Gone with the Family

Disney - July Calendar Shot

The theme for Disney (Almost) Wordless Wednesday this week is a July Calendar Shot.  Our family's July calendar has two big events so I'm a bit torn about which photo I should choose.  July 1^st is Canada Day which is when we celebrate our country's birthday and Emma's birthday is on July 13^th.  

Mickey Mouse Through The Years

Mickey Mouse is the character created by Walt Disney, and introduced in the animated cartoon Steamboat Willie in 1928, who has since become the symbol of the Disney company and probably the most recognized cartoon character in the world.  We have seen Mickey numerous times over the last 15 years starting with our first visit to Disney World early in 1997.  It is fun to look back at our photos with Mickey that have been taken during different stages of my daughters' lives and see how they have grown up with Mickey Mouse.

Osborne Family Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The theme for Disney (Almost) Wordless Wednesday this week is Disney Hollywood Studios in celebration of International Hollywood Studios Awareness Week.  I love the Hollywood Studios park (formerly known as MGM Studios) in no small part because of my great love of theatre and movies.  We aren't a family that loves thrilling roller-coasters so we have never been on the big name rides here.  We go to this park for the shows and attractions like The Great Movie Ride and Voyage of The Little Mermaid.  

Under Aladdin's Spell

We vacationed for a week at Disney World when Emma was 4 years old and completely besotted with princesses.  A fair bit of time was spent lining up to see each and every princess, get her autograph, have a chat and pose for a photo.  Then we met Aladdin and Jasmine...

Nature - Disney Style

In celebration of the upcoming Earth Day the Disney (Almost) Wordless Wednesday theme this week is nature.  The first place that comes to mind when I think of Disney and nature is Animal Kingdom, the Orlando theme park which is centred around Disney's dedication to nature and conservation.  Animal Kingdom, which takes up about 500 acres of land, is the largest animal themed park in the world with more than 1700 animals representing 250 species.

Adventure at Disney World

It's time for another Disney (Almost) Wordless Wednesday post and the theme for this week is Adventure.  Easy peasy because, when you're a kid, everyday at Disney World brings a new adventure.  You never know what might be waiting around the corner - you might even happen upon a stray lion cub that needs a little cuddle.  

Tivoli Gardens in the Rain

Our first trip to Europe as a family was a summer Baltic cruise that departed from the port of Copenhagen, Denmark.  We were able to spend three days prior to our cruise, and one day after, sightseeing in this family-friendly capital city.  Most of the tourist attractions are centrally located and the city is easily walked.  There is a great deal to interest children including the statue of the Little Mermaid, palaces, lovely parks, street performers and, perhaps above all else, Tivoli Gardens.    

Spring Bunnies at Disney

My daughters have been as obsessed as most kids with Disney and our family has spent a fair bit of time visiting the parks, however, I have realized that since starting this blog just over a year ago I haven't written very much about our Disney experiences.  We have been to Disney World six times since Katie was a baby for a grand total of 37 nights.  We have also spent a day at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, a day at Disneyland Paris and cruised the Disney Magic in the Western Caribbean for 7 nights.  Clearly it's an area that I have to ramp up on the blog!

Globetrotting at EPCOT's World Showcase

We recently visited Disney's EPCOT park after not having been there for almost 8 years.  EPCOT (the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow") is not known for being the most kid-friendly park at Disney given its emphasis on technological innovation and international culture, however, we had quite enjoyed our visit with Katie in 2004 when we spent a fair bit of time circling the World Showcase and collecting passport stamps from each of the featured countries.  I knew that Emma would enjoy this as well as she loves geography and learning about countries of the world.  Upon arrival we discovered that the World Showcase has become a more kid-friendly spot in the last few years.

A Day at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

 

Our family's obsession with Harry Potter goes back a lot of years.  I think Katie was about 6 years old when I first read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to her, carefully editing as I read to take out any bits that I thought might be too scary.  As each new book was released we would buy it straightaway and I would read it aloud to her even though she was, by then, quite capable of reading it herself.  After reading the book together she would then immediately re-read it herself multiple times.  The theatre release of each movie was eagerly anticipated and then watched countless times on DVD.  Rarely a day would go by in our home without some discussion about Harry Potter and his friends.