Tigger Twins

By: Gaylin

In 2006 I got a great set of stuffed Tiggers for a Christmas present. They make great Christmas decorations and are so very cheerful. The one on the right has a bell in its hat, so if I happen to lift him up and shake him, he sounds all Christmasy. Very cute to see, one Tigger dressed in a Christmas sweater and the other as an elf. At about 12" tall and in a permanent seated position, they are easy to place about and enjoy some grrrrrreat holiday cheer.

Merry Christmas!
TTFN

My First Disney Souvenir

By Gaylin

My first trip to Florida, July of 1978, I was 18. The whole month visiting a friend and her family. One day she asks “Do you want to go to the Magic Kingdom for a day”? My response, “Sure, if it is not too expensive”. This was my first vacation away from my family, including my first airplane ride and much to my relief my first non-camping vacation.

A few days later 4 teenage girls, on a road trip to see Disney World. I had little clue what I was heading for, we didn’t yet have cable TV until I was 13 and my parents ruled what we saw. I had a few memories of the World of Disney but not much beyond that.

The shocker for me was how the magic hit right there on Main Street. I loved it, every ride, every line-up, the junk food and seeing characters, I was amazed. There was very little in the budget for souvenirs and my friends, being Florida natives, had little interest in shopping. I did manage to talk them into letting me look around a bit and I bought a beach towel. If memory serves me, it was $6.95.

As soon as I got home I started using the towel. I used it constantly, a new favorite.

The next summer, this lovely family invited me back! Of course I went and yes, we did go back to the Magic Kingdom for another day. This time I bought 2 towels.

I wore the first towel out by sheer overuse and then started using the other two. Thankfully I didn’t wear them out quite as much and then stopped using them because I wanted them to last.

This is the whole towel. Very thin cotton when compared to the plush, highly colored beach towels they make now:

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The top of the towel with Pluto and Minnie all ready for the beach.

The center with Mickey, hanging ten like the cool dude that he is.

And the bottom of the towel, including the Walt Disney Productions logo.

 

  

And, proving it was well made, the tag is still attached!

Finally, one of the few photos I have that proves I was really there, 1978, me and Tigger!!!

Best Vacation Haircut!

by Gaylin

In April of 2005, I had my head shaved to raise funds for Balding For Dollars, a local Vancouver charity run to help kids in the cancer ward at BC Children's Hospital. With the help of friends I raised $1,500!!

Two weeks after I had my head shaved I went on vacation to Walt Disney World. I have to say, being bald in hot Florida in May was wonderful! I got some strange looks, a few people tried to be sympathetic, I guess they thought I was going through chemo and a couple of times people forced me to take their seat on the bus . . . I did explain why my head was shaved but they made me keep the seat anyways.

And talk about a great hair style to enjoy the water parks! Slap some sunscreen on my noggin and go play.

I did have a very heartfelt talk with a woman who was going through chemo, she had a wig and a hat on – in the May heat. She thought I was very brave to shave my head, I told her she was very brave in her fight with cancer.  Hopefully she at least stopped wearing the wig and stuck with a hat for the rest of her trip.

Here are a couple of photos from the Magic Kingdom.

 One from the Animal Kingdom.

And one from the Garden Grill at Epcot.

And finally one last photo, taken at Typhoon Lagoon.

A Disney Vacation with Lots of Character

By Gaylin

In November 2012 I went on a Disney World vacation on my own.

Being solo meant I could take time to do things I haven't done before, like go back to the resort in the afternoon for a nap! It also meant that I could go line up for character photos without someone pulling on my arm to go on a ride or to see a show.

My first afternoon I went over to Epcot and voila, no line-up for Belle. If the Beast is with her the line up can get long quite quickly. For some reason she was all on her own so I even got to chat with
her for a moment.

 

Walking through the World Showcase all the way around the other side, I came across Duffy the Disney Bear. While I am not a big fan of the bear, a friend of mine is so I got in the short line and got this shot. I like the "Canada" in the background!

A couple of days later I was back at Epcot and decided to go into the Character Spot for a few photos. The original location of the Spot was under renovation so there was a temporary location set up with a great backdrop of Epcot. Here I got 3 photos, me with Mickey, Pluto and Minnie. Also while I was in the not very long line-up I got to chat with a great family and help them get their daughter to look up when it was her turn to get her photo taken.

 

Notice I even did the toe pointing like Minnie, I am so darn cool . . .

The Magic Kingdom was my next stop and this photo with Stitch. While there was a bit of a line-up, Stitch was being very entertaining and made it worth the wait.

And this is what happens when Stitch takes over your camera!!! The hand you see on my shoulder is Stitch’s attendant, she was laughing really hard at his antics. I sort of wish she showed up in the photo, oh well.

Then it was on to the new photo area in Fantasyland called Storybook Circus. As you can see from the very pink lighting, the lights are set for the Photopass cameras, not my point & shoot camera. I did the toe point for my photo with Daisy, she didn’t.

It looks like both Minnie and I are having pink hot flashes, we weren’t, honest.

And the Great Goofini! I complimented him on the revamp of his roller coaster, he was pleased. Thumbs Up!

I am not sure what kind of magician Donald is supposed to be, he was number 1 and I was thumbs up.

And over at the Animal Kingdom, you can now get your photo with Russell and Doug. This photo is a little blurry but I still love it.

At the Animal Kingdom when you are leaving Discovery Island and heading to Dinoland there is the Character Landing, the characters are always from Winnie the Pooh and this day they had on their Christmas garb. I was once told to always get my photo taken with Pooh because he makes everyone look skinny! At the Character Landing they rotate characters in and out for breaks so there is always characters there, waiting just for you.

Eeyore is so very huggable.

Tigger couldn’t make up his mind if we were dancing or posing so we ended up with a bit of both.

And there are my character tales for November 2012. I always get a few character photos and highly recommend that other people do as well, there has been a few times I have paid the big bucks for a Photopass picture just because it was so darn good. Usually I am happy enough with the photo that shows up on my camera, after all, I am on vacation and looking happy is what counts.

All Things Sparkly: Arribas Brothers

By: Gaylin 

If you have been to the Arribas Brothers store at Downtown Disney or the Main Street store, you know that it is a wonderful, sparkly place to visit. Especially when the glass blowers are hard at work on Main Street, amazing what they can make from glass.

This little fellow is one of my prize possessions, he is small but very sturdy, I have even carefully washed him when he has gotten too dusty.

Front view, his chest and face are ceramic, the stripes are enamel and the rest is Swarovski crystal.

Look at that grin!

Lots of sparkling in the sunshine.

Looks like he is getting ready to bounce.

If you ever decide to buy something from Arribas, don’t worry about transporting it home. Each item comes in a fitted box that travels well.

The white, larger box is what holds the crystal base and the blue box is for Tigger.

I love all things sparkly, as much as I love Tigger. The two of them together: Irresistible!

A Couple of Mug Shots

By Gaylin 

Every now and then I take a trip to a mall I greatly dislike here in Vancouver. Why? Because it has the Disney store in it. Why else? When I need a Disney pick-me-up and a trip is too far away, it is great to go there and feel the magic for a little while.

On one visit I got this lovely mug. Perfect way to have hot chocolate! 
 

The front has a lovely portrait of everyone’s favourite Tigger.

The back lets you know what time it is.

And the bottom lets you know that it was bought at a Disney store and made in Thailand.

Next I was mugged by my own sister! But that’s OK, because I love it when other people ‘shop Disney’ for me at their thrift stores. My sister found this mug in her local store and got it for me, in case I might like it. 

I like it very much. I have no idea if it was an actual ‘bought souvenir’ or possibly a ‘stolen from a sit-down restaurant’ mug. Either way, I know it is older and that it is in perfect shape.

The gold leaf around the rim doesn’t have a single nick or mark on it! 

And the trade mark shows that it was made in Japan for Walt Disney Productions – so maybe it was made for the Disney offices and not for a theme park at all!
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I am just happy that it is now mine. So… have you been mugged lately?

Wordless Wednesday: Disney Love

Photos by Barbie and Nick