Snaccident

Snaccident – meaning – the act of eating all the snacks by mistake. Or was it?

Over the last few weeks we’ve been looking back at things we’ve seen and done at the parks, and lots of folks have been talking about how much they miss park and snack foods. Some channels and pages have even put recipes up to recreate some favourites. So, we were talking about this and thought we would throw our 50 pence into the mix as well.

So, Rob here, starting this weeks blog, where do we start with favourite snacks??? I suppose my biggest shock on my 1st ever visit was the size of the portions, I was wandering round the M.K. and fancied a bite to eat. Lo and behold I spied a large pretzel, with a side of mustard. ‘Oooo, great! I love pretzels” said I. I queued for 10 mins and sat down to eat it, I forgot to get a drink….what a mistake…try eating a huge salt covered bread stick with strong mustard and nothing to wash it down with….so back to the queue for a Coke. I never did eat it all – as delicious a it was. It’s a LOT of bread and salt. Maybe next visit I’ll have it with a side of plastic cheese and a LARGE Coke to help it down…

On our last visit our big revelation were ‘frickles” or deep fried pickles. Now don’t get me wrong i will try anything once, but at our wedding lunch at the Longhorn Steakhouse our server asked if we wanted any snacks while we waited, we said sure! (As you do…) and on a whim chose the frickles. I tell you – this they were a hit! Crispy battered pickles with a sour cream dip. All you you could hear were the forks clashing as we all fought for a pickle, it sounded like a medieval sword fight!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bowl empty so quick… to this day I remember the taste. (Wipes drool from chops).

A definite snaccident were the amount of raspberry filled and glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts we got through…. at one point I thought Tracey was gonna go into a sugar coma?? Seriously, every time we went shopping at Walmart or Publix there would be a box of them in the basket. One day we had put a box in the basket when Ash came around the corner with a box as well and threw them in. I said “we have a box son”.. his reply was “now we have two!” I’d like to say we took our time with them and ate them over a period of days…nope. 6 people around the table, drinking tea…we smashed them. Did we feel guilty? Yes and no. Mainly no. It took us weeks to wean Tracey off the sugar, no joke! She doesn’t normally eat very much sweet stuff but we think the holiday excitement got the better of her.

While sitting outside on a glorious day like today we cannot forget the Mickey bars. A Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream covered in chocolate, just the thing on a red hot day. They have to be eaten rather quick as due to the Floridian sun they melt at a rapid pace. One of my faves was the Mickey ice cream sandwich same as the lolly but it’s in between two cookies. There is NO easy way to eat either of these without going for a wash later, trust us. We always laugh at parents who are telling kids off for getting in a mess while eating ice cream. It’s hotter than the sun here and you’ve given him a ‘sloppy’ chocolatey treat?!? What did you think was gonna happen?? One of my fave ice creams was at Islands of Adventure. We came a cross a Ben and Jerrys stand and i was “right! I’m all over that”. Off to the kiosk and “one waffle cone with caramel sauce please and chocolate ice cream”, – off he goes and starts to fill the cone with caramel sauce…THEN the biggest couple of scoops of ice cream I’ve ever seen. I was happy as a camper. Then Rich came along and saw what i was having and was right! I’m having one as well… to this day I remember the pair of us sat on a wall like two tattooed toddlers giggling as we ate them. After 10 mins we actually got fed up and could not finish them! So we went off to the bin, only too find it was full of half eaten ice creams. Such a waste. But boy they were good!

On the subject of ice creams we were once waiting for the parade at the M.K. And I needed something to cool me down so I popped to the ice cream parlour on the corner and thought I’ll just have the kids cone, don’t want to much…I walked back to Tracey with a tub, it was the “Mickey sorcerer tub” 2 large scoops, the cone on top as his hat and 2 large chocolate buttons for the Mickey ‘ears’. Tracey said “I thought you were having the kids ice-cream?” Her face when i told her it was the kids deal…. mind you, it can’t be beaten sat on the kerb scoffing ice cream with the parade going past and Tracey dancing with a wolf – happy days. And yes, I don’t care.

I cannot write about snacks and drinks without mentioning the magic “blue pop’’…or to give it its correct name Powerade. This stuff is magic!! I do not know what they put in it but man alive it gets ya running!! When we were flagging on the late part of the days we would go and buy a few bottles, drink, rest, then off ya go like a spinning top! Now the U.S. version of this Is different to the U.K. version because it never affects us like this normally. After one bottle each (and they are large bottles) we would would be near gibbering wrecks. In the parks these were about $4 each-ish. So we didn’t buy that many while in there. Imagine our delight to find the SAME bottles in Walmart for 99 cents…cue a fridge full of them ready to pounce on!

No trip to Orlando is complete if you haven’t had Churros. I actually think its the law that you have to have a churro – if it isn’t’ the it should be. Once upon a time all you could get was the “bog standard” cinnamon and sugar ones – a delight! Now you can get filled, rolled in what ever you want and any flavour. It’s hard standing in the queue and thinking “ooooo, I’ll have cinnamon, no, sugar, no, sprinkles, no, dipped churro, in Nutella or Watermelon flavour or Apple cinnamon or Fruity Pebbles or the Gourmet one that’s filled with Strawberry cheesecake and covered in Oreos. And you wonder why the queue is so long! Whatever you have we can guarantee they will taste smashing. Personally they are without a doubt one of my favourite snacks in Orlando. No matter where you get them from, once you smell the batter cooking you are duty bound to follow your nose and buy one. Or two…or three. We won’t judge you.

No blog about snacks can be done without talking about portion size. I know I’ve touched on it a few times during the last few paragraphs. We soon found out that instead of having a “midday meal’ we should just have a snack. They are in the most part big enough to fill you up or to share. When we talk to folks who are going for the first time they never believe us. BUT when they get back all they can talk about is net value for money versus what they have paid for it. Are the portion sizes to big? In my opinion yes, we have have often had one meal and split it between us. Don’t get me wrong, when we first went we would always have a pile of food and always have loads to take back to the villa or hotel, but you learn very quickly that you can’t keep eating pizza for breakfast…as nice as it is… once many years ago I took my kids Sophie and Ashley to Chuck-E-Cheez for an evening to blow off some steam. Part of the admission price was a pizza each for them. When the pizzas arrived they filled the table! Now back then my 2 could eat, but they both said ‘we can’t eat all of that Dad!” I think they had 3 slices each. We took the rest back and then threw it away the next day because no-one wanted it. Was it a waste – yes it was. But you see why they do it. Get the kids in, fill them up on pop and pizza and it’s cheap.

If you are looking for ‘’top drawer snacks” then its the Cheesecake Factory for you. I remember sitting in this very garden looking online at the menu and wondering how on earth i was going to be able to choose my “pudding” as we say in the the Midlands. When you walk in the ‘Factory the counter full of delights is a joy to behold. You keep looking from the menu to the glass cabinet trying to match the description to the cake. The menu itself is about 15/20 pages. As for snacks well step right up to the cheeseburger spring rolls my friend. These little blighters are a delight, cheeseburger beef mix with pickles and sour cream wrapped in a filo pasty and fried. Nom. Again, a side of these is enough, but being a side they are big enough to share. We found that out when Tracey ordered a side of sweet potato fries. Just a little side snacks dish to keep her going…the plate was stacked high with some of the best fries we’ve had to date. And on that note I’m going to pass you over to Tracey for her take on snaccident’s….

My turn – and let me explain, in light of the Krispy Kreme donut revelation earlier, I’m a savoury snack kind of a girl. I much prefer savoury to sweet things and can usually pass up a sweet treat quite happily. But something very odd happens when I get to Orlando – I can’t decide whether it’s the sort of sweet treats that are available that tempt me, or just the sheer volume of what’s on offer that I end up falling at the first hurdle of trying to eat healthily! Anyway, I’ll start with my savoury snacks of choice.

One of my very favourite snacks is still Lays Barbecue crisps, or chips as our US cousins call them. The ones in the black packet that are covered in the delicious orangey powder. The bags are huge mostly and so I can be orange from fingertip to elbow after indulging in a crispy snack – not quite as orange as Cheetos, but orange nonetheless. I’m also pretty partial to the Sour Cream and Chive ones too!

I’ll always love a slice of pizza as a snack! The big triangles of cheesey goodness that you can fold in half and eat like a sandwich always get my vote and luckily for me they can be found in most of the theme parks in Orlando. Hooray for pizza.

Another delightful snack for me is the vegan Slaw Dog at Casey’s Corner. Big enough for a decent lunch, delicious with the toppings it comes with your you can get it plain and then add your pwn toppings from the toppings bar. Some assembly required! They are actually large enough to share, and we do quite often actually, but I can easily eat one to myself and that will keep me full up until dinner later in the evening. I am also pretty partial to the vegan/vegetarian sandwiches at the Harbour House in MK. Huge – and delicious, and definitely big enough to share. Always fresh tasting and crisp salad goodness.

So now we arrive at the sweet treats – the things I rarely crave at home but once I get to Orlando I am suddenly interested in. And of course once I start eating the sweet treats, sugar being as highly addictive as it is, it’s a full two weeks of eating the sweet deliciousness and then another two weeks back at home trying to wean myself off them and back onto fruit! What are holidays for though if you can’t have a sweet treat?

Soooooo – a giant cinnamon bun from Gastons – yes please, a slice of Snickers Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, if I must, a piece of super piled high lemon meringue from Perkins, absolutely, Yum Yums from Joffrey’s, absolute heaven and a Mickey waffle covered in syrup or a sticky super iced danish – I’m a sucker for them all. That’s before we even get started on the Krispy Kreme’s, the caramel apple crisp at Denny’s, and the pancakes with apple sauce and warm maple syrup drizzled all over them from Cracker Barrel. You can see why I am fighting a losing battle with the sweet treats – so why fight it, just enjoy the holiday and get back to the fruit and gym when you get back. Too be fair I don’t drink much alcohol when I am in Orlando so at least I don’t have to add that to the sugar tally.

Even a trip to the supermarket is fatal – cos they sell the Krispy Kreme’s there, and Yum Yums, and carrot cake in giant slices that you take home in a little plastic container. So even if you only pop in for some juice, milk and sunscreen, my guess is that like us you’ll end up with a basket of treats too.

So there you have it – our trying to justify the word “snaccident” but it’s never a snaccident really. It starts that way and ends up being a way of life for two weeks.

While the sun shines today we will continue to sit in the garden and be grateful we are healthy and able to enjoy the sunshine. As the weather cools a little over the next few days and whilst we are still in lockdown I think we may dig some of those recipes out and get cracking on some home made churros – why not!

Stay safe good friends and followers – until next weekend when we speak again.