The Carlsons, parents of four young children, share their money-saving strategies for accumulating the necessary funds and then getting the most for the least on travel, tickets, food, resort hotels, and Disney souvenirs.
I fell in love with Disney World in 2013. Since then, I've made it my mission to go back to Disney as often as possible. Moms are my true passion and helping them get to Disney is my way of supporting them. I've travelled to Disney from my home in Kentucky over 24 times in 2 years, usually with my four kids (ages 7, 5, 3 and 8 months) in tow. It took some creativity to spend over 120 days at Disney on an income that is below the median. Let me help you get there! I hope you're ready to laugh and learn because that's what I'm about. The book is seriously helpful, but not overly serious. I've done all the math for you so you can concentrate on the strategy, not adding and subtracting. But I do show you how to do it, so if you're so inclined you can apply it to your own situation. This isn't information that you can glean from a casual search on Pinterest. I have been actively and passionately searching for money saving ideas for over four years. And I've added my own original money saving ideas (which I've never shared before). Plus, I've put it all together into a convenient, easy and fun to read package. Because I'm not about that dry-book reading life. Throughout the book, I have two fictitious families: The Smiths who are a family of four, doing Disney as inexpensively as possible and the Robinsons who are a larger family, going all out, but doing it responsibly. We follow them through each strategy seeing how it effects their budget. Spoiler alert: both families save well over 50% by stacking certain strategies! Whether you're the Smiths or the Robinsons, or maybe you're the Johnsons (we fall somewhere in the middle), this book is going to change your vacation. And maybe your whole life.
Roy to the Rescue. It was not a magical time. Disney animation had lost its way, the theme parks were stagnating, and Michael Eisner had the legacy of Walt Disney by the throat and wouldn't let go. It took a second-generation Disney, shy, soft-spoken Roy E., whose passion was filmmaking, to beard the lion and save the kingdom.
Read along with Disney! Mickey and his friends are all ready for a Christmas Eve sleepover at the Clubhouse. They've written their lists and can't wait for Santa Claus to arrive. But there's a big problem at the North Pole and Santa won't be coming unless he gets some help!Follow along with word-for-word narration as your favorite Clubhouse friends set out to save the day and rescue Christmas.
When hot rods race into town, it's up to Deputy Mater to slow them down and teach them the rules of the road! Children ages 2-5 will love this action-packed Little Golden Book featuring Mater and Lightning McQueen from Disney/Pixar's Cars.
It's time to save Cinderella!Ready for a radical statement? Disney princesses aren't anti-feminist. Until the 1990s, Disney princesses were role models for little girls, teaching them how to grow up into strong, centered, moral women. But then something terrible happened. A vocal minority of viewers and film critics (let's call them "princess critics") got hold of the narrative. They called Disney princesses "drips," said they were "boring," and boiled their dreams down to "husband hunting." And Disney listened, churning out princesses who were virtue-signaling, man-hating puppets shouting the ideas of the princess critics. But the princess critics were wrong. Each chapter in this book covers one of the eleven "official" Disney princesses (plus Elsa and Anna from Frozen, who aren't yet "official"). In chronological order the book will explore the themes, tropes, and symbolism of these movies, and the ways in which the princess critics have influenced our perceptions of them. And then it will prove the princess critics wrong.Saving Cinderella rescues the Disney princess narrative from the princess critics, giving Disney fans everywhere the validation they need to proudly love the princesses they've always admired in secret.
The autumn and winter holidays are more than individual, celebrated feasts; they are an exceptional concoction of feelings, dreams, hopes, reawakened memories, and (perhaps more than at any other time of year) a renewal of traditions. Sounds a bit like the Disney theme park experience already, doesn't it? Disney magic and holiday enchantment blend smoothly, and the result has delighted guests for decades. This spectacular oversized coffee table book offers visual storytelling at its best. More than 1,800 photographs (more than half of them taken just for this book) showcase Disney's key locations filled with special holiday menu offerings, the big biggest parade and stage productions and nighttime spectacles, the tiniest decorating details from amazing artists and designers, and of course the most significant historical holiday events. A harmonic trio of researchers, writers, and photographers logged more than 150,000 miles in visiting every Disney park and resort across the globe, personally documenting the holiday installations through fifty-five thousand photographs and, wherever possible, meeting the talented and endlessly passionate artisans behind it all. With twelve theme parks and dozens of resorts, plus numerous cruise ships, dining and shopping districts, and more than six decades of holiday experiences, there're a lot of pumpkin treatments and ornate trees to reflect upon. (The smallest holiday tree at a Disney property is just four inches high, while very tallest ever put up was seventy feet.) Every parade or show requires dozens (sometimes hundreds) of creative magicians both onstage and off. And each decoration is chosen carefully to fit within a story and is placed on its tree or garland by craftspeople backstage. The decor is installed onstage, maintained, and, ultimately, de-installed and disassembled by small armies of technicians before it is once again cleaned, prepared, and stored in vast warehouses for the next year's use. The stories and contributions from so many unsung employees (usually working hard at hours of the night when so many people are asleep) fill these pages, along with the joys of Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year celebrations. Time to join the party!
Lift the gatefolds and read along to go on a springtime adventure with Mickey and his friends! It’s a beautiful spring day, and Mickey and his friends are enjoying a picnic by the lake. But when the friends discover a lost animal, it sends them on an adventure around town to save animals from Farmer Fred’s farm! While reading Disney Mickey Saves the Day!, children are encouraged to lift the gatefolds for fun reveals and to reinforce early concepts like counting and problem solving, as they follow along and help Mickey save the day!
Since the 1930s, the Walt Disney Company has produced characters, images, and stories that have captivated audiences around the world. How can we understand the appeal of Disney products? What is it about the Disney phenomenon that attracts so many children, as well as adults? In this updated second edition, with new examples provided throughout, Janet Wasko examines the processes by which the Disney company – one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world – continues to manufacture the fantasies that enthrall millions. She analyses the historical expansion of the Disney empire into the twenty-first century, examines the content of Disney’s classic and more recent films, cartoons and TV programs and discusses how they are produced, considering how some of the same techniques have been applied to the Disney theme parks. She also discusses the reception (and sometimes, reinterpretation) of Disney products by different kinds of audiences. By looking at the Disney phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, she provides an updated and comprehensive overview of one of the most significant media and cultural institutions of our time. This important book by a leading scholar of the entertainment industries will be of great interest to students in media and cultural studies, as well as a broader readership of Disney fans.