Disney Loving Peas / Universal Loving Peas

It'll come around so quickly! Everything is busy-busy-busy from now until the end of the year. And then 2020 will be here and before you know it, you'll be packing and boarding your flight. So excited for you! (and Skellinton  who'll be visiting a little later on) Disney is still my happy place. I don't care what people say about my little day trips and weekends away: it's innocent fun, it's comforting, it's just what I need to put up with all the crap in the world currently and adult life in general. 

Have you seen this year's Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket?  Oh my, if it comes to Disneyland Paris, I'm going to have a very hard time not picking that one up as well. Tagging Skellinton  for the Captain Obviousness... His eyes light up and they even went as far as reproducing the burlap texture on the green plastic! 



Oh no, the poison apple is your very own everyday life Disney trope! I'm so sorry you're deathly allergic to them. Must be hard when eating out and staying in the park to make sure you don't eat anything that contains apple. But yes, you totally deserve ALL the poison apple merch they have! The coffee mug version from shopDisney is stunning, however. I'm glad you managed to grab that one.    You'll just *have* to book yourself a Halloween stay at Disney in the future. No way around it: you need a poison apple stein. I wonder which colours they'll do next? We've had red, green and now purple. Orange? Black? (oooh!)  My Halloween spirit is awakening... 

Oh yes, that full body Oogie Boogie is gorgeous! It's a bit of a must in the Disney popcorn bucket collections from what I can tell. You did good picking that one up! This year's Oogie Boogie bust looks scary hence why I might pick it up as actual Halloween décor. I just don't have much space to store stuff so I need to be extra careful with buying things at Disney, alas. But oh my, I could totally envision this scary Oogie Boogie on my old (not very pretty, let's keep it real) marble chimney mantel at home. 

Aww, that sounds like the cutest scrap storage ever! Is it the one that had a handle at the top? You'll need to treat us to a photo of your scrappy Zero someday. 

I literally gasped when I read this. I was wondering what else you'd be allergic to if you couldn't eat apples. I was not imagining SO. MANY. fruits and nuts (and soy which has to be a pain such a soy-centric country like the USA). What's left? Bananas, melons and citrus? I really feel for you because that has to be tough. They are so visually appealing and all over the fruit and veg aisles. It must be a pain. No apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, berries, pears, etc. Very tough. And you're the first person I know with this allergy! Is it quite rare? How did you/your parents discover you were allergic to all this (if you don't mind me asking)?

Well, I mean, you'd be on theme...    (no, no, please don't touch apples!) 

Aww, I feel for you. It's such a stigma on top of being a pain in the buttocks. I assume the woman was like: "RED ALERT! EVERYBODY PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY WHILE I SPEAK EXTRA LOUD: THIS WOMAN IS AAAAALLLLLLEEEERRRRRGGGGGIIIIIIICCCCC!" You can't mess this up. Communication is key and you feel extra responsible when you're in charge of making sure the staff is and remains aware of an allergy at a particular table. But it's really nice to hear that Disney are on top of this! This must factor in when you decide to take a holiday. At least, you can breathe easy (literally) and know you're going to be ok there. 

Love your outlook on life and death! You're absolutely right: go out in style and have the fruitiest of fruit salads. May I add some strawberries from a small, sweet variety to the mix? Favourite fruit ever. Something like the Mara des Bois (which is definitely a niche strawberry in the USA). They are... the best. *chef's kiss* (I feel so bad writing this but I do want you to experience these if you ever "go out in style"). 

J'espère que tu as passé une belle journée à la plage ! Vive l'été... Love our little Disney talks in this thread as well. Not a lot of us but we sure all love our dose of Disney!

sleepingbooty

My allergies started showing up when I was about 5. It started out with a simple walk to the park I had taken a dozen times with my school. We always walked through the same field, and one time my entire face swelled practically swelled shut. After that I got to ride with my beloved teacher in her fancy sports car with headlights that retracted when off. I am old, this was the 70’s and all of us kids loved the “eyes” on her car. Shortly after that I was eating an apple and remember my hands swelling and telling my mom my mouth itched. She was a nurse, so realized what was happening. Food allergies were seriously not a huge concern then, and mine are so weird she didn’t really know what to do. Fortunately I was a dramatic child and made sure to tell her every time my mouth itched from eating. They mostly happened gradually. I could eat a food, then one day I couldn’t. Strawberries and almonds were the last to go. I was eating strawberries until I was 9, almonds until my teens. They tried skin testing me as a child but my reaction was so severe to everything (including the saline) they couldn’t figure out what I was allergic to, so we just eliminated stuff that made me itch.

As an adult I had blood work done and it turns out it is primarily Birch Trees, which theoretically should make the fruity food ok if it is cooked because that changes the enzyme, but that only appears to work on the cheap sparkling cider. I have had reactions to store bought jam, applesauce, etc. The doctor I went to said it is likely because I had such high numbers, I was over 100 on the test, and 100 is as high as it goes on the allergy scale.

I loved strawberries, but raspberries and apples were my favorite. I like that just sniff them now. Periodically I will lick a raspberry just in case, but the tongue goes numb pretty quick.

It used to be easier because everyone used fake flavors so I could eat Crunch Berry cereal to at least get a hint of what an actual berry tasted like, but now they all use really berries, so that rules them out. I like to remind my husband of the time he tried to kill me by buying generic Crunch Berry cereal (at the time the good Captain Crunch was still using artificial flavors) and giving me a big old bowl. I ate about 3 bites and then told him I felt like my clothes were tight around my neck and I felt hot and clammy. He ran to the bag of cereal and saw that the cheap stuff was made with real strawberries. Fortunately I was able to take extra Benadryl right away and I am clearly alive to tell the tale, but it is a fun thing to remind him of when he is sassy or feeling to confident of my affection! Ha!

Soy is hard, but is one of the ones I am only highly allergic to, so I can eat certain cooked products that have soy and soy sauce. No beans sprouts, tofu or edamame though.

Disney is by far the best for dining with an allergy though, most people think I am making it up and are pretty flip about it. I don’t ever order anything that would be more then just leaving something off my plate though when we go out to eat, just because I don’t want to be difficult. I always read menus online before eating out as there are some restaurants that just don’t have things for me to eat. Fortunately I really like to eat out for breakfast at home, so it is typically just asking that they put any fruit in a bowl instead of on the plate and I just give it to who ever is eating out with me. Eggs Benedict and chicken and waffles tend to be fruit and nut free, fortunately!

I had this lengthy reply typed out for you, Skellinton, and then *poof* it got swallowed by the dreaded error page when hitting the "reply" button. Noooo! Let's try again... 

I'm just glad it wasn't a traumatic (and possibly lethal) incident that made you aware of your allergy issues. Having a parent who's a nurse and being an outspoken child were your blessings in this unfortunate situation. 

There must be some chemical substitutes on the market for you to have an ersatz of all these fruits you're missing out on. I know there are ranges of chemical subs with sweetener included for people who have diabetes or other sugar issues. Perhaps that's something to look into? You can't be waiting until you're on your deathbed to get a taste of all of this again... There has got to be something that works well enough for baking at the very least. (my stubborn nature has kicked in  )

Oh my, French fries and cheese, don't you tell the Canadians! They'll be protesting and holding up the holy poutine. But yes, wonderful combos and definitely must-eat-real-hot items. You're making me salivate thinking about what we call a "soirée raclette" over here. They are an institution of French and Swiss life. Almost everyone has a small raclette machine thingy at home. It's a bit of a cheat: you buy your raclette cheese sliced, prepare a table with plenty of charcuterie, different mushrooms, potatoes and other wintery goodness and then invite as many people as your table can fit. Let the tiny pan fun begin! Everyone fills their pan with what they want coming together under the influence of the melting cheese and passes theirs to those seated just by the electric raclette. Tiny hot pans keeping being passed left and right, you're trying to avoid getting burnt while eating and drinking. Oh, 'tis true merriment! 

We definitely know how to eat. 

Back home from DLP. In love with the Jungle Book Jive and Rhythm of the Pride Lands. I think our little park is finally growing up. So glad Walt Disney International pushed hard and paid the cash to take over almost complete control of it a couple of years ago. You can really tell they're putting the money where it's needed (and our annual passes are suddenly getting more 'spensive as well, oops). 

Sorry about forgetting to post live stories. I had to remind myself to take little videos and photos to share. I'm very much a take-it-all-in gal, too hedonistic for my scrappy aspirations! 


Skellinton I was thinking of you and all the fruit in the park today! Can you eat grapes? 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2FvYzLApme

So, Target just got in a bunch of Haunted Mansion Merchandise for the big 50th birthday this year. They have a cute small backpack by Loungefly (they are really nice quality) which I am going to use for a camera bag when I have my short lens on, some Funko Pops and a super cute cereal bowl which will make Count Chocula cereal extra delicious.

I know most people don’t care, but I thought maybe dawnnikol might find some of it interesting. sleepingbooty I am pretty sure France is too chock full of patisseries to have a Target, so you will have to drown your sorrows in some melted fromage.

sleepingbooty your stories on
Instagram were great, the Lion
King celebration looks amazing!

Here are pictures of what I gathered for myself today

You may be shocked to hear this, but I really love a movie called Nightmare Before Christmas (ha!) and prior to these they are the only Pops I have,  I don’t even have an extensive collection of them, just a few of the ones I really like.  I like the scenes ones best, I have the glow in the dark Zero with doghouse (that one was pretty lucky as they are randomly sent when you order online and the physical store sold out in seconds), LSB in the bathtub and Jack with his fountain.  I probably have a dozen of just plain NMBC Pops.  Our house is pretty full with NMBC things, so I try to keep a limit to one or two Pops a year.  Oh, I do have a Darkwing Duck Pop I got at the thrift store, because he is AWESOME and the Terror that Flaps in the Night.  He looks great in my scrapbook room.  
I had to get the HM pops though because that ride is just the best of Disney. I ride it as many times as I can each trip, it is always my last ride of the day if I am in MK and we always spend our final trip day in MK so I can ride it several times before we go.  At DL it is always my last ride of the day.  Last time I was there o rode HM Holiday 50 times!  

Are you a Pop collector?  I really want to get myself to the facility outside of Seattle.   

Loungefly is great, that is what my purse is right now (3 guesses which characters adorn it) and it is holding up great and I am not a gentle purse person.  

Skellinton Oh, what a wonderful haul! Everything looks beautiful (and is putting me in the mood for Halloween - I had a hard time resisting the urge to  buy the Jack candle holder at Disneyland). I'm going to need to Google Count Chocula because that's another thing we don't have here. No Target either. We're barely surviving on wine, cheese and pastries. It's a rough life, I tell ya! 

It looks like I have a lot less collector stuff than both of you, dawnnikol Skellinton. No Funko Pop or special figurines or busts here. Just my trusted LED Lumière candelabra, some Disney Christmas ornaments and mugs. Most people couldn't guess I have an annual pass or love Harry Potter from just looking at my home or wardrobe... Mind you, we live in a small city apartment with just about enough wall space for our books.    

Count Chocula is a chocolate cereal with chocolate marshmallows.  It is total trash food, but so delicious!  
Do you guys eat trash cereal in France?  I just can’t imagine you guys eating cereal at all, let alone sugar coated sugar bomb type cereal like Count Chocula.  

Count Chocula was a cereal from the  70’s (my childhood) that went away for a long while and made a comeback a few years ago.  They really only sell it during Halloween.  They also have Franknberry and Boo Berry, but Count Chocula is probably the most beloved.  I will eat a bowl in your honor tonight if you eat a delicious pastry in mine!  

They do have a full sized HM backpack on the Disney store, if you can’t find the little one.
I can’t wait for the Disney store in Target to open, I imagine it will be hard to get stuff, but I am excited, nonetheless.  
I love the chrome ghosts, they are so cool looking.  I read online some Targets had people lined up at 5 am!  I went to a kind of weird Target after work and was so surprised to find them and Constance.

Welcome back!

Went for a quick trip last week. I'm an AP holder at Disneyland Paris.

Skellinton Thanks for explaining! I was trying to figure out if it was some sort of cereal that is rethemed just for Halloween...    We do have some of the breakfust "junk food" cereal here but nowhere near what there appears to be in the USA. There's a place in Barcelona that imports American cereal for their freakshakes and breakfast bowls though, believe it or not (and they're quite popular). But the classics like Honey Pops and Frosties are available here as well as what Nestlé makes. 
Also, the purple Loungefly HM backpack has arrived on the French shopDisney website. I don't think we'll get a lot of HM goodies over here since Phantom Manor is a bit of a departure from the classic Disney haunted house ride. But the Christmas ornaments are making my heart skip a beat! So cute. And dark. And cute. And dark.   Speaking of which, can't believe you've never ridden HM, dawnnikol! On the upside, you still have things to discover and see for the first time. 

We're unsure about what to do for 2020. Keep the AP while all the construction is happening (our new lands only open in 2021 - provided there aren't any delays which would not be unheard of for DLP) or skip a year and get back on the programme when the three new lands are delivered? Rock'n'Roller Coast just closed down (goodbye awesome Aerosmith theming) to be rethemed for the Marvel HQ land and won't reopen until the new land is launched. Several rides have permanently closed to be destroyed and built on for these new lands. Eh, we're going back and forth on what to do (especially since it affects the amount of visitors in the main Disneyland park now that Walt Disney Studios have so much closed down)... 

Did you ladies hear about the next batch of "themed colour" products being launched, by the way? Arendelle aqua! Looks very cute.

I’ve been so depressed since our wdw trip. Working on my albums is bittersweet. I had so much fun anticipating the trip and planning!

When we were there hubby was going to get a Disney credit card to earn points on what we were spending until he saw there was an annual card fee.

We got an app in the mail recently for one without a fee. I’m desperately trying to get him to get the credit card because then I could price a trip even cheaper and we might go again someday. Lol at the very least I could save 10% in the online store for Christmas gifts. I’m definitely getting a Mickey waffle iron. And more Disney movies. In fact I just restarted my Siriusxm subscription for the Disney channel. To be fair, it’s cause the $5 a month for one year price was right. I love my Disney.