Reviews

Interview With Celebrity Chef Kevin Dundon of Raglan Road plus Giveaway!

10 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 22 Comments

Those of you regular readers here at ZannaLand know that I’m not exactly the pinnacle of proper journalistic procedure and format. I did not come to this blog by way of a former career in the media, any official training, or degrees to back me up (unless you want to count writing for the high school newspaper and those two semesters of public relations in college). This is, I’m sure, more than evident in the casual way that I share my thoughts and views here with you. I do this to connect with readers and hopefully speak to them on the same level. So it is in that same vein that I share the following pre-amble to the amazing interview I’m about to post —

If you’ve met me in real life, you also know that shy and socially awkward are probably the first two impressions that come to mind. There’s a reason I write! However, after several meetings or perhaps an adult beverage, I do mellow out and relax. That said, hanging around my fellow bloggers and media mavens, I finally get that concept of: “What’s the worse they can say? No? Then you move on!“

So it was channeling one of those very bloggers that gave me the confidence to approach Chef Dundon after meeting him at the Raglan Road Signature Dinner and ask for an interview. As soon as I had the thought, the confidence was there and I knew I could do it. Even if he blew me off and said he was too busy, or was polite and said yes but later blew me off, I was going to DO it. So I did. And guess what? (not hard to guess reading the title of this post!) He said “That would be wonderful!” I spent the rest of the night on cloud 9, if for no other reason than I had made that next step in my new life as a purveyor of fine social media. (Like that title? I just made it up.)

Anyway, now you know the story behind the story and it is with great pleasure and honor that I present the following interview to you, my readers, and hope you enjoy it. Here’s a little more about Kevin Dundon’s background:

Kevin Dundon is the Chef/Proprietor of Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant, located in Ireland’s sunny South East. Dunbrody was established in 1997 by Kevin and his wife Catherine and has very quickly become a must-see for all foodies. It is now considered to be one of Ireland’s Premier Hotels & Restaurant. Kevin’s runs a cookery school at the hotel as well which already recognised as one of the most respected in the country. (source: KevinDundon.com)

In addition Kevin is the Chef/Patron of Raglan Road which has two locations, Downtown Disney in Orlando and Kansas City, MO. Given that Chef Dundon has cooked for none other than Her Majesty, The Queen and Bono, I think it goes without saying that Raglan Road will not disappoint. He is also author of two cookbooks: Full on Irish: Creative Contemporary Cooking and Great Family Food. Is there another in the works? Read on…

Take the Raglan Road to Wonderland – Celebrity Chef Dining Experience

4 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 7 Comments

You may remember my review of my last Tables in Wonderland experience at The Wave in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It was so spectacular, I had to take my husband to the next event. Lucky for us both, it happened to be at Raglan Road Pub at Downtown Disney at $115 per person, which included the entire meal and wine service as well as a signed cookbook from Chef Kevin Dundon, who would also be on hand cooking. Just looking at the menu got both of us excited since we just love Raglan Road in general. Let me recap the evening for you – with pictures of course!

I was curious as to how we’d be seated for the night, since I knew Raglan Road did not have a closed-off area and the event was for 63 people. For those who’ve not yet been, throughout the restaurant you will find antique furnishings, grand fixtures, marble adornments, leaded glass, and ornate detailing. The entire pub was built in Ireland then shipped to Orlando. As we arrived, the Irish band was just taking the stage.

Raglan Road stage — Raglan Road is pleasing to the eye and ear from the moment you step inside.

We were taken to the Raglan Room to the left of the stage and bar. This oak-paneled room was built using original woods from an old Georgian mansion in Dublin. It was nicely intimate while still enjoying the ambiance of the rest of the venue.When we were seated, we found some nice items waiting for us.

Rayovac Powers Your Vacation-Magic Wand Sweepstakes!

13 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

ZannaLand first brought you a sneak peak at this Disney Rayovac commercial back in December but now this same commercial can help you win a sweepstakes!

Unlock your imagination and celebrate the chance to win a celebration vacation for four to Disney World® or Disneyland® by entering the Magic Wand Sweepstakes. In addition to the Grand Prize, there’s also the chance to win a lifetime supply of Rayovac batteries or a Disney Gift Card from Rayovac. Enter the sweepstakes from now until 11:59 p.m. (CT) on July 31, 2010 at www.rayovac.com/disneyvacation (eligibility to enter the sweepstakes subject to the official rules found on the website).

Also, be sure to take part in the #Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Twitter Event

Join Rayovac and MomSelect for a Twitter Event to support the exciting Rayovac Powers Your Vacation-Magic Wand Sweepstakes. The evening will feature more than 20 fun giveaways from Rayovac ranging from a summer supply of Rayovac Batteries to Disney Gift Cards.

Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Sweepstakes
Date:        Wednesday, May 19th
Time:       7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #rayovac (follow that hashtag on twitter)
Follow:     @Rayovac_Battery, @MomTalkRadio, @CirclePRMary

See you there – and hopefully in the parks too!

CoCo Key Water Resort Orlando-a Great Choice for Families

11 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

Coco Key Water park entrance sign — This way to the water park!

After sharing news of the opening of CoCo Key Water Resort‘s Orlando location, I wanted to provide a more in-depth review of the resort and its amenities. Thanks to the resort and their Orlando representative Vicki Johnson, I was able to spend Mother’s Day weekend there with my family and do just that.

We checked in at around 2pm, even though the official check-in time is 4pm as they had a ‘family suite’ available for us. The front desk hostess asked us what configuration of beds we’d like and after I said a king room and a room with two queen beds would be perfect, she found exactly what we were looking for. We received our wristbands for the water park and she told us we’d be in building 6, the tallest building at the resort. We discovered upon parking and finding the elevator to our rooms on the fourth floor that it really doesn’t matter which side of the building you park on; it was easily accessible on both sides with the elevator in the middle.

CoCo Key Water Resort Splashes into Orlando

4 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

A few weeks back I was invited to the grand opening of a brand new hotel trying to make its mark on the Orlando tourism map. In actuality, this brand has been quite successful in other areas of the country, and is making its new home in a spot with quite an established bit of Orlando and even Walt Disney World history.

Originally the Hilton Inn South, this location was the very spot that cast members were trained before the opening of Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort! It’s hard to imagine an I-Drive back then, before the rest of the theme parks and surrounding tourist attractions moved into town.

The Key West-themed CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort opened April 22nd and offers rates through June 15th for as little as $89 per night*. CoCo Key combines a casual tropical hotel setting with a whimsical water park that features slides, rides and fun amplified with four pools, 14 water slides, poolside entertainment, and splashing good times all specially designed for kids in a safe and friendly environment.

Project Future, The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Walt Disney World

9 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis 25 Comments

Though I may not be able to rattle off names, dates and facts as succinctly as some Disneyphiles, my love of all things historical within the Walt Disney Company is no less great. So I was quite excited when I was given a copy of Chad Denver Emerson‘s new book entitled Project Future, The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Walt Disney World, Ayefour Publishing, 2010, which details the events, meetings and plans that led to the creation of Walt Disney World – known at its start as simply Project Future.

The Thanks For Reading ZannaLand Giveaway!

30 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 76 Comments

Those of you on my personal facebook page may have noticed my update about the milestone my little corner of the internet is about to reach. When I posted it, I thought I’d just say it there, and move on, not making a big deal about it. The more I thought about it all day, the more I realized I should be celebrating this achievement. After all, this site is devoted to Disney, and who does celebrations better than Disney, right? Also, the whole reason this milestone is happening is because of you, the readers, so I figured I should definitely be giving back to the very people that brought me here to begin with. So are you ready to celebrate??

There are 2 days left in March, including today – ZannaLand.com is really really close to getting 10,000 page views for the month of March. I’m so amazed by this – I remember when I started I was excited that the site had 10 views a day. Certainly a LOT has happened both on the site and in my life since that time, and I am so grateful for the exciting changes that have taken place.

I would not be here without the wonderful community of readers about which I’m always raving, and although I may not have the budget of Disney, what I’d do in real life is take you out for a coffee and thank you. Since for most readers, I can’t do that without involving airlines and lots of miles, I thought I’d give away 3 gift cards {of various mystery amounts} for a coffee on me {or tea or whatever else you might like to drink at Starbucks}.

In addition, I’m giving away a couple of fun surprises – 2 unopened Vinylmation figures! So that’s 5 separate chances to win. However, we have to reach that goal first – which means I need your help getting the word out about this giveaway!

To enter the giveaway:

Comment on this entry.

If you want some extra entries you can also:

Tweet about this giveaway and comment here with the url of that tweet.
Post on facebook or anywhere else you’d like to spread the word and let me know here!

I will then add all the entries into random.org and pick the winners there. I can’t wait to see who wins!

Disclosure: I am providing these prizes out-of-pocket and am not being sponsored by Starbucks, Walt Disney World or anyone else for this giveaway. Each comment meeting the above guidelines will be entered to win one of five prizes. Contest ends at midnight PST on March 31st and winners will be announced on April 1st. Good luck! 🙂

…

UPDATE: If you did not read on twitter, we surpassed 10,000 views after midnight on March 30th, so we definitely hit our goal and then some by the 31st! Thanks so much!! The winners have been picked at random.org:

$5 Starbucks gift card goes to – Jacqueline Hudson!

$10 Starbucks gift card goes to – icitea!

$15 Starbucks gift card goes to – Stephanie (VertigoDawn)!

1st Vinylmation goes to –Vader’s Mom!!

2nd Vinylmation goes to – Jon (disneylovndad)!!

Congratulations! I will get your prizes mailed out as soon as possible!

Thank you ALL for the amazing participation, for reading, and for spreading the word about ZannaLand. I promise this will not be the last fun giveaway!!

Rainbow Brite Back & Better Than Ever! CD Giveaway

1 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 19 Comments

Remember Rainbow Brite? If you grew up around the 80’s I’m sure you remember Rainbow and her colorful friends. She’s back with a whole new look and thanks to Hallmark and MomSelect (who provided me with CD’s to review and share) I have 10 interactive CD’s to giveaway to readers of ZannaLand!

The Rainbow Brite Adventure Pack CD includes:

Rainbow Brite animated short
Games and Puzzles
Rainbow Brite theme song
Meet Rainbow Brite and Friends
Coloring pages, printables and more!

To enter the giveaway {mandatory}-

Comment here and tell me what other toys from the 80’s you wish would come back again!

Additional entries {optional}-

Subscribe to ZannaLand’s feed
Add ZannaLand to your Google Friend Connect (scroll down to bottom right and click “Join This Site” on Google Friend Connect)
Follow ZannaLand on Facebook or Networked Blogs
Follow ZannaLand on twitter

Please comment separately with each additional entry so I can properly pick a winner through random.org. Giveaway ends on March 20th 21st, winner will be announced March 21st 22nd. Thanks and good luck!

YoBaby Winner and a Sneak Peek of The Wave Discovery Dinner

26 February 2010 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Last night was spent in food and wine wonderland as my mom and I enjoyed the Discovery Dinner featuring local Floridian specialties at The Wave restaurant. I’m working on editing pictures and writing up a full report, but until then I thought I’d leave you with a couple of pictures to whet your appetite. 🙂

The Wave wine glass — Our first wine tasting, in The Wave lounge

Table at The Wave Discovery Dinner — Our table in The Wave's private dining room

As promised, I entered all the comments for the Stonyfield Farms YoBaby 3-in-1 Meals giveaway into random.org. The winning comment was #10 – Lorna Marion. Congratulations! I’ll be contacting you for your info to receive your prize pack!

YoBaby giveaway winner — #10 was chosen!

Favorite Picture and Commercial from Super Bowl 44

8 February 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

It’s no secret I am a Patriots fan, but since the Pats were out of the running I am more than happy for the Saints to have won Super Bowl 44. I think the best part of the game for me was following it on twitter with all my friends. The comments on the commercials and half-time show were hysterical. To show my support for the winning team, I thought I’d share my favorite photo from after the win last night:

08brees_CA2-articleLarge — Brees with his adorable son. Photo: NY Times

And my two favorite commercials from last night: