Happy Birthday, Mickey!

 
 Mickey Mouse 1st appeared in Steamboat Willie on this day in 1928!

Mickey Mouse  clip-art from http://disney-clipart.com/

Meet Duffy the Disney Bear!

Who's Duffy the Bear? As I explored the gift shops on Disney Dream there were lots of cute little bears named Duffy. I had seen this little guy advertised as coming to Disneystore.com (my FAVORITE store!), but never really researched to see who he was.

Then I was at Epcot and I saw the gazebo where he does his meet and greet (he wasn't in when I first walked past), but I saw the store across the way FULL of Duffy the Bear! Later I saw him at the United States Pavilion gift shop decked out in his Red White and Blue and fell in love! I almost got him there but waited till later when I went back to the Duffy store. I decided to go check it out after dinner.  Well besides checking out the store- Duffy himself was there in a cute pumpkin outfit!

After meeting Duffy in person I headed to the store and what a time I had narrowing it down to the bear I wanted. Many were already dressed in various outfits, then there were the bears without clothes and you could choose his clothes.

So who is Duffy?

The Story of Duffy The Disney Bear:  

(from Duffy the Bear Facebook Page)
One day, Mickey Mouse was getting ready to set sail on a long sea voyage. Minnie Mouse made him a special teddy bear to take with him so he would never be lonely. Minnie presented her hand sewn bear to Mickey in a duffel bag. Mickey loved the bear and named him Duffy.

As Mickey and Duffy sailed on their journey, they visited all sorts of exciting places and make new friends along the way. At the end of their travels, they sailed back home for a wonderful reunion with Minnie.

Mickey and Duffy shared their magical memories and photos with Minnie, who was thrilled that Duffy was such a great friend and companion for Mickey.

Duffy the Bear and a variety of merchandise can be found on Disney Cruise Line and at Disney Parks. Duffy is only available at the parks and through disneystore.com as he is part of Disney Parks merchandise. There is also a storybook- watch for it in the parks and on disneystore.com.

When you get your Duffy, be sure to bring him with you to the parks and other Disney Vacations as Duffy was born to travel!

I am already ready to add to my new Duffy collection as I love my new 40th Anniversary Walt Disney World Duffy the Bear! Watch for the Patriotic Duffy the Bear to be added to my collection next!

PS- I rumor has it he will be attending Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade. Sure wish I was there to see him there this holiday season! Contact me for more information on Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! It is a fun party you don't want to miss if you plan to visit Magic Kingdom in December!

Spoil Yourself at Downtown Disney....

Shopping at Downtown Disney is quite a treat! Where else can you find a GIANT Disney store, Christmas store, Lego store, art store, Disney pantry store, Disney clothing stores, Disney team apparel, variety of entertainment and food like you would not believe! This place has adventure for people of all ages!

World of Disney is a Disney department-like store filled of Disney treats. There is a home goods section, toys, jewelry, collectibles, clothing and more. The outside of the store is decorated in various Disney characters and they change these up as I have never seen the same statues there in the four times I have visited.

We shopped here our first day and this was also our final stop before heading north. I have a certain amount of money left to spend on my Disney Visa Rewards Card and boy did I have have hard time narrowing down the decision! I finally came out with a Mickey muffin mold and Mickey cookie cutter. I used the cookie cutter just two days after I returned home so I could enjoy Mickey chocolate chip cookies and continue to enjoy the magic even though I was at home.

In addition to shopping in this grand store is Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, a salon where girls and boys can be be transformed into princesses and princes. 

Besides World of Disney, my other two favorite stores are Disney's Days of Christmas and Art of Disney. In our house we have two Christmas trees because mine is 100% Disney! With that I decorate that half of the house in Disney, so this store is always a treat! When I visited this last time I bought a picture frame ornament to put an anniversary photo in that matches an ornament I bought there 10 years ago on our honeymoon with a picture from the honeymoon. What a neat little decoration store. Art of Disney is another favorite. From paintings and drawing to collectibles- I love this store! I could not resist the Precious Moments Snow White Music box. It made me think of my aunt who bought the girls a Precious Moments Tinkerbell and Cinderella music boxes for Christmas last year and the other pieces of the collection she has been getting for us and now I have decided to start collecting.

Check out these sculptures- can you believe these are made out of Legos? This store is nothing but Legos and even has an area for kids to play with Legos. All of this happens at the Lego Imagination Center.

Besides all of the wonderful stores to visit, eating at Downtown Disney is an EXTRA treat! We headed for lunch before shopping and on our last night went looking for a place to eat for dinner before heading north, and this restaurant was the perfect choice for BOTH meals!

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant  had amazing food! How many kids would eat lamb and want more? The kids and I ordered Shepherds Pie which was mashed potatoes on top of ground lamb/beef for lunch on our first trip to Raglan Road and they ate it all. Then when we went back at the end of the week they asked for it again and ate most of it. In the evening they even have Irish live music and Irish dancing.

In case you haven't noticed- I HIGHLY recommend eating here. Oh and don't skip dessert- the Creme Brule' made with Irish Cream is yummy! One final note- they accept Disney Dining Plan!

What would a trip to Downtown Disney be without a sweet treat? Head over to Goofy Candy Co. They have plenty of treats to choose from, BUT you can also create your own treat. You get a form to fill out, choose the treat type then all the toppings. I made an excellent choice! Mickey Mouse rice crispy treat dipped in dark chocolate covered in sprinkles! It was incredible! It made a two day treat though because of how large and sweet it is. I am craving another one. Can't wait till my next trip so I can try it again! It definitely will not disappoint!

Make sure to save time on your Disney Vacation to head to Downtown Disney for some great spoiling time! You definitely won't regret this fun exciting treat!

Heigh Ho Heigh Ho- It's off to Walt Disney World We Go!

Well part one of our trip is over, time for part two. We pile into the car and head west to Orlando where we will be staying at Port Orleans, French Quarter.

Now, on our way to Disney, where do you think the first stop should be? Well if you know my family the stop prior to Orlando is Walmart! Oh, darn- I forgot to take a picture! Well anyway we stop at Walmart to get marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers as the plan was to head to Wilderness Lodge for some campfire time, though we didn't quite make it, but it sure was nice snacking on chocolates and graham crackers in our room.  We did buy a set of metal campfire sticks too, but you know I have no idea what ever happened to them.

But we also stocked up on juices, pop and tea at Walmart. So glad I bought Diet Pepsi. I am becoming more of a Diet Coke and Coke Zero drinker than I use to be but nothing beats a good ole Diet Pepsi. Only thing that could make that better is Diet Cherry Pepsi, but I will take what I can get! We were to have a fridge in our room and these drinks would pack well in my Thirty-One Picnic Thermal Tote which would be hanging on the stroller handles the rest of the week. Yes, you can take drinks and snacks into the parks, they just have to be managed in small bags, you can't take large coolers in.

Walmart had lots of great goodies, I wish I would have bought a t-shirt while we were there as we ran out of time the last night to head to Walmart to get a shirt and some final goodies...plus their Walmarts close early compared to home and we could not find the one we were looking for when we asked for directions from our waitress at our late dinner, yeah we had a crazy last night.

Back to the Walmart Pre-Disney trip. As we were leaving we looked up into the sky- "it's a bird, it's a plane------what is he doing?"

 

Wow, very cool! This kept us in the parking lot for a bit as we were waiting to see what he finished writing with the plane. It was ":) + God = Jesus Loves You". We saw him doing then again later in the week at Epcot. It's the little things in life that give you giggles!

Ok- the plane dude is done, time to go back to our mission- Next stop: Port Orleans, French Quarter!

 

And we have arrived!

The girls were welcomed at the door with a balloon and a coin.

Every morning when we left they were also 

given beads and/or coins. 

What a nice touch, the kids thought this was great- and very Mardi Grasas well!

And now part 2 of the Mayhugh vacation is about to begin! Time to get settle into our room then off to Downtown Disney we head!

Mayhugh Family Disembarks from Disney Dream .....

Here is the scene we woke up to on Sunday, October 23. Not nearly as pretty and calming as the previous mornings as we docked into two islands. A lot going on this morning as Disney Dream made its final destination for our trip, back to Part Canaveral. Down below you can see new cast members making their way on board, food service trucks surrounding the ship, luggage is already being pulled off and sorted (passengers put their main luggage outside of their cabin the night before for the cast to come pick them up). A lot of hustle and bustle outside and inside we are full of sighs as our voyage on the sea is coming to an end. The upside to all this, when we do disembark, we will be heading to part two of our destination- Walt Disney World Resorts. The last time I cruised Disney Cruise Line this was our final destination as we did the parks first 10 years ago.

We woke the kids, everyone got dressed and off to breakfast we went. Since we had the late meals we had the late breakfast as well. So we gather the kids and what luggage we still had with us and away to Animation Palate for breakfast we went!

Following breakfast we went to pick up the cd of our photos we ordered from Shutters. This did take a little longer than I anticipated, but once we got our cd we headed off the ship and pointed the car toward Orlando, FL. Disney Dream really was a Dream ship! I can't wait to get the family back on her or one of her sisters! As my favorite mouse would say "See Ya Real Soon!"

Mayhugh Family Cruises with Disney Cruise Line

Thursday, October 20
I see the ship, I see the ship! Yes I was extremely excited when I saw the ship as we are coming off the freeway! I really did not expect our ship to be the first one we saw as we pulled into Port Canaveral on October 20, 2011.

My husband and I were celebrating our 10 year anniversary on October 20. Ten years ago we boarded Disney Wonder for our honeymoon and made a promise to each other that that we would come back for our 10 year anniversary. It's hard to believe we made that promise 10 years ago! Of course, this time it wasn't just two of us as we had two little stow-a-ways with us, two little princesses ages 4 and 6.

Seeing the ship really excited me! I felt like a little kid. Disney does a great job at making adults feel this way, besides kids!


We sailed 3 nights on Disney Dream to the Bahamas. This cruise included a stop to Nassau on Friday and Castaway Cay, the island owned by Disney, on Saturday.

The one thing I noticed as we pulled up to the terminal and the ship got closer was how BIG it looked. "I really do not remember it looking that big 10 years ago", I told my husband as we drove closer to the terminal. Well as I said that I was looking in my notes I printed from Disney Cruise Website and read The Disney Dream is approximately 40% larger than the Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder.The total number of beds on the Disney Dream is 5007—over 1,900 more than the Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder. The Disney Dream is 2 decks taller than sister ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. That explains why it looked so much bigger! While at Nassau, I was able to get a photo of Dream between two other ships- notice the comparison in size:

Checking in was pretty easy. I set our check-in time as noon and we arrived at 11. The cast members were wonderful at directing us to the luggage drop off, then off to the parking lot.We walked onto the terminal, showed our passports then off we went to check in. Of course as soon as you get to the check-in area, who do you think we saw- why Captain Mickey of course! We went to get our room keys, checked the kids in for the Oceanneer Club (got their wristbands that they were to wear to check in and out of the club with) then went to get a photo with the Captain. 

My oldest was a little shy at her first meeting of Mickey, but soon figured out it was fun. And that was the beginning of photo taking for us for the next week and a half. Eventually hubby was getting a little tired of taking photos with characters. It does take time, as you stand in line to take your turn to meet the character, but in the end it is so worth the wait! It's so fun to look back at all the photos later and remember all the magical experiences!  

Next to go through the giant ears and onto the ship, but you do stop for a family photos first. 

Then you stand in line to board the ship because as you are boarding they welcome everyone individually. 

 So it was our turn and we hear over the intercom "Welcome the Mayhugh Family". It was just like in the movies when you are at the red carpet event! How cool! Daisy duck was right there to meet us!

What a beautiful staircase! The ship was gorgeous!

Once upon the ship we headed to the 11th deck. A buffet lunch was waiting both at Cabanas on the 11th deck and at Enchanted Garden on Deck 2. I decided to head up to Cabanas so we could go to the top of the ship. It was fabulous! The food was pretty good, and of course it would not be complete without ice cream!

Next was time to look around on the ship- as I went from side to side checking out the top deck thoroughly and taking lots of photos. The aqua duck was neat. This water coaster that you ride by raft is 765 feet in length and swings out 12 feet over the side of the ship. You can see the ocean from inside the tube, which is 150 feet below. Don't worry, it's not scary- but it is fun! My husband and oldest daughter rode it after we finished lunch. I rode it with her on the last day we were at sea and only wish I would have rode it sooner and more often as it was very FUN! The only negative part of this ride is you have to be 42 inches to ride, so little sis didn't get the chance to ride. However, there is a little Mickey Mouse water slide that the little ones will enjoy!

We spent the afternoon and evening exploring the ship and visiting with characters. We went to a show that evening, The Golden Mickeys, and dinner at Enchanted Garden. Later the girls had fun playing in the Oceaneer Club and Lab while Mommy and Daddy had a relaxing evening enjoying each others' company on our anniversary evening.

The Oceaneer Club and Lab is a play area for children and open from 9 am to midnight. Each day you receive a Navigator in your room that tells the ship's daily activities, and they also include the various activities for these clubs. There are also clubs for Tweens and Teens on Disney Dream. Our kids loved their time spent there and would have liked to have spent more time there. Next cruise will definitely be longer.


Friday, October 21
Our first destination was on Nassau where Mommy and Daddy went off the ship and did a dolphin interaction on Blue Lagoon Island, where I got a dolphin hug, dance and 2 kisses from a beautiful male dolphin! I think Daddy was a little jealous (he he). We went back to the ship to get the kiddos and spend the afternoon with them and found out that Mickey and Gang visited them in the club. They even bragged that Pluto came to play (Mommy's favorite Disney character- notice "Regina's Favorite Dog and Mouse).

The afternoon and evening time was pretty busy. The girls changed into their Tinkerbell outfits and we even caught up with her after we came back downstairs.Watching my youngest chat with Tinkerbell (Tink and Tigger are her favorites) was a wonderful experience! We watched Peter Pan tease Captain Hook while we were in line and Daddy told our youngest that Peter Pan was Tinkerbell's boyfriend so when she meets Tink, she tells her that she saw her boyfriend. That created a giggle from everyone listening!

We continued to take some photos with other Disney Characters then it was time to change clothes for dinner. 

 

Later that evening before dinner we took family photos. Shutters does a wonderful job of taking photos and we were able to buy all our photos on cd. (One piece of advice though- if you order a cd on the kiosk make sure you check your photos. When we looked at the actual prints we found some that were not ours and gave them back, but didn't realize they would also appear on our cd as I did not think to check that. They did correct the cd and burnt me a new one, but it made us the last ones to get off the ship when we docked back at Canaveral which gave us a later start than we wanted on our way to WDW. Just double check and make sure you have the photos you want.) The family photos turned out beautiful! I only wish Sean and I would have thought to get one done with just the two of us.

We then did an activity as a family called the Midship Detective Agency. This was like a scavenger hunt. We had to look for clues to see who stole the puppies from 101 Dalmatians. We figured out who the villain was  but unfortunately never did get to complete the game by catching the villain. The show that night was Villains Tonight  but we didn't watch it as we were busy playing the game.

Dinner was at Royal Palace where the waiters had a special anniversary surprise for Sean and I after dinner, well even after dessert. They made us kiss and  presented us with a piece of chocolate cake with mousse layers. Yeah, I forgot to take a photo- what was I thinking!

After dinner it was off for another clothing change as we got ready for pirates night! Earlier in the evening we watched Mickey's Pirates and later in the evening would be Buccaneer Blast and Club Pirate which started out with a wonderful firework display. Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise that does fireworks at sea. It was a great show. Captain Jack Sparrow was at the Club Pirate show. We stayed for the show and a couple dancing songs, but the kids were beat so we headed back to our cabin.

Saturday, October 22

We spent the next day on Disney's Island Castaway Cay. Beautiful water and beaches made this stop wonderful! I even had the opportunity to dance with Mickey, Minnie & Daisy (I actually danced with Donald on the ship the first night). The water was warm and gorgeous. A little sun was all we needed to make this stop perfect, but at least it did not rain!

Oh, and for the record there are fish in the water. Of course you knew that, it's the ocean after all. It was funny as I was out playing in the water and saw a school of fish swimming. Now one or two fish did not bother me, but I wasn't too fond of swimming with the whole school so I moved away from where they were. Our youngest must not have understood what I said when I mentioned the fish swimming in the area. Later she noticed them and I don't know when I ever saw that girl move so fast. She screamed loudly and ran back to the beach as fast as she could! It was quite a site! Then Sean came out to see these scary fish. For those of you who know about freshwater fish, these were shaped like large bluegills but were clear with a blue dot. The blue dot is what made them noticeable. They were pretty fish.

We ate lunch on the island and later found a group of hammocks where we laid down and rested. Sean had a hard time getting into it though. When he first got in he flipped right out- that was worth a good laugh. The girls did the same thing, but they did it intentionally. We did get a nice little relaxation in during this time. The only thing missing was a cold piña colada. (I actually did not have any alcohol during the trip- kept meaning to but just didn't get to it- add that to the next cruise must dos- ha ha).

We did make our beach time at Castaway a little shorter than we would have liked to because we knew the Disney Princesses would be out on the ship to visit with all the little Princesses and wanted to let our princesses meet them.

So we headed back to the ship- threw on the girls' princess attire and off we went to meet the royal ladies- Aurora, Tiana, Belle, Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella. That event was priceless watching the ladies meet their favorite ladies. Princess Jasmine was the one we were missing, our youngest daughter's favorite princess, but we caught up with her later in the week at Epcot!

Goofy even made an appearance. He visited with the Disney Princesses and later when we went to visit with him he taught our princesses how to wave from the balcony and curtsy. Following the royal event was a nap time for the Mayhugh Princesses and Daddy. Mommy relaxed a bit, straightening the cabin and flipping through the photos taken so far.

That evening there was a final Character Meet & Greet, we watched the show Disney's Believe and had dinner at Animation Palate. Following dinner we went shopping. It was sad to know that this was our final night on the ship.

The next day was to be a big day as we were to come back to Florida and start Part 2 of our adventure- Off to Walt Disney World Resorts!

Of course this was the girls' first cruise and they LOVED IT! We enjoyed Aqua Duck (would have liked to rode it more if it would have been warmer weather), meeting with the characters, exploring the ship, playing dress up, eating, coming to our room when the beds were made up, breathing in the sea, watching the shows, exploring the islands and so much more! Of course the best part of the cruise was the time we spent with one another.

I have to admit, I am ready to go back either on this cruise or try out one of the other Disney Cruise Line Itineraries. Time to start saving my pennies so I can book us on our next Disney Cruise Line adventure, as I am not waiting 10 years this time! This was definitely the BEST anniversary gift any girl could ask for!