Character Dining – Casa de Murphy

October 2017

Weekend Fun at Hollywood Studies

October 10, 2017 casademurphy

This past weekend, we hopped over to Hollywood Studies for a few hours. I’m not gonna lie….I was super stoked that it wasn’t raining when we got there this time (it had been on our last trip for Liam’s birthday). So, we were able to finally check out Cruz Ramirez from the Cars 3 movie. She was revving her motor & talking….so cute!

One of our other favorite parts of having the annual passes is meeting up with family/friends. My cousin, Melissa & her daughter, Giana were at the parks for the day, so we were able to say hello. So much fun!

While the boys were waiting for me on a potty break 🙂 …Liam was randomly selected to be a Launch Bay Guard!!! — How cool was that?!?!

While the Star Wars characters came marching toward the Launch Bay, Liam stood there all by himself BUT was armed with a light saber 😉 …he was the best guard!

Darth Maul & a Storm Trooper each pointed at him & let him know they were watching him. It was awesome!

He was jumping up & down after this ….so exciting for him!

His certificate from guarding could be used as a Fast Pass to meet Kylo Ren. We had seen him back in February, when Liam still had his cast on from his broken arm. So, he wanted to meet him again. The Dark Side characters are so intense & serious ….I love it!

Our last stop of the night was Halloween-themed character dining at Hollywood & Vine — Minnie’s Halloween Dine!

It was buffet style dining and the menu was seasonal Halloween themed dishes & treats. It did not disappoint!

Each of the characters were dressed up in their Halloween attire. It was so cute!

Donald was hilarious! He was bouncing his springy thing on this helmet back & forth with Liam 🙂

This was THE tallest Goofy I have ever seen.

Liam was most excited for Mickey again ….he loved his vampire costume!

Family pic with the hostess, Miss Minnie Mouse, herself.

We had a really fun evening! It was a real treat being able to get in a little Disney Halloween magic as we kick off this spooky month!

Until next time, friends!

September 2017

Liam’s 6th Birthday Weekend ~ Part 3 ~ Character Dining Fun

September 22, 2017 casademurphy

For Liam’s 6th birthday weekend, we had packed our bags & enjoyed a staycation at Walt Disney World. If you’ve been following along on my last few posts, this is the 3rd in a series from Liam’s birthday. We had so many adventures this year that I wanted to break it up, as there were a ton of photos to share. You can catch up with the 1st post about our stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge – HERE – and the 2nd post about our magical time at Cinderella’s Royal Table – HERE. As part of our celebration, we splurged on a few super fun character dining experiences.

On the morning of Liam’s actual birthDAY, we had breakfast at the Crystal Palace on the corner of Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. It’s a buffet-style service, and the food was good. We enjoyed the charming atmosphere, which is inspired by the Victorian greenhouses of the late 1800s.

All of our favorite friends from the Hundred-Acre Woods were there, so that made little man’s day! He even got to particpate in a celebatory parade that marched them all around the restaurant with the characters. So cute!

Winne the Pooh….

I couldn’t decide between sharing the hug picture above or this regular ‘cheese’ pic ….had to do both. Loved the hugs from Pooh Bear.

Seriously, how cute is Piglet? 🙂

Not even sure how Eeyore signed the book, but kudos to him! That was one area, too, that Liam was completely on top of. He made sure that no one forgot about his book. That was top of his list before any hugs, pics, or small talk with these guys. It was too funny!

Can’t say enough about how good all of these character meet & greets are at the dining experiences. They take so much time with the kids & are so patient. Love it!

Tigger…..

Our final character dining experience took us over to Epcot to the Garden Grill in the Land. We had dinner at Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast. This is a family-style dining meal with food that’s grown from the Living with the Land area there. OH.MY.GOODNESS — it was SO delicious!

It is also neat because the restaurant slowly turns in a circle while you eat, and you get to see different part of the Living with the Land attraction. While you’re dining the characters come around to your table.

We had told our server it was Liam’s birthday, so they presented him with this signed birthday card & stickers. So sweet & he was thrilled!!

Hanging with Chip….

Sharing a laugh with Dale …..

His best pal, Pluto…

So in love with the one & only — Mickey Mouse …& loved his farmer Mickey outfit, too!….

We had THE best time at all of our character dining experiences over Liam’s 6th birthday weekend. I’m sure we’ll be looking for more unique visits in the future. The food at all the venues was so yummy, and all 3 of us LOVED the convenience of the meeting the characters right at the table.

Until next time, friends,

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September 2017

Liam’s 6th Birthday Weekend ~ Part 2 ~ Cinderella’s Royal Table

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017 casademurphy

For Liam’s 6th birthday weekend, we had packed our bags & enjoyed a staycation at the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge. As part of our celebration, we had a special birthday dinner in Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

CinderellaRoyalTable_CasadeMurphy

This restaurant is described by Disney as a ‘one-of-a-kind fairytale dining experience’, and it 100% was. We all LOVED the entire night! I literally had to book our reservation months in advance, so this was one dinner we had been anticipating for a while. The restaurant, itself, is quite small & quaint but I think that made for a more personable experience. It’s situated in the back half of the 2nd floor of the castle. You can see it from the carousel area.

RestaurantAreaPic_CasadeMurphy

When we 1st went into the castle, we were greeted by the lovely, Cinderella. Liam was smitten ❤ — She chatted it up with him & danced with him. It was seriously the cutest moment ever! We snagged a nice family pic with her, as well. 🙂

While we waited to be seated, we hung out in the downstairs area where Cinderella was. Both floors are decorated in a medieval-style & you totally feel like you are in a page from the storybook.

A winding staircase takes you up to this view, which is where the actual restaurant is ….

So many pretty details everywhere you looked to make the experience feel complete. Our server was so sweet, too! She referred to Liam, as ‘my Prince’. I was ‘my Queen’ and Stephen was ‘my King’. Loved it!

Each of the boys got their own sword and I was given a wand 🙂 ….We also were given a ‘Wishing Star‘ that Fairy Godmother helped us to make a wish with toward the end of the meal ❤

While dinner got underway, MORE PRINCESSES came out & around to everyone’s table. How cool is that?!?! — They took their time & chatted with Liam for a minute & then posed for a picture. This mama appreciated that they didn’t leave until you acknowledged that you got a pic you were happy with 😉

Ariel from the Little Mermaid….

Snow White …..

Aurora from Sleeping Beauty…

Jasmine from Aladdin….

Now, let’s talk about the food for a sec because it was fabulous! Both Stephen & I had the beef & shrimp dinner. So yummy! I didn’t take a pic of his, but Liam had the kids mac n’ cheese. Holy cow, it was probably the best mac n’ cheese ever. SO good! For dessert, we had a dark chocolate mousse dish, “The Clock Strikes Twelves“. — heaven!

Liam got to make/decorate his own cupcake for his dessert. Our server also brought out an extra birthday cupcake with a candle & we sung to him ❤

Liam6thBdayCake_casademurphy

It was such a magical evening & such a memorable way to celebrate this special boy’s 6th birthday. We even timed the reservation pretty perfect, as we were able to see & listen to the Happily Ever After fireworks show as we finished up dessert. So fun!

Love our sweet boy & loved everything about this night! Until next time, friends,

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