This week’s Wordless Wednesday takes us to Princess Fairytale Hall which opens today at Walt Disney World in love Magic Kingdom! We have posted even more pictures from our visit to Princess Fairytale Hall on our Facebook Page!
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Hello old friend…It’s been far too long since I have done a TrenD Report!!!
On my visit to Downtown Disney Marketplace, I found some really great new finds in one of my favorite store!
The Alice in Wonderland Loungefly canvas purse and wallet are pretty awesome. I love the water-color feel to them, and the Loungefly line is always constructed so solidly. You won’t have to worry that the canvas is too flimsy to take some use.
Also, it’s fun to see the more stylized Alice in Wonderland park merchandise line expand with this really fun metal picture frame.
I am absolutely LOVING these sassy Princess shirts! I believe that I am going to have to purchase the Aurora shirt for my first trip to Disneyland!!!
Love, Love, Love is exactly how I feel about this knit Mickey and Minnie tank! The blue necklace paired with it is a really fun pop of color! Under a long sweater it could be a good transition piece into fall.
These Mickey and Minnie silky shirts are an expansion of this style of shirt, and I am really liking these a lot more than the previous designs. Both of these shirts are longer and less busy, and would be super cute with a long tank under them paired with a cute denim skirt!
And finally this Minnie Mouse wristlet is CALLING my name! I have been using a wristlet for my quick trip to the parks (thanks to Scarlett), and I am really enjoying using them. This seems to be more practical than a Dooney wristlet, since it has a zipper closure.
I hope that you like this return to TrenD reports and I promise that I won’t slack again!!!
Thanks for joining me window shopping and happy Tuesday everyone!
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This morning the Magic Kingdom played host to the Merida, from Disney/Pixar Brave, Coronation making her Disney’s 11th Princess .This was an especially exciting event, because this was the first time Disney held a Coronation of a new Princess publicly.
Cinderella Castle was all decked out in special banners for the Coronation, and it was even more beautiful than usual!
For this exciting event, 2 time Olympic Gold Medal Winner Gabby Douglas and her mother, Natalie, served as emcee, and spoke about their special relationship.
“I admire Merida for being determined and courageous as these are qualities that have had a big impact on my own life and helped me achieve my goals as an athlete,” said Gabby Douglas, gymnastics gold medalist. “And like Merida, I have a strong relationship with my mom, whose support and belief in me has helped me recognize my own inner princess qualities. It’s really special for us to be here and share in Merida’s celebration, especially on Mother’s Day weekend.”
Merida was led to the forecourt of Cinderella Castle on the back of her trusty friend Angus, and followed by banners, a troop of Scottish dancers, and an authentic pipe and drum band. It was amazing!
After the processional, Merida was joined on the castle stage by the members of the Royal Disney Princess Court which includes Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, and Rapunzel for the reading of the Royal Proclamation. It is always a treat to see them all in one place!
To me, the most special part of Merida’s Coronation was that Queen Elinor had the honor of placing the tiara on Merida’s head making her Disney’s 11th Princess! The celebration of Mother and Daughter was such a touching way to start Mother’s Day Weekend at Walt Disney World! This was the first time that Queen Elinor has appeared at Walt Disney World! I am not going to even try to say that I didn’t cry.
“As a Disney Princess, Merida sets an admirable example for all, being brave, strong, passionate, determined and confident,” said Katherine Sarafian, “Brave’s” producer. “When Queen Elinor placed the crown on Merida’s head, it signified a moment of deep connection, as a mother recognized the spirit, heart and true personality of her daughter. It’s moments like these that encapsulate what is special about being a princess, but also resonate with mothers across the world.”
What an amazing & fun way to spend the morning!!!
I hope that you enjoy our pictures of the Merida Coronation!
My addiction to running didn’t start with the running itself, it started with the cheering. Back in 2009 I made some friends, and not long after I learned that they were running in a race. A race at Walt Disney World. I honestly had no real concept of what this meant, but I had always had it in the back of my head that running was something I wanted to try. So I made a decision to seek a little inspiration, and go cheer for them. That day I learned one solid thing: cheering for a race isn’t easy. Now that’s not to say that it can’t be, like anything else it’s all about how much, or how little you want to throw yourself into it.
This upcoming weekend, February 22-February 24, 2013, runDisney is hosting Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend. There are two races that you could be cheering for, the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Royal Family 5K, and the Disney’s Princess Half Marathon.
Some Fun RunDisney Facts about Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend:
More than 26,000 runners in the half; 8,000 in the 5K and 1,700 in Kids Races; many from throughout Central Florida
The half marathon includes more than 24,500 female runners and 1,700 male runners
Runners represent all 50 states and 32 countries
The youngest participant is 14 and the oldest woman is 78
There are 98 RunDisney runners celebrating their Birthday during the race
If you have runners running either of these races you should sit down with them and talk with them to find out some information that will make cheering for them easier:
What corral are they starting in? For each race, runners are split up into corrals that have staggered starting times. These corrals are typically lettered. Runners in B will start the race before runners in C.
What is their pace per minute? Runners don’t all run at the same speed. You’ll need this knowledge for longer races if you’re going to travel between points to cheer.
Will they be stopping? Disney races are designed for fun. Along the course there will be various special areas, characters, and photo opportunities for runners to participate in. This means that despite their pace, your runner can take longer if they’re planning to stop to take a picture and have to wait in a line. If you didn’t expect your runner to be stopping you might find yourself getting worried when they don’t show after an expected period of time.
What will they be wearing? In case you’re not going to see your runner before they enter the corral in the morning, they should definitely send you a photo of what they will be wearing so you can easily spot them on the course.
Regardless of which race you’re cheering for, I can’t stress enough that the right time to head out to cheer is when the runners head out to run. The 5K starts at 6:30 am on Saturday, and I recommend getting to the starting line of the race no later than 5:45 am. This will give you time to meet up with friends, watch your runner head to their corral, and find a good place to cheer from at the Start. By contrast, the Half starts at 5:30 am, though depending on where you’re cheering from (more on that below), you might have some wiggle room. Transportation options are explained in the Official Race Program. Whether you’re busing, taking the monorail, or driving yourself – everything you’ll need to know is in there. Just turn to page 42.
Cheering for the 5K itself is fairly easy. If you look at the course map you’ll see that the race starts and ends in Epcot. In fact, it starts and ends in the parking lot of Epcot. Spectators will not be allowed into Epcot during the race, this means you will only be able to see your runners at the start and end of the race. Knowing their pace is important here. A 5K race is approximately 3.1 miles. This means that when you see your runner at the start of the race, and their pace is 10 minutes per mile, that you can expect them to reach the finish line in about 30 minutes. If they’re planning to stop, even one photo opportunity can increase their time by 5 minutes or even more.
For the Half Marathon, cheering can be a bit more involved, or relatively the same. The Starting line for the race is out on Epcot Center Drive, you can actually walk out to the road from the parking lot through the woods. Just look for the signs when you’re there. The Finish line is in the Epcot parking lot. Many people never go out to the starting line, because it is extremely difficult to spot runners at this point. The Platinum level ChEAR Squad Race Retreat spectator package might be a good, albeit expensive, option. You can relax in luxury while your runner is rounding the corner in Tomorrowland.
If you want to be more active you’ll need to consider using the Online Spectator Tool. With this tool you can try to determine the best places to watch your runner along the path. There are many options to choose from. But my preferred choices are: Mile 0 at the Starting Line, Mile 5.3 on Main Street, USA in Magic Kingdom, Mile 12 at the bus depot in Epcot, and Mile 13 which is just before the Finish. Other popular places to cheer from are at the TTC, at the Contemporary across from the Magic Kingdom bus depot, and on the Western side of Polynesian Resort. The runners will run by (or through in the case of the TTC) all three of these. You can find this information on page 43 in the program.
In this era of high tech, you’ll want to consider one of a few options for tracking your runners. For starters, each runner is tagged, and runDisney provides a means to track your runners via this tag using the Runner Tracking tool for the event (tool changes per event, but your account will remain between events, and be good at all future races). Here you can receive alerts via text or email and auto-post updates to Facebook or Twitter. I will be honest, this tool is not the most reliable of systems, but it has gotten better than it used to be.
There are plenty of other ways you can track your runner. For example, if they take walk intervals, and have their phone with them, a simple text message stating where they are can work wonders. If you and your runner both have an iPhone I suggest using the Find My Friends app that Apple puts out. You’ll want to set it up before the race, but with it you’ll be able to use the mapping features of your iPhone to locate your runner. If a runner wants to broadcast their location to multiple people across multiple devices, I suggest using a WhatsApp group to do so as it’s available across multiple phone types. Applications like RunKeeper are very popular with runners for tracking their runs also have additional functionality that lets others track the runner on their phone.
The last, and most important thing, is that the person you’re there to cheer for isn’t the only person out there running that day. While you’re out on the course waiting for your runner, you might notice that most bibs will have a name on them. If you can read a name, shout it out and cheer for that person too. I can not begin to tell you how much it will mean to that person. There are plenty of people out on the course who otherwise have no one to cheer for them. And who knows, you might end up cheering for one of us here.
Follow us for more updates: In our family we love playing board games, and we are always on the lookout for great games to play together.
We were really excited when we the opportunity to review some new Disney board games that are coming out just in time for the holiday season from Wonder Forge.
I thought it would be fun to take a look at each of these games, starting with Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party and Jake and the Never Land Pirates Who Shook Hook Game.
You’re invited to a cupcake party with all your favorite princesses! Work together to make as many cupcakes as you can before it’s time for the party. Follow the recipe cards to pick the perfect fancy liner, frosting, and topper. Each cupcake creation is fit for a princess in this sweet game of matching and sharing. The game is for Princesses 3 and up, and helps to promote physical dexterity & creative expression.
The game includes (10) enchanted cupcakes, (30) cupcake cards, (10) tiles, (1) timer and instructions. Another fun thing about the Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party is that while it can be played with two players, it would really be easy to play with a larger group of Princesses.
Zoe, my 6 year old going on 25, and I absolutely loved this game! The rules for Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party are super easy to follow, and working together against the timer made the game less competitive and more fun. I also enjoyed that there are three different ways to play the game, which also can make the game more difficult if you have older Princesses playing!
And to me the icing on the enchanted cupcake was the design of the cupcakes themselves! While the cupcakes themselves are on the small size, the level of detail that went into the design of the game pieces is amazing!
Overall, I would absolutely suggest the Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party Disney board game for any little Princess on your holiday list! It would be a great game for sleepovers, Princess Tea Parties, or a fun way to spend the evening!
And going in a totally different direction, we also gave Jake and the Never Land Pirates Who Shook Hook game a whirl!
Captain Hook is snoozing in his hammock, surrounded by all the treasure he’s nabbed from Jake and his pirate crew. Spin the spinner to choose your challenge, then use the sword, the fishing pole, or the shovel to pluck a piece of treasure! But steady as she goes–you need to grab the loot without sending Hook tumbling into the water where Tick Tock Croc awaits. This imaginative, play-packed game is sure to be a hit with clever little pirates. The game is intended for children ages 4 and up, and promotes physical dexterity & strategic thinking.
The game includes 2 Palm Trees (2 Trunks and 2 Palm Fronds), Hammock, 3 Barrels, 3 Treasure Chests, 3 Tikis, 3 Money Bags, and 4 Tools (Leaf Tweezers, Sword, Anchor Fishing Pole, Shovel).
Zoe, Dave, and I had a really fun time trying to use all of the tools to take the treasure off of Hook’s hammock without flipping him over into the hungry jaws of Tick Tock Croc.
We all had a fairly easy time using the tools to remove the treasure, and the game plays really quickly so it adds to the fun of trying your best not to be the one to send Captain Hook into the drink! We all seemed to enjoy using the Anchor Fishing Pole the most.
We all really enjoyed Jake and the Never Land Pirates Who Shook Hook game, and found ourselves quickly loading up his hammock back up with treasure when someone (whose name rhymes with GAVE) knocked him out of his hammock!
We all really look forward to our family game time, and these two Disney board games are a welcome addition to our rotation!
I look forward to telling you all about the Disney Princess Dazzling Princess and Jake and the Never Land Pirates Never Land Challenge games!
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Last year I was completely obsessed with the Ear Hat Ornaments that came out, since these hats have a special place in my heart.
So when Steven Miller posted on the Disney Parks Blog that the Ear Hat Ornament collection was expanding I had to go out and find them in the parks!!!
Aaron Babcock, Product Developer for seasonal merchandise, told me that last year’s ornaments were so popular that they expanded the collection.
“We were thrilled with the response from our guests about the porcelain ear hats,” said Aaron. “This year, we have significantly expanded the assortment to include hats inspired by villains, princesses, classic characters and even Pixar characters. We’ve also added a tremendous amount of detail to each new ornament.”
The Ear Hat Ornaments are in the parks now at Disney’s Days of Christmas and World of Disney at the Downtown Disney Marketplace, The Emporium on Main Street USA and the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom and will be available online soon!
These Ear Hat ornaments are made of resin and are a numbered limited edition of 6500, with the exception of the princess collection.
Also Haunted Mansion, Swashbuckler, and Sorcerer Mickey ornaments have been released!!!
I think that my favorite new Ear Hat Ornament is Wall-E Ornament!!! Which one is your favorite?
I hope that you enjoy this look at the new ornaments!
