A Guide to Food in Disneyland

Part of the fun of the Disneyland experience is gorging yourself on all the food.  It's basically a day long food crawl

Me and The Boy have our day down to a science.  What we ride first, when we get fast passes, and when we stop for certain snacks....it's an art form really

We like to sort of graze all day long instead of stopping for long sit down meals.  We have on occasion, but when we're in full ride mode we like to eat while we walk or stand in line to maximize our time

Here are some of our favorite foods along with a few things we tried for the very first time

All prices are according to when we were there 11/2-11/3/2012

We always start our day out in Adventureland and move our way into New Orleans Square.  After we've ridden all those rides we've usually been there about an hour and a half to 2 hours and we're ready for our first pit stop

The eating frenzy always begins at the Royal St. Veranda in New Orleans Square for a bread bowl full of clam chowder

For $9.29 you get this delciousness

Usually we get our own, but we'd had a pretty big breakfast at our hotel so we shared this time and it was a good amount for two people as a snack

Mmmmm....creamy, clammy, goodness.  And dippage is a must

I have never veered away from the chowder, but my sister and her husband stopped here for soup too.  She got the chowder and he got the gumbo.  While I guess the gumbo wasn't terrible, she said he kept stealing bites of her chowder, which I think says it all....so I'll just stick with what I know.

It's a pretty good value for what you get and how filling it is

And for proof of how we ALWAYS get it....Circa Honeymoon

I guess this window always fritters too....I had never noticed until this last trip..(probably because I was too focused on chowder) and they switch up the flavors periodically with seasons.  Since it was fall they were pumpkin flavored so we decided to get all wild and shit and give them a go

They were sooo sooooo good!  Kind of like eating a pumpkin churro.  They were really fluffy inside with big chunks of pumpkin and rolled in cinnamon sugar

You get 4 big fritters for only $3.69, which I thought was a very good price.  We will definitely be getting them again!

 Next stop....Chimichungas!

This seems to be one of the lesser known Disneyland treats....from at least what I've noticed anyway.  Whenever I bring it up most people don't even know about them.  I think it might be because it's only sold at one little window stand Edelweiss Snacks located behind the Matterhorn

It also sells corn and turkey legs, which seems to be what most people go for....but if you've never had the chimichunga before you're missing out!

This is me ridiculously excited...but I was waiting to eat it until we got on the train...so I was just smelling it to tide me over

I'm a weirdo....yes.  And he  likes to takes pictures of me being weird to prove it

A very flattering picture of me wolfing it down......I'm such a delicate flower -__-

Num nums....

Okie doke......moving right along

I have a confession. I'm almost embarassed to admit that up until this last trip I had never had a Dole Whip.

I know, I know!  Blasphemy!  It's such a Disneyland favorite of so many I'm a little ashamed.  But funny enough The Boy had never had one either.  So we broke our Dole Whip cherries.  Or I guess it would be more fitting to say we crushed our pineapples? bahahahaha

I have an extremely corny sense of humor if you haven't picked that up yet.  But that's what happens when you're 23 going on 60

There are 2 different option, the classic Dole Whip is like a pineapple soft serve, and then there is a Dole Whip float.  We decided since it was our first time we would take it easy and go classic....you gotta take it slow the first time. ;)

You get a cute swirly tower of Whip for $3.69.....and it was the perfect amount to share, that is if you're willing to

The boy dived right in

We both give it a big thumbs up.  Where has this been my whole life?  I can't believe I wasted 22 years of my life before having one...especially considering my love of pineapple

Next time I'll have to get the float

And I have a "thing" for floats of all kinds....so when we're in line I'm sure I'll look like this

I may need to medicate beforehand

Oh yea, and these are over by the Tiki Room right at the entrance to Adventureland

Now for Churros!

Who doesn't love a churro? It's crunchy yet chewy fried dough in cinnamon sugar....alllll good!

You can get those all over the park at the little carts for $3.50

And last but certainly not least....we ended our night with corn dogs

You get these at Little Red Wagon Corn Dogs at the end of main street.  The line can be epically long but it does move fast so don't be scared

Unless of course you get stuck behind the family of 6 who have been in line for 12 minutes and wait until they get to the window to start deciding what everybody wants.  

Oh. Em. Geeeee.

I want to give parents like that a swift punch to the larynx

Chips or apples?......  Honey?  Chips or apples?  What do you want? Apples?.......  Or chips?

For god sake just give the damn kid some effin apples and call it a day!! 

End rant.

I LOVE corn dogs....and let me tell you these are some of the best you'll ever have!

Perfectly crispy but still soft and fluffy and they are GINORMOUS!

Like stuff you to the brim huge!  And (if you hadn't already figured it out) they come with your choice of apple slices or chips

I'm not in Disneyland to eat apples...it's my break from being healthy.  So I get chips

You get all this for only $6.19!!  This is why I dub this the greatest value in all of Disneyland!  And a very kid friendly meal too so you could feed the whole family at a pretty decent price

We gnawed on these while we watched the parade.... utter dericousness!

And just as an added bonus...here are some of the foods we ate on some past trips.  

I don't have any prices on these though..sorry!

This is the fried chicken dinner which I've had twice at The Plaza Inn 

And Beignets in New Orleans Square

Another fun thing we like to do is go buy a bunch of cand yor snacks from the shops on Mainstreet and have a little spread during the parade

Here we have hot chocolate, a cupcake, toffee....and a Diet Coke to wash it down haha

Well there ya have it my Disney lovin friends!  Hope this was somewhat helpful to you

Come back later this week for a Food Crawl through California Adventure

 

DIY Mickey & Minnie Backpacks

The final touch to completing our Day 1 Disney outfits was a coordinating backpack

Let me tell you a little something about myself....once I get something in my head....it's hard for me to let it go.  Like traditions.  I MUST stick to them or it just feels wrong.

One tradition I have is to always use my Minnie Mouse mini backpack when I go to Disneyland.  Get it? It really is a MINNIE backpack. bahahahahaha  

 I found that waaaay more hilarious than I probably should have

Anyway, I've had this backpack since mini backpacks were all the rage in the 90s.

I got it in Kindergarten and I've loved that thing ever since.  I remember thinking it felt really "high school" to have a mini backpack and carry your books...after all that's what my sister Heather and her friends did

So I distinctly remember taking my Minnie backpack to school instead of a full sized one and carrying my folder of homework at my side.  A single folder wasn't enough for me to feel "cool" so I also carried a Barbie chapter book with me.  

Every. Single. Day.  

It was like a prop. It never occured to me that it probably doesn't look to convincing to carry around the same book for 5 months....but luckily my 1st grade peers were just as clueless as I was.

I thought I was such a badass.  Minnie Mouse backpacks and Barbie books just SCREAM cool ya know!

Back to Disneyland....I've used this backpack every trip

A few examples.....

Rockin the Minnie mini backpack since 95'

Told you I'm a tradtions freak.....see how the pics are the same?

So while the idea of dressing up was fun...I was sort of heartbroken knowing I woudn't be able to rock my Minnie mini

I knew the only way I could justify turning my back on my backpack was to come up with a cool replacement


Just need a cheap drawstring bag (got mine at Dollar Tree) and some foam sheets

Cut out your shapes and hot glue them on

A glittery  bow for me

And the shorts buttons for The Boy

I heard a few whispers from people about how they were cool.....that's the one time it's alright for people to talk behind our backs....if it's about our backpacks ;)

Paint Your Old Converse

So this post is about painting shoes....true....but isn't it Disney Week?

Yes.  yes it is.

The Boy and I wanted to dress up (kinda sorta) for this trip to Disneyland.  For Day1 we wanted to be Mickey and Minnie because they are the cutest couple ever....next to us of course  ;)

Black shirt. Check

Red pants. Check

Ears. Check  (check out my DIY Mens Mickey ears)

All that was left was the yellow shoes

I had an old pair of high top Converse that I've literally had since I was 14.  I wore them to my very first day of high school.  (my outfit was GOD AWFUL by the way)  No joke.  So that makes them 8 years old.

They held up well as far as wear and tear goes....but they are more faded then a bunch of high schoolers drinking Hpnotiq at a house party. Faded and all, I could never seem to part with them.  Now I'm happy I hoarded them all these years

And then for The Boy I got him a pair of knock offs from Walmart for only $11.  We looked in the stores and it would have cost us $55 to get an actual pair of yellow Converse his size.....I'd say we saved a few bucks...dontcha think?

Tape off all the rubber areas and start painting. Here I am working on his

It took me about 5 or so coats.  I probably should have primed them...which I figured out doing the first shoe....but then I was afraid they wouldn't look the same so I just kept at the multiple coats on all the shoes

I finished my pair off with a few coats of glittery yellow paint.  It didn't show up well in pictures but it was really cute in person.  I liked it because it wasn't in yo face glitter..... but more of a subtle sparkle.   Which is weird for me....I normally like things to look like a disco ball of in yo face sparkle.  It was a nice change

Just let them dry completely and peel off your tape.  That's it!

Here we are waiting in line for the Pooh ride 

Waiting for the train

And meeting our fashion inspiration himself

We walked all over The Happiest Place on Earth for 15 hours and the shoes gave us no problems...no cracking or paint falling off which I was a little worried about...we were all good in the hood!

Come back tomorrow for the final DIY project of our Mouse outfits!

DIY Mens Mickey Ears (out of a baseball cap)

This last trip to Disneyland was for our one year wedding anniversary....to relive our honeymoon.

At my bridal shower my sister Kinsey gave us the most AWESOME gift ever and got us the bride and groom set of Mickey ears

It was an exciting moment in my life!

(^Damn am I white here or what!?!)

When we got to the park The Boy was such a good sport about wearing his ears!  I expected that he would wear them for a few pictures and then want to put them in a locker or something.....but he was awesome and wore them the whole trip

And here's a funny ride picture

We wore the hell outta those ears!

And here is our Oh so artistic cell phone shot of our drive home....back to reality for us. Waaaah! :(

This time around I knew I was going to wear Minnie ears....but I started thinking about The Boy.

I'm sure he would be up for wearing plain Mickey ears....but an idea started brewing in my little head.

He's sort of signature look (if you can call it a "look") is that he is ALWAYS wearing a cap....most of the time backwards too.  

I know what you're thinking....he's breaking fashion barriers here people!  So hip...so original!!

I thought it would be funny to make him his own Mickey ears out of a plain black baseball cap

Here's what I did

 First thing I did was figure out how big I wanted the ear to be.  I made my own paper template by drawing 2 circles with a strip in between that's about 3/4"  wide and about 1/2" long (distance between the two circles)  But you can play around with it to make it exactly how you want it in proportion to the ears you are making

Then I cut it out of stiffened felt

Cut a short strip of the felt to lay in between the two circles.

Hot glue it in place and then fold the two circle up and hot glue them together

The middle strip was skinny because a thicker piece would have kept the two circle from lining up correctly once you folded them.  Since the skinny piece doesn't provide much support for attaching it to the hat, I hot glued it to a wider piece of felt as a base

I put a THIN strip of hot glue down the center of the base and attached it to the hat.   Then hand sewed the edges down

I added an iron on "M" and it was done!

(If you can't tell...we like to take the same pics each time we go...thus the always pointing to our pins)

Here is a good side profile shot of it....where you can see its manly baseball "capishness" (<--new word)

I was trying to pass him off as rare and exotic to make some cash....but upon further inspection they returned him -__-

I think they were a success....slightly manlier.  Well.....as manly as you can get wearing mouse ears I guess

A few people even asked him where he bought them and I got to smile proudly as he told them his wife made them.  Winning!

Disney Week!

Welcome to Disney week here at The Busy Broad!

Like I've said before...me and The Boy...we be Disney peeps!

In fact...look at our Christmas card this year...late..I'm aware...

We just can't get enough Disney!  We were just in the House of Mouse in November and we're both already itching to go back.....BAD!

This week I'll be showing you all the projects I made for our trip, as well as some tips and guides to food in the parks.....so stay tuned my Mouse lovin friends!

New York Crumb Cake (Also known as Christmas Crumb Cake in my family)

DISCLAIMER: If you're a food snob who has a problem with using store bought cake mixes....I suggest you leave now

I have a soft spot for cake mix.  It really saves you a lot of time and you can easily doctor them up and make them your own

I just like the idea of knowing I only have to make sure I have one box of cake mix instead of having to check to make sure I have enough flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder if I'm making chocolate cake, and possibly pudding,

And they're cheap

My high school culinary arts teacher always made this AMAZING coffee cake for teachers meetings and breakfasts at the school and she would always bring back the leftovers or us to eat in class

A handful of times I gorged myself on this cake and hoped one day we would make it in class

Well....the end of the semester came and we never did.  So I walked up to her on the last day of class and asked for the recipe.  She quickly pulled out a copy from a filing cabinet and I was on my way.  Had I known it would be that simple I would've asked for the recipe months ago....but I was major chicken shit back then and I always got nervous asking people for things

I made it for my mom to take to her work a few times and it was always a huge hit.  Then I started making it a Christmas morning tradition

I find that you're so busy opening gifts, then hurrying to get ready to make the family rounds, and cooking for dinner that it doesn't leave much time for breakfast

That's why this crumb cake is so perfect.  Just make it the day before and have it with some coffee or hot chocolate and everyone will be happy

Just mix up a box of yellow cake mix according to the directions below and spread evenly in a well greased sheet cake pan.  Bake for 15 minutes

While it's baking combine all the ingredients for the crumbs.  It will form a big lump like this

After the 15 mins that the cake baked, let it cool slightly.  Then begin breaking the dough up into large crumbs to cover the top of the entire cake

Bake another 15 mins and then let cool completely before eating

Here's a bonus story (lucky you!) on the fiasco I had this year making this cake

Now, normally I am pretty good at checking to make sure I have all the ingredients before I start making something....but of course the one time I'm not.....I don't have any freakin cinnamon!  I could have sworn I had some because I ALWAYS do.  Here I am cake baked and everything in the bowl to make the crumbs, minus cinnamon.  By this time its 9pm on Christmas Eve.

I hurry to the car to see if I can catch a place before they close.  Frys:Closed. Safeway:Closed.  Even Walmart which is my go to at 3am for emergencies is closed

So I get this bright idea in my head.  Don't they have cinnamon packets at gas stations?  Near the coffee?  I only need 2 tsp....I'll just grab a handful of those.

After passing 3 closed gas stations I get to an open Circle K.  I am looking all over the sugar packet area...no cinnamon.  I walk around a little while and check again.  Still none. (as if they were going to magically appear) I can feel the cashiers watching me.  I can only imagine what they thought.  Crazy lady in her pajamas wandering aimlessly and digging through the sugar packets.

Now I fully intended on buying something if they had the cinnamon....because you can't just pick up packets and go without buying anything

If they didn't have any I planned to just leave, but I realized at this point I have made myself a suspicious target.  

I serve myself the smallest cup of hot chocolate they have and walk up to the register.  The cashier looks at me like I'm a freak and says..."that it?"  

"Yep," I say.
 "You sure?" he replies
"I'm sure"

I want to know what this guy thought of me.  I really, REALLY do.

So I drive home and pick up The Boy.  We decided to break into his parents house and steal some since they were out of town.  

But for the record, it's not really breaking and entering when you have a key.

I wouldn't want you all thinking I break into homes. That's just terrible! Geesh!

But it is still stealing

On our drive over there we noticed an open Walgreens.  The Boy ran in on a last ditch effort and luckily came out with the loot.

It saved is from being Christmas Eve thieves and I got to finish my cake

I hope everyone thought it was especially tasty this year.....they better damn it!!    

Now I'm wondering if there are any gas stations at all that have cinnamon packets.  Or was this just a crazy delusion of hope I made up in my sleep deprived head?

And for the record I didn't even drink a single sip of that hot chocolate.   Lame.

Moral of the story...check for all your ingredients.  Especially on Christmas Eve 

New York Crumb Cake (Christmas Crumb Cake)

1 Yellow cake mix
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 C. Milk
2/3 C. Oil

Crumb Topping

4 C. Flour
2/3 C. Brown Sugar
2/3 C. White Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. Cinnamon
3 sticks melted butter

Combine the cake mix, egs, milk, and oil.  Beat until smooth.  Spread in well greased sheet cake pan.
Bake for 15 mins at 350.  Meanwhile combine all ingredients for crumb topping.  

After 15 mins pull cake out and let cool slightly.  break apart crumb topping dough into large crumbs and cover the entire cake.  Bake and additional 15 mins

Let cool completely before serving

Peppermint Frappe

I love me some candy canes...peppermint is delish!  But after Christmas there always seems to be an abundance of them lying around from every ones stockings

I blame it on the fact that they take so long to eat...unlike maybe a mini Twix bar for example....which were completely devoured by somebody before Christmas night was even over. 

 Every.  Single.  One.

So while the Twix, Kit Kats, amd Reese's Christmas tree never seem to be an issue....I hate to see those canes go to waste

Fear not....I have a solution

For years now in my family it has been a tradition to make Peppermint Frappes for dessert Christmas night

This year was the first time in 6 years that I didn't get to host Christmas  

And if you were doing the math  (I know you're not cuz really....nobody cares) yes that means I have been hosting Christmas since I was 17

Again this damn "earning a living" crap is cramping my style...so since it was held at my sisters house this year the Frappes didn't happen

BUT I just made some last night for me and The Boy as I was gathering up all the leftover candy

Here's all you  need

Some Sprite "esque" soda, nilla cream cream, and your candy canes

Now this is a total Nonrecipe recipe

Do it all to your taste 

Just crush up your candies...either by whacking them in a ziplock bag or in the food processor

Then blend with your ice cream and some splashes of the soda to get it all going

Make it as minty as you like or however thick or thin you want

Some people like to suck it through a straw, I like it thick with a spoon

I haven't been able to find the top to my blender in over a year....but I keep holding out hope I'll find it.  So the blender sits in the cabinet and I used my immersion blender instead

Take a look at my mess

I want my top back!!!

Anyways....I like to hold back some of the crushed candies to spinkle on top.  I mix it through for a little added crunch

Go gather up your candy canes and get to blending!