It’s called the  DreamWorks Experience Family Nights and we were so lucky to be there while it was happening.

DreamWorks is the animation company responsible for creating some big hits including Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda.

The DreamWorks Experience Family Night is an evening of hanging out with the characters from some of the DreamWorks hit movies.

It included a special treat delivered to our door upon check-in, a family photo with Shrek and Fiona, an exclusive dance party, complete with refreshments, and activities, like making your own slime.

To top the night off, they showed a Shrek movie on their great lawn under the stars.

The weather was perfect.  It felt so nice to just be outside and to not have to worry about the kids running off to somewhere.   And, although the kids were tired and we missed a lot of the dance party–it was a lot of fun.  The parents were having just as much (maybe more) fun than the kids.

I thought the little snacks were great.  Green puddings with gummy worms and chocolate dirt, Ogre earwax (green hushpuppies), and Swamp juice. Towards the end of the night they even brought out some giant brownies covered with gummy worms.  Definitely kid dream food. And, since we were on vacation I didn’t even begin to count the number of times my kids went back to fill up their Swamp Juice.

The whole evening was a nice event–some time to really just relax and enjoy being on vacation instead of running off to the next activity.  I only wish I would have thought to sneak over to the Wrecker’s Sports Bar for a glass of wine.  That would have been the topper to a great evening.

Check out the Gaylord Palms website for information on the DreamWorks Experience Family Nights.  I know that they are offering special rates in conjunction with the event.

DreamWorks Experience Family Nights Availability: Select weekends this spring including:
March 21-25,30 & 31
April 6,7,13,14,20,21,27 & 28
May 4,5,11,12,18 & 19

If you book a Dreamworks Experience package, starting at $219 per family of four you will receive:

Package Includes:

• One night room accommodations at Gaylord Palms Resort
• Priority access to Character Meet & Greets
• 20% discount when you add a ticket to ShrekFeast interactive character meal, plus priority access
• Paradise Pool Party at the All-NEW Cypress Springs Family Fun Pool
  (beginning mid-April 2012)
• Puss In Boots Quest for the Magic Beans Scavenger Hunt
• Check-in amenity
• Souvenir family photo
• Resort Fee
• Self-parking

If you don’t book a special package, check with the concierge.  While we were there they were letting other families join in on the fun for an additional $40 per room.

I actually think I may need to book another weekend getaway in April to get a chance to go back to the Dreamworks Experience Family Night and to check out their new Cypress Springs resort pool and waterslide complex.  I know the kids won’t complain.

Disclaimer: Thank you to the Gaylord Palms for admission into the Dreamworks Experience Family Night.  All opinions are my own.

Last time we visited the Kissimmee area, we stayed in the vacation rentals of Windsor Hills.  And, while they were definitely nice, with a full kitchen, three bedrooms, a nice pool and other amenities–this time I really wanted to stay in a luxurious hotel.  I wanted to be able to order room service, valet park, not deal with cleaning up and be able to get service at the push of a button.  I was feeling the need to be pampered.  For this reason, we decided to stay at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee.

If you have never been to the Gaylord Palms, prepare to be amazed.  This place is massive and there are new places to explore around every corner.

As you enter the main lobby area, you get a glimpse of the atrium and the world that it holds.  Like I mentioned, the place is huge and filled with beautiful plants (all real!), rivers and waterfalls, fish and alligators.  Many of Florida’s landmarks are recreated here–including the Spanish Fort in St. Augustine, the Everglades, Key West, and even South Beach. On certain days of the week, they feed the baby alligators and invite the guests to watch the show.

It seemed like every corner of the atrium had a different restaurant or shop to explore.  That is restaurant seating in that sailboat and there are real live Florida fish in the water below.

The Gaylord Palms has recently undergone millions of dollars worth of guest room renovations and is currently building a huge new pool/waterslide complex.

We were a bit disappointed that their themed pool was closed but the South Beach pool was just as much fun as we needed.   Cypress Gardens, which will include a treehouse water slide/water play area is scheduled to open in Spring 2012–and we are looking forward to that.  Judging from the sketches of the new pool–it will be pretty awesome!

Gaylord Palms is very centrally located.  We were very close to the Disney Parks with easy access to Hwy 192 to explore other Kissimmee attractions.  It seemed that we were about 10 or 15 minutes from every attraction. Even Universal Orlando was only about 20 minutes away in traffic.

The Gaylord Palms also has some great rates for Florida residents and special packages including the “DreamWorks Experience Package” and the “Buy One Night, Get One Free” for your birthday!

If you go, let me know what you think!

That may be all I need to say about this performance.  But, I will say a bit more.

Go!

You will be glad you did.

I had actually already seen Cirque Du Soleil-La Nouba once before and was kind of reluctant to go again.  I loved it the first time but I knew it would be the same show and thought I should use my limited time in the area to check out other attractions.  However, the kids  insisted we go.  And, I was so glad they did.

There is so much going on–continuously–that there is no way that you will see everything the first time you see it.  It helped that our seats were in a different area than the first time—giving us a whole different perspective.

The music!  The lights!  The talent!

The performance is just amazing–with acrobatic feats that you won’t believe.  Part of the time I was wishing for the kids to grow up and be one of their performers** and the other part of the time, I was on the edge of my seat–worried about devastating injuries for the performers.  But, they are professionals and delivered a stunning performance with ease.

I don’t want to tell you the details about the show.  I want you to go and be surprised and just as excited as I am about the whole thing.  And, I think you will.  I really think the show appeals to all ages,  My children didn’t stir the entire time–they were captive from the moment we sat down.

For us, Cirque Du Soleil-La Nouba was a family outing to enjoy theater but it would make a great date night too.  Grab dinner in Downtown Disney (make reservations ahead of time!) and then head to the late show.  Someday I’ll have to take my husband along for the fun.

Until March 30, 2012, Florida resident tickets are available at a discounted rate of $66.75 for adults, and $54.00 for children.  To make reservations, call their box office at 407-939-7328 or visit their website.

** The Bean has started to develop his own jump rope routine.  He was inspired–and I bet you will be too!

Disclaimer: I received complimentary admission to the performance but all of the opinions are my own.

Chances are if you haven’t already seen the Blue Man Group, you have at least heard of it.   I have been hearing about this show for years and never really thought much of it.  I knew it involved some bald men covered in a blue ‘skin’.  And that these men would use drums covered in paint.  That was about all I knew.  I was expecting a long show of percussion and paint.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Sure, there is the whole paint thing.  There is percussion and loud rock music.  But there was so much more.  And, it was all so, so…..for lack of a better word…..weird.  And, I mean that in the best possible way.

As I sat there, I kept thinking, “How in the world do people come up with this stuff?”  I would love to sit with the writers of the show and just watch their creative process at work.  I am always in awe of creative people and their process.

I mean, they made plumbing interesting.  They poked fun at social media and our constant need to connect online.  They taught us what to do at a rock concert.  And, the grand finale….well, let’s just say the kids were laughing hysterically.  And so was I.

If you are worrying about whether or not to take your children along–just know that my 9 year old son and 7 year old daughter loved it.  I think even younger children would enjoy it but may be a little scared by the loud music or the creepy blue men staring into their eyes.

Just like Cirque Du Solei La Nouba, The Blue Man Group would make an excellent date night.  It’s located right next to a secret entrance (which means no lines) to Universal Studios and just across the river from Universal’s City Walk.  Wouldn’t it be fun to go to the Blue Man Group and then take your date on the Rockin’ Roller Coaster?  Or, to the Blue Man Group and then to one of the many restaurants located nearby?

Since this trip I was traveling without my husband, the next trip will have to include him and another performance of the Blue Man Group.

For more information, check out their website and be sure to add this to your itinerary when you are in the area.

Disclaimer:  I received complimentary admission to the performance.  All opinions are my own.

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I am a nature person.  I need to be out in nature to clear my head and really relax.  Especially after a couple of days of non-stop theme park and vacation craziness.  I also really want to encourage my kids to be nature people–to get joy out of noticing the little things in the natural world.

I knew that on our last mini vacation, we would need to explore some of the outdoor wonders of Florida–but I didn’t want to have to drive too far.  Florida is a big state!  I knew that the Florida Keys were out of the question, as were the beaches of the Panhandle.  After a little research, I found Florida EcoSafaris–about 45 minutes from Kissimmee.  A place that would offer some fresh, clean air and a day out in the wilds of Florida.

Unfortunately, a lot of the tours that Florida Eco Safaris offers, like the zip-line and horseback tours require that children be at least 10 years old.  They look like a lot of fun but my kids were just a little too young.   However, the safari tour is open to folks of all ages and abilities–and gives a guided tour and overview of the preserve.  So, I booked us on the safari tour and crossed my fingers that we would see some big, wild cats**.

Once we arrived and got checked in–we were on our way.  We boarded a huge elevated truck and headed out.

The tour is about an hour and 45 minutes and during most of it you are seated in the truck.  You can stand up to take photos–(which I did a lot of) and the tour guide will stop for each and every wildlife sighting.

Like I mentioned, we were hoping to see a wild cat–a rare Florida panther or the elusive  bobcat–but weren’t lucky on that front.  We did see tons of alligators, including probably a hundred baby alligators.

We saw beautiful birds including the Great Blue Heron, Ibis, and even a few wild turkey.  We saw a few deer, wild hogs, and lots and lots of the ranches cows and horses.   For my city kids, getting up that close to cows and horses is quite the experience.  And, some of them had massive horns!

At one point in the tour, you can get off the truck and walk along a short but impressive  little boardwalk over a creek.  The creek which usually has some sort of current to it, was nearly stagnant due to lack of rain recently.  The tour guide was able to point out native plants and their traditional uses–which I found fascinating.

Would we go back?
Definitely!  Florida Eco-Safari offers horseback tours, horseback camping tours, zip lines, and even a canopy bicycle ride.  But, they also offer camping!  One group at a time, in a primitive site.  To me, that sounds perfect.  The clean air, the beautiful stars—just my friends and family–alone with nature.  For $15 per person, they provide the tent and you bring everything else.  They escort you (in your own vehicle) out to the campsite and then they leave you be.  The same campsite is used on the overnight horseback trips.  I can’t wait till both of my kids are ten years old–we will be booked on one of these trips for sure.

Food
After your safari, they have a restaurant on site which serves the 100% grass fed, free range beef that they raise on property.  We stopped in for lunch and it fine. The food was nothing special (the photo above was my veggie burger) but it was nice to sit out on the porch and relax.   They were having some issues with service while we were there (we had to send our burgers back twice for little mistakes) but it wasn’t horrible.  Next time, I might pack my own picnic lunch instead.

Getting There
From Kissimmee, it was about an hour to Florida Eco-Safaris.  Most of this was due to red light after red light on the main drag through Kissimmee.  Once we got through the shopping and dining district, it was pretty smooth sailing.

If you are in Florida for a theme park vacation, I highly recommend trying to include some time visiting the natural side of Florida.  There is so much beauty here and you can really experience it first hand at Florida Eco-Safaris.

** While we didn’t see any wild cats, the kids really enjoyed petting the ranch cat, Lisa Marie.  So much so, Rosie wanted to take her home.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Florida EcoSafaris for sponsoring our adventure.  All opinions are my own.

There was time to spare before the start of the show so we looked around the great hall at the unique souvenirs,  goblets, sword or even a full suit of armor, and a lot more.

After purchasing a tiara for the princess and a mini-sword for the prince we headed out to check out the medieval village. This feature is unique to this particular Medieval Times and is well worth exploring.

You enter through the Architecture studio and walk through the rest of the village including the kitchen and the cozy spot, the bedrooms, and the kids favorite (but my least favorite), the dungeon.

As one might expect, a dungeon should be a little creepy.  But, this one had all kinds of medieval torture tools on display along with little placards that illustrated how they were used.  The kids were fascinated, but I was worried that they might have nightmares about the interrogation chair (a wooden chair with huge spikes), or metal suit that was human sized and hanging from a tree.    I realize that this is history and appreciate that someone went to the trouble to collect this knowledge but I didn’t need to see it all up close and personal.   If you have little ones, or sensitive ones, I might skip the dungeon all together or at least walk through first and see what you think.

After our outside exploration, the show was about to begin.   Trumpeters called groups by color to enter the arena and we headed in.  Since everyone is grouped by color,  (and you are rooting for your particular color), friendly booing ensued by the other groups as each color was brought in.  The kids loved this!  At what other time do they get to boo at the top of the lungs?

As we took our seat and got ready for the show to begin, the waiter came around and filled our soup bowls.

At Medieval Times, they feed you—a lot.  We were served tomato soup, garlic bread, roasted chicken, spare-rib, roasted potatoes, and a dessert.  You don’t get a choice of what you want- –you get what you get.   They do have a vegetarian option.   And, I was quite surprised that the food was tasty.

The fun part about dinner is eating with your hands—as there were no utensils in the Medieval Times.  (Can this really be true? They had sophisticated torture devices but no way to eat food without getting messy?)

While you eat and eat and eat, the knights carry on a jousting tournament.  The audience is encouraged to cheer for their knight and boo for the others.  There are horses and fights with swords and other weapons.   It was really well done.  We were all scared that the knights had been really hurt when they fell off their horses or were sliced by the swords—but they were just great actors.

Our knight didn’t win the tournament—actually he was killed by the evil green knight and carried off stage.  But, we still had a great time.

We left the arena full and happy that we had seen a new and exciting attraction.

For information and show times check the Medieval Times website.

Disclaimer: I received complimentary admission to this attraction but all opinions and thoughts are my own.

A couple of weeks ago, we held Rosie’s birthday party at the beach. Yes, I realize that most sane people would be asking, “a birthday party at the beach in February?”  But, we live in Florida and the winter has been so pleasant.  In fact, the week before the party both kids were swimming in the ocean and I was on the verge of getting in.

I kept worrying that the weather was going to turn–it had been so nice for so long.  It couldn’t possibly hold up.  And, my worries were spot on.

The morning of her party we woke up to 34 degree weather.  It was projected to warm up to 40 degreees by the end of the day. It had been in the 70′s only two days before!

When Rosie woke up I warned her not to be disappointed if none of her friends showed up.

Luckily, they all did.  All bundled up with coats and mittens–but still enjoying their time at the beach playground.  And, because it was so cold–we had the whole place to ourselves.

At the last minute, we decided to bring hot water and hot chocolate to the beach and  build a beach bonfire (in the little BBQ grills).  Both ideas were great successes!  Everyone loved the hot chocolate and the guys huddled around the fire talking story.

Another success of the party was this rainbow cake.  I had tried to make this in the past and that outcome was so embarrassing.  I can’t believe I am even including a link to that old post. ( I guess it does show progress in my culinary skills.)

This time, I made sure to give myself lots of time to make the cake and paid special attention to the details while I made the cake.

For decoration, I went with colorful candies.  All of Rosie’s favorite kinds.

The kids were excited to see the candy covered cake–and even more surprised when I cut it open and all of the colors were revealed.

One kid, who is allergic to food dye said, ” I bet that cake sure has a lot of blue dye in it. I’m not having any.”

I don’t feel that I can really give a recipe for creating this cake.  For one, I used a white box cake mix (Ahhh!  The horror!) to save a bit of time.  For two, most of it is about assembly.  So, instead of a recipe–here are a few tips that I learned between the first and second time.

1) You must use high quality food coloring.  The drops from the grocery will not work.  The Wilton gels may work OK but I didn’t get very good results the first time.  I used the Duff  Color Gels (you know, the guy from Ace of Cakes)  and got the color I wanted.  I bought them at Michaels and they had some really fun colors to try for next time.

2) Buy six disposable cake tins.  It is possible to just use what you have but you want all of the layers to be the same size and I found it easier to mix up the colors and then pour the mix all at once–instead of in batches.

3) Mix up the cake batter and then divide equally among six bowls.  Don’t estimate–actually measure it out.   You want the same amount of batter to be in each bowl–because you want the same sized layers. The layers are going to be thin.  They will also bake very quickly–about 10-15 minutes.

4) Don’t be skimpy on the color.  Once you add a bit of the color (a drop or so), mix it well.  If the color is not as bright you want–add a bit more.  They will lighten a bit while baking.

5) Let cool completely after baking.  Don’t get too excited about frosting the cakes that you can’t wait for them to cool.  This is almost always my issue–I have no patience and I end up messing things up.  This time, after they were cooled I wrapped them in saran wrap and left in the freezer overnight.

6) Make a lot of frosting.  You can use plain ol’ buttercream but I used cream cheese frosting for a little extra somethin’. I quadrupled the recipe and ended up with leftovers but would rather have left over frosting than not enough.

7) Frost then layer, frost then layer.  Repeat 6 times. (I used about 1 cup of frosting between each layer.)

Apply one layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake.  Allow to sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Remove from fridge and re-frost.  That crumb layer really works to making a cake free of imperfections.

9) The refrigerator is your friend.  I was so worried that the frosting would warm up and slide off the cake–there is a lot of gravity at work here.  But, luckily (I guess) the weather was cold and we didn’t have that issue.

10) Decorate with candies or colorful frosting or just leave it plain white.   The beauty is really on the inside.  (My next attempt will include me cutting beautiful slices with no weird mess on the knife or cake stand.  There has to be a trick to that, right?)

1)  Seeing the alligators and deer at Florida Eco-Safaris.  I enjoyed just being out in the fresh and undeveloped parts of Florida but the animals were a cool perk too.

2) As a mom, traveling alone with my kids, I always felt safe and at ease.  This is one of the key reasons that keeps me coming back to the Heart of Florida–lots to do in a safe environment.

3) Seeing the kids faces of sheer joy at the Blue Man Group dance party.

4) Being able to just be together, stress free, hanging out at the Gaylord Palms swimming pool.

5) Riding the Flight of the Hippogruff (Islands of Adventure) and the Woody Woodpecker Roller coaster (Universal Studios).  Even though the lines were long.

6) Finally going on a  roller coaster where you are below the track. “Flying School” at Legoland was a blast and since it was geared toward younger kids–it didn’t even scare me.  Oh, and the apple fries at Legoland were also great!

7) Cheering on our knight (Yay! Black and White Knight!) and booing all the others at the Medieval Times Dinner Theater.

8 ) Being in awe of the talent at the Cirque Du Solei La Nouba.  Since we have been back, the kids have been trying to create their own version of it.  So inspiring.

9) Feival’s playground and the water slide at Universal Studios.

10) All of the activities at the Gaylord Palms–the amazing atriums, the pool, the Dreamworks Expereince, and the extra comfertable rooms.

We had a great time and can’t wait until we can visit the area again.

Legoland recently opened their largest park in Florida and they have been getting so much attention, that we felt we needed to go.

The rides are all designed to appeal to the 2-12 year old set and nothing is too scary or too adventurous.  (Although, I thought some looked a little scary.)

The kids loved this place.  They got to drive their own cars!  They got to drive their own boats!

And, because the park wasn’t very crowded, they had more of a free range than they normally do at theme parks.

My favorite attraction was the Legoland Mini–miniature recreations of famous landmarks including, New York City, Washington DC and Las Vegas.

They  even recreated various landmarks from around Florida including the Spanish Fort in St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center,  Miami, and the Florida Keys.  It is very cool.  The Bean wanted to sit there and try to figure out how he could recreate them at home.

This was the kids favorite ride.  The Beetle Bounce–which is a much, much, much milder version of the Tower of Terror.  It basically brings them up to about thirty feet and then randomly drops them down.  They loved it! And, I gladly had to stand back and take photos.

I let the kids bring birthday money to spend  at the Legoland Store–but the place was crazy.  We headed to the store at closing time, and so did everyone else.  Next time, I might visit the store during a lunch time lull or skip it all together.  They do have some neat stuff but a lot of the stuff they have you can find at most retail stores or on LEGO.com.

I caution visitors to the park to make sure to check their calender.  They are usually closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and their operating hours are much more limited than other theme parks.

Coming soon:  Legoland Water Park!  I think I read that it opens this summer.  Now, that will be a lot of fun!

Have you been to Legoland Florida?  What did you think?

Disclaimer:  I received complimentary admission to Legoland Florida but all opinions are my own.

We packed up the car and headed out on our ‘road trip’.  Although we don’t have to travel very far, it felt like we were leaving for a cross country trip.  The kids had the backseat full to the brim with lots of non-electronic distractions (the electronic ones are only allowed on really far trips) and we even got to stop in at Starbucks for breakfast snacks.  Only on vacation do the kids get chocolate milk and sweet muffins for breakfast.

We are so excited to be getting out of town.  It has been awhile and we need a few days to recharge and de-stress.  OK, so I need that.  The kids just want to have fun. And fun, we will have.  We will be doing so much and seeing so many cool attractions and I’ll be writing about all of them right here.   We plan to visit Legoland Florida, Gaylord Palms Hotel (an attraction in itself), Florida Eco-Safaris, Cirque Du Solei, The Blue Man Group, Medieval Times, as well as the theme parks.  Not to mention time to just relax by the pool, to sleep in and to eat some great food.

Can’t wait!