The Disney Princess Tag

When I saw this tag on Hannah's lovely blog a few weeks ago, I knew I had to take part. Although my favourite Disney films will always be the animal-led ones such as 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book and The Lion King, some of the princess films are also among my favourites. My love for the princess films has definitely intensified due to visiting Florida's Walt Disney World regularly since 2012 and my subsequent love for the princess-laden Magic Kingdom!

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

So, here goes... 

1. Which Princess do you like the least?
Snow White... I find her a bit irritating (and I think she has the worst singing voice). I do love the film itself though. Who doesn't?


2. Which Princess do you adore the most?
Belle, with Rapunzel a close second. 

(Photo taken in Disneyland Paris, December 2014)

3. Which Princess do you relate to the most?
Again, Belle. Why can't people understand that sometimes a good book is all you need?


4. Which sidekick do you wish you had?
Gus from Cinderella, closely followed by Dopey (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and Flounder (The Little Mermaid). I've even got Dopey and Flounder teddies, but Gus unfortunately keeps eluding me.  

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, May 2012)

5. Which best friend(s) would you like to hang out with?
The little fairies from Sleeping Beauty... not sure if they're classed as 'best friends' exactly, but they're hilarious and so caring in their own way.


6. Which Prince would love you?
Hopefully the Beast, mostly because I love him an inappropriate amount. I also adore Kristoff from Frozen, so he'll do if the Beast is unavailable. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2013)

7. Which parents would raise you?
It would have to be Merida's parents due to the hair similarities...


8. Which castle do you want to live in?
Rapunzel's castle. Small but beautifully picturesque! 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

9. Which dress do you wish to own?
It's between Belle's gold dress and Aurora's pink dress. I'd probably look ridiculous in both but they're so pretty!


10. Which voice do you wish you had?
Ariel's voice is beautiful... I wish I sounded like her whenever I belt out 'Part of your world'. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

11. Which two Princesses would be best friends?
Cinderella and Snow White. They strike me as being quite similar and they could trade animal tips!


12. Which two Princesses do you think would hate one another?
Perhaps Rapunzel and Merida... they're both quite feisty and stubborn so might have a personality clash at some point.


13. Which two sidekicks would make a good duo?
Maximus from Tangled and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast. I think this moody duo would produce some very amusing scenes!


14. Which two Princes would be best buds?
Flynn Rider and Kristoff.


15. Which scene makes you cry?
Hmmm, can I only choose one? I always get choked up when the Beast is close to death (because of my aforementioned love for him), and when Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. I chose two because I'm a maverick.


16. What scene makes you cheer?
When the curse is broken and Merida's mum is no longer a bear! And any scene where the 'evil stepmother' or similar character is defeated.


17. Which movie is your favourite soundtrack?
Beauty and the Beast probably has my overall favourite soundtrack. I See the Light (Tangled), A Whole New World (Aladdin), Reflections (Mulan), Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid) and Colours of the Wind (Pocahontas) also deserve a special mention for being amazing. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

18. Which scene makes you cringe the most?
Perhaps when Anna and Hans first meet in Frozen. I love the song that precedes their meeting, but the meeting itself is a little cringeworthy.


19. Which story do you wish was your life?
Probably Beauty and the Beast as Belle is the princess I can relate to the most. I'd love to be as content as she is!


20. Which movie do you love the most?
If I'm just choosing the princess films, it would have to be Beauty and the Beast.

I really want to watch a princess film after all that so I've raided my Disney DVD rack... which one should I choose?

Let me know if you decide to take part, and please leave links in the comment box if you've discovered any other Disney tags which I should be aware of! 

My collection of Disney mugs

I haven't written a Disney-themed blog post for a while so I thought it was high time I rectified this by blogging about my growing collection of Disney mugs. After all, the blog is titled Little Miss Disney...

I've been casually buying Disney mugs for quite a few years but I started collecting in earnest when we moved into our new home after getting married in August 2014. I suddenly had more room to store my many coveted mugs, and we found some real beauties in Cardiff's Disney Store which we bought with some of the money we received as wedding gifts.

I fell in love with this collection as soon as I saw it and just HAD to buy them all. These mugs are absolutely massive so they're never filled up to the top, but they're definitely among my favourites. I love giving guests whichever mug best reflects their character... a little game I play quite often! 

So, continuing with my mug collection story, I'd always been too afraid of bringing mugs back from holidays abroad previously in case they smashed in my suitcase. However, I made an exception when I saw these lovely specimens in Disneyland Paris in December 2014. Again, they were the perfect addition to the Disneyfied mug cupboard in our new house. I love having hot chocolate with marshmallows in these beautiful mugs as the little spoon is so handy. 

I love all things Winnie the Pooh and this is definitely reflected in my mug collection. I adore my Eeyore mug above, and I've also collected the three mugs below at various points during the last few years. I bought the Tigger mug for Neil for his birthday before we got married, Sarah bought me the Piglet mug many moons ago, and the beautiful Winnie the Pooh mug was a Christmas present to myself last December.  

I'm always super excited when there's any kind of sale in the Disney Store, which is how I acquired the mug below back in 2013. It came with a mini Grumpy teddy and it's perfect for those 'I've had a bad day' hot chocolates!

I definitely need to expand my princess mugs as I only have one at the moment. Siân, my sister-in-law, bought me this pretty Sleeping Beauty mug for Christmas a few years ago. The princess mugs are always so picturesque and elegant, so I definitely want to collect more of these.

Although I'm not a Star Wars fan myself, I do like a few of the characters and I couldn't resist buying these two mugs for Neil for his birthday last month. The BB8 mug is adorable and we nearly bought the R2D2 mug in Florida last year but didn't get around to it, so I don't mind these particular Star Wars items living in our kitchen!

We've also picked up a few Pixar mugs on various occasions for our collection - Neil bought the cute Wall-E mug from the Disney Store a few years ago and he bought me the Nemo mug as a present just before we got married. 

As this is an ever-expanding collection and there are always new and exciting mugs to choose from, I've included photos of the next three mugs I'd like to buy... space and funds permitting!

Rapunzel Sketch Mug 

Dumbo and Timothy Mouse Record Cover Artwork Mug

Minnie Letters Mug

Do you love Disney mugs as much as I do? Let me know which ones are your favourites and which ones I should look out for to expand my collection!

Twelve posts of Christmas #1 - Our Christmas tree

Although I've barely blogged for the last few months due to being insanely busy, I'm going to attempt to publish twelve posts over Christmas. There are so many Christmassy topics to blog about and I'll have a few weeks off work, so it should hopefully be an easy goal!

I thought I'd start with something I'm extremely excited about... our new Christmas tree. We bought a very basic tree last year as we were short of money after buying a house and getting married within a few months (I wouldn't recommend it!), so this year we decided to treat ourselves to a nicer pre-lit tree. We learnt our lesson last year as it was very stressful trying to string flimsy lights evenly around a 7 foot tree!

We went for a 6 foot tree this time with frosted branches and decorative pine cones, and I absolutely love it.

The white lights are so pretty and understated and they really show off the beautiful decorative branches. Some of the frosted tips are white and others are silver and glittery... I'm just in love with every aspect of this tree! 

We've built up a decent collection of Disney baubles so far between Cardiff's Disney Store, Disneyland Paris and Florida's Walt Disney World. They make the tree look extra special and magical.... who doesn't love a Disney Christmas? 

Without a doubt, my favourite Disney bauble is the one pictured below which we (carefully) brought back from Florida this year. Isn't it beautiful? 

Our plain red, turquoise and purple baubles fill in all the gaps, as well as our silver snowflakes. I'm hoping that we'll eventually have enough Disney baubles to fill the whole tree, but for now I think the plain baubles complement our Disney treasures nicely.

I love coming home from work after a long day, putting on my Christmas onesie then settling down on the sofa next to the Christmas tree. It makes the living room look so festive and cosy and I'm already dreading the moment when we'll have to take it down. Can't it just be Christmas in my house all year round?

Have you blogged about your Christmas tree? Send me your links, I love having a nose at everyone else's Christmas decorations!

Disneyland Paris... these are a few of my favourite things #2

I blogged about a few of my favourite things in Disneyland Paris last week, and this is the second instalment. So please read on with bated breath to find out what else I loved about Disneyland Paris...

Crush's Coaster

I have a disproportionately strong love for this ride. I screamed 'THIS IS AMAZING!' while we were hurtling around in our little turtle shell... it really was. I had no idea what to expect as this ride is exclusive to Disneyland Paris, just like the Ratatouille ride I described in my last post, so I just thought it would be a gentle teacup-type ride. It starts off gently enough until you've trundled to the top of a little incline. You then unexpectedly experience all manner of drops, twists and turns in total darkness, as well as going backwards for part of the ride. The queues for this ride were consistently massive but it was well worth it. I also loved hearing Crush speaking French in a vaguely Australian accent... that made our day!

Disneyland Park Hotel 

The beautiful Disneyland Park Hotel guards the entrance to Disneyland Park itself and I would absolutely love to stay here if we could ever afford it. You can literally hop out of bed and run down the stairs, straight in to the park. It's such an elegant hotel and the little details like the Mickey Mouse clock are key to its appeal. It's also pink which means it'll always seem extra appealing to me. Just imagine having a room in one of the little pink turrets with a perfect view of Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty's Castle... I can dream! 

Landmarks in Walt Disney Studios

There are some iconic landmarks in Disneyland Paris' Walt Disney Studios which shouldn't be overlooked. The 'Earful Tower' is situated right at the entrance and, despite being much smaller than its Floridian counterpart, it's perfectly proportioned for this park. I also loved the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse (which was lit up beautifully at night), as well as the Sorcerer's Apprentice model and the 'hat' in the Toon Studio area. I'm gutted that they're taking down the hat in Florida's Hollywood Studios! There was also another Sorcerer's Apprentice landmark near the entrance... I think Mickey looks so cute in this little outfit and it's always how I picture him. As you can see, Walt Disney Studios definitely isn't just about the rides! 

Main Street USA

Unfortunately, I couldn't get many good photographs of the bustling Main Street USA due to the tricky combination of bad weather and big crowds. However, it's one of my favourite places in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Sleeping Beauty's Castle lies at the end of the street, and Main Street USA runs from the entrance of the park to the castle itself. It's densely lined with merchandise shops, crystal shops, bakeries, ice cream parlours, toy shops... it's just a hive of activity and a Disney fan's dream. The Christmas decorations made it even more special and I just couldn't help breaking into a huge smile whenever I strolled down this street. 

Disney Princess Parade

This was another parade we stumbled upon by accident and I'm really glad we managed to catch it. I didn't used to be a big fan of the Disney princesses but they've definitely grown on me over the last few years after visiting Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Belle is my favourite Disney princess, closely followed by Rapunzel and Aurora. The princesses came out of the castle in all their finery then swanned past us one by one, waving to the crowds. Their dresses were beautiful and it certainly brightened up a rainy afternoon. 

What do you love about Disneyland Paris? Do you agree with my top ten? Let me know what you think! 

Disneyland Paris... these are a few of my favourite things #1

We went to Disneyland Paris at the beginning of December and I can't believe I haven't blogged about it yet! It was a lovely break just before Christmas and I really enjoyed the experience of going on holiday in December. Having been to Florida's Walt Disney World twice, it was interesting to compare the two locations and to have a different Disney holiday slightly closer to home.

I don't think we'll ever to go Florida's Walt Disney World so close to Christmas as we like going there when it's hot. Consequently, I'm so glad I got to experience all the Christmas parades, decorations and so on in Disneyland Paris. Disney and Christmas really is a magical combination and I'm pretty obsessed with both!

Here are a few of my favourite things about Disneyland Paris... I decided to split my list into two posts as I wanted to share so many photos. Enjoy the first instalment!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Sleeping Beauty's castle is the majestic showpiece of Paris' Disneyland Park and it really is a beautiful spectacle. I mostly love the fact that it's pink! It's surrounded by lots of greenery which adds to its fairytale aura, and the different levels and turrets are so immacutely detailed. You can even climb an internal staircase to the first level of the castle which gives you a lovely view of the park and a closer view of the castle's beautiful turrets. The castle also looks amazing once it gets dark... you really have to be there to appreciate its full beauty at night as photographs can't do it justice!

Space Mountain 

I love this ride in Florida's Magic Kingdom, and this version is even better! I screamed with sheer joy throughout this entire ride and we went on as many times as the queue would allow. The vast majority of this ride is conducted in darkness, as the name suggests... I think that might be why I love it so much. You just never know what's coming! It's full of sharp turns and drops and you do feel quite bruised at the end of it as a result of being bumped around so much, but I just love it. You absolutely HAVE to try it if you ever visit either Disneyland Paris or Walt Disney World. 

Disney Village

The Disney Village is a mini version of Florida's Downtown Disney and we spent lots of time here. It's conveniently located in between both parks so it was a nice place to wander to for lunch or for a break from the long queues. It was also a good place to run to during the heavy rain on our second day! The Disney Village is full of restaurants, shops and bars, including a MASSIVE Earl of Sandwich restaurant, a Rainforest Cafe, and several huge Disney Stores. It also had little huts scattered along the walkways which sold coffee, mulled wine, pretzels, doughnuts, muffins and so on. These added to the Christmassy atmosphere, particularly the mulled wine! 

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy

The Ratatouille ride is the newest attraction in Disneyland Paris and is hugely popular. We ran for this ride as soon as the park opened so only had to queue for half an hour or so, but the queue was already up to nearly two hours by the time we'd finished on the ride. This Parisian area of the park is so well designed and it's very authentic. Ratatouille is one of my favourite Pixar films so I really loved this simulator ride. It's very unique, as well as being amazingly and intricately designed (like most things in any Disney park). It's a family friendly ride but I still screamed quite a lot... I think I just like screaming on rides to convey my joy. This ride doesn't exist in Florida so it was great to experience something totally new and innovative. Another ride you definitely shouldn't miss!  

Christmas parade 

I love Christmas and I love a good parade. As you'd expect from any Disney parade, this one was beautifully orchestrated with perfect details. There was even some fake snow! The parade featured lots of my favourite characters (including Eeyore!) and the music made me want to dance and jump around...  not much makes me want to dance and jump around in public, believe me. We just happened to stumble upon lots of crowds lining the main street in Disneyland Park one afternoon and realised that the parade was starting in ten minutes. Impeccable timing, and we even managed to get a brilliant standing spot. Disney Christmas parades are definitely the best parades. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about a few of my favourite things in Disneyland Paris... look out for my follow-up post in a few days on another five favourite things!