Tag Archives: disney

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

One of the things I was most excited to do on our recent WDW trip was attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. The party is a special ticketed event at Magic Kingdom that runs on select days from the end of August through to the start of November, and we actually attended the very last party of this year’s season on November 1st.

Being a special ticketed event, one of the biggest selling points of the party is that it offers exclusive access to Magic Kingdom for the evening, while all other guests are booted out early, and runs up until midnight each night, so you’ve got a good amount of time to play in the park with a restricted number of guests. Other big factors for most guests are the rare character opportunities, and the fact that guests, including adults, are allowed to dress in costume for the party. Oh, and did I mention trick or treating?!

The party runs from 7pm until midnight, but guests can enter the park from 4pm, and rather than heading down Main Street USA, you’re directed down a backstage route into the park, and along this path you’ve got a bunch of photo opportunities, but this is also where you’ll be given your trick or treating bag and your first handful of candy. Trick or treat spots are located throughout the parks, and each visit will gain you a huge helping of sweets and chocolate! The standard issue bags are fairly small and aren’t anything special in terms of decoration (ours was a plastic bag with adverts for upcoming films, nothing Halloweeny at all!), so if you want something a little more fancy, you can bring in your own bag or bucket to use. I would also definitely recommend that you don’t put anything valuable in your candy bag as its really easy to get them mixed up with someone else’s, or leave on a ride as Matthew did.. But don’t worry if you do lose your bag, just head to a trick or treat station and they’ll give you a new one!

If candy isn’t your main priority, there’s a tonne of other entertainment for you, from the Tomorrowland Dance Party where I met Sully and Boo, to the Hocus Pocus Castle Show, Hallowishes fireworks and Boo to You Parade. As I’m not a fan of Hocus Pocus, we didn’t bother to see the castle show, but we did make sure we saw the fireworks and the parade. The night we did the party, the fireworks were only on once during the evening, which meant that it was very busy in front of the castle, but we still managed to get a decent spot on Main Street near the hub grass and despite not always being that impressed by firework shows, I really enjoyed them!

Boo to You Parade is generally on twice each night, so we did the later one, which was a proven good idea as after the fireworks a lot of people started heading out of the park, and we decided to get in a spot straight away to ensure a good view and about 5-1o mins before the actual parade began, the Headless Horseman graced us with his presence as he rode down the parade route! I’m a sucker for a parade, so of course I loved it, with my favourite floats being the Haunted Mansion and villain floats.

And what characters can you expect to meet? Well there’s all your favourites dressed up in their very own Halloween costumes, and then some rarer appearances such as the Seven Dwarfs, Lotso and Jack and Sally, but be warned, these lines can be killer! We waited about 30 mins for Lotso, and just under an hour for the Seven Dwarfs, although I know people who have queued for a lot longer than that!

Ticket prices vary from night to night, with October 31st being the most expensive at over $100 per person, but if you hit an early September weeknight, you can pay as little as $40-50 per person (prices based on 2017 tickets) so its definitely worth being flexible with dates if you can! Dates get released late April/early May and tickets go on sale mid-May normally.

As someone who really isn’t a Halloween person, I had so much fun being not-so-spooky with Mickey!

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My November Disney Trip Haul

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only good thing about unpacking after a holiday is being able to get out all the cool things you bought during your trip. I can leave my clothes in my case for days but I’ll always be digging out souvenirs as soon as I step in the door.

To be honest, it felt like I bought a lot more on this trip than I actually did, mainly due to the fact that I actually bought quite a bit for other people, and also because I splurged on a lot of non-Disney purchases, so while my credit card took a bit of a hit, I’ve not got much to show you today, but what I did buy, I love.

I have been waiting for Disney to release a proper Mrs Potts teapot for FOREVER. I know Primark released a knock-off money box and various other products, but I’ve really disliked all of the ‘dupes’ that have been going round, so when I walked into Village Gifts in Fantasyland and saw this beauty on display I knew I’d be coming home with her! My only gripe is that the Chip that comes with her is a lot smaller than the Chip teacups, and probably too small to be used as an actual teacup, but I’ve decided that he will be the little sugar bowl for my now complete tea set! She’s also fully dishwasher safe!

How adorable is this little Mickey? I’m a sucker for Alex and Ani, but I especially love this bracelet because its a bit different with a sliding charm rather than a dangling one, which makes it a bit more practical for wearing day to day, whereas my other ones can be a bit too jangly! PS. They also had a Minnie one, and both are available in gold as well as silver.

Much like a trip to Lush, I love a trip to Basin in Disney Springs. I love looking at the different soap designs, but I especially love snagging a bargain with their variety bags. These bags contain off-cuts of 3-4 different soaps, but whereas you’d pay $5-8 dollars (weight dependent) on a single slice of one soap, these bags vary from $3-4 and you probably get a little bit more soap out of it, as well as getting to try a few different ones!

My final purchases were also from Disney Springs, but this time Uniqlo. First of all, I’d highly recommend hitting Uniqlo if you’re after Disney t-shirts – they have so many designs which are all really cute, and they’re a fraction of the price of the shirts you’ll see in the parks – but what I actually bought was trousers! They had a whole wall of these sweet 3/4 length culotte-style pants in various prints but all featuring little Mickey heads in the design. I chose two different pairs, the first being the all-over Mickey print, and then I also picked up a more subtle striped print that has tiny little hidden Mickey’s dotted randomly over it. They’re so comfy, and they have pockets!

My other US purchases were primarily makeup, and if you’re interested in seeing what I got keep an eye out as there’ll be lots of review posts coming up soon!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Days 14 and 15

As it was our last full day here, we were up bright and early for a breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace and as the park seemed to be pretty quiet, we went straight from there to Big Thunder Mountain – which was practically a walk-on – before going to our first fastpass of the day, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

On somewhat of a rollercoaster trail, after that we decided to go standby for Space Mountain, which claimed to be a 55 minute wait, but I definitely don’t think we waited that long, although I may have been too distracted by playing the video games that they have in the queue to notice the time go by! For some unknown reason, some of the lights were on, which meant we could see some of the crazy track, but not all of it – I’d love to ride it with all the lights on just one time, but I’ll settle for that for now! To kill a bit of time before our next fastpass, we hopped on the TTA Peoplemover for a quick spin around Tomorrowland, and then made our way back across to Liberty Square for Haunted Mansion.

Once we’d said farewell to the grim grinning ghosts, we walked round to Frontierland station and rode the train back round to Main Street USA. Lunch was on the cards now so we went to Pinocchio’s Village Haus, and then also grabbed ice cream from Plaza Ice Cream Parlour where I got a cookie sandwich the size of my face, but as it was so hot it was all melting too quickly for me to take a photo!

Due to the heat, and whatever my stupid cold/flu thing is, I was starting to feel pretty rotten again, so we headed back to the hotel so I could have a nap, and then went for a final swim in the resort. We also made an impromptu dinner reservation at Grand Floridian Cafe, which meant we decided to get a bus to Animal Kingdom so that we could then get a bus straight to the resort, but due to some confusion and a hideously long bus line, once at Animal Kingdom we decided to just get an Uber!

Dinner was great; I’ve had breakfasts as GFC before and loved it and dinner was no different. As it was our last night, we decided to splash out and get cocktails too – I had a Florida Sunshine which was so yum! From the restaurant, we could even see the fireworks from Happily Ever After while having our dessert!

After dinner we had more transportation nightmares as the monorail was temporarily closed, so we piled on a bus to Magic Kingdom, which then actually dropped us at Contemporary, and there was some sort of accident at the bus stops at MK and an ambulance present so all sorts of delays meant we didn’t get back to our hotel til really late..

Our final morning was a lot more laid back. We got up, packed up the last of our things and checked out of the room, then grabbed some breakfast at Pepper Market before catching the bus to Disney Springs, as our park tickets were no longer valid. Instead, we went bowling at Splitsville, which was a lot of fun – instead of charging by the game as I’m used to, we were given an hour to play as many games as we could fit into that time, which was just over 3 for us!

After bowling, we had lunch at Planet Hollywood, and then had a last browse of the shops before undertaking the slightly embarrassing task of using up all of our remaining food credits in buying snacks and candy. We split our remaining credits between Goofy’s Candy Co and Ghirardelli’s, walking away with over $200 of goods for absolutely nothing – we had a lot of snack and QS credits left..

With that, we were on our way back to the hotel, and on the sad Magical Express to the airport. As with our flight out, we have a stopover in Dublin so it’s going to be a long journey! See ya real soon, Walt Disney World!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Day 13

This morning we were up bright and early to get to Animal Kingdom, and while we were among the hundreds of others doing the same, while they joined the 3 hour line for Flights of Passage, we strolled onto the ride courtesy of our fastpasses! In fact, as we left the Pandora area of the park, the FoP line was going all the way down to the Festival of the Lion King theatre.

We grabbed some breakfast in Starbucks, then headed towards Expedition Everest, but opted for the single rider line as the standby queue was over an hour and we weren’t too bothered with doing one ride separately, and this saved us a bunch of time! After that, we went to see Flights of Wonder and then got lunch at Yaki and Yeti quick service.

We then decided to head out from Animal Kingdom and go explore Animal Kingdom Lodge. From the resort’s Savannah outlook we got to see some giraffes, zebras and antelope, and also caught a glimpse of some lions in a neighbouring enclosure! We also checked out the pool area, and attempted a game of table tennis but my hand-eye coordination isn’t fantastic so that didn’t go too well..

Having explored the resort, we caught a bus back to AK and then changed buses to head back to the resort for a pit stop (AKA I’m ill and needed a quick nap and to buy some cold and flu tablets).

Our evening was spent on the Boardwalk. We had dinner at Big River Grille, and then did some more exploring of the Boardwalk Inn, and then headed into Epcot as a cut-through so we could get a bus back to the resort, but we actually got to see a lot of Illuminations as we walked around the World Showcase – I’m not the biggest fan of Illuminations, but it was nice to see it before we leave!

Tomorrow is our last full day and it’s going to be packed with fun!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Day 12

I’m afraid to say that I’ve been pretty poorly today, so a lot of the day has been spent in bed! I did get up for lunch at Pepper Market, and also did get some laundry done, but I’ve mainly been curled up watching Disney movies and feeling a little sorry for myself.

We did get out for the evening though, heading to Hollywood Studios for a few hours. We saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, grabbed some dinner at Catalina Eddie’s, while watching some of the new Tower of Terror projections and being snowed on, then went to ride Star Tours and meet BB-8 in the Star Wars Launch Bay.

We wrapped up the evening by using our the Fantasmic fastpasses we’d got from our dining package the other day. The seats were great, but it was a little windy so we got slightly damp from the fountains, but oh well!

I’m hoping to get a good nights sleep so I feel a little more alive tomorrow, let’s see how it goes!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Day 11

Waking up this morning was particularly difficult for some reason, but when we did drag ourselves out of bed, we were off to Magic Kingdom!

Cutting it close to the end time of our first fastpass, once we were in the park we hightailed it over to Big Thunder Mountain, and once that was done and dusted, breakfast was had in the form of a Mickey pretzel, and then we also decided to try a park snack I’ve been wanting to try for years now, the orange equivalent of Dole Whip: a Citrus Swirl. Matthew has just a plan swirl cup, and I had the float, he hated his, I thought it was ok but nothing to particularly write home about.

After that I dragged him on a customary It’s a Small World ride, and then I went to buy something very exciting (haul post when I’m back!) in Fantasyland before we made our way back to Adventureland for lunch at MK’s newest table service, Skipper Canteen, where despite us both being a little underwhelmed at the menu on first glance, we both had excellent meals and I absolutely would recommend!

Lunch took us nicely up to pre-parade time, so we snagged a spot on Main Street for Matthew’s first ever Festival of Fantasy – I was Disneybounding as Rapunzel as she spotted me out of the crowd, in dead. The park was much busier today than it was on our last day in MK, so queues were a bit of a nightmare, so we decided to do Mickey’s Philharmagic, and even that was packed! Being a Christmas party night, the park was really filling up so we decided to do some resort hopping, and caught the monorail to Contemporary first, meaning we got to see the Christmas gingerbread castle and do a little bit of exploring, and then we went round to the Grand Floridian to do the same, with the addition of hitting Basin White!

From GF we got the monorail across to Epcot for a quick look in a few shops (making final shopping decisions as we’re coming to the end of the trip!) and then got the bus back to our resort, where we decided to actually try out the food options here for dinner!

I’ve got some really nasty mosquito bites that have been giving me grief over the last few days and today has been particular horrible, plus I think I’m starting to come down with a post-Disney cold a few days early, waa!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Day 10

So it turns out I accidentally numbered my posts wrong and today is actually day 10, not 9 as I had thought, oops!

Today started much like yesterday, a lie in, followed by a gym session before heading out to the parks, and today our destination was Hollywood Studios. When we arrived, my first port of call was Adrian and Edith’s Head to Toe shop, as I had decided the night before that I was finally going to buy the Sorcerer Mickey hat I’ve wanted for ages, and I wanted it embroidered with my name, so we got that one going to collect later in the day. From there, I grabbed a giant cookie for brunch, then we headed to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show as we had fastpasses. This is a favourite for both Matthew and me!

After the show we hit Tower of Terror, and then Matthew went to do Rock’n’Roller Coaster; I was put off by my experience from the other day so instead I did some shops and grabbed a Starbucks before going back to meet him, and we went on to do Toy Story Midway Mania.

After Midway Mania, we headed to our late lunch reservation at Mama Melrose – we had booked this as part of the Fantasmic dining package – and then went to collect my finished hat, then met Mickey and Minnie before rushing back across the park for the last performance of Beauty and the Beast.

Unfortunately, Matthew wasn’t feeling very well after the show, so we decided to head back to the hotel, having been reassured by guest services that we could utilise the Fantasmic ticket we’d received as part of the dining package on another night instead, which was nice!

Back at the hotel, I went to pick up some merchandise that we’d sent back from the parks, and filled up our resort mugs, then started the mammoth task of reorganising my suitcase to make sure I’ll have enough room for everything I’ve bought!

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Lottie and Matthew Do Disney: Day 9

This morning we got up and went to the resort gym for a quick workout, and then headed for Typhoon Lagoon. It was Matthew’s first time ever, and my first time in over 3 years so we were pretty excited, and being November it was pretty quiet too!

After putting our stuff in a locker and finding some sunbeds, we started to hit the slides. First up was Misadventure Falls, then we did all three of the Crush’n’Gusher shoots in quick succession. Then we did the Storm Sliders, followed by Humunga Kowabunga, where I suffered the worst wedgie I have ever experienced in my life..

To recover from that, we hopped into the lazy river and rode that round to Leaning Palms for some lunch, then carried on round the river til we reached our starting point again. I then took Matthew to TL’s famous wave pool, and despite not believing me when I warned him how huge the waves were, he was amazed when he saw just how crazy they get!

We carried on hitting all the slides, doing Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls and Gangplank Falls, then headed back to do Misadventure Falls again, before spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing on our sunloungers. As it’s not peak season, to get back to the resort we had to get a bus to Disney Springs to then change for a resort bus, and back at the resort I had a few things to do – parcels to collect, paying off some of the room charges and filling our mugs – and then we just showered and changed and headed out to Hollywood Studios for the evening.

I’d managed to snag us some Fantasmic fastpasses for that night, and by the time we got to the park we only had time to look through some of the shops before we headed to the theatre and set ourselves up with some snacks and popcorn. Fantasmic is Matthew’s favourite Disney show (and we’re seeing it again tomorrow too!) so I was glad we managed to get some decent seats to enjoy Mickey’s imagination!

As the showtime was actually after the official park close time, once it was over we were flushed out the park pretty quickly, although we did catch a sneak peak at the new Christmas projections onto Tower of Terror!

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Another Disney Trip Bucket List

In two weeks time, I will be on my way to Manchester in preparation to fly out to Orlando!! Yes, I know I’ve been to WDW once already this year, but I’ve worked my butt off to pay for this trip and its my first proper holiday with Matthew and our first Disney trip together and I could not be more excited.

What I love about Disney is that even having been before, on every trip there is always something new, or something I’ve never done before, and even just the usual magic that gets me so excited every time, and this trip is no exception. There are a bunch of new things I’ll be experiencing on this trip, as well as some firm favourites, and here are just a few that I’m buzzed for:

  • Pandora – on my last two trips to WDW, I’ve observed the cranes and developments of the newest addition to Animal Kingdom, and on this trip I’ll finally get to see the beautiful creation that is Pandora. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind of it not living up to my expectations!
  • Food and Wine Festival – this will be my first time going to F&W at Epcot and I’m so hyped to eat ALL THE FOOD.
  • Bon Voyage breakfast – speaking of food, I’ve been internally squealing about the newest character breakfast since it was announced, and I can’t wait to be finally doing it!
  • Taking cute photobooth photos in DinoLand – Sarah and I found the photobooth in Animal Kingdom back in Feb, but I’m planning on being the ultimate cheese couple and dragging Matthew in there so we can have old school photobooth print-out photos
  • Toothpaste wall photos – being the Disney basic girl I am, I am of course buzzed for wall photos, but would you believe I’ve yet to take photos at the toothpaste wall?! Of course I’ll also be doing the other walls too (hello bubblegum wall) but this is one I’m particularly excited for.
  • Mickey’s Not So Scary – I am going to trick or treat til I drop! This will be my first ever Halloween party and while I’m not the biggest Halloween fan normally, I can’t wait to see all the exclusive shows and parades, plus all the amazing characters!
  • Blizzard Beach – my last two WDW trips have been during the early months of the year, so I haven’t been to the waterparks since 2014. I rarely spend a whole day in a waterpark anyway, but I’m excited to be going back.
  • New outfits – you don’t have to know me that well to know I LOVE planning Disney outfits. For this trip I’ve got all new looks and I am LIVING for some of them!
  • A new Disney gym – we’re staying at Coronado Springs for this trip, and the resort has its own gym! If I’m staying at a resort with a gym I always go for a nosey and a workout, call me crazy!

I’ll be in WDW from October 30th-November 14th, and if anyone is around give me a shout!

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RunDisney Paris 2017: Day 3 and Half Marathon

This morning Dad and I were up bright and early yet again, this time to run double the distance we did yesterday! The half marathon started at the same time as the 10K did the day before, but as Dad and I could join our actual corral B today, it meant we got across the start line quite a bit earlier than we did on the 10K.

The race itself was absolutely fab! The course was slightly different to last year, and we actually spent more time running in the parks which was great, and the characters that were out were so good! We skipped quite a few stops, but I did meet the Three Caballeros, Scrooge McDuck, Timon and Rafiki and Judy Hopps! Dad and I kept a good pace and we came in with a great time, collecting both our medals for the half marathon and also the Bibbidi Bobbidi Challenge, and I also got my second Castle to Chateau medal. While I had a few issues with some of the goings on from this weekend’s races, this race really turned around how I felt about things – I couldn’t fault it.

After the race we were on a bit of a tight time-frame, so we went straight back to the hotel to shower and change before packing up, checking out and rushing back into the parks, which was done at a bit of a waddle given the stiff leg situation. We were rushing as we had a lunch reservation at Captain Jack’s, which is the rebrand of the former Blue Lagoon Restaurant, set inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

I wasn’t sure how I felt when the rebrand was announced, as Blue Lagoon fit in nicely with the Blue Bayou restaurants of Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, both of which are also inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride of their respective parks, but as the Paris ride has just had its refurb, I thought it was nice that the restaurant was getting a spruce up too. The actual restaurant, however, was pretty much exactly the same as it was before, just with a few added pirate flags, and Jack doing the rounds while you eat.

The food, however, wasn’t as good as when I ate here before. My meal at Blue Lagoon on my 21st birthday was absolutely flawless, and not a single scrap was left, but I just didn’t feel quite as wowed by the dishes this time around. I loved my starter, but my main was just a little bit blah and I didn’t finish my dessert either, which was partially down to my lack of appetite post-half marathon, but also because I didn’t totally love the food.

After we’d eaten, it was unfortunately time for us to leave as we had to drive back to the airport for our flight home. I was sad to leave as this trip felt very rushed – races always seem to take so much time away from the weekends – and the weather was so lovely!

If you love reading my trip posts, fear not guys – my next trip is at the end of October!

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RunDisney Paris 2017: Day 2 and 10K

Hey gang! Today we were up nice and early to get to the 10K start line. Dad and I had been put in corral B, but as Hannah and Mum were in C we dropped back so we could all start together.


The race was great. I had a few moans about character lines being shut as it was too busy, but I still got to do a few meets that I really wanted to do and it’s not just about the characters for me. Plus even if I couldn’t meet them, the characters they had out were fab!

Once we’d finished and got our goodies, we celebrated with a McDonalds breakfast before going back to the hotel to shower and change, which led to some accidental napping (sorry not sorry), then we walked into the parks. We started in the Disneyland Park, grabbing lunch at Colonel Hathi’s, then we actually decided to go across into Studios to do one of our family favourite rides, Toy Story Parachute Drop, then for a chance to side down, Disney’s Art of Animation.

From there, I headed solo back to the Disneyland Park to watch Stars on Parade for my first time. As with Illuminations, although I loved the new floats, I still prefer Magic on Parade, or at least the soundtrack! I then had to fight my way back out of the park as we had booked Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for dinner. It was our first time doing it and it was surprisingly fun, although a little strange at times.

Once the show was over, it was time to call it an early night as Mum and Hannah were both feeling the effects of this morning, and Dad and I will be up again for the half tomorrow!

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My Disney Cruise Haul

There’s nothing worse than coming home from an amazing holiday and having to unpack the suitcase. Apart from whatever needs washing, I’ve been known to leave my suitcase untouched for weeks, with the exception, of course, of retrieving my haul of souvenirs and purchases.

Now just because I’ve spent a week on a ship, rather than in the parks, that hasn’t stopped me from shopping – there are actually two gift shops on the Disney Magic! Wanna see what I got?

I like to think I kept my purchases fairly minimal, and I only bought things that I really wanted and couldn’t get anywhere else, as quite a few of the souvenirs available are things you can buy in any Disney park. No, your eyes aren’t going funny, that mug actually is wonky – it is a funnel, after all!

The only items that I knew I’d want before actually going on the trip was the cruise tsum tsums, but unfortunately the Magic didn’t seem to have the Minnie one in stock, so I just ended up getting Mickey (psst! Keep an eye on my Instagram over the next week for your chance to win one too!), and I also bought this Mickey print, which is actually a postcard but I thought it was cute and would look nice framed!

My final purchase were the paintbrush knives. These are used in one of the onboard restaurants, Animator’s Palate, and as soon as I saw them in the restaurant I fell in love with them, only to discover that they were also sold in the shop so I just had to get some. They’re used in Animator’ s Palate as butter knives, but they’d also work as cheese knives and I’m so happy I got them!

Not technically purchases, but of course I brought home some of the in-room toiletries, and every guest is given a bandana to wear on pirate night. I also nabbed the postcards from our stateroom as little souvenirs, and to go with that I got a signed postcard from meeting Broadway star Josh Strickland!

The only thing I enjoy about coming home is getting to do a haul post!

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Disney Cruise Log: An Unexpected Sea Day

So today was our unexpected sea day. Long story short, due to adverse weather it was decided on Wednesday night that we would be unable to stop at our planned port of Villefranche, and instead we would spend the day at sea and instead spend Friday, which was supposed to be a sea day, at Marseille.

This meant we could enjoy a lie in after our disco antics of the night before, and although we had planned to have room service for breakfast, we stupidly didn’t check the correct procedure for ordering so instead we had to go to Cabanas. Due to the schedule change, the onboard activities were also shuffled around, so our pre-booked princess meet was now today, and having a bit of time between breakfast and that, we took the opportunity to do more browsing of the two gift shops.

The four princesses were the same as we’d met on our first sea day – Rapunzel, Tiana, Belle and Cinderella – and we’ve met them so many times now that they all recognise us! After the princesses we went to meet Spiderman again (who also recognised us), and then we split up for a little bit as Sammy went to change and Sarah went to sunbathe, and I took the chance to explore the ship and take photos of as many things as I could, then went to meet the girls up in the adults only part of the deck, where I found them sat with Chelsea and we enjoyed some drinks, sunshine and chatter.

It was past 2pm when we decided to get some lunch, opting now to sit in a slightly more sheltered area as the wind as sea was causing major hair issues. Once we’d eaten, Chelsea left to go to bingo with her family and we headed to our other pre-booked meet with the characters of Frozen. This was set up in Animator’s Palate, and I was so excited when we walked in as having just expected to see Anna and Elsa, Olaf was also there! Warm hugs were had all round.

Did I mention it’s pirate night tonight?! Every Disney Cruise has a pirate night, and this means dress up! We got changed after the Frozen meet, then started the usual routine of trying to squeeze all the characters into the evening as today they’re all kitted out in pirate attire. We met up with Chelsea and Tilly to do the chipmunks, then they went to do Minnie while we attempted some outfit photos, then reunited for Mickey, before going to the theatre for tonight’s show which was a musical showcase from Broadway performer Josh Strickland.

After the show, the rush was on to get to all the characters we wanted to see, but after realising just how long some of the lines were tonight, it became apparent that this wouldn’t be possible, so we settled for just seeing Minnie and Captain Jack Sparrow before dinner, which was at Lumiere’s. Our servers rushed the service a little bit to ensure we had time to get a good spot for the Pirates of the Caribbean deck party, and when we got up there we were so grateful to be handed blankets as it was so windy on deck!

The show included Minnie, Goofy and the chipmunks, all in their pirate best, but it was overrun by Captain Hook and Smee so Mickey just had to come to the rescue! Once the ship was saved, we celebrated with the fireworks show – did you know that Disney Cruise Line ships are the only ships in the world that are allowed to let off fireworks? Disney had to get special permission!

Once the fireworks had ended, most people headed for the bonus buffet at Cabanas, but instead we opted to go to Fathoms to see the performance group Junnk. We weren’t sure how interested we would be in them but the whole performance was actually hilarious, especially when Sarah was picked out of the audience and serenaded! After the show, Fathoms once again turned into DJ night and we partied until the tiredness set in.

Tomorrow is our last day on the boat, stay tuned!

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Disney Cruise Log: Chilling on the Med

What can I say, today has been a pretty chilled out day.. We decided to skip going ashore today; I’ve been to Pisa and Florence before so I wasn’t particularly bothered, plus apparently it was a bit of a difficult port to get in and out of, so instead we took advantage of an emptier than usual ship.

After a lie in and breakfast at Cabanas, we headed on deck for plenty of photos, then settled ourselves down by the adults only pool to enjoy the peace, quiet, and gorgeous sunshine. With the exception of getting up to pick up some lunch from Boiler Bites, we stayed on our sunloungers pretty much all day, although Sarah and I did hit up one of the water slides and the kiddy splash area.

At about 3:30pm we headed back to get ready for the evening – by now we’ve learnt how long it can take us all! Tonight was not only semi-formal night, but also Tangled night on the ship, and of course I had an outfit planned for the occasion! Once we were ready, we went out on deck to take some photos in our pretty dresses, then got down to the Walt Disney Theatre to get in line for a good seat for our showing of Tangled: The Musical.

The show was INCREDIBLE and of course because it was Tangled I cried throughout. After the show we met Rapunzel herself, and she loved my lantern scarf and we talked about having the best day ever, then went to see Tiana who brought all kinds of sass, before going to dinner at Carioca’s; just another meal I couldn’t fault, and I ended up having two desserts just cos I couldn’t decide.

After dinner we went to see Minnie quickly before going to O’Gills Pub for the Snuggly Duckling takeover. When we arrived, we were a little confused as we were made to play a twist on Bingo called Thugo, and I was a bit miffed thinking that was all it was gonna be, but then the Stabbington Brothers stormed the joint and it turned into a sorta improv/skit which was hilariously funny! From there we went to see Donald in another adorable outfit, and then we headed to Fathoms for the DJ night.

Living our best lives, as Chelsea would say, we partied past midnight until the DJ started playing songs we didn’t know and then we headed for bed.

So this was Wednesday, and while I had every intention of posting this yesterday, due to an unscheduled change of route as a result of adverse weather, yesterday turned out to be a sea day so no internet! I’ll now be continuing the last few days on a daily basis, they’ll just be shunted back a day each!

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Disney Cruise Log: First Stop, Naples

Hey gang! Today we reached our first port, Naples! Due to my poorliness last night, I slept in with Sarah til about 8am, while Sammy headed off for her excursion to Pompeii. 

When we finally dragged ourselves up, we grabbed a quick breakfast in Cabanas, then I dragged Sarah with me to the gym where, to my amazement, she actually stayed! Well, I worked out and she had a bit of a walk on the treadmill and did a few squats while dressed in denim shorts and flip flops, haha! The gym was fab; really spacious and lots of equipment – I was definitely in my element!


After showering and getting dressed, we decided to do a tour of the various kids clubs that were having open houses, as they’re normally off limits to anyone who isn’t of the age range. First stop was Edge, then Oceaneer’s Club (which we both could have stayed at forever) then we went to Vibe before stopping for some lunch. To mix things up, we went to Boiler Bites instead of Cabanas, and also got a slice of pizza from Pinocchio’s Pizzeria, and sat by the main pool watching Jungle Book on the Funnel Vision screen.

As the weather was getting worse and we were getting colder, we decided it was time to cave in and go back to get jumpers, before heading down to the lobby atrium as Captain Hook was due to come out, but as Sammy arrived back early from her excursion starving hungry, we went back up to the deck to get her some food and an ice cream. Once we were suitably full of soft serve, we went back to the lower decks where we bumped into Chelsea and family, and Chelsea joined us for another trip to the kids club open house – where much silliness occurred! – and then to take more photos in various locations before queueing to see Minnie, then went to change for dinner.

Despite a small power outage, the rest of the evening went fairly swimmingly. First on the agenda was the evening show, Walt Disney: The Dream Goes On, then we took photos in the atrium and queued to meet Mickey before dinner at Lumiere’s, which was another incredible meal and I probably walked away twice the size! Once stuffed, we went to meet Donald, followed by Daisy, then ducked (get it) into D-Lounge to see the Saludos Amigos Fiesta, but as it turned out to be more of a dancing lesson than a dance party, we called it a night and headed to bed for some much needed sleep as tomorrow will be a busy day!

Rome, we’re coming for you!

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Disney Cruise Log: All Aboard and A Day at Sea

Ahoy shipmates! I’m coming to you today from the Disney Magic as I’m cruising round the Med, and as there’s no signal in the sea, posts are gonna be running a little bit behind my daily updates so bear with me!On Saturday morning I flew to Barcelona with Sarah, and met Sammy at the airport after a minor mix up with terminals, and the three of us got a taxi to the dock. At the dock terminal we had to drop our bags, then go through security before checking in and getting our boarding group number, which decides when we get onto the ship. As it was number 23, and they weren’t anywhere near calling us yet, we went to meet our captain, the main mouse himself!

There was a bit of a delay getting aboard due to weather issues, but once we were on the ship our main priority was lunch, so we went straight up to the buffet spectacular that is Cabanas and filled multiple plates with the various offerings, then once we were stuffed headed down to see our stateroom and unpack – 3 girls with several outfits per day and one wardrobe was a bit of a struggle! After unpacking and chilling out for a little bit, it was time for the mandatory safety drill, which was a bit of a drag but oh well!

As the rain had stopped, we headed from the drill to the top deck to take some (actually a lot) of photos, then down to the lobby atrium to see the sail away party – although we had yet to leave port at that stage – and went on from there to explore the ship for a little while. As we are on the later dinner sitting, it means that we go to the earlier performance of whatever show is on, and it was the Be Our Guest welcome show, which gave us a sneak peak of some of the other performances that will be happening over the coming week, and then after the show we went to change for dinner, via the gift shop!

Our dinner was at Animators Palette, and I couldn’t flaw a single thing – the setting was incredible, the food was amazing, and there was even a magical visitor before dessert! After dinner, we went to meet Donald, and bumped into Chelsea while in the line, and after a quick catch up we headed to bed due to having been awake since 3am!

Sunday morning we were up early as we had a Mickey and pals breakfast booked for 8:30am. This was also in Animator’s Palette, and we saw Mickey, Minnie and Goofy – and again no complaints about the food! After breakfast we went to take some more photos on deck, then went down to the lobby atrium to do the princess meet – we actually had this booked for Friday, but Chelsea’s was booked for today, and as her family weren’t bothered by attending, they let us use their slots so we could meet all the princesses twice! It was Tiana, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Belle, and they were all perfect and the sweetest!

From meeting the princesses, we went to change into our bikinis and headed back to the deck to chill out for a bit, then grabbed an ice cream and a drink, and then after another wander around the boat went to another buffet lunch at Cabanas. Post-buffet, we decided to take part in one of the many onboard activities: the Ultimate Disney Trivia quiz at O’Gills Pub in the over 18s part of the ship. Now I’m a pub-quizzing wiz, but some of these questions were hard! We did win one round of the quiz, but our answers to some of the more impossible questions just didn’t match up to some others so we walked away in around about 5th place.

We got over our loss pretty quickly with another ice-cream, and although still early, we went back to our stateroom to start getting ready for formal night a) because 3 girls and 1 shower = time and b) there were going to be a lot of characters out in their formal night outfits from about 4:30 onwards and we didn’t want to miss out on the photo opportunities, and it was a good job because it actually took us until 4:30 to get ready!

Dressed to impress, we went to see Donald, then Chip and Dale with Chelsea and Tilly, and then after a few photos on the deck in our dresses, we made our way to the Walt Disney Theatre for the first performance of Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story. The show was actually much longer than I expected which was great, and the storyline was very similar to one of the Cinderella movie sequels, A Twist in Time, and even included one of the same songs which was cute!

After the show we had to rush to get in line to meet Minnie in her formal outfit, and after seeing her we rushed again to catch Daisy before dinner, which tonight was at Carioca’s. Unfortunately I can’t say much about the food here as due to it being a particularly choppy night, and probably due to my bizarre buffet choices from earlier in the day, I was starting to feel a little (actually a lot) queasy.. I did order a starter and a main, and managed about 2-3 mouthfuls of each but in the end I gave up and took my leave from dinner early. I was pretty gutted as it meant I missed out on meeting Mickey in his formal night attire, but I didn’t want to make myself any worse so early on in our trip, and five minutes after a laid down on the bed I was zzzzz..

Next stop Naples!

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Things I Love About Frozen: Live at the Hyperion

I’m having major Disneyland blues at the moment. Despite having three more Disney trips in the next three months, not knowing when I’m going back to my special place really sucks, so I’m living vicariously through my own memories from my trip back in May.

And while I love everything Disneyland has to offer, I was a little apprehensive about seeing the new Frozen show at the Hyperion Theater in Disney’s California Adventure park, not because I’m anti-Frozen, but due to the fact that I have such amazing memories of watching Aladdin there, and I was pretty upset when the replacement was announced. Of course I knew I had to see the show before I could make any judgements, and I kept an open mind from the offset.

I did enjoy the show; I personally don’t feel like Frozen has as much of a wow-factor as Aladdin did, but that’s primarily down to the story more than anything else! There were, however, a lot of things that I did LOVE about the show, and here are just a handful:

The casting

I’ve seen a few comments slating the casting of the show but I think they’re totally unnecessary. Basically, as this is a stage show adaption of the story, as opposed to featuring face characters, there is actually diversity in the cast – the show we saw featured a Kristoff of colour and honestly it was so refreshing. Mad props to Disney.

The trolls

Forget about Olaf, the trolls are my favourite non-human characters from the Frozen movie, and I got so excited when they actually appeared on stage!

The staging

Its so easy for stage show to go overboard when it comes to backdrops and props, but I thought this was done perfectly. The main feature was the large screen that set the scene, with other features wheeling on and off as needed, from doors to the stairs to Elsa’s ice castle.

The special effects

From costume transformations to flying snow carts, this show is full of theatrical magic!

Its still no Aladdin in my eyes, but its still a fantastic show and one that I’d fully recommend – especially if you need a good ol’ sit down!

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My Disney Small Biz T-Shirt Haul

When it comes to Disney, there are two things that I love that go hand in hand: planning outfits for Disney trips, and supporting Disney small businesses, and this month, I seem to have only bought shirts!

Despite being purely coincidental, it made for a perfect haul post, so here are the shirts, and small businesses, that I’ve bought from this month:

Maple and Whisky Clothing Co

Most people know Maple and Whisky for their amazing Disney inspired candles, but did you know they also have a sister-store that sells cute Disney inspired clothing? I’ve been eyeing up a few designs for a little while now, but when I saw that all of their tank tops were down to £6 each, I jumped on the offer and bought three! My favourite design of theirs is the Pirates of the Caribbean dog, but I also decided to nab the Tangled and Up! inspired designs too.

Thrift Co

I got chatting to the lovely Danielle from Thrift Co through Instagram and we organised a little t-shirt swap in which I received this adorable Halloween pocket tee and I can’t wait to wear it to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in November!

Cheery Human Studios

Another t-shirt that I can’t wear to wear on my trip to WDW in November is this amazing Magical Foodie t-shirt from Cheery Human Studios, which I’ve already featured in one of my pre-trip outfit posts! I needed something to wear to Food and Wine Festival, and this is perfect!

The Happiest Fitness Co

Ok, so I didn’t technically buy this because its my own design, but I love it so much that I figured I can still share it, right? This shirt is so comfortable and I’ve been practically living in it since I launched the design, plus of course I’ll be wearing it to meet Pooh in November!

What are your favourite t-shirt stores?

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Things I’ve Never Done at Walt Disney World

You don’t have to know me well to know that I’m a serious Disney addict, and when it comes to Walt Disney World, Florida, I like to think I’m somewhat of an expert. This November I’ll be making my fourth trip four years, and I always spend a lot of time planning each trip in order to make sure I get the most out of every visit, but there are a few things, including a few ‘classic Disney moments’ that I have never actually done..

Taken a photo at the Walt Disney World wall in Orlando Airport

The first photo on any trip for most people is before they’ve even stepped foot out of the airport, courtesy of the amazing sign on the wall of the Disney Earport shop in the main lobby of the airport, but I’m always too busy thinking about getting to the hotel to even stop for a photo of the sign, let alone with it..

Been to Tom Sawyer’s Island

On every trip to the Magic Kingdom I think about the fact that I’ve never taken a raft over to Tom Sawyer Island, but I’ve yet to actually make the effort to change that..

Had a dole whip

Unashamed hater of all things pineapple, this iconic park treat is not something that I ever had, nor ever will waste a snack coupon on.

Met Gaston

While I’m on a mission to meet 100 different characters this year, if I can complete it without having to meet Gaston I’ll be a happy bunny. Apologies to all the Gaston fans out there but I cannot stand him and I can only imagine a character meet with him being my worst nightmare!

Driven down Main Street USA on one of the Main Street Vehicles

I always love waving at the families and guests who hop on the classic cars, omnibus or horse drawn cart that journey up and down Main Street, but never once have I hopped on board myself.

Any pin trading

As I’m not a pin collector myself, I’ve never actually experience pin trading in the parks.

Taken part in the Frozen Singalong

Despite loving a show and an excuse to have a sit-down and enjoy some air-con, I’ve yet to do the Frozen Singalong Celebration in Hollywood Studios..

Stopped to watch the Electrical Water Pageant

At the end of a long day in the Magic Kingdom, I tend to march straight for the nearest bus back to the resort for the night, so although I have seen some of the floats for the EWP, I’ve never actually taken the time to stop to watch the pretty display on the Seven Seas Lagoon.

What are your Disney World must-dos?

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My Disney Cruise Bucket List

I feel like I’ve hardly talked about the fact that next month I’ll be going on my first ever Disney Cruise – crazy right?!

Because it is my first cruise, I genuinely have no idea what to expect, and I’ve not done a whole lot of research, which is very unlike me, so I’m essentially going in blind, but what is a trip without a bucket list?

  • Take a photo by the funnels – yes, I want that cliche Disney cruise photo, and any other classic photo that I can get
  • Visit the ship’s gym – call me strange, but I love visiting gyms at Disney hotels and resorts, so when I discovered that the Disney Magic has a fully equipped gym, I knew I’d be adding that to the list
  • See Tangled: The Musical – apparently there is a Tangled show on board the ship, so you bet your butt I’m gonna be there
  • Eat as much as I can without bursting – when all food is included in the price, you’ve gotta get your money’s worth, right?
  • Do all the waterslides on the boat – no, the waterslides aren’t just for kids.
  • Meet as many characters as I can – because is it really a Disney cruise if you don’t hang out with Mickey and the gang?
  • Explore every little nook and cranny of the ship – I want to see ALL of it
  • Take ALL the outfit photos – as per every other Disney trip, I have planned a whole bunch of outfits specifically for this trip, and you bet you’re gonna be seeing a tonne of them all over here and my social media
  • Party like a pirate – did you know that every Disney cruise has a pirate night? Well I do now, and I can’t wait!
  • Order room service, just ‘cos – all-inclusive perks..
  • Hang out with my best friends – as well as the excitement of my first ever Disney cruise, I’m going with some amazing people and I can’t wait to spend this time with them! Best trip ever!

If you’ve ever been on a Disney Cruise and have any tips or advice, please drop me a comment!

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Photos to Take With your RunDisney Medals

Maintaining your fitness, a sense of achievement, or pushing your limits; anyone might think these are the reasons to participate in a RunDisney event. Sure, there’s an aspect of this in every race, but really its all about the medal at the finish line, and I’m definitely not the only Disney runner who thinks this.

If you’ve never seen a RunDisney medal before, let me tell you they are every bit as awesome as you’d expect them to be and more. For starters, they’re huge, and weigh a fair bit, but as well as they’re they are always so detailed and well themed, and well worth however miles you just sweated for.

For many, the completion of the race might be the end of the event in your eyes, but you’re gonna want to document everything perfectly, and in the hours and days after your race, medal photos suddenly become a priority. With 5 RunDisney weekends under my belt, I have perfected the art of the medal photos, and if anyone’s about to take part in their first event, here’s the definitive list of photos that you’re gonna want to take.

1. A finish line medal selfie

A volunteer has just hung that glorious medal around your neck and you’re stumbling towards the water table but what you really need to do is document that finishing moment with a good ol’ sweaty selfie!

2. A photo with the finishing board

Once you’ve picked up your free bottles of water and Powerade and grabbed your food box, the next stop before reuniting with your friends and family at the end of the race is to get that official RunDisney board photo.

3. A photo of your weekend medal collection

If you’ve run more than one race, or completed a challenge, be sure to get a photo wearing all of those medals at the same time, even if its too heavy for you to wear them all all day!

4. A photo in front of the castle

Sometimes this shot needs a helping hand of someone to hold the medal while you get the position of the photo just right, but its a classic!

5. A photo with the character on the medal

If you’re medal is themed based on a certain character, as so many are, be sure to go and see them to show off! They absolutely love seeing medals!

6. A photo in a themed location

If you’re in a park that has an area theme that matches your medal, grab a photo there too!

7. Your medal display at home

However you hang your medals at home, take a photo after every new medal has been added!

My next RunDisney event will be Paris in September when I’ll be running the 10K and half marathon for the inaugural Bibbidi Bobbidi Challenge and also getting my second Castle to Chateau challenge medal! Who will I be seeing there?

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How to Create a Disney Inspired Desk Space

In reality, my desk is a very fluid space. It goes from my creative space, complete with sewing machine, a million pins and strewn with fabric off-cuts, to my blog photo studio, to the place I pile up rubbish I need to get off the floor, all in the space of a few hours at times.

Every now and then, however, I can bring order to my little desk, and last weekend was one of those occasions. With the help of my recent Disney Store purchases, I was inspired to create a magical little work space, perfect for any dreamer and doer.

Want to create your own? Here’s what you’ll need!

The desk lamp

Proper lighting is super important when it comes to an area that you’ll be working in – eye strain is not cool. My desk is a subtle nod to the classic Pixar lamp, but there are a tonne of cool Disney themed lights out there to match the look you want.

Adorable stationery

Can anyone honestly say that they don’t have a weakness for cute stationery? Notepads, pens, sticky notes, you name it, I’m all about it. Right now, Disney Store are absolutely killing it with some of their stationery, but there are so many places you can buy Disney inspired products on the high street and online.

My Mickey Mouse highlighters were from John Lewis a few months back, but there are similar ones now available on the Disney Store website!

All the mugs

I’m all about any excuse to buy a new Disney mug, but they’re so multi-functional! Sure, you’re gonna need a lot of mugs for drinking from while you’re busy at work, but they also make for excellent pen pots, or storage for push pins, paperclips.

Practical decorations

I’m obsessed with my new Mickey and Minnie washi tape dispenser and Mickey glove business card holder from the Disney Store, they make for great desk centrepieces but are also actually useful. You can also find practical uses for some of your favourite Disney items; how about using a Funko Pop as a paperweight?

Magical artwork

Now your desk is kitted out, bring a little magic to your walls! My desk is surrounded by Polaroid style prints of my favourite Disney trip photos from Sticky9 (who also do cute little magnets!), but there are also so many amazing Disney artists out there – try Etsy and Redbubble!

How do you bring magic to your workspace?

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Kids Grown Up by Sophie Jo

I haven’t written a poem in a long time, so be gentle with me.

Poetry books always remind me
of childhood, my grandparents, sweet memories
I’d write my own (they’d always rhyme)
Recite them proudly, time after time, and then
I studied poems at school, I learned the art,
that every poem can have its own rules and rhythm and style.
Things changed. Now seven years have passed.

I have grown up, but not really.
I still ache for the opportunity
to be a child, to be care free,
to hang out with a pal, a mouse.
For castle dreams, tulle skirts and furry hugs,
pretzels and pirates and parades.
Happiness.

When I’m away from this place I search,
search for anything that makes me feel
as wonderful and careless as
I am in that place. Those places.
There are six and I have seen them all.
Each place is just as magical.

This book, these words, they bring a tear,
there’s beauty in the print and I,
I feel a sense of pride each time I turn the page and see
there’s still another page to read.
Words of magic, tales of friends,
told by a friend.

The magic I dream of is found in this book
I cannot make you buy it but I cannot recommend enough,
just take a look.
For no more than a morning brew or two,
you, yes you, can own a piece of magic.

Words are magic,
magic means you never have to grow up.

While this might have been a sorry excuse for a poem, I can absolutely guarantee that Sophie’s writing is the real deal. I am forever in awe of her blog posts, and her recent venture into poetry has really showcased her incredible talent with words. Kids Grown Up is a book of Disney inspired poems, and as soon as I discovered she had started printing them I knew I had to get my hands on a copy and I cannot rave about it enough.

This would make the perfect present for a Disney fan, great bedtime reading for little ones or just as a treat from you to you. It won’t break the bank, and you’ll be supporting a fabulous writer. Shop here.

PS. Sophie if you’re reading this I’m in full support of a sequel.

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My Disney Sequel Challenge

I’m gonna go and admit something controversial: I haven’t seen every Disney movie.

Sure, when it comes to the animated classics, I’m all over those films, but would you believe that I’ve hardly watched any of the sequels? If its not counted in the official list of classics, then I’ve never really been interested. I’ve never seen the princesses with their children, or anyone returning to Neverland; in fact I think its only the Lion King and Lilo and Stitch sequels that I have watched!

So I’ve decided to set myself a little challenge and make a little blog series out of it: Lottie Watches Sequels. Every week I’m going to try and watch 4 sequels to classic Disney movies – in order of when the original film was released – and each month I’ll be sharing my thoughts and feelings on them! If you’ve wondered about them yourself, this is the list I’ve compiled:

  • Bambi II
  • Cinderella II: Dreams Come True
  • Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
  • Peter Pan: Return to Neverland
  • Lady and the Tramp II: Scamps Adventures
  • 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure
  • The Jungle Book 2
  • The Fox and the Hound 2
  • The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
  • Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World
  • Aladdin and the King of Thieves
  • Aladdin: Return of Jafar
  • Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
  • Mulan II
  • Tarzan II
  • Kronk’s New Groove
  • Atlantis: Milo’s Return
  • Brother Bear 2

I’m pretty excited to get started on these! While I’ve never really been interested in them before, I’m excited to meet some new characters and see some of my favourite stories continue, plus I’d love to see if the whole ‘sequels are never as good as the original’ rule also applies to Disney films. Stay tuned, folks!

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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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My Spring/Summer Disney Haul

So over the last month or two, I’ve picked up quite a few new Disney bits. Some have been impulse purchases, some are things I’ve been lusting over for a little while, and some are in preparation for my WDW trip in October/November, and today I’m going to share what I’ve bee buying!

First up, how amazing is this MK t-shirt?! Its from Great Adventure Supply Co, and the second I saw it on Instagram I knew I had to have it for my trip to Florida at the end of the year. I love how to the untrained, non-Disney eye it could be mistaken as an old-school MTV shirt, meaning I can get away with wearing it more often than some of my other Disney shirts! I also nabbed the blue castle hat (top picture) from Just Peachy when there was free international shipping going, and this hat will be accompanying the shirt for a Magic Kingdom day.

Despite telling myself I wouldn’t be buying any more ears, I’ve had my eye on these gorgeous Tangled inspired pair from Aloha Ears, and I was browsing their site following a shop opening, and this one pair was left in stock while everything else had sold out. I mean that’s fate, right? Also from the lust list, I’ve been wanting to treat myself to some Lillian&Co bracelets for a while, and after busting my butt doing so much overtime at work, I decided it was time!

For a bit more small business support, I bought this cute little pouch from Swish and Stitch on Etsy – I just love the adorable Toy Story print, it arrived really quickly and its so well made, I’d 100% recommend a purchase!

Lastly, I finally decided to get the Tangled journal from the Disney Store – although I’ve yet to find the courage to write anything in it – and I got my hands on the sweetest little poetry book there ever was, written by fellow blogger Sophie Jo. She is an incredible writer, and when I found out she was releasing her poetry in a book, I knew I had to have it. I did, in fact, squeal when it arrived, and shed a few tears flicking through it. The book consists of Disney inspired poems, and you can buy it here!

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10 Things You Need to Know about Cove Bar

If you’re planning a trip to Disneyland and looking for the most Instagrammable places to eat or drink, then Cove Bar should probably be at the top of your list. Located on Paradise Pier in Disney’s California Adventure park, it boasts a menu of stunning cocktails as well as some pretty delicious looking food, and the most amazing views over Paradise Bay.

If I’ve just sold you, or it was already on your to-do list, here are a few things to know before you go!

There can be a really long wait, and someone has to stay in line

Depending on when you go, there can be a longer wait time than for some rides! When you get to the queue, a cast member will take a name and give you an idea on wait time, but at least one person from your party needs to stay in the queue the whole time, because if your group is called and you’re not there, then you’ve missed your chance!

You can choose where to sit

When you join the queue and give your name, the CM will ask you if you have a table preference, so if you want those Instagram worthy photos over the pier, be sure to ask for a waterside table. Other options include the bar and tables closer to the pierside.

The prettiest drinks aren’t on the menu

While you’ll be handed a menu by your server, be sure to check out the secret menu. This is where you’ll find Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Neverland Tea and more!

And the cutest drink isn’t even alcoholic

Don’t be put of visiting if you’re not that into cocktails, the cotton candy lemonade is so delicious and refreshing, plus who doesn’t want a lump of cotton candy in their drink?!

You can take drinks to go

If you want to sample the cocktails but don’t fancy the wait, you can order drinks to go. They come in plastic cups so aren’t quite so cute but I’ll bet they don’t taste any different!

Water is free-flowing

For obvious reasons, the servers are keen to keep all guest hydrated, so you’ll find your water glass topped up constantly.

There’s more than just cocktails on the menu

Although its famous for its cocktails and speciality drinks, there are some great lounge food options, including buffalo wings, sliders, nachos and more! I didn’t actually eat here, but I saw some of the food and it looked amazing and smelled SO GOOD.

Be sure to bring your passport

In the event of being ID’d, a UK driving licence isn’t acceptable in Disney. Your server may let you off, but I’ve had experiences where they have refused to accept anything but a passport, so I wouldn’t chance it.

Don’t be shy about taking photos

Literally everyone in the bar is trying to take those oh-so-Instagrammable photos, so don’t feel shy about holding your drink over the railing to get that perfect shot with the fun wheel in the background. Also if you’re not sat at a waterside table but want those photos, just get up and go over there – no one minds!

Please drink responsibly!

Servers have the right to refuse you at any time, and during my visit I saw a few guests that were probably about to get cut off.. Be sure to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, especially in the summer months when its super warm!

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Glass Slipper Camp – Merida

I love how much you guys are loving the Glass Slipper Camp series! Its so satisfying knowing that something I put a lot of work into and had a lot of fun creating is really being appreciated, so thank you all!

This month we’re gonna be shooting for our own hands in honour of our favourite fiery redhead princess, that’s right, its Merida month and we’re focusing on strong arms!

You can do these exercises with weights, or they all work really well with a resistance band! I recommend starting with 3 sets of 10-15 reps, but see how you get on and do whatever you feel comfortable with!

Pull the Bow

Load up your bow, aim and pull that arrow back! Keep your chest up and tuck your hips forward to keep the core engaged.

Bicep Curls

Work those upper arms and build strength in those bear-ceps!

Quiver Pulls

Get ready to reload! Be sure to support your weight-bearing arm with the other.

Shoulder Press

Show how much stronger you are than those pesky clan first-borns, and be sure to touch the sky as you push up!

Tricep Kickbacks

Feet together, knees bent and butt out! Push those weights back and be sure to control them on the way back.

Now you’ve toned up your arms, will you be changing your fate?

PLUS this month comes with another discount code! Using ‘FATE30’ to save 30% on all orders at The Happiest Fitness Co  – valid until June 30th!

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Tale As Old As Time Afternoon Tea at The Kensington Hotel

I might be a little late to the party, but on Sunday I finally had my opportunity to go to the Beauty and the Beast themed afternoon tea at The Kensington Hotel in London, having had it booked for months.

We arrived at the hotel about half an hour early, but due to a few cancellations they managed to get a table ready for us well before our set time – although a little miscommunication meant we were sat at our table for quite a while before someone actually came to take our drink orders. I’m not really a tea drinker, so despite a big selection of teas to choose from, I chose one that I knew would be a safe bet: Wild Rooibos.

The tea came out pretty quickly, and was followed with a plate of little appetisers – a mini cheese souffle, a little pie and little breaded ball of beef ragu – all three of which were delicious and I was a little sad to only get one of each because I could have eaten them 10 times over. Once our plates were cleared, the main event was brought out..

The tea stand was accompanied by Lumiere and Mrs Potts (who was filled with cream), and consisted of finger sandwiches, sweet baguettes and the gorgeous themed desserts on top. The sweet baguettes weren’t really my thing, but the sandwiches were good and I was primarily there for the desserts!

Inside the adorable little Chip teacups was the famous Grey Stuff, which was indeed delicious and my favourite of all the desserts. The Cogsworth tart was also incredibly cute but very very rich and had marzipan in it which I’m not a fan of, and having eaten both of the portions of Grey Stuff, I couldn’t quite finish him! There was also a little coconut macaron ‘snowball’, which was a nice light option, and finally a clear jelly containing the last rose petal.

After finishing the tea, we were brought a wrapped biscuit – which was iced to look like Belle’s ballgown – to take home, but with the tea room being fairly quiet, we ended up staying at least an hour after we’d finished eating. We were there for at least 3 hours, so definitely made an effort to get our money’s worth out of it!

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My Current Disney Wishlist

Happy hump day y’all, its a Wednesday wishlist!

Would you guys believe that on my Disney trip at the start of the month I only bought ONE piece of merchandise?! That’s right, all I bought from Disneyland was a jumper which was actually bought out of necessity on a cool night (although I did also love it!), and I’m just as shocked as you are. So I’m gonna share some other Disney bits that I’ve got my eye on at the moment instead!

My love of anything Its a Small World is no secret. I frequently use the term Small World trash to describe myself, but the Small World trash cans are also a particular favourite of mine – can’t you tell by my love of this Small World trash can phone case from Redbubble, and also the Trashy hat from Spellerific Styles?

I’ve been following Lillian and Co on Instagram and wanting one of their beautiful bracelets for a while now, and I’ve got major heart-eyes for this Tangled inspired quote, and I’ve added myself to the waiting list for the new rose gold Moana one.. And speaking of Tangled, have you seen the beautiful Tangled journal from the Disney Store? I REALLY want one but I think I’d be too scared to ever use it because its so pretty!

Finally, with more Disney trips on the horizon, and more outfits to be planned, I’m tempted to treat myself to some new buttons from Parkbound, but how to decide which ones?!

Have you got your eye on anything at the moment?

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How to do Disneyland on a Budget

Pretty much the only thing that bothers me about Disneyland is that generally its a more expensive to visit than Walt Disney World, especially as it doesn’t have regular package offers like the annual free dining deal, and being on the west coast, flights tend to be pricier. Despite this, I would still 110% recommend any Disney fans visit Walt’s original park; while I don’t do favourites, this park holds a special place in my heart and I’ll never stop loving it.

Over the years, I’ve discovered a few different things you can do to cut down the cost of a trip to this magical place, and I thought I’d share them for anyone who’s thinking about a trip!

Consider non-direct flights

Depending on when you book, sometimes you can get direct flights to LAX for around £350-450, but other times they can be well over the £500 mark, but you can save a lot of money flying indirect. Also, a stopover can break up the 10-11 hour flight!

Buy your tickets at home

Yes, you can get your park tickets when you arrive, but Disneyland tickets from UK sellers like Attraction Tickets Direct generally work out a bit cheaper (plus you can use cashback websites to get something back!) and it means you’ve got your tickets ready to go and don’t have to waste valuable park time queuing at ticket booths!

Stay offsite

Unlike WDW, Disneyland has a tonne of offsite hotels that are all within walking distance of the park – some of them are literally just across the road! The price difference can be pretty amazing; I paid the same amount for a week offsite as a room for a night in the Disneyland Hotel. There’s also so many to choose from, from budget motels to well known chains, so you’re bound to find something you’re happy with.

Bring your own food

If you’re really looking to save the pennies, take a trip to a supermarket and stock up on snacks to take into the parks with you. That being said, on my last trip I spent less than £20 a day on food in the parks!

Consider transport options

If you’re going to be a larger group, and the drivers are over 25, it may be cheaper for you to rent a car to get from the airport to the parks, rather than using the Disneyland Express.

If you do have a car, don’t drive to the parks

Parking is $20 a day, but plenty of hotels have free/cheap shuttle buses that drop you off right by the park entrance.

If you’re ever looking to book a Disneyland trip and need any advice, feel free to ask, or check out all of my Disneyland posts here!

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Characters on the Course – RunDisney Tinkerbell Weekend


I might be back from Disneyland, but you’ll all know by now that that never means the Disney posts are over! And of course, yet again, the primary purpose of my trip was another RunDisney race weekend, this time, the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend.

Again, I ran the 10K and the half marathon – the Pixie Dust Challenge – so there were 19.3 miles of running magic for me to share with you! Some of you may be aware of the somewhat dramatic twist that during the 5K there were no characters available on the course, and this is something that I have a very different opinion to most, but I won’t get into that now, instead I’m going to share the characters that were out for us at the 10K and half marathon!


The 10K:

  • Lost Boys – the Lost Boys were hanging out in Toontown as we entered the park just after mile 1
  • Pirates – there were a bunch of face character pirates scattered throughout the course, and they were lots of fun!
  • Captain Hook and Mr Smee – this pair met by the Storybook Canal Boats at about mile 3
  • Pirate Donald – I couldn’t resist stopping for my favourite duck on Main Street
  • Pirate Chip and Dale – the chipmunks were up to trouble in California Adventure
  • Peter and Wendy – this was really just a photo op as they stood a few steps above the pavement, but it was nice to see them out!
  • And pirate Minnie was at the finish line!




The Half Marathon:

  • Iridessa, Silvermist and Rosetta – I can never resist the fairies, and having never met Silvermist before this was one for the character list
  • Pirate chipmunks – Chip and Dale made another mischievous appearance, this time on Main Street
  • Peter and Wendy – during the half, Peter and Wendy were on the railway bridge, so not even a photo op
  • Lost Boys – the most boys were having a ball on King Triton’s Carousel on Paradise Pier
  • Pirates – the pirates were out in force again!
  • Pirate Pluto – this lovable pup was also kitted out for pillaging and plundering on Paradise Pier
  • Tinkerbell and Fawn – well it would be rude if Tink missed her own race, right?
  • Captain Hook and Mr Smee – this dynamic duo made a second appearance, this time in California Adventure

If you caught the Princess Weekend edition of Characters on the Course, you may be noticing there’s considerably less this weekend. This is primarily due to the fact that in WDW, Disney own all the land between the parks, so even when you’re not in the park, they can still put the characters out on the roadsides along the course. However in Disneyland, the majority of the half marathon course is on the streets of Anaheim, so there can’t be any characters along those 8 miles of the course. There were, however, some bands, DJs, and also a whole tonne of super supportive locals making that length of the course magical for us!

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Disneyland Day 5 and Tinkerbell Half Marathon

And another challenge weekend is over! The Tinkerbell half this morning was probably one of the most comfortable ones I’ve run, which is incredible considering how much my feet ached yesterday!I stopped for a few photos with various fairies, and also pirate Pluto, but aside from those few stops I kept a really consistent pace and completed the race in just over 3 hours, with about 25 mins being waiting for characters. I also walked away with not one but FOUR medals: one for the half, the Pixie Dust Challenge medal for doing the 10K yesterday as well, a regular blue 10th anniversary Coast to Coast medal, and also a pink Coast to Coast for having run the Princess and Tinkerbell races in the same calendar year!

After dragging myself back to the hotel, I soaked my legs in the pool then showered and had a nap, while Sarah headed into the parks, and I met up with her at about 1:45 at Fantasyland Theater for another Mickey and the Magical Map performance, before I got my long awaited burger from Galactic Grill. We then swung by the castle for me to take some medal photos, then went across to Frontierland and met Dr Facilier on the Mark Twain Riverboat.

On the hunt for more characters, we headed back to Town Square to no avail, so instead went to take some photos by the Small World wall (Disney basic) and went into Toontown for a bit. Being passed 4pm, Tinkerbell’s meeting spot in Pixie Hollow was now empty, meaning I could go in and take some more medal photos, then we hid out at my favourite sneaky parade watching spot for Soundsational.

After the parade, we went into one of the stores on Main Street so I could buy a jumper, having forgotten to bring my jacket in with me, and knowing it would cool down before the fireworks tonight, then took a few final photos by the castle before going into Fantasyland and doing the Storybook Canal Boats, only to realise while we were in the line that the last Mickey and the Magical Map show was due to start soon, so we ended up cutting out early to go see that one more time instead!

After drying our eyes and practically being forcibly removed from the theatre, the strangest thing happened: Sarah actually wanted to go to the Enchanted Tiki Room! I took her for her first time in WDW back in February and now she clearly loves it.. From there, we wandered around New Orleans Square for a little while, then decided to go to Troubadour Tavern for dinner, only to find it had already closed, so instead ended up at Refreshment Corner, although I ended up getting my food from Jolly Holiday, and we sat on the tables outside while Main Street Electrical went by. 

Once the parade was over, we headed into the centre of Main Street USA to watch the fireworks for my first and last time of the trip. They actually started with the same music as Wishes from WDW, but the majority of the show was a cute little dedication to each of the iconic Disneyland attractions – Enchanted Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain etc – which I thought was different and actually really cool! Once they were done, it was then time to say goodbye to Disneyland and drag ourselves back to the hotel. Once again this has been the most magical and I’m so sad to be leaving my happy place, but I guess it’s not goodbye, it’s see ya real soon..

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Disneyland Day 4 and Tinkerbell 10K

The wondrous thing about races in California is that I only have to wake up at 4am, not 3:30 like in Florida, yay!

This morning I ran the Tinkerbell 10K, and I was pretty excited because having run a 10K here before, I know it’s a great course to run. After the drama yesterday about no characters at the 5K, I’m pleased to say there were quite a few out this morning, including Peter, Wendy, Hook and Smee, and also some Disney favourites dressed in their finest pirate wear. I ran it in a comfortable time of an hour and a half, which included a fair few photo stops so I was pretty happy.

After a quick shower and rest break, we headed back into the parks, and straight to Fantasy Faire to meet Rapunzel and Flynn, then dashed over to Tomorrowland to grab fastpasses for Hyperspace Mountain, which in itself was a bit of a queue, and then went across to the first showing of Mickey and the Magical Map.

Another trip with Mickey done, we walked over to Frontierland to grab some chicken nuggets from Stage Door Cafe, then battled our way through the crazy Saturday crowds to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters over in Critter Country: Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. With the sun beating down on us, the only logical next step was so get ice-cream, and then take shelter in the Royal Theater for the Tangled show. From there, we decided to go into Fantasyland to do a few of the smaller rides we hadn’t done yet, starting with Casey Jr, but it broke down while we were in the line so that went out the window.. Instead, we opted for the cool air-con of Star Wars Launch Bay, where we met Darth Vader, before using our Hyperspace Mountain fastpasses.

As the Disneyland park was so packed, and I had planned another carb-load dinner in California Adventure, we hopped parks just after Soundsational, and explored Animation Academy for a bit before grabbing a spot for the Pixar Play parade. I’d felt pretty smug saying that we were at the start of the parade route so we wouldn’t have to wait too long, but it turns out I was wrong and we ended up sitting for a little longer than we’d bargained for, but hey!

After the parade we ended up back in Animation Academy, and learned how to draw Chip from Beauty and the Beast, before going to Pacific Wharf Cafe for me to carb load on bread and soup. Sarah and I then parted ways as I headed back to the hotel for another pre-race early night, and she stayed in the park a little while longer – or until at least it became too cold to be out without a jacket on!

Tomorrow I’ll be up at 4am again, this time taking on the Tinkerbell half marathon, completing the Pixie Dust Challenge and also earning my second Coast to Coast challenge medal, eek!

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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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My Top Tips for Disneybound Planning

While the concept of Disneybounding has been around for a while now, it seems to be growing in popularity more and more over recent years, and its something that I especially love to do on my Disney trips.

What is Disneybounding? Quite simply, its when you use everyday fashion items to create a look that reflects a particular Disney character, like so:

Disneybounds can vary from the very subtle to the very obvious, and I love spotting people bounding in the parks because styles can vary so much and its pretty cool to see how others interpret their looks! Its also amazing when other people, especially cast members and the characters themselves appreciate your Disneybounds – the characters get so excited and it always makes for a great interaction.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I go about planning my Disneybounds for each trip, so I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks that I use when I do my outfit planning!

Google your character

You might know your character’s style inside out, but do a quick Google image search. You might find that there are slight variations on your character’s outfit, or come across some great fan-art that inspires a look that you didn’t think about originally

Scroll Pinterest

I am constantly scanning Pinterest for new Disney outfit ideas. You don’t have to copy anything like for like, but there’s a world of inspiration out there!

Colour filter your searches

My first go-to site is always Asos, because it has such a vast array of clothing of brands. I hit each item (skirts, dresses, tops, shorts, trousers etc) then filter the search by the colour of the product – eg. for Rapunzel, I’d search pink and purple. Anything that catches my eye goes into my saved items list, where I can them compare them all in one place.

Look for the little details

Bounding as a princess who wears an off-the-shoulder dress? Try and find an off-the-shoulder top. Is there a particular pattern in the fabric? Try and find the best match. You don’t have to get every detail perfect but sometimes including little extras can make an outfit even better!

Accessorise!

Hair bows, Mickey ears, shoes, bags, the works! I love an excuse to find cute little extra pieces to bring a bound together!

Make it yourself

If you’ve got a vision in your head that you can’t seem to get right from what’s available, why not bring that vision to life with a creation of your own? And if you can’t..

Hit Etsy and shop small

Etsy is packed with small businesses that are just dying to help make your Disney outfit dreams a reality. You might find that missing piece for your look, or find a talented person who can bring your vision to life!

Have fun with it and make it your own!

The great thing about Disneybounding is you can totally put your own spin on a particular look. I’m talking steampunk princesses, gender-bends, vintage styled looks, whatever you want, you can do it!

Feeling inspired? Here are a few of my personal favourites:

I’m always happy to help with any Disneybound queries, so drop me a message if you’re in need of any advice!

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Rock The Dots

Would you believe that despite years of Disney outfits and Disneybounds, I’ve never once paid tribute to Minnie Mouse?

Well, I decided it was time to change that, and when I came across this spotty fabric in my local fabric store, I knew what had to be done, and within a few hours of working my magic, I had created this classic red and white spotted beauty, which I’ll be pairing with a simple black strappy top cos y’know, California weather, and my pom-pom ears.

If you love this skirt, please get in touch about custom orders via my Etsy store!

Oh, and the true inspiration for this look..

Yep, that’s me on the right, and I do still own the dress in question!

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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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I Love Spinning

You may have noticed that I’m drawing on park attractions and areas as inspiration for my outfits for this trip, and today its a real Disney classic: teacups. I’m actually not the biggest Alice in Wonderland fan myself, but I adore the pastel shades and crazy patterns of the Fantasyland attraction, which inspired the I Love Spinning tank from The Happiest Fitness Co, matched up with the adorable teacup skirt that I bought from Wishes and Wands on Etsy ages ago but haven’t actually worn yet!

To complete the look, I made myself a pair of Alice in Wonderland ears, which are also available from my Etsy shop!

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Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at Cape May Cafe


Something I love doing when planning Disney trips is finding new and different restaurants, especially those that don’t seem to be on the radar of most people, and when they’re little-known character meals, its even better!

Disney’s Beach Club Resort is my dream WDW resort, and when I discovered that they have their own character breakfast, hosted by Minnie Mouse, I knew it was somewhere to visit on my trip with Sarah. Cape May Cafe is located on the ground floor of Beach Club, and the restaurant fits in with the theme of the hotel perfectly, from the beach hut style canopies and cute seaside artwork.



The food is a classic Disney buffet breakfast, with hot options like sausages, bacon and eggs, assorted pastries and fruit options, cereals, yogurts and sweet goodies like Mickey waffles and pancakes. We planned our breakfast for the morning after I ran the Princess 10K, so I filled several plates – in the interest of re-fuelling, of course! I love making a buffet breakfast feel like multi-course meal, starting with savoury goodness and finishing with a dessert style final plate!


As the name suggests, of course Minnie makes the rounds to the tables, and she’s also joined by Donald and Goofy. They’re all set for a day at the seaside in the cutest beach outfits, and throughout the meal they stop for a little surfer dance number in the middle of the restaurant. All three of them spent a good amount of time at each table, and we had a great interaction with everyone.


If you’re looking for a character breakfast that’s a little different to the others available, I definitely recommend this, plus it means getting to spend a morning in the Boardwalk area, which is one of my favourite places in WDW! Because you can’t use the International Gateway at Epcot until the World Showcase opens at 11am, if you’re staying onsite you’re better off getting a bus to Hollywood Studios and then hopping on a boat to the resort, or going to Epcot and transferring to a Beach Club bus.

See you at the seaside!

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Walt Disney World Must Dos for Donald Lovers

If, like me, you hold a huge soft spot for a certain sassy duck, then there are a number of things that you should be adding to your next WDW trip to-do list, and here they are!

1. Meet the Astounding Donaldo at Pete’s Silly Sideshow

He really is magic!

2. Ride the Gran Fiesta Tour

Its basically a Donald theme Its a Small World

3. Then hang out with Donald in the Mexico Pavilion

Donald + poncho = my fave

4. Lunch at Tusker House Restaurant

Tusker is the best meal I’ve had in Animal Kingdom, and an adorable duck host makes it even better

5. Royal Friendship Faire

This is a double bonus if you’re a Tangled fan, because Donald, ruffians and thugs are one hell of a combo

6. Mickey’s Philharmagic

The mouse’s name might be in the title, but we all know who the real star of this is..

7. Meet the Jurassic classic

Head over to Dinoland USA in Animal Kingdom to meet Donald in all his adventurer gear

8. Breakfast at Cape May Cafe

Not only is this a delicious buffet breakfast in one of my all-time favourite Disney resorts, but it also features a duck who’s ready to hit the beach!

I love this duck!

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Mickey’s Backyard BBQ

Just to warn you, I’m about to start gushing because this was easily the best night of our trip.

I’d actually never heard of Mickey’s Backyard before, until one day while trying to decide on our ADRs for Feb, I was scrolling through the dining page of the WDW website, and suddenly it caught my eye. Sarah is a huge country music fan, and the thought of buffet food and dancing with Mickey and the gang had me hooked on the idea of it. Needless to say, it wasn’t a hard sell.

We got the bus from Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness and walked round to the Fort Wilderness Pavilion, taking in all the beauty of the campground. We had Category 1 seating, so after we checked in we were taken straight to our reserved spot on the communal bench tables, where we could leave our stuff and head up to meet Mickey and Minnie, and Chip, Dale and Goofy without any queues as it was before Category 2 were let into the pavilion.

We could go straight up to the buffet, where there was a spread of classic bbq food – burgers, hot dogs, ribs, pulled pork, chicken etc, as well as salads, corn bread, macaroni cheese, buns, and we filled our plates with as much as we good, and then grabbed drinks and got back to our table before the crowd of other guests descended, and it wasn’t long before the show kicked off.

The show was lead by Cyclone Sally and Tumbleweed Will who introduced the band and the characters and kicked off the singing and dancing. The evening was filled the music, and once we’d filled our stomachs with the INCREDIBLE food – at least two plates worth – we headed up to dance with the characters. It may have been a little hard to get to some of the characters with all those pesky kids in the way, but we still had the most fun!

At times, the music and dancing was paused and the floor cleared for a trick roper who performed incredible lasso tricks and displays, and also intervals to give the characters (and us!) a break from dancing in the heat – its a great job the pavilion is open air, because it gets quite warm on the dancefloor! In some of these breaks, Mickey and Minnie met by the entrance to the pavilion, and Chip, Dale and Goofy had a spot in the corner to meet, but the queues were always pretty long which is why we were lucky to get in early!

Dessert came in the form of chest freezers filled with premium Mickey bars, and there was also an open bar serving wine and beer for 21+ guests. The whole show lasted about 1.5-2 hours – probably the right length for some of the little kids as it meant everything was wrapped up by 8pm – and the music varied from country classics to Disney favourites, and Chip doing a full dance routine to Let It Go was possibly the highlight of the night for me. There were also group dances – the Cotton Eyed Joe, the macarena etc – and dances performed by the characters. I probably keep saying it, but it was all just so much fun!


The show used two of our Table Service credits, but it was 100% worth it, especially when the bill showed that it should have cost the two of us $144 in total if we’d paid out of pocket. I’d recommend it over any other dinner show and would easily do it again and again!

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Thoughts I Had During Beauty and the Beast

The movie Disney fans have been waiting for for what feels like forever is finally here, and OH MY GOSH.

Now I know it’s only been out for a week, so rather than a full review I thought I’d do my classic ‘chuck all the things that popped into my head while watching the movie’ thing, and keep it spoiler free for those of you who don’t want to ruin the experience – not that it’s not a story you already know though..

Ok, from the top, maestro!

Does Belle have her skirt tucked into her knickers?

I can’t be the only one who’s first thought was this, can I?

YES SHE IS NAILING THIS SONG

I also loved the little tweaks to the classic Bonjour

I love Olaf, wait I mean LeFou

Forget the whole ‘I only see Emma as Hermione’, Josh Gad is Olaf Olaf Olaf and I love it

Luke Evans looks kinda old..

I get that Gaston is meant to be kinda rugged, but those wrinkles..

LeFou is SASSY

And I’m still loving it.

Belle is SASSY

I wouldn’t want to be his ‘little wife’ either.

Maurice is adorable

Fab casting Disney, fab indeed.

Ewan and Ian are a match made in Disney heaven

I knew I’d love these two.

I thought Emma Thompson was playing Mrs Potts

Turns out she was, I just couldn’t tell with the voice she was putting on..

BE OUR GUEST

Holy mother of Disney that was stunning.

Belle looks at books the same way I look at mugs

The sheer love on her face in that library. Same.

Why does Beast wear that raggedy cape when he has such beautiful clothes as well?

That dressing gown is gorgeous, so what’s with the grunge look?

THEY’RE DANCING

AHHHHHHHH

Yes LeFou!

You are sassy and independent and don’t need no Gaston in your life

Ok, that was brutal

When Mrs Potts couldn’t find Chip, when Lumiere and Cogsworth said goodbye.. I’m crying.

That transformation though

UGH IT WAS PERFECT RIGHT DOWN TO HIS HAIR AND OUTFIT

THAT WAS JUST SO PERFECT

I honestly thought the whole thing was beautiful.

If you’re unsure of whether or not you want to see this movie, just do it. I know people who were convinced they’d hate it but absolutely adored it, so what’s the harm? I don’t think you’ll regret it!

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Glass Slipper Camp – Rapunzel

Its time for another installment of Glass Slipper camp, yay!

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone’s support for the first post, making it one of my most viewed posts of the year already – I’m just so happy you guys are loving this series as much as I am!

This week’s princess inspiration is my personal favourite – the lost princess herself – Rapunzel, and it ties in to The Happiest Fitness Co’s new collection which is available for pre-order now here!

Right, frying pans at the ready! I used a weighted medicine ball for this, but you can use whatever equipment you fancy (including frying pans), or none at all. If you want to work without a weight, I’d recommend 5 sets of 20 reps, or 3 sets of 15 with a weight – but see how you feel!

Toe Touches

7am, the usual morning line up.. Kick off this workout with a stretch that works your whole body!

Overhead Frying Pan Extension

Get those arms strong to protect yourself against any ruffians and thugs. Engage your core by pushing your hips forward and tucking in your bum, and try and get a full arm extension as you push back up.

Frying Pan Swipes

Keep your hips facing forward, and use your upper body to swing that ball (or pan!) from side to side. Keep your chest up and your arms locked out for maximum effect.

Lift the Lantern

Lock your arms out and lift that lantern up to the sky, working your back, butt and core at the same time

Crowning the Lost Princess

Finish your first round by making yourself a workout queen! Try to keep your elbows forward, and slow down the movement for maximum effect.

BEST WORKOUT EVER!

Love the Who Knew raglan from THFC? Its available for just £17.50 until the 31st – don’t miss out, pre order here!

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My February WDW Haul!

Well I couldn’t come back from Walt Disney World without a few goodies for myself, could I?

I actually surprised myself with how little I bought in the way of Disney merch on this trip, instead spending most of my money in Sephora (haul coming tomorrow!), but I did buy some real gems, and here they are:

As well as the yellow teacup ride mug, I have been obsessed with this princess mug ever since I saw Amy post a photo of it a little while back – its just so pretty and I love that it features all the kingdoms and castles of my favourite Disney princesses!

Don’t judge me, but I do have this thing with Its a Small World, and also the various Disney park trash cans, and I love that there’s a sort of irony to this hand sanitiser being in the shape of a bin! It was an impulse purchase really, but it now goes with me everywhere haha!

I said in my shopping list post that I was going to be on the hunt for some park exclusive tsum tsums, and they were on offer at 4 for $16 so I picked up these cuties – a teacup, carousel horse, Its a Small World boy and the orange bird, and I love them all so much! There were actually quite a lot of park exclusives around, but not all of them appealed to me so I stuck to these for now.

As a bit of a tradition, I always pick up a headband from my RunDisney races, so I bought one for each at the RunDisney Health and Fitness Expo.

My final and favourite purchase isn’t strictly WDW merchandise, but if you’ve ever wandered past Curl at Disney Springs, you may have seen the talented artists who hand-paint shoes outside the store, and this absolutely BEAUTIFUL pair of Tangled inspired Toms caught my eye. It must have been fate, because they were my size, and the artist told me she’d just put them out that morning and they normally sell super fast. Well I just wouldn’t have been forgive myself if I’d missed out on them, they’re just so unique and special, and the ‘Go live your dreams’ on the side is the icing on the cake – hello summer shoes!

One hand sanitiser, two mugs, three headbands and four tsum tsums and the prettiest pair of shoes – I’m a happy girl!

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51 Characters in 10 Days

I may be back from Walt Disney World, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking about it. EVER.

You have been warned.

Among many of the proud accomplishments of the trip, Sarah and I managed to visit 51 different characters over 78 interactions within 10 days of being in the parks, and I thought it would be fun to share who we met and where!


The Classics:

  • Mickey Mouse x 5 – Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, Epcot Character Spot, Commissary Lane – Hollywood Studios, Adventurers Outpost – Animal Kingdom, Town Square Theater – Magic Kingdom
  • Minnie Mouse x 5 – Epcot Character Spot, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, Commissary Lane – Hollywood Studios, Adventurers Outpost – Animal Kingdom, Cape May Cafe
  • Donald Duck x 4 – Mexico Pavilion – Epcot, Cape May Cafe, Dinoland USA – Animal Kingdom, Character Palooza
  • Daisy Duck – Future World – Epcot
  • Pluto x 2 – Disney Junior – Hollywood Studios, Dinoland USA – Animal Kingdom
  • Goofy x 4  – Epcot Character Spot, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, Cape May Cafe, Dinoland USA – Animal Kingdom
  • Chip and Dale x 2 – Frontierland – Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ


Princesses:

  • Cinderella – Cinderella’s Royal Table
  • Aurora x 2 – Cinderella’s Royal Table, France Pavilion – Epcot
  • Ariel x 2 – Cinderella’s Royal Table (human legs), Ariel’s Grotto – Magic Kingdom (mermaid)
  • Snow White x 2 – Cinderella’s Royal Table, Epcot
  • Jasmine x 2 – Cinderella’s Royal Table, Adventureland – Magic Kingdom
  • Rapunzel – Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Tiana x 2 – Princess Fairytale Hall, Character Palooza
  • Elsa – Royal Sommerhus – Epcot
  • Anna – Royal Sommerhus – Epcot
  • Mulan – China Pavilion – Epcot
  • Belle x 2 – France Pavilion – Epcot (blue dress), Enchanted Tales with Belle (yellow dress)
  • Pocahontas x 3 – Animal Kingdom, Character Palooza x2
  • Moana – Hollywood Studios
  • Merida – Magic Kingdom


Fur:

  • Winnie the Pooh – Magic Kingdom
  • Tigger – Magic Kingdom
  • Horace – Frontierland Hoedown Happening – Magic Kingdom
  • Baloo – Animal Kingdom
  • King Louie – Animal Kingdom
  • Robin Hood – Character Palooza
  • Bolt – Hollywood Studios
  • Stitch – Magic Kingdom
  • Meeko – Character Palooza
  • Rafiki x 2 – Rafiki’s Planet Watch – Animal Kingdom, Character Palooza
  • Flik – Animal Kingdom
  • Beast – Be Our Guest


Face:

  • Mary Poppins – Magic Kingdom
  • Bert – Character Palooza
  • Alice – UK Pavilion – Epcot
  • Fairy Godmother – Magic Kingdom
  • Aladdin – Adventureland – Magic Kingdom, Character Palooza (as Prince Ali)
  • Tarzan – Animal Kingdom
  • Peter Pan – Magic Kingdom
  • Evil Queen – Character Palooza
  • Tinkerbell –  Town Square Theater – Magic Kingdom


Other friends:

  • Smee – Character Palooza
  • Jawas – Star Wars Launch Bay
  • Chewbacca – Star Wars Launch Bay
  • Pinocchio – Character Palooza
  • Russel – Animal Kingdom
  • Sadness – Epcot Character Spot
  • Joy – Epcot Character Spot
  • Baymax x 2 – Epcot Character Spot

And d’you know what? There are so many more that we didn’t see, so get spotting!

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February Disney Trip Day 11

There is actually nothing more beautiful than looking out of your bedroom window and seeing the Grand Floridian and Magic Kingdom just across the water. Honestly, our stay in the Polynesian was perfect. We sat in our room and ate peanut butter Rice Krispie treats for breakfast and could have stayed there forever.

But it was extra magic hours in MK, so we slightly begrudgingly checked out, and got the monorail over to the park. Despite missing most of the hour, we did get to see the new welcome show on the castle stage, which was very sweet, them casually strolled through the castle and into Fantasyland where we kicked off the day with a ride on the carousel – something we’d not done yet this trip. After our ride, we headed over to the Tangled toilets to shoot some photos of my outfit – The Happiest Fitness Co’s new collection – then back round Fantasyland to the Under the Sea Little Mermaid ride, which was a walk on.

Park still fairly quiet, we headed into Storybook Circus and rode The Barnstormer, then made our way round to Tomorrowland for a Space Mountain fastpass. Again, they tried to put us into the Alpha line, but I asked if we could do Omega and the cast member let us so we were happy! Then is it really a trip if you haven’t been on the TTA People Mover?! This ride has been crazy busy for our whole time here, and because I firmly believe that it should always be a walk-on, this morning made the perfect first and last ride of the trip.


As we made our way back through Fantasyland, we once again came across the Tremaine sisters, but same as yesterday, were told as we got in line that they would be finishing soon and replaced by the Fairy Godmother, who we’d already met, so our plan was foiled again! Instead, we walked into Liberty Square and grabbed some snacks at Liberty Square Market, before going on a final character meet – the boss himself, talking Mickey Mouse. Lucky we had fastpasses, cos the queue was over an hour! He told us we were the most beautiful princesses he’d seen all day, and lots of cuddles were had as we faced the reality of leaving soon.

To enjoy our remaining hour, we watched the Dapper Dans on Main Street, then spent some time on the Hub grass and even did a little bit of Move It, Shake It before we said ‘see ya real soon!’ to the kingdom. Our simple monorail trip back to the resort turned into a little bit of a disaster, courtesy of the monorail ahead of us having some technical problems, and as a result we missed our Magical Express to the airport, but after discovering that the next bus was fully booked, the hotel staff were kind enough to provide a taxi to the airport on them to ensure we didn’t have any more problems.

This, my friends, is where this story comes to a close, and I’ll be back in the UK by the time this post goes live. It really has been the most magical of trips, and while I can’t thank you lovely bunch enough for all your lovely words, the star of this show in my eyes is the beautiful Sarah, my Disney soul mate who I’ve just had the most fun with. This trip would have been nothing without here, and I’m so grateful to have her in my life ❤

Signing off guys, see ya real soon!

PS. I’m not really signing off, usual blog content will resume shortly!

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