Under The Mouse Ears

Fresh off a return to Disneyland, I was amazed at how much they did with Halloween. To say it was the norm is an understatement. A friend of ours who works at Hollywood Studios mentioned to us that Disneyland has started stepping it up for the season and it certainly didn’t disappoint.  Obviously I’d say our Disney HQ would be the flagship in Orlando but it’s always a treat to head to where it all began. This was our first time in Anaheim in October so I was just expecting what we would normally see at Magic Kingdom... pumpkins here and there, etc. I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing you see in Disneyland is the familiar floral designs in the shape of Mickey's head, and that was still evident. But they added plenty of orange and black to help complete the spirit of the season. In fact, the ticket queue itself was decorated with faux jack-o-lanterns in the shape of Disney characters.  We'd asked a cast member at the front of the park what was the first ride to vi

We ultimately decided to go on this trip to go to my friend's wedding. Then we decided maybe we need to bring Cooper since he's a little older and he might enjoy it more than he did when he was 9 months old. Not that he'll remember either trip but this time he can both enjoy it and hate it. You know he'll be throwing fits, crying and whatever else he can do to get his way. Also, before you go download this app- "My Disney Experience Walt Disney World." It is updated with ride waiting times and all park information you need to know. You can also make dining reservations through it. Day 1: Saturday- the plane ride went pretty well. We flew on Southwest. If you fly on Southwest I recommend buying the Early Bird check in for $12.50. You won't have to go check in online in order to get a good seat. It automatically checks you in 36 hours before.  If you don't want to spend the extra money don't worry all families with small children can board after th

Both times I was pregnant I went to Disney and still had a lot of fun. You'll find it fun even if you can't ride all the rides. Try not to go during busy times cause waiting in lines isn't something you want to do no matter if you're pregnant or not. There are a lot of shows and little rides you can go on that are still fun. Restaurants that we haven't ever been to are probably what I most looked forward to trying. Also, make sure you know where all the bathrooms are since you'll be stopping every 5 minutes. For me its a little different since we go pretty often. I don't feel like I need to ride every ride. Though I missed riding Soarin' at EPCOT. That ride is awesome! I also missed drinking around the world in the World Pavilion at EPCOT. So Sam drank enough for both of us. Of course you can go on Spaceship Earth, the ride in the EPCOT ball. They updated it a few years ago so it's a little cooler now. Don't go to Animal Kingdom pregnant caus

Now, I was never a character nor did I want to be. Most of this is opinions and some truth from friends who were characters. So I'm not claiming to know everything about it. Ok, that's the end of covering my butt just in case someone says something about this post. I do know that there are 2 types: face characters and costume characters. Then they have performers who are usually a different type of character all together and make a lot more money. A face character is one that doesn't have a character head or costume on. It's usually a prince or princess. Disney is pretty critical on those people who audition for those characters. You have to be drop dead gorgeous or really good looking to get it. And you gotta be able to wave in that really weird way on parade floats (I'm sure you've seen it). Oh and don't think that they make a lot of money cause they don't. I mean, it's higher than minimum wage but not too much more. I think most people who think

No, I'm not talking about a dog or a cat. We don't have dogs anyway. I'm talking about my almost 2 year old son, Cooper! Sam and I have been going back and forth about what we are going to do at the parks when we go to Disney World in March. Now that Cooper walks it's a completely different ball game. I mean, he is not going to want to stay in a stroller at all. Every time I would see a guest with that leash thing on their kids I would freak out. I swore I would never do that. That was before I had kids so things have obviously changed. Well, today I had to go to the devil store, Babies R Us, for diapers and formula. There it was staring at me on the end of the aisle- the back pack bear leash. I decided to go ahead and buy it. I figure we can test it out a few times before we go. Every time I think of a kid with it on I think of the SNL skit with Mike Meyers, The Hyper-hypo kid . Remember he was attached to the jungle gym and just kept trying to jump forward but never w

The first time we took Cooper he was 9 months old. We weren't too sure it was a good idea since he was so young but we decided to give it a try. We were having Disney World withdrawals anyway. It definitely wasn't easy since he was crawling but we did just fine. Flying: We flew on Southwest out of New Orleans which was good because it was a non stop flight. Your infant or toddler can sit on your lap as long as they're under 2 years of age. They do require that you have a boarding pass for them and will ask to see their birth certificate. You do have to have an infant car seat if you are going to put them in a seat next to you. As far as the flight goes with an infant, make sure you have a pacifier, bottle or anything they can suck on to make the take off a little easier on their ears. We planned the flight during Coopers nap time so that helped us a lot. The flight is usually about an hour and a half which is about the right amount of time for a baby to start to cry or t

Well those of you who know me know that I love everything Disney: movies, parks, characters, whatever.  I've also converted my husband to loving Disney. That is exactly why we go back every year, sometimes twice a year if we are lucky. Having kids has made it a little more difficult to go twice a year but we try our hardest to do that. Cooper took his first trip at 9 months old and will be taking his second trip in March for his 2nd birthday. Cooper with his first Mickey Ears! Cooper meeting Mickey and Minnie for the first time! So you may want to know how many times have I been to Walt Disney World in my life, right? It is kind of hard to say since I worked there. I mean, I had to go to the parks almost everyday to work there. Ok so, since I was a youngster I've been about 20 times, excluding my cast member days. Sam and I decided to go ahead and buy Disney Vacation Club (DVC) on our honeymoon. DVC has allowed us to visit WDW twice a year since 2006. If y