Orlando Archives - Chickery's Travels

October 29, 2017 by Julie Leave a Comment

Podcast: RV News & Disney’s Animal Kingdom

In this episode we discuss RV news out Portland, Oregon where the city is struggling with an overload of dilapidated RVs parking on the streets. In addition, we talk more about our recent visit to Disney World. In particular we discuss Disney’s Animal Kingdom and their newest attraction, Pandora – The World of Avatar. It was out of this world! We also talk about lessons learned from a couple of older folks visiting the park, as well as tips for getting good deals on tickets and parking.

Click here to listen now.

Thanks to https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music for the intro and outro music.

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October 19, 2017 by Julie 2 Comments

Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness

Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground is a terrific place to enjoy Halloween! I love camping at Fort Wilderness, but it can be tricky to get reservations at Halloween. However, the best part is, you can go over and participate in the activities even if you aren’t camping there.

Please note that there is no parking if you’re not a guest, but there are a couple of ways to get there. You can ride the bus from any Disney resort or Disney Springs (parking is free there). If you’re at the Magic Kingdom you can ride the boat over.

If you want to know more about the campground in general, read my full of review of Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground here. There’s even a video.

Decorations

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. My boys and I always had a tradition of decorating the house. One year we even created a haunted house in our garage for the trick or treaters. This is probably why I love all the decorations around Fort Wilderness. The campers really get into the Halloween spirit and decorate their campsites and golf carts.

One of the most fun (and free) things to do at Fort Wilderness any time of year is called “looping.” That means walking or riding a bike (or golf cart) around the different loops to see how folks have personalized their spaces. And let me tell you, they go all out for Halloween.

Here are just a few examples. Click on the images for a larger view.

Fort Wilderness Halloween Decor Fifth Wheel

Fort Wilderness Halloween Decor Cemetery

Activities

In addition to the usual activities at Fort Wilderness that I discussed in my full campground review (see link above), there are a ton of Halloween specific activities!

Movies

Watch animated classics all month long! Movies are shown outdoors every Sunday evening. Some of the halloween themed films include Hocus Pocus and Tower of Terror, and my personal favorite, Nightmare Before Christmas.

Wednesday October 30th, 2019

The day before Halloween activities are kicked into high gear with a pumpkin decorating and my personal favorite, the golf cart parade. I’m always amazed by guests’ creativity!

Next, head over to the Halloween beach bash for a costume contest, the hilarious family mummy wrap, and a screen of the Nightmare Before Christmas! Stick around the beach afterwards to watch the fireworks followed by the Halloween Glow Dance Party.

Halloween Fun – Tuesday October 31st

Start your Halloween day off right with a fun run to make up for all the candy you’ll eat later. In the afternoon is the pet parade and finally, Camp or Treat in the evening.

Here’s the full schedule of events for October 2019:

Don't miss out on all the not so spooky fun at Disney's Fort Wilderness

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

This is a special event at the Magic Kingdom, and I don’t recommend you try to attend on Halloween or you’ll miss all the fun at Fort Wilderness. Instead, I recommend going on Oct 29th or Nov 1st. It is important to note that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is NOT included with park admission. You buy a separate ticket, but the cool thing is that even though the party starts at 7pm, you can get in to the Magic Kingdom at 4pm with your party ticket. So spend the day at Fort Wilderness, have fun at the pool, then head over to the Magic Kingdom via the free boat ride. Many people, young and old, wear costumes and can even trick-or-treat around the park. There are 14 different places handing out free candy! There are several special shows and events with rare characters that aren’t available outside of the party. I think the “Boo-To-You” parade led by the headless horseman makes it worth the price!

Click on the images below for a larger view

WDW Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party

October 14, 2017 by Julie 4 Comments

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

This year we attended the International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center. This food & wine was wonderful, but the weather was not! It was a very hot day for October.

Epcot Food and Wine Entrance

Pros – Food & Wine

This year was Epcot’s 35th anniversary, so they had 35 speciality food & wine booths. We only ate at 7 of them, but everything was so good!

Here’s what we had:

Flavors from Fire! Smoked Corned Beef with Warm Crispy Potatoes, Pickled Onions and Blonde Ale Beer Fondue and Orlando Brewery Smokin’ Blackwater Porter
Coastal Eats – Lump Crab Cake with Napa Cabbage Slaw and Avocado Lemongrass Cream
Earth Eats – Ricotta and Zucchini Ravioli with Rustic Tomato Sauce with Kurt Russell’s Gogi Wines Chardonnay Gogi “Goldie”, California
Islands of the Caribbean – Mojo Pork with Black Beans, Cilantro Rice, and Pickled Red Onions
Ireland – Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip with Irish Brown Bread with Twinings Pumpkin Chai Tea and Caramel Shake
Belgium – 2 Belgian Waffles: one with Warm Chocolate Ganache and one with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream; Stella Artois Hard Cidre
Greece – Loaded Greek “Nachos”: Pita Chips, Meatless Sausage Crumbles, and Vegan Tzatziki and Bougatsa: Warm Phyllo Dough Strudel with Sweet Vanilla Custard, Lemon Honey Syrup and Cinnamon

We both agreed that Greece had our favorite food–both the loaded Greek pita nachos and the bougasta. On the drink side, my favorite the Twinings Pumpkin Chai Tea and Caramel Shake from Ireland, and Sean’s was the Stella Artois Hard Cidre from Belgium.

For a full list of the booths, check out the Disney Food Blog.

Cons – Weather

We went in early October and couldn’t believe how hot it still was! The high was 89, and the weather app said it “felt like” 100 with the humidity. It felt hotter than that to me. We skipped Future World, and went straight to the World Showcase. By the time we were halfway around the World Showcase, we were so hot that we just didn’t want to see or eat anymore. My recommendation would be to go as late in the season as possible.

Click here to listen to our podcast episode where we discuss this festival in more detail, as well as our visit to the Fort Wilderness Campground.

Click here to learn about other festivals we love at Walt Disney World.

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Don't miss the best annual event at Disney World, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. With delectable treats and great wine (and beer as well as non-alocoholic drinks) from around the world, this festival has something for everyone.