August 30, 2025
lifestyle
magical cookbook club
recipes
Hey! I'm Taryn. Welcome to our blog. I cant wait to sprinkle a little fun into your kitchen with you!
My daughter and I had the most magical little staycation last week. As Disney Vacation Club members, we decided to spend two nights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge—a resort that always feels calm and peaceful, with the bonus of seeing giraffes, zebras, and more just outside the window.
We kicked things off with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. Out of all the years I’ve gone, this was hands down my favorite. The weather was perfect—not hot at all—and the park felt surprisingly uncrowded with a refreshing nighttime breeze.
When we walked in, the entrance was practically empty, and we picked up our special trick-or-treat bags. This year’s design featured the Haunted Mansion Grave Diggers from the Boo-To-You Parade—so fun! The first candy stop handed out full-size Caramel M&M’s, which just happen to be my favorite.
From there, we hit a few treat spots (with Diet Coke in hand, of course) and took a spin on the PeopleMover—which longtime fans may remember was originally called the WEDway PeopleMover after Walt Disney’s company, WED Enterprises. We grabbed chicken tenders at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café and enjoyed a super cute Disney Junior dance party complete with characters and trivia.
Next stop was Adventureland. We picked up candy near Country Bear Jamboree, where the Cadaver Dans (the spooky version of the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet) were performing. We rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, met Aladdin and Abu, and capped it off with a nighttime Jungle Cruise ride. The skipper was absolutely hilarious, which made it even more of a highlight.
We circled back for “it’s a small world” (I still can’t quite make out the new end lyrics!) and then hopped on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. From there, it was on to Space Mountain, which turns completely dark with blasting music for Halloween—disorienting but so much fun.
One of the hidden gems of the night was over in Storybook Circus. The Dumbo area featured jaw-dropping acrobatic performers flipping high in the air on seesaws. It was like stumbling onto a mini Cirque du Soleil performance.
We wrapped up with Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid. Since it was almost closing, part of the ride had the lights on, which was pretty funny to see.
The next day, we slowed things down and headed to Disney Springs. After browsing the shops, we caught Freaky Friday at the AMC theater. Oh my gosh—easily my favorite movie of the year! It was such a fun follow-up to the original. We went all in with a huge bucket of popcorn, a hot dog, and sodas while enjoying the air conditioning.
That night, we had tickets for Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios, a special event that gives you three hours in the park with super short wait times, unlimited bottled sodas, popcorn, and ice cream included. It feels like a VIP night because you can hop on the rides with barely any lines.
We ate at Woody’s Lunch Box, where my daughter’s loaded “totchos” turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever tasted in the parks. My turkey sandwich was fine—nothing exciting, but it did the job. We sipped free Diet Cokes all night and skipped the snacks in favor of rides.
We managed to do Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—all with little to no wait. It was incredible.
On our last morning, we slept in, grabbed McDonald’s breakfast on the drive home, and talked about all the highlights. This little staycation will definitely go down as one of my favorite Disney memories with my daughter. Saying it was fun is an understatement—it was truly unforgettable
Birthday Cake Oreos filled with edible cookie dough, dipped in chocolate, and topped with rainbow sprinkles!
featured recipe