Tiffiny, Author at Magically Capable

25Aug 2019 by Tiffiny

Character Meals

Blog, Disney, Planning, Travel, While You're There

[caption id="attachment_1787" align="alignnone" width="735"] Child walking and dining with Mickey Mouse at a character meal[/caption] Character Meals-What are They? Character Meals are Disney Dining experiences where one of more characters come to your table while you are eating at a particular restaurant. It's one of our favorite ways to fill two needs with one activity--eating and character greeting. How Do I Get a Character Meal? Character meals like all other Disney table service meals require a reservation. You can make a reservation 180 days in advance. If you stay on Disney property, you can make the reservation 180 days out from the first day of your reservation. That means if you are staying for five days starting October 6, and your 180th day out is April 3, you actually can…

16May 2019 by Tiffiny

Disney Shirts

Blog, Craft Activities, Disney, Planning, While You're Waiting

Today's Throwback Thursday is a craft from 2011 and updated in 2013. While You are Waiting for Your Trip...One of the things I like to do while I wait for our trip date to draw near is make Disney-themed crafts. It's a bonus for us if they also will serve a purpose in the parks. I made matching shirts for our family. Originally I did it because I had seen the idea on social media and thought it would be really fun for us. Since then I have learned that dressing identically helps a lot in crowded locations. It makes it so much easier to spot each other. It also makes it easy when and if, despite my best efforts and constant head counting, one of my children wanders off…

07Feb 2019 by Tiffiny

Our Family’s Disney Packing Lists

Blog, Planning, While You're Waiting

Trying to find the perfect Disney packing list can be challengingBefore we left, I scoured the web for ideas for our packing list. There are a multitude of packing lists out there, but none of them really quite fit our family. Ultimate Packing List is really very good, as is this one, but I've made a few changes to it based upon our family's needs. Some of the items on the lists are overkill. Why do I need to pack a portable high chair when the restaurants have them? Do I really want to be lugging that into the park? Even when we stay off site, we use our stroller as a high chair if we need one. Also, why bring walkie talkies when I get decent cell…

08Dec 2018 by Tiffiny

Movie Review-Avengers: Infinity War

Movie Review, Reviews

In honor of the newest Avengers: End Game trailer release, I'm publishing this review of Avengers: Infinity War I originally wrote (but didn't publish) for 8 Busy Bees. We've been Marvel fans for a while. Last Saturday we took the family to see Avengers: Infinity War. Excited doesn't begin to cover it. My daughter texted the following when we told her. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="270"] Captured screen shots of Princess Ballerina's reaction to purchasing tickets to Infinity War[/caption] We really started loving the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with the first Thor and Captain America movies. They were well written, acted and directed. We liked the moral compass Steve Rogers possessed, and how Thor learned to honor his responsibilities protect people and stop believing his own accolades. He became worthy of…

27Oct 2018 by Tiffiny

Gear for Travel – Autism Hat Tutorial

Blog, Craft Activities, While You're There, While You're Waiting

Has Your Child Ever Had a Public Meltdown? What do you do when you get stares and glares?My fifth child was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD when he was four years old. He is my fourth boy and fourth child on the Autsim specctrum. At that point I dreaded going on outings because one of my four boys would inevitably have a meltdown. I talked to a friend about something I could do that would indicate my child had Autism--especially when we were in the midst of an overwhelm. I had heard of handing out explanation cards, but that seemed to require me to take my attention away from my child in the midst of his crisis. My friend had successfully used Autism t-shirts for her son. I seriously considered…

09Oct 2018 by Tiffiny

Review of Vintage Mickey

Blog, Movie Review, Reviews, Special Needs-Specific, While You're Waiting

After the planning is done, you may be looking for things to do with your family like I was. Walt Disney once said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." So, following Walt's advice, I decided to start with the mouse that started it all. I looked online to see if I could lay my hands on Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse film. It turns out it is part of a collection of short films with Mickey Mouse starting in 1929 called, Vintage Mickey. When I was looking for an image for this post, I found that Disney has now uploaded Steamboat Willie and other original shorts to YouTube. This review will include our Autism Spectrum (ASD)…

02Oct 2018 by Tiffiny

Movie Review–“Ant-Man and the Wasp”

Blog, Movie Review, Reviews, While You're Waiting

I'm going to make this easy--Go see this movie. Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun and action-packed and gets back to what Marvel does best. This is our review from a high-functioning autism point of view. What we knew going in: This movie was to take place "before" Infinity War. Scott Lang was under house arrest after the events in Germany which happened during "Captain America: Civil War." We knew Hope had been given the Wasp costume with significant upgrades and that Hank Pym used his tech to shrink both buildings and cars. After watching "Avengers: Infinity War" we were looking forward to getting back to a simpler and hopefully more light story line. It did. At times jokes and the use of giant ants almost bordered on cheesy, but…

28Sep 2018 by Tiffiny

Timeline for Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation

Planning, While You're Waiting

I recently spoke with a Disney cast member family. We were talking about why Disneyland and Disney World were such different experiences. Disneyland is the kind of park you can make a spur of the moment decision to go to. Disney World takes a lot more planning. According to my friend this was a deliberate decision so Disney can provide two different types of experiences. Because Disney World is so large and insular, you should be aware of the ideal timeline for planning. Keep in mind it is not impossible to plan a last minute trip to Disney. I've done it for families who found last minute airfare deals. You just have to modify expectations when you do last minute planning. Ideally you decide you're going to Walt Disney World…