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Thanks and see ya real soon!!!!

Tuesday's Tip ~ Disney Countdown

A fun way to get excited for an upcoming trip is to have a Disney Countdown.  We made ours out of a red poster board and got the colored Mickey heads from our local Home Depot store.  We put 30 heads with some Disney stickers on the board for a 30 day countdown.  Each day one of our kids would put a star on a head.  It was an easy and fun way to countdown for our Disney trip.

Friday Favorite

 One of the kids favorite thing to do is dress up and go to Disney.  Besides Halloween when can a kid dress up and leave the house?  Living so close to Disney gives the kids a chance to express themselves in a way that couldn't be done otherwise.  We have been known to be in the company of Captain Hook, Peter Pan (sometimes together - YIKES!), Cheshire Cat, Alice and a few other characters.  Disney is the place where a kid can live out their fantasy!

Alice, Peter Pan and Wendy

Homemade Cheshire Cat

More to Disney

Disney's  Boardwalk

When you think of Disney most people think parks, characters and rides.  But did you know there is more to Disney then that?  Disney has so much to offer and you don't even need to step into one of the four main parks.  Over the next few posts we will highlight some of them.
   Resorts: Disney has 22 resorts that you can explore.  Some of the themes are just amazing and well worth taking a look at.
*The Animal Kingdom Lodge sits on part of a savannah. You can walk out the back of the resort and see  animals.  Some of the rooms even overlook the beautiful view. This is one resort we would love to stay at.
*The Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club sit close to the Swan and Dolphin hotels.  There is a very nice path that you can walk around.  Of course there is a boardwalk with good food and live entertainment (in the evenings).  The atomosphere is very relaxing.
*The Polynesian Resort is one of our favorites.  It has a very tropical feel to it.  You even get a lei when you walk in.  Walk out onto the beach and there is a fantastic view of Cinderella's Castle, it is also a great place to watch fireworks.
*The value resorts - All Star Movies, All Star Sports, All Star Music, Pop Century and the new one opening May of this year The Art of Animation all have larger then life props that are very fun to look at.
*If you head over to Port Orleans Riverside or French Quaters you are in for a real treat.  If you walk through you will notice that there are no palm trees, a friend of ours pointed this out.   This is to keep the feel of being in the south real.  You can park at one resort and take a nice slow walk on the path that connects the two resorts.  Or if walking doesn't float your boat, you can take a boat ride from one to the other.  The boat also goes to Downtown Disney.  These two resorts are peaceful, that is unless you go see Bob play.  More on him later!
These are just a few of the resorts Disney has.  As time goes on we will try to highlight each of them in detail.

Andy's bedroom door ~ All Star Movies

Port Orleans ~ Riverside

Have a magical day!

Dinosaur at Disney???

Where in the World is this?

Pack your own snacks

Just a quick tip for today.  Something we have learned from living so close and being at Disney a lot is to bring your own snacks.   Disney does not have a problem with you bringing outside food into their parks. It will save you a little money and time.  Giving a snack out while you wait in line is a great way to make the time go (a little) faster.
Some great snacks are:
Granola Bars
Fruit Snacks
Chips/crackers
Fruit (if it isn't too hot)

Don't forget to drink lots of WATER, it's getting warmer here in Florida!

Where In The World

Yes this is actually somewhere in Disney and not someone's backyard!

WATER!!!

Summer is almost here and that means it's going to be hot!  This will probably be the most important tip we can give you while visiting Walt Disney World.  Drink lots of water! You can get dehydrated very quickly here in sunny Florida, within a couple hours.  You will start to feel sick, can get dizzy or nauseous, even pass out.  Nothing can ruin a good day faster. If you do feel any of these symptoms please make your way to the first aid center.  After speaking to one of the nurses that are on site at the Magic Kingdom, she said that for an adult they should drink one water bottle every hour and kids 1/2 a water bottle every hour (sodas do not count as water).  That's a lot of water!  If you find yourself without a water bottle go to any counter service with a soda fountain and they will give you a cup of water at no charge and of course there are plenty of drinking fountains located all over Disney.   Even Disney knows how important this is.  Please drink water and don't forget the sunscreen!  You don't want to be dehydrated and sunburned.

Our kids drinking their water in a fun way at one of the many drinking fountains at Disney

Magic Moment Monday ~ A surprise guest

I was having a hard time coming up with a Magic Moment for today.  Then I remembered one that just happenend that was pretty cool.  We were hanging in the Living Seas after we had just gotten off the Nemo ride. George was upstairs with a couple of the kids and I was wandering around looking at all the fun things.  When I went up to meet him, he told me that a diver had just been out talking to them.  He told them to wait there because a very special guest was going to be coming out.  Oh how the excitment built!  Who could it be?  After all we are at Disney World!  A few moments later the special guest arrived.  Here is who we saw...

Mickey Mouse in a diving outfit! The cast members said it is very rare that he comes out in this costume. It was so cool to see him swimming around.  He even stop to take pictures with us!

Our Diver Friend

So keep your eyes open always you just never know who you will run into!

If you are looking for an inexpensive and yummy treat head over to EPCOT's Norway.  There you will find Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, which translates to Kringla Bakery and Cafe.  It is a very small bakery filled with very tasty treats.  One of our all time favorites is School Bread.  If you haven't tried school bread you must make your way to Norway to do so. It is a pastry topped with coconut and filled with a creamy middle. At just $2.69 it is a great treat!  I spoke with one of the cast members working at the bakery and she said if you wanted to try a more traditional treat then try Lefse.  This is a snack that Norwegian moms make for their children after school.  It is a flour tortilla with butter, cinnamon and sugar rolled up.  At $1.99 this might just be the cheapest treat in Disney.

Castle and Roses

This seems easy, but do you know where the picture was taken?

Do you see what I see?

Ok - it's Wednesday - so tell me - Where in the World is this?

Last Week's Answer: Mickey is in Hollywood Studios (By the Brown Derby) and the Army Men are also in HS - by the Toy Story ride - hope you knew that...

Favorite Parade

There are so many different Parades to choose from throughout Disney World.  Today we are going to share George's favorite - SpectroMagic....yeah, I know, it's no longer here in Florida - it is, shall we say, under maintenance while we have the Main Street Electrical Parade to enjoy instead.  Now, I do love the Main Street Electrical Parade as much as most people, but the simple purity and beauty of SpectroMagic is hard to surpass.  The colors are brilliant and fun, but my heart is captured by the white lights and the majesty of it all.  The music is wonderfully composed and makes you feel like you could be at a Royal Ball dancing in formal attire at times while mixing in plenty of our favorite tunes as a part of the melody.  If you have never seen it, be patient - it will be back, in the interim, enjoy some of the quick looks below...

Wilderness Walking

One of our favorite things to do at Disney is walk (thank goodness, cause walking makes up a good percentage of your time) - especially in the resort portions or the World.  A great place to spend a quite hour walking is a little trail from Wilderness Lodge over to the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds.  You cross over a road and are within a stones throw of a service road, but it is unusually remote feeling, with nothing but trees and overgrown greens along the trail.  The path offers a couple of small detours off to the side back into the foliage, but we tend to stick to the main pathway. Don't be surprised at all when you come across deer crossing the path or simply sitting on the side, snacking on some good Disney greens.  Some bikes use the path, but you will enjoy the peaceful environment if you need a get away.  Of course, at the end of the trail is the stable area of Fort Wilderness, so you can stop and say hi to all the giant horses that are stabled at the Campgrounds.  Walk back through the main area and you will find yourself at the dock where you can grab a boat right back to the Wilderness Lodge where you started.

Check out this little video of a friend we met on the trail...

Tom Sawyer's Island

Tom Sawyer's Island opens at 10am on most days - if you've never been, it's a great place to explore or take a leisurely stroll without the crowds.  Tom's Island offers mills to enter, caves to explore, forts and even a barrel bridge to navigate.  While providing lots of adventure, the island can also provide something unexpected - FAST PASSES - that's right, if you are among the first to make your way over to the island you might find one of the handful of paintbrushes hidden throughout the landscape.  Find one and bring it to the cast member at the boats and they will give you a free family fast pass for a ride (usually it is a choice of Splash or Thunder).

Now, when you are searching for these brushes, there are some simple rules you can count on - the brushes are always somewhere "on the path", meaning you will not need to go crawling though the undergrowth or stepping outside the boundaries to find them. They are not often hidden in plain site, but they could be - look in buckets and behind trash cans.  They are usually gone pretty quick - I'd say almost always by 11:00 or so at the latest.  Look everywhere - they have been known to hide in all areas of the island - from the Fort to the caves and even in the waiting area for the boat home.

Happy hunting - makes a great family competition..

G&J

Kodak Experience

Dear Reader,

Have you ever really wanted to feel special?  Maybe just get treated a little better than you expected?  Well as you probably know, Disney is all about making the Magic real - there are so many ways for you and your family to experience the Magic - I want to share a very simple yet memorable experience we had at the Magic Kingdom.

We had been at Epcot all day long and were riding one of our favorite rides (Journey to Imagination with Figment).  After the ride, they used to have the Kodak Exhibit and there was always a very friendly and outgoing cast member running the show.  We met one young lady, Ms. Heather, she was very interactive and funny as can be - we got along quite well with her and told her a little about our family - visiting from Kansas on vacation.  Now the time of year was October, and we had decided to hand out Halloween gift bags to the cast members who made us smile.  Ms. Heather got one for sure.  The baggie had a lollipop, a little oriental fan and a spider ring in it - she was as excited as can be (after declining the gift three times, she was obligated to accept it) and simply loved the spider - or so she said.  We were happy to have made her smile and thought that would be the end of our story.

Fast forward 1 year - we had decided that Kansas was just too far from Disney World, so we had packed up the clan and moved - now we had season passes and were visiting all of the time - Epcot is a common destination and Figment is still a favorite.  So one one of our trips, we saw our old friend - Ms. Heather.  Now as you can imagine, there had been quite a few people through since we had last spoken with Ms. Heather - but she remembered us right away - not only that - but she still had the fan and spider ring IN HER POCKET - she said she was always talking about that large family from Kansas who brought magic to her day.  I can't tell you how magical it feels to interact with the cast members - you'd be surprised how few people actually take the time to thank them and make sure they know they are appreciated - so few in fact, that they share stories of the guests who do and remember them for years to come.  So if you want a little bit of extra magic - try what our family has always done at Disney - take time out to visit with the cast members who work so hard to make the magic happen - as is usually the case, when you focus on being a blessing to others, you will find the true blessings are yours.

Sadly, the Kodak Experience is long gone - but we still get to see Ms. Heather - she's in Italy now - dancing up a storm and being as fun and friendly as ever - Thanks for the Magic, Ms. Heather!

The Kansas Crew....

Magic Mickey & Army Scramble

Ok, so we took a little break, but we are back - so see if you can figure out where these two items are - they are NOT in the same place...

Picture # 1 is......

And now for picture # 2

That one's not too hard.... Good luck one and all!!!

George and Jenny