Tag: wdw

Lockdown Shopping Syndrome

Em

I’ve no idea if that’s an official term, but if it’s not, I’m coining it now. And I’ve been suffering from it. I know I’m definitely not the only one either! My best friend and I also call it #AddToBasket. It’s definitely an issue!

In the absence of other things to do / places to go, my poor bank accounts have taken a massive hit with perhaps some of the most random items I have ever purchased in my lifetime! (At the start of lockdown I bought a cello… A CELLO! I still intend to learn it properly, I just haven’t had the motivation)

A lot of the items I’ve bought though have been Disney related. Some have been just fun things, some have been for planning purposes and some have been little things that I think will be useful on a trip! So i thought I’d share a few here.

1. Loungefly Bags and Minnie Ears

I started my Loungefly backpack collection a little while ago, and keep adding the odd one. Some really cute ones have come out since lockdown began such as this Mulan one

this Cinderella anniversary one

and this fab light-up Tangled bag.

As for Minnie ears, I totally blame Molly from All Ears for my obsession! I used to have two pairs. Now I have MANY. From Disney store, from Etsy…. I just keep seeing cute ones! Agh! Help!

2. Minnie Mouse Main Attraction Mugs

The Minnie Mouse Main Attraction mugs (try saying that five times fast!) are part of a bigger collection of Loungefly Bag/Ears/Pin set/Mug/Minnie Plush, one of which has been released each month since January each based on a different Walt Disney World attraction.

After attempting to get an occasional backpack or set of ears (and I 100% mean attempt because these items going on sale at 8am and are typically sold out by 8.03am!) I decided on the mugs. They are stackable, but I decided to keep them in their boxes because they look really nice.

Minnie Mouse Main Attraction Mugs (and in front, wax melts with scents from the Magic Kingdom from SeillanMórShop on Etsy)

3. Walt Disney World Transportation Planner

I spotted this on Etsy and thought it would be really helpful when planning how to get between the parks or to different restaurants.

This was, of course, before park hopping ended, but I still just love it, especially as my husband has a fond love for London Underground style maps.

From Etsy seller WDWFocus

4. Disney Dinner Plates!

This dinner set from George caught my eye and now it’s our main dinner set! Even my husband likes it and I thought I’d have to talk him into having Mickey on his plates! (Note the hidden Mickey I made for my Instagram pic 😂)

Disney dinner service from George at Asda. Photo from my Instagram @gibsonsdodisney

These are just a few of the things we’ve bought! Have you found yourself shopping more? Found any lovely Disney things? Share your purchases!

New Trips on the Horizon!

Em

As a result of all the rescheduling, I now have three trips in pretty quick succession!

I have a solo trip – my first at WDW – booked for September 2021. I’m very excited about this! I have some stuff that I really want to do, but nearer the time, I’m going to be asking people for some ideas of what they want to see me do and post videos! Should be fun!

The second trip is going to be booked for January 2022. This has been on the cards for a while now, my BFF trip with my best friend Claire. She has been to Disneyland Paris a few times and we have been together and had so much fun, but she has never been to Florida and we are making the trip together. We cannot WAIT!

And then, of course, trip number three is the oft rescheduled family trip, which we are hoping to go for Easter 2022.

As I result, I’ll be making good use of the Platinum Plus annual pass that I bought but luckily never had chance to activate! I’m going to be getting myself a Universal annual pass too for those three trips alone will save me money!

My first trip is now less than a year away. I’ve saved up for a nice flight too. Fingers crossed they’ve opened up to let us in to the country by then!

What You Should Know…

Em

Before we start, I think it’s important to point something out. I have never been the best bargain hunter – if my mum ever asked me to pick my favourite outfit in Miss Selfridge when I was young, I would invariably pick the most expensive one without knowing I had. It’s not deliberate, it’s just me.

Also, despite generally being quite possibly one of the most disorganised people around, I have a need to be organised on trips like this, with regard to food and fast passes and things, because I know that once those things are sorted we can fill the rest of the time however we want. Then I can stick them all on a timetable and the fun begins!

Hence the need for all the planning – we are not actually going for almost a year, but dining reservations are available to be made 180 days in advance of your trip, and that is 170 days from now, so that is less than half way!

What I’m saying, in a very nonsensical way!, is that our way of doing Disney is very possibly not your way of doing Disney. That’s totally okay! You may want to spend way less or even much more than us! I will endeavour to put the different options where available and I will be very happy to share any and all tips that come my way with regard to saving money.

But here are our basics and these will always happen: we will always stay in a Disney resort, because for us the benefits of staying in one far outweigh not staying in one. And we will always get the Disney Dining Plan too.