Monthly Archives: November 2013

First Disney Cruise? This One’s for YOU – Door Décor!

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IMG_0605If you are preparing to set sail on your first Disney Cruise, there are two things you need to know about:  Door Décor and Fish Extenders.  Once you know about them, your participation is purely optional, but they’re both a great way to add a little extra fun to your Disney Cruise experience.

Today I’ll cover Door Décor – come back tomorrow for the rest!

Door Décor – I highly recommend this.  Super easy and extremely beneficial!  All you really need to do is bring along a couple of Disney magnets to slap on your stateroom door.  G’head, ask….what?  WHY!?!

Two reasons, #1:  Yeah, think about it, all those doors look just alike…hundreds of them!  Customizing your stateroom entrance for the duration of your stay makes it ever so much easier for kiddos and adults alike to stop in the right place along that looooooong corridor (no need to try so hard to memorize that cabin number!).

Reason #2:  This is a fun and creative way to show your love for Disney with a minimum investment.  I make my decorations at home by buying some Disney scrapbooking supplies – some things I arrange on colored paper before I put some magnets on the back (buy a self-sticking roll of magnetic “tape” and cut it as you need it).  Some things are great just as they are, just slap a piece of magnet on the back and VOILA!  Custom Disney Door Décor.  Be as simple or as fancy as you like, but really, you’re going to feel sad (guilty even) when you see all those cool doors aIMG_2059nd yours is blank.  Note:  magnets are the only way to go as Disney Cruise Line will not allow you to use tape on the doors.

On our last Disney cruise, I made a new decoration for each cruise port and changed them out as we sailed along.  I’m an amature when it comes to door decorating – some people have the most amazing, personalized, laminated, professionally crafted stuff on those doors!  Don’t be intimidated!!!  Do as much or as little as you care to do – just do it.  Because I said so.  And also because when your kids are running down the corridor and always know which door is yours, you’ll thank me.

Link to Fish Extender Information

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Kilimanjaro Safari

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I must really love the Kilimanjaro Safari!  Every time I take the tour I act like I’ve never seen any of those animals before in my life (and may never see them again).  I take a million pictures.  As if my life depends on it.  Every.  Single.  Time.

I can’t just get in the vehicle and happily listenIMG_3185 to the guide as we go along on our exotic animal-spotting expedition.  I hear, “Jambo, Everyone!” and I immediately start swiveling and craning, camera ever at the ready – snapping pictures like crazy!  WHY!?!!  What causes this irresistible urge to photograph every single animal over and over again?  How many pictures of giraffes eating does one family need?

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If you haven’t yet enjoyed this grand adventure in the Africa section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – hit it as early in the day as possible while everybody out there on the savannah is feeling perky and moving around.  Once in the park, head for the Tree of Life.  Once you’ve crossed the bridge onto Discovery Island, keep the Tree on your right as you go back along its left side.  You’ll cross one more bridge and then you’ll be in Africa!  The line for the Safari moves quickly and the tour takes about 18 minutes to wind you all around the 100 acres of African habitat.

There are some extremely cool animals to see and, if you’re lucky, many of them get pretty close to you (while you bump along safely in your open-air tour vehicle).  I prefer sitting close to the front (if I can manage it) and at either end of the bench seat (to minimize the number of times I accidentally take a picture of the back of someone’s head).

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Among the many animals you can see (and photograph!) are rhinos, lions, wildebeest, IMG_5319crocodiles, antelope, giraffe hippos, elephants, okapi, mandrills, and many others.  Go ahead, take some pictures.  I’ve decided that for some of us, that’s just how we answer the call of the wild.

Off the Beaten Path – Disney World Photo Ops

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IMG_2021We all want to have Disney World vacation photos taken in front of Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sorcerer’s Hat (maybe).  Those are the quintessential pictures we treasure, of course, and that’s where the Disney Photo Pass photographers are located/easiest to find.  What I want to talk about today is this:  Where else around the World can we snap some photos that’ll make awesome, if a little less iconic, treasures?

When I’m looking at our vacation pics*, I find I really love these off the beaten path, lesser known photo-ops and the funny (some are hilarious) moments captured there.

If you’re planning to go to Disney World, here are some different photo locations you might consider:

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The Beanstalk! (Magic Kingdom’s Fantasy Land) and The Snowman (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

 

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Tiki Man (gift shop at the Polynesian Resort), Toy Soldier (Pixar Place, Studios)

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The Great White Shark (Living Seas, Epcot)…give that guy a toothpick!

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I found Nemo! – Also at Epcot’s Living Seas (just steps away from the seagulls that yell “MINE!”)

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I don’t know if it’s still there, but some custodial-type cast members joined in the fun with us at this giant Coca-Cola bottle (in the Studios, if I’m not mistaken).

*Just a note about the picture quality – these are, for the most part, pictures of pictures due to the tragic and unfortunate loss of digital copies our home suffered in the “great computer crash of 2011”.  Sorry they’re not better this time.

If you’ve been to Disney World before, I invite you to look back over some of your most beloved photos from all around the parks – what locations (aside from the big four) were your favorites?

Magical Memory Monday – Disney’s Grand Floridian

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Ceiling of The Grand Floridian

Way back in December, 2007, we were booked on the Disney Cruise Line’s Western Caribbean itinerary to celebrate both the New Year and Megan’s upcoming high school graduation.  If you are cruising out of Port Canaveral, it’s pretty hard to be that close to The Happiest Place on Earth without sparing at least a couple of days for a visit.  So, we’d planned a short post-cruise jump to Disney World – very short, like two nights’ stay short.  In light of that, I thought it would be nice to stay at the Grand Floridian.  We do like the monorail hotels best of all – location, location, location!  And the Grand Floridian is so, well, grand, we thought it would make a nice finale to our vacation.

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The Orchestra at The Grand Floridian

The cruise was fantastic (especially Key West and Grand Cayman) but our sailing had experienced especially rough seas.  With seriously BIG waves.  Good thing none of us are prone to seasickness (or sympathetic vomiting ’cause that had been going on all over the place).  It’s true:  Disney goes all out when weather conditions are adverse; planning extra on-board activities and events, but they can’t do anything about the loss of sleep that’s inevitable when closet doors are crashing open with every giant sway of the ship.  Lots of noise.  All. Night. Long.

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What is the View from our Room Like?

Needless to say, when the cruise was over and we reached the Grand Floridian, we were all very tired and cranky (to put it mildly).  I let The Fam wrangle the suitcases while I made my way to the front desk.  I know I was standing there in an exhausted daze waiting for the man to bring up our reservation, but I was suddenly snapped out of my stupor the second I heard him say, “Oh!  You’ve been upgraded!  Let me call someone from concierge to take care of you.”  WHAT?  A little sprinkle of pixie dust later and a nice concierge lady whisked us away to the concierge lounge where we sat in comfy seating while she explained details about our room and the amenities we would be enjoying.  She said that our early arrival meant our room was not quite ready but…”You’ll love it because…..well, I’ll just let you be surprised”.  So she made a note of Raymond’s cell phone number, sent our luggage away to be stored, and encouraged us to go enjoy the parks as she’d be certain to give us a call when our room was all set.

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The View from our Room

Sure enough, when we got back to The Grand Floridian after a fun, full day of park-hopping, our room was perfect.  The food in the concierge lounge?  Perfect.  The service?  Perfect.  The Disney-Pixie-Dust-Sprinklers couldn’t have possibly known what it would mean to us to receive this most pleasant surprise after our high seas adventure, but we will never forget what a special, magical experience it was.  And the view from our room?  Just GRAND!