Port Orleans French Quarter Room Tour

Port Orleans French Quarter Room Tour

Port Orleans Riverside Royal Rooms

Here is a photo tour of these rooms available at Port Orleans Riverside for a upgrade.  Perfect for both your Prince and Princess.  They are available with a Standard or Riverview.

This sign announces you are entering the Royal Room area

Princess Wall Art

Amazing Royal Headboard

The Royal Bedspread

A note from Princess Tiana

The Bathroom Sparkles 

A room fit for a Royal Family

Maria is a travel agent with Snapshot Getaways, princess fan and mom to 2 boys.  Follow her on her Facebook Page for travel tips and deals!

Disney's Planes Party Ideas

Love the movie Planes in my house and here are a few simple ideas for throwing a themed party.

Menu

Baked Propellers (mini ziti) and Cheese

Spinach and Artichoke Cropduster Dip

El Chubacabra in a Blanket (Hot Dogs)

Ripslinger Pizza

Snack Size Chips and Pretzels

Juices and Soft Drinks in Small Clear Cups

Decorations and Favors

I used a lot of my son's toys to decorate the table and food area.  I also used my Disney Movie Rewards to download some free posters.  Then printed at home!  Hung some paper airplanes from the ceiling and we were ready for takeoff!   

For the Favors we did a Baggage Claim Area.  Purchased a few lunch boxes from a local discount store and filled with crayons shaped line planes, coloring books and a paper airplane.  I was able to get those from a online Party Store.

Cupcakes

These were a combination of several online ideas merged into one cupcake.  

You will need:

Cupcakes with Blue Icing, piped high

Light Blue M&M's

Eye Candy

Oreos

Orange Candy Melts

Edible Paper or Black Licorice

1.  Order Cupcakes from Bakery (yes I cheated, don't tell Pinterest)

2.  Cut edible paper into Propeller shapes or use Black Licorice

3.  Dip Oreo with fork in melted colored chocolate and shake until 

smooth, place on wax paper

4.  Place Eyes, Nose and Propellers 

5.  Once hardened, place Oreo topper on cupcake

Mickey Mom Tip:  I did the same thing with marshmallows on a stick.  Same orange melt and decorations and placed them on piece of foam covered in maps.  These I brought these to my son's school because of so many gluten and other food allergies and they were a big hit.  Such a hit, that I didn't get a picture!

Maria aka Mickey Mom is a mom to two boys who loves throwing birthday parties!  Visit her Facebook Page

Coronado Springs Executive Suites

This Spring I had the opportunity to tour several resorts as part of an agent program offered by Disney World.  It was an amazing experience for me to see so many different layouts and suites.  Most notably an Executive Suite at Casitas in Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.  Yes, this suite has a hefty price tag ($1100-$1400), but is an option for larger families as it sleeps six.  It can also be a great "home base" for family reunions, with the majority of a large group staying in standard rooms. 

The space is equivalent to five standard rooms and you feel at home from the minute you walk in the door.  There is a huge dining table which seats 8 to one side, and a seating area with entertainment unit to the other.  In between is a wet bar with refrigerator and Keurig coffee machine.  The main space also features a half bath.  There are 2 bedrooms offered.  The first is a King bed with private whirlpool tub.  The second features 2 double beds and an a private full sized bathroom.  

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story!

Living Area

Wet Bar with Refrigerator and Keurig Coffee Machine

Dining Table

Master Bedroom with King Bed

Master Bath Sink

Master Bath with Whirlpool Tub

Cool Hidden Mickey in the Main Lobby

Maria is a Travel Planner for Snapshot Getaways, mom to 2 boys, blogger and looks forward to staying in a Executive Suite soon!  Like her on Facebook. 

Pick-A-Pearl

For our recent trip to Walt Disney World my 15 year old daughter knew that she wanted to do something she'd never done before (there's always something new to try at Disney!) and that she wanted to bring home a unique souvenir that would do more than collect dust once she got home.

                                   

  

She did a bit of research and decided that she wanted to Pick-A-Pearl from the station at the Mitsukoshi store in the Japan Pavillion of EPCOT's World Showcase.

This store is quite large but the pearl station is easy to spot, front and center. When we approached the counter we weren't sure at first what to do but quickly figured out that we'd need to purchase a ticket to get our place in line. The ticket, good for choosing one oyster, cost $17 plus tax. Once we'd paid we were given a receipt with a number on it that we waited to hear called. It wasn't a busy day so we only had to wait about 10 minutes until it was my daughter's turn. The cast member gave her an enthusiastic welcome and then asked my daughter to choose her oyster from the shallow display case.

         

Once the oyster had been selected the cast member made a very big show of opening it to reveal the pearl inside and then measure (sizes vary) and clean it. The cast member then made a production (with drums!) of congratulating my daughter before presenting her with the pearl in a small plastic bag with the size marked.

                                      

                                      

                                      

At that time she had the option to move on and choose a setting for an additional fee. There are many, MANY options for settings at a variety of prices. But my daughter had done her research and knew what she wanted, a Cinderella carriage cage charm that opens to hold the pearl inside.

                                     

Overall she was happy with both the experience and with her extra special souvenir. We'd both highly recommend this experience!

Hope is ready to help you find the one of kind experience you're looking for on your next vacation. Contact her at Hope@SnapshotGetaways.com or find her on Facebook. You can also follow her on Instagram; sghope12.