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<<Introduction>>

Ghouls, Witches, and Ghosts are likely beginning to invade your neighborhood, but not to worry, a little candy can make them move along.  Yes, All Hallow's Eve and the American tradition of Trick-or-Treating is upon us.  We continue this month with a second Halloween themed edition of the INTERCOT Insider brining you both tricks and treats that we hope will help you plan a great Disney vacation.  It's Insider Time!

<<A Trip Trick>>  

with Magical Journeys Travel Agency

How can you turn one trip of a lifetime into two?  It's not magic trick, but a new promotion from Adventures by Disney.  Receive a FREE Disney Cruise Line 3-Night Bahamian cruise with the purchase of select Adventures by Disney departures between Oct. 26, 2009, and Jan. 15, 2010. This offer is valid for select Adventures by Disney land packages at the non-discounted regular rate departing before Oct. 2, 2010. Guests must book between Oct. 26, 2009 – Jan. 15, 2010to receive this offer. Ask you Magical Journeys agent what dates qualify for the free cruise, and what dates you can use your free cruise!  This discount is limited, so contact Magical Journeys for a quote today!

>> Magical Journeys

<<Spectacular Sweets>  

The Disney Dining Plans allot Guests one or two snack credits per Guest per night, understandably there is a lot of chatter around the discussion boards on how to spend them to best suffice a sweet tooth.  Here's some advice INTERCOTee's have recently shared on the best sweet treats to get as snacks when on the Disney Dining Plan:

"The order of 3 beignets at the foodcourt at Port Orleans-French Quarter. I can't believe all 3 counted as one snack. My Dear Husband, Dear Daughter, and myself split it and were full after eating it"-- momofdisneyprincess

"The Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich at the Main Street Bakery....yummy and big enough for two!"--garthbarth1

"The delicious goodies at the Confectionery in the Magic Kingdom. Some of those chocolate goodies, and the huge soft cookies make a delicious snack!"--SurferStitch

"The chocolate dipped pretzels at Goofy's Candy Co. are always a hit with us"--wildernesslady

"My favorites, besides the ever-popular Dole Whip from Aloha Isle, are the large cinnamon roll at Starring Rolls Bakery and the crepes at the Crepe Stand in France at Epcot"--SBETigg

"The small Mickey Mouse cakes from the Boardwalk Bakery"--ElenitaB

"The very yummy cinnamon rolls at the Norway counter service -- they are huge!"--diannamouse

"The tie-dyed cheesecakes at Everything Pop!"--BigThunderFan

"The Mammoth Pecan Patties and Toffee Bars at Seashore Sweets shop on the Boardwalk, and double scoop ice cream cones from the same shop and the ice cream parlor on Main Street in Magic Kingdom"--laprana

<<The Return of 180 Days>>  

Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, the booking window for Advanced Dining Reservations returned to 180 days on October 27th .  The Walt Disney World Resort has made the decision to return to a 180-day booking window for dining, recreation, and tour offerings. Walt Disney World Resort Guests will again have  the 180-day plus 10-days benefit. At the same time, the Theme Park Operating Calendar will return to be published to Guests approximately 180 days in advance of the first of each month.  All existing dining, recreation and tour reservations booked prior to October 27, 2009 will be honored as booked.

<<A New Treat on the Block>>  

Disney's Boardwalk has recently opened a new culinary treat for visitors--Kouzzina.  This new gastronomical gathering ground was created by Chef Cat Cora and has quickly become a favorite of many INTERCOTee's.  Here's some of their recent reviews:

OogieBoogieMan's Review

We started with the Kouzzina Sampler for an appetizer and chose the lamb meatball and chicken skewers. It also came with a hummus, pita bread, olives and cashews. It was very good, a sampling of flavors for sure.  I had the Fisherman's Stew.  Everything in the dish was great and the sauce was very flavorful, if a bit spicy. In fact, I chose a white wine since a chardonnay was recommended but I suggest you get a bold red if you try this dish. The spice in the sauce just overwhelmed the wine, a red zin would have been more appropriate in my humble opinion.   My wife had the Pastitsio Lasagna and it was wonderful. It is a large portion and served very hot, so be prepared. The cinnamon in the lasagna worked very well and it tasted authentic, but for the uninitiated you won't mistake this for Grandma's lasagna, so read the menu. I actually prefer this to traditional Italian lasagna, but then again, I am not Italian. For dessert, my wife had the semolina custard and I had the greek cookies. Both were tasty, although I would expect to find something comparable at most Disney restaurants. To be fair, it seems that the Bundino Cake is the signature dish but our stomachs just weren't up to it. We also had the pressed coffee, which the first time around was a cup of grinds, but they got it right the second time.  All in all though a wonderful experience and we will be back to try some of the other dishes that caught our eye, most notably the flank steak and the pork t-bone.

Mickey'sGirl's Review

The first time we ate there, my husband had the Flank Steak, and he said it was some of the best he's ever had. I had the Cinnamon Stewed Chicken, it was also very very good. I wouldn't consider either of these options exotic, and we both really enjoyed our meals.... so much so that we went back later in the week, and had more traditional fare. I had the Lamb Shank and Dear Husband had the Pastitsio. They were also very good, but perhaps a bit too different for a picky eater.  We really enjoyed both experiences at Kouzzina, and will absolutely go back on our next Walt Disney World visit.

ElenitaB's Review

We started with the goat cheese-stuffed grape leaf. This was very different from what I expected but very good nonetheless. It was definitely an appetizer that represented "truth in advertising" and was indeed a grilled grape leaf stuffed with a nice portion of delicious herbed goat cheese. The plate was accompanied two slices of olive toast and a lightly-dressed green salad. For our entrees, I chose the Fisherman's Stew and my Dear Son (Age 13) predictably ordered the Lamb Burger. The entrees arrived much quicker than our appetizer but instead of the lamb burger, a plate of lamb shank arrived. We were chatting with Chef Dee when the entrees arrived at our table. I explained to the Cast Member that this was not what my Dear Son had ordered and Chef Dee warned us that the lamb burger was very spicy and that he would probably be happier with something else. He took a taste of my Fisherman's Stew and immediately ordered that instead.The shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked, the stew part of the dish had a beautiful consistency and flavor. The serving was generous. Also worth noting was the bread. It was a whole grain bread  sprinkled with black sea salt. Honestly, it was great bread.By the time we were done, we were way too full to consider dessert so we asked for it to go. I got the Loukoumades, which are light and airy donuts drizzled in honey. They were served with two dishes of sauce: one raspberry and one a vanilla custard.

Dinner was such a success that I just had to visit Kouzzina for breakfast as well.  I asked our hostess and our Cast Member for their recommendation and they were unanimous in suggesting the turkey-sweet potato hash. I had considered it but the recommendations finished pushing me in that direction. My Dear Son chose the "stacked breakfast" and our friend chose the waffles. The turkey-sweet potato hash was served with two poached eggs and an arugula salad. The hash consisted of cubed roasted turkey, diced sweet potato, diced red peppers and onions; it was well seasoned and not heavy at all. The salad (not something I've ever eaten at breakfast) provided a nice counterpart to the sweetness of the sweet potato (which really wasn't overwhelming to begin with). The two large waffles were served with a large scoop of mascarpone cheese, honey, and chopped pecans, and the normal maple syrup (which was warm, providing a nice touch). It also came with a choice of breakfast meats (bacon or chicken sausage). Our friend gave the waffles a 9-1/2, saying that butter would have brought the dish to a 10. The "stacked breakfast" consisted of the sweet potato hash, two poached eggs (though they would have substituted another type of egg), olive toast, artichoke spread, and a choice of breakfast meat. I thought that this was the winner of the three meals before us: there was a nice contrast of savory and sweet, crunchy and smooth. The bottom line, however, was that none of us had a meal that can be considered a "loser" by any stretch of the imagination. And this breakfast experience left me wanting to try other options on the breakfast menu (well, to be honest, one other option in particular, namely the blueberry orange granola pancakes).

We originally had reservations at Garden Grill for dinner Saturday night but another family we were travelling with also wanted a second visit and a third family in our group wanted a first try.I started my meal with the "Kouzzina spreads": a harissa-laced yogurt, a fig spread, and hummus, served with a few olives, a pepperocini pepper and grilled pita. To quote Stacey, the choices were yummy, yummy and yummy!  Others at the table chose "Spiro's Greek Salad" which featured a very generous hunk of feta cheese (I would definitely order this next time we're there), the calamari which were devoured by the 12-14 year old set, and the Kouzzina Sampler which consisted of olives, spiced cashews (which were excluded due to an allergy), dolmades (i.e., stuffed grape leaves), tzatziki, hummus, grilled pita with skewers of prawns and sesame lamb meatballs (chicken skewers were also available).  For the main event, several of us chose the "traditional pan-roasted whole fish" which on Saturday was snapper. It was served with greens, Greek olives, fennel and was lightly seasoned with chili. It was done perfectly! Others at the table chose the pork T-bone; the flank steak; the pastitsio (which consists of three distinct layers: seasoned, stewed ground meat, pasta and a cheesy Bechamel); the lamb shank served with stewed gigante beans, and the lamb burger. I also had ordered a side dish of roasted potatoes which are baby potatoes cooked three times: parboiled, roasted and then flash-fried right before serving with salt and garlic. Everything was devoured except for the lamb burger which comes with a nice slather of the same harissa yogurt as my appetizer (it was very spicy) as well as the meat being seasoned with harissa. My Dear Son was unable to eat it and our server was nice enough to substitute a different entree (he chose the Fisherman's Stew again). There was room for dessert this time around though... I ordered the loukamades again (I didn't get too many the first time around); others ordered the molten chocolate cake, Greek cookies, galaktoboureko (a custard baked in a phyllo crust), and baklava. There was a young one with us. The kid's menu offers a few choices, including pasta with meat sauce, fish, grilled chicken and cheese pizza. They were very accommodating and prepared the pasta plain for the youngest member of our party.  I'm looking forward to many future visits to Cat Cora's entry to the Walt Disney World dining scene.

<<Travel With John>>

Last week, INTERCOT's Chairman & Chief Imagination Officer was invited to do a guest spot on the video cast of his long time friend Rick Howard of "Travel With Rick".  They spoke about the online Disney community, INTERCOT specifically and changes made to Disney World including the latest rehab of the Tommorowland Transit Authority.  Head on over, check out the video, leave a comment and enjoy the ride!

>> John on Travel With Rick

<<Conclusion>>

We hope you've enjoyed this Trick and Treat edition of the INTERCOT Insider, but it has come to an end. We'll be back in a few weeks to share more tips, info, and INTERCOTee advice to help you plan a great Disney vacation.  See ya real soon!
 

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