January Trip Report: An Evening at the Poly

After a devastating football game, DRF and I picked up our friend Lisa and headed to my happy place! We had an ADR at Kona and I was kind of worried we might be late, but we ended up getting there early. We got our pager and waited for a bit for it to go off. We were thinking about browsing the gift shop, so I went up to the podium to ask how long they thought it would be and at that moment it started buzzing! So, they took us to our table. I will post a full review of our dinner at Kona later,

I hadn't been to the Poly since the late 90's so it was good to be back and take the atmosphere and that smell everyone always talks about. I was kind of surprised at how small Kona was, but the atmosphere was exactly what I had imagined!

After dinner we had about an hour until Wishes so we took a round trip ride on the Monorail. Lisa said it made her want to go back to Disney World so I think I did my job!

After our trip we made our way to the beach to get seats for the fireworks. It was New Years Day so it was Holiday Wishes, which I had never seen before. Watching the fireworks for the Poly was interesting. It was very relaxing and not as crowded as on Main Street. My biggest complaint was that when sitting on the beach, the nearest speakers are on the buildings so the music is pretty quiet and if the people around you are talking you would have a hard time hearing it.

After Wishes we headed over to Downtown Disney so Lisa could pick up a souvenir...that was a BAD idea! We drove around for 20 minutes looking for a parking space and by the time we finally got one, there were SO many people in there! I almost started to hyperventilate in World of Disney it was so packed! But, Lisa found something and we had a nice chat with the cashier who goes to Central Michigan.

Then, we ran back to the car, dropped Lisa off at the Peabody and headed back to the beach. We got back around midnight and we could barely keep our eyes open! But, we had to get to bed, we were headed to the parks nice and early!

Wordless Wednesday: The Land

Wordless Wednesday: Fountain

Recipe: Dole Whip!!!

First off, I should mention this is not an official Disney recipe, this is a home recreation of the ever popular Adventureland Treat. I also need to credit Katie from BetaMouse for mentioning a Dole Whip recipe on the podcast giving me the idea to make and review it (and shamelessly plug it on today's Generation Mouse)!

Ingredients:
2 cans (20 oz. each) DOLE Crushed Pineapple
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Step 1:
Drain Pineapple and reserve 2 tbs juice



Step 2:
Blend pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, and reserved pineapple juice. I used a hand blender although a full blender would be much easier and would make the final product much more consistent.

Step 3:
Freeze 1-2 hours


Step 4:
Remove from freezer and mix in whipped cream. Replace in freezer until completely frozen.

Optional Step 5:
Serve with pineapple juice to make a Dole Whip Float

While I wouldn't say this turned out exactly like those served at Aloha Isle, the fruity taste was quite refreshing and quite delicious. As I mentioned in step 2, I would definitely recommend using a full blender over a stick blender for a more creamy texture, mine still had a lot of chunks.

This didn't have the soft-serve consistency that they serve in the park. It is more like a frozen lemonade, Italian Ice kind of thing. That said it is still delicious!

Overall, if you are far from the magic and are craving a Dole Whip, this is a simple recipe that gets pretty close to Dole Whippy deliciousness!

Note: If you have an ice cream maker, you have some other Dole Whip options which can be found at amomisajob.com. While I don't have an ice cream maker, I'm sure these would probably have a more comparable consistency.

Recipe courtesy of amomisajob.com.

Have you tried to make a Dole Whip at home? Let me know in a comment or tweet!

Wordless Wednesday: Studios Awareness Week

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Wordless Wednesday: Dole Whip