Why We’re Purchasing Disney’s Memory Maker

Selfie at Walt Disney World

Maybe selfies would be better if I had longer arms

Please note: The advance purchase price for Memory Maker has increased to $169 (from $149) since this post was originally published.

As you may be aware (it seems to be all I talk about lately) – The Fam and I are headed to Walt Disney World next month.  ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) have been booked for a while, FastPass+ rides and attractions have been selected, touring plans have been meticulously mapped out.  Park tickets have been purchased – annual passes for Raymond and I, 6-day park-hoppers for the offspring.  Everything and everyone has been entered and linked in My Disney Experience.  All set.  Until Raymond said, “What about Memory Maker? Do we want that?”  Oh, Gosh, I’d overlooked it – completely forgot that PhotoPass had been replaced with the new Memory Maker program.

Great Disney Photographer in Epcot

Disney Photographer – a good one!

Did we want to fork over the advance purchase price of $149 (buy early and save $50, purchase at Walt Disney World, $199) for all the theme park photos we can gather?  That’s a pretty steep price.  The Disney photographers are variable in their photography skills – some are super awesome and some are just okay.  We’d have to take the time to have a big bunch of pictures taken for a decent chance of getting $149-worth of good pictures.  What’s the most I’ve spent on PhotoPass photos in the past?  About $50 – not counting the photo book I ordered for $75 for Father’s Day a few years back. So, back to the question at hand – to shell out some pretty substantial clams or not.

I actually didn’t hesitate.  YES!  We must have Memory Maker!  And do you want to know why I enthusiastically insisted we part with the cash immediately?  Ride photos (which we rarely buy) and PhotoPass pics are practically the only ones we have with ME in them!  No kidding.  I take nearly all the My Feet on Vacation at Walt Disney Worldpictures – there are literally thousands of pictures of Raymond, Megan, and Joseph.  Pictures of me? Yeah…not so many.  I’ve resorted in recent years to taking pictures of my feet and my shadow sometimes – proof that I was actually there.  Once in a while, someone will offer to take a picture, but not very often and I have been reduced, in a desperate moment, to taking the dreaded selfie – I never like the odd angles and how close up they are – I’m no spring chicken and those close-ups are NOT flattering.  Maybe my arms are just too short.  So – off we go next month to rack up hopefully a hundred pictures in which I will appear!  Me!  As seen on vacation with my family!  And that will be, as they say in a certain television commercial…Priceless.

My Feet Waiting for Winnie the Pooh

My Feet rode Winnie the Pooh

So what about YOU?  Who takes your Disney vacation photos?  I’d love to see one, so go share on Living a Disney Life’s Facebook page, okay? 

Magical Memories – The Magic Store in Downtown Disney

Magic Masters in Downtown DisneyGone but not forgotten!  The magic store (Magic Masters) in Downtown Disney was, hands down, one of our top must-do’s on every Walt Disney World vacation.  Easy to find along the West Side shopping district, the giant top hat and magic wand on the store’s front were iconic.  When we heard that the store would not be renewing their lease and would leave forever in September, 2011, we were crushed.  Oh, the fun times we’d had in that store!

Designed to look like the library one might find in a magician’s home (Houdini’s to be exact) – complete with fireplace and bookcases, and enchanted tools of the trade, this store was…well…magical.  No matter when we visited, a magician was on hand to demonstrate sleight of hand.  Those magicians were true showmen.  Not only would they flawlessly amaze and astound onlookers with their magic, they were true performers…drawing audience members into their show skillfully and cleverly until Magic Masters in Downtown Disney 3every single person in that tiny, crowded space was breathlessly hanging onto the magician’s every word and gesture.  Then…presto!  The line at the cash register would form…as if by magic!

So many tricks and tools of the trade could be purchased in the confines of that enchanted store!  We never, ever left empty-handed.  The beauty of the whole setup was that you could see a real magician perform a trick flawlessly – then learn the secret!  When you purchased tricks, you received coaching right then and there on exactly how to get it right.  With a little practice at home, friends and family would be genuinely impressed by your skills in prestidigitation.

Magic Masters in Downtown Disney 2After TEN years, Magic Masters in Downtown Disney closed its doors.  Of all the things that have come and gone at Walt Disney World, this one shop, which had meant so much to our family during each of our visits, was one that had a huge impact on us.  We miss it still and will certainly reminisce about the happy times we had there for many years to come.

Do you remember Magic Masters?  What former Walt Disney World store or attraction is the one you miss the most? 

Five Best Ways to be Irritating at Walt Disney World

IMG_5124Even if you’ve only visited Walt Disney World one time, you were bound to notice a huge variety of people there from all over the world.  Most, like you (I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’re the best sort of person), appreciate the charm, magic, joy, and yes, even challenges, of being on a Disney vacation.  These folks, regardless of their country of origin, are courteous and friendly – fun to strike up a conversation with while waiting in line!  I love meeting new people and consider these encounters an added bonus to being at Walt Disney World, sailing on a Disney cruise ship, etc.  We met a delightful family from Ireland on our last Disney cruise, we once enjoyed dinner conversation with a couple from Great Britain and their adorable daughter at Boma, and we even had a bunch of fun with some Brazilian teens at our resort pool.  It’s a small world after all, heh?

So, we are a family looking for fun and happy times, to be sure.  Sadly, there are…well…other types of vacationers.  These are the folks who make our happy Disney travels less than magical.  You know who I’m talking about.  You have felt my pain.  So…I’ve been thinking.  What if those others wanted to be annoying on purpose?  What if there are people out there who genuinely need to know?  Know what, you ask?  KNOW how to be rotten, rude, disrespectful, annoying – a proverbial fly in the ointment – while at Walt Disney World.  Do you want to know how to be irritating on a Disney vacation?  Okay…I’ll tell you, but it ain’t pretty – it takes grit, stamina and really bad manners.  Up for it?  Alrighty then, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.IMG_5201

Five Best Ways to be Irritating at Walt Disney World

1.  Use any wheeled vehicle at your disposal to plow a path through the crowds.  Strollers are especially perfect for this as it seems to both entertain the youngster(s) riding in the stroller while teaching them the correct way to execute crowd-parting maneuvers, thus ensuring the next generation of Disney travelers is brought up with the right skillset.  Be sure to avoid eye contact with any and all collision victims and never ever say you’re sorry.

2. Yell!  There are two techniques proven especially successful for optimizing the annoyance factor of hollering.

Wild Child at Walt Disney WorldFirst method:  Yell in close spaces as a group.  Cheers, chants, songs – use whatever you’ve got at your disposal.  Synchronized yelling by a large group is amazingly irritating to other vacationers – Bonus points for doing this in a bus, monorail, or other tightly-packed enclosed area.

Second method: Yell at your family members.  That’s right!  If you want to make others uncomfortable, nothing beats belittling, humiliating, and embarrassing your spouse, child, sibling, or other member of your traveling party with an obscenity-laced public tongue lashing.  Guaranteed to ruin not only your own vacation – it will also make many, many others around you nearly just as unhappy as you are when they find themselves captive witnesses to your drama.

3. Be Trashy!  When it’s super crowded, this is SO incredibly rude!  I will guarantee you get a bunch of sneers, glares, and dirty looks.  Here’s the technique:  Choose a popular counter Lunch in Disney's Hollywood Studiosservice restaurant – make sure there are plenty of trash receptacles clearly visible around the seating area.  Enjoy your meal and…..leave.  Yes!  It’s that simple (diabolical, really in it’s simplicity).  Make sure every paper plate, cup, and napkin – along with the trays used to carry food to the table are left behind, strewn all over the table-top, chair seats, and floor.  That’s it.  Easy-Peasy.  Just walk away.  Be sure to wave on the way out to all the folks carrying their full trays looking for a clean place to sit down and eat.  Now that’s irritating.

4. You’re on vacation – that means you can take a vacation from parenting!  Yes, just go right on ahead and assume that all the other people around you (who have also paid thousands of dollars for their Disney vacations) will adore and tolerate your offspring’s rude behavior as much Children Misbehave at the Contemporary Resortas you do.  A few tips:  In long lines for popular attractions, go ahead and let your kids touch the people in front of them as much as they want to – especially those strangers’ posteriors.  For some reason, this just makes people so angry!  Also – any partition along a ride queue makes a great jungle-gym type climbing apparatus to entertain your kiddos while you play on your smartphone.  If your kid wants to run his hands along every single inch of those partitions – especially where other guests already have their hands, all the better!  Finally, don’t forget to let those kiddos stay up way past their bedtimes…they can have a great time yelling (see #2) and running up and down the hallways at the resort!

Believe it or not, there are actually a bunch of people at Disney World who are there withoutWaiting in Line at Walt Disney World children!  Even more shocking?  Some people don’t even really like kids.  THOSE are the ones to focus your efforts towards.  Don’t carry snacks, drinks, or toys with you so when a meltdown happens, you can appear to be both surprised and unprepared.  Remember, you are on vacation – you shouldn’t have to watch your children or expect them to behave.  Let somebody else worry about that.

5. Show up at the last minute for all parades and nighttime shows.  People who arrive early to get a perfect viewing spot are misinformed time-wasters! Keep riding rides until right before the action starts then pick the nicest looking family you can find and slowly, stealthily, shove your way into their little space.  I mean, you paid the same price to get into the park as they did, right?  You deserve to see just as well as they Nighttime in the Magic Kingdome at WDWcan.  Best tip for really making an impression?  Gradually squeeze your children into what may at first appear to be a non-existent space between the people who were there first and any barricade at the front of the action.  Your children are shorter – g’head, just squeeze ’em on in there, front and center!  Let that other family keep an eye on ’em for you while the show’s going on.  They’re nice folks, they probably won’t mind.

BONUS:  As a family – always stop right in the very middle of crowded walkways to discuss important topics like:  Are we getting sunburned?  Is anyone hungry?  What do we want to do now?

Okay?  You get the idea now, right?  I could easily come up with more tips for you, but until you’ve mastered these five, you can’t have any more.  So get on out there and be rude, annoying, and just plain horrible.  You can do it!

Well, how’d I do?  What rotten park behavior did I miss?  What bugs you the most?

 

 

 

It’s DiVine at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

DiVine at Disney's Animal KingdomI’m always talking about the special things that Disney does that they don’t have to do.  Would I still have a super fantastic time riding Spaceship Earth in Epcot if I didn’t smell Rome burning?  Sure.  Would I still be thrilled by Rock’n’ Roller Coaster if the limo’s license plates weren’t completely awesome?  You betcha!  Would anyone even notice if the sound of chainsaws and trees falling was missing from the queue for Kali River Rapids?  I think not.  See?  You get the idea, right?  One of the absolute best things about a Walt Disney World vacation is all the little things you can see, feel, smell, experience – that Disney doesn’t even have to do!

If you’ve run from attraction to attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, you may have missed one of the truly special details of the Disney-doesn’t-have-to variety.  If you’ve considered Animal Kingdom a (gasp!) half-day park, you may have left too soon.  Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a park best experienced more slowly rather than in a rush.  Strolling rather than power-walking, meandering rather than bee-lining, if you will, opens up opportunities one may never have considered.  Specifically, I’m talking about DiVine!

Surely you’ve at least heard of DiVine, right?  She’s incredible, unbelievable, unpredictable, a real treasure!  You won’t see her if you rush – she hides in plain sight, but often goes unnoticed.  She’s part of the surroundings, blending, chameleon-like into the abundant vegetation.  Disney's Animal Kingdom DiVineDiVine is…well, a vine.  About ten-feet tall!  Vibrant green leaves, slender, delicate limbs, a slow, creeping gait – DiVine is much more flora than fauna, but she’s as alive as she can be and completely amazing.

Next time you find yourself rushing down the path from Asia to Africa (or from Africa to Asia), slow down.  Take a look around – check out the scenery, particularly the lush, tropical foliage. See a slight movement?  Look a bit closer….

Have you met DiVine at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?  Were you trying to find her or did she take you by surprise?