Laughing Lindsay

Travel Reviews, Giveaways, & More!

Caring for Giants Tour Review at Animal Kingdom

By Leave a Comment

Back in 2019 I was lucky enough to do the Caring for Giants Tour at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It’s a short behind the scenes look at the elephants of the park. I thought it was a fun add-on activity that was worth doing a review of.

Caring for Giants Tour

Caring for Giants Tour

The Caring for Giants tour is a 60 minute experience providing a look at the elephants of the Animal Kingdom theme park. Your guide will take you backstage and tell you all kinds of facts about these glorious creatures. You will also get to admire them from a backstage area 80 to 100 feet away. At the end, there is time to take lots of photos of the elephants.

At $35 a person, this is one of the cheaper add-on experiences at Walt Disney World. In fact, I think it may be a good starting point for someone looking to add on a tour at Disney. At an hour long, it is also a shorter experience (versus a more intense 5 hour tour at Magic Kingdom or the several hours long Universal Holiday Tour).

Tips

  • Reserve your spot early. There are a few small tours offered each day, so it can book up early. Reservations open up 60 days out, just like dining. So, decide early on if you want to book this experience and book it as soon as you can.
  • Best for animal lovers. While it is super neat to see stuff backstage as a theme park fan, I think someone who doesn’t like elephants or animals might get bored here.
  • Ask questions. The guides will give you tons of information on elephants as well as how they care for them. Feel free to ask questions. There was plenty of time for our group to ask questions, so take advantage of that time.
  • Bring your camera/phone. The last little bit of the tour is spent just observing the elephants and taking photos. It’s a peaceful and memorable experience.
  • Be prepared. This is a one hour outdoor walking tour. Dress appropriately.
  • Have fun. While this is a learning experience, it’s also a very calm one. So, relax and enjoy!

Is the Caring for Giants Tour worth it?

While I don’t know if children would enjoy this tour, I think most adults would. If you like elephants, then you will like this. At $35, it’s not a huge gamble of money. However, if you have a packed theme park day, it may be best to skip this one.

Cape May Café Breakfast Character Meal Review

By Leave a Comment

Fall may be beginning, but if you are looking for a character meal with summertime vibes at Disney World, then I’ve got the meal for you! The Cape May Café breakfast is a character buffet meal at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. I ate here last December with my mom and I am happy to finally share my review.

Cape May Café Breakfast

Cape May Café Breakfast

Dinner at this location is a character-free seafood buffet. However, the Cape May Café breakfast is a beach-themed character dining buffet experience. In fact, Disney calls it Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast! So, you know it’s going to be a good beachy time! Admittedly, that good time does come at a cost with it being $45/adult and $29/child, plus tax and gratuity.

Before I get into the review of this restaurant, I want to disclose that this character meal holds a special place in my heart. This was technically my first character meal! I booked it for my solo stay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort during the Disney Social Media Moms 2016 Celebration. It was during this meal that I learned what all of the hype was about for these character meals!

The Characters

I was happy to discover that the characters’ outfits had been updated since the last time I dined here. The last time I was here, the characters were wearing more general nautical themed or ocean setting outfits. You can see in the Instagram post above from 2016 that Donald was wearing a fun spin on his classic outfit back then. In the post below, also from 2016, Minnie is wearing a swimsuit and seahorses on her cover up.

Now, the characters are wearing the appropriate attire for a day at the beach! As you can see in the more recent photos below, Donald is sporting a striped undershirt and a beachy button up shirt over it. He also seems pretty happy with his hat! Daisy and Minnie are both wearing summery dresses. Goofy is wearing a shirt and swim trunks! Everyone looks perfect for a beach bash!

I have to commend all of the characters for being perfect each time I’ve eaten here. The interactions are fun and priceless! This was my first character meal ever as well as my first real character meal after the pandemic. There’s just something about the vibes here that make it special.

The Food

I have to admit, even the food is better here now! The meal started with some tasty salted caramel “beach buns” with a vanilla cream. My mom and I may have asked for seconds of these! I was tickled to discover that you can get pog juice here now too!

The buffet features a good variety of foods to choose from. It’s one of the few places you can get Mickey and Minnie waffles! My mom appreciated the omelet station, while I enjoyed an eggs benedict. I felt like this meal was a more elevated dining experience than some other basic breakfasts on property.

Is The Cape May Café Breakfast Worth It?

I always struggle to determine if something is worth the money or not. However, I will say that this was a good meal with characters. I will add one caveat to eating here: the location. The Skyliner has made it much easier to get here now, but it still might not be worth the hassle of coming/going for some folks. Due to the location, it seems to have availability when some other character meals may not. I think it’s worth it if you want a fun breakfast with characters. If you are on a tight budget, short on time, or not going to be staying or visiting the Skyliner/Epcot area, then it’s probably not worth it for you.

Walt Disney World Value Resorts Guide

By Leave a Comment

There are so many different places to stay at WDW that it can be difficult to decide which is best for you and your family. So, as part of my content on the hotels, I’m doing a breakdown guide for each tier of hotels to help people decide which one is best for them. Today, I’m starting with the Walt Disney World Value Resorts!

Disney World Value Resorts

Disney World Value Resorts

Technically, there are five different Disney World value resorts: All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Pop Century and Art of Animation. The All-Stars are the cheapest rooms on property. Pop Century is typically a little more expensive than those three and Art of Animation is the most expensive in this category. I’ve stayed at all but All-Star Sports and I believe that each of them can be the right fit for certain people. To help people decide, I will be declaring which one is best for each circumstance.

Best for Couples

The best value for a couple is Pop Century. My husband and I have stayed here many times! We love that it’s on the Skyliner and the prices are more tolerable than some other places on property. Also, the theming tends to draw in fewer groups, so it’s a little calmer than the others. You can read my full Pop Century review to get a better idea of what you can expect at this hotel.

Best for Bigger Families

I know that some people have larger families and require a suite. For that, I’m going to recommend the suites at All-Star Music for the most budget friendly. However, the suites at Art of Animation look amazing as well! I think it really depends on your budget here. If you can’t spring for AoA, then Music is perfectly fine. However, the theming at Art is probably more attractive to families with small children. Full disclosure: I’ve never had the privilege of staying in either of these suites. However, if I ever do, I will post a separate review and may amend this post to reflect my new opinions.

Best for Teens

If you have teenagers traveling in your group who have outgrown over-the-top Disney character themes, then I would suggest looking at All-Star Music or All-Star Sports. Both of these have large statues themed to the resort that may appeal to teens with an interest in sports or music. I did an All-Stars Resorts Overview a while back that you can read to get a better sense of pros/cons of staying at an All-Stars.

Best for Disney/Pixar Movie Fans

If you have a “Little Mermaid”, “Cars”, “Lion King”, or “Finding Nemo” fan then you should consider Art of Animation. I stayed in a “Little Mermaid” room back in 2019 for my Art of Animation review. I was tickled with the theming and I imagine other fans of these films would be as well.

If you have a “Toy Story”, “101 Dalmatians”, “Love Bug”, “Mighty Ducks” or “Fantasia” fan, then you should stay at All-Star Movies.

Best Disney World Value Resorts Overall

I think the best Walt Disney World Value Resorts are Pop Century and Art of Animation. The Skyliner just can’t be beat! However, a stay at an All-Star is still a good time and is better in certain circumstances. Those are just the two I prefer. So, do you agree with me? If not, which one(s) do you prefer?

Fall in Orlando Theme Parks

By Leave a Comment

While it may seem a little early for this post, the theme parks are beginning to celebrate the autumn season later this week! So, I thought I would do a fall in Orlando theme parks post to kick-off the fall season. If you are wondering about summer in the theme parks, here is my post on it from two months ago.

Fall in Orlando

Fall in Orlando

Personally, fall is one of my favorite times to visit the theme parks! You can typically expect a bit cooler temperatures, which I consider a huge win. However, I would encourage you to keep an eye on the extended weather forecast if you plan a fall trip as it’s prime hurricane season. I’ve been lucky in that only one trip has been impacted by a hurricane. It is something to keep in mind though. On another note, I love fall and all of the theme parks have some fun/Halloween events to look forward to! So, I think it’s worth planning a trip during the fall months as long as you pay attention to the weather.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

If you are visiting Walt Disney World in the fall, you can expect to experience the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival! Taking place from August 29th to November 23rd in 2024, it’s a fabulous festival with lots to enjoy for fellow foodies! I don’t drink much, but I love eating! I enjoy walking around this festival and trying different dishes. They also have some cool concerts planned as part of their Eat to the Beat series. If you are visiting during these months, I highly recommend a visit.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

If you are visiting Walt Disney World from August 9th to October 31, 2024, then on select nights you can attend the separately ticketed event Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. I was supposed to attend last year, but the hurricane cut-off my WDW portion of the trip. Unfortunately, I haven’t attended this party since 2019. However, prior to that I attended it several times. It’s one of my favorite things to do at Walt Disney World! I love the special parade as well as fireworks! I’m hoping to attend this year’s bash. FYI: it’s not a scary event. It’s a family-friendly event including trick-or-treating for kids of all ages!

SeaWorld Orlando Halloween Spooktacular

Last year, I was lucky enough to visit SeaWorld Orlando and enjoy their Halloween Spooktacular event. In fact, you can read my SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween post from last year to get a better idea of what to expect at this event, including my review of the Count von Count Spooktacular Breakfast. This seasonal event takes place on weekends from August 31 to November 3rd. This is one of the few Halloween events included with regular park admission. It also takes place during the day, which has its pros and cons. It’s a family friendly event with mermaids and dancing scarecrows. You can also trick-or-treat around the park for an additional cost.

SeaWorld Orlando Howl-O-Scream

Now, we are moving on to the scarier, more adult Halloween events in Orlando. While SeaWorld is child friendly during the day, it takes a turn for the scary on select nights from September 6th to November 2nd with their Howl-O-Scream event. A separately ticketed event meant for adults, it features several haunted houses, scare zones, shows, roaming haunts, and themed bars. It is cheaper than the OG scary event at Universal, but seems to be in the same vain. I haven’t ever attended this one, but I’ve heard good things about it.

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights

Lastly, we have the premiere Halloween theme park event, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. This is the top tier scare event. It features 10 highly themed haunted houses, including popular IPs. It will take place on select nights from August 30th to November 3rd.

As of May 2024, Universal hasn’t officially announced any IPs for this year’s event. If you are on the fence, I recommend reading my Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks post. I attended in 2023 by myself and did a post Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips for anyone considering doing the same. I also booked a 2023 HHN Daytime Houses Tour and reviewed it. Lastly, I posted a separate Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando Resort Guide to give you an idea of what to expect.

Orlando Theme Parks in Fall

As you can see, there are several fun events taking place in fall in Orlando theme parks. From the haunts to the scary good food, there’s something for everyone! So, which of these events are you planning on visiting this year? Or, which of these is your favorite to visit each year?

You can view my other seasonal theme park guides here:

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Review

By Leave a Comment

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is another one of the “value resorts” at Walt Disney World. I previously stayed there in 2019 on a solo trip. Today, I’m going to review it as I wrap up my look at the value resorts at WDW.

Art of Animation Resort Review

Art of Animation

Disney’s Art of Animation resort is across the lake from Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. It’s basically a sister resort to Pop with highly themed areas corresponding to different Disney/Pixar films. It also has access to the Skyliner for transportation to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. While technically considered a value resort, it is usually the most expensive value resort on property. This is due to the popular animated film themes and the fact it has family suites. This is a fun resort to walk around and look at the huge statues in each area. The movies represented include: the standard rooms in “The Little Mermaid” and family suites in “Cars”, “Finding Nemo”, and “The Lion King”.

Pros

  • Movie Themed Rooms/Sections – This is probably one of the biggest perks of staying here. If you or your loved one is a big fan of one of these movies, then this is a huge reason to stay here. I stayed in “The Little Mermaid” section to celebrate my 30th birthday since the original animation came out the year I was born.
  • Family Suites – The family suites can sleep up to 6 people with a regular queen sized bed, a bed/table combo, and a pull out sofa bed. This is great for larger families or groups. It also makes it more expensive. I’ve not had the pleasure of staying in one of these rooms, but I hope to someday. If I do, I will be sure to do a separate review and link it here.
  • Large Pool – In fact, Art of Animation has the largest resort pool at Walt Disney World! The Big Blue Pool is themed to “Finding Nemo” and is very big!
  • Skyliner Access – My husband and I love the Skyliner. It’s so easy to use and we prefer to stay at resorts on the Skyliner just to use this mode of transportation.
  • On-site Perks – Just like staying at Pop or even Disney’s All Star Resorts, you get certain perks for staying on-site including 60 days advance dining reservations, early park entry, and free park transportation!

Cons

  • More Expensive – The standard rooms are the most expensive value rooms and the suites are sometimes comparable in price to a deluxe resort.
  • Beds in Suites – Again, there’s only one regular bed in the suites. So, I guess you can pull straws for the other beds in a group with multiple adults. Ha.
  • Noise – This is moreso in a standard room as those have outdoor corridors. The suites have interior hallways and should be quieter.

Is Art of Animation Worth The Money?

I think the question of value of this resort really comes down to preferences and budget. It may be worth it for a fan of one of the movies or for larger families. However, a couple would probably prefer the cheaper rooms across the lake at Pop.