Why Use A Disney Earmarked Travel Agent? | Wish With Amy

There are about as many ways to plan a Disney trip as there are people on the planet. We all have different priorities and expectations. But the one secret I wish more people knew about was the Disney Earmarked travel agent. Now, if you grew up going to Disney and you've planned so many trips you've lost count, then it's possible our service is not for you (although if you want to leave some of the hassle to us, you most certainly could!). But most people planning their first trip could really benefit from a travel agent, especially one who gives concierge level service up through the last day of your trip. That's what my team does.

Here are some of the most common ways we help you plan the best Disney experience possible:

1. We know when promotions are traditionally released and Disney notifies us of new deals all the time. We can't get you a cheaper price than what's offered by Disney, but we can be some of the first people in line for you.

2. We know the dates for your ADRs, FPs, Festivals, and Special Events. We can make sure that you are informed of the deadlines for your dining reservations, your FastPass+ selections, as well as special events and festivals that might be happening during your travel dates. We want you to make the most of your days at the Disney Resort.

3. We can get you the best chance at the dining reservations you want. I can't count the number of times a client wanted an Advance Dining Reservation but couldn't get it because they waited too long to book their trip, or worse, didn't communicate their desires to the agent. And even better, we will make all these arrangements for you; getting up early, staying up late into the night, whatever it takes to get you closer to your dream vacation.

4. We can get you the best chance at the Fast Passes you want. We know how the system works, and often that means staying up until the wee hours of the morning to get the first FastPasses available. That doesn't mean we can get you everything you want, but it does mean we'll take the first bite at the apple while you and your family are snuggled up tight in your bed.

5. We can help you come up with the best touring plan for you and your travel party. If you have never been to WDW before it can be tricky traveling through the parks. You can find yourself backtracking and criss-crossing the park several times in a day. If you have the expertise of people like us, you can spend less time walking and more time actually enjoying your day. We can help you come up with an efficient touring plan so that your meals, FastPass+ times and must-see experiences are more localized and move you through a park with ease.

6. We are on call during your stay. If suddenly you walk out of Peter Pan's Flight and realize you are caught in a downpour, we available via phone and text to help you decide your next move. If you decide that you want to skip one park and go back to another, but aren't sure about what to do, you can call us and we can help you get the most of that day. We are here to make sure your stay is the best it can be.

7. We've seen almost everything and know how it works. Confused about the dining plan? We have experience using them all. Uncertain of the best Disney transportation to use to get to your destination? We already know. Wondering if your ticket gives you access to waterparks on the same day as theme park access? Text us; it probably does. Want to view the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom but don't have a park ticket? There are ways to make that happen. Not sure what is free around the resort and what you have to pay for? We can help.

In short we can put our expertise to work to make sure your trip to Walt Disney World is as hassle-free and full of magic as can be. There is SO MUCH to see and do. Let us help you make sense of it all. Get a quote from me at amy@wishdrawals.com or visit our website at www.wishdrawals.com!

DIY Disney's Once Upon A Time Hand Knit Mittens

When I saw this pattern I immediately thought of the opening of Disney's Once Upon A Time TV show. It perfectly captures the woods in all it's eerie beauty (the show AND this pattern). So of course I had to knit them up right a way. And at the rate at which we lose mittens in the cottage, I will be very glad this winter indeed!

I will say, this pattern was not as delightful to knit as the gorgeous Corona Flower mittens were. I think it's simply a matter of attention to detail on my part. Not only is the pattern not one you can memorize (it's all asymmetrical), but I absolutely couldn't make out the directions for the braided cuff, so I made it easy on myself and just made a standard checker-board pattern instead. I don't mind that change one bit. And if the attention to detail was a little tricky, it was worth it as these mittens actually fit my hands! That is a very difficult thing to do indeed!

For all the details on this lovely pattern and materials used, you can head on over to my Ravelry page. And until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Lunch with An Imagineer | Wish With Amy

 It wasn't too long ago that I realized Disney had a very special dining opportunity that was perfect for three of our family members. If you've never heard of Dining with a Disney Imagineer, then you really need to read this article! Especially if you have a Disney geek or two in your next travel party.

Dining with a Disney Imagineer is available at the Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. As far as I know, this is the only place you have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with an actual Disney Imagineer! For my husband, our oldest, and me, this was the highlight of our trip!

We booked this experience in October of 2012 and immediately upon arrival at the Hollywood Brown Derby, we were checked in an received our very own Walt Disney World name badges. Hayes was already in his glory. His face says it all! This experience is recommended for those 15 and over, but as an overachieving science geek, foodie and Disney expert, he was the perfect guest even at age 11. We knew he would enjoy a four-course gourmet meal and have thoughtful, reflective questions for whomever our Imagineer would be.

We were seated at a table in a private dining room with 9 other Disney geeks, given a souvenir menu and met our Disney Imagineer. We were lucky enough to be dining with Bernadette Mosher, or Bernie as she liked to be called. Her position at the time was Director of Creative Development Services. We heard all about her work solving the challenge of making Spaceship Earth a reality, as no one had been able to construct a complete geodesic sphere prior to EPCOT being built. She talked about the development of Disneyland Paris, where she was the lead Imagineer for the Haunted Mansion and the Grand Canyon Diorama. She had a lot of great stories to tell and was very engaging!

The end of our meal came all too soon, but we were each given a souvenir plate, autographed by Bernie, as a keepsake of our experience, as well as a photograph, our name badges and the menus too. But the best take away for our family was the conversation! We were inspired and awed by the stories we heard and Hayes was ready to sign up then and there to work for Disney (aren't we all?)!

If you are wanting to book this experience, you need to reserve Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at noon. I recommend booking on your 180 day mark, as I wasn't able to find any seats available at the time of this writing! The cost is roughly $60 per person. As of this writing, the Disney Dining plan is NOT accepted for this event. Currently only the Hollywood Brown Derby is participating in this program. In years past, other restaurants were included, but that appears to have gone away.

I'd love to hear your experiences with this Disney dining experience too! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Fused Plastic Rain Bucket Hat

Are you looking for the perfect accessory for your Disney rain poncho? Well, look no further! You can upcycle some old shopping bags for this unique Disney look!

For this project I used 8 grey shopping bags for the lining, (available from Kohls, Lowes or Walmart in this area) and one large Disney shopping bag for the exposed side of this hat, as well as some white seam binding I had in my stash and purple thread for contrast! Which means that this Disney hat was completely free to make and helps the environment by not putting all that plastic in the landfill. Wouldn't Jiminy Cricket be so proud?

For all the details and instructions from fusing the plastic to creating the hat, I used this tutorial from Makezine. The only change I made was adding the seam binding to the two brim pieces before sewing them together. You could always just seam it the way the pattern suggests, without the seam binding. But I like the extra touch it gives this hat. So cute!

To fuse the plastic, I set my iron to somewhere between cotton and wool/silk, the highest and second highest settings on my iron. Fusing the plastic was the longest part of this project. It seemed to take forever! But setting the iron too hot was also a mistake; when it was set to the highest setting, the plastic shrank so quickly it pulled holes in the "fabric." Not so good for keeping the rain out!

To cut the pieces out, you can actually trace around them with ballpoint pen. That way you can see exactly what parts of the design will show. Just keep in mind that you will have a 1/4" seam around the pieces. And if you do try this at home, make sure the words will not be upside down when you sew the hat pieces together. You CAN pick the seam out of this plastic, but it is no picnic! My advice is to check everything twice before sewing!

I hope to see several of these hats the next time we are in the Disney parks! After all, what better place is there for a fabulous hat than Disney? Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Scrapbooking WDW | NEW Project Mouse Adventure Bundle Released!

Just yesterday my favorite scrapbook designers brittish designs and  sahlin studio released a new Project Mouse kit themed to Adventureland in Disney's Magic Kingdom! My regular readers will know how very excited I am to snap it up and add it to my ever growing collection of digital scrapbook supplies!

I think Disney scrappers will also be able to use parts of this kit for those Animal Kingdom layouts as well as some Animal Kingdom Lodge pictures! This one is definitely a keeper! And you don't have to be a digital scrapper to use the kit. It comes with print files if you want to print them and use them for your Project Life albums as well.

Be sure to stop by the sahlin studio blog and the brittish designs blog for inspiration and to grab the freebie that goes along with this kit! (There is a lot of scrolling through the post, but it's worth it!) And right now the whole kit and caboodle is on sale at The Lilypad! Up to 30% off!

I have no affiliation with Project Mouse, I just love this digital scrapbooking product and want to share all the Disney goodness with my readers. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Don't Be Such A Guppy Design in RedBubble Shop

So I have to be honest, The Little Mermaid was never going to be my princess. I'm not sure what it is, but she just doesn't resonate with me the way Merida and Rapunzel do. Maybe Ariel was just too love-struck for my taste. Or maybe I just wasn't a love-struck teen when this movie premiered. Who knows?

Nevertheless, this little gem of a design is one of my favorites! It is, perhaps, Ariel's best advice. Ever. And sometimes, we just need a little reminder not to be so timid! It worked for Flounder, mostly.

As usual, you can find this design in my Redouble shop, on a myriad of products; I am especially in love with the baby and kid-sized shirts! I also think this one is rather well suited to the tech products as well. Who couldn't use a daily reminder to be braver?

Until next time, dear readers, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Guest Blogging at Keys To The Kingdom!

Readers, I have a new blogger for you to check out! Head on over to Keys To The Kingdom and check out all Emily's great posts about EPCOT last week. And of course, check out my review of the International Flower and Garden Show, which happens each spring in my favorite Disney park! Emily has lots of great tips for traveling with toddlers and infants to Walt Disney World. I'm sure she will be a great resource for you too!

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

The Great Emelius Browne Design Now On RedBubble

As my regular readers know, I am a long time Disney fan. I grew up watching all the movies on VHS and we wore some of them so thin that the movies actually wobbled when we watched them! Bedknobs and Broomsticks was one that we loved to watch. As an homage to that great Disney classic I have created this Emelius Browne design for the RedBubble shop!

If you are familiar with the movie, you will remember that Emelius Browne loves to hawk his wears with a portable stand. This is a reproduction of the sign that hangs on his table! I love the fascination that Disney seemed to have with hucksters and snake oil salesmen. Don't forget DocTerminus in Pete's Dragon and The Apple Dumpling Gang! I suppose it was a fascination of a certain time, and the appeal of a semi-hero from unlikely beginnings. Or at least the reforming of a man. Disney was certainly the eternal optimist!

Here's a picture of David Tomlinson as Emelius Browne:

Redbubble is constatntly adding new products to its site! Now you can find these great studio pouches (excellent for travel anywhere Disney goes!) and skirts! Take a look at all the great new things available. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Liberty Square Inspired Knit Shawl

This was a stash busting project if ever there was one. I mean, those of us who knit, hoard yarn. It's almost a foregone conclusion: you knit, most likely we will find skeins of yarn stored in all manner of hiding places. Like the sleeves of your old winter coat. And the back of the china closet. You know who you are. Every now and again, we knitters need to unload a bit of that stash and the best way to do it is to be stuck on an airplane (at least I think so). So on my recent travels to Puerto Rico, I managed to knit this lovely cotton shawl that reminded me ever so slightly of Liberty Square and the costumes one finds there.

Now, I happened to have the beautiful blue yarn already in my coat sleeves, er, stash. But if I were going to buy yarn for this project, I might just have to choose a Haunted Mansion color like purple or dark green or black to wear with my hitchhiking ghosts t-shirt. (yes, shameless self promotion here.) The beauty of this pattern is that it was easily memorized and fairly simple. It was the perfect sort of mindless knitting one needs for a day of endless meetings, jury duty, or church. I was a little surprised at how heavy it became, but it's the perfect weight for taking the edge off the chill. And I'm down several skeins in the stash department too! Bonus! If you want all the knitty details, you can check out my Ravelry page.

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!