Category Archives: Disney Tips and Reviews

Build Your Own Droid in Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios 🤖

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews, Trips "Home" and tagged with ,

Who wouldn’t want to build their own custom, remote control droid? Well you can have the opportunity to do so at Droid Depot located in Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Reservations are not required but recommended for this experience which you can make up to 60 days in advance. You can still partake in the activity without a reservation but you are subject to long lines with high wait times.

The cost for this experience is $99.99 per astromech droid unit, plus tax. Unfortunately you can not use any DVC or AP discounts for the droid unit itself. You are able to use your discount on accessories such as personality chips or jet packs. You have two styles of astromech units to choose from: the R-series (classic R2-D2 style) or the newer know BB series (BB-8). My daughter chose the classic R-series so we headed to check in and purchase our “credits” and begin assembly of our droid.

Anxiously waiting her turn to build
So many choices

We were directed to our place over at the assembly line and instructed the parts we would need to select to complete our unit. They also have a layout for you to reference at your station so you know what you need to be looking for as it comes past on the assembly line. There are many color options and styles to choose from and Delaney had it already set in her mind that she wanted purple so that was what we started hunting for first. Once we secured the purple head for her unit, we then grabbed a black body and legs to complete our R2.

Delaney’s selection for her R2 style droid

Now for the fun part, assembling the droid. We moved to the final station for assembly and with the help of a CM we began putting together our R2. After you have completed the assembly process, the CM will need to activate your unit and make sure that all parts are working properly and then adding the personalty chip that Delaney had picked out for her unit.

Time to build

We passed inspection and were now ready to take him out for a spin. Right outside of Droid Depot, Disney has set up a nice padded area for you to gather with other droids and play. The ground in Batuu is rather rocky and uneven so this special area makes it easier for your droid to roll around.

Play time

After we were finished playing with the other droids around we decided to take R2-10u (she decided on this name I guess because she is on 10u softball 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣) for a photo shoot around Batuu. Highly recommend this experience next time your visiting Hollywood Studios. It was a fun bonding experience and she had a blast. Props to Delaney for saving up for this all on her own for the past 6 months. Go little Rockstar ⭐️

Have a magical day friends and stay Disney ✨

The force
R2-10u
My mini me and I in Batuu

✨Star Wars Galaxy Edge Preview- Hollywood Studios✨

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney News, Disney Tips and Reviews, Trips "Home"

We had the pleasure of being able to attend the annual passholder preview at Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios Galaxy Edge today. It was a tad bit warm, well warm was a slight understatement. It was hotter than Hades.

Our plan was to try and ride Smugglers Run which is the only ride currently open but it had a 120 minute standby line so that was not going to happen. It was at 90+degrees outside but at least the chance of rain had dropped to nothing.

Galaxys Edge is very immersive in its ambiance. It transports you to the planet Batuu and from the second you enter the land to when you leave, you are fully transformed into their lifestyle. I do not understand how the cast members are able to wear long sleeve shirts and head garb while I am melting to death in a T-shirt. More power to them.

We made our way around all the accessible areas and then back out the entrance. It was a nice preview of the area but it will be more interesting when the other parts of the planet open and you can fully experience the land.

Star Wars Galaxy Edge at Hollywood Studios opens to the public on August 29th, 2019. If you have the opportunity to view this land at your next visit to Hollywood Studios, I hope you are able to fully enjoy the details of the land and it’s offerings.

Have a magical day my friends and may the force be with you. ✨

🥤Review: Custom Disney Autograph Tumbler From Mommy’s Crafting Operation 🥤

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney style, Disney Tips and Reviews

I am absolutely loving my custom Disney autograph tumbler from Mommy’s Crafting Operation. Covered in bling and all my favorite characters autographs, it is truly a work of art 🎨. Not only is it beautiful on the outside but keeps your drinks cold all day on the inside as well.

Visit their site on Facebook at Mommy’s Crafting Operation and check out their custom designs 😍. What Disney design would you want on a custom tumbler? Have a magical day my friends ✨

❄️🎿👙Family trip to Blizzard Beach👙🎿❄️

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews, Trips "Home"

I can’t believe that in the 33 years of my life I had yet to ever go to a Disney water park. What better time to finally get to go then on one of the hottest days of the year, July 4th. We decided our park of choice for our first trip was going to be Blizzard Beach.

Delaney and Goofy hanging out

Being a Floridian, we knew that we would experience the usual fury of summer afternoon thunderstorms so we made sure to get there at park open to optimize our pool time. We reserved our lodge umbrellas ahead of time to ensure a relaxing and stress free experience. This includes 2 lounge chairs, 2 beach chairs, a table and umbrella and beach towels for a nominal fee. I highly recommend reserving them ahead of time because they are first come first serve. They are located in a more secluded area of the park away from the crowds.

The usual summer storm came right on time so we hung out under cover while most of the other people headed out. All the rides and wave pool shuts down when there is lightning within 6 miles of the park. Luckily the storm passed quickly and all the rides opened back up with little to no wait times.

 

I was very impressed with their bathrooms and shower/changing area. We had plans to go spend the evening visiting the new Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios and we needed to freshen up before heading out. They were very spacious and clean. We showered up and got dressed and were ready to head off on our next Rhoden Disney adventure.

After having such a fun day at our first water park experience, we decided to upgrade our annual passes to Platinum Plus which includes both Disney Water Parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. We can’t wait for our next trip for some fun in the sun. Stay Disney my friends and have a magical rest of your summer.

🚘 The benefits of doing “preferred parking” at Walt Disney World 🚘

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews

With it being a race weekend here at Walt Disney, the parks are super busy. The parking lot at Magic Kingdom is parking all the way out to the usual Christmas time section as I call it as of 10:45 am. We chose to do preferred parking today which was our first time utilizing this offer. The cost is $40 but if you are an annual passholder, you only have to pay the difference which is $20.

Preferred parking includes up close parking to the parks which is able to be used at any park all day long so if you plan on park hopping, it can be used all day for that one price 💲. They also supply you with water bottles for everyone in your vehicle.

<<<<<<<<<
ng to lie is was an awesome feeling getting to drive past everyone parking out in the back lot while I progressively move farther and farther to the front by the entrance. We are parked in the second row from the TTC (transportation and ticket center) !!!!!

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w if I could justify paying the full $40 for preferred parking but if your a passholder and Magic Kingdom is super busy, I highly recommend upgrading and paying the $20. You won't regret the shorter distance to walk, especially at the end of the day when you are ready to leave. Until next time, stay Disney my friends ✨

My Ultimate Disney Bucket List °o°

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews, My Ultimate Disney Bucket list °o°

I eat, sleep, and breath Disney and there is so much that I still have not gotten to experience.  I know this is hard for most of you to believe seeing how I go to Disney ever couple of weeks LOL, but it’s true.  Disney is not just Orlando, or California…it is ALL OVER THE WORLD.  I have decided to create an Ultimate Disney Bucket List to help me set my realistic goals in experiencing all things Disney. I have not included any of the parks outside of the United States as I know convincing my husband to get on an airplane is next to never going to happen LOL. So here is my Bucket List for Disney in the United States LOL…

My Disney Bucket List:

1.Visit Walt Disney studios in Burbank, California

2. Go to Disneyland

3. Visit Walt Disney family museum in San Fransisco, California

4. Compete in a runDisney challenge (competing in multiple races during a runDisney race weekend)

5. Do at least 1 behind the scenes tour in each park

6. Spa trip at one of the Disney resorts

7. Stay in a Disney resort

8. Watch the kiss good night at magic kingdom

9. Get a hidden Mickey tattoo

10. Eat at Cinderella’s royal table

11. Have a drink at Trader Sam’s at the Polynesian

12. Camp at fort wilderness campground DONE 3/5/2021-3/7/2021

13. Visit Walt Disney’s hometown museum in Missouri

14. Make a wish in the wishing well by Cinderella’s castle

15. Attend mickeys very merry Christmas party

16. Attend mickeys not so scary Halloween party

17. Send a letter from the Main Street mailbox

18. Spend New Year’s Eve at one of the parks or on a Disney cruise

19. Explore the boardwalk at night

20. Ride the characters of flight balloon at Disney springs

21. Enjoy a game of bowling at Splitsville  DONE 12/22/17

22. Ride a surrey bike on the boardwalk

23. Attend the 50th anniversary of the magic kingdom in 2021

24. Attend a dapper day at magic kingdom or Epcot

25. WDW 4 parks in 1 day challenge (Must take photo in front of the parks main icon, this requires you to have to actually enter the park and ride on at least 1 ride while there) DONE 1/6/18

I will keep my list updated as I complete each task.  Wish me luck and stay Disney my friends ✨

🎥🌹Live-Action Beauty and the Beast Review (but no details) 🌹🎥

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews

Let me start out with saying Disney has gone above and beyond my expectations with the live- action making of this movie. I have been very skeptical watching the trailers for the last several months about how it was going to end up being depicted and if it was going to be true to the original like Cinderella was. 


This blog post is not going to reveal any specifics because I know some of you addicts may have not been able to see it yet so I will keep it short and sweet. Ok here goes nothing…

I have loved Beauty and the Beast since it’s original release in 1991. I was so nervous about this live action version and was skeptical about some of the casting, but not Josh Gad, you can’t ever go wrong with Olaf lol.  But I loved it 😍. I was in awe from start to finish. It was magical. The visuals, the costumes, the music, the singing, the acting, the new additional songs and enhancements to the characters..everything was amazing. 


I can’t wait until it comes out on DVD so I can watch it over and over again 📀. I am glad I got to share this experience with my dad. He could not get over the extent of the graphics that Disney incorporated  and visual effects. Yes there were a few tears shed 😭.

If you were at all skeptical about seeing this movie, do not walk, RUN, to your nearest theater and watch the all new live-action Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. You can thank me later 😜

Stay Disney my friends and until next time, thanks for being our guest 😋

⚾️ Plaaaaaaaaaaaay Ballllllll ⚾️

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews

It’s that time of year again folks…Baseball season. The Atlanta Braves will be starting their spring training in just a few short days. Atlanta Braves Spring Training Schedule

 

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The Atlanta Braves have called the ESPN Wide World of Sports their home for spring training since 1998.  With a new stadium opening this year in Atlanta for their regular season, there is speculation that the Braves will be calling an end to their 19 year stay at their Disney home for their spring training schedule.  The Braves contract with the complex ends this year 2017.  No definite decisions have been made by the Braves yet at this time but they are keeping their options open for what is best for their organization.

 

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Whatever they end up deciding, we will always have the memories to look back on and rooting for the home team.  Go Braves! ⚾️

 

 

 🎀 Review: Cassie Jewelry N Crafts Etsy Shop 🎀

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney Tips and Reviews

Well I just received my amazing new retractable ID badge holder from the Etsy shop Cassie Jewelry N Crafts. Let me tell you they don’t cut corners with quality. With the option of either a rhinestone Mickey or a Minnie Mouse Tsum Tsum theme,  either way you can’t go wrong ❤. 

Head over to their Etsy shop and take a look for yourself 😍 CassieJewelryNCrafts
Stay Disney my friends and have a magical day ✨

👜 Dooney & Bourke with a Disney Twist 👜

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Disney style, Disney Tips and Reviews

  

It’s all about the perfect placement of the graphics

  

 With a custom Dooney & Bourke, placement is the key to finding the perfect purse.  As you can see the Mickey and Minnie’s are all evenly distributed through the width of the bag. Also when you have things such as metal plates or exterior pockets, you want to make sure that the placement of the material does not cut off any of the design.  After a very extensive look through of their offerings…we found the Mack daddy. I got my first Disney Dooney❤️👜 

 

Left: Mickey and Minnie Mouse retro shopper- gray. Right: Best of Mickey Pouchette

 
Like with all things good, Dooney prints only stick around for a certain amount of time and then they retire…like the Vera Bradley’s as well.  This print (Mickey and Minnie Mouse retro-gray) is currently offered at the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneystore.com.  More specifically I could only find it at the Matket Place Co-Op at Disney Springs right next to the new TAG shop.

Don’t forget to use your annual pass discount  or Disney Chase credit card to save 10% on your purchase!!! Hey, every little bit helps lol.

Have a magical day my friends 😋

 

Cortney and I with our new Dooney’s 🙂