-May

Welcome to another edition of Coffee Talk.

This is the time of month where we can get off topic and catch up with our other blogging friends and readers. Let's talk about what's been going on this past month!

We've done several posts about things to do at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park but we rarely do a park day recap. We had a really good time on one of our recent visits so thought we would share. Hopefully you can pick up at tip or two ( or three) to help you on your next visit to Animal Kingdom. Here is how we spent our time.

Fairytales and fitness Disney blog, Disney restaurant review

Our "Go To" restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom is usually Rainforest Cafe, but this last visit we decided to try some place different. We decided on Yak & Yeti, the table service restaurant. There is also a Yak & Yeti quick service option next door.

Welcome to the April edition of Coffee Talk. In these posts, we talk about what we've been up to the past month and it gives us a chance to catch up with our other blogger friends.

Shamrock Half Marathon: Virginia Beach

Last weekend I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. I have run the full marathon several times and the 8k once but never the half.

Fairytales and Fitness, Virginia Running Blog

I was originally just going to do the 8k because I haven't been training but my friend was running the half so I decided to run it with him.

This past weekend we went to the Disney 100 Exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

Secret Menu drink at the Bayou on the Disney Wish

On the last night of our Disney Cruise on the Wish, we finally got to visit The Bayou!

Fairytales and Fitness, Disney Cruise Blog

We had wanted to visit the day before but it was closed all afternoon and evening for a private event) a wedding reception).

It's been a while since we ran a Disney race. In fact, since 2020, we haven't been running many races in general. In 2021 I was registered for Wine and Dine weekend, but that didn't happen. You can read how Disney handled that HERE.

Happy new month! How is it March already? Grab a cup of coffee and let's catch up!

Today was sadly our last day on the Disney Wish.

Disney Cruise Line, Disney Wish blog Review

Today was our Castaway Cay day! Castaway Cay is Disney's private island and this is the day that we were most excited for. I walked out on to our veranda around 7:25 am and we were slowly approaching the port. We were told that after the ship was secured at port and was cleared for cast members to get off ( to go set things up on the island), it would be at least an additional hour before guests would be able to get off the ship.

Today we woke up in Nassau, Bahamas. My sister and I have both been to Nassau many times before on previous cruises so we had already planned to just stay on the ship for the day. It was a good thing we weren't planning on getting off because it was raining on and off all day. We seemed to have had pretty rough water the night before.

Our first day of our Disney cruise actually started at Disney World. We had stayed at the Disney Beach Club and that is where we were meeting our bus to take us to the port. There were several other guests who were either staying at Beach Club, Yacht Club or Swan and Dolphin meeting there too. There was a cruise representative there to give us directions and make sure we had all the documents we needed to board.

The Festival of the Arts at Epcot is one of the shortest festivals at Disney. It runs from January 13 to February 20. In the past, we've always visited in January for Marathon weekend ( which is before January 13) and then again for Princess Half Marathon weekend ( which is after February 20). Fortunately, we were finally able to make one of our visits work during this time frame. This was our first visit to Festival of the Arts and I know why people love it so much. It just might be my favorite festival.

Come along with us as we share how we spent our time at Disney's Festival of the Arts.

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