All posts by Alicia

Your Guide to Disney’s MagicBand and MagicBand Accessories

Disney, Travel, ,

Disney MagicBandPhoto source

Walt Disney World’s newest innovation in technology is the MagicBand, a device that can be used throughout Walt Disney World and select Disney Resorts.  This colorful wristband can be used as a park pass to access the Disney theme parks and as a room key to unlock the door at a Disney Resort hotel room.  Kids can even enjoy the resort swimming pools and Disney water parks with their waterproof MagicBand. In addition, the MagicBand can be used to pay for food and merchandise.  As an added bonus, guests using the MagicBand can pre-select certain FastPass attractions before they even set foot into one of the four theme parks!

To make the bands even more fun to use, guests will be able to customize their individual wristband with their name and a color selection. This exciting new system is currently in a testing stage and it is expected to debut to the general public later this year as part of Disney’s MyMagic+ system.

The convenience of the MagicBand will make Disney vacations much easier! Parents no longer have to worry about carrying a Disney Resort room key, a separate park pass or ticket, and cash for food and merchandise. Once all of the vacation choices have been pre-selected using the ‘My Disney Experience’ section of the Walt Disney World website, the choices are automatically tied to the MagicBand. At that point, the band can be shipped directly to a family’s residence prior to their trip or picked up at the Disney Resort.

MagicBand and  FastPass+

One of the unique features of the MagicBand is the ability to select FastPass+ attractions prior to the trip. The FastPass+ attractions include popular theme park attractions currently on the FastPass system, as well as additional attractions, parade viewing areas, preferred access to character greetings and more! Since several FastPass+ attractions can be selected in advance, parents no longer have to worry about FastPass tickets for certain attractions running out during the day of their family’s visit.

MagicBand Customization Accessories

Accessories for MagicBands are being sold at Disney resorts where testing is ongoing such as the Fantasia Gift Shop in the Contemporary Resort in Orlando, Florida.  Accessories include MagicBandits, MagicSliders and CoverBands.

  • CoverBands, $15.95 for a 3-pack or $6.95 for a single pack at the time of this writing, are a fabric covering that slides onto the MagicBand giving kids even more customization opportunities.
  • MagicBandits are available in a 3-pack for $6.95 and 4-pack for $8.95.  Characters including the Muppets, Phineas and Ferb and TinkerBell are just two choices park goers will have when choosing their MagicBandits.
  • MagicSliders, $12.95 each, are small single characters that slide onto the MagicBand, to surround the Mickey Mouse face which is also the RFID (the part that provides the technology).

All three accessories can be used at the same time!

MagicBand Details

  • MagicBand colors available will include: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple Pink, Orange, and Gray.
  • MagicBands will be shipped to the guest within 30 to 10 days of arrival or to the resort if reservation is made within 10 days of arrival.
  • The band is waterproof but will not float.
  • The MagicBand is not known to ever need a battery replacement at this time.

Children and adults alike will appreciate the convenience and fun of this wonderful new technology. In fact, the Disney MagicBand is sure to be a magical experience for all members of the family!

Learn more about MagicBand from Disney here.

Get answers to frequently asked questions about the Disney MagicBand here.

Prices are valid as of the time of this writing and are not guaranteed.

Have you been able to try a MagicBand on a recent Disney trip?  Share your experience with us in the comments below!

 

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Six Flags Over Georgia Announces Biggest Expansion Ever, Hurricane Harbor Water Park!

Georgia, Travel,

Six Flags Over Georgia Hurricane Harbor news

Planning a visit to Georgia next summer?  Be sure to include a visit to Six Flags Over Georgia in your plans!  Six Flags Over Georgia will surprise you from entry to exit.  The healthy food options, immaculately clean park, safety features, and shaded play areas make the popular theme park a must visit for Georgia residents and tourists alike.  Opening Memorial Day of 2014, Hurricane Harbor will provide you and your kids with one more way to have an amazing day and build great memories.  Don’t forget to bring a waterproof camera! 🙂

Six Flags Over Georgia announced the addition of Hurricane Harbor, opening in 2014, today.  Hurricane Harbor, an all-new water park element of Six Flags Over Georgia will open Memorial Day 2014.  Not only can parents take their kids to get the thrill of a lifetime on Six Flags’ traditional roller coasters and rides, starting Memorial Day of 2014 parents and kids can relax in the 800,000 gallon wave pool or enjoy a (gigantic) splash on Bahamas Blaster sporting a four story drop in the 7-acre Caribbean landscaped Hurricane Harbor.  Younger kids will enjoy the wave pool and interactive children’s water play area.

Park president, Dale Kaetzel, informed us that the Caribbean Island themed water park will include cabanas, shaded areas, dining locations, and shopping.  The addition of Hurricane Harbor to the South East’s premier theme park, will make Six Flags Over Georgia a must-visit park for residents and tourists alike.  Six Flags Over Georgia is located at 275 Riverside Parkway SW in Austell off of Interstate 20 west of Atlanta, just a quick drive from Atlanta and surrounding areas.

Hurricane Harbor, set to open in late May 2014, will include an 800,000 gallon wave pool, a multi-slide tower, and a “world’s first” single slide tower combining two extreme slide thrills, plus an interactive children’s water play area.

Admission to Hurricane Harbor will be included in any one day admission ticket or a Six Flags Over Georgia season pass. Six Flags White Water in Marietta, Ga. and Six Flags Over Georgia will continue to offer combination passes for guests to enjoy both destinations at one low price.

Six Flags Over Georgia Hurricane Harbor 2014 announcement

 

What Will Be Inside Hurricane Harbor:

Learn more about Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags Over Georgia on AtlantaMoms.com here.

Gigantic Wave Pool – Hurricane Bay
With over eight hundred thousand gallons of water this, thirty eight thousand square foot high tech ocean experience will simulate the deep blue Caribbean surf. Equipped with a state of the art wave system that is capable of producing waves up to four feet high this pool will create rolling waves that guests can enjoy all day.

Dual Slide Complex – Calypso Cobra
For those who feel the need for speed and cool thrills, this world’s-first slide will test riders bravery as they take on something the world has never seen. Combining two great slide experiences into one extreme thrill; four riders will take on the Cobra as they barrel down an enclosed 5-story drop before they are shot into a 40 -foot wide bowl and take on complete watery mayhem. Just as they think it is over riders take on the Calypso Cobra’s finale which shoots them perpendicular to the ground and suspends them in a moment of zero-gravity as they are swept across the Cobras tail. Guests will find themselves screaming around every slippery turn.

Multi-Slide Complex – Bahamas Blaster and Runaway Pipeline
Riding with their family and friends in an inner tube, guests will careen down a dark watery decent through the enclosed tunnels and soar down 180 and 360 degree curves. The serpentine tunnels will propel riders through rushing water and then drops them into the pool below. Bold adventurers can take on the Bahamas Bowl and careen down a four story drop into a gigantic bowl that will hurl them around and around in gushing water before finally dropping them out through a corkscrew chute into a splash pool below.

Children’s Activity Area – Paradise Island
Kids will be in command of this, 200 square foot interactive water playground that includes three giant water-dumping towers and hundreds of interactive water elements. Splash into this water play structure and get soaked on six slides with dozens of water gadgets, climbing nets, water blasters and tipping buckets.

 

As you may have read on AtlantaMoms.com, I am thrilled to be a Six Flags Super Mom for the next year and hopefully longer.  Being a super mom has its benefits.. such as learning about new and exciting developments at Six Flags Over Georgia.  Holding this fabulous secret in has been tough and I am so glad to get to share it with you today!

Learn more about what I am and will be doing as a Six Flags Super Mom here!

Connect with Six Flags Over Georgia

 

Online Sale: Amazon Mom Appreciation Event Going On Through Sep 14th

Baby & Kids Clothing,

I am an Amazon.com Prime Member and can’t tell you how much money I’ve saved because of being a member.   The free 2-day shipping alone is amazing as I am often a last-minute gift shopper.  For example, my son’s birthday is tomorrow and I ordered his gifts from Amazon.com yesterday!  Because I am an Amazon Prime member though, his gifts will arrive by the time he gets home from school on his birthday.  Best of all.. I didn’t have to leave the house to buy one gift for him this year!

Today, Amazon announced the Amazon Mom Appreciation Event running 8/28 through 9/14.

Amazon Mom members who subscribe to Amazon Prime can save 20% on hundreds of eligible baby products in the Amazon Baby Store for up to $100 in total savings. 

Here’s a sampling of products you can save 20% on:

Amazon Mom membership


Amazon Mom is a membership program aimed at helping parents and caretakers in the prenatal through toddler years use Amazon to find and save on all the products their family needs. Amazon Mom is free with Amazon Prime membership or available for a free three-month trial. Members receive exclusive Subscribe & Save discounts, special promotions and FREE two-day shipping on millions of items with Amazon Prime. Exclusive Subscribe & Save discounts include 20% off diapers and wipes and 20% off other family essential subscriptions when 5 or more Subscribe & Save items arrive on your month delivery day.

The Amazon Baby Store offers expectant and new parents everything they need for their baby in one place. Parents can create a universal baby registry where they can add anything from any website plus, they will receive an automatic 10% completion discount and free 90 day returns. The Amazon Baby store also contains resources and guides for parents.

Amazon Mom members must use the exclusive promo code BABY0913 at checkout. For more information or to sign-up for Amazon Mom today, please visit: Amazon.com/mom.

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author

What’s In My Makeup Drawer – Buxom, Givenchy, Covergirl, & More

Beauty & Skin Care, , , , , ,

Like most women, I have a drawer (or two) full of makeup.  I recently threw away any makeup products that I haven’t used in over 6 months and this is what was left.. plus a few items I come across recently.  🙂

My morning makeup routine usually starts with Covergirl foundation.  I used to wear the Laura Mercier foundation (#6 below) every day but I really like the feel of the Covergirl foundation and realized that each foundation is great for its own purpose which is for special occasions now. I love the way the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation feels on my skin but it doesn’t stay on as long as the Covergirl foundation.

Here are a reviews of some of my favorite cosmetics items and things in my makeup drawer.  Please share your can’t-live-without makeup products with us in the comments below.

What's in my makeup drawer

 

 

1. Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation – $10 at Amazon.com or local store
This is my new-ish go-to foundation for days when I am going to be outdoors or in situations when I might break a little bit of a sweat.  It stays on great, as the name implies.  Despite that this foundation has a built-in primer, I still use my Sephora primer.  I don’t know if I’ll ever not use primer now that I’ve started.

2. Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer – $28 for .02 oz or $42 for .5 oz
I have massive under-eye circles, so much so that my daughter asked me recently why the skin under my eyes was purple.  This highly pigmented, super-emollient, water-resistant formula blends seamlessly into my skin, looks and feels natural, and stays on all day.

3. Buxom Full-On Lip Cream – $19 at Sephora
I have very sensitive lips.  They look outlined in lip liner the second I put traditional lipstick on.  Buxom is one brand of lip cream/ lipstick that doesn’t freak my lips out.   I’m not crazy about their menthol-y tingle but since the lip cream goes on so smooth and doesn’t make my lips go into instant lip liner mode, I can easily say that Buxom is my new (for the past two years) favorite lip color brand.

4. GIVENCHY Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm – $31 at Sephora
I love this lip & cheek balm.  The first time I put it on I thought that it looked sheer and I was a little disappointed.  It felt great on my lips and like Buxom lip cream I mentioned earlier, it did not make the edges of my lips turn bright red.   When I looked in the mirror again a few minutes later I was surprised to see that my lips were covered in a beautiful shade of pink.  My sister got the same lip balm and because GIVENCHY Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm contains pigments that react with the skin’s humidity to create a personalized hint of color to the lips, it looks different on her than it does me.  How cool is that?

5. Neutrogena Healthy Lengths Mascara – $10 at Amazon.com
If I have to choose just a few cosmetics to wear in a day, mascara is one of them.  I don’t usually do much to make my eyes stand out so much of the time mascara is it.  This mascara has proven to be great for me, sliding on smoothly and not coming off easily, even on days when I’m on the hot soccer or lacrosse field watching the kids practice. I have experienced less clumping with this mascara than any I’ve tried.  That doesn’t mean that I haven’t had any issues with clumping though.  Given the nature of mascara I think clumping is naturally going to happen occasionally but not in such a severe way as with some other mascaras.

6. LAURA MERCIER Oil Free Suprême Foundation – $45 at Sephora

7. Benefit Cosmetics Eye Brightener – $20 at Sephora

8. BENEFIT COSMETICS Sugarbomb – $28

9. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer – $36
This is on my face everyday.  That is one thing you can count on. I have some scarring from when I was a teenager and am self-conscious about it enough to wear a primer everyday.  No matter what.  This primer feels like silk and goes on smoothly to fill in fine lines and even out skin texture.

What's in my makeup drawer

As you can see, there are plenty more items (and even more than in the photo above) in my makeup drawer than just what I listed above.  More of my favorite makeup products are Kiehl’s Eye Alert, Olay Regenerist, Covergirl Olay powder, Bobbi Brown foundation stick, Sephora eye primer, and then to take it all off I use Neutrogena makeup remover wipes.

I’d love to hear from you!

What makeup products can you not live without using everyday?  What is your favorite foundation, concealer or lip balm?

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author

Get your Duck Tape® Back-to-School supplies at Walmart + Craft Idea!

Arts and Crafts, DIY Craft Projects, New posts, , ,

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Pencils, paper, folders, and binders are just a few of the school supplies that are on your kids back to school supply shopping list, right?  While you’re picking up the kids back to school supplies, don’t forget to buy Duck Tape at Walmart too!  I know, I know.  You’re thinking, did she really say Duck Tape®?  Yep! My kids think Duck Tape is the best thing ever for fixing things around the house, hanging things up when we go camping, and for projects for back to school items that they want to make.

There are lots of reasons that you might need to buy Duck Tape at Walmart when you are doing your back to school shopping.

Like this one:

Have your kids cover their school books with Duck Tape® instead of a boring paper bag!

Duck Tape book coverPhoto courtesy of Wikihow.com

Walmart has a huge assortment of Duck Tape® for back to school.

Polka dots, camo, and standard colors too. You will find Duck Tape® products in the paint department and the craft department and your local Walmart.

There are so many fun back to school projects that you can create with your kids using Duck Tape®.. run out and get some Duck Tape® today and see what your kids come up with. I bet they’ll be occupied for hours!

Here are a couple of ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

  • Make a pencil cup holder for a cute teacher’s gift
  • Make a custom name plate for your child’s desk
  • Make a colorful bookmark
  • Make a school supply case to hold your child’s crayons and colored pencils
  • Feeling really crafty? Make a book bag!

Duck Tape® is a creative and inexpensive tool for teachers, parents and students. ​The possibilities are endless on what you can create, embellish and decorate with Duck Tape®!

Don’t forget to buy Duck Tape at Walmart the next time you are shopping for back to school items.

For more fun and creative ideas on crafts to make follow along on twitter @theduckbrand.

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