Downtown Disney: Marketplace

On my adventures on Disney property comes along Downtown Disney for some window shopping or more. Downtown Disney is the major shopping destination on Disney property, the best part about it is there is no Disney pass required or parking fee for the area.

When you stay at certain Disney resorts you have a wider choice of transportation. My family decided to take the boat from Port Orleans French Quarter (where we spent the night), one thing you should know before taking a smaller transportation is that many of the drivers/captains will give you some Disney trivia so do your best to brush up on your Disney knowledge.

Once you reach the Marketplace in Downtown there are over a dozen stores. I'll start from the bus station. As you enter Downtown you'll find a kids fountain play area, notice the fountain is shaped as a giant Mickey, also if the fountain is not working at that time you can see that the fountain heads in the ground are also Mickey shaped.

To your left is Once Upon a Toy, now before you think it's just a toy shop let me tell you about some of the things inside. Of course there are toys, but also towards the middle of the giant store you'll find a t.v. monitor that lets you try out a new Wii game (Toy Story Mania is the current game). It's worth the time it takes to wonder around every store, you can always find something interesting. If you go to the right of the fountain there are a group of stores: The Christmas shop, the Candy store, Art of Disney, and Design your own T-shirt store. With the T-shirt store even if you don't get the shirt it's fun to create one on the monitors.

If you keep walking down past the Toy store you will pass Tren-D this is my favorite store to look in the windows, Disney has perfected window art. The contents of the store are mostly of a higher price range and includes displays of Disney Couture. Walk through that store and you'll end up right in Team Mickey, the ultimate sportsperson store, there you'll find shirts of local collage teams, and in the front of the store in the window display there are daily demonstrations of baseball and baseball bat building. The Ghiradelli Chocolates store is a definite favorite of mine, if you enter on the store side they are often handing out samples of chocolates they are currently selling, it's great as something small to nibble on. The World of Disney is the largest store in the marketplace, it has everything from apparel to home goods. If you walk to the farthest area (the girls section) you can usually get a dousing of  "pixie dust" from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

If any of you are pass holders (either seasonal or annual) many stores inside the parks as well as Downtown will give you a discount of 10% so always ask.

Magic Kingdom: Night time Fireworks, Parade, and Treasures

It's summer time here in Florida and I've just seen Magic Kingdom's new summer fireworks. We found a room to stay in for the night in Port Orleans' French Quarter. There's always something special happening at Walt Disney World, in Magic Kingdom that night was "extra magic hours". Extra magic hours are where resort guest are able to stay in the parks for extra time after it is closed/ before its opened to the general public. The best thing about this is that there is hardly any lines for attractions as you get later into the night. The draw back is when your parents like to go to bed early... Luckily my dad doesn't mind staying out a bit later.

Many things are changed as special promotions during the summer. In Magic Kingdom they have brought back the classic Main Street Electrical Parade, and also created a new fireworks display that incorporates music from Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with invasion. The fireworks definitely have certain places where it makes a world of difference in viewing them. If you have a sweet tooth and you/your family/your friends are willing to spend an extra $20 I highly suggest you look into the Fireworks and Desserts Buffet. For twenty dollars you get a guaranteed viewing area for the Fireworks on the Tomorrowland Noodle Station, and a gourmet desserts buffet. As this promotion grows with popularity I recommend that if you are interested to call Disney's Dinning Reservation number and reserve before you go, although it is possible to reserve once you get there. By calling you will easily find out if the promotion is even happening on the night of your visit.

If you decide against the Dessert Buffet there are many places to get a perfect view of the castle and fireworks. After the first night parade is the best time to claim a spot for the fireworks. Although the courtyard directly in front of the castle is the premium spot for watching, it is nearly impossible to find a spot. My favorite area is to the right of the castle on the 2nd bridge to Tomorrowland. When standing in the middle of the bridge you can get a mostly unobstructed view as you can see by my pictures and be very close to the castle.


Magic Kingdom in the late hours of the night allows you to not worry about the first parade, there is a second parade that usually shows after the fireworks are over, but always check the times sheet you can get as you walk in to make sure there is a second showing the night you are there. The night time parade is visible from any where along the parade route, but if you want to actually see up closer with out saving your spot for an hour head over to Frontierland. Not many people watch from back here so you have a better chance of getting a front row spot.

Walking out of the park at around 1:30 am I was able to watch a cast member on the janitorial system who was drawing the classic characters Mickey, Donald, Pluto, and Minnie with a broom dipped in water. I don't know how common a sight this is but it was pretty awesome.

WDW Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom was the first park to open at Walt Disney World in 1971. There are different parts that make up the park; Main Street U.S.A, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, and Tomorrowland. I'm going to talk about different things to do in each of these areas as a teenager.

Going in order of appearance Main Street U.S.A is the area you walk into as you enter the park. Depending on the direction that you go when you reach Cinderella castle you will either head towards Adventureland(left), Tomorrowland(right), or Fantasyland (straight).

Either decision will take you to an area that is full of hidden surprises that can amuse even a teenager, trust me i should know. Certain areas will have more available entertainment for you but the best way is always to try the attractions. You never know when the "little kiddie ride" such as Dumbo will become your favorite.
I'll be writing on each section of the park separately so be sure to check posts about any area you may be interested in finding out more.

How it all started...

I've always been a fan of Disney ever since i was a little girl. In August of 2008 my mom and dad bought Seasonal passes to Walt Disney World, and it's all gone up hill from there.

It started with small treasure hunts using the Hidden Mickey guide book, but within a year it had grown to a quest for character signatures the next in my autograph book becoming more and more rare as the common characters were checked off my list. This obsession grew larger as it left the parks and followed me home infecting my choice of reading to include Disney Secrets, Imagineering and Architecture of Disney, and even enter into my school life where in my AP English 11 class i wrote a 12 page research paper on Walt Disney World.

Many people have asked me "Don't you ever get tired of going to the same place?" and I've started this blog to tell you how many things there are to do as a teenager on Disney property. I hope to cover subjects from the four parks, Resorts, Downtown Disney, Disney Cruise Lines, and more.