When we visited the Downtown Disney Marketplace in May, the LEGO® Imagination Center was high on my list of places to visit. My boys have loved building LEGO® creations for years and I had to see the famed Sea Serpent for myself.
I had no idea that the store that caters to the public’s love of interlocking blocks had undergone a major renovation and had recently reopened. That could explain the crowd, but somehow with the ‘build your own race car station’ in front of the store and the ‘design your own LEGO® set computer station’ inside, I’m more inclined to think that there is never a dull moment at the LEGO® Imagination Center.
You don’t even have to be a fan of LEGO® to be impressed. The stunning sculptures outside the store make it clear that you really can build anything that you can dream of with LEGO® bricks.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has always been one of my favorite Disney movies so it’s only natural that I’d be impressed with this statue:
While my boys loved seeing Woody fly away with Buzz…
Or Prince Philip slaying Maleficent, the Villain in Sleeping Beauty.
I can only guess how many LEGO bricks were used to create these amazing creations. Keep in mind that my son is nearly 6’ 5” and you’ll see that this is no tiny Buzz.
And if Buzz is nearby, you know you’ll find Woody too.
Can’t wait to visit? You’ll find the LEGO® Imagination Center at the Downtown Disney® Marketplace 1672 East Buena Vista Drive Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 Phone: (407) 828-0065
RIDEMAKERZ® Downtown Disney® - West Side Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 Phone: 407-938-9223
I had no idea what to expect when my family stepped inside the RIDEMAKERZ® store at Downtown Disney. Let’s just say that by the sign and the full size automobiles we spotted from the walkway, we thought it’d have something to do with cars. We suspected maybe a computerized program that allowed you to build your own car and race it. We were wrong.
Instead, if we’d imagined a Build-a-Bear for car lover’s we’d have hit the nail head on. We found a store that appealed not only to my three teenagers, but to my husband as well.
To get started, you select a car frame from dozens of makes and models.
Next, you customize your ride. You can stick with the standard chassis, tires, and rims that come with your car or you can upgrade with a variety of options that include a remote control and monster truck chassis. You can also add a variety of add sounds and accessories that include grills, hood scoops, mufflers, and stickers.
After you make your selection, it’s time to put it all together.
You put all the pieces in place and screw it all together. Don’t worry, if you get stuck there are team members that are standing by and willing to help.
After your ride is all put together you have a chance to drive your car or truck all through the store. The employees will even join you- wouldn’t this just be the coolest place to work?
Who will love RIDEMAKERZ® ? Anyone- though I’d say it’s best geared for ages 10 and up.
How much time should you allow to build your own ride? Plan to spend at least a 1/2 or so to make your selections and put your car together-allow more time if the store is busy.
How much should you expect to spend? Though prices average around $28 for a standard body, we spent about $60 each by the time we made a few slight upgrades and added the remote control chassis.
Where can you find a RIDEMAKERZ® store? Right now there are only five locations throughout the country. In addition to the Downtown Disney Store in Florida, you’ll also find one in Anaheim, CA, Myrtle Beach, SC, Branson, MO, and Glendale, AZ, but if you really want one you can build your own car online. You can also purchase accessories for one that you already own.
Not only do my kids LOVE their vehicles, and judging from the men that stopped to watch the kids drive theirs around, RIDEMAKERZ® would make a great gift for my husband for Father’s Day.
Our first trip to Disney was nearly six years ago. My kids enjoyed pin trading, meeting the characters throughout the park and eating our way around the World Showcase. We loved our trip and the only thing we swore we’d do differently if we ever returned was to stay at one of the Disney resorts.
Since we planned to stay at Disney for only one night we wanted a hotel that would give us the most bang for our buck. Turned out, it wasn’t a hotel at all, but the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground, that fit that description.
The cast member that checked us in was very friendly and helpful, just what I remembered from our previous Disney experience.
We found our site relatively easy and were mildly surprised by the size of the sites, which were much larger than I expected them to be. I also appreciated that each loop of campsites is located within close proximity to a comfort station that not only includes the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground, but also a laundry facility as well.
Our loop of campsites was located directly across from the pool and hot tub - that is open 24 hours a day.
There are also volleyball nets, a playground and a small game room for campers.
The Meadow Trading Post sells souvenirs, basic food items that you may run out of and snack items.
I was excited to find several penny pressing machines at various locations(the Meadow Trading Post, Settlement Trading Post, outside the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, and the Outpost Depot) throughout the campground. Don’t leave home without a stock pile of pennies and quarters!
In addition to scheduled crafts, activities and organized games, each night the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground welcomes special guests Chip ‘n Dale for a Campfire Sing-a-Long followed by a movie.
The Sing-a-Long was really fun and upbeat and I couldn’t help but think of how much fun my kids would have had staying at the campground when they were younger!
They may be teenagers but they didn’t pass up their chance to have their picture taken with Chip! I appreciated that Chip ‘n Dale took the time to pass through each row of seats one by one to welcome each guest.
If you want to spend a bit more money you could take a horse drawn carriage or wagon ride. You could also purchase tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. Or you could take advantage of more freebies on the property.
The beach at the boat launch is the perfect spot to watch the Electrical Water Pageant and if you stick around afterward you’ll also be able to see the firework display from the Magic Kingdom.
The video starts a little slow, but stick with it, it gets better.
Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Well, in all honesty I have to tell you that I am more than a little bit disappointed with the campground. I went to the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground expecting to see and hear a lot of kids. I even thought I’d see some young children that were badly in need of a nap and a bit cranky. I fully expected to put up with a bit of noise. What I didn’t expect was to have loud, bawdy drunks beside us.
I know Disney couldn’t predict that those guests were going to be such a disruption, but my husband was extremely disappointed by the way security handled things on each occasion.
While my son and I were having the time of our lives at the Star Tours Meet-up, the rest of my family were being terrorized by the drunks next door. When I returned with the van at nearly 3 in the morning, we packed up our tent and headed out. Which is why we spent the rest of the night not in the tent, but in one of the cabins at the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground. I guess we could thank our neighbors for the upgrade.
The cute kitchen, dining room, and living area is fully stocked with dishes, pots, pans and dish towels. There is also a Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall, which is where my husband and I slept.
We gave the kids the bedroom and they were excited to see the folded Mickey towel that welcomed them. You can never be too old for those extra touches.
Though my husband still was not appeased, the kids and I were happy that we didn’t need to search for a hotel room in Orlando at 3 in the morning- or worse, sleep in our van!
If you’re considering a trip to the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground, I suggest that if you think you’ll have any problems at all with your neighbors, call the Outpost early in the day and request a new campsite. My husband’s suggestion? If your neighbors give you as much grief as he had, skip Disney security and call the police.
So, is the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground really an affordable alternative to the Disney resorts? Honestly, my opinion of Fort Wilderness drastically changed after hearing what my family put up with in my absence. Yes, the campground definitely has some benefits, but so do a lot of other resorts. Unless you are dead set on camping, or really can’t afford to stay at Disney any other way, I’d really think long and hard about tent camping at Fort Wilderness. We won’t do it again. Ever.
That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t welcome another night in a cabin though.
I know some of you have probably experienced the Disney Fort Wilderness campground, and I hope it was more pleasant. Why not leave a comment and share how much fun you had?
When we were planning our trip to Florida for the Star Tours Meet-up, we knew we wanted to eat somewhere out of the ordinary. The Rainforest Cafe was high on the list of possibilities but the kids and I had already eaten at the Nashville location. As a family we love movies and our kids are a bit older so my husband and I thought Planet Hollywood would be a good fit. Check it out, doesn’t it just scream Out-of-this- World?
I hadn’t made advance reservations, but I did check Disney’s dining page the day before our trip to see how busy I thought it would be. All of the time slots that I’d be interested in were available so I figured if we just showed up they’d have room for us. Turned out on the day we went, we arrived at the perfect time, mid-afternoon and had no wait. We were ushered directly in the doors and to our seats. It wasn’t crowded and the DJ didn’t start playing until 6pm.
Planet Hollywood is loud, the continuous music videos that play on the screens around the restaurant and ongoing conversations add to the noise. Our waiter told us that once the DJ arrives, things really crank up. May sound like fun to your family, not so much to mine. We already only heard about half of what the waiter had to say anyway and I’m not a very good lip reader.
Planet Hollywood is way more than just a place to eat, and the Orlando location is the largest in the world. At four stories tall, with three floors for seating, the restaurant doubles as a museum with over 750 pieces of movie memorabilia.
We quickly ordered the appetizers we’d agreed upon, the VIP platter which features the Famous Chicken Crunch (apparently created by actress Demi Moore), Texas Tostados, Buffalo Wings, and Spinach Dip served with tortilla chips. We also couldn’t resist ordering a side of Potato Skins.
While we waited for our food to arrive we meandered throughout the restaurant ooohing and aaahing over the collectibles on display. From Flubber, to Edward Scissorhands, Herbie, Toy Story, and Men in Black, everywhere we turned there was something to see which reminded us of movies we’d watched. It’s worth a stop in Planet Hollywood just to take a peek around.
Our appetizers were okay, not spectacular. My favorite aspect was the creamy Spinach Dip, though the rest of my family didn’t want to try it. Instead, they preferred the Potato Skins.
We thought we’d have better luck with the desserts so we gave two of them a try, the Banana Split and the Brownie Sundae, which were HUGE and easily divided among my family. Our favorite? The Brownie Sundae, hands down.
Though we only ordered appetizers and desserts with water to drink our total bill came to just under $60 for the five of us. The portions were large, the service was good, and believe it or not, we weren’t at all hungry when we left.
Planet Hollywood is known for appearances from “special guests” of the star studded variety and wouldn’t you know as we were leaving, an actor passed by us? I wish I could tell you who it was but his name escapes us and we can’t even remember what movie he’s been in. We know he’s bald, has dark eyes and always plays the bad guy. Hmmm…does that ring a bell for anyone? Anyone? It’s been driving me nuts!
Though there is plenty to see inside Planet Hollywood, don’t forget to look around outside too!
This was a fun stop for my family, one that we all enjoyed. I’d definitely recommended it for ages 12 and up. There’s so much to see and so many places to eat at Disney that I’d think one of the other choices, like the new T-REX Cafe, would be more appropriate for the younger set. But that’s just my opinion.
Planet Hollywood Orlando1506 E. Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL (located at Downtown Disney® West Side Walt Disney Resort)
I’m a total Star Wars nerd and I’m not afraid to say it. I read the books. I watch the movies. I play the games. I guess it’s for those reasons that my mom chose me to go to the Star Tours Meet-up at Walt Disney World with her last week. What true Star Wars freak wouldn’t be excited to go?
When we arrived at Blizzard Beach we were standing around, listening to the DJ try to build excitement about the event and admiring his amazing Hummer. After getting our wrist bands, we listened to the other Star Wars freaks talk about Star Wars and finally boarded the busses that would transport us to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We waited for 45 minutes, watching all the other guests play with their iphones and wishing I had one before the driver finally entered the bus and we pulled away.
As we approached our destination, excitement in the bus began to build. With spotlights circling overhead we stepped out of the bus backstage and onto a red carpet walkway, making our way through a white canvas tunnel with mist rising around us blocking our view of what lie ahead. Stepping through the tunnel we were greeted to an out of this world reception of Star Wars characters, paparazzi and Disney officials welcoming us to the meet-up in grand Disney fashion. We felt like stars.
We met Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, the Ewoks, Stormtroopers, Jawas, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Clone Troopers and Anakin.
We also met Mickey and Minnie who were dressed for the occasion.
There was plenty to see on the way into the ride. C-3PO is the coolest.
We had a special guest, Greedo, on the ride with us. We rode the ride twice and it was amazing both times! Do you know that Star Tours has over 50 alternate endings? We traveled to the frozen world of Hoth on our first ride and to the underwater world of Naboo where we saw Jar Jar Binks another time.
We listened to some of the Imagineers discuss how they worked closely with Lucas Films to create an experience guests weren’t likely to forget.
We also tried to eat ice cream from the Sundae bar but I was too excited to eat.
My mom was selected to receive a special set of posters signed by the Disney artists- I’m not sure how many of those sets were passed out but I talked to one cast member who said it was rumored that Disney gave away 60 signed sets.
On the way out of the event I received a poster of my own. Pretty cool.
Thanks to Disney for a night I’m not likely to forget anytime soon!
Remember last week when I shared that my family was heading off on a Disney adventure with a Flat Traveler in tow? Well, I hope Stef from Educating Layton enjoyed our trip as much as we did! With the exception of one little snafu that still has my husband bent out of shape, we had a great time!
After getting a really late start which pretty much ensured we drive straight to Florida with no stops along the way, we finally arrived at Fort Wilderness around two, Thursday afternoon. We set up camp, freshened up and headed off to visit Downtown Disney.
Our first stop was to Planet Hollywood. We even saw a famous person when we were leaving but none of us could remember his name. We just knew we recognized him from some movie. Isn’t that funny?
After our meal that consisted of appetizers- because Planet Hollywood is expensive- (and this was a trip that we didn’t budget for)- we continued through Pleasure Island. The kids were excited to see the bikes in the Harley Davidson storefront. Pretty cool, huh?
The Lego store was pretty cool, too! We loved the Lego sculptures that were outside and had no idea that a few of them had just been unveiled!
Back at the campground, we had a fun sing-a-long with Chip and Dale. I sooo would have loved to have stayed at the campground the first time we visited Disney. The kids would have absolutely loved it!
Just when everyone else was settling down and ready for bed, Nickolaus and I were preparing to head out for the Disney Star Tours Meet-up.
We made our way to Blizzard Beach where we met the entourage of Star Wars fans and waited to board the busses to transport us to Hollywood Studios. I did have a nifty little video of the entire event on my Flip Video. Imagine my disgust when I experienced a glitch when I was downloading it to my computer and lost every bit of footage… Sigh…
I can say that I expected a big deal from Disney and I was NOT disappointed. I’ll share more on the Star Tours Meet-up tomorrow.
While my son and I were having a ball, my husband and other two children were being terrorized by the drunk and unruly neighbors back at the campsite. Which is why, the minute we returned to our campsite, instead of falling onto the air mattress and fast asleep, I found myself helping to disassemble our tent (at nearly 3 a.m.) to leave the Happiest Place on Earth where clearly some guests beside us had taken that slogan to extremes. Certainly not a fun way to end the evening.
Have you been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World? What did you enjoy most?
Christian. Wife. Homeschool Mom of teens. Past & Future Full-time RVer. Travel Blogger focusing on fun, family-friendly, (sometimes) educational travel and field trips primarily throughout Ohio and the US.
