The Angel Forever

Disney’s Limited Time Magic Unveiled

Posted on October 21, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Just stepping into a Disney park is a magical experience, now imagine special events that will unfold each and every week with even more fun coming around the next week. On October 17, 2012, Disney Parks announce their new Limited Time Magic for the next 52 weeks. The news was unveiled in Times Square where a giant ice castle was on display in the middle of New York City.

In case you were curious, the ice castle was 25 feet tall, 9 feet deep, and 15 feet wide. It was made with 45,000 pounds of ice. Here is a video from Disney Parks all it featuring Jennifer Mason, Ambassador – Walt Disney World.

If Disney can create this magic memory in the middle of New York City, imagine the items that will be on the agenda this year during the Limited Time Magic. Here are a few of the items that Disney has already mentioned for the Limited Time Magic:

True Love: Celebrate romance and enchantment throughout Valentine’s Week with special moments and entertainment geared to lovebirds. Guests can celebrate their Valentine as Magic Kingdom and Disneyland turn up the romance, complete with their iconic castles bathed in hues of red and pink. Disney Princes join their Princesses to meet park guests in special settings, prix fixe menus turn up at select restaurants and Valentine collectibles will be offered for the week.
Independence Week: It’s red, white and blue as Disney Parks salutes America with a 4^th of July Fireworks Party — for an entire week, with patriotic lighting bathing the Disney castles on both coasts. Mickey Mouse appears in his patriotic finest and guests will find special USA shirts, Ear Hats and other limited-edition souvenirs.
During “Long Lost Friends Week,” lesser-known Disney characters will move from the shadows to the spotlight with meet-and-greets on both coasts. Photo opps with characters that could include Flik, Clarabelle Cow, Remy, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will surprise and delight guests. And Disney guests will even have the chance to vote online for which characters they want to see.
Pirate Week: Why talk like a pirate one day when you could celebrate these scalawags all week long? The adventures of Jack Sparrow come to life like never before during a bicoastal buccaneer bash in which Disneyland and Walt Disney World become pirate-palooza: pirate bands, pirate meet-and-greets and more.
Dapper Dans Sing Boy Bands: Dapper Dans, the iconic quartet from Main Street, U.S.A., will add a special finale to their show, claiming the title of the “Original Boy Band” and delivering a medley of hits from One Direction, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.
Unleash the Villains: A Friday the 13th in 2013 is a special day, so Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios are staying open until the 13th Hour (1 a.m.). Maleficent, Capt. Hook, Jafar and other Disney villains host a dance party, complete with limited-edition collectibles and nighttime mischief on Sept. 13.
Golden Horseshoe Revue: The fabled Frontierland show returns to Disneyland for one month only, bringing back the corny jokes and enduring songs that were often enjoyed by Walt Disney himself.

www.disneyparks.com

So will you be heading to Disney in the next year to experience Limited Time Magic? I would love to know all of the details as a life long Disney Parks fan.

Disclosure: I was invited to the event in NYC, but was unable to make it. As a lifelong Disney fan, I wanted to share this information with all of you.

Categories:
Disney fun interesting travel

Early Intervention is Key with Autism

Posted on October 20, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a parent, we quickly learn that we are the best advocates for our children. Of course, sometimes doing this is easier than other times. Some days, it can be grueling, leaving you in tears, and making you wonder if you are all alone. Those days are hard on the spirit and can definitely knock the wind out of you. On days like that, you learn who your true friends are and who is on your side. Then you make yourself take a deep breath to figure out a plan B, C, D, and maybe even E.

As a parent of a child with special needs, I understand this feeling all too well. Years of struggles, countless different answers, and lots of time, energy, and money spent. Watching a child blossom and grow because of early intervention is one of the most amazing items to experience. Your work as an advocate, your child’s grueling hours spent in therapy, and their therapists’ expertise make it worth it when you reach goals that you never believed could happen at one time or another.

Countless people are battling these items each and every day while trying to understand why their child is a statistic. Why is their son, daughter, niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson, husband, wife, mother, father, cousin, or other person that they love part of the 1 in 88 living with Autism?

On Sunday, October 21, Comedy Central will be airing a special called Night of Too Many Stars. For the fourth year in a row, celebrities will be working together to raise money for Autism charities that support the educational needs of children and families. They not only help to provide programs for the children, but also education for teachers that will be working with the kids in their classrooms. Here is a sneak peek of Jodi DiPiazza:

Jodi and her family are a true inspiration to watch and see that with the right educational tools, kids with special needs can reach goals. With assistance, support, love, and understanding – they can seek new heights and go after their dreams.

There is no cure for Autism, but together we can make a difference to allow people to reach their potential. Remember never to judge a child, parent, or anyone because often you do not know what is happening behind the scenes. Be supportive, help if you can, or just move along and try not to stare. To those amazing individuals out there that work with families like mine, a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Categories:
Educational health awareness me moments PSA real world news school television

Election Season Signs

Posted on October 19, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Living in New York state, we are lucky not to be a battle ground for the upcoming presidential election. Thanks to this, the nasty political ads for that race are less frequent. I take that back, perhaps they are more prevalent and I have just tuned them out or just not watching as much television. For those of you living those battleground states, I am SO sorry you have to keep dealing with this on a daily basis.

I promise this is not a political post. My style of writing about election day is nothing really controversial. Basically, similar to my Tuesday Tales post on a book called Vote for Me for kids.

Vote for Me - Election Day picture book

While driving the kids to school, something else made me stop and think. There were few if any campaign signs on lawns in the residential areas. I remember back when most lawns contained signs to support your candidate of choice. Of course around here, we had a lot of Bill Clinton signs. Now I think I can count on one hand the number of signs I have seen for both of the candidates. Even the local candidates are running for office are not as visible. It made me wonder why this is happening. Are campaigns spending less money (don’t laugh), are people less likely to share their political views on their doorstep, or is it something else?

A huge thank you to my friends for assisting me with the photo above. Traci, The View from my Fishbowl, helped me with the fall photo in Ohio. Then I reached out to Cathi, Simple Sojourns, and she took the photo in sunny California.

So my question to you this week:

Have you seen a decrease in political signs in your area? I would love to know what state you are in if you are willing to share. I’m curious if it matters based on location.

FYI – Two giveaways happening for books that would make great gifts. Linnea in Monet’s Garden and some classic stories from Silver Penny Stories.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #225

Categories:
Aloha Friday bloggy friends books looking back photos real world news

Time to UNJUNK with UNREAL Candy

Posted on October 18, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Halloween is just around the corner and candy will be flying by by our faces and those of the youngest members in our family. Moderation is the key, but now that is not the only factor. These days we have choices with candy. Thanks to Unreal, we are able to UNJUNK candy eating to a new level.

Over the weekend, we were able to have an Unreal party to let others taste the new candy. We would be putting this to the test:

Would kids and others be happy with candy that is:

made with real cane sugar,contains no corn syrup, and is free of hydrogenated oils/fats?

packed with twice as much cacao than other brands?

free of artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors (there is no Red #5 here)?

filled with more protein and fiber?

If you are not familiar with Unreal, here is a video to get you caught up on their story and the product:

UNREAL sent me candy to share with family and friends. My mission was to see what they thought of the Unreal candy that is UNJUNKED and reinvented. Since it was a beautiful day, we took everything outside. Before going out, I put one of each of the Unreal varieties and fact sheets (comparing Unreal and other similar candy) for everyone to enjoy and read.

Thanks to the amazing weather, the kids were too focused on playing and not eating. A lot of people took their bags home to try items and got back to me with their thoughts. Of course, a group of us did try the Unreal candy together. Here is a view of the five varieties that are currently available and the feedback that we heard from everyone below.

UNREAL 41 (Candy Coated Chocolates) – A crowd favorite with the kids. They were intrigued with the different colors and enjoyed popping them into their mouths. One adult taste tester noted that he thought the chocolate was the best within these. He said he would definitely purchase these for that reason. I know I like these because I can get them for future birthday parties where a nephew with a food dye allergy will be able to eat the candy.

UNREAL 5 (Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bar) – The kids that were not fans of nuts liked this bar because it was easy to bite into with smaller teeth. One adult noted that it reminded her of the taste in her protein bar that she has every day. She said that wasn’t a bad thing, just something she thought of. Another tester is diabetic and typically avoids regular candy. She gets some of the sugar free variety from time to time, but they have a lot of additives in them. She really liked the taste of this bar and the nutritional information. As a fan of the leading brand variety of this kind, I imagine freezing these for an even more interesting treat.

UNREAL 77 (Peanut Butter Cups) – There were a lot of peanut butter cup fans in the group. People mentioned that the peanut butter was not creamy, but that the flavor was more “peanuty” than traditional brands. Lots of interest in using these for baking projects because they have significantly less sugar and more fiber.

UNREAL 54 (Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts) – While the kids enjoyed the nut free variety, the adults also enjoyed the peanut crunch inside of the chocolate candies. They had a nice amount of chocolate surrounding the peanuts. While people noted the muted colors, nobody cared once they were munching away.

UNREAL 8 (Chocolate Peanut Caramel Nougat Bar) – This bar seemed to be the least popular. It wasn’t that there were negative comments, most people did not like mixing these flavors. People noticed that the bar had a lot of fiber, protein, and not many more calories than the nut free version.

General feedback was a lot of interest. We were the only people that had seen them prior to the party and taste testing. Locally, Unreal has been slower to arrive on the store shelves and often is sold out. People really liked the idea of candy being UNJUNKED and the price point not being absurd. The lower sugar amounts, as well as the addition of fiber was a big point of interest amount the women.

I know in our family each member seemed to like something different. We will no doubt be on the look out for Unreal as they start to show up in more retail locations. For those times when we want to splurge on something, I like that they taste good and have none of the questionable artificial additives in them. My boys are also hoping that more varieties will be coming soon.

Have you tried Unreal candy yet? I would love to know what your thoughts are and which candy was your favorite.

It's Me

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a compensated Global Influence campaign. Unreal sent us plenty of candy to share, along with additional compensation for party expenses and my time. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine and not influenced by this factor.

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food glorious food fun photos sponsored post yummy

Disney Story Telling with Ridley Pearson

Posted on October 17, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Every time you go to Walt Disney World or another Disney park, you are part of a story. The rides, shows, Cast Members, and all of the little details are part of the tale. Now imagine being invited to hear a real Disney author talk and then get a tour of Epcot to see where his visions came from. This happened to me in April when I went to the Disney Social Media Moms celebration and heard author Ridley Pearson explain how The Kingdom Keepers and Peter and the Starcatchers were born. After the session, he took a group of us to visit Norway in Epcot and ride on Maelstrom. This only seemed fitting for the Disney Wordless Wednesday theme of Story Telling.