Halloween Costumes: The Littlest Disney Cast Member

(Let's not talk about how long it's been since my last post... Yes, a lot has happened since and I have been crazy busy. You'll get to hear about it all... eventually.)

Last year we began an annual Halloween tradition with Lilly. We let Lilly have two costumes. One we get to choose for her for our night at Mickey's Halloween party in Disneyland. For the actual day of Halloween, Lilly can choose to be anything she wants to be. Andy and I are HUGE Disney nerds. HUGE. So each year we do a family theme for Disney's Halloween event and each year we try to make Lilly's costume as unique as possible.

Last year Lilly was a Haunted Mansion Maid, because at the time the Haunted Mansion was her favorite Disney attraction. Andy wore his Nightmare Before Christmas shirt (his costume had to be last minute because he was working so much and traveling a lot around that time) and I made myself a black poodle skirt with Zero (from the Nightmare Before Christmas) on it instead of a poodle!

Last years Haunted Mansion Maid costume. This was the first thing I ever really sewed!

This year I decided to make Lilly a Disneyland tour guide costume and we would be her tour group! This costume was a little easier to pull off. Last year I searched for months for a pattern that resembled the Haunted Mansion cast member costume so I would have to make minimal changes and additions. Then I searched for three solid weeks for a fabric that even slightly resembled the material used in the actual Mansion Maid costumes. That costume was the first real thing I ever sewed! It took twenty hours to make. Ten hours each day slaving over a tiny dress and I loved every minute of it!

Above: The beginnings of the maid costume. I sewed that part entirely by hand before I borrowed a sewing machine!

Below: The finishd product!

Above: the Zero applique I made for my black poodle skirt

This year we sort of waited a while and changed our mind a few times too. First we decided to be Ralph, Vanellope and Felix from Disney's Wreck It Ralph. It was a good thing we changed our minds because one in ten families we saw that night had that very same idea. We chose the tour guide costume because of its nostalgic feel, its simplicity, and because Lilly loves to tell us where to go when we are at Disneyland!

Before I made the costume we made a couple of research trips to the park to check out the details of the tour guides outfits. I learned that the exact plaid pattern used is called "Royal Steward Tartan". I even managed to find a mini version of that same plaid at the craft store! I used a circle skirt pattern I already had for the skirt, but I had to make the vest pattern myself. I used one of Lilly's t-shirts for reference and drew out the pattern on large sheet of butcher paper. Lilly wore my old Disneyland name tag, which we added her name to with a label maker. One of the comments I got most was "How did you make such a realistic looking Disney name tag!?" I almost didn't want to tell them we just used an actual name tag.

I used metallic gold paper to create the big "D" tour guide pin and I painstakingly tried to cover a regular old baseball cap with navy velvet using a glue gun. It did the trick, but up close you could see my shoddy workmanship. Covering a baseball cap with anything is much more difficult than you would think.

Lilly's favorite part of her costume were the shoes. I looked everywhere for reasonably priced black mary-jane shoes in her size, but all I could find were these glittery ones with one inch heels. Heels in toddler size! I kept searching for flat shoes, but the heels were all I could find and Lilly was obsessed with her "grown up girl"shoes, so I figured it was ok. Call me old fashioned, but I think three is too young for heels.

About to cut the"Royal Steward Tartan"  fabric!

We decided to wear retro looking clothes as Lilly's tour group instead of just going in our everyday clothes because getting dressed up is just fun!

Finally it was time to show off our costumes! We did not expect the reaction Lilly's costume received.

First thing we wanted to do was stop off at Guest Relations to get a photo of Lilly with some tour guides because we just though that it would make a cute photo. We didn't even get 20 feet away from the tour booth when they saw us coming. Tour guides came rushing out of booth to see Lilly! They taught Lilly how to stand like a tour guide and posed for photos. Then they took out their phones and took photos of their own! One very lovely tour guide took Lilly's hand and lead her to City Hall so the other Guest Relations cast members could see her costume. All the cast members and managers came flooding out of the back to see. They even gave Lilly a tour guide pin and retractable ID holder that is exclusive to Guest Relations cast members. Lilly loves that ID badge holder so much she slept with it that night! (Until I noticed she was wrapping the string pretty tightly around her fingers, so I took it away to save for her when she is a little older).

Above: Showing off her costume to the tour guides!

Below: Posing like a real tour guide

Above: Heading to City Hall to show off her costume

Below: Lilly receiving her new ID badge holder from a Guest Relations manager

Below: Her new Guest Relations exclusive ID badge holder and pin

For the rest of the night we were stopped every we went. I couldn't believe it! Her Mansion maid costume didn't quite get that same response last year, so I wasn't expecting anything different. Or at least I didn't think it was as popular. One of my proudest moments that night was when Cinderella's stepmother, Lady Tremaine, took me aside after the photo and asked "Does she happen to also have a Haunted Mansion Maid costume?" I was so excited that last years costume made such an impression on Lady Tremaine, she remembered it, and us, an entire year later!

Lots of people asked to take Lilly's photo. I always tell them that they have to ask Lilly if it is ok with her. I'm sure a day will come when she refuses, but for now she loves the attention!

Above: Riding on Winnie the Pooh shortly before it broke down and we had to be evacuated. Lilly was sad, but we pointed out how special it is that she got to see Winnie the Pooh and his bee hive slippers up close and she thought that was very cool.

Below: Lilly made friends with some Mouseketeers!

Above: Cinderella's step sisters and stepmother. Lilly thought they were very funny. Before we left she said to them "My feet like you very much" and Anastasia (left) said it was the best compliment she ever received. My kid is so weird!

Below: Lilly with her tour group in front of It's a Small World.

Below: This will probably end up being our holiday card photo. It's rare we are all dressed so neatly!

We had a great time at the event! We got TONS of candy and saw lots of people in really creative costumes. Now Lilly is working on her costume for actual Halloween. She has changed her mind more than fifty times. Some of her ideas included a tea pot, spider-man, a ghost, a camera, candy corn, and a piece of paper. Yes, for three days she was pretty sure she wanted to be a piece of paper for Halloween. We think she has decided to be a Sleeping Beauty Zombie (pretty creative! I am impressed she thought of that all on her own!) because she hasn't changed her mind for over a week now. We'll see what happens as Halloween gets closer.

You Must Be This Tall To Ride

You must be 46 inches tall to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Lilly is still 10 inches too short. Anyone who doesn't meet the height requirement on this attraction may not even wait through the queue with their party. 

I've been reading a lot of complaints online about height requirements at Disneyland, and although I have already written (briefly) about this before, as a mother and former Disneyland cast member at a Disney attraction with one of the tallest minimum height requirements in the park, I am very passionate about this topic.

Now, as a parent you need to understand that a trip to Disneyland is no longer about you. It is about your kids. It sucks you spent $600 to take your family to Disneyland for the day and you won't even be able to ride Space Mountain, but sometimes that is what being a parent is all about. If not riding a big ride is going to be a big deal for you or for your small children, perhaps your once in a lifetime vacation should be put off until everyone is tall enough to ride. Or bring a friend or family member to watch the kids. OR just get a sitter and leave the kids at home. There are several solutions to this problem, if you just come prepared...

If you do want to take that trip to Disney with your little ones anyway, perhaps you should plan ahead. All height requirements for just about every theme park and amusement park in the world are listed on their websites. And it you're reading this you clearly have internet access. To get the most out of your once in a lifetime vacation, do the research before you go! Check height requirements and attraction descriptions, heck, even check out what there will be to eat at the park.

Lilly is just 3.5 inches too short for Splash Mountain. She'll be tall enough before we know it! Before we took this picture I made sure to tell her "Now you aren't tall enough yet, but we just want to see how much longer till you are, ok?" and she didn't get upset.

Checking requirements is only half of it. Measure your kids before you go! Keep in mind that your measuring tape and the parks multiple measuring sticks could always be off by just a little. If your kid is so close it's hard to tell if they will make it, check their shoes and make sure they have on the ones that make them tallest. Some sneakers can add as much as an inch to your child's height and they will always be measured with their shoes on. Tall hair, high ponytails, and hats don't count. Your child will be asked to remove his or her hat or flatten their hair when they are measured.

Now this is going to sound crazy, but one thing I have recently discovered (via google) is that you are actually shorter in the evening than you are in the morning. Sometimes as much as an inch. It has something to do with your spine contracting throughout the day and the longer you are on your feet throughout the day, the more of a difference it can make by the end of the day. You are on your feet a lot over the course of one day at Disney. By the end of the day I often want to tear my feet clean off from the pain of standing on them for so long.  If you have a child that is just tall enough to ride an attraction, it is best to go to that ride first thing in the morning. Don't be surprised if you go back to ride again at the end of the day and your child is turned away. It won't matter to the Cast Member checking their height again if you swear to them your child already went on that ride earlier in the day. But hey, being taller in the morning then at night? Even when it might mean a disappointed child, science is cool.

How to stand when being measured: Have your child put his or her feet together and place them all the way back against the measuring stick. Have their shoulders back and put their chin up and look straight ahead (unlike Lilly here who is looking down). Just be careful they don't smack their head on the post. If kids bumped their heads I used to say to them "Congratulations! You bumped your head and that means you're tall enough to ride!" Some of them still cried though.

Feet together and all the way back against the post. These shoes add almost a whole inch to Lilly's height and they are just regular sneakers.

Disney does have a rider switch program in place to help out parents who both want to ride something their kids might not be able to go on. Just ask them at the entrance to the attraction. One parent waits through the regular queue and then when they're done the other parent can take the rider switch pass through the fast pass entrance or through the exit.

Rider Switch Pass for Sar Tours. Notice at the bottom if even recommends two attractions in the vicinity of Star Tours that have no minimum height requirements? 

You know your kids best. If you think your child might be crushed if they can't ride something or if they might throw a demon like fit, try to avoid that ride altogether. Or set them up for disappointment. Yes, you read that correctly. Tell them you're not planning to ride, you're just going over to see how tall they are or to see how much longer until they can ride. Then if they are tall enough you can ask them if they want to ride it. It will be a happy surprise then, instead of a heart wrenching disappointment.

If you have more than one child and one can ride and the other cannot, consider splitting up for a little while. Don't tell the kids why, because the smaller one might be disappointed.  Just tell them it is their chance to get one parent (or friend, or relative) all to themselves for an hour. This way the taller one can still ride the big rides and the little one won't be disappointed.

YAY! With a 35 inch height requirement, Lilly is tall enough for Gadget's Go Coaster in Toon Town! Unfortunately it was experiencing "operational difficulties" at the time. It happens... Tip: if you end up on the other side of the park and want to find out if an attraction has re-opened after having "operational difficulties" ask any cast member at a different attraction, store, information booth,etc... if they can call and find out for you. That way you don't have to walk all the way back over just to find out it has not yet re-opened.

The worst was when I had to measure twins and one was tall enough and the other was not. Parents would always say "But they're TWINS!" Sorry! Just because they were born two minutes apart does not mean I need to let them both ride if one doesn't meet the height requirement. I have had hundreds of parents get angry with me, scream at me and call me names I'd rather not repeat here. One parent yelled in my face "So I guess you'll be paying for us to come back when she is tall enough?" Uh, sure lady. Just give me your address and I'll send you the oodles of money I get for operating a Disneyland attraction. And then she added "Would you tell a 40 year old midget they couldn't ride!?" The answer is, Absolutely.  It doesn't matter how old you are. If you aren't tall enough to ride, you can't ride. The difference is a little person knows exactly how tall they are and they know the rules. I've never had a little person cause a scene the way many parents have. I have also never actually had to measure a little person because they have either been obviously tall enough, or opted to wait while their party rode without them.

The worst situation I encountered while working was when we had a man tell us he had a gun and if we didn't let his son ride, he would use it. Security escorted him and his son from the park within minutes and I doubt they will be back anytime soon, if ever.

I just don't understand parents. What are they teaching their children? No wonder kids today are instilled with such a sense of entitlement! I know the parents have spent a lot of money to be at Disney, possibly more money than they have ever spent on something for their kids before, and they are hot and tired and don't want to be disappointed or worse, disappoint their insane hellfire screaming demon brat spawn. But, if they just came prepared by measuring their demon spawn and being aware of the rides with minimum height requirements before they got there, maybe they can avoid all of the unpleasantness.

Also, be prepared that kids may have their height checked up to four times while waiting in line. And it is possible they may be turned away just as they reach the front of the line. This doesn't happen often, but if it is particularly busy, a cast member could miss something. Or sometimes parents sneak their kids into the queue. Parents would always tell me "But he already was checked twice!" Does that not give them an idea of how serious we are?

Disneyland takes height requirements very seriously, as they should. Safety always comes first. Height requirements are typically set by ride manufactures and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The parks are given the recommended height requirements and have the option to make them higher. In addition, rides are inspected daily by maintenance workers and periodically by government and state officials and due to changes in laws, safety regulations, or changes to the rides themselves, height requirements can change. When I was three I rode space mountain with my father in Walt Disney World. Currently the height requirement for Space Mountain in Orlando is 44 inches. There is absolutely no way I was 44 inches at the age of two and half. As an adult, I am only 60 inches tall. That would mean I only grew 16 more inches from the time I was just three years old. Case in point, height requirements do change over the years. Even if it isn't your first visit, check the requirements before you go.

It is clearly posted at any attraction with  minimum height requirement that anyone who does not meet that requirement may not ride. There is really no sense in arguing. The sooner you quit being Debbie Downer and accept this fact, the sooner you can get on with your vacation and start enjoying yourself.

There are many reasons height requirements are in place. Guests need to fit securely in their seats. More often than not, it has nothing to do with someone being violently thrown from a ride vehicle, though sometimes that is a possibility if regulations are not followed. A big reason a ride has lap bars, seat belts and harnesses is so that a guest cannot voluntarily slip out of a vehicle and go wondering around on a track. The attraction I worked has a track that emits over 400 volts of electricity. You'd be safer taking a walk on a New York subway rail*. A theme park such as Disneyland is not permitted to operate without a multi-million dollar insurance policy in place. What insurance company would give a park insurance if guests could freely wonder in dangerous areas?

You'd be surprised how many guests think they can just walk onto a track. I once witnessed someone drop their FREE park guide map onto the track in the station (Ya know the one they give out all over the park? The same map you can take, like, 50 of for free and no one will care?) When the vehicle pulled in, he tried to jump back into the track to retrieve it. Luckily we saw him right away and were able to shut things down before he was seriously injured, or even killed (injured or killed over a FREE freaking park map!) Guests think they are in control of their own safety, but around large dangerous and complicated machinery they know nothing about, they should listen to the Cast Members who know what they are talking about and are there to keep them safe not only from the attractions, but clearly from themselves as well. And, FYI, even as a cast member or maintenance worker you can't simply walk out into the track whenever you feel like it. There are procedures put into place to keep us safe in the ride and from ourselves as well.

I guess if you take anything away from this it should be KNOW BEFORE YOU GO. Know how tall your kids are and what the height requirements of the park are. While you're at it, the more research you do on your trip before you leave, the more you will get to experience and the more you will get for your money. Don't be afraid to call before you go as well. There is a lot of information on the internet, but sometimes things just need a little clarification.

For more information or to plan your next Disney vacation check these out:
Disneyland Height Requirements or call (714) 781-0000
Walt Disney World Height Requirements or call (407) 939-5277


*Ummmm....NO. Don't walk on a Subway rail. I said this to make a point, but in fact the NYC Subway system emits higher levels of electricity than the attraction in question.

**While I did research everything in this article, the internet isn't always super reliable, especially when some of my information was gathered from Yahoo Answers and backed up by Wikipedia... 

Everyone is tall enough to meet a Princess! 

Knott's Berry Farm Log Ride Rededication with Charles Phoenix

This week Andy, our friend Joel, Lilly and I got to do something awesome! We got to accompany our friend Charles Phoenix when he hosted the rededication of the Timber Mt. Log Ride at Knott's Berry Farm! We were VIP's and even had some fancy schmancy VIP badges.

Charles is A-MA-ZING! He knows everything about Knott's history and was hilarious and just a delight to watch while hosting the rededication. He even had a special suit made with boysenberries all over for this special day. Boysenberries are the signature berry of Knott's when it was still an actual berry farm and are what put them on the map! I learned so much about this historic theme park, its founders, and the log ride this week.

The log ride had been closed for several months while they gave it some much needed updating. Previously the ride had not had any type of major overhal since it first opened in 1969. They added lots of new animatronics made by the same company that constructs rides and audio animatronics for some famous Disney attractions.

While at the rededication I also got to connect with a fellow former Disneyland Cast Member who now works at Knott's! It was great to see her and interesting to learn some of the ins and outs of a theme park that isn't Disneyland. I liked getting to see what a tight knit community the employees of Knotts have. That "everyone knows everyone" dynamic really creates a charming small town atmosphere within the park.

The next best part about the event was that VIP's were treated to a glorious free lunch of hamburgers, fries, and delicious milkshakes. I live for free lunch. I think I ended up with not one, but two milkshakes. Well my first milkshake was stolen and then finished by Lilly, so just one and half milkshakes, I guess. Still more milkshakes than anyone should be consuming.

The only real disappointment of the day was that the log ride unfortunately was not ready in time. I cannot wait to go back to Knott's. Lilly is actually tall enough to ride the log ride and I think she will love it!

First Charles hosts the grand opening of new rides at the Knott's Boardwalk. Check out his AMAZING boysenberry suit!

Lilly and I enjoying the rededication ceremony

Charles making the crowd go WILD at the Timber Mountain Log Ride rededication ceremony!

Charles with Ethan Wayne (son of John Wayne). Ethan was there with his dad when the ride first opened in 1969! 

Andy and Charles IN the log ride track! Hopefully it will be ready for us to test out on our next visit.

Lilly and Joel are totally in sync. 

I am now the proud owner of 100 fake shares of the Calico Logging Co.

I am in LOVE with the fact that my shoes match Charles' suit!

I'm Afraid I just Blue Myself

Andy and I planned to get together with some friends to watch the newest season of Arrested Development last weekend. Last minute I decided it needed to be themed! Here are some photos of the themeyness. Everything is homemade because I didn't have a lot of time to make it come together.

Re-watching the series first! Above the TV is my homemade Arrested Development sign and Tobias' blue handprints.

Making frozen Bananas

More frozen bananas in progress!

The food

The "Menu"

Tobias Funke mustache straws

Candy Beans

Finished frozen Bananas

Front Door Sign

Decor

More decor!

Watching the new season!

24 Hours At Disneyland

Photobombing Mike Wasowski as he headed backstage. I didn't want to wait for a real photo. This is better anyway!

In celebration of the soon to be released sequel to Monsters, Inc. titled Monsters University, Disney decided to keep Disneyland and California Adventure parks open for an entire 24 hours calling it the "Monstrous Summer Event". We went temporarily insane and decided we could make it all 24 hours at Disneyland. With a three year old and only $20 in our pocket...

Now it sounds nuts to try that as adults and much, much crazier to make a three year old spend 24 hours inside a Disney park. We knew we had to plan ahead if we were going to make it all 24 hours. First we knew that the little one would need a place to sleep. She couldn't stay awake for an entire 24 hours! We weren't even sure we could! So we got out our trusty bike trailer thing, which, by the way, is a fabulous invention. It not only can be hooked up to a bike, but can also be used as a handy dandy jogging stroller. It is made to fit two kids and is rather wide, but does not have separate seats, so it was perfect for one small child to be able to stretch out and catch some Z's. Plus it could be fully enclosed and therefore slightly quieter inside. We made sure it was extra comfy with two pillows and two blankets. We began calling this her "Chariot".

The second best thing about the "Chariot" is that it has tons of space hidden in the back that can hold a lot of stuff. So we were able to ge our backpack in there with two changes of clothes for the little one, sunscreen, hats, coloring books, sweatshirts, camera gear, and extra deodorant (very important for basic survival with all that walking and in 24 hours time). We were also able to fit a decent sized cooler back there.

The cooler came in very handy with the $20 budget we set for ourselves. At a Disneyland special event that lasts 24 whole hours, you could spend quite a bit of money. They had oodles of awesome merchandise and food made special for this event. Not to mention we would eat three meals and at least two snacks within that time. We knew we didn't want to spend too much and so we decided to see if we could make it on just $20. We filled our cooler beforehand with six sandwiches, seven drinks, cheese, nuts, crackers, cookies and gummy worms. If it weren't for that cooler we would not have been able to stick to our spending goal. We did end up sharing a veggie burrito for dinner at Rancho Del Zolcalo. Andy wanted to try the monster themed hot dog they had special for the event and I wanted a monster cupcake. And we eventually broke down and got some coffee. We ended up going just over budget at $23. Which really is not too bad.

The event was really fun and we got to ride lots of attractions, see a few shows (including the brand new Mickey's Magical Map) and meet a bunch of characters. My favorite part was chilling out in Toon Town around 1am lounging on colorful beanbag chairs watching classic Disney cartoons. They also had free face painting, karaoke and lots of Disney characters in their jammy jams (Yup. I said jammy jams). They called this the Toon Town Pajama Party and we were lured there under the false pretense of free milk and cookies. The milk and cookies turned out to be $5.25, so we chose to pass on that. To be fair it was never stated that they were free, and although it is Disney we are talking about, we weren't the only ones that found their way to Toon Town assuming there was free food.

The little one ended up falling asleep around 10 pm and waking up again around 4 am. She was in a surprisingly good mood. Then again, who wouldn't be in a good mood waking up and realizing they were still at the happiest place on earth?

Yes, we did make it all 24 hours. The last 20 minutes of the 24 hours was spent just outside the front gates between both parks. Trust me, this definitely still counts. Since we woke up at 4 am the previous morning, we were technically up for 27 hours. We crawled into bed around 7:15 am feeling accomplished, yet sore and slightly disoriented.

Frank and Beth joined us for our 24 hour Disney adventure! We would not have made it if it hand't been for them.

Lilly chillin in her "Chariot"

Starting to feel worn out in the late afternoon!

Relaxing to help get us through the day

Spinning on the teacups really wakes you right up

My favorite part of the evening! Hanging out in beanbag chairs in Toon Town. This photo was taken from Mice Chat. We can be seen in the bottom left hand side. Thanks Mice Chat!

We can also be found in this photo from Mice Chat

Relaxing and watching cartoons!

Checking out the special event merchandise

Viewing fireworks from Fantasyland

Sleeping Beauty Castle lit up in the wee hours of the morning