Phineas & Ferb and the NHL?

Disney Consumer Products has announced that they will co-brand merchandise with the NHL (National Hockey League) for the 2011-12 season. Anybody else think this is an odd combo? Still, we love our Nashville Predators, so I can't wait to see the many products they come up with in this new collaboration. You can read the full press release with more inforation here.

What's Going On with Pleasure Island/Hyperion Wharf?

It has been 3 years since Pleasure Island, the adults-only area of Downtown Disney that featured dance and comedy clubs, as well as unique venues such as the beloved Adventurer's Club, shut down. For a while, Disney has been mulling over plans to rejuvenate/refurbish/re-something the area. Most recently, plans included turning it into a family-friendly destination with a bit of a 1900s seaport feel, called Hyperion Wharf. Earlier this month Disney announced that those plans have been postponed indefinitely.

At this point, I don't think anyone--even Disney--is quite sure what will become of Pleasure Island. This article in the Orlando Sentinel sheds a bit of light on this destination that seems to present a quite a quandary for Disney.

Our 'Tangled' Party

Both of my girls have summer birthdays. As a general rule, I'm an "over the top" kinda mom when it comes to birthday party theming. And also as a general rule, my girls choose some sort of Disney theme. I've created everything from an Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter tea party to a Pixie Hollow Fairies party (complete with a craft paper tree with real branches and leaves). This year, my youngest daughter surprised me by choosing a Barbie theme (what--no Disney?). But my now-eight-year-old Reagan chose Tangled.

The cake posed a particular challenge. While I have some amateur skills, I have no formal training whatsoever. Everything I know about cake decorating, I learned from the Food Network (mostly Duff). So when faced with the task of constructing an edible tower, I chose the common rice crispie treat alternative. I also used PVC pipe as the structure (in retrospect, this was too heavy...probably should have used only the treats or a narrow dowel base). I covered and decorated the tower in fondant (the top is a waffle cone with fondant shingles).

We purchased the characters from the Disney Store in Atlanta when we took a mini-vacation there this spring. Making the actual cake part was...well, a piece of cake! I used buttercream (also not the finest choice, as it has to be refrigerated, and I couldn't fit the entire cake with tower in my frige, forcing me to "stack" it at the last minute).

I'll stop with the excuses and simply show you the finished product.



It actually turned out great, I think. I was pleased, really. Until it started leaning. Despite the piercing blow to my pride, I propped the tower up with popsicle sticks, and we continued with the party. When it was just about time to sing "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake, we all heard a dull thud.



This caketastrophy was inevitable, really. One of my friends commented that it looks as if Flynn is blaming Rapunzel for the whole thing (funny, right?). Fortunately, we were all--even me--able to take this cake wreck in stride and go on with the party. Here are a few pics of our cute decorations too:

Friday Photo

Happy 17th birthday, Disney's Hollywood Studios!

Thursday's Tip

Today's tip is inspired by the show Hoarders: Burried Alive. (Experiencing a bit of insomnia as I write this, and I just happened to turn over and catch one of my "guilty pleasure" shows.) You can file it under "ways to save for a Disney vacation": have a garage sale! You'll make some cash and get rid of items you don't need--win/win!

We're actually planning our own yard sale in a few weeks. Most of the time, we donate outgrown clothing and other items to Goodwill or ARC or some other charitable organization. But our girls have recently outgrown several high-ticket items (tricycles, battery-operated car, Radio Flyer wagon) and after a few disappointing experiences with local consignment stores, we've decided it's time to try a yard sale.

We've recruited another family in the neighborhood to have a sale the same day (and maybe more will join us), to bring more traffic to our street. Our girls and their friend plan to set up a lemonade stand. And, as my grandmother--a yard sale veteran--always did at her sales, we also plan to sell ice cold soft drinks. (I think Grandmother made her biggest profits from that alone!)

Be sure to price items competitively. For clothing, we almost never price anything over $1. For most other things, a good rule of thumb is to always price it at half of the cost or less--and that's if it's in great condition. If something is well-worn, price accordingly. And by around noon, it's time to start marking items down and making deals!

Finally, at the end of the day, inventory and box up items that didn't sell to donate. After all, a tax write-off is better than having to return those unwanted items to your closet, right?

Moms Panel Talks Princesses

The Disney World Moms Panel will be hosting another web event on the Walt Disney World Facebook page tonight, and this time the topic is near and dear to my heart: the Disney Princesses. Specifically, they're going to discuss "How to Treat Your Princess Like Disney Royalty."

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that they'll mention things like breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table or dining with the Princesses at Akershus in Norway, as well as the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques in the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney. And they'll probably give the locations of the most popular princess meet-n-greets (Magic Kingdom at the Town Square Theatre, and various locations in the World Showcase of Epcot), and maybe even highlight the live shows around the World that feature Disney Princesses, such as Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

One bit of warning: I tried to participate in the last live web event the Moms Panel hosted, and I experienced some technical difficulties (missed nearly half of it!). If you aren't able to log on as instructed, try troubleshooting (exit out of your browser and re-enter...try another browser...etc.). I eventually had luck with Google Chrome, as Internet Explorer failed me.

The action takes place from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time tonight.

Today's Orlando Groupon: Garden Grove

If you've never tried a character meal--and feel that they're just a bit too pricey--here's a great way to try one at half price! Today's Groupon deal for the Orlando area is a half price character meal at the Garden Grove restaurant in the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. The regular price for this dinner is $36, bu you can buy the Groupon for just $18.

There are some restrictions, however. You can only purchase one for yourself and two additional as gifts. And in case you were hoping to get around that and "gift" them to someone else in your party, you can only use one per table. So, unless you're going to this meal alone, you're going to have to pay full price for the rest of your party.

Still, it's a better deal than paying full price. However, you might do better with a gift certificate (purchase at 80% off with a coupon code, which are frequently available) from Restaurant.com, depending on the size of your party. As always, you gotta do the math to see what's best for your family.