Disney Blog at Magical Kingdoms

By Guest Blogger Vikki W.

Taking a baby to Disney really is easier than you might think. We took Ava when she was six months old, so I thought I’d put some things together that would help anyone else who was thinking of taking a little person too.

First things first. The most important thing really is planning. Of course, if you’re taking a baby this would probably seem obvious, but the devil really is in the detail. I think I over planned to be perfectly honest, and considered things that I never really needed to. However I tend to think that over planning is always better than under planning.

Important things to note for us in particular was that I was breastfeeding Ava when we went, so even though I did try and take note of bottle feeding facilites, I didn’t look at those specifically. Also, we were doing baby led weaning with her, which pretty much means she ate whatever we did – no purees or anything like that to deal with. To be honest, although this is easier all round anyway, we chose this method particularly because we knew it would be easier to do with a baby around as we wouldn’t have to worry about jars or warming food up.

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By Guest Blogger Anthony W.

So at ridiculous o’clock (6:00am) I got up and had a quick bit of breakfast, then in the car and off to the Magic Kingdom, yay! Now at this point I really didn’t have a clue as to where I was meant to be actually heading as I assumed that the car park would not be open, however the car park was the best place to head for. After a short drive I pulled up to a booth at the gate and explained to the lady where I was going….. guess what…. she had no idea what I was on about so she just directed me around to the main car park. I pulled into the car park and walked around to the TTC, slight problem when I got there because all the gates were shut, however I found a random cast member who let me through.

Next problem all the monorail entrances were closed, I started to panic at this point as the tour was supposed to start in 8 minutes. Fortunately another nice cast member came over and asked what I was doing. After I explained they took me up to the express monorail station and spoke to a cast member on the platform, he got on his radio and then 2 minutes later a private monorail arrived just for me, I even got my own greeting from the driver!
“Hello to my one and only passenger, sit back and relax we will be at the MK in a few minutes so you won’t be late”

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By Guest Blogger Chris.

Hi! My name is Chris and this is my blog about staying off-site when visiting Walt Disney World. I should probably explain a little about myself in case you are wondering why I am writing this blog.

I have visited Walt Disney World (WDW) 5 times and for various reasons have always stayed off-site, racking up the numbers of various hotels and resorts around the Orlando area and beyond. Also through immediate and extended family members also visiting the Mouse (and continuing the trend of staying off-site) I have amassed a bit of knowledge on the various lodgings in the I-Drive area (which I’ll explain about a little later).

As I’ve two younger siblings (the youngest is 6 years younger than me) I also have first-hand experience of holidays with children under 8, teenagers, young adults and “old” adults travelling with family and as a couple with my girlfriend.

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By Guest Blogger Jamie P.

Ok, a slight change of pace. For this review I need to tell it more as a story, so come with me, if you will, back into the mists of time. Well maybe a few months, and with a memory like mine that really is the mists of time. The point of all this will, of course, be revealed. I digress.

September 2010, Sarah and I finally made the jump after many years of consideration and finally joined up for the DVC. We were staying at Saratoga Springs, and that is where the open house is based so we figured what the heck, let’s go see what it’s all about. At least we get free ice cream, right?

It turns out the ice cream was the thing we left without, having signed up we left and experienced a massive case of ‘oh my god have we done the right thing?’. Anyway, we enjoyed the remainder of our holiday and came home safe in the knowledge that next year we would be making a return, this time staying on points for the first time. Incidentally the remainder of the vacation was great, as they pretty much always are, and we found ourselves making the long journey home with lots of plans for how the next vacation would pan out. continue reading…

By Guest Blogger Christina F.

So you’re in college or have a child who is and they (or you) have always wanted to work for Disney. The Disney College Program (DCP) makes that nice and easy.

The first thing to do is to head to the College Program Website (http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com) to see if there will be a live presentation for you. If not, no fear, you can view the online presentation.

Once you view a presentation you will be able to do the application and Web Based Interview(WBI). This is a very important step that a lot of people gloss over. It takes about 20 minutes and has a lot of questions that you have to answer on a scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. The best tip for the WBI is to be consistent and try not to be too neutral. There are many questions that are the same but worded differently to be sure that you are really reading the questions.

The first thing to know about the DCP is to figure out when you would want to go. For the majority of students (culinary students aside) there are five seasons. Spring, Spring Advantage, Summer Alumni, Fall and Fall Advantage. As the name implies, Summer Alumni is for Alumni of the program so first timers cannot go just for the fall.

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By Guest Blogger Kathleen Hubert.

Many can list Walt Disney’s accomplishments as easily as they might list items on a grocery list. Disney created Mickey Mouse. He produced the first full-length animated movie. His amusement park, Disneyland, became the first theme park. Disney formed the first multimedia corporation. Disney’s achievements are truly impressive, but more impressive still may be the impact that he and his company have made upon the world and world culture.

Mickey Mouse, Disney’s first unqualified success, appeared at a time when the world was in the first throes of the Great Depression. Mickey’s indomitable spirit, as well as the technological advances that Disney displayed in those first cartoons, struck a chord with movie-going audiences seeking signs that neither the human spirit, nor humanity’s ability to progress into the future, had been irreparably damaged by hard times. People became invested in Mickey Mouse. In rooting for Mickey, audiences were cheering on their own success as well.

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By Guest Blogger Jamie

OK, so coming up with something to review that hasn’t been done a billion times is a bit tricky, so I have decided to kick off with a bit of off-site dining, which may have been done to death, but it’s a wide open place to start.

Just to give you a bit of background, I’m Jamie and my wife is Sarah, we are becoming what you might call veterans, having had our wedding at the wedding pavilion back in 2005 we have somehow managed to return to Florida every year since, now finally taking the attitude that we will be coming back anyway, we finally joined the DVC in 2010. We always stay on Disney, we generally do the parks, hire a car and eat in the World (the last four years have included the dining plan, which helps). We are English, from Nottinghamshire, and,well, hopefully you will get to know us by reading on.

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Thanks to a friend of ours who has recently worked as a Cast Member (CM) at Epcot on the Disney College Program for this article.

Here are a couple of things I’ve learned and observed while being on the other side (along with some hints):

Please remember that CMs are there to help you, assist you and create magic. However, they are not there to be yelled at, cursed at, screamed at and told that they’re stupid, not doing their job right or any variation of that. When we ask you to do something, it’s more than likely because of safety concerns. CMs are people. We have feelings.

Now, some thoughts from the couple of places I’ve worked since being here.

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If it’s your first time traveling to Disney World, things can get pretty confusing on deciding what ticket is right for you. This is a brief guide that will give you a leg up on what to look for when purchasing your Disney World tickets.

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Hi there, I am Mr Brit and I write a very unique style of Orlando travel guide that is a ‘must have’ tool for any Brit planning a holiday (as Brits call it) to the most fun city on Earth – Orlando. The title of the guide is the Mr Brits Guide To Orlando. Although the guide is aimed at the British traveller, the guide has been sold around the world from Australia to Mexico because it is the perfect tool for any visitor to Orlando and its theme parks.

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