Why We Are Thankful For Disney

Thanksgiving Day is a time to take a second, look around, reflect and be thankful. We are all thankful for many things like our families, our health, jobs and so on. The Disney Devoted team wanted to take a second and say why we are thankful for Disney.

Lisa

I am thankful for Disney because it keeps real magic alive in this world. Only at Disney, do I get to see my 13 year old turn back into the same little girl who first looked down Main Street with wide eyes and exclaimed, "Look mom! It's Cinderella's castle!!"  For me, that is real magic. And whether I am home remembering our trips, or at the Disney and immersed in the magic, the magic is always with me and with my family. That is the gift Walt Disney gave to the world, and I will always be so very thankful for it. 

Maria

I am thankful for Disney because it has become a way of life for our family.  Having grown up on Disney Classics, I loved introducing my sons to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Robin Hood and Cinderella.  Disney keeps all of us on our toes with new movies like Toy Story, Cars and Planes. Then when our oldest was just 2 we rediscovered going to Disney as a family.  There is pure joy on your child's face as they meet the people and worlds of their dreams.  Truly a magical experience for us as parents.  It's hard not to be Thankful for a place that makes wishes come true!

Michelle

 Disney makes my heart happy.  I am thankful for the many memories I have created with my family and friends through the years.  I am thankful for the fact that I can escape my everyday life and journey into the movies and books I have loved since childhood.  Entering Disney World property makes my heart soar and I am thankful for my "happy" Disney World bubble which I refuse to leave once I am on property.  Disney is a language of its own in our home.  I am thankful for this as well.  The movies, characters, lessons and music are a constant thread that run through our daily lives.   Disney rocks! 

 

Dulcie

I am thankful for Disney because it has given me so many lasting memories over the years. My first trip was at the age of 2 and I've since enjoyed so many special trips with my own little family of 3. I am also thankful that I've been able to help other families plan magical trips with their own families by being a travel planner.I have made a lot of new friends a long the way. Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

Amanda

 I am thankful for Disney because of all the memories it has given me with my boys. I do have an outside job away from the home, so all the time I can get with my boys is precious. Disney allows me to take a week or many to disconnect from everything outside the bubble and just be with them. Laughter and the smiles can never have a price tag and these memories keep my heart warm forever.

Frankie

I am thankful for Disney because of the people it has enabled me to meet.  Some of these people have become close friends, and I'm still meeting more.  Growing up in Florida, Disney was always a part of our lives.  There have been many changes to WDW since I was a child, but it's always fun to see what's just around the corner for the parks.  As someone without children, I can honestly say that we have just as much fun as parents with children at Disney.  It's the one place where we "big kids" can have as much fun as the "little kids".  Finally, I'm thankful for the opportunity to help others plan for their trips to Disney, where I'm sure they'll make many happy memories.

Hope

I am thankful for Disney because it extends childhood, if only for a few days. When I'm at Disney I'm able to let go and have fun in a way that I just can't anywhere else. But more importantly I see my teenagers doing the same. Whether they're getting a hug from their favorite character, racing to their favorite ride, indulging in a sweet treat, or skipping down Main Street without hesitation it's a real thrill as a mom to see them let go and remember childlike wonder. 

Gina

I'm thankful that Disney is here for my daughter, as it was for me when I was growing up. From the time she could say her first words she had been in love with Mickey Mouse (as she calls him, "Mee Mow"). We recently too her for her first time to Disney World, and the magic I saw through her eyes was breathtaking. She was a year and a half while we were there, and it will probably never be a real or as magical for her as it was then. Our first stop on our first day was the Harmony Barbershop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom to get on the waiting list for her first haircut. While we were waiting the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party parade went by and she nearly lost her mind with excitement when she saw Mickey and all his friends. I knew she was going to love seeing him, but I was not prepared for the lump in my throat that suddenly appeared. We decided to try our hand at meeting the talking Mickey Mouse at the The Town Square Theater. We knew she would love seeing Mickey at a distance, but we were fairly certain she would be terrified of him up close. We could not have been more wrong. As soon as we entered the theater and she saw Mickey she started trying to launch herself out of our arms, she raised her hands up and kept repeating, "uppy uppy". She wanted Mickey to hold her (he's not able to hold children, fyi). That lump appeared in my throat again! Some people may wonder if it is worth it to take a toddler to Disney since they won't remember the trip, and I say it it absolutely worth it. Even though she won't remember the trip, the experience has affected her profoundly, and I'm certain she will carry it with her in some way as she grows up

From our Disney Devoted family to yours: Happy Thanksgiving!

Backstage Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Hey Disney Devoted Fans!!! It's Dulcie again and I just recently had a client that went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and took her daughter on the Backstage Safari tour for her 19th Birthday!
(It's good to see my family isn't the only one that likes to make these tours extra Birthday surprises)

I asked her a few questions that I thought everyone would like to know about the tour and she sent me some photos to use in this post too.

I just want to say THANK YOU Brianne for sharing your experience with us all.

How many guests were in your tour group?

There were 8 guest total, including Cheyenne and me. This gave us all the opportunity to get to know each other just a bit and so felt a bit more relaxing versus a huge group.

In your opinion were there too many people or was it perfect for the type of tour you were doing?
Eight people was the perfect amount of guests. I personally think that anything over 12 guests on this particular tour would be too many.The reason why is that once you are on the Safari Truck, the less crowded the seats are the better opportunity to take pictures without having someone in your way. From the size of the van they provided for the first part of the tour, my guess would be that 12 might be the maximum per group, but I could be wrong

Did you find the Backstage Animal Safari physically challenging or was it a pretty easy tour? 

Backstage Safari was an easy tour.  It started out at the meeting place by the front of the park. We then walked at an easy pace through a small portion of the park in order to get to the transportation van.  When in the van, we drove over to the animal holding area for the rhinos and elephants. After that tour, we rode in the van to the nutrition building, then walked across the parking lot to the veterinary hospital.  We did our tour and were able to sit for about 15 minutes in the classroom, get some water and use the restrooms. Back into the van and off to the area where we would catch the Safari bus. The road the Safari bus drives on is bumpy, but not to the point of discomfort. (I had injured my back just days before this trip and the road didn't make it any more uncomfortable).  We started our tour at 8:30am and so it was nice weather and the animals were out and visible throughout the ride.

Do you think that this tour was informational and did you learn a lot of new things about the care of the animals in the park?

The tour was very informational and it shows how humane and secure their holding areas are.  In the nutrition portion of the tour, we saw the staff preparing the meals for the next day and it was very interesting as to how the measure out everything, what goes into the meals and the freshness of the food. I think for the older kids, it gives them the opportunity to see what types of opportunities there are for careers within the park.

Did you get to touch or hold any of the animals?

Unfortunately we did not get to touch or pet any animals. I was going to ask if we could touch the Rhino mom and baby, but then then decided not to.  Simply because I assumed it could be harmful to them if anyone on their multiple tours had something that they could transmit to the animals without knowingly doing so.

What were the highlights of the tour for you personally?

#1- I would say the Safari Ride out to see the animals.

#2 The nutrition area and holding pens, especially since the happened to have a mom & baby Rhino there.

#3. Vet hospital was good because the tour guide was very knowledgeable about some of the lab tests and procedures being implemented on the animals and one of the lab techs was there and gave us quite a bit of

interesting info and even shared a couple pictures. 
However, we (especially Cheyenne since she wants to be a veterinarian) were very disappointed that there wasn't more to the vet hospital tour, for example - we thought we would have the opportunity to have a question

answer session with one of the vets there on duty, or a more in-depth tour of the facility, but it was only the lab that we got to see.

#4- The short, yet informational walking tour as we started out.   I was a bit disappointed that the elephants were already out of their holding pens by the time we got to that part of the tour, but looking back I don't think that there was anything saying there would.

Do you think that you would do it again in the future or was one time enough to say you had the experience?

We would do it again, especially if we had someone with us that had never been.  My reason for going again would be the Safari Ride with such a small group was more relaxing than trying to squeeze into the safari bus with a load full of strangers. 

What are 3 tips you have for someone going on this tour?

The weather didn't really affect us since we were riding in an air conditioned van and the safari ride in the bus was mostly shaded. Definitely bring a camera, but you have to be quick with taking the pictures as our bus only paused for seconds before moving on. Sunglasses helped because we would go from inside a bldg. and back out into the bright sun, but not needed in general for the riding around.

Do you think that the tour was too short or too long time wise?

We felt it was the perfect length of time.  We started at about 8:30am and were done by 11:30 am.  And that was even with folks asking questions and several park staff giving us lots of fun side stories about a variety of things.

The Backstage Safari Tour is not to be confused with the Wild Africa Trek.
Cost per person $72.00 +tax and is for ages 16 + *no exceptions will be made and you must provide a photo ID when checking in*.
They do offer discounted tickets to AP holders, DVC members and Disney Visa card holders.
A portion of the proceeds from the tours are donated to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

                     All information is current at the time of this blog post.
*Photos and personal interview courtesy of Brianne Hoover.These photos are not to be used or shared without permission.

 

A little about Dulcie...

I am a native Floridian who has been traveling to Disney World since 1976! I am Submariners wife,Mommy to a 9 yr old "Princess" Imagineer in Training and Travel Agent Extraordinaire with Snapshot Getaways. I earned my ears 4 years ago with Disney College of Knowledge and have enjoyed every Magical booking since.

Feel free to contact me for your FREE quote today and let's start Makin' Memories the Disney way.
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Email-Dulcie@SnapshotGetaways.com

Friday Freebie-Member Rewards

Each Friday, we like to tell you about free things you can download, projects you can make or just cool stuff that is made cooler because-IT'S FREE!

This week we wanted to tell you about some 0 points items you can download from Disney Movie Rewards. Most folks know about Disney Movies Rewards, but just in case you don't here's the stitch:

1) You sign up for a Disney Rewards account.
2) You buy Disney movies.*
3) You enter the codes from the insert inside the movie case.
4) Disney gives you points for each movie purchase (they also give you points on your birthday, and anniversary, and other times of the year)
5) You redeem those points for cool items. Anything from collectibles, DVDs, movie posters, experiences, clothing, and even gift cards!

*You can also earn points when you go see Disney movies at the theater! Just save your ticket stubs and mail them in.

Now-it's obviously not free to buy the movies to get the codes, but you can get a rewards account for free, and when there are free, or 0 point items, you can grab some fun, and cute items.

Here is an example of one of the free reward items in there right now. It is a free download for a Mickey Head iron on transfer . You can go the traditional route and make iron on transfers, or you could print them out and laminate them and make fun kids place mats, or shrink them down and decoupage them onto a glass tile and make coasters. Your really only limited to your own imagination!

There are lots of cool items in the 0 points bin right now. Printable stickers, more iron-on patterns, e-books, coloring pages, craft templates, and much more! Great for rainy day projects, little rewards, and just to proudly show of how Disney Devoted you are!

So there it is, this week's Friday Freebie! Go on over to our Disney Devoted Facebook page and post pictures of some of the cool items you & your family snagged from Disney Movie Rewards 0 points bin, we would love to see them!