Halloween 2017

Halloween, I hate saying it's my favorite holiday because really, every holiday is my favorite, as we all know!

But i really have come to love this holiday! I grew up for the better part of my life not celebrating it. There was a few years we had "harvest" parties where once I dressed up as baby. But that's about as far as my Halloween traditions went. Because of that, I guess I never really even got into the decor of Halloween. I just decorated for fall. But, the past couple years the girls have really pushed for it so I have decorated & loved it! We don't go all gorey & scary but just a bit of spooky-ness!

Of course, our favorite is family costumes. Every year we sit down & pick out our theme. The girls come up with them, & then we narrow it down on who will be what & what I can make. I try always make/repurpose everything we wear. Be it dying clothes, cutting & sewing things on other garments ect. It keeps costs down & is alot of fun! Our favorite part is asking our friends & family what they think we will be. We never tell, & everyone waits til Halloween night to find out!

Here are some from years past:

I've been having some health issues lately & insanely busy that my costume this year, just got away from me. We couldn't come up with just the character for me; & when we did I Just didn't have enough time or energy to come up with something!

This year our theme is the terribly under-rated  Wreck It Ralph:

Kensley was Vanellope Von Schweetz:

From top to bottom: Candy buttons & Licorice are clay hair clips, sweatshirt was just a plain Hanes sweatshirt with fushia cord cut & sewn to mimic the cartoon, the skirt was from goodwill, it was originally lime green but I dyed it brown, the leggings: are footless tights that I hand-painted t mimic as well. Then we sprayed her hair black for overall look!

Kennedy was Fix-it Felix Jr.

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Disney Vacation: Our Favorite Character Dining {in the Parks}

Disney Vacation:
Our Favorite Character Dining {in the Parks}

If you know us, you know we don't just love Disney. We live for Disney. It's our absolute favorite of everything, movies, characters & of course Disney World.

I love planning our Disney Vacations. It gets me so excited & I take a lot of time going into detail planning our trips, even with a travel agent.

One of the biggest part of planning for us as a family, is dining. Since our girls our young, getting in character dining really helps seeing the characters so you aren't standing in long lines & gets us some great interaction. With your reservation you can book your dining 180 days out from arrival date.

I always have a list of what I want to aim for ahead of time so I am not scrambling in the morning hurrying on line to get them.

To help ya'll I have put together a list of some of our absolute favorite dining options at Walt Disney World IN the parks.
I will round up resort character dining in another post!
Please remember all character are subject to change at all restaurants.

Please remember all character are subject to change at all restaurants.

EPCOT:

Garden Grill

Garden Grill is right above Living with the Land. I mention this because I always suggest going on the ride prior to eating at the Garden Grill. Our side salad was made of all veggie & fruit grown right below on the land ride! It is so neat & the girls really got a kick out of that. Another neat part of the garden grill is it is moves in circular motion. I know that sounds crazy, & mostly because it is; but it is AMAZING. It goes super slow that you really don't even notice you are moving it is going so slow. So you don't need to worry about motion sickness. The next thing you know you are half way turned around!
This meal is family style.

Characters: Mickey {in a super cute farmer get up}, Pluto, Chip & Dale

Akershus

If you have a princess lover your family this is one of the top options for your family, that is only 1 dining credit! As opposed to 2 for Cinderellas Royal Table. We always go for breakfast. You get a family skillet with basic sausage, bacon, eggs, hash browns ect then there is a buffet of other random breakfast items. The food here isn't my personal favorite. But it is for Brandon & girls! You only meet Belle at the very beginning waiting to be seated where you get a photopass photo with her. The rest of the princesses go table to table. They also do a little "royal parade" that children can participate in where they walk around the dining room.
This meal is family style & buffet.
Characters: Belle, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel & Cinderella

Magic Kingdom:

Crystal Palace

This is one of our ALL time favorites. & always a must. We always go for breakfast & it is one of favorite breakfast spots! The whole place makes you feel nostalgic & we love getting sat over by the "river" The food is buffet style, with traditional breakfast foods & of course mickey waffles. The girls love that they have a small, & shorter buffet bar that is their size so they can get their own food.

Characters: Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Tiger

Cinderellas Royal Table:

This is the holy grail of dining reservations. It s 2 dining credit meal, which mean it is pricey. Which is why I only recommend this one to do once. The food is good, small servings. But very good. But not worth the 2 dining credit in my opinion. Going up the spiral staircase is enough to get even the non-disney addicts heart pounding.I mean hello, your IN Cinderellas Castle! It's so beautiful. You only see Cinderella at the bottom of the stairs for a quick photo. All princesses come around like other character dining. You get a wishing star, & a wand {swords for boys} they do a wishing ceremony that is so neat & will make your kids really believe in the magic! I recommend dinner, Its delicious & a 4 course meal.

Characters: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Snow White & Aurora

Hollywood Studios:

Hollywood & Vine

This is the only character dining available in HS, currently. {as of 2017} Breakfast is Disney Junior Characters , & dinner is Hollywood glam. We love this restaurant. Service is always amazing & it does feel very diner-ish! It is buffet! You start coming in getting a quick picture with Mickey in his fancy Hollywood get up. Hes so handsome! The buffet is american food & has the best desserts! The girls even were awarded best dressed awards from the staff. So fun! During holidays, it turns seasonal to the holiday for Minnie Holiday Dine. For dinner, there is a photopass option.

Characters: 

Breakfast - Disney Junior Play & Diner:
UPDATED: Doc McStuffins, Vamprina, Sofia the First, Goofy from Mickey Roadster Racers
{previous to 2018} Handy Manny , Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, & Jake

Lunch & Dinner - Minnie's Seasonal Dine:
 Mickey, Daisy, Minnie, Goofy

Disney Junior Play & Dine: 
These Disney Jr pics are circa 2015, look how sweet & tiny they are!!

Dinner Minnie Silver Screen Dine:

 UPDATED 2018 Minnie Christmas Dine:

Animal Kingdom

Tusker House:

Again, this is the only character dining in this park. It isn't one of our favorite food choices. This is a buffet as well. But we love seeing the fab five in there safari get up! Character are there for all meals!

& there you have it! Our favorite character dining experiences in the parks! Next up I will break down our favorite Character Dining experiences in the Resorts!

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Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Disney's Art of Animation Resort

If you are looking into a resort for your Walt Disney World Vacation & have little girls or boys, I am sure Art of Animation is on your list!

Of course with our girls, The Little Mermaid Room was at the top of their list.

Though, this is a value resort. It is usually, priced higher than some moderate resorts.

It does however, in the Little Mermaid rooms, have the room size & bed size of a value resort despite it's price. Meaning, the room is less than spacious & it has double beds instead of queens.

For us, we spend such little time in our room that staying in a value room isn't a big of a deal right now with the age of our kiddos.

The Little Mermaid rooms are the only rooms at Art of Animation.

The rest of the room options are suites. They are themed: Lion King, Finding Nemo, & Cars. You will need a suite is you have a family bigger than 4 people.

Note: If you choose a Little Mermaid room, know you are going to do some walking. It is the furtherist from the lobby & therefore furthest from the buses. We always rent a car, so it wasn't a issue for us. But something worth noting.

 The Nemo Suites are closest to everything.

What you are paying for here is plain to see. & that is the themeing. IT IS AMAZING. 

Everywhere you look, you can't help but smile!
It's Disney goodness at its absolute best!

There is 3 pools at AOA.

The Finding Nemo pool is the biggest & the most busy for a reason!

They always have something going on at this pool, it is the biggest & the most fun, in my opinion.

Close by there is a splash pad for the little ones as well!

Pro Tip:

Go underwater at this pool & you can hear music! They stream in music underwater!

The little mermaid pool is the less busy of the 3. 

& the cars pool themeing is the cutest, offering cones as a sort of cabana for those that want to have some shade at the pool & a little privacy!

Whatever room or suite you end up staying in, make sure you carve out at least a hour to walk around the grounds. Attention to detail in each section is amazing!

First starting in the back, you have the Little Mermaid section:

Second, Lion King section. There is a fun place for kids to play in the "elephant grave yard" my girls love it!

The Finding Nemo Section, is mostly the pool area.

PRO TIP:

When you get close to the seagulls listen. You can hear them doing the iconic "MINE"!

& finally the Cars section, which is out of this world! It is SO cool! The side walk is made to look like a road, & as you make your way to the "cozy cone" you get to pass all of your favorite characters! Also, as of March 2019, which I believe will be changing in May of 2019 is the only place to see McQueen & his friends!

As with all of the other Disney resorts, the activities put on at this resort is extensive. Always, always make sure you check out your resorts schedule! You could spend a whole day at the resort alone, without ever stepping foot in the parks! We love the outdoor movies nights they had!

We had such a blast at AOA. And if you have younger kiddos, you can not go wrong with this resort. There is something there for everyone in the family!

Looking for other Disney Value Resorts? Love Toy Story?  Check out our stay at All-Star Movies Resort HERE!

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