So did any NDB’s attend the open house last weekend at Franck’s studio at the wedding pavillion? If so we would love to hear from you and get all your thoughts. So far all that I have read has been very positive and the brides are loving the changes. Unfortunately I was stuck in Massachusetts and miles from the mouse but I’m sure there is a bride to be out there reading this right now who had a blast making plans and sampling yummy cake!
The picture above does show the newly redecorated area and it looks beautiful!
Contributed by Karen (NDM #224). Karen is our resident Disney Wedding’s expert and co-creator of The Best Friends Guide To . . .
Here is the third beta episode of The Disney Driven Life’s new LIVE show, Inner Mouse. In this week’s show Scott, John, and JL continue to work out the bugs of their new venture while discussing how the Disney brand can be incorporated into the realm of education.
Here is the second beta episode of The Disney Driven Life’s new LIVE show, Inner Mouse. In this week’s show Scott, John, and JL work out the bugs of their new venture while sharing their heartfelt stories and explaining the reasons that they have chosen to lead Disney Driven Lives.
1999, Disney started pin trading. The phenomenon has really caught on among guests, and we ourselves have spent many of our dollars in personal pin trading, as adults and with our children.. You may ask yourself “what is pin trading?” Pin trading is where guests can trade official Disney pins with the cast members (or other guests). Disney has pin stalls located all over the parks, where you can find dozens of pins featuring characters, rides, events, or just about anything associated with Disney.
There are guidelines on pin trading etiquette that can be found on the official Disney Pin Trading website (http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/index), and they include the following rules and guidelines to be followed:
My family and I tend to focus more on pin purchasing than pin trading. We usually select a couple pins each trip to help us remember the resort we stayed or, or rides we really enjoyed. We start with buying a few – but sometimes we purchase way more than planned! We try to do the buying at the end so it does not get too expensive as the trip goes along. Those are the pins that we do not trade, but keep them in a binder to look at and for the kids to enjoy. It’s a great way to remember the fun times we have on our Disney vacations.
However, we do encourage our young kids to trade with the cast members. Pin trading helps our kids in several ways. For our son who has autism, it gives him a chance to interact with cast members. It encourages him in a low stress atmosphere to communicate with other people, even if he uses very little words with prompting and he just points to the pin that he wants. The same holds true for our young daughter who benefits from the social interaction with cast members. They learn about the decision-making process. They have to decide if they see something they want and what they are willing to trade for in return. It may not seem like a big deal, but for those with special needs and young children it really helps them build and develop their social skills.
There are several ways to get your children started in pin trading. You can purchase a pin-trading starter kit at Disney Parks, complete with lanyard and a set of pins to trade. However, this can be expensive. Another way to get started is to purchase pins on sites like eBay. This is our preferred method and can be a very inexpensive way to buy pins to trade. You can usually buy them at one-fifth the price. Just make sure that they are official pins that can be traded. Selection can be limited, or may be offered in a “grab bag” format, but we usually don’t care what the pins are since we are going to be trading them any way. Finally, we can often find Disney pins at the Disney Outlet store – online or in our local mall. This gives us several pins to bring with us for our children to trade with cast members.
To help our children remember the rules of pin trading, we created a “social story”. Social stories walk children through different social situations, and give them positive reminders of how to behave. You can find our pin trading social stories on the Disney for Families with Autism Spectrum Disorder website (http://www.wdwautism.com/node/364). We have a free, downloadable social story that shows children how to trade with cast members. We even have a “power card” which is just a card with the key phrases that they can use to help them remember what should be said. We have printed and laminated the “power card” for our children, and hang it on their lanyards (we also include their name on the other side as a reference for cast members).
Pin trading can be fun for the children and you don’t have to break the bank doing it as for them half the fun is process of trading the pins. They treasure the ones they find. When we get home we put them where we can look at them and remember the magical trip we had.
Contributed by: Ray (NDD #102). Ray is the DDL’s expert on Autism and Walt Disney World vacations
A good stroller can make a day of travel, at Walt Disney World or otherwise, so much easier. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Disney stroller!
My main stroller at home is a Bob Revolution. It is a fantastic stroller for exercise and just being out and about. However, it is rather large and kinda heavy. I decided I needed a lightweight stroller for travel and to have a lighter option for the grandparents. Thus began a huge Internet research project. At the time, I could tell you the pros and cons of a couple dozen strollers. The more I looked, the more I became convinced that Maclaren was the way to go. Some other moms swore by reclining features but I just didn’t think that was worth the premium of both dollars and added weight. I decided on the Maclaren Volo and searched for the best available price.
The Volo was perfect! My husband and brother have both commented (unprompted!) recently on how great it was. The Volo is lightweight but sturdy. It’s less than 9 pounds before accessories, folds easily and compactly, and has a shoulder strap which is great for getting on Disney buses. The handles are at a really comfortable height and none of us kicked the wheels when pushing the stroller. The seat on mine is mesh so Tink could get a breeze even when it was “Animal Kingdom hot.” I bought the accessory pack which included a warm seat cover that I used at home during the winter. The basket underneath is pretty small, but I am a huge proponent of traveling light, so it was enough for our needs.
Adding the Maclaren organizer to the handles gave us a little more storage space and when you flip it over the canopy to fold the stroller, it keeps the canopy clean. The Volo does not recline, but that didn’t stop Tink from napping in it every day of our trip. The canopy is about average and seemed to meet our needs but you can add an extra shade if you like. Some models come with a fitted raincover that goes on fairly quickly and mine did a great job of keeping Tink dry in a downpour. My accessory pack also included a travel bag to keep the stroller clean when we gate checked it. We used a couple of no throw straps to hold a cup and a toy. Even if Tink droped her cup, it stayed off the ground and we didn’t lose anything.
Yes, you can get a cheaper umbrella stroller or rent one from Disney but it doesn’t take very long for rental fees to add up to the purchase price of a stroller, especially if you have time to shop around. The construction of the Maclaren strollers was truly what sold me. The Volo has an aluminum frame that allows it to be both strong and lightweight. This stroller will hold a child up to 55 pounds. I really like the fact that we can use this for years to come. I have seen some people who buy a Maclaren, use it for one vacation, and then sell it on EBay.
Feel free to disagree in the comments section below, but I prefer to have a stroller all along my journey rather than just renting one in the parks. Tink napped in the her stroller during one layover on our way to WDW. It kept her contained when she was just too tired while we were checking in at the Orlando airport. We loved being able to push her in the stroller while walking to the buses or up to the Hospitality House.
I couldn’t be happier with my Maclaren Volo and can’t wait to take it back to the World.
What type of stroller do you use? Do you like it or do you wish you could get something else? Any other stroller tips and tricks to share?
Contributed by: Amy E (NDM#242). Amy is our resident baby expert and creator of Growing Up Disney.
My first reaction when asked if I would be interested in reviewing a book for my blog contribution was it couldn’t have come at a worse time. My wife was already on my case for spending too much time on my Disney obsession, also I just started working on a project, and I’m preparing to begin a brand new job. I didn’t think there was any way I could find the time to read and review a book. Then I found out it was a poetry book and the only poetry I know are in the lyrics in rock ’n’ roll music. So, I did a little bit of research on the author and it was that research that made me change my mind. What I found was someone whose every word has substantive meaning. I found someone who has a love for his family, humanity, and Disney. Someone we all would and should be honored to know.
The author J.B. Conway is a police officer with a poetic passion for life and Disney. This is not the first poetry book written by J.B. who after the September 11th tragedy penned ‘Crime Scene Lyrics’ to share his emotions of that horrific day with the rest of the world. He created the Mouse of Zen http://www.mouseofzen.com/ after a 2006 family vacation to Walt Disney World which sparked an enthusiasm that needed an outlet of expression which J.B. found through his love of poetry.
I won’t pretend to know anything about poetry and don’t ask me what haiku is but I do know what I like and don’t like and ‘Mouse of Zen Disney Inspired Mouse-Sized Poetry’ is something I really liked. It was such an enjoyable read from start to finish. It really made me feel like I was in the parks.
In a blog I wrote sometime ago I equated listening to Lou Mongello’s descriptive narration on the WDW Radio Show Audio Guides to watching an artist painting a masterpiece. Well, the same can be said of J.B. Conway and his new book. When you read the book you will feel his words come alive. The words paint a vivid picture of the parks as they bring to life all the sights, sounds, and even the smells we know, love, and remember from our own visits to Disney World.
These short verse poems are packed with a powerful passion that immediately grabs your attention. The author connects with our emotions and memories of Disney as he takes us on a magical journey worth repeating over and over.
Before I began to read the book I really thought I would struggle through it because of my lack of understanding poetry. I couldn’t have been more wrong and whether you’re a fan of poetry or not is really immaterial. As long as you’re a fan of the mouse I wholeheartedly believe you’ll enjoy the book.
This book of magnificent poems gets 2 thumbs up from me and is a must read for every Disney fan.
Contributed by: Stuart S. (NDD #47). Stuart is our resident Disney geek and creator of Disney Geek Dad.
If you are currently on Facebook and “like” the Disney fairytale wedding site then here’s a new update for you.
This past week they have added a new interactive feature for future brides that you can access by clicking on the Create a Site tab on the top of the page. When there you can customize your own page and allow all friends and family , Facebookers or not, to stay up to date on all your wedding details. Share photos and keep all guests up to date on any potential park or wedding changes.
It also is a fun way to ask opinions on anything from the dress to the food. It also is a fun way to ask opinions on anything from the dress to the food. Facebook is known for their fun questions and polls, so create your own for your wedding guests. You can even keep everyone up to date on who’s RSVP’d and after the wedding is over keep the fun going with honeymoon photos. Remember to use this you must first “like” the Disney page then you can create away!
Contributed by Karen (NDM #224). Karen is our resident Disney Wedding’s expert and co-creator of The Best Friends Guide To . . .
Hi, and Welcome to the Walt Disney World Top Must Sees, a new weekly photo blog I will be doing for the Disney Driven Life. This countdown will focus on the top things that I enjoy about Walt Disney World, and will be written in the spirit of the great “Top 7 Must Sees,” which means that my blog posts will be filled with excitement, and quite possibly, corny catch-phrases.
In sharing my Must Sees, I will present an image each week illustrative of the theme. As a Neurotic Disney Person who spends a great deal of time photographing Walt Disney World, I think I have a unique perspective on the parks that others may miss (and I don’t mean because I only see the parks through a viewfinder!). Enough prefacing of the blog; let’s get it started!
Early to rise? Why not head over to the Magic Kingdom, where you can participate in the “E-Ticket Dash” each morning at the park’s Rope Drop! Just be sure to wear a helmet…
The Welcome Show ends, and the turnstiles begin flowing. You insert your ticket, press your thumb to the biometric scanner. Nothing. You quickly insert your ticket again, mindful of the individuals to your left and right who are slowly trickling in before you. Bingo. As you walk briskly onto Main Street, you hear the area music, and see the beautiful Castle looming in the distance. You get chills. You stop briefly to take it all in, smelling that sweet magic in the air. As you snap a couple of photos, you realize you must hurry along if you want to be there first. Stiff-arm that tall lanky dog (“Aww, Schucks” he says as you speed past him).
The other “dashers” are heading the same way as you. Luckily, you’ve been training for this all summer, and are in peak Disney-shape. You do two hours of cardio daily at the gym while studying TouringPlans and quizzing yourself over the best routes through the park. At this point, you could make your way from the front entrance to Splash Mountain with your eyes closed. Juke to the left past a dad frantically pushing a stroller, yelling “WHERE IS DUMBO?!” You’re in the clear. As you distance yourself from the bulk of the crowds, you enter Frontierland. Dart to the right, where you enter the boardwalk. Don’t walk too quickly now, the planks are still damp from last night’s powerwash. Now you see no other guests, and only a few Cast Members. Your heart rate rises even further, as you soak in the atmosphere together. Then you look up seeing the Twin Peaks of Frontierland as you hear the delightful instrumental twang of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah play in the background music. You’ve arrived. Now, which to ride first?!
Such are the typical thoughts racing through our heads when my wife and I enter the Magic Kingdom on a typical morning (well, perhaps with just a smidge of dramatic embellishment). One of our Top Must Dos is starting out the morning in Frontierland after after racing through the crowds at rope drop. There is something about that soft golden sunlight hitting the weathered wood of the attractions and refelcting off of the Rivers of America that makes for just the right atmosphere. Couple that with the deserted planks of the outer pathway that typify the Frontier (if desolateness fits any land well, it would be Frontierland), and you have a setting that becomes an attraction in-and-of itself. The Magic Kingdom definitely has the best atmosphere at rope drop, and for those reasons described above, Frontierland is our favorite place to be right as the park opens. It’s an experience that has few rivals, and one we always look forward to greatly!
Contributed by: Tom B. (NDH#25). Tom is our resident “must see” expert.
My local scrapbooking store writes an article for the local advertising supplement in our town newspaper. One of the latest articles talks about how to simplify scrapbooking by sorting your pictures. I scrapbook chronologically and I complete two albums per year, with the exception of my Disney trip albums. (they deserve their own special albums of course!) Back when I took my photos with my 35mm camera, I had many more photos to search through in order to find ones to scrapbook. I would take my film down to the local store and would automatically order doubles of them all. It was always a surprise to see which pictures actually turned out, and which ones had someone’s eyes closed. Now that I use a digital camera I still develop many (my hubby thinks TOO many) photos, but I crop and mentally plan my layouts as I pick my pictures to scrapbook.
The article stresses the importance of having a proper workspace to do all of this. My workspace is my dining room table. It is not the most accommodating workspace, but it seems to work for my family. Two of my best (non-Disney) friends have their own room in their houses for scrap booking, and I envy them both. To have my own space, and to not need to pack up my paper, stickers, and brads every time company comes over would be wonderful. However, using the dining room table has turned out to be a fabulous way to include my entire family in my scrap booking. I have designated Sunday evenings to be my “Crop Time”, and I can often be found listening to Sorcerer Radio or Mouse World radio. On special Sunday evenings, I listen to “WDW Today Live” and I work even longer into the night as I listen to Matt, Len, Mike, Mike and Annette answer Disney questions! My family respects the time I have set aside. However, because my work is out in the open in the dining room I can grab other moments during the week to work on my pages. They seem to take a greater interest in my albums as they see the work in progress, and they take time to add comments and suggestions to the pages.
The next part of the article talks about how to sort your photos down into small groupings so you can use only one, or a few photos per layout. Now this is where I have problems. I have a horrible time picking only one or two photos per page. I should clarify though; I especially have problems narrowing down my Disney trip photos to only a couple of photos per page. In my “regular” family albums, I can sort the pictures down to each time of year or event, (Christmas, Birthdays, Dance Recitals, etc…) but in my Disney albums each photos represents a Magical memory. My family memories of each trip are recorded in these albums and the pictures bring back the emotions of my family and our love of Walt Disney World. Just as I cannot walk down Main Street U.S.A. on the first day of our trip without shedding tears, I also cannot open any of our Disney Trip albums without being flooded with the emotion that each trip brought to my family. As a result, my Disney albums are full of pages with many photos. My layouts are busy, many with 8-10 photos per two-page layout, and they are full of journaling. If each photo is worth a thousand words, then my albums are worth millions. Well, Millions of Magical Memories that is…
Look for more “Simplifying Your Disney Scrapbooking” in upcoming posts.
Contributed by: Mary Beth C. (NDM #6). Mary Beth is our resident ‘neurotic Disney scrapbooker’.
It’s always a thrill for me to visit Walt Disney World and my last trip was no exception. My entire family had a great time sharing new experiences and making new magical memories that will not only last until our next visit but will last a lifetime. Unfortunately, I also experienced guests behaving badly.
As perfect a place as Disney World is sometimes guests can make it not so perfect. I contemplated long and hard whether or not to write about this because I know I am preaching to the choir. However, this bothered me enough that I had to get it off my chest.
My last Disney trip was in the middle of July which is traditionally a very busy time of year to visit the parks. The day we went to the Magic Kingdom it was unbelievably crowded. I have been to the Magic Kingdom with high crowd levels before but this was Christmas day crowded! Nevertheless it was still manageable.
When day turned into night we got to thoroughly enjoy the Electric Light parade followed by the brilliant Nightastic fireworks. Then as the crowds dispersed I saw something I have never seen before in a Disney park and something I hope to never see again. It was something that gave me a sinking feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I didn’t say a word to anyone nor did I let on what I witnessed because as appalled as I was I didn’t want it to ruin anyone’s night or my own.
I couldn’t believe what I saw covering the ground of Main Street U.S.A. It looked like giant confetti had fallen from a ticker tape parade except this wasn’t confetti. The street was littered with garbage from paper plates, cups, dirty napkins, and leftover food. What boggled my mind was the lack of care these guests had for themselves, the park, other guests, and the cast members whose job is tough enough already.
The cast members work around the clock to keep Walt Disney World in pristine condition. It is a shame that a small percentage of guests in a matter of minutes can do something like this to detract from the beauty of the park. The cast members are on top of things and the garbage is quickly removed but the streets shouldn’t be littered in the first place for them to clean up.
Being on vacation doesn’t give anyone a license to litter. How would those littering in the parks feel if they found garbage strewn all over their front lawn? My guess is most wouldn’t be too happy. So, why is it okay for them to use Main Street as if it were a giant trash bin? If a child sees their parent leaving garbage in the street or conversely a parent doesn’t ask their child to pick up after themselves then what kind of example are they setting?
It also bothers me when I see people in the quick service restaurants finish their meal, get up from the table and leave their tray and garbage for the next guest to clean up. What happened to common courtesy?
One can only hope that the few inconsiderate guests remain just that, a few. I’m very grateful the majority of guests do care, do get it, and do their part to help keep the parks, our parks clean.
Contributed by: Stuart S. (NDD #47). Stuart is our resident Disney geek and creator of Disney Geek Dad.
