Limited Time Magic: Easter Egg Hunt in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Hi Mousers!


Just got back from 3 days in the park during Spring Break crowds! Woooo-weeee was it busy!
At one point after a parade, I turned around and could no longer see any part of Mainstreet's pavement. It was just a overflowing river of people and strollers.  Craziness!

It's good to take days easy when the park is that crowded.  Running around trying to hit every single attraction and grabbing fastpasses is a surefire way to run yourself ragged.  Especially when you have multiple days in the park.  I read a comment on Instagram this last week that I've adopted, as I love relaxing in the park, "Attractions are for tourists" LOL
It's true! I love going into Disneyland and DCA and taking in all the sights and sounds the park has to offer.  There are shows galore, food to eat, people to watch, characters to hang with, and music to tickle your ears!

Ok, I need to get to the point of this post!

This year, the parks have been marketing Limited Time Magic.  Which means that they'll be offering special attractions or happenings that are out of the ordinary for a certain amount of time.  Last week was an Easter Egg hunt all over DCA that awarded Vinylmation keychains to finishers.  A few months ago, there was the Golden Horseshoe Review and over at WDW special long ago characters appeared for meet and greets.

This week, in DCA, there was a special Easter Egg Hunt inside the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  We took advantage of the Annual Pass Holder early entry to the area (8am-9am) and had a lot of fun.  (Even though we were the ONLY adults climbing up the bridges and stairs LOL) There were eggs hidden along the trail that you had to identify with each part of a special map given to you upon entry.  Each egg had a corresponding letter that you used to decode a special Easter message! I'm not sure the purpose of hiding the individual badge icons on the map, but you scratched off the silver coating to reveal which one you were working on through the challenge.
There was also a little section on the bottom to identify the totem pole animals with their meanings.

After completing the challenge, you could attend the Wilderness Explorer Ceremony to receive your Egg Hunt badge.

The ceremony was really cute! If you haven't gone to see it before it's worth it to go at least once.  The group host starts it out, teaches you the WE motto, and soon Russell joins in after he finds the camp.  You may even get a peek at Kevin too!

This week is definitely worth going because Carl arrives just before the end donning a pair of fluffy white bunny ears along with Easter garland wrapped around his walker. Too CUTE!

Both are available for pictures after the ceremony and you are awarded your Egg Hunt badge, a Senior Wilderness Explorer Badge, and a peep!

If you're going to hit the parks at all through the weekend, go check it out! It will only be available through Easter Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

Disney Blogging World: CA vs FL

Hey Mousers!

Hope you all have had an excellent week and are "Parkin'" it up this weekend!

While sitting at my kitchen table this morning drinking my coffee, I was scrolling through my blog feed and skimming the latest news from the park.  I noticed something interesting and maybe it's just me, but have you noticed that there are a ton more blog sites covering parks in Florida vs California?

Granted there are quite a few more big parks than the resort in Anaheim and I don't doubt it takes an army to find all there is to know about WDW.  I just thought it was interesting as I scrolled through the blog names.

Disneyland blogs were the reason I started using a blog feed in the beginning. I wanted to keep up with every single piece of info that came out of the park. You start clicking on someone's link page and pretty soon you've hit 25 new blogs!

Then I discovered the feeds covering Walt Disney World.... and all my free time became a distant memory LOL

I guess there's no real point to this post other than pointing out my realization. I think I need to step up on this one and get some more content.

Yay for Spring Break and 3 days in Disneyland!!


Have a great weekend!

I have Luigi's Balls!

Bet that got your attention, didn't  it! *giggle*

I've managed to get my hands on a very awesome item that is now part of Disney history. 

Many of you eagerly awaited the opening of Carsland this past summer and were excited to finally be able to experience the type of attraction that once graced the Tomorrowland of yesteryear.  At last we'd get a glimpse of the beloved Flying Saucers that opened in Disneyland in 1961 by way of Luigi's Flying Tires in Disney's California Adventure.

Source

When this attraction first opened in summer of 2012 it was an enTIRE-ly (see what I did there?) different experience.  Guests would float around on huge oversized hover tires and bounce off each other in a round arena.  Added to the fun were giant oversized beach balls proudly bearing the flag colors of Luigi's home country. Italy! If any of you weren't able to get there this summer, it was quite the experience trying to use your weight for movement and simultaneously try to reach for beach balls, all the while avoiding being hit in the face by more flying through the air! It was a blast! 

But Luigi's Flying Tires hasn't closed.  Why do you say it's part of Disney history?

Unfortunately, the powers that be nixed the giant beach balls in August of that same summer.  They only lasted just a few months. 

Why would Disney remove them if they were so fun?

A Disney spokesperson stated at the time "We regularly make modification's to attractions to provide guests with the best possible experience"  What I take that to mean in simple terms is - people were getting smacked in the face with giant balls and didn't think it was very fun.  I heard from cast members that the attraction had the most incident reports out of all the resort and most were from the beach balls.

It wasn't uncommon to see this happening on one side of the attraction during the ride.  It didn't personally happen to me, but I'd be a little bit overwhelmed if it did LOL 

source

So unfortunately, Luigi was neutered, so to speak. 

Fortunately!  I have connections and was able to get a hold of something pertaining to my long intro in this post.  This past week while cruising Instagram, my feed let me in on a little Disney secret.  Cast members had access to purchase the unused, packaged beach balls from the attraction!  And it just so happened that I was in the right place and the right time to go get one! ... or two... ok, I got THREE! 

I now have possession of the historical beach balls that caused so much commotion and apparent injury on this attraction.  They will be safely stored inside their packaging and I have no inclination to take them out and use them.  

Luigi's famous beach balls 

So there ya have it! If anyone was wondering what happened to all the beach balls, they were put in a giant bin and sent over to Company D for Cast members to purchase.  If you want to grab some and don't know any Cast Members, I suggest you make friends QUICK! There were lots of them but plenty of CMs were on their way to Company D to buy. 

Hope you guys all have a GREAT weekend! Hit the parks and enjoy the new Fantasy Faire that opened up! 

Magical Memories

Hey Mousers!

I'm going to be starting a new series on this blog about special memories I've had at the Disney parks.  Nowadays, it seems a lot harder to find the "Disney Experience" when you try to cram so much into a few days at the parks.  The crowds are larger, space is smaller, things are more expensive.  If you tend to race around trying to hit all the major attractions, a lot of times in your haste, you miss the magic of Disney.
Disney should be an experience, not a checklist.

The first and probably most magical thing that has ever happened to me was my experience with DCAToday.  For those of you who might not be familiar, DCAToday was the first Disney presence on Twitter.  They interacted with guests and fans around the world using social media.

 I have previously written about it and decided I would link it here instead of rewriting it, but it's still fresh in my mind.  When ever I think about it, it makes me smile.


If you haven't read it please click here : Carthay Circle Theater and DCAToday


I have another fun post in the works, so check back later!



Hope you all have a fantastic thursday!!

Beautifully Disney Make Up Collection!

Happy happy weekend!!

Hope you guys have had a great week! If you haven't already and are a fan of ABC's show Once Upon A Time, go check out my previous post about a special Q&A session I was able to attend this past Sunday!

Something else exciting happened this last week! Disney launched their own high end make up line at the resorts! It's called Beautifully Disney and features products with both princesses and villains.

This past Saturday the store Vault Disney located in Downtown Disney was holding make over sessions using the products from the line "Wickedly Beautiful". They had a DJ out to dance to and girls, both young and old, were able to get their nails done or have their make up done inside.
The display featured below was located in The World of Disney store where I purchased some goodies. Vault Disney also had a display inside but it wasn't the same as the main advertising campaign.

So what's in the line?

Disney really worked hard on bringing us a new high end product line for big kids haha. They've had such success with collaborations such as Mac, Urban Decay, Sephora and E.L.F., it's about time they came up with their own.

"Wickedly Beautiful"

In this debut collection, named "Wickedly Beautiful", we see two 4-shadow eye pallets, a princess and a villain line of lip glosses, and a matching line of princess/villain nail polishes. They also had several sizes of cosmetic bags available as well with matching patterns. Lastly, a very uniquely designed compact featuring both Snow White and the Queen.
The Princesses featured in this line, which is seasonal, are Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White. On Team Villain we have Ursula, the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and Lady Tremaine.

The main color schemes are very feminine and are able to appeal to the adult masses.  Sometimes make up lines featuring princesses tend to look like they're geared towards little girls and juvenile, but this line is completely beautiful. The patterns have a Baroque feel with pinks, purples, reds and blacks and while they're similar, each bag has its own unique pattern. Very pretty.

Display case

I, of course, went straight for the Ariel themed merchandise!! You know I'll be rushing to buy when Sephora launches their Ariel collection.

I walked out with a green sparkly nail polish "Ocean Mist", a deep purple nail polish "Diva of the Deep", and a peachy nude lip gloss "Mysterious Mermaid".  I was very impressed with the nail polish! I'm pretty rough on my nails and they lasted from Saturday night to Wednesday before any chips happened. That's 4 full days!! That's insane for me! Haha, I actually might go back and get more.  The polish jars have little icons on top of the lid that coordinate with the character it's named after.  "Diva of the Deep" is obviously a nod to Ursula and it had her shell necklace icon on the top.  "Ocean Mist" for Ariel, had a single shell icon of her shell bra :)

This collection will be out through the end of March and then the summer line, "Unlock the Spell" debuts in May. After that we have "Fiery Spirit" in the works.  Disney announced there is a Winter line being finalized but a name has not.

I for one am super excited about all of these. I was impressed with the color range in all the items and I would have purchased more but I currently have too much make up to get through! Haha! I'm very curious if foundations or other face powders will make their way into the collections.
There were a few things I wish had been different but they're just my personal preference. I wish the cosmetic bags had the option to get just the princesses or just the villains on some. I personally would rather have just the princesses instead of both. Another thing was that the names of the polishes were stickers that easily come off on the bottom. I'd like to see them permanently on the bottle because that's part of the fun!

Be sure to get the bag when you check out!

If you haven't checked out the make up line, and are able to get yourself down to the parks (It's at Walt Disney World too!), go take a look!  Everything is super fun and since it is a limited line, it will be gone at the end of the month.

Did any of you guys get a chance to look?  Buy anything?



Hope you all have a great weekend!! Check back for another awesome post coming up, I was able to get my paws on some Disney history!

Once Upon A TIme Q&A Panel!

Hey Mousers!


I had a very exciting weekend I'm still recovering from.  I was very fortunate to be invited to a Q&A session for the ABC show "Once Upon A Time".
If you haven't' ever seen it, it's basically a mash up of fairytales gone wrong both in their make-believe land and in present day.  It's cleverly written and produced by the same people as LOST, another one of my favorite shows. The first season is out on DVD as well as on Netflix, so now's your chance to check it out! No excuses! ;)

The Q&A was heavily sponsored by Hulu plus and is part of Paleyfest at the Sabon Theater in Beverly Hills.  It features special previews for different hit shows, a panel of the cast and insight into the next season as well as questions from the audience at the end.

this theater was so pretty!

In attendance for the panel was Colin O'Donoghue (Hook) - who was limping from a broken leg *sad panda* , Emilie De Ravin (Belle), Robert Carlyle (Rumpelstiltskin), Lana Parrilla (Evil Queen), Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow), Josh Dallas (Charming), Jennifer Morrison (Emma) and last but not least creators Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis.

We got to view the sunday nights episode (this was in the afternoon before it aired) on a huge theater screen and then got to see the first act of next weeks! In next weeks episode we get to see a little more about the Evil Queen's mother, Cora who's played by Rose McGowan!

After that they introduced the panel one by one and thats when the fun began!  It was so cool to see each actors individual personality and watch them interact.  You don't get that in other interviews or photo ops.

Some new things we discovered in the Q&A:

Robert Carlyle talked about Rumple's relationship with his son, Bae, and how we still don't know if he has learned his lesson about magic vs family.  He gave up his son to stay in the magical world and when talking to Bae in NY - after spending a lifetime searching for him, he told him he could change back time to start over.... meaning using magic again.  We also learned about the Seer's message regarding Henry and his "undo'ing". We don't know if magic will win over the love for his grandson.... OR if the undo'ing is actually a bad thing...
*those guys are such a tease!*

Lana Parrilla talked about the Evil Queen giving up on being good for now.  She related that she believes the Queen is still the heartbroken girl suffering from the loss of her beloved Daniel but she's pushing that way down deep.  "The Queen's Redemption Tour has been postponed!"
She finished that up with this statement and a little half smile, "I'm sure some of you miss the Evil Queen..... Me too! Should we bring her back?!"

On Episode 17 "Welcome to Storybrook"
We'll be viewing the first week of the curse, the very beginning of Storybrook when all the characters have alternate identities.  There will more insight into the time frame, 1983, in the modern world and how the evil queen figures things out.
We will be seeing the huntsman again! YAY! As well as Pinocchio/August! and Billy the Mechanic
This is the big episode that leads into the 2-part finale.

No plans for Jefferson to return anytime soon as the Mad Hatter.   They're not recasting anyone but his schedule has not allowed him to return to his character.

Big Belle episode coming up! Belle is going to have another identity AGAIN!  Right now she's been hit with a magical amnesia and when she "remembers", almost like David/Charming last season, she will have another personality: "Lacey".  Everyone hinted that she might live up the the "racy Lacey" nickname and that things are going to get a bit interesting with Mr. Gold! haha Can't wait!

Questions came up regarding visiting other lands in the future episodes.  Answer... YES!

Star Wars also became a topic in regards to the strangers ringtone.  Many internet sites had been buzzing about the Lucasfilm tie-in and Disney's recent purchase.  Rumors of Star Wars coming to Storybook are plentiful.  Unfortunately, the franchise will not be making an appearance outside of a few shout outs from the creators.  They're huge fans and happened to be able to fit it in there just for fun.

Final 2 episode titles...
"Second Star to the Right..."
"And straight on til' morning!"
- which means the new Land is NEVERLAND!  - but we won't get to meet any significant characters from there until Season 3.



Some of my favorite moments
- Lana saying she's ready for Snow to "Bring It!"
- when asked if Disney had any restrictions on characters as far as showing a different darker side to the good two-shoes, the answer was "We can pretty much do what we want!"
- Robert Carlyle after being shushed by Eddie on a character development question on Rumple, "That's what's hard about coming to these things to do these interviews and talk about stuff because you can't actually talk about anything!!"
- Emilie's accidental LOST comparison of Belle (OUAT) and Claire (LOST).
- Lana turning Robert into a punching bag when he makes faces about taking his character's grandson, Henry, down.
- Questioning Colin if his guyliner was the same brand as Richard Alpert - who was a fictional character on LOST
- the continuous side glances
- Robert's explanation of the "Bowl of Soup" joke
- Joking Capt Hook's Storybrook identity would have been a Sushi Chef!
- in general, Eddie and Adam's ability to answer a question without actually answering the question!
- creating the hashtag #lovinglincoln

Again, it was so much fun being able to sit in on this.  As you can see, we weren't in with all the cool media and hard core fans, so the pictures aren't the best quality but it was so worth it!
If you would like to watch the entire panel, it is available on huluplus as well as through TVlive here

Thanks so much for following along!

I'll leave  you with one last picture - my kitten was thoroughly entertained with the video feed while I was getting this all together.  :)

Check back later this week for some more posts on fun Disney things!

Have a great week!

Once Upon A Time, Park props, and Disney Cosmetics!

Stay tuned this week for some really fun posts! This weekend was a pretty eventful 2 days and I have a lot to share with you guys!!

Can't Wait!