You guys know how much we love making Disney recipes, or copycatting them! Our Tie Dye Cheesecake from Pop Century was a hit, and so were the Banana Split Cupcakes! We've had a few flops along the way, but I'm always up for a Disney recipe! Especially since often, it's the only way my youngest can have a safe Disney dessert with his food allergies. 

Like so many of you I'm sure, the last few months have been filled with baking. Father's Day weekend we decided to make Mr. Disney Magic a batch of cookies from his dream Disney Resort. We've never been there, that's a one day maybe kinda price for us, but we can still enjoy the cookies, right? 

These were the most unusual cookies I've ever made. They didn't call for granulated sugar. Weird, right? We whipped up a batch of these to see how they compare to our usual recipe. The house was divided...my youngest and I said eh, but Mr. Disney Magic and my oldest loved them. 

Want to try for yourself? I prefer a big, chewy cookie myself. 

​The dough mixed up easily, it was very airy. That's what made me nervous. It was a beautiful, soft dough. 

I scooped it onto trays with my usual tablespoon cookie scoop. I wasn't sure how much these would spread, so I didn't crowd the pan, and did 9, instead of my usual 12, because the Disney picture they looked thin and huge. 

They didn't take long to cook, but you can see...the cookies did not spread at all! I know I didn't have too much flour, because I very carefully measured. 

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Next batch, I pressed the cookies down, flattening slightly. It made no difference. The taste was there, but these cookies were more airy, light in your mouth, instead of a dense, chewey cookie. 
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Overall, these weren't bad. Would I gift them? Probably not. I do plan to try these again, substituting half of the powdered sugar for granulated, and see if that helps with the spread, and the chewiness. 

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Want to try these for yourself? This link will take you over to Disney's Blog where you can get the exact recipe for yourself! 

If you make these, stop by on Facebook and tell me how they turned out for you! 

Having a park bag with the essentials not only saves money, but precious park time. While the contents vary, based on the ages in your party, some things are always going to be handy to have in there. These are our must have's, in no particular order! 

1. Cash 

It happens more than you'd expect. Disney' payment system goes down on occasion and you can't buy something with your magic band or credit card. While you can always come back by later, of course, if it's an important purchase, like a snack for your hangry child, or a drink on a hot day, cash is important. I always keep $20 in my bag, just in case. Every trip, I've had to use it, and often more than once.  
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2. Advil/Tylenol

Whether it's your tired feet, aching back or the migraine that's forming, a little pain reliever is important! While you can go visit the free first aid stations, sometimes you just don't feel like getting out of line to do that.


3. Poncho

Summer afternoon showers are as predictable as the song getting stuck in your head after you exist It's a Small World. Be ready to protect your clothes and gear from getting soggy. 


4. Disney Pins

My boys and I loooove our Disney pins! These are always a must have for some on the go trading. If you aren't sure what these are, and wont to know how to get started with this inexpensive hobby, you can click here! 


5. Hand Sanitizer / wipes

Look around next time you go. Besides the hundreds of people each hour riding the same rides as you, ever seen all of the kids licking the handrails, and everyone coughing, sneezing, rubbing at their noses, and then touching stuff? the same stuff that those in your party are going to touch? Enough said! 


6. Extra camera battery

We had done two trips before I made the best investment of all. A second camera battery. No longer did it drain and leave me with no battery after I filmed Jedi Training, or a parade. It was so, so worth it to have a spare. 


7. Portable battery pack for phone

You might be snapping photos, pulling up Disney games, making fastpass changes or browsing menus on your phone and that eventually can wear down your battery. A portable charger might do the trick, and then can be recharged that night, ready for the next day. These are especially helpful if you were so tired the night before, you forgot to charge your phone.


8. Sunscreen

Sunscreen is so important. Not only does it protect your skin from a burn and possibly cancer later, it helps you from being overheated. How? When you get a sunburn, you feel so much hotter! Later up, and reapply every few hours, so you aren't walking around looking like a lobster and feeling the burn. Save that for the gym!


​9. Ziploc bag

Wet rides or rain, your phone risks getting soaked! A quick tip is a ziploc bag. We've a bunch of other great ideas to use one of those, click here to see why it's our favorite thing to pack. 


10. Snacks

We bring snacks along not just to save money, but to always have one at the ready for a hungry child. In line, on a bench, waiting a really long time to get our lunch, it doesn't matter. Having a snack on hand is always important. One of our children also has a food allergy, so it's even more important that he has a few safe options to choose from if we can't find him something fairly quickly. As a bonus, here are our suggestions for snacks to bring in, that they already sell (for a lot more money!)


What do you think of our list? What's a must have in your park bag? 

If you've ever looked down while walking around in the the Dumbo area of Magic Kingdom, chances are you've seen the above picture. Those aren't real peanuts (whew, for us food allergy folks! and a heads up so you don't get a shock your first visit) but a clever detail and a bit of Imagineering. You'll also find animal tracks, hidden mickeys and more hidden in the concrete at Disney World! All created with intent! 

If you've not stopped by Target lately, you need to! On a large standalone display near the groceries and housewares, at least in my store, is a display with all kinds of Disney Eats merchandise. You'll find cookie kits, bowls, snack containers, kitchen utensils, other food related things, and these...beautifully decorated cookies like you'd see at Disney. But part of what makes these so amazing, is for those of us who need to be on the hunt for allergy friendly products. These are made in a peanut and tree nut free facility!! All of this cookie's brands are. Isn't that fantastic? 

​We bought both the tub, with 8 cookies for $14.99 and some single cookies at $1.99 each. The tub has 4 different designs, snowflake, Christmas tree, gingerbread and Mickey Clause. Single sold cookies, they had Mickey Clause, and Minnie. I'm hoping they get some plain Mickey in too, to save back. 

 
We all love the taste of these, they are not as hard as you might expect iced cookies to be, and actually have a bit of flavor, unlike many decorated cookies I've tried. What could be a better way to brighten the season than to have beautiful, Disney cookies at your family gatherings? In a Disney park, since these are safe for your child with nut allergies, or tucked in a stocking or lunchbox? We plan to give a few to our Disney loving school librarian! 

Since these have a long shelf life, I plan to buy any left after Christmas! (I might have already bought 3 tubs and some singles!! So I've bought all I can at full price!) 

It's my hope that they will bring these back for next year! And the year after that! Every Christmas cookie tastes better when in the shape of Mickey! 

                                                                      Photo from Disney

If it's not the special fireworks, the once a year parade or the rare character meet and greets and low crowds that have you excited about going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, it might be the epic trick or treating! The internet is full of pictures of candy piled high. People reporting backpacks full of sugary sweetness, but this year, there's a trick that some people have been playing, that isn't very nice. 

Once of the best parts of Disney is the fact that they are not only allergy aware, but allergy friendly. In addition to the regular candy passed out, Disney has a (limited) supply of safe, allergy friendly treats too, redeemable at two locations in the park. 

Imagine...that time of year when everyone's getting yummy treats, handfuls at each stop, and your child is getting a single allergy token, with the promise of redeeming it for a treat at the allergy friendly station. They get there, and either are handed a half full bag, or, even worse, being told not even two hours into the party, that they have run out of allergy friendly treats. 

This year, that has been an all too common scenerio for children and adults who are there to enjoy every aspect of the Mickey's Halloween Party. multiple reports from partygoers have said that those taking the allergy bags are greater this year, and that the majority of the people they've talked to, are laughing, saying they want the healthier, or organic candy, because then they won't feel guilty eating it. 

I say shame on them. they SHOULD feel guilty eating it. 

The organic Surf Sweet gummies? Might just taste like gummies to someone, but to a child, that's a treat made in a top 10 free facility. No nuts, no dairy, no sesame, no soy, etc...10 allergens that are the most common this treat is FREE of. The Enjoy Life chocolates? Also free of dairy, nuts, and many other things. 

By choosing this "healthier" candy, it is being taken away from those who do not choose to have an allergy, or choose to eat a Gogo Squeez applesauce instead of a Hershey bar, particularly children. 

Please, if you don't need the allergy candies, take the regular ones. let those children who are excluded and different during birthdays, and holidays, and classroom parties and family get togethers, and every day restaurant meals feel normal, and excited, and be a regular kid when at Disney. There's already so many treats that they can't have at Disney that those with allergies can have. Please, leave those allergy friendly trick or treats for them.