The Ocean Chose Me*

As a blogger, I think it was the greatest email of my life when I was contacted by the Disney Store to be part of their 30th anniversary celebrations.

Its definitely no secret that Disney plays an enormous role in my life. As well as bringing me so much happiness, its brought some incredible people into my life, and I have so many wonderful memories, not only from recent years, but throughout my whole life, and while I have over 22 years of magical Disney memories, I don’t think anything has made me happier than the release of Moana last year.

A lot of people fell in love with the movie when it came out for the obvious reasons: it was a stunning movie with an incredible storyline, world class cast and catchy soundtrack, but for me, the release of this film meant so much more. In the run up to the release, I wrote about why Moana is so special to me, but the long and short of it is that it means the world to me that Disney made a movie celebrating the culture of my cousins and their side of my family, creating a princess that they can not only look up to, but can identify with.

The first time I watched the movie, I cried because baby Moana is a spitting image of what my girls looked like as toddlers, and as Moana grows up, she practically turned into my eldest cousin, Bella, just in animated form. My uncle is Samoan, one of the Pacific Islands that inspired the movie, and even he cried when he saw it in the cinema.

Disney Store were kind enough to send me this adorable Moana doll to celebrate the anniversary and recreate some scenes from the movie, and the ocean called me down to the beach to recreate that beautiful scene from the start of the movie, when the ocean chooses Moana to restore the heart of Te Fiti. The doll is so pretty, and detailed right down to the little sandy feet, and of course I also had to take my Pua and Hei Hei tsum tsums!

Want to be part of the celebrations? Recreate your favourite Disney scenes and share them on Instagram and Twitter using #DisneyStore30!

Happy anniversary Disney Store!

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April 25, 2017Lottie 3 Comments

Why Moana is Special to Me

Moana has probably been the most anticipated Disney film of the year, and this could be for many reasons: its the first ‘princess’ character since Frozen, the cast is pretty incredible and the trailer had most people’s jaws on the floor. Every time Disney let us in on a new snippet of information, its met by excitement all round, and even though the movie isn’t coming out until next month, I’m already incredibly grateful for this film. (I’m sat writing this having listened to How Far I’ll Go from the soundtrack for at least an hour and crying intermittently cos y’know hormones)

If you’re a fairly new reader of this little blog of mine, you may not know much about my family. You see, my uncle is Samoan, and therefore so are my three beautiful little cousins.

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Ok, so they’re a little older now than they were in this photo, but they’re still some of my favourite people in the world, and the release of Moana, a polynesian princess, means that they have a Disney princess that they can identify with.

Now you could argue that Moana isn’t technically a princess, she’s the daughter of a chief – well so are my girls, technically.. Fun little fact for you: my uncle is actually a chief! So yes, they may live in the UK and not on an island in the Pacific, but they have more in common with Moana than most other little girls have with their favourite princesses!

I think if I had one wish for this film, its that it could have come out a few years ago when the girls were younger and more into princesses, but they’re still set up with a fancy dress idea for life, haha!

I really hope this film lives up to all the hype, I couldn’t be more excited for it!

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November 4, 2016Lottie 3 Comments

Some Fun Facts About My Dad

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Because I know quite a few of my regular readers and Twitter buddies are big fans of my adventures with my dad, I thought I’d share a few fun little tidbits about the man himself!

1. He took me to my first concert

2. One time, KitKat retweeted him

3. A YouTube video he posted of a train once has over 17,500 views

4. He has more pairs of hotel slippers than I can count

5. He’s never broken a bone

6. Chocolate chip cat shaped scones are his speciality

7. He’s met a lot of celebrities in weird places

8. He shares his birthday with Mickey Mouse

9. He grows his own chillies, and makes a mean sweet chilli sauce

10. In the last year, he’s run two half marathons, and a Tough Mudder obstacle race

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Tell me something interesting about your dad in the comments!

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June 19, 2016Lottie Leave a comment

Disney World in Large Groups

Disney World is the perfect location for a big family trip, but its not always easy being a large group!

1. Save a fortune on your phone bill by utilising the free wifi

There’s free wifi throughout the parks, so set everyone up on a group message on Facebook or Whatsapp to communicate without the cost.

2. Be prepared to split up

Splitting up the group at times can mean you can cover more ground, get better seats or just give you a much needed break from the madness!

3. Use Memory Maker

The last thing you want after a big family trip is going through photo after photo with someone missing in every one. Memory Maker is great value for money, but in a large group its even more so; just get everyone linked to it and you’ll have hundreds of photos of the whole family.

4. Link everyone

As a large group, we were split into 3 rooms and therefore 3 separate bookings, so our My Magic+ wasn’t linked, but one trip to guest services, and we were all connected for all our Fastpasses and meal bookings.

5. Utilise free transport

In a large group, taxis or car hire is gonna get really pricey, so be sure to use Disney World’s expansive bus system to move around.

6. If you don’t book in advance, eat at unusual times

With Advanced Dining Reservations, you’ve got no problems, but if you haven’t made bookings, try and eat at off-peak times; we were a group of 9 and managed to walk in to the usually super busy T-Rex at about 4.30pm and were seated almost straight away!

7. Allow a little extra time

Being a bigger group is always going to slow you down a little, so be sure to leave a little earlier if you need to be somewhere for a specific time.

8. Try and be a little early too

Especially when it comes to shows and parades, being early gives you the added advantage of not having to split up to fit into remaining seats

9. Be considerate to others

The parks can be packed, so try to think about your impact on those around you eg. if you walk in a long chain, you might be blocking other guests who want to get around you etc

10. Just have fun!

You’re lucky enough to be in the most magical place on Earth, with a whole load of your favourite people, so just appreciate it and have a magical time!

May 1, 2015Lottie Leave a comment

Ohana

Its a DisneySide Saturday, the day of the week I allocate to general ramblings about my life and Disney, and today I thought as I talk about them all the time, I’d introduce you to my family, without whom I don’t think Disney would be such a huge influence on my life.

First of all there’s my dad, Peter.

An absolute Disney pro, he’s been visiting Disney parks since he was 10 years old, his first trip being to Disneyland California in 1975.

Around Disney World you’ll find him snapping pictures, mainly of the iconic monorails, and getting endless compliments for his awesome Disney and minion themed tshirts.

His year of birth Disney classic is Mary Poppins (1964)

I don’t have many memories from early trips to Disney parks, so my favourite Disney memory of my dad was on our August trip to Disney World, when the two of us spent an afternoon photographing Epcot’s World Showcase 🙂

Then there’s Mum, Sue.

She was introduced to the world of Disney parks by my dad in 1991, just over a year before my sister was born.

If you ever need to find my mum, you’ll most likely find her going round and round Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceship Spin, forever attempting to beat her high score (that the rest of us aren’t allowed to come near to beating!), and avoiding any rides that might make her chuck!

Her year of birth Disney classic is The Jungle Book (1967), which is the only Disney film my grandparents have on video/dvd.

My mum is probably the biggest supporter of my Disney dreams, from following my blog to nagging her friends in the states to send me US items to save on international shipping!

I have one sister, Hannah.

That’s her on the left dressed as Belle (we’re about 5 and 3 in this photo).

She’s been visiting Disney parks since she was in the womb (not an exaggeration!), and I will forever have to catch up with the number of trips she went on before I was born!

If she’s not hanging out on Main Street USA, she’s probably sneaking in another showing of Finding Nemo: The Musical in the Animal Kingdom!

Aladdin was the Disney classic that came out the year she was born (1992).

While she may not be quite as obsessed as her darling younger sister, Disney plays a big part in her life and work as a merchandiser for childrens toys for a large supermarket chain, and she’s forever full of exciting news and gossip!

My auntie (mum’s sister), Lesley.

She made her first trip to the happiest place on Earth in 1996 when she joined us on our adventure, and likes to remind me that whenever I fell asleep during/after an exciting day in the parks, it was her who always got lumped carrying me!

Her birth year Disney classic is The Aristocats (1970)

On our most recent Disney excursion, a trip to Enchanted Tales with Belle had us all in stitches as she was chosen to play Madame Bouche (the large, opera singing wardrobe) in our little re-enactment of the story!

wd001wdw2014229110085387_19 And her husband, Uncle Vito.

Vito joined our Disney team on our 2000 trip to Disney World, Florida, two years after he married into our crazy family.

An absolute shopaholic, you’ll find him scouting out goodies in the gift shops, recognisable by his signature hawaiian shirts.

He shares his year of birth with Disney classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

You can always guarantee that if there’s an audience participation moment, Vito will be featured, the most recent example being when he was picked on during the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor by one of the monster comedians!

Bella is the oldest of my cousins. wd007wdw2014227109218350_19

She loves The Little Mermaid and Lilo and Stitch.

The Incredibles came out the same year she was born.

Like her daddy, she tends to seek out the limelight, taking part in Enchanted Tales with Belle and Turtle Talk with Crush.

For a 10 year old, she was oddly obsessed with The Carousel of Progress, asking to go on it several times, although I think it may have been her sneaky way of getting out of the heat of the day!

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Sophia is the middle child.

She has long blonde hair, so is basically Rapunzel.

She loves Olaf, and all things Frozen.

She was terrified to the point of tears by the thought of The Tower of Terror, but actually loved it from the first drop, silly girl!

She was born the year Cars hit the big screen.

Despite no one else wanting to, she queued for half an hour to meet Mr Incredible and Frozone, and had a rocking time with them!

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Liv is the youngest of our crazy crew.

She joined the family the same year Wall-E and Bolt were released.

For a 5 year old, she was a total adrenaline junkie, going on all the rides she was tall enough for, and chose Space Mountain and Expedition Everest as her favourites.

The girl can sleep through anything if she’s tired, including a show as loud as Fantasmic!

Like every other young girl in the world, she loves Frozen.

My absolute favourite moment from our Disney World holiday was when after keeping the girls up and waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade (hello grumpypusses!), at the sight of Tinkerbell on the first float, her face totally lit up with excitement!

This is my family. I wouldn’t change them for the world and I am so lucky to have so many magical memories of our lives together. Here’s to many more, starting with Disney on Ice this Christmas Eve!

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