Wordless Wednesday - Reflections of a Castle

Spring Break 2010

I recently visited the Magic Kingdom in a truly Neurotic Disney Person (NDP)fashion. I was venturing out to get pictures of Princess Peanut & the BFFs with Mr & Mrs Easter Bunny (read here & here). Since we were at the park, I figured, might as well ride a ride or 2..right?

Wrong!!

Should have known from the line at the toll booth it would be a packed day!

 in case you didn't see it earlier!


We did manage to see "Dream Along with Mickey". The Castle area was packed!
 
More Castle Hub crowds


After the false hope of the park not being that crowded because Main Street was not very busy, we tried to ride an easy, no line ride..the TTA (or PeopleMover for us old school folk). A walk towards Tomorrowland proved otherwise.

The land entrance was *SO* packed, we took our 3 strollers & returned to Main Street to watch the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade.

Even after the parade, the crowds showed no signs of thinning, so we decided to end our adventure.  As you can see from the picture below, this was the crowd coming into the Magic Kingdom after the parade.

 

Fortunately for us, there was NO line for the monorail this time ;)

Going to see the Easter Bunny - The NDM version Part 2

Meeting Mr & Mrs Easter Bunny

Very excitedly, we walked quickly towards City Hall to see what the line was for the Bunnies. Imagine the shock (& joy) when I saw there were only about 4 people in line in front of us! I was certain that the line was closed off. A Cast Member quickly assured me the line was not closed. We quickly parked strollers & straightened out dresses & hair!!

Only Disney would take the Easter Bunnies & make it this adorable!

Once in line, the decor that lined the area was so cute & festive! Very Spring-y! There were colored Easter Eggs hanging from the tree that only a few short months ago held Christmas decor when Santa was here.

Colorful birdhouses lined the courtyard.

And where toy soldiers stood, beautiful, colorful flower arrangements stood. This definitely confirmed that Spring was here.

Finally, the moment we were waiting for ...pictures with Mr & Mrs Bunny!

It was a great experience, and one I would brave the crowds again for! And of course, Disney has every last little detail covered..right down to the exit sign...

We had a great time visiting Mr & Mrs Easter Bunny. A way better experience than going to the mall!

Did you miss part 1? Read it here

Going to see the Easter Bunny - The NDM version Part 1

The Easter Bunny is coming to town!

Well, of course he is. Spring has sprung & Easter is right around the corner. That can only mean one thing...break out those pretty Spring dresses & head to the mall for pictures with the Easter Bunny. (ok, keep in mind, I have a 2 year old).

But not this year. We would not continue our time honored tradition this year. We would alter this tradition & possibly start a new one.

The Easter Bunny (and Mrs. Easter Bunny, too) proudly reside on Main Street right next to City Hall! Thats right. My Easter Bunny pictures can now be done with Disney flair. *JOY*

As soon as I found out, I planned an impromptu trip to Magic Kingdom for the sole purpose of Easter Bunny pictures. Since I am getting ready to order the DisneyPhotoPass CD, it was perfect timing. I also decided since it was Spring Break (think, older kids home, too) I would bring Princess Peanut's 2 BFFs along for the photo opp. So, early Tuesday(well, early for us), we set out...3 toddlers, 3 strollers, 2 teenagers & me...for the Magic Kingdom for a few hours of fun.

As I was pulling into the resort, I noticed the Magic Kingdom directional sign had a "FULL" sign instead of the arrow. Panic did not set in, as I was sure they had not reached a level 4(closed to everyone). Not being able to be on Twitter for the past hour or so, I was unsure of what the status was. I decided to continue on. Then I noticed the large light up sign in the median that read "Magic Kingdom closed. Turn right to Epcot" with 3 cast members waving at us. Hmm..panic may have started to creep in at this point. Determined, I drove on. Finally, all cars were stopped & I realized why. It was the line for the toll booth.

I think I spent 30 minutes in this line. I used this time wisely to get on Twitter. Closed at a level 3(certain guests only), that didn't include me! I was going to get in. As I finally got to the toll booth, the man told me to hurry up & get inside..they would probably go to a level 4. Yikes!! Cast members were all over the parking lot counting as cars pulled in. I had to park in Sneezy 94. Basically, I was about 5 rows from the Petty Raceway. It was a long walk to the TTC!

Once we got to the monorail, the crowds were not bad at all. We got right on the monorail with no wait time at all. Getting into the park was not an issue either, as there were virtually no major lines to get in.

Not too bad for a level 3...

or was it??

TwitterTwip Weekend Recap - 3/28/10

Sunday Morning

Trying to get motivated to head to Disney for the day. Overheard a conversation at breakfast that inspired this tweet :

Good lord. Listening to @DavidOlmsted & @TeamSkellington talk abt us needing a Zombie Emergency Kit. They found a website.

Yup, they were for real, too. The things I put up with. Luckily, they did not pass the website on, so I unfortunately cannot pass the knowledge on to you. Just leave a comment if you really have a burning desire to know more & I'll get that link for you.

Ok..so on the road....decided I would try 4 square on my phone while at the parks. Tried a "test" check-in at this location :

Getting cough meds for the princess (@ Target)

Epic fail.....4 square is not (<-- blog link) for "not-so-smart" phones . But, look at what I did find ;)

Look what i just got for 6 bucks :)

Apparently, all Targets around us are "under construction" to add the grocery section. So, a LOT of merchandise is on clearance. *sweet* Funny thing, I saw this at my local Target for $24.99 today. LOL Happiness is a great clearance find!

Finally, we arrived at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Mission #1 was underway.

The #Flatties are out looking for adventures!

Within 40 minutes, we were done with the day's mission....Pictures with the characters from Up ;)

Off to get lunch..

lots of lightening around here :) not as much rain as last week. going to Ikea for lunch and some dry time :)

The view from I.4. Glad i'm in my car. Just pray it stops by 7ish!

rain rain go away!

Finally, we were able to venture back out & accomplish the second half of our mission --> Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at Epcot!!

It really is clearing up. So ready to rock ;)

Tonight's concert snack courtesy of norway :)

I found a review of the Schoolbread from Norway (<--read it!)on the Disney Driven Life (<--be counted) . I knew I needed to try it. And, oh my...it was good!!

#Flatties in italy. :)

Concert time!!

Holy cow! Starship is AWESOME! I'm cryin! :) lol

- Of course @davidolmsted

taking way better pics! Totally rockin the world toNite

And for those of you that did not make it out to see Starship, they announced that they will be back in October for Food & Wine Festival! They are playing Halloween weekend. Guess I know where I will be on Halloween!!

Met back up with the girls in our traditional spot for fireworks.

Illuminations with my girls :) such a great way to start my week!

And there you have it..all my Sunday park tweets & pictures..all combined into one nifty neat blog post ;)

leave me some love, please ;)

til next time ~

make it magical :)

My Top 10 Favorite Magic Kingdom Songs

For Top Ten Tuesday, since this is my Disney Blog, I decided to feature 10 of my favorite Disney songs. But, rest assured, while that may seem an easy task, it really isn't. My OCD has caused me to list my Top 10 Favorite Magic Kingdom Songs...because you just can't lump all the movies, parks, parades, events & tributes together & come up with 10 that easily.

So, here goes...

My All-Time Top 10 Favorite Disney Songs...from the Magic Kingdom

10. If You Had Wings - now, I know what you are thinking. If You Had Wings was an extremely dated 1970's ride. As much as it drove me batty as a child, every time I hear it now generates a floodgate of memories. Simpler times, memories of it being my grandmother's favorite ride, a very vintage Tomorrowland, and some very blue buggies! I think the cliff diver was the scene I remember the most.

9. SpectroMagic - This is great parade music. It is also the only night parade my children know. While it is gone for the summer this year, I will be sad.

8. Everybody's Got A Laughing Place - This song makes me smile. It is a great reminder that no matter what, something makes you happy inside...and everyone has their own happy place..you just have to find it! (Betcha can't guess where my happy place is..lol)

7. Wishes - Wishes is the best collaboration of Disney's all time favorite cry-along songs. Seriously. It makes my heart smile every time we watch Wishes. The kids sing along & each has their own favorite parts. It is one of our very special Magic Kingdom moments.

6. Mickey Mouse Club Theme Song - ok, so this song can't be heard in any particular spot in the Magic Kingdom, but it most certainly SHOULD be! I remember watching the Mickey Mouse Club when it would come on. The Mouseketeers would sing the song under the Castle...I do think of that song every time we walk underneath the Castle.

5. Its A Small World After All - who doesn't like this song? Its A Small World is very special because it is one of the only rides that is really not *branded* with anything Disney. Another reason why I am glad we have the original version & not the new Disneyland character version.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean - This has become a family tradition. We skip all the way thru the ride que singing "yo ho yo ho, a pirates life for me".

3. Grim Grinning Ghosts - Happy ghosts are a good thing.

2. There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow - Nostalgic & definitely a catchy tune, its more than that. It's inspiring. No matter how bad your day was, there's a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day. And tomorrow is just a dream away.

1. Main Street Electrical Parade (aka Baroque Hoedown)- Did you know that the theme music for this parade has an actual title? This is my ALL-TIME MOST FAVORITE. I grew up with this parade. I cried when it left. I cried when it returned. And, when the announcement was made that it was returning, I cried again! I am so excited for my children to see the parade so they can visualize it for themselves. The music has been burned into their minds thruout the years. I love this song so much that I even used it in one of my cheerleading routines (they won the state championship that year as well!)

Do you have favorite Magic Kingdom songs as well?

Will you be crying on Main Street with me this summer when Main Street Electrical Parade returns home?

Do you think I am just crazy??

Feel free to leave me some love below ;)

Well, that is my top ten this week. Please go back to OhAmanda & check out other Top Ten Greats on this Tuesday!!

til next time ~

make it magical :)

Making New Friends is Fun!

@al3xg, @Disneybigsis, @heavensent30 & @winterbabe98

February should officially be "Meet your Twitter Friends Month". I have been so lucky to meet so many people this past month!

I was very lucky to meet Lea (@MagicalMousecap) as she SOLO toured the World! What a fabulous person she is!! We met the weekend of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, so we had plenty to chat about! Have you seen her Twitter background? I love it ;)

Recently, I was able to spend an afternoon at the Magic Kingdom with some fabulous friends. This time, I met up with Alex (@al3xg), Heather(@Disneybigsis)& her hubby, James (@Disneyfotoblog) & his family, Barb (@winterbabe98) & her family & Garry(@garry83). Can you say excitement? And what a large group it was. Look for yourself!

photo courtesy of Alex (@al3xg)

Meeting over Dole Whips was fun! We just all kicked back & chatted for a while ;)

Our group ;)

I love meeting new people...especially the people I chat with daily on Twitter! Looking forward to meeting many more friends, especially with our David Cassidy Tweet Up coming up this next weekend (March 20th). If you are ever in the parks, be sure to let me know!

til next time ~

make it magical :)