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Blog by Ali. Powered by Blogger.

Ali


When I was younger going to Disney World meant rides and characters, but the past couple of times I've visited I've come to appreciate ALL THE DISNEY FOOD! You can literally eat around the world and don't get me started on all the amazing snacks.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago my sister and I hit our 180 day mark until Disney World. For those of you who don't visit Disney World often you probably have no idea why this is significant. Well let me enlighten you, it's the day you can start booking your Disney Dining Reservations. Yes, you have to book your dining this far in advance otherwise you probably won't get into some of the very popular places.

So I thought why not share all the places I've planned to eat at in Disney World! Just to clarify, these are all table service reservations, I haven't actually planned what I'm eating at every minute of every day. Let's get started!

Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' - Dinner
Disney Springs

I've heard so many amazing reviews about the chicken at this place. It's still relatively new and my sister and I thought we might as well give it a shot on the day we are at Disney Springs.


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Chip 'n' Dale's Harvest Feast Breakfast at Garden Grill
Future World, EPCOT
This was one of those restaurants my sister and I wanted to tick off the bucket list. We checked the lunch/dinner menu and we really weren't big fans. So breakfast it was! Plus, how good does Chip's Sticky Bun Bake sound!

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Teppan Edo - Dinner
World Showcase, EPCOT
We've eaten here one before and we absolutely loved it! So we decided to head back this time, plus I'm a sucker for asian food.


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Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano - Lunch
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Another restaurant we've never eaten at but decided this time round we really wanted to try the Fantasmic dining package. So you eat at a participating restaurant and you get reserved seating at the Fantasmic the night time show. I'm not the biggest italian fan but my sister loves it so I guess this is a compromise?  


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O'hana - Dinner x2
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
Your eyes don't deceive you, that says dinner times two - yes we are eating there twice. I dream about this food and can honestly say it's my favourite meal I've ever had on Disney property, it's also at my favourite resort.


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Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno
Disney's Boardwalk
Another on the list that we have never done before. We've never been to the Boardwalk either so really it's two firsts at once. This is also a character breakfast, I'm mainly excited to meet Ariel because she is my absolute favourite!


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Kona Cafe - Breakfast & Lunch
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
Wait a second Ali, aren't you already eating at the Polynesian twice? Why yes I am, and I'm eating there twice more - that's right four times! We've never eaten at Kona Cafe but my sister is a big breakfast fan and wants to try their famous Tonga Toast. I then decided to look at the lunch/dinner menu of Kona Cafe and decided the food looked so good we are eating lunch here too.

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Donald's Dining Safari Lunch at Tusker House Restaurant
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Believe it or not, we have never eaten at a table service restaurant at Animal Kingdom. We've seen so many people rave about Tusker House in vlogs and blogs we thought we'd see what the fuss was all about and book in for lunch. I'm mainly excited to see Donald in his safari gear.

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Sanaa - Lunch
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
I still swear to this day I had the best Butter Chicken ever at Sanaa, so naturally I have to go back. We are doing something different this time though, we are going for lunch! We are hoping to get a table near the window so we can see the animals out on the savannah. I also can't wait to order the bread service again, yes I'm at my desk typing this nearly drooling - okay maybe not but close.

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And there you have it! All the table service restaurants we booked for out trip later in the year. Let me know in the comments what your favourite restaurants are - I can possibly check them out next time!


Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

If you've read the title and you're completely confused as to what IGTV is, it's okay it only launched a couple of days ago. IGTV is a new app created by Instagram for watching long-form, vertical video from Instagram creators. Yes you read that right, vertical video.

Instagram points out that IGTV is different in a few ways, firstly it's built for how you actually use your phone - this is touching on the whole vertical thing, so videos are full screen and vertical. Secondly, IGTV allows videos longer than one minute (this is currently what Instagram Stories only allows) and each video can be up to an hour long.

Although it is a separate app you can access IGTV from Instagram, it sits right up the top next to your messages.

So here are some of my thoughts after looking through the app for really only over a day.


  • Vertical video? I don't get it. As someone who has studied photography and touched on videography, it is strange to film in portrait mode. Landscape allows you to see so much more. I understand when you take quick little videos on your phone of your dogs or of a new place you visited, but do people really want to watch hour long videos in essentially portrait mode? I'm not a fan - maybe one day I will be.
  • What sort of content should be on here? I don't know yet and either does a lot of others by the looks of it. 
  • Did we really need another social media app to look at? I don't know about you guys but it's hard enough trying to keep up with Twitter, normal Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook and YouTube! Sure, I don't need to look at them all but I like too and now I feel like this is another thing I have to check.
  • It looks a lot like Snapchat. You remember Snapchat right? I know some people still use it but really Instagram Stories took over it's dominance. But cast your minds back to the 'Discover' section of Snapchat, that is what it looks like to me.
  • Finally, Instagram we never asked for IGTV but we have been asking for our Instagram feed to go back to chronological order so how about you do that?
Essentially this is Instagram taking on YouTube and right now I don't see how it will win. I liked Instagram just being about photos and I feel like Instagram is trying to be everything at once. Who knows it may take off or it may flop. As of right now I'm thinking it won't make any difference to YouTube and unless they change the whole vertical thing I see myself being annoyed with it.

Anyway, I just wanted to get my thoughts out onto my blog as new social media apps really interest me and I also work in social media so there's that. In saying all this you bet I uploaded a video to IGTV hours after it launched. I really only added a video I already have on YouTube but adjusted it to be vertical as I wanted to see what it would look like. You can find me at @mcali187 #shamelessplug.

For me I think IGTV will be a place I upload small edited clips from my travels - whether that be overseas or not. I don't picture myself using it for sit down videos or talking videos, but who knows that might change. 

So let me know below, what are your thoughts? Do you like it? Will you use it? What sort of content do you want to see creators making for IGTV? I'm interested to know.

Love, Ali
7:52 PM No comments

Let me start off by saying I haven't eaten everywhere on Disney World property, maybe if I lived there it'd be a different story, but I have been enough times to be able to give people a good idea of where I like to eat.

For those of you who don't know quick service is the equivalent of fast food or grab and go food as you'd say. It means there is no waiter, and you order at a counter and collect your food, much like McDonalds I guess.

Now, onto my top 5 quick service locations at Disney World!

Honorable Mention
Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza - Disney Springs

I had to have an honourable mention okay, mainly because there are so many wonderful places to eat at Disney I couldn't just pick 5. 

So, Blaze pizza - best pizza on property in my opinion. You can order off the menu or build your own, greatest thing of all is it's really quite cheap! I've only eaten there once, but that one time has left an impression and I can't wait to go back.


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#5
Landscape of Flavours - Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Best. Food court. On property. HANDS DOWN!

This food court has so much variety it actually makes it quite hard to choose what you want to eat. Every meal I had there was fresh and delicious and sure they serve your normal fast-food type options but they also serve great healthy options. Also, if you are staying at Disney's Pop Century Resort it's just a quick walk across the bridge.

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#4
Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes - Disney's Animal Kingdom Park

Firstly, don't be fooled there are actually 2 Yak & Yeti's at Animal Kingdom. One is a quick service location and the other a proper restaurant, both serve the same type of food - Asian, although I've only ever eaten at the quick service location.

Let me start off by saying I love asian food! It's my favourite type of food, so maybe I'm a little biased. I've not once had a bad meal here and I've eaten here every time on my last 3 trips, and I'll probably eat there again next time. I also love that the portion sizes aren't that overly massive, like most other meals in America, so for once when you finish you feel satisfied not stuffed.


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#3
Wolfgang Puck Express - Disney Springs

This one may surprise people but it makes the list because if you are on the dining plan it is a great deal! I've eaten here on my past 2 trips and both times had an amazing meal. Best of all, it works a little different. You order at the counter but then sit down so your food is bought out to you, so it's a little of quick service and a little table service - like I said, great use of dining credits and the food is great too.


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#2
Be Our Guest - Disney's Magic Kingdom Park

You may be confused thinking, isn't this a proper restaurant? Well yes it is, but for breakfast and lunch it's quick service. Much like Wolfgang Puck you order at a screen actually and go take a seat and then your food is bought out to you - like magic. 

Breakfast can be a little expensive, but once again a great use of a dining credit and I really enjoyed the food. Lunch isn't as expensive but still a bit more than your usual quick service. I actually preferred breakfast and lunch, dinner I wasn't that impressed with. So if Be Our Guest is on your list - go when it's a quick service at breakfast or lunch, I think you'll enjoy it more.

Also, yes the atmosphere and theming on the inside is amazing! And yes it's probably the best part.


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#1
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe - Disney's Magic Kingdom Park

I freaking love this place!! Eaten here on my past 3 trips to Disney World and I'm definitely eating here again. The food is delicious and in my opinion one of the best value for money options on property. It's Mexican food, it's so yummy and you definitely get far too much but you can't stop - it's that good.

They have a full condiments bar as well, you can pretty much make a whole side salad just from that - this is how you can easily eat too much. I always order the chicken fajitas because they are so good, and so filling! You can guarantee I'll be visiting this on my next trip.

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And there you have it! My top 5, plus an honourable mention, quick service locations. Do agree? Are any of these your favourites? Comment below and let me know!



Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments

Guys, where has the year gone, I can't believe May is over already! Anyway, here are a few of my favourite things from the past month.

Top 4 Instagram Snaps



Planning Disney World 2018

So as you may or may not know I'm going back to Disney World this year! Main reason is for my sisters 21st, as she didn't want any gifts and we thought it made sense to go back when she turned 21 as she can finally drink there - legal drinking age in Australia is 18 (FYI).

So a lot of May has been spent vaguely figuring out what days we'd spend in what parks and of course deciding where we want to eat. We reached our 180 day mark right at the end of May, so we really needed to get that sorted as many Disney World fans would know restaurant reservations can fill up if you don't book them asap.

I know some people get stressed over the planning of Disney World, this is why a lot of Australians I know prefer to go to Disneyland. But for me I thrive on the planning, I love it! I honestly think my back up career should be a travel planner because I seriously love figuring out how to get somewhere, researching where to eat etc.

Not going to lie, this may have been the highlight of my month.

Lightroom Mobile App

So, I love editing photos and I don't mean over editing, I mean adjusting colours, saturation, brightness - that's what I love. For the longest time I'd been using Afterlight, which is a great program, until I discovered Lightroom for your mobile.

Lightroom is an Adobe product part of their creative suite, it's what I use on my computer to edit photos and in my opinion is the best program to adjust colours in a photo. I'm so happy I discovered it on mobile because my Instagram photos have gone from meh to BAM colour and it's beautiful. See the before and after below! (Ignore the tap text, these were the images in my instagram story)



Love Island Australia

So this show is one of the trashiest shows I've ever witnessed, but it's so damn good I can't not watch. I follow a lot of UK people on Twitter and I saw all their tweets when the original Love Island aired over there. I wondered how on earth they could be addicted to such a trashy crap show, that's what it sounded like anyway. Until I finally watched it and realised it's just so addictive you can't look away.

I can't be the only one addicted, right?

Song of the Month


This Is America by Childish Gambino

If you haven't heard this song where have you been?! It's genius. The video clip is amazing and deserves all the awards. Seriously if you are yet to listen, click the play button above and enjoy.


What have been some of your favourite things during the month of May? Comment below! 

Love, Ali
5:00 PM No comments
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I'm Ali - twenty seven years young from Australia. This blog is a place where I want to share all my thoughts & the things I love with you!

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