Disney Characters

Time for some Hocus Pocus!

Published on August 23, 2018 by keriadventure1Leave a comment

Without a doubt, fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I especially love seeing the fall decorations come out at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The fall wreaths of Mickey Mouse and various pumpkins on the roofs of Main Street make me want to have hot apple cider and plan my Halloween costumes.

The best way to enter Main Street USA

Spooky decor (and some surprises)

But my favorite part of Halloween at Walt Disney World is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. This hard ticket event is the perfect way to get your spooky on with a special parade, fireworks show, and stage show starring my favorite witches, the Sanderson Witches from the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus.

Casting a spell (Photo by Oh My Disney)

They’ll put a spell on you! (Photo by Oh My Disney)

The witches sing, cast spells, and have some special Disney villains join them on stage! I can’t wait to see the Sanderson Sisters again this year.

The parade and fireworks during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party are also a great way to celebrate the season. Not only will you get the theme song “Boo to You” stuck in your head (in the best way possible), but you’ll also get to see some of your favorite Disney characters dressed up in their Halloween best. My personal favorite is seeing the Headless Horseman ride down Main Street at the beginning of the parade, representing one of my favorite Disney shorts, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion, scraping the pavement with their shovels is always a treat as well!

Gravediggers! (photo by WDW Shutterbug)

The Headless Horseman (photo by WDW Shutterbug)

But the part my kids like the best about attending Mickey’s Not so Scary? The candy! There are various treat stations set up all around Magic Kingdom where your candy bucket will be filled with lots of sweets. Check the park map as you walk into the park to see where these candy stations are located.

Will you be going to Magic Kingdom to see the decorations? Do you want to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Let us know in the comments below!

Surviving Disney with Small Children

Published on February 9, 2017 by littleorangenerdLeave a comment

Traveling to Disney World with little ones can be the most magical (and exhausting) trip you will ever take! The first time we took our little princess, she was 2.5. At that point, I had only traveled to Disney as a child and as an adult with no children, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into! After asking friends and scouring the internet, I found lots of good tips and tricks. We have now taken Princess L to Disney at 2.5, 3.5, and just two weeks ago for her 5^th birthday. Every trip has been different because of her age and interests, but I have used a lot of the same tricks to keep myself sane throughout our trips! So here are my top tricks and tips for traveling with little ones to Walt Disney World!

Schedule around your child’s “magic” time. This is the time of day your child is most agreeable/best behaved. When Princess L was 2.5, her “magic time” was morning. Anywhere between 7am-Noonish, she was almost always in a great mood and the most cooperative. As soon as lunch time would hit, she would turn into a hangry beast and NOTHING was going to happen until she ate something and took a nap! With that in mind, I scheduled the majority of our character meet & greets and fast passes during those hours and planned to head back to our resort at lunch time to get her fed and down for a nap. Once she was well rested, we would take her back to the park and figured anything we got done between then and bedtime was a bonus! It worked out great and we had very minimal meltdowns. We still do this, but our resort time is getting shorter and shorter. She hasn’t taken a regular nap in a couple years, but Disney tired is a special kind of tired! Also, going back to the resort for a break gives your kids a break from all the excitement, which can get overwhelming and lead to more meltdowns!

Ziploc bags & Take n toss sippy cups are your friend! Seriously! We used Ziploc bags for everything like leftover food because Princess L is a grazer (and takes forever to eat), dirty clothes, snacks, etc. We took a gallon Ziploc bag to the park every day with a full change of clothes (shirt, shorts, underwear, socks) just in case. You never know when spills or accidents will happen and this will keep you from having to spend Disney prices on a new outfit! Bonus, the mess can be contained in the Ziploc until you get back to your resort. In 3 trips, we have had to use our change of clothes twice. Once for a potty accident and once because of a spill! Plus it’s easy to just grab the bag and toss under the stroller. We also bring a few take n toss sippy cups. My kid loves chocolate milk, but they are always in a bottle that she can’t really drink out of. Animal Kingdom does not have lids and only paper straws because of the animals, so a sippy cup comes in handy there! They are great on the plane as well. If you don’t want to wash them out, you can throw them out when you’re done. They’re fairly cheap and come in all sorts of Disney prints!

I guarantee you will LOVE and HATE your stroller at Disney! Having a good stroller is key! A cheap umbrella stroller is okay, but you will appreciate something that rolls a lot nicer (and has storage) when you’re pushing around a child (and their gear) all day. We have a City Mini stroller, which we love. If you don’t have a nice stroller, there is really no need to go out and buy one just for vacation. There are several companies that rent strollers out in the Orlando area and they will deliver to your resort. The majority of rented strollers are Baby Jogger City Mini or City Mini doubles. You will see them all over the parks and for good reason! They push easily, fold one-handed, and have a decent storage. There are other options for rented strollers as well, but the Baby Jogger brand in particular is my fave. Bonus, they’re fairly easy to fit on a crowded bus, because they fold almost totally flat.

Yes, there are TONS of things to do at Disney, but I’m talking about waiting in line and waiting for food. Those are the times Princess L struggles with. Not only at Disney, but in our regular life I always have a play pack in my purse. You can find them at Dollar Tree, Target, Walmart, etc. They’re a little Ziploc pack that includes a small coloring book, crayons, and stickers and they’re usually around $1. There are loads of Disney ones as well! I also keep a couple games on my phone that I know she likes but that I don’t let her play often. When the coloring book isn’t going to work and she’s burnt out looking for hidden Mickeys, I whip out my phone with her fave app open. I also bring a few power banks to charge my phone. (There are also fuel rod kiosks at the parks!) Between taking a million pics, looking up fast passes, and letting the kiddo play with my phone, my battery doesn’t last long!

Expect nothing, appreciate everything! Taking a little one to Disney can feel (at times) like walking around with a ticking time bomb! Toddlers can be so unpredictable and you never know what they will like/dislike! Don’t be afraid to switch up plans because your kid just isn’t having it! Maybe s/he is afraid of characters. Don’t force it because that isn’t fun for anyone! There are photopass photographers everywhere, with and without characters. We have our share of pics where Princess L did not cooperate (see the Animal Kingdom picture!) It’s ok! Maybe they just want to ride Carousel of Progress six times in a row. (L’s was Haunted Mansion over and over again!) Maybe they want to watch the ducks swim around the ponds at Epcot for 30 minutes. Flexibility is key and sometimes you just have to roll with it! If you don’t force a hectic schedule, it will make for a happier trip for everyone. And no, you won’t get to see and do everything, but that is ok! I guarantee that your kid won’t remember that they hated Elsa or didn’t get to ride a certain ride. They will remember the little moments like riding on the “Mickey Bus”, eating a dole whip for breakfast, and Mickey waving to them from the parade float!

Not all these tips will work for every family, but hopefully one of two will help your family have a more magical vacation!

How to Plan a Surprise Disney Vacation

Published on July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 by akolafa2 Comments

Ahh! The surprise Disney World Vacation! Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds.

I have planned two surprise trips for my children. The question I always get asked is. HOW did you do it? Disney requires a lot of planning and it can be a bit tricky, but it is totally worth the extra effort. I mean who does not enjoy seeing a child’s little face when a surprise is revealed? So with that being said, I have a few tips to help you with your surprise Disney World trip.

Be sure to let anyone you tell know that this is a surprise vacation. People love to talk about Disney and the cat can be let out of the bag well before you want it to be. So you may want to limit or selectively chose whom you tell about the trip.

Now as you progress with your reservation there are going to be things you will need or want to discuss with certain members of the traveling group. Like dinner reservations those are going to need to be booked 180 days from the first day you arrive and FastPass+ reservations these should be booked at 60 days before the first day you leave for the trip. Provided you’re staying on Disney property and yes you will want to stay on property.

When possible try to discuss trip details when the children/person is not around. I know this is not always possible so that’s why I included the next tip.
If you should need to discuss the trip while the children/ person is/are around. I highly recommend using a code word for “Disney and Disney World”

When we were planning our trips we used the code word “ceiling fan.” The reason for this is because if my kids hear the word Disney or Disney World they would have started listening to every single world we said. So get together and pick a code word. Remember to stay away from using anything that they will be interested in. Examples kitty, puppy, and any toys things that they may want it could lead to a meltdown especially if you’re dealing with small children. Also, they may end up upset they did not get that item instead of being happy they are going to Disney World.

Avoid using the names of characters when discussing the trip while in the presence of the children/ person these names will draw attention to your conversations and it could send up a hint.
Be careful when you’re working on your computer like on My Disney Experience and booking your air travel. Kids love to try to sneak peaks at what you’re doing and some of them can spot the Disney header from a mile away.

So these are just a few pointers for getting thru the planning process of a surprise Disney World trip. Stay tuned for my next post about how I revealed the trips. As always you can contact me at amanda@adventureisouttheretravel.com like me on Facebook” Travel Agent Amanda.” You can also contact any of our other agents at www.adventureisouttheretravel.com . We would all love to help you plan the perfect vacation for your family.

Don’t Forget the Princes

Published on April 22, 2016April 26, 2016 by RebeccaLeave a comment

So, I think you might agree, the Princesses get all the attention. And they are worthy! These ladies probably spend a lot of time getting their hair coiffed, their makeup perfected, and have to tote those gowns all day (except maybe Jasmine and Ariel) – not to mention the hours of practice on their waves, smiles, and witty remarks. They are great. But we don’t see enough, or hear enough, about the men behind the women!

Let’s see who we have. Snow White’s prince, whose full name is either just The Prince, or some speculate it is Ferdinand (but isn’t that a bull?). Cinderella is coupled with Prince Charming, Ariel with Eric, Jasmine and good old Al, Aurora and Prince Philip, and Rapunzel with Flynn Rider. There are others like Belle and Beast, Tiana and Prince Naveen, and Pocahontas and John Smith. We once saw the addition of Giselle and Edward (of Enchanted) for a brief time.

This summer, I’m going to go set my sights on meeting the princes. Top on my list is Prince Charming, then next, Flynn Rider. Where can I have these magical encounters? I did some research!

Prince Philip is tough. He rarely comes out for a meet, but has been seen during True Love week in the past in Magic Kingdom. Prince Eric, I’ve found is also rarely available for meets in the U.S. parks. Snow White’s prince too can be seen mainly during special events.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Beast! He will accept guests at Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom during dinner time. Prince Charming hosts the Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian (I see a dining reservation in my future). Prince Naveen occasionally accompanies Tiana in her meeting spot in Magic Kingdom. I’ve seen Aladdin over in Epcot upon occasion!

The Festival of Fantasy Parade at 3pm in Magic Kingdom has many characters and among them is Flynn Rider! Even if he doesn’t host a meet n’ greet, I’ll settle for this beautiful float. You’ll also catch a glimpse of some other Princes during this and other parades in the parks!

Hopefully in the future, we’ll see an interest in the princes, and they’ll get their turn in the spotlight. In the meantime, I’ll have some fun playing in the parks! You never know what is around each corner or what surprises are in store. Isn’t that part of the excitement?

by: Rebecca