The kids and I have the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. From the time we got there we have had so much fun seeing all the familiar characters from The Lion King, Finding Nemo, Cars, and The Little Mermaid.
We are here for the Grand Opening of The New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom.
We are staying in a two bedroom suite in the Lion King hotel. You can see from the pictures below that it is very colorful and full of life-sized versions of the movie.
The Art of Animation Resort as we drove in.
Disney’s Art of Animation Lion King bed featuring Zazu
Picture of the second bathroom at our hotel room in the Lion King suite at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
The Righteous Playground at the Finding Nemo swim and play area
Squirt from Finding Nemo on top of the Righteous Reef Playground
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream was a rockin’ Princess Party!
I have been watching the Disney classic princesses since I was a little girl and watching the modern princesses since my daughter was a toddler over 12 years ago. To see them all at this ice show was amazing on Wednesday night at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA! The show runs October 12-16, 2011.
It’s not hard to say who my favorite princess was, but I’ll wait to tell you that until almost the end of this post.
Disney on Ice Pre-Party
I took my kids (thanks to Sue Rodman at Fieldtrips with Sue) to the pre-party activities; otherwise known as the press conference and meet and greet. We got to talk to a couple of the stars and learn about their life behind the scenes and on the ice. They were very friendly and happy to talk to us about life on the road for 10 months out of the year.
Disney on Ice Cast are Community-Minded
I learned that the Disney on Ice cast are not so crazy about eating out because the food ends up tasting all the same. I’m sure they would love a home cooked meal from Karen over at In the Kitchen with KP!
Despite the small inconveniences, they are very community-minded as they explained when I asked them how they handle holidays away from home. They explained they may use the time to feed the homeless at a soup kitchen, give away their well-read books to the Salvation Army, or participate in a food drive much like me and my friends Amy over at Atlanta with Kid and Mandi at Cumming Local are planning next month.
Pictures and Activities with the Disney on Ice Cast
My daughter and I had the chance to take a picture with Rapunzel and Flynn from the movie Tangled. I really love that movie! Disney always surprises me with how well they make movies.
The kids got to color and make their own crowns while we waited for the show to begin. Even my son got in on the crown-making action. He is very proud of it as you can see below.
The Show Began with The Princess and the Frog
We got to our seats and waited to enjoy the show. It was cold so I’m glad we all wore our jackets. At one point my son pulled his hood over his head. Of course with it being Disney on Ice and all, it was bound to be cold.
The show started and the magic began with the story of Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. I really wish we could have taken a picture with her and Naveen but we didn’t. Inspite of that, we still had a really great time seeing all the familiar stories and watching the acrobatics on the ice.
Cinderella and Rapunzel take Center Ice
There were three princess stories including the Princess and the Frog, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. The show lasted for about two hours and all the kids had a blast! There seemed to be a princess takeover with all the little girls dressed as their favorite princess.
Classic Disney Characters and the Disney Princesses
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto hosted the show and was a part of the finale where all the Disney Princesses came out to party. We saw Ariel, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and all the ones that were in the main show.
Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream was a memorable event. The next day my son thanked me for taking him and his sister to see the show. I think he’s got his eye on being a Disney Prince. He certainly has all the makings of becoming one!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Start saving for your vacation two years ahead of time. You won’t have to spare any expense and are guaranteed to have a stress free time.
When I went to Disney World with my daughter I was able to get some good deals and have a really good time. But while I was there I looked at the luxury hotels and wished I had saved a little more money to splurge.
The trip was virtually worry and stress-free though. I didn’t have to worry about driving because we flew. I didn’t have to worry about transportation because the bus picked us up from the airport and we had shuttle service to the parks.
I got multi-day passes so we could visit the parks as often as we wanted to. Food was no problem because my daughter ate free and I didn’t eat much anyway. In short it was a very good trip because I was able to pay for all the things I wanted.
But if I had saved for a year or two the trip would have been even better. So save up your pennies, make extra money by selling stuff you don’t need, do freelance work, and look for discounts. You can have the trip of a lifetime because you planned for it in advance.
Another tip is to pay for things over time. Buy the plane ticket months in advance when you have the money. Reserve the room and send the money when you have the right amount.
Simply take each element of the trip and pay as you go so by the time the day comes you will have very little to worry about financially except spending money.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
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