My Favorite Disney Souvenir

My last couple of post were about my trip to Disney and Halloween. What could be better than combining the two? Ok, so maybe Disney and Christmas? Hmmm, that post can wait for a later date.

So, my favorite Disney souvenir? Actually, everything I bought at Disney is my favorite :) I mean, come on? Anything bought at Disney has to be a favorite..right!?!

Disney World opened a new shop over by The Haunted Mansion called Momento Mori (as seen here) about a year ago. It sells all things Haunted Mansion. I wanted to buy up the whole store. The Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite rides. Which I find somewhat funny because I don't really like scary things and I can remember being terrified on it when I was a kid.

What did I buy? Plates, dish towels, something with the hitch hiking ghosts on it? 

Nope.

This.

Don't mind the glare from the flash. It was a rainy, dark day.

I LOVE this photo!! They sit you down and tell you to be still and they take the photo. All creepy like! You have to wait about 10 minutes( we did anyway) and then a bell rings and a creepy cast member comes over and opens a cabinet and hands you the photo. My sister and I couldn't resist!!! As long as they are offering this photo and as long as I go to Disney I will get this photo taken!!! Next time I'll try a creepier expression.

On a side  note---my grandmother or great-grandmother made the runner. My Mom wanted me to have it and try and fix it up. Yeah...I'm not that talented. H saw it and decided that it would make a great Halloween runner. And right she was! It works perfectly!

I hope ya'll have had a nice weekend. Mine was lazy and full of wind and rain. Thanks Patricia. With that being said I want to offer up prayers for all those in Mexico who got the worst of it and everyone else dealing with flooding!

Gearing Up for Halloween

 

Making some tombstones. Not quite finished. I need to come up with something to write on them.

I made some apothecary bottles. Most were made from old pill bottles and one was a hand soap bottle. Mine and H's favorite is the brown "ash of skulls". It's just so creepy!! I really had fun making these. Now, every time I see any kind of bottle, my brain goes into overdrive thinking about what I can do to it to creep it up!

I saw this on Pinterest and LOVED it. It worked out SO well. I thought for sure I'd have a "nailed it" with this. It really is extremely simple. Just spray paint a halloween bucket with some stone spray paint. Done!

 That's Big Al in the fireplace. H named him. The story is that we found Al's remains...he crossed the family and was stuffed in fireplace....said in my best mobster voice....which isn't good at all. Simba had a high ole' time exploring the fireplace!

 And last but not least is Lil' Al. All we found was the head. I made the toboggan to wear with my Mr. Smee costume I'll be wearing to a friends Disney Villains party. It just works for Lil' Al, doesn't it? 

We have never really done a lot of decorating for Halloween. No reason really, I just never bought the stuff. We are slowly adding onto what little we have. My goal is to give the place a bit of The Haunted Mansion from DisneyWorld. I'm failing miserable but it is fun trying!!

 

A Bit More of Disney

My sister made some Mickey hand parade wavers. I know. We didn't have any kids with us but she thought it would be fun and we had plans to pass them off to some kids when we were done with them. Hmm. We never were done with them. I understand your confusion. 

Before the parade started we killed some time over on Tom Sawyer's Island. Almost the best part of the trip. I was taking a selfie in one of the gold mine shaft( I had to prove to H that I actually went in a small, dark space) and my sister photobombed me with herself and the Mickey hand. And thus a Disney Picture Taking Prop was born. From that moment on it was in almost every picture we took. Yes, she is 51 and I am almost 50 and we acted totally silly at Disney with a Mickey hand. 

 On Tom Sawyer's Island, Magic Kingdom

 

 Looking across from Tom Sawyer's Island to Big Thunder Mountain

 Near the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom

 On the Expedition Everest ride at Animal Kingdom

 Same as above

 The Tree of Life..Animal Kingdom

 Coming into Magic Kingdom

 Hollywood Studios. Notice the giant Magicians Hat is gone. I didn't think I would like it gone but I do!

 Heading to the best ride EVER! Front row is the only way to go!!

 Just before the Star Tours ride. I giggle like a little girl on this ride. It cracks me up for some reason.

Epcot

These are just a few of the Mickey hand pictures we took. Most of them are just too silly to post. Silly little things that tickled my sister and I. We are already trying to figure out how we can go back. It'll probably be years before we can go again. Too many other trips to plan. Not to mention my husband is getting a bit tired of me going off and having fun without him :) He can come anytime he wants!!!

Hope ya'll have a lovely weekend!

Heat and Feet 2015: My Disney Trip

My Disney trip has officially been dubbed Heat and Feet 2015. Pretty obvious why! The heat was rough. And the feet? Well, blisters abounded! Not to mention how they hurt due to all the walking.

Other than the heat and the feet, it was an ABSOLUTELY fantastic trip!

There were a few highlights to the trip. We met some incredible people. From young teens to newlyweds to well established couples. Not to mentions some great Cast Members. Shout out to Travis and Edwin and Jose!!

The best part of the trip was riding in the front row of Rock N Roller Coaster, discovering that the guns really make shooting noises at the fort on Tom Sawyer's Island, and being terrified, for some reason, on the Dinosaur ride.

Rock N Roller Coaster: I had read somewhere that you could ask to ride in the front row. We did. I had NO IDEA that there was a separate queue for that. The most awesome ride experience EVER! If you have never ridden in the front DO IT.

Tom Sawyer's Island: When my sister and I were younger we played cowboys A LOT. We always tried to build forts with my cousins. And  imagined our backyard/cul-de-sac as a fort. Well, Walt got it right on TSI. It was perfect. The rifles up in the little turrets/parapets really made the shooting sound. When we pulled the trigger we both gasped and danced around the little room. It was like we were transported back to being kids. It was amazing. There is even a mine shaft at one end of the island that we were able to walk through with no one else around. Again, transported back to being kids.

Dinosaur ride: There were maybe 5 of us total on the ride when, I think, it can seat about 16. My sister and I were in the very back row. Very exposed feeling. I'm guessing that is why we were terrified. We screamed and laughed and screamed some more. SO MUCH FUN!

My sister made some Mickey hands to wave during the parade. Being the people that we are, the wavers became props. Of course we had to have them in just about every picture we took. You know, pointing things out, on the hand rails etc. Again, SO MUCH FUN. I'm sure some people will be talking about those two dorky women with the Mickey hands for a long time!!!

So with out further ado I'll start with pictures of our hotel-Pop Century and our walk over to Art of Animation

Pop Century was a great hotel. Standard as far as hotels go. The Disney kitsch was great. I do prefer All Star Movies kitsch better though. Buzz and Woody are the best!

Next time I might try a stay at Art of Animation. 

Disney Countdown

And so it begins. The Disney countdown. Ok, I just lied to you. I've been counting down since day 60.

Only 4 days to go. Only 2 if you are counting when I leave for my sisters. 

I have been busy. And tired. I don't know if I'm a normal tired because I've been on the go or extra tired because of being sick. Though I really don't feel sick. I'm still feeling congested in the chest but still no other symptoms. I have been faithfully taking my anti-biotics.

Now here is my itinerary for the upcoming 10 days.

9/5 Sat. : Finish washing clothes/packing. Clean up the house. Get lunch stuff ready for the ice chest. Go to  evening Confession/Mass. Yea, gotta get the soul in good order before a road trip :)

9/6 Sun. : Get up and GO. I don't have a set time to wake up but I'm sure I'll be up between 4 and 5 am. As soon as I have the van packed I'm hitting the road. Of course, I will say all my good-byes and get my hugs and kisses. I will be snacking in the car because my Mom will have a great lunch waiting for me when I get there. Roast beef, gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese. My all time favorite meal my Mom makes!!!! It should take  7- 8 hrs to get to the Baton Rouge area. Head to the store with my sister and get any last minute things we might need.

9/7 Mon. : Happy Labor Day! Get up bright and early and GO. We will be driving to Ocala, Fla. Shouldn't be too bad. Ocala is about 1 1/2 hrs from Orlando and it should take about 10 hrs. Easy, Peasy with 2 drivers!

9/8 Tues. : Check In at Pop Century. WOO HOO. We'll wander around a bit and take some pictures then head on over to Epcot! Supper at the Coral Reef restaurant!

9/9 Wed. : Hollywood Studios day! Lunch at Sci-Fi Diner! Ride Rock N Roller Coaster multiple times in-between riding Tower of Terror multiple times!!!

9/10 Thurs. : Magic Kingdom day. We will hit rope drop at Early Magic Hours. Park opens at 8am so we need to be there at least by 7:30. Not a problem!!! We plan on staying ALL day. Boy, I sure hope I can keep up!! Lunch at Be Our Guest.

9/11 Fri. : Moment of silence. Animal kingdom day. Just gonna take it easy and see what we can see.  No particular place to eat this day. Just gonna wing it.

 

(We have park hopper tickets so when we are finished with one park we can "hop" to another.)

9/12 Sat. : Hit the road back to Louisiana. Driving straight through. Again easy, peasy with 2 drivers.

9/13 Sun. : Mass and take it easy at my sisters! Restock my ice chest for the drive home.

9/14 Mon. : Get up bright and early and hit the road. Make it safely back home to the loving arms of my family :)

 

9/15 Tues. : Throwing this extra day in there.....DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 

 

I am going to be SO tired. But SO happy.

 

 Just one of my bags full of stuff to take.

 Just a few of the shirts I will be wearing. I have a Mickey/Minnie shirt to wear every day of my trip. Yes, I'm a bit of a goober.

 My little bag of "mouse"keeping tips, and "would you rather" game cards, tape etc.

 Water bottles I did up with duct tape. 

 A little goodie basket for my sister. A crochet "Minnie" ear warmer and little mister bottle, a Mickey key chain and gift card and the Gold Mine bubble gum. We used to get these all the time. And I thought it would do nicely with the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train ride.

 And my best friend. Pooh. I think I might take him with me. He needs to be on Disney property at least once in his life. You can tell that he has been a much loved best friend!! I got him when I was just a wee little lass of 1.

Now these sad things.

 Hmm, they don't look too bad here.

but...

Then we get to here. They didn't quite turn out how I wanted. Isn't that always the case? At least with me :) 

I really wanted to do some nice Mickey rice crispy treats. I think I need to make them a bit thicker and they will work better. The little ears tended to sag a bit. And the chocolate wasn't thin enough. I know, excuses, excuses. 

I really am SO excited about my trip. I'm really looking forward to spending the time with my sister. You know, I don't think we have ever spent time alone together. Ever. Not on a trip anyway. Kids, husbands, parents were always around. It should be interesting!!!!