Category Archives: Disney at Home

Disney Women of a Certain Age

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RM-Halloween-Jack-O-LanternHalloween is right around the corner.  I love this time of the year so much and I go all out with the spooky decorations.  We’re having a little get together to celebrate the season and, as expected, I’m adding Disney touches here and there.  We’ve invited our friends to a costume party and, me being me, I want to wear a Disney costume to this shindig.  Therein lies my problem.  I’m past the princess age and too mature for the cute stuff.  What’s the deal?  Think about it – most of the women my age in Disney movies are either evil or dead.  How depressing!  And challenging

Disney Women of a Certain Age

Mulan’s mom was alive and so were Andy’s mom in the Toy Stories, Helen Parr in the Incredibles and Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan.  Would anyone know who I was if I tried to dress up as one of them? Yes, Elastigirl!  Absolutely NO to the spandex.  I don’t think so.  Who do you remember the most?  I’ll tell you – Evil middle-aged women!  Be it queen, step-mother, magical-baby-stealing-hag, or fur-obsessed dog-napper – those are the stand-outs.RM-Disney-Halloween-Decorations

Alas, my options are limited.(No, I can never pass up the opportunity to say, “alas”.)  Think about Bambi, Snow White, Tarzan, Cinderella, and Anna & Elsa – their moms are all gone (a.k.a. deceased).  Dumbo’s mom!  Yeah…No.  WHO?  Who can I be?  I am running out of time to decide.  I guess I’ll have to go with “mature” and evil.  Check back this weekend over on the Facebook page and see who I end up as.  Any suggestions?RM-Disney-Halloween-Mickey-O-Lantern

I’m pretty secure with being the age I am – I’m all about being age-appropriate (yet trendy and stylish) – Honestly, this costume thing is quite a challenge!

Are you dressing up in a Disney-themed costume?  I’d love to hear all about it.  Maybe I can live vicariously through your fancy Belle or Rapunzel costume.  Or Jessie or Bo Peep or Snow White…

Happy Halloween!!!RM-Disney-Halloween-Decorations2

Learning German with Disney Characters

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Happy Saturday, Disney Friends!  Time to check in with Nick and see what surprises we can find.  Today’s discovery is a uniquely interesting little treasure from *gasp* Nick and Barbie’s Disney book collection.  I was perusing the Disney Musings blog and whoa!  This amazing little item caught my eye (certainly not EYES as I’m only half German and therefore only have one German eye…according to my math.).  It’s a Disney book for learning to speak German!  Who knew?  Certainly not me,  and I’d love to learn German from Mickey and the gang!

Good news!  You can still buy this book on Amazon!!!  Here’s the description: “Divided into 10 thematic sections which children can relate to, this book contains 1000 German words carefully selected to meet the requirements of the first years of learning German. The sections featured include: leisure, sport and celebrations, at school, in the country and at home.”  Prices in the used book category start at $.75 (Plus $3.99 shipping and handling).  Here’s the link.

Learning German with Disney Characters

By Nick

My wife spotted this at “The World’s Largest Garage Sale” at the Allentown Fairgrounds in Allentown, Pennsylvania recently for $3. It was published in 1992 by Harrap.

It takes classic Disney comic illustrations, and identifies specific images in German and English.

As a bonus, it includes the actual strip the highlighted image is taken from, and presents it in German and English as well.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Follow Nick, his wife Barbie, and friends for more Disney adventures (and to see all their Disney collectibles!):  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.

Nick and I, along with our buddy, Dave, host The Disney Exchange Podcast where we discuss our love of all things Disney and offer travel tips, restaurant and resort reviews, planning advice, and other Disney-related nonsense…while we argue and laugh a LOT.  Follow the Disney Exchange on Facebook and weigh in on our many opinion-solicitations.

 

These Disney Fans – What’s Next?

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For those of us who cannot resist our love for all things Disney, planning what we’ll do next (Disney-wise) tends to absorb much of our free time…or maybe it’s just me.  It might be crafts, Disney holiday decorations, upcoming Disney movies on our to-watch list, whipping up a Disney recipe at home, anxiously awaiting the newest episode of The Muppets or our favorite Disney podcast, booking ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) or FastPass+ attractions for our next Walt Disney World vacation…no matter, we just love the anticipation and the planning!  I’m not going to lie…the planning, for me, is almost half the fun.

So what about our family (a.k.a. The Fam)?  What are we cooking up, planning for, and looking forward to in our Disney lives?  I’ll tell you!

These Disney Fans – What’s Next?RM-Megan-and-Grant-Sci-Fi

Now that Megan and Grant (our daughter and son-in-law) are happily married and back from their Disney honeymoon, we can return to our regularly scheduled Disney planning.  Personally, I’ve got a lot on my mind.  It’s October – one of my most favorite months of the year.  I’m working on our Halloween decorations and Junior’s costume (yes, my friends, in the absence of children at home, I still buy Disney Halloween costumes…for our dog.).  My countdown calendar for our next Disney vacation is dutifully ticking off the days and as the weather gets (slightly) cooler, I’m daydreaming about my Disney future.RM-Junior-Captain-America

  1.  Our annual Thanksgiving Day Disney movie will be postponed this year.  Raymond, Megan, Joseph and I have gone to see a Disney movie on Thanksgiving Day for as long as Megan and Joseph have been alive.  This year, embracing our empty-nest status, Raymond and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my sister’s house in Tennessee with my family…without our kids.  Everyone’s okay with this, but the movie thing is bothering me more than eating turkey and dressing apart from my offspring.  Luckily, we’ll make arrangements to see The Good Dinosaur (Pixar; premiers on November 25th) the next weekend.  Star Wars:  The Force Awakens premiers on December 18th – that one we’ll see right before Christmas.  I, for one, am very excited!Christmastime at Walt Disney World
  2. Last Call for Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.  Again with the parental independence, we’re leaving the kids behind on December 26th.  Raymond and I are taking a few days at Walt Disney World to relax, take in those awesome Disney holiday decorations, and bid farewell to the Osborne Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Will they appear somewhere else in the future?  Nobody seems to know.  Better safe than sorry, we’ll at least get to see them in their current location one last time.Flying Fish Dinner at the Boardwalk
  3. Disney Food!  We may be weird (okay, I’m pretty sure we ARE weird), but we plan our Disney vacations mostly around our dining reservations.  Does anyone else do this?  I mean, we always book Disney dining reservations at the earliest possible time (180 days in advance) then mostly plan our park days so our restaurant choices won’t be a major inconvenience transportation-wise.  Planning meals so far in advance gives us lots of time to look forward to the deliciousness.  The Flying Fish Cafe / Walt Disney World BoardwalkOur December plans include Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge), 50’s Prime Time Café (Disney’s Hollywood Studios), Todd English’s bluezoo (WDW Dolphin Hotel), Shula’s Steak House (also the Dolphin), Biergarten (World Showcase in Epcot), Flying Fish Café (Disney’s Boardwalk), Whispering Canyon Café (Wilderness Lodge), and Narcoossee’s (Grand Floridian).  Don’t ask me what we were thinking booking all of that for a 5-day stay, but we’re going to give it our best shot.  Especially since quite a few of those will be new to us and a couple will be repeats from a LONG time ago.  Check back for reviews – I love doing restaurant reviews!RM-Raglan-Road-Dancers
  4. Disney Springs – I realize that a bunch of Disney fans are sad about the Downtown Disney transformation.  We’re not those folks.  Our favorite things are still there and a number of new shops and restaurants have been added since our last visit (February, 2015).  I’ll be so stoked to see the final form of this corner of the World since it’s been under construction forever! RM-Running-Shoes
  5. The Disney Exchange meet-up and Princess Half-Marathon Weekend, 2016 – Sure, I’ve got to run a bunch of miles between now and then to get ready for the Glass Slipper Challenge, but it’ll totally be worth it!  Nick, Dave and I will spend three days bickering discussing our love for Disney in person!  We’ll be having Disney Exchange meet-ups, posting to Facebook, Tweeting live, sharing Periscope and Blab broadcasts, and creating general mayhem as we do what we always do – argue, debate, give each other a hard time, and laugh hysterically.  I cannot WAIT!

Are you making Disney plans?  What are you most looking forward to?

 

March to the Beat of Your Own Disney Drum

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Let’s face it – the Disney fan community is made up of a unique and wonderful assortment of folks from all over the world, all walks of life, and all different Disney passions.  I love swapping stories, learning new tips and tricks about all manner of Disney topics, and reading (or listening to) reviews and recommendations from some of my favorite fellow Disney fans.  With few exceptions, the Disney fan community is extremely tolerant of all points of view and most debates are friendly and good-natured.  Okay – maybe not on certain forums, but that’s a different topic for a different day.Princess-Half-Mary-Poppins

You are welcome to be the Disney fan who will absolutely defend each and everything Disney does as perfectly perfect in every way.  You’re welcome to be the fan that clings to the past and laments the current state of everything from Disney parks to rides and attractions to movies and TV shows.  You can be a Disney travel guru, a Marvel or Star Wars franchise expert, or the Disney character fanatic or passionate pin trader or collector of Disneyana.  Be one, none, or all of these…if you love anything or everything Disney…

March to the Beat of Your Own Disney Drum

Allow me to elaborate.  I’ve spent the past (nearly) two years pouring my Disney love into this very blog while reading dozens of other blogs by other Disney fans.  Like many of you, I’ve spent hundreds of hours listening to my favorite Disney podcast hosts entertain me with their own brand of Disney love.  I’m a Disney parks and resorts fan, a Disney Cruise Line fan, a Disneyana and Disney pin collector, a Disney movie buff.  My Christmas tree is 100% Disney-themed.RM-Christmas-Tree-2014

Do I love every part that makes up the whole?  No, I do not.  I love Disney in my own way.  I don’t like Dole Whips and think Le Cellier is overrated (it’s TRUE and I’m not ashamed!), I didn’t like Inside Out, I thought Ant Man was great, and I adore The Muppets (in every glorious and horrible performance) and Indiana Jones – I love him so much, I named my dog Henry Jones, Junior!  Do I miss the excitement and novelty of Disney’s Hollywood Studios the way the park was just after it opened in 1989?  Absolutely!  Would I put it back today to its original form?  Nope, wouldn’t want to.  I don’t love every change to my favorite vacation destination, but nothing Disney’s done yet would keep me from coming back again…and again.Disney's-Hollywood-Studios

What I’m trying to say is this:  We don’t have to love everything Disney to be true blue Disney fans.  Being a Disney fan is about embracing the parts that make you happiest and passing on the parts that don’t.  If I go on a Disney vacation and something goes wrong, I will complain in hopes that Disney will fix the problem for future guests (including me).  When Disney asks me to complete a survey, I do and with complete honesty.  At the same time, I will also praise what I love most about Disney right here, on The Disney Exchange Podcast and all my social medias.  Not loving everything does not diminish my love for Disney as a whole.  I’ll be a Disney fan in my own way and hope you will too!

Your turn!  What kind of Disney fan are YOU?  What do you love most – the parks, the home décor, the movies, characters, collectibles, or something else altogether?  What makes you most passionate about Disney?  What would you change if you could?