Paperman. True love in under 7 minutes.

Disney creates magic like no other company.  This can be seen first hand in their ability to make a wordless short film that has me talking to the screen and hoping for true love with all my heart.  If you haven't seen this yet- do not miss it. Amazing.

PS- When you are done head on over and enter our "Up" contest!

Magical Moment Monday: One Family's Magical Musical Vacation

When Andrea (the Disney mom in the video) posted me a link to this adorable video over on our Facebook page I knew I wanted to share with all of my readers.  What a fun way to fill in all the gaps while Disney vacationing! First thing I did was message her for her blessing to share it here-- well actually that was the second thing I did because the first thing I did after I finished watching was restart the video and show it to my husband! ;)  I love the song choice and the shots in this video.  Over and over I thought to myself "Wow what a great way to pass the time between fastpasses or when waiting on rides!" I could not get over how creative and just how FUN this is!

After talking a little more with the family I have a nice bit of background on how this video came to be:
The lovely Fischer Family visits Walt Disney World once or twice a year and the kids have been going to the parks since before they were born! The idea for the video came when Andrea was watching vacation videos on YouTube and after discussing with her Hubby they decided they would try it themselves.  As soon as they heard "Good Time" they knew it would be perfect for their video! Although her son was hesitant (and clearly her daughter was not! lol!) the whole family got on board with being silly in front of complete strangers. And as Andrea said herself "It actually enhanced the fun. We shot footage wherever we went and sang the song or mouthed the words."

And for the specifics: It was shot in late November/early December 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i camera.

I don't know about you but I adore this video and it inspires me to get creative with my own videos in the parks! :)

Help Disney Bloggers Fight Hunger!!

In my normal day to day life I feel so grateful the only saying the would properly suit is "my cup runneth over". From the moment I wake up at 5:30 and get ready for work at a job I love, a job that is never work to me, I am happy. When I say good morning to my amazing husband who surprises me and inspires me every day, my heart is filled with love. And when I talk to my healthy and happy family and friends my life feels like I hit the lottery.

I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with the weight of time on my shoulders and it all comes down to the feeling that I have SO much while others have to live with so little. And so I give back. I donate as much as I can whenever I can. I donate my money and my time. I create things from my hobbies and give things away- on my blog here alone I have had 30 giveaways just to say thank you!

Now I am here asking you to give back- whatever you can. Why? Because there are people in our country who can not afford to eat and food is not only a basic need but it is something, all politics aside, everyone has a right to. No one should go hungry in America and when I hear stories about families who are living without while I am making ADRs for my next Disney World trip I feel like the least I could do is donate.

Because of Feeding America's connection with food banks across the nation a $1 donation could provide 8 meals! EIGHT! You could provide meals for a week for less than a cup of coffee. I urge you to join our cause and donate what you can, no matter how big or small. Buy store brand, rent a movie instead of purchasing it, make a PB&J instead of buying lunch or skip Dunkin Donuts just once, and help us Feed America. Every little bit counts. And we have ALREADY MADE $500! We are halfway to our goal!!!

Help me and my fellow Disney Blogging friends by donating at the following link:
http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1140&pxfid=7970

And when you are done visit these amazing and inspiring Disney sites:
Picturing Disney
It's All About the Mouse Travel
Everything Walt Disney World
Disney on Wheels
DragynAlly
A Disney Mom's Thoughts
Disney Babies Blog
Doctor Disney
Magical Mouse Schoolhouse
Mousekejournals
Mouseketrips
Meet the Magic
Kungaloosh
Mouze Kateerz
Addicted to Mickey

Florida Travel Trends by Flip Key

FlipKey Travel Trends: Disney/Orlando by vacation rentals site FlipKey.com

After one of the reps from this blog contacted me I just had to share! FlipKey works with Trip Advisor which I love and its very interesting to see how the "Florida" vacation facts equate with the things I already know about Disney (for example while the Top 5 weeks to visit Orlando are in March, April, and July... the top 2 busiest weeks for Disney are surrounding Christmas). Take your time and give this one a good read! ;)

Make your own Disney Vacation Fund Jar!!

So before I post the instructions on how to make this cute (and super easy) vacation fund jar I had to share this... I just want to give credit where credit is due.  This came to pass after a few different pins I saw on pinterest but they lead to deadends so I can't give proper credit.  All I can say is I was inspired by other amazing crafters (and if you are one of them email me and I will edit this)!

In any case,  lets begin (because you know what Mary says, "Once begun is half done!")

All you need is:

• A mason jar with lid

• Leftover (or brand new) Disney scrapbooking supplies

• A piece of cardstock (cardboard would probably work)

• & a little bit of tacky glue and a pair of scissors

Once you have your supplies, all you need to do is: Decorate your mason jar!!

I used supplies I hadn’t had a place for from my scrapbooking collection so I had stickers that worked and some red ribbon to make a bow around the lid.  

Note: If you use a mason jar that has anything imprinted on it you may find that you are stuck with either cutout letters or stickers that won’t stay put so rub some tacky glue or modge podge (really any glue that dries clear) right on overtop of your decorations and voila! 

Then cut a circle in your card stock matching your jar lid and a small slit in it that can slip coins through.

All that's left now is collecting some change and deciding which drink or snack or souvenir you are going to purchase with it! I recently emptied ours out for our upcoming trip and found that 3/4 of the way full (and dropping quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies in) we ended up with $50! And the best part is since it is decorative and cute I am always saving for that next trip! ;)

Want a printable PDF of this craft? Head over here!

Passporter: The Must Have Disney Guide

  

After posting my Disney DIY exploits I started to get a lot of comments from people who felt like they would love to scrapbook their Disney trips but just couldn’t find the time to sit down and scrap.  Additionally, I found that a lot of people also felt like the couldn’t commit the kind of funds that it takes to make a really personalized scrapbook.  I started thinking about how I could help these people and thought that a Passporter is the answer. I have had Passporter on the brain ever since I found out that one of my photos would be included in their 2013 guidebook! Although, I never end up using them there are awesome pages in your Passporter SET ASIDE just for adding your trip photos! Plus, if you are using your passpockets you are creating journal entries of each day on your own! And there is space for you to squeeze in about 2 weeks of Disney vacation memories– whether you take one long trip, or like I do take a few shorter trips each year.

Another great idea would be having a different member of your family write up the journaling info for each day of your trip so you could look back and see how your son felt eating at Chef Mickey’s or your daughter felt riding Dumbo for the first time.  I find that I don't feel like my trip planning is complete until I purchase my Passporter and it has become a ritual to fill in my info leading up to the trip and then all our last minute details on the plane ride down! No matter how you journal or scrapbook your magical Disney vacations, whether its in a huge book or on a budget, the Passporter is a great place to start! 

Have a Beary Magical Weekend with Disney & Build-A-Bear!

Great news for everyone who is Disney dreaming or has a Prince or Princess at home wishing upon a star! :) This weekend, Build-A-Bear Workshop^® is celebrating the launch of its Disney Princess Bear and collection of enchanting costumes by hosting Princess Weekend in stores throughout North America. Check with your local Build-A-Bear Workshop to see if the event is coming to a store near you!

 Guests will be given the royal treatment with paper crowns and jewel stickers to decorate in their own special way. After some Prince & Princess lessons, guests will be able to create magical memories with the new Disney Princess bear for around $23 (pictured below) featuring a sparkling crown and paw depicting beloved Disney Princess characters and majestic crowns. 

Guests can also magically transform any furry friend into their favorite princess with these new costumes ($16 each):

Belle (available in select stores)

Cinderella

Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty

Snow White (available in select stores)

Tiana

Remember, your princes and princesses are welcome and encouraged to dress up too!  Let me know in comments what you think of the new line or post a picture of your new bear to the Picturing Disney Facebook page! 

Vinylmation Giveaway Winner!

Hey all! 

I didn't know the page rules on Facebook had changed and that the only way I could have people participate through FB was either liking or checking into a place.  I loved all your comments and read every single one though! And special thanks to everyone who shared as well because that was super awesome of your to spread the love! I had to choose a winner based on picture likes though because of the policy- to make it up to you I will have to post another contest real soon! 

In any case, the winner is: Janice InWonderland!!!! Yayyy!!! 

Thank you for being the 37th person to like the post!

Are you a Hidden Mickey Hunter?

Last year at this time we had a Hidden Mickey Challenge here on Picturing Disney where people sent in their favorite Hidden Mickeys from around the Disney World and we held a double contest for who could stump the most people and who could guess the most locations over on the Picturing Disney Facebook page.  It spawned from my own love of the Steve Barrett’s awesome guide books and when I picked up the recent 5th edition I went right back to Barnes & Noble and picked up another to share! The newest edition has over 1,000 Hidden Mickeys and the latest version of the iTunes app is set to release it’s own update to got along with the 200+ more mickeys included in the newest guide! I highly recommend both the book and the app as they are great ways to pass the time whether you are waiting for a midday parade, the evening fireworks, or just standing in a queue line!

    

Do you search for the wonder of imagineering that are Hidden Mickeys while you are on your Disney trips? I am reworking the Hidden Mickey challenge so that we can have a round 2 coming up in just a few weeks!


Can you spot the Hidden Mickey in this picture? Where can you find it in Walt Disney World?