Many Ways to do Disney

In 2022 I was blessed to be able to visit Walt Disney World Resort, Aulani Resort, and Disneyland. I will be covering each in their own detailed blogs but I realized they kind of cover the many types of trips you can take to Disney.

WDW

First was our big family trip to Walt Disney

World. Being west coasters we were

Disneyland people. I was raised in California

and lived in So Cal in the 90s. I had an annual

pass and have been to Disneyland over 500

times. So Walt Disney World had always been

a dream trip of mine but nothing I was

familiar with. The trip would be me, my

husband, our two youngest (13 and 18 at the time), and one

of my brothers. To be clear my oldest was invited. They do not like theme parks or a lot of Disney. I think it is part of their rebellion. Ha! In all honesty we support our kids being true to who they are. My oldest is a home body who is happy not participating in this kind of thing.

We planned this trip for 18 months. I watched all the videos, created the first version of the Most Magical Fairy Quest Guide, had little gifts each day for everyone, and was determined to make it great. It was great! It was also a lot. We decided to make this the biggest and best family vacation. We stayed at the Poly, ate at all the special meals, and just said yes to it all! Some people say spending this kind of money or putting in this kind of effort isn't worth it but I disagree. It was the best way for our family to experience WDW Resort for the first time. We will probably never do it that way again, but just because we feel like we got our fill and now we can have smaller more focused trips.

Aulani

Next was my Aulani experience. At the time I

was a consultant with a direct sales company

and I had earned the incentive trip. It was to

Hawaii. I had been to Kauai but not Oahu,

which is where they were taking us. I didn't

do a ton of research just looked at the things

the company and other consultants where

sharing. I wanted to relax more than do

things, and to stay open to the magic.

See what I could just allow to happen. No expectation. Well I ended up at the end of the week at the Aulani resort with three great friends having a character breakfast. We spent the day at the resort. Since we weren't staying there we couldn't use the pools, slides, lounge chairs, or do the activities. We could use the beach, meet characters, eat at all the restaurants and shop in all the stores. Our impromptu girls trip was some of the most fun I have had. There is nothing like running to find Moana to take pictures with other women in their late 30s and early 40s, and then finish the day with Mickey shaved ice.

Disneyland

Later that year my husband and I decided to

celebrate our anniversary at Disneyland just

the two of us. We decided it just a few months

before we went. The last time we had gone

was 9 years before. So we had a couples only

trip with only some planning. We did some

dining reservations and had a few things we

knew we wanted to do, but also wanted to see

where the days took us. We stayed at a good

neighbor hotel to help keep the cost down.

We love going with our kids but it was so nice to just be silly and have fun together. I highly suggest a couples only trip for anyone considering it. They can be magical.

I hope this shows that there is no “correct” way to take a Disney trip. You just have to figure out what is best for you. It can be to WDW, Disneyland, or Aulani because all offer amazing experiences. It can be planned way in advance, close but with some time, or last minute. It can be for all your family, just some friends, you and your partner, or even a solo trip! It can be budget or break the bank. All trips are valid and fun. So please reach out to me and lets talk about what trip looks best for you. We can even talk via email or text, a phone call is not necessary. I would love to find out about you and your family and figure out the best trip for you.

Spaghetti and Meatballs from Lady and Tramp

Meat Ball recipe mainly

All of these measurements are about. Sometimes when cooking, I just let the ancestors tell me when to stop.

1 ½ pounds of ground beef

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 ½ teaspoon of dried basil

1 cup of breadcrumbs or Gluten Free Panko crumbs

1 egg

2 tablespoons of oil for frying

Box of spaghetti

Jar or 2 of your favorite marinara sauce

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Mix, and honestly the best way is to mix with your hands. Tori enjoyed smooshing the meat with her fingers!

2. Portion out a rounded mound and roll between your hands to make a ball. You can use a melon baller to portion out or eyeball it.

3. Heat oil in a big skillet on medium high heat.

4. Fry the meatballs a few minutes on each side. The best way to do this is small batches with room between each one and don't move them until you are ready to move to the next side. It can be tempting to move them a lot. Resist that temptation.

5. Drain each batch on a plate lined with paper towels. On the last batch, pile all the meatballs back in the skillet. Cover with your favorite marinara sauce and reduce heat to low. Let simmer while you are making pasta.

6. In another pot, start boiling water. Follow the directions on your box of pasta to cook pasta.

7. Once pasta is drained and ready, serve up your delicious spaghetti and meatballs. Enjoy!

I can't think of a more iconic Disney food scene than Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti. This was a top choice for Tori and I. She really had a blast squishing and forming the meatballs. I was surprised, being that she is older and not into as tactile experiences. Then I remembered she is all about slime and it made sense.

The interesting conversation that came out of watching Lady and The Tramp was a discussion on racial stereotypes. That movie is chock full of them. We also discussed the history of racial stereotypes being used as a form of entertainment and how that has changed over the years. My stance is you can be aware of the things that don't work or are offensive about a piece of art, but can still appreciate the art for the time it was created and what was intended.

This movie still has one of my favorite lines: “Hate to change the subject, but ever chase chickens?” I hope you and your family can enjoy some wholesome food and a not-so-wholesome movie together.

Coco Cinnamon Crisps

Cinnamon Crisps

You can also cut them into stars and make sandy sea stars for an ocean themed movie night.

4 flour tortillas

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp of cinnamon

enough oil to fry

 1. Heat oil to 325 either in skillet or deep fryer.
2. Combine sugar and cinnamon in large bowl. Big enough you can toss your fried tortillas in. mix around till well mixed.
3. Cut tortillas, with a large knife or pizza cutter, into 6-8 pieces each depending on size. Really you can't do this wrong. Just make sure they fit in the frying oil and sugar mixture bowl.
4. Fry tortillas on each side till brown. It should only take about 30 seconds or so.
5. Remove from oil and toss in sugar mixture bowl till covered with cinnamon sugar. Remove and
put on plate to finish cooling. Repeat with each piece of tortilla till all done. Then enjoy!

I wouldn't call these authentic. It's something my friend's mom made for us when I was growing up in rural central California. I make them occasionally as a treat for my kids. We eat taco night every Tuesday at our house. My Husband is Mexican by heritage but Californian by birth. We both had that odd mix of almost authentic but not quite Mexican culture. We do our best to weave Mexican culture into Tori's life. To her, these are Mexican food. So when we were thinking about Coco and what to make she wanted these. I tried to steer her toward the tamales I had in the freezer still from Christmas but it was a big NO. So we made our normal “Fiesta Night” and cooked up some Cinnamon Crisps to watch Coco.

This movie always makes me cry. I love it so much! I love it's message about family, family secrets, and finding balance between finding your path without having to cut off your family. Tori will look up at certain parts and say, “Are you crying again mom?” because she knows I am. I do EVERY TIME!

I told her she was kind of cheating on this one. Mexican culture is a big part of our life already and it was hard to come up with something new to discuss on this one. Then I realized we had never discussed Luchadors! So I still found a new thing to talk about.

I love all the colors in this movie and if you wanted to do a craft instead you could look up how to cut paper banners (Papel Picado) or make paper flowers . We do this often to celebrate Dia de Muertos.

Beignets from The Princess and the Frog

Beignets

• 1½ cups warm water

• ½ cup white sugar

• 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup evaporated milk

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon salt

•6½ cups bread flour, divided

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

• ¼ cup confectioners' sugar (or more)

1. Stir together the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let sit and dissolve for 5 to 10 minutes, until smooth.

2. Add the eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix on low with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer until combined.

3. Add 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a time. Add the butter and continue to mix on low until dough is sticky but smooth. Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight. The dough will rise slowly overnight.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an inch thick, and slice into 2 inch squares or use a cookie cutter for fun shapes.

7. Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or electric fryer until the temperature reaches 375°F.

8 Place a few of the uncooked beignets in the hot oil and fry them, turning once, until they are puffy and golden brown on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the beignets from the oil and drain on paper towels or cooling rack.

9. Dust with a light layer of powdered sugar. I like the cooling rack with a pan under to make dusting them with powdered sugar easier. Repeat with remaining dough squares. Once all the beignets are done, add a generous dusting of powdered sugar on top of the pile and serve.

My daughter Tori decided she wanted to make food from different Disney movies and then eat the food while watching the movie, mainly because she wanted these beignets. We both love Princess and the Frog. I always say if I was a princess, I would be Tiana. Tori loves the music and the animation. So, when I agreed to do this project with her, this was our first choice. every princess week we make these now and have gotten better at it.

I had never made beignets before when we made these the first time. The dough was a little trickier and stickier than I thought it would be and it took a few times to perfect our technique. The best part was Tori and I had a great time making them. She will take a break break to play Roblox, Splatoon, or some other game while we waited for it to rise.

We use our deep fryer to cook them, just remove the baskets and use tongs. I use a small strainer and a slightly larger bowl to set it in to “sift” the powdered sugar on top of the beignets. Tori and i usually end up covered in powdered sugar no matter what we do.

Aristocats- Creme de la Creme ala Edgar

I made one up based on all he puts in the pot in the movie, excluding the sleeping pills of course!

Creme de la Creme ala Edgar

16 oz of milk

2 Tbls of sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Heat milk in pot on stove.

Whisk in sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Heat and whisk till all ingredients are well combined and milk is a little frothy. Though you may be tempted at times DO NOT add sleeping pills to the drink (hahaha)

Pour into two mugs and Enjoy!

I was actually surprised how much we enjoyed this drink. Tori asked that we make it again soon because it was so yummy! All my kids love this movie which is funny because I was never a big fan of it. The character Marie is adorable and has always been a favorite of my middle child Alex. Tori likes her too. This film is also filled with horrible racist stereotypes and some things that would be questionable now, but mostly is a fun romp with cats. We talked about France the different French artists who were represented or paid homage to in the film. All in all it was a nice relaxing evening.

What is The Fairy Quests Blog

This is where I share recipes and crafts I have done with my kids, theme party ideas, trip planning tips, geeky fun and inspiration, and other things that translate better in written media. If you would like to see a particular IP please comment below or email me at: Elizabeth@thefairywoman.com

In 2020 my daughter Tori and I did a series of movie nights cooking a new recipe for each movie. I blogged about them then and have moved those blogs here now.

In 2021 we did fun things each day of Princess week. These were documented on my Instagram. We also did this princess week of 2022 and 2023. I am moving them all here now.

In 2022 we took our first big family trip to WDW. Being West Coasters we had only been to Disneyland up till then. Then in 2023 back to Disneyland. I’m sharing prep I did for the trips as well as experiences we had on it.

I hope our fun brings a little magic and stirs your imagination of what is possible for you.