Magical Blogorail Red - Alone Time At Disney World

Welcome to those of you joining me from Growing Up Disney and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 3rd stop on our Magical Blogorail.


What would I do with 3 hours to myself at Walt Disney World?  For me this was super easy, I would go to Hollywood Studios and go straight to Walt Disney: One Man's Dream.  It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Walt's and love reading everything I can find about his life and his work. 

I would take the time to really explore the exhibit and not feel rushed.  I would enjoy listening to Walt's story in his own words.  I would bask in the knowledge that I was looking at the same things Walt had looked at in his lifetime.  I would imagine Walt going over all the details for Disneyland and Walt Disney World again and again as I look at the models of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty Castles and Main Street USA.  

I would love looking at all of the movie memorabilia like the but most of all I think my favorite exhibit of all would be Walt's Office set up just like he had it.  I imagine I would feel like he could walk in the door at any minute.  

As I exit the building I would thank Walt for being Walt.  Isn't it amazing what an impact One Man's Dream can have on all of us?

A special thanks to my good friend Kelly for allowing me to use the pictures from her visit to One Man's Dream.  It's great to have a Disney Sister who understands my love of all things Walt.  

For those of you who are wondering, yes I could spend three hours looking at all these exhibits. But when I made my exit I would make time for a Mickey Bar before I took the bus back to my resort.


Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Focused on the Magic.


Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ A World View

2nd Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

3rd Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

4th Stop ~ Focused on the Magic

Final Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney 

Have a Magical Day!!

Donna Kay

Disney Parties - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Yesterday we shared our Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party Boards with you, continuing with that theme today I am sharing some tutorials and recipes to help you pull your party off flawlessly.

Food

• Balance out your salty/savory and sweet.  Sweets are so cute it's hard not to go overboard, but be careful because too much can overwhelm you guests.  If you are determined to have every sweet concoction you see on the internet consider having a sweets table or candy buffet for guests to take some sweet treats home.
• Offer more choices.  Adults and adventurous kids will love having additional vegetables and dips to choose from.  Season with Spice has three great vegetable dip recipes in this post - Honey Mustard, Spicy Whole Grain Mustard and Addicting Dill.  Also consider add more vegetable selections like yellow, red and green peppers, cucumbers, radishes, asparagus, squash.  Here's a creative way to display your vegetables.

• Chicken nuggets don't have to be boring!  Off dipping sauces that are sweet, savory, spicy or just plain different.  Try Orange Dipping Sauce, Buffalo Sauce, Homemade BBQ Sauce or you always have the option to use ready made sauce from the grocery store or your favorite restaurant.  Do keep in mind that mayo and dairy base sauces must be kept cool and will spoil easily.
• When planning your sweets menu be sure to add variety to your flavors, you don't want chocolate cup cakes, chocolate cakepops & Oreo truffles with devils food cake for the birthday cake.  Try Lemon, Strawberry, Orange, Red Velvet or Banana for a nice change.  One last thing, when it comes to cakes and cupcakes for a party you can't beat the box mixes for ease of use, price and taste.

Decor

• Party Hats - This tutorial from Project Nursery is a great step-by-step for making party hats.  You will need to cut black circles for the Mickey Ears, 2 per hat.  Fold the bottom 1/4" of the circle up, hot glue the ear to the hat with the fold facing the back of the hat.  
• Minnie Tutu - Here is a easy tutorial for making a no sew tutu from Skip To My Lou.  Add a cute t-shirt and Minnie Mouse ears and you are all set.
• Mickey Mouse Wreath - A tutorial for making the Mickey wreath from yesterday's post via Tip Junkie.  As I said before, you could easily change this to another character by changing the balloon colors and plush.  
• Mickey Silhouette Centerpiece - Remember this gorgeous Mickey centerpiece at the end of my post yesterday?  Tip Junkie shared the party from Bits and Pieces of the Better Life who made her version using this tutorial from Shay Bocks.  I love the way she displays it on a cake plate.

• Clubhouse Sign - A cute Clubhouse sign as an alternative to yesterday's Mickey's glove sign, this one would be very easy to replicate with paint or vinyl.

When I started this post I had a lot of things I wanted to include, but now I'm thinking it's information overload.  I am going to stop here and post again next week with more tips and tricks to make your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party FABULOUS!!  I will be including info for setting up a candy buffet!!

Have a Magical Day!!
Donna Kay

Disney Party Boards - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party

Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!! Last week I received an email from Kat who's daughter is turning 4 this fall. Her daughter has requested a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party, and Kat asked if we could do a party board to help her get started.  She knew she needed to get started right away (smart girl), and we were more than happy to help out.  Today we are looking at food and decor ideas, and tomorrow we will be sharing some recipes, tutorials and some planning tips and tricks.

Like us, Kat is a DIY girl and will be doing much of the party prep, food and decorations herself.  She is smart to start early to give herself time to get everything together over the next few months instead of going crazy a week before the party.  Starting early is also better on the budget too, allowing you to buy things as you go instead of spending a lot of money at the last minute.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party Board Decor

1. Napkins & Silverware - This is something we try to always do, wrap your silverware in the napkin and seal it with a cute napkin ring.  So much easier for your guests than trying to juggle several thing while preparing their plate.
2. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cake - Yes, we know cake is food, but in this case it serves as a centerpiece, and it's almost too pretty to cut.  You can cut back on the number of cake layers to reduce cost and left overs, choose the layers inspired by your little ones favorite characters.
3. Balloons - Balloons are simple and colorful decor, and kids love them - especially toddlers.  This pink and white combo is great for Minnie, but you could choose red, yellow and black for Mickey or blue and white for Donald.
4. Invitations - Your invitations set the mood for the party, be sure they project your theme.  I chose this fun invitation because it included all of the main characters from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, this was important to our little birthday girl.
5. Printables - These brightly colored, personalized printables can be used in so many ways!! They can also add continuity to the party decor, watch for more info tomorrow!!
6. Pez Dispensers - How perfect are these Pez Dispensers!! They are a great addition to your dessert table or as a favor for your guests.
7. Minnie Tutu - Wouldn't our birthday girl look fabulous in this Minnie tutu? There may be a Tutu Tutorial tomorrow, you'll have to drop by to find out. The Disney Store also has an adorable pink and white Minnie costume perfect for the occasion.
8. DIY Party Hats - There are so many things I love about these party hats!! The bright colors, the ribbon and ric-rac the Mickey ears!! Remember - "We've got ears; say Cheers!"
9. Mickey Glove Sign - This sign is so cute, and screams Mickey!! You could put it in the front yard to welcome to your guest, or use it to say "Thanks for Coming!"
10. Decorated Letters - Quite possibly my favorite decoration of them all!! Each individual letter is inspired by a character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  They are definitely a showpiece!! 
11. Mickey Mouse Wreath - I love this DIY wreath made from balloons, floral pins and a stuffed Mickey!! A change of balloon colors and plush and it can easily be changed to Minnie, Donald, Goofy or Daisy!!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party Board Food

1. Minnie Mouse Cakepops - You already know I LOVE cakepops, so it's no surprise I chose these fabulous Minnie ones!! You could definitely make these yourself, but fair warning it can be very time consuming!!
2. Cake Truffles - Simply cakepops without a stick, this design would be much easier to pull off.  You could also try Oreo truffles if you are having cakepops or cupcakes.
3. Hot Diggity Dogs - It doesn't matter if you're 8 or 80 everyone loves pigs-in-a-blanket!!  Do your prep work the night before and refrigerate, bake them in time to be warm for the party.
4. Mickey's Clubhouse Sandwiches - These DIY club sandwiches are a great idea, especially when you have guests of all ages.  Make sure to have a variety of breads, meats and condiments - but be careful using mayo in the warmer months!
5. Character Cupcakes - These printable cupcake wrappers and toppers are a great addition to your sweets table.  When making your cupcakes be sure to add some variety to the flavors-each character could be a different flavor combo.
6. Daisy's Garden Veggies - We all love for the kids to eat their veggies, don't we?  Add some variety in dips and veggies too.  
7. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cookies - These delicious butter cookies are iced then decorated with fondant cutouts.  If your fondant skills aren't up to par, printable sugar wafer paper is another option.
8. Kisses - I love how the basket reads "Kisses From Olivia" simply adorable!! You can easily print out 1" icons, punch them out and adhere to the bottom of the kisses.  You could even use a variety of flavors since Hershey's gives us so many to choose from.
9. Donald's Dunkers - Chicken nuggets are always a hit with the little ones.  Be sure to have simple sauces for kids (especially ketchup) and more exotic ones for adults.  

We hope today's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party Boards have inspired you to get ready for your next party!! Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for more Clubhouse fun!!  You may even see some fun party ideas not included in today's board...

Have a Magical Day!!

Ashley & Donna Kay

Did You Know...Plane Crazy

May 15, 1928
Plane Crazy  premiered as a sneak preview at a theater on Sunset Boulevard in LA.  

• First silent short to feature Mickey & Minnie.
• First appearance of  Carolyn whose name was later changed to Clarabelle Cow.
• Parody of the Charles Lindbergh craze.
• Co-directed by Walt Disney & Ub Iwerks.
• Iwerks was the main animator for Plane Crazy, he worked on the animation for six weeks.
• Hugh Harman & Rudolf Ising were animation assistants. They will go on to start Warner Bros. and MGM animation studios.
• First animated film to use a camera move.
• Sound was added to Plane Crazy and it was officially released March 17, 1929 - four months after Steamboat Willie.
• On Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,  Mickey regularly flies the plane from Plane Crazy, which he calls the  "Toonplane".

Hope you enjoyed these fun facts about Plane Crazy!

Have a Magical Day!!

Donna Kay

Mentoring Mondays - Must Read Blog Posts

Occasionally we all need a little reminder to keep us on our blogging toes.  Today I am sharing a few posts from  that I think everyone will find useful.

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Melissa with Momcomm, and today she has a post that everyone needs to take a moment to read.

photo credit:  Momcomm

Thanks for the reminder Melissa!!

Today the SITS Girls are sharing great blog design tips.  This post by Francesca is very informative and thought provoking, especially if you are considering a new blog design.

photo credit: The Perfect Palette

More great post are coming this week, be sure to stop by often.  As a matter of fact their Spring Fling is currently underway.  Even if you are a well established blogger, the information they are sharing is still very valuable.  Here is a link to the first Spring Fling post - Spring Fling Starts Today.  So far they have discussed  using Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Pinterest in conjunction with your blog.  Hurry over and catch up, and see what's coming up for the rest of this week.

I hope you will check out these two awesome blogs, they inspire me all of the time.  There is such a wealth of information at both places, be sure follow them or sign up for their posts via email.

Have a Magical Day!!

Donna Kay