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105. Prepping Your 5 Senses for Disney · Mom Street USA

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Welcome everybody to Mom St. USA.
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My name is Jackie AKA wishes Mama and on today's episode of
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Mom St. USAI thought it would be kind of
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a fun topic to chat about preparing your children's 5
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senses for the Disney parks. So something a little bit
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different, but something still helpful nonetheless.
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We're going to talk about things that they might see, they might
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hear, taste, smell, touch, all of those good things.
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So that is the planned for today.
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So thanks for joining me for this super fun episode to come.
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And we're going to kind of jump right in to talking about the
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different things that we can experience in the Disney parks.
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So Disney can definitely be overwhelming to the senses, not
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only to kids, to adults, to everybody alike, not only to
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people who are maybe a little bit more sensory sensitive, but
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also just to like the general population.
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There is a ton going on at all times in all of the parks.
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So today we are going to take a look at what to expect a little
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bit for your five senses when it comes to visiting the Disney
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parks. So we're going to start, we're
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going to go through each sense in each sense individually and
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chat a little bit about some things to expect and maybe some
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things that I enjoy in those categories.
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So that is the plan going forward and we are going to kick
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it off with the sense of touch. So let's talk about what you and
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your kiddos may experience if you are visiting the Disney
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parks when it comes to things to touch.
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Now I I can't get past touch without first mentioning that
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there are lots of germs. There are lots of germs all over
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all of the spaces that your children will want to touch at
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Disney. And some of them don't need to
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touch right hand rolls when going up and down ramps and up
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and down steps are a big one. There are things in the queue
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that they're going to want to touch.
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There are things just walking down the the, the pathways that
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they're going to want to touch. So my biggest, biggest thing is
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please make sure you grab a little bottle of, of sanitizer.
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You know, I think this is something that most of us carry
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around with us. You know, post pandemic, I feel
2:30
like it's much more of the norm. I mean, I know that I, I have
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got one in my car. I've got one in my bag.
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I've, you know, my kids have one in their bag.
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So it, it just, it's just the norm anymore.
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But make sure that you've got some sanitizer.
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We prefer the spray ones over the like old school kind of gel
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sanitizers that you can get. I think they're a little bit
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easier for the kiddos. The gel ones tend to just like
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slide off their hands if their hands are not like perfectly
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level whenever you give it to them.
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So I prefer the spray ones. They make all sorts of different
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scents and kinds and that you can decide on your own but be
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prepared with your hand sanitizer when it comes to touch
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in the parks. That being said, there are tons
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of interactive queues that Disney put there because they
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want you to touch and experience it.
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Again, beware of the germs. Pack your sanitizer.
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But there are places in the queue that have a ton of
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interactive spaces that you can touch and play with.
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A lot of them are at Magic Kingdom.
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That Magic Kingdom tends to have the most in the queue area at
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least. So 7 dwarfs Mine Train has some
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interactive things that you can look at and touch and
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experience. There are barrels in the one
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room that you can spin. There are gems that light up
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that you can touch. They sometimes have some water
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features in the queue that you can touch as well if they're up
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and running. Just depends on the day with
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that, but definitely a ton of things to touch in there.
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If you visit the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom and you get to
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go into the extended queue into the like graveyard scene, there
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is actually stuff in there that you can touch.
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So you will kind of walk through these big tall tombstone
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catacomb type wall structures, but they actually have
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interactive things that you can touch.
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So there's there are big pictures all over them that if
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you touch the instruments, they'll make different sounds
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for the instrument. There's a cat on one of them
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that if you touch, you can hear the cat make a sound.
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So lots of things in that space that you can touch and interact
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with as well. If you are someone who's going
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to be riding the Dumbo attraction, there is a whole
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play area in there of things that your kids can touch and
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crawl around and climb on and use their sense of touch to kind
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of explore that space as well. And then one of the other really
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famous interactive queue areas is the one at Many Adventures of
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Winnie the Pooh where you get to go all throughout Rabbit's
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Garden. Now I will say with that one,
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you don't get to experience that aspect of it if you have a
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lightning lane. So if you are someone who wants
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to let your kiddos run around in there, you got to you got to
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brave the standby que for that one.
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But they have all sorts of things that you can wheels that
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you can spin and there's a whole little beehive area where you
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can slide the bees along the railing, Lots of places for
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that. And then as you come around the
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corner after that, there is the infamous Pooh honey wall where
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if the screens are working now, I will say the screens have not
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been super reliable lately. The last I think four or five
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times that I've gone on that attraction, they have either
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been not working at all. On my last trip just last week,
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they were not. None of the poo wall screens
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were working at all. The trip before that it was like
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2 of them were working. So you'll have to see if you get
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lucky hopefully. I'm wondering if Disney is
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trying to refurb them. I don't really know.
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Not really sure. They haven't really said what's
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going on there, but if you are in the queue and they are
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working, it will look like honey is running down the wall.
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Now. This one, you actually don't
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have to touch it to make it work, but if you run your hand
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close to it like you're clearing and wiping the honey away, there
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are little hidden, hidden characters that will come
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through. So you can definitely touch if
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your kiddos really need that tactile touch to get them
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through that queue. But if you're a little more germ
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conscious, just keep in mind that you can just wave your hand
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over top to to satisfy the ability to clear that honey away
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for those characters. So those are just some of the
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interactive queue areas that you can find.
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There are also interactive spaces where there are things
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that you can touch and play with after several of the rides.
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A lot of these actually happen to be at Epcot, so if you ride
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on Journey to the Imagination with Figment, then as you exit
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there, there's a whole play area where you can touch.
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They've got screens you can touch and buttons you can touch.
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All sorts of things there that you can do in Spaceship Earth.
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Same thing as you come down of the ramp after you have Thanks
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the Phoenicians and ridden Spaceship Earth, there are lots
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of interactive buttons and screens that you can play with
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in there. With Nemo.
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If you ride under the sea, the seas, what is it?
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The seas with Nemo and friends, There we go.
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Had to get the official title in there.
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If you do the seas with Nemo and friends and you, when you exit,
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you enter that aquarium space. There are actual interactive
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elements of that aquarium as well that you can find in some
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of the rooms. Not all of them have them, but
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again, lots of spaces where touch can be utilized if your
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kiddo is someone that needs that sensory, that sensory output and
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input of being able to touch things.
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Something else to also consider, is there maybe new textures that
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your your child has never experienced before?
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I know something that my kids and I have talked about in the
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parks is that they're even just on the ground that you walk on.
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There are new textures that you can touch and feel through your
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shoes. You know, some kiddos have never
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seen brick or cobblestone and you can find that in several of
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parks, especially Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has a lot of
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different surfaces that you can see when it comes to like your
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walking paths and Main Street and, and sidewalks and walkways
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and things like that. The hub grass is a different
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texture than some other grass that you may have experienced
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because it's more of the like stro turf kind of style of grass
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rather than like real natural grass.
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So again, lots of different elements in the parks that you
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can touch and feel and have that sensation fulfilled when it
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comes to the sense of touch. Let's move on now to the second
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sense that we are going to talk about is sight.
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So again, this one should be very obvious.
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Touch was a little bit trickier to kind of think about what the
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different textures and places that you can touch are.
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But sight is a really big one, right?
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So many new exciting things to see, lots of new experiences,
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lots of immersive spaces that they maybe have not been exposed
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to before, right? That is one of the biggest
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things sensory wise with kiddos that can be overwhelming is
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sometimes all of the sites and colors that they intake and have
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to process and kind of figure out what it is that they are
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looking at and experiencing. Some of my favorite sites to see
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in the parks, especially if it is your first trip or even if
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it's not your first trip, the park icons, right?
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So every park has its own specific icon that goes along
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with that park. You've got Cinderella Castle at
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Magic Kingdom. Being able to see that is
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absolutely incredible, right? Whether you can see it from the
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end of Main Street or you walk all the way down until you're
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right up against that stage, or even if you're able to go
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underneath and look from the the entry right.
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That's one of my favorite views is when those walkways that go
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underneath the castle are open. If you go from the front and you
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stop kind of right in front of that drawbridge door and you
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just look up at the Spires of the the castle, I think is such
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a crazy fun sight. It's so magical and immersive
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and I love that. Not to mention when you walk
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through the castle, all of the beautiful mosaic tiles that are
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underneath there that give you the story of Cinderella
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underneath something so, so wonderful to see.
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That's a little bit hidden that you if you don't walk through
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the castle or you don't time it, right because it's not open all
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day long, right? When they do the stage shows,
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they do close that off for the performers, but if you are able
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to catch it, it is just absolutely amazing.
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Over at Animal Kingdom, the Tree of Life is the icon over there.
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And that one, again, it's one of those things with all of these
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icons where it's beautiful to look at from afar, but then it's
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even more magical when you get close to it, right?
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The Tree of Life has hundreds of animals carved into the trunk
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and the roots of that whole experience.
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And there are walkways that will take you right up to where you
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can touch the the tree. We talked about much just
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before, but being able to look at all the animals and you can
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almost play I Spy with your kids as you're looking through there
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to see what animals you can see. And can you find this one?
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Can you find that one? So many different things to see
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with that. At Hollywood Studios, the icon
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has really kind of become Tower of Terror.
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That park is I feel like it's just in constant flux of
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figuring out its identity. But the the Tower of Terror has
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been the icon of the recent years that we have seen over
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there. I also like the Chinese Theatre
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as an icon as well. Of course with the the tie into
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the studios in the movies and things like that, but again,
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same thing with Tower of Terror. You can literally walk right up
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to that building. It is spectacular when they do
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their different light displays on their Christmas time, they
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have all sorts of fun lights that they do on the tower.
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But being able to experience that and kind of that's a really
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unique one because it's a little bit spookier, right?
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The Tower of Terror gives you a little bit of like an eerie
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feeling kind of when you're looking at it.
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So something completely different that your your sense
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of sight will kind of guide you to, which is super fun.
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And then of course, Epcot has Spaceship Earth, or the giant
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Epcot golf ball as everyone refers to it as.
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And that one is just spectacular for its magnitude.
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It is so fun to walk underneath and look up at the the geodesic
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sphere as you walk underneath it.
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And then one of my favorite things about that is the
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nighttime show that they added just a few years ago for the
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50th anniversary. They went and added all of those
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LED lights over there. And they've continued to do
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those nighttime little rotating songs and shows on on Spaceship
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Earth. And that is one of my absolute
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favorite things that came about from the 50th anniversary of
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Disney World. And I am so glad that they kept
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it because I love just sitting and watching and enjoying the
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site that is Spaceship Earth at Epcot.
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So again, all of those park icons are just completely
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different, something that your kiddo will have never
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experienced before. And you know, it might as much
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as you, as much as we all want to rush around on our trips and
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kind of try to get all the rides done and get to the shows and
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see the characters and all those types of things.
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Sometimes it is so needed to just give your kiddos a few
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extra minutes to absorb the sites and take them in and
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digest them and figure, you know, figure out what it is that
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they're looking at and what it's making them feel.
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Sometimes we all need just a few extra seconds or minutes to
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process. So I think that can be really
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important to remember, especially when it comes to
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those big park icons. Something else that is a new
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site for many, many kids that visit the parks are fireworks.
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Some kiddos may be familiar with fireworks if you've got a local
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4th of July or other fireworks show that you take them to.
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But the Disney fireworks are a whole nother level, right?
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So again, thinking about how your kiddo may react to watching
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that happen because if they haven't been exposed to it, it
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may be a little jarring to them. And we're just talking about
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sight right now. We haven't even gotten to sound
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and hearing. Later on, we'll talk about
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fireworks again, but just seeing some of that, seeing the
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projections on the castle or seeing, you know, the the water
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effects that come with things like Phantasmic or Luminous at
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Epcot. You know, there's lots to see
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when it comes to those nighttime shows and fireworks.
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So kind of prepping them ahead of time for that I think is a
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really good idea. I don't know that you
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necessarily need to prep them ahead of time for the park icons
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that we just talked about because it's hard to describe
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that ahead of time, right? It's hard to explain what these
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massive icons are like. But I feel like with with the
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fireworks, I always suggest if your your kiddo has not ever
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experienced fireworks or a show like that before, you may just
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want to prep them, especially if they're a kiddo that typically
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enjoys being prepped before a new experience.
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It's always a good idea. The other thing is, is seeing
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characters, right? So if we're talking about sight
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seeing characters can be a little, I don't want to say
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jarring because that kind of has a negative connotation, but can
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be just a completely new experience for so many kids and
17:08
adults alike too, right? I remember the first time I was
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walking through fantasyland at Magic Kingdom and I, I came
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across Winnie the Pooh and Tigger walking to their
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character meet, you know, and they were, they were just
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walking down the sidewalk there. And it was so amazing to me how
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bright orange Tigger was when I saw him.
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You know, So things like that, that it's just you, you just
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have to be kind of ready to coach them through that.
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You have to be ready and maybe have prepped them a little bit
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about, hey, when we're walking through this space, we may see
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some character friends that are going to be walking around.
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You know, we got to experience over last May when we went as a
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family, the they were doing the cool kids summer event and back
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in Fantasyland, they had tons of roaming characters that were out
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during that early morning time, that early entry time for resort
18:04
guests. And I'm glad that my kids had
18:08
experience with characters because they had never seen,
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they had never experienced those characters roaming like that
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before. That is still something that's
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so new to Disney World that it's clear that they've been kind of
18:21
testing the waters. The roaming characters exist
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more at Disneyland. What we haven't been to
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Disneyland. So having them, having already
18:30
had experiences seeing characters, that was really
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helpful. The other way that this can be
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really helpful to kind of prep your kids for characters is in
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parades. Your kiddo may be fine to, you
18:44
know, sitting and watching the parade or standing with you and
18:47
watching the parade. But the second they see that
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favorite character, they may try to run out and go say hi and
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give them hugs because that's what they they want to do.
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They get excited. So you just need to be prepared
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to kind of coach them through. We're going to see the
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characters, we're going to wave at the characters.
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Oh, this is an experience where we get to see them and do a high
19:10
5 or get an autograph or get a photo taken, you know.
19:12
So just kind of preparing them for the different situations
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where they may see the characters so that they
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understand and can be kind of coached through what is the
19:22
appropriate reaction for any given point with those
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characters. So some other things that they
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may see while you're in the parks that may be a new
19:31
experience for your kiddos are the shows.
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There's the Frozen sing along show, the Beauty and the Beast
19:37
show, Little Mermaid and villains.
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Those are all at Hollywood studios, fabulous shows to go
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and see. They're such wonderful
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experiences that you can have. Talking about characters, so
19:48
many of them have characters in them, so prepping to see those
19:52
characters and experience those, those live entertainment options
19:56
are wonderful. Over at Animal Kingdom, they've
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got, of course, the Festival Lion King and the Finding Nemo
20:02
musical again. Amazing shows to go see,
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especially if those those movies speak to your kids, right?
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If those any of those that I listed off, if you're like, Oh
20:12
my gosh, they would love that. Definitely take some time to go
20:15
and see and experience those shows for sure.
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And then also at Epcot, they've got tons of performers out along
20:23
World Showcase. So if there's anyone in
20:26
particular that you're wanting to see, you know, do a little
20:28
bit of research, take a look and to see who's where.
20:32
They've got St. performers, they've got jugglers, they've
20:36
got drummers, they've got musicians, they've got
20:39
magicians, they've got all sorts of things out there as well.
20:42
So those are really fun things to to experience and to watch
20:46
and, and see as you're walking around the parks as well.
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Now I, I do have to talk about just two little fun last little
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parts of our site here on our prepping our kiddos 5 senses for
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Disney World. And that is there are two
21:03
particular colors that you can kind of look for in the parks
21:07
with your kiddo. Now this works better if you've
21:10
got probably elementary age and older kiddos because they'll
21:17
kind of understand the purpose. But Disney has created and
21:23
patented a couple different colors for their theme parks.
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So the two that I want to just mention in case you don't know
21:31
are go away green and blending blue.
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So both of these colors have been specifically formulated to
21:40
help Disney hide things in plain sight.
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So oftentimes we will see the front facade of an attraction,
21:50
but the actual meat of the the attraction exists in a show
21:56
building that is not in Plainview for many guests.
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But maybe you might be able to see that building from the
22:06
parking lot or from this, you know, area that wraps around
22:11
'cause there's a bathroom back there, something like that.
22:13
So Disney has created both of these colors to hide show
22:19
buildings and other elements just in plain sight.
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One of my favorite instances of this is if you are driving to
22:27
Epcot, or sometimes I think if you're monorailing you can see
22:31
it as well. The show building for the
22:34
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind roller coaster is a
22:39
massive show building as you can imagine, because that is a huge,
22:42
massive roller coaster attraction.
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But you can see it from a certain area in the parking lot
22:48
and it is like classic blending blue and it is identical to that
22:54
Florida blue sky. So it's fun to see those things
22:57
and kind of point out like, oh, Disney's trying to hide that.
23:00
But we saw it kind of things, which is why I say older kiddos,
23:04
you know, elementary agent up will be will be maybe a little
23:08
bit more able to appreciate that.
23:10
But I just had to stick that little fun fact in there for our
23:13
last little discussion about things that you will see when
23:18
you are in the Disney parks. So we've talked about touch,
23:22
we've talked about sight. Let's hop over now and talk
23:27
about taste. So taste is a huge 1 when it
23:31
comes to the Disney parks. There are so many new flavors to
23:36
experience in the Disney parks, but there are also familiar
23:41
flavors, too. So even with picky eaters, and
23:44
we've talked about eating a lot on this podcast and given our
23:47
advice on, you know, places to eat and character meals and all
23:51
that kind of stuff. But just be reminded that even
23:54
with picky eaters at the Disney parks, you can still find food
23:58
for them. You're going to be able to find
24:01
versions of Mac and cheese, chicken tenders, pizza, things
24:05
like that. So even though there are a ton
24:07
of new experiences that they can have with food, you will still
24:13
be able to find them what they also like and enjoy and you know
24:17
that they will eat if they are, you know, particular eaters.
24:23
Something to keep in mind is taking a look at the time of
24:27
year that you're visiting to see what festival is going on over
24:30
at Epcot. Epcot pretty much has a
24:33
festival, I don't know, 80% of the year there is some sort of
24:38
extra festival going on over there.
24:40
Like currently we're in food and wine, food and wine for the next
24:46
couple weeks here. But the festival's over there
24:49
with their food booths are a fantastic way to try some new
24:54
things and some new flavours without having to order a whole
24:59
entree dish or a whole meal that you don't know whether or not
25:03
your kiddo is going to eat. So the way that the food booths
25:07
run, they give you more of a sampling size.
25:10
They're not giving you a full huge portion.
25:12
Some are bigger than others. It really just depends on what
25:14
you're ordering and what the booth has to offer.
25:17
But they are not giving you a full entrees worth of these
25:22
these different offerings that they have on their menu.
25:24
So it's a really, really great way to spend a little bit less,
25:30
get some new flavors and let your kiddo try some things that
25:33
maybe they you would be hesitant to let them try in any other
25:37
circumstance. So keep that in mind that it
25:41
will give your kiddo the ability to try some new things that they
25:45
may or may not end up liking. So keep that in mind.
25:48
A couple park staples. When it comes to taste and
25:51
foods, Dole Whip is a big one. If you're not familiar with Dole
25:55
Whip, you can get it a couple different places across the
25:57
parks, but it is the Pineapple Dole brand soft serve that is
26:03
pretty iconic for the Disney parks.
26:07
Corn dogs, corn dog Nuggets or corn dogs from Casey's Corner at
26:11
Magic Kingdom, which is the hot dog place at the end of Main
26:15
Street right before you get to the hub area in Magic Kingdom.
26:18
Those are pretty iconic and a lot of people make sure to get
26:23
to stop and get those every trip that they take.
26:26
Mickey pretzels. I'm a huge fan of Mickey
26:29
pretzels. The funny thing is about Mickey
26:31
pretzels is there's nothing like amazingly delicious about Mickey
26:37
pretzels. I think they're just such an
26:39
iconic staple because they're shaped like Mickey and you can
26:42
find them all over property that they have just become this
26:45
staple of Disney World food when it comes to visiting the parks.
26:51
Also popcorn, again, popcorn is a big one that there's nothing
26:55
absolutely spectacular about the majority of the popcorn across
26:58
property. Now you can find some fun
27:01
flavors and different things when it comes to popcorn as
27:04
well. There's Maple popcorn in Epcot,
27:06
you know those types of things. But generally speaking, it's
27:10
just popcorn, but it's there's something about Disney popcorn
27:14
that just hits differently. And then the other one is Mickey
27:17
premium bar. So if you're an ice cream person
27:19
and you want to experience a park staple, getting a Mickey
27:25
head shaped Mickey Premium bar is a really good way to go for
27:28
taste. So that's kind of in a nutshell,
27:32
what taste looks like in the parks.
27:34
Again, it's going to vary greatly based on what foods your
27:39
kiddo wants to try or is willing to try or doesn't want to try or
27:42
likes to eat. But there are tons of different
27:45
options, especially at Epcot when it comes to tasting
27:49
different things in the parks. Let's move on to a closely
27:54
related scent sense, which is smell.
27:58
So the sense of smell, let's talk about all of the smells
28:02
that you may find in the Disney parks.
28:04
Now, we're going to keep this mostly positive because, you
28:07
know, there are always unwanted smells no matter where you go in
28:11
public spaces, I feel like. So we're going to keep this very
28:14
positive when it comes to that. But there are so many specific
28:18
scents in the parks that are used to influence guests,
28:22
whether it's positive or negative.
28:27
One fun thing about the sense is that Disney actually has a
28:32
patent on a smell emitting system called a smellitizer.
28:38
So this is something that they created back in the mid 80s and
28:42
then had a patent on. And these machines, these
28:45
smellitizer machines are strategically located throughout
28:48
the parks and they use a pressurized gas to dispense lab
28:54
hatched fragrances. So they are responsible for
29:00
blowing out a sense of baked goods and sugary confections.
29:06
Over on Main Street, if you're near a popcorn stand, you might
29:10
say, wow, the smell of this popcorn is really potent.
29:13
Like, I can really smell it. It's not just from the natural
29:16
popcorn. It's those smellitizers that are
29:19
pumping out that scent to entice the guests into following their
29:23
nose and figuring out what is creating that amazing scent.
29:29
So I just think that that's super fun that Disney has like a
29:31
specific scent, a specific way that they, they, you know, emit
29:36
these scents out into the parks to, to entice guests.
29:41
And there are scents all across the parks and resorts.
29:45
It's really incredible when you sit down and think about if
29:49
you've been to the parks or the resorts, what since first come
29:53
to mind, Everybody's going to have a different answer.
29:56
Even people in our live chat comments right now are talking
29:58
about attractions, They're talking about popcorn, they're
30:00
talking about resort lobbies. So like there are so many
30:03
different things that you can think about.
30:05
Some of my favorites for me personally, the water at the
30:10
Pirates of the Caribbean is very nostalgic.
30:13
That bromine smell. I feel like you smell that and
30:16
you just think Disney ride and and mainly pirates.
30:20
You will find that sent a little bit other places, but I feel
30:23
like it's the strongest at Pirates of the Caribbean in
30:27
Epcot at Soren around the world. They have a couple cents that I
30:31
really like. I like these sent in the African
30:34
scene with the elephants. It smells just like like really
30:37
earthy and grassy kind of. And I like that scent.
30:41
And then the, the, the Fiji scene where you're kind of going
30:44
over those tropical waters, that Fiji water smell is just one of
30:49
my all time favorite scents in, in all of the parks in Mickey's
30:55
Phil her magic, they have a scene where you're in Beauty and
31:00
the beast for the be our guest scene.
31:02
And there's a pie that comes close to your face with the 3D
31:05
effects that they have. And they pump in that scent of,
31:09
you know, freshly baked pie, which is wonderful and amazing.
31:14
In Ratatouille. If you're back over at Epcot
31:17
riding Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, there are a couple
31:19
different scents in there, but primarily the one that I like is
31:23
the bread smell that you get when you're in that bakery
31:26
section of that ride. I love baked goods.
31:31
This is why I love baking so much because it makes my house
31:33
smell amazing. But I love the scent of the
31:36
bread in that scene as well. If you're still hanging in
31:40
Epcot, Spaceship Earth has a couple different sense, but the
31:44
most famous or infamous one is the the scene of Rome, because
31:51
Rome is burning in that particular scene in that ride,
31:57
and it has just a very distinct sense to it.
32:01
That is just I, I can't even describe it.
32:05
You have to just go on the attraction to experience it.
32:08
But I like that smell. And then the last one is one of
32:12
my all time favorite attractions at Walt Disney World is flight a
32:15
passage at Animal Kingdom. And there is a scene where
32:20
you're just going through the the foliage on on Pandora on the
32:26
attraction. And it's just this floral
32:30
tropical water scent that is just unreal.
32:35
It is one of my favorites. I love it so much.
32:37
So those are some of my favorites.
32:39
Again, no matter who you ask that has been to the Disney
32:42
parks, they're going to have a different list of what sense,
32:47
Like just immediately bring them back, right?
32:50
My favorite is I'll be, you know, walking through a store
32:54
like Target or something and you know what?
32:56
We need some candles you go through and smell and it's like,
32:58
oh, this one smells like the Fiji water in Sauron or you
33:02
know, oh, this one smells like this.
33:03
You know, my husband and I are are known for we will go through
33:08
like the bath and body works candles to see if we can find
33:10
ones that smell like Disney. So it's just there's something
33:14
so just immersive about those scents in those spaces that when
33:20
you smell it otherwise it just like immediately brings you
33:23
back. So experiencing that with with
33:28
your kids and your family can be so fun because a lot of the
33:32
times you're not expecting it right in, in places like
33:35
Ratatouille or Phil her magic, you're not expecting for that
33:39
scent to be a part of the experience.
33:41
But it's just, it just increases the, the immerse, the immersion
33:46
of those attractions so much more when you have that.
33:51
Now, again, I said we're going to keep it mostly positive.
33:54
Be warned, when it comes to sense when you go on Figment
33:59
there is a not so pleasant sense so I'll leave it at that.
34:03
No spoilers for anyone who hasn't been on that attraction.
34:05
You've heard us talk about Figment plenty on this podcast,
34:08
but some not so pleasant sense there when it comes to that as
34:12
well. And another thing that I will
34:15
mention is that they have previously also included the
34:20
smelitizer sense in parade floats.
34:24
So in some of the specialty parades, so not like the
34:28
Festival of Fantasy or the New Starlight, not like the regular
34:31
ones, but some of these specialty parades that they've
34:33
done for like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party and
34:36
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, they will also include
34:39
these on parade floats. So I know that there's a section
34:42
of the Christmas parade where there is like a gingerbread
34:47
house that comes through and you can smell the sugar sweetness
34:51
from that as the parade float goes by.
34:54
So the thing about about Disney and sense, I feel like it is
35:01
just you never know when to expect it and you never know
35:03
when it's going to happen, which is kind of kind of a fun aspect
35:08
of experiencing smells and sense in the parks.
35:11
So that is kind of my info on scent and smell.
35:17
Let's now hop to our final of our five senses.
35:22
We've talked about already touch, sight, taste, and smell,
35:27
but let's now talk about sound. This is a big one.
35:31
We've talked about how to prep your kiddos for sound a lot on
35:36
this podcast, but I do just want to include it here because it's
35:40
always a good reminder. There's a couple different
35:43
aspects of this when it comes to traveling to the parks with your
35:46
kids, going the first time, going the 10th time that you
35:49
just need to remember and think about.
35:52
There are pretty much constant sounds in the parks anywhere
35:58
that you go, and it can be very overwhelming.
36:01
So we've talked here about thinking about ear plugs,
36:06
thinking about where can I go that I know will be a little bit
36:09
quieter, right? Because even though there is
36:12
constant sound, there are places that are louder and places that
36:14
are quieter than others. So thinking about those types of
36:19
things that you may need to prep ahead for, we talked about
36:23
fireworks. Fireworks is my first one on
36:25
this list because you will experience some sort of
36:29
fireworks in the night time show at Magic Kingdom, at Hollywood
36:33
Studios, and at Epcot. So if you are planning to stay
36:37
for the night time shows at any of those parks, you want to make
36:41
sure that you are prepared for fireworks.
36:46
My kiddos have always wanted ear protection for those fireworks.
36:51
They're not old enough that we just have little vibes earplugs
36:54
for them and they each have their own.
36:57
When we get to an experience that they feel like it's too
37:00
loud for them, not only fireworks but some of the rides
37:03
as well. I just hand them their little
37:06
case. They they pop them in and we're
37:08
good to go. But fireworks is a main one for
37:10
that. But there are also some
37:12
attractions that are really loud.
37:14
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is one of the loudest
37:17
attractions at the Disney theme parks.
37:21
I don't know why it's so loud, but it just is.
37:24
So keep that in mind if that's something that you want to ride.
37:29
Most of the dark rides at Magic Kingdom are fairly they're kind
37:35
of medium sound wise when or volume wise when it comes to
37:39
their sounds and soundtracks. But that is when you want to
37:42
consider some of the shows can be a little bit loud.
37:47
The Villains show at Hollywood Studios, my kiddos requested to
37:51
wear their earplugs for that one.
37:52
That one was a little bit loud for them.
37:54
So just do some research on those.
37:58
If you need help knowing which ones are going to be super loud
38:01
for your kiddos, send me a message.
38:02
I'm always happy to help help you kind of pick through these
38:06
attractions and experiences for your situation.
38:10
But again, just take a look at those ahead of time and kind of
38:13
plan accordingly for that when it comes to the sound.
38:16
Now, all of that being said, this there are also soundscapes
38:21
inside of every area of all of the parks that are meant to help
38:26
put the guest in the mindset of being immersed in those spaces.
38:29
So you know, Main Street USA at Magic Kingdom has a very
38:34
specific set of soundtrack music that you will find there, and
38:40
it's vastly different from Frontierland and different from
38:43
Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Same thing at Epcot.
38:47
As you're walking around World Showcase, every country is going
38:51
to have their different ambient sound, soundscape, music
38:56
soundtrack that you're going to hear.
38:57
So some of that you have to kind of let yourself experience
39:01
because otherwise you're missing out on that immersive factor of
39:06
having those sounds be a part of your experience.
39:10
So keep that in mind when it comes to kind of the the ambient
39:14
noise maybe in the parks. Let's talk about some of the
39:17
live performances that you can hear and catch while you're in
39:21
the parks for your sound sense at Magic Kingdom, The pianist at
39:28
Casey's Corner. Again, we talked about Casey's
39:30
with the Corn Dogs earlier, but they have a live pianist that is
39:34
there in the afternoons. There is the Main St.
39:37
Philharmonic Marching Band that you will find along Main St. in
39:42
various different ways. Sometimes they're going up Main
39:45
Street, sometimes they're around the Hub, sometimes they're on
39:47
the stage. Just depends.
39:49
But they are a really fun one to stop and listen to the dapper
39:53
dance. Again, those are ones that
39:55
you'll find on Main Street at Magic Kingdom.
39:57
Sometimes they're doing like a standstill performance.
40:00
Sometimes they're up by the stage, sometimes they're on the
40:03
trolley. That is like driving up and
40:05
around Main Street. So lots of different places you
40:08
can catch them and listen to them.
40:10
There is a new. Group called Nola's Eighth Note
40:15
that premiered just a few months ago and primarily is over near
40:20
Tiana's Bayou Adventure. And they play a lot of kind of
40:23
like New Orleans jazz style music and they have a vocalist
40:27
with them as well. So that is a super fun one if
40:29
you can catch them. That is still one that I need to
40:31
catch. I haven't been able to, I
40:34
haven't been available to catch them during their their times
40:37
that they are performing on any of my trips since they've been
40:39
around. And then you also will have
40:42
area, sometimes local, sometimes not marching bands that are like
40:47
high school groups that come through that get the privilege
40:50
of marching, you know, alongside the parade either before or
40:54
after. Sometimes they're with the
40:55
Cavalcades and kind of partnered with them, but you will
40:58
sometimes find that happening at Magic Kingdom primarily, so that
41:03
is a super fun experience as well.
41:06
Over at Animal Kingdom, they have a ton of live performances
41:11
that will happen. There is the Eco Rhythmics group
41:13
that you can find the Harambe Village St. band, which is a
41:18
super one, super fun one. The Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe
41:21
again over in the Africa section that you will find us like a
41:25
little stage area as you are walking kind of if you're
41:28
between Tusker House and the safari in that space over there.
41:34
There is also the beats and strings performance, which is a
41:38
sitar player. And that is more back in the
41:41
Asia section, kind of near the walkway that leads you to Cali
41:45
river Rapids. That is a newer 1 immensely
41:48
talented, super fun to listen to.
41:50
They play some kind of traditional sitar music, but
41:55
then they also play some Disney music on that one, which is
41:57
super fun. I caught that a few trips ago
42:00
and was just blown away by watching that one over at Animal
42:04
Kingdom and then at World Choke or at Epcot in World Showcase.
42:08
There again, we talked about there's tons of performers in
42:11
World Showcase. The Voices of Liberty being one
42:13
in the America Pavilion. That is a super fun one to try
42:17
and catch if you're able to. They do perform like inside the
42:20
building in the America Pavilion of World Showcase.
42:24
There are also the concert series that are there during
42:28
Flower and Garden and food and wine.
42:29
Candlelight Processional that's there during the festival.
42:33
The holidays. Forgot what festival I was
42:36
talking about for a minute there.
42:38
And then they also have the Jamiters.
42:40
The Jamiters are a very well known percussion group that
42:44
wanders around the different sides.
42:48
World Nature and world discovery of Epcot super, super fun show
42:53
that they put on as well. So, so many live performances
42:57
that you can hear and experience while you're in the parks.
43:02
Again, just be aware of especially if you've got kiddos
43:05
that are sensitive to sound, making sure you've got, you
43:09
know, little lightweight headphones with you, earplugs,
43:13
whatever your kiddo needs to feel successful.
43:16
Sometimes they make even like headbands that have like ear
43:19
protection in them too, or even all the way down to infants that
43:25
maybe can't decide for themselves if they need ear
43:28
protection, but you as a parent or a guardian of them decide
43:33
that they need the ear protection.
43:34
They make little stretchy headband ones, all sorts of ear
43:37
protection that you can find if that's something that you need.
43:41
And even I use it sometimes in the parks because sometimes it
43:43
just gets to be too loud and I just need a minute of, of a
43:48
little bit of, of the volume turned down.
43:52
So keeping that in mind, there are lots of nowadays, there are
43:58
lots of ear plugs and ear protection that don't completely
44:02
dampen all the sound and they're ones that like maybe do like a
44:07
50% adjustment or something like that.
44:09
So look into the different options.
44:11
If you're like, well, I still want to be able to hear, but I
44:13
just don't want it to be as loud.
44:14
So many different options. Loops has options, Vibes has
44:17
options. There are a ton of other
44:19
companies that you can look and find as well.
44:22
So that is kind of my spiel on sound in the parks.
44:26
And that kind of wraps up our little rapid fire discussion
44:30
about how to prepare your child's 5 senses for the Disney
44:36
parks. Thank you guys so much for
44:38
joining me for this fun episode of Mob St.
44:41
USAI. Appreciate you guys being here.
44:44
As always, if you've got questions or suggestions for
44:47
future episodes or topics that you'd like to see us cover,
44:50
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45:39
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And I will see you on the next episode of Mom St.
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