Disneybounding at Walt Disney World

We just returned from a week in Walt Disney World in Florida. Of course we had an awesome time. This year, we tried something new. We decide to Disney Bound.

Once upon a time, visitors could wear costumes to visit the Magic Kingdom. But in order to avoid confusion between the workers at Disney who were supposed to be dressed up and the guests who went all out with their costumes, WDW banned costumes for anyone over the age of 12.

This means your little princess or Jedi can dress up but adults only can dress up when they attend Mickey’s Not So Very Scary Halloween party which happens on select days in September and October.

Many people still like the idea of dressing up and to get around the prohibition, they do what is called Disney Bounding. This is where guests fashion outfits that are inspired by a character.

As any of you who regularly follow my blog, my husband and I are all about dressing up for comic con so why not expand that to Disney?

Princess Leia and Han Solo

My husband is a major Star Wars fan so if we are going to Disney Bound, it was a certainty that one of them would have to be a Star Wars theme. My husband has dressed up as Han Solo before so it wasn’t hard to get him to do a toned-down version.

His Disney Bound outfit consisted of black boots, dark blue jeans, a white Henley and his Han Solo vest that I bought him many, many years ago. He fashioned a leather pouch that he could strap to his leg to simulate Han’s gun holster.

For Princess Leia, I wore a white dress which I got on a clearance sale for $7. I did my hair up in mini buns and wore white sandals. Because we were unsure of the weather, I also bought a white sweater for $10 for the cooler mornings. I also took a pair of white tennis shoes in case my feet hurt too much from the sandals. (Carrying all the supplies in a white bag of course to go with my outfit.)

Ariel and Prince Eric

We did this one on our Epcot day. I guess it could have gone for any of the parks but I wanted to wear this outfit when Lexie and I went for our princess breakfast.

I had seen a picture of a couple Disney Bounding as Ariel and Prince Eric and knew my husband and I could pull that off. Many of the items used for Han Solo also worked for Prince Eric. My husband was able to reuse the boots, dark blue jeans and white Henley. All we needed to do was add a red sash to his waist.

For my Ariel Disney Bound outfit, I found a flowing dark teal skirt at Goodwill and paired it with a purple top I found on Ebay. I put starfish clips in my hair and wore a seashell necklace, anklet and earrings. I also carried a pink bag like Ariel.

We got a few comments on both outfits but for the most part I am not sure most other visitors knew what we were doing, but I still enjoyed doing it. However, wearing heeled sandals with the amount of walking we were planning to do probably wasn’t the best idea.

 

Our trip to Disney World starts this week

As you read this, I am off at Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the week. Who-hoo! I am so excited!!!

Now planning a Disney World trip is always a big production – if you want to hit the good attractions, shows and restaurants.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

I am a big planner (as you might of guessed when I posted that we have the next 3 vacations planned out back in August). This trip came about on what I would consider short notice. We decided in April to rent Disney Vacation Club points and stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge during the holidays. (This is big for me as it means taking the kids out of school for a week – something I have never done before.)

But anyone who has been to Disney World in Florida (which consists of 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a mini golf-course, 4 regular golf courses, a sports complex, a mega-shopping/entertainment center in addition to fishing, sailboats, canoes and a whole bunch of other activities offered at their 20 on-property resorts) knows you need to have some semblance of planning on this vacation.

In the past I have shared some planning posts. I am going to link back to those posts here for any of you planning a trip. But because they were written in 2013/2014, they may contain information that is no longer accurate. I will try to note here any changes from the posts but when in doubt double check all info. I suggest either a good guide book or to visit the Disboards (a message board full of Disney enthusiasts including some employees who can give you the inside scoop).

Planning Post #1 – Includes suggestions for buying a guide book, a link to AllEars.net and the Disboards, as well as suggestions to make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) at the 180 day mark if you want some of the more popular eateries. Everything in the post seems pretty up-to-date though Star Wars Weekends no longer happen.

Planning Post #2 – Covers staying on Disney property and buying a package that includes hotel, dining plan and theme park tickets. Again, it looks like this is all good info. We didn’t go with a package this year as we rented DVC points from David’s Vacation Club Rentals and bought our theme park tickets from Parksavers at a substantial discount.

Planning Post #3 – This one covers FastPass+ which allows you to skip the standby line on 3 attractions by booking an hour window which you plan to ride/view that attraction. Most of this information on Fastpasses is accurate but I would suggest checking out the FAQ on the Disboards for the most up-to-date info. Also, ignore what I wrote about Star Wars Weekends as they have discontinued that event.

Next week I will address Disney Bounding which is wearing clothing inspired by a Disney character without actually wearing a costume. Intrigued? Then be sure to check back in next Monday.