Image from www.spoonful.com

Have you heard? Spring is here. Boy, it has taken its own sweet time arriving and in some places it is still more of a wish than a reality. So what is a kid to do on rainy, snowy, or windy days when going outside is a miserable idea? Thanks to spoonful.com the answer is…play a game!

In this article there are 14 different games to choose from and they all feature fun Disney characters. Some of them work best with a group. Anyone want to pin the tail on Bullseye? Others are perfect for one or two people. Mickey Mouse chess or checkers perhaps? My two favorites are Mater’s Highway Bingo and the Disneyland Scavenger Hunt. Any day is a perfect day to visit a Disney park and a scavenger hunt can make a magical day that much more special.

So don’t sit around hoping the sun comes out soon, have fun indoors with games you make yourself. I find that a game is more fun when I make it first and then play it. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: Want even more fun when you are in the parks or back home? Download the new Disney Memories HD app and turn plain photos into Disney photos. There are lots of Disney decorations you can use on your photos like stickers and frames, and you can get a photo of the day. This app allows you to customize your photos the same way the Photopass photographers do. Awesome.

Saying something is Mickey Mouse has not always been a complement. It has been thought of as cheap, or shoddy, or small in importance. When I think of Mickey Mouse I think optimistic, dream catcher, and go-getter. As Walt Disney said, “…it was all started with a mouse.” Could my goal planning start with a mouse, too?

I was reading a great book on self-motivation called 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself by Steve Chandler. Sometimes a book with 100 ideas only has 2 or 3 really useful ones, but this book has almost 100 great ideas that are easy to use. Number 67 introduces the circle game, a way to plan a goal in 4 minutes. I have modified it into the Mickey Mouse goal game. Here is how it works.

Draw a simple Mickey Mouse face. We all know how to do this. Draw one large circle for his face and two smaller (not too small) circles for his ears. They don’t have to be perfect. Just make sure you have three circles.

Above the left ear write, “This year.” Above the right ear write, “This month.” Below the face write, “Today.” Okay, now you have your Mickey Mouse goal planner. You may want a calculator also. Let’s have some fun.

Pick a goal you are working on. It could be weight loss, or saving money, or paying a debt. Just pick one thing. My goal is to go to Disneyland this year. I need to save $1200 to do that. So my goal is “Save $1200 for Disneyland trip.” I write that in the left ear labeled “This year.”

Wow, that sounds hard to do. How am I ever going to save $1200? Well, if I want to go to Disneyland in December then I have six months (May through November) to save $1200. So I divide $1200 by 6 and I get $200. That sounds better. I write that number in the right ear labeled “This month.”

$200 is still a chunk of change. Let’s divide it again. When I divide $200 by 30 days I get $6.66 a day. I write that number in the face circle above “Today.” Wow. All I have to do is save $6.66 each day and I will be able to go to Disneyland in December? I can do that. That is a Mickey Mouse goal. Plus, it is fool proof. If I meet my daily Mickey Mouse goal I am guaranteed to meet my monthly goal and if I meet my monthly goal I am guaranteed to meet my yearly goal. Disneyland here I come!

Try this out yourself. Below I provide a few more examples. Some goals may be multi-year goals, like paying off a mortgage or student loan. Decide what you want to do in 2013 and worry about the rest later. The beauty of this goal planner is it focuses on what you can do today and usually it is very doable. You don’t have to wonder about next month or next year. Just reach your daily Mickey Mouse goal, mark it off your list, and get on with your day. Happiness squared.

5 Mickey Mouse Goals

1) Read the unread books on my shelf. 30 books  a year, 4.2 books a month, 1/6 a book each day

2) Pay off a $600 debt to a friend. $600 a year, $86 a month, save $3 a day

3) Lose 30 pounds. 30 pounds a year, 4.2 pounds a month, 1/6 pound a day or a deficit of 600 calories a day

4) Write a 300 page book. 300 pages a year, 43 pages a month, 1.5 pages a day

5) Complete 5 scrapbooks (each scrapbook has 40 pages.) 200 pages a year, 28 pages a month, 1 page a day

Goofy Quote: (I love this quote. I think it goes great with Mickey Mouse goal planning. Perhaps you could write it below your face to remind yourself to focus on the “Today” circle, and not worry about the month or the year.)

“Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.” Walt Disney

Image from Disney Parks Blog

Over the years Disney has enhanced our experience at the parks with a variety of promotions. In 2006, they unveiled the Year of a Million Dreams (which actually lasted more than one year). I loved this program because the Cast Members did random acts of kindness all the time and you never knew what to expect. In 2013, Disney has released Limited Time Magic.

Limited Time Magic is a different from other Guest programs. Instead of doing one promotion for the whole year, Disney will be offering different things throughout the year. These promotions may last a week or a day and they won’t be announced until they happen. Tricky.

The one promotion they are doing the whole year is called the “Year of the Ear“. Every month they will be releasing new ear hat designs. I think this is a fun idea. You could buy a hat that is special during your visit to the park. Or, if you are a local, you could try to collect lots of different designs.

Limited Time Magic promises something special the whole year long. It is so special that I will be including a Limited Time Magic announcements whenever I learn about a new promotion. They just ended their New Year’s celebration. I wonder what is next. One thing is for certain, it will have unlimited magic. Happiness squared.

Limited Time Magic: From now until January 31, Disney is giving away a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland each day. You can sign up for free once a day and you get to pick what you want to do on your trip. To sign up click here. I wish you luck. With that many free trips we can all win.

In case you didn’t notice, the world did not end on December 21. We are now in the 14th Baktun and I think it will be the best Baktun ever. We are also heading int0 2013 and I think it is going to be the best year ever.

You may be suffering from post-Christmas blues, where the gifts need to be returned, the sales need to be shopped, and the decorations are looking a little wilted. The last thing you want to think about is a new year and all the things you need to do in it.

Buck up! I say. The week between Christmas and New Years is one of my favorite times of year. Forget spring cleaning, I love taking the decorations down and putting my house back together. I get out the decorations that I love having around all year long and I dust everything so my house is ready to face a new year. I go through drawers while watching movies with my family and make space of all the new gifts I received. I look around my desk area and see if there are any projects that I can get done in 2012 so I go into 2013 with a clean slate, ready for new projects and new adventures.

And when I am done with all that I am ready to celebrate the start of a new year. I don’t do much because I am a little decorated out from Christmas, but thanks to spoonful.com I can make some cheerful Disney decorations that help get me in the mood to ring in the new year. From hats to banners to a New Year’s Wish List (my favorite) these fun crafts are a great way to spend an afternoon thinking of how wonderful 2013 will be. Why not start planning your resolutions (or as I call them, projects) now so that on January 1 you are ready to jump in with both feet? Happiness Squared.

Goofy Quote: (This quote came from the Disney page on Facebook. I think I’ll post it on my bathroom mirror so I see it every morning.)

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney

Image from www.amazon.com

In a world filled with violence and bad news, Tiny Tim’s message is more important than ever. My gift to you is a slice of happiness in every post I write for A Goofy Idea. May you have a merry Christmas filled with the warmth of family and friends. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you want to watch a wonderful version of Dickens’ classic then gather the family around and enjoy Mickey’s Christmas Carol. This animated short stars Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchet and Scrooge McDuck as, who else, Ebenezer Scrooge. When I was a child I owned the audio on LP and I wore it out.

Image from Disney Parks Blog

I love all the blogs and e-newsletters that I get in my inbox every day. The ones I subscribe to are filled with motivational tips, Disney trivia, cool science facts, crafts, and recipes. This time of year the recipes are all extra-mouthwatering. Many of them are either created by Disney chefs or incorporate Disney characters. Below I have provided four of my favorite links. Most of these are from spoonful.com, but my absolute favorite is from the Disney Parks Blog. Just click on the link to go the the recipes. There is something for everyone. Happiness squared.

1) Christmas Cookies Galore! For many years my friends and I would have a cookie exchange and Christmas brunch. I always had the hardest time deciding which cookie to bring. That wasn’t because I had too many choices, it was because I never had creative cookie ideas. With this list I would have brought cookies that everyone would have complemented.

2) Sweet and Tasty Food Gifts. It can be very difficult to buy gifts for friends and business associates. One gift that is always appreciated is food. You are probably giving them something they don’t eat all the time so it is special, and they don’t have to dust or store it forever. Each recipe has a great picture that provides packaging ideas. This is a gift that the whole family can help prepare and give.

3) Top 45 Disney Cupcake Recipes. It’s that time of year when school classrooms everywhere have their winter party. When your child comes home and tells you he needs to bring cupcakes for the party what do you do? Do you panic? Do you wonder, “why me?” Or do you try to come up with fun ways to decorate the cupcakes? To help you make the coolest cupcakes ever spoonful.com has gathered 45 awesome cupcake designs featuring Disney characters from Tow Mater to the Cheshire Cat. You’ll be the most popular parent around, but beware, you’ll probably be asked to make cupcakes even more often.

4) S’mores Bake from the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue at Disneyland. This s’mores recipe is so amazing that I am giving you the recipe below. It came from the Disney Parks Blog and is being served at Disneyland for just a few months. I would save room for this fun dessert. It has all the best parts of s’mores without the smoky fire, the burnt marshmallows and the sticky mouth and fingers. Enjoy!

S‘mores Bake Serves 8 1 (10.5-ounce) box fudge brownie mix 1 (1-pound) bag large marshmallows 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce, warmed 8 graham crackers

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13 cake pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownie batter per package directions and pour into prepared cake pan. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it.
2. Turn oven to broil.
3. Place marshmallows over brownies. Leaving oven door ajar, place marshmallow-topped brownies under broiler 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown, watching very closely to avoid burning.
4. Drizzle hot fudge sauce over top of toasted marshmallows.
5. Take half of the graham crackers and break them into planks; crush other half of graham crackers into crumbs.
6. Sprinkle crushed graham crackers over top of toasted marshmallows, and place graham cracker planks randomly into toasted marshmallows. Serve immediately.

Goofy Tip: Bring some holiday cheer to your computer. Download this Disney holiday wallpaper and smile every time you turn on your computer.

There was a post on the Disney Parks Blog about enjoying Disney California Adventure by hunting down your favorite character. I love this idea and would like to expand it further. Instead of being overwhelmed by all the merchandise and meet and greets, why not focus on your favorite character, or group of characters?

Perhaps you love Donald Duck above all others. Or you think the classic Disney Princesses outshine the more current ones. Maybe Up or Monsters Inc. is your favorite movie. No matter which one you love you can find just about every major character somewhere in the parks. Turn your visit into a hunt for these characters and the rewards will be miles of smiles (and some great pictures.)

5 ways you can hunt for (and find) your favorite character(s):

1) Look in the stores. Have you ever been to the Emporium or the World of Disney? These are gigantic stores that can easily overwhelm the most intrepid shopper. If you are focused on your favorite characters you can skim most of the store until you find the perfect T-shirt or mug. The only dilemma will be if you find more than one. My advice if that happens – ask for a second opinion.

2) Stand in line at the meet & greets. It seems there are more meet & greets than ever before with more characters to choose from. There are apps that will tell you where and when the characters will be out, or you can ask a Cast Member. Armed with this information you can get the autograph and picture of your favorite character and not bother with the rest.

3) Dine with the characters. If you go to the official Disney website, or look through Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2013, you will know which restaurants have character dining and which characters are seen at different restaurants. Is your character listed? Great. Make reservations for a great meal and a chance to spend some one-on-one time with your character.

4) Go for a ride. Lots of attractions are centered around movies or characters. From Alice in Wonderland to Toy Story different parks bring different characters to life. Be sure to go on those rides and you’ll be immersed in your character’s story.

5) Don’t miss the parades. The parades and shows are full of Disney characters. Show up early to get a good viewing spot and then wave to your favorite characters. If you’re lucky they may wave back.

My favorite Disney character is Winnie-the-Pooh. I always look for Pooh shirts when I go shopping. I love getting my picture taken with Winnie the Pooh (the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot is a great place for that). For a great meal with Winnie the Pooh I head to the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom.  And the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh may be meant for kids, but it is one of my favorite attractions. Last, but not least, I love seeing all my Hundred Acre Wood friends in a variety of different parades.

I’m not suggesting you ignore everything else in the parks and only do a few things. I just think that having a focus can help you experience the parks in a different way. Who is your favorite character? Why not plan your trip so you get to see them as much as possible? Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If want to get into the Christmas mood then head over to Cars Land in Disney California Adventure. They have decorated the town with festive tire garlands, Christmas tree cones, and highway sign ornaments. Even Tow Mater has gotten into the theme of things. If you aren’t going (I wish I we all were) then check out this post from the Disney Parks Blog. It has great pictures of Cars Land in all it’s Christmas automotive finery. You may even find ideas for your own garage.

Photo from Disney Family.com

When I was a kid the 4th of July was one of my favorite holidays. There was no school, we always had a big party, there was lots of delicious grilled food, and we got to watch (and sometimes light) a fun fireworks show. I always wore my most patriotic clothes and would make red, white, and blue decorations. Once I was old enough to cook I would make red, white, and blue dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We would play patriotic music all day long and celebrate being American. I went to bed thoroughly tired with a big smile on my face.

Nowadays I get my crafty 4th of July ideas from family.com. They have lots of family- friendly crafts and recipes that celebrate the red, white, and blue. Of course, Mickey and the gang get involved. From Minnie Mouse table decorations to Mickey’s 4th of July hat there are fun Disney printables for everyone. I would say that Mickey Mouse is as American as apple pie.

Click here to see the entire list of festive 4th of July printables. Once you are there explore the rest of family.com and you’ll find great crafts and recipes for all summer long.

Goofy Tip: My favorite recipe is the Mad Hatter 7/4 cupcakes. The coolest part of this recipe is that you can use it for any holiday. Make Mad Hatter 10/31 cupcakes for Halloween, or Mad Hatter 2/14 cupcakes for Valentines day. You can also make these cute cupcakes for anyone’s birthday. I would make Mad Hatter 10/19 cupcakes for my birthday. How about you?

I am a burger fan. Give me a plate with a good-sized cheeseburger, a side of fries, and a great toppings bar and I am in lunch heaven. On my last trip to Walt Disney World we had a lot of dinner reservations that were around 4 p.m. Instead of having a sit-down lunch we were just grabbing a snack. On the last day we had no reservations so I declared that I wanted a burger. This was the only burger I ate that trip and it was fantastic. I started thinking about all the great restaurants at the Disney parks where a Guest can get a good burger when the urge arises. I’m ready for one right now.

Great counter-service restaurants for burgers and fries:

1) Disneyland - Hungry Bear Restaurant. I have been eating at this restaurant since I was a child. Not only does it have great burgers but during the non-busy times you can get a table by the railing, watch the boats go by on the Rivers of America, and feed French fries to the ducks. It is a great place to relax with a rustic wilderness feel.

2) Disney’s California Adventure  - Taste Pilot’s Grill. Disney is known for designing creative spaces, but this restaurant takes the cake. The whole time I was enjoying my burger overflowing with toppings I felt like I should be wearing a bomber jacket. The hanger is decorated with airplane memorabilia and gets you in the mood to ride Soarin’ after enjoying your meal.

3) Magic Kingdom  - Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe. This restaurant may have the best burger topping bar at any of these restaurants. My dirty secret is that I eat burgers for the toppings. The more toppings I can put on my burger the happier I am, especially dill pickles. I always look forward to eating at this restaurant, but I try to ride Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain before I eat, not after.

4) Epcot - Liberty Inn. I admit I don’t often eat burgers in the World Showcase. The ethnic choices are so appealing in this area. But the American Adventure Pavilion has great architecture and happens to be half way around the world. So if your group is hungry and no one can agree which nationality to eat at, head over to the Liberty Inn and enjoy food as American as a burger and fries.

5) Disney’s Hollywood Studios  - Backlot Express. This quick-service restaurant serves a great burger which by itself is a great reason to eat here, but the last time I ate there I had so much fun that I plan to eat there more often. While we enjoyed our lunch the Jedi Academy was happening nearby. Watching those kids battling Darth Vader was the best dining entertainment I had seen in a long time. I’ll be sure to be back, for both the burgers and the show.

6) Disney’s Animal Kingdom - Restaurantosaurus. If you have children this is the restaurant for them. It is in Dinoland U.S.A. and the whole area is filled with dinosaur bones. During lunch, as you enjoy your tasty burgers, you can plan which dino-themed ride you are going to ride first. I always enjoy this restaurant because of the family-friendly atmosphere.

7) Downtown Disney - T-Rex. This restaurant wins my award for best decor, best food, and best name for a burger. The decor is prehistoric, there is something on the menu for everyone’s tastes, and the burger that I drool over is called the Gigantosaurus Burger. For people wanting a smaller burger there is also the Bronto-burger. I love this restaurant. It is the ideal restaurant for any family with dinosaur fans or any family who loves good food. (This restaurant is the exception to the list, because it is not a counter-service restaurant, and I do recommend reservations.)

There you go. During your next Disney vacation you can have an all-American lunch with as many pickles as you want. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: These restaurants are all counter-service (except T-Rex) so reservations are not an option. I’m not kidding when I say that they get really busy at normal dining hours. To avoid huge lines and grumpy hungry family members plan to eat early or late. I like to eat early and then visit attractions while everyone else is fighting the lines.

In my last post I announced the opening of Cars Land in Disney’s California Adventure. I made this announcement on the day it opened, which might have been too late for some of you. So today I am recommending a great website that gives you the inside scoop on what is happening in the Disney universe. Sign up to receive the Disney Insider in your e-mail.

This is a fun web newletter filled with trivia, upcoming movies, Guest’s stories, and lots of information about the parks. It comes out once a week so you won’t be overwhelmed and you may discover it is a bright spot among all your boring e-mails.

Goofy Tip: The internet is crowded with information about the new Cars Land. I look forward to seeing all the attractions, but I really want to find all the Hidden Mickeys in the new area. The website Findingmickey.com has all the answers I need. Check it out and then have fun hunting for new Hidden Mickeys.