In two days we are packing up the van and heading to Florida. WooHoo! Twenty hours in the car with three teenagers. What could be more fun? Actually, my kids are pretty good travelers as long as everyone has the appropriate tech gear (computers, tablets, etc.) so I’m not too worried. In fact, I hope to get some writing done during those travel hours. And with Disney World as the reward at the end of the road, I’ll be motivated.
When I saw that RWA’s conference this year was going to be in Orlando, I knew we would have to go and make a family vacation out of it. When my novella The Husband Maneuver finaled in the RITA contest, it was decided. We were going.
Not wanting my kids to have all the fun, though, I made sure to book us some extra days before and after the conference so I could join in the fun. I’ll be skipping out in the evenings during the conference as well to join them.
In honor of my love for all things Disney, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites and take a poll to see what your favorites are. So here we go:
Favorite Animated Disney Films
- Beauty and the Beast
- Tangled
- Frozen
- Mulan
- The Rescuers
Favorite Disney Live Action Films
- Enchanted
- Swiss Family Robinson
- The Journey of Natty Gann
- The Man from Snowy River
- Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
Favorite Disney Songs
(I love them all, so these are just a few that came immediately to mind.)
Let it Go – Frozen- A Whole New World – Aladdin
- Kiss the Girl – The Little Mermaid (My husband courted me with this song, so it had to make the list.)
- I’ll Make a Man Out of You – Mulan
- On the Front Porch – Disney’s Summer Magic (This one is from 1963 and I first heard it on a Best of Disney CD. I fell in love with the feel of it, just sitting on the front porch swing with my honey at the end of the day. If you want to see the movie clip, click here.)
What are your favorite Disney movies and songs?
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We’re headed to Disney tomorrow!!! But not for the conference (sadly). Have a fantastic time!
I do love Beauty and the Beast as an animated film. Frozen comes pretty close. As for live action films, our entire family enjoyed Beauty and the Beast (even the teenaged boy!) and my girls loved Malficient. I’ve never watched Enchanted; I’ll have to try to locate it.
You’ll LOVE Enchanted. It’s hysterical and so well done. It’s like a mixture of all the fairy tales rolled into one even as they poke fun at those same fairy tales. It’s so much fun.
I loved the live action Beauty and the Beast, too. I still give the edge to the animated version, but I really enjoyed the live action one, too. Maleficent was great, too. I liked the twist of having true love come from a maternal place instead of a romantic one.
Have a wonderful time at Disney! I wonder if we will overlap our visit at all. Our first day in the park will be Monday. Have a great time!
Have a safe journey and a fun time on your vacation!
Thanks, Trisha. I’m ready for a break, and now that my kids are older I can see the empty nest looming, and I crave time to make memories together as a family. This will be one of those times, I’m sure.
I’ll see you there, Karen. And I’ll be cheering you on at the RITAs!!
Yay! I hope we run into each other there, Lenora. No Pancake Pantry, though. Bummer. 😉
Have a great time. I would be really jealous, if I weren’t flying out on the 30th.
Favorite Animated–No particular order
1. Robin Hood
2. Bambi
3. The Sword in the Stone
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. The Rescuers
Favorite Live Action–No particular order
1. Mary Poppins
2. The Happiest Millionaire
3. The One and Only, Original, Genuine Family Band
4. The Gnomemobile
5. Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Favorite Songs
1. Feed the Birds ( Mary Poppins–Which I sang at St. Pauls)
2. Portobello Road (Bedknobs and Broomsticks–sang this through Portobello Road, as well)
3. Grim Grinning Ghost (Haunted Mansion Ride)
4. Friend Like Me (Alladin)
5. Red, Yellow, Green, Red, Blue (Disney Classic CD–Professor Ludgwig Von Drake)
So here is a question for you, Favorite Disney Rides?
Top 5 Attractions–Disney World
1. Haunted Mansion
2. Hall of Presidents
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. The Country Bear Jamboree
5. Carousel of Progress
Great list, Dora! I love the Feed the Birds song from Mary Poppins! And you got to sing it at St. Pauls? JEALOUS! 🙂
Favorite Disney Rides – Great question. Well, I’m a roller coaster lover so you’ll see some of that. Here are my favorites across all the Disney World parks:
1. Expedition Everest
2. Star Tours
3. Space Mountain
4. Toy Story Mania
5. Big Thunder Mountain
Love those rides as well, but my childhood memories are of my favorites.
My favorite animated movie is “Tangled” and the song “I See the Light” from that movie gets A LOT of playtime on my iPod. I also liked “Maleficent” as well as the song “Once Upon A Dream”from that movie. Have a great time and make sure everyone’s “device” is charged before leaving to ensure you all make it there and back alive :-).
Thanks, Amy!
I See the Light is a beautiful ballad. Love that one. And the twisted, minor key version of Once Upon a Dream for Maleficent was a really interesting version of the song. Loved the different feel of it.
We have a power plug thing that allows the kids to plug their computers into the car battery, so as long as we don’t blow a fuse (which has happened in the past) we should be in good shape. 🙂
Welcome to Florida!Be sure to stick a water bottle in your bag, as it has been really HOT and humid. With all the rains we’ve had over the last weeks, it can get pretty uncomfortable outside.
My favorite Disney movies are Enchanted and little known The Greatest Game Ever Played. A David and Goliath type story about a young boy who takes on his hero golf pro.
Favorite song – That’s How You Know and So Close from Enchanted.
Enjoy your vacation and your kids. They grow up way too fast.
I’ve been humming “That’s How You Know” all morning. Ha! So catchy. 😉
Thanks for the water bottle tip. I plan to car some around. Mom always carries the backpack of water and snacks to make sure everyone stays happy. 😉
Have a great time, congratulations on your nomination as well. Being a former Floridian, I love Disney. The classics like Cinderella are my favorites. Any Disney song is fun too.
I love the classics. One of my favorite songs that I failed to mention is “One Song” from Snow White. The prince serenades her with it at the beginning of the movie. My brother-in-law, who was a music major in college and is now a choir teacher, sang it to his bride as she came down the aisle to him at their wedding. That was such a beautiful, romantic moment. Loved it!
The Man from Snowy River is DISNEY??? It does have some of my favorite film music (my husband uses Jim’s Ride as his ringtone). I also love the score of The Rescuers Down Under, even though there’s no actual songs with words in the movie.
Yep. I looked it up just to be sure. 😉 I have the soundtrack for the movie. Love listening to the horns. Some of the best movie music ever.
I hope you have a wonderful trip, Karen! I’m always able to get quite a bit of writing done on long road trips — a perk of traveling by car. I’ll look forward to seeing pictures of the trip here on a future blog post (hopefully). 🙂
My faves:
Animated Film: Tangled
Live Action Film: Enchanted
Song: Let it Go
Love those faves, Becky! Yes, I’m hoping to get at least a little writing in. I have an August 15 deadline, but I’ve been writing ahead the last few weeks trying to take the pressure off for this vacation, so I won’t have to stress. There will definitely be pictures coming. 🙂
woohoo, hope you all have a safe and fun trip with lots of fun
Thanks, Lori. I’m really looking forward to it! It will be great to get away for a little while.
My favorite Disney movies would be Frozen and Enchanted.
Love both of those, Shirley! 🙂 Great music in them, too.
Fun! I hope you guys have an awesome trip! Also, great choices on your movies and songs. My favorites would be Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Robin Hood, both National Treasures, The Lion King, and the Princess Diaries. As for songs, Beauty and the Beast and I See the Light are my favorites. 🙂
You have marvelous taste, Ashley! 🙂 I loved the National Treasure movies. History nerds unite!
Such a fun post…brings out the kid in me! Have a fantastic time in Disney with your family!
Favorite Disney Animated:
1.) Sleeping Beauty
2.) Beauty & the Beast
3.) Cinderella
4.) Tangled
5.) Robin Hood
Favorite Disney Live Action:
1.) Man From Snowy River (grew up watching this film & still love it.)
2.) Return to Snowy River
3.) The Apple Dumpling Gang
4.) The Love Bug
5.) Mary Poppins
Favorite Disney Songs:
1.) Feed the Birds (Mary Poppins)
2.) A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Cinderella)
3.) I Know You I Walked With You Once Upon a Dream (Sleeping Beauty)
4.) Let it Go (Frozen)
5.) Kiss The Girl (Little Mermaid)
– I vaguely remember watching Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken when I was young….I’ll have to try & find it & re-watch it sometime.
Have an amazing & relaxing vacation! 😊
Thanks, Emily. Love your selections!
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken was a great based-on-a-true-story film. Depression era, I think. Maybe 1920s. Horses, romance, overcoming the odds. I loved it!
Love Disney. Have a wonderful time!
Disney favorites:
Animated- Snow White, Tangled, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast
Live action – really love the live action Cinderella a couple of years ago, also Mary Poppins
Songs:
Let it Go
Reflection from Mulan
Down in New Orleans and Almost There from Princess and the Frog
Circle of Life
I Know You
Great faves, Betty! I grew up with a stack of Disney records and a Fischer Price record player. I would sing those classic songs for hours on end. The Mary Poppins record was my favorite.
Disney World – how wonderful. Have a dole whip float for me
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a dole whip float. Sounds intriguing. 🙂
Hope you and your family have a wonderful time at Disney,Karen! Some of my Disney favorites are: Animated movies: Snow White,Sleeping Beauty,Fantasia 2000,Tangled, Pinocchio,and Lady and the Tramp Live Action: So Dear To My Heart,Johnny Tremain,Treasure Island,and Savage Sam So hard to choose favorite songs,but I would say they include: One Love (from Snow White), Let’s Get Together (Parent Trap), Wish Upon a Star(Pinocchio) ,Once Upon A Dream,(Sleeping Beauty) Thomas O’Malley Cat (Aristocats) Lavender Blue (So Dear To My Heart) ,He’s A Tramp(Lady and the Tramp),and Love (animated Robin Hood) While I like modern Disney guess most of my favorites come from the classic era. 🙂 Oh,Btw Congrats on The Husband Maneuver being in the finals!
Great list, Lynne. My heart still remains with those Disney classics, too. Especially where the songs are concerned. But I have so many great memories that involve my kids with them now, too. The love for all things Disney just keeps going for me.
Dear Karen,
As a Native Floridian, let me be the first one to Welcome you and your family to Florida.
I only live 45 min. away from Disney and haven’t been in years.
Have fun making memories to last a lifetime.