Kids Make Disney Even Better!

See that smile?  It is priceless!  That smile says, "I'm having fun and I love being here." 

Like seeing that smile?  Well get used to it because at Disney, every single thing there was put there specifically to bring this smile out of you and your kids.

This picture was taken when we were playing putt-putt golf over at the Winter Summerland course, where there is always snow on a hot summers day.  If you guessed that Ashley is holding up the number one to show her age, you would be wrong.  Every golfer knows that is the universal sign for "YES!  I just scored a hole in one!"  And she did!

Even at your hotel, your kids will find amazingly fun things to do.  Here, Ashley was in the lobby of the Polynesian Hotel when the castmembers there started having the kids make grass skirts for themselves.  Ashley loved posing in hers, and as you can see, she got a keepsake to take home with her that she will always remember.

Yes I challenge anyone who has children to take them to Disney for even a day and not walk out of there having shed some tears of joy at seeing your kids get wide eyed in amazement and joy at the things they see.

For instance, sit down at the end of the day in the Magic Kingdom and
watch the SpectroMagic parade with kids.  Yes waiting for the parade to start can be tough for kids as you have to kind of sit there a long time before the parade starts to get a great seat, but having food and snacks available as well as ipods and gameboys help make the wait seem shorter.  But once the lights go out, the music starts, and then every awesome Disney character walks right by you, and I mean just inches away from you, just look down at the faces of your kids and see the wonderment in their eyes.  That look says to me every time, "Maybe wishes and dreams do come true!"

My kids have been to Disney almost every year of their lives, sometimes more than once per year.  As they grow older, of course they begin to lose some interest as they learn that Mickey is a person in a costume, and their interest start to lean toward the thrill rides that are more abundant over at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, but there are still plenty of awesome moments to be had and memories to be made.

For example, my family loves eating at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater.  The food is amazing, but it is truly the ambience and the "show" that keeps bringing us back every time we go.  As you can see, your family sits in an old time car and actually watches a real drive in theater screen as bits and pieces of old B horror and sci fi movies are shown, along with some older footage of Walt Disney himself.

There is one part of the show where they show a clip from "Attack of the 50 Foot Man".  At one point in that clip, the 50 foot man looks out from the screen and yells "I Don't Want To Grow Anymore".  Don't ask me why but my kids laughed so hard at that line that we were soon all in tears laughing at it.  Now at the most random times we will often look at each other and yell ""I Don't Want To Grow Anymore" and start laughing hysterically.

Truly there are millions of memories and special moments waiting around every corner of Walt Disney World and Disney Land for you and your family.

I hope to see you and your kids in the parks someday and maybe we will be sharing a meal at the Sci Fi and you can yell along with us!  What are you waiting for?  Your memories are calling for you!

See ya real soon!

Brad

Christmas Time At Disney World Is THE BEST

Yes that is Tom Bergeron from Dancing With The Stars fame, along with my wife Amy, and my daughter Ashley and my son Blake.  This photo was taken back in 2004 at the taping of the Disney Christmas Parade taping.  Let me tell you, we were in the height of our glory during this photo.

Christmas time at Disney is truly like no other time in the world.  It is truly a spectacle to behold.  The wizards at Disney have found some magical way to one day have the park decorated for Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and then the next day, POOF, it is Christmas time everywhere you look!  And these are the biggest, brightest, most awesome Christmas decorations you will ever see, and they are Disney-fied to boot!  The largest Christmas tree you will ever see is placed in the middle of Main Street right as you come in the front gates and it takes your breath away.

Lights are everywhere you look as well as bows, packages, tinsel, and decorations.  You will think that you are at Santa's house in the North Pole!  Christmas music is playing in each of the lands and it is very cool to hear the music that fits with the land you are in.  Let me tell you, if you were not in the Christmas spirit before you enter the park, you will be within a minutes of stepping foot into the Magic Kingdom. 

We were lucky to be there during the Christmas Parade taping.  We got to see Regis Philbin and Kelly Rippa sitting on an elevated tower doing the narrating of the Parade as you can see in this picture.  I hate to break the news to you, but the Disney Christmas Parade, even though it says it is live during the show, is filmed sometimes weeks ahead of Christmas day! 

During this trip we also attended Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party, and I am sooooo happy that we did.  During this party, they close the park to only people who bought tickets for the party.  This definitely makes the crowds much smaller for the night which is awesome because you get to rides as many rides as you like.  On top of that, we got all the hot chocolate we could drink, chocolate chip cookies too, a chance to buy special Christmas merchandise, and a very special Christmas parade that included Santa himself.

Over at the Disney Hollywood Studios, they have the worlds largest display of Christmas Lights set up every year called the Osbourn Christmas Light Display.  Here are some pictures of the display.  By the way, Disney makes it snow during this display!  I won't spoil how they do it, but needless to say it just makes an amazing night that much more magical.

So now can you see why I love Disney so much?  Being at the Magic Kingdom during Christmastime so very much makes you feel like a child again without a care in the world, and as you watch the parade and see Santa fly by on his sled, for just a minute, you find yourself believing in Santa all over again.   And as a side note, it truly is awesome to be able to walk right on to rides like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion because of the smaller crowds due to the Christmas Party.

Do you have any questions about Disney at Christmas time?  Please let me know in the comments below and I will be happy to answer them for you.

Until next time - I'm going to my laffin place, because everybodys got a laffin place!

Brad

It All Started With A Mouse...And A Wedding

Walt Disney World all started with a Mouse, but my absolute fanatical love for all things Disney started with my wedding. 

That's me (Brad) on the left (the luckiest guy on the planet) and my beautiful wife Amy on the right, sitting down in the 50's Prime Time Cafe, getting ready for an awesome lunch.  We love the 50's Prime Time for both the food and the "show" the waiters and waitresses put on.  Never put your elbows on the table, or else!


Back in 1991 when we were getting ready to be married, my soon-to-be wife and I sat down and started planning our honeymoon trip.  I had thoughts of Hawaii or maybe Las Vegas dancing in my head like sugar plums on Christmas Eve!  My wife on the other hand, had other ideas.  Walt Disney World.

To be totally honest with you, I was bummed out.  Why would I want to go to a place that was built for little kids?  Oh and by the way, Disney World would be much more expensive than Vegas or Hawaii.  But let's face it, I would do absolutely anything for my wife, so it was a no brainer for me to get on the phone and get the trip booked.

Of course as newlyweds, we were pretty much broke, so flying down to Florida was out of the question.  So we hopped in my Isuzu 2 seater truck and off to Mickey's house we drove.  All 16 hours of it from Indiana!  Needless to say we couldn't afford a true Disney hotel so we chose a hotel on International Drive, which was just a short car trip to the Magic Kingdom.

After a good nights sleep and rest from the drive, my wife chose the Magic Kingdom as our first stop.  Great!  I couldn't wait to get on the "kiddie" rides.  At least maybe the food would be ok?

It would have been proper to have bought a Grumpy hat and shirt and put it on me the entire way over to the Magic Kingdom.  Bless my wifes heart for putting up with me and my attitude.  But you know what?  After only an hour in the park it was ME who was dragging my wife around the park!  I simply could not wait to see everything my eyes could take in.  The music, the sounds, the rides, the food, the ambience.  I wanted it all as quickly as I could get it.  Needless to say, I was hooked 100%.  And I have been for the last 18 years.  My favorite rides are (in order) Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain.

As always, my wife was right.  I know I was only 23 at the time, but I felt like a kid all over again.  We had the time of our lives and that week started a tradition of Disney trips that has continued every single year (sometimes twice a year) since then, including Disney Cruises.  We even got my Mother and Father-In-Law hooked and now they love Disney as much as we do.  Both of our families are proud Disney Vacation Club Members and we look forward to many more visits going forward.

As I said, I absolutely, categorically, positively, LOVE everything to do with Disney.  The theme parks, the food, the collectibles, the clothes, the moves, the music.  You name it, I love it.  And I really hope I get you to love it as well. 

Why?  Because there is simply not another feeling of joy and happiness that you can find anywhere else in the world.  It's not just the theme parks either.  Your love of Disney can be with you each and every day.  I always tell everyone who will listen that Disney is not just a place, it is a state of mind.  A euphoria that takes you back to a simpler time when play time was ALL the time.  Love is all around you, as Princesses are rescued by their Princes, toys love the kids who play with them, and Little Mermaids long to be understood and at last find true love.  The amazing food you get to eat at the parks can be made at home as well!  And the music and spiels that you hear on the rides can be played on your ipod any time at home.

Each day, or as often as I can, I will share some pictures with you and the stories that go with the pictures here on my blog.  I hope you will take the time to leave a comment as well.  Feel free to ask me anything you'd like about the pictures, or Disney, or well anything you'd like really.

My goal is to turn this blog into a book.  With this in mind, I encourage you to email me your Disney stories if you have them, or your Disney questions, if you have them, and especially your pictures, which I will include in my book.

Also, very soon, I hope to start my own podcast that I will publish on iTunes where I can further share my love for Disneyana in audio format.  I will also post the podcast here on the blog as well.

I hope you will hang around and enjoy my journey with me.  I have loved every minute of it and I truly look forward to sharing it with you and hope your love for Disney will grow as mine and my families have over the years.

So until next time.....M-I-C, I'll see you next blog post.  K-E-Y, why, because I LOVE DISNEY!  M-O-U-S-E!!!!

Bye for now!     Brad