Disney Life – Helen's Happy Place

18th August 202218th August 2022

Some new experiences – Thur 28 July

Most of us had a much more relaxed start today. By ‘most’ I mean all of us except my son. Now that he is 18 (he was 14 when we were last here) he is now old enough to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. This is a 5 hour tour taking you behind the scenes at Magic Kingdom. Our youngest is only 15 and you have be be 16 to do it so she wasn’t able to. So we decided that my son would do it, and the rest of us would wait until my daughter was old enough. He had to be at Magic Kingdom by 7.45 so he got an early bus over there while the rest of us had a bit of a lie in!

We pottered around the resort for the morning. Had a little wander over to The Boardwalk and then got the bus over to Magic Kingdom. The tour was due to finish at 1pm and it was a bit earlier than that when we got there. So we spent some time looking in the shops on Main Street as they were near where he was due to finish. I went into the shop that sells Pandora and bought my park exclusive charm. I buy one every year when we go and this year I chose one that said ‘2022’ (with the ‘0’ being Mickey ears). We also wandered around ‘Crystal Arts’ which we never really bother with as a lot of it is pricey glass ornaments which we would be unlikely to get home in one piece even if we did buy one. At the back of the shop is a glass blower and we stopped to watch. It was fascinating. I’ve seen glass blowers before (not at Disney) but this one was explaining everything she was doing and why.

By this time my son had finished and met up with us. We walked up to Tomorrow Land and did People Mover – he had been on his feet for 5 hours and People Mover is a nice sit down. We then did Dumbo and went over to do 7 Dwarves Mine Train (we’d locked in a DAS when we arrived). After that we headed back to the resort as we were planning on going into Epcot for the evening and watching the new night time show: ‘Harmonious’.

Back at the resort we weren’t feeling particularly hungry so we just had snacky things. I had another anniversary dessert – just not a cheesecake this time.

‘Harmonious’ started at 9pm so we decided to head into the park at about 7.30 to get something to eat and then get a good spot. As we were at Beach Club we walked in through the International Gateway which comes out in the World Showcase between France and the UK. We’d decided to try the Quick Service restaurant in America which had changed to a BBQ place since we were last there, and it was in roughly a right area to get a good spot for the fireworks.

We ended up sat at the edge of the World Showcase Lagoon – the show takes place on the water – in Italy. We sat on the floor for about 30 mins while we we waiting and it was definitely worth it. I have to admit I’m not a fan of ‘Illuminations’ which it replaced. This is somewhat controversial as ‘Illuminations’ was quite well loved. ‘Harmonious uses water to create projection screens (very similar to the now defunct ‘Rivers of Light’ In Animal Kingdom). It has clips from films representing countries across the World Showcase and in some cases the songs are sung in the language of that country. I thought this was really good and was pleased that ‘Touch the Sky’ from Brave had been included. Another plus was that as we had the new Magic Bands – Magic Band + – they lit up and vibrated in sync with the show.

And then – best thing about staying at Epcot – it was just a short 10 min walk back to our room 🙂

16th August 202215th August 2022

Bag hunting – Tue 26 July

Today panned out quite differently to how I planned it. Last night I saw someone in a DVC group on Facebook post about a new DVC loungefly bag that they had bought. It was gorgeous! For those who don’t know, loungefly is a brand that produces, amongst other things, pop culture themed bags. They now produce mini backpacks for Disney and they are EVERYWHERE. Walking round the parks it is safe to say that they are the bag of choice for most women (you see far more loungefly bags than any other brand). This one that was posted on line was one of the nicest I’ve seen. They said they got it in the shop at Wilderness Lodge. DVC merch is not sold in the parks, only in DVC resorts.

We were doing Animal Kingdom today and we got there just before the park opened. We quickly locked in a DAS for Flight of Passage and headed to Expedition Everest while the queues were light. By 8.45 we were over in Pandora ready to right Flight of Passage. I decided that after I had done this I would go in search of this bag. So, at 9am, just as non-resort guests were piling into the park I was heading out, leaving the rest of the family to do some more rides.

First thing to do was to get a bus to Wilderness Lodge. I didn’t know if they would still have them, but worth a try.

Nope – sold out. I asked in the shop if they could see if any of the other resorts had them. The cast member looked on the system and said that there were 37 at the Contemporary Resort. Or at least, they did 48 hours ago as the system hadn’t updated since then.

So, how to get to Contemporary. Whilst you can get buses between parks and resorts, you can’t get them between resorts. Therefore I’d have to get a bus to a park and then another to Contemporary. So my obvious option was a bus to Magic Kingdom. Contemporary is right next door and fortunately you can walk there from Magic Kingdom (though of course my feet were killing me – it may only be 9.45am but I’ve been going for 4 days now with not enough time for them to recover).

So I did and I got lucky. One DVC loungefly bag purchased!

So, how to get back to the resort? Yes, I could walk back to Magic Kingdom but my feet were painful. So it was a case of go to the bus stop and see what park bus came first and get that to then switch to a Port Orleans one. The first one that came was Disney Springs – the shopping area. Now this was perfect as Disney Springs is very close to Port Orleans so I did that.

By now the rest of the family were also heading back to the resort and we all arrived back at roughly the same time.

We had planned a park free afternoon and after a break in the resort we headed to Disney Springs for some shopping and our favourite pizza place for lunch: Blaze Pizza.

By late afternoon it was looking like it was going to chuck it down – and anyone who has been in Florida rain knows what that can be like – so we headed back to the resort. Unfortunately due to the imminent rain the boat that runs between Disney Springs and Port Orleans was shut – that had originally been our plan – so bus it was.

Later that evening I didn’t feel like eating much so when we went to the quick service at the resort for dinner I just had one of their 50th celebration cheesecakes 🙂

14th August 202213th August 2022

Settling in – Sun 24 July

Today we are off to Animal Kingdom. This park has my favourite ride on property so looking forward to this.

Again we utilised Lightning Lane before we left and booked in a ride (Nav’i River Ride), with the intention of doing a DAS as soon as we got there for Flight of Passage.

This park used to be a half day park but since they added Pandora (the Avatar section) there is more to do now. However, for some bizarre reason they have now decided to close before it gets dark. I saw this is ‘bizarre’ as Pandora was designed to light up at night with bioluminescence on the ground and on the plants, and rocks, etc (if you’ve seen Avatar then you will know what I mean).

When we got there both Dinosaur and Expedition Everest where showing as pretty much walk-ons so we went to Dinoland and did Dinosaur first. Definitely not a favourite of one of my children, so often this is a once and done ride. It is a dark ride and VERY intense as you try to escape earth before the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit! Expedition Everest is the big roller coaster in Animal Kingdom with a backwards section in the dark. As we had early entry due to staying in a Disney resort the standby line was only 10 mins so we did it that way – anything around 5-10 mins on a lot of rides is pretty much a walk on.

We decided to then go down to Pandora as it was nearly time for our lightning lane that we had booked at 7am. As we were walking past the lake we saw the new Kite Tails show starting so stopped to watch. Disney has tried to do a number of different shows at this location and none of them have been really successful (though I liked Rivers of Light). This was okay but I wouldn’t stop to watch it again. It was giant inflatable kites of Simba, Zazu, Timone, and Pumba which were pulled through the air by speed boats. A nice diversion but little else.

What it did do though was delay us enough for Kali River Rapids to open at 9am. One of my daughter’s favourites as she loved to get wet we decided to do that on the way to Pandora. I got drenched!

Then Pandora. Nav’i River Journey always seems to get mixed reviews. It’s a gentle dark water ride and some consider it boring. I actually like it – but I’m also a fan of the movie. The design of the ride is a clever mix of a standard river ride with plants and rocks, and projections.

But Flight of Passage. If you have never ridden this then it is so hard to explain. You are riding on the back of a banshee through Pandora and it is the closest I have ever come to feeling as if I’m flying. The ride seat is like a motorbike so it is like you are straddling the banshee. To make it seem even more realistic you can feel the banshee ‘breathing’ against your thighs. It only lasts 4.5 minutes but it is so worth the wait – which can still get up to 2.5-3 hours on busy days. This is the ride in Animal Kingdom that you need to purchase a lightning lane for. It hasn’t lost anything in the four years since we last rode it. Still AMAZING!

After doing Flight of Passage we headed back to the resort for a snack for lunch. This is one of the best bits about staying at Port Orleans – the beignets! They are a bit of a Disney World institution. Last time we were here they were available from Sassagoula so you could order them as part of your meal. They’ve now moved them to the Scat Cat Club Cafe next door. They are quite big and so we ordered 6 between the 4 of us. They are basically a French doughnut which were introduced to New Orleans in the 18th century and are served hot. Of course, being Disney, these are Mickey shaped. I did treat myself to a mug in the resort shop so that I can remember the feeling of being sat in Port Orleans while I’m at work 🙂

Beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter

We are deciding to try and spend the hottest time of the day back at the resort for a rest – let’s see how well that works out. So after a break we headed to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We split up and the kids went off together while my husband and I rode the People Mover and did Carousel of Progress. People Mover has the added bonus of getting a good view of the new Tron Coaster that is under construction. There is also a point where the ride goes through the Space Mountain building in total darkness – like you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. We got stopped in that section and were there for quite a while. Eventually they turned the lights on so we got to see what most people don’t see. It wasn’t an evac though and the ride did start up again.

We all met back up and did some more rides together. The plan had been to stay for the fireworks but it looked like a storm was forecast so we decided to head off back to the resort a bit early. Leaving at the time that the park closes – or when a storm starts – is never a good plan as the queue for buses can be really bad!

13th August 202214th August 2022

First full day – Sat 23 July

An early start – though not as early as we had planned – this morning and after breakfast at the resort we got the bus to Hollywood Studios. We weren’t sure how the new booking system worked for the DAS so tried booking a ride whilst having breakfast. We then realised that you do actually have to have scanned into the park before making the reservation, which is fair enough. We were however able to book a lightning lane at 7am so we got that done for Slinky Dog Dash.

Central hub area at Port Orleans French Quarter

Once at Hollywood Studies (and the bus stops have been moved since we were last here and it is a LONG walk!) we first locked in a DAS ride for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad – a new ride since we were last here. We then headed straight for Star Tours as the wait was very short. I don’t normally ride this as it is not good for motion sickness. However, this year I have decided to take motion sickness tablets each morning so I thought I’d see if they made a difference. They didn’t really, so I will sit out this ride if the rest of the family want to go on it again.

With the opening of Galaxy’s Edge in 2019 (the new Star Wars section) this is the park that has had the biggest changes since we last visited in 2018. And, as a huge Star Wars fan, the bit my husband was looking forward to the most.

Well, it is impressive. For those that know the park this sits where the Cars show used to be. As you head towards The Muppets 3D show there is now a new tunnel to the right of it and this acts as the transition between Earth and Batuu. It really does work as when you emerge from the tunnel it really does feel like you are in a different world. The centre showpiece is of course the giant Millennium Falcon – not sure if it is to scale or not, but it felt like it was. We explored the merchandise shops briefly and walked on around through Toy Story Land and round to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad as it was time for our DAS.

The final scene in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

This ride is in the Chinese Theatre at the centre of the park and replaced the much loved Great Movie Ride. I was sceptical when I heard about this ride, mainly as it uses the new style Mickey and Minnie cartoons. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This also uses the trackless ride system and is very cleverly done with projections that completely change to environment that you are in. You go under the sea, through a fairground, and dance a waltz in Daisy’s Dance Studio (along with a very violent conga!). Definitely recommended.

As soon as we had scanned into the Runaway Railway we went on to the app to lock in a DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance but not till a lot later on. By this point the heat was starting to get to me. The rest of the family wanted to do Alien Swirling Saucers which REALLY makes me feel ill, so they did that whilst I sat in the air con watching the film about Walt Disney ‘One Man and his Dream’. Sentimental, but I do love it.

Lunch was at the ABC Commissary. Hollywood does suffer from a small selection of indoor sit down quick service restaurants and we were lucky to get a seat here.

The prime purpose of this trip (we will be back many times to Hollywood Studios during our trip) was a visit to Oga’s Cantina, for which we had a booking. This is one of the hardest to get reservations on Disney property and is the bar from the first Star Wars film.

Our reservation was 3.30 but it was about 3.45 when we got in. The bar is very small and cramped. There are a few booths around the edges, and some tall tables for standing at in the middle. There is also standing space at the bar. You don’t get a choice on where you go and we were lucky enough to be seated at one of the booths – though that doesn’t mean you get a booth to yourself. There were two other parties there with us.

The experience is 45 mins long and so if you are going I would recommend looking at the menu in advance to decide what you want.

I had a Jabba Juice and an Oga’s Obsession.

The headline drink is the blue milk which my daughter had but wasn’t keen on.

My overriding memory of this experience is that it was loud. I did use my air pods as I guessed this would be the case and the noise cancelling did help. Would I recommend this? If you can get a reservation and you are a massive Star Wars fan, then yes. But I do think it is a ‘once and done’ thing. There have been lots of complaints online about the whole set up. If you have kids and get sent to a standing area then they will either be looking at the front of a bar or the legs of a table (as they won’t be tall enough to see the top of the bar or table). People have also not being happy about the fact that you are on your feet all day in the parks and they book this thinking that it will be a nice rest for 45 mins, only to find out that they have to stand. I’m glad we did it (and very glad that we got a booth) but wouldn’t book it next time.

Then it was time for Rise of the Resistance. This ride did not open when Galaxy’s Edge did and so is the newest ride in the park. This uses the trackless ride system that was first used at the Ratatouille ride in Disney Paris (which has recently opened at WDW). The biggest thing that got me about it was the sheer scale of it – at one point you enter a room with full sized AT-ATs! The pre-show is very good. For those who aren’t aware the pre-show is technically part of the queue and introduces you to the ride. However for wait times they measure until you enter the pre-show as it makes the queue seem shorter! When your feet ache that extra time you spend on them during the pre-show seems to last forever!

Part of the pre-show for Rise of the Resistance.

The idea behind this ride is that you have been captured by the order and taken to their ship. This happens during the pre-show and you are taking in a group of 8 for an interrogation about the location of the Rebel base. However, during the interrogation you are liberated by the resistance and then you enter the ride vehicle as you try to escape the ship.

As I said, this is a trackless ride, but far more advanced than anything they’ve done before as it involves two levels and so the GPS system has to communicate over those two levels. We have heard that this ride goes down a lot due to technical issues. The ride itself is good, but it is the theming that ranks it up to an excellent experience.

We were getting tired so headed back to the resort for a dinner (quick service from Sassagoula) and an early night.

12th August 202213th August 2022

Disney – here we come! (Friday 22 July)

Well, it has been four years since I last went to Disney – thanks to Covid – and yesterday was the day we finally set off! We flew to Miami from Heathrow. There are a couple of reasons for this but the biggest one is that the flights are SO much cheaper. Secondly, immigration is usually a lot quieter than at Orlando. Flew with Virgin on a plane, appropriately for our family, called West End Girl 🙂

The flight was 9 hours and I have to say that it went very quickly. I’m not a good flyer and this is the one thing I dread about going to Disney, so I was pleased that it didn’t seem too long. When we landed it was nearly midnight our time so we checked into a hotel at Miami airport. In the past we have driven straight up but it’s safer to just wait till the next morning when your body clock is 5 hours ahead of the actual time.

So this morning we drove the 3.5 hour drive up to Orlando, but not before a quick stop at the American Girl store. We have been doing this (either in Miami or Orlando) every year since 2014 and even though my daughter may now be 15, it is a big part of our holidays. We did come out with two dolls (oops!). We also did a quick Walmart stop for some essentials.

We arrived at our resort at around 4pm. We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for the first five nights (this is a multi resort stay!). We have been here before and it is our go to Moderate resort. It has a slightly larger sister resort, Port Orleans Riverside, but we prefer French Quarter. The theming is New Orleans and it has 7 separate accommodation buildings around a central lobby and dining area, pool, and some open spaces where events like campfires and movies take place. Lovely tree-lined narrow streets separate the buildings. It also has the advantage of being a short boat ride to Disney Springs (which we will use later in the week).

I was very pleased to see that the battery in my 4 year old Magic Band still worked and let me in the room. I spotted it and bought it as we were checking out of Bay Lake Tower back in 2018 and so I’d never actually used it.

Once we had unpacked a few things we headed off to Magic Kingdom. The first task was to set up our Disability Access Service (DAS) passes (both myself and my son are able to get these) as they make queueing for rides a lot easier. I would struggle to with the noise in the queues without it. We had a quick look at the 50th Anniversary merchandise and then headed up Main Street.

As usual, I burst into tears at the site of the castle. It’s a bit of a family joke now that I cry as soon as I see the castle and I didn’t disappoint! There is something about the feeling of walking down Main Street, hearing the music, and seeing the castle. After all, it’s my happy place 🙂

Today was our first time using the new Genie+ service. It was still the Fast Pass system when we were last here. I’ll do a separate post explaining in detail how it works and how we used it as a family, but with that and the DAS we managed to ride Buzz, Peter Pan, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We decided to leave before the fireworks started and watch them properly another day.

So it was back to the resort. The only downside to staying here is that the rooms only sleep 4. Whilst we are 4 the two children don’t want to share a double bed, so we end up with a blow up bed for one of them. But it’s only for 5 nights before we move onto a resort that does sleep 5.

Tiring first day with the long drive as well, but going to bed happy.

18th August 201910th July 2022

Off on a Disney Cruise!

Everyone has heard of Disney World and various other Disney theme parks across the world. But far fewer people have heard of the Disney Cruise Line. As a family we went on our first Disney cruise in August 2016 and we now like to mix up a holiday with both parks and cruise. This year is slightly different as we are not heading over to Florida. Instead we have driven down to Dover and are about to embark on a Northern European cruise on the Disney Magic.

Previously we have sailed on the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasty – sister ships and the biggest in the fleet. This time we are sailing on the Disney Magic which, along with her sister ship the Disney Wonder, is the smaller class of ships.

I will try and blog as we sail though wifi and data will be patchy at times. This is my 6th cruise which means it is our first as Gold Castaway Club members (their rewards programme). Joining us for their first Disney cruise are my parents.

18th April 201918th April 2019

Free dining for 2020 UK bookings announced

So, it is that time of year again. Disney have released details of the free dining offers for UK guests and packages go on sale on 25th April 2019 for stays in 2020.

However there are some differences this time.

Normally the offers are available all for stays all year round except for Easter and Christmas. However, this time they can only be booked for stays up until 3 October 2020. This does unfortunately meant that you cannot get free dining for stays during October half term. This is the first time Disney have done this – we have done October half term on the free dining offer before – and it is not clear exactly why things have changed this time round.

Another big difference is that they have restricted some resorts and room types that can be booked under the offer.

So here are the details.

When can you book?

25th April to 2 July 2019

When can you stay?

1 January 2020 to 29th March 2020 or 13 April 2020 to 3 October 2020

What do you need to book?

Free dining is only available when you book a package. This means booking your accommodation and park tickets together. ‘Package’ does not include flights and you can book these separately at a different time. You also need to book a minimum of 5 nights stay.

What do you get?

This all depends on where you stay. ALL package bookings will get a $200 gift card which you collect from The World of Disney in Disney Springs. The specific dining package depends on your resort level.

Value resorts:

These resorts don’t get one of the dining plans but instead get a ‘free breakfast’ offer. This is slightly confusing though as you don’t have to use it for breakfast. It is basically a quick service meal credit and you can use it at any quick service location at any time during the day. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Disney’s All-Star Resorts, Disney’s Pop Century (excluding pool view rooms), Disney’s Art of Animation (excluding Little Mermaid standard rooms).

Moderate resorts:

These resorts get the quick service dining plan. For the first time Disney have put restrictions on which rooms you can use this for and this might cause problems for some – like us – you book the rooms with a 5th bed at Port Orleans Riverside. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (excluding water view rooms), Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside (excluding standard view and standard view 5th sleeper rooms) and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

Deluxe resorts and Deluxe villa resorts:

These resorts get the Disney dining plan. This also includes room restrictions, along with some resort restrictions. Noticeable exclusions from the offer are the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Deluxe Resorts: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (excluding pool view rooms), Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

Deluxe Villa Resorts: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village, Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Disney’s Boardwalk Villas, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

As always you can pay to upgrade your dining plan – so you can stay at a moderate resort, but pay extra to get the DDP. Do work out the numbers though because sometimes it is cheaper to upgrade the resort instead.

1st February 20191st February 2019

What’s coming up in 2019 at WDW

2019 brings some new events at all four parks at Walt Disney World. So what is coming up?

Magic Kingdom

Starting on 18th January Magic Kingdom will be hosting ‘Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration’ to honour these staple Disney characters. New merchandise, events, and foods will be available. There will be a new version of popular dance parade called ‘Move it! Shake it! MouskeDance it! Street Party’. The Dapper Dan’s and the Casey’s Corner pianist will also add some new Mickey and Minnie magic to their repertoire from 18th Jan to 30th Sept.

Epcot

The Epcot International Festival of Arts is in its 3rd year now and runs from 18th Jan – 25 Feb. We were lucky enough to visit this during its first year in 2017. Amongst other events the Disney on Broadway concert series returns to the America Garden’s Theatre in the world showcase, this year expanding to 7 days a week.

The theatre will also be in use during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival from 6th March to 3rd June. The Gardn Rocks Concert Series will also expand to 7 days a week during this time.

The biggest event for Epcot in 2019 is probably the end of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This 20 year old nighttime firework and music display will come to an end in the second half of 2019. Stay tuned for more news of its replacement!

Hollywood Studios

2018 was a big year for this park with the opening of Toy Story Land in June, but it looks like 2019 will be even bigger! Of course the big event is the opening of ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’ in late autumn, but that is not all.

The park itself has its 30th anniversary on 30th May (having originally opened under the name MGM Studios) and Pixar will be a big theme this year. Pixar Place is now transformed into a Metroville city block from ‘The Incredibles’ films. Here you can meet Edna Mode, look out for clues as to the whereabouts of Jack-Jack, join in with a lively party and catch Mr Incredible, Mrs Incredible, and Frozone at various points during the day.

When Disney started building both Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge, large sections towards the back of the park were closed. One of the casualties of this was the Mike and Sulley meet and greet. The good news is that these popular characters are now back and can be seen inside the Walt Disney Presents Theatre.

The new park expansion also saw the end of the Cars related experiences including a Lightning McQueen meet and greet. Later on in the Spring, Lightning McQueen returns with a new show experience telling the untold story of Lightning McQueen.

Animal Kingdom

This park celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and this year from 18th Jan – 30th September it will mark the 25th anniversary of ‘The Lion King’. A ‘Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party’ will see Timon and Rafiki dance with live musicians celebrating music around the world. Immersive 3D photo opportunities will also be available with more celebrations yet to be announced.

So make 2019 your year to visit Walt Disney World!

21st November 2018

A new arrival in the house

As you may know Disney have been releasing a special set of limited edition Mickey’s this year – one each month – to celebrate his 90th birthday year.

November’s Mickey arrived today 🙂

18th November 201818th November 2018

Happy Birthday Mickey!

“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse” – Walt Disney

Today, November 18th, is Mickey Mouse’s birthday. He made his debut on this day in 1928 in ‘Steamboat Willie’. This was a first for animation as it was the first time that an animated short had been shown with a synchronated sound track. This means that when Mickey whistled, the sound was there as well. Most people are familiar with this animation purely because it tends to feature at the start of a lot of Disney movies.

The story of Mickey Mouse (or Mortimer as he was originally called) is well known. Disney had previously created Oswald the Rabbit but lost complete control of him. Unsure where to take his fledgling animated company he was on a train and came up with the idea for a mouse. The rest, as they say, is history.

So why has Mickey lasted so long? Originally voiced by Walt Disney himself, Mickey soon became a hit and went from appearing in animation shorts to appearing in his own movies. He is a staple at all Disney parks all over the world.

People often ask me who my favourite Disney character is and it has to be the one and only Mickey Mouse. You only have to look at the faces of children when they see Mickey in the parks. And adults too. There is something endurable about him. When we go to the parks or on a cruise he is the one character that we HAVE to meet. Our children are more interested in rides these days than meet and greets, but we all make an exception for Mickey. Today I looked back over our photos with Mickey from 2012 to 2018. I saw my children grow up in those photos, but the smiles remained the same.

So today I ordered my November ‘Mickey Memories’ and watched some Mickey Mouse on TV.

Happy birthday, Mickey!