WDW Odds & Ends…

A few random things from the last couple of visits to the word, and as usual, a few are food and beverage related…

In the Magic Kingdom, the new Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom game has launched – Miss Bonnie & I got to try it out during the Beta test phase.

The main check-in area is in the Fire Station on Main Street.

Training area inside the Fire Station

One of the game "portals" in the Main Street area

The cards that are part of the game have various Disney characters on them, each displaying a specific power that helps you defend the Magic Kingdom from those evil characters wishing to take it over…  Miss Bonnie got a card that must have been intended for me…

Has to be the BEST super-power ever!

Our first thoughts on the game were quite positive, but we’ve got a long way to go to see how it finally pans out – I won’t go into any great description of the Sorcerer’s game here, as it’s already been discussed in detail elsewhere on the web… the official Disney blog has made several posts, so for a quick overview if you’re not familiar with the Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom go there… I also added some of my comments on the subject at the Main Street Gazette.

While on Main Street, we (not surprisingly) made our way into the Confectionery…

here we found some cute Mickey-shaped cookies.

I always enjoy watching the Castmembers as they create some of the goodies that make their way into the counter…

Mickey Crispy Pops were being created this day…

In the not-edible-category we found a few cool items for sale here as well.

In the tea category is yet another Alice-themed teapot available…

I loves me some Alice, so I’m not going to complain about there being too much Alice/tea merch… Too bad I’m not a big tea drinker…

But we did find some new java holders:

Por favor...

Miss Bonnie and I do both down us some coffee, and we both thought the new coffee go mugs were quite nice.

There looks to be six new designs, four of which have clever sayings and/or images on two sides.

These retail for $14.99 – I think a little pricey, but most are very clever…

Now let’s make our way over to World Showcase at Epcot.

Country-specific-Epcot-branded merchandise (primarily glassware and clothing) continues to show up around the World Showcase – I really love that there is merchandise that you can find that is specific to one locale!

Not Epcot-specific/branded, but there is an interesting selection of glasses in Germany…

they feature the name and skyline of a Germany city, but the most interesting thing is that the graphic on the outside of the glass is, well, fuzzy… kind of like felt… weird.

The Italy pavilion has really expanded their selection of oils and seasonings…

there are some very interesting olive oils, Italian seasonings and spice grinders, but be prepared for some sticker-shock… nothing here is cheap, even by Disney-standards!

At the Enoteca in Italy, a couple of new wine flights have been added…

Hopefully a preview of great things to come at the new under-construction wine bar!

Speaking of which, we took a peek over the construction walls at Tutto Italia…

looks pretty gutted now, but we have high hopes for the wine bar that will be ensconced within… time will tell..

While Tutto Italia is undergoing the refurb, the Food & Wine booth has been set up with an ambitious quick-service menu.

Over in Great Britain, there have been some changes in the Toy Soldier store…

The rear section of the building has long been devoted to a Winnie-the-Pooh character meet-and-greet…

but the area was recently re-themed to look like Christopher Robin’s bedroom – genius! What took so long???

Thanks to our good friends over at WDW Today, we got the chance to check out the backstage (well, really the upstairs) at Norway.

Matt, Mike, Mike, Len and the Fabulous Annette hosted an event in a space above Maelstrom in Norway (congrats guys on 1,000 shows!).

The inner nerd in us took hold and we took pictures of most everything…

And yes, being the nerds we are, we had to check out the restrooms…

The other room is labeled "MENN"

Over in China we had a fun find in the gift store…

nothing says “family-friendly” like a grab-and-go ice chest of Coke, specialty teas, and Tsing Tao… nice…

Outside the parks we had a nice animal viewing opportunity…

while staying at our “Welcome Home”-away-from home of Kidani Village, we were lucky enough to have a room that overlooked the Pembe Savannah (this is the one you can see from the pool area). This savannah has quite a different variety of animals from the others at Kidani and the Jambo House – we were treated to lots of Tommys, Nyalas, and Impalas… but best of all this savannah has (well had) a pair of the beautiful, fascinating, and rarely seen Okapi… I say “had” a pair, because there are now three… a female calf was born last October, and just in the past couple of weeks she (along with mama) was being released into the Pembe Savannah for very limited times…

We felt very fortunate to have seen one of the first public appearances by this gorgeous young lady!

So there you have it – some recent Odds & Ends from around the World – hope you enjoyed!

Now, back to the kitchen… we’ll have new recipes for you soon!