Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Disney Deals and Crafty Steals

One last go-round for the bandanna shirts we made
 for Easter ($2.50 each).
There are few things I love more than clearance sales, Disney World is one of them. So, I have combined the two in planning our family vacation this year. These are a few of the tips & fun projects we did to make this trip thrifty and extra princess-y.

By far, my best saving tip, pre-purchase the CD of professional Disney photos.  This deal saves $50!

Our last trip, I did not take advantage of the PhotoPass because I thought it was too expensive. I am not much of a photographer and that whole trip, we never got one shot of all of us together. It was a great trip, but no pix to prove it. I know it sounds cheesy, but these posed shots in front of castles and my girls hugging princesses are priceless to me.

They also include stock photos of the characters alone.  We plan to use them for future projects.

 After the vacation, when I went to order the CD to be shipped, they had a savings offer that covered my shipping.  You can also just digital download during that step as well.


The matching Girlies' outfits came from our favorite web sites (Old Navy, Target & Gymboree). Once things go on clearance in the store, it is hard to find all 3 sizes in matching colors. Online, is a clearing house for all the items and we have a better chance of getting full sets.  The matching is not something I like in real life, but it was helpful in the crowds of the Magic Kingdom.

mister fan via CouponingtoDisney
In the park, there are giant fans attached to water bottles. They prolly do cool you off, but they are larger than any of my tiny Girlies and retail for $437 each -- well, maybe not that much, but more than this thrifty momma was ready to pay. Couponing to Disney said to avoid the misting fan from Wal-Mart because it leaks. I wanted to avoid it because I didn't want to deal with extra water at all. We found tiny battery powered fans at Wal-Mart for $1.50 each. The blades are made of foam, which is important because my children love to try and lose fingers whenever possible. I used Minnie Mouse ribbon to make lanyards. Each Girlie got to carry her own cooling system (and drive her sister a little crazy) while waiting in line.



My address says we are Florida residents and that got us a pretty nice discount on park tickets. However, Pensacola is as far away from Disney as Charleston, SC. So, we ended up spending just as long in the car.  I needed some road trip solutions.

I stole this idea from less than perfect life of bliss and Disney-fied it just a little. These clothes pin tabs go up on the visor. As long as you are sweet & quiet, they stay up.  If you are bad, yours comes down. When we stop for gas, only the Girlies with tabs up get a treat.  All my Girlies are color code junkies, so we didn't even need names or initials. I made these in about 2 minutes using Paint -- flashback to 1993.  One big colored circle + one smaller white circle + one black circle + two smaller black circles = quiet tabs.You could use a circle punch to make them perfect, but my Middle Girlie cut these out, so they are beautiful to me.

Classy Clutter made some super cute DVD boxes into colored pencil holders.  We had some Disney movies and Wii game boxes floating around so I didn't even have to make new covers. I followed her directions for removing the disk holder section of the box. Dollar Tree had a pack of 21 thin markers (7 each was plenty). Luckily, I had some pillow cases left over from a previous project. They were made from that stretchy T-shirt material. It made them perfect holders because they were already hemmed and stretch to let the markers out, then bounce right back.  Road fun for 33 cents each -- awwww yeahhhh!


life size Cars you can climb on &
the headlights even come on at night
the big blue pool makes you feel like you are swimming
with Nemo & music plays under the water while you swim


My last 2 cents: check out the newest value resort, Art of Animation. I cannot say enough good things about it! It is themed Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Lion King and Cars. If your children have ever seen a Disney or Pixar movie, they will lose their minds when they see this place. Everything is scaled so you feel like you are in the movies. Even if you can afford to stay in a fancier hotel, this one is amazing!

Now that August is here, we will be heading back to school and I will be working more on houses and blogging. Thanks for coming along with us on all our crafty Disney adventures. Hope you had a lot of your dreams come true this Summer, too.

running out of pixie dust, 
just bec

before & after party @ thrifty decor chick nifty thrifty tuesday @ coastal charm show me what you've got @ our delightful home  tuesday to do @ the blackberry vine tip me tuesday @ tip junkie  tutorials & tips @ home stories a to z  take a look tuesday @ sugar bee crafts  one project at a time@ a bowl full of lemons  tuesdays treasures @ my uncommon slice of suburbia  wow me wednesday @ ginger snap crafts   sugar & spice @ 733 a creative blog  wow me wednesday @ polka dots on parade  under $100 @ beyond the picket fence  show off your stuff @ fireflies and jelly beans  thrifty thursday @ thrifty decorating  pinspirational thursday @ the artsy girl connection  thrifty thursday @ tales from bloggeritaville  hooking up with hoh @ house of hepworths  strut your stuff @ somewhat simple  crafty, scrappy, happy me @ crafty, scrappy, happy  share awesomeness thursdays @ the 36th avenue  get your brag on @ gluesticks  a glimpse inside @ catch a glimpse   feathered nest friday @ french country cottage  freestyle friday @ happy hour projects  thursday temptation @ two yellow birds decor  from scratch friday @ marriage from scratch  feature yourself friday @ fingerprints on the fridge  flaunt it friday @ chic on a shoestring  the pity party @ 30 handmade days  weekend wrap up @ tatertots and jello anything goes link party @ bacon time  friday free for all @ five days five ways  frugal friday @ the shabbby nest  mad skills party @ mad in crafts  serenity saturday @ serenity you   manic monday @ serendipity and spice





6 comments:

  1. what great pictures and their outfits are adorable! Stopping in from the Feed Me Friday Hop.http://www.practicallyperfectprincess.com

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    1. I have 3 not so perfect princesses who love your book! Thank you for hopping by

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  2. Great tips! Love your pictures. :) Here from the Tip Junkie. Megan

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Megan. Glad to know I am not the only one addicted to Tip Junkie!

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  3. Awesome tips.. LOVE these. ;)) .. Thanks SO much for linking via Pin'Inspirational Thursday today.. Wishing you a beautiful week.. Hope you are back again next week.. xo.. Marilyn..

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  4. Hi Rebecca, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

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