Month: February 2017

Tuesday’s Tip- Traveling with Preschoolers

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Have you ever wondered if you’re crazy trying to take your preschool aged child to Disney World?  There is magic for children of all ages at Disney, including magic for your preschool aged child!  In fact, Disney has put together an entire PDF brochure to guide you to a magical trip with your preschooler!

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Click Below to print your own copy!

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Fun Fact Friday- Hall of Presidents Part 2

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Monday was President’s Day, so I published a rare “Fun Fact Monday” (it just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Fun Fact Friday!).  There is SO much to know about this attraction though, so today I would like to follow up with some more fun facts!

Fun Fact #1– The only place that you can see the Presidential Seal on display outside of the White House is at the Hall of Presidents.  In fact, it took Congressional approval for the seal to be displayed at the Magic Kingdom.  The seal is surrounded by a small fence to protect it from guests standing on it.

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Fun Fact #2– The Hall of Presidents opened up on October 1, 1971 when the Magic Kingdom first opened it’s doors, making it one of Disney World’s original attractions.  The attraction has been running for nearly 46 year now, and has to close every 4 to 8 years to undergo refurbishments to make way for the newest POTUS.  (The Hall is currently closed to make way for the new President Trump audio animatronic figure, and will re-open on June 29, 2017).

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Fun Fact #3- When Epcot’s Spaceship Earth needed audio animatronics, molds of the presidents were used for to speed up the process! Teddy Roosevelt was recreated into an Egyptian priest and again as a senator in Rome. James Buchanan was made into Johannes Gutenberg and can be seen standing next to the life changing printing press. Eisenhower is the lute player and the sculptor is actually from the mold of Ulysses S. Grant. Two more presidents, Franklin Pierce and John Tyler, can also be seen as scholars.

Be sure to follow Confessions of a Mouskaholic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Tuesday’s Tip- Using the Baby Centers at the parks

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High chairs, changing stations, formula, baby food, and toddler sized toilets… these are all things that you can find at the Baby Care Centers at Walt Disney World’s four theme parks.  Disney World is a place for families, including those with young children.  To make travel easier for all families, they have these centers to accommodate those with younger children.

In each Baby Care Center you’ll find the following

  • Private rooms with rocking chairs for nursing mothers
  • Changing room with tables and a unisex bathroom
  • Feeding area with high chairs
  • Kitchen with a microwave, oven, and sink
  • Main room with television, table, chairs, and sofa
  • Toddler sized toilets
  • An on-site shop that offers formula, baby food, juice, diapers, wipes, sunscreen, over the counter medication, and clothing for purchase.

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Where are these baby care centers located?

At the Magic Kingdom you’ll find the baby care center between Casey’s Corner and the Crystal Palace (just left of Main Street USA as you head towards Adventureland)

At Epcot you’ll find the baby care center in the Odyssey building.  This building is right in between future world, and Mexico, in the World Showcase.

At Animal Kingdom you’ll find the baby care center next to Pizzafari.  To to the left of the tree of life to get to Pizzafari, pass it, and it’ll be on the left.

At Hollywood Studios you’ll find the baby care center located in at the front of the park located in the guest relations building.

Worried about cleanliness?  No worries at all, each changing table is equipped with disposable paper liners, and dedicated Baby Center cast members will be ready with paper towels and other clean up supplies if necessary.

While you’re allowed to nurse your baby anywhere you like, these areas are air conditioned and equipped for all of your baby needs.  This includes pumping.  In each of  nursing rooms there are electrical outlets for you to plug in your pump.

Do you have an older child that you’re worried about what to do with them while you are taking care of the little one?  No worries, the toddler can relax in the small main lounge area.  On the tv you’ll find Disney movies, as well as books and coloring pages in the lounge area to keep them entertained.

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Fun Fact Monday?- President’s Day 2017

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Happy Monday from the Mouskaholic and Mr. Mouskaholic!  We’ve had an exciting weekend, creating and launching the “Confessions of a Mouskaholic” YouTube Channel!  If you missed it, check it here- Episode 1- Meet the Mouskaholics

If you’ve been following for a while now, you know that I normally dedicate my Monday posts to Disney Music and that Friday, is my “Fun Fact” day, however with the Monday holiday, it seemed more fitting to honor American history and a Magic Kingdom classic.

I will start off by first saying that the Hall of Presidents is currently closed for refurbishment.  With the election of our 45th President, Disney imagineers are hard at work creating the audio animatronic version of Donald J. Trump.  All of the presidents throughout American history are represented in this 23 minute theatrical style presentation.  The Hall of Presidents closed on January 17th and is set to re-open on June 29th, 2017.  (We will be on our trip to Disney World at this time, and will be sure to snap some photos!)

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Fact #1– The outside of the Hall of Presidents is designed to look like Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  The 1787 on the front of the building is representative of the year that the constitution was signed.

Magic Kingdom- Hall of Presidents
Independence Hall- Philadelphia

Fact #2– The auditorium inside the Hall of Presidents can accommodate 700 park goers at a time!  Don’t be discouraged if you see a long line for the attraction.  For this 23 minute show, turn over is quick, and nearly always is able to empty the queue when filling the auditorium.

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Fact #3– There is a “Hidden Mickey” cleverly disguised in a painting in the lobby.  So next time you’re in line for the attraction, be sure to look for the painting.  The Hidden Mickey can be located at the tip of George Washington’s sword.

Look for more fun facts about the Hall of Presidents in this coming Friday’s- Fun Fact Friday post!

Be sure to follow Confessions of a Mouskaholic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

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Instagram- @TheMouskaholic

Twitter- @TheMouskaholic

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Confessions of a Mouskaholic YouTube Channel is now LIVE!

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Mr. Mouskaholic and I are VERY proud to announce that we’ve created our very own YouTube Channel!  This is just one more way that you can get awesome info about our favorite places on earth- Disney Properties!

As of right now, we plan to do a monthly video, with hopes of eventually moving to a bi-weekly layout!  We are very excited to roll out this new feature to the blog, and to use it as a tool to help others learn about Disney, from tips for travel, to park and resort updates!

Here is a our very first video!

This is just a quick intro to the Confessions of a Mouskaholic channel!  We are already planning the content for our next video segment and are SOOO excited!

Huge shout out to Craig (Mr. Mouskaholic) for helping with the sound and video aspects of making this a reality!  While the blog has always been my outlet, I am really excited to share this new part of the adventure with Mr. Mouskaholic 🙂

Confessions of a Mouskaholic has also upped their social media presence!  Be sure to follow of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/mouskaholic

Instagram- @TheMouskaholic

Twitter- @TheMouskaholic

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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WDW Update- Resort updates and new at Hollywood Studios!

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Walt Disney once said- “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”  With that in mind, Walt Disney World is constantly evolving and changing.  Change to the property is inevitable, and there are some exciting changes coming soon to the WDW property!  There are some confirmed, and some just rumored.  We will start first with what we know for sure to be true.

  1. The Coronado Springs resort will be adding a 15 story tower, adding nearly 500 hotel rooms to its resort. Coronado Springs is in the moderate category of properties, but in addition to housing park going guests, it is also home to many conventions and meetings.  CS is one of 6 Disney resorts that host conventions.  At this time, it has 2 ball rooms, an exhibit hall and 45 breakout rooms. The facilities can hold over 6,500 people and are equipped with state-of-the-art lighting, audio and projection systems.  The addition of the tower is confirmed, but I can only guess that this addition will add to its convention hosting capabilities.  In addition to the rooms being added, it will also be adding a new “rooftop” dining experience  that overlooks the resort’s lake -“Lago Dorado,” and offers a panoramic view of the nearby parks and views of the fireworks show.screen-shot-2017-02-18-at-11-17-54-am(Artist rendering of the new tower at Coronado Springs.)
  2. Caribbean Beach’s “Centertown” will be undergoing some reimagination.  This update will include a new restaurant with waterfront dining, and more shopping opportunities.DSC04305.jpg
  3. Hollywood Studios will now be adding meet and greets with everyone’s favorite new droid from the Star Wars franchise, BB-8.  The adorable and spunky little guy will join Kylo Ren and Chewbacca at the Launch Bay for daily meet and greets.  No official date has been released, but Disney says “this spring.” screen-shot-2017-02-18-at-1-53-22-pm

 

Now for the rumor that is floating around.  If you follow the Mouskaholic on Facebook, you may have seen an article that I posted from the Inquisitor.  According to “WDW Magic,” permits have been filed to build various structures around the property for a new skyway system.  There used to be a small scale skyway system in place at the Magic Kingdom, and Disneyland, but those disappeared quite some time ago.  Rather than a small scale feature ride in the park, it is speculated (based on where the permits are filed for placement) that this will be a much larger scale skyway system in which large gondolas would be able to transport guests from select resorts to the parks.

Based on the permits filed, it looks like the skyway system would connect Pop Century/Art of Animation, Carribbean Beach, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.  While there are currently transportation systems in place, Disney is always looking for new ways to maximize efficiency, and be on the cutting edge of new things.

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Fun Fact Friday- The Size of Walt Disney World

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27,000 acres of land is owned by the Disney corporation in central Florida.  To give you an idea of how much land that actually is… 27,000 acres is 80 times the size of the nation of Monaco, twice the size of the island of Manhattan, and the size of the city of San Francisco.  Convert that from acres to miles, and it’s 47 square miles!  Keep in mind only 1,100 acres are taken up with the parks, while only 7,100 acres have been developed.

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Walt learned from Disneyland that outside developers and hotels would quickly surround his precious park.  He wanted space when he began to plan “Project X” or also known as the “Florida Project.”  To get the space needed Walt set up “dummy corporations” to operate under.  He knew that once it was announced that they were creating a park that the price of property would skyrocket.  So corporations like “M.T. Lott” (get it… empty lot!), “Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation” and several others went to central Florida to purchase the 27,000 acres of land.  The first acres of land were purchased for about $80.00 per acre.  After it was announced that Disney was purchasing the land, the price skyrocketed 1000% to $8000.00 per acre.

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With this land, the Disney corporation was able to create the magical world that we now know as Walt Disney World.  Even though Walt died prior to the opening of Walt Disney World, it has been a huge success!

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Musical Monday-Let it Go!

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The song Let it Go took the world by storm (pun intended) when Frozen hit the theaters in 2013.  The song, performed by Idena Menzel (or Adele Dazeem if you’re John Travolta… hahah!), was an instant hit.  I can remember very few car rides during about a 3 month period where I didn’t hear the song.

The popularity of the song lead to many parodies, spin offs, and covers.  It took me a while before I wanted to hear the song after it’s EXTREME over play on the radio, but when I did, this was hands down my favorite!  This is Brian Hull performance of Let it Go, featuring many beloved character voices!

Tuesday’s Tip-Grocery delivery

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Did you know that there are grocery services that you can order in advance from and have the groceries delivered to your resort?  This service is great, especially for long trips.  We’ve taken advantage of this 2 or 3 times and have had zero complaints!  The service is affordable and very convenient.

We’ve had great success using “Garden Grocer“.  The have an easy to navigate page where you can order essentials for your trip.  We typically order a few cases of bottled water, yogurt, bagels, granola bars, energy drinks, and maybe a little beer and wine.  These are all things that you can get at your resort food court, however the money that you can save is INCREDIBLE by using the grocery service.  Additionally when you place your order 60, 30, or 15 days in advance Garden Grocer offers a discount*!

So how does it work?

  • You begin by filling your cart.
  • Go to check out
  • Fill out your resort information (there is a drop down menu of Disney Resorts)
  • Let them know what day and time you’re checking in
  • Your groceries will be delivered to your resort on that day!
  • Don’t worry about your refrigerated items, the resort will keep them in their fridge!
  • When you get to your room call bell services and have them bring them to your room.

So what’s the catch?  There is a slight delivery fee, and an optional tip for the delivery.

Here is my sample cart-

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And the additional fees at check out

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So yes, this may seem pricey for what you’re getting BUT… compared to prices on Disney property this is a steal.  For example, 1 can of of Monster Energy drink is $2.89.  At the Disney resorts is about $4.50.  A bottle of water at Disney is $2.50 where you can get a case of 40 of them from garden grocers for $9.99 ($.25 per bottle!) By my best estimate for everything in my cart, it would cost approximately $230.00 to buy everything on Disney Property, so even if you tipped the delivery person $10.00 bringing the total to $81.29, you’re looking at a savings of $148.71!!!!

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*As I mentioned above you can save money by placing your order in advance- here are the details- “Take advantage of our special savings by ordering in advance, (15 Days= 5%, 30 Days= 7%, 60 Days= 10%) off your subtotal. **Note: Discounts do not apply to add-ons of any kind.”Screen Shot 2016-12-31 at 1.19.10 PM.png

One last note about Garden Grocer, if you’re ordering alcohol.  You will have to provide ID by scanning and faxing or emailing them your driver’s license.

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I hope you found this helpful! Don’t forget to tip the person from bell services who deliver your groceries to your room!  It’s a nice service, and a convenience for you!

Follow Confessions of Mouskaholic on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/mouskaholic and Instagram- @TheMouskaholic

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If you’re ready to book your next vacation be sure to email Ashley@charmingtravelsllc.com for your free quote.  Her booking and planning services are always free of charge.

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Musical Monday- “Try Everything” Cover by Home Free

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I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love the 2016 Disney Animated Movie “Zootopia.”  I thought that it had a great message about diversity, and about following your dreams.  In addition to the movie being great, I loved the MUSIC!  The character “Gazelle” is a pop star (and rights activist) in the animal world.  Her character was voiced by Shakira, and the big song from the movie was called “Try Everything.”  I love the rhythm, and the catchy melody for the song, as well as the animation that accompany’s it at the end of the movie.

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Today’s Musical Monday clip is by a country A Capella group called Home Free.  Home Free got their start on NBC’s show “The Sing Off.”  They were the winners of the show’s fourth season, and have gained great success with their original songs and covers.  Here is their cover of Shakira’s “Try Everything”

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