Fantasyland is getting a makeover in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, respectively. The above photo is of a model of what the Magic Kingdom will look like when it’s all complete. Except the park will be bigger. The picture was taken at the D23 Expo.

Among the new experiences at Walt Disney World will be a new Snow White roller coaster, a second Dumbo ride with an interactive queue between the two, and a couple nods to Beauty and the Beast. Goofy’s coaster is also getting a makeover. The Magic Kingdom Fantasyland will also get a version of the new Little Mermaid ride that opened this summer in Disney’s California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.

Magic never rests, folks.

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series.

Photo: W. Honea

Said the Giving Tree.

Valentine’s Day, in case you didn’t get the memo, is all about romance. It’s about couples courting and expensive ways to say I love you. Also, scoring.

Hey, I’m a romantic.

Turns out I’m not the only one. In a very unscientific study conducted by the bloggers of UpTake we surmised that more wedding proposals take place on Valentine’s Day than any other day of the year. Possible runners-up included Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Birthdays and the Super Bowl. Last on the list were Arbor Day and April, 15.

We, and by “we” I mean “I” because everyone else went on with their lives, decided to make a list of the most romantic spots in America to propose on Valentine’s Day. There are no numbers to back this up and the ranking is based solely on my idea of what everyone else should be doing. I have lots of lists like this.

That said, here they are:  Read More »

This is the first in a series of posts about my family trip to Walt Disney World that will be running periodically over the next few weeks. It’s full of tips, fun and lots of stress. Also, the proverbial Disney magic.

Our hosts.

Like many families that visit Walt Disney World (WDW), we planned it for years. Okay, months. We had books. Lots of books.  We visited websites. Daily. We had countdown apps on our phones and desktops.  We set aside a fund to pay for the trip. We thought we had it all figured out. Top of the world, Mickey!

Here’s what we learned — we didn’t allow for everything. Shortly after we made all of the major purchases required for a trip of this magnitude my wife and I lost our biggest account at work, roughly 80% of our household income (that’s what this is about). It was, obviously, unexpected. Did I mention that the major purchases we made were non-refundable?

We had airline tickets, park tickets and a hotel room bought and paid for, all without a paycheck in sight. The money that we had saved toward the trip now had to go toward bills. Suddenly, our air of anticipation was replaced with the foreboding of fear.  For the record, the anticipation was a lot more fun.

Luckily, we had already taken some steps to ensure that our trip was relatively sound, financially speaking. Relative being that we were planning a cross-country family vacation for four to Walt Disney World, quite possibly a once in a lifetime trip, and some corners couldn’t be cut.

How we did it: Read More »

Dumbo with Donald

My family and I recently took a 10-day trip to Walt Disney World in the Orlando, Florida area. Two things:

1. It was hot.
2. It was humid.

It was also a lot of fun. We took naps and hit the late hours (Extra Magic Hours) that the parks schedule for guests staying on property at a Disney World resort. By late I mean LATE. For example, about 1a.m. my son had the rare opportunity to ride Dumbo with one Donald Duck. Yes, the real Donald Duck.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a memory that will last forever.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays

Photo by Whit Honea