Happy Friday! The time has come for another week’s round-up. I must admit this is my favorite week of the series. The bound came out exactly as I imagined; Art of Animation is one of my favorite Disney resorts, AND I found another creative play option for our Wishables collection, which is just always such a bonus {and enabling} for my Wishables addiction. So without further ado, let’s dive in! 🙂
1. The Look
This week is all about the 60s, and who better to showcase than our peace-loving, eco-conscious Cars friend Fillmore?! I had so much fun pulling together this bound. I knew I wanted to showcase Fillmore for 60s week, but my closet lacked the necessary pieces, which meant I got to shop for my exact vision {yay!}. I wanted to make sure to portray that 60s vibe, which to me meant a flowy skirt and crocheted crop top.
I started with this green, flowy skirt from Amazon. I was a little nervous based on the reviews, but once I got it on, it was PERFECT. It is just so flowy and made these twirly pictures look so organic and just plain fun {which they were to shoot to 🙂 }.
Next, came the crop top. Hollister had exactly what I was envisioning. This cutie little crocheted top, and it even had daisies on the bottom!! Unfortunately, this item has been extremely popular, so most of the sizes are gone. However, I found a cute alternative that was actually my second choice while creating the outfit.
For the shoes, I used my trusty, tan Rainbows. If you know me, you know I live in my Rainbows {literally have a flip flop tan from them haha}, and they went perfectly with the vibe I was trying to achieve.
I finished off the look with this daisy crown. It was the perfect {& affordable}, final touch to the bound. This was a spontaneous, last minute purchase, but I’m so glad I clicked “Add to Cart”. It just goes to show that the perfect accessory can tie an entire outfit together beautifully.
2. The Location
Photo by disneyworld.disney.go.com
Okay, so let’s talk about Art of Animation. First off, if you haven’t stayed at AoA {or at least visited}, you need to put it on the top of your Disney to-do list, especially if you have kids {or are a Disney-loving, big kid-at-heart}. The theming there is SO FUN and simply incredible. I’m blown away each time we visit and always have a fantastic time.
Theme. Let’s talk about the theme. It’s centered around {you guessed it} the art of animation. It brings to life the animation process behind creating four of our favorite Disney stories, specifically The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and Cars. These four areas each showcase their story through the designs of the buildings, the pools, and, my personal favorite, larger-than-life icons. Normally, I would just give the highlights of the resort for a general picture, but I love this resort so much that we are going to talk about {& show pictures} of each.
The Little Mermaid. This area is considered the “value” area of the resort. Here you will find the traditional, hotel-style room but with a Disney touch. The rooms transport you to a magical stay under the sea with showers filled with thing-a-ma-bobs, shell beds complete with bubble lights, and underwater fish and friends found throughout. This underwater feel continues as you step into the area and are immediately greeted by a pool. And to make it even more magical, the entire area is filled with larger-than-life icons of your favorite Little Mermaid characters: Ursula, King Triton, Sebastian, and, of course, Ariel!
The Little Mermaid Standard Room:
The Lion King. Here starts the family-style suite that this resort is best known for. The rest of the areas offer suite-style rooms, and let me tell you, they are a young family’s DREAM. I think they are the perfect place to stay if are a family of four, especially if you have young kids. The suites are set up with a small kitchen, a separate bedroom {private room for mom & dad!}, two bathrooms, a pull out bed {over the table}, and a pull out couch. AND on top of just a great layout, the entire suite is expertly themed. I love staying in these rooms SO MUCH. Cannot recommend it enough. You should book the stay. Haha. Okay, I’m done. Rant over. Back to the fun {aka theming}.
This area is really fun. As you walk in, you are greeted by Rafiki and then immediately meet Mufasa on Pride rock.
Timon, Pumba, and Simba make an Hakuna Mata appearance…
And then…you can play in an elephant graveyard! Some hyenas may come lurking, but it’s a pretty fun place to play 🙂
Make sure to be prepared because Scar may be lurking in the shadows, but don’t worry, Zazu’s keeping an eye on him. 😉
Cars. If you are a Radiator Springs fan, this is the spot for you. The Cars area immediately immerses you into the world of Disney Pixar Cars. As you venture through, you’ll see all your favorite characters and some of the famous storefronts from RS.
Sheriff, Doc, Flo, and Ramone welcome you to the area {on a sidewalk road, of course – how fun is that?!}
The buildings are themed as different RS storefronts, specifically Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, Tow Mater’s, and Wagon Wheel Motel.
And then my personal favorite, the center hub is the Cozy Cone Motel, which is this area’s pool expertly themed as the hotel. The cone cabanas are my favorite touch.
This area also houses the family-style suite with the rooms that exude RS vibes. We are actually staying in this suite style later this year and cannot wait to see the kids’ expressions when we walk into the room!
Finding Nemo. Lastly, but certainly not least, the Finding Nemo area! This is the center of the resort and the theming is top notch. First, the Big Blue Pool is the larges on property and a fabulous place to play. There is a pool for the big kids, splash pad for the littles {or little at heart}, and playground for those not feeling the water {& a pool side bar for the biggest kids 😉 }.
Baby Lily {ie non-COVID times}
Similar to the other areas, Nemo and all of his friends can be found in this area in the best, larger-than-life way.
And all the rooms are family-style suites with the best ocean touches.
Other Amenities. Some other amenities that can be found at Art of Animation are:
- Walking/Running path with Animation trivia/tidbits
- Movie Under the Stars
- Pool Activities
- Tie Dye {at PopCentury – can walk}
- Landscape of Flavors: Mess Hall Quick Serve {mobile order available | only restaurant at this resort}
- Animation Classes {currently suspended due to COVID}
- Dog Friendly {information linked}
- Pixel Play Arcade
- Skyliner Access
3. The Activity
So…about this activity…I started off with an extremely manageable, easy-to-create craft: parking space car matching.
I saw this number matching car parking craft on Instagram {@cintaandco} and decided to create parking spaces for the new Pixar Cars Wishables {Cars were the June Wishables release and I LOVE them, as does Wally 🙂 }. Instead of number matching, I did color matching so both L {3} and W {almost 2} could play.
Supplies:
- Cardboard
- Paint
- Cars Wishables {or some other toy cars}
It’s Sunday night. The craft is complete {finished in an evening}. I’m ready for the week.
Then…I start looking at the activity and decide it’s not big enough. So I decided to go bigger…
My vision takes on a life of its own, and here we are four days later, extremely sleep deprived, and with a full-blown cardboard recreation of the Art of Animation rendition of Radiator Springs.
Do I have some regrets on this one? I could have used some more sleep….Haha. But the kids got so excited to play with it this morning, which was rewarding to watch, and quite honestly, I’m proud of how it turned out. I will say that I will probably stick with the simple play the first time around in the future and recommend you do the same if you are crunched for time all the time like me. Haha. But until then, enjoy this Radiator Springs cardboard play!
That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed the second week of the Disney Decades series! Be sure to check back next week for the 70s theme!
Until Next Time…
Stay Magical!
Jasmine
*Disclaimer: All opinions shared are in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company. They are completely my own and shared from a Disney guest perspective.
Ok this is so stinking cute! OBSESSED with the Bound 🙂
Thank you! It’s one of my all-time favorites!