Category Archives: Trips “Home”

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

Fort Wilderness Campground and Cabins-Weekend Trip to the Fort 🏕🌤

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

I have been very bad this past year in posting on this blog. I guess sometimes we just get so caught up in life and responsibilities that we forget to step back and cherish the moments we have experienced and the loved ones we are surround by. On that note, let’s take a trip to one of our resort favorites on site, The Cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.

Our Cabin

This resort has quickly become our favorite mainly for our family’s love of the outdoors and wildlife…when I say our family I mainly mean my husband 🤣. My favorite part personally is driving the golf cart all around the resort.

Delaney and Walter ready to go for a ride around the Fort
My husband’s favorite part when we visit

First thing when you arrive you want to get settled in either to your campsite or your cabin and start decorating. It can be a holiday weekend or just a normal Wednesday and you will find decorations everywhere. Garden flags and lawn blow ups tend to be rather popular choices I have noticed during our trips.

Custom garden flag and solar light post that I made
Our Mickey flag we hung from the porch

A little know favorite of ours is the scavenger hunt groups that you can find on social media. My personal favorite is Original Fort Wilderness Scavenger Hunts on Facebook. Visitors to the Fort can post photos and clues for treasures they have hidden around the property. There are rules to follow and safety is also a factor so don’t hide anything somewhere that could put someone in a dangerous situation. The types of treasures hidden range anywhere from little trinkets to custom hand made items. It is something you usually need to plan ahead for so be sure to follow their page on Facebook before you arrive for your trip for tips.

Minnie Mouse key chain we hid at one of the comfort stations
Delaney’s treasures she found

If you are a fan of horses, make sure to visit the Tri-Circle-D Ranch on the property. All of the horses you see at Magic Kingdom during the parades are housed at this ranch. They also offer pony rides and trail rides as well.

Tri-Circle-D Ranch
Tyson

The campground has 2 pools on property, Meadow and Wilderness. We typically send to gravitate to the Wilderness pool since it is bigger and also has a water slide which Delaney enjoys. The Meadow pool is smaller and towards the front of the campground where the Wilderness is about half way towards the back and surrounds shops, dining, canoeing, gem mining and so much more.

Headed to the pool
Meadow pool, and my husbands feet 🙂
Delaney enjoying the water slide at Meadow pool

Next time you want to take a nice relaxing family trip make sure to check out Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground and Cabins at the Walt Disney Resort. There is something for everyone to enjoy and the people and atmosphere are great perks. Until next time my friends, have a magical day.

A beautiful sunset at one of the many ponds on property

✨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. ✨

❄️🎿👙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.

4 Parks, 1 Day Challenge: How my daughter and I conquered the task

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Trips "Home"

We had not started out the day with the intention of trying to visit all four parks in one day. We only had planned to go to Magic Kingdom to purchase a specific pandora charm that had just been released. We headed over to Magic Kingdom at around noon from the Polynesian where we had made a stop for a quick visit. Once at the kingdom and while waiting in line for Thunder Mountain, I came up with the bright idea to go pay a visit to the other three parks and ride at least one ride at each. On a side note, we did not even get started with our first park until noon that day 😳. This was for sure going to be a challenge. Ok, here we go!

Riding the monorail from the TTC to Magic Kingdom

First stop on our version of the “4 Parks, 1 Day” challenge brought us to Magic Kingdom. Our ride choice for this park was Thunder Mountain. Yes we could have rode a ride much closer to the front of the park but that would have been taking the easy way out. Park 1 was now complete, off to our second stop.

For the second park in our challenge, we headed to Hollywood studios. We had to choose a show instead of a ride because of the wait times in the standby lines since we did not have fastpasses. We watched Muppet Vision 3D. Again, this attraction is all the way in the back corner of the park. We sure got in our steps for the day with all this walking. Delaney had to get a spirit jersey like me so she had a wardrobe change between Hollywood Studios and our next destination.

Our third stop brought us to Animal Kingdom. Luckily we had priority parking because their lot was very full by the time we arrived. Priority brought us much closer to the front entrance of the park making it easier to get in and out since the day was coming to a close and we still had one more park to visit when we were done here.

At Animal Kingdom we had to do another show because of no fastpass availability at this time of day. We watched It’s Tough to be a Bug.

With the sun starting to set to the west of us, we needed to head out and drive over to our final destination, EPCOT.

We saved the best for last in my opinion. I l°o°ve EPCOT. We decided on The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride. We got in our clam shells and rode off into the big blue world. The night sky’s were now upon us and it was time to conquer our next task, the drive home lol.

We had a blast that day and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with anyone else. Just me and my Minnie Me °o° lol. Until next time my friends, have a magical day ✨

Atlanta Braves Spring Training Season 2017: ESPN Wide World of Sports

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Trips "Home"

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We had a blast as usual last weekend at the Atlanta Braves spring training held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports against the Florida Marlins.  We may have not won, we didn’t last year either lol, but its not all about winning or losing, it is about the memories that are made along the way.

 

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The weather was amazing on Saturday.  I should have brought some sunblock because I did get a little red sitting out in the stands for several hours.  Sunny skies and a nice breeze made for a perfect day at the ball field.

 

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The Braves spring training schedule goes until the end of March. Here is a link to their remaining games that will be played out at the ESPN  Wide World of Sports Atlanta Braves spring training schedule 2017

 

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Have a magical day everyone and don’t forget to stay Disney my friends 🙂

 

 

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❄️Happy Holidays from The Rhoden’s: Disney Addicts❄️

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Trips "Home"

As we are on our way back from yet another magical trip “H °o°ME” and I can’t help but feel greatful that we have the privilege to go as often as we do. I would like to wish all my followers a very magical holiday and a happy new year.  Here’s to many more!!

🦃 Thanksgiving Weekend Trip Home With The Family 🦃

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Trips "Home"

            “The most  important thing is family.”

                          – Walt Disney


“Laughter is timeless, Imagination has no age, and Dreams are forever.”

-Walt Disney

❤️ A Mother Daughter Trip Home ❤️

Posted by Heather Rhoden in Trips "Home"

” A daughter is just a little girl who grows up to be your best friend.”




Today was just a little last minute trip to our favorite place we like to call “home”. The  Food and Wine Festival is still going on and it was super busy back towards the World Showcase so we just spent most of the day towards the front of the park. Going to a huge place like EPCOT by yourself, with a very headstrong 4 year old, could have been a complete disaster. Luckily, the parenting God’s were watching over me today and it went very smoothly 🙏. 

 Trips like this we will remember for the rest of our lives. You are my sunshine ☀️ little one.