Month: September 2013

The Disney Shop at JCPenney

Disney Shoppe 008The Disney Shop at JCP Is Now Open!

Today I’m thrilled to share with you photos of a magical little shop tucked away inside your local JCPenney store, The Disney Shop.  A close Disney friend of mine, Keith Renard is the Visual Specialist at my local JCPenney.  Late last night he shared with me a photo of this pixie dusted place.  At that moment I knew I had to share it with all of you!  Upon sun rise today, I shared the photo with my little Mouseketeers and you can probably guess what happened next.  We jumped in the car and rushed to the store!

The Shop is simply adorable.  Looking straight into the shop, you get a feeling as if you’ve truly entered a miniature Disney Store!  The display pieces, merchandising, and product is so incredibly similar to the Disney Store.  Even the hangers appear to come from the same supplier as the Disney Store’s hangers.  The ratio of “girl” products to “boy” products is also about the same.  The Shop’s official company launch date is October 4th, so not all the product is represented in my photos.  My son, Gavin is holding out hope for some Planes themed items.  I did notice one huge difference between the Disney Store and JCPenney’s Disney Shop, the prices.  I found them to be significantly lower in the Disney Shop and yet from what I can tell the quality is the same.

Let’s Explore Inside!

Disney Shoppe 004

There’s even merchandise that features Disney Junior’s super popular Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins! Disney Shoppe 005Disney Shoppe 001

Princesses Merchandise is Everywhere!

There’s Princess PJ Pals, t-shirts, slippers, coats, costumes, accessories, Barbie-sized Princess Dolls, figurines, Disney Princess toddler dolls, and luggage just to name a few!

For boys, character brands include Toy Story, Cars, Monster’s University, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Mickey Mouse & Friends.  They are represented on toys, clothing, luggage, character plush and more.

 Here’s some exciting insider news!  Frozen costumes are on their way to the store!  The new Frozen merchandise should find its way to the store by October 1st.

Disney Shoppe 010Can I say PJ Pals?

Disney Shoppe 003

Disney Shoppe 011This Minnie Mouse winter coat was my favorite find.  It’s only $34 regular price!

I must admit that I’ve never been a frequent shopper at JCPenney.  With this happy little attraction now open,  The Disney Shop at JCP is my new destination for adding a touch of Disney magic into our weekly shopping excursions!

 

 

 

Thank you again Keith for sharing this wonderful news with me and allowing me to take these photos, so I was then able to share it with all our Disney Friends!

 

Five Ways To Prepare Your Child For His First Plane Flight

first flightThe first time you take your child on a plane is a big event.

Planning a trip to The Walt Disney World Resort with a small child is so much fun.  You anticipate the look on your child’s face when he sees Mickey for the first time.  You tear up at the thought of riding the Tea Cups with him.  Most likely, you’re more excited about your trip than he is!  Then you start to think about the plane ride.  For most children, this is the time when a little Mouseketeer will take his first trip on an airplane.  You may be a bit worried about his reaction to riding on this huge machine.  Today, I’d like to give you five recommendations that will help you prepare your child for his first plane ride.

  1. Play with Toys:  We all know kids love toys.  Find an airplane suitable to your child’s age.  From Lego Brand planes for older children to Little People planes for little ones, interacting with an airplane toy that has moveable parts will get your child thinking about the layout of a plane.  For example they’ll learn about the location of the cockpit, engines, and seats within the plane.  The photo above is of a plane that we purchased for our son before his first plane ride when he was a toddler.  It’s made by Fisher-Price and a similar plane is still available for purchase today.  The Little People Disney Princesses are a new line from Fisher-Price.
  2. Give Her Luggage:  Purchase a carry on luggage piece for your child.  Have your little princess fill her carry on with her favorite PJs, plush animal, coloring book and bedtime storybook.  Do this about a week before your trip and have her practice rolling it round the house.  It may drive you a bit crazy after a while, but she’ll love it and she’ll be much more at ease doing it the day of your trip if she’s practiced.
  3. Read Books About Planes:  There are so many fantastic books about planes.  Purchase a few or borrow them from the library for a few weeks before your trip.  These are a few of our favorite plane books.  Look and Say Vacation by Usborne Books is a board book that’s great for toddlers.  This book teaches children about several types of vacationsKevin Takes a Trip by Kane/Miller is great for toddler to preschool ages.  Usborne Flip Flap Airport by Rob Lloyd Jones is perfect for Preschool age through 3rd grade.  It’s a 13 page heavy-duty board book including over 60 flaps teaching children about the behind the scenes action in an airport.  Planes by Fiona Patchett  is a title for ages 5 – 8 years of age.  The book is packed with answers to questions you would have never thought of asking!  I learned a few things from reading this book! Mouse ears mom 009
  4. Purchase Treats:  Explain to your child that he gets to pick out his FAVORITE treats for his special plane ride.  Make this trip to the grocery store extra special by giving him his own shopping bag. His treats are the only thing you’re shopping for this trip.  Make sure he has plenty to eat during take off so he can clear his ears.  It makes the potential “scary” time a bit easier to get through when he’s chomping on some jelly beans.
  5. Show Videos: Spend some time showing your child some really cool YouTube videos on commercial airlines taking off or rent a children’s movie made especially for teaching children about airline travel, such as All about Airplanes with Backpack Jack.

Over the last two weeks I have shared with you simple ways to help you plan for your Walt Disney World vacation.  If you’re currently not planning a trip, I hope you remembered to pin some of your favorite pointers for future trips.  If not, you can click on the Travel Tips category found to the right of the page and that will give you all of my Travel Tip Posts.

Next week we move on to the really fun part~ the Pre-Vacation Parties!  I can’t wait to share some very creative and fun ways to celebrate your upcoming Walt Disney World vacation.

Disney Crafting: Chore Reward Sticks

DSC_0012One of my favorite things about Disney Blogging is meeting many other people with the same passion for Disney.

For example, one fantastic site that I came across is www.loveourdisney.com .  I’ve learned from reading Becca’s blog, that she LOVES Disneyland and has fantastic tips for saving money to get there! I instantly became a follower of her blog so I could start preparing for my family’s 2014 trip to Disneyland.  Love Our Disney also has some super cute Disney Inspired craft ideas too.  One of her ideas I decided to make with my son.  It was a simple and quick craft to do with a six-year-old, so he was completely focused.  In addition, he’s now extremely excited to do tasks around the house…for Disney “Savings” of course.

Today I’d like to share with you Love Our Disney’s Craft Idea: Disney Chore Bucket.  Just click on the link below.  It will take you straight to the tutorial including “how to” photos.

http://www.loveourdisney.com/2012/07/craft-time-disney-chore-bucket.html

Of course, after your little Mousketeer has saved his millions, he’ll need a place to keep it.  If you’ve already made him a Personalized Souvenir Savings Suitcase, then he’s set.  If not, you might want to check out this tutorial, which I posted last Friday.

 Disney Saving Suitcasehttp://www.mouseearsmom.com/2013/09/13/how-to-personalize-a-disney-souvenir-saving-suitcase/

We are currently half way through our 3 weeks of Disney Vacation Planning Tips, Crafts, and Pre Vacation Parties.  Have you noticed that I’m saving the party ideas for next week? You have to be prepared for the vacation before the partying starts.

Here’s the scheduled line up for the next week and a half:  Tips to help your little one prepare for his first plane flight, some insight at my first hand experience with Disney’s Magic Bands’ test phase and pre-vacation party time week!

Hope everyone is enjoying these weeks as much as I am!

Using the Monorail to Countdown to Your Walt Disney World Vacation {Free Printable}

Countdown to disney on monorailMy little Mousketeers LOVE the Monorail.  As the Magical Express Bus takes us from the airport to our resort, my children yell “Monorail!” as soon as they see one from the window of our bus.  Upon seeing the monorail, our vacation has officially started.  So, this year when planning our trip to Walt Disney World, I created a Countdown to Disney that included the monorail.  My six-year-old and two-year old helped me set it up and let me say, you would have sworn we were setting up the monorail under our Christmas tree.  Both kids were so excited!

If you’d like to do this project with your children, it’s a lot of fun.  I put it all together for you as a Free Printable!  All you’ll need is white cardstock, a pencil to trace, scissor to cut our your monorail beams, a hole puncher, ribbon, Velcro spots, and maybe a few pieces of tape. Also, you need space to hang it!   I think it would be perfect in a child’s room.  Our home is a Cape Cod style so the kids’ rooms have slanted walls. I ended up turning our dining room wall into a monorail station for a month.  Thank goodness I have an understanding husband that puts up with all of my Disney crafting!

To get started, print out the monorail and monorail beam templates.

Click here for the template:  Monorail Countdown

1. Cut out the Monorail beam templates.

2. Alternating track styles, trace and cut out one beam per day of your countdown.  Then number each accordingly.

3. Hole punch the ends of the beams.

4. Connect the beams by stringing ribbon through the hole punches.

5. Cut out the monorail.  I laminated it too, since we would be using it for a month.

6. Adhere Velcro onto the back of the Monorail and onto each of the beams.

7. Print out the castle to place at the end of your track!

Click here for the castle printout: Cinderella castle

I didn’t create the Cinderella Castle artwork and would love to give the artist credit.  However, I found the image listed as free clip art, with no additional information.

If you and your kids love the monorail like we do, then I hope you and your family take a moment to make a Monorail Countdown for your family’s next Walt Disney World Vacation!

 

How to Personalize a Disney Souvenir Saving Suitcase

Disney Saving SuitcaseI was recently accepted into a fantastic group of women that blog together called The Disney Moms.

Once a month I’ll be sharing a new Disney Inspired craft or treat idea on The Disney Moms’ blog.  Coinciding with Mouse Ears Mom’s Vacation Planning week, and knowing that you all LOVE Disney, I thought you might enjoy visiting The Disney Moms blog.  It’s sole purpose is to help people plan their most perfect Disney Vacation Ever!

Today I’m featuring a How To Personalize a Disney Souvenir Saving Suitcase on The Disney Mom’s Blog.  Check it out!

http://thedisneymoms.com/2013/09/13/how-to-personalize-a-disney-souvenir-savings-suitcase/

Next week at Mouse Ears Mom, look for a super cute Countdown to Disney craft idea.  I’ll give you a clue, “Please stand clear of the doors…”