Book Review: “Entertaining with Disney: Exceptional Events from Mickey Mouse to Moana” by Amy Croushorn

Have you ever wanted to host your own Disney-themed event in your home? Insight Editions has you covered with Entertaining with Disney: Exceptional Events from Mickey Mouse to Moana by professional party planner Amy Croushorn. From elegant dinners and intimate celebrations to casual parties and birthdays, Disney fans will find a treasure trove of party planning guides and tips within these full-color pages.

The book takes you through some major events that occur throughout the year, starting with a Cinderella themed New Year’s Eve party, with elegant touches as you countdown to midnight. Amy not only gives you recipes and menu suggestions but goes into detail about decor with lots of DIY ideas. There are even printable downloads and cutter templates created just for fans who buy this book.

Other holidays include an Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts Valentine’s Day, Disney Vile Villains Halloween Party, and a Frozen Winter Wonderland Holiday Brunch. Lifetime milestones are also celebrated including Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan birthday parties, a Lion King “Welcome to the Pride” Baby Shower, and a Little Mermaid Bridal Shower Brunch (pictured on the cover of the standard edition).

You don’t need a holiday or a milestone to host a party. There are several event ideas that could be applied to anything, like the Aladdin Arabian Outdoor Movie Night, The Princess and the Frog New Orleans Dinner Party, and the Moana Motunui Island Summer Barbeque. Fans purchasing the Barnes & Noble edition get a bonus event, the Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Book Club Meeting.

The entire party planning experience is well handled for you, from invitations, menu items, and decorations, to parting gifts. One of my favorites is sending guests of your Princess and the Frog party home with a jar of Tiana’s beignet mix, complete with labels printed through the book’s exclusive website, a gift straight from Tiana’s Place.

If you’re looking at this book for the themed recipes more than the party planning aspect, there is a handy index at the back. Some of my favorite items include Bibbidi Bobbidi Blue Velvet Cupcakes, Second Star to the Right Cookies, Ursula’s Sea Witch Brew, Mickey’s Bowtie Pasta, and Maleficent’s Spicy Dragon-Fire Tomato Soup. To match the presentation, some silicone molds are recommended like a mermaid tale, crocodile, and beetles.

There’s a lot of great sources of inspiration to be found in Entertaining with Disney: Exceptional Events from Mickey Mouse to Moana. While Amy Croushorn has given you everything you need to plan and host these magical gatherings, there’s lots of room to make it your own and expand or modify the events to fit your guests' tastes and needs while fitting with the framework that has been so lovingly laid out. I hope this is the first of many volumes as there are so many great Disney overlays that can be applied to holidays, milestones, and festivities throughout the year.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).