 Omg!!!! Isn’t it just crazy that Christmas is just weeks away!!!??? I swear I have zero concept of time since I swear it was summer and I was chillen poolside yesterday! Since the holidays are in full swing, I thought I would share my daughters teacher gifts for this year!  Minni Mouse Oven Mitts with Sugar Cookie Mix stuffed inside the mitt, a fabulous mickey cookie cutter, and a cute printable we tied to the mitt!  The best part of all?! We found these at Aldi! And the best part?! They are legit Disney trademarked AND only cost us $3.99 a Set! You best believe we stocked up and every teacher, therapist, bus driver etc will be receiving a very festive Disney themed gift from Haylie this year!  Since I want Haylie to use these for various people in her life, I designed a very generic gift tag printable to tie to the mitt!  To make the Minnie Oven Mitt a tad bit more custom, just download the printable below. 4 tags per printed sheet of paper. Use 8x10 photo paper to achieve a more sturdy gift tag. Poke holes into the corner and tie the gift tag on! 
 Take a break from all you do. Enjoy this sweet treat just for you! Happy Holidays xoxo  This makes the perfect gift for Disney lovers! And it’s so easy peasy to put together AND beyond wallet friendly!!! When you have gifts to buy for various teachers, therapist, bus drivers etc, it can be tough to find that cute gift for all without breaking the bank! Thanks to this Aldi find, this years Teacher Christmas gifts are pretty fab!!!  Lets’s Chat! Have you finished your holiday shopping yet?
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 While we plan our days of wandering the parks based on which rides we scored that fast pass on, very often it’s meeting Mickey, or even a Disney Princess, that becomes the highlight of a child’s vacation. Here’s the inside scoop on which of your favorite Disney characters will sign that famous autograph at Walt Disney World.  Aladdin Alice Anastasia Ariel Aurora Chip Cinderella Daisy Dale Donald Drizella Eeyore Fairy Godmother Gaston Goofy Jasmine Jessie Mad Hatter Mary Poppins Merida Mickey Minnie Perla Peter Pan Piglet Pluto Rafiki Rapunzel Snow White Stitch Suzy Tiana Tigger Tinker Bell Wendy Winnie the Pooh Additional Notes • Belle does not sign her autograph BUT it is on the photopass card. • Beast is known for NOT signing autographs, but has on a rare occasion, so ask! • Buzz Lightyear doesn’t sign autographs, but he usually has a stamp on hand. • Characters at Dance Parties and the Frontierland Hoedown do NOT sign autographs.  Baloo Chip Dale Donald Dug Flik Goofy Mickey Minnie Pluto Pocahontas Rafiki Russell Tarzan Additional Notes • Unfortunately King Louie does NOT sign autographs, but sometimes Baloo will sign for King Louie if you're lucky. So ask!  Aladdin Alice Anna Ariel Aurora Belle Chip Daisy Dale Donald Elsa Goofy Jasmine Joy Mary Poppins Mickey Minnie Mulan Pluto Snow White Additional Notes • Characters found in Random spots (World Showplace, International Gateway, Fountain of Nations, American Pavilion, Imagination Pavilion) usually sign autographs. • Sadness does sign autographs, but at times she can be too sad to sign. So you may end up having Joy sign for her • Baymax does NOT sign autographs  Bolt Chip Daisy Dale Doc McStuffins Donald Goofy Green Army Man Handy Mandy Jake Lilo Max Goof Mickey Minnie Pluto Sofia Stitch Woody Additional Notes • Olaf DOES sign autographs BUT it's in the form of a snowman. • Stormtroopers do NOT sign autographs. • Chewbacca does NOT sign autographs • Jawas does NOT sign autographs • Kylo does NOT sign autographs • Buzz Lightyear doesn’t sign autographs, but he usually has a stamp on hand. • Characters at Characterpalooza usually sign autographs. • Characters found while dinning at Minnie’s seasonal dinner at Hollywood & Vine usually do not sign, but autograph cards are given out when entering meal. • Characters at Disney Jr Dance party do not sign.  Alice Anastasia Cinderella Donald Drizella Goofy Lady Tremaine Lilo Mad Hatter Mary Poppins Mickey Minnie Pluto Prince Charming Stitch Tigger Winnie the Pooh   What if I told you that you DO NOT have to purchase an expensive Magic Kingdom park admission to watch the spectacular fireworks show? One of the top FREE things to do while at Disney is watch the fireworks from anywhere but the chaotic theme park. Bypass the claustrophobic crowds by watching the fireworks from these fantastic spots!
  I don't know if this is just a "Florida Gal" thing or what, but Mickey Ears purchased from Etsy have been the rage for years!!!! It's one of those things that I just always assumed all people knew about. Now that I'm living in NY & have friends in my office once in awhile, one thing that draws people's eyes are my Mickey ears I proudly display. What kind of Disney nut would I be to not have my ears where all can see? I have a few NY friends that make annual trips to see the mouse and these are the girls who ask me where they can find such ears since they have never walked into a shop where they could purchase a pair. Convinced I must know an insider secret shop! The answer is obviously Etsy! When you live in an area where the majority of your inner circle rock Disney Annual Passes, owning "the best" Ears becomes an actual thing! Celebrating a birthday? Custom ears!!! Hosting part of your bachelorette party at downtown Disney like I did?! Obviously you need fabulous ears for that as well. In an area like Orlando where everything is sort of basic to appeal to the masses that visit daily, one has to attempt to be different and thanks to Etsy, that can happen. Since not many Non-Floridians seem to know about the Etsy Mickey Ear craze, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites!!!!  My All Time Favorite!!!!!  Perfect For Magic Kingdom Or Character Dining At Crystal Palace  Perfect For Food & Wine Fest Or Drinking Around The World!  Perfect For Mickeys Not So Scary Or Magic Kingdom  Perfect For Your First Disney Trip! Or If You're A Classic Kinda Gal!  With A New Star Wars Movie Out, These Are A Must!  Planning To Visit Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party?! Or A Disney Visit During The Holiday Season?  Sometimes Things Are Better In Pink!  Staying At The All-Star?!  Disney Cruise?!? ~ (#DisneySMMC ;-) ) Staying At The Yacht Club? Let's Chat! Which Mickey Ears Are Your Favorite? 
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MagicalFamilyFirsts #CollectiveBias
Our family experiences a lot of family firsts. Hubby's first big boy job, first time I was published outside of my own site & went super viral, Haylie's first day of real school. One family first that we will never forget is our vacation to Walt Disney World® Resort!
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 Who is excited for Finding Dory?!?! So jealous of all my bloggy friends that were graced with the opportunity to attend premiers all over the country this week! Unfortunately for this Disney nut, I live hours away from anything remotely cool, including premiers. Jamestown, NY will never get a movie premiere, EVER, unless it's maybe an Amish documentary. So long story short, I will be waiting like the rest of y'all for the film to be released this weekend! Since Finding Dory is all that's on my daughters mind (ok maybe mine) this week, we (I) thought we would make fish bowl jello cups! Who doesn't love fruit snacks and jello? Yum!  SUPPLIES Plastic Clear Cups For Fish Bowls Finding Dory Fruit Snacks Light Blue Jello ( unfortunately the Finding Dory Jello is too dark :-/)  Make your jello as you normally would & stick the cups in the refrigerator to get half way jello-like.  Once your jello is half way jello-y, place your fruit snacks in the jello. This is the hack to making your fruit snacks not sink to the bottom. Then place your cups back in the refrigerator to jello the rest of the way.  Ta-Da! You now have Finding Dory fish bowl jello cups!   Disclosure: This post about sharing your Chiquita smile is being compensated by Chiquita as part of my membership with Mom It Forward Blogger Network. It' pretty obvious that Disney holds a dear place in my heart! For god sake Disney has it's very own section on my site. Safe to say the obsession is real folks! It.Is.Real. Spending more years than I can remember living in Central Florida & returing for a visit every chance I get these days, taking advantage of my annual pass & wandering the parks was my number one hobby! I dedicated, (yes dedicated ) so much time to my Disney obsession that it was an ongoing joke between my family & I that I mind as well just move into Cinderella's Castle. I would always reply back with "I'm just waiting on the invite from Disney to move in! I'm ready when they are!"  People ask me all the time which Disney Park is my all time favorite. Since I feel it's almost impossible to narrow a fav down to one, I would have to go with a tie between Magic Kingdom & Epcot. A day at Magic Kingdom is like living my favorite childhood movies in real life, plus there is nothing more magical than Cinderella's castle. Then the foodie/wino inside of me has a total love affair with Epcots deliciousness! Nothing better than drinking (& sometimes eating) "around the word" with friends.  Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World® Resort Fun Facts! ● Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is not like regular roller coasters, each mine car in this coaster is mounted in a cradle-like pivot, which allows it to swing side to side independently of the others. Find out more at Disney Fun Facts. ● It’s a Small World® attraction appears in all of the Disney theme parks worldwide, including Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Read more about it at Disney Fun Facts. ● Dumbo the Flying Elephant® attraction has been a Magic Kingdom® Park favorite since the park first opened in 1971 in California. Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida has now doubled the fun! Find out how at Disney Fun Facts Epcot®: at Walt Disney World® Resort Fun Facts! ● There are 5.7 million gallons of water in the Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium in Epcot®! Disney Fun Facts ● Did you know that Epcot® was the second theme park to be built in the Walt Disney World® Resort? Find out more at Disney Fun Facts • Did you know there are over 1,000 Hidden Mickeys at Walt Disney World® Resort? Do you want to know where one of them is => Disney Fun Facts  Do you want to know another fun fact? You, yes YOU have a chance to win a Disney World® Resort Vacation! That’s right one of my readers has a chance to win a trip to the happiest place on earth! All you have to do is share your Chiquita smile and you could win a Walt Disney World® vacation from Chiquita! How is that for fun facts?  Entering the contest is easy peasy. There are 4 easy steps and one of them is sharing your Chiquita Smile #JustSmileContest on your social media channels and bam! You’re entered! Told you it was easy! For more info ~ http://shareyourchiquitasmile.com/  I decided that my Sofia obsessed daughter would have the best chance of our family winning this contest since she is the cutest out of the three of us. So here is Haylie being her goofy self & using her Chiquita Banana as a phone & smiling away! Why she chose to pose this way? Nobody knows!!! Ahhhh to be four & have this much imagination again.  Omg before I let y'all go, I might just have ONE MORE FACT!! One of my fabulous readers also has a chance to win a Chiquita Prize Pack (valued at $50). Selected winner will receive:
Giveaway is open to U.S. residents in the Continental States and Canada (except Quebec). No Purchase is necessary. Must be 18+ to enter 50 US/DC/CAN (excl Quebec) Contest Ends on 6/19. SEE RULES: http://bit.ly/22zJSCG You can enter the Chiquita Prize Pack Giveaway below by entering the Giveaway Tools Form. Good Luck!   My daughter wasn't always a Disney fan. I was literally convinced for the longest time that the universe was playing some sort of evil joke on me. Me, a total Disney freak would have the only little girl not into the Disney Princesses. I remember when the movie Frozen came out & hearing all the other moms complain about listening to "Let it Go" for the millionth time and being totally jealous! My daughter walked away from the tv 5 minutes into the movie. Why wasn't my daughter Disney obsessed?!?! Why doesn't she even like Mickey?!?! All kids at least love Mickey, but mine cried when she met him in real life! Totally heartbreaking.  Thankfully, that all changed when Haylie turned 3. She went from being a total Disney hater to being completely Disney obessed! I can now say that Mickey & Sofia grace my tv daily. Looking back I just think the plots were too much for my daughter. Yes, other one and two year olds we're loving every moment of Disney everything, but my daughter just didn't get it. She wasn't ready for stories with real plots & that's totally ok! Kids learn at different rates & Haylie being my one and only I had to figure that one out.  Now that I do have a Disney obsessed kiddo, I can totally embrace the whole Disney mom fabulosness!!! My favorite Princesses might be classics like Cinderella & Aurora, however Haylie is Sofia obsessed. Sofia is Disney and a PRINCESS so I will take it!  Makes me think we all fall in love with princesses that "look like us". Of course I love the blondes, where Haylie loves Sofia who is brunette & blue eyed just like her. Coincidence? I think not since looking back to my childhood, my sister was Belle obsessed and she is a brunette with brown eyes just like Belle ;-)  I'm not sure how your kiddos schools work, but unfortunately where my daughter attends ughhhh!!!!! So many rules about bringing treats to school. No homemade, no nuts & who knows what other obscured dietary restrictions there are!! Knowing that I would probably mess that up, we decided to go the non-food item route for Haylie's class birthday treat. I can't make any dietary mistakes with a non food item. Totally blonde moment proof!  With Sofia being Haylie's current obsession we decided that a Sofia the First theme was a must for her 4th birthday! So we had a photo shoot with my handy dandy camera while Haylie rocked her Sofia dress. We then hit up the Dollar Tree and bought some sandcastle buckets! All kids, boy or girl love sandcastles. Swear the hardest part was crafting up an idea everyone would enjoy and not just the Lil'Princesses of the class.  We printed out Haylie's photos using photo paper, punched a hole in the corner & tied them onto the sandcastle buckets using purple ribbon to add a personal touch.  I think they came out wayyyy more fabulous than I ever imagined!!! A totally perfect class treat & they would make even better party favors for any princess themed party!   Happy T.G.I.F y'all! I swear this week was a rough one! Nothing majorly bad happened, but I feel if a delay, hiccup or little bump in the road could of happened doing what ever it was I was doing, it totally did! Can't wait to just chillax with the fam this weekend! I so need it (& a few bottles of wine) after this weeks ridiculousness.  When I got home from the airport after last weekends getaway this beyond fabulous package just happened to be waiting at my front door! 3 Disney Princess A Magical Pop Up World books! Since I only have one Lil'Priness of my own that means two of you have the chance to win one of these Matthew Reinhart books for your own princess!  This just happened to be this weeks highlight! How sad that books, that aren't even for me were my highlight? Ahhhh... Blogging in December might just be the death of me!  These pop up books really are that spectacular though! When I first saw the $65 price tag I thought to myself ridiculous! I can buy pop ups at TJ Maxx for like $4. Boy was I wrong though. These books are seriously the type of books you keep nice and collect. The paper art is just incredible. I will definitely be keeping this book on a very high shelf so my princess has to ask to read it. Hence she is supervised with it in her possession since she's 3 and likes to rip paper and all we will be having none of that with this book since mommy loves it and all lol.  About the Author Matthew Christian Reinhart studied industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before finding his calling as a paper engineer. His books include the best-selling Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes, and DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book, among many other award-winning titles. He lives in New York City.  Starring the timeless characters that have made the Disney Princess films a treasured part of pop culture and animation history, this visually stunning volume is packed with intricately designed pop-ups, transformative scenes, and many other surprises. With state-of-the-art paper engineering and beautifully rendered illustrations, Disney Princess: A Magical Pop-Up World brings these castles and characters brilliantly to life, capturing the magical worlds that have enthralled audiences for decades.  This collectible piece of Disney Princess magic spans eleven films and princesses, including fan-favorites such as Belle, Snow White, Ariel, and Rapunzel. Through twenty-seven pop-ups and transformative scenes, the key moments from these beloved films leap from the page, and the accompanying text makes this book a wonderful interactive reading experience that families will treasure.  Join Cinderella as she transforms for the ball, Jasmine as she embarks on a magic carpet ride, Aurora as she pricks her finger on Maleficent’s spinning wheel and is saved by her prince, and Merida as she bravely fights to decide her own destiny. If the illustrations above weren't enough to convince you that your princess needs her own copy of Disney Princess A Magical Pop Up World, take a peak at this video! I was planning on making my own video before realizing the publisher already made one because video really does give this book more justice than my photos lol.  and now that I managed to ramble on more than I ever thought possible about a children's book, it's the part you have been waiting for!!! It's giveaway time!
JUST ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW! Since the publisher sent me the two giveaway copies, I will be making this a quickie giveaway so I can have these books shipped BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!! That's right, this giveaway will end Friday December 18th so I can have them shipped out hopefully that day, if the winner responds with a mailing address fast! You will have 24hrs to respond to my email if you win so please keep an eye out for it! Once the 24 hrs is up, I will have rafflecopter choose another winner if I don't get an address. I usually don't have such rules, but I just want these delivered before Christmas! They will make incredible gifts! Don't feel like waiting to find out if your won?!?! You can totally go right ahead and order a copy today by clicking any photo above or the link below ;-) Good Luck & hope you're princess is the lucky winner! Disney Princess A Magical Pop Up World  A few years back I was fortunate enough to explore all that Japan had to offer & while on this adventure, Tokyo Disneyland was on the top of my to-do list! What kind of Disney nut would I be if it wasn't?!?! With my permanent residence being Orlando at the time, the folks I was trekking threw Japan with thought I was nuts. Disney was in my backyard, so why even bother with Disney in Tokyo? Japan was suppose to be my break from all things Mickey. Unfortunately for them, not only did I make it to the park, I also had the best time ever & came back to the states with new Disney knowledge to share! Planning a trip to Tokyo? Are you like me & have a life goal of visiting all the Disney parks?!? Or just curious about all things Disney? Regardless of what brought you to this post, here are 5 totally neat facts about Tokyo Disneyland.  1. There is a Club 33, like the one at Disneyland California. I repeat there IS a Club 33!!! Never heard of 33? Think secret society, Disney style. This secret dinning club is where the rich & famous, park investors, even politicians can go and rub elbows. You can call Disney yourself and ask for the nitty gritty & you will be told that they are prohibited from speaking of all things 33. Ask around the parks long enough however and you might just stumble upon a chatty cast member willing to spill the beans & in English. (I wonder who did this snooping ;-) ) Anyway, I can confirm that Club 33 is located in the World Bazaar at Tokyo Disneyland based on cast member info & enough google searches confirming this valuable info. Unfortunately however, I wasn't hip enough to gain an invite to see the inside of this exclusive club since I'm neither rich or famous. Maybe next time I will search the park for someone sipping an adult beverage & see where they head when there brewskie runs out since 33 is the only place that serves alcohol at Tokyo Disneyland. Demand they take me inside if they want me to keep their secret!  2. Duffy. Have you heard of Duffy? Yeah Duffy, not Duff as in the beer from The Simpsons. Honestly I had no clue who Duffy was until I was strolling the parks of Tokyo. While on the hunt for a Mickey photo opt I was pretty much told by cast members that Duffy is the number one character in Tokyo & not to waste my time with Mickey. So random, right? Regardless of what us Americans think, the rest of the world adores him and his girlfriend, Shellie May, the blue eyed teddy bear with eyelashes & they wait in ridiculously long lines to meet them! After returning stateside I found out Duffy had a meet & greet at the World Showcase at Epcot! Unfortunately for this teddy bear couple, there life in the states was short lived since I wasn't the only one saying Duffy who? People walked right by them enough for Disney to say peace out!  3.. A Japanesse Cinderella?!?! When Tokyo Disney first opened there doors in 1983, the princesses & all other face cast members were Japanese rather than the ethnicity they might of had in the actual films. Could you imagine a photo opt with a Japanesse Cinderella or Tiana? I guess this could easily be explained to a little one the same way why all mall Santa's look different, but this is DISNEY with an outrageous admission cost. You would expect a tad bit more for your buck which is why I'm assuming they eventually did resolve this issue. Way to "ruin the magic" back in the day Disney, even if you truly don't "own" Tokyo Disneyland!  4. Tokyo Disney NOT owned by Disney! Say What?!? Which brings me to my next kinda neat fact. Tokyo Disney is NOT owned by The Walt Disney Company. It's actually owned by The Oriental Land Company - a Japanese leisure and tourism corporation. The Oriental Land Company pays a very large sum of money each month to The Walt Disney Company for character and likeness licenses & Disney in turn has leased their Imagineers to the company to build the park I guess if you can't be Walt Disney, just buy yourself a Disney Park instead!  5. Interested in riding something that's NOT at any of the other Disney Parks?!?
Located in Disney Sea's Arabian Coast, you will find Sinbad's Storybook Voyage! This relaxing boat voyage can be compared to the Fantasyland classic, It's a Small World, mixed with the darkness of Pirates of the Caribbean & tells the tale of Sinbad & his pet tiger Chandu. Unfortunately this ride is exactly that, relaxing & nothing but a breather from waking the park grounds if you don't speak a word of Japanese! It does however feature music by Disney composer Alan Menken, who scored Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid. So you will have something other than the It's a Small World theme stuck in your head at the end of the ride! Those lyrics will just be in Japanese & you won't know the meaning to them! |
My name is CourtneyLynne. I'm a mommy, wifey & a complete Disney nut! Lived in Celebration, the town Disney built for more years than I can remember & spent every free moment frolicking threw the parks thinking of ways I could take over Cinderella's castle ;-)
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