A picture is worth a 1000 Words

Well, its is getting closer to our trip time, and we're working on the finishing touches of things. One of the things we are working on now are our Mickey Tie-Dye shirts. There are tons of discussions out on the internet about making Mickey Tie-Dyes. Typically, they look much like the picture to the right.

We are planning to do some, but I don't think we are going to do them all the traditional way of a centered Mickey head on every shirt. We'll probably do at least one, but I'm hoping to experiment and come up with some variations on the design.

If you would like to see some directions on this, check out the DISBoards. There are always folks over there doing all kinds of DISigns. There are people helping people. Its just a great site for Disney Enthusiasts. Invitations, Iron-on graphics, and a host of other creative designs to add something special to your Disney trip at a cheaper costs. The name fills are my favorites. BreezyBus DISigned this one for me. I'm a 626 - Stitch Fan, and I really like the DISign she made. I've heard some kids even say they'd rather have their tie-dyed shirt  or name fill one than ones purchased at the parks.  Either way check out these folks, do some google searches on the best way to tie-dye, and get yourself outfitted for the parks.

Here's a few tips on Tie-Dying shirts.

• Wash and dry your shirts - Do not use Fabric Softener
• Soak Shirts in Soda Ash for about 30 minutes before you dye them.
• Dye both sids of the shirt
• Put shirts in Ziplocked bags for 24 hours after dying them.
• Rinse in hot water before washing.

I hope you have fun with this activity, and here's to daughter enjoying them.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to Trade We Go!

Pin Trading, it has to be one of the fastest growing hobbies to date, and with 10 years under their belt, Disney has managed to build a small fortune off of pin trading. Now I myself began a pin collection many years ago. Come to think of it, mine started at the Mouse's House about 10 years ago. How ironic!

©2010, The Walt Disney Company

So now here we are, at it again, this time, I'm planning for everyone. Disney Pin Trading is one of most interactive and exciting experiences in Walt Disney World. You can purchase pins, pin sets, and lanyards all within the parks or online through the Disney Store. We purchased our lanyards through the Disney Store for the girls, because we were able to get Personalized Princess Lanyards with their names embroidered in them. Now there won't be any question of whose lanyard is whose.

Of course with everything Disney, there is always a cost. Disney Pins can run $7.00 to $20.00 in the parks. Elsewhere on EBay and other hobby sites, pins can run up into the triple digits. The ones we want to concentrate on are the trading pins used in the parks. Children can trade pins with any Disney Cast Member that is participating ( they are typically wearing a pin lanyard ) with a few rules that they must adhere to:

• You can only trade up to 2 pins with any cast member
• You can not trade a pin they already have on their lanyard
• Cast Members are not required to trade Showcase Pins ( Typically specific to the area or ride they are working )
• They only trade Disney Pins.

100 Pins - No Duplicates

Now of course Disney will sell you a starter set of pins with about 5 pins and a lanyard for $25.00, but I found a better way. Purchase the lanyard you want at the park, or go for the personalized option that we did. You can also find some knock-offs on eBay. It's really what you want as far as the lanyard. The big savings come with purchase pins in bulk. You can order a "lot" or "grab bag" of pins from a reputable reseller or e-Bayer. I used lotzapinz on eBay. Great Seller, and the pins look great. I got 100 with no duplicates, and extra Mickey backings for less than $75.00 including shipping. They are legitimate pins, not scrappers or poor copies. All have the Disney trademark stamped on the back. She guarantees that they are tradeable, and a number of folks in various forums have attested to her reputation as well. As of this post, she has 100% Positive Feedback on more than 1400 orders.

So for less than $100.00, I've managed to secure 4 lanyards, and 100 pins for trading. If I were to make this same purchase in the parks, it would run me more than $700.00. Whew, what a cost savings. I'm sure the girls will have as much fun as I have had in the past trading pins with folks.

Don't forget Cast Members aren't the only ones that trade. If you see some other friendly faced pin trading families, why not introduce yourself, and enjoy another pin trading experience with someone. You never know who you'll meet.

Share and Share Alike

Ok, so I remember the last time that we went to Disney, and were taking pictures at every turn. So this time I thought I'd look into this Disney Photopass deal that Disney has now. You can find out more info on it at the Disney Photopass Site.

Your pictures will look nothing like this.

Disney has hired people to take photos of their visitors while they are in the park. My first thought was, "Why in the heck would I want to do this?" In fact, Why would anyone? I can't stand being asked to have my photo taken and then be charged an arm & a leg for the photo at the end. I mean, most of the photographers aren't even quality photographers. Their just like you and me. Hired to do a minimum wage job, and to do the best they can.

So then I got to reading more about this thing. Its a little different than that. No, they are not professional photographers, but if you Pre-Order the Disney Photopass, you can get a CD of all the photos taken by these folks for a mere $99.00. Now it doesn't sound so entirely bad. Is it worth it to not deal with the hassle of a camera. Yeah, maybe so.

So then I happen onto something else in some of the forums at TGM, DISboards, and StitchKingdom. What some folks have come up with is a Photopass Share. Basically its 5 or 6 people going to Disney within a 30 day window that take all of their cards and put them on one photopass. The leader of the share then orders the Photopass CD and gives everyone their pictures. Now it is really sounding reasonable. After the costs of shipping, CDs, etc. You can get out cheap for around $25.00.

Stitch - 626

If you can get into one of these, you are really getting a savings. Here are the main drawbacks:

1. You will probably get everyone's pictures now because they aren't put into the CD in the order your entered them. The pictures are ordered based on date I believe now.
2. You really have to trust the leader of your group.

I'm going to give this a try myself. It seems like it will be a great savings at the Mouse's House. If you want to find more in depth info, check out the Definitive Guide to Disney's Photopass over at Stitch Kingdom.

Buses, Boats, and Monorails

So I've been debating on this for weeks. Should I rent a car while I am in DisneyWorld or should I just use Disney Transportation? It's the age old question as far as transportation at the Mouse's House.

So here are the pros & cons of each:

Disney Resort Travel

Pro

• I don't have to drive anywhere
• Cost=$0
• The kids would love to ride the boat & monorail
• Can be picked up from the airport and returned to the airport
• No hassle with car pickup and drop-off
• Disney will pick-up luggage and delivery to airport

Cons

• Upwards waits of 20 minutes to get to and from a location via bus, or other transporation.
• Monorail is only available for Magic Kingdom, Epcot & a few select resorts
• Boat is only available to and from a few select locations
• Travelling to some locations could result in 2 or more transporation options to get there.
• Can only use the bus to get to and from our resort
• Taking a chance of bus being full and waiting for next available bus
• Luggage may not arrive at resort before we do ( possible 3-5 hour wait )

Rent-a-car
Pros

• Can come and go as we please
• Can stop on the way to resort to pickup water, chips, etc.
• Parking at the resort and parks is free for resort guests
• No wasted time waiting on transportation

Cons

• I'm out almost $200 for 9 days
• To be able to come-and-go as I please I have to drive everywhere
• I have to put gas in the car
• Pick-up & Drop-off

So my decision is - - - Rent-A-Car. Based on my travel itinerary within the park, we will be travelling to-and-from the resort at least twice a day. That would be an upward possibility of around 11 hours of time spent waiting on transportation. That's more than an entire day in a park. It's worth the $200 to come-and-go as we please. To top it off, we can still take a trip on the monorail, and possibly the boat, and it doesn't cost anything extra for either of those.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

One of the most common topics I see in many of the various Disney forums today is, "What's the best way to stay hydrated at DisneyWorld, and how can I make it affordable?" Well, after asking around in a number of forums, I've seen a lot of ideas:

• Bottled Water - Purchase Cases and freeze the bottles overnight.
• Purchase bottled water with snack credits
• Make use of the water fountains - I believe there is one in particular that some recommend, but I can't recollect where I read it.
• Hydration packs

I'm going with the hydration pack this year. I was able to purchase 2 Camelbak Mini Mules from Sunnysports for just under $35.00. Since my order was over $50.00, I got free shipping. I received them via UPS in about 5 day's time. They did offer some other shipping options, but I wasn't in a hurry to get them, and I'm trying to save every penny I can. ( Yes, I know that statement was probably an oxymoron in the present context, but hey you can't blame a guy for trying.)

Now the thing I loved about these packs was that the packs were smaller ( 50 oz water supply), and built better for the girls' small sizes. I have a large pack that I hunt with that carries much more water, I couldn't imagine either one of them carrying that.  Each pack has a small pouch at the top that you could probably put an MP3 player in, along with a zip pouch perfect for, Disney Keys to World Cards, Gift Cards, Fast Passes, a camera, sunscreen, and chapstick. An open outer-pouch that expands might be perfect for a stow-away poncho. You could probably even put some snacks in here.

We're giving this one a try for the girls this year. We will fill it up with ice in the mornings at the resort, and be off to the parks. I think we will try using some crystal light or tea in them too to see how that does.

One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you clean them out each evening. This is very important, especially if you put some flavored drink in them. I've simply used dishwashing liquid in the past, and cleaned them out as soon as I was finished with them for the day. You can also purchase some of the cleaning gear that is available at most sporting goods stores, as well as Sunnysports.