Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Italy Pavilion in Epcot #SilentSunday

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers! Spot the hidden Mickey in the old Palo dishware. Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!

If my post on the recent warnings about the dangers of the stick figure family on the back of your minivan failed to move you (and you're in good company, I still have mine) then you're in luck! Especially if you like freebies. Disney Parks launched " Build Your Disney Side " on their website last week, allowing those of us with a #DisneySide a mile wide to debate the merits of our stick figure avatar carrying a dole whip, magic wand, churro or pirate sword. After customizing and recustomizing, you receive links to share your Disney Side family on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter or Pinterest. What? No DCL background? They offer a link to download your picture and also order your decal for your car free! Just make sure you like it before your order as you may go back and edit anytime, but once you've ordered, it's one per household.

#SilentSunday

Welcome Blog Hoppers to The Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere "Shorts Saturday" Blog Hop for the week of February 8, 2014. Every week, I host this link up blog hop to share a short and sweet version of our Disney love as we answer Disney related questions. I'd love for you to grab the button and link up your post! We all love comments, so half the fun is visiting each other's blogs and commenting on their thoughts. Our short and sweets  prompt this week is "What made me smile today..." Waking up before Ben's alarm clock, I snuggled back and started my studying and blogging as Ben left for work. Before sunrise, bleary-eyed girl stuck her head around the door. Snuggling in rather than heading back to bed, I smile and type. 5:43 is lovely (so long as I'm already awake.) Now it's your turn! Link up and comment away. Thank you for joining in my blog hop!!!         get the InLinkz code

Here's one of my new favorite blog hops today: Three Things Thursday!  (Be sure to link up on her blog !) Since I already have a blog (and three blogs preceding this one) what haven't I already shared? Once Upon a Time There Was a Princess Who... 1.) Spends part of every morning braiding or twisting or plaiting or combing.  Kylee's requested "Elsa hair" I find it relaxing. Kylee picks something off of my Braids and Bows pinterest board and I do my best not to pull her hair too hard. If you're trying to learn to French or Dutch braid, I find practicing on the back of my own head MUCH easier than practicing on my wiggle preschooler. 2.) Never Met a Pin She Didn't Like  Seriously. Just check out my pinterest sometime if you doubt me. I definitely collect a ton of pins. (1,569 pins and counting...) Do them all loads some? Maybe. Maybe not! 3.) First started running because the Inaugural Disney Princess Half Marathon ...

Welcome Tiggerific Tuesday Blog Hoppers!   Thank you again  to our hosts, Magical Mouse Schoolhouse , My Dreams of Disney , Heidi's Head and Disney Babies Blog . Did you know that while the Disney Magic was built in two section in the Fincantieri shipyards of Venice, Italy, the Disney Wonder's construction took place in one location? Due to the two part construction, the Magic features a seam on the outer hull, visible on deck four just forward of Assembly Station I. No worries if your stateroom is on the seam, as many cast members state that this seam is actually the strongest most reinforced segment of the ship.  Starboard birthmark on the Magic. If you happen to be on the Wonder, however you still will notice a seam in approximately the same location. According to the Art of the Theme Show Tour , the imagineers were so invested in keeping the ships identical during the initial construction, that the Disney Wonder received a "tattoo" of sorts. Des...

I think that the magic of a Disney vacation exists in three wonderful parts: the dreaming of planning, the pixie dust moments during trip itself and the memories you take with you for years to come. Since I can't live in the Cinderella Castle Suite or even on property year round, pictures help bring a bit of the fairytale back into my everyday life. In my enthusiastic pursuit of remembering the Magic, I take hundreds of my own pictures every vacation and hope to share a bit of my experience with you. One thing that captures part of the "Disney Difference" is the level of details found in each and every resort, ride, park and ship.  Beautifully reflective Venetian Murano glass railing toppers taken inches away from the subject. Note reflection. Now if you're really curious about my favorite photos of my vacations (without my kids acting like goofballs , that is) they all are photographs that capture either the tiny special little details that just ma...

Welcome Fastpass to History Bloghoppers! My tenth anniversary comes up in January, so I'm feeling a bit sentimental...so here is the history of how I gained my very first pair of Mickey Ears. I grew up going to Walt Disney World (repeatedly) from the age of ten onward, however due to a certain affinity I had for Goofy in middle school (who isn't Goofy in middle school?) I tended to stick to the Goofy Ear baseball hats.  Chris loves trying on daddy's ears. Once I found out that Ben planned for us to honeymoon at Walt Disney World, I recalled all the beautiful bride Minnie Ears I saw over the years and decided we could definitely pick some up. Our first afternoon after checking into our hotel, we headed to the Grand Floridian, the Chapeau, and finally lucked out at Fantasy Faire in Fantasyland...but they'd just run out of bobby pins so we trekked over to Disney MGM Studios (back before it made the switch to Hollywood Studios and stopped in Villains in...

Much like spending your nights at Walt Disney World sleeping at the Grand Floridian in a Club Level room with a theme park view at rack rate, the Disney Fantasy Royal Suite price make these vacations seem astronomically expensive. And, oddly enough, nearly the same prices for the Walt Disney World high end packages as the Disney Cruise Line suites. They don't have to be ridiculously expensive and in many cases can even be more affordable for the average American family than a trip to Walt Disney World.  Over the years I've used varying tips and tricks to minimize my vacation expenditure so that I can enjoy a few more excursions, pedicures and Cove Café drinks without the bills following me long after the pixie dust settles. All of the below tips are either things I or one of my friends have successfully utilized, but as always, your mileage may vary. My Top Ten Fourteen DCL Dollar Stretching Tips: 14.) Get Hired By Mickey Cast member discounts can really save y...

Welcome all Fastpass to History blog hoppers! Before 1982, all attractions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland required additional tickets beyond the park admission ticket. They were sold in booklets of several coupons of varying value. Disneyland Ticket Book Courtesy of Wikipedia. The original A rides consisted of the main street transportation, the carousel and a walk through Sleeping Beauty castle. If none of those appealed to you, you could always pay two A tickets for a B ticket ride like the Alice in Wonderland ride.  In the beginning of Disneyland, C tickets were your most exciting rides. A spin in the Mad Tea Party teacups, soaring with Dumbo and taking a Wild Ride with Mr. Toad all took a C coupon. As the parks evolved and grew they added D ticket and eventually E tickets. These E tickets lent their name to "E ticket rides."  Personally, I think old style tickets are a beautiful way to present surprise vacations. In 1982, the ticket books were ab...

On a whim, Ben and I headed off to Palo to head to meet up with the adults only “Art of the Theme Show Tour.” Although this tour started in Palo, no dressing up is required and as it is a one hour walking tour, I recommend comfortable shoes. Do you have your sneakers laced up? We took a seat here and waited for the tour to commence. Palo waiting area Palo seating...does anyone else see a profile of Mickey Mouse eyes and nose and glove in this, or is it just me? Venetian Masks Lining the walls It proved to be entertaining, fascinating (I love all the little details they pointed out at the time) and funny at points. I did not take any pictures at the time…but here is my brief summary for those of you who missed it and want to know what details are covered. Walt Disney originally started the first art of the theme tours in Disneyland to show how the imagineers thought about all the details during designing. Palo means pole in Italian. Note the Venetian Murano blow...