I love Disneyland. My love for Disney reaches far beyond the park. I love anything that is connected to the name Disney. One can’t help but think happy thoughts when you hear the name Walt Disney. When there is anything Disney related I really try to check it out. Recently we decided to take a trek out to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA. The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit were there for a limited time and I had to see it before it was gone.
Photo Credit: Chris Ridgeway
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park is a great place for small children. I also happen to think it’s an excellent park for adults, too, but that’s a different post. I’ll summarize that thought for now by saying this isn’t an “in your face” park. You need to slow down, take in the details, watch the shows, and not just run from ride to ride in order to appreciate this park.
From Disney.com
I recently ran across a personality test, and, according to it, I am Winnie the Pooh. My first time through, the test determined that I was Owl. Pooh is my favorite character, so I was glad that my honest answers to the second set of questions came back as the silly old bear.
I want to feature three of the antique Disney toys in my home that never fail to give me a big smile every time I look at them. These toys may be a bit worn and not in mint condition, but in my mind I can hear the children’s laughter echoing from all the fun that they had playing with them when they owned them in years past.
My sister, Melissa at Christmas 2010, gave the first two Mickey Mouse toys to me because she knows how much that I love Mickey Mouse, so right off the bat they are extra special to me. The Mickey Mouse Push–Up Puppet (the toy on the right) was manufactured in 1977 by Gabriel Industries Inc. in Hong Kong, and it is quite fun to move Mickey around by pushing the bottom of the figurine in various places. The wind up Mickey Mouse (the toy on the left) was made by TOMY in 1977 in Taiwan and it actually still winds up and walks. It is definitely a little wobbly when it walks, but it is still loads of fun!
A cute, little, smart, Disney loving one, but a monster no less.
Tink has been getting her regular dose of Disney her whole life (just under two years). She insists on her Mickey, Minnie, Eeyore, and Ariel dolls for naps and bedtime. Her favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yesterday, after she saw a little bit of a Tinkerbell movie, she was saying, “I’m Tinkerbell.” (Well, yes, Baby, you are.) She travels like a champ and went to Walt Disney World for her first birthday and at 18 months.
Copyright: Disney
Those of you that have daughters may have noticed something – little girls are in quite a hurry to grow up. The very phrase “grown-up” or “big-girl” can motivate even the most stubborn little girl into action. Once they’re potty trained and sleeping in their big girl bed, we stop wanting them to be bigger; but they keep on wanting to be more grown up. It was when I volunteered to help out in my daughter’s first grade class that I noticed a problem. All the little six year old girls had lunch boxes, folders, pencils, t-shirts, etc. with characters on them. You might be picturing Princesses, Fairies, Winnie the Pooh, Teddy Bears, and rainbows. That’s what I would have thought. Instead I saw Hannah Montana, Justin Beiber, iCarly, and, yes, Twilight. There is something very wrong with seeing a six year old wearing “I heart Vampires” on her chest. I don’t want to step on any toes, but are we letting these sweet little girls grow up a tad too fast?
Please stand clear of the doors…….Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!
This famous line floods my mind with memories of Walt Disney World. The Monorail is second only to Cinderella Castle at epitomizing what Walt Disney World means to me! Just like Disney, there is a story line behind everything and I have a story behind my love of the Walt Disney World Monorails. One of my first Disney memories as a kid was riding the Monorail in complete awe at this marvelous form of transportation and when it actually drove right through a hotel (the Contemporary Resort) I was literally breathless! To this day this is still a vivid memory for me.
We all know that traveling to Disney World is a memorable experience; however, there is no better way to ensure that those great memories last forever than taking pictures to capture them. How do you feel about your trip pictures? Do they tell the story of your vacation? Do they show the best moments of the trip? Well, if not, we’re going to change that. This is part one of a series that will give you some great tips you can use on your next trip.
Think about the shots you want BEFORE you leave. We may have good intentions of taking tons of pictures, but then we get busy and distracted. So look over your schedule, and think about where you will be going. For each day, I want you to think of two shots that you definitely want to get. If you keep a printed schedule, make a note of the shots on there as well. If your shots involve your whole group, it’ll help if you tell them beforehand. That way, everyone is ready and expecting it, and there are more people to help remind you of the shot in case you forget. Some possible ideas: your whole group in front of the castle, Epcot ball, Sorcerer’s Hat, and Tree of Life; the whole group with Mickey; each person with their favorite character; or your kids in front of their favorite ride. If you don’t get any other shots the whole trip, you can at least be guaranteed to get a few important ones.
Photo credit: Serena Skretvedt
In case you haven’t noticed, life is pretty complicated these days. It goes by fast, making us run after it, trying desperately to keep up. We turn to the experts for help, who tell us to simplify, de-clutter, refocus, spend quality time, look at the big picture, thin down, shape up, get outside, spend more, save more, read more, BE more. And despite all our best efforts, we end up drowning in the well meaning advice of those trying to help us.
(WDW is a place for families and so is my blog. I write with my brother and father and posed this question to my team to get you several perspectives.)
Knowing that not everyone has the luxury of going to WDW every year and have grandparents along to babysit, how old should a child be before you take them to WDW for the first time?
Amy: This is a question where the right answer varies for each family.
I really wanted to be able to share with you a touching story of my little girl’s very first haircut at Harmony Barber Shop at Magic Kingdom park after this fall’s visit. Alas, she’s still rocking the natural pixie cut. Appropriate for a little girl who’s nickname is Tink, but sad for an overly sentimental and neurotic Disney mama. So that those of you who are less follicularly challenged may partake of this very special service, I’ll provide some information now. Maybe I can update this post in a couple of years with my own photos and story.
September, in my mind, is synonymous with the end of summer and the beginning of school. Consequently, I grew up almost hating September. It was the month-that-must-not-be-named. My attitude changed somewhat after I got into college, as I started looking forward to September as the time by which I’d be back at school. My love affair with September came along soon after college when I was married. I discovered that September is a great time to go to Disney World! Low crowd levels and still summer (to my NJ mind) weather, lower resort rates, and decent park hours translates to a great value for my money.
LIVING THE NIGHTMARE
For a week and a half I have succeeded in keeping our check-in day a secret from my little Disney investigators. It was not easy, but I cleverly avoided pointed questions from them by appearing momentarily preoccupied and unable to answer. Surprisingly, Grammy did not become an obstacle either. She did not make any attempts to foil my plans by revealing our arrival date to my mouseketeers, and—as far as I know—she did not discuss the trip at all with them. This made it quite easy to pack and prepare for our vacation under the guise of “visiting Pop-Pop and B-Mom”.
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
Growing up in South Florida, trips to WDW were just a fact of life for my peers and me. Because of this, discussing details of Disney family vacations was commonplace as we transitioned into our tween years. There was a very grown-up feeling to showcasing, comparing and trying to “keep up with the Joneses” in terms of Disney trip exploits, and I often found myself engaged in this activity.
UNDERDOG, ALPHA-DOG OR SLY DOG
In our family I’ve been homeschooling my children for four years. I started with Margeaux when she was of preschool age, and she has thrived with this educational style. Way back then we began learning the colors and shapes by studying Disney animation, carried on through Disney-centered phonics and math, and then we studied the countries represented in Epcot’s World Showcase. She currently devours advanced Disney-adopted literary classics like Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins even though she is in the first grade, so it is obvious she has been served well with our choice to homeschool. However, Miller has been struggling with his studies at home lately, and it has given me cause for concern.
Recently, I found a pancake recipe that uses almond flour rather than the digestively forbidden wheat flour. It spurred me into action. Finding an organic, raw almond distributor online, I ordered these savory nuts in bulk and patiently waited for their arrival. The delivery was made a couple days ago. Since then, I have been looking for a day that affords the time I need to test the new recipe. Perhaps today is that day.
ON THE JOB TRAINING
The basic itinerary for our week has been set. The few dining reservations that we needed have been made. It is time for the task that all NDMs live for – designing a strategy for conquering the theme park.
I gather my three mouseketeers into our living room. As a NDM, one of the responsibilities I hold is to teach my children the various facets of living The Disney Driven Life. Among these, vacation planning is paramount, and this is a perfect opportunity to begin instruction in this crucial life-skill.
GRAMMY’S A “GO”
Grammy is my mother who lives in South Florida where I was raised. She and I have a long, difficult history. While I am a Neurotic Disney Mom (NDM), Grammy is just a Neurotic Mom (NM). It is the “Disney” element that makes one’s neurosis an endearing quality rather than an unbearable one. For this reason, NDMs and NMs are worlds apart and often clash.
Back in 2004, I organized a Grand Gathering at Walt Disney World for a family reunion on my father’s side. Those memories are some of the last great times of my relatively care-free life before “it” happened.
