SW GRAPHIC | Portfolio of Sarah Wu

Photos: Astoria Pug Halloween Meetup

swgraphic — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 07:02:47 +0000

Saturday was the Pug Halloween Meetup at Astoria Park and the weather was absolutely fabulous! But Sunday was when Hurricane Sandy made its landfall in New York City. It was hard to imagine that people’s life change dramatically in 24 hours. It is time like this when I feel thankful and fortunate to have our family & friends. I just want to let our reader know that we are safe and sound. We’re praying everyone gets their electricity back soon and my condolences to those who lost everything.

Back to the meetup, some of you know my family had a new pug name Lucky. She’s dress up as a cute witch this past Saturday. She has a blast even though she was shy but it was good idea to let her interact with other piggies. Happy Halloween everyone!

Yucatan Cuisine: A Gastronomic Tour From Cozumel Chef

swgraphic — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:31:38 +0000

What better way to start our honeymoon with a food adventure in Mexico? Thanks to Angelina, I found the Cozumel Chef Tour through one of her blog posts on bacon is magic. The tour sounded so interesting that as a foodie couple we had to try it during our honeymoon. Before arriving I told our guide, Emily Egge, that my husband loves seafood and she was willing to tailor the tour for his interests and provided a custom itinerary about what we would be eating.

So my husband & I went on the Cozumel Chef food tour and it was the highlight of our stay in Mexico. Emily was absolutely wonderful and extremely knowledgeable. She was originally from the US and went to the French Culinary Institute in New York City. She lives in Cozumel now and she gave us a great introduction to the area.

Our first stop was at this traditional empanada stand. An empanada is a stuffed pastry usually prepared as a traditional breakfast. They’re typically filled with meat, fish, potato, and cheese fillings. We both loved being able to try different types of empanada. Our most favorite one was the shark meat empanada. After our empanada stop we then headed to a yucatan taco stand, a place that only locals would know about. We had baby-suckling pig taco and these are usually served over the weekend early in the morning. We also loved the Pescaderia restaurant where we get to pick our fish and they prepared it right in front of us. It was super fresh and delicious. There is no way we could have experienced half of what we did with Emily if we tried to explore Cozumel on our own.

Apart from the food we tried, Emily also took us to a local market and gave us a a quick tour of different types of local ingredients they have. She did a great job with trying to show us different types of fruits and vegetable that we didn’t know about. It was an entertaining and interesting stop. I highly recommend it for anyone who is an adventurous “foodie” and who love to learn more about the Yucatan cuisine. A big hug to Emily and hopefully we’ll be back to Cozumel soon so we can try the food again.

Visit Cozumel Chef at cozumelchef.com or follow Emily on Twitter and Facebook.

Part 3: Sarah & Allen’s Day After Session at Playa Del Carmen

swgraphic — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:15:33 +0000

It was important for us to capture all the beautiful scenery and ambiance Mexico had to offer. We decided to have our talented photographer Laura to do a day after session for us. We wanted to take advantage of the town which we did not have enough time to visit and take picture on our wedding day. You can’t never go wrong with some gorgeous photos taken at the beautiful Playa Del Carmen town! I even brought a second dress from online just for this shoot. Believe or not, my beige dress only cost me $149.00. So what do you think? Do you like my day after session photos in Playa?

All Photos By Laura Ivanova http://www.lauraivanovablog.com

Part 2: From Whimsical DIY to Fairytale-Like reception (Photos)

swgraphic — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:22:54 +0000

So I’m sitting here, staring at these gorgeous wedding photos taken by Laura Inovana, thinking back how beautiful and romantic it was on my wedding day. I mean seriously, can you think of any more romantic way then to get marry by the beautiful Caribbean ocean?

When we started discussing the theme and feel of the wedding, Allen left it all up to me. Because I am a graphic designer, he supported all my crazy ideas (including buying a letterpress machine with which we made our own invites). I spent an insane amount of hours on all the DIY projects to make the wedding more personal. As a designer I got obsessed with typefaces, layouts and colors, but I have to admit I did enjoy designing our save-the-dates, invitations, programs and menus, as well as many other details. We also incorporated lot of small details that were inspired by our travel across the world. We created our guestbook using a suitcase of collected postcards from our travels together. Our table names were places we had traveled to together, and our escort cards were gold, vintage keys to direct guests to their seats. I was incredibly happy with how they turned out, and we had lots of compliments on these small details. It definitely gave our guests something to talk about over the reception.

As for colors, blush is my absolute favorite color because it feels very romantic. My whole theme behind the wedding was that I wanted it to look very whimsical and fairytale-like. So for our wedding color palette, we chose to use soft forms of blush with gold accents. My sister Merry also made this lace table runner that added a soft touch to the reception table. I had planning an outside reception for months. Even with tropical storm touched down on our big day, causing the ceremony to postpone and the outdoor cocktail and reception moved indoor. My reception still looked so incredibly gorgeous. Our wedding planner, Elena and her staff from Grand Velas turn the unexpected into an incredibly beautiful night.

Of course all my other vendors were as amazing too. Our DJ, Julian from Mood Event Service, was a blast, and our peony centerpieces from Maya Floral were gorgeous. Last but not least, our photographer, Laura Ivanova, and our cinematographers, Richard and Margarita, captured every special moment on our big day. In the end, I cannot tell you how absolutely amazing our wedding turn out to be. I can still feel my husband hold my hand so tightly as we were having our first dance. I remember how hard we laugh when our best man and my little sister gave the speeches. And last but not least, we are overwhelmed by the amount of love and support from people who love us. We had the perfect wedding and our dream of having the closest family & friends to be there with us.

All Wedding Photography By: Laura Ivanova Photography / Wedding Venue: Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Riviera Maya, Mexico / Wedding Planning: Elena Galicia of Grand Velas Riviera Maya / Floral Design: Maya Floral / Wedding Cinematography: Hollywood Cinema / Wedding Invitations + Stationery: The Bride / DJ: Mood Event Services / Table Runner + Headband: The Bride’s Sister, Merry / Travel Planning: Worldwide Group Travel & Events / Wedding Dress: Ronoche via Kleinfield / Bride’s Shoes: Bourne / Bride’s Makeup: Barbara Garcia of Grand Velas Riviera Maya / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse

This one is shot by me

Part 1: Our Gorgeous Ceremony in Riviera Maya (Photos)

swgraphic — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 08:43:36 +0000

The internet has brought many couples together in many ways, including us. Allen and I met 12 years ago in a chat room on AOL. We’ve been together ever since, and we both enjoy our common love for travel and food. When we got engaged, we knew we wanted to have a small, intimate wedding with our closest friends and family. Allen and I are not overly formal people, so we both agreed that it was important for our wedding to be fun and memorable, yet romantic. With all of that in mind, we decided on a destination wedding. Luckily for us, we came across the luxurious Grand Velas in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and we absolutely fell in love. This elegant and spectacular resort is situated along the beautiful white sand beaches in Riviera Maya. We thought the backdrop was absolutely breathtaking. and the award-winning hospitality and food made it the perfect spot to have our destination wedding.

The ceremony had to be one of my favorite parts. It was elegant and simple. From the beautiful gazebo overlooked the turquoise water, to the long awaited moment of “I do”. We even had to delay the start of the ceremony by an hour because of the unexpected downpour. But nothing can stop me from walking down the aisle with my dad because I was so ready to marry my best friend- Allen. Luckily the sun came out and everything worked out perfectly. It was the first time I have ever seen my husband got emotional as he recited his vow to me. The incredible views and scenery were the perfect backdrop for our fairy-tale like wedding.
(More photos will be coming up on my next post featuring my DIY detail & receptions).

The Perfect Design For Our Destination Wedding Website

swgraphic — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:28:29 +0000

When it comes to planning a destination wedding it requires a lot of organization and time. The best way to keep everyone updated and organized is to have a wedding website with all our travel details and information. Additional details such as the ceremony time, location, travel agent number are a must for a wedding website. Having a website can help you avoid the need for a bunch of emails and phone calls and you will eliminate the possibility of confusion your guests. It’s also a fun way to build excitement around the trip for our guests and introduce them to the location, which is in our case Riviera Maya, Mexico.

As a web designer I thought it will only take a little time to design and build. I was wrong! It took me a lot of hard work and patience and thinking. I have to admit it’s quit challenging when it comes to designing my own wedding website. Aside from client projects this was great opportunity for me to create a site that I will always cherish. In the end I created a one page wedding site that used parallax scrolling, beautiful typography and stunning photos to tie back to my wedding theme. Check it out at Sarah & Allen’s Wedding Website. Let me know if you like it too. Thanks to my best friend Akito Nakahara for the backend coding and beautiful photography from Laura Ivanova.

Sarah & Allen – Our Gorgeous Wedding Video in Mexico

swgraphic — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:20:27 +0000

Hello everyone! I am thrilled to be back and blogging again. First of all, I’m delightfully married. Just because I got married it doesn’t mean that I’ll stop blogging. I’ve recently become a perm-lancer, so I’m trying to figure out what all my hours are and what’s the next step for my blog (probably a redesign). I know many of my readers had been waiting for my wedding video & photos. I have every intention of going into my wedding in more detail in the coming weeks, but I figured today I’ll start off by sharing our wedding video first. For those of you who don’t know I had a destination wedding. I got married down at Riviera Maya, Mexico.

When I was planning my destination wedding in Mexico, hiring a videographer was the last thing on my mind. Until I had a conversation with my maid of honor, who told me that it’s very important to capture the special celebration on film, I hadn’t thought about the fact that you want to look back years from now and still remember everything. So our wedding planner, Elena from Grand Velas Resort, recommended Richard and Margarita from HW cinema to us. Richard and Margarita showed up early on our wedding day. They were there every step of the way, capturing every detail and every special moment. They made sure they had captured all the shots they needed to tell our story. When we received our highlight video we were awed by the incredible job they did. The video was touching, beautiful and phenomenal. Everyone who has seen the highlight video was completely blown away by their storytelling as well as their creativity. They did a great job with our video; on top of that we made new friends in Mexico.

Sweet Margarita filming us in Playa.

Sarah: Bride to Be – 6 Weeks to Go!

swgraphic — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:13:04 +0000

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, I’ve been manic sorting out all sorts of things from DIY project to prepping the wedding. I had to finalized all the last minute things on top of busy busy work. So here are few photos I figured I’d share with you all from my amazing bridal shower. I’m truly blessed with a lot of people who care about me and it means a lot for me. I love you all very much and thank you for a fabulous party.

Hope you all enjoy when I post some personal photos. It gives you a little glimpse into my life beside traveling. I know that I have blog readers who check back for all different reasons and I want to let you know who I am and what I am doing when I’m not blogging about cool places to visit. Thank you for all the support again.

Photo Essay: Italian Renaissance in The Heart of Miami

swgraphic — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:39:59 +0000

To all my dear readers, sorry I haven’t been posting new adventures lately. I have been swamped with new work and being so busy with wedding stuff. So looking back at my travel photos has become one of my little breaks from all the busy insanity in my life at the moment. Today I just wanted to share some beautiful photos I took from Vizcaya Museum and Gardens a couple months ago. Why did I choose to share these? Because it’s one of the most popular venues in South Florida for weddings, shows, and events. It’s so romantic that it has become a popular spot for engagement and wedding photos. While I’m preparing my wedding in Mexico I feel the need to write a post of another popular place for weddings in the states.

Vizcaya Museum and Garden was built in 1914 overlooking the Biscayne Bay in Miami. It was built to look like the James Deering’s Italian Renaissance Villa. There’s so much to see and explore at this place. I wandered around the gardens, enjoyed the beauty and felt like the moment was frozen in time. Its history and the architectural beauty is so breath-taking. It’s a definite must to visit this stunningly beautiful estate when you go to Miami next time.

Travel Themed NYC Engagement Shot by Laura Ivanova

swgraphic — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:19:08 +0000

Many of you know that I’m going to get marry at Riviera Maya, Mexico in May. Since I love photography so much, I was concerned about hiring a photographer down there or though the resort. After much debate and research on photographers, I went with the option hiring Laura Ivanova from the state and bring her down to Mexico with us. I asked myself after the wedding is over, what am I going to have left? My answer is our photos. Everything is going to fly by so quick so an investment in photography is a must for us.

Laura, is such amazing photographer to work with. I love the way she sees and captures us through her eyes. After seeing our NYC travel theme engagement photos, we couldn’t have been happier with our choice and the result. I’m looking forward to my wedding shoot with her. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer please check out her beautiful works on http://www.lauraivanovablog.com. I also want to thank my make-up artist Jina Yoon at JAC Beauty. She turned me into a model!

South Beach Food Tour – Blend of History & Gastronomic Delight

swgraphic — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:43:09 +0000

Miami beach offers the best in beaches, shopping, culture and dining. It’s also known for its famous Art Deco district. Here I want to learn about the Art Deco architecture and feast on the exquisite cuisines. As far as dining goes, South Beach offers everything from fine Italian food to authentic ethnic dishes. This area is filled with dozens of restaurants and bars for visitors and locals to enjoy. So what’s the best way for me to take it all in from an architectural point of view to fine dining experiences? A guided food tour, of course.

Luckily South Beach Cultural Food Tour from Viator offered exactly what I was looking for. It’s a guided historical and culinary walking tour of the legendary Art Deco district. It gives me a feel of the local culture as well as stopping along the way to sample some of the best culinary delights – Peruvian, Columbian, Italian and more.

I was really excited about the tour and I met up with the guide at 6:00PM by a Colombian restaurant La Ventana on Washington Avenue. The tour guide Mirka was very interesting and enthusiastic. She connected with all of the attendees immediately. As we walked to our first stop Mirka gave a great introduction to the history of South Beach by telling the story of Julia Tuttle, the original pioneer of Miami.

We made 7 different stops during our dinner tour. Our first food stop was a Columbian restaurant, Bolivar on Washington Avenue. I sampled a patacones and an empanada; the empanada was the best I’ve ever had. Then we walked to Goyo El Pollo, a Peruvian restaurant. I sampled ceviche made of fresh diced fish and seafood cooked with lime juice. I also had their classic Peruvian Pollo, which is marinated chicken. They are both unique and so very delicious.

Next stop we headed to the Breakwater hotel on Ocean Drive. I had some delicious lobster ravioli which was followed by a sip of cortadito at David’s cafe. Cortadito is a type of Cuban expresso shot which is very strong and a must have when visiting Miami. After the Cuban expresso we walked over to Ocean Drive for some architectural history. We learned about the different styles of the Art Deco buildings and how South Beach has developed over the years. The tour ended at Milani Gelateria on Espanola way. I was given a sample taste of the gelato and wow, what a delicacy!

I really enjoyed the South Beach Cultural Food Tour from Viator. It provided an excellent blend of sightseeing, history and culinary delights. Whether you’re a local or simply a visiting traveler, you get the experience to explore the neighborhood by visiting some of the most prominent Art Deco building alongs with getting a taste of its ethnic cuisines. It’s a genuine South Beach experience worth experiencing and I highly recommend it!

Viator is the world’s leading resource for researching, planning and booking things to do in more than 750 destinations worldwide. Their goal is to make it easy for you to find the best tour and activities at the best prices. They’ve done the legwork to find local operators that meet our strict standards for quality, dependability and value. Please visit their website for more tours and information or follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
I like to thank Viator Tours for sponsoring my South Beach Cultural Food Tour.

Explore Miami with the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour From Gray Line

swgraphic — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:56:58 +0000

Miami is known for having beautiful beaches and exceptional climate but what many people might not know about Miami is that it has many vibrant and contrasting neighborhoods to explore. From tropical beach and original Art Deco to great parks and historic sites, Miami has it all for everyone.

I feel that Miami and New York City are similar in a way. There are so many neighborhoods to see. Each of the neighborhoods offered completely different scenery from appearance to diverse cultural influences. Since I can’t drive, one of my concerns was the expense of taxis and I didn’t want to miss any opportunity to see Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, or even Little Havana. Well, I came across a perfect solution that allowed me to plan my own perfect Miami sightseeing itinerary.

The Hop on Hop Off bus tour from Gray Line Miami was a terrific way to see the different neighborhoods and sights of Miami. I can get on and off at different locations throughout Miami. The best thing about this bus is that it enables me to create my own itinerary and get off at the stop I find most interesting.

This bus tour covers all the highlights of Miami in two different routes, from City Loop to Beach Loop. I had the 24 Hour Pass with unlimited Hop on, Hop Off privileges (You can choose from the 24, 48 or 72 hour tour packages, each with different pricing). The live tour guides on the bus were enthusiastic and informative. They explain the sights and answer questions from the tourists. That’s something you don’t get from taking a taxi.

There was a stop in front of Fontainebleau Miami Beach which is our hotel. We hopped on the beach loop route bus in front of our hotel and started our tour. The beach loop has daily departures every 30 minutes. We pass by Miami beach, Lincoln Road, and Art Deco Welcome Center. We get off in front of the Art Deco Welcome Center to explore the Art Deco Distract, featuring protected architecture of the 1920s and 1930s. We found many whimsical boutique hotels in their original Art Deco Style on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue.

After we finished exploring, we caught the bus and headed to Bayside Marketplace where we changed for the city loop bus. The city loop takes us to Downtown Miami, The Vizcaya Musuem, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Little Havana. We got off at the iconic Vizcaya Musuem & Garden in Coconut Grove, an Italian Renaissance Villa with world class arts and a beautiful garden. The view there is amazing. It overlooked Miami’s Biscayne Bay, a great inspiration that takes you back to the past before Miami was born.

Afterward we boarded the bus and toured around rest of the city loop, getting off where we wanted to spent more time, then hopping back on to continue our tour. I highly recommend this tour if this is your first visit to Miami. It is excellent value for your money and a fun and leisurely way to see the city. This was a great tour and it made our trip to Miami more memorable.

The Gray Line brand, available in more than 150 destinations on six continents, is widely recognized as the world’s leader in sightseeing tours, ground transportation, receptive operations and convention services. Please visit their website for more tours and information or follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
We like to thank Gray Line Miami for sponsoring my Miami bus tour.

New Update and New Venture

swgraphic — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:37:53 +0000

Wow! It’s almost at the end of the year. Time fly by so quickly. It has been quite a while since I last posted anything on my blog. As some of you may know I left my job at Disney last month. I’m going to start working for a new company in January and I’m looking forward to my new career venture. Meanwhile it has been a very busy month with a lot of traveling (Miami, Mexico, Belize, Honduras) and also a lot wedding planning for Mexico too. So here I am finally found some time to post a brief update so you don’t think I just disappear off the radar .

That’s about it – Stay tune for all my upcoming posts!
-SW

Last Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

swgraphic — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:03:20 +0000

Our plan for our last day at Orlando is to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Like any other Disney parks, there is so much to do it’s impossible to do everything in one day. It always help when you can get to the park as early as possible. Plus we’re just a ferry ride away.

Of course, the two highlights of the park are the Tower of Terror and Rock’n Roller Coaster (something my sisters didn’t do). I went on the rides before this trip with my family. I was so terrified when I get on the Tower of Terror but the dropping experience wasn’t as scarier as I thought. Other than those rides, there are so many shows to watch. If you feel up to it, go check out the Indiana Hones Stunt Spectacular and Light, Motors, Action. No matter what you choose to do you will have had a memorable day like we did.

Entering at Disney Hollywood Blvd

Muppet Vision 3D at Street of America

Cute Street Sign – American Idol Experience was fun

Aren’t Miss Piggy so cute?

More shopping

Love these signs

My sisters are having a blast!

Photo Essay: Disney Characters Meet and Greet at Epcot

swgraphic — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:39:21 +0000

One of the things that I like the most at Epcot is meeting the characters. Why? because my sister “Merry” wants every single character to sign her autography book for her birthday. I’ll be honest, I love meeting all the Disney Characters too. We found a variety of characters throughout the World Showcase ( From Mulan in China to Aladdin in Morocco and so on). There’s also a Epcot Character Spot in Future World where we met Mickey and his friends. The fun part of meeting the characters is seeing the expression of awe on Merry’s face. They are so priceless.

Here are some of the photos from our trip. I hope you will have an opportunity to meet your favorite Disney characters too!

Epcot – Around The World in a Day

swgraphic — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:25:43 +0000

Epcot is divided into two lands, the Future World and the World Showcase. My favorite land is the World Showcase. Remember Philes Fog who went around the world in eighty days? Well it didn’t take us that long at Epcot. My family and I visited 11 countries in 1 day and we fall in love with every single pavilion (country).

Plus, my family lacked the experience to travel a lot. But inside Epcot, they can explore different country and learn about each culture without flying. I know there is no substitute for experience different culture without traveling. But I’m sure the World Showcase will be their first step.

At here, we find representations of countries such as Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. Each pavilions showcase the best of these countries has to offer from theme restaurants to shops and sometime films that help us learn about their country.

My favorite is the French Pavilion and their fresh pastries. The crème brûlée were so delicious I had to go back three time throughout my trip to get it. Morocco was the next stop after France. It was fun exploring their architecture and admiring their beautiful mosaic tiles with my family. Overall World Showcase provided some wonderful and unique experience for me and my family. We really enjoy learning about how other parts of the world live. I would highly recommend anyone to spend a day at World Showcase. And if you’re like me (foodie), you will love it even more.

Morocco Pavilion

Beautiful tiles at Morocco Pavilion

Amazing architecture at Morocco Pavilion

Morocco Pavilion

Italy Pavilion

Germany Pavilion

Mexico Pavilion

Inside Mexico Pavilion

Art in Mexico Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

China Pavilion

A Royal Princess Dinning at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

swgraphic — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:23:58 +0000

Have you ever dream of being a Princess or meeting one some day? This is why I made a breakfast reservation at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall for Merry. The restaurant is located in the Norway pavilion at Epcot. It provides a Disney Princess Storybook Dining experience in a medieval castle theme.

At Disney character meal, princesses come to our table for autographs and pictures. We met Snow White, Princess Aurora, Cinderella and Ariel. They also had a princess walk where all the little girls princess march through the restaurant waving and singing. The most interesting part was they talked like the actual character voice. I remembered it was cute to hear Cinderella asked Merry” Which Kingdom did you hail from?”. All the princess interaction and telling her Happy Birthday made her feel extra special. It was very sweet and engaging experience for her and my family.

The service was quick and attentive. The buffet breakfast is served family style at our table, along with cold buffet available à la carte. It was $32.99 per adult which includes a photo package of the party with one of the princesses. It comes with 6×8 print and four 4×6 prints in a beautiful folder.

Overall it was an amazing experiences and we had a fun birthday celebration for Merry. It’s definitely something my sister and I will never forget! I highly recommend the princess character meal to everyone. If you always have a princess at heart, I wouldn’t miss this in Epcot.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
2101 N Epcot Resorts Blvd, Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32856, (407) 939-34631

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>All the princess sign a birthday card for Merry

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Snow White asked how old she is

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Snow White is so beautiful

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Aurora asked if her wishes comes true yet, she quote”My wishes came true when I was 17″.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Aurora and my family

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Another beautiful pictures

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Family shot *smile*

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Birthday cupcake

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>A great celebration for Merry

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Make a wish!

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Meet Cinderella

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot” width=”658″/>Love the Royal fairytale castle setting.

Dining With the Sea Turtle and Sharks: The Coral Reef Restaurant

swgraphic — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:43:19 +0000

Disney World Resort offers variety of specialty and themed restaurants that cater to all type of cuisine, and many of them are very upscale and offer impressive menu selection. One of my favorite restaurant is actually Coral Reef Restaurant, located within The Living Seas at Epcot. I made reservation (ADR) for 1:30pm on our first day to celebrate my little sister’s 17th years old birthday. When we checked in the waiting area we were not impress but as soon as we entered the dining area, We were amazed by by the huge fish tank wall. The view is spectacular, with more then 85 different species of tropical fish swim from window to window.

Since it was for Merry’s birthday I had asked for a table near the aquarium and was accommodated. Much to our enjoyment, we had lunch next to a 60 year old turtle. If you don’t believe me, check out the pictures and video I took below.

Our server was wonderful, always checking to see if we need anything and ensure we have a good time. Our drinks came first and follow by our main course, my sister and my mom ordered the Steak and Aileen (middle sister) ordered the Lobster Ravioli. I had the Mahi Mahi over rice. They were all fantastic! For dessert, we decided to order Cream Brulee and the Chocolate Wave. The server also brought out an ice-cream with candle to my sister. My sister loved the food and the ambiance. It’s a truly unique birthday experience. Disney definitely delivered on the magic.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. If you use the Disney dinning plan, this meal will cost you two sit-down meals credit per person.

The Coral Reef Restaurant
Epcot’s Living Seas Pavilion, Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32856, (407) 824-4321

The Coral Reef Restaurant enterance at Disney Epcot

See we have our lunch with Mr. turtle

He’s camera shy

Love the idea that they provide a fish guide

Fish guide opened

Huge Aquarium

The dining area is dark and spacious with rows of tables

Main course – steak

Mahi Mahi

The Chocolate Wave – Warm dark chocolate with a white chocolate Grand Marnier center with chocolate ganache and white chocolate ice cream

Cheesecake – flavored with vanilla and sprinkled with candied walnuts

Butterscotch Brulee – Butterscotch Cream with fresh berries

Birthday celebration for Merry

Smile * Family portrait …. I guess that includes the old turtle

An amazing experience

Our Highlight

Disney’s Boardwalk Resort – A 1940 Atlantic City Boardwalk Theme

swgraphic — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:44:29 +0000

During our Disney World trip we stayed at one of their Deluxe Resort – Disney Boardwalk Inn and we were completely blown away. It consists of around 9,000 sq ft of shops and restaurant. The resort overlook at the Crescent Lake and captured a 1940 Atlantic City Boardwalk theme.

One thing we love about this resort is that there is always something to do and it’s very close to Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studio. We can either walk or take the ferry boat to the park. The transportation is a breeze, there also complimentary bus that takes you to other parks and Disney downtown. Perfect place to stay at for a family like us with no car. And for the food, we had breakfast at the famous g restaurant. We had the American breakfast with our eggs cooked perfectly. It was a good option for breakfast before starting our days at the parks. The best part was I get 40% off from my cast member discount there. We had a wonderful service with a little surprise at the end for my sister. They brought out a little cupcake with a candle and balloons for my sister. She was so happy!

As far as food and convenience the atmosphere on the boardwalk at night is so nice. The night entertainment are fun to enjoy. We were captivated by the performers on the boardwalk. The best part is to hear the excitement in my sister’s voice as we ended our night.

Left: Ferry Dock Right: Lobby

Disney Boardwalk Inspired by a 1940 Atlantic City boardwalk theme

Beautiful lobby inside

Decoration inside

Shops and dine

View overlooking the Crescent Lake

My middle sister

Inside one of the store on Boardwalk

We made a reservation for our greek style breakfast

Health and tasty!

Merry’s surprise cupcake from them

Left: Balloon for Merry Right: My special teas

We ended with a beautiful night

Looking Back – The Excitement of My First Travel Experiences

swgraphic — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:42:05 +0000

Do you remember your first time? I mean your first travel experience and your first travel post? I still remember mine – the racing heart filled with excitement.

To start things off, let me tell you my first travel experience was to Orlando, Florida in September 2009. I was 26 when I fly out to Disney World, pior to this trip I have never travel or experience what a vacation is all about. Visiting Disney World was a huge change for me and my fiance. For the first time I tried a different ethnic food other then Asian; something I thought I’ll never try just a few years previously. Me and my fiance started in Epcot and went to the world showcase, from there we saw a mini version of what the world will look like. Oh just so you know I had my “first” ever Italian cuisine in the World Showcase at Epcot. So all my experience and memories there becomes a reason for me to travel more. It’s hard not to love the feel of a First Time, especially it’s an unavoidable element of travel.

About three weeks ago, I took my family to Disney World. Yes my first family trip ever. I wanted to give my little sister Merry an unforgettable birthday present, her first travel experience.

I must said it was amazing to see the look on Merry’s face as the plane lifted off the runaway and she felt the airborne for the first time. I will never forget her reaction. I feel so fortunate that I can take them to a trip and share my travel memories with them. In the next couple blog posts I’ll be posting more photos from our Disney World trip 2011!~

My sisters in Jetblue flight

My family

ESPN Wings

ESPN Fries

They came out with a special Mouse for Merry

She’s so happy to see it

Our room at Disney Deluxe Resort