Will be back to posting this upcoming week!

Sorry for my absence,
Due to the sudden death of one of dearest friends husband. I have not been able to post. I have taken to being at her side, to help with her children and all that comes with passing of a loved one.

Remember to bring the ones you love and all who are close to you, tell them you love them. Hug them kiss them!  Don't let that moment pass to forgive or do something you've always wanted to do. Because as we have been reminded all too well these last weeks tomorrow is not promised.
 Live Laugh LOVE on this journey of Life my friends.
Be Blessed
Terri

Partner's Statue Walt Disney World

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse

on Main Street

This sculpture was created by Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson and dedicated in 1993

Walt is pointing to a statue down main street of his brother Roy and Minnie which is in Town Square 

 Walt's expression on his face was to reflect the joy as he watched his guest enjoy his them parks.

The initials on Walt's tie are SRT which stands for  Smoke Tree Ranch which references one of Walt's vacation homes.

On Walt's Right Ring finger is a Claddagh ring.  There are many speculations on why Walt wore the ring, but for me, I choose to believe he wore it for his wife.

Disney's Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern

Fantasy Land Walt Disney World

The tavern is a counter service restaurant which offers a few menu items. They include Hummus and Chips, Mixed Fruit, Mix Veggies, Cinnimon Roll,  Pork Shank and one of the most popular is the Non Alcoholic LeFou's Brew 

The brew comes in apple and fruit mango frozen slushy with a marshmallow foam flavor. The foam on the top give is the "Brew like look". 

 

 Keep Gaston's in mind for a quick snack or sweet fun drink. Fun and cool place cool off for a few minutes during the day.  Enjoy all that the Imagineers have created for the guests from Beauty and the Beast.

New Tangled area in WDW ~Charging Stations and Restrooms

                                     The Tangled area of Fantasy Land has so many things to offer guest!

For the fans of Tangled, the tower of Rapunzel is just out of reach on the waterfall above. It is located where the former Skyway was and where Snow White's meet and greet once was located.

 Disney has added a charging station in this "Rest Area" there are plugs for your phones, there are no USB chargers here yet. However the Cast Members in that area said there are plans to add them in the near future due to high volume of request.  There is no charge to use the charging station.

This area guest are encouraged to hunt for Pascal, Flynn's bag, and Maximus's shoe prints, and frying pans throughout the area.  The Imagineers put a great deal of details into the new Tangled area. Do take time to explore here, I believe you will be pleasantly surprise.  If you have little ones they will have a blast looking for Pascal.

                                 

 The lights are beautiful during the day or night.

Quick Peek into Disney's Snow White's Seven Dwarf mine train ride

In Disney's new Fantasy Land a new roller coaster opening spring. 2014

This ride will be a smooth rail roller coaster with open carts, that are said will rock back and forth like real mine carts through quick turns and drops through the Dwarf's mines, and Snow Whites enchanted Forrest. Music and animated chacters will round out this ride. Would have loved this one to have been finished for our trip. But will be a great addition for our next visit.

While we were there Disney Imagineers gave a rare glimpse behind the scenes in behind "Broken" boards 

to allow guest to see the work in progress on the roller coaster.  

I realize the photo has some haze on it due to the plexiglas,  but you can see the workers behind the plexiglas Placing trees, and final details on the ride. While others were working on the track itself

I do apologise for the quality of these photographs, between the weather and the the shooting through the glass these just didn't turn out as well as I had hoped they would. However, I thought something was better than nothing at all. 

Disney's Journey of the Little Mermaid

In the new Fantasy Land you will find Journey of the Little Mermaid. 

This is very popular and the wait will be well over an hour and half, during peek season. I suggest one of two things if you have young children use your fast pass.  If you have 10 and up and plan to be in the park later you can do like we did and wait until after the fireworks, we walked through the queue with no problems or  wait that was longer than 15 minutes. My daughters and I were giggling like little girls the entire time through this ride, it was perfect. Reminded us of when the movie first came out! We definitely enjoyed this ride.

While guest are walking through the queue Scuttle helps Ariel  find gadgets and gizmo's galore.This is an interactive queue and is quite fun to play with.

Once through the queue quest will board clam shells ride to go under the sea with Ariel for a colorful 3-D adventure.

 

The Journey of the Little Mermaid takes guest through several scenes of movie in vivid color,with King Triton,  Ursula, Prince Eric, becoming a human, and marring Prince Eric, as the music from the movie playing in the background to keep your feet moving throughout the ride. 

Cinderella's Fountan~ Crown Cinderella

Cinderella's Fountain 

located behind her Castle on the left in the courtyard

Walk through the castle turn to your left as you exit the castle doors and you will see a bronze Cinderella

fountain on your left in front of Castle Couture

Stand directly in front of Cinderella and curtsy the crown will appear upon Cinderella's head.

My teenage daughters enjoyed doing this. Watching little girls do this was a delight. Their eyes opening wide with joy and excitement pointing up to Cinderella as they saw the crown lower to her head. 

Experience this with girls of all ages.

On our first day I remembered to take the first photograph of the fountain but forgot to take the second while in the curtsy had to take the second one the next night. I actually like this photo much better. 

Disney's Topiaries Your Favorites and Mine

Disney Topiaries‎

  

One of the things I love to see all over Disney are the Topiaries.  If I could take them home with me I would snap one up and put it in my front yard.  Sadly my camera was giving me fits on this day and the majority of these pictures didn't turn out but here are a few of my favorites.  What are your favorite Topiaries in Disney?

Cinderella and Prince Charming ~ 

Epcot Lagoon

Tick Tock The Alligator

in front of England Epcot

Minnie and Mickey Mouse

Right side of Castle Magic Kingdom

TinkerBell

(My Absolute Favorite)

Epcot around the Monorails 

This was two years ago during the 

Flower and Garden Festival

Run Disney's Pasta in the Park

RunDisney's Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend

, 

 Offered a Pasta in the park for runners who chose to participate, it included  entry into Epcot @ 7p.m, a pasta dinner buffet that was definitely runner friendly, Character meet and greet with Cinderella~Prince Charming and the Step Sisters.

 Live DJ played legendary music which kept the room jumping and excited for the weekend races to come. Face Painters  were the best I have seen but then again they then they were Disney face painters you expect nothing less. 

To top off the evening RunDisney had with all the WDW style and Magic reserved phenomenal seating for the IllumiNations show.  Although there were clouds in the sky that night. Nothing was able to take away from the beauty of the laser show and the fireworks. 

There is a fee involved to participate in the Pasta in the Park, rest assure it is worth every dime!  The food, wonderful people you meet during the event, the entertainment, and then the fantastic view of the IllumiNations. For the RunDisney 

Disney's Celebrate the Magic

Disney's newest night time wonderment is on Cinderella's Castle

it's called Celebrate the Magic

I was like a little girl watching this with my children, my teenagers were watching with such joy just as I was, this is one of many many reasons I keep bringing my family back to Walt Disney World.

The Celebrate the Magic projection show is just that a projection show up on Cinderella's Castle. 

The show is painted on by a brush in sections one at a time taking guest through the Magic of Disney.

There is everything from, Mickey Mouse, Frozen Captian Jack Sparrow the Chesire Cat Lion King all of the Princess's Wreck it Ralf and everything in between. It ends with Walt Disney himself reminding us that it was all started with a mouse.

Be sure to look at the listings every day in the Magic Kingdom to find out when Celebrate the Magic will be shown, times will vary due to park closing times.

Coming off of our Disney HIGH!

Well we are back from our Amazing 2014 Disney Vacation. This trip was truly the most memorable trip to Disney to date.  I was able to finish the Disney's Princess 5k and for me this is a HUGE accomplishment since I am a Cancer survivor myself and use a cart if I have to walk for long distances. My daughters ran in the 10k and the weather was over cast but I always say a rainy day in Disney is always better than a regular day at home!

For those of you who are runners if you have ever considered running in one of the Disney Marathon's, I truly recommend it. The entire weekend went off without a hitch. The first event which was the Runners expo was extremely crowed with over 50,000 runners coming and going over the three day event.  Beginning with receiving our running bibs, T-shirts, and gift bags the process was long at times but very easy.
My daughters and I stayed on property at the Port Orleans Riverside, Disney provided transportation to the Expo and each race. The races start very early, however the buses were on time for the 5:30 and the 6:15 races we were in our corrals in plenty of time to enjoy the pre-race music, party before the races.

Walking/Running through Epcot Theme Park as the sun was coming up is an experience that will stay with my daughters and myself for years to come. We are looking into another RunDisney Marathon Weekend for the near future. Disney offers Marathon Weekends throughout the year. The Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend was more than just a weekend of fun and bliss in the parks and running through Epcot before the parks open, my daughters and I raised over $6,200 for St. Jude in memory of Darby Jones. This only added to the meaning of our weekend. Darby was 13 years old when she lost her fight to Leukemia on October 28, 2013. RunDisney and St. Jude gave us a way to Honor the memory of an amazing young girl who never once lost the joy of Life.

Hidden Mickeys

Hidden Mickey's 

Info for guest who do not know what Hidden Mickey's are

Hidden Mickey's started as inside jokes between Disney Imagineers. They are Mickey shapes placed all throughout the Disney parks.  The HM classic style is the Three Circles, Cast Members are well known for placing Hidden Mickey's in rides, from time to time, there are also spontaneous Hidden Mickey's that happen from time to time.

For our family a wonderful online source for Hidden Mickey's is

http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/  

It is easy to navigate with photo's to click onto and see and a good deal of information.

I will be updating this post once I return from our trip with photo's of our latest hunt!~

Imagineers nor Cast Members have ever set out to count or measure all of the Hidden Mickeys, 

Our family makes finding HM into a game with the winner getting a different prize which is determined on the drive down to WDW.  Prizes vary from cupcakes, to specialty candies, or whatever we all agree on ahead of time. 

Hollywood Studio's Meet-N-Greet

Info on Hollywood Studio's Meet-N-Greets
Characters come in irregular intervals, if you are looking to meet with a specific one be sure to check with Guest Relations when you enter the park to have a better chance to meet your favorite Character that day.

There are several places for Character Greets my favorites are 
* Magic of Animation 
      Mickey the Sorcerer, The Incrdedibles, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Disney Jr. 
*Pixar Place
      Woody, Buzz Light Year, Army Men
*Sorcerer's Hat
       Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Chip and Dale

**Echo Lake~Charaterpalooza
  This is not advertised on the Character Schedule
        At this location guest will find a vast variety of Characters including rarely seen ones.
   What determines the times and location of this is theFantasmic Shows for that night
 *If there is no Fantasmic show for that night then there is no Charaterpalooza
 *If there is 1 Fantasmic show the Meet-N-Greet is at 4:30 at the
   Echo Lake
 *If there are 2 Fantasmic shows the Meet-N-Greet is at 6:00 on the Streets of America.

Disney's Magic of Animation~ Draw your own Disney Character Free

Disney's Animation Academy

Located in Disney's Magic of Animation 

Let me just say this up front because it is the best part.... There is NO CHARGE for this. 
This could possibly be one of the most over looked attractions in WDW.  Many guests do not even know this unique opportunity exists. I traveled to WDW many times before I knew about it and even on our last visit we missed it due to time restraints. My parents however have done this on several visits and each time have loved every experience.  


The Animation Academy is located inside the Disney Magic of Animation Attraction at the Hollywood Studio's Park.  Once guest have watched the short movie continue on  past  the Character Meet area.  There guest will find the Animation Academy,  classes usually start  around 10:30 every day and run every 3 0 minutes.  The Academy gives guest an opportunity to see what it's like to be a Disney Animator. 

The Character drawings are always changing, and there will be several different ones throughout the day.  Guests of ALL ages are able to participate in the Animation Academy, the classes start around 10:30 every day and run every 30 minutes. 

For those of you who have never drawn one stroke before do not let that keep you from this experience. Coming from someone who doesn't have a drop of artistic skill in my body. This will be an experience I am looking forward to and dreading on this upcoming trip due to the fact I have two extremely talented artist in my family my mother and one of my daughters. Seems the artistic talent skipped a generation. 


One final note about the Animation Academy it can be crowded at times,  when it is peak season.  Do not be intimidated and my mother and father were given boards and they sat long the wall to draw, they said it was still a wonderful experience. I will give more details on this when I return one I have more details and I will pass them all along to you. If you are going down in the next week or two like I am happy drawing.. 

Secrets of Haunted Mansion

These are some of my favorite things to look for at WDW's Haunted Mansion.
*There is an unseen horse "ghost horse" with a hearse" Named Elmer If you listen close you can hear a Ghostly "whinny"

*The tomb stones are in honor of great people who did things for WDW like  
  Grand Pa Mac- Who created Jungle Cruise & Pirates of Caribbean.
  Wathel Bender- Imaginer 
  Francis Xavier- Wrote Yo Ho Pirates Life
*Uncle Blaine has been said to be one of the best Imaginer Sculpture's  
*There are newer tombstones that are to honor Imaginer's who contributed to the Haunted Mansion in the interactive area. 
*Just as you coming up to the mansion if it is night time and there is "Full Moon"
look for the ring of stones in the ground in front of the entrance, just beyond the wishing well. Stand in the circle and call Leota 3x's and she will come to upper floor window with a candle.
*As you exit the mansion trampled by the unseen horse into the ground is the brides ring, tossed from the attic window.

*There is a hidden Mickey in the iron gate facing Liberty Square
*3 More in the Ballroom scene alone (and many more through out the ride, but I will leave them for you to find on your own)
*Look for a bat head as you enter the cue to the doom buggies, one has been rubbed completely smooth from all of the handling over all the years.
*Inside the ride their is a piece of broken glass with an image of Tinker Bell. 
*As you exit there is a pet cemetery look for a tomb stone for Mr. Toad from Mr. Toad's wild ride.
*Do you know what the true name of the Haunted Mansion is? There is a marker for is in  Frontier land near Pecos Bills ans Splash Mountain.  It is made of wood with the name on it and crossed out with Haunted written over it. Have great time looking!

Disney Trip~Offsite Scooter/PowerChair Rental

Disney Resorts ~Off Site Sooter/EVC Rentals

My family be embarking for out stay at the Port Orleans in a Garden view room of the Riverside Resort. This is my families first time staying in this resort. The excitement is growing every day, for all of you who have an upcoming trip we all know what that feels like!

I will be needing assistance to get around the parks during my trip,  I've needed it for every trip to Disney.  There is always the option of using the WDW wheelchairs, and their EVC's, however in past trips, several issues have come up. Asking a family member to push my wheelchair all day every day is isn't part of the ideal vacation.  Using the WDW EVC's can be a great alternative, the conditions are they must be turn in at each park entrance and the guest may pick up another one at the next park you are attending. This is great in theory, in reality  upon arriving at the next park there may not be an EVC available.  If you are like me and truly need assistance all day long during your vacation, looking outside the parks for your EVC maybe the right choice for you and your family.  

On my last trip we used Best Price Mobility the scooter I chose was at my resort before they said it would be and all I had to do was drop it off in the same place at the end of my vacation.  I had used another company once before they were 2 hours late, now I  realize things happen and this could have been a fluke, nonetheless the other company was more expensive then and now.  When the planning for this trip began I  looked into all the companies which are approved by WDW once Best Price Mobility is the overall best company.  Finally Best Price doesn't charge you the insurance per day!!  Their motto is that little bit of money would not cover our cost to replace the unit and we have our insurance for bumps and scratches. Now if you run it into the pool or something like that of course you are going to be responsible for that.  But most other companies are charging for insurance just to add to to the bill.  

If you are going to be on Disney property there is no charge to have the scooter delivered to your resort.  Convince is a wonderful thing. To get up the morning of your first day in the parks go to the front of the resort and there is your scooter or EVC and your on your way for the rest of the day, all the scooters, EVC's are able to ride the WDW transportation systems, the buses, monorail and boats. 

There definitely are other options out there, and this is only my personal opinion I am not being paid or getting any kickbacks from the company, I just feel if there is a company who is doing a good job and taking care of their customers, people should know about them. Here is their information, and have a magical vacation!

M-Sun 8am- 12am EST

Phone : 866-866-3434

Mobile: 407-0868

Walt Disney World's Pin Trading

Disney's Pin Trading

                                                                 

                                          

WDW Pin Trading is one of best ways to experience Disney's and connect with guests and Cast Members

            

                           Here are the rules which there are very few for pin trading

* Pins must be metal, undamaged and have the Disney Logo on the Back

*Pins must have their own back, but usually Cast Members will keep the back of the pin they have and you will keep yours as you trade.

*Guests cannot trade name pins, or plastic pins with Cast Members, or pins with clasp  style backs.  (I understand WDW is no longer trading pins that are older than the 80's I will be verifying this on my trip coming up and updating this post about this point)

*Guests may trade with each Cast Member (2)  times per day. However this rule does not apply between guest

* Guests who are ages 3-12 look for green lanyards and green hip lanyard. These are for   "Kids Only" and usually have the harder to find pins. 

** The regular lanyards are black.**

*Avoid touching a Cast Member's trading pins, politely request from the Cast Member or  Guest wearing the lanyard if he or she will bring it closer for a better view.  

* Be sure you offer the Cast Member or Guest a pin that they are not showing on their lanyard.

* No money or gifts can be exchanged for pins.

*Pins from other Disney, Disneyland Resorts, Walt Disney Resorts, are trade able.

*Host/Hostess Badges, Trainer Pins, Disney Service Award Pins, Spirit Disneyland, Partner Excellence, Cast Member Costume Pins (Name Tags, Etc.) are not trade able  

Disney Pins come in all shapes and sizes, with every Character you that can imagine. If you think of it you and search long enough you just might find it.  

When you see a pin turned around on a lanyard this is a "Blind Trade" this is when a Cast Member or guest has a pin turned around. This is where you will trade one of your pins for that pin without knowing what it is. This pin almost always is a GREAT pin. I have always encountered the greatest pins.  A fabulous place to find pins are in the resorts while you’re in the parks just ask around to when the "books" will be open the times vary from resort to resort. Each resort has its own book with different pins.  Jump right into your pin trading adventures. With a little time I am sure everyone will 

be experts in pin trading. Good Luck and have fun!

Disney's Resort One of a Kind Wake~Up Call

If your staying at any of the Walt Disney Resorts, be sure to experience this! Begin your day with a wake up call only the Disney Resorts can give.

           

Upon arriving at your specific Disney Resort be sure to enquire about receive your very own wake up call from a Disney Character. This is brand new information to me and I will be updating this post with  many more details upon my return from our vacation at the end of this month.  I am very curious to see which the Characters are available for your wake-up calls etc. Even though my children are teenagers, they are looking forward to these wake-up calls.  You are never too old for Disney!

Magic Kingdom's Good Morning Show

Disney's Magic Kingdom Good Morning Show is a great way to start your Magical experience.  What a wonderful way to start a magical day with the song,“Good morning, Good morning.....Good morning to you and you and you and you”.  If you get yourself to the entrance to the park 20 minutes before the dropping of the ropes,  this is the first thing you’ll experience… so you can “Let the Memories Begin”. 

There is a show is performed once a day, and begins around 10 minutes before the park opens. (just about every day be sure do double check)  The show is located inside the WDW park on the platform or the Train Station,just look above the Mickey Mouse created out of flowers.    The show starts about 10 minutes before official park opening.  If the Magic Kingdom is opening at 9 am, plan on the Welcome Show to begin around 8:50 am. Always Check Park hours, along with Extra Magic Hours, which are when the parks open early for resort guest who are allowed in the parks an hour earlier than the non-resort guest.  In this event the part opening will be 8 am and the Welcome Show will begin at 7:50. However, in order to enter into the parks at the earlier time you must have your room key, or your upgraded Magic Band, etc to verify you are staying on property. 
Be sure to add the Morning Show to your next Walt Disney Vacation. It is truly a fantastic way to start your day in the park.

Guest Conductor

       In many children's heart they love trains!  

What would be better than to be a  Disney guest conductor?

So many children have their own train sets at home and play with them for hours on end what would be better than the chance to be a guest conductor at the Walt Disney World Park?

It can and does happen all the time. It's a well known fact, it's quite simple to achieve for your child or child at heart. Venture to the last car of the train, and talk to the Conductor of the train about being a guest conductor. Activities of being the guest conductor include yelling "All Aboard" and Very rarely I have seen these cards given out to guest conductors. What a really Magical souvenir to add to anyone's trip! Good luck in this adventure and may you become a guest conductor!

Disney's 1900 Park Fa re Grand Floridian

The Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare is on of Disney's Resorts Restaurant.  It offers the Supercalifragilstic Breakfast, with Mary Poppins Theme The Mad Hatter's Tea Party and Ciinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner. Let me start of by saying get a reservation. This is not a place you will just walk into, without a reservation very often. The popularity of Park Fare is very high during peek season the weight could be well over hour.
Park Fare is a Character Breakfast not to miss, with the theme's of with Mary Poppins, The Mad Hatter, and Cinderella, the eclectic grouping of character is a great way for your children as well as yoursleves to meet Characters from different stories at the same place. This Breakfast is all you can eat made to order to "Your specifations" omelets, fresh made Mickey waffels with all the toppings, there are breads of all sorts, cereal, French toast, Vegtables, Yogurts, Breakfast Pizza's, Ham, Sausage, Bacon, Biscuts, gravy, grits, and their stawberry soup. I honestly can say if you can think of it you will more than likely find it on this buffet. 
I am excited about taking my girls to 1900 Park Fare, and just a head's up there will be another post on this resturant when we return. 
If you have teenagers, this is a "Must do" in my opinion" For the wonderful food, atmosphere and overall experience.

Disney's Kiss Good Night

Have you ever heard of Disney's Magic Kingdom's Kiss Good Night?  It is a magical tribute to your day's end at the park. It has been missed many times by guest, The Kiss Good Night is a brief sound and light show which is around 3 to 4 minutes on the Cinderella Castle encouraging all the guest to leave.  During this show Roy Disney dedication speech is played all over the park with Classic Disney as the soundtrack, while vibrant colors are changing on Cinderella's Castle.

The Kiss Good Night Takes Place around 20 minutes after the Magic Kingdom Closes.   The amount of  Good Night Kisses shows vary from time of year. My understanding is the park will also begin a show before park closing  during high season as well.  This is a must see, I had been to MK over 20 times before I had ever seen the Good Night Kiss and it is something I will make sure to do before leaving every trip from now on..

ns » Kiss Goodnight

Cast Member Appreciation Cards

This is a link to download and personalize the cards to fit your family.u With your own name Home town and when you came. Our family even personalize our messages. It's a wonderful way to say thank your to a Cast Member who went out of their way to make your Disney Vacation Over the top!
There are Mickey, Minnie,Donald, Lighting McQueen,  Most All of the Princess's, Timone, Tinkerbell and so many more!
http://www.tagrel.com/APP/CMCards.shtml

DIY Disney Autograph Books

Here is my version of my our Disney Autograph Book. It was so easy to do. We bought black books and painted half the books black then glued white buttons on to make them look like Mikey's pants. Be sure to grab a large pen for the large hands the Characters have.  My girls are looking forward to trying these out.