Whoopin It Up On Big Thunder

Sure we have Donald Duck appearing along the Rivers of America in explorer wear in Frontierland these days, but does that really compare with these getups? Imagine walking around Frontierland in the 1980s, heading right up to the gates of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and finding these two waiting for you! Sometimes it is all about the outfit.

One of 29 Shops

I typically stay away from talking about early Downtown Disney, also known as the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village or Disney Village Marketplace, amongst other names. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy reminiscing about the bygone days of shopping down by the lake, but it has more to do with the fact that there are others out there who, quite frankly, have a ton more knowledge than I do about the area. That said, sometimes you just run across a photo that you have to share.

The Flower Garden opened in 1975 and, like a bloom that withers too soon, it would close after only a few years. Too sappy, huh? In truth, the entire design of the early village was to be able to shop for everything without having to leave property. Everything from pottery to groceries could be found in those formative years. The Flower Garden sold silk flowers and plants but could also be counted on to sell the real deal in the form of plants, cut flowers, terrariums, and even cactus beds. I imagine the gorgeous landscaping of early Walt Disney World gave more than one guest the drive to try out their green thumb.

The floating font on The Flower Garden’s sign, mixed with an array of potted displays, and topped off with canopies that were a bright yellow all make this a place you simply had to explore. It just seemed too cheerful not to! Plus, doesn’t the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village just look like a simpler time? I know I’d like to take a stroll right through this scene.

Silent Saturday - Swiss Family Kitchen (April 2009)

Jedi Mickey's Own Droid

Today is the day. For everyone who has followed Star Wars: The Clone Wars the day has arrived when the final 13 episodes, dubbed The Lost Missions, will finally be released with Netflix being their first stop. The series is set between Episodes II and III and is the main source for those wishing to see how The Clone Wars actually went down. The close of the series was announced last year, but with certain episodes well on their way through development it was inevitable that we would see a couple of lost missions.

What answers will these episodes bring? Will they leave us with more questions than answers? Well, here is a question, is there any chance we’ll get to see R2-MK in these episodes?

R2-MK is the astromech assigned to Jedi Master Mickey Mouse. The setting for this pairing is the fall of the Galactic Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire. The astromech follows Mickey’s favorite color palate of red, yellow, black, and white. R2-MK’s dome is supplemented with a pair of specialized ears that resemble Mickey’s own. Mickey clad in his Jedi robes and R2-MK roll out into Disney’s Hollywood Studios each year as a part of Star Wars Weekends.

Okay, so while the pair may tie in to the Star Wars timeline around the era of The Clone Wars, I find it highly unlikely that either would show up in The Lost Missions of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Of course, if Disney and Star Wars have taught us anything it is to dream big, right?

Discover the Delicacies

This past weekend I opened up the Gazette’s social media lines and asked for requests of what type of recipe you’d like to see. Most hovered around some sort of meal or appetizer, and there was a specific request for a vegetarian meal. I thought, why not find something that could be a meal or an appetizer, and that is vegetarian! Did I bite off more than I could chew? You would think so, but then I came across a recipe from Poland’s marketplace at the 2012 International Food & Wine Festival for an open-faced sandwich.

Let’s address a little problem with the dish first. In the cookbook from 2012 the dish is listed as Zapiekanka, which is Polish for casserole. At the festival it is listed as Zapiekanki, which translates as casseroles. However, back in the cookbook it states that “Zapiekamki comes from Zapiekac, which means ‘to bake.’” For all the research I could do Zapiekamki appears to be a typo or a completely made up word, meanwhile Zapiekac actually translates as gratinate or to bake something covered in buttered crumbs or cheese. This language lesson does nothing but make me hungry, and we have a delicious dish to get to! For the sake of argument, we’re going to stick with the cookbook and call this Zapiekanka.

The small plate at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is a mixture of mushrooms, cheese, and caramelized onions, while the play at home edition calls for spinach in the place of the onions. Both can be scrumptious, and shows just how much leeway you can have with your ingredients here, but we prefer the spinach variety at our house.

ZAPIEKANKA

Spinach and Mushroom Mixture

Ingredients

8 Ounces Button or Mini-Portobello Mushrooms (Cleaned and Sliced)

2 Cups Fresh Spinach

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Fresh Minced Garlic

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F

Lightly toss mushrooms with garlic and olive oil

Season with salt and pepper

Roast mushrooms on parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes

Remove from oven and fold warm mushrooms and spinach in a mixing bowl, slightly wilting the spinach

Tangy Ketchup Sauce

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Ketchup

2 Tablespoons Chili Sauce

2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ Tablespoon Mustard

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl

To Serve

Ingredients

1 Loaf French Bread (Cut into 4 Half Pieces)

Spinach and Mushroom Mixture

Tangy Ketchup Sauce

½ Cup Gruyere Cheese (Shredded)

½ Cup Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Spread spinach and mushroom mixture evenly over 4 bread slices

Sprinkle evenly with gruyere and mozzarella cheeses

Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown

Remove from oven and drizzle with tangy ketchup sauce

Serve warm

As long as all of these descriptions and ingredient lists may seem, the preparation of the Zapiekanka was remarkably easy. It is also set-up to work through in stages. While the mushrooms are roasting, the sauce can be prepared and the cheese shredded. The fifteen minutes while the final product is baking is more than enough time to clean up what little mess was created during the creation of the open-faced sandwich.

Like we talked about earlier, Zapiekanka can be made up of different types of ingredients, and are a common street food in Poland. This spinach and mushroom concoction makes a very fresh combination and the mix of gruyere and mozzarella are perfect to hold everything together. Tangy is the perfect way to describe the sauce, which gives every bite a bit of zip. Easy prep, easy on the taste buds, what’s not to like about this handy-dandy appetizer/meal with a vegetarian twist?!?!

 

Playful Penguins

Traditions are ingrained in the Walt Disney World experience. From the dining, resort, and firework spots we go back to time and again, to the experiences and quality of standards, some dating all the way back to Walt himself, traditions are in every single facet of a trip. It is with this thought in mind that I found myself pining for a new tradition when I saw the new fountain at the Grand Floridian Villas, complete with a contingent of bronzed penguins from Mary Poppins.

I should say that the seeds of this story start in Memphis, Tennessee at The Peabody hotel. Every morning at 10:00 a selection of ducks make their way down from the roof of the hotel to The Peabody lobby where the spend their day swimming about in the lobby’s fountain. Then, at 5:00pm, they make their way back to the elevator and up to their penthouse on the roof. The story of how these ducks came to become a tradition has a lot to do with bourbon and decoys and a drunken joke, but the point is people come from across the world to see The Peabody ducks.

A part of the morning and evening ceremonies often involves selecting a child to be the Honorary Duck Master. The child, accompanied by the official Duck Master, usher the ducks to their home or to the fountain.

Think about how such a tradition could come to the Grand Floridian Villas! Okay, so Walt Disney World wouldn’t want to copy that tradition outright, nor would they want to send a platoon of penguins into the fountain all day. Just think of the mess and management problems that could cause! There are, however, a couple of other options for bringing an animal mascot to the resort. Perhaps a swan or a couple of turtles could make their home here during the days.

Obviously, the idea of an Audio-Animatronics caretaker comes to mind, perhaps a cat or parrot that can tell a story or two, but the real draw is that you have a living and breathing mascot. I know that may seem to offer up an incredible number of challenges, but you need look no further than Shadow at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort to see what a perfect match this could be!

Do I have the perfect answer for what could be the fit to the fountain, or the resort itself? Absolutely not. I do, however, think a resort or two at Walt Disney World could do with a mascot that doesn’t require a costume or programming, and who lives their lives in the lap, or fountain, of luxury.

Silent Saturday - Flower Tea Pot (May 2013)