May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Disney World is celebrating!
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
At Magic Kingdom, you can still see Mulan and Moana on the character cavalcades and at the train station.
In Epcot, Mulan is joining the Princess Promenade at the World Showcase.
In Hollywood Studios, Mira, from a Disney Junior show called Mira, Royal Detective, is joining the Disney Junior Motorcade from now until late June.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
At Animal Kingdom, a Moana sand sculpture will be on Discovery Island in mid May. You can even learn how to draw Tuk Tuk from Raya And The Last Dragon and Pua from Moana at The Animation Experience at Conservation Station!
At Disney World Resort Hotels the Movies Under The Stars will come back. Movies Under The Stars lets you watch movies outside that show Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and cultures. These movies include Big Hero 6, Moana, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch.
The Red Bean Ice Float can be found at the Lotus Blossom Cafe in the China pavilion all month long. This drink was originally popularized in Hong Kong and it is made with sweetened Chinese red beans, milk, crushed up ice, and vanilla ice cream.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
Another thing you can get at Lotus Blossom Cafe is Char Siu with Rice. Char Siu in Chinese or Cha Shao in Mandarin means fork roast. This is a Cantonese style barbecue pork dish popularized in Hong Kong and in ethnic Chinese communities all over the world. It is an iconic item at Chinatown restaurants all over The United States. Just looking at this dish is making me hungry!
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
There is a calligraphy demonstration every Wednesday in May from 2 to 3 pm EST and 6 to 7 pm EST at House of Good Fortune. The House of Good Fortune is showing the history and significance of Chinese Calligraphy.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
The Japan pavilion shares Japanese culture all year! Mitsukoshi Department Store has traditional Japanese architecture and design as well as Kimonos and Kawaii from Japan. This store has popular Japanese toys, clothing, incense, and snacks.
Japanese snacks!
You should definitely check out this store because it is ginormous and you will find something in the store that you like.
While your in the Japan pavilion, don’t forget to check out Teppan Edo which serves sushi and hibachi and Katsura Grill that has miso-glazed chicken wings, okonomiyaki fries, ramen, sushi, and teriyaki chicken.
Disney Springs is celebrating in many different ways and one of those ways is with Chef Jessi Sudsa-nguan who is the pastry chef at Amorette’s Patisserie. Chef Jessi is from Bangkok, Thailand and has been working for the Walt Disney World Resort for over 30 years.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
She has created a special treat for this month! The treat is a Jasmine Tea Cream Tart. It is a light dessert that has fruit gelee and a butter and nut cookie crust in honor of her favorite Asian teas and flavors with a twist.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
Also at Amorette’s Patisserie, you can get the Mulan Petit Cake. The flavors are matcha chiffon, lemon chiffon, honey-ginger mousse, lemon curd, lemon-ginger streusel, and green tea simple syrup.
You can get the Matcha Yuzu Ganache Square at The Ganachery. The flavors are green tea and yuzu dark chocolate ganache.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
At The Daily Poutine you can get Korean BBQ Fries. That is Korean-style bulgogi pulled pork and kimchi with Sriracha aïoli and topped with French Fries.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
The restaurant Morimoto Asia, located in Disney Springs, is led by Japanese Master Chef Masaharu Morimoto. The menu at this restuarant has his take on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dishes. This month you can enjoy the following dishes at Morimoto Asia.
Lomilomi is a salmon tartare with tomatoes, onions, and scallions.
Loco Moco is a traditional Hawaiian burger rice bowl made with a blend of filet and A5 wagyu topped with an egg and teriyaki mushroom gravy.
Saimin is a Hawaiian style ramen with a dashi shrimp broth, thin noodles, and roasted pork. This dish is available at Morimoto Asia Street Food.
Halo-Halo is a Filipino shaved ice dessert with flavored jellies and fruit.
You can also go to YeSake to try some Japanese street food and Asian inspired drinks including Karaage, Taiyaki, Chicken Buns, Ahi Tuna Poke Bowls, Bubble Teas, Sake Sushi, and more!
Don’t forget to go see the artist spotlight series at The Art of Disney. This series is focusing on Asian Pacific American filmmakers, artists, authors, and screen writers who have or are working at Walt Disney Animation Studios. These people include Qui Nguyen, Mohit Kallianpur, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Willie Ito, Gyo Fujikawa, Milton Quon, and Disney Legend Tyrus Wong.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
You can shop at Basin whose portion of sales go to the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Community Fund.
Over at Disney Springs West Side you should go check out the art piece that was inspired by Raya And The Last Dragon. This stunning artwork was created by Xiao Qing Chen outside of AMC Theaters.
Photo belongs to the Walt Disney World Company.
The artwork is inspired by Raya’s Malaysian heritage and celebrates diversity.
You should definitely come to Disney World right now to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
I am going to be starting a series of My Top 5 Favorite Things. I will be telling you my top 5 favorite things about each pavilion, restaurant, resort, and more! Today I decided to start off with My Top 5 Favorite Stores In The World Showcase.
5. My fifth favorite store in the World Showcase is La Bottega Italiana in the Italy pavilion. This store is really cool because you can buy Venetian masks!
All the masks are so beautiful and well made. You can even make your own Venetian mask!
4. My fourth favorite store in the World Showcase is a shopping area next to the San Angel Inn Restaurant and in the pyramid in the Mexico pavilion. This shopping area has a lot of colorful skulls for the Day of the Dead and cute Minnie ears!
You really need to see this shopping area! The skulls are so pretty!
This skull is huge!
3. My third favorite store is Marketplace in the Medina. It’s located in the Morocco pavilion and has beautiful dresses and jewelry.
The inside of the store looks cool too!
2. My second favorite store is House of Good Fortune in the China pavilion. This store is big! House of Good Fortune has jade carvings, stuffed animal pandas, Chinese lanterns, and pieces of crystal but my favorite thing about House of Good Fortune is the jewelry!
If you are looking for jewelry you should go to House of Good Fortune!
They have so much jewelry!
Now is for the moment you have been waiting for! My favorite store in all of the World Showcase is Mitsukoshi in the Japan pavilion! This store is GINORMOUS!! If you are looking for a store that will take you forever to look through then this is the one! Mitsukoshi has everything! If you like Hello Kitty or anime, Mitsukoshi has tons of merchandise for you! If you are trying to learn Japanese than Mitsukoshi has books you can use to study!
Mitsukoshi has Japanese candy you can buy too!
If you are going to Disney World in the summer you are going to need a hand fan and luckily Mitsukoshi has tons of fans you can choose from and you can also buy a cover for your fan. I bought a fan at Mitsukoshi a couple years ago and the woman at the cashier wrote my name on the side of the fan in Japanese!
I hope you consider checking out these five stores in the World Showcase because they are my favorite and you will really like them!
China is a pavilion that looks amazing! China has footbridges, bamboo, small waterfalls, and ponds that can help you relax with calming music. Overall the China pavilion is one of the better looking pavilions.
Food: China has a restaurant and a cafe. The last time we ate in the China pavilion we went to Nine Dragons Restaurant. I had Salt and Pepper Shrimp and a strawberry smoothie. The food and the smoothie were both really good! The other restaurant is called The Lotus Blossom Cafe. This is a quick service restaurant, but I have never eaten there.
Shopping: Did you know House of Good Fortune is one of the biggest shopping stores in the pavilions? Inside the store are jade carvings, adorable stuffed animal pandas, Chinese lanterns, pieces of crystals, and much more! Hint! The kidcot for your World Showcase passport is in House of Good Fortune.
The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats are a lot of fun!
Entertainment: China has a show called Reflections of China. It is a 360 Circle-Vision show in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The film shows images of many monuments in China. There is no seating but there is a railing for you to hang on to. You can also take a picture with Mulan during the day. The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats is a live show performed by kids. It is a must see!
