Welcome Home Wednesday- Animal Kingdom Family Theme Night

As our July Disney trip gets closer and closer, we have begun to schedule more Disney Family Nights. This time around, I wanted to 'kick it up a notch' and add some different kind of nights. Wouldn't you know, the second family night theme that was chosen was one of those special nights. 

Welcome to our Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Night!

Originally this night was scheduled for early April, but due to the preparations for our son's birthday party, we had to put it off. It's a good thing we did because our new day was closer to Animal Kingdom's 15th Anniversary! What a great way to celebrate!

Before the meal began, we got out our maps...

...grabbed our binoculars...

...and headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safari!

The kids couldn't wait to see all the wild creatures! There were frogs and turtles...

...horses and zebras...

...giraffes...

...polar bears (a little far from home)...

...monkeys swinging in the trees...

...tigers hanging out on the rocks...

.

...and even elephants!

After a long trek out on the savannah, it was time to go back inside and make some animal masks.

And now dinner!

The Menu:

• Pizzafari pizza
• Tusker House Jungle Juice
• Royal Anandapur Tea Company Iced Tea
• Flame Tree Barbecue Chicken served with baked beans and french fries (BBQ Sauce Recipe Here)
• Dino Bite snacks 
• Kusafiri Bakery animal print cupcakes

After dinner we sang happy birthday to Animal Kingdom and had a Jammin' in the Jungle parade!

We also watched a special on the Animal Kingdom on Netflix.

We had a great time celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Disney's Animal Kingdom and can't wait to go back in July! How will you celebrate this week?

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Tasty Tuesday- Flame Tree Barbecue Sauce

On Saturday, we had our Disney's Animal Kingdom Family Theme Night. (Details to come) One of the highlights from our night was the delicious barbecue chicken we made using the barbecue sauce recipe from Flame Tree Barbecue. Although we have never eaten here, we hear nothing but rave reviews. So much so, we may even try it on our next trip. The recipe comes from the Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs. We hope you will try it!

Flame Tree BBQ Sauce
from Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1. In a 2-quart sauce pan combine all the ingredients

2. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, reduce to low, and cook at a low simmer, stirring frequently, for 35 minutes, or until thickened.

3. Use immediately or store, covered and chilled, for up to 2 weeks.


We used ours immediately, grilling up some chicken and topping it with our delicious Flame Tree Sauce!!  It was super simple and delicious!

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Magical Monday: Animal Kingdom Shows

One of the many things Disney does well is entertainment.  The parades, fireworks, and shows that can be seen around the Disney Parks are world-class.  Today we take a look at two of the best stage shows you can find at Walt Disney World, and they both happen to be in Disney's Animal Kingdom!

Festival of the Lion King

Festival of the Lion King is on the must-do list for many families. It is a high energy show that gets kids and families involved in the action. With aerialists and acrobatics, it is sure to entertain even the smallest of visitors.

Festival of the Lion King is not your typical stage show. It doesn't go through the entire story of The Lion King, rather it highlights the awesome music from the movie. Plus, it adds some more catchy tunes such as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".  Each section of the theater will be assigned an animal by the hosts and will be called upon throughout the show to make the sound of their animal.  It is a lot of fun. Performers include, bird aerialists, monkey acrobats and a fire baton twirler. Each act is entertaining and mesmerizing.

After seeing  Festival of the Lion King, you will leave the theater in a great mood. We are excited to see if they will add anything to it once it moves to its new home. If you haven't seen it, make it a priority on your next visit to Animal Kingdom! You won't regret it!

Finding Nemo, The Musical

I will admit to being skeptical of "Finding Nemo, the Musical".  I was a big fan of "Tarzan Rocks" (I must admit my closet man-crush on Phil Collins)  and though I LOVE Finding Nemo, I couldn't see it being a musical.  There were no songs in the film, so I thought this was a reach by Disney.  Little did I know I'd be tearing up at the end when Nemo sings the line "That's my dad!" 

The show is simply amazing.  The way they bring the story to life with the puppets is incredible.  There is so much color and life to them that you easily overlook the puppeteers, who are in plain sight.  And to my surprise, the songs actually make the show better, instead of detracting from the story.  It doesn't seem the least bit disjointed.

Bottom line is that "Finding Nemo, the Musical" takes a beloved Disney/Pixar film and turns it into a must-see experience at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  This is a Broadway quality, and I highly recommend taking the time to see it!

Now, Which is better, "Festival of the Lion King" or "Finding Nemo, the Musical"? 

This has been a Magical Monday blog post.  

For other ideas of ways to add extra Magic to your Disney Vacation, click HERE.

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Tasty Tuesday: Frushi

Once Again, Disney has inspired us to get creative in the Kitchen! Come check out the Mouse dish we've recreated this time!

Our virtual tour of Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival has come to a close, but not before we share one last tasty treat that can be found at this year's festival. When 'touring' Japan, we came across Hanami food booth.  Check out the menu below.

The most intriguing food on the menu (and the one our kids would choose) is Frushi. "What's that?" you ask. Well, it's fruit sushi. The ingredients include: fresh strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe rolled with coconut rice and garnished with raspberry sauce, toasted coconut, and whipped cream, Yum!

At Home Twist:

We have made candy sushi before, so we were excited to try a healthier sweet version.  

Disclaimer: This is our interpretation as we have never tried the original. We did the best we could to replicate the dish based on the pictures we have seen of it.

To make Frushi, you will need:

• coconut rice (recipe can be found here )
• strawberries
• pineapple
• cantaloupe
• flake coconut, toasted
• raspberry sauce (homemade or store bought)
• Spring roll wrapper (this is the ingredient we guessed)

Dip the spring roll wrapper in water for 10 seconds. Place on a clean surface or sushi rolling mat and allow to dry. 

Once dry, top with rice all over. Make a line of fruit down the middle. 

Roll carefully and tightly. Allow rolls to sit for a bit before cutting.  If you've made sushi before, then you know the benefits of the bamboo mat, which we did not have, so our rolls were not as tight as they could have been.

Place 2-3 sushi pieces on a plate. Top with toasted coconut and garnish with whipped cream (this step I forgot, oops) 

The original laid the sushi on top of the raspberry sauce, we used ours as a dip which the kids enjoyed.

           

Both kids LOVED Frushi!! Our son mostly ate the filling, but he liked it! Thanks to the TRYit! initiative, we discovered a new treat that we can't wait to make again.



James was at work, so he got his Frushi "To Go"

Simple and Delicious!  So who's going to be making some Frushi at home this weekend?

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