Wednesday, December 26, 2012

PhotoFlashback: New Fantasyland Souvenir

In November we were at Walt Disney World and had the opportunity to go to the Annual Passholder Preview of the New Fantasyland.  Before the trip I had to register for the opportunity to attend this event.  While registering they had some of the New Fantasyland merchandise for sale.  Of course I bit and bought a pin, a t-shirt and a hat.  I wanted to wear theses to the Preview.  Of course I was a little disappointed when I saw shipping would be in February 2013.  To my surprise they arrived the week before Christmas so I thought I'd share their pictures.


GrowingUpDisney.com Growing Up Disney
New Fantasyland T-Shirt
growingupdisney.com growing up disney
New Fantasyland Baseball hat

Baseball hat has the November 2012 date of the Passholder Preview



GrowingUpDisney.com growing up disney
New Fantasy Limited Edition pin
GrowingUpDisney.com growing up disney
Pin inside
--DisneyDad

Friday, December 21, 2012

Magical Blogorail: Dreaming of a Disney Christmas


Disney Christmas

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the Final stop on our Magical Blogorail.


This month our topic is "Dreaming of a Disney Christmas."  There are plenty of Disney touches in a Growing Up Disney Christmas.  Our favorite characters appear on Christmas jammies, as ornaments, lights and stockings, and of course in gifts under the tree.  But recently we had the chance to experience a little Disney Parks Christmas.  

We timed our fall vacation this year to give us both a taste of the Food and Wine Festival and a glimpse at the splendor of Disney's holiday finery.  In mid-November the parks were already decked out.  In a previous year, our vacation included Halloween and the poinsettias started going into flower beds on November 1.  

Magic Kingdom has to be fully ready first since the first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was held this year on November 9.  Thanks to DisneyDad for these lovely images of Christmas decor on Main Street during the day.  Classic red and green look amazing with the nostalgic street.

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom

Christmas decorations at Magic Kingdom


I've shared pictures of the Castle Dream Lights before but it's just too beautiful not to mention again. 

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights


I really like this tree as you enter World Showcase at Epcot.  It just seems to rise up forever.  Thanks to Ridge for these images.
Christmas tree at World Showcase, Epcot

Christmas tree at World Showcase, Epcot


Somehow three of the five adults in our group travel with "fancy cameras" and none of us managed to get a picture of the huge tree outside Animal Kingdom.  Guess we were all too excited to get to eat with Mickey at Tusker House to stop (or in my case too frustrated with the tram....just walk.)  Disney Dad did get this shot of Goofy from Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade.

Goofy in the Mickey's Jingle Jingle Parade


The highlight of the Christmas fun for our family was the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.  I don't see how you could go through this display of about 5 million lights and not enjoy yourself.  We danced and giggled, reached for "snow" and sang along with the songs.  I love traveling with my own PhotoPass crew.  Other than a couple of quick shots with the iPhone, my good camera stayed in the bag and I just enjoyed the time with my family.  (Disney Dad took these and more and Ridge got some really great shots.  Click here for Ridge's post full of images and video from the Osborne Lights!)

Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Snow at Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights


Hidden Mickey at Osborne Spectacle of Dancing LightsT

The Growing Up Disney family wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Red this month. We will be back Friday, January 18th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ My Dreams Of Disney
2nd Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay
3rd Stop ~ Pursuing the Magic
4th Stop ~ A World View
Final Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Photo Flashback!!! Merry Christmas to me



A fun picture I texted home to some friends. 10am back at home and I'm already having a cold one on the last weekend of Food and Wine.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, December 17, 2012

Nine's Disney Adventures Continue: Tink's First Trip from the UK to WDW Part 1

Many thanks to Janine for sharing her family's Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World experiences with us! This latest installment is her trip report from her WDW visit this fall.  

We have fairly recently returned from our first trip to WDW with our 2 year old daughter, Tink. My husband and I have each been several times before but this was to be the first taste of America for the smallest Pipe. She had been to Disneyland Paris with us in June for a very quick 2 night visit.  Tink both thoroughly enjoyed it (we rode IASW about 1,000 times) and was over-awed (she literally screamed when she saw King Louis and Baloo).
 
We booked the WDW trip back in March for September 22 through October 6. This was a short time period of planning for us, but the holiday was very much a last minute decision. We last visited in 2009 when I was pregnant with Tink and didn't think that we would be able to afford to return until a planned family visit in 2014. But sometimes life deals you a card which makes you think just go for it, and so we did.

Being old hands at Florida holidays made the planning and booking process a lot easier. I still laugh when to think of when the Travel Agent phoned me trying to sell me some tickets to Universal. No thanks I said, we won't be going this year. But do you know about such and such they asked? This is my 5th and my husbands 7th visit I replied. Oh was the answer, well you probably know more about it than me then. Teehee.

We booked the flight, hotel and car hire through said Travel Agent but online rather than in the store which allegedly saved us some time and money. We booked the tickets to WDW through Disney directly but bought the 14 day Hoppers which are only available for UK customers. We opted to upgrade our flight to Premium seats which meant we had a dedicated check-in, extra baggage allowance, complimentary food and drinks etc. Well worth it with a pre-schooler as it was her first flight and 9.5 hours of sitting down with nothing to do was not going to happen! She actually did pretty well on the flights, refused to sleep the whole way there but made good use of watching Mickey on the iPad and playing with the huge bag of surprises I'd brought for her. Luckily she did sleep most of the way home, thank goodness as it was an over-night flight! There was one small child who was really wailing for part of the flight and I just felt so sorry for them and their parents, it can't be any fun with a grouchy child and disapproving looks from fellow passengers. We put her in her PJs and made sure she had her favorite pillow and blanket and that really helped too. We also brought her bed time sippy cup so she could have her usual milk and hot chocolate, so she had all her bedtime signals. I really think this worked more than anything to get her to sleep. A big tip was to buy toddler sized head phones. The ones provided on the plane would have been way too big and hers were pink, just what every 2 year old princess-in-training wants.

We booked a Dodge Caravan as we wanted plenty of space even though it was just the 3 of us. We really liked this car and would happily have one again. It just about fit all the stuff we carted around with us each day! We chose to take our car seat and stroller rather than hire them Stateside as Tink likes what she knows and knows what she likes. As the stroller is a Maclaren Volo it is really lightweight and folds up super quick anyway. Having a stroller was a Godsend, even when Tink didn't want to use it we laden it up with the bags in the Parks so we could carry extra stuff without worrying about the weight.

As this was a quickie/cheapie holiday we did not stay on-site at WDW but just outside in Lake Buena Vista. We stayed in the Clarion Inn on Palm Parkway and were about a 2 minute drive from the first WDW sign and just over 5 from DTD. The hotel was perfect for us as we had requested a ground floor room, lots to do and places to eat with in walking distance and a very short drive to the Parks. It might not have been as fancy as some of the WDW hotels (Oh Grand Flo I dream of staying in you one day) but it did us fine for what is was needed for and we would happily return.

Contributed by Janine P. of Swindon, England. She is a proud wife, mommy to Felicity and one of our Minnie Moms.  Check out her monthly series which followed her as she planned her family's first trip to Disneyland Paris.  Learn more about Janine here.

Please join us again soon when Janine shares fun memories and lessons learned about time in the Disney Parks from this most recent adventure.

Friday, December 14, 2012

A Walk Around The World With Ridge -- Merry Christmas with the Osborne Lights


The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Osborne Lights
 The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights happens every year from November to the first week of January. The lights are strung up on every building and take up all available space on all the building on the streets of America. I was there on November 14th and it was my first time to see the lights since the houses on the back lot were still there…. I miss the Golden Girls house.
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios



The lights themselves are an amazing set up. They are everywhere; there are moving decorations on the buildings and on the sidewalks. It’s like daytime on the street.  Every ten minutes the lights dim and music plays and the lights put on a choreographed show. Even the cast members get in on the act and will dance along line dance style.
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

 Walt Disney World has been the home of the Osborne Lights since 1995, when the Osborne's home town in Arkansas told them that they couldn’t make their display because it too big. It’s been at Disney ever since. It really is something to behold and to cap off a magical night in the lights…. It "snows."
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Photo Flashback! Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

At 6:30 each evening throughout the holiday season, the Castle Dream Lights are turned on in a special ceremony.  The best part is, of course, the lights themselves.  Cinderella Castle is breathtaking while enrobed in thousands of tiny lights. 

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

I think this post may include images from all three photographers in the family.  I loaded all of Dad's and Chris' pictures to my computer before we left WDW and the files are intermingled now.  The star filter on the first shot tells me that was Chris (Ridge) and I know I took the ones of the lighting process.  I'm not so sure on the others, but aren't they pretty?  ~Amy

Update: DisneyDad said thanks for the credit but he wasn't able to shoot this night.  Chris' camera batteries were all dead and DisneyDad shared his.  
Thanks to Deb for hosting another fun photo topic!
Focused on the Magic

Monday, December 10, 2012

Going Under the Sea at the Annual Passholder Preview

The Growing Up Disney family attended the annual passholder preview last month at New Fantasyland.  It was terrific to see the area with only a few other guests.  I imagine that it will be quite busy for some time to come.  In the meantime, let's take a photo tour of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid.

Under the Sea, New Fantasyland, Little Mermaid
Very pretty signage

Under the Sea, New Fantasyland, Little Mermaid
Prince Eric's castle

Under the Sea, New Fantasyland, Little Mermaid
Lovely!

Under the Sea, New Fantasyland, Little Mermaid

Under the Sea, New Fantasyland, Little Mermaid
Queen of the World!
The queue is set-up so that you have to walk quite a way, even if there isn't a wait.  However, there is an interactive element that makes it fun.   A little crab appears in various areas and will take away the human stuff when you point at it.  It's very cute.




Hop in the clam shell omnimover, enjoy the beautiful murals, go through the shipwreck...





And then Scuttle takes guests on a journey under the sea through all the major scenes and songs from the film.















Overall, it's a fun attraction and very well-done.  I'm not one that thinks that everything has to have a movie tie-in so on one hand, I question why we need a new and expensive attraction for an old movie.  On the other hand, I rode this twice and once was was two three year-old girls.  They loved it and for them, their beloved Disney Princesses are new and fresh.  With the overall popularity of Disney Princesses, Under the Sea should be a well-attended attraction.

A quick note for parents of small children: The scene with Ursula could be scary for some kids.  Neither my daughter or her friend panicked but if your child is easily frightened, be prepared for this part of the attraction.