Surprise!

I have recently watched every single video on you tube that has parents surprising their kids with a trip to Walt Disney World. It is funny to watch how some kids don't react or react in a bad way. The best ones are where the kids are so excited, one even cried. I teared up watching some of these at how happy the kids are. But I am a little confused on some of the methods that parents use to tell their kids.

The most used one is just outright telling them. Cool and still gets a reaction but does not have that Disney feel to it. The coolest one is where you bring the kids to the ariport or tell them on the way to the airport.

Also waking them up early in the morning and telling them that they are going to Disney right now, is a good one. The one I am really confused about is the present one. Parents put a sign telling the kids they are going to Disney and then put balloons all inside the box. So that when the box is opened the balloons pop out and they can read the sign. I don't think this has quite the reaction people expect.

My idea: I would make a puzzle and every day leading up to the trip they get one piece of the puzzle. I would try and make it a bit harder for older kids, but for younger I would only start this a couple days before. So on the day we leave, they get the last piece and on the back it says we are going to Disney. 

Making t-shirts and giving them an autograph book are good ideas too because kids make the connections faster. Especially in smaller kids, if you just tell them it does not really mean anything until your at Disney. 

So for anyone planning a Disney trip right now, try and surprise your kids. I think it is a great way to have fun with them and make them that much more excited for the trip.  

End of Toontown

Disney has announced that February 11, 2011 is when Toontown will officially close for the expansion of Fantasyland. Personally, I have never really loved Toontown, even when I was a kid. But it was neat to see Mickey and Minnie's houses and then meet them in the Judge's Tent. But things must close for better attractions. 

Inside Minnie's house

The Judge's Tent

Mickey's House

The Fantasyland expansion is sure to be amazing since it is the biggest expansion Magic Kingdom has ever had. New things will be open and the princesses will have their own spots. A new Little Mermaid attraction (also at Disneyland in California), Beauty and the Beast dining experience, a meet-and-greet with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, a huge new Dumbo ride, and all of the Faeries with Tinker Bell in their own Pixie Hollow. It is not expected to be completed fully until 2013, but the first stage should be done by 2011!

Let me know if there is anything I missed or got wrong!

My Top 10 Rides At Walt Disney World

10. Test Track - Epcot
9. Splash Mountain - Magic Kingdom
8. Kilimanjaro Safaris - Animal Kingdom
7. Soarin' - Epcot
6. Expedition Everest - Animal Kingdom
5. Toy Story Mania - Hollywood Studios
4. Space Mountain - Magic Kingdom
3. Pirates of the Caribbean - Magic Kingdom
2. Tower of Terror - Hollywood Studios
1. Haunted Mansion - Magic Kingdom

I could make this blog so much longer. I have other favourites including Mickey's PhilharMagic, Big Thunder Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Rockin Roller Coaster, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. So many rides I love. But these are my top ten. The ones I have to ride while at Disney. I am also leaving out Star Tours because it is not running right now. Or else it would kick something off the list.

Tips for New Fans for going to Walt Disney World

If this is your first time going to Disney, or you have not been in a couple years, this is what I recommend.

1. Use the Disney site. Honestly, this site can give you so much information including photos of all the hotels, the rates at which time of year, information on all of the rides and attractions, and all the special deals going on. The deals are a little hard to understand and apply if your booking online, so I suggest calling or asking a travel agent.

2. When you get there, use FASTPASS. Fastpass is a system where you can get a ticket for your place in line for a certain time. Usually it will have about an hour time period for you to come back to the ride and get on with little or no wait. The tickets do run out sometimes and are especially hard to find later in the day. Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios usually goes pretty early and so does Soarin' at Epcot. Soarin' fastpass was done when I got there at 2 pm once. So be aware of the new or very popular rides.

3. I used the Disney dining plan for the first time in May and it was the best idea. You do not have to worry about having cash on you all the time and don't have to worry about charging your credit card too high. The only thing you have to pay is the tip.

4. Try to experience everything. Don't just focus on the rides. But try and see parades and shows, while doing some meet-and-greets with characters. Rides are fun but can take up time. Make sure you look at everything.

I will post more tips later concerning dining, pin trading, and other things.

109

Sunday December 5th was Walt Disney's 109th birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!

IM SORRY!

Hey everyone I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while... not that anyone is really reading this blog... BUT after December 14th I plan on posting every couple days. November and into December is a terrible time for university students and it has been horrible for me. So after my exams are done I plan on posting so much that you won't be able to read it all. ha ha!

Now is everyone excited for Tangled?! I know I am. It's Disney's 50th animated film and I do want to go and see it, but knowing my friends that wont happen. So I'll have to wait till it comes out. 

Also Disney is having a black friday sale on Disney Parks merchandise. So get on disneyparks.com/store and eat it up! I really want a Dooney and Burke cosmetic bag for 15, but we'll see. Shipping costs a lot to have it shipped to Canada. But we shall see!

So have a great November and December until I get back to you. I do want to get done tons of ride reviews  and some special items I have planned after my exams. So check back soon!

Natalie! xo. 

Cinderella Castle during the Christmas holidays at Walt Disney World. 

Picture is not taken by me. 

I wish it was. 

Fantasmic!

Hollywood Studios is a theme park full of shows and in my opinion, Fantasmic is one of the best. It is a 25 minute show that originally debuted at Walt Disney World in 1998. Since then, it is still one of the most popular shows. It is about Mickey`s dream which turns into a nightmare and he has to defeat villians. By the end, Mickey with his friends defeat the villians and turn it into a good dream. The show uses fireworks, fire and water to tell the tale.

This is the mountain Mickey and the characters climb around in the daylight. This show is outside and near water. My mom and I found that in May there were a lot of bugs around, but because it only takes place at night, the heat died down. Because it is so popular, you have to get there kind of early. Seating beings 90 minutes before the performance, so be aware of that. It is also only performed or select nights through the week. Check the calendar for times or ask the Moms Panel. Because it is outside, it gets very dark and the lights do stay off during the whole show. Some people also might say that some parts are scary for little kids, but I think the good outweighs the bad. There are stands inside the theatre where you can get food and other merchandise. You can bring in food from other places if you like.

The best seats are in the middle of the theatre and a little higher back. If you sit too close, you will get wet from the spray of the water features that come up during the show. In the middle, you do get to experience everything, but there isn`t really a bad seat in the theatre. There are usually two shows and the theatre seats 5,000 so if you can do it, go to the later show. It is usually more older kids and adults and you get to experience the park a little longer during the first show.

One option concerning Fantasmic is the Fantasmic dining experience. You get to choose lunch or dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby or Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, or dinner at Hollywood & Vine and then get a special pass for Fantasmic. This pass lets you be seated in a specific area in the theatre that is only for people who do this experience. I haven`t done this but apparently the seats are at the far side so that is something to consider if you do this. This dining experience can be used by people on the Disney dining plan as well.

No matter how many times I see this show I still think it is one of the best. It is an amazing experience and is a must-do at Disney. I am always amazed during the show, the whole experience is great. I could go on about how much I love it, but I won`t for your sakes. Trust me when I say to see this.

May Trip Part 2

Mother and I got into Orlando airport then took the Magical Express to the hotel. We were able to check into our room and got ready to go out to Hollywood Studios.

It was the perfect first day. We did not want to do any big rides today since we had been up since 5, but we did go to Fantasmic! which is always amazing. We went to Sci-Fi for dinner and the atmosphere it great! I would recommend it.

We filled up the rest of the week with the other theme parks and going to Downtown Disney. These are the places we had our sit-down meals at: Crystal Palace for lunch (Magic Kingdom), Wolfgang Puck for dinner (Downtown Disney), Chefs de France for lunch (Epcot - France), Mama Melrose for dinner (Hollywood Studios), Sci-fi for dinner (Hollywood Studios), San Angel Inn for dinner (Epcot - Mexico), Tony's Town Square for lunch (Magic Kingdom). I was surprised how much I liked each one. I had never been to most of them except for Mama Melrose, which I knew was good. Each one was good in their own respects and I was proud of my reservations. I did these reservations like a week before we went. I did not get some of the ones I wanted like Le Cellier and Chef Mickey's were gone, but the ones I picked were very good. I had heard after that Sci-fi wasn't that good, but I liked it.

Also Crystal Palace which is a charcter dining with Pooh, Tiger, Piglet, and Eeyore. I loved it. Having never done a character dining before, it was so much fun! I waited for the characters to come around and it was cool having one-on-one time with them. 

I would reccomend the dining plan to everyone who stays in Disney. It makes everything so much easier. You do have to pay the tip but Mom and I both agree it was better.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is great. It has such an atmosphere of being friendly, inviting and just happy all the time. Spectromagic is beautiful. There is no other way to describe it. I don't ever remember seeing the Electrial Parade, but I was very impressed with Spectromagic. The lights changing from white to colour looks amazing. We had gotten amazing seats by the castle just where it moves to go onto the bridge towards the Haunted Mansion. We had perfect seats. I was kind of awkward because I was blocking some kids view but we had gotten there first and I wanted to see it.

Epcot

I had not been around the world showcase in a very long time. We usually went to Canada to get beavertails (which are not there anymore!) and to see the movie. I always feel at home in the Canada pavillion even though it is very stereotypical. We have gotten into chats with the cast members working there, becasue some are usually from Toronto. I will never do Mission to Mars again. I originally rode the ride in 2008 with my dad but I would not make my mother go through the same experience I did. I bought a perfume from Italy, Prada and I love it. The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival so it was cool to see some of the gardens all done up. For Illuminations, we didn't get very good seats because we had been walking around before. I also had a very bad experience at this point. We were sitting down, resting before the show started and I felt something on my leg. I tried to shake it off, then I felt it on my skirt. I tried to shake it off again. Before finally it was on my arm and pushed it off of me before realizing it was a cockroach. I was disgusted. The ladies beside us tried to calm me down, but I was almost in tears. I have never been so... ughhhh! I have no words for this. I was disgusted and felt dirty afterwards.

Animal Kingdom

Because I work in a zoo, I love animals. And Animal Kingdom is one of the best places for me. You get to see animals so up close and personal it's almost like your right beside them. Again I had another terrifying experience. On the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, animals can walk beside the jeep or really to where ever you are. Its really neat to look and have a giraffe right beside you.

An ostrich came right beside the jeep. I guess it thought that we had gotten to close to the females eggs. It was hissing and running beside me. I thought I was going to be attacked.

Hollywood Studios

This is my favourite theme park. It has a lot of different rides and characters so it plays to everyone`s favourite. There`s something about the park that makes me feel very Disney, if that makes any sense. We saw the Pixar Block Bash for the first time at Hollywood Studios, but it will soon be replaced with a new Pixar parade which includes the cast of Up and Remy and Emile.

This trip was one of the best and one I will remember forever. It was so nice to have some time with my Mom and I believe that we got even closer because of it. I would never trade it for the world. I am so blessed to have people around me that are willing to put up with me and my love for Disney.

Disney Music

If anyone wants to listen to a broad range of Disney music I suggest listening to http://radio.kingdomtrips.com/. They have a great selection of Disney movie songs with tons of music from the Theme Parks. I have been listening to it for the past couple hours and I have not heard a song repeat yet. Kingdom trips also does an amazing podcast which you can find on iTunes, Keys to the Kingdom. I love it and I have listened to everyone. I find them hilarious and very knowledgable about Disney.

Just a little info!

Disney Trip October 2011!

Since next year will be my last year of my university undergraduate degree, my friends and I have decided to go to Walt Disney World for our grad trip! We are going in October 2011 and hopefully Disney will have a special offer to make it cheaper for us. We will be staying in a Value Resort and hopefully getting the dining plan and it should be amazing. If it actually happens then I would be so excited and will plan it all.

Also with going in October is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have heard that it is really amazing and so much fun. At the same time, we are university students. I know my friends will want to trick-or-treat but they might not want to pay the extra amount for the party.

I know a couple things we will do. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, breakfast with the princesses is one of the most important things. Since we will all be 21, one of the big things I want to do, is drink around the world. We go to Epcot and try one alcoholic drink at each pavillion in the World Showcase. Which would be super fun.

My roommate has never been to Disney so she will be excited once she gets the okay that she can come. I have never gone with someone who hasn't been though every time I go it's like a whole new experience. I always see the castle different. She will want to go on all the rides I have not been on. I have never been on Dumbo or the Tea Cups and everyone will want to go on those. My parents hate spinning rides so they never took my sister or I on them. But since she has never gone, we will be doing everything! They will see me for the Disney nerd I am, but it will be amazing.

I AM SO EXCITED!

I actually want to start planning. I was thinking six day park hopper because really you can't do everything in Magic Kingdom is one day, even Hollywood Studios as well. One day at each park for sure, and since Animal Kingdom closes early we could go to Magic Kingdom at night or hit up Downtown Disney. I know where I would personally like to eat but everyone has different tastes. I think we're also going to get dressed up for one night or day and have nice pictures taken infront of the castle and go out for a nice dinner.

One of my favourite podcasts, Keys to the Kingdom is doing Disney on a budget which is perfect for me right now. One of the best blog out there, they know so much about Disney and are so fun to listen to.

Anyways, I want to start planning and making ADRs, advance dinner reservations, and planning out our days. Getting my maps out and figuring our plan of attack. Like Magic Kingdom, do we start with adventureland and go clockwise or start at tomorrowland or go to fantasyland and then figure things out. So many options.

I want to start planning.

I'm so excited!

AHHHHH!

The Castle with a perfect blue sky

Beauty and the Beast

Last week Disney re-released one of the classics, Beauty and the Beast. I was so excited to go out and get it! First day I went to Walmart to pick it up, but I had a couple of issues. First I had gotten a coupon for ten dollars off the movie, but on the coupon it says only valid in USA. For us Canadians, this seemed like a let down after in website said that we could use it in Canada. Walmart didn't take. I did find out later that Best Buy takes the coupons, so remember that for next time. If anyone has information about other stores who take the move rewards coupon, let me know.

I also did not like the packaging. Because I have been introduced to the wonders of blue-ray from my father I was going to get the blue-ray copy anyway. But I noticed that they were not selling just dvd copies. All copies came with one dvd of the movie and two blue ray discs with the movie and extra features. I thought of everyone who didn't have a blue ray and had to buy that one anyway. There were so different boxes for the same movie. I don't know if they wanted to trick people into buying the blue ray copies by putting them in a dvd box. But I was really confused. It all depends on your preference to the box, which is weird.

DVD and Blue-ray in dvd box.

After all of the confusion and fustration, I did get a copy at Walmart. But I won't be going there to get any other Disney movie.

The original Beauty, Paige O’Hara and the Beast, Robby Benson.  
(picture courtesy of Disney Parks Blog)

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite movies. Though I can't really critique the movie itself, because I am hugely bias, I can tell you about the features of the movie. Watching the extended version is not that great. I have heard from multiple people that they do not like the added in song, "Human again." I personally will take anything that Disney gives me, but it is not my favourite song. I have not really watched any other features, but I will say that the Blue-ray looks amazing. The menu is well done and takes you around the castle, but Lumiere's voice sounds super weird.

One of the great love stories, every girl has seen the movie and wants to be Belle. If I had brown hair, I would be Belle. It is one of my favourites and now I have it on dvd. 

Beauty and the Beast show at Hollywood Studios

Ah, l'amore!

May Trip 2010

May 2010.

All Star Movies.

Dining plan.

Park hopper.

Unlimited possibilities.

I think that this trip was one of the best I have ever been on. Mom and I went for a week and it was great. We took a six am flight to Orlando from Toronto. We didn't get a rental car because we were only staying at Disney so we took the Magical Express. It was a great feature by Disney and allows families to save a bit of money that way. It was the first time I have stayed in a Disney resort and I loved it. I had looked at other resorts on the property but because of our budget we stayed in All-Star Movies. I liked movies better than the other All-Star hotels because it actually incorporated Disney theming. Music, Sports, and Pop Century don't really give off a feeling of Disney for me. While seeing characters and scenes from Disney movies like Fantasia makes me feel like I am at Disney.

All Star Movies is a great hotel. It is the last hotel on the All-Star bus, but still not bad. We stayed in the Love Bug section of the hotel. The Fantasia pool was great. The quick service cafe was okay. I felt like with the dining plan that they never really told you what counted as a meal, dessert, drink or snack. Especially the snack. It had to be under four dollars, but it wasn't everything under four dollars. It got confusing sometimes. But overall, I loved being on the dining plan. It is worth the money and even better when you get it for free. One night we went to Wolfgang Puck in downtown Disney and with the two of us, we spent over 100 dollars on dinner, but it was covered under the dining plan. I also used my snack in Magic Kingdom for some fudge and it was amazing. The celebration fudge is highly recomended. When getting the Disney dining plan you have to choose between quick service dining plan, regular dining plan, platinum, premium, and deluxe. Each differs between the type of dining service, the number of meals and snacks. We got the regular dining plan which included one quick or counter service meal, one table service, and one snack. At every meal, you get a meal and dessert. By the end of the trip, I felt like I had put on weight from all the food I had been eating.

Anyways, again probably the best trip ever. The buses to and from the parks to the resort was fine. They played music and during the day, they weren't too packed. If I had to give advice about one thing at Disney, it would be about the buses. Every night my mom and I would go through the shops on the way out of Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Hollywood Studios. After fireworks or Fantasmic! everyone races to catch a bus. Instead of running for the bus, walk the streets for a bit. Buses run for three horus after the park closing, so you can take your time. I understand this might be hard for families with young children, but its better than standing in a line, getting fustrated with all the other fustrated people around you, and waiting for half an hour for a bus.

This time when we were at Disney, we planned before to have some nice pictures taken by the nice Photo Pass photographers. I think it's really cool that they can place tinker bell in the picture, but I think they need to come up with more creative poses.

Animal Kingdom

France at Epcot

Tinkerbell at Magic Kingdom

We got park hoppers because we knew that after spending one full day at each park it would be good to bounce around from park to park. We could go to Epcot in the morning, back to the hotel for a swim, then to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks. If your going for more than five days, its worth it, but not if you get the water park option. Water parks could take up a full day as well. We didn't get the water park option because I just wanted to go to the parks. A water park day is good for some time off.

We didn't really get to take advantage of the extra magic hours, but I felt like we had to plan days around it then we couldn't plan our dinners.

I made our days pretty packed so we didn't have much down time.

Now I should go do homework. Next update: the rest of my trip and not small details!

Natalie!

End with a great picture!

Explanation...

When I decided to create a blog about Disney and my life, I thought I would be able to get started and it would be so easy.

Now I see that it is not always easy to think of ideas or themes.

So as my first post I'm going to tell you about my past Disney parks experiences.

Age 6: This was my first experience with Disney and I don't remember a whole lot about it. I just remember being in a swimming pool, and not at a disney resort. So basically I remember nothing. One souvenir I do have is my autograph book. I remember small parts of this one action, like meeting the Mutant Ninja Turtles and having them stamp their name into my book.

Age 10: Again, I do not remember much. It was 2000, so it was a big year for celebration. I have a faint memory about seeing Illuminations for the first time. One part of this trip I remember so well happened at Animal Kingdom. My sister does not like rides but we went on It's a Bugs Life ride, which is a 3D movie but air and water is blown on you like it is on the screen. My sister screamed when she thought the bugs were actually under the seats. I think this really set up her fear for all rides.

Age 12: I have more memories from this trip. My sister and her dance group dance inside Magic Kingdom in tomorrowland. It was cool to see her on stage in Disney. They got a photo infront of Cinderellas castle.

During this trip, I was kind of a nerd. So I was very into the clothes and some of the merchandise they were selling. After this trip, I never wore my Pooh t-shirt again. It currently sits in my room at the bottom of a drawer. This experience lead me to becareful of the stuff you buy at Disney. You might be in the spirit, but if you won't wear it at home, then don't bother.

The Disney trips were usually the only trips we did when I was younger. As I grew up, we went to other places and on a cruise. But after Disney trips, I feel like sitting on a beach for 5 days is boring. I need to get up and do something. As I got older, I began to realize how improtant Disney was to me.

Age 18: This is the trip I remember most about, mainly because it was so recent. March break, grade 12. What a good trip. We drove down from Toronto to Orlando and rented out a house in Kissimee. It was a 24 hour drive! It was terrible! I would never drive again, unless it was a huge road trip with friends. It's just so much easier to fly. Snow storms, traffic, and overnight stops. It gets to be annoying. This trip was also the first one where we went to outlet malls. So fun and great deals, I'm jealous of everyone who regularly gets to shop there. My sister doesn't like Disney because she doesn't like any roller coasters or fast rides. My dad and I went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot in one day. I like animal kingdom a lot because I work at a zoo and love to see animals. There is a unique feel to animal kingdom and I love it. Dad and I went on Expedition Everest twice that morning. We ran there and you get on so fast.

(From Animal Kingdom, one of the cast members walking around. So cool!)

Epcot was neat. My dad works for HP, so we went into the Mission to Mars longue for employees and got to sit down in the air conditioning and get free drinks. We also got to go almost right on to the ride. I did not hate the ride, but felt sick after. Another post I will do will critique different rides. So look for that later!

At Magic Kingdom, we went with our friends who also came to Florida for the week. The park was so empty we finished every ride we wanted to go on before 4. We walked on to a lot of rides and it was so nice to go around Disney at such a slow pace, there was no need to rush. I also had never been to Disney with friends, only family and it was nice to share the experience with someone else. This is the last time I would get to experience Toontown before the construction for the new expansion.

Hollywood Studios was the best. I went with my mom and dad. It was our day together and it was perfect. My dad and I went on Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster for the first time, mother was too afraid. (She would go on in 2010 when I made her.) We enjoyed the rides and the classic feel of Hollywood Studios. To be honest, I love HS. It is my favourite. Magic Kingdom is classic, but Hollywood Studios is always changing and becoming better. We ended our Disney experience with Fantasmic! Originally my mom didn't even want to see it because we had seen it so many times, but we did. I am always amazed with Fantasmic and how great everything is.

I end this post here so I can get some homework done. My next blog will be about my trip this past May 2010.

The Beginning

Hey everyone!

This is my new blog.

I've been wanting to blog for a while now and I figured this would be a good procrastination from doing my homework as well.

I have never done a blog before so I'm going to try and figure everything out.

As a child, I loved animated movies especially Disney.

As a grown up, I've began to look at Disney as a way to escape my reality of homework.

I've been to Walt Disney World five times and I know a lot.

I have not been to any other Disney parks but I keep myself in the know about them.

As a result over the past two years I have become Disney obsessed!

This blog will be about my life and how Disney is such an essential part of my life.

Movie reviews, facts about the parks, and news.

I'm going to try and keep this going but we will see how long it lasts.

Natalie!