Glow with the Show ears!

The Glow with the Show Mickey Ears are spectacular, when majority of the crowd has them.

They are around $25 in the parks, some dinner packages come with them on special nights. They are not available to buy in the online Disney store, and DON'T buy them on eBay! They have been on someone else's head and you don't know what could be wrong with it. $25 is not a bad price for light up Mickey ears!

If you are a small family, I would only buy 1 Glow with the Show Mickey ears... Unless you have children who will fight over it. Then you could decide who will wear the special ears during what show:
Child 1 can wear them during Fantasmic!
Child 2 can wear them during Wishes!
Child 3  can wear them during Illuminations Reflections of Earth.

You get the idea.

Another option, save your money and decide how many you will buy BEFORE you arrive at the parks!

Freebies #4 - See the Animal Kingdom African animals at night!

At the Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can walk out to the viewing areas of the African reserve (the one from Kilimanjaro's Safari ride!). The animals do the most activity during the night, so a Disney Cast member will pass out night vision goggles! For FREE!!

Note that the animals come out around dusk! And some hotel guest's rooms open up around there so don't be very loud!

Freebies #3 - Disney Wilderness Preserve

Almost 20 miles south of Orlando is the Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve where you can hike 2.5 miles and observe the plants and animals for FREE!

Open 9AM-5PM every day November through March. It is closed on the weekends and holidays March through October. Donations are accepted!

You can call the preserve at 407-935-0002 to see if they are open or to get more information like strollers, drinks, food, etc!

Freebies #2 - LEGOs

The LEGO center in Downtown Disney has a FREE 3,000 sq ft outdoor play area filled with thousands of LEGO blocks. There are also huge LEGO sculptures for you to admire! The sea dragon in the lagoon is always a family picture favorite!

AND....

Every first Tuesday of the month there is a FREE take home mini model (last month was Jake the Neverland Pirate's Ship Bucky!) It starts at 5 PM, for kids. They build it with an instructor and take it home! The store's website will have more information!

Upcoming Mini Model Build: 
LEGO Helicopter: Tuesday, April 1, 2014 begins at 5:00 pm until supplies last.


http://stores.lego.com/en-us/stores/us/orlando

Disney's My Magical First Sweepstakes! - YOU COULD WIN!

Enter everyday at http://disney.go.com/partners/mymagicalfirst/  !

Need a name, email, and birthday!

You could win a 5 day, 4 night WDW vacation for a family of 4!
Enter everyday through April 20, 2014!

SPRING BREAK 2014!

Hey Disney Fans! Welcome to SP2014! - One of the absolute BEST times to visit WDW!
The weather is fabulous, the gardens are blooming, and EPCOT has their Flower and Garden Festival!

Attractions you Must do!

MK:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
Space Mountain
Buzz Light Year Space Ranger Spin
Peter Pan's Flight
Mickey's Philharmagic

AK:
Expedition Everest
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro's Safari
It's Tough To Be a Bug

EPCOT:
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Hollywood Studios:
Tower of Terror
Rockin' Roller Coaster
Toy Story's Midway Mania
Beauty and the Beast
Studio Backlot Tour

Don't forget the parades and night shows in each park!

Daily Disney Tip #30 - What to buy in DW

There are so many posts about what NOT to buy in Disney World:
Bring your own food so you dont have to buy their expensive food.
Don't buy the costumes or clothes there, buy them at other stores like Walmart or even Downtown Disney.

So what should you buy in the Disney World Parks?

Specialty items:
That special white and light blue salt & pepper shakers that have Mickey on them (that you have only seen in one place and not online)
Shirts that are not in Downtown Disney that you or your children just can't live without.

DESSERTS!
Those delicious chocolate eclairs in France, EPCOT or that tasty looking mickey ice-cream bar!
** If you are there in the fall when EPCOT's food and wine spectacular is there, then you must buy some desserts!**

Trading pins!
If you are a trader, or just like special limited edition things, then the trading pins are for you! Only sold at Disney! Example: right now (March 2014) there are special limited edition Spectromagic pins! Spectromagic was the BEST MK night time light parade for years and years.
** If you buy the expensive pins, DON'T trade them! If you are in to trading, then buy the cheap $7 and below pins and then trade up!**

MICKEY EARS!
The special ones like the New Glow With The Show Ears!

Memory Maker!!! (PhotoPass Pictures)
Yes you brought your own camera, Yes you took the same picture from the same angle. BUT unless you are a professional photographer and have an expensive camera, then I doubt you have the quality and clarity that those PhotoPass cameras have! You can actually blow up that picture of your daughter with Cinderella or your son with Peter Pan, OR you and your loves in front of the castle!
You can buy the frames, all the pictures on a CD, or individual prints!
*See the individual post about Memory Maker for details. Memory maker is $169.99 for ALL pictures taken by Disney! This includes ride and dining photos/videos!

Daily Disney Tip #29 - The BEST way to save money!

The BEST way to save money is.........

Buy all of your souvenirs and Disney items (clothes, bags, shoes, autograph book, costumes, stuffed animals, etc) BEFORE your Disney trip and NOT at a Disney store or disneystore.com!

To do this effectively, scour the top Disney selling stores and websites daily, save what you want from each and watch the prices, sales, and buy when they are 75% off or higher.
Examples: JC Penney's sells Disney costumes. Regular price: $60. I bought a princess costume for $15

Amazon, JC Penney, Dillard's, Khol's, Walmart, Target, - The list goes on and on. Almost anywhere is cheaper than Disney stores, Disneyland, Disney World, or Disneystore.com

The Walmart's in Orlando carry everything Disney you could need for your vacation: autograph books, clothes, towels, toys, lanyards, water bottles, shoes, strollers, etc.

Today is the Day! Festival of Fantasy Parade!

March 9, 2014

The 3 pm parade - Festival of Fantasy- makes it's debut in Magic Kingdom today!! 

If you didn't plan on going to MK today, then just wait and see the parade tomorrow or the next day! Today is just the first day, meaning the crowd in MK will be terrible. The other parks will be much less crowded! 

Don't worry, this new parade will be here for years to come :) 

If you did plan ahead of time to go, then make sure you claim your spot hours before! I know some people came solely to see the parade! 

Take many pictures because this is history in the making - to Disney World. The opening of an attraction always is ;) 

Daily Disney Tip #28

JCPenney's has Disney costumes and clothes on clearance! Limited quantities so hurry!

Girls size 2-8 Brave Merida $19.99

Jake puffer jacket $19.99

Princess Puffer jacket $23.99

Minnie tutu dress $16.99

Pajamas as low as $6.99

Check is out at http://www.jcpenney.com/kids/shop-sale-clearance/clearance/disney/disney-minnie-mouse/_/N-1nox7oZqaZ1eh/cat.jump?id=cat100260132&deptId=dept20021210041

Run Disney information!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could run around Disney World and have all the characters cheering you on? 
Well, now you can!

www.rundisney.com

Below are FAQ from the website:

Each participant's registration includes a commemorative shirt, iGiftBag, and race bib.
Once your registration has been processed, you will receive a confirmation email from Active.com. This email will serve as your only confirmation of registration.

A theme park ticket is not needed to participate in any runDisney race.
Your personalized bib will include your first name and your race number for all runDisney races.
Entry fees are non-refundable - even if you become pregnant or injured.
All runDisney races are walker friendly as long as the walker can maintain the minimum pacing requirement for the race they are participating in.
Anyone not able to maintain the pace may be picked up and transported to the finish at any point along the course.
Your costume cannot include a face mask. Anyone seen in violation of this will be removed from the course. If your costume is questionable or offensive to others, we reserve the right to either have you change into something more appropriate or remove you from the event.
Headphones can be worn but are discouraged due to audio messages that are placed throughout the course to ensure your safety.
All runDisney races will be held rain or shine, except in the case of lightning. For the Walt Disney World® Lightning Policy, please see the Safety information of the Runners Information page of the event you are interested in.
If you complete a half marathon distance or longer race at both the Disneyland® Resort andWalt Disney World® Resort in the SAME calendar year, then you will receive an additional medal commemorating your achievement. For more details, visit the Coast to Coast Race Challenge page.

Different races:
Expedition Everest Challenge - May 3, 2014 - FL
Disneyland half marathon weekend - August 28-31, 2014 - CA
Twilight Zone of Terror 10 Miler weekend - October 3-4, 2014 - FL
Disney Wine and Dine half marathon - November 8-9, 2014 - FL
Avengers Super Heroes Half marathon weekend - November 14-16, 2014 - CA

There is a maximum 16-minute per mile pace requirement for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ 10-Miler and 5K races.Your time starts when you cross the start line timing mat and your B-tag is activated. We suggest that you train for a 15 minute per mile pace to allow time for restroom breaks, photo opportunities, etc.

The Expedition Everest Challenge consists of a 5K adventure run (a 5K run with obstacles interspersed) followed by a scavenger hunt held in Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park.
Participants must complete the 5K adventure run and scavenger hunt to finish the Expedition Everest Challenge.

Team trekkers will start in the same wave. Wave assignments will be on the race bib. Team members must start and finish the 5K adventure run together and must also start and finish the scavenger hunt and cross the finish line together.

The obstacles are not difficult but they may require trekkers to climb, crawl and test their balance.

Teams and individuals must complete the scavenger hunt on their own and may not accept help from other teams, individuals or outside sources. Guides will be available along the course to assist.

A post-race party ticket will be required to watch the finish of the race if you are not a participant.
The Expedition Everest Challenge Post-Race Party is an exclusive after-hours party at Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park 

You can book a vacation that includes hotel, tickets, and your race!

Daily Disney Tip # 27

If you are visiting the parks and it's going to be hot, bring water bottles that are filled with ICE! 

Later in the day when it is hot, you will have some cold water to drink!

Or you could pay $2.50-$3 for a water bottle.... 

Have a magical day!