Tomorrow, Coolibar will be heading off to sunny Florida to visit the great Pediatricians of America. So we invited guest Denise Preskitt, a seasoned Walt Disney World explorer and blogger at MouseSteps, to let us in on a few of her favorite attractions and why staying sun protected at the parks matters. So grab your mouse ears and get excited!
Keeping my skin safe in the sun has long been important to me, but it wasn’t always. On yearly family trips to Walt Disney World as a child, I didn’t know much about sun protection and ended up with blistering sunburns. In my 30’s, my dermatologist introduced me to sun protective clothing. I spend several days or more per week at Walt Disney World and neighboring parks. It’s very important to me that I wear my Coolibar shirts during daylight hours to prevent additional skin cancers (as I’ve had a pre-melanoma spot removed), and the clothes save me money on sunscreen! Almost everything I own works at night as well.
I started my website, MouseSteps, in 2007 to share my experiences at Florida’s theme parks. Here is a look at one day at Walt Disney World. No two days are the same!
This October, I won a tour of the Fantasyland castles at the Magic Kingdom with an imagineer (a person who devises and implements a new or highly imaginative concept or technology in Walt Disney theme parks). Upon arrival, we, along with other breakfast guests, headed to Cinderella’s Royal Table and The Crystal Palace. Cinderella’s Castle is already decorated in lights for Christmas, which begins at Walt Disney World in early November.
Jeff, my husband, and I learned a fun details about Fantasyland during the tour – like that the castle walls start showing battle scars on the way to Be Our Guest Restaurant. Be Our Guest Restaurant is the most sought-after restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, both for lunch and dinner. Guests can purchase fun goodies from the movie, such as The Grey Stuff, during dinner.
After breakfast, our group then headed to the Cinderella Castle Suite. A 30,000 mosaic tile of Cinderella’s coach is part of the foyer floor, where Cinderella’s crown and glass slipper are also on display. Stained glass artwork shares the story of Cinderella. Each piece of furniture, and every mirror and decoration look like they were made just for the suite.
After our tour, we spent an hour taking photos inside the Magic Kingdom. The rides we enjoy most often at the Magic Kingdom are The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Halloween decorations line Main Street, although it will be just a couple of weeks until Christmas shows up! There is a Christmas pumpkin displayed during Halloween that is one of my favorites.
Our day wasn’t quite finished, as we wanted to go to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. The Villas weren’t open yet, but will officially debut on October 23rd (in time for the AAP!). Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is Walt Disney World’s flagship resort, and this is the newest Disney Vacation Club offering.
On a final note, living in Florida, sun protection is extremely important, and I’m so glad I found Coolibar! It travels so well, whether it’s in my gym bag or luggage on vacation, Coolibar is lightweight and dries quickly. I hope you come to Florida soon (with your sun protection of course) and take advantage of all the fun Orlando has to offer.
Denise
MouseSteps
