Tag Archives: Magical Blogorail

Dining Plan, Hollywood Studios, Magical Blogorail Articles, Parks

Say Please and Thank You: A Meal at 50’s Prime Time Cafe

October 7, 2015 dadfordisney 11 Comments

Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Green Loop. Today we are discussing some of the unique dining experiences you can find at Walt Disney World.

One of my favorite unique dining experiences is at 50’s Prime Time Cafe. It gets guests back to a time when family dinners were a daily occurrence. Families were not worried about getting home from work and then rushing to get the kids to their nightly activity (sports, drama club, band, etc.). Families, in the 50’s, took the time and spent time eating together and catching up on the day before sitting down in front of the tiny television to watch some family programming.

The servers treat both the young and old as their kids. The servers play the role of mom and dad. They have high expectations. They expect to hear “please and thank you,” they expect to not to see your elbows on the table, they do not like tattle-tales, and they expect you to be a member of the clean plate club. Very few restaurants or homes are like this any more. One of the last places that I experienced this was during elementary and middle school where we had family-style lunches. The teachers sat at the head of the different tables and set the rules for the table. Some teachers were relaxed while others were strict. One teacher even went as far as having a three-strikes and no dessert policy.

But back to Disney and 50’s Prime Time Cafe. the decor is simply 1950’s from the tables to servers even down to the shows on the televisions sprinkled throughout the restaurant.

Who doesn’t enjoy watching the film from the opening day at Disneyland while eating their lunch or dinner. Some of the other televisions show various television shows from the 1950’s. It adds a nice piece of background ambiance to the meal.

Enough about the ambiance and decor….what about the food. The food is fantastic. Large portions and very filling. When I went with my family a couple of years ago, we went with the following. Any time fried chicken is on a Disney menu, it is going to be in front of me. So, I went with Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken. My wife could not make up her mind (everything sounded so good). She decided on A Sampling of Mom’s Favorite Recipes which is a piece of fried chicken (which meant more fried chicken for me), pot roast, and meat loaf. My daughter took in some baked chicken.

But we weren’t done. It was time for dessert. Since we were on the dining plan, we all got dessert and just like our entrees. The portions were large and filling. We couldn’t finish our dessert. I had the warm apple crisp while my wife had the brownie sundae which my daughter poached some of the ice cream out of.

I would like to thank a fellow Blogorailer, Julie from Saving Up For Disney, for letting me borrow her pictures for use in the article. The photos from my experience at 50’s Prime Time Cafe are lost somewhere on a fried laptop. So, thank you, Julie.

50’s Prime Time Cafe is one of the more unique dining experiences at Walt Disney World and take guests back to the everyday dining experience of our parents and grandparents.

For more unique Disney dining experiences,
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Green | Unique Disney Dining Experiences Loop:

1st Stop – Capturing Magical Memories | Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine
2nd Stop – Dad for Disney | 50’s Prime Time Cafe
3rd Stop – Sam’s Disney Diary | Victoria and Albert’s “The Queen Victoria Room Experience”
4th Stop – Adventureland Pam | T-Rex Restaurant
5th Stop – Home is Where the Mouse Is | Garden View Tea Room

Weekly Recaps

Weekly Update – May 31, 2015

May 31, 2015 dadfordisney Leave a comment

Another week as come and come on the Dad For Disney blog so that must mean it’s time for another weekly update. This update will include last week’s articles as well since there was no update last week.

The update starts with some news about a Disney Vacation Club expansion coming to Wilderness Lodge.

We find out where the tracks lead on a Wordless Wednesday.

Then a lot of words are used during a debate over what could happen to Star Wars Weekends if a Star Wars Land comes to Hollywood Studios.

Find out what some of the top “non-marquee” restaurants are at Walt Disney World.

See what Disney songs come out of your memories during a Music and Memories Wordless Wednesday.

Hop on the Magical Blogorail Orange Loop as it takes a tour of the best Disney resorts for couples.

Learn my strong opinion on dynamic/tiered pricing as it relates to Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

See what is going on in the world of refillable mugs at the Walt Disney World Resorts.

Weekly Recaps

Week in Review – March 29, 2015

March 29, 2015 dadfordisney Leave a comment

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a week in review article. With four articles published this week, I felt it time to put up a recap of this weeks articles:

Take a closer look at my athletic side with a review of my team’s performance at the City of Ottawa Curling Bonspiel.

There are lots of quick service restaurants at Walt Disney World. I write up what, in my opinion, is the best quick service location in each park.

Join me on the Orange Loop of The Magical Blogorail as I give you a great free tip on getting free water at quick service restaurants locations.

After spending two days writing about quick service restaurants, I close out the week talking about the best snacks at Walt Disney World.

Thanks for reading!

Magical Blogorail Articles

Getting The Most Out of Your Kilimanjaro Safari Photos

August 20, 2014 dadfordisney 26 Comments

Welcome to those of you joining me from Home is Where the Mouse is and those of you just hopping on board. I am the 4th stop on our Magical Blogorail.

The overall theme of the Blue Loop, this month, is Disney Photography 101. I will be focusing on one of the most highly photographed attractions at Walt Disney World – Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom. This attraction winding through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve provides guests with many opportunities to get pictures of various animals. This article will give you some tips and how to get most out of your photos and the best out of your camera.

All pictures in this article were taken with the camera in the above picture which my wife and I have nicknamed “Little Red.” This is a powerhouse of a camera for its size. It’s very compact making it easy to transport through the parks and it’s easy to use.

Tip #1: Learn everything about your camera

Most cameras have a lot of different settings, speeds, lighting, zooms, etc. Don’t be intimated and overwhelmed by all of things your camera can do. Instead learn what they can do. The two things about my family’s camera which we take advantage of on this attraction is the zoom but, more importantly, the “burst setting.” This setting allows the user to take multiple pictures each time the picture button is pressed. The downside is a lot of wasted pictures but in an era of digital photography the wasted pictures are easily deleted.

An example of the burst setting:

These pictures were taken in the same take picture button press.

An example of the zoom setting:

Can’t get that close in real life or the crocodile jaws will take a good chunk of your leg. 😉

Tip #2: Have a spotter with you

This can be sometimes difficult if you have kids and you are spending more time finding the animals for them to see. It’s difficult for one person to see out of both sides of the car. A spotter can look out that other side of the car and/or find those hard to spot animals that a hiding in the trees.

A solo rider could easily miss this picture without the benefit of a spotter. This picture is also another great example of the zoom on the camera.

Tip #3: Have the photographer sit in the end seat.

Don’t put the photographer in the middle seat of your group. Have him or her sit on the end seat. In an end seat, the photographer does not have to get the heads of their fellow riders out of the picture before taking the picture. An end seat provides a good view out onto the savanna to spot the animals.

Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to ride the attraction multiple times

One of the benefits of the Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of the most dynamic attractions at Walt Disney World. No two rides on the attraction are the same. The animals will move. Some will go away as the day goes on while others will make an appearance. One trip, my family rode it at the end of the day. Then, the next day, we arrived at the park at rope drop and rode it again so we could see more animals that were not out the day before.

Those are some of my tips for getting the most out of your photos on the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction. It’s a combination of knowing how to use your camera and learning its features, having a spotter to watch the other side of the savanna, and a willingness to ride the attraction multiple times, if possible, in one visit. I’m going to close with one of the best photos that my wife was able to get which used all four of the tips in this article.