Disneyland Trip - Day 2, Disneyland

Alright, so I've shared a bit of the fun we had at California Adventure.  On our second day, we went to the Disneyland park. I have to say I was both looking forward to it and dreading it. The last time I was in Disneyland (in 2007), the crowds were horrendous.  It was fairly crowded this trip as well, but wasn't nearly as bad.

The first ride that we just had to ride was the Indiana Jones Adventure.  Both my Mom and Bean had really been looking forward to it because they had never ridden before. They both loved it! Next, we walked over to New Orleans Square and rode Pirates of the Caribbean.  Bean especially enjoyed comparing the Disneyland version to the one in Disney World. After the ride, we wandered past a bit of construction to the Mint Julep Bar. It's kind of hidden around the back corner of the French Market Restaurant.  We got a bag of 6 Mickey beignets, which were absolutely delicious, just like the ones I make at home. (I use a recipe I got from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Don't worry, I'll share it soon.)

Next, we headed back to Indiana Jones to use our fast passes.  Then, we wandered over to the Haunted Mansion. At this point, the lines were starting to get a bit longer and the sunburn I'd acquired the day before was starting to hurt, so we decided to stop for lunch. We couldn't find any place that suited all of us, so Mom and I decided to try the skewers at Bengal Barbecue. The chicken skewers and veggie skewers were fantastic and very affordable. Bean decided on pizza for lunch, so we headed for Fantasyland and the Village Haus Restaurant. I don't know if it was just too busy or if they just lost my order, but the service was terrible and I had to wait over 20 minutes for my food. I was very disappointed, but at least the pizza was good. Next up was the first of several trips through "it's a small world". This was the first time I'd ridden since they added the additional Disney characters like Ariel, Woody, and Peter Pan.  They were so cute! I just loved them.

Next, we went to Mickey's Toontown, where we played in Chip and Dale's Treehouse and Donald's Boat. Bean really enjoyed all of the little interactive touches in Toontown. (I remembered several of them from a visit with my cousin in 1998. She used to work at the Gag Factory, so she pointed out all the good stuff!) We grabbed fast passes for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, but it broke down just as we were heading in and was closed for at least an hour, so we ended up skipping it.

At this point, I remembered that I wanted to go to Innoventions before it closed, so we grabbed some Mickey Ice Cream Bars and made our way to Tomorrowland. Innoventions was actually very uncrowded,  which was great, and very air conditioned as well, which was a wonderful break from the heat.  I had three goals in Innoventions and we managed to meet all three. First, we got the chance to check out all of the Iron Man Tech in the Stark Industries exhibition. Bean especially liked the armor with battle damage. Then we viewed the Treasures of Asgard before being transported via the Bifrost to meet Thor in Odin's throne room. Thor was fantastic, and very good with kids (and grown up kids, too. Every woman in the group in front of us had to have an autograph and photo. It was hilarious!) Finally, we waited about 20 minutes to meet Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage. He was absolutely amazing. The family in front of us had three little boys who all wanted separate photos.  He was very accommodating and even suggested a different pose for each kid. He was great with Bean and even told her to be sure to come back and tell him if she noticed any trouble in the park. She talked about meeting superheroes the rest of the day! While in Tomorrowland, we got fast passes for Star Tours, then headed back across the hub to Adventureland again.

We were just starting to get hot and tired again, so we headed for the Enchanted Tiki  Room. I don't know why, but I love the Tiki Room. The Disneyland version has a great pre-show that introduces several of the tiki gods that was quite cool. I would have liked to get a Dole Whip, but the line was seriously long, so I had to skip it. After leaving the Tiki Room, we stopped in one of the shops in Frontierland.  It had the most hilarious shirts, including one that used mustaches to define emotional states. I loved it!

Then it was on to New Orleans Square in search of dinner. I wanted soup from the Royal Street Veranda. It took me a while to decide between the clam chowder (which I'd had before) and the steak gumbo, but I eventually chose the gumbo. It was good, but man was it spicy! Thank heavens the sourdough bread bowl toned it down. Bean had the pasta and marinara sauce from the French Market Restaurant, so we sat outside and listened to the Royal Street Bachelors, who were quite good.

After dinner, we headed over to Fantasyland to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It was finally time for our fast passes, so we walked back to Star Tours, which is always a favorite for Bean and I. Then we rode The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Admittedly, I creamed Mom and Bean, but we all had fun. While waiting in line for the Astro Blasters, we noticed a tiny Periwinkle fairy behind us, so our next stop was Pixie Hollow. It was so sweet with all of the tiny fairies in their elements, and although Tink had gone for the evening, Bean loved having her photo taken in front of Tinker Bell's giant teapot house.

By now, it was getting dark, but we headed back to New Orleans Square to ride Pirates one more time. The second time we'd ridden, we'd gotten ridiculously wet, but Bean convinced us to give it another go.  So of course we got sopped again! We decided to avoid the crowds watching Fantasmic! and catch a few more rides before heading out for the night.  As we walked past the Haunted Mansion, we noticed there was no one there, so we decided to check it out. We walked straight in, boarded the elevator with just four other people, and each rode in our own Doombuggy. (I got number 13!) This was the first time Bean had ridden alone and she thought it was awesome! After the Mansion, we headed along the Rivers of America to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It's obviously a little kid ride, but so cute to ride in the beehives. On our way out, we stopped to rid the Jungle Cruise, because it's one of my Mom's favorites. It was ridiculous, as usual, but a great way to end the day. That was our last ride at Disneyland.  Bean kept wanting to ride the Matterhorn, but every time we checked, the line was clear around the mountain, no joke. So, we didn't make it on, but that just gives us a reason to go back, right? After grabbing some popcorn and cocoa for the walk back, our trip to Disneyland was over.

We had a great time in California,  and I'm really glad we went. California Adventure was definitely my favorite park, but I love some of the rides that can only be found in Disneyland. Honestly, the strangest part for me was how compact Disneyland is. I'm so used to the Magic Kingdom in Florida that I had forgotten you can stand in line for Indiana Jones and listen to the Jungle Cruise on one side and Tarzan's Treehouse on the other. We crossed the entire park half a dozen times, but didn't feel like we'd walked that far because everything is so small. It was crazy, but fun nonetheless.

Disneyland trip - California Adventure

As I'm sure you've guessed if you've been following my instagram, I just got back from a short trip to Disneyland.  We've spent the last month and a half fixing up my Mom's house in Arizona, so we decided to go to Disneyland as a reward for all our hard work.  We only stayed for two days, so we visited one park each day.

First, we went to California Adventure. I had never been to Cars Land before,  and I absolutely loved it! It looked just like the movie, which looks just like my hometown. It was especially gorgeous at night with all the neon lit up. Our favorite ride was definitely the Radiator Springs Racers. The cars were fast and the views were awesome. And besides, our car won! We also enjoyed the other Cars Land rides. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was hilarious! Those little tractors really do whip around. And Luigi's Flying Tires were crazy fun to try to "drive". We had breakfast at Flo's V8 Cafe.  I especially liked the Cars waffles from the kids meal. And the restaurant is so cool. The left side has several of Flo's records from her days as a Motown singer. The right side is Doc Hudson's office and has car replacement parts as well as his trophies from the Piston Cup. They were huge! In the afternoon,  Bean had the mac and cheese meal in a Lightning McQueen car. It wasn't a ton of mac and cheese, but it was more than enough for her. I tried a Chili Con Queso Cone from the Cozy Cone, and it was pretty good. While we were eating, we saw DJ's Dance 'n' Drive. I especially liked the carhop costumes. They were so 50s. My Mom and Bean had chocolate ice cream cones from the Cozy Cone in the evening, and they were huge!

We also got a surprise chance to ride the Grizzly River Run. It wasn't supposed to open back up until Friday, but they got the refurb finished early,  so it opened just as we were walking by. Wow, is that a wet ride! I would say it's at least as wet as Kali River Rapids in Disney World! After we Were soaked,  we wandered down the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail so that Bean could earn her Senior Wilderness Scout Badge. She loved the rock wall and the towers with the netting to climb. She managed to finish just in time for the Wilderness Explorer Ceremony, where we got to meet Russell.

On our way to Paradise Pier, we stopped to watch the Phineas and Ferb Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party Parade. It was really cute, with lots of songs from the TV show. And the dancers were dressed as Fireside Girls; too cute! Bean convinced me to ride California Screamin' for the first time. She loved it, but I'm still not sure I like roller coasters with loops. The other Paradise Pier rides were fun. I really liked the Silly Symphony Swings, which reminded me of the ones I used to ride at Lake Fair as a child. None of us enjoyed Goofy's Sky School, it was way too jerky and rough. The Jumpin' Jellyfish were fun without being fancy. We all liked the Golden Zephyr and King Triton's Carousel. We also rode the Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which is so cute.

Toward the end of the night, we headed toward the front of the park. My Mom rode Soarin' for the first time and loved it. She can't wait to ride it again this fall when we go to Disney World. Then we watched the last Aladdin - A Musical, of the day. It was hilarious! The jokes the genie told were somewhat inappropriate at times,  but they were over most kids heads and actually really funny.  It was one of the best shows I've ever seen at a Disney park. We stopped by the Mad Tea Party for a minute. I loved the costumes and the music,  but it was much too loud. Then we rode Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.

After taking one last peek at Cars Land before we left (I just had to see all the neon lit up), we headed toward Buena Vista Street, where I got the cutest Olaf marshmallow for Bean. (We discovered later that it was dipped in caramel before the white chocolate. Yum!) While I would have liked to see World of Color, the crowds were just too big. Next up, our day at Disneyland.

My Recent Trip to Disney World

I just got back from Florida last night and I have a million things to share with you over the next few weeks. I'll be posting lots of new tips and tricks as well as the good, the bad, and the ugly about this most recent trip. Keep an eye out for new posts; they'll be coming soon.

Pinterest

I've recently become addicted to Pinterest. I know, I know, there are mixed feelings on the subject. However, I use Pinterest as a form of visual bookmarking. I hate searching through bookmarks and trying to remember exactly what it was I liked that made me bookmark that page in the first place. With Pinterest, I can "pin" the relevant picture and leave myself a note in the description so that I remember why I want to go back. At the moment, I'm "pinning" sites that have information I want to use when planning my next trip to Disney World. I've also been "pinning" photos of Muppet cookies to use as inspiration for a new line of felt food I'm creating. It's nice to see all of my inspiration photos in one place.

Confessions of a Disney Park addict

Someone recently asked me how many times I'd been to a Disney Park. The answer: "More times than you'd think!" I started adding up all of my trips there over the years and realized that the number is rather shocking, especially since I have never lived in Orlando or Anaheim.

My first trip was to Disneyland in 1984. I don't actually remember much about it, even though I was 7 years old at the time. My dad took my sister and I again a few years later, maybe 1988. I went again in 1995, and then again in 1998. That trip I stayed with my cousin Jennifer. She was working at the Gag Factory in Toontown at the time. We had a blast and I went to Disneyland nearly every day that week. They were getting ready to build California Adventure and all of the parking areas were a mess! When Jennifer had to work, I explored the park on my own, and even rode Splash Mountain alone, much to Jennifer's amazement. I attempted to move to California with the intent of working at Disneyland in 1999, but the move fell through.

In 2003, my mom, my sister and I went to Disney World for the first time. I immediately fell in love with the World and all it's spaciousness. Unfortunately, there was just two much to see in a three-day trip. I moved to Georgia when Bean was born and looked forward to experiencing Disney World through a child's eyes again. We took her to Disney World for the first time one day after her first birthday. We stayed on-site for the first time at Shades of Green. She loved It's a Small World and all of the bright colors, sights, and sounds of the park. She took her first steps over a bridge in the Magic Kingdom. It was truly Magical!

In 2006, we moved to California temporarily. Shortly before we had to return to Georgia, we took Bean to Disneyland. It wasn't the best trip, (Bean seemed to be allergic to everything she touched and broke out in hives!) but it was the first time any of us had been to California Adventure, which we loved. Bean's favorite rides were Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, King Triton's Carousel and all of the rides in Bug Land.

In September 2007, we moved back to Georgia, unloaded the truck, and drove 8 more hours to Disney World. Yes, we're that crazy! Our friend had never been to Disney World before, nor had he been trick or treating, so we went to MNSSHP for the first time. We all loved it! We also caught the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the first time. This quickly became our favorite time of year to visit, even if it rained every day and I got stuck in World showcase in a flooded area with a stroller! This was the first time we saw Pixar's Block Party Bash at Hollywood Studios. Bean loved it! We stayed at Shades of Green again which was convenient for transportation into the parks.

In August 2008, we bought Annual Passes. It was a blast! We only spent 3 1/2 days that trip. Bean, my dad and I had just traveled across the country by train and then went to Disney World after meeting up with my sister. Since we now had Annual Passes, we drove down to Disney World several time over the next several months. We went to MNSSHP and the Food & Wine Festival in October. We got our faces painted at MNSSHP for the first time. We also got the clip-on reloadable gift cards for the Food & Wine Festival, which made trying everything much easier.

Our next trip was in November, a week before Thanksgiving. Then we went for 7 days in December and spent Christmas day at the Magic Kingdom & New Year's Eve at EPCOT. It was crazy crowded, but still a ton of fun. Both parks reached capacity by noon or so, but we didn't plan on leaving and coming back, so it was ok. Christmas day we watched Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. We ended up staying for the fireworks because it was so crowded at the front that we couldn't get off Main Street. It worked out though because the snow and fireworks were great. Bean loved the snow and wanted it to last forever! On 12/27 we went to Hollywood Studios and saw the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, which were awesome! And it snowed again, which we loved, especially because it was about 75 degrees that day. On 12/28, we went to EPCOT and listened to several of the storytellers tell stories of Christmas in their homelands. We saw the Three Wise Men in Mexico, heard about the Nutcracker in Germany, saw La Befana in Italy (Bean was even selected to help!), Pere Noel in France, and the lumberjack Santa in Canada. We only saw part of the Daruma Doll Sellers story in Japan, and missed all of the others. On 12/29 we went to Animal Kingdom and watched Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. It was a lot of fun. We went back to Magic Kingdom on 12/30 and it was much less crowded, so we watched the parade again. Then we spent our last night 12/31 at EPCOT. At EPCOT, the World Showcase countries each celebrate the New Year at the hour it occurs in their home country. It's so much fun! And if you stay all day, they hand out party hats and party blowers. The entire park sounds like it's full of crazed geese... And that's just the adults! It's hilarious!! We didn't stay until midnight, but we could see the fireworks from both Disney and Universal from the condo we'd rented. (We stayed in this awesome condo this trip. We got a great deal at $99 a night. It had 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining room, family room, living room, all the furnishings, laundry room, a screened porch, and could easily have slept 12-15. Totally awesome for large family groups.)

We went again, spur of the moment in March for St. Patrick's Day. We were in EPCOT and bought green cotton candy and our friend bought green beer and green cider in England in the special Rose & Crown glass.

Our next trip was in September 2009. We went down for a quick 4 day trip. Our last day, we always try to spend at Animal Kingdom. They close the earliest and that way we can stay most of the park hours before we have to make the 8 hour drive home. Our next trip was February 2010. Bean was out of school for a few days, so we took a four day weekend and left. Strangely, we ended up at Hollywood Studios during ESPN Weekend. As a result, it was fairly easy to get on the rides, but the area around the sorcerer's hat was packed! EPCOT was just getting ready for the Flower & Garden Festival so we got an awesome preview of the topiaries. We played the Kim Possible Missions around the World Showcase, which my Bean finds fascinating. At Magic Kingdom, we met Tiana & Naveen for the first time and played on Tom Sawyer's Island for the first time too. We spent half a day at Animal Kingdom and watched Finding Nemo: the Musical and the Festival of the Lion King for the first time too. They're incredible! We spent the end of the day at Downtown Disney and Build a Dino at T-Rex Cafe. It has very cool ambiance.

Our last trip was in August 2010. it was a four day trip and we visited each park. This was the first time Bean and I rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. She was fine until we took off and by the end, my sister had to pry her hands off to get her out, poor kid! (I'm not sure if I'll ride it again anytime soon either!) Then we rode Star Tours a million times to make up for it. This was our last chance to ride Star Tours before it was closed for refurbishment, so we made the most of it.

I'm not sure when I'll make it back to Disney World, but I hope that it will be soon... I'm starting to go through withdrawals!

Trip to the World

I just got back from a six day trip to Disney World and I have loads of new information to share.

Magic Kingdom:
The new Fantasyland expansion is in full swing. They have blocked off large sections of what used to be Pooh Corner and some backstage areas so that they can begin construction. There are several pictures on the walls hiding the construction that detail all of the changes. While I'm not sure how I feel about the new Princess-themed land, it should be amazing when it's finished. They haven't closed Toontown yet, which was great for us because we love Goofy's Barnstormer, but it should be closing in the next few months.

We ate at Tony's Town Square for the first time. We had a little trouble getting to the restaurant because we got stuck in Toontown in a torrential downpour and Tony's is near the front gate, but we threw on ponchos and made a mad dash for it. The food at Tony's was really good, both dinner and the desserts. However, the atmosphere was not what I had expected. It was rather dark and tried to be upscale rather than the family dining experience that they advertise. The seating was very crowded. However, our waitress was very attentive and nice.

EPCOT:
We had our first character meal this trip. We decided to go for the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was wonderful. We were greeted by Belle when we came in. Bean got to spend several minutes talking with her before they took a photo, which was included in the price of the meal. Once we were seated, our very attentive server explained the Norwegian buffet to us and took our orders. My sister and I ordered the traditional Norwegian meatballs, but Bean ordered pizza. After everyone in our section had been served, the Princesses began to make their way through the dining hall. We saw Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, and Aurora. They spend about a minute with each child, sign autographs and pose for pictures. They were all wonderful. At the end of the meal, they brought out the dessert plate, a preset selection of three different desserts. They were fabulous! I would definitely consider returning to Akershus.

Hollywood Studios:
They have re-imagined the Tower of Terror, adding all new drop sequences. The last room before the elevator shaft has been altered to remain dark as you travel through it. The new drop sequences add a new thrill for long time riders and new riders alike.

We rode Star Tours several times as it is scheduled to close for renovations soon. It's Bean's favorite ride, so we couldn't pass up what may be our last chance to ride the old ride.

Lotso Huggin' Bear has been added to the characters that you can meet at the Magic of Disney Animation. He is huge and pink and really does smell like strawberries!

We ate at the 50s Prime Time Cafe for the second time. Again the meal and the service were fabulous. It's such a fun place to eat and totally reminds me of my paternal grandmother's house. We ordered Bean the Mickey's Bee Bop Drink with the glowing ice cubes. When the waiter first brought it out, it was pale pink. Bean said that it wasn't pink enough, so he took it back and added extra cherry syrup. She was thrilled. When she asked for a refill before we left, he even took her back to the kitchen and let her watch as he made it to make sure she had enough cherry in her drink!

Animal Kingdom:
At the Animal Kingdom, we decided to eat at the Yak and Yeti for the first time. Unfortunately, it wasn't the greatest experience. The ambiance was fantastic. The theme of the place was great. The drinks were wonderful; my sister ordered a Yak Attack which she loved, and I ordered a Glacier Water, which I also enjoyed. For the meal, I ordered the Maple Tamarind Chicken which I didn't really care for at all. My sister ordered the MalAsian Seafood Curry which she enjoyed but it didn't really agree with her. In all, I don't know that I would eat there again because the Yak and Yeti counter service was actually better and less expensive than eating in the restaurant.

All in all, it was a good trip. We got to experience several new dining choices and revisit some old favorites. As always, we truly enjoyed our latest trip to the World.

Star Tours

Well, its that time of year again... Star Wars Weekends. Every year, I say I'll go, but I never seem to make it. This year guests will have a chance to ride one of the last trips to Endor on Star Tours. The ride is scheduled to close July 27 at Disneyland and September 8 at Disney World. They are going to be "reimagining" the ride with a new 3-D experience taking guests to familiar places in the Star Wars universe. They're also hosting a special "Last tour to Endor" party on August 14 during "Star Wars Celebration V" at Disney World. As this is one of Bean's favorite rides, I am rather sad to see it change. Sometimes I think Disney gets carried away trying to keep up with the latest and greatest. However, if it lives up to the promise and becomes an immersive 3-D trip through the universe of Star Wars, it may be alright. I just hope they don't totally change the outside of the ride as well. I love the Ewok village and AT-AT that shoots water from it's guns. Also, every year when we go, we take a picture of Bean on the speeder parked outside. It's a fun way of seeing how much she's grown. Here's hoping that the new ride is as much fun as the current one!

Win a trip to Disney Parks

Rayovac

Rayovac batteries is giving away a trip for four to either Disneyland or Disney World! Let Rayovac power your vacation and enter for a chance to win.

My Favorite Time of Year

I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween, but I figure you need to start planning early for trips to the World. My favorite time to go to Disney World is the end of September-beginning of October. It's a chance to experience a lot of Disney fun in one quick trip. We've gone to Disney three times during September/October and loved it every time.

It's fun to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, dress up in Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating around the Magic Kingdom. Bean's favorite part is the Boo to You Parade. The parade begins when the Headless Horseman rides down the parade route on his horse and holding a flaming pumpkin. At the end of the night, cast members will top off your trick or treat bag. The last time I went, they were topping off with Ghiradelli caramel squares... the big ones. We always come home with a huge pile of candy, some of which we give out at Halloween, as there is always too much.

For the adults, try the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, which runs during this same time period. It's a great chance to try a lot of food from a lot of different nations and see what appeals to you. My favorite mini plate is the cheese plate with three types of cheese, brown bread, Irish butter, and chutney from the Ireland stand. I eat it every time I go. I liked it so much that I have started buying Dubliner cheese at home too. My sister's favorite is the lamb slider from New Zealand. There are so many fabulous things to try that it would be impossible to pick just a few. I would recommend going as a group and having each person purchase one food from each nation and then everyone trying a bite. That's what we usually do and you get to try so many more things that way without getting overwhelmed.

You'll probably find something that you may want to eat even after you get back home. Fortunately, there are several websites that have recipes from the Festival. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but they sound fantastic. Several of the countries offer demonstrations of various recipes and styles of cooking popular in their homelands.

Each year is themed, so a few years ago, there were stock pots and characters from Ratatouille everywhere. Another year was Alice in Wonderland. This year's theme is "Delicious Discoveries". They are changing the Goebel store in Germany to a Werther's Candy Shop and the new Via Napoli restaurant in Italy opens in September. There are also a lot of beautiful displays and decorations representing each of the countries. In all, its a fabulous Festival with something for everyone. And that's what make this my favorite time of year to travel to Disney World!

Photo of the Week

I love the Twinings Tea Garden at the Flower and Garden Festival. Various plants used in their teas are grown in teacups behind the Tea Caddy shop.

Photo of the Week

I just love the displays at the Flower and Garden Festival. I manage to miss the official festival every year, but I sometimes get to see all of the fabulous floral displays before the festival starts.

Ren Faire fun

Bean with Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and her Court

My family enjoys going to Renaissance Faires. We dress up in costume and spend a day among the Lords and Ladies of the Kings court. It's a lot of fun and a unique experience. As purchasing costumes can be very expensive, I make all of my own, my family's and most of our friends. It's a lot of work to make sure that they are authentic, but it's well worth the effort. We all look great and it's a much richer experience to go to the Faire planning to play along instead of looking in as an outsider. For the next several weeks leading up to the Georgia Renaissance Festival, I will be working on half a dozen new costumes, so I'm going to be rather busy. As I spend a lot of time researching each costume, I'll try to share any interesting information I find. Enjoy!!

Updates

Well, I just got back from a spur of the moment trip to "the World." There are a lot of changes going on and a lot of new things coming soon. I'll be updating several posts, especially the ones about what characters are available and where. New characters have been added and you won't want to miss them. Stay tuned for the latest information regarding my favorite place!

Outlet Store vs. Park, or How to buy the cool stuff without spending a fortune

I love going to Disney World and strolling through the shops browsing for fun new items to add to my ever-growing Disney collection. However, unless you find a rare sale or clearance item, you can end up spending a small fortune. A few years ago, I heard about the three Disney outlet stores located near Disney World. One, Character Outlet, is fairly small and sells both Disney and Universal Studios merchandise at a decent discount. There are two that sell all Disney items and are licensed Disney stores. Disney's Character Premiere, has several items that are discounted 50% or more, but also a lot of items that are regular price. The last store, Character Warehouse, sells items removed from the parks to make way for new merchandise, at a steep discount. This is our favorite Disney store. We've purchased a lot of fun items there at a great price. They have had everything from toys to Pal Mickey costumes, to t-shirts from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival, all for 50-70% off. They usually have a wide selection and a wide variety of price ranges, with something to suit everyone. We've purchased pins there for $4 or less, picture frames from Tower of Terror ($1) and Star Tours ($5 and it even lights up!), scrapbooking items for 75% off the original price, and a ton more. This store also gives stickers to kids that come in, just like the stickers given out in the parks. It's a little farther from the parks than the others, but offers the best value.

One of the best ways to save money at Disney, is to buy your souvenirs from an outlet store at some time during your trip. Because we usually drive down, we drive right past our favorite store on the way to the parks. As a result, we like to stop BEFORE going into the parks and pick out a few new things. We always budget for souvenirs and allow Bean to pick out a new toy and accessories at Character Warehouse, then don't purchase much in the parks. She usually gets more this way for the same amount of money that we would have spent in the parks. Also, this means that she has something new and exciting before we even get to the parks and so she's less likely to fall in love with something in the parks. If you want to go to the parks first and are spending several days, you still may want to check out the selection at the outlets at some point during your trip. We have often found the same or similar items from the parks in the outlets at a much lower price. It's a fantastic way to save money and still make the kids very happy.

If you would like to visit the outlets, here are the addresses.
Disney's Character Warehouse
Pr1me Outlets International, Suite #95
Mon-Sat 10AM-11PM, Sun 10AM-9PM
4951 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
(407)354-3255

Disney's Character Premiere - Suite #1252
Mon-Sat 10AM-10PM, Sun 10AM-9PM
8200 Vineland Avenue, Orlando, FL 32821
(407)477-0222

Character Outlet - Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores
Mon-Sat 10AM-9PM, Sun 10AM-7PM
15629 Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32821
(407)238-9301
charout@embarqmail.com

My favorite Souvenir - Pressed Pennies

My favorite Disney World souvenirs are pressed pennies. I've been a pressed penny fanatic for years, collecting them wherever I go. At Disney World, there are hundreds of pressed penny designs available, both in the parks and the hotels that make up the resort. Every time I go to Disney World, I make sure to bring quarters and pennies to feed my habit. I've tried several different ways of containing the coins in an attempt to make it quicker at the machines. My favorite method is to use M&M minis tubes. They are the perfect size to hold $12 in quarters, although the longer tubes will hold more. I usually carry two tubes, one with quarters and one with pennies. I always go to the bank to pick up at least one roll of quarters and one roll of pennies. I try to get a new roll of pennies, both because they are shinier and because I can then smash 2010 pennies in 2010. For kids, I decorate the M&M tubes with Disney stickers. After the pennies have been pressed, I put them into a small coin purse that I carry just to keep track of my pressed pennies. There are several websites out there that keep track of what penny designs are available and they update them frequently. My favorite penny site is Press Coins. They have great checklists for all of the pressed coin machines. Now that I've collected all of the pennies from certain machines, I carry a print out showing where the machines are and which designs are available in each machine. I check off the ones that I have to avoid duplication. It seems kind of silly, but I really only want one of each penny. I use the pennies in my scrapbooks, just like you would stickers. Last Christmas, I made ornaments using pressed pennies. I used a Mickey fried egg mold and a recipe for cinnamon applesauce ornaments, using a straw to poke a hole near the top center. After the ornaments dried, I glued a pressed penny to the front of each ornament. I glued a sticker to the back with the year and name of the person I was giving the ornament to. Each ornament has a pressed penny that represents the person I was giving it to. For instance, my niece loves all things French, so hers has a penny from the France Pavilion at EPCOT. I love pressed pennies, and they are one of the most inexpensive souvenirs available at Disney World. And if you save a few pennies, you have more to press!

Favorite Tip - Camelbaks

My friends and family are always asking me how I can afford to go to Disney World so often. Well, there are several things that make that possible, but they all add up to one thing, getting the most out of Disney while spending the least amount of money. My family and I went to Disney World in September of 2007. We stayed on site at Shades of Green, the military resort at Disney World. We ate all of our meals in the park or hotel and, as it was fairly hot that week, spent a fortune on drinks. When we got home, we added up the cost of buying drinks everyday and realized that we had spent approximately $70 per day for drinks for our family of 4. We were shocked. When you're in the parks, you don't always realize how much you are spending on the little things. So, we decided that, before we made our next trip to Disney World, we had to find a way to get the cost of drinks down.

As an Air Force family, Camelbaks were the obvious choice. They come in several sizes and styles, including one that is appropriate for small children. The adult packs hold 2 liters of water and the child's pack holds 1 liter. For my sister and Bean, who don't really like to drink water, we add Kool-Aid singles, Crystal Light singles, or Lipton singles. They last most of the day without needing to be refilled and keep everyone well hydrated. Bean loves her small pink pack, and we've added Disney patches and pins to dress it up. Inexpensive carabiners are a great way to clip items onto the packs, although you'll want to keep it simple as extra stuff can get caught in the bag bins on most rides. The various styles of adult packs have multiple pockets for holding whatever you need to carry. My pack has one large pocket, great for storing rain gear, snacks, extra napkins, etc, and one small pocket just the right size for park maps, autograph books, pens, extra pins, pressed pennies, and other small items. I have carried the pack for the last 5 trips and love it. I rarely run out of water before the end of the day but it's usually empty by the time I get back to the hotel. When using Kool-aid or another powdered drink mix, we rinse each pack out at the end of the night and allow it to dry. For water to fill the packs, we pick up gallons at Wal-mart and then just refill them at Wal-mart as necessary. It's a very economical way to keep the whole family hydrated and no one really misses the soda that we don't buy. The packs themselves aren't super cheap, (sometimes you can find other brands of hydration packs on clearance at the end of the back to school sale and they work just as well), but they are a great investment in your family's future vacations. So, when you start planning your next Disney vacation, consider purchasing hydration packs. They're fantasmic!

A Disney Obsession

I have been obsessed with all things Disney for most of my life. As a child, I watched every Disney film I could get my hands on. My first trip to a Disney park was when I was 6. My family drove down to California and we spent a few days at Disneyland. From then on, I was hooked. Although I didn't make it to the parks often in the beginning, (I think I went 3 additional times over the next 20 years), once I moved to Georgia, I began to travel to Florida more often to experience a little more of that Disney magic. In the past 6 years, I've been to Disney World 9 times. While that may not seem like a lot to some, I've made the most of every trip and have learned many tips and tricks to get the most bang for the buck. I've read many websites and blogs over the years and have come to realize that somehow, some of the little things I do to save money at Disney World have been overlooked by everyone else. How this happened, I don't know, but I want to share my ideas with as many of the Disney obsessed as I can, so that we can all enjoy more frequent trips to the Happiest Place on Earth.