Just Hanging Around With Mousekeeping

It's Throwback Thursday again!!

This little guy is Eve's sock monkey that she took with us in 2012. That year we stayed at Disney's All Star Sports Resort and it was fantastic. We had 2 connecting rooms in an awesome location (I always pay for preferred).

Mousekeeping was great that year. Every day we got something fun done to our room. One day my  mom found one of her photos she left out with some flower lei's around it in a heart. It was cute and thoughtful. This day we came back to find sock monkey hanging out in the window, she (sock monkey) even decided to steal Eve's sunglasses and wear them.

My tip: Make sure you tip Mousekeeping every day. No, it's not required but it is something nice to do for them, they work very hard. We tip $1 per person in the room and an extra dollar. So when I have 5 people in my room, we tip $6 every day. Some people ask if they can tip at the end of their vacation, this really doesn't work because you might have a different cast member each day.  If you look online you can find some cute, free printable Mousekeeping envelopes or you can have your little ones decorate white envelopes.

If you want a free quote for your vacation, please email me here.

Have a Magical Day :)

Fall Free Dining

Are you thinking about visiting Walt Disney World this fall? You might qualify for their Free Dining promotion.

There are a few stipulations...

The dates that qualify are:
August 23, 2016-October 1, 2016
November 15, 2016-November 21, 2016
November 26, 2016-November 28, 2016
December 10, 2016-December 21, 2016

The following rooms do NOT qualify:
All Star Movies
Bay Lake Tower
Port Orleans Riverside (except the first set of dates)
Port Orleans French Quarter
Fort Wilderness campsites
Art of Animation Little Mermaid rooms
All 3-bedroom villas
Villas at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort (except studios)
Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

You must meet the following qualifications:
2 day park tickets with Park Hopper and/or Water Park Fun and More
3-14 night stay in qualifying resort

With this promotion if you book a value resort you get the quick service dining plan, with the option to pay the difference to upgrade to the Disney Dining Plan. If you book a moderate, deluxe, or qualifying villa then you will get the Disney Dining Plan. 

For an explanation on how the dining plan works, check out Disney's website here. 

This tall yumminess was FREE with my free dining plan!!

There are very few rooms available for this promotion so act fast!!

If you use a Disney Certified Vacation Planner we do all the holding on the phone lines to book this offer for you!

Contact me here for a free quote!

Have a Magical Day :)

Flat Sheri Friday!!

Today Flat Sheri's adventures brings us to all four parks. Shes visiting all the park icons. First up is the iconic Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom:

Doesn't she look so happy?

Then her adventures took her to Spaceship Earth at Epcot:

She got rained on!

She then went to Disney's Animal Kingdom to see the Tree of Life:

Her final adventure was to Hollywood Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios:

Check out those beautiful, blue skies!

If you want to visit these beautiful icons at Walt Disney World, please email me here for a free quote!

Have a Magical Day :)

Throwback Thursday

Today's Throwback Thursday comes straight from 2005 at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. This awesome restaurant is in Epcot at the Norway pavilion.

When Eve was little, this was one of our favorites. It is beautiful inside and you get to see a bunch of princesses. Nothing beats a meet and great with the princesses so you don't have to stand in line!!

As you can tell from my pictures it was hot, Eve's hair is a mess from sweat. Going in July means hot, so you need to be prepared. We found it best to beat the heat by wearing a tank top and shorts. I had borrowed a Cinderella dress from a friend that was more of a little shirt with a separate skirt. The benefit of this was she didn't have to walk around with a heavy princess dress on and I didn't have to carry a heavy princess dress. Once we checked in for our meal, I got the little outfit out of the diaper bag and put it right over her clothes. 

They have pretty common breakfast foods, it's the dinner and lunch that's a little different. We prefer the breakfast here, but we are not very adventurous eaters.  

When you check in for your meal they have you sit outside and wait for your announcement. Our announcement came as "announcing Princess Eve." She loved that, even at 2!!

When we went we were ushered to our table and given our instructions. More recently, you get ushered into an entrance where you can meet Belle in her yellow gown and get a photo with her. They didn't have that when we went in 2005, as you can tell in our below pics, we met Belle in her blue dress.

The princesses rotate around the room during the meal so each child gets individual time with each princess. We got lots of pics and the princess make a huge deal out of little things. Cinderella called them twins because Eve was wearing a Cinderella dress. One year Mulan called Xander a "good little soldier," most princesses called him a prince, he loved being called a soldier, it must be more manly to an 8 year old!

These pictures are from July, 2005. Eve was 2.5 years old. She loved every minute of it. This meal was by far worth my money. I would definitely do it again, if she still wanted to see princesses. 

I apologize for the quality of these pics I don't have my scanner available so I had to take a pic of it with my phone. 

Eve with Cinderella

Eve and Belle

Eve and Ariel

Eve and Alice

If you want to to plan your next trip to see the princesses, email me here. 

Thanks for reading today!!

Have a Magical Day :)

Let's Take a Moment to Review.....

Let's take a moment to review how I can help you with your vacation.

My services are free to you!! That's one of the first misconceptions, you don't pay me. The prices that I quote you do not include payment to me. Disney pays me, not you.

Quotes are free, as well. If you are thinking of a vacation, just email me here with your info and I will get back to you with a free quote.

I can do more than just Walt Disney World in Florida. I can help you with Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani in Hawaii, and Adventures by Disney.

I can also do more than just packages at Walt Disney World. I can book just rooms or just tickets as well. 

Now for the breakdown....

Walt Disney World

I can book packages with room, dining, and tickets. I can book room only reservations. I can also book just tickets for you.  I can also help you plan as much or as little of your vacation as you want. I can book dining reservations for you or just give you suggestions and you can do it yourself. I can book FastPass + reservations for you if you want, as well.  As I said before, no extra charge for my planning services.

Disneyland

I can book room and ticket packages or just one or the other. I can help you plan your time while there and book dining reservations if you wish, although, dining is not as difficult to come by at Disneyland as it is at Walt Disney World.

Disney Cruise Line

My services not only include booking your magical Disney Cruise, it also includes booking any excursions you want.

Aulani

I book your resort and any spa services you wish.

Adventures by Disney

I book your entire vacation for you, nothing else to worry about!!


It doesn't matter how big or small you want your next Disney vacation to be, I can help you.

Have a Magical Day :)

Look What Came in the Mail Today!!

My business cards have arrived!! Aren't they adorable?

Because the interwebs is such a dangerous place (LOL), I have blocked out my phone number on the card but if you feel more comfortable setting up your vacation via phone, just message me and I will give it to you.

If you want some cards to share, let me know and I will happily get some to you!

If you want to set up a vacation you can email me here.

Hope you have a magical day :)

Pressed Penny Tubes

Several years ago I started taking quarters and pennies for my kids to make pressed pennies. They really enjoy trying to find different ones but inevitably I am digging in the bottom of my backpack for 2 quarters and a penny for each kid to make one. Instead of that hassle I made these tubes. These tubes should easily fit in pants pockets and the child can make what ever penny they want, when they want to make it. Over the years I have made long tubes and short tubes. But here is a tutorial on  how to make the short tubes.

Each tube was done in a different character. The blue is Ariel, red is Minnie, and green is Pluto. I chose an old fashioned Magic Kingdom map for the orange tube. I loved this old map of MK and it was my computers wallpaper for many months. You can find the map here: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/10/40th-anniversary-commemorative-map-of-magic-kingdom-park/

The labels are found here: http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/donatalie/Pressed%20Penny%20Tubes/Large%20Tube%20Labels/ She has loads of choices and even some for laundry tubes. These are designed for the long M & M mini tubes but I purchased the short tubes and had to alter their length on my computer. Most of the people on the blogs make the long tubes. I didn't think they would fit in my kids pockets as easily AND they would be heavier because of the amount of money in the tube.

I know this seems like a lot of quarters to part with. You can either get rolls of quarters at your local bank or do what we did and collect them over time. My kids were eager to sell me their quarters from their Easter Egg Hunt at the G'parents house.

Directions:
      Supplies needed:
         M & M mini tubes
         plain paper
         contact paper
         quarters
         pennies 

       Directions:
Open mini tubes and empty of contents. Pull off the current M&M label, it is glued on but fairly easy to rip off. After selecting the label you want, print it on plain paper. Cut label to desired size for your tube. Glue on the label. After glue is set, I covered my label completely with contact paper. I am hoping this will help it stick better and it will help with water damage in the parks.  After that you start filling your tubes with the following pattern of money: 2 quarters, 1 penny.....2 quarters, 1 penny....2 quarters, 1 penny, until your tube is full. Mine took a total of $9.18 to fill each SHORT tube. This would be a great activity to have little kids help with, they love to play with money.

I've also made the large tubes. The amount of money needed for the long tubes is $15.50 in quarters and $.31 in pennies. I got the labels here (I printed the big tubes with the 3x5 option on my printer thru Picasa and printed the short tubes with wallet size).

Once at the park whenever one of my kids saw a pressed penny machine that they wanted, they had their own money to use and I didn't have to dig through my purse anymore to see if I have change. They make great, inexpensive, souvenirs.  We did purchase a pressed penny book that is available in most Walt Disney World gift shops to keep our pennies in. There are also several places online where you can get a current list of pressed penny machines, we use the one here. 

One disclaimer, I have heard that some of the machines are being changed to digital machines where you pay with dollars or your credit card and the penny is pressed for you. Not all locations have changed, just be prepared that you might not be able to get everything you want. 

Contact me here if you want to plan your next magical vacation!!

Have a Magical Day :)

Throwback Thursday

Today's Throwback Thursday comes straight from Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course. If you've never been to one of Disney's mini-golf courses, I highly recommend it. There are lots of interactive things going on all around you and the themes are awesome. 

Disney's website says that the current prices are $12 for a child (ages 3-9) and $14 for an adult. Did you know that if you book a package with Disney you get passes to play on one of the mini-golf courses? This includes 4 vouchers as long as you use them before 4pm. Nothing like free entertainment for your family and a nice relaxing time outside of the parks. 

This golf course is in the Blizzard Beach area so if you are staying on Disney's property you will need to take a bus to Blizzard Beach. If the water park is closed for the day or it's after hours, please talk to your resorts concierge to find the best transportation. 

Once you arrive you will need to choose between the two courses, Winter or Summer. You will then need to get a tee time. The day we were there we were able to get a tee time within 15 minutes of our arrival. We used our 15 minutes to look around and found this awesome sleigh. Evidently it's Santa's sleigh, he even packed his golf clubs for the trip.

I convinced the kids to get their pictures taken and I considered using the pic for a Christmas card but I don't think I ever did.

2012 Winter Summerland Miniature Golf

 If you would like to get a quote from me, email me here.

Have a Magical Day :)

Flat Sheri Friday!!

This week we are meeting up with our Flat Sheri friend in Disney's Magic Kingdom. She seems to have gotten herself into some mischief on Main Street U.S.A. 

First we find that she has climbed a tree. Silly Sheri, climbing trees is for squirrels not Flat Friends!!

Next we find that Flat Sheri has met up with the Cigar Store Indian. She better watch out or she could get kicked out of the park for climbing on things.

Hopefully Flat Sheri can learn to stay on the ground where she belongs but for right now at least she can say "Mischief Managed!"

You can find more information about our Flat Sheri adventures here.

If you would like a vacation quote please contact me here.

Have a Magical Day :)