The following samples are blog articles that were originally featured on my blog, Everyday Magic Blog, which offered advice and insight to Walt Disney World vacations.
8 Park Bag Must Haves (That You Haven't Thought Of)
Sure, you know you need sunblock, ponchos and bandaids with you in the parks, but here are 8 items that will make your days a breeze.
First, let's talk about your park bag itself. We bring a North Face backpack with us. Now normally, I'm not one to promote a particular brand, but in this case, I will. Brad has had this back pack for years, all the way through undergrad and now into grad school. And, it's still in great shape! This backpack is a trooper. We really do recommend investing in a quality backpack, and North Face brand offers great, longterm choices.
Now, let's move on to what you should put in the backpack. I'm sure you've read other blogs about what you should pack for the parks. But, here's a list of things you might not have thought to bring.
1. Goldbond Powder- This is a must for the warm months, to keep feet, legs, underarms, etc from chafing under the sun. It can prevent you from turning into a puddle of sweat.
2. Fresh Extras- The extras can be undies, socks, or even a tshirt. Changing into some clean clothes after a hot afternoon can make a big difference. It's wonderful to have a clean shirt to change into before a nice dinner, or dry socks after getting splashed on Pirates of the Caribbean.
3. Deodorant- The same idea applies here. Use it to freshen up midday. Your new queue friends will thank you!
4. Ibuprofen- Any pain killer will do, really. You'll need it to help sore feet and bright-sun-induced headaches.
5. Contact solution- Don't leave your eyes at the mercy of tap water if you need to clean your contacts or get something in your eye.
6. Tide Pen- "Wow, that Mickey ice cream bar is a great addition to your meticulously planned Magic Kingdom day outfit," said no one ever.
7. Allergy Meds- You may react differently to southern plants than you do at home, so bring medication even if it's not your "normal" allergy season.
8. Flip Flops- Obviously, you'll want flip flops to wear on Splash Mountain, but consider slipping them on for Pirates too (I've been drenched by that ride, despite it not being a "water ride"). Changing shoes for a bit can be a welcome break for feet that are otherwise cramped up in sneakers.
So there you have it, 8 things you might not have thought to pack in the park bag. Did I leave off your absolute must-have? Let me know!
First, let's talk about your park bag itself. We bring a North Face backpack with us. Now normally, I'm not one to promote a particular brand, but in this case, I will. Brad has had this back pack for years, all the way through undergrad and now into grad school. And, it's still in great shape! This backpack is a trooper. We really do recommend investing in a quality backpack, and North Face brand offers great, longterm choices.
Now, let's move on to what you should put in the backpack. I'm sure you've read other blogs about what you should pack for the parks. But, here's a list of things you might not have thought to bring.
1. Goldbond Powder- This is a must for the warm months, to keep feet, legs, underarms, etc from chafing under the sun. It can prevent you from turning into a puddle of sweat.
2. Fresh Extras- The extras can be undies, socks, or even a tshirt. Changing into some clean clothes after a hot afternoon can make a big difference. It's wonderful to have a clean shirt to change into before a nice dinner, or dry socks after getting splashed on Pirates of the Caribbean.
3. Deodorant- The same idea applies here. Use it to freshen up midday. Your new queue friends will thank you!
4. Ibuprofen- Any pain killer will do, really. You'll need it to help sore feet and bright-sun-induced headaches.
5. Contact solution- Don't leave your eyes at the mercy of tap water if you need to clean your contacts or get something in your eye.
6. Tide Pen- "Wow, that Mickey ice cream bar is a great addition to your meticulously planned Magic Kingdom day outfit," said no one ever.
7. Allergy Meds- You may react differently to southern plants than you do at home, so bring medication even if it's not your "normal" allergy season.
8. Flip Flops- Obviously, you'll want flip flops to wear on Splash Mountain, but consider slipping them on for Pirates too (I've been drenched by that ride, despite it not being a "water ride"). Changing shoes for a bit can be a welcome break for feet that are otherwise cramped up in sneakers.
So there you have it, 8 things you might not have thought to pack in the park bag. Did I leave off your absolute must-have? Let me know!
Tip Tuesday: Think Twice Before Running to the Express Monorail
You drive through the gates to Magic Kingdom. You park the car and get on the tram. You get off at Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and get pushed along by a herd of excited park-goers to the Express Monorail.
You drive through the gates to Magic Kingdom. You park the car and get on the tram. You get off at Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and get pushed along by a herd of excited park-goers to the Express Monorail.
Stop. Pull your family off to the side and take a breath. Is the Express Monorail the best option? Many times, the answer will be yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't think about your next move.
Is the Express Monorail line long? Hint: if you can see the line from below, odds are it's long. Fear not, you have other options!
The first option is to walk. Obviously, this is the slowest option and one I don't recommend (unless for some reason you have a breakfast reservation at Polynesian and parked at TTC). But just know that it is possible.
The second option is to take the resort monorail loop. You do not need to be staying at one of those hotels to use the monorail, it just means that there will be stops at Polynesian and Grand Floridian before your arrival at Magic Kingdom. The journey itself is longer than the Express Monorail, but depending on the line for either monorail the resort loop could be a better choice. Just use your judgment.
Your third option is the ferry boat. This can also be a slower mode of transportation, but it's our favorite for a couple of reasons. One, Grandma uses a wheelchair in the parks, and we've found that navigating the ramps up to the monorail can be tricky, especially during a busy time of day. The ferry is much easier for us to wheel her on. Families with those large 2-child strollers will probably have similar issues, so that's something to keep in mind. But mostly, Brad and I love seeing Cinderella Castle get bigger as you approach the park. It's a view that can't be beat!
Before you go gallivanting off to the monorail or ferry, do a "How are you feeling?" check with your family. Make sure everyone has sunscreen, that nobody need a bathroom break. If anyone is peckish, there are vending machines with pop, and a Joffrey's Coffee kiosk for coffee or a pastry. Don't rush off until everyone is all set, that way you don't have anything to worry about once you reach the park!
You drive through the gates to Magic Kingdom. You park the car and get on the tram. You get off at Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and get pushed along by a herd of excited park-goers to the Express Monorail.
Stop. Pull your family off to the side and take a breath. Is the Express Monorail the best option? Many times, the answer will be yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't think about your next move.
Is the Express Monorail line long? Hint: if you can see the line from below, odds are it's long. Fear not, you have other options!
The first option is to walk. Obviously, this is the slowest option and one I don't recommend (unless for some reason you have a breakfast reservation at Polynesian and parked at TTC). But just know that it is possible.
The second option is to take the resort monorail loop. You do not need to be staying at one of those hotels to use the monorail, it just means that there will be stops at Polynesian and Grand Floridian before your arrival at Magic Kingdom. The journey itself is longer than the Express Monorail, but depending on the line for either monorail the resort loop could be a better choice. Just use your judgment.
Your third option is the ferry boat. This can also be a slower mode of transportation, but it's our favorite for a couple of reasons. One, Grandma uses a wheelchair in the parks, and we've found that navigating the ramps up to the monorail can be tricky, especially during a busy time of day. The ferry is much easier for us to wheel her on. Families with those large 2-child strollers will probably have similar issues, so that's something to keep in mind. But mostly, Brad and I love seeing Cinderella Castle get bigger as you approach the park. It's a view that can't be beat!
Before you go gallivanting off to the monorail or ferry, do a "How are you feeling?" check with your family. Make sure everyone has sunscreen, that nobody need a bathroom break. If anyone is peckish, there are vending machines with pop, and a Joffrey's Coffee kiosk for coffee or a pastry. Don't rush off until everyone is all set, that way you don't have anything to worry about once you reach the park!
The following is a dummy article I wrote about a screwdriver that I have.
Say goodbye to everything you thought you knew about the lowly screw driver! The new four-way ratcheting driver revolutionizes the way you complete household chores. The ergonomic handle stores four different sized bits-- two flat head and two philips head-- that can be easily interchanged to fit your every home improvement need. Gone are the days of searching for the right sized screw driver. Now, everything you need comes in one handy little tool. But the utility does not stop there. The ratcheting feature increases driving speed to help you get the job done faster.
The four-way ratcheting screwdriver makes a perfect housewarming gift and is available in a wide variety of colors. Or, choose college colors and the ratcheting screwdriver becomes a unique graduation gift. No house, apartment, or dorm room is complete without this all-in-one tool!
Say goodbye to everything you thought you knew about the lowly screw driver! The new four-way ratcheting driver revolutionizes the way you complete household chores. The ergonomic handle stores four different sized bits-- two flat head and two philips head-- that can be easily interchanged to fit your every home improvement need. Gone are the days of searching for the right sized screw driver. Now, everything you need comes in one handy little tool. But the utility does not stop there. The ratcheting feature increases driving speed to help you get the job done faster.
The four-way ratcheting screwdriver makes a perfect housewarming gift and is available in a wide variety of colors. Or, choose college colors and the ratcheting screwdriver becomes a unique graduation gift. No house, apartment, or dorm room is complete without this all-in-one tool!
The following is extracted from a paper I wrote titled, "Discovering Disney: Theme Park Cultural Adaptations from the Industry Leader" for a class on global leadership.
Several of the foreign parks actually flopped at first. Eurodisney (the early name for what is now Disneyland Paris) fell $500 million in the red, after the company spent two billion dollars in building it (Grover, 1997). Disney executives spent months negotiating with European banks, even threatening to pull the plug on the park altogether, to keep the park operational (Grover, 1997). And yet Disney pulled a cultural faux pas and did not serve wine with meals, angering the foodie French visitors (Grover, Leung, Wong, 2011). “Disney also misunderstood how Europeans plan vacations. Unlike Americans, who often book their trips directly with Disney, Europeans rely more on travel agents” (Holson, 2005). Without that understanding, the park lost out on visitors. Things didn’t go that much better in China. When the park opened in Hong Kong in 2005, it had “too few rides, inadequate seating and food supplies at restaurants, and angry crowds that had to be turned away” (Grover, Leung, Wong, 2011). Imagine, being turned away from the park gates because it’s too crowded already, to a restaurant running out of food during meal times. It’s enough to put serious doubt in the park’s performance. Both of these failures point to Disney’s unawareness of the needs and desires of the foreign markets. Not realizing the cultural differences between the American and European and Chinese markets lead to the company’s lack of success.
Part of that unawareness may come from the immediate success of Tokyo Disney, where it quickly surpassed the American parks in attendance (Sterngold, 1994). The first park built outside the United States was almost an exact replica of the American parks. The Japanese wanted the real thing, not an Asian-ified version. The Japanese “are willing to accept foreign products which means Japanese don’t reject new inventions or cultural products that do not belong to them” (Chaio-Yu, Keitlin, Kai-Chin, Ren-Xuan, 2010). However, that’s not to say there were zero differences between the American parks from the Japanese. The rides can be termed as “screamers” or “dreamers” (Hodder, 1997). The screamers, like Splash Mountain, rely on thrills and don’t need much translation. The dreamers, like Jungle Cruise, however, rely on narration and so necessitate a cultural rewrite. Tokyo has a couple unique dreamers. One of them, Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour takes after traditional Japanese “ghost house” attractions. “Children taking this tour often mistake Disney’s Back Ghost, from the film The Black Cauldron, for Oni-san, a Buddhist demon who is the villain of Setsubun, the holiday that celebrates the defeat of winter and the arrival of spring” (Hodder, 1997). The Disney characters already fit into the Japanese mindset and folklore, and so they were more amenable to American park setup. Instead of entering the park through a nostalgic American town, the entrance is designed as a World Bazaar, which “satisfies the deep Japanese hunger for souvenirs, making it the most successful retail place in Japan” (Hodder, 1997). The Japanese penchant for dressing as characters, animation, and mercantilism fit neatly within the Disney model. Therefore, the move to Tokyo was successful without much cultural consideration. With Tokyo Disney as such a smash hit, Disney executives likely didn’t stop to think about what kind of cultural differences might stand in the way elsewhere.
Several of the foreign parks actually flopped at first. Eurodisney (the early name for what is now Disneyland Paris) fell $500 million in the red, after the company spent two billion dollars in building it (Grover, 1997). Disney executives spent months negotiating with European banks, even threatening to pull the plug on the park altogether, to keep the park operational (Grover, 1997). And yet Disney pulled a cultural faux pas and did not serve wine with meals, angering the foodie French visitors (Grover, Leung, Wong, 2011). “Disney also misunderstood how Europeans plan vacations. Unlike Americans, who often book their trips directly with Disney, Europeans rely more on travel agents” (Holson, 2005). Without that understanding, the park lost out on visitors. Things didn’t go that much better in China. When the park opened in Hong Kong in 2005, it had “too few rides, inadequate seating and food supplies at restaurants, and angry crowds that had to be turned away” (Grover, Leung, Wong, 2011). Imagine, being turned away from the park gates because it’s too crowded already, to a restaurant running out of food during meal times. It’s enough to put serious doubt in the park’s performance. Both of these failures point to Disney’s unawareness of the needs and desires of the foreign markets. Not realizing the cultural differences between the American and European and Chinese markets lead to the company’s lack of success.
Part of that unawareness may come from the immediate success of Tokyo Disney, where it quickly surpassed the American parks in attendance (Sterngold, 1994). The first park built outside the United States was almost an exact replica of the American parks. The Japanese wanted the real thing, not an Asian-ified version. The Japanese “are willing to accept foreign products which means Japanese don’t reject new inventions or cultural products that do not belong to them” (Chaio-Yu, Keitlin, Kai-Chin, Ren-Xuan, 2010). However, that’s not to say there were zero differences between the American parks from the Japanese. The rides can be termed as “screamers” or “dreamers” (Hodder, 1997). The screamers, like Splash Mountain, rely on thrills and don’t need much translation. The dreamers, like Jungle Cruise, however, rely on narration and so necessitate a cultural rewrite. Tokyo has a couple unique dreamers. One of them, Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour takes after traditional Japanese “ghost house” attractions. “Children taking this tour often mistake Disney’s Back Ghost, from the film The Black Cauldron, for Oni-san, a Buddhist demon who is the villain of Setsubun, the holiday that celebrates the defeat of winter and the arrival of spring” (Hodder, 1997). The Disney characters already fit into the Japanese mindset and folklore, and so they were more amenable to American park setup. Instead of entering the park through a nostalgic American town, the entrance is designed as a World Bazaar, which “satisfies the deep Japanese hunger for souvenirs, making it the most successful retail place in Japan” (Hodder, 1997). The Japanese penchant for dressing as characters, animation, and mercantilism fit neatly within the Disney model. Therefore, the move to Tokyo was successful without much cultural consideration. With Tokyo Disney as such a smash hit, Disney executives likely didn’t stop to think about what kind of cultural differences might stand in the way elsewhere.