Disney’s World of Pandora

by The Pike's Place

I got the chance on Sunday of opening weekend to visit the new world of Pandora inside Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. There has been a lot of news about Pandora and how amazing it is. There has also been news that it is crazy crowded and will have huge wait times. I went and I survived without really having to wait at all. In this post, I’ll give you my advice, tips, and reviews to visiting the amazing world of Pandora.

Getting into Pandora

We went on opening Sunday in the evening after dinner before dusk. After getting into the Animal Kingdom, we waited 10 minutes to get in the Pandora section. Yes, we had to wait to even enter the section of the park. We had fast passes for the Na’vi River Journey ride, (more…)

Magic Kingdom For Adults

by The Pike's Place

There are so many wonderful things Disney has to offer for adults. No matter what others have told you, Disney World is not just for kids. From the amazing restaurants, rides, shows and shopping to eating and drinking around the world, there’s a lot you can do and see as an adult and still enjoy Disney World. My most popular post ever to date has been Disney World For Adults, so I decided to do separate posts starting (more…)

Winter Weekend in Chicago

by The Pike's Place

Chicago is a wonderful place to visit for a weekend trip. It is easily accessible from just about every airport and for many midwestern states, it is an easy driving distance. Chicago is around 4-5 hours from where we live. I was born just outside of Chicago, spent a summer in college working there and my husband went to undergraduate there, so we both know the city well and this made it an easy decision for us when we were trying to find a city for our one-year anniversary trip. Not to mention the amazing (more…)

RunDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

by The Pike's Place

For Disney fans and runners, alike Walt Disney World’s runDisney Wine & Dine weekend is simply amazing. The mix of Disney, running and Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival makes this Disney race weekend one of kind. For my second RunDisney event, I decided to run the 10k at Disney’s (more…)

Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe

by The Pike's Place

Nashville Hot Chicken…..

has been around forever. However, it just recently became a craze. I grew up in Nashville and while I remember people referencing hot chicken, I don’t remember it being a thing until after I graduated high school. I’m HUGE fan of anything spicy, so I’m shocked I never had this dry rubbed spicy chicken sooner. The company I worked for out of college had the Nashville hot chicken restaurants, Bolton’s, vend at their music venue. Part of my job was working with the vendors. After telling the owner, Mr. Mathews, I’d never tried hot chicken he gave me some. I was hooked from that moment on. Shortly after this, hot chicken took (more…)

Disney World Offers A Limited Time 4-Park Magic Ticket

by The Pike's Place

If you have ever been to Disney World, you know how expensive park tickets can be. A park hopper is a huge plus for people wanting to go between parks, but it’s time to rethink that strategy with this new ticket offer. Disney is offering a fantastic deal for their 4-Park Magic Ticket. This ticket allows you to enter one park per day for four days. In general, Disney World doesn’t have many “deals”! If you are going to Disney during (more…)

Packing for a RunDisney Trip – Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

by The Pike's Place

Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is almost here! Everything is booked, the trip planning is complete, the race outfit is ready to go, my training is almost over. It’s time to start planning what I will pack. When it comes to packing, I either over pack by a substantial amount or I under pack by a substantial amount. I stress over every item I put in my bag and have nightmares that I forgot half of it. This stress is even worse when it comes to any of my Disney vacations. Packing for RunDisney events is no different. * This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking these links we will be compensated.

Packing for Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

My packing list is quite extensive, as I plan to have everything I could possibly need and then some. We are also staying at Disney from Thursday to Monday afternoon, so my list may be longer than you will need. I am flying Southwest with free checked bags. We use the Disney Magical Express. With this transportation service, Disney will deliver my bags to our hotel. This time around we will be staying at All Star Movies.

Every item you need to purchase upon arrival will cost you possibly triple the cost extra. For any Disney vacation, a packing list is essential. I have included in this list what I will be (more…)

Things To Do In Playa Del Carmen

by The Pike's Place

The Rivera Maya is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We took our honeymoon six months after our wedding. This gave us time to research destinations and find an affordable and gorgeous beach destination. After we settled on Playa Del Carmen, I immediately began researching activities and quickly found that there are more activities than you can do in one 7 day honeymoon. For the majority of our vacation, we focused on relaxing and spending time at our all-inclusive resort, but that does not mean there isn’t plenty to do outside the resort walls.

Snorkeling

This first activity we did on our vacation, besides lounge by the beach and pool, was snorkeling. The Rivera Maya has one of the largest coral reefs in the world, The Great Maya Reef, and the snorkeling is fantastic. I have been snorkeling before, but this was my husband’s first experience and it did not disappoint. We swam along the coral reef with hundreds of fish, sea turtles and sting rays. Two bucket list items, swimming with turtles and sting rays, were crossed off my list in one day!

We did the Luxury Sail & Snorkel with Cancun Adventures. It is a half day experience including snorkeling, paddle boarding, lunch, and drinks all while sailing along the coast one a luxury catamaran. I highly recommend using (more…)

Honeymoon at Paradisus La Perla in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

by The Pike's Place

Playa Del Carmen along the coast of Mexico is a perfect honeymoon destination. A romantic beach location at an all-inclusive resort is on the top of the list for many newlyweds. Like many others, we chose the beach when it came time to plan our own dream honeymoon. There is something romantic about a beach destination and all inclusive is definitely the go-to choice for a carefree vacation. We picked Mexico for the direct flights, quality, and price. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in Mexico. Cancun is known more for partying and the beach. We headed an hour south to Playa Del Carmen and it did not disappoint. We stayed 7 nights at the Paradisus La Perla. I highly recommend this resort and here are my reasons why.

Paradisus La Perla Honeymoon

Playa Del Carmen is beautiful. The beach is gorgeous and the water is crystal blue. You likely cannot go wrong with a stay anywhere along this gorgeous coast. Paradisus La Perla was the perfect resort choice for us. It is an all-inclusive resort that is modern, adults-only, eco-friendly and absolutely beautiful. My husband couldn’t get over how good it smelled, literally the resort smells good. From the rooms to the restaurant’s everything was impeccably clean and maintained wonderfully. The food was simply amazing. It was not at all what we expected for all-inclusive food. We stayed in the Royal Service section and I cannot lie, the extra splurge was more than worth it. To have access to our own little VIP (more…)

Disney Dapper Day Outfit – Minnie Mouse Inspired

by The Pike's Place

It was swell day that April afternoon when we went to Walt Disney World. Dapper Day is according to it’s creators website, “fashionable gatherings attended by over 30,000 well-dressed guests twice a year at the Disney Resorts in California, Florida, and France”. Most people and even avid Disney fans aren’t aware of Dapper Day. In my opinion, it’s is like stepping back in time at Disney. Where dapper men and women mix a Disney character and a time period and attend the parks all dolled up looking straight out of 1960 or whatever era they choose. This April I attended Dapper Day and finding the right outfit was a bit of a challenge. **This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking on those links we will be compensated. All opinions are our own**

My love of polka dots led me straight to creating my version of Minnie Mouse.

My first destination was *Mod Cloth. They have so many retro vintage look items. I wanted something 50s or 60s and after a little searching I found the perfect pink polka dot dress ON SALE. It had every element I was looking for. The petticoat I purchased t to go under it was also from Mod Cloth. I did order slightly off and messed up the delivery time and the sizing just little. (more…)

Travel

Getting into Pandora

Nashville Hot Chicken…..

Packing for Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

Snorkeling

Paradisus La Perla Honeymoon