Wordless Wednesday: Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

Nancy Christmas Holidays, Wordless Wednesday , , , , 0 Comment

A highlight of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the weeks leading up to Christmas is Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. Disney does great parades, and this is no exception. Featuring many of your favorite characters in their finest holiday garb, you will also find ice skaters (yes in Florida, don’t ask, it’s that Disney magic 🙂 ), Marching Wooden Soldiers, and at the very end, Santa himself. And there are great holiday “smells” too…. Of course the castmembers are wearing appropriate festive attire too, including hats, scarves, and mittens, bless-their-overheated-hearts. If you want to see the parade, and will be there during Christmas week, you’re in luck because it is held every afternoon. Happy Holidays!

Tuesday Disney Tips: Creating More Space in Your Disney Resort Room

Brenda Tuesday Disney Tips , , 5 Comments

I absolutely love the Disney resorts. I always choose to stay on property, even if we have to pinch pennies with everything else. But as much as I enjoy the theming, the ambience, having free transportation to and from the parks, and being close to everything, there is one thing I have an issue with at the Disney resorts – the bathrooms.

I have stayed at value, moderate and deluxe resorts. The size of the bathrooms is usually adequate and this year, at the Contemporary Resort, we even had a private toilet area with a door that closed to the rest of the bathroom. What’s my problem then? Well, as you might deduct from this picture, there is not enough counter space.

Plus, I have a family of five including: my husband, myself, a 25-year-old son, a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year old son. We all have necessities when it comes time to being fresh and clean, not to mention our primping needs. We have MANY products for brushing, flossing, gelling and deodorizing. We need a place to put it all!

Luckily, I have a way to overcome this deficiency while creating more space and greater efficiency for our time and needs. It is the shoe organizer.

My organizer was especially easy to hang this year because the Contemporary has a metal ladder-type rack for hanging towels, which served me perfectly when hanging my shoe organizer.

We each have our own row (that is 4 large slots each). We traditionally assign rows according to height so my youngest son gets the top row because he is tallest, and my daughter gets the bottom row because she is nearest to the ground (haha). Everyone organizes their things the way they want and it makes getting ready to head to the parks easier and much quicker.

I have used this trick for several years and it has worked out really well. The only issue I have run across is that the bathroom doors at a couple of the moderate resorts were quite thick, so I bought extra large hangers to use when faced with that problem.

If you have a large family, including teens with lots of special products, this should really help you. I hope it will make your trip easier and more enjoyable.

Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.

Disney Holiday Gift-Giving: Luggage and Bags Disney Style

Nancy Disney Gift Giving , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Essential for any Disney vacation are those items you will need to “keep stuff in”, that is luggage, backpacks, tote bags, and diaper bags. The thing is, while these things are necessities, why not add a little “Disney” to something that is basically functional….and make it fun? The benefit of this is, of course, bringing the Disney love along with you PLUS having that happy Disney reminder day in and day out after you get home!

With that in mind then, here are some of my favorite Disney travel accessories (a few of which may end up on my Christmas wish list for our upcoming Disney World trip):

Disney Princess Luggage: On our first trip to Walt Disney World, one of the things that our daughter (then age 7) was most excited about was having her “own suitcase”. She would have loved the princesses on the outside. I would have loved the hard case and wheels that make it easy for little ones to take care of their own bag.

Disney Rolling Light-Up Buzz Lightyear Luggage: The solution for little boys, this case will help future Space Rangers to easily travel to Disney World, or Infinity and Beyond, whichever they prefer.

Blue 3-Piece Rolling Disney Luggage Set: For the grown-up on your list (or maybe you?? 🙂  ) I personally really like this 3 piece set for the sizes available and especially like that the duffle is wheeled. Plus, I love the blue color too. Yeah…this one’s going on my Christmas wish list.

Black 3-Piece Disney Rolling Mickey Mouse Luggage Set: This one’s for the person who really wants to have their Mickey on when traveling. One of the things I really like about this set is that you can EASILY pick out your luggage at baggage claim at the airport. 🙂

Tinkerbell Diaper Bag Backpack – Adjustable Shoulder Bag: Know someone who will be traveling to Disney World with a little one? A Disney diaper bag is a great gift idea. I love all the pockets on this one as well as the fact that it can be either a shoulder bag or back pack.

Disney Mickey Mouse Tote Bag: Having a tote bag of some sort is essential at the parks. At 15” x 17” this bag is roomy and it has a nice interior zippered compartment which I really like. Plus it’s just plain fun…..and also going on my Christmas list!

Disney Dooney & Bourke Black Tassle Tote: I will readily admit that this does NOT qualify as affordable….but it is gorgeous, and one can hope, right? Disney’s Dooney and Bourke collection is extremely popular and there are many different designs, patterns, and sizes that are available. And while this bag may or may not be in Santa’s budget this year, there are some smaller items like wallets, wristlets and such that can help you be stylishly Disney. But if we’re going to dream….then this is the one I’m dreaming of…..

Hope you found some great Disney Holiday gift items for your favorite Disney traveler…or for your own wishlist! Happy shopping!

The Affordable Mouse is Celebrating a Birthday!

Nancy Affordable Disney Vacations , , , , 3 Comments

I am excited to be celebrating our First Birthday this week! One year ago I made the decision to move The Affordable Mouse from a little blog with occasional posts to a “grown-up” website and blog. Just a year later, we have grown to be quite the community, with a Facebook page now as well, that is closing in on having 350 fans…and growing!

As I begin our second year, it is a great time for me to share with you a few things that I am working on, that will all hopefully be finalized before the end of 2010…as well as some ideas I have for the coming year:

  • Website re-design: As our community has grown, it is important for me to be able to provide a better way for you to find the information that you need to save money at Disney World. In addition, I have things that I have been wanting to add to the site as well 🙂 so this is the perfect time to for me to do some re-designing. My plans are that the finished product will be done before Christmas and once complete will provide an improved experience for you! Stay tuned for details!
  • Affordable Disney Dining Guide: This project that was born as a result of your responses to a survey that I ran in the spring, is in the editing stages now, and so is nearly finished! I currently expect to release it as an e-book right after the 1st of the year, just in time for your 2011 vacation planning!
  • The Affordable Mouse Community: In many ways, this part is the most important to me, because it is at the heart of why I started The Affordable Mouse in the first place. My vision for this site has always been one of a community of Disney World-lovers, where ideas, tips, and suggestions for saving money on a Disney World vacation are shared. I may have started it….but my hope over the coming years, is that this site and blog will eventually grow into a place where anyone who needs help making Disney vacations affordable, can come to ask questions. Our online “family” is pretty diverse: many of you are experienced Walt Disney World veterans, with many visits under your belt…but many of you found us because you are brand new, and looking for help. And one of the things that I love about Disney folk…is that we are a friendly, helpful sort of folk, willing to share advice and provide help to other Disney folk! 🙂

So, it is my hope, in 2011, to grow The Affordable Mouse community by getting more of YOU involved! Our Facebook      page is certainly a start, where a number of you already comment and share ideas, and I hope that will continue to expand. But beyond that, please feel free to ask questions there as well, and don’t be shy or worry about it being a “dumb” question: we’ve all been there once! Please also share your thoughts and ideas by commenting on our daily blog posts: I would love to see some real conversations begin to start in the comments every day! If you have experience with the topic, please share. If you have something helpful to add, please share that too!

It is here with the Blog that I am truly hoping to grow our community! As you know, Brenda recently began contributing articles on a weekly basis and she has done a wonderful job of adding an additional viewpoint, as well as some fresh, new ideas. I would love to expand on this and have more of you share your expertise as well! So if you like to write, and would be interested in contributing articles to The Affordable Mouse blog, please let me know! Send me an email at nancy@theaffordablemouse.com and let me know your background and Disney “history”. Professional experience is certainly not required: what is needed however, is a love for Walt Disney World, and an interest in sharing ways to save money on a Disney vacation.  It is also not necessary to contribute weekly either: if you just wish to share an article once or twice a month that would be awesome too! (Please be aware though, that this is, unfortunately, not a paid position: your only pay will be sharing the Disney magic with others. 🙂 )

Lastly, I would really love to know what ideas YOU have for growing our Disney World money-saving community! Message boards/forums? Monthly podcasts or webinars? YouTube videos? Something else? Please let me know your thoughts: Growing our community is one of my goals for 2011, but clearly it can’t be done without you! So send me an email, post on the Facebook page, or comment on a blog post and let me know your ideas for creating a sharing community!

Thanks so much for reading, and thanks so much for making 2010 such an amazing year for The Affordable Mouse! “Meeting” all of you is something that I am truly thankful for…and I can’t wait to see what great things 2011 has in store for all of us!

Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of November 29, 2010

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" , , , , 3 Comments

Happy December Disney friends and Happy Hanukkah to those who are celebrating this week. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday last weekend and that you are ready for a good long blog round-up today! The Disney blog world has emerged from the post-holiday tryptophan coma and has provided us with some welcome Disney distraction from all the holiday rushing around. So grab a latte, sit back and relax in the World of Disney for a few moments. Here are some of my favorites:

To start, The Disney Blog offered a great way to celebrate the Festival of Lights: Voices of Liberty – Hanukkah Medley

Wow, wow, wow AJ at the Disney Food Blog has been busy! This week she provided a Guest Review: New Menus and Menu Items at Le Cellier Steakhouse and a delicious post that caught my eye: “I Can’t Believe I Hadn’t Tried This!” Disney Desserts Edition In addition, if you have Disney World food favorites, be sure to head on over and vote: DFB Choice Awards Voting Now Open

Tons of things going on at Chip and Co this week. Lisa shared the Top Ten Disney Tips I Learned This Year, Allie discussed Keeping things fresh at Walt Disney World and Chris shared some Kid Stuff I Secretly Want for Christmas (and I think I personally want a few as well… 🙂 )

Not able to visit Disney World over the Christmas holidays? Or maybe you want a “fix” until you do go? Amanda over at Disney Every Day provided just the thing: 3 videos of some of the most special holiday happenings at Walt Disney World this month: Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Time Parade Video and Video of the Christmas Holiday Wishes Fireworks in the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Osborne Family Lights Daytime Details Video

Kelly at the Disney Guru offered another informative Money Saver Monday!! What Season Saves You the Most Money??

Our friend James “The Mouse Planner” wrote a fascinating piece for the Disney Driven Life where he discussed using time well at Disney World…and then back at home too: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TIME

Studios Central offered some great suggestions for Bargain Shopping at Walt Disney World

Ellie at The Relocated Tourist shared the favorite things she really wants to do at Disney World in My Disney Bucket List (and a few of these are on my list as well….)

Lastly, the Resourceful Mommy had some fantastic ideas for Surviving the Disney Souvenir Gimmes with your children. If you have little ones, this is a must-read.

OK, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading! Now, get back to shopping, cooking, baking, decorating…… 🙂 Have a magical weekend!