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As a former Disney employee, fall is the best time to visit the parks. Here are 9 of my favorite things to do there.

Woman smiling in front of Big Top Souvenirs in Disney World
Fall is the best time to visit Disney World, in my opinion.

Kayleigh Price

  • I worked in several locations across Disney World, and fall is my favorite time to visit the parks.
  • I love dressing up for the Halloween events at Magic Kingdom and seeing the characters in costumes.
  • There are some great food opportunities in the fall, like the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. 

If you're planning a trip to Disney, I suggest you look at the fall.

After years of working at Disney World and visiting during every season, fall is still my absolute favorite time of year to be in the parks.

It's usually less crowded since schools are back in session, and the Florida weather cools slightly from the oppressive summer heat. 

This is during Florida's hurricane season, which typically runs from June through the end of November, so I recommend packing a rain poncho and checking weather alerts before you travel.

Otherwise, here's my list of some of the best things to do, see, and eat at Disney World in the fall. 

I love strolling down Main Street right after the fall decorations go up.
Disney World Halloween

David Roark/Walt Disney World

There is nothing like walking down Magic Kingdom's Main Street USA in the fall. It's lined with pumpkins, seasonal drapes, scarecrows in funny outfits, and Mickey-shaped jack-o'-lantern wreaths. 

I like to grab a seasonal coffee at the Main Street Bakery (Starbucks) and spend time soaking it all in. 

The decorations make it feel so cozy and allow for some really cute photos. I make sure to have a little photo shoot in this area every year. 

Although they cost extra, events like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party are worth it.
kayleigh dressed as boo taking a picture with boo character at disney world
There are a bunch of rare characters at the party.

Kayleigh Price

I think Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the best special event at Disney World all year.

It runs from the end of August through October 31, and it requires a special park ticket, which is usually a little more expensive.

However, during this event, guests get the opportunity to trick-or-treat all around Magic Kingdom and feel like a kid again. 

There are also special entertainment offerings unique to the event, such as the "Boo to You" Parade, the "Hocus Pocus" stage show, and exclusive character meet-and-greets. 

"Boo to You" is my favorite. It features all the classic characters, including Mickey and friends, the Hundred Acre Woods gang, most of the princesses and their princes, Pixar stars, Haunted Mansion maids and butlers, and a wide range of villains. 

For adults, this is also the only time of year to go all out with costumes in the parks.
kayleigh dressed in a hocus pocus costume at disney world
Adults can dress up for the Halloween party.

Kayleigh Price

Typically, only children under 14 are allowed to wear full costumes at Disney World. But when special events like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party are running, adults can go all out (as long as they're still following park guidelines).

This is such a fun way to celebrate Halloween, especially because you can see all of the unique costumes that everyone comes up with. 

If you're not into wearing a full costume to the parks, you can also Disneybound by using your regular clothes to match the color scheme or aesthetic of your favorite character in a more subtle way. Park employees and other guests will usually pick up on your outfits, too, which makes for some fun interactions with fellow fans. 

I love Disneybounding different characters all year, but it's especially fun when the park is decorated for Halloween. 

This is probably the best time of year to see characters in unique outfits.
kayleigh price taking picture with minnie dressed in halloween costume disney world
Some character get to wear Halloween costumes during the party.

Kayleigh Price

Seeing characters is always a huge highlight of any Disney trip, but it's extra special in the fall when you can see their Halloween outfits. It's the cutest thing to see Mickey dressed as a vampire or Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bumblebee. 

You never know what your favorite character will dress up as, and it's exciting to see them in something other than their typical outfit. 

I also love seeing all of the Magic Kingdom park employees in their festive Halloween uniforms.

Hollywood and Vine gets a total makeover for Halloween.
buffet at hollywood and vine
There were several hot dishes available at lunch.

Jenna Clark

Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood Studios serves a buffet-style meal with character meet-and-greets. But in the fall, it typically transforms into a Halloween-themed dining experience. 

All of the classic Disney characters — Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald — are dressed up in their Halloween costumes. They also have Halloween-inspired desserts and festive decor throughout the restaurant. 

Haunted Mansion always gets me in the Halloween spirit.
kayleigh standing in front of carriage at haunted mansion disney world
The ride gets a spooky makeover during Halloween.

Kayleigh Price

Out of all of the rides at Disney World, Haunted Mansion truly embodies the Halloween season.

If you're anything like me and like to be spooked — but are also a huge wimp when it comes to anything scary — this is the perfect ride for you. It has such a good mix of scare and fun. 

Taking a ride always gets me into the Halloween spirit.

You must pop over to Epcot for the International Food and Wine Festival.
food and wine

Steven Diaz/Disney

Fall isn't complete unless I go to Food and Wine at Epcot, which usually runs from August to November.

It's my favorite festival that Epcot offers throughout the year because it's full of amazing foods and drinks inspired by cuisines from around the world.

The stands and offerings always rotate, but one of my favorites was Appleseed Orchard in the Canada Pavilion. It had an assortment of different beers and ciders along with sweet treats like a frozen apple-pie drink and apple-crumble tarts. 

Garden Grill reminds me of a Thanksgiving feast.
place card from garden grill at disney world
The Garden Grill always provides a memorable experience.

Kari Becker

One of my favorite things about the fall season is all of the amazing food, and the Garden Grill buffet reminds me of a Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, a harvest salad, and a berry shortcake.

This restaurant, located in Epcot's The Land pavilion, is another character dining experience featuring an all-you-can-eat, family-style meal.

The seasonal, Halloween-themed treats are absolutely worth getting, too.
kayleigh holding candy corn milkshake at disney world
There are some fun seasonal treats at the parks.

Kayleigh Price

Speaking of food, there are a lot of great seasonal Halloween-themed treats to be found throughout Disney World at the resorts, parks, and Disney Springs throughout autumn.

Although these tend to rotate, one of my favorites is the candy-corn milkshake at Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies in Tomorrowland.

It's candy-corn flavored and topped with a big Mickey-shaped marshmallow. Whenever it's available, I'm sure to order one.

This story was originally published on September 19, 2024, and most recently updated on October 21, 2026.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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I tried chili recipes from 3 celebrity chefs to find the best. My top pick even beat Ina Garten's take on the dish.

The writer Chelsea Davis stands next to a stove and holds a black pot of a chili and puts her arm around two other pots of chili
I followed chili recipes from three celebrity chefs and found that not every great one was tomato- and beef-based.

Chelsea Davis

  • I made chili recipes from celebrity chefs Ina Garten, Ree Drummond, and Giada De Laurentiis.
  • Garten's recipe, which didn't call for any beans, didn't really feel like traditional chili.
  • One of my favorites had white beans and chicken, a far cry from a traditional beef chili.

Cold weather is always better with hearty meals, like a warm bowl of chili.

In search of the best one to make on repeat all fall and winter, I tried recipes from celebrity chefs Ina Garten, Ree Drummond, and Giada De Laurentiis.

Here's how the dishes turned out, and which ended up being my top picks.

I started with Garten's recipe, which didn't feel familiar to me at all

Bell peppers, onion, spices on table
Ina Garten's chili didn't even have beans in it.

Chelsea Davis

Garten's chicken chili recipe, which I found on the Food Network website, seemed fairly straightforward.

I needed easy-to-find ingredients like yellow onion, minced garlic, red bell peppers, yellow bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, dried red-pepper flakes, cayenne, basil, chicken breasts, and cans of whole peeled plum tomatoes in puree.

I simmered the onions and garlic until translucent, added the spices and herbs, diced bell peppers, and whole tomatoes, and cooked for about half an hour.

Bell peppers and tomato sauce in pot
I mixed the tomato sauce with the bell peppers.

Chelsea Davis

This mixture was very similar to a chunky pasta sauce.

Instead of roasting the chicken breasts, I sautéed them in a pan

Chicken breasts in pan
I think cooking the chicken breasts in a pan was faster than baking them.

Chelsea Davis

Though the recipe said to split olive oil-covered chicken breasts and bake them in the oven, I decided to sautée them in a pan since it seemed more efficient.

I sautéed them for about 12 minutes on each side, diced them, and combined them with the tomato-and-pepper sauce.

I let the chili simmer for another 20 minutes.

Garten's recipe didn't quite satisfy my chili craving

Chicken and vegetable chili in pot
In my opinion, Ina Garten's chili didn't feel like the classic comfort food.

Chelsea Davis

This recipe wasn't as hearty as a typical chili and had a strong tomato flavor and a lot of bell-pepper chunks.

The chicken was juicy but could have benefited from a different, more potent seasoning blend.

Topped with shredded cheese, it was filling, but not what I would want if I were in the mood for a traditional chili.

A few of my Filipino relatives tried this chili and loved it on top of white rice without cheese, though.

The next recipe I tried was Drummond's, which felt like a traditional chili

Ground beef, corn grits, and spices on table
Ree Drummond's recipe includes what I consider chili staples, like ground meat and beans.

Chelsea Davis

I followed a recipe for Pioneer Woman's "simple, perfect chili" that I also found on the Food Network website.

Its ingredients seemed very classic for a chili with things like ground beef, chopped garlic, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, and canned beans.

I was surprised to see masa harina, a dried maize-based flour often used as a thickening agent, as an ingredient.

Drummond's recipe was super easy, though I made a substitution

Beans and ground beef in pot
Ree Drummond's one-pot chili came together pretty easily.

Chelsea Davis

To start, I browned ground beef in a large pot with minced garlic and drained the fat.

I added chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the meat and incorporated the tomato sauce.

After stirring, I let the chili simmer for an hour, adding a half cup of water when the mixture looked a bit dry.

Ground-beef chili cooking
I used corn grits instead of masa harina, which I thought worked well.

Chelsea Davis

I didn't have masa harina, which needed to be turned into a paste for this recipe, so I substituted it with corn grits.

To do so, I mixed the grits with water and stirred them into the chili. Then, I drained and rinsed my cans of pinto and kidney beans, and added them to the mixture along with more seasonings and salt to taste.

I let all of that simmer for about 10 minutes.

Drummond's recipe made an excellent traditional chili

Chili with beans in pot
Ree Drummond's finished chili was tasty.

Chelsea Davis

Drummond's easy-to-make recipe was meaty, hearty, and filling.

It was nice and thick, and I liked the ground beef and texture from the pinto and kidney beans. The cumin and spices added a warm flavor, too.

For me, it checked all the boxes for a tasty chili.

De Laurentiis uses ground chicken in her chili recipe

Onions, garlic, ground chicken, broth, and spices on table
Giada de Laurentiis' recipe called for ground chicken.

Chelsea Davis

Next, I tried De Laurentiis' recipe for white bean and chicken chili as found on the Food Network website.

The ingredients were fairly simple, including ground chicken, onion, cumin, chili powder, Swiss chard, canned cannellini beans (or other white beans), frozen corn, fennel seeds, chicken stock, and red-pepper flakes.

For serving, she suggested topping the chili with Parmesan and chopped parsley.

To start, I simmered chopped onions and minced garlic until translucent and added ground chicken, salt, cumin, fennel, oregano, and chili powder.

Ground chicken and spices in pot
I think the ground chicken soaked up all the flavors from the seasonings.

Chelsea Davis

After the meat cooked through, I added the roughly-chopped Swiss chard, beans, corn, and chicken stock.

Per the recipe, I made sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot

Swiss chard and chili flakes combined with ground-chicken chili in pot
Giada De Laurentiis' chili called for Swiss chard.

Chelsea Davis

I let the mixture simmer for about an hour, added chili flakes, and cooked for about 10 more minutes.

When plating, I sprinkled Parmesan and parsley on top.

This chili had some great flavors

Cooked chicken chili
Giada De Laurentiis' chili was delicious.

Chelsea Davis

De Laurentiis' chili wasn't particularly conventional — with the Swiss chard, ground chicken, and Parmesan — but I thought it was tasty.

I enjoyed the savory flavor of the crunchy corn, tender white beans, and vegetal Swiss chard. The stock and ground chicken gave this a rich, meaty taste, too.

I thought this was the perfect, comforting bowl of chili.

For me, the recipes from Drummond and De Laurentiis tied for first place

Three pots of chili with arrows
The only chili recipe I wouldn't make again was Ina Garten's.

Chelsea Davis

I loved both Drummond's traditional chili and De Laurentiis' chicken version for their hearty, savory, and complex flavors.

They were different types of chili, but equally delicious for game day.

Though Garten's recipe wasn't bad, the chunky texture wasn't my favorite, and it just didn't do it for me in terms of what I look for in a chili.

Check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.

This story was originally published on February 11, 2022, and most recently updated on October 19, 2026.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary had audiences pumped, notching 2,000 sellout screenings and becoming the highest-grossing title in two decades for a release under 1,000 theaters.
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School ceilings keep falling on students’ heads, injuring minors during classes

School ceilings keep falling on students’ heads across the country in the last couple of days, where such incidents are being reported on a daily basis. Shortly before classes ended for the weekend, a large piece of plaster fell from the ceiling injuring a 14-year-old student. The boy at Thermi Gymnasium by Thessaloniki was hit […]

The post School ceilings keep falling on students’ heads, injuring minors during classes appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

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