I’m so excited to bring you a second giveaway this month! If you haven’t entered my first giveaway yet, be sure to do it…there’s a completely different prize pack at stake!
My friend Dana over at The Dragyn’s Lair has organized a fantastic group giveaway in honor of #AvengersMonth! We’ve got a $125 Disney Gift Card along with an Avengers prize pack consisting of a Captain America pin, a Captain America key chain, Avengers stickers, a Nick Fury vinyl figure, an Iron Man poster, an Avengers t-shirt AND the soundtrack to the Avengers movie! Woo Hoo!
Below are the links to my blogging buddies that I’m co-sponsoring this giveaway with and they’ve got some great sites, be sure to check them out!
1. Please follow the rules closely and take your time with the rafflecopter.
2. If it says “tweet about the giveaway” more than once each tweet is a different phrase and needs to be tweeted separately.
3. PLEASE post the link to your tweets in the rafflecopter so that they will qualify.
4. Only the specific phrase generated by the rafflecopter widget counts as a tweet. You can not substitute your own version of the tweet or RT another person.
Mandatory: Happy Birthday @DragynAlly!! Thank you League of Awesome Bloggers!!! #AvengersMonth #Giveaway (with link to this page)
Extra points: 1) A $125 Disney gift card AND #Avengers prize pack?! The League of Awesome Bloggers rocks!!! #AvengersMonth #Giveaway (with link to this page) 2) Happy Birthday @DragynAlly!!!! (with link to this page)
5. All of the 14 mandatory entries must be completed for your entry to be counted. All other entries after the first 14 are completely optional and will only increase your chances.
6. Any contestant that has not completed the 14 mandatory entries will forfeit all of their entries.
Giveaway ends at midnight May 15, 2012. Winner will be announced via the Rafflecopter widget and blog post at www.dragynally.com Good Luck!
I just love that as soon as I think I’ve seen all the magic Disney has to offer, they come up with something new and amazing! I was lucky enough to go on a backstage tour of the Disney Florist just before Halloween last year and I just love all the magical things I saw being created there!
Well, folks, Mother’s Day is no different! There are some great offerings this year for Moms, so whether you’re lucky enough to be at Walt Disney World or at home, there is something for everyone!
The Disney Family Treats Tote is one of my favorites because it includes Minnie’s cooking apron and Mickey’s favorite cookie recipe! How cute is that?
The Cookies from Minnie “bouquet” happens to be my VERY FAVORITE though, because, well, Minnie Mouse is my VERY FAVORITE!!!!
The Dream Makers over at the Disney Florist are just waiting for you to give them a call so they can create a wonderful memory for your “Mom” and there is room for customization too! Something I’ve always thought would be so cool and personal is to have something delivered to your favorite Walt Disney World Resort dining location as a big surprise! Well, you can do that with many of the items available at the Disney Florist, such as the Mother’s Day Fairy Tale pictured below! The Dream Makers suggest having this gift sent to the restaurant and having it placed on your table prior to seating. Once the family has been seated, share warm sentiments about Mom with the family, then crown her a Princess and present her with the royal pin. Sounds amazing, right? Might I suggest having tissues handy if you choose this option?
Be sure to check out the Disney Floral site for more Pixie Dusted items you can have delivered where you live, just in case you happen to not be at Walt Disney World at the moment!
Happy Mother’s Day to all my mom friends out there!
I haven’t had 3.5 seconds yet to blog about the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration I just came home from, but, considering today’s date, I just HAD to share this picture I quickly snapped of @Gary_Jerry in his Star Wars garb nodding at Darth Vader! Enjoy!
Also, for those of you who don’t already know about the fabulous Star Wars Weekends, here is some official info for you…
Star Wars Weekends returns to the Walt Disney World Resort during May and June 2012, as Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park celebrates the Star Wars film saga and the hit animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The annual special event, included in regular theme park admission, will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 18-June 10, 2012.
The power of the Force and magic of Disney combine as more than 60 Star Wars characters – including Wookiees, droids, Rodians, Ewoks, bounty hunters and Jedi – roam the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios for meet-and-greet opportunities with guests.
Star Wars celebrities highlight the event, appearing in themed parades, talk shows, star conversations, behind-the-scenes presentations and autograph sessions. Here are the celebrities attending Star Wars Weekends 2012 (*subject to change):
Weekend I (May 18 – 20)
Ray Park – (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Jerome Blake (Rune Haako/Mas Amedda – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Clone Captain Rex and Clone Commander Cody – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Weekend II (May 25- 27)
Andy Secombe (Watto – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Weekend III (June 1 -3)
Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Silas Carson (Nute Gunray/Ki-Adi-Mundi – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Weekend IV (June 8- 10)
Michonne Bourriague (Aurra Sing – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Daniel Logan (Boba Fett – Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones)
Nika Futterman (voice of Asajj Ventress – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
The centerpiece of the celebration is the spectacular 3-D attraction, “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.” The attraction, which opened last year, uses eye-popping 3-D, a dramatic musical score and motion simulator-based technology to immerse guests in the Star Wars galaxy like never before on a theme park attraction.
Limited-edition and event-exclusive merchandise is offered each year, and the ever-popular “Hyperspace Hoopla” ends each Star Wars Weekends day with a show filled with comedy, dancing and high-energy music.
I’m very excited to be able to share a giveaway with you for some pretty fun things from Marvel’s upcoming feature, The Avengers! My husband and my son are big superhero fans, so our family is really looking forward to the release of this film.
The people over at Marvel put together this awesome prize pack containing the following goodies:
- MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS t-shirt in adult sizes of S, M, L, XL
- MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS set of 6 buttons
- MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS one pair of limited edition 3D glasses
The giveaway starts today and the winner will be drawn on May 15, 2012 using the fantastic and easy Rafflecopter widget below! This giveaway is only open to residents in the United States and Canada. Best of luck!
Some of you may have heard about the fabulous Disney Social Media Moms Celebration that has taken place the last two years at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. Well, I have been lucky enough to attend the first two events and I’m so excited that today is the day we’ll be heading down for the third annual DisneySMMoms Celebration! If you’re interested in reading about my previous adventures, you can check out my 2010 articles here and 2011 here. The first year, I went by myself since I flew in from Seattle, but since we moved to the east coast in 2009, I’ve gotten to bring the hubby and kiddos with me since we drive down and they’re crazy excited again for this year’s event!
Each year, we’ve gotten to hear from fantastic speakers who really know their way around the world of Social Media. I have learned so much valuable information and have been able to grow my little blog in different ways after each session! After having a peak at this year’s speakers, I’m once again looking forward to bringing back more great tips and growing professionally online. I’ll be sharing all the fun things I learn with you all in future blog posts, so stay tuned!
One of the things that makes this Celebration so special for us is that it is family-friendly. It’s really so awesome that the fantastic Social Media Team at Walt Disney World works so hard to make this event such a great experience. We are truly honored to be a part of such a great experience!
In the meantime, I have all sorts of last minute packing to do before we take off later today, so I will keep you guys posted when the party gets started!
Disclosure: I paid to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. In exchange for my registration fee, I received deeply discounted rates on hotel, park tickets, events, meals, and swag. I am not required nor was I asked to write about the events by Disney or any other party affiliated with the event. Thoughts are 100% my own.
{This article was supposed to go live last night at 11:58pm but it did not because my site was down…sorry friends!}
Before my Princess Party Crew adventure, I had never stayed in a Vacation Home near Disney property and this time I was going with some of my dear blogging buddies! We were all so excited to be sharing this fabulous home and had been looking forward to the trip for months! I was participating in my first runDisney Event too…I’ll tell you about that in my next post.
Our accommodations were at a Global Resort Homes vacation home in the Windsor Palms Resort neighborhood located just 2.5 miles from the gates of Walt Disney World! Exciting, right? I was so glad when we pulled up to see that it was a gated community where an attendant verified who we were before allowing entrance 24 hours a day. We pulled up into the driveway of our home for the week and I couldn’t believe how huge and beautiful it was! We were staying in an awesome 5-bedroom, 3.5 bath, 2800+ square foot home!!!
When we walked in, it was so refreshing to see how open and airy this house was! It was so beautifully decorated too! I could definitely live there, in fact, I told the ladies I wasn’t leaving!
See that red chair in the corner of the living room? That was everyone’s favorite during the entire 5 days! I seriously didn’t want to leave that chair! And what do you think about the giant frames on the wall? That wall went up as high as the ceilings of the 2nd story of the house and I thought it was such a creative way to make the wall look awesome without it being too busy.
So, I told you there were 5 bedrooms, right? Well, each one of them was so beautiful! This home sleeps 12 people and there were only 5 of us, so we each had our very own room! This was my mine…love green and brown together!
My room was actually the 2nd master bedroom with a full bath. The rooms were really spread out nicely in this house and I’m pretty sure that my family and my extended family could stay here quite comfortably without tripping over each other at all!
The kitchen in our house was awesome because they not only had a regular coffee pot, but they also had a Keurig!! I didn’t even think to ask about this before we came down or I would’ve brought some k-cups! Fortunately, one of my roommates brought some awesome coffee and had it ready in the morning before I even crawled out of bed…totally fabulous! I got spoiled. The kitchen was fully stocked with all the dishes (including lots of coffee mugs!!), utensils, and cookware we ever could have needed if we were cooking this time. There was even a grill outside by the pool, so you could really do some grilling if you were so inclined. We just had too many things going on to take advantage of that particular amenity this time.
One of my very favorite things about the stay here was the pool and hot tub right in our own back yard. It was heated and fabulous. It was great to just go right out the sliding glass door in the living room and soak our feet in the hot tub after a day of walking around the parks. That was gold in my book! We even had a game room right in the garage of the house. The kids would have thoroughly enjoyed that!
Global Resort Homes has nine different communities in the area to choose from with nearly 200 vacation homes. I’m quite certain that there is something for every budget with options from 2-bedroom upscale condos to luxurious 7-bedroom vacation homes. The Windsor Palms Resort neighborhood that we stayed in had a 7,500 square foot clubhouse with a huge community pool, sundeck, and hot tub. There was a variety of recreation and activities for everyone, including a playground, state-of-the-art fitness center, sand volleyball, basketball and tennis courts, video arcade and billiards. They even have a 58-seat movie theatre!
Check out this video we made for Global Resort Homes while we were vacationing!
All in all, we had a fantastic stay. The house was very relaxing and it was nice to have complete peace and quiet without having little feet running down the hall outside our door before we were ready. It was also a great “at home” feeling to come in and drop our stuff and have the living room (and private hot tub) to debrief at the end of each day. I’m so glad that we were able to experience vacationing this way. I think this will be a great option for our extended family vacations!
Disclosure: This post carries a Level 1 compensation. My stay at Global Resort Homes was complimentary as part of their Global Blogger Program. I received no monetary compensation for my stay or for this review. All pictures in this post are courtesy of Global Resorts. All opinions are my own.
I have always wanted to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras because it looks like a whole lot of fun! I am also in love with New Orleans Square at the Disneyland Resort! I miss it so badly when I’m at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Here’s the thing though, I’m so excited about my upcoming weekend (2 more sleeps!!!!) because my Princess friends and I are going to hang out one evening at Port Orleans French Quarter where it’s always Mardi Gras! Woo Hoo!
Right next door at Port Orleans Riverside, they’ve cooked up a celebration of their own and I wanted to share it with you all! It’s Bananas Foster Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream!!!! Please come back and let me know how yours turn out and ENJOY!!
Boatwright’s Dining Hall Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Serves 4 to 6
Bananas Foster Sauce
4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
1/4 cup dark rum
Angel food cake, for serving
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
6 Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Mint Simple Syrup
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
3/4 cups water
3/4 cups sugar
Preparation:
Bananas Foster Sauce:
Cut bananas in 1-inch pieces. Top with 2 tablespoons water and set aside.
Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and cinnamon and cook, stirring until sugar is almost dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Add banana liqueur (mixture will bubble). Carefully add the rum; the alcohol will flame on its own, then die down.
Add bananas and water to the skillet, turning bananas with a spoon as the liquid caramelizes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Mint Simple Syrup:
Puree the mint in a blender.
Bring water to a boil in a small, heavy-bottomed pot. Add mint and steep for 10 minutes. Pour liquid through a fine mesh strainer. Keep the water, discard the mint.
Bring the mint water back to a boil and add the sugar, boiling about 3 minutes until clear and reduced to a thin syrup.
To Serve:
Place two slices of angel food cake in a generous serving bowl. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the side.
Pour Bananas Foster sauce over the angel food cake.
Drizzle mint syrup over ice cream; garnish ice cream with a sprig of mint.
*NOTE:This recipe has been converted from a larger quantity in the restaurant kitchens. The flavor profile may vary from the restaurant’s version.
So, last week, my husband very casually said “We should go down to Disney next weekend” and, of course, I’m all over it! Here’s the thing though, he’s decided today that he’s had too stressful of a week to go down because it’s not very relaxing. WHAT?!!??
Well, I just got some fun information about a special event taking place tomorrow and next weekend down at Walt Disney World that I’m thinking I may be able to persuade him with. I’m not certain it will work, but you can bet I’m giving it a try!
The AMC Downtown Disney 24 Theatres is presenting – the Best Picture Showcase. Celebrated over two Saturdays (Feb. 18 and Feb. 25), the showcase is an opportunity to see all nine of this year’s Academy Awards Best Picture nominees. Here is this year’s schedule:
Saturday, February 18:
11:00AM: War Horse
1:40PM: Moneyball
4:10PM: The Tree of Life
7:30PM: The Descendants
Saturday, February 25:
11:00AM: Hugo 3D
1:20PM: The Help
4:00PM: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
7:15PM: The Artist
9:05PM: Midnight in Paris
Pricing:
Day One Ticket Pass (February 18 – 4 Films): $30
Day Two Ticket Pass (February 25 – 5 Films): $40
Two-Day Ticket Pass (February 18 & 25 – 9 Films): $60
Tickets are available at the box office. All Best Picture Showcase attendees will receive a $5 AMC Gift Card on each event day upon check-in. Guests will also receive an event-exclusive AMC Best Picture Showcase poster featuring the artwork of all nine Best Picture nominees, while supplies last! Additionally, all AMC Stubs members who purchase an event ticket in advance to the event day(s) will receive $5 AMC Stubs Bonus Bucks, valid on the Best Picture Showcase event days – limit four $5 credits per account.
Hey, everyone! I’ve got a little bit of Magic up my sleeve! I’m pretty excited to be co-hosting a giveaway for a $100 Disney Gift Card!! Yes, $100!!! Just imagine having an extra $100 to play with during your next trip to Disney! Awesome, right?
What would you use it for? Extra souvenirs maybe? Or, how about a last minute character meal? Please let me know what you would do with the $100 gift card if you win by leaving me a comment below!
All you need to do to be entered into the drawing is complete the easy Rafflecopter entry below…there are 33 ways for you to enter! Complete as many or as few as you’d like! Best of luck to you all!
Giant thanks to Amanda over at Disney Every Day and Leigh at Theme Park Mom for organizing this fabulous group giveaway!
