Creating Holiday Memories for Little Ones

Upon being invited to become a Brand Ambassador for Graham & Brown, I took some time to get to know all products that they have on offer, be they related to my needs or not. As a teacher of Little Ones, I always like to have my finger on the pulse in regards to products that are child related - be it to share with my Parents or to be able to engage in the Children's conversations throughout the day.

I was happily surprised to see that Graham & Brown have many different Disney and Marvel themed products to help make Children's spaces both stylish and child-orientated (a match made in heaven, am I right?!). What Little One doesn't dream of taking a trip to Disney (and the lucky ones that have, surely reminisce often about their magical vacation!). So with that in mind, I decided to create a Horizon Trend inspirational post for Little Ones, and the spaces in your home dedicated to them (as well as the child in all of us).

Subtle Memories
Some people may just want to add a touch of magic to a child's space, and not make any permanent changes. Graham & Brown offer a range of tasteful Disney artwork, some of which would look as much at home in a child-free home, as they would in a Kids Room.

Gorgeous Peter Pan and Cinderella Movie stills

Bambi, Arisocats and Tinkerbell Artwork - To die for!

Wallpaper Choices

As with any wallpaper options - the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some are loud and over the top, others are more subdued and classic. Whatever your little Prince or Princess's taste may be, there is definitely a little something for everyone!

Tokyo Disney Resort : Japan Travel Diary, Part Three

"I only hope we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse" - Walt Disney

Disney. This to me is a symbol of happiness, joy & magic. I don't love it because it 'takes me back to my childhood' or makes me feel like a kid again. It just makes me happy. Plain and simple. Watching a Disney Film or entering a Disney Park is like swallowing a happy pill. The smile doesn't leave my face & nothing is wrong with the world for those hours spent within Walt's magical creations.
My Bucket list basically consists of visiting every Disney Park in the World (standing at 6/11 currently, hubby at 2/11...guess I'll just have to revisit a few. Shame!), seeing an Orca in the wild and that is about it. Adventurous, I know. This Japan Travel Diary instalment will cover the first initial stages of getting to Tokyo Disney Resort, Ticketing, Hotels and the basics. I will go into the Parks in depth in posts to come.

Hubby enjoying the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

We spent 5 days at Tokyo Disney Resort, which consists of 2 parks (Disneyland & DisneySea), 3 Disney Hotels, a Shopping area 'Ikspiari ', as well as 6 Official Disney Hotels. The Tokyo Disney Resort website is in Japanese, but translates fairly well to English in most sections.

Getting there
Hubby & I travelled from Osaka to TDR on the Shinkasen (Bullet Train). As I assume most people will arrive at Tokyo (Narita) Airpot, I won't go into this too much, except to say that it was a very easy & enjoyable experience. Very little English is spoken in Japan, with many not understanding a single word, so be prepared to become an expert in charades or learn some of the language yourself. We purchased tickets for the Shinkasen at the Shin-Osaka station and found our platform with ease. All train stations and airports have some English signage (numbers and text). If given the chance, a Shinkasen trip is definitely worth experiencing at least once in your life. It is super smooth & much more comfortable than a plane and regular trains.

Typical station signage. I love that the TDR poster is in the foreground. That wasn't even intentional.

We took the Shinkasen to Tokyo Station, which is the heart of the Tokyo train lines. It is big, fast, and if you don't know what to look for, confusing. It really pays to do your research prior to arriving at this station just in case you are unable to locate someone that speaks English. It was a fair hike to the next platform we needed to be at, and I highly suggest investing in good quality baggage with a spinning wheel system, as there are A LOT of escalators/stairs/lifts where you need to think quick and enter & exit swiftly.

JR Keiyo Line is the one you need to look for if traveling to TDR via train. It is red (all lines are coded with a different colour and if you know what colour you need to follow, the whole process is very easy), and is located 4 stories below ground. Tokyo Disney Resort's Station is named Maihama, and is about 15 minutes out of central Tokyo. Once you have spotted that on the overhead screens you know you are on the home stretch!

Gateway to where dreams come true

Osaka & Universal Studios : Japan Travel Diary Part Two

My Husband & I love a theme park. The rides, the atmosphere and the contagious feeling of absolute happiness is something I haven't found anywhere else. I have visited a few in my time (it's tricky for us Aussies as we have only a few small ones here!) and like to incorporate them into overseas travels when possible.

Hogwarts Castle at USJ

Arriving in Osaka
We flew Cathay Pacific (highly recommend) via Hong Kong from Perth & it was a hassle free & enjoyable (well, as enjoyable as a long haul flight can be), as most flights to a holiday destination tend to be. We arrived at Kansai Airport, Osaka around 9pm and reached our hotel (Hilton Osaka) by 11pm. We were up at 3am (there is only 1 hour time difference between Perth and Japan) so suffice to say we were ready for our bed!

Super tired faces at 7am

Kansai Airport is about an hour from Osaka City Centre, and I would recommend taking a 'Limo Bus'. They are easy and take you to many different hotel destinations around the city. They run regularly (every 20 minutes or so) and cost 1550 Yen per person. The stops are easily identifiable directly outside the airport, and if you research which line you need to take, all you need to do is look for the correct number.  A taxi is quite expensive, and although the rail system in Japan is amazing, you have to transfer, and doing that with luggage after a long day of travelling is not always the best idea.

Japan Travel Diary : Part One

In October last year my Husband & I (then Boyfriend!) took a trip to Japan. The first thing that people asked me was 'Are you skiing?!' 'No, we are going to Disney' I would say and look forward to their confused looks in response. Truth was, we did go to Disney, but we also travelled to Osaka & Tokyo City. The Disney portion of the trip was what I was excited by the most.

**sigh!**