Muppet Babies: They Make Birthday Dreams Come True!

When it came time to plan a birthday party in quarantine (yes. . .it's 2021 and we STILL can't see people), I decided to try and make the as special as I could for my almost 6 year old.  He was going to have his own special day where we would do what he wanted to do and celebrate how he wanted to celebrate - even if it was just us.  I asked him what theme he wanted for his birthday and he said without hesitation - Muppet Babies.  I immediately went into panic mode.  

Muppet Babies Birthday - www.runningonpixiedust.com

Muppet Babies isn't a new concept.  I remember watching Muppet Babies as a child growing up, but Disney Junior rebooted the series several years ago and my littlest has been obsessed with it ever since.  In fact, he runs around the house and will tell a new joke or say something about being brave and when we asked where he learned these things, he'll often say "I learned it on Muppet Babies!"  So with such a great show that means so much to him, why did I panic?  Apparently retailers don't realize how awesome Muppet Babies is for kids.  No Muppet Babies decorations at Party City.  No Muppet Babies decorations or toys at Target.  What is a mom supposed to do?  Time to get creative and put the power of the Internet to work!

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Say "Boo-to-You" at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been delighting guests of the Walt Disney World Resort for more than two decades.  Once you've visited this event, it's easy to see why guests return year after year for spooktacular fun.  Whether you are looking for unique treats, rare characters, fa-boo-lous entertainment, or more time on your favorite attractions, there is certainly something for everyone to enjoy.  So here is a list of my frightful dos and don'ts while visiting this special ticketed event.

Do Arrive Early - Magic Kingdom Park opens to guests holding a ticket to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at 4PM even though the party doesn't start until 7PM.  With the cost of the event soaring in recent years, make the most of your party ticket by entering early.  Use this extra time to ride some of your favorite rides (you can even grab FastPass+ reservations between 4PM and 6PM!) and grab some dinner.  You're paying a lot of money for the special entertainment and characters available during the party so you won't want to waste party time eating dinner.

Don't Miss the Special Treats - Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party features many great sweet treats.  Throughout Magic Kingdom Park, there are several trick-or-treat locations which generously distribute mounds of Halloween candy.  In addition, you can find desserts and unique eats at many of the dining locations around the park.  From cupcakes to ice cream and everything in between, you certainly won't go hungry during the party.  I tried the Zero Waffle Sundae at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments which was filling and fun featuring the image of Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas. 

Do Arrive Early for the Parade - Whether you choose to watch the early or late parade or you choose to watch it from Frontierland or Main Street, U.S.A., be sure to arrive approximately 10 minutes early so you don't miss the Headless Horseman's arrival.  Of course, if you want a prime viewing location, you'll probably want to snag your spot up to 30 minutes ahead of the parade, but this also isn't necessary unless you're picky.  I went to the 11:15PM parade and watched it from Liberty Square.  Arriving at 11:05 still gave me a front row location and I grabbed my spot right on time for the beginning of the parade.  Speaking of the parade, Mickey's Boo-to-You Parade is fantastic - probably my favorite on property.  You won't want to miss the Grim Grinning Ghosts and the Gravediggers as they captivate audiences along the route.  Of course, villains and some other favorite characters make appearances too!

Don't Head to the Party Without a Plan - There is so much to see and do you won't want to come and "wing it."  Know what your priorities are before you arrive and make a plan to achieve them.  I love meeting rare characters, but no character in my mind is worth a wait of more than an hour so I knew not to worry about Jack Skellington and Sally.  I also knew that I only wanted to do rides during the party that were "special" as I can ride the other rides on any visit to Magic Kingdom Park.  For example, Space Mountain had a Halloween makeover and Pirates of the Caribbean featured live pirates in the queue and in the ride!  I used Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator app to help me plan out the characters I wanted to meet and used his tips for timing to make the most of my evening in the park.  I also knew that I'd be able to stay until the end of the party since I was traveling without my little ones so I opted to watch the later parade and the midnight Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular which were less crowded.

Do Dress Up and Have Fun - Halloween is a time for everyone to be kids so don't miss out on the fun!  There were plenty of adults and kids alike dressed in full costume and others simply wearing festive attire.  I opted for a simple Lularoe outfit using my Maleficent leggings and my new Maleficent ears to be comfy as I ran around the park. If you are dressing in costume, be sure to visit the Walt Disney World Resort website for current guidelines.  Costume restrictions are looser during the party, but there are still items that are prohibited for adults.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party was an amazing time and I hope to return again in future years.  I would still hold off a year or two to bring my kids as I want them to get the most from this special event and I know they wouldn't be able to hang late into the evening.  For families visiting the party, I would definitely recommend not visiting another park that day.  Enjoy your morning relaxing around your resort to rest up for the fun that awaits you and be in line to enter Magic Kingdom Park when your ticket becomes active at 4PM.  Here's wishing you and your family many boo-tiful memories at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

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A Figment Birthday Party at Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore

It's a big week in our house as both Brody and Caleb celebrate birthdays - Brody is turning 5 and Caleb is turning 2.  Each year when I plan their birthday party, I try to work in a little Disney magic.  This time around, I broke out some creative energy to throw a Figment themed birthday party at Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore.  Port Discovery has three floors of interactive fun for kids of all ages.  It really is a place for imaginations to run wild, which is why I thought Figment would be perfectly suited.  It turned out to be an amazing day with a lot of fun, some creativity, and a little touch of Disney magic.

The Invitations - I designed custom invitations for the birthday party using the HP Card and Invitation Kit that I received as a sample as part of the HP Millennial Influencer Panel.  The HP website made it easy to pull up a template and create the invitations.  I used an image of Figment in the background and a Disney font that I downloaded to my computer to inspire the look.  To draw in an extra piece of nostalgia from Epcot's Journey Into Your Imagination ride, I made Dr. Nigel Channing of The Institute, our special guest host.  This also played well with the mad scientist theming that Port Discovery offers for parties.

The Decorations, Food, and Cake - We were fortunate that Port Discovery is an amazing venue and they were providing balloons and table cloths.  I purchased purple, orange, and yellow paper goods to mimic the colors of our imaginative dragon.  The colors that Port Discovery used just happened to correspond perfectly with our inspiration.  I wasn't sure how much table space we would have in their party room, so outside of a framed invitation, I really didn't bring other Figment decorations.  I did however Disneybound with a Figment look for the day!  We decided to keep food simple - ordered some pizzas, served bags of chips, grapes, GoGo Squeeze applesauce pouches, juice boxes, and bottles of water.  The cake was truly out of this world.  Brody came with me to Starry Night Bakery in our hometown to help pick out what he wanted.  I originally was going to do white icing with a picture of Figment, but Brody wanted purple icing with orange writing and borders.  I think his idea turned out better than what mine!  The cake didn't just look good, but it was delicious too.  Brody is a chocolate lover so the cake was chocolate with Oreo mousse filling.  It was a big hit!




The Venue - If you haven't been to Port Discovery and live around the Baltimore area, you should definitely check it out.  They have a coloring room, water room, pretend Royal Farms store, indoor soccer field, and a whole half of a floor devoted to soft play areas for babies and toddlers just to name a few.  The favorite spot though for my oldest is the three story indoor playground - complete with rope ladders to climb, bridges to cross, and big slides!  They also have some areas of the museum that feature visiting activities.  The current visiting attraction is a Thomas the Tank Engine play area - perfect for my little boys.  Kids can dress up as engineers, load the train, play interactive computer games, and even enjoy a expansive toy train layout.  We bought a family membership to Port Discovery last year after our first visit because we knew we would enjoy coming back time and time again.  As members, we received a discount off of our party package and our membership for the upcoming year was renewed.  The party package featured a make your own slime activity that gave everyone their own bag to take home.  Port Discovery also gave BOGO admission tickets out to party guests as favors.

Overall it was a wonderful day!  We again had the chance to show our Disney side with a Figment inspired party while enjoying all the fun that Port Discovery Children's Museum has to offer.  Can't wait until next year when we can plan another memorable birthday party for the boys.  Happy Birthday Brody and Caleb!      

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Happy 44th Birthday, Magic Kingdom!

Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom opened 44 years ago today!  It's hard to even begin to fathom how many people have passed down Main Street U.S.A. or how many memories were made with magical first glimpses of Cinderella Castle!  To honor this birthday, here's 44 things you don't want to miss in Magic Kingdom:

1. Walk through Cinderella Castle

2. Meet Mickey at Town Square Theatre

3. Grab a Dole Whip in Adventureland

4. Take time to read the windows on Main Street U.S.A.

5. Get a hair cut at Harmony Barber Shop

6. Make your little princess a real princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. . .

7. And give kids the chance to become a pirate at The Pirate's League.

8. Dine with the Beast inside his castle at Be Our Guest restaurant.

9. Ride the horses on Prince Charming Royal Carousel

10. Take flight with Dumbo the Flying Elephant

11. Watch Wishes explode high above Cinderella Castle

12. Will you have what it takes to remove the Sword in the Stone?

13. Find Cinderella Wishing Well on the path between the castle and Tomorrowland.


14. Try breakfast with your favorite princesses inside Cinderella Castle.

15.  Don't miss your chance to meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall.

16. Take a spin on the Jungle Cruise - you may even get to be the Skipper!

17. Conquer the mountains - Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain.

18. Ride around the park on the Walt Disney World Railroad.

19. Get your family picture taken in front of Cinderella Castle.

20. Become a part of the story at Enchanted Tales with Belle.

21. Have an ice cream at The Plaza Restaurant.

22. Battle Zurg in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

23. Buy a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.

24. Take in the nighttime spectacle of the Main Street Electrical Parade.

25. Ride the monorail!

26. Visit Tom Sawyer Island.

27.  Check out the 999 haunts of the Haunted Mansion - I've heard there's always room for one more. . .

28. Listen to a performance by The Dapper Dans on Main Street U.S.A.

29. Join Alice and friends for a spin on the Mad Tea Party ride.

30. Watch the moving tribute to America and our military veteran's during the Flag Retreat.

31. Hum along to Zip-a-dee-doo-dah on Splash Mountain with the Brer Rabbit and his friends.

32. Join the fun of the Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It! Street Party

33. See Walt's vision of the future on the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland.

34. Watch good battle evil at the Dream Along with Mickey stage show.

35. Participate in pin trading with Disney cast members.

36. Take a tour to learn backstage secrets of the Walt Disney World Resort.

37. Get "spit" on by one of the camels outside of The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

38. Cross swords with Jack Sparrow at Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial.

39. Get to the park at rope drop and see the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show.

40. Attend a special event like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

41. See the tiki birds at The Enchanted Tiki Room.

42. Visit the mines with 7 of your closest friends on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

43. Fly to Neverland on Peter Pan's Flight.

44.  Get the theme song from It's a Small World stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

And that's just the beginning!  There's so much to see and do at Magic Kingdom!  Here's to many more birthdays, or as Buzz would say birthdays "to infinity and beyond!"

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Our Cars #DisneySide @ Home Celebration!

I received free products in order to host the #DisneySide @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

On February 28th, we hosted our Disney Side party!  We were excited to invite friends and family to our house to celebrate our love of Disney and gather young Disney fans to enjoy food, fun, and festivities.  With the cold, ice, and snow that have plagued the Mid-Atlantic this winter, the Disney Side party was a great distraction.  The guests at our party ranged in age from 3 weeks to 63, proving that everyone can have fun with Cars!

As everyone arrived, there was food and Cars coloring pages waiting along with the Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD.  The menu consisted of some Radiator Springs favorites including Mater's Tater Tots, Sarge's Nuts and Bolts Trail Mix, and Luigi's Casa della Pizza.  All of the food was a hit and it was a great way to start off the day.

After the food, we headed off to play Pin the Smile on Mickey - one of the games included in our Disney Side celebration box.  Our partygoers enjoyed the game and we had one smile that was almost perfect!  We used some of the games and toys from our Disney Side box as prizes for the game.  We also had fun in our Show your #DisneySide photo booth.  Kids and adults alike enjoyed using some props show our Disney Side!  We were also planning on playing Disney Bingo, but our preschool crowd was losing focus on organized activities and just wanted to enjoy each other so we skipped the second game and let the kids play in my son's Jake and the Neverland Pirates bedroom.  Not surprisingly, our Disney Side is not limited to one party on one day - we show it everyday in our house!

The Mickey cake was a big hit with partygoers - especially the kids!  They all enjoyed the festive tie-dye Duff cake and the sugar rush was enough to keep them all partying straight through nap time.  While the kids ran and played, the adults enjoyed each other's company.  I even got the chance to talk with my cousin about his potential plans to take his family of 5 to Disney this fall. 

Each family left the party with a gift bag of goodies supplied in our Disney Side celebration box.  Guests received HP photo paper, Twinings Tea, Disney Parks luggage tags, and Disney Side chore charts.  The kids also took home Cars favor boxes with some candy and Cars stickers from our party box. 

I felt fortunate to have been selected to host a #DisneySide @ Home Celebration and want to thank all of the sponsors for their amazing generosity, especially BSM Media and Disney Parks.  Remember Disney fans, there are always wonderful ways to let your Disney Side shine each and every day.  For ideas about letting your Disney Side shine, visit www.disneysidecelebrations.com and follow #DisneySide on social media. 

I received free products in order to host the #DisneySide @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

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Gearing up for a Cars #DisneySide @Home Celebration!

I received free products in order to host the #DisneySide @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

With our #DisneySide @Home Celebration less than 2 weeks away, planning is in full swing.  I've loved looking at Pinterest, Instagram, and following the adventures of fellow party hosts on Facebook and Twitter for ideas as well as tapping into some of my own creativity.  Invites for our party were sent via Facebook and we're anxiously awaiting responses from family and friends with preschool aged kids who would love to come and celebrate a Cars fun-filled day with us!

As any party host knows, one of the first things to decide upon is the menu.  An easy way to let your Disney Side show at any party you throw, is to theme your food with the event.  I had an idea of some of the menu items I wanted to serve and then tried to come up with creative ways to connect the food to characters from Cars.  Between some of my own ideas and the ones I found on Pinterest, here is what I've come up with for our menu.

During lunch, I'll be playing the Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD.  And, as part of the party favors guests will receive, I'll be sending home several Disney goodies and some sweet treats for the kids too!

The other part of the party that I've been anxiously planning is the games!  The preschool crowd can be difficult to keep happy for a long period of time, so I've been trying to find games that are short and to the point while also being age-appropriate for the kids.  Included in my Disney Side party box were two games that I plan to incorporate - Pin the Smile on Mickey and Disney Bingo.  The Disney Bingo might be tough for little ones to navigate on their own, but I thought it would be fun to play one quick game and encourage parents and kids to play together.  The Disney Bingo winner and winner of Pin the Smile on Mickey will be treated to prizes that were provided to me.

Some of the games in our Disney Side celebration box!

I also found on Pinterest an idea for a game - Guess Which Cone the Car is Under.  Inspired by the Cozy Cone Motel, a car is hidden under one of three orange cones.  The cones are then switched around while the kids watch.  They then have to guess which cone the car is under.  I'm going to use the Cars stickers from my Disney Side party box as prizes for all kids that play the game.

Now it's crunch time to get the final details pulled together!  I can't wait to share how the party went when it's all complete!

For more ideas on planning your own party, check out www.disneysidecelebrations.com and follow #DisneySide on social media.

I received free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

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Planning a Disney Side @Home Celebration!

Disclaimer: I received free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

My email congratulating me on being selected!

Back in December, I found out about the Disney Side @Home Celebration opportunity through my Disney groups on Facebook and Twitter.  I quickly read over some brief descriptions of the program and decided it sounded right up my alley.  I applied to be selected as a host and was thrilled to receive an email in the beginning of January that I was selected and would be receiving my box soon!  Last week, I received my box of goodies and have been anxious to plan a great party!

It arrived!

So what is Disney Side @Home Celebration?  Disney Parks teams up with BSM Media and a variety of sponsors to send individuals some awesome free products to host a Disney party at your house.  In exchange, we agree to host a party by the end of February and share our experiences on our social media outlets - blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.  I have been following many experienced "social media moms" who do these kind of events on a regular basis, but this is a first for me!

I was so excited to open it, but waited for Brody to go to bed because I knew he'd want to rip into everything!

So what goodies were in the box?  Some really awesome products!  Based on the questionnaire I submitted in my application, I was selected to host a Cars themed preschool party - perfect for my preschool boy!  There were so many goodies that I decided to capture them in a picture for now and will talk more about them as I plan and host my celebration.  (P.S. - Notice the Mickey cake pan???  How exciting is that for this novice cake decorator and Disney fan?!?)

Some really amazing items!

And when will this party take place?  Well, those of you who know me personally know that within the next two weeks we are moving into a new house and due to have a new baby.  Some of you think I'm crazy to have applied and be selected for this, but I couldn't pass up a Disney opportunity!  With that in mind, we're planning a get together on Feb. 28 for some of Brody's friends to come and play.  I think Brody will enjoy the time celebrating with his friends in his new house and it will also be great for him to have a day devoted to Brody with so much attention focused on the arrival of his new baby brother.

A little bit closer view of some of the goodies in our kit!

I can't wait to host my party next month!  Look for more blog posts as the date draws closer about planning for the party and, of course, a summary of the party afterwards.  A big thank you to all the sponsors for being a part of such an amazing opportunity for us Disney fans to show our #DisneySide!

Disclaimer: I received free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

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