6 LAST-MINUTE GIFTS FOR THE DISNEY LOVER!

With Christmas just one day away, most of us have finished all of our holiday shopping...right? Well, if you're anything like me, you finished days ago. :-) But if you're anything like my Husband/Dad/Brother/all other males I know, you're braving the crowds at the malls to both start and finish today. Well, in case you're still looking for last-minute gifts for the Disney lover(s) in your life, I've put together a short list of great options below...

6. DISNEY GIFT CARD -- For the "SHOPPING" Disney Lover
Often found on grocery store kiosks, the Disney gift card is a great gift not just for Disney Parks lovers, but for Disney lovers of all types! This card can be used as cash in the parks, in all Disney stores, and even at online Disney retailers. The user can reload as often as they like, and even personalize their card. And to top it off, if you order it online, you can pick a holiday design like the ones below. Super cute, right?

5. "IMAGINEERING, A BEHIND-THE-DREAMS LOOK AT MAKING THE MAGIC REAL" -- For the "READING" Disney Lover

I have both the first version of this book and the sequel, have read them both cover-to-cover, and can honestly say that they are FANTASTIC! I know I talk a lot about the "magic" at Disney Parks, but it's not until you read these books that you realize the true genius of Disney. From the initial "Blue Sky" concept stages with writers and researchers to the moment the last inch of a ride is painted, this book takes you behind the scenes on how some of your favorite Disney attractions, lands, and even restaurants came about. I highly recommend both books!

4. VINTAGE DISNEY RIDE POSTERS -- For the "DECORATING" Disney Lover

This gift is for hardcore Disney lovers only - who else would expose to family and casual visitors alike what a child at heart they are? :-) 

You may have noticed them along the entrance walls to Disneyland, as you walk under the bridge and into "the land of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy..." But what you probably didn't know is that most of these posters are the original advertisements for the rides, many dating back to the 1950s and 60s (cool, huh?). So why not treat the Disney lover in your life to a poster of their favorite ride this Christmas? You can buy them at the art store on Main Street, or on Amazon online, like our very own Leigh, whose favorite takes residence in her hallway, along with it's 999 Happy Haunts (see below). ;-)

3. DISNEY CRUISE TRIP -- For the "VACATIONING" Disney Lover

This would be a great gift for the Disney lover with kids, or the one who just likes to get away every now and then. There are many cruise options, leaving from locations in California, Florida, Texas, and even Spain, with final destinations of the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Europe, to name a few. But what makes a Disney cruise different from any other? Meeting and dining with Disney characters on the ship, Broadway-caliber live shows and Disney movies in state-of-the-art theaters, and even a few "adults only" spots for when you need a break from all the family fun. Sounds like a dream to me! Make a reservation at Disney Cruise Line. 

2. MICKEY MOUSE EARS -- For the "STYLING" Disney Lover

A simple gift for the Disney lover, these ears have come a long way from the days of the old Mickey Mouse Club beanie with name sewed on the back. They now come in all different styles, colors, and even themes. But there's one thing that is constant: when you wear the ears, you feel the magic! I recently got my first pair (glittery, pink Minnie style, of course), and I have to say, a certain childlike surge of energy overcame me the moment I put them on! And thus, I've coined my new Disney motto: Wear the ears, wear the magic... ;-)

1. DISNEYLAND ANNUAL PASSPORT -- For the "FREQUENTLY-VISITING" Disney Lover
I got my annual pass three years ago for Christmas as an amazing gift from my then-fiance, and to this day, it's still one of my favorite Christmas gifts of all time! There's nothing better than pledging your love to Disneyland by joining the club of the most die-hard fans there are!

All of the Disney Dames have premium version passes, which include 365-days-a-year visiting privileges and parking. However, the other pass options are great deals as well, especially if you think you'll visit multiple times a year. Plus, you can always upgrade your pass when it's convenient for you if you'd like. But the best part about getting your annual pass? You're more likely to run into the Disney Dames at the park! ;-) 

Stay tuned for the next few blog posts, when I share all the magic and fun had when the DAMES DID HOLIDAYTIME at the Disneyland Resort! In the meantime, our holiday wishes to you and yours! 

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

DID YOU KNOW...?

Did you know that there’s a brand new Starbucks at Disneyland? That’s right, Disneyland’s first Starbucks opened in June of this year, housed on the California Adventure campus on Buena Vista Street, and it is absolutely delightful.

The other dames and I made our way there for the first time on Sunday, when we were in dire need of our morning caffeine fix and knew that Disneyland had the remedy. So we headed over to California Adventure first thing, and found the Starbucks in the location of that old "Bur-r-r-Bank" ice cream train.

Needless to say, the Starbucks is a vast improvement.

You walk in to discover every detail of a vintage coffee shop, complete with beautifully framed black and white photography on the walls, and the delicious crisp voices of Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald on the overhead speakers. Of course, the very first Starbucks didn’t open until 1971, but with this one, Disney provides the illusion of a cute ole’ coffee shop whose legacy has survived much longer, as if the descendant of a more charming grandfather and the husky smell of his tobacco pipe.

If you know me, you know that coffee is one of the surest ways to my heart. I mean, obviously, any woman with a Starbucks ornament on her Christmas tree is a true, unwavering fan.

So I couldn’t be more charmed to welcome Starbucks to Disney’s California Adventure, in all its sepia glory. After all, Espresso + Vintage + Disney = The stuff dreams are made of. 

Nice to meet you, Disneyland Starbucks. I think we’re gonna get along great.

HOW TO MAKE A DISNEYLAND BIRTHDAY SPECIAL

Breaking News, breaking news! We have a birthday in the house! That’s right, over the weekend one of our very own earned another ring around her trunk (tree humor, anyone?). Which one of us, you ask?

THIS ONE...

ALSO KNOWN AS

THIS ONE...  

BUT MOST COMMONLY KNOWN AS

THIS ONE...  



Happy Birthday, Melody! And as she has done so many times before, she spent her special day at the Happiest Place on Earth with her sweetie, and this time with reservations at the new Carthay Circle Restaurant in California Adventure (fancy!)



From little cuties in strollers to older cuties on foot, there are always people celebrating birthdays at the Disneyland Resort. So if you ever think about doing so, here are my top five tips on How to Make a Disneyland Birthday Special:

5. Go early. No, seriously. GO EARLY.

I know most of us would rather sleep in on our birthdays, but getting there at or before opening is crucial to beat the crowd rush and the long lines, particularly for Fall and Early Spring-born folks, whose birthdays correspond with shorter days at the resort due to earlier park closing times. Plus, the more hours you’re awake, the more hours we’re celebrating you!

4. Get a Happy Birthday button.

Stop by City Hall, just inside the park on Main Street, as soon as you enter, and tell the cast members inside that it’s your birthday for a super cute and free Happy Birthday button!

Not only will you feel special wearing it, but cast members and other park guests will wish you Happy Birthday everywhere you go! *Note: You can also get a “First Time Visit” button, a “Happy Anniversary” button, or even a “Just Graduated” button. And if there’s no specific button that matches your celebration, don’t worry. There’s a more basic “I’m Celebrating” button as well – Disney’s got all their bases covered!

3. Do Dinner Somewhere Special.

Make reservations at one of the nice places at the resort you always wanted to try. Check out this couple, who were high rollin’ enough to host their vintage anniversary party ON THE VERANDA OF THE TOWER OF TERROR (I can’t even express how much I envy them!), for example.



But if you’re not rolling quite as high, other great options are:

Blue Bayou, housed inside the Pirates of the Carribean Ride, for the charm of a warm Louisiana evening...



Carthay Circle (pictured far above), on California Adventure’s new Buena Vista Street, for the style of a glamorous vintage cocktail party...

Or Napa Rose, inside the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, for the elegant aftertaste of a really good glass of wine.

2. Watch the fireworks!

Perhaps one of the most notable Disney attractions, the Main Street USA fireworks show (displayed just above Cinderella’s Castle) is SO fantastic! This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Fourth of July snap, crackle, and pop either. Disney always has a way of inserting a little extra magic in the music and presentation to make things more memorable. I won’t spoil the show for those that haven’t seen it, but it’s a great way to end your special day with a bang!

And lastly...

1. Ride Your Favorite Ride. Over. And Over. And Over.  

Because it’s your birthday. And you can. :-)

DAMES DO HALLOWEENTIME: Part Two

After an amazing early afternoon at ESPN Zone, we were re-energized and ready to head over to Disney’s California Adventure for more Halloween fun! Our first stop was the brand new Carthay Circle Lounge, where everything old is new again!

It’s an art-deco styled restaurant and bar based on the Carthay Circle Theater here in Los Angeles, one of the most famous movie palaces of the golden age of Hollywood, not to mention the location of the 1937 premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

We lifted our noses teasingly, and strutted right on in towards the bar, where we oohed and ahhed over a menu of vintage cocktails, like the Pimm’s Punch, the Classic Dirty Martini, and my personal favorite -- the very delicious Hemingway Daiquiri.

We even shared a Lobster Pad Thai Roll snack to sample the food, and made a plan to come back with dinner reservations one day, to try the Jalapeno Cheddar Bacon Biscuits – raise your hand if all four of those words make you salivate…

Twenty minutes later, I’d determined that Carthay Circle Lounge is a great place to sit back, put your pinky up, and sip something delicious. It’s décor is simple – black and white photographs, long curtains, stained glass windows – but believe me when I say that the place oozes class. And for the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae, if you listen every so closely, you can even hear the jazzy renditions of your favorite Disney tunes over the lounge speaker.

Oh Carthay Circle, you know just how to win this Disney Dame’s heart.

After our jazzy good time, on our way to the Ladybug Boogie in Bug’s Land, we were delighted to run into a very special guy!

And then something very unexpected occurred. Leigh stopped, cleared her throat, looked to her fellow Dames, and made an announcement.

She was ready to try something new.

She was ready to leave the past behind.

She was ready to plunge thirteen stories in the baddest elevator you’ll ever board.

Allow me to give some context so that you know just how special this moment was: For the past two years, I’ve made many unsuccessful attempts to get Leigh to ride Tower of Terror. She has always been very clear that she would have to be “blacked out and carried on” if it was ever going to happen. And don’t think I didn’t consider that option. ;-)

I’d begged. I’d pleaded. I’d blackmailed. Still, I’d always managed to end up walking by that architectural gem of a hotel, fantasizing and thinking to myself, “one day…”

 

I had no idea it would come so soon. But boy was I glad it did.

She was very nervous in line – she paid close attention to all details around us for clues about what she would soon encounter. She made many references to being crazy, and even one about death by Disney ride. She repelled our attempts at distracting small talk. And after the library video, I just knew she was going to run immediately for the chicken emergency exit. But our girl was on board!

She’d made up her mind, and she wasn’t turning back.

She did SCREAM BLOODY MURDER FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY as we buckled up pre-ride, though. But we forgave her for that. ;-)

So how did she fare, you ask?

She. Loved. It.

She enjoyed every bit of the Tower of Terror, and was so excited that upon exiting she threw her hands up in one of those college girl “whoooooo!” moments, and promptly fell down a few stairs.

But I’d never seen someone so happy to have conquered a lifetime fear. And I’d never been so happy to see someone do it. So we decided to celebrate at the Mad T Party happening just beyond the ride, where we were immediately met by the out-of-control fun, the out-of-control color, and the out-of-control madness that lies inside!

We quickly took in the amazing sights – Tweedledee and Tweedledum on stilts, Alice doing lead vocals for the band onstage, and our favorite part, the very festive bar in the corner, entitled Drink Me.

And when the Dames see a sign that says “Drink Me”, well…we do as we’re told. ;-)

 

We had a great time dancing under strobe lights to the music of the band, who sang everything from Top 40 Hits like Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” to oldies but oh-so-goodies, like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”...

...and we even took out a few minutes to play the games in the Alice in Wonderland themed arcade, which is, I’m just gonna say it, WAY more fun than the Tron themed one that lived there before.

And when it was time to go home, we were truly sad to leave Wonderland and the time of our lives.

Disneyland, as usual, left us charmed, amazed, and grateful for friendship.  

I even finished the weekend off with a nostalgic Facebook post noting that “the amount of fun I had with my girls should be a crime in the State of California.” But there’s only one place in the world you can have fun that big anyway.

And I’m guessing you know what it is. :-)

DAMES DO HALLOWEENTIME: Part One

Two weekends ago, change was moving quickly over the horizon in the lives of the Disney Dames. Among us, we’d experienced a bad break-up, quitting a stressful job, and welcoming one of our best friends back home after three years in North Carolina pretty much all in the same week. Needless to say, we had much to celebrate/mourn, and we knew just where to do it!

With our hearts on our sleeves and our annual passes in our wallets, the Dames met early on a Sunday morning, and geared up for what would become an epic Disneyland trip…

After our usual stop at Starbucks for iced lattes and refreshers, we began the Disney day by getting Fastpasses for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy.

This seasonally revamped attraction is a MUST DO during Halloweentime, but always crowded. You’ll likely have to wait a few hours before you can use your Fastpass, but you’ll cut your wait time by 60% (at least). So in the meantime, you can squeeze in a few other rides, like we did.

Star Tours had a very short wait time, so we jumped right on for a ride on the Endor Express! The new version of this ride is incredible. 3D and a randomized sequence of stops and Star Wars cameos really takes it to the moon, if you will. ;-) If you haven’t experienced it, run don’t walk.

Next up, we dashed over to Adventureland to ride another favorite of ours, Indiana Jones Adventure, only to find that…Dum dum dum dum…duuuuuuuummm…!!!

IT WAS CLOSED for renovations! Notice our severe disappointment below, as our Indiana dreams were dashed.

...ah well...there's always next time...sigh...

At this point, we realized we still had a little time to kill before our Fastpass time, so it seemed the perfect time to try something new, ie: Innoventions! And with the realization that the temperature was slowly exceeding ninety degrees, I ran ahead to the attraction and waited for my friends to arrive.

What did I do to pass the time? What any girl would do to keep herself from melting into a puddle of aloe vera lotion and Mac liquid studio fix – I walked in and out of the entrance door, letting the air conditioner fan hit me. Over. And over. And over. And let me tell you, it felt like heaven. *Because in my picture of heaven, there are white tuxedos, unicorns, and a strong air conditioning unit hidden in a fluffy cloud.* But I digress…

 

Innoventions is a very intriguing walkthrough attraction that has been rumored to be on the chopping block for years. Created in 1998, it’s a warehouse of sorts with futuristic inventions like virtual videogames and voice activated appliances for you to marvel at. Problem? The inventions inside aren’t so futuristic anymore. :/ In the age of Facebook, Wii and the iPhone, Dance Dance Revolution isn’t so amazing, and can even seem a bit…I’m just gonna say it.

Vintage.

Even still, I’m glad we got to experience Innoventions. It’s fun to play the videogames...

...sit in the new Honda SUV...

...and most of all, walk through the Dream Home. In every room lies something cool. The kitchen is named Lillian, and “she” takes stock of what you need from the grocery store, pulls up recipes on a virtual screen, and even turns music and water off and on by your command. In the teenager’s bedroom, you can freeze your dresser mirror to take a photo of yourself and even pull up Facebook and email on it.

This is a cool house, trust me. It’s the Jetsons' proposed future crossed with our practical future, and it’s amazing. If I had the force within, I would magically uproot the home, send it flying through the air thirty-five minutes North, and drop it on a plot in the middle of Inglewood for myself. If only dreams were real…

After leaving Innoventions, it was finally time to board the very scary Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy! This is one of my favorite parts of Disneyland’s Halloweentime -- the entire feel of the ride is much more intense and creepy than it is the rest of the year. Unlike the starry skies you ride through in the regular version, this version sends your pummeling through the complete darkness with a mysterious ghost chasing you along the way. I won’t spoil it for those that haven’t yet experienced it, but there’s also a very fun surprise in the end that will leave you breathless!

Definitely check it out when you can, but remember Halloweentime ends on November 1^st!

After an early morning of spooky fun, we were pretty hungry and ready for our usual late morning pit stop at ESPN Zone, where we refueled for the second half of the day.

With a backdrop of Sunday afternoon football, we had much-needed girl talk, a very scandalous tweeting session, and some very refreshing mojitos made by our favorite bartender, Guillermo!

And of course a trip to ESPN wouldn’t be complete without a photo…or two….or three…or four. ;-)

Stay tuned for DAMES DO HALLOWEENTIME: Part Two, where we had our first visit to Carthay Circle, partied with the Mad Hatter, and one of us conquered a lifetime fear!

This is how we get down. ;-)

IF THE VILLAINS HAD WON...

Ever wonder what would have happened if some of Disney’s most popular villains had won the final battles in their movies – if Scar had remained King of the Jungle, if Jafar hadn’t been banished to the Cave of Wonders, if Gaston had maintained a better grip on that castle balcony?

Artist Justin Turrentine (of www.DeviantArt.com) took a stab at answering that question this Halloween season, as he tucked himself away in the land of what almost was and created these beautiful drawings featuring your favorite Disney villains!

I took the liberty of writing some fun captions for each – post your ideas of what the characters are thinking in the comments section below...

"Ooh...surf AND turf. I'm making today my cheat day..."

"Smile with your eyes, smile with your eyes..."

"What? You didn't think I could look this fierce alone, did you?"

"Is this chair a little wobbly to you? That's the last time I go Ikea. "

"And I'll throw in two glass slippers and a Target gift card..."

Brace yourself this Halloween. Looks like evil is making a comeback. ;-)