The Crystal Palace is a Winnie the Pooh and friends character buffet located just past Main Street U.S.A in the Magic Kingdom. The restaurant is inspired by Victorian greenhouses of the late 1800s and brims with light, topiaries and tropical palms. I was very surprised by how beautiful it was! Despite being very busy, we were seated right away. Our server was very friendly and helpful. In my opinion, he was one of our best servers from our trip.
You’re typing away on your computer when suddenly you hear Wishes start playing from your computer. Immediately you’re on Main Street staring at the castle instead of the pile of work on your desk or that ever growing pile of laundry. We all need a Disney break and we want to know your favorite Disney station you listen to. Nominate the station by leaving a comment below (links to the stations are ok as well). One nomination per comment please. Nominations will be taken for one week and voting will take place after all the #DDLFaves nominations have closed.
Sometimes that Disney trip just won’t come soon enough. Even worse yet, there’s not a trip on the calendar any time soon! When you just have to have that Disney fix, cuddle up with your computer, tablet or smartphone and browse through Pinterest. You’ll be able to find lots of amazing Disney ideas for parties, crafts, upcoming trips or great information on planning your next trip. We want to know who has your favorite Disney Pinterest Board so leave us your nominations in the comments below (links to the boards are ok!); one nomination per comment please. Nominations will be taken for one week and voting will take place after all of the #DDLFaves nominations have closed.
Finding the perfect Disney item can sometimes be a challenge. Thanks to sites like eBay and Amazon you can find Disney stuff just about any time but when you’re looking for something custom or unique, Etsy is likely your go to site. Share your favorite Disney Esty store with in. Nominations will be taken for one week by leaving the name of the Esty shop or seller in the comments (you’re welcome to include a link as well). Please only nominate one seller per comment. Voting will take place after all of the #DDLFaves nominations have closed.
Keeping the magical feeling of Disney alive outside of the parks is something we all want to do – that’s why you’re here right? One way for you to do that is chat with others on a Disney forum. Another great use for the forums is to share trip reports or ask questions about an upcoming trip. The knowledge and experience from someone else who’s already been can be invaluable. So leave us a comment and tell us your most favorite Disney forum to be a part of. Nominations will be taken for one week. Please only nominate one forum per comment. Voting will take place after all of the #DDLFaves nominations have closed.
Are you as neurotic of a Disney World trip planner as you are a fan of Disney? Did you laminate a mini itinerary for everyone in your group as I did? Yes, it contained all our dining reservations for each day along with parade and show times, FastPass rides, and the back listed the best locations to use Disney Dining Plan snack options each day. Matching t-shirts are only an option and not required.
Photo Credit: Disney Wedding Blog
On November 11th 2011 (11/11/11), Disney’s Fairytale Weddings Department had eleven couples married. When I heard this all I could think was… holy moly that’s alot of wedding for one day! I started thinking about all the different things my wedding planner did for me and how much attention to detail went into each and every party of our wedding. It seems unbelieveable that in one day the staff, lead by the Disney wedding planner, was able to pull of eleven weddings without a hitch!
Photo Credit: Meija Eller
There is something unfathomable about the fulfillment of a dream.
I have spent so many years dreaming of wearing a real wedding gown; of standing on the beach of Disney’s Polynesian Resort sharing vows, that when the time was close at hand, I almost couldn’t comprehend it. Why do dreams seem as unattainable as the stars?
Photo Courtesy : Root Photography
Amanda is another amazing friend that I met during my Disney wedding planning process. Her wedding was nothing short of fabulous. The ceremony was touching and intimate, the reception location was unique and all of her guests were treated to an unforgettable Disney experience. Amanda loved planning her Disney wedding. Her love for planning led her to becoming a travel expert for Mousketrips.com where she specializes in booking Disney vacation packages for wedding parties and guests of Disney weddings. Here are Amanda’s confessions of a Disney bride.
Photo Credit: Beth L.
I admit it, I am the parent who never introduced her children to scissors early. I know, I know – bad teacher, but it never seemed like the right time. Then, my oldest son NHL was receiving Occupational Therapy and his therapist asked about his lack of cutting skills. He was barely three, but I had to put my fears aside and work on this with him.
Contributed by: JB Conway (NDD#27) JB is the DDL Poet. He is also the author of Mouse of Zen: Disney Inspired, Mouse-Sized Poetry. To have your Disney Parks vacation images treated with similar pixie dust, please visit our studios located at Knell StudiWorks!
Contributed by: JB Conway (NDD#27) JB is the DDL Poet. He is also the author of Mouse of Zen: Disney Inspired, Mouse-Sized Poetry. To have your Disney Parks vacation images treated with similar pixie dust, please visit our studios located at Knell StudioWorks !
Runtime is sponsored by IBM and is located in Innoventions West in Epcot. To play the game starring me, go to: http://www.thinkingofyoupostcards.com/runtime/play?Guestcode=KQ2QCRC7AHMFFQ
Contributed by: Shane Grizzard (NDI#121) Shane is the DDL Hidden Treasures Blogger. He is also a contributor at Studios Central.
Photo Credit: Dennis Brown, NDU 5
One of the most precious memories of my childhood was my first trip to Walt Disney World in the summer of 1990. As the son of Los Angeles natives, I grew up going to Disneyland, but, to me, that was nothing compared to being able to visit three parks and surround myself in the world of the Mouse for a whole week. I had to be the luckiest kid on earth and could not wait to go back.
Contributed by: JB Conway (NDD#27) JB is the DDL Poet. He is also the author of Mouse of Zen: Disney Inspired, Mouse-Sized Poetry. Artwork created by Knell StudioWorks. To create similar magic to your personal Disney vacation pictures set to a customized haiku, email John at john.knell@gmail.com for a quote
For most parents, the day a child is born is one of the happiest days of their lives. For me, it was one of the worst. Following an unexpectedly complicated delivery, my oldest son, Reagan, came into this world with no heartbeat and very little blood left in his body. After 9 ½ long minutes, I heard one of the NICU doctors say “We’ve got a heartbeat.” That is a long time for the brain to go without oxygen, and by that time, the damage was done.
The next few days were very touch and go. We were told that there was little chance of survival and if he did survive, Reagan would most likely live in a vegetative state. We had to make some really tough decisions. I had to come to terms with the realization that Reagan was God’s child and that if I had to let him go, I had to let him go.
I am not a DVC (Disney Vacation Club) owner. I have always wanted to stay in a DVC property but have found the Disney prices for the DVC resorts to be unattainable. I had frequently priced out staying at various DVC properties but could not justify the costs.
In recent months, I had read that some people rent points in order to afford staying in these rooms. I am always looking for ways to save money, yet have the Disney vacation of my dreams. As a result, I found a board that had members of DVC that were renting out their points. I had never frequented the boards prior to this, so do not feel that you must be a “board regular” to rent using the boards. I emailed the owner of the requested number of points needed after doing some research on the accommodations I wanted to request: I found online “calculators” that helped me determine the number of points I would need for the days of travel for the defined accommodations.
Did you know that there are 25 different Walt Disney Resorts?!? With so many resorts to choose from, where do you even begin?! For myself, I tend to start off by thinking of how much time we will spend in the room. If we will be spending a bit of time in the room relaxing, I typically decide to spend that time in a more spacious moderate or deluxe resort. However, if I know we will be spending all of our waking hours in the parks, I tend to decide on a value resort.