Review - Morning Pixie Dust with Mickey Mouse Waffle Maker

There's going to be a reoccurring idea here at My Life Disabled and that's getting a lot of daily pixie dust. Whether your getting homesick and longing to be back in the house of mouse or your planning your vacation, pixie dust is important. When we go to Disney we always start planning a year out just to let the hype build and give us plenty of time to really enjoy everything a trip is. On the flip side you could be in our current place of getting homesick! Disney is magic so when the pixie dust from your recent trip starts to fade (and sadly it will) it's time to sprinkle more.

That's where today's post comes in. This year I got a perfect pixie dust generator for my birthday. I am now the proud owner of a Disney Mickey Mouse Waffle Maker! Mickey Mouse waffles are a Disney breakfast staple. Almost every restaurant serves these babies every morning so it's part of daily life on Disney property. Now you can have them at home and start everyday with pixie dust!

The Waffle Maker is non-stick and electric so it's incredibly easy to use.  We just mixup some bisquick, milk, and fresh blueberries.  It's easy to clean up too.  You really can't get much easier than that or any magical!

On Dasher!

One thing I've learned testing out games and software is it's alot like dating, completely hit or miss. Some days you find wonderfully accessible things and sometimes it's just bad! Yesterday while looking up some accessible gaming equipment I saw a program called Dasher. It claimed that experienced users of eye tracking software could type 30 words a minute so I was curious what I could master with only a mouse.

At first typing was a challenge since in Dasher letters come zipping across your screen and you basically herd them to a crosshair to be typed.  It didn't take but a few minutes to begin mastering the style of typing and soon sentences that took me forever to type with the traditional onscreen keyboard one click at a time, were taking seconds. This is not for quick things like chatting on a messenger or posting to facebook, it's for longer writing sessions like this post I'm writing now. It doesn't type directly into other programs, instead it has a notepad type area that saves your text to be copy and pasted or saved within the program.

I'll say it has made typing long post quicker and more enjoyable than before. My typing speed keeps increasing too the more I use it and get used to how it works. So far dasher has been amazing and totally worth it's price tag... FREE! Check it out at:  http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/

Top 10 Disney Movies to Watch Before Your Walt Disney World Vacation

If you're like me, you're spending the weeks...  oh, who am I kidding, months before your trip preparing for your magical vacation.  That means reading about trip plans, loading your mp3 player full of Disney music and ofcourse breaking out those Disney movies! While most people are loading up on Frozen (Can we Let It Go already?) there are actually a ton of movies that not only help get you into the Disney spirit, but also help you enjoy some attractions more.

I'm not going to lie, some attractions are for more of a... classic generation.  They're based on movies that some younger Disney fans may not have been exposed to.  Sure you'll recognize Ariel on Under The Sea, but try enjoying the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse if you have no idea who that it.  It goes from an immersive experience Disney tries to give you to "well, that was neat I guess?"  So do yourself a favor and do a little pre-trip homework!  You'll thank me later! Here are my top 10:

1. The Country Bears (2002. Rated G) - Country Bear Jamboree is an old fashioned hoe-down featuring 20 animatronic bears in the Magic Kingdom.  It's an older attraction and one that on many trips we skipped right past.  Singing animatronics were just a bit random when you could be with Mickey.  Don't let these be random bears! In the movie "The Country Bears" you'll meet and get familiar with some of these beloved characters like Big Al and Trixie.  Once you know these bears you'll definitely want to stop in for a visit!
2. Swiss Family Robinson (1960. Rated G) - As I mentioned earlier, there's a whole tree house dedicated to this family at the Magic Kingdom.  You'll see how they lived after being shipwrecked.  If you don't know who they are, it's just some random tree house to walk through.  If you've seen the movie you'll definitely connect more here!
3. Tom Sawyer (1973, Rated G) - The Magic Kingdom is home to a special island where you can explore memorable places such as Harper's Mill, Injun Joe's Cave, and Fort Longhorn.  If your kids have never watched Tom Sawyer they probably just won't understand it!  Sure they'll enjoy the log raft ride across but will they understand who Becky Thatcher is when they see it painted on a railing?
4. Davy Crockett (1955, Rated PG) - Why should you watch this movie before you head to Disney World?  One word: Frontierland!  Everywhere you turn you're greeted by Coonskin hats and frontier living.  Not to mention the "Davy Crockett" song in the areas music loop!  Let your kids imagination really run wild by knowing more about Davy Crockett and this era!
5. Haunted Mansion (2003, Rated PG) - The Haunted Mansion is one of the most beloved rides in Disney's history.  You board a Doombuggy and sing along with ghosts!  Sound spooky?  It can be!  You can get introduced to Madame Leota before you ever leave home.  Why not check out this movie and see how silly ghosts can be?
6. The Muppets (2011, Rated PG) - Sure everyone knows Kermit, but what about Sweetums, Rizzo or Sam Eagle?  Give yourself or your kids a quick lesson before it's time to head to Muppetvision 3D at Hollywood Studios.  Muppetvision is a 3D short featuring characters from the Muppet Show.  Knowing the Muppets before you go in will definitely make this experience more enduring.
7. Star Wars (1977, Rated PG) - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was an epic movie made which led to a whole theme park area.  That's right!  Hollywood Studios already has Star Wars attractions and now they're GROWING!  A whole Star Wars Land is coming so if you want to understand why Darth Vader needs padawans to defeat him or feel the excitement of boarding the Millennium Falcon I suggest catching up before your trip.
8. Fantasia (1940, Rated G) - I've tried to avoid animated features in my recommendations but this is the exception.  Fantasia is where you're introduced to Sorcerer Mickey which has become a park icon.  There's sorcerer mouse ears, toys, sculpted topiaries of dancing brooms, and ofcourse there's Fantasmic!  It's definitely worth watching before you're surrounded by sorcerer hats!
9. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003, Rated PG-13) - Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A pirate's life awaits you in Adventureland!  You'll sail with pirates and see Captain Jack Sparrow which is a lot more impressive if you know who he is.  He was added to Pirates of the Caribbean ride and also comes out to entertain guests occasionally.
10. Tower of Terror (1997, Not Rated) - I'll be honest about this one... I didn't even know it existed!  The Tower of Terror ride is branded by the Twilight Zone but there's actually a whole movie based on the story of the Hollywood Hotel.  Warning to the parents of the tiny generation:  According to the description "The film starts out when 5 people walk into an elevator, but something goes very wrong. The elevator collapses 11 floors and the five people roam around the hotel as ghosts."  I don't know how it's presented and the ride is an elevator so you might want to check this out beforehand to see if it's ok for your kiddo.  You don't want them terrified of a ride before they even get there!

There are my top 10 suggestions to make Disney attractions more immersive.  Do you have more?  Tell us in the comments!