Places to Stay

Dooney & Bourke Exclusive Disneyland 55th Anniversary Collection

11 July 2010 by Suzannah Otis 12 Comments

Following in the vein of Disney Cruise Line exclusive Dooney & Bourke bags, Disneyland park now gets its own special collection of these wildly popular handbags. Once again featuring Dooney & Bourke designer Ian Ray, Disneyland fans are sure to enjoy this newest offering from perhaps the most popular marriage of fashion and fun.

The bags showcase so many iconic images from the different silhouettes of Mickey through the years, to Mickey Mouse Club I.D. cards as well ticket media and famous phrases associated with ‘The Happiest Place on Earth.’

Disney Vault 28 will be the first to offer these Disneyland® Resort Dooney & Bourke co-branded bags. This fashionable collection highlights the essence of Disney with color, art and a nostalgic touch.

Click each picture below to head to the DisneyStore.com and purchase these bags!

Bags and prices are as follows:

Medium Tote – $270.00

Small Messenger – $ 255.00

Letter Carrier – $155.00

Large Wristlet – $70.00

Checkbook Wallet – $175.00 (not pictured)

Dooney & Bourke Disneyland designs — Disneyland 55th Anniversary collection featuring Dooney & Bourke's Ian Ray - photo ©Disney

Don’t forget to check DisneyStore.com for sales of select current released Disney Dooney & Bourke purses and Zannaland’s Disney Dooney & Bourke page with ALL handbag photos and info.

*DisneyStore.com links are affiliate links, which means it costs you nothing extra to click or buy, but if you do, I get a small commission. Thanks for reading!

The Greatest Bathroom and Lounge On Earth!

9 July 2010 by Suzannah Otis 24 Comments

Disney certainly is no stranger to circus themes, what with the whole Dumbo/Casey Jr. connection. However you may be surprised to hear there is actually a circus-themed lounge and bathroom within a now long-extinct attraction inside Epcot. A little bit of “The Greatest Show on Earth without the scary clowns.

Wonders of Life pavilion — The Wonders of Life today…

I know it’s no secret that Wonders of Life has been used for festival events both during the Epcot Flower and Garden and Food & Wine Festivals, but I actually had not been inside the building since around 2003. I recently attended a preview event held in the pavilion and as sad as it was to see no Cranium Command marquee, Wonder Cycles with video screens, or Body Wars, my sadness was quelled by a trip upstairs to the VIP lounge. I wish I’d taken pictures of the elevator because it really was beautiful; dark wood, mirrors on all sides, you could watch yourself watching yourself watching yourself riding the elevator.

Once upstairs, you are greeted with an instant circus theme. I know in the past for Food & Wine Festival dinners, the reception area had a full-on red and white striped tent treatment going on. I was able to find some pictures on a Disney fan message board of how the space is used for wedding receptions:

Exploring Fort Langhorn – Part 2 of Tom Sawyer Island’s Pictorial Review!

17 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

When last we left our adventure through Tom Sawyer Island beyond the Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland, we were about to cross this bridge to another part of the island…

tsi19 — Where will this bridge take us??

tsi21 — A sister map to the one at the island's entrance shows us where we are headed...

tsi22 — Close-up of the map - click to enlarge

tsi23 — The impressive suspension bridge leads us forward on our journey.

Vintage Disney Cartoons Make Fashion at the Parks

14 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

Disney Channel fans have been buzzing on twitter and facebook recently about the addition of classic Mickey and the gang cartoons showing up in interstitials during regular Disney Channel programming. I love this because when the Disney Channel first started back in 1983, this is the type of wonderful animation I used to watch. Good Morning Mickey! and Donald Duck Presents were my favorites, along with of course Mousercise with Kellyn. All of the vintage Disney animation shorts became beloved friends as I was growing up.

I was thrilled to see t-shirts at Downtown Disney‘s World of Disney this past weekend featuring some of these classic featurettes. Here are some pictures I took, along with videos of the original shorts to enjoy…

Interview With Celebrity Chef Kevin Dundon of Raglan Road plus Giveaway!

10 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 22 Comments

Those of you regular readers here at ZannaLand know that I’m not exactly the pinnacle of proper journalistic procedure and format. I did not come to this blog by way of a former career in the media, any official training, or degrees to back me up (unless you want to count writing for the high school newspaper and those two semesters of public relations in college). This is, I’m sure, more than evident in the casual way that I share my thoughts and views here with you. I do this to connect with readers and hopefully speak to them on the same level. So it is in that same vein that I share the following pre-amble to the amazing interview I’m about to post —

If you’ve met me in real life, you also know that shy and socially awkward are probably the first two impressions that come to mind. There’s a reason I write! However, after several meetings or perhaps an adult beverage, I do mellow out and relax. That said, hanging around my fellow bloggers and media mavens, I finally get that concept of: “What’s the worse they can say? No? Then you move on!“

So it was channeling one of those very bloggers that gave me the confidence to approach Chef Dundon after meeting him at the Raglan Road Signature Dinner and ask for an interview. As soon as I had the thought, the confidence was there and I knew I could do it. Even if he blew me off and said he was too busy, or was polite and said yes but later blew me off, I was going to DO it. So I did. And guess what? (not hard to guess reading the title of this post!) He said “That would be wonderful!” I spent the rest of the night on cloud 9, if for no other reason than I had made that next step in my new life as a purveyor of fine social media. (Like that title? I just made it up.)

Anyway, now you know the story behind the story and it is with great pleasure and honor that I present the following interview to you, my readers, and hope you enjoy it. Here’s a little more about Kevin Dundon’s background:

Kevin Dundon is the Chef/Proprietor of Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant, located in Ireland’s sunny South East. Dunbrody was established in 1997 by Kevin and his wife Catherine and has very quickly become a must-see for all foodies. It is now considered to be one of Ireland’s Premier Hotels & Restaurant. Kevin’s runs a cookery school at the hotel as well which already recognised as one of the most respected in the country. (source: KevinDundon.com)

In addition Kevin is the Chef/Patron of Raglan Road which has two locations, Downtown Disney in Orlando and Kansas City, MO. Given that Chef Dundon has cooked for none other than Her Majesty, The Queen and Bono, I think it goes without saying that Raglan Road will not disappoint. He is also author of two cookbooks: Full on Irish: Creative Contemporary Cooking and Great Family Food. Is there another in the works? Read on…

Rewinding the Magic-The Return of the Main St Electrical Parade

8 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 15 Comments

Sunday I asked for picture requests for last night’s visit to the opening of Summer Nightastic! at the Magic Kingdom, with the Main Street Electrical Parade and Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular. Sadly, I only received one real request (I know you readers are out there somewhere!? ;)). However, while I was sitting on the sidewalks of Frontierland with my 19 month-old son plopped on my lap, I realized that I could take a million pictures, and certainly you can see a million pictures and video everywhere right now…but I cannot replicate the experience for you here in text and photographs.

Pete's Dragon Elliot MSEP — photo ©Disney

Therein lies the magic of Disney in one of its many forms – holding your baby in your lap as your 11 and 9 year-olds sit next to you, to watch a parade you saw at their age…and haven’t seen since they were both your baby’s age. After you’ve wrapped your head around that math, pause for a moment to think about the layers of memories there. I can write about sitting on the warm concrete with the smell of smoked turkey legs wafting around me in the thick, humid air. I can try to pinpoint the moment when the music first hits the area you’re sitting in and you crane your neck to spy the first twinkling light. I can share with you the look of wonder and joy on all of my childrens’ faces as they witnessed the Main Street Electrical Parade for the very first time. But I cannot do it justice. It is simply something you must experience. Like most things at Disney, it is a multi-sensory adventure that is truly felt as much as it is seen.

Truly, to be a fan of Disney Parks, is to be a time-traveler. You can rewind the magic and experience it again and again. There is not a single time I visit Epcot or Magic Kingdom that prior visits and memories don’t come flooding back. In a world that’s ever-changing, it’s nice to have a place that has figured out how to keep time in a bottle. Sure, there are some things we loved about Walt Disney World that we’ll never again see…but it was just as important a memory for me to explain what was once there to my 11 year-old son as we stood in front of the old Fantasyland Skyway station. I’d give anything to ride on the Skyway just one more time with my children in tow, but at least now they know the history and what used to be. With the Main Street Electrical Parade, we are able to get ‘what once was’ back again.

So I urge you to get to the Magic Kingdom this summer. Whether it’s your first time seeing the parade or your 40th, how often do we get to rewind the magic and relive our childhood – or experience a whole new one? Even every 10 years is a long time to wait. Come on down and give your old memories some new friends.

It’s Summer Nightastic! Night! What Would YOU Like to See Pictures Of?

6 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

Tonight I’m heading over to the Magic Kingdom with my family to experience Summer Nightastic! first hand. We’ll be seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade and the new Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular. I’m really excited because none of my children have seen the Main Street Electrical Parade. Ever! Last time I saw it was in 2000, right before we packed up and moved back to Massachusetts and it packed up and moved to a different Disney park. While Spectromagic is perhaps most dear to me because it reminds me of my time as a cast member on Main Street, the Main Street Electrical Parade embodies my childhood visits to Disney World and transports me back to that time. It was amazing to see it backstage, but I can’t wait to see it live on Main Street again.

So my question to you, my faithful readers, is what do YOU want to see pictures or video of? (I can’t promise too much with the video as it’s not my strong-suit and I only have the video function on my regular camera ;)) Comment here with your requests and I’ll do my best to capture them tonight and post it tomorrow here on the site. Of course it doesn’t have to be limited to the parade or fireworks; it could be an attraction, a sign, heck even a trash can!

Comment here, and your request may show up tomorrow!

WDW Summer Nightastic Main Street Electrical Parade Preview Video

1 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 7 Comments

I think it’s high time I embraced the future by editing and posting my first video here, don’t you? Technically, I posted one last summer which was my low-quality video of the Headless Horseman‘s ride during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party‘s Boo To You Parade…and also technically, this is a slideshow not a video, but it was way more complicated than my first attempt!

In any event, this video contains pictures and information regarding Walt Disney World’s Summer Nightastic! coming to the parks June 6 – August 14, 2010. As many of you may have seen on twitter, I was invited to a media preview of the parade and events last week. Then I got wonderfully sick and I’m just now getting to share my pictures with you all. There will be more to come about the other events, but for now, I hope you enjoy this sneak peek at the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade!

Let me know if you liked this first attempt – if so, hopefully it will be the first of many – and maybe I’ll even record actual video next time! 😉

Tom Sawyer Island – A Pictorial Review-Part 1

18 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

A little while back, I was gifted with the good fortune of getting a guided tour of one of the few places I’d never stepped foot in at Walt Disney World – Tom Sawyer Island. Ryan P. Wilson, of the Main Street Gazette had planned a research trip and I made it a priority to meet this blogging idol of mine. I’d been reading the Main St. Gazette off and on for years before I even thought of writing about Disney myself. Ryan’s shared love and admiration of the parks from history to present day was something I instantly related to. I wanted to meet him just to say hello and talk about our favorite topic – the tour of Tom Sawyer’s Island was just a bonus.

Unlike me, Ryan grew up as a child of Fort Wilderness, so of course Tom Sawyer Island across the river from Frontierland was like another backyard to him during those years. When I mentioned on twitter that I’d never been, he was astounded at such a fact and wanted to remedy it. As I admitted there, I can thank Steve Birnbaum for instilling a fear of actually running into Injun Joe on the island. That was enough to keep 7-12 year old me away…okay, maybe 20 year-old me too. What can I say, I don’t like horror movies and I grew up hearing about places like Spooky World (formerly) in Berlin, Mass, where people jumped out at you so I wasn’t taking any chances even in the Magic Kingdom. I guess with three kids under my belt, I suddenly became fearless even if Injun Joe was waiting for me. (Which Ryan assured me was not the case.)

Anyway. I do not have the history or memories of this place that Ryan has and shares on his site, but it was still a marvelous place to explore and I definitely enjoyed the company along the way. As I’ve mentioned many times, one of my favorite parts about Walt Disney World is the immersion into the story. From the very basic understanding that there is only one Mickey all the way up to Mom and the cousins in the 50’s Prime Time Cafe thinking you’re using a walkie-talkie when you take out your cell phone, the whole point is to make you a part of the show. Tom Sawyer Island is a perfect example of that. The real world is already long gone, but now you leave even the fantasy land of rides and shows behind and enter another time, where you are exploring right along with Tom and Huck. While I have no doubt that the island has lost some of its original splendor and attention to detail, there are still many committed to the spirit which embodies this magical place.

As always, click the photos to enlarge.

Tom Sawyer Island welcome sign — Tom Sawyer Island "Welcum" sign from Tom himself (with some edits by Huck)

CoCo Key Water Resort Orlando-a Great Choice for Families

11 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

Coco Key Water park entrance sign — This way to the water park!

After sharing news of the opening of CoCo Key Water Resort‘s Orlando location, I wanted to provide a more in-depth review of the resort and its amenities. Thanks to the resort and their Orlando representative Vicki Johnson, I was able to spend Mother’s Day weekend there with my family and do just that.

We checked in at around 2pm, even though the official check-in time is 4pm as they had a ‘family suite’ available for us. The front desk hostess asked us what configuration of beds we’d like and after I said a king room and a room with two queen beds would be perfect, she found exactly what we were looking for. We received our wristbands for the water park and she told us we’d be in building 6, the tallest building at the resort. We discovered upon parking and finding the elevator to our rooms on the fourth floor that it really doesn’t matter which side of the building you park on; it was easily accessible on both sides with the elevator in the middle.