After seven wonderful days at the Happiest Place on Earth (AKA Walt Disney World) we are back home.
We have settled back into our jobs and our routines and have begun the process of trying to get over our “vacation hangover.”
There were lots of memories made and lots of fun had by all. I also had the opportunity to refresh my ideas for the blog and what the future of Mousekatots looks like. While nothing is concrete at this time, I can say the future is going to be bright.
Look for reviews of a few nightlife spots, Disney products, restaurants and more as well as sharing even more tips and tricks on traveling to “The World” with a toddler.
It is also going to be time for our Mousekatot’s third birthday (time has flown) and she said that she wanted a Mickey and Minnie party, so look forward to some plan along with me blog posts complete with some multimedia additions.
As always, you can find me all over social media including the Mousekatots Facebookpage, Twitter @DareDomesticate and Snapchat GhostHost28.
Tomorrow’s blog is going to take a look at a fairly pricey service that is offered at Walt Disney World and I will let you know if I think it is worth it. Until then, I will leave you with a photo that perfectly sums up why we do Disney every year.
There have been a lot of announcements out of Walt Disney World this week including a new holiday show, new princess meet and greet, the return of favorite food items and more.
For this week’s Tot Five we will take a look all of this news so you can plan your upcoming holiday vacation.
1. “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!”
Even thought Halloween isn’t here yet, Walt Disney World is looking to the holiday season and just made an exciting announcement concerning Hollywood Studios.
A new nighttime projection show, “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” (JBJB) will start Nov. 14 at the studios.
According to the Disney Park’s Blog, “The show comes to life on, above and around the Chinese Theater with state-of-the-art projections, special effects, fireworks and a rousing seasonal musical score.”
The show will feature musical numbers from Disney favorite movies including “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and more.
There will also be a Holiday Dessert Party that can be purchased for an additional fee.
2. Meet and Greet with Princess Elena of Avalor at the Magic Kingdom
Photo courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Ever since the coronation of Princess Elena of Avalor it was only a matter of time before she started meeting guests in the kingdom.
Starting Nov. 24 Princess Elena will meet with guests at the Princess Fairytale Hall with her other princess friends
I am so bummed out that we are going to miss seeing her when we go down for our latest trip.
3. DINOSAUR down for a longer than planned Refurb
The Animal Kingdom attraction was closed this summer for a refurbishment and was scheduled to open next Thursday, is going to be closed for awhile longer.
There have been reports of people who made FastPass+ reservations for the high intensity attraction all the way out to the middle of November have had their passes switched out for Expedition Everest passes.
So far, there hasn’t been an official comment about what happened with the attraction. I just hope that it isn’t going extinct.
4. Culinary favorite makes a return
Fans of the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich at Sleepy Hollow can rejoice. The snack is back.
The sandwich, available at this eatery located at Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom, retails for $10.29.
5. Magical Night Time Weddings
Wanna get married at the Magic Kingdom at Night? You can do that now.
Yep, you can have your own Cinderella dream wedding after 11 p.m. at the kingdom and can be custom made for whatever your heart desires.
The wedding can accommodate up to 300 guests in Fantasyland.
Watch the video below to see a snippet of what your dream wedding can be like.
What are you most excited about when it comes to these new announcements? Leave your comments below.
When people think of going to one of Disney’s many quick service restaurants, the thoughts of fatty burgers and fries might fill their head.
But, just like with everything else with Walt Disney World, you can set the bar higher and treat you and your family to better tasting food that is rich in flavor and nutrition and will help fuel you for the rest of your day.
Enter Epcot’s Tangerine Café, situated in the Morocco pavilion.
It offers a variety of options that help give guests a taste of Africa without compromising flavor and authenticity.
Open for both lunch and dinner it offers a variety of entrees, sides, kids meals and desserts.
Entrées include Mediterranean Chicken Wrap, Mediterranean Falafel Wrap, Shawarma Chicken Platter, Vegetarian Platter, Mediterranean Sliders Combo, Mediterranean Lamb Wrap, Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter, Shawarma Lamb Platter and Moroccan Kefta Sandwich. Sides include Hummus, Tangerine Couscous Salad, Lentil Salad, Tabouleh, Marinated Olives and French Fries. Kids’ Meals include a Hamburger and Chicken Tenders.
There are a variety of tasty desserts and beverages that can also be purchased at Tangerine Café.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World
The average cost of an Entrée is $10.
The café is included on the Disney Dining Plan and will count as a quick service credit.
Will you add Tangerine Café to your list of must try restaurants on your next trip? Leave your comments below.
For more tips and a complete list of menu items for the various restaurants in Walt Disney World, pick up your copy of Mousekatots.
In our house, Halloween is a pretty big deal. We love to decorate with pumpkins, black cats and ghosts, enjoy all the pumpkin spice everywhere has to offer and trying our hand at corn mazes.
Another great family activity is watching Halloween Movies together. I’m not talking “Freddy Vs. Jason” or “Poltergeist,” but ones that are more silly and just slightly spooky.
Here are my tot five family Halloween movies.
1. “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
This is hands down, my favorite Halloween movie.
Every year it is always on ABC at least once and it always makes it feel like Halloween.
The timeless story follows Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and the gang as they spend the holiday in their own special ways, which includes Linus hanging out in the most sincere pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin with Sally, Charlie Brown trick-or-treating and receiving nothing but rocks, and Snoopy’s attacks as the World War One Flying Ace.
2. “Spookly the Square Pumpkin”
Photo courtesy of NewKideo
Based on the children’s book of the same name, the film tells the story of a pumpkin that was of a different shape who wanted to be like everyone else.
Later when something happens, Spookly calls on his unique shape to save the day.
This is a wonderful story about loving who you are and using your unique abilities to help others.
3. “Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated”
Photo courtesy of Scooby-Doo Wikia
While this isn’t a movie, but a series, the new incarnation of Scooby-Doo is really great. It is entertaining and even funny for parents. There is an underlying story that flows through all the episodes about a “Mister E” and what happened to the former Mystery Incorporated. Plus, the episodes feature all your favorite characters that you grew up watching.
The “monsters” and setting make this a perfect fit for Halloween season viewing.
4. “Hotel Transylvania”
Photo courtesy of IGN
I wasn’t sure how much I would like this movie, but it really made me laugh a lot.
The story is one that parents and children will like about a stranger that falls in love with a girl who in turn wants to go out and explore the world, but her father wants to keep her safe at his castle.
It features lots of different famous movie monsters and like I said lots of laughs. It is lighter on the scary and more on the laughs.
5. “Halloweentown”
Photo courtesy of Halloweentown
This classic from when I was growing up has become a cult hit over the past few years.
This film tells the story of a girl who finds out that she is a witch, a secret her mother has been keeping from her. She ends up following her grandmother to Halloweentown where it is always Halloween.
Do you have a favorite Halloween film that you and your family watch each year? Leave a comment below.
Lily has liked most of them, but none have quite hit a home run like the Elephant and Piggie series from Mo Williams.
The series contains 25 books that cover a variety of subjects that children can relate to including being invited to a party, jealousy when there is a new friend, naptime and more.
Elephant, AKA Gerald, takes life seriously and seems to always have a plan. He becomes easily rattled, but has his best friend there to help him see the bright side of life.
Piggie is always ready for adventure and loves surprising her best friend Gerald. She is very sensitive to his needs and often times helps him achieves his goals.
Photo courtesy of Mo WilliamsThe books are easy to read and only a few words are on each page and are shown inside of a speech bubble.
The stories always feature some sort of issue that the two friends must overcome and teaches kids good problem solving skills.
But, the biggest reason why we like them is because the books are funny and super sweet. Every time we read one, Lily is laughing out loud and can’t wait to read the next one.
A lot of libraries seem to have a pretty good collection of the books because a few have been awarded a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for being a most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English.
If you do a search on YouTube, there are different animated tellings of the books and there is also a musical that is currently touring.
Photo courtesy of Mo WilliamsHave you read any of the Elephant and Piggie books? If so, what is your favorite?
All eyes are currently on the weather as people watch to see what will happen with Hurricane Irma that is schedule to hit land sometime tonight or tomorrow.
One area for concern seems to be central Florida, which is the home of Walt Disney World.
While people know that weather can dampen their Disney vacation, it is good to know what happens if there is a hurricane projected to hit the area during your vacation.
Luckily, Disney makes safety its top priority and has addressed issues that may arise during the unpredictable hurricane season.
Q: What happens if a hurricane warning is called within seven days of my planned vacation?
Disney A: Disney’s response is that if the National Hurricane Center has issued a warning for either your hometown or the Orlando area, you can call in advance to reschedule or cancel your vacation package and most room only reservations (booked through Disney) without the Disney fees imposed. This does not include any third party products such as airfare, rental cars, etc.
This also includes Disney’s Vero Beach Resort of Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort.
Q: If I need to reschedule due to a hurricane, will I be guaranteed my same accommodations?
Disney A: Disney says they cannot guarantee the availability of similar accommodations for your newly scheduled travel days. However, all of the money that you paid for your accommodations, theme park tickets, dining plans and other Disney services will be applied to your future trip.
Any discounts or special offers that applied to your original reservation will not apply to your new reservation. This includes, if you were getting the free dining plan offer during your original travel dates, and rescheduled during a time that is not offered, you will need to pay for the dining plan.
Q: Will Walt Disney World close in the event of a hurricane?
A: The short answer is yes. If history is any indication, the parks have closed at least four times due to anticipation of hurricanes: Sept. 15 in 1999 for Hurricane Floyd, Sept. 4-5 2004 for Hurricane Francis and later in the same year, Sept. 26 for Hurricane Jeanne. Hurricane Charlie in 2004 was also responsible for a multi-day closure.
Q: Does Disney have an evacuation plan in place?
A: Yes. Disney will evacuate because safety is their top priority. You can believe that Disney has a plan in place to handle this in an orderly and timely manner. Here is a video of the evacuation of the parks for Hurricane Charlie:
Q: I am stuck in a hurricane at Walt Disney World, now what?
A: No one wants to be in this position, but find comfort in the fact that Disney will do whatever they can in their power to make sure that you are safe and comfortable.
TouringPlans.com, a wonderful website, said in a post that on-property guests have participated in movie marathons and ate from sandwich buffets while waiting it out. If things get really dangerous guests will be asked to evacuate their rooms and move to a protected, interior ballroom at the hotel.
And, you can find comfort in the fact that Walt Disney World earned the Storm Ready designation from the NOAA, which makes it one of the safest places in the United States if a storm would strike.
Have you ever been to Walt Disney World during a hurricane? Leave your comments below.
Part of the fun of going to Walt Disney World during this time of year is how festive everything is.
Pumpkins, fall leaves, seasonally appropriate bunting, scarecrows and more decorate every inch of the resort.
Another fun thing to do is take advantage of all the different items that are not usually available during the regular, non-holiday, days of the park. (Think the pumpkin spice craze times infinity!)
This year, Disney didn’t disappoint. Here are a few of the unique Halloween/fall offerings available at the parks.
Popcorn Buckets
Popcorn buckets, that are sold in the parks, are a huge collectable item. (There is even a Facebook group dedicated to the collection of these salty souvenirs.)
Each season, Disney offers a special and limited edition bucket that corresponds to the season.
This year, Disney has been offering a refillable bucket that is either valid the day you purchase it or the length of your stay (I have seen reports of both cases.)
This season’s Halloween refillable popcorn bucket is super cute and pays homage to an old fashioned Mickey cartoon:
Photo courtesy of Disney Food Blog
For those who are not concerned about the refillable option, there is an adorable vampire Mickey popcorn bucket that is also available to celebrate the holiday.
Photo courtesy of Inside the Magic
Witches Brew
Well, not really witches brew, but something to get you in the mood more or less, is the goulish strawberry lemonade slushy. This beverage can be found at the Friar’s Nook at the Magic Kingdom.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World
Main Street Bakery Treats
This bakery is scaring up some treats to be more fun than frightening. Treats featured include chocolate dirt and worms cupcake, vanilla spider cupcake and Halloween sugar cookie.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World
Candy Corn Cone
What is more iconic then everybody’s favorite candied vegetable, candy corn! In this take on the seasonal treat, Storybook Treats in the Magic Kingdom, offers a candy corn ice cream cone.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World
Which of these treats sound the most tempting to you? Leave a comment below.
If you will be visiting Walt Disney World next month, you will have the opportunity to participate in a new princess meet-and-greet that is exclusive to the month of October.
Starting Oct. 1 through Nov. 1, at the World of Disney store at Disney Springs, guests will have the opportunity to meet either Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Tiana or another princess to have a “royal reception.”
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. guests will need to check in with a cast member who will tell you the wait time and return instructions. (This sounds like a Fastpass.)
When your time arrives, the guest will then return to the queue and prepare to meet their princess.
A Photopass photographer will be on hand to capture the magic.
This was first revealed on the official Disney Parks blog yesterday.
The announcement included a quote from Entertainment Show Director Tom Vazzana who said, “Cinderella had a wish for her and her fellow royal princesses to have a place to meet new friends. The Fairy Godmother was able to grant her this wish, and now, tucked away in a magical corner of World of Disney is a location befitting Cinderella’s request. A magical ‘royal hall’ was created complete with tapestries and images inspired by classic fairytales.”
This offering is very unique because typically guests have to purchase a park ticket or attend a character meal at one of the resorts in order to have interaction with a princess. Now, there is no charge to have the experience.
Even though Disney is saying that this experience is only for the month of October, my guess is that it will eventually be extended. By the sounds of it, it seems like they built a special area in the World of Disney store to accommodate these types of meet-and-greets. I don’t think they would build this area for just such a limited time.
If you are going to the “world” in October, will you be visiting this unique experience? Leave your comments below.
Want tips on how to get your child ready to meet the characters and how to deal with their apprehension? Pick up your copy of “Mousekatots” from Theme Park Press.
This week is an important week when it comes to literacy and freedom. It’s banned book week!
This week celebrates and remembers all the different books that have been banned or challenged according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF).
According to OIF the top three reasons why the books have been challenged was because they contained content that was either “sexually explicit,” “offensive language” or were “unsuited to any age group.”
In the Amber household we like to be mild rebels and read some of the books that are included in the very extensive list.
Here are the Tot Five books that we have read that are on the list with the reasons why they were banned.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Photo courtesy of Scholastic
Yes, even Hogwarts’ favorite wizard wunderkind couldn’t escape being included on the banned books list.
Between the years of 1990-1998 the series was ranked number 48 on the list and between 2000 and 2007 it climbed all the way to number one.
There were several reasons as to why Potter made the list.
Parents were worried that Harry and his friends were setting a bad example by the way they behaved. They were often depicted as rule breakers and challenged authority on a regular basis (just ask Snape).
Others added that the books progressed into rather scary territory. While the beginning few dealt with good versus evil they started to get even more dark and the stakes became a lot higher. This included main and beloved characters being violently killed and featured intense battles where good people often died.
And of course a big sticking point for a lot of people was the books surrounded themselves in a world of magic.
Many felt it glorified witchcraft which many feel is inherently evil and might be confusing for children to enter this world of fantasy that centers around something that people might consider “evil.”
But, despite the fact that the book has been constantly challenged, it doesn’t seem to be slowing Harry down at all. Hey, if Voldermort can’t stop him, nothing can!
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Photo courtesy of Amazon
“Brown Bear, Brown Bear” is the perfect example of how ridiculous this whole banned book principle actually is.
This book was included on the banned book list because a board member on the State Board of Education in Texas in 2010 confused the author with Bill Martin who wrote a book for adults called “Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation.”
It pays to do your homework, school board member!
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Photo courtesy of Amazon
This book, originally published in 1967, was added to the banned book list because parents were upset that the main character, a boy named Max, intentionally caused trouble.
This shocked parents because they were used to children being portrayed as the perfect pinnacles of fresh faced youth, Dick and Jane. Now, you had a character who was a child that was acting like, well, a child.
People from the south were additionally upset because they felt that Max *spoilers* being sent to bed without any supper was a form of child abuse. (Apparently, they didn’t finish the book or they would have saw this was not the case.)
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Photo courtesy of tvtropes.org
Filed under the category of “you have to be kidding me,” “Winnie-the-Pooh” was banned throughout random areas of the United States because talking animals are an insult to God.
Some places in Turkey and the United Kingdom have banned it because they felt Piglet was offensive to Muslims, and other places felt the book revolves around Nazism. (I have no idea how Nazis play into “Winnie-the-Pooh”).
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Photo courtesy of Buzzfeed
We haven’t read this book together yet, but it is on my list so I wanted to include it.
Originally published in 1928, it ended up being banned by all public libraries in Chicago based on its “ungodly” influence because it depicted women in strong leadership roles.
In 1957 the Detroit Public Library banned the book for having “no value for children of today.”
Yes, how dare we use this antiquated book to teach our daughters to be grow into strong women, leaders. (That was dripping with sarcasm, just to be clear.)
As you can see, banning books is ridiculous. I believe that parents should set their own limits for what media they want their children to consume, this includes what books they read.
There are some books that deal with adult material that I would not feel comfortable letting my young child read, but I believe that decision should be mine and should not be left up to institutions. Banning books is a slippery slope.
What are your thoughts about banning books. Leave them in the comments below.
Walt Disney World is known for employing a variety of unique characters that make the resort the popular destination it is.
Previously we looked at the Dapper Dans and now let’s take a look, we will have to look real close, at one of the unique characters found in Animal Kingdom, DiVine.
Photo courtesy of FlickRiver.com
Hanging out in the jungles of Animal Kingdom, towering over guests and hidden among the trees is DiVine, a very talented cast member who is dressed in camouflage of vines and makeup that interacts with guests by moving slightly and surprising guests.
She has to have perfect balance because she uses two sets of stilts to make her so tall.
Big Fat Panda has a video on his YouTube channel that shows DiVine at work:
Have you had the opportunity to see DiVine in action? Leave your comments below.
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