Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

After spending all day Tuesday waiting out #TSBill, the rain cleared just enough for me to go brave minor flooding and meet up with a friend for a girl's night out. Our film of choice: Fathom events presentation of Insider Access to Disney Pixar's Inside Out. Not only would we get to watch the long awaited Pixar film, but enjoy a behind the scenes tour of the Pixar studios. It's always nice to get some girl time and getting to view the latest Disney film uninterrupted was a real treat. As a Disney/Pixar fan, the tour before the film was worth the fathom ticket pricing.  Meet the Little Voices Inside Your Head! Inside Out SPOILERS warning!!!  If you don't want any spoilers, go watch the movie (bring Kleenex!) then come back.   Joy is not the first Pixar character that made me both laugh and cry. (Frankly, between Up and Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3 , the mere sight of the Pixar logo is something of a warning sign for me to double up on the Kleenex....

Welcome to the next stop on Magical Blogorail Orange. Today we are reviewing the value resorts at Walt Disney World. Growing up in a family of six, we needed at least two hotel rooms, so All Star Sports and Music grew to be my Disney home away from home. Now that I'm the adult, I'll be the first to admit that I'd much rather enjoy more time on my vacation at a value resort than less days at a deluxe resort. Not that I wouldn't upgrade to concierge if it's in the budget , of course!  Let's Go to the Movies! On my girls trip last year and on the adventures of the three mousekateers , I grew to love the All Star Movies Resort as well! Known for their over the top imaginative décor, each set of buildings features multistory icons from either The Mighty Ducks, The Love Bug, 101 Dalmatians, Fantasia or Toy Story. Like so: Do you miss the Sorcerer's Hat at Hollywood Studios? Swing by All Star Movies! Magical? Definitely full of tons of pixie du...

My Spoiler Free Review in a Nutshell for Disney's Cinderella 2015: Five Bibbidi Bobbidi Boos out of Five If you, your small children, your teens, your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, boyfriends or roommates enjoy this movie even a fraction of the amount my family did, it is well worth the price of admission. Not enough information? Continue below the picture for a more in depth look. Warning: Some possible slight spoilers below. A Different View of Cinderella? My kids joined me last Friday as we went to Star Cinema Grill (a local dinner at the movies establishment) for what I *hoped* would be an awesome princess movie. My daughter and I loved the trailers and hoped for a good solid movie if not pure magic. In all honesty, my son only agreed to go because he knew he could eat pizza and ignore the movie if he wanted to do so. I had some trepidations about the movie myself. Ahsoka goes to see Cinderella. (Christopher declined to create photographic evidenc...

Ever since I began planning my first Disney Cruise, I've eagerly awaited each new edition of Passporter's Disney Cruise Line. In a friendly conversational voice, Dave Marx and Jennifer Marx demystify cruising and introduce the ins and outs of dining, playing and going on port adventures. Now if you don't mind, I'm off to amaze the kids with their photo in the activities section.

A few New Year's resolutions keep rising to the top. If you opt to skip the get heatlhy, lose weight route this year, I am a big fan of getting organized.   When I am organized, budgeting flows easier, because I know what I have, what I need, what I can do without and whether I have the money set aside.  An organized workspace makes me smile and want to blog. Or at least helps me feel less guilty when I spend inordinate amounts of time on Pinterest. When I am organized, my household is less stressed, because I don't go to crazy mom mode over realizing at the last second that we are late, missing a form or need to run out on an emergency errand to a store we just visited yesterday. When I am organized, I can keep from running around like a crazy person.   I finally hit critical mass sometime around when my second child made her debut. I just couldn't keep track of everything I needed to do on my humble wall calendar any longer. The Lillipu...

In his characteristic infectiously Disney addicted style, Lou Mongello waltzes with ease through 102 Ways to Save Money For and At Walt Disney World. Covering every imaginable way to save from early in the planning stages until you say "See Ya Real Soon" to the house of mouse, each method is explained with candor and humor so uniquely Lou's that this is really a must read for any WDW Radio fan. I like that it covers each way to save in depth. Allowing for understanding which tips apply for your vacation and which will not suit your style without needing a lot of research outside of this book, it truly is a one stop shop for saving more money for (and even on) souvenirs. While some of the tips are oldies but goodies (fleshed out with helpful details, borne of experience), some are things I've never considered or heard of before clicking open the book. Lou Mongello created a go to guide for those of us who love Disney but don't want to go in to debt for a magic...

Welcome to the start of another trip report! I'm so thankful to get the opportunity to set sail aboard the Disney Wonder on DCL's last announced cruise from Texas. (I'm not saying final Texas DCL cruise because I hope they will return to Texas soon! Say in fall of 2015 to spring 2016, pretty please?) Who's ready for a trip report? Before I jump into my in depth review, here is a brief review of what you can look forward to in the coming trip report. Celebrating our tenth anniversary and Kylee's fifth birthday, so there are loads of celebrations and yummy desserts! Super fish extender groups, so lots of fish extender fun. My return to my favorite spot on any cruise ship, The Outlook Café. Our first cruise in concierge, so lots of amazement and magic. Fruity drinks, sunscreen, and hidden Mickeys. The Walt Disney Suite on the Disney Wonder...I have no words right now, but I bet I can find a few thousand for how perfectly wonderful it is to stay i...

Welcome Fastpass to History Blog Hoppers! Sorry for the late posting tonight, I am finally the proud owner of a working and functional internet connection! The early posts this week either went out on their schedule (early week) or typed on my (brand spanking new) iPhone 5S courtesy of the blogger app and cellular data (last couple days). Tonight I'm celebrating with easy internet access and my laptop's full keyboard! Ahem, back to history. Back in 1983, Premier Cruise Line paired up with Walt Disney World to provide what would come to be known as a seven night land and sea package. Through this arrangement, the "Big Red Boat" licensed the use of Disney characters in onboard meet and greets. The ending of this relationship in 1993 paved the way for the formation of the Disney Cruise Line in 1994. In the midst of this era, I read voraciously. Like any other girl, I devoured each and every installment of Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitter's Club (or Th...

Welcome Fastpass to History Blog Hoppers! Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Today I had the pleasure of watching " Waking Sleeping Beauty " a beautiful, fascinating film following the evolution of Disney Animation from the uncertainty of 1984 through it's own happily ever after, the animation renaissance of the early nineties. A historical look back through press releases, archival footage and even home videos by the animators themselves, this hodgepodge approach by director Don Hahn (better known as the producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King ) supports the theme of dissonance in the growing power struggle between (then CEO) Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg (brought in as chairman of the Walt Disney Studios) and Roy E Disney (nephew of Walt Disney and son of Roy O. Disney and then vice chairman of the board and head of the animation department). All three of these power players express their views in historical footage as well as more recently taped i...