Kaleidoscopic Kara: Disney World: Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, Presidents Day and Carnival Style

I have great friends and some that, like me, love a good themed party. Jennifer took me to a whole new level of themed parties by introducing me to themed vacations! She took me to Disney World in Orlando, FL to celebrate Mardi Gras, Carnival (Mardi Gras in Europe) and Chinese New Year with Mickey and his friends. I have to admit I was pretty excited to get out of the freezing cold weather that was surrounding us in Virginia.

Themed vacations was a hit. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter hotel that was fabulous decorated for Mardi Gras.

The first thing we did when we got there was order biegnets (squared powder donuts), YUM!!!! It was a little bit of a shock to my system since I haven't had that much sugar, fried food and bread in a long time. (more on that in another post)

We then headed to Downtown Disney for some Cajun food for lunch. Jenn is big for themed food and I wasn't going to object. House of Blues apparently gets pretty booked at night so we went for a late lunch. The atmosphere was very New Orleans and the salmon salad I ate was delicious. I can't ever get my salmon to taste that good.

And no trip to Florida is complete without some time at the pool. I needed to thaw out from the freezing VA weather we had been having. I think I may have been singing Olaf's song about summer at one time or another.

Dinner that night was at the Boatwrights Dining Hall at the resort. I had some amazing shrimp and grits for dinner. I have never had grits before but it seemed like an appropriate southern style food to eat. Man was it good and I had been craving some good shrimp for a while. it was very satisfying indeed. Dinner was made even better by the presence of my old friend Sara Smith Bolling who drove up to meet us. It was great catching up with her.

So this mask was at the gift shop and it is hand made in Italy and then shipped to Florida to be decorated. it was so beautiful but definitely more money than I will ever be able to afford. Did you notice my clothes are coordinated colors for mardi gras?

The rest of the week was spent exploring Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Such a fun time. I ate a lot of food but hey, we were walking 10 + miles a day so I didn't feel bad about one bite. I love being in Disney World. It makes me feel like a kid again and it really is a place where dreams can come true.

Presidents Day march

American food at the Liberty Tavern for lunch. Another great salmon salad and I even had a gooey toffee desert which was divine!

Aurora is from France and they love to celebrate Carnival there.

Tiana and Prince Naveen are from New Orleans and they love a good Mardi Gras celebration. When Naveen asked us where he should take Tiana on a date to in VA we told him to go to Alexandria for food. When he asked what they should order Jenn suggested frog legs. He didn't like that idea very much.

In France at Epcot they started getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival with all the topiaries. Belle is from France and they like to celebrate Carnival too. So pretty.

So of course we had to meet Belle and ask her what we should eat.

Some kind of chocolate cake covered in a ganache and shaved pieces of white chocolate. Oh my taste buds were in love.


Macaroon with raspberries and lemon pudding.			It was so good. I may have had two. YUM!

A real Ceasar Salad in Italy and an amazing 4 cheese pizza.

Another desert from France. Chocolate Cake with raspberry pudding and fresh raspberries and sauce on top. A great way to start the day.

Chinese New Year should be celebrated in China. Hurray for the year of the Ram! or is it a goat? Or maybe a sheep? No one can really decide in the US what it is. Oh well, Good wishes to all.