Over The Top Mommy

Olaf

Disney’s “Frozen” Popcorn Snack Recipe

If your children are anything like my daughter, they probably can’t get enough of all things Frozen! After getting the Frozen Sing-Along Edition for Christmas, Emi was anxious to watch it with me. I suggested that we make a fun snack to go along with it. I also sang to her when I asked her, “Do you wanna make some popcorn?“!

Do-you-wanna-make-some-popcornThe word “popcorn” gets any kid excited but when I pulled out the bag of Wilton’s blue melts, white M&M’s, and 2 kinds of Wilton’s sprinkles, she got even more excited! (If possible) I’ve think I’ve come up with a popcorn snack recipe for most holidays and now one for this movie! I’m calling this one “Frozen Popcorn“! It’s simple to throw together.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A giant bowl of popcorn. I say giant because you will end up eating a bunch before you’ve even made your recipe. For this concoction, I popped 2 bags of microwave popcorn and separated the unpopped kernels out before putting it all into a big bowl.

popcornI bought a bag of blue Wilton candy melts, 2 different kinds of Wilton sprinkles, and then also some white M&Ms. You need some type of candy to mix in with it all. Peanuts or chocolate chips could also work well with this. I was trying to stick with blue and white to match my “Frozen” theme.

Wilton-candy-melts-and-sprinklesPreparation:

To prepare the candy melts, you’ll want to place them into a microwave-safe bowl. Have some vegetable available on your counter to use. Microwave the melts for 30 seconds, remove, and stir. They won’t be that melted the first time.

Wilton-candy-meltsThey’ll look like this after you’ve microwaved the first 30 seconds. (not very melted yet)

Do this once more for 30 seconds and again remove and stir. My melts are usually pretty melted by this time. Keep stirring so they’re all blended together, unless you think yours need a little more heat. It’s very important that you don’t overcook them. Add a little bit of vegetable oil to your melts and stir well. Allow to cool for about a minute and you’ll notice the mixture gets a little bit thicker.

candy-melts-meltedNow it’s ready to spoon over the popcorn bowl. Use wooden spoons (or your hands if you’re brave) to mix the melt mixture together with the popcorn.

spooning-melts-over-the-popcornIt might look as blue as a Smurf but the kids will just be excited that they’re getting blue popcorn. After it’s mixed up, add the sprinkles and the M&Ms, again mixing together really well. Now it’s ready to serve!

ready-to-serveTo make it extra fun, serve your “Frozen” snack in fun cups or bowls! Keep some hand wipes nearby!

serve-in-a-fun-cupBut be careful…because if you turn your back, THIS is what can happen! I ate a bunch when she wasn’t watching though, so we’re kind of even!

Eye-on-the-prize

Mmmm

What’s your favorite “go-to snack” for family movie nights at your house?

 

 

 

 

 

The Day We Met Olaf (Josh Gad) at Disney’s 24-hour event

I must admit that I was a little hesitant about attempting the Rock Your Disney Side 24-hour event at The Disneyland Resort with Emi. I have an immense love for Disney, I just wasn’t sure how it would be with a 9 year old by my side. We did some pre-planning for the day and even organized a little bit, thinking it might help make our experience a little easier. (to see that post, click here.)
I originally planned on arriving at The Disneyland Resort around 5 a.m. but waking up Emily was a little more difficult than I anticipated. We still made it by 6:30 a.m., which actually turned out a little bit better for us, because those initial crowds were already inside of the parks. We parked in the Mickey & Friends parking structure and that’s where the Magic started for the day! Emi had a HUGE smile on her face after the CM gave her these.

Disney even offered carpooling perks for guests carpooling to the event!
Here we are going down the escalator to the tram…at 6 a.m.!
The parking structure didn’t seem very crowded nor were the trams. After exiting the tram and going through the security bag check, we spotted the media area in the Esplanade with sand sculptures in it. As we walked towards the giant Olaf sand sculpture, we were both in awe of its beauty. Clearly we had no idea there was an even better surprise over there!
After walking around the media area to see if any of our friends might still be over there, I recognized the amazing Lisa Robertson of Babes in Disneyland and saw that she was taking a picture with someone, right in front of the Olaf sand sculpture. That’s when Emi tugged at my shirt and (practically) shouted, “Mommy LOOK…it’s Olaf!!!” Lisa was actually taking a picture with Josh Gad, I guess I just didn’t realize at first! I try not to fangirl but THIS WAS OLAF! Emi and I walk around on a daily basis talking like him, quoting him, doing his snowman dance…we LOVE Olaf! When we saw Josh had walked over to the other side to take a few fan pictures and sign some autographs, we walked (very quickly) over there too. He was so kind and genuine with the fans, taking time with each one. He chatted with them, signed autographs, took pictures with them, and even recited a line from the movie for one girl, as she recorded it. It melted my heart when my daughter backed up to make more space for a guy in a wheelchair, so he too, could have access to Josh. It melted my heart more when Josh approached him and the guy’s face light up as they took a picture together.  I then overheard a high school kid next to me say, “Oh my gosh, this JUST made my entire graduation trip here SO MUCH BETTER!”
At this point I was already overjoyed about our day and it was only 6:45 a.m.!
We chose to start our day in the parks inside Disneyland. I loved walking in and seeing Alice and Mad Hatter dancing in the entryway with some children to the music of The Disneyland Band. I loved being inside Disneyland this early in the morning because there were still lights on that you’d normally only see at night and it just feels like you’re getting a view of Disneyland that you normally would never get during a regular visit. I loved seeing all of the guests in costumes. I already loved the ambiance. I think I loved a lot of things that day!
As Emi and I walked down Main Street, U.S.A., we just kept running into social media friends. First we saw our friend Caryn from Rockin’ Mama and we got to meet Heather from It’s a Lovely Life and Nicole from Presley’s Pantry too. Next we spotted Pattie from Living Mi Vida Loca, who was channeling her inner Snow White. Then we got to sit for a little while on the patio of The Jolly Holiday and have coffee with Liz from Family is Familia
We LOVED our Maleficent buttons that they gave us at the Main Gate!
A little later it was time for some fun in Fantasyland. Surprisingly, the lines weren’t very long. Emi and I have several mandatory things we must do in Fantasyland each time we visit Disneyland. Some of them include a ride on King Arthur’s Carousel (specifically on Jingles), a ride in the caboose of Casey Jr. Circus Train, and a spin in the blue tea cup over at Mad Tea Party.
Jingles is so beautiful!
From Fantasyland we strolled over to Big Thunder Ranch to visit the animals. We have a special bond with the goats and sheep over there, and taking pics and selfies with them has just become something necessary for us on each visit. We’re even starting to know each one by name. (you can learn their names from the tags on their collars). I’m convinced that the Disney goats have actually learned how to pose for a properly for photo. What do you think?
We were fortunate enough to run into the ladies behind Disneyfluentials while we were there and got one of their cool buttons! 
We also got to watch an interview they did with one of the goats. 
You HAVE TO check out that hilarious interview below!
I love how festive Mickey is in his Spring suit!
All of the socializing really made us work up an appetite, so we cruised over to Stage Door Cafe next. We were on a mission to try the Red Velvet Funnel cake, which was offered exclusively for the Disney 24 event! After one bite, it was like…..WOW!!! We were fighting over who was getting bigger bites and who was eating more of the cream cheese frosting! Sometimes it’s just hard to share!

We headed over to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next but the line was a little longer than we were prepared to wait, so we just grabbed a fast pass for each of us. This is when we ran into The Disney Sisters! I’m telling you, it was a super social media day and, although we had never gotten to meet in person, it was fun to chit chat with them for a little while!

I feel like we did so much walking, talking, eating and tweeting all day long until we found ourselves in the early evening. Emi and I were both exhausted but neither of us was willing to admit it to the other one. We decided to take a walk into Downtown Disney for a little while to break up our day and re-energize with a Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and some Cinnamon Bits at Wetzel’s Pretzels.  As soon as we both sat down, outside of Wetzel’s Pretzels, I think I knew what was going to follow. We were both exhausted and I don’t think either of us had any energy to walk back to the parks. I felt like we accomplished a lot in the 13 hours that we did rally that day! Honestly, it was one of the BEST days we’ve had at The Disneyland Resort! We saw so many of our friends and got to do so much and let’s not forget, WE MET JOSH GAD!!!! I think THAT one is going to be hard to top!
Are you ready for my grand finale shot? Here ya go……….
Should YOU attend the next 24-hour event that Disney has? TOTALLY