Showing posts with label Disney Park. Show all posts

Saturday

Mickey’s Mailbag: Mesmerized by Mickey and Minnie

This week is the second in a series of feature stories on Disney Parks InsidEARS called “Mickey’s Mailbag,” where our Community Manager, CM_Marissa shares some of the stories and experiences told by Guests. As CM_Marissa points out to us in her post,
Sometimes Mickey receives letters about specific Cast Members or memories of individual vacations. Sometimes, Mickey might even receive a crayon drawing of himself or of the family who visited. These stories and thoughts come straight from the hearts of Guests of all ages, and we thought you might enjoy reading some from time to time.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom ~ Kunekune Pigs Ham it Up and an Artful Pig Paints

Welcome back to a Daily Dose of Disney. When I saw this story in the Disney InsidEARS Park News I knew right away I had to share it with you. It's just too cute!!

The Kunekune Pigs Ham it Up and an Artful Pig Paints, All at Affection Section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

Some rare pigs made their debut late last year at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. And these are some pretty smart swine.

Almost Wordless Wednesday ~ Water Lily

Welcome to our happy hop!
I'm very glad you could join us today for the Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop, where each week bloggers gather together and link up their Disney related Wordless or Almost Wordless Wednesday posts.
I hope you'll enjoy your visit, make new Disney friends, commune with old friends, see some great pictures along with me, Debs Dis at Focused on the Magic

Each week there is a theme for the hop. Don't worry, you don't have to follow the theme as long as it's a Disney related picture, your post is welcome to link up.
This week's theme is Your May Calendar Shot. You are probably wondering what exactly does she mean by that? If you were to make a 2012 calendar, which one of your Disney pictures would you use for the month of May?
If you'd like to actually make a calendar page, I found these free links. Here and here where you can create and print your own free photo calendars.

Well, it's time for my May Calendar Shot!

It's always tough to pick just one photo for a whole month. I wanted to be a little bit more creative with my picture this month. I kept thinking of the saying "April showers bring May flowers"... probably because it's been raining for days:P

This water lily was still wet from the spring rain at The China Pavilion's water feature in Epcot.

Welcome to our happy hop!

Where all, Almost or Wordless Wednesday

Disney-related photo posts are always welcome to link up!
Come along and join the fun! Make new Disney friends (DFs), visit with old friends, see some great pictures and share yours at the hop!

The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

is happily hosted each week by myself, Debs Dis of
Focused on the Magic

This week's theme is...

Disney's Frontierland

YeeHa! We love Frontierland! Everything about the wild west theme, shoot 'em up arcade, Pecos Bill, Honky Tonk music and all it's old western goodness has to offer. Frontierland is full of great photo ops for me. While the boys are busy shooting on the range I'm shooting the western scenes with my camera.

Our favorite ride is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and my favorite place to take a picture of it is from The Liberty Belle as she makes her way around the bend. BTMR is just close enough at that point to get a good shot of everyone flying by on the runaway train as they head into the mountain.

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Fun Facts From Disney™►The names of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad trains are: U.B. Bold, U.R. Daring, U.R. Courageous, I.M. Brave, I.B. Hearty, I.M. Fearless.

Photo Flashback ~ Flower & Garden Festival

It's Photo Flashback Friday! Time to once again enter the Wayback Machine and have another look at our Disney photos.
In honor of the opening of the Flower & Garden Festival this week I have a flower filled flashback from a magical trip I took to Walt Disney World in 2010.

This was such a special trip because it was my first full solo week. It was a wonderful experience even though I missed the family very much. You can read all about how it came to be here.

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It was a very hot sunny afternoon (as you can see from the blown out skies) in May that I took these pictures of the Beauty and The Beast display, which was located on the lagoon side of France. Cogsworth looks like he's enjoying the sunny day but at this point we were melting and ready for some lunch.

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On this trip I organized a photowalk around the festival. We met in the morning at the entrance to Epcot and then followed the special Flower & Garden Festival program all the way around the Word Showcase snapping away.

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Doesn't Lumiere looked surprised? I love the expression they are able to create from simple plant material.
It was a magical day with a lot of picture taking and photography chatting, stopping for lunch in Italy and riding a few rides.
I'll be posting more of our adventure and my solo week in my next Flashback and throughout the month!

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I hope you enjoyed my
Flashback Friday Post!
Would you like to join us & link up your
Disney Flashback Photo Post?

New to our Blog Hops? Questions? Here's a link to the 411 on our blog hops. Feel free to email me with any questions. Please leave a comment below, I love reading comments!

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Have a Magical Day!

Thanks for stopping by Focused on the Magic.com

Photo Flashback Friday ~ Flights Of Wonder

It's Photo Flashback Friday! Time to once again enter the Wayback Machine and have another look at our old Disney photos.
Today's flashback photos are from a magical trip we took with my sister and her family. It was an eventful, magical trip with lots of lasting memories but one stuck out in my head. We were standing in front of Flights Of Wonder at Animal Kingdom in Disney World.
My son, nieces and nephews were all excited about the show, Flight of Wonder. They had read about it and thought it sounded interesting and wondered why it wasn't on our touring plans. What they didn't know was that my sister is terrified of birds.

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Ever since we were little she's been creeped out by them. We had parakeets growing up and she saw the movie Birds and well somewhere along the way something must've snapped or bitten. We decided we didn't want to spoil everyones fun so my sister, who's a good sport, agreed to go in if we sat in the back. It had been awhile since I had seen it and totally forgot that sitting in the back doesn't mean you won't be close to the action.

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*spoiler alert* Everyone was having a great time (even my sister) enjoying the show until the part where the giant bird swoops down over the audience. The audience cheered loudly while my sister gasped and choked back a scream! After the show we all agreed it was a great experience, even my sister!!!
Flights of Wonder is an interesting, educational and wonderful show. Don't exclude it from your touring plans..even if you are afraid of birds;)

I hope you enjoyed my
Flashback Friday Post!
Would you like to join us & link up your
Disney Flashback Photo Post?

New to our Blog Hops? Questions? Here's a link to the 411 on our blog hops. Feel free to email me with any questions. Please leave a comment below, I love reading comments!

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Have a Wonderfilled Day!

Tuesday

Disney Wordless Wednesday: Kilimanjaro Safari

Come along and join the fun! Link up your Disney Almost Wordless or Wordless Wednesday posts, make new Disney friends, visit with old friends, see some great pictures at

The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

with me, Debs Dis @ Focused on the Magic
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This week's Wordless Wednesday picture is a little different. I started the week off posting on Beth's On Safari in Harambe series, and that got me into the safari mood so I thought I'd continue the Kilimanjaro Safari Adventure. I couldn't decide on just one photo for my calendar shot, so I made a photo montage of a few.

I realized while doing this project:

#1 I need some serious help with my scrap booking!

#2 I have enough animal pictures to fill a book!

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I'd like to thank my friend Mary at Capturing Magical Memories for generously sharing the safari embellishments with me and for inspiring to get back to scrap booking.

On Safari in Harambe with Pursuing the Magic

Today, you can find me over at Pursuing the Magic as part of Beth's On Safari in Harambe series. I will be sharing photography tips to help you capture great memories on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride in Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. CLICK HERE to head on over and enjoy!

Self Portrait, Kilimanjaro Safari, Disney World, Florida

Self portraits are a way of getting in the picture when traveling solo. Pin It

Have a Magical Day!

Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday ~ Animal Attractions in Animal Kingdom

Come along and join the fun! Link up your Disney Almost Wordless or Wordless Wednesday posts, make new Disney friends, visit with old friends, see some great pictures at

The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

with me, Debs Dis @ Focused on the Magic

Animal Attractions

Animal Kingdom Giraffes sharing a moment behind a tree;)

Monkey love on display in Animal Kingdom

Best Buddies

Welcome to
The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop
hosted by Debs Dis @ Focused on the Magic
Where your Almost or Wordless Wednesday Disney-related photo posts are always welcome to link up!

Come along and join the fun!

Make new friends, visit with old friends, see some great pictures as you blog hop. Each week we have a theme that you can follow if you'd like. On Saturday it is announced in my weekly review, on the Focused on the Magic Facebook Page and Google+.

This week's theme is...

Wildlife!

Tiger on the Maharaja Jungle Trek in Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World

taken with a Nikon D200 and a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom Nikkor Lens

What could be more wild for Wildlife Wordless Wednesday than the beautiful Asian tigers in Disney's Animal Kingdom? I've posted these before and I even feature one of the tigers in my banner. So, you may be tired of seeing them. I just love looking at them and had to share them again.

These shots were taken on a very hot afternoon in August so there wasn't much playing going on. Occasionally this tiger would swat a beach ball in the water. Or play in the fountains.

The temperatures and humidity kept most folks out of the park that day. Even my camera fogged up with humidity that day!

Animal Kingdom always feels hotter than the other parks because the paths are more narrow and there's no breeze. It makes for a very good time to visit though. If you can handle the heat!

We take it very slowly and drink a lot of water. Stopping for ice cream before hitting the Maharajah Jungle Trek. After the parade and toward the end of the day the tigers are more active.

The Writer's Stop Revisited

Today we are going to revisit one of my favorite Foodie Fare hangouts in Disney's Hollywood Studios , The Writer's Stop for my Disney friends blog hop.

6 Favorite Walt Disney World Snacks

When a snack attack happens to you while you are in Walt Disney World there are numerous delicious snack offerings in just about all the resorts and all the parks to choose from.

With so many tasty delights to choose from I thought it best to limit myself to my absolutely could not tour without it, top six.

My Top 6 Snacks in Walt Disney World:

Dole Whip - This soft serve delight is at the top of my favorite list and a snack I've written about often. You can read my posts here and here. It's one snack I’ve never tasted outside of the parks which makes even more special for me. They have a healthy dose of vitamin C, they're fat free, cholesterol free, lactose free and only 80 calories for a 1/2 cup serving. Not a lot of calories for a dessert. Walking around the park would burn a Dole Whip off pretty quickly.

Dole Whips can be found in The Magic Kingdom’s Aloha Isle, or Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian Resort. Captain Cook’s offers a self serve Dole Whip in pineapple or vanilla. At the Aloha Isle, you can get the famous pineapple flavor or vanilla or orange flavors. They’re served straight up in a cup or as a float. I prefer the cup whereas the rest of my family enjoys floats. Except Paul, who dislikes Dole Whips. Hard for me to believe but that's a whole other post!

The Holidays at Disney ~ Cinderella's Holiday Wish

Each night as the daylight hours come to a close during the holiday season, Cinderella's Castle in The Magic Kingdom is transformed into a glimmering, shimmering ice palace during the “Cinderella’s Holiday Wish" stage show.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Cinderella's Holiday Wish

Come along and join the fun! Link up your Disney Almost Wordless or Wordless Wednesday posts, make new Disney friends, visit with old friends, see some great pictures at

The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

with me, Debs Dis @ Focused on the Magic
The theme for this week is

THE HOLIDAYS: IN THE PARKS OR AT HOME

Cinderella's Holiday Wish

Rainforest Cafe ~ Rasta Pasta Recipe

You will find numerous Foodie Fare finds for lunch in Walt Disney World. One that offers an escape from the heat and excitement of the parks and is almost an attraction by itself is The Rainforest Cafe.

This is a fun and easy going recipe from The Rainforest Cafe that reminds me so much of those relaxed laid back meals we've enjoyed there many times.

It tastes much better than it looks:)

Rainforest Cafe ~ Rasta Pasta

Ingredients:

8 oz Farfalle (bowtie) pasta

1 t. chopped garlic

2 T. olive oil

1 C. chopped fresh spinach

1 C. broccoli florets

1 medium red pepper, roasted

1 C. grilled chicken, sliced into 1/2" pieces

1 C. prepared Alfredo sauce

1/8 C. prepared basil pesto sauce

1 t. Italian seasoning

2 T. shredded Parmesan cheese

Prepare:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.

In a 12" saute pan, saute garlic in oil.

Add spinach, broccoli, green pepper and grilled chicken. Toss to combine.

Stir in Alfredo and pesto sauces. Simmer for 5 min.

Reheat pasta if necessary.

Pour pasta into bowl and top with vegetable/sauce mixture.

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.

I hope you give this recipe a try! If you do, please tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by. Bon Appetit!

Sunday

Silent Sunday ~ Join Me

Do you have pictures that *speak* for themselves? Photos that stand alone without words. I've been sharing mine on Silent Sundays for a while now and thought you might like to join me. I would love to see yours!

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