© Disney Milestone anniversaries are something to celebrate! 25 years is illuminated with silver. 50 years is painted in gold. However, 60 years is represented by one of the most precious minerals on the planet…DIAMOND! The Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim, CA kicked off their Diamond Celebration on May 22, 2015 and this is one anniversary party that you don’t want to miss. […]
Holidays in Walt Disney World® Resort are something to behold! Each park and resort glows in the twinkle of millions of lights and eye-catching ornaments, but it’s the extra special displays that are worth seeking out. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has one of the holiday gems that you should definitely check out on your next visit, especially if you’re a fan of gingerbread! This resort brings the Victorian-era to life, starting with its beautiful architecture and live music. The lobby’s beautiful stained glass dome ceiling is accentuated by a larger than life Christmas tree that is decorated with vintage-style ornaments. After you admire the tree, you should make your way through the lobby to check out a feat of pastry excellence! For the 15th year in a row, the pastry staff of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has constructed an enormous Victorian-style gingerbread house! There are so many things to marvel about with this traditional holiday treat. Whether it’s the sugary flowers or chocolate roof shingles, there are so many details to enjoy. When visiting the gingerbread house, make sure you bring your appetite or a shopping bag! One of the neatest features of this [...]
FastPasses have been a very popular perk of Walt Disney World® Resort visitors for years now! With the new FastPass+ program, the next generation of alleviating long waiting lines is in full testing mode across all parks. Guests using the FastPass+ program have the option to choose up to 3 FastPasses for attractions per day, but Disney has begun placing new parameters for the attractions located in Epcot® and Disney’s Hollywood Studios™. For guests using the FastPass+ program, who are planning to visit both Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and Epcot®, you will find that attractions are now divided into 2 types of groups. Guests will be allowed to choose 1 attraction from Group 1 and 2 attractions from Group 2. For Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, the attraction groupings are: Group 1: Toy Story Mania!™, Beauty and the Beast, Rock 'n Roller Coaster®, Fantasmic! Group 2: Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Disney Jr. Live on Stage™, The Great Movie Ride, Lights, Motors, Action!® Extreme Stunt Show®, Star Tours®, MuppetVision 3D While guests might find it a bit frustrating that they are unable to hold FastPass+ reservations for the Tower of Terror, The Great Movie Ride and Star Tours on the same day, [...]
The Disney Parks have a stellar reputation for catering to guests with special needs. A program that they provided for years was called the Guest Assistance Card or GAC. This program was designed to provide easier access to attraction queues for guests with disabilities. Unfortunately, due to heavily published abuse of the system, Disney has decided to revamp the program. The new program is called the Disability Access Service Card or DAS Card. With this new program, Disney still aims to provide an easier attraction wait time experience for guests with disabilities, both apparent and non-apparent. They are implementing a few changes that they hope will result in providing this service for guests who truly need it. If you have used the GAC program in the past or think that this new DAS Card program will help a disabled member of your traveling party, please visit the Guest Relations main entrance location at any Disney World or Disneyland park. There, the special needs guest will go through a registration process and be issued a photo id card that is valid for up to 14 days. Once a guest has a DAS card, they have the ability to choose a specific [...]
The digital age has some wonderful advantages, but something that appears to be coming more and more of a lost art is letter writing. I remember rushing to the mailbox often as a child, hoping that this would be the day that there would be something in that box addressed to me. If your child has a similar habit and a favorite Disney character, then I have a project for you that will make your child's day! Have your child sit down and write a simple letter to their favorite Disney character. Make sure the closing includes your child's name and address information. You can send your child's letter to either park for this program. Here is the address information for both. Walt Disney World CommunicationsP.O. Box 10040Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040 Walt Disney CompanyAttn: Fan Mail Department500 South Buena Vista StreetBurbank, CA 91521 Not only is this a fun thing to do with your child, but this is a great learning opportunity to teach them about how to properly structure a letter and address an envelope! Your child will likely receive a postcard from their favorite character within 3 weeks! And who wouldn't love a Disney pen pal? Angie has [...]
Disney’s Epcot® has a history of hosting many wonderful events, but one in particular that you should try to take advantage of attending is the annual Candlelight Processional. The Candlelight Processional is a feast of sights and sounds as it begins with the music of a full orchestra and choir who set the tone as a celebrity guest narrator joins the stage. Narrators this year include Amy Grant, Ashley Judd & Edward James Olmos! The narrator then reads the text that outlines the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem. The reading is supported by festive and inspiring holiday music provided by the choir and orchestra. An interpreter is provided for hearing impaired guests, which is wonderful because they want as many guests as possible to be a part of this event! This has become a holiday tradition for many families because the performance is highlighted by the beautiful scenery and decorations around every corner in Epcot's® World Showcase and Future World! This celebration of the season occurs each evening from November 29th through December 30th, in the America Gardens Theatre. Performances occur at 5pm, 6:45pm & 8:15pm, every night. Attendance is filled on a [...]
Has your daughter ever dreamt about becoming a Disney Princess? If so, I have 3 words for you…Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! This wonderful experience includes locations at Downtown Disney® and within Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom® Park. Girls, ages 3-12, are whisked away by their very own Fairy Godmother-in-Training into this magical beauty salon, where their princess experience begins. On our trip, we chose The Crown Package, which starts at $59.95 plus tax. Girls begin by choosing one of four hairstyles. On this day, my oldest chose the “Pop Princess”, which kind of surprised me, because she typically doesn’t choose the more lively fashions. What surprised me even further was that my daughter didn’t make a sound as her Fairy Godmother-in-Training brushed, tugged and pinned her hair into place. This place truly is magical! After her hair was perfected, she chose a beautiful glittery blue nail polish to have her nails painted. Then it was time for the soft eye shadow and face gem to round out her rock star look! She was adorned with her princess sash and then showered with a little pixie dust, as her Fairy Godmother-in-Training officially announced her transformation as complete! My daughter [...]
How do you start your summer off with a monstrously-good time? By celebrating with Sulley and Mike Wazowski at the “Happiest Place on Earth” for 24 hours straight! Walt Disney World Resort® in Florida started off this summer with an exciting event dubbed “The Monstrous 24 Hour All-Nighter”. Guests began the day at 6:00am on May 24, 2013, outside the gates of Magic Kingdom® Park, where they were welcomed by the traditional locomotive arrival of your favorite mouse & mine, Mickey Mouse! In addition to seeing some of our favorite characters on the train platform, the special emcees for this welcome were none other than Sulley and Mike. They waved to the crowd as the dancers and characters got the crowd excited for the full day (and night) of festivities ahead! As the welcome show came to a close, crowds donning special one-eyed glasses and limited edition Sulley-inspired ear hats made their way onto Main Street, U.S.A.®! Let the fun begin!! If you love tasty treats with a monster-good theme, then this was the place to be! From monster size cupcakes to cotton candy in the shades of our 2 favorite monster stars, there was something to satisfy every sweet [...]
