BONUS ENTRY OPPURTUNITY- TODAY ONLY

Want to get a bonus entry in the giveaway. TODAY ONLY you can. Simply find another post on the blog, comment on it telling me what you like about that post, then go back to the giveaway post, this post, or the facebook page and let me know which post you commented on. Remember to always include your name in your comments if you are not posting through a blogger account.

Q&A With Becca

I have received a lot of questions and so I thought I would do a Q&A post. I love answering people's questions about all things Disney, so feel free to email me with your questions, etc.

Q. When is the best time to go to Disneyland?
A. Depends. First and formost, you need to look at what is important to you. Seeing all the shows, and not missing school (if you have kids in school) or fewer crowds? According to Disney Inside Out (the droid app) and friends who live in the area, as well as watching the crowd index on Mousewait (another app) the least crowded times are usually January 15th-March 5th and September (after Labor Day)- until the 2nd week in November. If you want to go during Christmas time, it is best to go the week AFTER Thanksgiving to have the least amount of crowds.
Weekends are always busy. Tuesday- Thursday are the least busy days (as long as they are not a holiday). Many times during Thanksgiving week, Christmas-New Years, and days like 4th of July, the park will reach it's limit. Christmas and New Years it is known to reach it's limit very early in the day.
Spring break can vary. When we went last year (2011) it was SUPER CROWDED! However, we noticed that this year, it was not nearly as bad, and the lines moved fast. Don't get me wrong, it was still much busier than October, but we were able to get to most of the rides we wanted to.
My personal favorite time to go is fall. We usually go in October (since that is when our anniversary is). However, the shows from the summer do not always run, and you will often times have a ride or two closed for maintenance. The crowds though are really small, and you hardly ever have to use fast passes on things like Thunder Mountain, Tower of Terror, etc.


Q. How many days should we plan to visit the park?
A. If you are traveling with small children, and only plan on doing rides they can do, I would say at least 2 days. One for each park. However, if you will be doing the rides that have height limits I suggest a 3-4 day pass. You will need at least 2 days to do Disneyland, 1 day for Disney California Adventure, and 1 day for shopping, and if you want to take in all of the shows you might have missed.
I prefer park hopper tickets. Mainly because if one park ends up being too crowded, you can always hop over to the other one. It is better to try and stay in one park a day (as to not waste time going back and forth), especially during more crowded "seasons" but it is nice to have the option. Also, I like to get a ticket that includes a magic morning entry (although you no longer need this if staying at the resort as they allow you to enter early daily if I understand correctly). This is a great time to go to Fantasyland, etc and get a lot of rides out of the way quickly. Also, there are often characters out that are not normally out.


Q. Any tips on keeping kids happy during the wait in line?
A. Well, The Goof is pretty entertained if we point out all the things in the ride's line (Disney does a great job at making the line part of the attraction in most cases). Other than that, with him being a toddler, we can still do things like "where is mama's nose?" and such to keep him happy. Older kids, this doesn't work so much. I have seen this book on amazon (and others like it), but can not vouch for it. It might be worth looking into. I also think a pack of cards, mad libs, and having a camera and letting the kids take pictures of you, you of them, etc are great ways to keep everyone entertained while waiting.

Q. What do you do for souvenirs to keep within a budget?
A. I love this question. Those Disney stores are so much fun, but can cost a lot of money. Generally, stay away from them. I like the ones in Toon Town because they are smaller. This is what we do souvenier wise.

• We do an autograph book, either made by me at home, or purchased at the park. We always leave spots for pictures with each character by their signature
• Every year we go (so not always every trip) we get a Christmas Ornament. I like it to say the year on it to remember which trip we got it, but if not, I just make sure I can write the year with a permanent marker somewhere. We do this for all our major trips.
• The Goof gets one thing. When we went each time in 2011, he got a onesie. This year, he picked out his own item and it was a 5" Mickey Mouse figurine whose arms, legs, and head can all be swiveled around. I limit a child's purchase to $10. Also, his first visit he got his first set of Mickey Ears.
• Clothing- I normally don't buy clothing at the park. Although last year I bought a super nice/soft sweatshirt that I love, and wear almost daily when it is cooler weather. Generally though, I shop clearance at stores ahead of time for The Goof. Since I buy a ton of Disney clothes in all sizes (buy ahead), I almost always have a new item of clothing I can give him. If not, I go buy one. But not through Disney. Check out JC Penny, Walmart, and Target for Disney clothes at a much lower price.
• Post Cards. In 2007, I bought a set of post cards. Each day we went to the park, I wrote one memory from that day on the post card, then mailed it from the nearest post office to Disneyland to my house. That way it had the CA postmark. They are all in a pocket on a page in our scrapbook. It is great to have that in there to relive memories from the trip.
• For friends and family back home- I no longer work, and no longer feel the need to buy for other people generally. But when I did work, in a small law office, whenever someone went on a trip, you brought back little goodies for everyone else. Some of my favorite things to get were magnets, suckers that are shaped like Mickey Mouse (they sale these by the dozen I believe), keychains, antenna balls, and other small tokens. 
• Other random things- I find online from the Disney store when they are on clearance and take them with me to give to whoever is going at random times. 

Q. What is the difference between Disneyland and Disney World
A. To start- location. Just kidding, kind of. But location. Florida vs California. I haven't been to Disney World, but have friends that visit often, and a friend that lives there and has worked there, and her husband currently works there. Here are just a few of the differences

• Size- Disneyland is 2 parks and 3 hotels. A small downtown Disney district you can easily walk across in 5 minutes (if you walk fast). Disney World has several parks (the slogan 4 parks 1 world). They have TONS of hotels ranging in price. Epcot and Animal kingdom are pretty unique to Disney World. Magic Kingdom reminds me of Disneyland, on a little bit larger scale. Their Downtown Disney district has more stuff in it. There are a lot of the same rides, but most of them seat more people. It also has a water park
• Cost- Tickets to WDW are much more expensive. Hotels on site can be cheaper, but surrounding hotels are not as close (though many offer a shuttle to the park) as the ones in DL are. 
• Time needed for the park- Obviously, with a bigger park, you need more time.
• Hurricanes vs earthquakes. Hurricanes are more common to effect Florida's weather than an earthquake is to happen while you are in California- depending on the season. Just be aware of hurricane season.
• Other parks. Both have a Universal Studios and a Sea World near by, but, from what I have seen online, Orlando's are better. I mean, come on- Hogwarts- who wouldn't want to go see Hogwarts?

Generally, people travel to the park that is closest to them, unless, like my friend, your twin sister lives at the other one so you go yearly to see her and her kids. 

Q. What tips would you have for first timers? Dos and Don'ts?
A. Do

• Start planning your trip early
• Ask questions of those who you trust to give you the best advice on the trip. Someone you know will take into account your budget, family size and ages, etc
• Start saving way in advance. If this is a once in a lifetime trip for you, save enough so you can go all out on souveniers or eating in the park if you want. 
• Shop around for the best deal. See my posts on Disney on a Dime and Are Packages a Good Deal
• Read my other posts regarding the park, snacks, etc

    Don't

• Automatically book through Disney or a Travel Agent
• Plan the trip last minute and then hope to do it on a budget
• Stress about having a plan on "how you will do the park", just a general idea of what you want to do

General tips for first timers-

• Have fun! From planning to the trip, this should be fun for EVERYONE in the  family!
• Ask for help if you are overwhelmed planning the trip on a dime. I recently helped a friend with booking her hotel through hotwire to get the best deal. I love helping people save money. Feel free to email me if you need someone to help you figure it all out. It can be overwhelming, especially with trying to find the best deals, so having someone who has been there and done that can really help.
• Plan to be there as long as possible. Give yourself to take it all in. But also know your limits. If you will be sick of crowds quickly (and are going during a crowded season) only go a few days. If you think you will handle the crowds fine, stay for several days.
• Get the entire family involved. Unless the trip is a surprise, involve everyone in the planning. With little kids, start to get them involved around a week before the trip. Any longer and you will be tired of the "How much longer until we go to Disney?" question. 

Q. Do you do anything besides Disney on your trips
A. YES!!!!! We do. We hit up the beach in some way each time we go. Even if it is only for 30 minutes (as it was in October since our beach day ended up being poopy out).

 We usually try and hit up another theme park as well. Either Knott's Berry Farm, or drive down to San Diego and visit Sea World or the San Diego Zoo. Universal Studios is in LA and then there is Six Flags.

Finally, we usually spend a good amount of time in the pool at the hotel, visiting friends and family that are down there, and just relaxing in the hotel. We try not to over-schedule our non park days and have them be a bit more flexible, because we don't like to come back and need a vacation from our vacation.

Q. Where do you get your inspiration for the crafts?
A. It varies. I get some ideas from seeing other peoples crafts (such as the Disney Countdown) but some are my own- like the bathroom decor, banks, etc. Sometimes I see how something else is made, and then think about how I can make it Disney. I really don't feel like I am very creative, but once in a while, I get inspired.

Q. You travel to California a lot. Do you ever get sick of it?
A. Not really. We love Southern California. We are not fans of the cold, and snow here in Idaho. We love the beach, Disney, warmth, and having things to do around us. Granted, Boise has a lot of stuff to do, but not near as much stuff as Orange County, etc. We do hope to eventually one day live in California, and then we will vacation in Idaho and see family, but for now, we live in Boise and vacation in SoCal. We do visit other places- Texas, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and we took a road trip in 2010 that covered 7 states, but California is by far our favorite.

That is all for now. Keep sending me your questions. I will either add on to this one, or do another post. Thank you for your interest in my page and enjoy!

Craft Time- Count Down To Disney

Back in 2007, when we went to Disneyland with our friends the Bolanders, and another friend Sarah, I made 3 of these. One for the Bolander family, one for Sarah, and one for us.

(Pardon the bad picture. Lighting in my living room is AWFUL!)

I later turned mine into the first page of our scrapbook from the trip.

Well, a friend is going to Disneyland this fall, and since I have the Disney font now, I wanted to get crafting. I thought I would make a tutorial.
The inspiration for this piece came from this book. (Page 12). They had a countdown, but there are no instructions, and the embelishments are all different, and look more complicated in my opinion. I decided I needed to do a tutorial.

Supplies you NEED:

• Disney paper- 12x12
• Colored card stock 12x6
• Solid color card stock 12x12
• 8 "tags" that are approximately 2" wide and 3.5-4" tall (or you can make your own)
• Stickers and embellishments
• Adhesive
• Scissors/paper cutter
• Ribbon
• Vellum

Extras I used

• Sticker maker
• Printer
• Hot glue gun
• 12x12 card board
• Distressing ink

To start- if you are going to print anything on vellum in the printer- you may want to do this first (preferably 24 hours in advance) as ink on vellum takes a long time to dry.

Next- prepare your tags. I used one from the countdown in my scrapbook to trace and make my own out of white card stock. You need 8 tags total, but it is good to have some back ups just in case.

If you know me, you know I love to use distressing ink. I purposely over did it on the cards here. I think it gives a better effect then plain white. I punched holes in them knowing I wanted to embelish them later.

After I distress the tags, I put them aside to dry a little. I begin working on the main part of the countdown.

Take your vellum and cut 2 strips that are approximately 2.5" by 11"
Using a tag to figure out placement, glue the vellum on to the Disney paper, glue only the 2 short edges and the bottom. Your tags will need to be able to slide/sit in the vellum. You are basically making a pocket.

Then place, use a tag in the top row of vellum to figure out a good place to cut the Disney paper (or you can use the whole thing and cover the top part up, but I hate to waste that paper). After you have trimmed the Disney paper, glue this to the white card stock. It should look like the picture above.

Now you will add some ribbon embelishment to the vellum. Make sure to use a tag to measure in between. I put the bottom one on first, and then the sides. Last, I do the middle ones. If possible, and it won't make the tags fit too tight, I put a dot of glue under the vellum where the ribbon is to separate the pockets for each tag.

I now usually take a break from the main page and go to the tags. I printed out little sayings for all the days on my printer (I used the Disney font) on regular paper (you can use cardstock too). To make it easy to apply them to the tags, I cut them out and ran them through my sticker maker.

Then I added number stickers to the top and I also printed a big Disney "D" and made a sticker of it.

This is what you should have so far.

At this point, if you don't have holes in your tags, you can skip this next step. I like to embellish the tags so I put ribbons in them and tie them.

Next is another optional step. I wanted my friend to be able to hang the countdown on the wall. So, I took a 12x12 piece of cardboard. I punched 4 holes in it. One at each side about 2" in from the side, then two in the center. Then I ran ribbon through it (and hot glued the ribbon down on the other side so it couldn't move around.

After that, I glued the 12x12 page to the other side (not pictured) of the cardboard. Then I took some colored cardstock and glued it to the top. (I used hot glue for all of this). Then I distressed around the sides.

Here, you can either use stickers as I did in the picture of the one in my 2007 countdown pictured at the top of this page, or, this time, I used the Disney font and printed it on Vellum that could be ran through the sticker maker (so this is a smaller title because I only have a small sticker maker). Make sure, as I noted above, you have pre-printed your vellum and it is completely dry. I used a hair dryer to ensure mine was completely dry.

This is what you should have so far. (Tags are out of the pockets)
Now is the fun part. Embellish each pocket. Many of the days rhymes mention characters. In that case, I try and put the character on the pocket. I used chip board characters, stickers, and other random embellishments. I mixed and matched, used different textures, etc to make it fun. You could add buttons across the top of a few (as done in the book this craft idea came from). Whatever. Just have fun with it.

Then, what you end up with is something like this.

It's a great way to get kids excited for the upcoming trip, and also a great first page to a scrapbook for your vacation.

Craft Time- Tin Can Disney Fund

If you didn't see my original Disney Fund Jar tutorial- you can view it HERE.

Disney Daddy and I promised his niece we would take her to Disneyland once she saved $200. Well, somehow, even without saving, we ended up taking her 2 times last year. However, she keeps saying we need to go again with her and her half brother, Disney Daddy's nephew. Well, it adds A LOT of money to add on that extra person (especially since we would have to rent a BIG vehicle that gets worse gas mileage).
So this time, we decided they both HAVE to save $200 for their ticket into the park.

If you have kids- you know the problem with this. They get the allowance, birthday or Christmas money, and start thinking of all the things they want to buy. The old fund jar I made was good, but the problem, they were easy to get into, so easy to spend the money.

To solve the problem, I wanted to make a jar that they couldn't get into.

For this project you will need:

• Large tin can with lid that can be re-attached (the can openers that cut the side so there are no sharp edges do this well- like the one by pampered chef). I used a Campbell's Tomato Juice can.
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Cardstock
• Mod Podge
• Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks
• Glue/Adhesives
• Printer OR Stickers (or both)
• Clear Contact/laminate paper
• Hammer
• Nail (large one)
• Flat Head Screw Driver
• Piece of Scrap Wood

First thing I did, was after we used, removed the label, washed, and dried the can, was have my wonderful husband put a slot in the top. I forgot to get pictures of him doing it, but what we did that worked best was we took the lid and put it on the scrap wood on our patio. We hammered the large nail through it to start the slot. Then, used the flat head screw driver to go across as far as needed. After we finished, we used the back of the hammer head to curve the edges under and make the slot wider. Here is what the sot looked like when done.

 Then,  I hot glued the top on to the can. This way they can't open it and get the money out. When it is time to get the money out, simply flip the can upside down and use the can opener on the bottom of the can.

After I glued the tops on, Disney Miss (Disney Daddy's niece) and I painted the cans. She opted for red, I opted to do her brother's can in black.

The black one didn't turn out to pretty, because of a little dent in the side, so for this one, I wrapped the can in card stock (which didn't go all the way around so there are "seams" in the paper) to make it look pretty.

After that, the rest was the same for both of the banks, and pretty close to the same as the Disney fund jar in the previous tutorial.

I cut out card stock to the size I wanted, used stickers and used the scrapbooking adhesive to put them on the bank, followed by some stickers to embellish the bank.

 And here is the red one- no paper on this one.

I added some goofy stickers to the red one as that is one of her favorites. Because I was doing Goofy, I decided to make the middle N really sideways.
Mod podge the entire can.

Now, the problem with the bank being sealed shut- how will the kids know how much they have saved. Originally, we planned to use Mickey Mouse heads and make a chart, but I figured- that is something that would easily get ruined, so, instead, I used the Walt Disney Font I got off this site HERE  and printed this off my printer. I made sure to include spaces for both dollars and cents, because often times, kids get pennies, nickles, etc and they need a place to track those.

Of course, I used some distressing ink on the edges, as I always do. THEN- so that they can be used with dry erase markers, I used clear contact paper to laminate them.

If you have trouble with contact paper, just be sure to put the printed side down smoothly first, then do the fold it over. That way your side that will be visible (and written on) is smooth.

Then, cut it out. Remember to leave a little room around the edges of the paper so it stays sealed.

Then, I heated up my hot glue gun, and glued them on.

Now, the kids can save, and keep track of how much they have saved. Hopefully, they will be ready to go to Disneyland at the end of next year.

Disney Giveaway!!!!!!

How would you like to win-

• $25 in Disney Gift Cards (can be redeemed at Disney resorts, hotels, stores, online, and some select additional locations.
• Disney Greatest Hits CD (Click HERE to see the CD and list of songs on amazon.com)
• A Mickey Mouse reusable tote/shopping bag
• Disney Hair Accessories (made by me- see the tutorial HERE)
• And MORE 

A while back I won a competition for bloggers. Specifically the category for new blogs based on a theme! YAY! Well, I and 14 other bloggers from other categories get to do giveaways...and....based on participation, one of us will get to do a GRAND GIVEAWAY at the end of the year!!!! (I hope I am allowed to share that information.)

SO- PARTICIPATE!!!!

Here are the ways to enter. You MUST follow the instructions exactly to get your entry.

1.  Leave a comment on this post with your name. You can comment once a day for additional entries.
2. Like our facebook page- then come back and leave a comment that you liked the page. If you already like the page- tell me how long you have liked the page. (Be sure you leave your name on the comment here as well)
3. Refer your friends to our facebook page. They MUST leave a comment on the wall that you sent them and must use your first and last name. PS- this also gets them an entry (see #2) if they come and comment on this post.
4. Follow this blog through blogger/google and leave a comment on this post that you are following.

Giveaway is open to entries starting today- June 15th until June 30th at 11:59 pm MDT (Mountain Time).

PLEASE CHECK BACK ON JULY 2nd FOR THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT! WINNER WILL HAVE ONE WEEK TO EMAIL ME AND CLAIM THE PRIZE OR ANOTHER WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN.

Winner will be chosen by random.org

I Knew It Would Happen

I knew it would happen, but it is still a bummer. My two favorite ways to get Disney tickets for cheap- HP Passport (for hp employees- also any employee that offers Tickets At Work) and Entertainment Book have both raised the prices for their tickets. I knew when Disney raised their prices into for Disneyland tickets, that these sites would follow. However, the tickets are good through December 31, 2013, so if you plan on going before then, I would suggest buying tickets now as they may go up again next year.
You still save about $30 on a 3 or 4 day park hopper ticket using these sites, but for a cheap thrifty person like me, it still hurts.

Craft Time- Hair Accessories!

Have you seen those adorable flowers in girls hair or on a baby's head? Well, I put a Disney twist on them for the giveaway that will be opening June 15th (the same day as Cars Land).

I decided to do a tutorial. You don't have to do a Disney theme for these, but I did, because, of course, I love Disney. Kind of ironic that I am making this tutorial since my only child is a boy. ;)

Disney Hair Accessories are perfect for home, or a way to have a unique item for your child to wear in the park (which is also good if your child gets lost so you can tell cast members about that unique item).

To start you will need the following supplies:

•  Flowers- You can find them at the Dollar Store, but I prefer the ones from craft stores (like Hobby Lobby) as they are softer and better quality- and they have a good variety of colors.
• Buttons or other embellishments for the center. I chose THESE ones.
• Ribbon to match your flowers that is wide enough to cover your clips
• Hair Clips- Alligator ones. I bought THESE (100 count though) for under $5 during an online sale.
• Hot glue gun, and glue sticks (I prefer one with 2 heat settings and set it to the hottest setting)
• Scissors (to cut your ribbon)

First Step-

 Separate your flowers. Pull out the centers/stems and separate the layers. I actually have a 10"x12" box, 6 inches deep filled with already separated flowers. (Crazy since, as I said before, I only have a boy).

Next, put the flowers aside and get your ribbon and a clip

 

The first time you do this, I suggest you measure a piece of ribbon and set it aside to measure ribbon from there on out (which is what the black ribbon is). You will need enough ribbon to go all the way around the clip (including the inside). See the next few steps so you know what I am talking about. Cut your ribbon. Make sure your glue gun is on and heated.

Third

Start gluing your ribbon onto your clip. I always start with the bottom inside, fold it over the end and work my way around.

 Be sure to get the ribbon all the way down in the end so it will stay put as the clip is open and closed.

Finish going all the way around the clip, finishing on the inside of the top.

After your are done with the clip, it is time to start with your flowers.

I take my button/embellishment and find flowers that match and that are the right size for the button to fit right in the middle.

First, I figure out how I want the flowers to lay. Do you want a thick/full flower? How do you want the color pattern to go? Take your time and experiment.

I hold the flower and decide if I like the thickness and the color scheme.

Next, take the bottom layer of your flower pattern and put hot glue on it in the center. Take the next layer and place it on the bottom layer. The nice thing about the stem you removed- it leaves a hole to help you center all your layers.

Do this with all the layers. When you get to the top layer- STOP! First put your embellishment/button on to be sure you like the look still.

Once you decide you like how it looks, use the glue gun to glue your center piece on. I ended up adding in another layer or two of smaller flowers before gluing on the button.

Next, it is time to attach the clip to the back of the flower. However, I HIGHLY recommend you do this first.

If you plan on putting the clip on a head band, or even just in your hair, take a minute to figure out how you want the clip to face.

I put the clip on the head band and then held the flower onto it to be sure I knew how the clip needed to be placed to have the Minnie Button face the right way.

Glue the flat side of the clip onto the back of the flower. Only put glue down the center, not to close to the edge, so it doesn't end up flowing out the side of the clip (not that it is a big deal if it does, but if you care about the back of the flower looking pretty).

Now you are officially finished. The clip can be worn by itself (for a no slippy clippy, place a line of hot glue on the inside and hold the clip open until it dries/hardens). 

Or on a headband (from the dollar store)

Or if it is for a baby- on one of these (dollar store or craft store)

Here is another one I did (using a sticker as the center- but it is hot glued on, don't just hope the sticker will stay) in my hair. Ignore the messy bun.

These are simple to make (Once you do a few, they take less than 5  minutes to make an entire one). I couldn't believe when I saw how much some sights charge for these. 

Have fun and experiment. I find scrap booking stores are a great place to find center embellishments. Also, Hobby Lobby usually has big bags of buttons in their scrap booking section for really cheap. You can search sites like Amazon for things like the Minnie buttons. Be aware- Disney items usually have a higher price tag- even for things like buttons. 

Still, what a fun and unique accessory to wear to the park, out and about, or give as a gift.