February 25th- Virtual Vacation

A virtual vacation to Disney is better than no vacation at all.  Many of my Disney friends are down in the World this weekend for the Princess 1/2 marathon.  I wish I was there cheering them on from the sidelines, but at least I can follow their adventures virtually.  For my daily Disney devotion on February 25th, I spent a lot of time on-line following facebook and twitter accounts and checking in with my friends as they arrived for their magical vacations.  Seeing where they are and what the are riding is probably the next best thing to being there myself.

February 24th- making my list and checking it twice

As most of you know, I'm planning for a Disney trip in May.  As most of you also know, there are a lot of things to do and to get ready before visiting Disney.  I have made a checklist of all the things I need to get in order before we leave, and for my daily Disney devotion on February 24th, I was able to put two checks in the box.

I needed to order a new travel bag for my stroller, which is a really important accessory for successfully gate checking a stroller.   I have a stroller bag currently, but it has gotten pretty beat up, and my stroller manufacturer, UppaBaby, has recently put out a new and improved model.  This stroller bag is great because it comes with a guarantee, if my stroller is damaged in any way by the airline, UppaBaby will replace it for free.  I don't know of any other stroller company that will provide that level of service, which is one of the reasons I love UppaBaby.  In my opinion they are the Disney of stroller companies.

I also had one other item to order, a snack tray for my stroller.  UppaBaby strollers, like many high-end strollers, do not come with a snack tray.  However, many moms contacted Uppababy and let them know that they would like to have one as an option, and UppaBaby listened and delivered.  I was really excited about the new snack tray, because I thought it would work out great for our Disney vacation.  Instead of having to hunt down highchairs at CS restaurants, I could just feed Everett in the stroller, brilliant!   As a side note, I ordered the stroller travel bag and snack tray on Thursday afternoon- and it arrived on my doorstep on Friday afternoon.  More kudos to an awesome company.

February 23rd- spreading the good news- again

On February 23rd I was at my stroller strides class, when I was approached by one of the other moms...

"You're the Disney person, right"....  music to my ears!

Not only was I happy to be known as the "Disney person", but I was really happy to talk with her about the possibilities of taking her two small daughters to Walt Disney World.  She was a little hesitant about the idea, worried that they were too young, and if she should wait until they would remember, worried that they would have to ride alone or that the characters would be too scary.  Well luckily I know plenty about taking kids to Disney and I'm sure that I was able to put some of her fears to rest.  I also offered to help her plan if she decided to take the vacation.

For my daily Disney devotion on February 23rd, I'm spreading the good word, trying to convert one family at a time to the magic. 

February 22- new merchandise to covet

image courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog

On February 22nd I was checking the Disney Parks Blog, when something really caught my eye.  Disney has once again partnered with Dooney and Bourke and has released a new line of handbags and accessories using the 40th anniversary collage.  I have one of the original bags and I really love it, but this new line has really got me salivating.  Oh Disney, you had me at "retro Walt Disney World icons".

February 21st- Updating my Trip Report

Well I know that I have mentioned trip reports here in this blog before, but I know that I haven't mentioned my trip report.  That is because I was being a terrible slacker and was not updating my report from my October Disney trip.  For my daily Disney devotion on February 21st I changed all that and posted a new update of my trip.  The report can be read here

February 20th- Mickey joins us for breakfast

My daily Disney devotion for February 20th occurred even before breakfast.  I was home visiting my family and in-laws and on the morning of the 20th, my in-laws took my husband, my son and myself to breakfast at one of their favorite local spots.  I had never been there before, so imagine my surprise at moment of Disney serendipity when I was pursing the menu.  I was checking out the kids choices, thinking about what Everett was going to eat when I saw, printed clearly on the menu- Mickey Pancake.  I, at first, thought I was seeing things, that my Disney devotion was beginning to warp my perception of reality.   I looked again, and it was still there, clear as day.  I showed the menu to my husband and said "I know what Everett is eating", and pointed to the coveted menu item.  My poor husband rolled his eyes and shook his head.

I know I should have taken a photo of the Mickey Pancake, that a good blogger would have had the camera at the ready.  Well, mine was in the car, and since I had a hungry toddler I didn't take the time to run out to retrieve it.  You'll just have to use your imagination, but it was thoroughly enjoyed by Everett (and I took a few bites as well) and when we were done, just a lone ear was left on the plate.

February 19th- Advance Ride Reservations?

For my daily Disney devotion on February 19th, I ran across and read and interesting article about the future of fastpass and park touring.  The article can be read in its entirety here, but it mostly talks about the Disney NexGen project.  I have heard about the NexGen project with regard to the new interactive queue lines, but this article specifically referenced a proposed change the fastpass system that I don't think I'm going to be thrilled about.  In the article Disney Parks Chairman Tom Staggs talks about instituting a system in which you can reserve fastpasses before you even leave for your vacation.   Staggs describes in a article "a "version of Fast Pass for an entire Disney vacation." Future guests, he said, will be able to reserve specific ride times for popular attractions, secure seating for shows, make restaurant reservations and pre-book other experiences before they leave their homes on vacation." 

Now, I'm all for booking certain experiences before you leave home, things like the Bibbity, Bobbity, Boutique and fireworks cruises make sense to plan ahead of time, and if Disney can find a way to make it easier, than I'm on board.  What gives me pause is the mention of booking popular attractions ahead of time.  I'm already not a fan of the Disney dining system.  I think it is beyond crazy that I have to get up and be on the phone at 7 am 180 days before my vacation starts to get a crack at the more popular Disney restaurants.   I don't usually make my vacation plans that far in advance, so I'm typically locked out of the more popular dining locations.  If this system of pre-booking is extended to rides, than I'm really not going to be happy.  Its hard enough to plan out your dining 6 months in advance, I really don't want to be planning my ride times that far in advance as well. 

I have a toddler, and they certainly can be unpredictable.  If I have to reserve my fastpass time for Toy Story Mania 180 days (or 60 or 10 or even the night before), I will have no idea what the day is going to hold.  I like the flexibility of the current fastpass system, which allows me to make decisions about rides once I enter the park.  I can't schedule when my son will be cranky, or sleepy, or hungry, and a system that rigidly determines when I ride the headliner attractions is not going to make my vacationing any easier.

We will have to wait and see what happens with this new system, but I have a sinking feeling it is going to have much the same effect as ADRs do on dining, that I'm going to have to work even harder to plan my Disney vacation and I will loose even more vacation spontaneity.

February 18th- feature film Friday

Even though we were traveling, I still was able to keep up with Disney feature film Friday.  Instead of sticking with chronological order, I watched a more recent Disney movie, Secretariat, with my husband and parents.  My parents are big horse people and own a racehorse, so this movie was right up their alley.    I didn't get a chance to see it when it was released, so I was interested as well.  It was a very cute movie, and even though I knew the ending, I found myself caught up in the races, very worried he wasn't going to win the Derby.  My family all really enjoyed the film, it was a big hit and an excellent way to spend some time relaxing at home.

February 17th-a portion of princess

Today for my daily Disney devotion I watched a portion of the Princess and the Frog.  It was a travel day, and Mark, Everett and I were headed up to Connecticut to visit our families.  I had loaded The Princess and the Frog onto our Ipad, using the handy digital copy included with my blu-ray.

My plan was to sit in the back seat of the car with Everett and show him the movie, and also the episodes of Dinosaur Train and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that I had downloaded.  Since I was most interested in watching Princess and the Frog, I queued it up first,  unfortunately, Everett had other plans.

Everett does have some experience with the Ipad, I've downloaded a few children's apps and we've played from time to time, but he doesn't have much of an attention span when it comes to media, and he just loves hitting that big button, sending us right back to the main screen.  Well, his habits pretty much held true even watching a video.  All he wanted to do was hit the menu button, and when I put my hand over it, he would get very upset.  We were able to watch maybe the first ten minutes before he had a total meltdown, and at that point I put the Ipad away.  I'm sure it won't be long until he is interested in Disney movies, but it was not February 17th.

February 16th- Why does Shakespeare have Mickey ears?

So today I was paging through facebook, when I see this image pop up in my news feed.  It is from a NTY article, and I clicked on it, wondering what on earth Mickey and Shakespeare had in common.  Well, I read the whole article, and it was about the interplay between commerce and the arts and intellectual property rights. There was nothing about Mickey and friends at all-  so I ask you to read the article here   and tell me, did I miss something?  Am I the only one who sees the Mickey ears prominently displayed on the bard's head?  NYT, why are you messing with me?

February 15th- Down in Fraggle Rock

Today Everett woke up with a fever again, so I decided to keep him around the house.  I don't usually let him watch TV, but since he is sick, and I figured it would be a good way to get him to sit still and rest, I decided to give it a try. 

The new Disney channel- Disney Junior- which is geared toward children ages 2-7- debuted yesterday, so I decided to give it a shot.  We watched a little of Special Agent Osso-Three Healthy Steps, which Everett seemed to like, but I didn't find that interesting.  Since I had to watch TV with him, I started scrolling through, to see if I could find something we both could enjoy.  As I checked through the guide, what did I find- Fraggle Rock!  I was super excited, I hadn't seen Fraggle Rock since I was a kid and I knew that Everett would like the puppets.  It was a big hit with both Mom and baby, and I'll have to remember the time slot, in case we need some extra entertainment again in the future.

February 14th- Disco Yeti

Image courtesy of www.Discoyeti.com

For my daily Disney devotion on February 14th- I'd like to spotlight a fun Disney blog I stumbled upon.  Its www.discoyeti.com, and it is written from the perspective of the poor broken Yeti from Expedition Everest, continually stuck in B-mode with that annoying flashing strobe.   The blog is really clever and cuts to the heart of the issue.  I was lucky enough to see the Yeti in A-mode, in fact I was there opening weekend for Expedition Everest, and I have to say that B-mode is such a terrible waste of an incredibly cool animatronic.   I understand that the ride would have to go down for a lengthy refurbishment to fix the Yeti permanently, but I think it would be worth it, don't you?

February 13th- Two Brothers

Photo courtesy of problemgirl_jen

On February 13th, we took a family outing into DC.  We headed to the National Archives to see Part II of the civil war exhibit "Discovering the Civil War: Consequences".  We saw the first part of the exhibit last fall, and were really interested in its conclusion.  It was excellent, using many original documents from the archives and focusing on such diverse topics as Spying and Conspiracies, graft, technological advances in armament and prosthetic limbs, the two drafts of the thirteenth amendment, and memorializing the Civil War.  It was very informative and enjoyable, and Everett was extremely well behaved. 

My Disney devotion comes in with the soundtrack I had running through my head during the entire exhibit.  I bet most Disney fans could guess what song I was humming as I toured around the exhibit- that's right- Two Brothers.

Two brothers, on their way.
Two brothers on their way,
Two brothers on their way,
One wore blue and one wore grey.

One wore blue and one wore grey
As they marched along their way
The fife and drum began to play
all on a beautiful morning.
One was gentle, one was kind
One was gentle, one was kind
One came home, one stayed behind
A cannonball don't pay no mind.
A cannonball don't pay no mind
if you're gentle or if you're kind
It don't think of the folks behind
all on a beautiful morning,
all on a beautiful morning...

February 12th- Planning my itinerary

For my Daily Disney Devotion on February 12th I got working on my itinerary for our May trip to WDW.  Every good Disney fan needs a touring plan, and while I'm not one of those fan with the color-coded and laminated itinerary sheet, I do like to know what my day will hold.

I logged onto my trusting planning site, touringplans.com, which has never steered me wrong.  I've used their touring plans and crowd calender predictions for many of my vacations and they have always been spot on.

I knew that I wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom for my first vacation day, and I scored a coveted Crystal Palace ADR for 8:10 am, and I also scheduled Everett's first haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop for 10:30.  My plan was to knock out Fantasyland between breakfast and haircut, and using a modified version of the touring plan for parents with young children, here is what I have planned for my first morning:

7:00 am- leave POR for the Magic Kingdom
7:20- arrive at MK parking lot
7:50- arrive at MK turnstyles
8:00 am- enter MK- take empty Main Street Photos
8:10 am- ADR at Crystal Palace
9:00 am- head to Fantasyland
ride (in order)
Peter Pan
Its a Small World
Mad Tea Party
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Carousel

make it to Main Street Barber Shop by 10:30am


Do you think this looks like a do-able morning?

February 11th- Mouse Surplus

Photo courtesy of Mouse Surplus

While I was podcasting with Shane from Communicore Online last night, we got to talking about Mr. Toads Wild Ride.  He is recently back from a Disneyland trip, and rode the remaining version of Mr. Toad on his vacation.  I was reminiscing about how much my brother's and I loved that ride, and I told him that I never have and never will ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, forever standing in solidarity with the evicted Mr. Toad.

Well I woke up this morning with a link in my in-box to the Mouse Surplus website sent to me from Shane.  He found that they are selling a prop lot from the original WDW ride, for a mere $4,999.00.  As awesome at that would be, its not quite in the budget this month...

Mouse Surplus is a really cool site, you never know what kind of unique theme park treasures you will find.  I highly suggest checking it out, if only to dream. 

February 10th- Podcasting again!

For my daily Disney Devotion on February 10th, I recorded another segment of Marissa's Mommy Tips with Shane from Communicore Online  We discussed the ups and downs of flying with children.  I gave some of my tried and tested tips for managing the heightened security, getting all your baby gear safely to your destination, and how to entertain your little one on the plane!  It is all on Episode 42 of Communicore online and you can find it on itunes, or listen to it directly off the website itself.  Let me know if you have any feedback on my podcast segments by e-mailing me at marissa@communicoreonline.com

February 9th- Disney Baby

Everett at 6 weeks with his first pair of ears, caught mid-yawn!

I ran across this article the other day and I have to say, as a new mother, I was thrilled!  I have been really disappointed with the Disney clothing and accessories available for infants, and I'm really pleased to see that Disney is stepping up to the plate to bring Mom's high quality items for their babies.   When I read about how maternity hospitals all over the country are going to be offering new moms a sample Disney cuddly bodysuit, I was really jealous.  It would have been a welcome alternative to the formula samples that were being pushed at my hospital.

You can currently buy Disney branded infant clothing, but there is not much variety, and the quality is only fair.  The clothes are currently sold at retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sears, which is indicative of their level of quality.  When I read that the new clothing line would be sold at Nordstroms it really peaked my interest, because I know that Nordstroms only stocks high end baby items.

The part of the article that I found the most interesting dealt with building brand loyalty right from birth.  Disney is such a savvy company, it makes sense that the earlier you start dressing your baby in Mickey ears, the earlier you start thinking about juniors first Disney vacation.  

The line from the article that states "Mr. Mooney is working on a loyalty program, for instance, in which pregnant women might receive free theme park tickets in return for signing up for e-mail alerts" really has got me thinking.  I love the idea of a loyalty program for Disney fans, and if this is the way that that the Disney company is going to open the door, I'm all for it!  Disney, you already have my e-mail address, I'm ready for my free theme park tickets whenever you want to send them my way!

February 8th- Happy Birthday to Me!

I think my family knows me pretty well...

Now the only question is what to spend them on during my next Disney vacation!  Any suggestions?

February 7th- let the countdown begin

I'm a sucker for countdowns, I love methodically checking off boxes until the much hoped for day is here.  I had a wedding countdown clock, I swear by advent calendars, I even have a "days until our commitment to the Navy is up" clock (775 more days for anyone interested), but my favorite countdown of all is to a Disney vacation.  I spent the day of the 6th preparing our latest calender, but the morning of the 7th I got to take down the very first number and officially kick off our countdown.  Only 95 more days until Disney!

February 6th- On Stranger Tides

My daily Disney devotion for February 6th was the best part of the Superbowl.  I'm of course taking about the extended trailer for the new Pirates Movie, On Stranger Tides.  I was really excited to see this spot, in fact it was the main reason I watched the Superbowl at all, and it did not disappoint.  I'm really excited for the new Pirates movie, I'm glad the story is moving in a new direction, and I really hope that it is better than the last one.  I'm afraid that if this Pirate's movie is a flop, that will be the end of the franchise, and I'm hoping for at least a few more great Jack Sparrow adventures.

February 5th- Fantasia

Since I wasn't able to do feature film Friday on Friday (I instead got to go on an actual date with my husband- yay babysitting co-op), so I did it on Saturday.  For my daily Disney devotion on February 5th I watched the Disney classic Fantasia.  I had to watch it upstairs on the non-blu ray player, so I wasn't able to do any of the fun commentary, but it was enjoyable none the less.  Fantasia was the very first movie I ever saw in a movie theater, and it has always had a prominent place in my heart.

February 4th- Photopass

photo courtesy of stitchkingdom.com

I'm getting more and more excited about my upcoming Disney trip in May, even though I feel like I've dropped the ball when it comes to obsessive Disney planning.  I've worked out a skeleton itinerary and made my ADRs, but there is lots still to check off on my Disney "to do" list.

For my daily Disney devotion on February 4th, I got around to checking off one of those boxes, and I signed myself up for a photopass share on Facebook.  I have never done this before, but I think its going to work out great.  Basically you join a group of people who are all going to WDW around the same time, one person pre-orders the CD and makes a group account, and then everyone who is part of the share uploads their photopass pictures to the same account.  Disney makes a CD with all the pictures and mails them to the group leader, who then makes copies and mails them out to the others in the share. 

By using a photopass share you can get the benefits of the photopass CD, and have access to all of your photos, without having to spend $99.  Considering I spent almost $50 on three photos from my last trip, this will really end up being a bargin!

February 3- trip reports

A great way to prolong the magic of a Disney trip is to write up a trip report, and share the wonderful memories and magic with other Disney fans.  Reading trip reports is also a great way to get a little dose of Disney between trips.  I love reading trip reports, and now that I have a little one of my own, I especially love reports that feature young children.  I have learned so many wonderful tricks and tips reading these reports, and spread some Disney magic.  For my Daily Disney devotion on Feb 3rd, I started reading a brand new trip report, written by a Disney veteran, who travels to the parks frequently with her daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters.  I have read their reports in the past, and they just recently started a new one from their Oct. trip.  Since we were also down in Oct, we had very similar experiences, and it is almost like reliving my trip once again. 

Here is the link to the trip report, its a good one! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2611094

February 2- Cherry Blossoms

photo courtesy of Orlandothemeparknews.com

My daily Disney devotion on February 2nd is a musically memory, that brought be back to the glory days of Old EPCOT.  I was making Everett dinner and listening to NPR (I do a lot of listening to NPR, that and Disney podcasts!), a segment on China and capitalism.  I truthfully was not paying too much attention to the bulk of the report, I was mostly focused on getting Everett to eat his vegetables, as opposed to throwing them on the ground, when I heard a piece of music that literally caused me to stop in my tracks.  It was the Chinese folk song Sakura, Sakura (which is the Chinese word for cherry blossom).  This music struck an immediate chord, and I recognized instantly where I had heard it before.  It had been part of the original (and in my opinion the best!) Illuminations which premiered in  1988.  The original Illuminations featured all of the World Showcase Pavilions (except for Morocco and Norway), with traditional music from each country and lights on the pavilion.   Sakura, Sakura was the song that played for China, and hearing it took me right back to my childhood, standing pressed up against the railing around the WS lagoon, watching a fireworks spectacular.

Mo'Rockin

Photo courtesy of Disney.com

I was paging through Real Simple magazine the other day, when an advertisement caught my eye.  It said "Morockin' Chicken, that's what it tastes like".  I don't think I need to explain the reference to most Disney fans, but just in case, Mo'Rockin is a musical act that plays in Morocco in Epcot.  Mo'Rockin is one of my favs along the World Showcase (along with Off Kilter), so I had to try the dish.  It was a fairly simple recipe, from the Campbells Kitchen (it was a soup advertisement), but it seemed perfect for a quick weeknight meal.  While certainly not as good as the food you get at Restaurant Marrakesh, or even the Tangerine Cafe, it wasn't bad and the name alone was enough to transport me back to one of my favorite places in Epcot.

For those that might be interested here is a link to the recipe  http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeID=60558&fbid=GhjAY6MD3j0  I made mine with chicken breasts, since that is what I had on hand, and skipped the almonds, but it still was yummy.