Not Your Typical Toy Store

If you have been to Orlando, I'm pretty sure you have been to Downtown Disney. It's one of our favorite spot to go every time we visit the Mouse Town. One of our favorite stores there, is this unique and fun toy store called Once Upon a Toy.

This fun toy store is like a heaven for kids or even adults. When you first walk in, you will see a huge selections of Mr. Potato Heads and family board games. The fun part has just begun. There is a play area that kids can spend hours creating their own version of Mr. or Mrs. Potota Head with various mouse-inspired accessories like Mickey Ears, Mouse hands, or Mouse balloon.

If you can peel them off from Mr. Potato Head table, you will walk into the Boy's Zone. A great selection of all classic action adventure characters like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Pirate of the Carribean are all on display. This was where Mr. Rojo just lost his coolness and became kid once again. The Star War Build Your Own Lightsaber - Choose Your Own Destiny station is a big hit for kids and adults. Well, I must say I see more parents than kids stood there. You can learn how to build your own version of lightsaber with instructions and all the necessary parts. Now, who can say no to that!

Girls don't have to worry.. In the back of the store, awaiting for them is the huge My Little Pony station. Miss J was never a my little pony fan but I know a bunch of friends who are. I'm pretty sure I can hear them scream as if they have found the best treasure box ever. No worried, there is another section for little princess lover to create their own jewelery using different Disney characters.

It might not be as big as FAO in New York City but it's as much fun to check them out and a great stop during a hot Florida day. Best of all, if you can resist the begging, you might come out without spending any money. :)

Friends, Family, Food and Floating Tube

Our Summer vacation started pretty early considering we headed down to Orlando the day after the school ended. This year we headed down to Orlando to celebrate Mr. Rojo's Birthday and kick off our Summer vacation with the Mouse.

We stayed at Mystic Dunes Resort and Golf Club. It was a really nice property with a lot of amenities for the whole family. There are golf course, several pools, mini-golf, bike trail, jogging trail, basket ball court and fitness room. We had a 2 bedrooms / 2 bathroom condo with full kitchen. It was Mr. Rojo's parents timeshare so we didn't have to spend any money on accommodation. Our friends from Florida came to stay with us a couple nights. What a great fun we had!! We ate, we drank, we played game, we chatted and then we drank again..

The next day, we headed out to Disney's Blizzard Beach Water park. We arrived right when the park open at 10 AM. I liked Blizzard Beach from the start just like love at first sight. You know why? No parking fee! Anyone visits Disney World knows that parking fee is not cheap there. When we went to Animal Kingdom it was $12 per car. Ouch!! But no parking fee at the water park.. Score #1.

The park is small enough for us to enjoy all the fun rides in one day without feeling like rushing. But it's big enough to accommodate all the guests that we don't feel overcrowded.

Once we got in, we headed out to get the locker to put our personal belonging there. Then we headed to the Tike's Peak area which is a perfect area for family with small children. We found a few chairs under the hut to make that our home base. We had our cooler with us filled with drinks and snacks. Score #2 for saving on snacks and drinks. The kids loved to play at the shallow pool area and went up and down kid-sized slides. We felt pretty save as there were several lifeguards in the area keeping close eyes on them at the bottom of the slides.

We could probably stay there the whole day but the rafting at Cross Country Creek was begging us to take a leisure ride around the park . It was a nice relaxing way to unwind. There are also life jacket for kiddo if you didn't have one. Miss J loved it so much that she asked to do it again and we did right before we left.

Mr. Z's favorite was the Teamboat Springs - a family rafting ride. To get to the ride we had to ride the chairlift (just like at the ski resort) to the top of the Mount Gushmore.. It was a really cool ride and the raft is big enough to accommodate the whole family.

Another favorite for the Q Family was the Melt-Away bay or what we called the Wave pool. Mr. Z loved to jump on the wave and Miss J loved to ride the wave on the raft.

By 5pm, we were all wiped and it was about time the park is closed. We got in the car and the rain poured down. What a perfect day!

I highly recommended the water park to family with small children over other parks like Animal Kingdom or Epcot. It's cheaper and more fun for little kids. Plus it's more relaxing to the adult as well. The park is not so big so you won't be walking all day.

Ready, Set, Go... Animal Kingdom Kids Style

This was how Miss J and Mr. Z prepare for Animal Kingdom visit during our Memorial Day weekend trip down to Orlando.


First of, you gotta have a water bottle fan. It's a must-have in this park. I don't know if it's just me or it's the way Disney planned it, this park has always been hotter to me every single time we visited than any other parks. Maybe it's just a lot of walking with less shops to stop by.. Or maybe we just spent our entire visit in just Africa.

This park seems to be smaller than other parks from the map but we didn't even manage to finish one continent before we ran out of juice. So a map is a second must-have to know your way around. Truth be told, Mr. Z had only one agenda for this visit. He must ride a train.. So our main goal was to get to the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Another must-have for Miss J is her new digital camera. It was our gift to her. She loved to take pictures and I found that little kiddie camera was not good enough for her and it ate up battery like water. Since we have extra digital camera that we hardly use, it was a perfect solution.

Now that they were all set. Check back later for our experience in Animal Kingdom with school-age kids.

Check out other travelers' Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Photo Friday: Lego Store in Downtown Disney

Mr. Rojo and Mr. Z admired the dragon made entirely from lego in front of the Lego store in Downtown Disney. We went there 2 years ago during Christmas. It was a wonderful time to be in Disney World. It was busy but the weather was so nice. It was not hot and humid like typical Florida weather.

The Lego store was a great stop for family with kids (or no kids). There is a playground right outside the store. There are also several lego tables for kids to play while the parents shop or the other way around. :) The best of all, it was right at the water front at Downtown Disney so you can enjoy the view and hear the live music shows that were going on throughout the day. The hard part will be when you have to peel them of the store and get home. :)

Check out other travelers' Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Photo Friday: Christmas in Disney World

Last year, we went to Disney World - Magic Kingdom on Christmas. It was a really great experience for all of us. We started the day bright and early and ended the night late into the next day.. Miss J and Mr. Z were a great troopers. They didn't complain and stayed all the way till we got on the boat ride back to the parking lot. The weather couldn't be more different than in Atlanta. We got to walk around in short and t-shirt.. You can even spot Miss J in her tank top. :)

The park was still busy. It was beautifully decorated as to be expected from Disney. We also got to enjoy some snow on the Main Street at night.. Ah.. White Christmas in Orlando.

We did bring a few presents for them to open on Christmas day. We had our family dinner from Publix but it was still as good as home made meal. Overall, it was a fun experience but I love to spend my Christmas at home. So I will save Disney trip on other occasion from now on.

Check out other Photo Friday participants around the world at Delicious Baby.

Photo Friday: Disney Animal Kingdom

We are a big Disney fan if you didn't already know. When we lived in Florida, Disney trip was the weekend trips for us. We had been there countless times even before we had kids. Even now that we have moved, we still have a chance to go there very frequently thanks to Mr. Rojo's parents who bought timeshare in Orlando.

This picture was taken a few years ago on our first visit to Animal Kingdom. There are various views on Animal Kingdom. Some love them and some couldn't care for them. For me, I love it. I wouldn't expect to compare the Killimanjaro Safaris in Animal Kingdom to be anything even close to the real Safari in Africa. But I still do love the ride and enjoy every minute of it. I mean if I don't say that this picture was taken from Disney World, it could have fooled me that it was taken from Africa. We haven't been back to Animal Kingdom for a while. I would love to check out the new ride in Everest and Finding Nemo - The Musical. Also my dream resort to stay would have been The Animal Kingdom Villa...

13 Rides We Love in Disney World

We are a Disney Family. We have been there several times that I lost count. It helps that we used to live in South Florida which is only a few hours away from Orlando and our ILs have timeshare there also a bonus.

So here are my Thursday Thirteen for this week. The rides we love in Disney World.

1) Pirates of the Caribbean - Ok. I admitted I love it because last time we went we had no wait time at all. It was a nice ride and we love the movie. I think even if we have to wait in line we would enjoy looking at all the deco that they have in there.

2) Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - This is an interactive ride that is fun for the whole family. Also the fact that Mr. Rojo loves game also helps. But I think I beat him last time we rode it. :)

3) It's a Small World - Good ride to do when you need a break from a hot day. But be ware that the song might stay in your head for the rest of the day..

4) Tomorrowland Transit Authority - It's an old ride that doesn't get much attention. But I think that's why we like it. There is no long ride and you get to enjoy the view even a peek at the Space Mountain.

5) The Barnstormer @ Goofy's Wiseacre Farm - Well, this is more of Mr. Z's favorite than mine. It's a little kid version of the roller coaster. The ride gives you a taste of real roller coaster but can they make it a little bit longer? I think the ride lasts about 15 seconds.

6) Walt Disney World Railroad - Having an Train-obessed son, this is a must on our itinerary. It's a good way to get from point A to point B and save your energy from walking and bumming to other millions guests in the park.

7) Kilimanjaro Safaris - Ok.. It's not Africa but I guess for our family this might be as close as we will get in the mean time. We haven't been there for a while so I'm looking forward to going back there our next trip (whenever that might be).

8) It's Tough to be a Bug - A fun 3-D show that we enjoy. I also won't mind the long line to get to the show as we had fun trying to spot the animals craving on the big Tree.

9) Festival of The Lion King - I love this show. Mr. Rojo didn't get to see the whole show so we need a repeat just for him. :)

10) The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - This one is the ride before kids. I love it but for now we probably need to put it on the list after kids are bigger.

11) Mission: SPACE - Another fun experience that I love. I know that I will never join NASA or have enough money to pay my way to the Space Station. So for $70 I will get just a little tiny bit of experience. I will take it!

12) Epcot Pavillions - It's not the same as going to each country yourself. But it's just a good way to browse and eat around the world. :)

13) Kali River Rapids - A fun ride that is not too intimidating as other rapid river from other parks (like the one in Island of Adventure - Love that one). But it's good enough to enjoy a few thrill in the Animal Kingdom.

Here it's my list for this Thursday. There are more rides that I would love to do but those are new and I have never tried it yet. So I'm sure I will have more to my list later on!

Check out other Thursday Thirteen here.

Bring back memory

Planning the Carribean cruise for this May, bring back fond memory of our first cruise with Disney. It was our first cruise and we were so new to this cruising stuff. I don't think we had planned it properly. But overall the trip went well hence we are back on the cruise planning again.

Amazingly enough, the timeframe for this cruise is almost the exact same time as our first cruise. It was in May. We booked the Disney Wonder - 4 night Bahamas cruise through our friend who handled everything. So the booking part was easy enough for us.

With the help from comprehensive online site, I got several tips from experience Mouse cruisers. For one, bring a white T-Shirt or pillow case and you can drop it off at the guest service. They will have all the characters sign the T-Shirt for you. Free souvenir!! The chase to get pictures with different characters was fun as well. It is one of the unique thing that you can't get from other cruises especially if you are a big Mouse fan.

We didn't book or plan any excursion in Bahamas. Just walked out to the port area and then got back on the ship. I would have done it differently next time. I will probably spend more time in researching on what else we can do in the Bahamas.

My favorite was a day at Castaway cay. The beach was crowd but the kids had so much fun in the Sun. Eventhough, we got a bit of overcast day in the beginning of the day and had to wait to dock for about an hour. Overall, we got our relaxing and fun day on the beach.


Then we got a full day at sea to explore and really enjoy what the Cruise has to offer. We walked to every corner of the ship just to see all little things they have hidden that make it truly magical. The pool is one of my favorite since at that time my son was still in diaper and this is the only cruiseline that has separate pool that allow kids with swimming diaper to enjoy the pool as well.

And don't get me started on the food. With so many choices and so many snacks you can get, I didn't even bother to check my weight when I got back. Why bother since I know that it will go up anyway! It's a vacation so let it go!! Service is off the chart which is to be expected when you have Disney stamp on it. I loved the little touch of animal towel in our room every night. You never know what animal you will find in your room!

What can I say. If you don't know it by now, we are a Disney fan family!

Magic Kingdom - The Saga continue..

The visit won't be completed (for the kids at least) if you didn't get to ride on the Cinderella's Golden Carrousel. Kids loved it. I felt like my lunch is coming out. Gosh! I feel old. Next to the Carrousel is the Dumbo ride which is of course on the list. I bailed on that one and let the kids went on with my hubby. I took a break to walk back to the locker and got our water and then stopped by to get some funnel cake. Yum yum!! It's messy but tasty!

Now it's time for one of the ride on my list, The Indy Speedway. Man!! This car is hard to drive. Not sure how is it they call a Speedway since I didn't seem to be able to speed it at all. By this time, the Sun came down and the lights were on. That's one of the reason we want to be there during Christmas. All the deco and lights are unbelievable. It sure did make you feel like you are in your own fantasy world. We caught a few parades here and there but didn't go wait on the side to try to catch the whole thing. I knew my kids and they are not doing so well in confine space for a long period of time. Plus we got the whole park to ourselves this way.

We headed back to Mickey's Toontown to catch a train ride back to the Main Street area. First needed to stop by the Hall of Fame tent. The trip won't be completed without the pictures with the princesses for my daughter. Darn them! They didn't put up on how long the wait was. We walked in and didn't see such a long line so we thought it will be quick. Boy oh boy, we waited for over an hour. They'd better be a darn good princesses there! Got the pictures and signatures.. Whew!! Checked one of the list.

Time to take out the jackets and refuel for the night time walk. We arrived back to Main Street at around the time the parade almost started. So that's a bit of a challenge to walk through Main Street to find some places to eat. We walked to Casey's Corner to grap some hot dogs and watched the parade from there.

After the parade, that when all the neat stuffs begun. We walked to Adventure Land and got on Pirate of the Carribean ride with no line. Yup, took about 5 mins to get to the ride just because that's how long the line could have been if we have to wait.

Walking back, got to watch the firework from Frontier Land. No matter how many times we watch, it's still amazing. The kids just loved it! Then the trip won't be completed for my ILs if they didn't get to ride It's A Small World. Again, no line. Just walked in and got on the boat. Hmm.. I started to dig this night time ride thing. They even went back for the 2nd time.

And to satisfy my hubby needed for an adult ride, he went to the Haunted Mansion with my daughter. Amazingly, she wasn't afraid. I waited there and got to watch another round of parade nearby. That was a good spot to watch. In front to Fantasy Land. Clear view with a bench. Couldn't ask for a better spot. By this time, my son went to sleep. Well, have to say that he lasted longer than I thought.

It's time to head out to Main Street and check out the shops. I don't know what Disney put in the water but it's amazing how people is willing to spend $70 to get in and then spend even more in the shops even after they are completely exhausted. I walked around and see most of them looked completely tired (including me) and yet we were all walking around the shops looking for things to spend money on. Hmm.. Need to get their secret on this for my business.

And when we headed out, we heard over the speaker that the park is now closing!! Woo hoo!!! We did it. We closed the park. My daughter last till we got on the boat and then she was out!

Bye Disney and we will see you soon!

Disney World on Christmas Day!

What was I thinking? Planning a family vacation trip to Disney on Christmas Day. It's one of the busiest day for Disney World. So we braced ourselves and trained for standing in line for anything. Getting coffee? Plan for 45 minutes. Bathroom break? Another 30 minutes. Well, the plus side is they close the park at midnight and yes we did close the park!!

The trip started with 8 hours drive from Atlanta to Orlando. Yes, normally it will take about 7 hours but we are the leisure driver who needs to make more stops than normal people. We checked in and rested for the day. But note to self, don't go to the grocery on Hwy 192 on Sunday. You will think that there is a hurricane coming our way. It was packed! Probably all the timeshare people are checking in at the same time including us. Plus it's the day before Christmas eve might contribute to the craziness.

Next morning, got up early and ready for Magic Kingdom. As an ex-Floridian, we have advantages over typical tourists. For a start, we know to take Resort monorail instead of the one heading for Magic Kingdom. No line, plus the kids get a bit longer ride on the monorail. I think if we leave now, they will still be happy.

The first stop is to rent the stroller and the locker. I have to say Disney's stroller is one of the easiest to steer. All those stroller manufacturers should take note and build one just like that. Eventhough, our kids are 5 and 3, stroller is a life saver. No kids can walk all day long in Disney World.

After unload jackets and extra water to the locker, we headed to the Train. Didn't know that we can just leave the stroller at the station and picked up our name tag and then pick up the new one at the next station. Made a fool of ourselves a bit trying to get it on the train. Well, they should have made a sign for foolish tourist like us. :)

First ride is the Barnstormer. The wait in the line is about 45 mins and the ride is about 15 seconds. Well, that will help set us up to the right expectation. Before we knew it, it's time for lunch. Like I said, time flies in Disney. You won't mind waiting 45 minutes for a bowl of noodle or a cup of coffee. So we stopped by to get Fast Pass for Buzz Lightyear ride. This is by far one of the best feature from Disney. You have gotta use it!

After lunch break we headed out to see Monster Inc. show before our time slot for Buzz. I have to say I'm glad I didn't have to wait over 30 mins for this one. It's just a so so comedy type show. Nothing special. I wouldn't want to waste my time doing it again.


Next up, a people mover ride. Since we have been in Magic Kingdom several times both before having kids and after, we are not typical tourist that aim for typical popular rides. So our itenerary might be a bit off the beaten path from typical tourist plan. No 3 mountains ride on our plan (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain). Quite frankly, we did enjoy the ride of Tomorrowland Transit Authority (People Mover). It's a nice break for the day from a long waiting line and walk. Then off to the Buzz lightyear ride. This is a fun, interactive ride. Suitable for all ages. We loved it!