The Walt Disney World Blog

Walt Disney World Vacation Information and Advice

June 2014 Video Montage

Posted on October 8, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, my family took vacations to Walt Disney World. We always drove and the trip would take 18 hours of drive time on average. Good ol’ dad always documented these trips. (Mum usually did/does most of the driving.) The old school version of good ol’ dad’s documentations included a very large, black video camera that rested on one shoulder while filming and video casette tapes. Yikes! Talk about the Carousel of Progress…

While filming, part of good ol’ dad’s routine was acting as if he was reporting in for a news station – “WDW T.R.I.P.” This little routine has stuck around in my family for a lot of years. When my husband and I got married in Disney World in 2012, my parents gave us a video camera and passed the baton to me. As a point of interest, this camera fits in the palm of my hand. So when you hear me checking in with WDW T.R.I.P. know that it’s a time honored tradition.

And so without further ado, I present the Walt Disney World Blog June 2014 Video Montage! I hope you enjoy.

June 2014 Trip Report Overview

Posted on September 30, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

I know what you’re thinking. “Today is the last day of September and you took your trip in June, right?” Yup.

I’m pretty sure July got sucked into a black hole. And August? Well, that was consumed by another trip to visit family and a completely unexpected job offer to teach middle and high school art. (Yay!) The tidings of good employment news brought to my table an abundance of work and dashed away the splurges of time to which I am normally accustomed. So this crazy ride of life goes.

Yesterday I finally sat down at my computer, plugged in my video camera, and began to watch footage I took on our vacation. It made my heart so happy and I woke up this morning thinking about the blog. Today, after school, I started to sift though photos my husband and I took on the trip. Full disclosure: I have yet to even obtain the oodles of photos my parents took. (Ahem, Mum & Padre – fork ’em over!!) I am filled with an overwhelming and compelling urge to relive all of the memories of our trip, and share with you what we learned.

I’m sure I’m also partly fueled by nostalgia. As you may know, I interned at Walt Disney World when I was in college. I spent some of my time working in Entertainment and some in Operations. While in operations I worked in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at The Backlot Tour. Much has changed on that attraction over the years, and a couple of days ago Disney closed the ride permanently. Because of this there has been a small flood of pictures from my Backlot friends that have taken me away in a time machine. My time as a WDW intern changed my life and formed much of who I am.

While I am saddened by the closing of the attraction, I think Disney made the right decision. New and better things will come in its place. As Walt Disney said:

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

So the time I spent reminiscing on my time working at WDW and our wonderful June vacation has led me to writing to you all. I will soon be posting on our trip and I have lots to share: Caribbean Beach details galore, the new Magic Bands system report, food reviews, and attraction and parks tidbits. There are plenty more “What To Do Wednesdays” comin’ your way folks!

Oh! And my family can now call themselves Disney Vacation Club members. This means my favorite, most loved place will be part of my life for years to come. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to the time I know will spend there with my family, especially my husband. Looking forward to the infamous “Welcome home!” on our next trip.

See ya real soon! (With video, pictures, and lots to say.)

How To Plan Your Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World

Posted on May 8, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Hello friends! As promised from my post earlier this week, I am sharing my dining reservation strategy with you. I’ve been using this method for many years now, and I find it to be the best, most efficient way to plan my time at WDW.

Here are the two firm truths about planning a WDW vacation – short or long. 1.) Walt Disney World is expensive. 2.) Walt Disney World is gigantic, with hundreds of options for things to do. If you don’t at least spend a little time planning your trip before you go – you will end up wasting precious time. Using the WDW Blog Disney Vacationing Theorem we know that Truth 1 + Truth 2 = THE ULTIMATE TRUTH. See below:

WDW is Expensive + Nearly Infinite Ways to Spend Your Time =
TIME IS MONEY!!

Like my lesson for the day? It’s true. I promise. But here’s the deal – I’m not saying you have to pre-plan every minute of your trip. In fact, I frown upon that. Over-planning is a great way to be miserable during your vacation. You can’t control everything at Disney World. Buses run on loops. Attraction queue line times fluctuate. It’s all about balance. Your planning should have structure – but not be overly full. And your plans should be FLEXIBLE.

When I start to plan my WDW vacation I start with my Table Service dining reservations. Why? Disney World restaurants are not like regular restaurants. Availability is limited, reservations do fill up and a stand-by wait time can be hours. MAKE RESERVATIONS. And make them early. You had better believe I am online or on the phone 180 days out from my vacation to make dining reservations. If you do that, you can usually have any restaurant you want at any time you want.

As you know from my last post, my upcoming trip was short notice. As soon as we had booked our room we got working on planning and making said dining reservations. Here’s how I go about it.

First, I make a chart for the number of days I am going to be on vacation, and I include a bisection for each of the four main theme parks: Below the WDW Vacation 2014 block I have 7 spaces down the left side of the paper, one block for each of the days on my vacation. Across, to the right of the WDW Vacation 2014 block I have 4 large blocks for the 4 main theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.

Once I have the grid in, I start to fill in the blocks across for the 4 parks and the blocks down with the specific dates of my trip.Once all the dates are filled in, I visit Disney’s official website to find out what hours each of the 4 parks are open every day. AND most importantly, what the Extra Magic Hours are for the days of my vacation. Extra Magic Hours are extra times, either before a park opens or after it closes that are available ONLY to guests staying at a Disney Resort Hotel. EMHs (Extra Magic Hours) are a great way to visit your favorite attractions with lightened wait times. I place morning EMHs above the parks regular hours, and night EMHs below. I also highlight the EMHs so I can see them apart from the regular park hours. I do this because I almost always take advantage of the EMHs when they are offered. You’ll also notice Epcot is divided into two. That’s because Future World (FW) and World Showcase (WS) have different hours. Once everything is filled in, I take a look at the chart with a PENCIL (so you can make changes) and circle what park I think I’ll visit on what day. This is almost always dictated by the EMHs. Above you can see that on Friday, May 9 the park hours aren’t filled in. This is the theoretical day I arrive at WDW. I won’t go into the parks that day. Instead I’ll hang by the pool, go shopping at Downtown Disney, visit Disney’s Boardwalk, or buy tickets to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.For me, this all comes down to what parks I love and the EMHs. On Saturday, May 10 I circled Disney’s Hollywood Studios because it has morning EMHs. I then drew an arrow over to Epcot because I’ll probably finish my day there. Same thing happened on Wednesday, May 14. I chose to take advantage of the morning EMHs at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but have myself jumping to Animal Kingdom that afternoon.

Once I have this tentative plan sketched out in pencil I consider my dining reservations. Typically my family will eat at one Table Service Restaurant a day, and eat at Quick Service spots for the rest of the day. Usually our Table Service picks are for dinner, but now and again we’ll go for breakfast or lunch. This is where the WDW Blog Vacationing Theorem comes into effect. To make the most out of your time you want plan your Table Service dining reservations to be in the park you’re visiting that day. If you’re in Animal Kingdom for the entire day, but you have dining reservations at Epcot, you will lose time traveling to Epcot, which could take up to an hour. If you had dinner at Animal Kingdom you could spend that hour visiting an attraction or two.

So for example, on Sunday, May 11, I circled Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has evening EMHs, so I would plan to be at MK all day and night. So logically I want to make dining reservations for a Magic Kingdom restaurant. On Wednesday May 14th, I have morning EMHs at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and then plan to hop over to Animal Kingdom to finish the evening. I should plan to make Table Service reservations for breakfast at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or dinner at Animal Kingdom. Lunch reservations could be made at either park, depending on when I want to hop from one to the other. Since Animal Kingdom closes early (6 PM), another choice would be to have dinnerat my Resort Hotel after Animal Kingdom is closed.

Once I have planned what meal I want to eat in what park, I start looking for reservations. If you’re calling 180 days in advance, you shouldn’t have any problems snagging what you want. If you’re like us this year, planning a short notice trip, you just need to be a little flexible with your times and restaurants. We had no trouble making satisfactory reservations for our upcoming trip in June. Once I have my dining reservations made, I like to highlight the block where they occur, and write the place and time off to the side (PINK). I also marked my park visiting plan in purple. This paper becomes my go-to physical reference for what’s going on, before I leave for my vacation. The My Disney Experience Application on my phone (or on Disney’s website) is my digital copy. The My Disney Experience App really makes it easy to see what you have going on each day. Love it.

Here’s a recap of my Table Service Dining Tips:

Reserve Early! – You should be prepared to make your reservations 180 days out from your vacation, or as soon as you can if you’re planning a last minute trip. This will grant you the most choices.
Plan to eat where you’re playing! This is where my chart is useful. If you’re going to be in Epcot – eat in Epcot. This will save you the most time. (Again referencing the WDW Blog Vacationing Theorem stated above.)
Keep your times consistent! If you make reservations for dinner every night, make them for about the same time. This will keep your body from going haywire.

One last word: the strategy listed today is really all about time and making the most of it. It doesn’t factor in other dining considerations such as character dining. If you have kids who would love Mickey & Friends character dining – find a place that does that! But be logical about it. If you’re at Magic Kingdom, make a reservation for Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary. Yes,The Contemporary is outside of Magic Kingdom, but it’s right next door just a short walk or Monorail ride away. You won’t waste much time in transit.

ABOVE ALL, be prepared AND be flexible. Have a game plan going in, but be prepared to change. On my last trip to WDW I probably changed or canceled at least 2 of our dining reservations. Maybe you wind up wanting to spend more time at one park over the other, or you decide you want to just cut your day short and go back to the hotel for a pizza and a swim. Go with it!

P. S. Just so you know, the chart I made up for this post was just an example chart. It was much prettier than my charts usually end up looking when in process. See below for my working draft of our upcoming trip… Needless to say, I made a nicer draft in the end.

Disney World Here We Come!! Planning a great vacation on short notice.

Posted on May 6, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Hello to you all again! Hopefully you all remember me, I don’t blame you if you don’t. It has been a long, dark hole of absence from me. All I can say is that spring finally sprung and gardens needed to be planted, yard needed to be tended, and work was a MEAN, time consuming, and selfish monster for awhile.

But I come to you all with great news. The greatest news a Disney blog author can have… We are going to Walt Disney World!!!!!!!!

This upcoming trip is rapidly approaching – next month in fact! It is nearly a complete surprise to be telling you all that I am going. This trip is the best kind – unexpected. And full disclosure here, while the short notice, unexpected kind of trip is awesome, it is also the most difficult to plan when you’re approaching WDW peak season. So should you find yourself in our shoes, let me share with you how we are conquering this challenge.

About a week or so ago I got a call from my Mumsy. She and my Padre are celebrating 35 years of marriage this year. Whoa. To celebrate they decided to take a lengthy Florida vacation and of course Disney World was among their stops. While on the phone chatting about this anniversary excursion she asked if hubs and I would like to join them for the WDW portion of their trip. I don’t think I need to tell you how enthusiastically I agreed. That was the easy part. Next, came the hard work.

As you know from my many rants, staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel is absolutely essential to having the best possible Walt Disney World vacation. For us, there is no other option. So we were terribly frustrated to learn that the original dates my Mum had selected proved to be overly popular at WDW. There were no moderate resorts available. None. Additionally, availability was incredibly limited at the Deluxe resort hotels as well as the Value resorts. Disheartened, Mumsy called to fill me in on how booked up everything was. She spent 2 days on the phone trying to get in to any of Disney’s moderate resorts with no luck. We now faced three choices:

Keep on trying for our originally chosen dates. Things happen – people cancel vacations, guests over-book and cancel certain dates, wedding room blocks are being held that won’t all be used, and so on. If you keep calling morning and night, it is very probable you will eventually land some sort of reservation with which you’ll be satisfied. Persistence does pay. BUT, there are several drawbacks. Firstly, there is no guarantee – something may not open up and you’d be forced to be in a hotel outside of your budget or without all of the amenities you want. Secondly, it is time consuming. Not everyone has time to spend constantly checking Disney’s website or calling to check availability. Thirdly, without booking you can not move forward with making FastPass+ reservations, etc.
Change our dates. This option is the most logical. Adjusting your dates means that you get more choice of where you’ll be staying. More availability means slightly lower crowds – which means better pickings of dining and what not as well. But in our situation this was difficult because my parents had reservations at other places in Florida since they plan to travel throughout the state. There were also forced to factor in our work availability.
Cancel the trip. Fortunately this was a completely last resort option that wasn’t really an option. We are just not quitters. We will triumph! We would rather compromise than not go.

In the end, with an egregious amount of juggling, phone calls, and trial and error my amazing Mum was able to tweak the dates and find reservations for us at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. She wins the newly founded Walt Disney World Blog award for Successful Vacations Reservation via Patience and Flexibility. Congrats Mum.

Over the next few days I’ll share with you my planning strategies for scheduling dining and FastPass+ reservations. I’ll also give you a peak at my WDW vacation countdown calendar. So much to look forward to!

Epoct International Flower and Garden Festival is Back!

Posted on March 5, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

With the cold weather monotonously raging on here in the northeast, it’s almost impossible to imagine spring being right around the corner. (15 days and counting!) And while my iPhone weather app is telling me it’s a balmy 30º outside my window, temperatures appear to be averaging mid-70s this week in WDW. It’s a quirky habit I have – every morning before leaving bed I check our weather, and then I torture myself with checking the weather at Walt Disney World. *Sigh.

So with my landscape still appearing gray and white, I will vicariously enjoy spring with today’s opening of the 21st Annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. Flower & Garden Fez means Epcot is brimming with colorful additions until the festival wraps up on May 18th. And the best part? When you go to Epcot you get to participate in all the festival fun at no additional cost. (There are a couple of exceptions – special garden tours are available at an additional ticket price.)

Here’s the rundown of the Flower and Garden Festival offerings this year:

Topiary and Garden Displays: This is by far one of my favorite parts of the festival. Epcot’s landscapes and gardens are always lush and beautiful, but they really take them to another level for the festival. Gardens are suddenly charged with extra color and intricate patterns of plants. The topiary sculptures are simply amazing. Some of them take almost a full year to come to life. Some topiary displays, such as the Panda topiary display in China, bring some of the International traditions of the World Showcase to life. But most of them display favorite Disney Characters. Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Whinnie the Pooh & Friends, Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Bambi, Mike & Sully, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast are among a few of them. Kermit and Miss Piggy are joining the fun this year as well. There are over 100 topiary displays in all, and many of them are illuminated gardens that take on a new life after dark.

HGTV and DIY Network Stars Presentations: Impressive personalities such as Vern Yip, John Gidding, Genevieve Gorder, and David Bromstad are making appearances to give presentations on how you can improve your home and gardens.

Flower Power Concert Series: On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 5:30, 6:45, and 8:00 PM you can head to the American Gardens Theater for a little musical entertainment. Rotating musical guests such as The Guess Who and STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas, will be appearing for 30 minute concerts.

Kid Sized Fun: Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House with delight kids with the many butterflies flitting around. Kids will also find special play areas and gardens just for them.

Festival Center: The Festival Center is host to food, special merchandise for the festival, and learning experiences. Here is where you’ll find the HGTV star presentations as well as other seminars and exhibits.

Special Happenings: While the Flower and Garden Festival is open daily from March 5 – May18, there are a few special events that are scheduled within that bracket:

Art in the Garden Weekend – March 28-30
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Specialists – April 4-5
Florida Fresh Weekend – April 25-27
Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc – May 9-11

Outdoor Kitchens: Ah, my other festival favorite. This is the second year Flower and Garden Festival will be offering Outdoor Kitchen’s with small plate offerings that focus of fresh food and spring flavors. Taking a nod from the Food & Wine Festival in the fall, you can taste your way through the festival sampling spring through the eyes of cultures of the world. All of the menu items are available for purchase à la carte.

Florida Fresh – Focusing on tasty offerings from the Sunshine State. You’ll find a watermelon salad, shrimp and grits, and a Florida Kumquat pie to tempt your taste buds. A plentiful offering Florida beer, wine, and juices can also be found.
Hanami – Located in Japan this outdoor kitchen honors spring with sushi, fruishi (fruit sushi), puffed rice cakes, Kirin draft beer, and two fruit slushis – Pineapple Paradise with Yuzu and Orange Mango.
Jardin De Fiestas – Located at the Mexican Pavilion in the World Showcase this outdoor kitchen has tapas to try. To eat you can try pork tacos with grilled pineapple, onions, and cilantro, a mushroom and cheese quesadilla, or Mexican chocolate custard. Beer, white sangria, raspberry margaritas, and tequila flights are available to sip.
Fleur de Lys – Decadent french cuisine includes Parisian-style dumplings with vegetables and mushrooms, pulled duck confit with garlic and parsley potatoes, and an orange blossom macaroon with white chocolate ganache. Beverages include La Vie en Rose slush – Vodka, Grey Goose Orange, St. Germain Liquor, and cranberry juice, Kir Imperial – Sparkling wine, Chamboard and black raspberry liquor, Rosé pamplemousse cocktail – Rosé wine mixed with natural grapefruit syrup, and Kronenbourg Blanc 1664 – a white beer.
Lotus House – This China Pavilion kitchen features Beijing-style candied strawberries, spring pancakes with grilled chicken and green apple, and vegetable spring rolls. Quench your thirst here with popping bubble tea, Kung Fu Punch – Vodka and triple sec with mango and orange juice, South Sea Storm – Guava juice with light and dark rum, Plum wine, Beer and Lychee aerated water.
Pineapple Promenade – Pineapple Dole Whip fans will be delighted to see the return of this outdoor kitchen which offers pineapple soft serve. Try the soft serve on its own, or try it infused with Myer’s dark rum or Parrot Bay coconut rum. You can also have it served on a sweet potato cinnamon waffle. Is your mouth watering as much as mine right now?!? Frozen desert violet lemonade, Tropical Mango Ale, St. John Brewers, and Once Upon a Vine’s The Lost Slipper Sauvignon Blanc are also available.
Primavera Kitchen – Italy’s offerings of spring include Caprese, three cheese manicotti, and a torta di ricotta – lemon cheesecakes with limoncello-marinated strawberries. Wines, white beach bellini, strawberry rossini, beer and a frozen Italian primavera – assorted fruit slushy with limoncello and vodka will also tempt you.
Taste of Marrakesh – Mint iced tea, white sangria and Moroccon beers and wines all make great pairings with this outdoor kitchens small plates that include lamb brewat, harissa chicken kebab, and baghrir – Moroccan pancake with honey, almonds, and argan oil.
Urban Farm Eats – New this year this menu is all-natural. Eats include a pickled beet salad with goat cheese cream, mizuna, and pistachios, Land-grown eggplant “scallop” with romesco sauce and spaghetti squash, and a ghost pepper-dusted tilapia with crisp winter melon slaw and mint oil. Beverages include Cucumber lemon spa water, The Vegan Vine Chardonnay, The Vegan Vine Cabernet Sauvignon, and Redbridge Gluten-Free Sorghum Beer.
The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews – This is the place I would lose my husband and brother. Probably my dad too, come to think of it. BBQ includes a pulled pig slider, smoked beef brisket, smoked turkey “rib,” and “Piggylicious” a bacon cupcake with maple frosting and pretzel crunch. Beers include Magic Hat #9, Magic Hat Brewing, Maduro, Cigar City Brewing, Fat Tire, New Belgium Brewing Company, Billy’s Chilies, and Twisted Pine Brewing Company. If you can’t decide – don’t worry, you can try them all with a flight. And if you prefer grapes to hops, try The Original Shack Red Wine.
The Buttercup Cottage – Grab a taste of England with this menu that features a baked potato and cheddar biscuit with smoke salmon tartare, a pork and apple sausage roll, or a freshly baked lemon scones with berry preserves and crème fraÎche. If you want something lighter try field greens with Plant City strawberries, toasted almonds, and Farmstead stilton. Beverage offerings include chilled rose blush lemonade, Twinings cold brewed English Classic with lemon grass syrup, or the Berry tea cocktail – Twinings Cold Brewed Mixed Berry Tea with Florida Cane vodka and Plant City strawberry flavored with raspberry and açaí syrup. Wine drinkers may enjoy the Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvee or the Deloach Pinot Noir.
Intermissions Cafe – Located in the Festival Center, this spot offers beers, wines and flavorful bites. Fruit and cheese plates, wraps, and Caprese Push-Pops are among the menu items.

Clearly the Flower and Garden Festival offers so much to see, do, learn, experience, and taste. You can do as much or as little as you like. If you’re really into it, make sure to pick up a festival guide so you don’t miss anything and give yourself some extra time at Epcot – you’ll need it!

Spaceship Earth – Epcot

Posted on February 5, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Hello once more from WHAT TO DO WEDNESDAY. I’m telling you again that this winter gloom is really getting to me. While I’m not buried in snow currently, it’s been raining all day and I find myself thinking of little else besides fresh air, sunshine, and sun ripened fruit and vegetables. Last week we found our Laughin’ Place at Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, and today I decided to mentally hop the Monorail and head to Epcot.

Epcot is Walt Disney World’s second park, and the last project that Walt Disney had a hand in before his death. Do you know what Epcot stands for? Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Fancy, eh?

I love the concept of Epcot, it’s really quite profound. The parks two parts, Future World and the World Showcase unite to bring global, cultural perspective to its visitors. I’m continually amazed that a visit to Epcot grants us not only entertainment, but a glimpse of our world, our affect upon it, it’s potential, and who we are as many cultures of this one planet.

Upon entering the park, you are greeted by the HUGE park icon (180′ tall to be exact) Spaceship Earth, which of course looks like a gigantic golf ball. Taking over two years to build, the technical and mechanical specs for this structure are quite impressive, including a complex draining system that prevents water runoff from the ball during rain. The water instead is channeled into the World Showcase Lagoon. But beyond the engineering, Spaceship Earth is worth discussing today because of the attraction inside.

Spaceship Earth is a ride that takes you on a journey through the evolution of people and the history of communication. Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury and a team of prestigious historians worked with Disney to compose the original storyline of this ride. (Ray Bradbury was also played a part in designing the Spaceship Earth structure.) After entering, you climb into a teal-colored car that will take you through history beginning with Cro-Magnon man, heading to Ancient Egypt, Greece, and passing through the Renaissance. Printed press, telephone operators, and the invention of computers are all part of the adventure.

One of my favorite moments of the attraction occurs in the middle when your car rotates and you begin to go backwards. In the process you are greeted by a dark sky littered with stars and a view of Earth from space. While much of this attraction remains true to its original 1982 form, a few updates have been added. In 2008 the attraction gained a new musical score, a new narration by Judi Dench, and in the inclusion of touch screens in the ride vehicles.

The touch screens bring the ride to life and give a unique, interactive experience to each guest. Cameras take your picture at the beginning of the ride and through answering a series of questions you can see what your life could be like in the future.

Upon exiting the ride you enter Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future. Here you can view your picture on a giant screen, and send it out through email. There are also interactive displays and games that highlight the latest accomplishments in medicine, travel, and energy.

Spaceship Earth is an attraction for all ages. As a whole, the ride moves quite slowly, with no fast-moving sections. During the nearly 15 minute run time there are plenty of dark sections – so take heed if you have little ones fearful of the dark.

At times the queue can look much longer than it is because of the way it wraps around the outside of the building. I have always found this is a queue that moves along quickly. I do suggest if the wait time is above 45 minutes, especially if it’s in the morning, that you simply try the ride at another point in the day. Chances are you’ll get lucky with a reduced standby wait.

WTDW – Splash Mountain

Posted on January 29, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Dear friends, today I would like to tell you a about a girl, rapidly approaching 30, who loves Walt Disney World. She also simply adores Florida, with its plentiful year-round sunshine, palm trees, citrus fruits, and soft, sandy beaches that reach out to turquoise waters. Most of all, she loves Florida’s warm climate. This particular girl HATES the cold. It makes her nose run, and it traps her inside for long periods of time, interfering with her running schedule. And generally, the short freezing days that lack sunshine make her grumpy.

This particular winter is being very tough on said girl. The temperatures have been exceptionally low, with plenty of snow to go around. This morning the girl awoke to a fresh 5 inches of powder – that while beautiful, left her toes numb and mood as gray as the sky.

Retreating to her cozy office, the girl turned her thoughts to Disney World in an effort to cheer her winter gloom. Before long she was imagining herself strolling down Main Street, U.S.A. deciding which attraction to visit first. Determined to be in a better mood, the girl decides to take her imaginary self to Splash Mountain in Frontierland. A great choice! Before long she is singing a snippet of the ride music to herself:

“Everybody’s got a laughing place, A laughing place to go-oh-oh! Take a frown, turn it upside down, And you’ll find yours we know -oh-oh!”

Sage advice, no? This log-flume style attraction follows the tale of Br’er Rabbit who ventures from home and meets Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear, who have grand ideas of roasting Br’er Rabbit. With a bit of cunning, Br’er Rabbit tricks Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear into letting him loose and throwing him into the briar patch. As the story goes, Br’er Rabbit is able to maneuver through the briar patch, while the larger Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear are entangled in the painful thorns, barely escaping the briar patch’s Br’er Gator. As the ride wraps up, Br’er Rabbit is happily back at home and it’s a “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Day.”

The Splash Mountain storyline and music is derived from Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South, where Disney first interpreted the famous Uncle Reemus stories of Br’er Rabbit.

One of the great things about Splash Mountain is that the ride is nearly 11 minutes long. Through those 11 minutes is wonderful balance of story, scenery, music, and ride that includes 3 dips and one large 5 story drop where you appear as though you are plunging into the briar patch.The view from atop before you slide down into the briar patch is lovely. It’s always fun to get a bit of a high vantage point at WDW.

Being a log flume style attraction you may certainly get a little wet – which on many days at Magic Kingdom is a welcome thing. Riders in the front of the log are at higher risk of taking on more water than riders in the back. I have never been completely, totally soaked to a point of unpleasantness on this ride.

Riders must be 40″ tall to board, and generally I find Splash Mountain to be quite kid friendly. But as always, use your own judgement if you have a kiddo who is height/drop nervous.

TIP* – This attraction is popular and the queue can get very lengthy in the afternoon. My advice is to use a FASTPASS+ for this attraction or visit in the morning to avoid a long line. If you do find yourself in a situation where the standby entrance is lengthy and you’re out of FASTPASS+ don’t worry too much about it. The queue line is pretty well shaded and pleasantly scenic – a great way to spend time with family or friends.

Splash Mountain is the perfect spot to cool off a bit on a warm, sunny Florida day and lift your mood if you’re in the need of a pick-me-up like this girl today. But if you’re in Disney World, chances are your mood is more than fine, and you’ll simply just join in the merriment.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay. My, oh my, what a wonderful day…

W.T.D.W. – Character Meet and Greets

Posted on January 22, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

Most Disney lovers have a favorite character or two. I have favorite characters like I have favorite attractions. In other words, I have a lot of them. I’ve always loved the all of the VIP characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Chip and Dale), but of those I particularly enjoy Pluto and Donald. I love Donald’s cranky nature. Then of course there’s the Toy Story gang. Who doesn’t love Buzz Lightyear? And the princesses… Seeing Cinderella in Magic Kingdom is sure to make anyone’s day. A chance happening with the Peter Pan gang? Yes, please. Alice and The Mad Hatter? The Mad Hatter’s funny accent and off-center comments always makes me laugh. What about Whinnie the Pooh and friends? Eeyore tugs at your heart while Tigger brings out the bounce in everyone.

Characters can be found all over Walt Disney World. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom all have multiple locations for character meet and greets. And there are parades and shows where you can catch characters in action dancing and waving to guests. Catching a character’s eye as a child, and seeing them wave to you, or blow you a kiss can mean the world.

As we’ve discussed before, everyone has different priorities when visiting the parks. I tend to be an attraction junkie. Bring on the rides! My favorite attractions take priority in my time when visiting a park and I love planning and scheming so I can get in as many as possible on a given day. Bonus points are granted if I manage to visit my favorites multiple times in a day. Other people tend to enjoy the shows and entertainment – they never miss a 3:00 parade. Yet still are the people who love to go character hopping. They begin their day with a Guidemap and Times Guide with the listing of character appearances and times and they plan out who they want to see and when they want to visit them.

You are never too old or too small to make friends with a Disney Character or two. Above, my mom grins with Chip and Dale – who have always been favorites of hers. My cousin, though just a little one, is just as thrilled to meet them. He loved to rub noses with the characters he met, which you can see him doing with Chip on the left. For anyone who can’t keep Chip and Dale straight I will tell you how I remember: Dale has the red nose while Chip has the black nose – like a chocolate chip.

On our last trip to WDW my hubby and I didn’t take any time to visit with characters. We were there in August, it was hot, we were far from well rested, and waiting to see characters just didn’t seem important to us at the time. I confess now it’s something I regret not making time for on our trip. Character visits make great photo opportunities, which are wonderful for sharing with family and friends. But it’s more than that – visiting a character is an experience. Characters are just that, characters – full of fun and personality. They grant you an experience to interact with them and have a moment of charm or silliness. Most characters like to clown around with guests and you’re sure to find a smile and a great memory in taking the time to say hello to them.

In my last post we met my buddy Rich, who told us the story about dancing with Princess Tiana. Rich’s character antics also included meditating with Rafiki (above) and goofing around with Chip and Dale with his brother. Rich give Chip quite the pick up/spin around hug (below).

So my advice is to take some time to meet a character or two and create a memory.

Character Meet and Greet Tips:

Consult your Guidemap and Times Guide. To make sure you don’t miss out check your guides to get the times and places you can find characters, especially if you are looking to meet someone specifically.
Leave enough time in your schedule. Don’t get in line to meet Mickey Mouse on Main Street U.S.A. at 11:00 AM when you have a Fastpass for Splash Mountain in Frontierland on the opposite side of the park at 11:30. Know that you may have to wait in line to visit characters, especially the popular ones such as good ol’ Mickey. Just leave enough room in your schedule to not feel rushed.
Have your camera and autograph book ready. Being ready for pictures and autographs will make your visit run smoother.
Keep and eye out. While most of the time characters are in predesignated locations at specific times, you never know when a character will pop up. I’ve seen Goofy water-skiing outside of Magic Kingdom and Peter Pan skipping through Fantasyland. Surprises are everywhere at WDW.

My Favorite Part of My Trip…

Posted on January 16, 2014 by waltdisneyworldblog

I recently reconnected with a friend of mine from college. Meet Rich – pictured above. Rich is a goofball, caring, and he has a zest for life. He’s a people person. I recently noticed on Facebook that Rich had just taken a family vacation to WDW. For about a week, whenever I checked into Facebook, I’d check in on Rich. Loosely I followed his family’s travels throughout the four main parks at Disney World, enjoying new pictures as they were posted showing what a great time they were having. I decided to reach out to Rich and see if he’d let me share some of their pictures here on the blog. Now, most people don’t try to get in touch with old college friends to obtain rights to share their photos with the world. But that’s what I did. Fortunately for me Rich is a nice guy and trusting. I’m so glad that I did reach out to him. It’s always such a pleasure to resume a friendship that has been muted, paused, or accidentally discontinued as life journeys on. I smile that Walt Disney World was responsible for that in this case. Anyway, Rich was kind enough to let me share these and some of his vacation with you.

After we filled each other in about what life has given us the last couple of years, I asked Rich what he most enjoyed about his trip. This is the story he shared with me:

“My favorite part of the trip… I totally danced with Tiana! She is outside by the Christmas store and a performace by the castle started and it had a bit of a waltz feel. There were two kids ahead of me and she kinda danced with them. So I looked over at my dad told him that if the music is still playing, I am legit dancing with Tiana. And as fate would have it, the music still played and I swept her off her feet.”

Rich also claims Tiana told him that she likes it when a man takes the lead. I can’t say that I blame Tiana for that comment in that case. What girl doesn’t want a man coming along sweeping her into a waltz at Walt Disney World? (I’m sure somebody out there would mind such a thing. But I certainly would not.)

I loved Rich’s story. Who would guess that a straight man in his mid-20s would give that story as his most memorable moment? It wasn’t a thrill ride, nor drinking beer, or fireworks. It was a moment with a princess where he could just be himself: funny, charming, youthful, uninhibited, and he could share that with his family.

Being so in love with WDW, I very often wonder what makes Walt Disney World so wonderful for me and millions of people around the world. Everyone’s reasons are different, but I think ultimately it’s a combination of youth, wonder, and happiness. It’s a place we are completely safe and free to be ourselves. Adults can let go of adulthood for a bit. Special things happen at WDW, and most of the time we get to share those special times with our family and friends. After all, what is better than being with those you love and watching them feel carefree and joyful? Life is full of special moments everywhere, don’t get me wrong. But at WDW you truly get to stop, step away from all else in life, and embrace the moment.

Since I’m feeling philosophical today, I’ll tell you I really do often think about the question of why I love Disney World. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to completely spell it out – the formula is too complex. Anyone else have the answer?

DIY Jingle Cruise Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2013 by waltdisneyworldblog

Jingle all the way….

Awhile back Disney announced that for the first time they were turning the Jungle Cruise into the Jingle Cruise for the holiday season! This is the first time that Disney converted an attraction (temporarily) at Walt Disney World for a holiday season. I absolutely fell in love with the poster they created to announce and promote the Jingle Cruise transformation. How cute are the hippo and the elephant with their little Santa hats?? As it so happened, later that day I was in my local craft store to pick up some oil paints. I love to just mill around, exploring all of the zillions of possibilities for creation. I got to the value section/aisle of the store where stacked bins are piled high with items that range from $1 – $3. And what do my wandering eyes find? Plastic farm and jungle animals! In the $1 bin! Get out! And they’re fairly cool looking – not scary and creepy. So the wheels quickly start turning… I should make my own Jingle Cruise scene!!

There were more farm animals than jungle animals in the bin, but I ended up with a trio of a zebra, a hippo, and an elephant. There was also a lion available – but he was pretty odd looking so I left him behind. I grabbed a 33¢ piece of red felt, and knowing I had some cotton balls and cotton swabs at home, headed to the register to make my purchase.

Once home I started to plan. I wanted to make little Santa hats like the hippo and elephant are wearing in the poster, but I also wanted some variety. I decided to give Zebra a scarf around his long neck for the sake of variation. That also worked out nicely since his head is a lot smaller, and his ears are cute. So with supplies at hand, I was ready to work.

I decided to make the Santa hats first.

Step 1: I cut a corner off of the red felt piece and rolled it into a cone, trying its size on my elephant first. Once I had decided the size right, I started to glue. As you can see in the picture above, I got out my tacky glue hoping that would be perfect for the job. It wasn’t. All it gave me was a glue-felt mess that wouldn’t stay together. Ugh. But that’s OK. I have plenty of tools in my arsenal. Out comes the hot glue gun. I cut another corner and refitted while my trusty hot glue gun heated up. Attempt two – SUCCESS! Hot glue was the way to go. Should’ve know.

Step 2: I pulled the tip of a cotton swab off and glued it to the top.

Step 3: I pulled a small piece off of a cotton ball. To my surprise, the segment came off as shown to the left. I simply widened the hole a bit, gently, with my fingers and then fitted it onto the bottom of my little felt hat and hot-glued it into place.

This hat was tall, which was fine. I wanted it to flop over, they way Santa’s hat does when he wears it, so I folded it and put some hot glue in the crease to help it stay how I liked it.

Step 4: Repeat. I made a second hat for my hippo, but this time I made the hat shorter, so it would stand upright without being too tall. This gave me a bit more variety and gave the hippo some quirkiness. Hippo strikes me as a quirky kinda guy.

Step 5: Make the zebra scarf. This was ridiculously easy. I cut a long, thin strip of felt and tied it around the zebra’s neck to check the length. Perfect. Taking it off again I cut fringe on both ends of the felt piece. I retied it around Zebra’s neck and gave the knot a quick dot of glue so everything would stay in place.

And that’s it! I glued the hats onto Hippo and Elephant, so the jungle breeze won’t blow them away. I spent $3.33 on the animals and the felt all together. And it probably took me about an hour to make everything. Not bad at all for a little fun, quirky Disney World inspired Christmas decorating.

Step 6: Stage and enjoy!

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WDW is Expensive + Nearly Infinite Ways to Spend Your Time = TIME IS MONEY!!

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WDW is Expensive + Nearly Infinite Ways to Spend Your Time =
TIME IS MONEY!!