Category Archives: Disney at Home

Walt Disney’s Carolwood Pacific Train Set

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It’s been a while since I’ve shared an item from the Joseph Green Disneyana collection.  You may recall the Disney lunch boxes, the vintage Disney vinyl, and this much-loved comic book.  I recently rediscovered today’s featured treasure tucked away in a bedroom closet.  Unique for its perfect condition and has, in fact, never left the box it came in.

Walt Disney’s Carolwood Pacific Train Setdisneys-carolwood-pacific-locomotive-and-car

Before we take a look at the train set, I should provide some back story for those of you who may be unfamiliar with Walt Disney and the Carolwood Pacific.  Walt Disney’s love of trains began at an early age and continued throughout his life.  As a means of transportation and later, an employment opportunity for Walt’s dad, his uncle, and finally Walt himself, trains started and remained an important theme and source of inspiration for many of Walt Disney’s cartoons.  This fascination with locomotives culminated in 1948 with Walt’s decision to build his own 1/8-scale steam engine named Lilly Belle in his wife’s honor.  He also had plans at that time for building a theme park for families that would feature a railroad station.  Walt named his backyard train the Carolwood Pacific Railroad.  More complete information can be found here.disneys-carolwood-pacific-lilly-belle

Joseph’s train set was manufactured by Bachmann and is HO scale.  The set features the Lilly Belle engine, two gondolas, one boxcar, and a yellow caboose.  disneys-carolwood-pacific-locomotive-and-car disneys-carolwood-pacific-boxcar disneys-carolwood-pacific-cabooseThe headlight on the engine is advertised as a working one.  The track will make a 47-38″ oval and other shapes.  This makes it suitable for placing around the base of a Christmas tree.  Not that I’d know first-hand or anything on account of the unopened box situation.  That’s the thing with collectors like Joseph – sometimes items become much-loved and well used and others, for reasons unknown to me, are destined to remain in mint condition.

Do you have any Disney collectibles that have never left the box?  Do you have a train that runs around your Christmas tree?  Let me know what that’s like!

 

DisneyBounding My Way

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It’s less than a week until our next Disney World vacation and that means I’m already packed.  I always pack early, which is completely out of character for me as I’m a notorious procrastinator.  Packing makes the trip seem closer.  I’m excited about seeing and doing all the things.  We’ve got dining reservations, FastPasses and I’m ready to get going!

DisneyBounding My WayCinderella Castle

Most of you probably already know what it means to DisneyBound (See here for sample outfits), but in case you’re new to the concept, it’s the idea of dressing in a way that’s been inspired by a Disney character or attraction.  Touring Plans does a great job of explaining DisneyBounding here.  I’ve always thought this sounded like a lot of fun and am in awe of the creativity and, well, artistic way true DisneyBounders achieve their looks.  The accessories alone are incredible!

I want to give DisneyBounding a try, but in my own way.  For this first attempt I decided to draw my inspiration, not from characters or attractions, but from the lands in Magic Kingdom.  My goal is to dress in a way that’s comfortable, age-appropriate, and fun!  Here’s what I’ve packed for my DisneyBounding outfits…

Main Street U.S.A.outfit-inspired-by-main-street-usa

I always feel patriotic and nostalgic on Main Street.  To capture this, I’m going with red, white, and blue.  Navy & white paisley shorts, red mixed media top, and well-loved Reef slip-ons.  I’ve got quite a few Disney pins I can incorporate into this ensemble.

Tomorrowlandoutfit-inspired-by-tomorrowland

I’ve got the perfect shirt!  It reflects the colors of the Carrousel of Progress t-shirt I bought for the attraction’s 50th Anniversary.  I’ll pair this long top with some white denim capris (it IS okay to wear white after Labor Day in Florida, right?) and some comfortable sandals.

Fantasylandoutfit-inspired-by-fantasyland

I love the colors of Fantasyland.  I’m also a fan of it’s a small world.  I know, I’m among the minority, but, like Carrousel of Progress, it’s a small world and I are the same age.  For Fantasyland’s outfit, I’m drawing from the colors and have two outfits to choose from.  The first one pairs floral shorts and a navy polo.  The second option combines a colorful, geo-printed maxi and a light-weight navy top.

Liberty Squareoutfit-inspired-by-liberty-square

This past February, I ran the Princess Half Marathon in a Haunted Mansion-inspired outfit.  Drawing on that same idea, I’m combining a pale blue tunic and black jeans as a nod to the Mansion’s famous wallpaper.  Adding a pendant necklace and black sandals to complete the look.

Frontierlandoutfit-inspired-by-frontierland

This one might be my favorite.  This red gingham shirt and navy pants automatically make me think Frontierland.  Yes, I will be stopping in Grizzly Hall for a visit with the Country Bears.

Adventurelandoutfit-inspired-by-adventureland

While it would have been easy to embrace Adventureland’s bright tropical colors, I decided on a Jungle Cruise-inspired outfit instead.  I’ll fit right in among the foliage along the riverbanks in an olive t-shirt and floral cammo cargo capris.

What do you think?  Too subtle?  If you’ve giving DisneyBounding a try, what characters or attractions did you use for inspiration?

Lazy Person’s Disney Countdown Calendar

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When my vacation countdown’s in the home stretch, I want a countdown calendar that’s more exciting than a number on a smartphone app. I may not have little ones at home anymore, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a cute way to note the passing of one less day between me and my Disney World vacation! Being a tad lazy, I’ve found a way to mark my countdown to Disney that takes little effort and results in my own ridiculous happiness.  I’ll share my secret with you now for my…

Lazy Person’s Disney Countdown Calendar

You can do this on the cheap or fancy it up a bit – your choice.  I’ve done it both ways, so I can show you how to do it low-budget or with a bit more of an investment – either way’s a piece of cake. Make this on your own or as a fun craft project with your kiddos.

Let’s get started. Here’s what you’ll need:disney-countdown-calendar-supplies

  • Straws
  • Paper Circles (can be made from construction paper, craft foam or pre-purchased “straw toppers”)
  • Stickers or Leftover Scrapbooking Decorations
  • Chalk pens or magic markers

Fancy Version:

Take an straw topper, add a Disney sticker, add a number (if you want to) for the countdown with a chalk pen.  disney-countdown-straw-topperKeep going until you have your countdown complete and TA-DAH!!! Boom BABY!  Store those straws in a cute holder and use one each day until it’s time to GO!disney-countdown-calendar-straw

Budget-Friendly Version:disneycountdown-homemade-straw-toppers

No need to break the bank on fancy straws and toppers – especially if you have a couple-few (as we say in these parts) kids that will each want their own collection of countdown straws.  Just buy those cheap economical straws at the grocery store and use some leftover craft foam (like I did – mine was left over from making Stateroom Door Décor) or construction paper even.  disney-countdown-calendar-tutorialMake your own straw toppers by cutting foam or paper into circles (trace around a juice glass) then cut slits at the top and bottom of each circle.  Decorate as desired and there you go!disney-countdown-calendar-easy

I’m enjoying milk and cookies as I count down the days until my next Disney vacation!

What’s your favorite way to count down to Disney?

Disney at Home – Duplicating Recipes

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The Wave EntrancePart of (I should really say much of) our Disney vacation happiness is about the food.  Favorite restaurants, favorite dishes, trying new places – oh, boy, do we love to eat at Walt Disney World!  What’s best about all this dining is when a particular dish really surprises us.

Disney at Home – Duplicating Recipes

Last December when Raymond and I were on our post-Christmas R&R, I booked dinner at The Wave (Contemporary Resort) for our last night.  I knew we’d be tired and want to be close to our room at Bay Lake Tower.  We’d never eaten in The Wave before, but had enjoyed snacks and cocktails in the lounge more than once.  We knew the food would be good and were looking forward to the relaxing atmosphere.The Wave Menu

As expected, we were exhausted, but had been having a fantastic trip.  We arrived for our last dinner practically sleeping on our feet.  If you’ve never been to The Wave before, it’s a lot like being in a cellar – no windows, cozy if a bit dark.  The service is absolutely top notch.  We ordered soup for an appetizer and, if I remember correctly, we both ordered fish for our entrees.  I’m positive we ordered a bottle of wine from the cocktail menu.The Wave Menu Cover

The soup was a most pleasant surprise and made the entire meal for us.  In fact, it was one of the most delicious soups we’d ever had.  The ultimate comfort food – creamy soup full of sausage, gnocchi, and spinach.  As we were exchanging Mmmmmm’s, I made the offhanded comment that I could probably recreate this amazing deliciousness at home.  We enjoyed the rest of our dinner, made the short walk back to Bay Lake Tower and crashed.  The next morning we headed for home.

Fast forward about at week and Raymond says, “Hey!  Weren’t you going to try to make that soup?”.  Yes!  I had planned on that and I made my grocery list right then and there.  I’ve cooked Disney dishes at home before, but always found a recipe online to use.  This time I didn’t even search for a recipe, I made it up as I went.  How hard could it be?The Wave Soup Recreation in Progress

Turns out not really hard at all.  I stared by browning spicy Italian sausage which I drained and set aside.  While the sausage was browning (I added red pepper flakes to make it spicier), I defrosted, squeezed dry, and food-processed a package of frozen spinach (the food processing part was a total waste of time).  After that I whipped up a simple roux of butter and flour.  Then I stirred in a healthy amount of both chicken broth and real live honest to goodness cream.The Wave Soup Recreation Begins

I added the spinach and sausage and one store-bought package of gnocchi to the pot and let it all cook together for about half an hour.  This gave the gnocchi time to become soft and all the flavors to blend together.  While all that was going on, I toasted up some garlic bread as an accompaniment.  The original version from The Wave had a crunchy toasted cheese topping which I’ll try to recreate in the future.The Wave Soup IngredientsThe Wave Soup Recreated

While the soups didn’t look exactly the same, the flavors were nearly identical.  I was very proud of my soup!  I will most definitely be making it again as soon as the weather starts to cool off a little in the fall.

Have you made a Disney dish at home?  What’s your favorite Disney recipe?