Now, for another addition to the 1-day vegan eating itinerary in the WDW parks! This time I will be featuring some choice vegan options in EPCOT!

(Each restaurant will be labeled CS (counter service) or TS (table service) appropriately. At counter service locations, the ordering process involves waiting in line at a podium, ordering your food with a cast member, waiting for your order at a counter, and bringing the meal to an available table to sit down to eat. A table service location is more similar to a restaurant and involves being seated, and served at your table. You may need to make an advance dining reservation to dine at TS locations and tip your server’s!)

Breakfast

1. Your best bet here is to eat at your resort the morning of your Epcot day(s), but there is a Princess Storybook Breakfast buffet in Norway at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall which, besides fruit, MIGHT make you some special vegan Mickey Waffles if you call ahead! Chefs are very accommodating and will find something that you can eat!

Lunch

1. Sunshine Seasons – Future World – CS – Orange Sesame Glazed Vegan Chick’n Chunks with Stir Fry Noodles (this is alsooffered during dinner). They also have salads!
2. Via Napoli – World Showcase/Italy – TS – Get a pizza minus the cheese and add all the veggie toppings you can!
3. Tangierine Cafe – World Showcase/Morocco – QS - Vegetarian Platter with couscous, hummus, and tabouleh

 Snacks

1. Fountainview Ice Cream – Future World - Right near Fountain of Nations, head over to this hand-scooped ice cream place and grab a scoop (or 2) or a float!
2. Nut Cart – Last time I was there, I checked the ingredients they used on the glaze and they were veg-approved!
3. Yorkshire County Fish Shop – get some “chips” (French Fries), they’re sooooo good here!

Dinner

1. Rose and Crown – World Showcase/England – TS – Order the Slow-Cooked Chicken Curry without chicken (and asked that the rice not be cooked in chicken broth!)
2. La Hacienda de San Angel – Mexico/World Showcase – TS – There are a few options here: Ensalada de la Hacienda with spinach salad with queso fresco, tomatoes, pomegranate, pine nuts and avocado, with mustard vinaigrette dressing (check to see if the dressing is okay and get oil and vinegar if it isn’t!). You can also ask for tacos or nachos here with beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, onions, etc. just no cheese, sour cream, or meat!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com! 

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle.

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: EPCOT 1-Day Vegan Itinerary appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

I’ve previously mentioned that “Fast Food in America is pretty heavy on the meat and dairy, so what is there to do for a vegan diet? There is actually a surprising amount of food you can find at popular fast food chains and sometimes those are your only options when you are on the road traveling to WDW.”

My last post left out a couple restaurants I didn’t realize had such great options, so here they are, thanks to Terry Garvey and Teresa!

Red Robin (suggestion from Terry)

• Original Vegan Boca Burgers with veggie toppings
• Whole Grain bun or Yellow Seeded bun
• black beans and rice
• Steak Fries
• Salad with all veggies and Natural Toasted Sesame Dressing
• Red Robinetti Spaghetti, if ordered with NO cheese
• guacamole
• Red’s Rice bowl, ask for NO chicken, please!

and from Teresa:

“We drive from Canada to WDW, and what we usually do is stop at a grocery store rather than a fast food place. Many of them now have salad bars with toppings such as chickpeas that will give us a healthy meal. Some will sell you cooked foods like falafel, french fries, or grilled vegetable sandwiches. We might also buy hummus and some multi-grain crackers, fruit, and easy snacking foods like cherry tomatoes,baby carrots, etc. It’s usually cheaper than eating in a restaurant, we all enjoy walking around and getting a chance to stretch our legs, too.”

I love getting ideas from readers, so keep ‘em coming! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle. 

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Traveling By Car to WDW, MORE Vegan Fast Food appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

It’s been a theory of mine that some of the Disney Princesses might be vegan (or at least have potential)! Of course, I’m sure they weren’t written that way, but for me it is fun to imagine. Here are some reasons why they could be vegan or vegetarian:

Jasmine: I’m pretty sure the only thing you see her eat is an apple during the movie. Though Agrabah is a fictional place, it’s safe to assume she lives in the Middle East which is great news for vegans! Hummus, falafel, and tabouleh, etc. are some dishes commonly found in this part of the world. At some point in the movie she sets the birds free that she had in a cage, if that isn’t animal liberation, I don’t know what is!

Cinderella: She is friends with mice and birds, the animals most people find repulsive, so if she’s a friends to them, she must be a friend to all animals!!! And the mice talk in this movie, so it can be assumed all animals talk, which would make eating them more strange.

Snow White: All of her forest friends are animals. Animals can sense danger, which is usually why they fear humans, so why don’t they fear Snow White? She is no threat, that’s why! And if she’s no threat, it must mean she wouldn’t eat them! Also when she bakes for the dwarfs, all of her forest friends are watching her every move. She wouldn’t dare cook one of their own which they are watching!

Aurora: She falls into the same category as Snow White. She has lots of forest animal friends!

Belle: Everyone thinks she is so strange and different. Well, because I am vegan, everyone thinks I’m strange and different, too! Though, she does try the “gray stuff” and I’m not quite sure what that is…

Ariel: It’s safe to assume she at least will never eat seafood!

Pocahontas: This is the princess I am most convinced is vegan. She is so in tune with the “life, spirit, and names” of the animals. She admits they are her “brothers,” and, “friends,” and it’s all in one song! There’s also this part of “Colors of the Wind”:

“You think the only people who are people

Are the people who look and think like you

But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger

You’ll learn things you never knew you never knew”

and during it, they are following a bear, so the “people” she is referring to is clearly the bear (or animals, in general). The only food she refers to in the movie (that I can recall) is corn, she never even eats the crackers Meeko is so fond of (perhaps they have butter?)

Mulan: I haven’t watched this for a while, but there is a restaurant in Cambridge, MA (close to where I live) called MuLan with lots of vegan options, so that counts, right? It’s by no means a vegan restaurant, but there’s a lot to say when a non-veg restaurant serves vegan options!

Tiana: I am pretty sure she is 100% not vegetarian, so I wont even go there! She famously makes Jambalaya, which has lots of meat. Though, I’m pretty sure she’ll never eat frog legs!

Merida: She also isn’t vegan. I watched her shoot fish with an arrow!

Rapunzel: I can’t think of any reason to believe she goes either way. Do you? Leave your ideas in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle. 

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Why Disney Princesses MIGHT Be Vegan appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Chipotle:

• tacos (soft or hard shell)
• burrito
• burrito bowl
• salads
• Get EVERYTHING on any of these options at Chipotle except the meat, cheese, sour cream, and pinto beans and you are all set!

Burger King:

• Oatmeal: original and maple- get with water instead of milk
• Whopper buns (sesame seed buns), tortillas- make a veggie sandwich with lettuce, onion, pickles, ketchup and tomato or steak sauce. Not very exciting, but it helps in a pinch!
• French fries
• apple fries

McDonalds:

• McDonaldland cookies
• Side salad with with low fat vinaigrette or cilantro lime
• Oatmeal without cream
• Bagel (I’m not 100% sure on this one) and jam
• English muffin and jam
• Big Mac Bun, regular buns, tortillas, McRib Bun, Premium Bun – Make your own sandwich with lettuce, onion, fried onion, pickles, ketchup, BBQ sauce, McRib sauce etc!

Subway:

• Light Wheat English Muffin (breakfast)
• Baked Lays and Chips
• Breads: Ciabatta, Hearty Italian, Roasted Garlic, Sourdough, wrap
• All veggie toppings
• Condiments: Brown and yellow Mustard, fat free sweet onion, red wine vinegar, oil

Taco Bell:

• Chips and Salsa or Guacamole
• Cinnamon twists
• Burritos: bean, fresco bean, seven layer, veggie cantina- get them all without cheese and sour cream
• Sauces: Hot, Green chili, green tomatillo, mild, pizza sauce, red sauce,
• Taco Shells, Tostada Shells, Flour tortillas- get rice, beans, onions, jalapeños, lettuce, salsa, and tomatoes in any of these!
• Salsas: fresca and citrus

D’angelos:

• Chips
• Salad with all the veggies and balsamic vinaigrette
• Classic vegetable pocket with no cheese

Denny’s:

• Oatmeal
• English muffins
• Bagels
• Grits
• Applesauce
• Fresh fruit
• Vegetable plates
• Seasoned French fries
• Baked potatoes with several vegetable toppings
• Garden salads with light Italian or oil-and-vinegar dressing
• Veggie sandwiches

Arby’s: 

• Baked potato without butter and sour cream
• Garden salad or side salad with Italian dressing
• Apple or cherry turnover.

Cheeburger Cheeburger: 

• Grilled portobello mushroom sandwich/wrap
• Grilled porobello platter
• Boca burger
• Cheeburger salad, salad lovers salad, grilled portabella salad-with the vinaigrette or balsamic dressings

Johnny Rockets

• Streamliner, a vegan Boca burger with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mustard.
• Salad with oil and vinegar
• Bagel (breakfast)

At most restaurants, French fries are usually a safe choice, but if you are worried about cross-contamination with them being fried in the same oil as meatier products, just ask how each individual restaurant cooks them! Stay clear of McDonald’s fries though, they are seasoned with beef flavoring, whatever THAT is!

sources: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/chain-restaurants.aspx

http://www.veganeatingout.com/

and thanks toJosh Taylor for his helpful suggestions!

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle. 

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Traveling By Car to WDW, Vegan Fast Food appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Now another location, Fountain View Ice Cream in EPCOT is scheduled to close April 8th, 2013 for the same reason; a Starbucks is to replace it late summer 2013. Now, whether or not you are happy with this news for nostalgic or other reasons, there is actually good news for vegans out there! Starbucks offers Soymilk for any of their drinks! Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure that these 2 particular locations will be offering Soymilk as an add in to your beverages, but every Starbucks locations I’ve ever been to has offered it not only as a DIY add-in for regular coffee, but for any other drink you can think of. From frozen Frappachinos (which I highly recommend on a hot Disney day) to Smoothies, any hand-made drink that would normally be made with cow’s milk or cream can be substituted with Soymilk if you ask your barista to make it that way! Even the Mocha drinks can be made vegan by simply substituting Soymilk and nixing the whipped cream! If you don’t believe me, you can even check Starbucks’s website and select the “Soy” option in the “Milk” drop-down menu for the drink nutrition facts! Of course, make sure you don’t get the whey protein powder added into some smoothies, or whipped cream on top of a lot of the specialty drinks, but any of the specialty drinks can be made with Soymilk by simply saying “I’ll have a soy ____, please!” (if you get any flavor syrups, ask if they are dairy-free, first!) Simple to order, and simple to sip!

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle. 

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Starbucks at Magic Kingdom appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Let’s start with some pre-packaged Spicy Tofu! The label on the packaging proves its vegan-ness, and reads:

Spicy Tofu

INGREDIENTS:

Tofu, Spinach, Carrot, Mint, Parsley, Lemon Juice, Strawberry, Edamame, Corn, Red Pepper, Mandarin Orange, Red Onion, Hot Chili Sauce, Olive Oil, Cous Cous, Spanish Onion, Tomato, Salt, Black Pepper, Cilantro, Garlic, Lime Juice, White Vinegar, Distilled Water, Ginger, Sugar, Jalapeño Peppers, Canola Oil, Coriander.

How exciting is that?! The ingredient list is for all 4 trays of food in the container! If you are unfamiliar with identifying the foods in the picture above, I will help: The longer tray on the bottom is the Spicy Tofu. And on the top 3 trays, from left to right are: Cous cous, strawberries, and edamame with corn and red pepper. I can’t wait to try this next time I visit! (Though I will have to skip the cous cous since I am gluten-intolerant!

Next on the list at Landscape of Flavors is a great quick, portable, and healthy snack: Pretzels and Hummus! The hummus is Sabra, Classic Flavor which Ingredients are as follows:Cooked Chickpeas (Chickpeas [Garbanzos], Water), Tahini (Ground Sesame), Soybean Oil, Garlic, Salt, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate added to maintain freshness, Natural Flavors.

And the Pretzel Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Corn Oil, Malt Syrup.

What a great find, huh? Christy is hot on the trail with this next delight, as well!… For dessert we have Babycakes NYC! Any vegan traveling to Walt Disney World MUST make a note that ALL of Babycakes NYC’s food is completely vegan. It’s no accident, either! They pride themselves on that fact that they are vegan, so I won’t bother listing the ingredients here, but if you are interested, or have any allergen concerns, check out their website! At Landscape of Flavors, you can pick up a pre-packaged container of Babycakes NYC cupcakes! Don’t forget to, they are a MUST!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle. 

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: A Vegan, Pre-Made, Quick Service Meal at Art of Animation Resort appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

With ticket in-hand, we started the 1-hour drive to Boston, giddy as can be. Kevin and I went with my parents, and the whole drive up my mom kept asking if we were excited, then when we said “YES!” she would say, “No you aren’t, because I’m more excited!” My parents are big Disney fans, too, so I guess it runs in the family.

On with the event!

We arrived a bit early, which was fine. The event was being held in a theater at a”fancy” hotel, the Revere Hotel. I didn’t really know what to expect, but assumed there would be a lot of booths and places to buy merchandise, like an Expo, but there wasn’t anything except a waiting room. We walked in and reassuringly saw a Disney banner with Genie letting us

know we were in the right place. Two friendly and cheery cast members welcomed us and gave us our pins, a flip book with 2 scenes from Frankenweenie (one of my favorite movies), and 2 movie art promo books, called “For Your Considerations” for Brave and Wreck it Ralph! Already, I thought, “I would pay more than $35 for all of this, even without the rest of the night’s event!”

The cast members really made me feel like I was in WDW. I wish I would have gotten a picture with them or asked them what they usually do for Disney, but I was way too excited for the event to start! I was quite surprised and extremely happy to hear a familiar voice call out my name! It was Betty and Dave from The Box! You may know them from their screen names: DaveBell and BettyMercier. I met them in person at the WDWRadio Dream Cruise 2.0 this past November and it was so great to see them again! That’s what I love so much about this community, we are all already friends, whether we’ve met yet, or not!

We entered the theater when it was time, and the second unexpected thing was realized: there were a lot less people than I expected! I saw that the event was sold out online before we left, but the theater was small and intimate. It was a plus, in my opinion. Yes, it would have been nice if more people could have the opportunity to buy tickets, but having fewer people there made me feel more special. It was as if the show was just for me, and I would be learning this secret information that no one else knew yet!

The show was introduced and we were reminded that we couldn’t take any photos, videos, or audio recordings once it started. Our show hosts then came out: Billy Stanek, D23.com editor, and Justin Arthur, Archives Collections Specialist at The Walt Disney Studios. They started out the show with a shout-out from anyone who tweeted that they would be at the show. I was 1 of the 3 people they shouted out to, of course, and I embarrassingly said “Woo!” when they called my name. And as with the beginning of all Disney attractions, an announcement came over the loud speaker telling us the theater would be moving backwards (into Disney history) and made a joke about pin lanyards.

Throughout the show, Billy and Justin went back and forth introducing different anniversaries, working from 1923, the start of the Walt Disney Company which is at it’s 90th Anniversary this year, all the way to the start of Animal Kingdom, Disney Cruise Line, and Mulan, from 1998, making this year their 15th Anniversary! Between each introduction from this duo, we saw pictures, audio clips, and film from what they were talking about. Most of it was footage rarely seen or heard!

Here are some notable points and facts from the presentation:

• This year marks Mickey’s 85th Birthday
• Disney Legend, Ub Iwerks would produce roughly 700 drawings per day! The average animator today produces about 82 a week!
• John Hench was the official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse for his Birthday portraits. We watched a clip of him speaking about the birthday portraits and he said that he painted this portrait (to the right) of Mickey with long pants instead of his usual shorts because, “he should have long pants by now.” The whole theater laughed at that, and we all sighed at the end of his interview when he got teary eyed and told Mickey Mouse, “I learned to love you a lot.”
• We watched a commercial called “The Collector,” which reminded me a lot of all of us. It was of a man who collected everything Disney, from an alarm clock, to Mickey ears on the top of his car!
• We watched rare footage depicting how Walt, Frank Churchill, and crew came up with the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
• True Life Adventures brought on some interesting video segments, including “Scorpion Dance,” (watch it on YouTube, if you can) which was… weird… If you haven’t seen it, the clip is footage of 2 scorpions edited to look like they are doing a barn dance. We also watched a clip of a duck sliding on ice into a group of other ducks. The scene cut out right before the duck fully crashed into the rest of the others. Seeing this, Walt kept asking the film makers where the rest of the footage was. They explained over and over that they shut off the camera before it happened and the footage didn’t exist. Walt wasn’t impressed and told them to find the rest of the footage. After an exhausted attempt with no luck on finding the non-existent footage, the film makers made a trip up to Minnesota and filmed ducks there. Knowing that this opportunity wouldn’t naturally happen again, the film makers literally picked up ducks and slid them into the other ducks! When Walt saw the footage, he said, “I knew you had it.” Hah!
• Peter Pan‘s 60th Anniversary was introduced with the help of the Magic Mirror, which lead into a segment with a 3D depiction of a spinning Tinkerbell, by Marc Davis, which might not seem impressive until you realize it was drawn, frame by frame, without the aid of computer graphics.
• Ben and Me (60th Anniversary) and Hocus Pocus (20th Anniversary) had ties to Massachusetts! This was a great shout-out for our Boston-crowd!
• It was the 55th Anniversary for the Columbia ship replica, which used to sail around the Rivers of America, is now used in Disneyland’s Fantasmic as Captain Hook’s  ship!
• With the 50th Anniversary of Summer’s Magic, they showed a poster of the movie which displayed Richard and Robert Sherman’s names. It was a great opportunity to talk about them, but they didn’t. I had high hopes though, because next they talked about the 50th Anniversary of the Tiki Room, and I thought for sure we would hear about our guest from the Dream Cruise, but no luck. It was finally when they mentioned Meet the World, that our dear friend was finally mentioned!
• Tony Baxter spoke of the 30th Anniverary of the original New Fantasyland in Disneyland. He said it was scary because when they dismantled the old Fantasyland, the Fantasyland Theater was laying on the ground with the lights that were supposed to hang up around it laying around in the dirt. The timer for the lights was activated and all of a sudden, all of the lights were on. He said to the others working on the project (and of course, I am always paraphrasing here), “This is the heart of Disneyland!… What have we done!?” In this interview, he said that all the love and attention that they originally put into Storybookland is what they think the original Imagineers would have wanted to do full scale if they had the budget to do it at the time and that what they were doing with the New Fantasyland would be fulfilling that wish.
• We watched a promo for Horizons. I know all of you Horizons fans would have loved it! I was never able to experience it, though.
• We were showed a Maelstrom promo photo and our hosts pointed out that the actors were staring in amazement at a wall, which anyone who actually rode it could discover… hah!
• Tim Burton worked on a project called Hansel and Gretel which only aired once because it freaked the executives out a little too much!
• We saw Disney’s Animal Kingdom‘s original carousel idea, which you might remember from this past blog post. The idea was ex-ed because it was too glitzy to fit into AK’s conservation message.
• It was great to learn about the animator’s 3 week trip to China to do research for Mulan!
• And of course, Disney Cruise Line was mentioned since this year marks the 15th Anniversary! It’s a special place for our WDWRadio family!

Highlights of the show (for me, anyway):

• We saw a Tokyo Disneyland Commercial from 1983. It may have been one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It includes Mickey Mouse in a line with a small group of men and woman, doing such ridiculous choreographed, synchronized dance moves. That wasn’t even the best part. They were singing “I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main St. USA,” in Japanese, in an empty theme park. I guess you probably had to see it to think it was funny, though, but the whole theater was cracking up in their seats!
• The Alice in Wonderland Attraction dedication video topped the hilarity of the Tokyo Disneyland video, but for a different reason. Have you ever seen what the 1958 version of Mickey Mouse in the theme parks looked like? Sorry if I am about to scar you for life, but here it is:I didn’t want to have to show you that, but it was necessary for you to understand that we watched that face ride with “Alice” and Walt in a 2 minute-or-so video. To top it off, the bunny character with them had a mask that didn’t cover the back of his head, so a full head of hair and bare neck was poking out, and that key Walt is taking from Alice… well only one side is painted and it was flopping all over the place. Hilarious commentary during the clip was done by our hosts Billy and Justin, such as, “The next clip we are about to see is funny… well, more like.. creepy,” “That kind of looks like the rabbit from Donnie Darko,” and, (in reference to the rabbit) “His roots are showing.”
• Welcome to Pooh Corner was mentioned because of the 30th Anniversary of the Disney Channel. This was one of my favorite shows growing up!
• During the Nightmare Before Christmas portion of the show, Disney Archives Specialist Justin Arthur slipped on a pair of white gloves and uncovered what was hiding under a black sheet. From under it he pulled out an original prop from the movie! It was a jack-o-lantern! I was super excited! There was a hole underneath to put in a light to light it up when necessary, and it was made of foam and rubber. We were able to take a picture of it after the show!

• During the pumpkin reveal, he also pulled out the gaucho doll that Walt was given as a gift during his trip to South America! It was made from felt, with a tag on the arm that said “To: Walt Disney” and it was still in great condition. I wasn’t able to get a picture of this, but here is one I found from D23′s website! Does the doll look like Walt? Because it is supposed to be a caricature of him!

If there are still tickets available to an upcoming D23 Fanniversary in your city, you MUST go! You’ll be happy you did!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post 2013 D23 FaNNIVERSARY, Boston appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Be Our Guest restaurant has recently opened its doors in the new Fantasyland expansion area of the Magic Kingdom park in WDW. I haven’t personally eaten there quite yet so I can’t comment on how the following items taste (let me note that for my next research trip!), but I’d like to go over a few menu items I’m happy to report appear vegan!

Lunch Entree

Quinoa salad - Quinoa with Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives,Roasted Bell Peppers, Golden Beets and Tomatoes – $9.99

Dinner Entree

Layered Ratatouille - Oven Baked Zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms,tomatoes, and caramelized onions sliced and layered on Quinoa served with a bell pepper sauce – $15.99

Kids’ Meal

Whole Grain Macaroni - Topped with Marinara sauce and served with Mozzarella (just ask for no cheese when ordering this vegan!) served with Seasonal Vegetables – $5.59

WDW has been on the trend of adding new vegan and veganizable items to established menus (like the new addition to Animal Kingdom’s Tamu Tamu Refreshments menu), introducing vegan options to well known events (like this year’s Flower and Garden Festival and last year’s Food and Wine), and now they are including vegan items to new restaurants’ menu’s like Be Our Guest restuarant! I’ve said before in another post that it’s a big deal to be able to order vegan items right off the menu instead of having to talk with a chef and make a special request! This is a huge step forward for us vegans!

If you want dessert at dinner at Be Our Guest, ask your server for some dairy-free ice cream and they will most likely be able to bring you tofutti, rice dream, or sorbet!

What entree are you looking forward to trying the most at Be Our Guest Restaurant? Please leave your answers in the comments below!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Vegan Options at Be Our Guest Restaurant appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: A Vegan Menu at Jiko appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Here are some great Disney finds I’ve purchased over the past couple years:

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PLANE CRAZY 1928 Lamp

$10- used

I found this lamp with no lamp shade at a flea market. It’s missing a few things, Mickey’s arms and part of the plane propellor, to be specific, but I figure I can craft some replacements out of clay when I feel motivated, though I probably could have haggled the price down if I wanted to. It’s in perfect working condition, and just needed a little cleaning up when I bought it. I found the lamp shade for $3 at the Christmas Tree Shop and added my unimpressive pin collection to jazz it up a bit. I don’t actually collect pins, these are just a few I’ve acquired for different reasons.

Mickey and Minnie Tapestry Woven Throw (dog not included, hehe)

$4.99 – slightly used condition

Of course, I washed this sucker about 5 times with double the detergent before I laid it out on the couch. When I spotted this beauty, I just HAD to have it! It features Mickey and Minnie sitting on a bench in front of Cinderella’s castle. The scene is extra special to me, because this is the spot my boyfriend and I always sit in to admire the castle with our popcorn or cups of Tofutti Ice Cream from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor.  I already have another Mickey and Minnie woven throw with a different design that my boyfriend’s parents lovingly purchased for me for Christmas, so now I’m building a collection! If you noticed the dog in the picture, don’t wonder, “Why couldn’t Angie take a minute to get her dog out of the way to take a picture!” Instead, be impressed, “Wow, Angie was able to juggle and balance taking a picture by getting 3 of her 4 dogs out of the picture before she took it!”

Figment Decorative Plate

$2.99 – new condition!

This little gem was waiting for me. I know this because it wasn’t out on the thrift store shelves when I first arrived, but ended up being put there by an employee right as I was leaving. The back of the plate reads:

“Walt Disney World EPCOT Center

Figment, the playful purple dragon who appears throughout Journey into Imagination, doesn’t use pigments and brushes. Instead, he brings a pale landscape to life with the rich hues of the rainbow.

Made Exclusively For EPCOT Center (encircling an original Epcot Center logo)

Copyright 1982 Walt Disney Productions” 

I went to Christmas Tree Shop a few days after I purchased this and found a little dark brown wooden plate stand for less than $1!

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I have some more great Disney Thrift Store finds coming up for another post, (but a couple are presents and I don’t want to spoil the surprise too early!)

What are some 2nd hand Disney treasures you have found at a flea market, thrift store, yard sale, etc? Leave your answers in the comments below!

The post Second Hand Disney appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.