disney world Archives • diy mama

by Shelly on October 26, 2018 5 Comments

Why Staying on Property at Disney is the Best Decision

Why Staying on Property at Disney is the Best Decision- I was invited by Walt Disney Special Events to attend a private preview of Pandora – World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom, but all opinions and photos are my own.

Disney World resorts offer guests many benefits you won’t find staying at other hotels in Orlando. We’ve stayed at several Disney resorts and found that while each offers it’s own unique experience, there’s a resort to fit every family’s needs. I have been to Disney World 11 times, not counting the 6 months I lived there and frequented the parks and resorts. I have visited, if not stayed, at every WDW Resort property other than the campsites at Fort Wilderness (which is on my bucket list!) We have also stayed off property as a kid and an adult. This last trip solidified that I will never stay off property again.

Here is a list of reasons why you should choose a Disney resort when planning your Disney vacation:

Why Staying on Property at Disney is the Best Decision

MAGICAL EXPRESS

We’ll start at the first bit of Disney magic you encounter upon landing at MCO. In the planning stages when guests are booking their reservations and buying tickets, they’ll also have the chance to sign up for Magical Express tickets for free. The Magical Express is the large air conditioned bus that whisks you off to your resort. Simultaneously, your checked bags are taken to your resort and placed in your rooms before check-in. TIP: I suggest always taking carry-on but if you must check luggage, be sure to bring a bag with everything you may need for the parks (including swim suits) as your carry-on.

COMPLIMENTARY TRANSPORTATION & PARKING

My number one reason for staying on property is their complimentary transportation. Guests can avoid the hassle of driving and parking, and save time and money. You’ll have your choice of riding a bus, boat or monorail within Disney property. Parking is also free for guests of Disney resorts. Standard parking throughout the theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs and hotel areas is complimentary for resort guests.

MAGIC BANDS

Magic Bands are great for convenience and efficiency around Disney World. With your magic band, you’re able to:

Unlock the door of your Disney Resort hotel room.
Enter theme and water parks (with valid admission).
Check in at FastPass+ entrances.
Connect Disney PhotoPass images to your account.
Charge food and merchandise purchases to your Disney Resort hotel room (only available during your hotel stay).

It makes it especially easy when you’re trying to balance a child and souvenirs and snacks to just use your magic band without having to dig around for a card.

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS

All resort guests are invited to visit the parks before or after the normal public hours. Extra magic hours are especially great for new attraction openings like Pandora-World of Avatar. Resort guests are able to see the World of Avatar an hour before the public enters the land! This means, you can get less wait time on your favorite attractions if you’re unable to get a fastpass.

FASTPASS+

You can go on the best rides without waiting in any lines with a FastPass+. Simply schedule your passes 60 days prior to your vacation (30 days before non-resort guests). If you are a first time WDW vacationer or you have a special must-do ride, you might leave it up to a Disney travel planner to make sure you have the best chance of getting that attraction’s FastPass.

SPECIAL AMENITIES

Each resort has it’s own special amenities that make that property unique. As you go up in price from a budget friendly resort to a deluxe resort, more amenities are added. When I visited Board Walk Resort their amenities really impressed me. We visited:

Jellyrolls– a dueling piano bar for 21+
Flying Fish– a newly renovated contemporary American restaurant serving premium sustainable seafood and prime steaks
Boardwalk Bakery– a quaint shop with baked goods, soups, salads and sandwiches
Abracadabar– a fun magician themed bar where the bartenders do tricks and the theming is top notch
Trattoria al Forno– casual Italian eatery offering dinner from an open window kitchen as well as an all-new Character Breakfast (the only location you can find Princess Rapunzel and Princess Ariel with their princes!)

Aside from those fantastic amenities, there is a wonderful pool with slide, arcade room with VR games, yoga on the brand new green turf grass, family bicycles and much more! My favorite amenities of any resort are the options to nap (or swim) and do laundry. Being able to do these two things helps us last from rope drop to after the fireworks without being zombies.

RESORT THEMING

Each resort has its own theme, staff, and activities that remind you that you’re still in Disney World. If there’s anything you know about Disney, it’s that they do not skimp on theming. Their resorts are no exception and they go above in helping you feel the Disney magic. If you are bringing children, I highly suggest staying at the Art of Animation resort where all their favorite Disney characters are huge statues throughout the resort. The suites are laid out to make sure everyone has enough space with sleeping for 6 adults and two full bathrooms. Plus, their pool is the best and biggest on Disney property with underwater speakers so you can hear the tunes down below!

GREAT LOCATION

The less time you waste on travel, the more time you have enjoying WDW with your family. The Disney resorts are sprinkled all across Disney property making it convenient to get from your resort to the park. If you know you’ll be spending multiple days at Magic Kingdom, you’re able to choose a resort near that park (possibly even stay at The Contemporary where you can walk!)

CELEBRATING

Disney is known for making celebrations extra special. Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, and graduations, among other things, at Walt Disney World is extremely popular, and for good reason. Be sure to tell a cast member what you’ll be celebrating on the phone while making initial plans (or online). When we checked in at the resort during one vacation the front desk lady saw we were celebrating our anniversary and congratulated us. I’d asked if we could transfer to a room closer to the buses and she was able to upgrade us to a suite that was right off the main pool by the buses! Things that should be planned in advance are add-ons like cakes, gifts, flowers, or other surprises. Cakes can be ordered by calling the cake hotline at 407-827-CAKE (407-827-2253), and everything else is possible via Disney Floral & Gifts. We were surprised with chocolate dipped strawberries, champagne and Mickey champagne flutes in our room after we returned from getting engaged in Magic Kingdom. Disney makes it super easy and quick for someone to call up and send something special on a short notice. You don’t have to use the Disney Floral & Gifts department to add a special touch. The last time we went, I’d purchased Disney PJs, an autograph book, some treats and a light up Cinderella before heading to Disney and set it up as a gift from Tinkerbell while we were out at the parks on our first day.

I’d love to know your favorite reasons to stay on Walt Disney World Resort property. What about it makes you save up a little bit longer so you’re able to stay on property?

For more Disney related posts:

Inside Out Memory Orb Cake
Surviving Disney with a Toddler
Disney Park Tips

by Shelly on August 28, 2017 15 Comments

Love Letters Scrapbook

Love letters scrapbook is awesome to keep memories in one spot. My husband and I have a lot of letters, cards, drawings and tickets from the past 8 years. I had them all in two shoe boxes that we never looked at. I wanted to be able to have them in a place that was easy to pull out and flip through when I’m feeling especially girly and sentimental. I wanted this book to be all about the contents and not about the stickers, brads, gems and extra goodies I usually put into scrap booking, so I picked up a Smash Book binder from Michael’s and started loading everything in! Our love letters scrapbook is now one of my favorite keepsakes.

Love Letters Scrapbook

The first step was to sort through the most important memories. All of our memories are special but they can’t all fit in one book and I wanted them all in one space (up to this chapter of our lives). The next step was to attempt to put them into chronological order. This was, by far, the most time consuming step of the whole project. I didn’t stress out if I couldn’t remember when something had happened…I’d just throw it in somewhere close to that time period.

I loved that this book had a large pocket in the front and back to put larger treasures. I also used photos as pockets by adhering glue dots to the back and making it look pretty with washi tape on the front.

By layering pamphlets with their tickets, I was able to create a tangible layout. I’d kept the keycard holder from the hotel we stayed at and used it to hold the keys and tickets. I left everything in the envelopes accessible so we can pull them out later on. Envelopes also made for great pockets to hold letters.

I also bought a pack of hole punched folders to stuff holiday cards. I’ve saved all of the cards from flowers that Jeffrey has sent me and put them in the mini pocket folders. Anything that was a little heavier, I adhered with glue dots.

Anything that was double sided, I attached with washi tape so we’d be able to lift and read both sides. Again, in the above photo, I used an envelope that held a card because it had writing on the back that I didn’t want to be glued to the page.

In a few cases I had a lot of one thing (tickets, letters, art) so I made an envelope out of scrap paper and glue dots but covered with washi tape to make it a bit prettier.

I’d also gotten a clear photo holder that was by another company so I had to re-punch the holes. I wanted something clear that would hold photos, or in this case, movie tickets.

With the pack of hole punched folders I’d already mentioned, I added all of the remaining holiday cards. Another helpful technique was to accordion letters and tape one edge so you could unfold the letter to read it. I would show you a picture but I don’t want our love letters on the internet.

As always, a shot of my work area: messy. I was sure to include a few photos sprinkled throughout to show what we looked like during these memories. I have several photo scrapbooks already but wanted a memory album full of tickets and love letters. There are a few more pages left in the book but it’s so packed I can hardly wrap the elastic around it. I’ll just have to make a new one in 5 years! Have any of you made a memory album? What do you do with all the little trinkets you save from trips, birthdays and invitations?

My First Disney World Media Event

In a couple days, I am going on my first Disney World media event! I say ‘first’ because I am determined to do this again. Being a Disney College Program Alumn, I have a very special place in my heart for Disney World. Crying at the first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle is a natural reaction. Cravings for Dole Whip as soon as the weather hits 80 degrees occurs every year. Busting into any conversation regarding a Disney vacation can not be helped. It’s a sickness I have and I’m happy to have it.

You can guess my reaction when I was asked by a friend to join her on her travels to Disney World for a media event directly before the opening of Pandora. Heart attack. Squeals. Tears. Fanning myself. Deep breaths. Repeat.

In an attempt to not give too much away before my trip, I’ll let you know that we’ll be taking behind the scenes tours of the resorts and Disney’s newest addition Pandora- The World of Avatar. We’ll sprinkle in a few firework dessert parties and meals at restaurants I’ve only dreamed of experiencing. To say the least, I have no clue what I’m most excited for. This trip will be full of firsts for this Disney Mom!

Pandora- The World of Avatar

A small glimpse of what’s ahead in Pandora- The World of Avatar:

I will be sharing my trip live on IG Stories for any Disney fans to follow along. We’ll also be meeting a few Disney team members that will be able to answer questions about:

Pandora- The World of Avatar/ Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios

I would love to ask them any questions you may have. You can tweet your questions to my Twitter account. Be sure to follow #wdwresorts and #visitPandora for updates from all of the media guests this next week.

Photos by Disney Parks Blog

by Shelly on January 9, 2015 2 Comments

Magic Kingdom Attractions for Kids

This is the second post of my Disney Attractions series and it is going to be all about the top Disney attractions for kids at the Magic Kingdom (in my opinion.) I’ll go through the attractions according to how I go through the park, again, rather than my favorites. These attractions are geared towards young kids but can still be fun for the adults riding with them. 🙂 Again, if you have any questions regarding anything Disney, don’t be shy, ask away!

When we go to the Magic Kingdom we always take the same route (the same one described here.) If you are a kid, there’s nothing better than feeling like you’re the center of attention. Disney is GREAT for making kids feel special! The Harmony Barber Shop is a great first stop in making your kids feel like the main attraction! You can also check out The Pirates League or the Bippidi Bobbidi Boutique for an even more unique experience (but with more attention comes a bigger price tag.)

I’m not going to mention any character meet and greets in this section. All of them are awesome! The characters and princesses are very attentive and give kids plenty of time to talk. First stop–Adventureland! The Magic Carpets of Aladdin are essentially the Dumbo ride but you can ride with 4 people rather than 2. The Jungle Cruise is a great ride for kids to explore nature from a boat and spot their favorite animals. The tour guides say ‘punny’ jokes throughout the ride to keep the adults engaged and the kids laughing. Pirates of the Caribbean is a classic that kids will recognize from the movies. It is dark though, so beware if you have children who are not fond of dark rides.

‘Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me…’ sorry…that song ALWAYS gets stuck in my head! After Pirates we head to Frontierland where we get a Fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and go ride Splash Mountain while we wait. There’s a high chance that your kids will get wet on this ride, along with any cell phones or cameras that are not in a ziplock bag. We always ride this ride early so we have time to dry off throughout the hot day. If you don’t want to get wet you can always wear a poncho. 😉 I also think Tom Sawyer Island is really fun for kids to run around and explore. There is no longer a hidden paint brush, but if you mention that you looked for it to the raft captain, they’ll likely give you fastpasses for your family. 😉

*Tip: Remember to measure your kids’ height and check the requirements before waiting in line to take them on rides. Nothing worse than a disappointed child who had their hopes up to ride a certain ride. Also, if you have a smart phone, be sure to get the Disney Experience Mobile App. This mobile app tells you the wait times for attractions throughout the parks as well as allows you to make dining reservations.

The next must-do attraction is the only attraction we like in Liberty Square- Haunted Mansion. Going through the ‘fun que’ will actually put you behind by a couple people but we always go through it anyway! The Haunted Mansion is a scary ride for children who are afraid of the dark, however, most children think it’s a ‘funny scary.’ Congratulations b/c by this time you’ve survived taking your kids through almost half of the park!

Now is where the REAL fun for your kiddies begins! 😉 Since the Haunted Mansion is right next to Fantasyland, we head on over to Peter Pan’s Flight to get a Fastpass and go ride It’s a Small World while we wait. It’s a Small World is KEY in a successful break for your kids b/c it has air conditioning, has small lines, is full of glitter and lets you rest your feet!! All great things in my book. Once we wave adios at Small World we hit up Peter Pan (ALWAYS get a Fastpass for this ride or you WILL be let down. The line is deceptive because it swirls all over the place.) After Pan we go watch Mickey’s PhilharMagic which is one of my FAVORITE attractions in all of Magic Kingdom. Please do not overlook this attraction. Your kids will love it!

After singing along with Jasmine we go to my VERY favorite spot of Disney– THE Castle! It’s a great time to get up close and personal with the castle for a picture break! Disney has PhotoPass cast members that will take your picture with their DSLR cameras and you can buy them online once you get home. You can also ask them to use your camera to take a picture to make sure Mom AND Dad get in the shot as well! Don’t forget to bring change for the wishing well. 😉

Once we get all of the pictures of ~~our home~~ the Castle, we ride Prince Charming Regal Carousel because there’s never a line, I like running around until I find the perfect horse and I love the music. Every kid[at heart] loves the carousel. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a MUST, not only because I worked that ride, but because it’s SO DARN CUTE! The line is really fun too! After eating cake with Pooh and his friends we always take a spin in Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups! Be sure to plan your meals accordingly so you’re not full when you go on this ride. This is not a suggestion…I’m telling you this as a friend. 😉

NEW FANTASYLAAAAAAND! THIS is a whole new section of the park that they’ve expanded over the past few years. New Fantasyland has taken the place of Toontown and is completely new, other than The Barnstormer (which I recommend b/c it’s a gateway roller coaster…not quite as big as Thunder or Space but bigger than the normal kiddie coasters.) If you get a Fastpass in this area, get it for Under the Sea- Journey of the Little Mermaid or (if it’s open) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Journey of the Little Mermaid is a very similar ride to Winnie the Pooh so if you’re short on time, choose your kid’s favorite character.

The top attraction that I would recommend for kids to see in New Fantasyland is Enchanted Tales with Belle. SO CUTE! Parents, if your kids like Beauty and the Beast in the slightest, you won’t regret this. The classic ride– Dumbo the Flying Elephant is now back in this area and is twice as big with two sets of flying elephants. The ‘line’ is also a fun place to let your kids run around at the circus playground while you wait. Another place to let your kids burn off some energy or cool off is Casey Jr. Splash N’ Soak Station.

Honestly, everything in Tomorrowland is awesome! 😉 I’m such a fan! If there’s one I wouldn’t do (have never and will never do) it’s Stitch’s Great Escape. I’m not a fan of Stitch and I’ve heard he burps at one point and it smells like coney dogs. 🙁 Sorry if that just grossed you out…I just wanted to prepare you! Astro Orbiter is the same concept as Dumbo and Aladdin but up reeeeally high. Kinda cool to do at night but not worth the wait if your kids didn’t like one of the other two rides. I am a fan of all the other rides in Tomorrowland but if you’re running low on time I would recommend three above the rest. Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Monster’s is a comedy show put on my Mike and will have both you and your kids belly laughing! Space is a classic but is dark, fast and usually has a long line so make sure it’s the right choice for your family before getting in line (or getting a Fastpass.) Buzz is dark but very fun for little kids because they get to be in control of a laser gun to shoot Zorg! Buzz is always very crowded so if you’re to get a Fastpass for anywhere in Tomorrowland, this is where you should get one.

I had to check back at the list of Magic Kingdom attractions because I felt like I just named every single one of them! I didn’t…but I came close! They’re all so good and I wanted to mention all of the rides above b/c you’ll better be able to decide what your kids like and weed out the rides that are too big for them right now. Also, if you don’t think Disney World is worth the money or vacation time…you’re very wrong. It’s a place filled with magic and wonder for people of ALL ages. Seriously, it makes me tear up just thinking about how many people have felt special at the Happiest Place on Earth!

I won’t be doing a post on character meet n’ greets so if that is something you’re interested in, send me a message. 🙂 Next week’s series post will cover Attractions for Adults at EPCOT! What are your kid’s favorite rides? Any they love that I missed? Anyone else feel like a kid when they go to Magic Kingdom? *Tip: wearing Mickey ears WILL make you happier while at Disney. 😉

Why Staying on Property at Disney is the Best Decision

Why Staying on Property at Disney is the Best Decision

MAGICAL EXPRESS

COMPLIMENTARY TRANSPORTATION & PARKING

MAGIC BANDS

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS

FASTPASS+

SPECIAL AMENITIES

RESORT THEMING

GREAT LOCATION

CELEBRATING

Love Letters Scrapbook

Love Letters Scrapbook

My First Disney World Media Event

Pandora- The World of Avatar

Top Posts of 2014

Magic Kingdom Attractions for Kids

Life Planner

Preschool Montessori Bedroom

7 Tips to Make your Road Trip to Disney Magical