This Mom's Disney Fastpass+ Reservation Walk-Thru

Disney's Fastpass+ Reservations can now be made up to 60 days in advance!! Don't be late in making your Disney Fastpass+ reservations for your next Disney World Vacation! Hopefully this video will help you know just what to do when making your first reservation and linking it with your MagicBands!! Have a Magical Day!!

This Mom Is Excited about the New MagicBands at Disney!!

This Mom is REALLY excited about the roll out of the new MagicBands at the Disney Resort this month!  Yes, there will be glitches and growing pains in the beginning, but these bands have the potential to really benefit all Disney families in the near future!

If you have a Disney vacation booked in 2014, you can already log into "MyDisneyExperience" and customize your family's set of MagicBands - including name and color for each! Order your Magicbands ahead of your trip and have them shipped to your home!

These MagicBands will take the place of your previous "Key to the World" and will hold ALL of your travel information, reservations, fast passes and more! You will even be able to pay with them!

This Mom is TOTALLY Siked about the NEW "Festival of Fantasy" Parade COMING SOON!!!!

Admittedly, This Mom is quite the Disney trip planner, and when I was making out our future daily plans for our upcoming Disney World trip in April... I was slightly concerned I could not find any major afternoon parade listed in the Magic Kingdom.  So upon further research, I have JUST learned there will be a NEW PARADE called "Festival of Fantasy" coming soon (March 2014) to the Magic Kingdom and it will feature brand new floats and more!  I could not be more excited!!!  The Disney Blog says that this new parade will specifically highlight the stories of “Sleeping Beauty,” “Dumbo,” “Pinocchio,” “Peter Pan,” and “Tangled” among others.  Other floats on tap for the parade will celebrate Disney Princesses in a Royal Court Garden float. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider will appear on a longship off on a search for another “Best. Day. Ever.” And Peter Pan and Wendy will soar high above on a pirate galleon ship, joined by Captain Hook, Mr. Smee and Tinker Bell

Below are the Disney Artists' renderings of some of the floats!!

This Mom's Ultimate Checklist of what to take to the Disney Parks!

OK Guys - here we go - HELP ME make the Ultimate list of What to take with you to the Disney Park for the Day!!!  I will continue to add to this list - please comment with your suggestions and ideas too!!

ABOVE ALL ELSE - Have a PLAN!!
Then....
1- Comfy & compact bookbag to carry your supplies in!
2- smartphone with AWESOME apps showing Disney World wait times!!
3- camera
4- ponchos (& gallon zip-lock bag to stash them once wet)
5- water bottle
6- hand sanitizer!
7- travel sized sunscreen
8- pain relievers and antacids (Just trust me)! 
9- band-aids
10- sunglasses (it's sunny in FL!)
11- extra memory cards/batteries for camera!
12- snacks
13- trinkets to keep little ones busy while waiting in lines

Why This Mom Thinks Disney Princesses are the Best!

Meeting ANY Disney character is exciting, but there is something totally enchanting about meeting the "Face" Characters, like the Princesses, who speak to you and ask you questions and interact with you and your children. They have been trained to fit their part very well and always stay in character! Every time we have had the opportunity to meet with them, either out in the parks for a meet & greet or during lunch at the Castle, the Disney Princesses have always taken their time with us and it has made such an impression! This is a video of when my children were about to have their picture taken with Belle at Epcot last year. She didn't just rush them into position and pose for the camera, even though there were others waiting to have their picture made... She took the time to learn their names and get to know them a little. She really made them feel special. As we walked away, they could not stop smiling, they were so excited!

This Mom Loves Eating at Cinderella's Royal Table!!

Located in Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom, this chance to dine with the Disney Princesses INSIDE the most famous castle of all time, was our favorite Character Dining!! This was QUITE the royal experience! They first have you come in and have your picture taken with Cinderella herself. She talks to each child when you first arrive and hug them and take pictures. This is your chance to see Cinderella, since she won't be joining the rest of the princesses (Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine & Arial) upstairs while you eat. The castle is just as ornate and elaborate on the inside as it is on the outside! Unbelievable! After the first set of pictures, we were taken up a spiral staircase to a gorgeous dining hall complete with royal wait-staff and stained glass windows overlooking all of Fantasyland. Everyone who came to the table called us by Lord, Lady Princess, and Young Knight. They brought our daughter and son each a magic wand and a sword, and a wishing star. The meals were fancy and DELICIOUS! Maybe it was just the fact we had spent the whole morning walking, but I thought it was some of the best food I had tasted! Each of the Princesses come around to speak to your children and hug them and take pictures. It was the most magical lunch I have ever attended in my life. My daughter especially could not stop smiling and it was so precious! Then we each had desserts and at the end of the meal, they brought us a wonderful photo package of her with Cinderella which was included with the meal (which totaled $175 - but again – completely covered by our dining plan!!!). Stats: Character breakfast: $43 adults, $28 children; Character lunch $46 adults, $29 children; Character dinner, $54 adults, $33 children. *Note that prices increase during peak periods. **Reservations required - and highly recommended to book EARLY (up to 180 days in advance) **Dining here uses 2 Table service meals off the Disney Dining Plan

This Mom Loves Disney Shows!!! Top 3!

We LOVE to go to all the Disney Shows, but there are some that just stand out above the rest as our Favorites!!! #1- Finding Nemo the Musical (live performance show in Animal Kingdom) The quality of this show is top notch - Disney all the way! All of the props are poeple with ELABORATE costumes and the singers (who have amazing talent) are all singing WHILE they operate giant fish puppets to truly make the story come alive in a way that only Disney could pull off!

#2- Lights! Motors! Action! (Live stunt show in Hollywood Studios) Ok - If you don't like the singing stuff, then this show is for you! This is a awesome driving/action stunt show - featuring fast car stunts, motorcycles, and jet skis. It totally keeps your attention and is lots of fun to see time after time!

#3- Mickey's Philharmagic 3D Show (3D or really a 4D show in Magic Kingdom) If you are a lover of Classic Disney movies - you will LOVE this show!! Donald Duck tries on Mickey's magic Sorcerer's Hat which takes him on a whirlwind journey through major Disney Movies like Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid! Not only do you feel like you are experiencing these movies first hand because of the 3D wrap around theater, but puffs of air from the back of the seats in front of you and smells take you further into the magic of the experience!