Tag Archives: DIsney parks

Mission Breakout vs Tower of Terror

Ok guys so here’s a controversial one for you..

On my trip to Disneyland last month, I finally got to experience the new Guardians of the Galaxy, Mission: BREAKOUT ride that has taken over from the Disney park classic ride, Tower of Terror. I have thoughts. LOTS of them.

To set the scene, I’ll tell you about my relationship with Tower of Terror. Obviously, we go way back, and in fact one of the few memories I have from going to Disney as a young child was being on Tower of Terror looking out over Hollywood Studios at night, everything lit up. I don’t remember hating the ride as a child, as many kids do, but as I was reintroduced to it as an adult, things got a little iffy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of the ride and I will always ride it at least once a trip, but I describe it as a love/hate thing. The drops I love, but the build up to and mystery of the first drop drives me insane. I spend the whole queue time on edge, plus the initial part of the ride where you stop and watch the scenes, because the random sequences of the ride mean I never know when that first fall is going to happen and I do not like that. Once we’ve dropped once, happy days, I’m good from then on, but I always have that initial worry at the back of my mind when I think about the ride.

Fast forward to last month. Now I really love Guardians of the Galaxy, so I was actually really excited, and I was curious to see how the overlay would work on essentially the exact same ride, and more importantly, whether I would still hate it in the same way I hate Tower of Terror. Now if you watched my Instagram stories while I was in the parks, or read this blog post, you’ll already know the outcome: I LOVED IT. I got a slightly nervous feeling in the line waiting to get on, but my excitement took over and I was mainly just super keen to see it all. Even the wait for the first drop was bearable because I was so distracted by what was going on around me.

Now you might think that this was just first-time excitement, but every single time we rode Mission: BREAKOUT I loved it more. I went on it way more than I would ever ride Tower of Terror in one trip and I might even go as far as to say its one of my favourite rides in Disneyland AND I would happily see it rolled out to more Tower of Terrors across other Disney parks.

Why doesn’t it strike fear into me though? While I’ve never considered myself particularly spooked by the spiderwebs and bellhops of Tower of Terror, I guess subconsciously the theme of the ride does put a little bit of tension into me, and that translates into me clinging onto the handlebars on the chair until my knuckles go white, meanwhile the Awesome Mix soundtrack and flashing lights of Mission: BREAKOUT put me right at ease as I’m being thrown up and down so much I can’t actually tell what direction I’m moving in.

Who knows for sure, but I am very interested to see how I fare going back on Tower of Terror while I’m in WDW next week and whether I’ve been cured completely by the Guardians, or whether its the theme that really has me on the edge of my seat, metaphorically of course..

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Disneyland Paris AP Mouse Party Review

Its so crazy that one month ago today I was having the maddest day in Disneyland Paris! I’d flown out the night before so I could spend just one day in the parks, and so that I could go to my first ever annual pass holder event, which was to celebrate the 90th birthday of Mickey Mouse himself.

I’ve seen to many of my friends go to these types of events before and I was feeling a mixture of excited, nervous and also just not knowing what to expect completely, and now I’ve done it, what did I think?

Character meets

I think its safe to say that the majority of Disney fans go to these events for the opportunity to meet rare characters, and this definitely showed. Some of the queues were INSANE. DLP had had the good sense to split each queue into two, so that you knew which of the two characters at each location you were going to meet, instead of queuing with the hope of one, and then there being a switch as you get to the front, but it wasn’t very clear in the run up to the event that each meet would be separate. Sure, there were a few meets where I didn’t expect both characters to be together, but when the meets were billed as ‘Nick and Judy’ or ‘Carl and Russell’, a lot of guests were expecting to be meeting with both characters, not one or the other, especially as the queues were so long for most.

The only characters I saw with a minimal wait queue were Clarabelle and Horace, but after I’d spent almost the first hour of the party waiting for Vanellope, I decided that I didn’t want to spend all my party time in lines.

Shows and parades

There were a couple of shows and ‘parades’ on throughout the evening. I use ” in regards to the parades because it was essentially just some dancers and characters dancing down Main Street before going up on the stage, and the song for said parade was REALLY irritating – not everyone shared this view, but several people I was with did and it was so repetitive.. The other stage shows that were on through the evening were honestly a bit take it or leave it. I caught part of one of them and wasn’t massively impressed, especially considering how good the Surprise Mickey show that takes place in the parks during the day is, I just think the bar was set too high for me by that show.

The show that everyone was there for was the one night resurrection of Dreams, the firework and castle projection show that was replaced a few years back, and I must admit that it was GOOD. I’d only seen Dreams maybe 2/3 times back when it was on, so I didn’t have too much of a memory of it, but I enjoyed every minute of it! There was also another castle projection show towards the end of the party which was entirely Mickey themed and that was also amazing.

Rides

A lot of the rides were open to guests during the party, including Big Thunder Mountain, Its a Small World and Star Tours, and from what I heard, none of them had more than a 5 minute wait – probably because so many people were queuing for characters. The only ride I actually managed to fit in was Star Tours, which was a walk on AND there were only 8 people in the whole ride which was so cool.

I think for future parties, I’ll forgo characters in favour of rides because I loved riding a practically empty ride and not having to queue at all for that privilege, plus I found the character meets a little stressful given the number of guests and not-so-great organisation.

Organisation

I went into the party with a fairly open mind and no exact plan for anything that I really wanted to do, so I was fairly chilled for the most part, but there were some places were I thought Disneyland Paris really let guests down, and I feel a little ashamed to say that its not something I would have ever thought about before, had I not been with a friend of mine who was in a wheelchair.

The party was not disability friendly. There was no separate line for wheelchair users, so anyone in a chair had to be pushed up and down through the queue barriers under the Disneyland Hotel before the party, and then be crushed by the mobs of people trying to get into the park and run down Main Street. The lines for characters were also not clearly communicated. In the queue for Vanellope, we were told by one cast member to wait outside the line while he organised an alternative queue space, but meanwhile another queue had been created, and despite us being the first there, other cast members then tried to get us to move the the back of the now-insanely-busy queue. I hate how ignorant I have previously been to these matters, but I hate more how Disneyland Paris do not cater to all abilities.

Aside from this, however, I didn’t think the organisation was too bad. After being let into the park, each guest was handed a programme for the night and a limited edition print as a little gift, and there were cast members lining Main Street USA cheering and high-5ing guests as they walked in, I guess as also a little bit of crowd control!

And as far as I’m aware, everything else went off without a hitch! I had a good night with good friends, and I think I’ve learnt a lot about how to handle these events in the future. I don’t know if I would go to every party they hold but I’d definitely go back for another!

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The Happiest Wrapping on Earth*

Honestly, November has FLOWN by. Its now officially less than a month until Christmas, and I’m feeling super unprepared, but one thing I have got under my belt now, courtesy of the wonderful CoconuTacha, is some incredible Disney inspired wrapping paper, so at least when I do get my Christmas shopping done, the paper is all wrapped up, if you pardon the pun..

Tacha is an incredibly talented UK based graphic designer, and I love the unique style of each of the park icons featured on this wrapping paper. In each set you get 3 A2 size sheets of wrapping paper, plus 4 gift tags, so you’re completely covered for all your wrapping needs.

The paper is a really high quality – way nicer than your regular supermarket roll! – with a glossy finish, and its so beautiful that this is the kind of paper that you’ll want to unwrap carefully so you can keep it again! Also a great secondary use would be as a photo backdrop for blog photos – I may just keep a sheet for myself for this very reason!

And if you’re on the hunt for a cute little stocking filler, Secret Santa gift or just something to treat yourself with, Tacha also has this limited edition ‘Magic Castle’ enamel pin available on her store. Its so pretty and so different from any other castle pins I’ve seen and the colours are stunning together, and for £5 its a steal!

Cute wrapping idea: attach a pin to the gift tag of your present!

There’s currently 10% off both the wrapping paper and pin until the end of today so if you like what you see, head on over to Etsy now, and even if you’ve got your wrapping paper sorted, you should definitely check out Tacha’s designs on both her Etsy store where you’ll find an amazing selection of stationery, planner stickers, art prints and more, and also on Redbubble where you can get her designs on everything from t-shirts to phone cases.

Are you Christmas ready yet?

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*The items featured in this blog post were sent to me, but all views are my own.
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Why Disneyland Is So Special To Me

On this exact date last year I arrived home from the most amazing trip to Disneyland, and I’m feeling a little bit sad about that. If I could go anywhere right this second it would be there.

One of the questions I get asked the most when I tell people that I’ve visited every Disney park in the world is ‘what’s your favourite?’, and I always decline an answer as its impossible to single out just one park as being better than all the rest, but Disneyland is the park that has a special place in my heart; the sort of place that has me crying when I enter and when I have to leave.

I was fortunate enough as a child to spend a lot of time in Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, even making more than one visit some years, right up until I was about 5 or 6 years old, and then the Disney trips stopped. My sister and I were old enough to appreciate what the rest of the world had to offer, and so that’s exactly what my family did, and I wouldn’t change that for a second, but it meant that I actually had very few Disney memories other than what I’d seen in pictures or could vaguely remember.

In 2008, we went to California for the first time, and part of this visit was to go to Disneyland. I was just coming up 14, and I remember both my sister and I being ridiculously excited when my parents told us. This was where my first ‘adult’ Disney memories were made. We went back again in 2010, and again I remember just feeling so excited and happy, and at home when I stepped through those gates. There was magic.

As I’ve grown older, and my love of Disney has quite clearly grown also, I’ve come to realise other reasons why Disneyland is so special to me. This was Walt’s park, although he would say that Disneyland is our land *stifles a sob*, and you can feel that nostalgia through the whole park. He walked down Main Street USA, he stood in front of that beautiful little pink castle, and you just know that this was exactly what he created, his vision.

There’s a different feel to Disneyland than there is to WDW. It feels calmer, more effortless. From the Disneyland park to California Adventure, there’s not a single fault in my eyes, and even though it was 10 years ago now that I saw it all for the first time, I feel like I’m seeing it with fresh eyes every time.

Disneyland, you are perfect.

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How I Upped My Disney Style

You don’t even have to know me particularly well to know that when it comes to planning Disney trips, one of my top priorities is outfits, which I guess is a little bizarre considering I don’t really think of myself as a fashion blogger as such, but honestly nothing gives me more of a buzz than putting together the perfect park look, and the comments that I get when I’m wearing it.

As with anything in life, my Disney style is something that has progressed and developed with time, and I was totally honoured by the number of people who mentioned me in a recent #disneybloggerschat as someone who’s style they really admired/loved, because ultimately its something that I love, and its so nice that other people appreciate it too.

Let’s go back 2-3 years *reminiscent harp sounds*

The funny thing is, I still look back on some of these photos and think ‘wow, this is a LOOK’, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve come so much further since then, and here are a few of the ways I’ve upped my Disney style.

Finding inspiration

I plan all my looks around the day, whether its the park I’ll be in, the characters I want to meet, the walls I want photos in front etc – I even take it as far as thinking about the poses and photos I’ll want. This might sound silly to lots of people but its a big part of what makes me happy and its driven me to want to improve my looks so much more.

It doesn’t have to be all Mickey ears

Sure, I’m the girl who in the past has been known to take 6 pairs of ears on a 2-3 day trip, but more recently I’ve been enjoying mixing up my headwear with some cute baseball caps, hair clips and bows, and even just different hairstyles. My head feels a little bare without, but it opens up so many more options!

Think outside the box

This Sorcerer Mickey Disneybound from November is probably one of my favourite looks of all time. The whole look was born out of a skirt design that I’d had in my head for maybe 2 years, which when I finally got round to making I fell in love with. This high-low chiffon midi drapes just like Mickey’s red robe and its got a dramatic element to it too, but its also super comfy, kept me nice and cool in the Florida heat and its just something a little different from my normal style.

There’s more to park style than just Disneybounding

I often get caught up in the idea of Disneybounding, but not every outfit has to be a Disneybound. I generally go about 60:40 Disneybound to non-Disneybound, but it all depends on how I’m feeling and what my plans are. For me personally, I’m not much of a t-shirt person, so that’s why I tend to lean towards bounding, but I do like to balance things out.

Don’t be afraid to make your look (or get someone to do it for you!)

For my Disneyland trio back in May, I took inspiraton from my childhood Minnie Mouse dress, and made myself the perfect Minnie skirt!

A few years back, everything that I wore in Disney would have been something that I’d bought, but now probably 1 in 3 of my outfits features something that I made myself, whether its the ears, the skirt, or a t-shirt I designed, and the main reason I started making things for myself was because I had ideas in my head that I couldn’t buy in reality, so I turned into my own fairy godmother.

Just being yourself

I can be in tulle skirts one day and denim shorts the next, I’ll probably always be in Converses regardless. That’s just who I am as a person. I have an incredibly varied personal style, and I never wear anything in the parks that I don’t feel completely comfortable in, which means you’ll see me in all sorts!

Growing in confidence

As cheesy as it sounds, one of the biggest boosts in my style is the boost in my confidence. Even two or three years ago I would not have been the girl who could stand in front of hundreds of passers by and go through a range of poses while having my photo taken. My style and my confidence have grown side by side, and while to many people I’m sure planning Disney outfits and photoshoots seems ridiculous, its 100% helped me grow as a person.

I can’t wait to share more looks over more trips!

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RunDisney Paris 2017: Day 1

Yes it’s only been a week but once again I’m coming to you from another trip as I’m in Disneyland Paris for the RunDisney weekend!

We had an early start to get the first flight out of Southampton to Paris, which was lucky as due to strike action CDG was crazy busy and we had to wait quite some time to get through passport control! Once we were through and eventually managed to find our hire car company, we were on the road to DLP, and headed straight Hotel Cheyenne where we waited for my sister to arrive before walking into Disney Village. First stop was lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, then we went to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up our race kit.

I had mixed feelings about the expo. I thought it flowed better this year in how it was set up, but it felt very very empty and I was really surprised at how few exhibitors they had. It just felt a little scarce, although much better for my bank balance! Dad and I picked up our challenge bibs and tshirts, and Mum and Hannah got their 10K ones, then we walked into Disney Village for a bit of window shopping before getting the bus back to the hotel so we could finally unload all our stuff into the room before heading back to the parks.

Somewhat controversially, we actually went into the Walt Disney Studios Park first of all, as it was closing early due to the 5K in the evening. Amazingly, we managed to do the Ratatouille ride with less than a half an hour wait, and also RC Racer and even Crush’s Coaster in a fraction of what I would consider the normal wait time to be. After Crush’s Coaster, the park was past its official closing time so we were guided towards the exit, so we headed over to the Disneyland Park.

Once in the park, my family stopped for ice cream while I walked around the castle hub taking photos of the 25th anniversary decs, then we went into Adventureland to do Pirates of the Caribbean, via a quick detour through Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage. I don’t think I’ve ever queued that long for Pirates, although it was probably only about 20-25mins, but after the refurb I didn’t want to miss out. We then walked the loop through Fantasyland and into Discoveryland for Buzz’s Space Ranger Spin.

Once we’d saved the universe, we took up spots for Illuminations. I had hoped that the audience would remain seated but unfortunately everyone started to stand so on our feet it was.. Honestly, I don’t think it blew me away, and I don’t think it was any better than it’s predecessor Dreams. It was an early park close of 8.30pm, so we headed towards Disney Village but as the 5K was still ongoing it was total carnage. We battled our way through the crowds to the wondrous place that is Earl of Sandwich, grabbed sandwiches and headed back to the hotel on foot.

In the morning we’ll be doing the 10K, stay tuned! 

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My Disney Park Pet Peeves

Its no secret that I love a trip to Disney. Every trip, to any park gets me so excited to be back in the magic, but occasionally there some things that other guests do that grind on me a tad and today I’m gonna have a little vent.

Guest who give CMs complicated cameras

There’s nothing wrong with having a fancy camera, but if you’re going to give it to a cast member to take your photo, at least have it turned on and set up how you want it. One time I saw a girl give a CM her Instax mini, still in some weird complicated case, and the poor woman had to try and work out how to get into the thing, and then work out how to actually use it.

People who sit down in queues

My sister is the biggest culprit for this. Now I totally get sitting down if there’s been an announcement of some kind of delay, but if you’re in a line that’s moving steadily (albeit slowly), I don’t see any point – all that happens is that you have to stand up again every few minutes to move forward, or do an awkward butt-shuffle along the floor.

Smoking outside of designated areas

Yes, I’m looking at you Disneyland Paris.. Disney are nice enough to let you smoke in the parks, the least you could do is stick to the set areas, rather than doing it in every line or public area.

Ruining the magic

Just because you know that there’s someone beneath the fur, doesn’t mean you have to make sure everyone else knows. Hearing guests say things like ‘that’s a different Cinderella than the one we saw yesterday’ loud enough for every kid in the vicinity to hear is not cool.

Being rude to CMs

There’s nothing cool about rude to staff in any situation, and Disney is no exception. Cast members will always do whatever they can to help you, but they aren’t responsible for a long wait time, closed rides, or whatever it is that has annoyed you. I hate seeing guests who think that they can throw a tantrum over any little thing and get their own way, and hurling abuse at CMs is just disgusting.

Line jumping/saving

I have absolutely no issue with people needing to duck out of queues for a quick toilet trip, and I also don’t mind if you bring your kid into the line a little bit later because they’re not good at long waits, but nothing is worse than 5-6 people pushing through saying that they’re family are further down, when it was just one person saving a spot for the rest of the group.

Walking around in chains of 4+

There’s nothing wrong with being a big group, but if you’re all walking side by side and no one can get around you, just be a little bit considerate of those who might want to get passed.

Holding up your iPad

It crushes my soul a little bit when you’re trying to watch a show or fireworks, and you can’t see because everyone’s just holding up their phone and filming something that the majority of them won’t even watch back. This feeling is tenfold when there’s that one person who holds up an iPad..

Apologies if this has come across as a minor rant, but I’m sure we all have those little things that bug us! What are yours?

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Tomorrowland

With the recent rumours that Disney may be announcing the replacement of Tomorrowland Speedway in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with the Tron ride that’s taken Shanghai Disneyland by storm, of course the Disney community has been throwing round a whole bunch of opinions – some people are desperate for some newness, others are already mourning the potential loss of a ‘classic’ Tomorrowland ride. On this particular matter, I stand fairly central; I don’t particularly like change, but I did love the Tron ride at Shanghai, and I think it would be a fabulous addition to WDW. One thing I can be certain of, however, is that Tomorrowland needs SOMETHING.

Walt imagined Tomorrowland to be the ultimate step into technology, and at the time, it definitely was. Look at the Carousel of Progress. It absolutely epitomises Walt’s dreams of the future, but the final scene has now hit the 21st century – virtual reality gaming, voice controlled homes – that’s the life we’re all living now. That doesn’t take anything away from my love of the Carousel, but it does indicate that times are changing, and an update is needed.

At no point had I ever believed Tomorrowland to be dated, or at least that was until my trip to Shanghai Disneyland last year, and as soon as I laid eyes on Tomorrowland the first thought that ran through my head was ‘this is how it’s meant to be’. I appreciate that the park is newer, so of course it would have better technology and a cleaner look, but it had what I can only imagine was Walt’s desired feeling: that you had stepped into the future.

Of course, the focal point of Shanghai’s Tomorrowland is the Tron Lightcycle PowerRun ride, but even the classics like Buzz Lightyear featured better tech and just felt so much cooler. The Tron ride itself was in a league of its own; it’s not dissimilar to Test Track in Epcot, but the look and feel just comes across so much sleeker, and it’s one hell of a ride!

Tomorrowland Speedway, on the other hand, does not get me excited. It’s a ride I have quite happily skipped on my last few trips and I wouldn’t shed any tears over the loss. I saw a tweet that summed up exactly how I feel:
I don’t feel like Walt would be proud of Tomorrowland as it is right now. It’s classic, but classic always implies age; being dated. Sure, if they were gonna replace Space Mountain, or the beloved PeopleMover, I think I’d feel differently, but what’s futuristic about a little car that you can drive around a track? Now give me a lightcycle..

To be honest, I think my main concern about the change happening would be the construction affecting the rest of the park, but I don’t think I’d lose any sleep. Tomorrowland is too much like today.

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Disneyland Day 3

Another day in the California sun! Today we were up and into California Adventure for opening at 9am, and after joining the crash of people getting fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers, stopped at Flo’s V8 Cafe for the sweetest breakfast of brioche French toast and a milkshake, then went back to get in line for Soarin’, which we only waited about 25 mins for.

Once we’d landed, our fastpass time had already come round, so we had another race around Ornament Valley, then went on a bit of a character hunt and met Nick Wilde before leaving the park to hit the RunDisney expo, via Sephora at Downtown Disney.

After all the classic expo moments – bib pickup, tshirt pickup, expo browsing – we went back to the hotel to dump my bits before going back into Disneyland, where we were greeted by Belle in the entrance area. We then headed towards Fantasyland, via Snow White’s wishing well and the teacups to take some photos, then grabbed some snacks and sat in front of the castle for a bit to eat and enjoy the sunshine.

Next up, we headed to Fantasy Faire, where we met Aladdin and then waited for Rapunzel, before picking a spot to watch Soundsational, but as the start seemed delayed, and because we wanted good seats for Mickey and the Magical Map, we abandoned the parade and instead hung out at Fantasyland Theater until they let us in, which was worth it for the seats we got. If you know me well, you’ll know this is my all time favourite Disney park show, and I’ve missed it so much so of course I cried through the whole thing. It was also Sarah’s first ever time seeing it and she did the same..

After recovering from the show, we had fastpasses for the Matterhorn, then went into Tomorrowland and did Star Tours then grabbed dinner at Red Rocket’s Pizza Port – hello pasta load – and then called it a night as I’ll be up at 4am tomorrow for the Tinkerbell 10K! Stay tuned folks!

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Disneyland Day 2

You’d think after how tired we were last night, we’d have slept right through til 8am this morning. Nope..

We were up about 6:30-7am ish, and got into the Disneyland park just after 9am, and headed straight for Toontown, where we waited for it to open at 10am. You might think this is crazy, but the empty Toontown photos we took were 100% worth it! After our little photoshoot, we met Minnie in her house, then Mickey in his, before heading back out of the park and hopping over to California Adventure.

First on the agenda was food, having not had any breakfast and given it was passed 11am. We ate at Pacific Wharf Cafe, which involved amazing freshly baked sourdough bread, then wandered over to the Hyperion Theater for the 12:30 showing of Frozen.

The staging of the show was really impressive, and the cast was great, but while the performance overall was pretty good, I did miss Aladdin.. It was, however, nice to sit down in some air con for an hour! From there we headed to Paradise Pier and kicked ourselves back into gear with a ride on California Screamin’, then queued about 15 mins to get into the famous Cove Bar for those all-too-Instagrammable cocktails.

We actually only ordered one actual cocktail between the two of us, and a non-alcoholic lemonade mocktail (which we actually preferred due to the candy floss!), but we had an amazing table on the waterside looking out over the pier and Mickey’s fun wheel and it was perfect. Drinks finished, we went back to the pier for a few photos, then walked back to Buena Vista Street where we met Mickey and Donald, Sarah grabbed an ice cream and I picked up a cookie sandwich on our way back to Paradise Pier for our fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania.

After the ride, we hopped onto the Little Mermaid ride to kill 15 mins before heading to Cars Land for the other fastpass we’d picked up earlier in the day – Radiator Springs Racers. This ride blows me away every time with how amazing and impressive it is, and I’ve only ever done it as a single rider before so it was nice to actually get to sit with someone I know!

After Racers, we went to Animation Academy and both drew very questionable attempts at Olaf, then went back for another round of California Screamin’ before grabbing dinner at Lucky Fortune Cookery, which is a great place for when you’re not in the mood for burgers and pizza! Then to kill time before World of Color, as it was a little too cool for us to sit and wait for 40 mins without jackets, we went on Voyage of the Little Mermaid again, which was so quiet that the cast members were happy (and very entertained) to let us ride it three times in a row without actually getting off. We didn’t have the best view for World of Color, but it wasn’t that important for Sarah and I just wanted to see it at some point, and knew I wouldn’t any other evening with the early nights I’ll be needing for the races!

Show over, we cut through the Grand Californian as a shortcut back to the hotel, and are calling it a night as we’ll be back in the parks early tomorrow!

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Disneyland Day 1

Well after a whole lotta California dreamin’, I am back in my happy place! Despite expecting jet lag to be a killer, we slept through til 6am which was pretty good, although we were up, showered, dressed and ready by 7:30am..

We started by grabbing breakfast in La Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney while we waited for the parks to open, then headed straight into the Disneyland park, where we were greeted by a load of character appearances. We just did Mickey and Minnie, then headed down Main Street for those all important castle photos, a quick meet with Aurora and then my classic first ride: Pirates of the Caribbean, and no, Johnny Depp wasn’t there..
After Pirates, we did Haunted Mansion then Big Thunder, both of which were basically walk ons, then headed into Fantasyland where of course we stopped for teacup photos and photos with the Small World wall. As we walked towards Tomorrowland, however, we came across the Mad Hatter just standing by himself near the Matterhorn, so we went to keep him company for a bit, then as the line for Hyperspace was a bit lengthy, we opted for fastpasses and decided to hop over to California Adventure, stopping to watch the band perform in front of the castle with Beast and Belle.

As we got into DCA, we saw Oswald at the park entrance, then headed round to queue for Soarin’, which is a ride I’ve never actually done in Disneyland! After flying all over the world, we headed to Cars Land and got bread cones from the Cozy Cone Motel, then explored Hollywoodland for bit before going back to the Disneyland park for our Hyperspace Mountain fastpass.

Galaxy saved, we wandered back through Fantasyland, then caught a little bit of Fantasy Faire from just outside The Royal Theatre, then decided to do the castle walkthrough before going to Adventureland to do Jungle Cruise. We then walked back to Royal Princess Hall where we met Cinderella, Ariel and Snow White, and headed into Toontown for a little while, before grabbing a spot on Main Street USA for Soundsational.

After the parade, we did a quick browse of the shops on Main Street, then as it was getting a little colder, decided to head back to the hotel via Downtown Disney so we could grab our jackets and have a quick chill out and wifi hog before going back for the evening.

Refreshed and ready to take on the evening, we walked back to the parks and grabbed dinner at the Red Rose Taverne, then hit a few of the rides with shorter queues – the carousel, Big Thunder in the dark, Snow Whites Adventures and Its a Small World – then as we were starting to feel the tiredness set it, let our competitive nature wake us up with a go on Buzz’s Astro Blasters (Ps I won), before heading back to Main Street to sit and wait for the last Main Street Electrical Parade performance.

Lovely as it was to see the parade again, we were both really struggling to truly appreciate it while battling to keep our eyelids open. We’d intended to hold out and get empty Main Street photos but as soon as the parade had passed us we knew we couldn’t stay any longer, so plodded slowly back to the hotel for a well deserved night sleep. Catch you guys tomorrow!

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My Top 15 Most Instagrammable Disney Park Foods

Is a Disney trip really a Disney trip if you didn’t Instagram at least one snack?

If you’re as Insta obsessed as I am, the combination of adorable food and a pretty castle backdrop is just impossible to resist, and its acceptable to be totally basic and refuse to eat until you’ve got the perfect photo.

Well your friendly neighbourhood Disney tripper is here to guide you in finding what I consider to be the most double-tap-able eats and treats from all six Disney parks! Brace yourself, you’re about to get hungry.

Mochi might be one of the strangest foods I’ve ever tried, but seriously these green aliens from Tokyo Disneyland are the business

Tokyo also takes churros to the next level. Yep, its Mickey shaped.

I’m a sucker for any type of steamed bun, but I cannot get over how adorable these little piggy pork buns from Hong Kong Disneyland are.

I was pretty lucky to get a photo of this raspberry ice lolly before it melted in the mid-July Tokyo DisneySea heat

Head over to the Cozy Cone Motel in Disneyland’s California Adventure park for a cone full of deliciousness in the most perfect Pixar themed land.

Who doesn’t love a Rice Krispie treat? These beauties come in all sorts of amazing flavours and designs and are best eaten on Main Street, although a balcony in Polynesian is a pretty good alternative.

I can never say no to a Mickey shaped pretzel, and I can never eat one without snapping it first!

Disneyland Paris is never complete without a Mickey marshmallow or macaron in front of the castle.

And speaking of macarons, how cute is this little Goofy treat from club level Shanghai Disneyland Hotel?!

If you’re an Alice fan, you’ve gotta head over to Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall if you’re in Tokyo Disneyland for this amazing dessert option!

The best way to cool down in Hong Kong Disneyland is with a Lotso lolly in Adventureland!

Mickey shaped muffins are popping up all over different Disney parks, but this beautiful blueberry one was snapped in Shanghai.

When in Tokyo, if you don’t snap a steamed bun burger, were you even there?

Lemon meringue pie PLUS a Mickey macaron? Yes please Shanghai Disneyland!

And who can resist a Mickey waffle?!

Don’t forget I’m heading to Disneyland in less than 2 weeks, and I’m sure I’ll be Instagramming a tonne of food from there so stay tuned!

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My Disneyland Trip Bucket List

It still hasn’t quite hit home that in a few short weeks I’ll be stepping back into what is, in my opinion, the most special of all the Disney parks. There’s just something extra magical about Disneyland, and for a lot of reasons it holds a very special place in my heart, and I’m super excited to be going back with my Disney twin, Sarah, who I know loves the park just as much as I do.

Here are a few things I’ll be looking to do this trip:

  • Sob over Mickey and the Magical Map – I’ll probably attempt to set a new record for the number of times I watch this in a single trip, and I will definitely cry every time. Plus Sarah has never seen it so its an excuse to drag her along, right?
  • Haunted Mansion – being closed on my last trip, I definitely want to take a doom-buggy to visit the 999 happy haunts after almost 7 years.
  • Frozen at Hyperion Theatre – I loved Aladdin, and was gutted to have missed the last showing by just 3 days, but I’m curious to see the show that’s replaced it.
  • Photoshoots in Toontown – we both love a good outfit shoot, and we both love Toontown, so hello new favourite place to hang out..
  • Red Rose Taverne – gotta find out if the new Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant is worth the hype, right?
  • Jungle Crusin’ – another ride that was closed on my last trip, I need to get some skipper time!
  • Main Street Electrical Parade – as much as I hate not having Paint the Night in Disneyland anymore, I really missed MSEP when I was in Florida.
  • Soarin’ Around the World – would you believe I’ve never done Soarin’ in California?
  • Meet Oswald – I’m on a mission to meet 100 different characters this year, and I’ve never met the lucky bunny before
  • Animation Academy – while I can’t draw to save my life, I still always love going to Animation Academy to attempt it!

Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze all this in as well as everything else PLUS running the Pixie Dust Challenge in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend, wish me luck!

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My Perfect Day in.. Hong Kong Disneyland

I’m super excited to start a new little collab series, and today I’m collaborating with the lovely Hannah from Courage and Kindness, as she shares my absolute adoration of what is possibly Disney’s most underrated park: Hong Kong Disneyland. We both visited the park last year, and I’m so happy to have found someone who I can share my gushing about how much I love this little park, despite it being often overlooked or put down in the Disney community.

The concept is basically what it says on the tin – we’ll both be writing a play by play post on what would be our perfect day in the park, and for me, it doesn’t get any better than this..

A good and bad thing about HKDL is that the park doesn’t normally open til about 10am most days, so there’s no need for a crazy early start. After getting into the park at opening and a gentle stroll down Main Street USA, I’d get a few photos in front of the pretty little pink castle while the park is still quiet, then head right into Tomorrowland and get straight into the Hyperspace Mountain queue early. In most Disney parks I’m very clockwise minded, but HK is an anti-clockwise loop for me!

From Tomorrowland, I’d cut through into Fantasyland and hop on Its a Small World, and then get in line for the first performance of Mickey and the Wondrous Book at 11.15am. After the show, it would be Teacups, then Dumbo, meeting characters in Fantasyland Gardens, and maybe even Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, then I’d head to Royal Banquet Hall for a lunch of piggy pork buns and other delicious offerings, finishing just in time to head through the castle and back to Main Street USA to nab a spot on the route for Flights of Fantasy Parade at 1pm.

After standing in the heat, a sit down in some air-con would be needed, so from Main Street I’d head round into Adventureland for the 2pm performance of Festival of the Lion King, then round to Grizzly Gulch for a wild ride on the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars and a further cool off in Geyser Gulch. Onwards, I’d take a tour of HKDL’s answer to Haunted Mansion – Mystic Manor – then through the Gardens of Wonder into Toy Story Land!

I love the Toy Story Land rides; it would be Parachute Drop first, followed by RC Racer and Slinky Dog Spin, then back into Fantasyland, stopping off to explore Fairy Tale Forest and meet Tinkerbell, before going back for the 6pm Mickey and the Wondrous Book performance – can you tell I love watching shows?

After another trip into the book, it would be back to Adventureland for a Jungle River Cruise, then back to Main Street USA to sit and wait for Paint the Night parade at 7.30pm. This is definitely my favourite nighttime parade ever, and while it kills me that its left Disneyland CA, it makes me happy knowing that it still lives on in HKDL. After the parade, I’d grab dinner in Starlight Diner in Tomorrowland, then saving the galaxy in Buzz’s Astro Blasters, and back to Main Street for the closing fireworks!

Quite a lot to fit into a day in a little park! Be sure to go and check out Hannah’s perfect day here!

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10 Reasons to Love Disneyland Paris

This week Disneyland Paris officially turned 25, and while I wasn’t able to be there to celebrate, and probably won’t be going back now until September now I won’t be renewing my annual pass, I do still have a lot of love for this park.

Being one of the incredibly lucky people to have visited all 6 Disney parks, I’m often asked to rate and rank my favourites, which is something I find especially difficult, and it makes me a little bit sad that in the grand scheme of things, DLP tends to fall lower down in the rankings, but there are so many things about this park to love, and here’s just a handful!

1. It has the prettiest castle

You’d have to be blind to not appreciate how beautiful Le Chateau de la Belle au bois Dormant is. Its so unique compared to other park castles, and its just as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside!

2. It has some amazing unique rides

There’s a reason Ratatouille and Crush’s Coaster always have ridiculous queues, but even some of the more common rides have their own variations, like Phantom Manor having a different backstory to the classic Haunted Mansion, and while it may be under refurb now, even Space Mountain had its own little twist.

3. Its full of so many hidden gems

A little while back I wrote about some of the places I’d never noticed before, and that’s because the whole park is packed with little magically places that you can occasionally overlook, meaning that it always feels like you’re discovering something new!

4. The food is so good

Bistrot Chez Remy is possibly one of the best themed restaurants in any Disney park, and its not the only good place to grab a bite! I also love stopping off on Main Street to buy fudge to take home with me.

5. They do seasons so well

Spring is my all time favourite season at DLP, but any time there’s a season to be celebrated, they really go to town with the cutest outfits and park decorations and parades to make your trip even more special!

6. Extra Magic Hours are always full of magic

From my experience, I’ve always been really lucky to visit during times when EMHs are lovely and quiet, meaning the queues are short and the character experiences are always great.

7. Its never too hot

Unlike the other parks, Paris is subject to lovely reasonable summer temperatures. Yes, it means it can be a little cooler at times, but it means you don’t have to face 30C+ scorching lines

8. Its your local park

Ok so this is for my UK and European readers only I guess, but you’ve gotta take a little bit of pride in the fact that this is our ‘home’ park.

9. The characters are always so fun

I don’t think I’ve ever had anything less than a great interaction with any characters in DLP, and I love that even the characters on parade find time to interact with as many of the guests as possible.

10. Its only getting better

With the work that went into preparation for the 25th anniversary, plus upcoming changes, I think we’re only going to see the park grow in beauty and magic, and I look forward to seeing it reaching its full potential as an incredible park here in Europe.

Bonus: Its always full of amazing people

I’ve been so lucky to meet and hang out with a bunch of wonderful people and friends while in DLP, and make magical memories with them, and I can’t wait for more!

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February Disney Trip Day 8

Happy Tuesday guys! Our day kicked off in Hollywood Studios, and with quite the bang – a fastpass for Rock’n’Roller Coaster, and of course we were pretty hyped to be in the back car of the limo. Sensibly, we saved breakfast for afterwards, grabbing a drink and a snack from Trolley Car Cafe and sitting to watch the First Order March through the park.From there, we had to make a quick detour to guest relations before heading back to Tower of Terror for our second fastpass of the day. Sarah dared me that I couldn’t do it without holding on – which I always do because I’m awful on this ride – and for the first time ever, I had my hands in the air for almost the whole ride! Yay me! I got myself a celebration button as a reward.

Out of the blue, we discovered Bolt meeting in front of the Chinese Theater, so of course we stopped for a quick photo with him, then got in line for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but as we got to the front of the line to enter the theatre, the cast member announced it was at capacity and we would have to wait an extra 25 minutes for the next show, which we couldn’t really be bothered to do in the heat, so instead we went and did Muppet Vision 3D, then grabbed lunch at Backlot Express.

Bellies full of bacon cheeseburgers, we headed back to the Chinese Theater for the Great Movie Ride (cowboy, if you were wondering), then as we went to leave the park, Sarah remembered that it was coming up time for character palooza again, so we decided to swing by before we left and boy was it worth it?! Unlike the 4 character we met the other day, they brought out 11 characters, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Pocahontas appeared followed by Meeko, and the two of them met together which made my little heart so happy! Also out were Robin Hood, Pluto, Donald, Rafiki, Evil Queen, Snow White, and Smee and Prince Ali – we were so lucky to see that many! On a side note, I’m super sunburnt today, and had to buy sun cream, and I also managed to drop and smash my phone screen, so I fully believe in karma today.

Riding the palooza high, we left the park and got on the boat to Epcot, and as we got into International Gateway, we decided to hang out in the UK pavilion for a bit in order to meet Alice, then wandered round to Mexico for a bit of air con inside the temple and a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. From there, we headed back to Future World and met Baymax again, before doing Living with the Land and the Circle of Life, and a quick Seas with Nemo and Friends, before going back to the UK pavilion for dinner.

As we waited for our Rose and Crown Dining Room reservation, we stuck our heads into the pub to see how authentically British it was, but the floor wasn’t sticky and it didn’t smell quite like a proper pub, so we definitely didn’t feel like we were in the UK! Our table for dinner was right on the lake edge, giving us a beautiful view of the now lit World Showcase as we dined on fish and chips and chicken tikka masala, cos y’know, UK tradition, and we were lucky enough to be served by our friend Milly who’s out here on the CRP, so between ordering we could discuss important matters like Character Palooza and a certain Wilderness Explorer.. We also got to watch Illuminations from our table, and while it’s probably my least favourite nighttime show, it was a pretty view for it.

After dinner, we hustled our way back up to Test Track as extra magic hours meant the park was open til 11pm, so we dived in the queue while it said it was a 40 minute wait, we were in and out within that time, before heading out of the park for the night, again opting to get on the bus to French Quarter rather than Riverside because the queue were that much shorter!

Goodnight y’all!

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Places I Never Knew Existed in Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris

In the last 18 months, I’ve been to Disneyland Paris 4 times, and there’s nothing I’ve loved more on the last few visits than just exploring the little nooks and crannies. There’s been a lot of refurbishment within the last year, so almost every time I’ve been, there’s been some sort of scaffolding somewhere, but somehow on my visit last month, I discovered a bunch of places that in the previous 3 trips have never registered before!

Toad Hall Restaurant

Admittedly, I think I often skip past the back part of Fantasyland between Peter Pan’s Flight and Curious Labyrinth, but to not notice a WHOLE restaurant feels like quite an oversight on my part! It looks so cute as well, definitely one to try on my next trip.

La Chaumière des Sept Nains

Ok, I knew this shop existed because its right there in the middle of Fantasyland, but I’d never been inside before, and it has the whole Snow White cottage inside it! I only went in to escape the bitter cold, but I was so happy to discover this little gem!

La Confiserie des Trois Fées

Another place that I’ve probably walked past 100+ times, but aside from the little hanging sign outside, I never actually knew there was anything inside. Its a cute little sweet shop with adorable stained glass windows!

La Boutique du Château

I’m probably always too busy looking up inside the castle to notice the Christmas shop on the right hand side..

Toilets

This probably sounds like the weirdest thing to say, but I hardly ever notice toilets in DLP. Besides the ones by Phantom Manor and the one by Pinocchio’s in Fantasyland, I’ve never really spotted any others! Now I know there’s the ones by Bella Notte, and the ones by the entrance of Frontierland, but they don’t really stick out!

Am I the only one who’s never noticed some of these things?

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Disneyland Paris Day 2

Disneyland Paris selfie

Now I’m not normally one to toot my own horn, but I absolutely bossed extra magic hours this morning! One of the first people into the park, first in line for Chip and Dale, then got though Pluto, Goofy and Pooh within half an hour and they were all adorable.After wandering Main Street and Fantasyland for a bit, I stopped off in Market House Deli to warm back up, then as I was heading back towards the castle, I saw a lady in a Meeko hat, so obviously I had to check every shop on Main Street to see if I could find it. With no luck, I figured it would probably be in Adventureland, so I got into the queue for Meet Mickey in the run up to 10am. Well the queue said 10 mins, but it was at least half an hour waiting before I got to hang with the boss.

At that point, I ducked out of the parks for a little bit and went back to the hotel to do some work for a little project I’ve got coming up, before heading back to the Disneyland Hotel to meet up with Mitch. There were a few characters in the lobby, so we hung out there for a bit, and then went to meet Pluto and Goofy in Frontierland. Pluto was extra excited to see us which was so lovely!

Next we headed into the Studios to hunt more characters, but really just ended up people watching for a little while, then a quick photo with some Stormtroopers before we started queuing for Moana!!!

Moana

Moana was everything I wanted her to be, it was so perfect. We talked about Pua and Samoa and wayfinding and had the biggest hug and I felt so happy! We then wandered back into the Disneyland park, where I grabbed a few sweet treats before settling down for Magic On Parade.

Post-parade we stopped in Discovery Arcade for some warmth and a sit down, then I left the group and headed over to Frontierland to meet up with Nancy from Le Ears, and she managed to sneak me into her Fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain. HOLY DISNEY that ride was worth the long refurb! It was so long and so good!! It was also freezing as it was dark out and I couldn’t feel my face but the ride well and truly made up for it!

Disneyland Paris Tower of Terror

I had the tough decision between Dreams and Star Wars Galactic Celebration for the evening show I could see, but given that I’ve seen Dreams loads, I opted for Star Wars, after inhaling an Earl of Sandwich. Studios was practically empty, so I was really happy I decided to go as it was so much less stressful than trying to watch Dreams on a crowded Main Street. I loved the show – it felt a little disjointed at times but I was watching the French version so I may not have understood the flow. The graphics were awesome and I loved having the characters on stage as well for a little extra touch! It was also so much easier to extricate myself from the park at the end, rather than being herded like cattle out of DLP.

It’s been a really wonderful weekend, and I’m so happy I came out and got to see so many lovely people. Now to get another early-ish night before flying home in the morning and straight onto a late shift at work!

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My February Park Bag

What's in my WDW park bag

I’ve never written a post about what I actually carry with me when I’m in the Disney parks, and seeing as I now have the most adorable new park bag – this pastel beauty of a backpack from Pack the Magic – I’m after any excuse to show it off! I usually carry a much bigger backpack, and find myself filling it with all sorts of rubbish that I never actually need or use, so I’m challenging myself to keep a more minimalist approach on my trip in February.

First off, I ALWAYS carry a notebook. This isn’t just a park thing, I carry a notebook with me everywhere I go, but on Disney trip I’ll have copies of all my booking references and timings in my notebook just in case, and its also handy in case I feel the need to jot anything down – blogger problems. Another absolute must is, of course, my camera. I’d normally have my SLR, but in the interest of keeping things light, I’m taking my new-ish Sony A5000 compact, for which I’ve ordered a telescopic lens for parade shooting. I’m finding it hard to get used to, what with preferring to use the viewfinder rather than display screen, but its a fab little camera and I look forward to playing with it more

Inside my magical backpack, you’ll also find my bag of pixie dust. This will have anything from makeup to painkillers and plasters, spare hairbands and suncream – whatever might be needed at a moment’s notice! I also like to keep my passport to hand, just in case I need any ID, as thanks to the wonders of Magic Bands, I don’t need to carry my purse at all, saving me the hassle and worry of losing it.

Finally, the last few bits of tech to keep the magic going! My powerbank can be a godsend should I ever be caught out without charge on my phone or camera, and I try to always remember a spare memory card just in case anything should happen to the other, or y’know, I fill it up with parade photos..

What’s in your park bag?

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Best Rest Rides at Walt Disney World

Speaking as a person who has not only had to do WDW parks on major jet lag, but also after being up since 3am and running a half marathon (hello RunDisney life), I know that there are always those days where you need to chill out, but also don’t want to miss out on any valuable park time, so I’ve got you covered!

Tomorrowland TTA People Mover

Magic Kingdom

TTA People Mover

Has anyone ever actually had to queue for PeopleMover? I don’t think I’ve ever been on it and not been allowed to ride around and around for ages because there’s no one else waiting. Its the perfect way to still experience MK while keeping your feet up.

Walt Disney World Railroad

One of my favourite things to do sometimes is just get on the train and ride a loop or two around the park!

Epcot

Ellen’s Energy Adventure

Hello 45 minute sit down! I will admit to drifting off while riding this one time..

Living with the Land

This educational little boat trip is one of my Epcot favourites; I love looking at all the plants and trying to spot hidden Mickeys, plus I normally follow it up with a trip to Sunshine Seasons for Mongolian beef and a red velvet whoopie pie!

Spaceship Earth

Its iconic Epcot, plus a nice relaxing trip through history and into the future!

Hollywood Studios

The Great Movie Ride

I don’t care if people think its a little cheesy, but its a nice gentle ride and I always like waiting to find out if I’m in a gangster or bandit car!

Animal Kingdom

Kilimanjaro Safaris

So I always try to make this a morning ride, but its the perfect way to ease into a day in the park, plus you never get the same experience twice!

What do you do on your down days in the parks?

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Tangled Tree Tavern at Shanghai Disneyland

When Shanghai Disneyland was still under construction, a rumour broke that got me pretty excited for the park’s opening. Then in all my excitement for the trip, I promptly forgot all about it.

The rumour was that a Tangled themed restaurant would be featured in the park, and it wasn’t until I arrived in Shanghai Disneyland and saw ‘Tangled Tree Tavern’ on the park map that it dawned on me that finally I could visit The Snuggly Duckling for myself. Of course, I had to Disneybound that day..

Shanghai Disneyland Rapunzel Disneybound

Tangled Tree Tavern, Shanghai Disneyland

Tangled Tree Tavern, Shanghai Disneyland

Tangled Tree Tavern, Shanghai Disneyland

Tangled Tree Tavern, Shanghai Disneyland

Tangled Tree Tavern, Shanghai Disneyland

I didn’t meet any ruffians or thugs, but they clearly weren’t far away as their stuff was all over the place – helmets hanging from the ceiling, tankards left everywhere.. They’re probably out living their dreams, or just getting ready for the parade..

Its a counter service restaurant, and although we didn’t actually eat here, the food looked really good! All the seating is outdoors, but under cover so you can stay shaded from sun!

I love seeing my favourite films represented in the parks!

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Shanghai Disneyland Details

Its been three whole months since I walked the magic of Shanghai Disneyland, and I still haven’t had much of a chance to share my photos with you lot, so I thought I’d do a bit of a gallery post today to share some of the adorable little details that fill the park!

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

I just love looking out for little hidden gems around the park; there’s so much more than just hidden Mickeys out there! Disney Imagineers are just incredible people.

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Walt’s Cafe

On our first night in Hong Kong Disneyland, we decided to venture across to the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel for a little nose around and a spot of dinner, and we ended up in Walt’s Cafe.

Walt's Cafe

Like the hotel, Walt’s Cafe was incredibly classic in its styling, with wooden wall panelling and framed photos of Walt and his magical life on all the walls; it felt fancy and homely at the same time, like Walt could be sat at the table next to us. The waiting staff were so friendly and attentive, we were given stickers and our water glasses were never empty – we felt really looked after, it was lovely!

I ordered a sandwich – I can’t remember exactly what it was called, but I got to choose three fillings from a list of options! – and my mouth dropped when it arrived..

Walt's Cafe

Yes, those are double stacked sandwiches!! It was so delicious, but I could only manage about two of the monster sandwiches and a handful of chips before feeling ready to burst, and as we were determined to still order dessert, the best decision seemed to be to share!

Walt's Cafe

Yep, share the cutest dessert platter I’ve ever seen! Each of these little mousse type cakes was a different flavour: Pooh was mango, Mickey was chocolate and raspberry and Stitch was blueberry – yum yum yum! It was a really nice meal, and a definite must-do if you’re staying in the Disneyland Hotel, or have time to visit it!

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The Ultimate Six Park Comparison

I’m not gonna lie, the fact that I visited all six of the world’s Disney parks within a 13 month period is probably one of my greatest life achievements, and I’m fully aware of how lucky I am to be able to have visited them at all! That said, there is a question that comes with this achievement which I hate: ‘what’s your favourite park?’.

I hate picking favourites, end of, but this is one I will never ever be able to answer, because every park is different and there’s no way they can be judged on the same level, so instead I’m gonna break down the park pros and cons, and hopefully give a proper and fair analysis!

Disneyland, California

Disneyland California

  • Number of parks: 2
  • Park yays:
    • Compact area – its only about 100m between the two parks, with Downtown Disney right outside
    • Lots of nearby offsite hotels, and easily accessible on foot
    • Plenty of random character interaction opportunities
    • Large Downtown Disney area including branded stores like Sephora and Lego Store
    • While temperatures can vary, rain is very rare!
    • Current shows and parades include: Mickey and the Magical Map, Frozen the musical and Fantasy Faire, Soundsational Parade
    • Parades and nighttime shows in both parks
  • Park nays:
    • Not many direct transportation options from LAX
    • No dining plan
    • During off-peak times, some performances and parades get cut-back to weekends only
  • Why this park is special to me:
    • Disneyland was the first park I visited as an adult, so with the exception of vague early childhood images, all my first proper Disney memories were made in Disneyland. It also makes me so happy knowing that this was Walt’s park, and this is where he walked and where the whole Disney park legacy began.

Walt Disney World, Florida

Walt Disney World

  • Number of parks: 4 plus 2 water parks
  • Park yays:
    • The most advanced Disney parks, with features like Magic Bands, Fastpass+ and My Disney Experience
    • So many entertainment options – something for everyone!
    • Amazing transportation links, including Magical Express to airport
    • Dining plan is great value for money
    • Current shows and parades include: Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo the Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasmic, Festival of Fantasy
    • So many resort options!
  • Park nays:
    • Parks can get really packed during busy periods
    • So many strollers..
  • Why this park is special to me:
    • WDW is the ultimate Disney experience. If you stay onsite, you are completely encased in the magic, and reality and problems disappear!

Tokyo Disneyland, Japan

Tokyo Disneyland

  • Number of parks: 2
  • Park yays:
    • Local guests are so polite and considerate
    • Hardly any strollers or scooters
    • So many unique areas (basically the whole of DisneySea!)
    • Best merchandise of any Disney park!
    • Designated train station for transportation into Tokyo
    • Everything is clean and well kept
    • Current shows and parades include: Happiness is Here, Electrical Parade Dreamlights, Fantasmic
    • No Downtown area, but has Ikspiari, a large shopping centre with restaurants and Disney Store
    • Monorail link between the two parks
    • Lots of rare character meeting opportunities
  • Park nays:
    • Not many cast members speak English, and most shows are done in Japanese
    • Rather than Extra Magic Hours, guests staying in Disney hotels only get to enter the parks 15 minutes before other guests
  • Why this park is special to me:
    • Tokyo was my first Eastern Disney park, and I was just blown away with how much I loved it. DisneySea is just such a unique park, definitely one of  my favourite parks of all time, and I live for the merchandise!

Disneyland Paris, France

Disneyland Paris Spring 2016

  • Number of parks: 2
  • Park yays:
    • Designated train station for links to airport and Eurostar
    • Good range of hotel options, both on and offsite
    • Current shows and parades include: Mickey and the Magician, Frozen Singalong, Disney Magic on Parade
    • Lots of seasonal events eg. Swing into Spring and Halloween
  • Park nays:
    • Guests don’t stick to designated smoking areas
    • Walt Disney Studios park doesn’t have as much going on as Disneyland
  • Why this park is special to me:
    • DLP is my local park, I’m an annual pass holder, and I’ve made so many recent memories here, including my 21st birthday and my first Disney trip without my family back in April. I think the park has come such a long way in recent years and I can’t wait to celebrate the 25th anniversary next year!

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland

  • Number of parks: 1 (for now!)
  • Park yays:
    • Designated train station for easy access from the city
    • While still being fairly close to the city centre, the area feels very secluded
    • Most cast members speak English really well
    • Current shows and parades include: Paint the Night parade, Festival of the Lion King, Mickey and the Wondrous Book, Flights of Fantasy
    • Fun twists on classic rides
    • Depending on the time of year and day of the week, the park can be really empty!
  • Park nays:
    • No offsite hotels nearby
    • Local guests use umbrellas for shade, so it can be hard to watch parades
    • No Downtown Disney area
    • Fastpasses only available for a few rides
    • Merchandise was quite expensive compared to other Asian parks
  • Why this park is special to me:
    • Hong Kong was the last Disney park I visit on my six park adventure, and I fell in love with it. I love how similar the park is to Disneyland California; its so pretty and classic!

Shanghai Disneyland, China

Shanghai Disneyland castle

  • Number of parks: 1
  • Park yays:
    • So many incredible new rides
    • Located really close to Pudong Airport, and also has a designated station on the city’s underground tube system
    • Disneytown is ride next to the park, and you can use the second entrance at the end to re-enter the park by Tomorrowland
    • Current shows and parades include: Tarzan the musical, Mickey’s Storybook Express, Captain Jack Stunt Show Spectacular
    • Just the most beautiful castle!
  • Park nays:
    • Local guests aren’t very into queuing, and lots will push past
    • Quite a bit of rubbish around the parks
    • Queues for Fastpasses can be longer than queues for some rides at times!
    • Currently still very much in a trial stage, with some technical problems still occuring
  • Why this park is special for me:
    • Being able to visit a brand new park within a month of opening was so special for me, and the experience was totally magical.

Wow, I really struggled writing this; I hate finding negatives in things! I’ll probably come back to this a million times and change and add things when they spring to mind!

What do you love about the parks you’ve visited?

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Favourite Photos from.. Flights of Fantasy Parade!

Oh I just love doing these parade posts!

On top of loving getting to share these photos with you, it also gives me a perfect excuse to relive the magic, and today the magic is coming from the adorable Hong Kong Disneyland’s Flights of Fantasy parade!

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade
Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy parade

This was such a sweet parade – they even stop the parade to let children out to dance with the performers which despite being baking hot in July, was really cute! To my surprise, the parade uses the same soundtrack music as Disneyland’s Soundsational Parade, just with different lyrics, but that just meant I could sing along easily (you know, to everything that wasn’t in Cantonese!) and the cast members were all loving guest interactions which was amazing!

What’s your favourite Disney parade?

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Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Being a shiny new park with shiny new everything surrounding it, when making our Shanghai Disneyland plans, there was only one correct answer to where we had to stay, and that was the big’un: Shanghai Disneyland Hotel.

There are two Disney hotels on site, the smaller (and cheaper) of which being the Toy Story Hotel, but I’ll save that one for a future adventure, ha! I wanted to see the main event.

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

So classic, so beautiful. The reception has a real distinct smell to it (weird, I know!), like walking into Abercrombie and Fitch, but when you’re coming in from the heat outside, its a welcome rush of scent and air-con. The lobby is breathtaking, with artwork on every wall and cast members looking dapper behind every desk. Although you feel like you’re coming in on the ground level, its actually the third floor, with steps leading down into the gardens overlooking the park in the distance – yes, you can see the castle from the hotel!#

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

The whole hotel has a bit of a Fantasia/Philharmagic theme, from the statue in the lobby to the room decoration. Oh, and you see those gorgeous wooden headboards? Find the Tinkerbell button by the nightstand and they light up with pixie dust and fireworks – AMAZING!

Although I never like making too much use of a tv in a hotel room, these were by far the best at any Disney resort, with on demand movies, kids bedtime stories and streaming of the nighttime spectacular!

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

From the hotel, you’ve got three options to get to the parks: you can get a shuttle bus, a ferry across the lake, or you can walk it. The buses are possibly a tad quicker than the ferry – mainly due to trainee ferry drivers! – but they both drop you about the same distance from the park entrance.

There are also a few dining options within the hotel, including character dining at Lumiere’s Kitchen, and if you’re staying club level, you have access to a breakfast buffet, afternoon tea and cocktail hour on the 7th floor, where you can also watch the nighttime show from!

Shanghai Disneyland Hotel

It was just such a magical place to stay!

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The My Disney Experience Mobile App*

It’s magic at your fingertips! Plan, capture, and share your Walt Disney World vacation using this official app from Disney!

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If you like visiting Disney as much as I do, this will definitely come in handy. Let’s take a closer look at My Disney Experience’s features:

Explore the resort with ease

The My Disney Experience Mobile App allows users to explore the Walt Disney World Resort using the interactive, GPS-enabled map. The map isn’t just a plain one that points users from point A to B; it’s fun to use as it’s filled with cute designs that shows guests where they can find certain attractions and restaurants.

In addition to its awesome directional features, the interactive map allows users to find Disney characters’ greeting locations and times. It also shows the time for fireworks and parades. How awesome is that?

Plan your vacation

The app allows users to buy theme park tickets with ease. Bought tickets are stored in the My Plans section where information can be shared with friends and family. An alert will go off when your trip to Disney is getting close.

Make your trip memorable

This is where the app truly shines. Users of My Disney Experience can preview, purchase, and share Disney PhotoPass photos and videos. To the uninitiated, PhotoPass is a tool that allows guests to view and purchase photos taken by Disney photographers online and at theme parks. Whenever visitors have their photos taken, they’re issued a PhotoPass, which has the web address and a 16-digit ID number printed on it.

Apart from PhotoPass, users will be able to shop for authentic Disney merchandise with quick links to the all-new Shop Disney Parks app.

Thanks to technology, Disney is able to reach out to more people. With this app, first-time guests of Walt Disney World will have a convenient and magical stay.  

Apart from making apps, Disney seems to be quite active in the creation of new games as well.  Aside from its Disney Channel that has integrated games, Disney also partnered up with Yepi and the Club Penguin page — sites where the latest Disney games are now hosted. In the past, Marvel, which is now owned by Disney, used to have games hosted on the Pocketfruity site but that came to a halt when Disney decided to adhere to its family-friendly policies and pull all games from gaming sites. All of Disney’s games are now suitable for players of all-ages both online and offline.

Give the app a go by downloading it either on iTunes or the Google Play Store!

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My Disneyland Paris Bucket List

I have a fairly extensive Disney Bucket List, but the majority of the items on that list aren’t park specific, and those that are tend to be more WDW based, but now I’m a Disneyland Paris annual pass holder, I’ve been thinking more about all the things I’d love to do in my local park, and we all know I love a bucket list!

Disneyland Paris Spring 2016

Dine at Auberge de Cendrillon

Meet all the princesses in Princess Pavilion

Attend the Halloween Soiree

Stay in the Disneyland Hotel

Take an empty Main Street USA photo

Go to an Inventions brunch

Visit the parks around Christmas to see the decorations

Spend a whole day character spotting

Fly on PanoraMagique

Ride It’s a Small World – I haven’t done the one at DLP since I was a kid!

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show!

See Mickey and the Magician

Ride RC Racer in Toy Story Land

Meet the penguins from Mary Poppins!

 Race at a RunDisney event

Go to an AP holder event

.. and I’m still looking for more ideas to add to the list!

What’s on your bucket list?

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Things You HAVE to do at Shanghai Disneyland

I feel like I start a lot of posts by complaining about how quickly time goes (regular readers, I do this all the time, right?), but it has been almost 4 weeks since I was at Shanghai Disneyland and I’m not ok with that.

Being that it (for now!) only has the one park, you could probably manage to do everything in 2 days, depending on how busy it is, but if you were pushed for time, there are definitely a few attractions and experiences that are like no other!

Tron Lightcycle Power Run

Shanghai Disneyland Tron ride

Oh. My. Gosh. This ride is insane! If you haven’t seen photos or videos of it already, go YouTube it now. There is a height limit of 122cm, so its not for the little ones, but while its definitely a fast and exciting rollercoaster, its incredible smooth; even my incredibly motion-sickness prone mum had a blast! If I could liken it to anything already existing in other Disney parks, its kinda like a motorcycle equivalent of Test Track in Epcot, but so unique and crazy and amazing!

If you can, get a Fastpass for this because queues can be insane! If Fastpasses run out, wait until during/after the nighttime show and run over there.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure

Shanghai Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean

I know you can ride Pirates in pretty much every other Disney park, but not like this I promise you! Disney Imagineers went to town on this, the advancement in technology was just phenomenal; I think my jaw was on the floor the whole time. Without spoiling it, this is way more than just a boat ride!

Dine inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle

Shanghai Disneyland Royal Banquet Hall

The Royal Banquet Hall is an AMAZING dining experience. I’ll be reviewing it fully in the next few weeks, but being my first time dining inside a castle ever, I was blown away. The food was beyond incredible, and the characters and cast members were the sweetest and did I mention its INSIDE THE CASTLE?

Meet the boss

Can you go to a park without meeting Mickey? He looks really smart in his Shanghai blue suit!

Tarzan

Shanghai Disneyland Tarzan

Looking for somewhere to escape the heat of the day? This is the perfect excuse! The show is full of monkey fun and amazing acrobatics; its a real crowd pleaser!

Climb a mountain

Shanghai Disneyland Adventure Isle

I’m a bit gutted we didn’t get to do this on our trip – we only discovered it on the last day of our visit! – but there’s actually a high-ropes style course through the mountain in Adventure Isle, how crazy is that?

Explore the castle

Enchanted Storybook Castle

There’s actually an attraction inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle! It’s an interactive walking tour up the beautiful spiral staircase in the centre of the castle, telling the story of Disney’s first princess, Snow White.

Ok, so I could probably sit here and list off everything in the park so I’ll stop now, but I think if you’re in a rush, these are the things you’ve 100% gotta hit.

Is Shanghai Disneyland a place you’d like to visit?

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Hong Kong Disneyland – Day 2!

It’s the last Disney day, waa!

With the park not opening until 10.30, we grabbed our Mickey waffles in the hotel instead, at Hollywood and Dine, before catching the resort shuttle to the park. It’s a lot busier today, but being hotel guests we get quicker access to security and ticket checks, so we could just swan on past the crowds and into the park. We actually missed rope drop due to doing some early shopping, but once we were done it was time for park action!

Hong Kong Disneyland 10th anniversary

We walked through the castle into Fantasyland, and decided to skip the hour queue for Dumbo in favour of going to Toy Story Land for Parachute Drop, which only had a 10 minute wait, then round to Mystic Point for Mystic Manor. Although it’s this parks Haunted Mansion equivalent, it’s actually a very different experience but a lot of fun all the same! From there we went back into Grizzly Gulch, and another go on the Mine Train, still only with a 5 minute wait, then back across into Fantasyland for another showing of Mickey and the Wondrous Book. Yesterday we managed to walk in with 5 minutes til showtime, but today getting there 20 minutes before it was a huge queue.

Hong Kong Disneyland Fantasy Gardens

After the show, feeling refreshed from half an hour of air-con, it was time for us to go and meet the boss, Mickey Mouse himself, in Fantasy Gardens, to complete our set of family photos with Mickey in every park. Now well past 1.30pm, it was time to find food, so we walked through Fantasyland back to Tomorrowland and grabbed lunch at Starlight Cafe, then got in the queue for Buzz, which was held up a little by a protein spill!

Hong Kong Disneyland Flights of Fantasy

After another successful mission, I shot off to get a spot for Flights of Fantasy, but within 5 minutes of the parade starting, had overheated and was fed up with people pushing their children in front of me, as well as battling to get photos over a sea of umbrellas, so called it a day early. At this point Mum and Hannah had also had enough of the heat, and decided to go back to the hotel for a swim, so Dad and I went to catch the next show of Mickey in the Wondrous Book, but finding it had already filled up, did Its a Small World instead.

With the park being much busier today, we didn’t want to chance another full theatre for Festival of the Lion King, so went straight across to that, because although it meant a half an hour wait, it was shady and there were fans, and then half an hours sit down in an air conditioned theatre. NB: I know I keep mentioning heat and air con, but seriously it’s 35C and not a cloud or hint of a breeze.

Hong Kong Disneyland City Hall

After the show, we queued about half an hour for Hyperspace Mountain, which may not seem like much in terms of most parks, but was actually the longest wait time we’ve had today! We planned to go from there to Storybook Theatre, but once again Mickey and the Wondrous Book had already filled up, so another miss! Instead we got a drink in Corner Cafe, then found a spot on Main Street USA for Paint the Night.

Hong Kong Disneyland Paint the Night parade

The parade felt much more laid back today; we sat further up Main Street which was a lot cooler and less crowded, so we didn’t cook as we had yesterday! To fill the time between the parade and the fireworks, we managed to sneak in two rounds on Buzz and get back to a good spot to watch Disney in the Stars for the final time.

Hong Kong, you’ve been a blast! See ya real soon!

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Baking Magic – Mickey Steamed Buns

With looking forward to my trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneylands, it seems a little crazy that its almost been a year since I visited Tokyo!

Tokyo Disneyland was the most unique experience, and I would thoroughly recommend a trip if you get the chance – I’m dying to go back already! – and one of the many unique features of the parks was definitely the food. Forget corn dogs and fries, the cuisine is almost entirely suited to the Japanese culture, and we didn’t have a single bad meal there!

While you may not be in the Western parks, there are a couple of burger options for you, but before you go searching for a cheeseburger, even these have an adorable Japanese twist: steamed buns, and a touch of Disney magic! Today, I’m re-creating the most internet famous of these..


These buns are available at Tomorrowland Terrace in Tokyo Disneyland park, but other variations include a Donald equivalent in Toon Town, and a seashell bun in Calypso Kitchen in Tokyo DisneySea, and now I’m so excited that I can make my own!

Being totally clueless on where to even start, I stuck pretty close to the steamed bao bun recipe on BBC Good Food:

  • Mix 525g plain flour with 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl
  • Dissolve 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast and a pinch of salt in 1 tbsp warm water, then add to the dry mix with 50 ml milk, 200 ml water, 1 tbsp sunflower (I used olive) oil and 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar and mix into a dough, using either your hands or a dough hook attachment on a food mixer < so much easier than your hands! Knead for 10-15 minutes
  • Put the dough into a lightly oiled dough and cover with a damp cloth, then leave for 2 hours to rise. It should double in size, but don’t worry too much if it doesn’t!
  • Tip it out onto a floured work surface and flatten it out, then sprinkle 1 tsp baking powder over it and knead for 5 minutes.

This is where I deviated a little from the method of the recipe.

  • Roll out the dough until its about 1cm thick. I found this easier by cutting the dough in half and doing one half at a time!

Mickey steamed buns

  • Using a big flower shaped cutter, preferably a five petal design, cut out shapes from the dough. Using your hands, stretch these out slightly, dab with a bit of oil and fold them over a chopstick so that three of the petals are on top (see that Mickey hand shape?) and repeat with all the dough.
  • Cover the buns with a clean tea towel or oiled cling film, then leave somewhere warm to prove for 1 hr 30 mins.
  • The buns should double in size, but again, don’t worry about this too much – mine didn’t!

Mickey steamed buns

  • Before cooking, use black food colouring and a paintbrush or toothpick to add Mickey’s glove markings!
  • Cook the buns in a steamer for 8 minutes, then unfold, fill and close back up!

Mickey Steamed Buns

The buns are best served still warm, but still delicious once cooled! I personally recommend filling with pulled pork or teryaki chicken!

Love the look of these? Have a look at my favourite crazy Tokyo foods!

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Baking Magic – Hunny Pot Candy Apples

I am always amazed with the candy apples you can buy in the Disney parks, and I love watching the cast members making them, so when I tried my hand at them at the beginning with last year with my Candy Poison Apples, I was so happy to find how easy they were, and decided to bring them back in this new series!

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Ok, so you’re gonna need: 12-15 medium sized green apples, 5 cups caster sugar, 1 cup water, white and yellow food colouring (optional), 300g milk chocolate and orange coloured chocolate or candy melts.

Equipment wise, you’ll need a candy thermometer, a saucepan and lollipop sticks

1. Mix together the sugar and water in a saucepan, and start to heat. Pop in the candy thermometer and let it bubble away – it’s got to reach 150C before its ready.

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2. While your sugar mix is cooking away, clean and de-stem the apples and push the lollipop sticks into the tops so they’re firmly in place.

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3. When you’re sugar is close to temperature, add the white food colouring to make the mix more opaque, then add yellow to give it a golden honey colour.

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4. Once it hits 150C, turn off the heat and remove the thermometer. Working quickly but carefully – this mix is HOT, please keep children away – dip the apples into the liquid sugar and swirl around to give it a good coating, then place them onto greaseproof paper. Its going to set hard pretty quickly, so if you’ve still got sugar left over once you’ve coated all your apples, pour it out into a little puddle on greaseproof paper and get your saucepan soaking in hot water to save yourself a tough cleaning job!

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5. Melt down the milk chocolate, then you can either dunk the apples or spoon the chocolate over them, and give them a little shake to get off the excess, then pop them in the fridge for a little while.

6. Once the chocolate has set, take them out of the fridge – otherwise the candy gets super sticky – and melt down the orange chocolate/candy melts. Pour this into a piping bag and get misspelling the word honey – otherwise Pooh might not know what it is!

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What’s your favourite candy apple design?

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WDW Transportation Links

Walt Disney World spans a crazy 40 square miles, did you know that?

With that in mind, your holiday can double as a logistical operation as you maneuver getting from park to park and back again, especially if, like us, you don’t have a car to get about. Fortunately though, Disney have thought all of this through, creating a bunch of different ways to get about, and on our January trip, Dad and I did a lot of exploring via some of the lesser known transportation options, and today I’m going to share all these wonderful links with you!

Magic King

Credit: itslizi.etsy.com

Bus

If you’re staying at a Disney resort, you can get to and from the Magic Kingdom by buses that run direct from your resort to the park entrance

Monorail

The monorail services the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian resorts, and also runs from the Transportation and Ticket Center if you do drive to the park.

Boat

Boats to and from the Magic Kingdom run from the Ticket and Transportation Center and Disney’s Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Polynesian resorts, as well as Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campground.

Epcot

Credit: itslizi.etsy.com

Bus

Buses run regularly from all Disney resorts

Monorail

If you’re at the Magic Kingdom or monorail loop resorts, you can get the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center and transfer to a monorail that travels direct to Epcot’s park entrance

Boat

If you’re at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Yacht and Beach Club resorts or Swan and Dolphin hotels, you can travel by boat to Epcot’s International Gateway, where you can enter the park via the World Showcase

On foot

You can also walk to the International Gateway from any of the above resorts, and also from Hollywood Studios – a path runs between the two via The Boardwalk

Hollywood Studios

Credit: itslizi.etsy.com

Bus

Resort buses regularly travel to Hollywood Studios and back again.

Boat

You can travel to the park by boats from The Boardwalk Inn, Yacht and Beach Club resorts and Swan and Dolphin hotels. You can use these boats as a way of transferring to Epcot too!

On foot

You can walk to Hollywood Studios from Epcot via The Boardwalk – during peak seasons, this walk is quicker than any other transportation!

Animal King

Credit: itslizi.etsy.com

Bus

Because its so far out from the other parks, the only way to get to the Animal Kingdom via Disney transportation is resort bus, and sometimes these routes travel to Blizzard Beach too.

Disney Springs

Credit: itslizi.etsy.com

Bus

All Disney resorts have buses that run to and from Disney Springs. If you want to travel from the parks, I recommend getting a resort bus to Saratoga Springs which is right next door, then you can either walk from there or catch a bus

Boat

A fun way to get to Disney Springs if you’re staying at Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter, Old Key West or Saratoga Springs (including the Treehouse Villas) is by boats that run every 20 minutes or so to and from the Marketplace jetty. You can also get boats from The Landing to West Side.

Love these Disney inspired underground logos? They were made by the lovely Lizi and you can buy prints here!

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Disney-bound again!

Its been a while since I’ve done a chatty post, and all of a sudden I realised that I haven’t really told you lovely lot about the fact that this summer..

WE’RE GOING TO SHANGHAI AND HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!!

Little Green Men Mochi from Tokyo DisneySea

Little Green Men Mochi from Tokyo DisneySea

Those of you who follow my Disney antics a lot will know that this means I will have completed one of my life goals of visiting every Disney park, and I’ll actually have done all of them within the space of 13 months which is pretty incredible!

So we’ll be out there for two weeks, spending 2-3 days in Shanghai Disneyland (hopefully onsite!), as well as visiting some of the amazing sites of China, then finishing up with 2-3 days in Hong Kong Disneyland before flying home. My sister is currently travelling out in Asia (and taking after her little sister by blogging it), and our trip is coinciding with the end of her adventure, so she’ll meet us out there and fly home with us.

Shanghai will have been open for about a month when we get there, so hopefully they’ll have sorted any issues that they might find by then, although it’ll still obviously be PACKED with people, which is why we’ll be spending a few days there even though its only one park. I am SO excited to see that beautiful castle!

It’s going to be incredible and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

On another exciting note, at the end of April I’m going on a semi-spontaneous trip to Disneyland Paris!

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I’ve been wanting to visit DLP for Spring for a while now as everyone always talks about how much fun and how pretty it all is, and I definitely didn’t want to miss out on Forest of Enchantment, so when I realised how many of my lovely Disney friends are all going to be out there in the same week, I suddenly found myself booking the Eurostar..

I’m going out on the evening of the 27th, and staying at Santa Fe with a few of my Disney girls who arrive the day before me. Originally we were going to stay offsite at the Kyriad, but with Ellie’s AP discount, it wasn’t much difference to stay at Santa Fe so we thought why not! As well as Swing into Spring, I’m also really excited to buy an annual pass as Ellie is going to sponsor me, and I can’t wait to see so many of the lovely people who are going to be out there with me!

Have you got any Disney trips coming up? °o°

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My Disney Confessions

Jumping on the Disney blogger bandwagon of confessing some of my more shameful secrets for my fellow fangirls in the hopes they don’t disown me and make me give back my Mickey ears..

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I’ll start with just 10, and see if I’m still standing once this is all over, ha!

1. I don’t like Dole Whip – in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever had one!

2. I really don’t see the point or appeal of collecting pins. Trading is kinda cool, but they’re so much money and they really serve no purpose..

3. Although I’ve done it before, I would never choose to stay offsite unless I was really broke. I just like being fully surrounded by the magic.

4. I’d rather be alone in the parks than drag around people who don’t want to be there. Embrace the magic y’all!

5. I’d rather watch parades than fireworks.

6. I hate it when Disney release merchandise WAY before a film comes out, and purposefully will not buy any until I’ve seen the film. I’m looking at you, Tsum Tsums..

7. I wish I could do Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach, but I know I’ll never have the nerve to do it!

8. I like Haunted Mansion, but I don’t get why so many people are obsessed with it. I guess I just don’t like spooky things..

9. I don’t see the appeal of Gaston – I mean I’d like to meet him one day, but I won’t queue for ages or fangirl over him.

10. Although they’re great in Florida heat, I don’t think I could ever spend an entire day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. It just feels like a waste of a day..

Ok well that’s me.. What are your confessions?

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Friday Favourite Five – 2016 Character Meets

Super late FFF today because I’ve been so very poorly this week and I’ve been stuck at work all day, so to cheer myself up I’m reminiscing back on my January Disney trip and my favourite character meet and greets!

1. Rapunzel and Flynn

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Until I saw it with my own two eyes, I thought that meeting Flynn, let alone Flynn and Rapunzel together, would have to remain a wonderful dream. Now, I guess I gotta go find a new one! They were so lovely; Flynn told me he liked my hair and we talked about running and I got to hug my girl Punz and it was just magical.

2. Baymax

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Fist bumps, hugs and robot dancing with this one was so special, not even ashamed to say we went to see him more than once..

3. Meeko

meeko

This meet was a total surprise but it was a wonderful one! We stumbled across him in Epcot and getting to hang out with my favourite raccoon after over 15 years was perfect.

4. Chewbacca

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Wookiee hugs really are the best!

5. Rafiki

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This was my first time meeting Rafiki (or at least that I can remember) and he was so much fun! Plus he loved my outfit and that’s always cute.

Who are your favourite characters to meet?

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Baking Magic – Marshmallow Pop Treats

Don’t you just hate it when you’ve spent so much time in the parks eating your favourite treats, only to come home and live without them? Yep, me too 😦

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BUT this series is about bringing some of your park favourites to life in your everyday kitchen, and today is a combination of two of my favourite things: marshmallows and caramel! Marshmallow pops are available in so many designs and flavours in a bunch of locations in the parks, and today I’m gonna share how easy they are to create!

Ingredients wise, you’ll need: regular sized marshmallows, classic toffee sweets, condensed milk, chocolate/candy melts and whatever kind of sprinkles and sweetie decorations you like.

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1. First up, you need to melt down your toffees. I seriously recommend you do this in a metal bowl over boiling water – it’ll take a while, but will save you a burnt disaster! It’ll basically become one huge toffee lump, which while delicious, would be a nightmare to work with, so I add condensed milk to smooth it down; about 3tbsp for every 20 toffee sweets.

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2. While your toffee is melting into a caramel goop, get sticking your marshmallows onto whatever you fancy: lollipop sticks, straws, etc.. Squeeze them nice and close together into a column of squishy goodness.

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3. Once you’re happy with the consistency of your caramel, using a rubber spatula, scoop and smooth it all over the marshmallows. You can try and dip them, but may find they get stuck.. Give each stick a twirl to cool it off a little – it’ll dry quite quickly – then place onto greaseproof paper or tin foil, and get them into the fridge for half an hour or so.

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4. While the pops cool down, you can start to prepare your decorations. If you want colourful pops, I recommend Wilton Candy Melts as they’re really easy to work with – just melt down and mix with a little bit of vegetable oil to give it a shine – and you can also get different flavours (peanut butter!!!). Now you can let your imagination go wild; recreating your favourite designs from the parks or imagineering your own spectacular creations – just be sure to have fun with it!

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5. Once you’re done decorating, get the pops back into the fridge to fully cool and set, and voila!

What’s your favourite Disney park treat?

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Disneyland Paris: Bistrot Chez Remy

Did you ever see a restaurant in a movie that looked so great you wished you could eat there in real life?

Well now you can!

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Based on the Pixar classic Ratatouille, Bistrot Chez Remy gives guests in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris an opportunity to shrink down to the size of a rat, and dine on Remy’s gourmet menu.

And the setting?

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Giant fairy lights, corkscrew chairs, cocktail umbrella parasols and giant tableware match the setting from the film so perfectly, and if you’re sat near the big glass window, you can watch guests on the adjoining Ratatouille ride!

Needless to say, the food was divine, but you’d expect nothing less from a great chef like Remy!

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With our dining plan, we could choose from a set menu of delicious options. The starter was a nice leafy salad, with cheese (of course) and beetroot. I asked for mine without the chef’s dressing, but our waiter was nice enough to bring some balsamic dressing for me instead. Our waiter was so lovely, it really made the meal memorable!

For main, I couldn’t not have the steak! It came with a good helping of chips, and a small bowl of the signature ratatouille – well would you expect anything else? Dad, Hannah and I all had steak, all cooked differently, and all of them were perfect, which really says something about the skill of the chefs. Dessert for me was a chocolate fondant, with a perfect gooey centre and vanilla cream. The waiter brought it out with a candle and sang happy birthday, which made it even more special!

As a family, we were blown away by everything about Bistrot Chez Remy, and would recommend it without a doubt! Hats off to the chef!

°o°

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Disneyland Paris: This or That Tag

So the lovely Lizi tagged me in her Disneyland Paris: This or That challenge, and now I’m back from my trip, I’m finally getting round to my response! I went to Disneyland Paris a lot as a kid, but all before I was 6/7, so I have very few memories of those visits, so this is primarily based on my birthday trip, and as I hope to visit a few more times in the coming year or so, these may change, but for now..

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Disneyland Park or Walt Disney Studios Park?

Disneyland 100%, you just can’t beat that magic!

It’s a Small World or Peter Pans Flight

I may be the only person in the world, but I love It’s a Small World, cheesy and catchy as it may be

Hotel Cheyenne or Hotel Santa Fe?

I don’t think I’ve stayed at either, but I like the Cars theme at Santa Fe.

Cable Car Bake Shop or Market House Deli?

Cable Car Bake Shop is just a little bit prettier in my eyes

Crush Coaster or RC Racer?

Crush Coaster. It blew me away when I tried it for the first time on my last trip!

Halloween or Christmas?

Christmas, although I did love the Halloween buzz during my last visit

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Star Tours or Buzz?

I don’t really think you can beat a good Buzz!

Animagique or Cinemagique?

I love them both, I really do, but I think it has to be Animagique

Le Carrousel de Lancelot or Le Pays de Contes de Fees?

Oh I love carousels, no competition there!

Flying Carpets over Agrabah or Orbitron?

I’ve actually never been on Orbitron! And being on a flying carpet is pretty cool..

Sequoia Lodge or Newport Bay?

Newport Bay. It reminds me so much of The Boardwalk in Disney World which is one of my favourite places ever!

Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups or Dumbo the Flying Elephant?

Dumbo takes it for me, I can’t stomach tea cups so well these days!

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Pizzeria Bella Notte or Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost?

I’ve not been to either, but I think Colonel Hathi’s because Bella Notte is just a little out of the way of everything.

Swing into Spring or Frozen Summer Fun?

I’ve never been in the parks for either of these, but I think Swing into Spring is just so much prettier.

Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains or Les Voyages de Pinocchio?

I think it has to be Pinocchio, Snow White is just a little too creepy for my liking

Alice’s Curious Labyrinth or La Cabane des Robinson treehouse?

Treehouse for sure, I love this views from the top

Liberty Arcade or Discovery Arcade?

Liberty has Casey’s, I think we have a winner!

Fantasyland or Frontierland?

Fantasyland is really where the magic happens in my eyes

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Pirates of the Caribbean or Phantom Manor?

Pirates of the Caribbean will always hold a special place in my heart

Cowboy Cookout or Au Chalet de la Marionette?

Chalet de la Marionette is more my kind of food

Space Mountain or Hollywood Tower of Terror?

Oooh.. Space Mountain. I have a love/hate relationship with Tower of Terror!

Big Thunder Mountain or Indiana Jones?

For Disneyland Paris, it’s Big Thunder Mountain, but probably the other way round for Disneyland California

Inventions or Auberge de Cendrillon?

Um, Auberge has princesses..?

Disney Fashion or Disney Gallery?

Disney Gallery – I love Disney artwork!

Discoveryland or Adventureland?

Discoveryland has some of my favourite rides, and I always end up getting a little bit lost in Adventureland so..

Cafe Hyperion or The Lucky Nugget Saloon?

Not been to either, but I’ve always wanted to eat at Lucky Nugget!

La Gallerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant or La Taniere du Dragon?

As nice as the dragon is to visit, the castle is pure Disney Magic!

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Annette’s Diner or Planet Hollywood?

I’ve never eaten at Annette’s, so I have to choose Planet Hollywood, but that may change!

°o°

I tag Danielle, who in my eyes is queen of all things DLP, and if anyone else wants to give it a go, drop me your links!

xo

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Friday Favourite Five – Rides at Tokyo Disney

I can’t believe its been over a month since I was in Tokyo Disneyland already! This year is flying by, but I can’t complain because every day that goes by, I’m a day closer to my next Disney trip, so I can’t lose!

Today’s FFF are the rides I loved most during my time in Tokyo, so here they are!

1. Splash Mountain

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Yes, Splash Mountain is in every Disney park, I know, I know! BUT there was something about this one, I can’t really put my finger on what exactly, but it just seemed better than all the others! I love it, and I rode it more than all the other rides, k.

2. Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

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While its not as exciting as Buzz’s Astro Blasters, and there’s no scoring involved (which bothered my super competitive mum!), this was really fun, and the setting was perfect!

3. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull

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Another ‘non-unique’ ride, but again, this ride blew me away! We had a Fastpass so we got to skip the enormous queue (always makes rides better), but it would’ve been worth the wait!

4. Journey to the Center of the Earth

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The ride inside the volcano! Totally different from anything at any other Disney park, and the perfect combination of gentle ride and rollercoaster!

5. Caravan Carousel

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A double decker carousel of fun! Ride an elephant, a camel, or even Genie himself!

°o°

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We’re up to something!

So I’ve strayed from routine posting once again this week, but I have a valid reason, promise!

This week, as well as having to work overtime at work, I’m spending my precious free time working with a couple of different brands on upcoming posts and competitions. That’s right! By the end of this week we will be hosting our very first brand sponsored competition, with a great haul of goodies, so stay tuned for more!

Fret not, usual scheduling will return next week, as well as some more Disney World Tips and Secrets as I take on covering Downtown Disney and Caribbean Beach Resort. I’m suffering major park withdrawal symptoms at the moment, so in an attempt to cheer myself up I’m looking forward to our upcoming Tokyo Disney trip, and will begin research and planning!

Keep dreaming! °o°

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