September 14, 2023 • 30 mins
Ever dreamt about a magical birthday celebration at Disney World? In this episode, Kris and Vanessa lift the lid on the thrilling experience of celebrating your special day at Disney, from the joy of wearing the 'Happy Birthday' button to the surprise greetings from cast members. Plus, we unravel how souvenirs, special apparel, character dining, and photo moments with your beloved Disney characters can turn your day into an unforgettable memory.
Adding an extra sprinkle of pixie dust to your celebration, during the second half of the show we interview Rachel from Strange Magic Gifts, who shares insights on her unique business that delivers customized gift baskets and boxes to Disney World and Universal Resorts.
Dive into the process of ordering a personalized gift basket and discover how these baskets can add extra Disney magic on your birthday. Use the code "DISLOVE" in the customization text box to receive a special pin with your basket for no additional charge.
Stay tuned for more episodes and join our community on social media for exciting updates.
For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris or on YouTube.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:04):
Welcome to the Dislove Podcast with Vanessa
and Kris.
Kris Johns (00:07):
I'm Vanessa Ferguson and I'm Kris Johns.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:09):
We'd like to welcome you to show number 135
and for any listeners joining usfor the first time, our show
features things we love atDisney and in each episode we
have a guest who creates Disneymagic for our listeners at home
or on their Disney vacations.
From vacation planners toproduct producers, our guests
can bring Disney magic into yourlife.
And, as a reminder to ourlisteners, we appreciate if you
(00:32):
take time to leave us a reviewon Apple Podcasts or any other
platform where you listen.
That, of course, helps the showgrow and helps us reach new
listeners.
We appreciate all of you who'vealready done those and also
make sure to follow us on all ofour social media handles from
we are now on TikTok, as well as, of course, on Instagram and
Facebook, to get all of ourlatest updates.
(00:54):
And on today's show, we aregoing to be joined by Rachel
from Strange Magic Gifts.
She creates custom gift basketsfor you to have delivered
during your Walt Disney Worldvacation, or a fun thing is that
she can even ship them to youat home.
So whether you're a vacationplanner who wants to thank some
clients, or you just want tocelebrate a special occasion or
(01:16):
have someone, or just a specialgift for someone.
You can definitely reach out to, rachel, so we're excited to
have her on the show.
And today, because we'retalking about gifts and
celebrations, I thought it wouldbe a fun tie in to talk about
celebrating your birthday atDisney World.
Kris Johns (01:34):
That is a great idea .
Vanessa Ferguson (01:35):
So we've had a chance to actually we've
celebrated all three of ourbirth.
I've celebrated my birthdaywith my good friend.
When I was younger I went withher family right at my birthday.
We celebrated our daughter'sbirthday there last year and
Kris Chris's birthday a coupleof years ago.
I had a conference in Orlandoand we spent it at Disney.
Kris Johns (01:54):
We did.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:54):
Yeah, we went out to Ohana with Ann and Ed and
Linda and Sheldon.
We had an Olaf cake.
Kris Johns (02:01):
Oh, yes, I remember that, yes, and then we went to a
baseball game.
Yes, our good friends Linda andSheldon and Ann and Ed as well.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:08):
Yes.
So we've gotten a chance tocelebrate quite a few birthdays.
I've done some with my parents,their birthdays as well, and of
course, the Disney Company iscelebrating a big birthday of
100 years.
So I thought let's look at allof the ways that you can
celebrate your birthday at WaltDisney World.
And so there's I would saythere's real excite from the
(02:30):
fact that my birthday is in oneof the most hot months of the
year in Orlando.
Kris Johns (02:35):
Yeah, we've never really made plans to go for your
birthday.
No, I went with intentionally.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:40):
No, I went with my friend Judy and her
family once.
Kris Johns (02:43):
Yes, once.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:44):
But my birthday is in the middle of
August Not our ideal for thoseof us from the Midwest to go to
Disney World.
But I know we've talked aboutdoing some things at Disney and
we did celebrate our daughter'sbirthday, which is in April,
there a couple years ago.
So let's look at all of the funthings that you can do, and
really there's things from Ihate to use the word free,
(03:07):
because a Disney vacation isalready expensive, but if you
already have tickets and you'realready going to the parks,
you're already at the resorts.
Some of these things are thingsthat are already included, but
that be a better way to put it.
Kris Johns (03:19):
Yes.
Vanessa Ferguson (03:20):
So first off it sounds really silly and very
simple, but get one of the happybirthday buttons and wear it
Because you have.
If you can go up to guestservices at any of the parks or
at just at the desks at any ofthe resorts and on the happy
birthday pin they'll put yourname on it.
Cast members will say happybirthday.
(03:42):
I mean you just have randomguessing happy birthday.
I know when Kris had hisbirthday pen he got lots of
happy birthdays.
Our daughter did so wearing thebirthday button.
And I know some people say, oh,you know you'll get this free,
that free.
There's no guarantees Disneydoesn't have to give you
anything free, but I think justthe fact of having random
strangers say happy birthday isalways a lot of fun.
Kris Johns (04:05):
Exactly.
It just increases your chancesfor more birthday joy, and I
think it's one of those things,too, where if you go looking for
it, you're not going to find it, but if you just embrace the
day and find that Disney magic,you may be surprised at what you
get.
Vanessa Ferguson (04:17):
Yes, and you wear your pen If you.
If you're so inclined to wearsome sort of birthday apparel,
that's always fun.
I know my friend made usmatching shirts for our
daughter's fifth birthday and sowe all had shirts on.
But if that's not your thing,at least get the pen and wear
that around where the buttonaround.
Another thing that I think isjust a fun thing is Watching the
(04:40):
fireworks on your birthday.
We did pay for the fireworksdessert party at Magic Kingdom
the night before our daughter'sbirthday and that was extra
magical.
It was nice because we didn'thave to go wait two hours to
have a spot in front of thecastle.
We had a set spot.
We were able to enjoy thedesserts.
So that's something nice.
(05:00):
But even just watching thefireworks because how many
people?
Unless your birthday is on the4th of July, you're not probably
guaranteed fireworks on yourbirthday.
Kris Johns (05:08):
Exactly.
Vanessa Ferguson (05:09):
So Disney is one place that you can be
guaranteed fireworks on yourbirthday.
And another fun thing to do isjust to go get character photos.
I know we've talked aboutcharacter dining.
We've talked about good placesto meet characters, but really
for kids of all ages whetheryou're an adult or you have kids
in your party, I think it's agreat day to go and take photos
(05:29):
with characters.
Of course it's great to meetthe princesses For us.
With our daughter, we tend togo to Epcot.
If we want to meet a lot of theprincesses, if we don't have a
character dining meal set up,because you can go and meet them
in the different countries,we've done that near her
birthday before.
If you have some extra money inyour budget, doing the Bippity
(05:50):
Boppity boutique and taking yourlittle one there to get a
makeover and then go around thepark and take photos, it's a lot
of fun.
And, of course, if you have, ifyour kids aren't really into
the princess thing, you couldalso have them.
They don't have the pirateexperience anymore, but just
have them dress up as a pirateand I know some people talk
(06:11):
about going to buy pirates ofthe Caribbean and usually
there's the Captain Jack Sparrowmeet and greet doing that.
If your kids or adults in yourgroup are into Star Wars, you
can go do some of the great StarWars things at Hollywood
Studios.
A lot of people will save upand buy the lightsaber or a
droid, which is more expensive,but then you have to have a
(06:35):
reservation ahead of time.
But if you're really into thatI think it can make it extra
special.
Another thing of course we talka lot about food.
Sure, do and so our last episode.
We talked about specialoccasion dining and like the
fine dining options you have.
But I think another thing, andso I'll put the link to that
show in the show notes in caseyou missed it.
(06:57):
But I think character mealsreally add a lot on a birthday.
For our daughter's birthdaythat was last year we went to
Chef Mickey's and again, nothingbetter than photos with Mickey
on your birthday.
A while back we were down forone of my aunt's birthdays and
we all went to Tusker House andthat was so much fun.
(07:18):
The adults loved it.
We didn't have anybody underthe age of 18, I don't think in
our group and we all had a greattime.
Kris Johns (07:25):
Wonderful time.
Vanessa Ferguson (07:26):
So that's a great thing, and finding those
character meals and gettingthose reservations is wonderful.
Now, one thing that goes intothe dining and something that
you can do is having what's kindof synonymous with birthdays.
Kris Johns (07:42):
Cake.
Vanessa Ferguson (07:42):
Yes.
So you have a lot of differentoptions for cakes.
So number one if you're at aDisney resort, you can have a
cake delivered to one of thedining locations.
You have a couple of differentoptions.
Now when you make a reservation, you can just do for any of the
table service restaurants.
It will allow you to do aMickey celebration cake.
(08:03):
It's kind of a basic design butif you're wanting something
basic and simple, it's still asMickey.
It's still a lot of fun to beable to do that.
It's just called a celebrationcake and it lets you do it right
on the website.
And the nice thing with those isusually you can get same day
ordering on those, which isgreat because if you maybe have
a last minute trip or youhaven't had some time to plan
(08:25):
that out ahead of time, anotherthing you can do is you can
order ahead of time from acouple of the different bakeries
on property.
So there's a cake orderinghotline.
I will say in the whole planetmy favorite food, I have to say,
is probably cake.
So the fact that there's a cakeordering hotline just melts my
heart and I've actually calledthat hotline before and we had
(08:49):
Kris' birthday cake made by them.
A few years ago, with Olaf onit, we had a replica of our in.
This wasn't a birthday but areplica of the top tier of our
wedding cake and we had thatmade and delivered to a
restaurant.
So I'll put the cake orderinghotline number in the show notes
.
I'm going to give it here.
I know most people are justgoing to go to show notes, but
(09:10):
it's 407-827-2253.
Another thing you can do is theEmirates Petitie in Disney
Springs.
They have a cake line and youcan, with 48 hours notice.
They do character inspired domecakes and they have like a
signature Mickey cake you canget as well.
And if you have people who needa vegan cake or gluten free,
(09:36):
the Aaron McKenna's Bakery atDisney Springs will do it.
But what?
And the nice thing is thatthey'll also deliver to the
table service restaurants and Iwill say a great option.
We talk to so many amazingvendors and if you have some
time and you're able to book itin advance, I highly highly
recommend Storybook Delights.
(09:57):
We had Ashley from there onepisode 101, which I'll put the
link in the show notes.
She made our daughter'sbirthday cake last year which
was a little mermaid design, socute and so delicious it was
chocolate and peanut butter.
Delicious yes it was reallyreally good, way better than any
of we were at Chef Mickey's waybetter than any of the desserts
(10:18):
that we got there.
And the nice thing was is thatour friend that was with us she
is on a gluten free diet theymade gluten free cupcakes, which
were delicious as well, andthey designed them and had them
look and have a same feel as theregular cake, so it's perfect.
(10:38):
She has lots of other goodiesthat you can have delivered.
If you don't want a cake, youcan have treat boxes.
I know we're getting a treatbox from them for upcoming trip
with the Halloween theme, butdefinitely check out Storybook
Delights.
They can't deliver right to therestaurant.
So what we did is we were eatingat Chef Mickey's.
We had it delivered to ourresort we were staying at Art of
(10:59):
Animation Went back to theresort it was in the.
There's like a cooler storagethat they have at the front and
they had it already therewaiting for us.
We picked it up and we took itto the restaurant.
So that's always an option,which is really great.
Now, second to food, I wouldsay the next thing that is most
(11:20):
important in our, in our realm,is photos.
We take a lot of photos.
Kris Johns (11:27):
We sure do a lot.
Vanessa Ferguson (11:29):
So if you've paid for the memory maker, if
you're an annual pass holder,you just added that to your
package.
The great thing is you can getso many wonderful pictures all
over the parks and for ourdaughter's fifth birthday we had
our matching shirts.
We went all over Magic Kingdomgot photos.
There's also at right near it'sby Sir Mickey's.
(11:51):
Right behind the castle thereis a place that you can go and
you can have photos done there.
One of the fun things is thatit's called.
You can have a reservationwhere you pay for what's called
capturing your moment session,where it's a 20 minute session
and they'll go around takephotos.
But you can also just stop bythere.
(12:12):
So that when our daughter'sbirthday we just stopped at Sir
Mickey's and there happened tobe a photo pass photographer in
there.
We went in, got some cutepictures of our daughter with
her shirt on.
So lots of fun.
Get photos all over the park,wherever you are at that day for
your birthday.
And I will also say we've nothad him on the show, but we have
(12:36):
an amazing photographer that weuse all the time at Disney.
Who is our photographer?
Kris Johns (12:41):
Randy.
Vanessa Ferguson (12:42):
Yeah.
So Randy Chapman of ChapmanPhotography.
He primarily does weddingphotos, but he does family
shoots, all kinds of things.
So for our daughter's fifthbirthday, we had him come and
take pictures at.
We are seeing at Art ofAnimation because she loves
Little Mermaid, so we are seeingin a Little Mermaid room.
We had him come and do a familyshoot there.
I'm actually looking at some ofthe pictures from there hanging
(13:05):
up in our office.
So look at some.
There's some amazing vendorsthat can take photos, but we
highly recommend ChapmanPhotography I'll put his link in
the show notes as well and hehas all kinds of great locations
.
He can take you around theproperty to get photos.
I also say that it's worthwhiletaking some time to go buy
(13:26):
yourself a special gift.
So whether you are someone whocollects certain things maybe
it's something from, maybe youjust like spirit jerseys or
lounge fly bags or you want anew set of ears I think a
birthday is a great way to goout and celebrate and go to a
special shop, get somethingengraved, something unique, and
(13:48):
that's also something thatyou'll be able to remember that
day for for a long time.
Besides going and gettingyourself something great, it's
also fun to have some thingsdone for someone else in your
group that may be celebrating.
So if you are celebrating aspecial occasion for yourself or
someone else in your party,definitely look at having some
(14:11):
door decorations done, or inroom celebrations, and we had a
while back we had Michelle fromEnchanted Dreams Boutique, and
that was in episode 128, whichI'll put that in the show notes
as well.
She does decorated doors.
So what you can do is you cansurprise your somebody in your
party when you come home fromthe parks.
Have the door decorated withtheir favorite characters, maybe
(14:35):
just marking that milestonebirthday.
We've had that done.
We actually had that done on apast trip.
It was right in between my momand my dad's birthday, so I kind
of had it done for both of them.
So much fun, such a bigsurprise.
I forgot, though, that it wasbeing done that day, and they
(14:55):
went ahead to the room before us.
If I would have been betterprepared, like I would have when
in videoed, but it totallyslipped my mind Can't think of
everything.
Kris Johns (15:03):
No, it was a busy trip.
Vanessa Ferguson (15:04):
So, anyways, check out Michelle.
She also does some in roomdecor, so if you want, there's
ways that you can set up withher where she would come in and
decorate with Mickey or havewhatever you want set up for you
when you come back from theparks.
So that's a super fun thing todo.
One thing that is a lot of funthat I've heard people talk
(15:26):
about is that Animal Kingdom youcan do the nature theme
challenges where you do thewilderness explorer and you
collect pets.
You can do the outdoor and youcollect badges around the park.
I think that would be super funfor kids or even adults.
If you're at Animal Kingdom ontheir birthday, it's a great way
to check it out.
We are having a guest in acouple of shows who does some
(15:48):
really fun scavenger hunts atthe parks as well as at at the
resort, so you could look upsome of the options she has as
well.
But honestly, I mean Kris isn'teven a huge Disney person, but
I think your birthday at Disneyis still fun.
Kris Johns (16:06):
Oh, definitely wonderful.
Great people, great restaurant,just a wonderful memory.
Vanessa Ferguson (16:11):
Yes.
So those are some things toconsider if you are planning
your birthday or really anycelebration at Disney.
We talk about all of thosedifferent options, but there's
even lots more, from backstagetours to really doing something
special like a carriage ride ora boat rental We've done
(16:31):
actually, for my aunt's birthdayas well, we did one of the
pontoon rentals where you getthe special viewing of the
fireworks.
There's just the possibilities,or endless.
So many fun things you can do,from a more laid back experience
at a resort to maybe a jampacked day at the parks.
You really have a lot of greatoptions and you can spread out
the birthday fund for more thanone day as well.
(16:53):
So think about planning aDisney birthday celebration, in
particular, if it's not in thehottest months, like my birthday
.
So take some time, think aboutwhat you may want to do and
whether it's for an adult or achild, you'll all have a great
day on your birthday.
So give us a minute.
We're going to get our call upwith Rachel and hopefully, for
your birthday celebration, youcan get some of her awesome gift
(17:17):
baskets to mark the occasion aswell.
We'd like to welcome Rachel tothe show.
Her shop, strange Magic Giftsprovides all kinds of really fun
gift baskets, from customdesigns to kind of like ready to
go designs.
She is a corgi mom, a redhead,a Disney fanatic and a cosplayer
.
She recently moved to Orlandoto pursue her dreams while also
(17:41):
kind of healing her inner child.
After some struggle she had had, she started her business and
she's just really hella pee tobe a part of the Disney
community.
So welcome to the show, rachel.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
This is my first podcast, so Ijust feel so honored.
Vanessa Ferguson (17:56):
Awesome.
Well, we're excited to have youon the show.
It's always fun to see all theunique things that people come
up with for their businesses.
Now we start off by finding outa little bit about what you
enjoy at the park.
So lately we've been askingpeople what is your favorite
character to meet at the parksor at a like a character dining?
(18:17):
What's your favorite character?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
You know, I get really shy meeting them.
Kris Johns (18:22):
I just feel like I'm meeting a celebrity or
something.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
I often watch from a distance, but who I really love
to watch are the evil stepsisters from Cinderella.
Oh yes, they, they're so funny.
I just feel like they makeeveryone laugh and they're kind
of sassy, you know.
I just I think they'rehilarious.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:42):
I know we've been waiting for 1900 Park Fair
to open back up because we had areally great time with them
there with our daughter a coupleof years ago, right before
covid.
So yes, I agree, they're alwaysa lot of fun for sure.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
They're super funny.
And then, of course, winningthe poo and stitch.
They're just fun, cuddlycreatures that I can hug, and
it's no pressure at all.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:04):
Right, exactly , and that's a fun thing.
I think the characters do agood job about making you
comfortable, whether you'reyou're an adult who's nervous,
or I've seen kids that were shy,and they're just always so
great about helping people openup, for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:19):
Now we have you here to learn more about
your business and what is theservices that you offer
connected to Disney.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
So I deliver gift baskets and gift boxes to Disney
World and Universal Resorts.
I work with a lot of travelagents and Disney guests to
surprise their loved ones withsomething customized especially
for them.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:42):
Now, one of the things that I think is fun
is the variety of things thatyou offer.
Could you maybe give us somedescription of a couple of the
baskets that you offer?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Sure.
So I have a lot of customizableDisney baskets so people can
tell me their favoritecharacters, their favorite movie
or color and I'll really workto customize something special
for them.
And I have a lot of differentprice ranges for all people.
And then I also have some likecoffee lover baskets.
I have a quick grocery runbasket for people to, you know,
(20:14):
make quick PB and J sandwichesfor the parks and snacks and
water.
I have lots of differentoptions kind of for everyone,
whether it's, you know, a Disneydad who needs some extra coffee
or a little girl who loves pink.
You know everything in between.
Kris Johns (20:30):
That's awesome.
What was your inspiration tostart the business?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah, so whenever I have my family or friends here,
I usually help them with finding, you know, their favorite
Disney ears that they need forthe next day, or stalking their
fridge before they get there,and they're always telling me
you know, you should make this abusiness, you need to do this.
And I didn't realize thatpeople actually did this, and so
(20:56):
I got really excited and itjust emerged into doing gift
baskets, gift boxes, and it justemerged into this really
beautiful business that I've,you know, been a part of in this
community so far.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:10):
Now have you had your business very long.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I haven't.
I've been up about a month anda half now.
I'm very new.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:17):
Well, that's awesome, and it's been so fun
seeing some of the differentguests that we've had at
different parts in their journey, because I know when we will
talk to you six months from nowor a year from now, it'll be so
neat to see all the growth andall the new things that you're
offering, as you see whatcustomers need and want.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Absolutely, and I'm just learning new things every
day and trying new things,meeting new people.
It's so much fun.
I just it feels like so muchtime has passed in this short
month.
I feel like I've done so much.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:46):
Now you've talked about all of the great
baskets and boxes that you offer.
How do you think that theseoffer Disney magic into your
customers' lives?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
So I think receiving a customized gift from someone
just makes you feel so specialand loved and I really try to
focus on making that extracustomized.
You know, whether it's theirfavorite color, like I said, or
character adding in specialnotes.
I can really do whatever anyoneneeds and I just feel like
(22:17):
adding some magic to people'slives.
Whether it's through a travelagent thanking their clients for
, you know, using their services, or you're trying to surprise a
family member for their reallybig vacation that they saved so
much money for, I just reallythink it makes people feel so
special and so loved to receivesomething like that.
Vanessa Ferguson (22:38):
Now if I were wanting to order a basket from
you, how does that process work?
How early do I need to place anorder?
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Yeah, so the website is super easy.
When you go in you can choosewho it's to, who it's from, what
you want your message to say.
You can write any favoritecharacters, colors, what they
like, what they don't like, andthen you can pick a delivery
date.
You know I can squeeze inlast-minute orders as needed.
(23:07):
You can always email, but theideal amount of time I would say
is about two weeks before yourvacation.
Obviously, for holidays thesooner the better.
But I have my calendar open upall year.
So if you have a vacation fivemonths down the line and you
want to plan something, you canorder it now.
Vanessa Ferguson (23:28):
And with that I know we've talked a little bit
about how the delivery works.
Where do you deliver to andlike?
What are the costs for that?
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, so I have a free delivery for the Disney
World Resorts and the DisneySprings Resorts and then I offer
delivery to Universal and allthe surrounding areas, even some
vacation homes, airbnbs, etc.
But what I do is I deliver tothe front desk and I deliver the
(23:59):
day before you check in, soit'll be waiting for you when
you check in.
Sometimes you know certainresorts.
They might run it to your room,but at that point it's in
Disney's hands and I justdeliver to the front desk.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:13):
Now I think this is also a perfect timing
because I'm not sure if you'refamiliar or our listeners are
familiar, but Disney floral usedto offer like you could get
things delivered to the rooms,like chocolates or different
things, and Disney floral wasrecently.
Disney kind of did away withthat department.
So it's nice to be able to havethis option where and you offer
something that's so much morecustomized than what they had
(24:35):
for sure.
Now I know you have likedifferent containers.
I thought it was fun.
You have one that you can getwhere it's in the popcorn bucket
and you tell people what isthat?
What does it mean by having itin the popcorn bucket?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, so we have the refillable popcorn bucket, so
any refills that you use in theparks for popcorn.
I believe it's two twenty five,so it's a really nice way for
people to get their loved onespopcorn or the little kids snack
, and I fill it either withDisney snacks so Disney candy,
Disney popcorn or I fill it withmore affordable snacks like
(25:12):
chips and candies and granolabars.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:16):
And what is your favorite basket that you've
done so far?
Do you have a certain themethat you enjoy?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I recently did one for a little girl who was
turning eight and her favoritewas Rapunzel, and so I did.
I found those lanterns from themovie with the sun on it oh fun
, I put, yeah, I put a littleflameless candle in there.
I found her Rapunzel's crown.
I had a little birthday sashPascal, some stickers, some
(25:45):
temporary tattoos, some candiesjust a really fun Birthday
present, which, just you know,portrays the movie so well
because it's her birthday.
For the lanterns, I thinkthat's my favorite.
I also recently did a reallybig Moana Polynesian theme and
so I stacked I had those giftboxes that you can stack where
(26:06):
it's kind of tiered, oh yeah andyeah and I added some tropical
leaves on the sides and I addedPua on top, and they loved it.
It was super cute.
Now, real quick, because you'vetalked about all these custom
options are people able to?
Vanessa Ferguson (26:18):
do like a price range.
Do you offer a wide range?
Do they kind of set that budgetwith you?
Yeah, they do, so I canbasically work with any budget.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I would say, you know , most people want to work
around 50 to 100.
Some people really want to goall out, like the Moana was, I
think, 300.
Sure, and just really wowthey're.
You know they're family members, but yeah any budget.
Really, I have so manydifferent options for people.
That's great.
Now you mentioned all theseawesome options.
(26:49):
Where can people go?
Kris Johns (26:51):
online to find out more.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram as Strange Magic Gifts
and on TikTok and Facebook aswell, also as Strange Magic
Gifts, and my website isstrangemagicgiftscom.
Perfect, and I will make surethat you guys are all ready to
go.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:11):
And I will make sure to share all the links
to your socials and yourwebsite and the show notes and
make sure that our listeners canfind you.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Thank you so much.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:20):
Thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Of course, thank you for having me again.
It's my first podcast.
This is super fun and I justfeel honored that you guys
wanted to interview me, and itreally helps small businesses,
so I really appreciate it.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:33):
Well, we appreciate all of you.
We couldn't do it without allof our wonderful guests.
Kris Johns (27:38):
Thank you again to Rachel for joining us today.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:41):
And now we have our two minute trivia and
our wisdom from Walt Quote andKris you are up with trivia.
So today's theme is birthdays.
Yes.
Kris Johns (27:50):
Mickey Mouse was the first animated character to get
a star on the Hollywood Walk ofFame.
Which birthday did he receivehis star in the Walk of Fame?
Vanessa Ferguson (28:02):
Like whose birthday?
Kris Johns (28:04):
Mickey Mouse's birthday when he became the
first animated character toreceive a star in the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
Which birthday was it?
Vanessa Ferguson (28:13):
Oh, oh, oh, I see, can I ask a clarifying
question?
Kris Johns (28:20):
Yes.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:20):
Was Walt Disney still alive?
Kris Johns (28:23):
Doubtful.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:25):
Then I'm gonna go with maybe his 50th birthday
you are right.
Oh, that was a random guess.
Kris Johns (28:31):
And that's a random question, but yes, mickey Mouse
was the first animated characterand this is according to the
web internet to get a star inthe Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It happened on his 50thbirthday.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:43):
I actually thought you were gonna ask me
when Mickey Mouse's birthday is.
Kris Johns (28:48):
I didn't find that on the internet.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:50):
I believe it's November 18th or 19th, because
I've been there before.
Kris Johns (28:53):
That is correct.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:54):
Is it the 18th ?
Kris Johns (28:56):
November 18th Wow.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:57):
I've been there before 1928.
I don't remember why I wasthere in November, but I've been
there on Mickey's birthday andthey sometimes will sell shirts
or something special.
Awesome, very interesting.
So let's go ahead and end out.
I think just this one is justtalking about dreams and how you
really want to look towardskeeping those alive, and I think
(29:19):
that's what birthdays are.
It's about looking towards hopefor the next year and all the
things that might lie ahead inlife.
So this is a great quote to endus out.
Laughter is timeless.
Imagination has no age, dreamsare forever, and is that not
true?
And, of course, all your dreamscan come true at Disney World.
At least that's what they aresaying.
(29:39):
So don't forget to check outour other episodes on our
Buzzsprout page and, of course,follow us on social media for
even more updates.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode of
the Dislove Podcast with Vanessaand Kris.
Kris Johns (29:52):
I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris.
This podcast is not affiliatedwith the Walt Disney Company or
its holdings, and it is intendedfor entertainment purposes only
.
Welcome to the Dislove Podcast with Vanessa
and Kris.
Kris Johns (00:07):
I'm Vanessa Ferguson and I'm Kris Johns.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:09):
We'd like to welcome you to show number 135
and for any listeners joining usfor the first time, our show
features things we love atDisney and in each episode we
have a guest who creates Disneymagic for our listeners at home
or on their Disney vacations.
From vacation planners toproduct producers, our guests
can bring Disney magic into yourlife.
And, as a reminder to ourlisteners, we appreciate if you
(00:32):
take time to leave us a reviewon Apple Podcasts or any other
platform where you listen.
That, of course, helps the showgrow and helps us reach new
listeners.
We appreciate all of you who'vealready done those and also
make sure to follow us on all ofour social media handles from
we are now on TikTok, as well as, of course, on Instagram and
Facebook, to get all of ourlatest updates.
(00:54):
And on today's show, we aregoing to be joined by Rachel
from Strange Magic Gifts.
She creates custom gift basketsfor you to have delivered
during your Walt Disney Worldvacation, or a fun thing is that
she can even ship them to youat home.
So whether you're a vacationplanner who wants to thank some
clients, or you just want tocelebrate a special occasion or
(01:16):
have someone, or just a specialgift for someone.
You can definitely reach out to, rachel, so we're excited to
have her on the show.
And today, because we'retalking about gifts and
celebrations, I thought it wouldbe a fun tie in to talk about
celebrating your birthday atDisney World.
Kris Johns (01:34):
That is a great idea .
Vanessa Ferguson (01:35):
So we've had a chance to actually we've
celebrated all three of ourbirth.
I've celebrated my birthdaywith my good friend.
When I was younger I went withher family right at my birthday.
We celebrated our daughter'sbirthday there last year and
Kris Chris's birthday a coupleof years ago.
I had a conference in Orlandoand we spent it at Disney.
Kris Johns (01:54):
We did.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:54):
Yeah, we went out to Ohana with Ann and Ed and
Linda and Sheldon.
We had an Olaf cake.
Kris Johns (02:01):
Oh, yes, I remember that, yes, and then we went to a
baseball game.
Yes, our good friends Linda andSheldon and Ann and Ed as well.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:08):
Yes.
So we've gotten a chance tocelebrate quite a few birthdays.
I've done some with my parents,their birthdays as well, and of
course, the Disney Company iscelebrating a big birthday of
100 years.
So I thought let's look at allof the ways that you can
celebrate your birthday at WaltDisney World.
And so there's I would saythere's real excite from the
(02:30):
fact that my birthday is in oneof the most hot months of the
year in Orlando.
Kris Johns (02:35):
Yeah, we've never really made plans to go for your
birthday.
No, I went with intentionally.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:40):
No, I went with my friend Judy and her
family once.
Kris Johns (02:43):
Yes, once.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:44):
But my birthday is in the middle of
August Not our ideal for thoseof us from the Midwest to go to
Disney World.
But I know we've talked aboutdoing some things at Disney and
we did celebrate our daughter'sbirthday, which is in April,
there a couple years ago.
So let's look at all of the funthings that you can do, and
really there's things from Ihate to use the word free,
(03:07):
because a Disney vacation isalready expensive, but if you
already have tickets and you'realready going to the parks,
you're already at the resorts.
Some of these things are thingsthat are already included, but
that be a better way to put it.
Kris Johns (03:19):
Yes.
Vanessa Ferguson (03:20):
So first off it sounds really silly and very
simple, but get one of the happybirthday buttons and wear it
Because you have.
If you can go up to guestservices at any of the parks or
at just at the desks at any ofthe resorts and on the happy
birthday pin they'll put yourname on it.
Cast members will say happybirthday.
(03:42):
I mean you just have randomguessing happy birthday.
I know when Kris had hisbirthday pen he got lots of
happy birthdays.
Our daughter did so wearing thebirthday button.
And I know some people say, oh,you know you'll get this free,
that free.
There's no guarantees Disneydoesn't have to give you
anything free, but I think justthe fact of having random
strangers say happy birthday isalways a lot of fun.
Kris Johns (04:05):
Exactly.
It just increases your chancesfor more birthday joy, and I
think it's one of those things,too, where if you go looking for
it, you're not going to find it, but if you just embrace the
day and find that Disney magic,you may be surprised at what you
get.
Vanessa Ferguson (04:17):
Yes, and you wear your pen If you.
If you're so inclined to wearsome sort of birthday apparel,
that's always fun.
I know my friend made usmatching shirts for our
daughter's fifth birthday and sowe all had shirts on.
But if that's not your thing,at least get the pen and wear
that around where the buttonaround.
Another thing that I think isjust a fun thing is Watching the
(04:40):
fireworks on your birthday.
We did pay for the fireworksdessert party at Magic Kingdom
the night before our daughter'sbirthday and that was extra
magical.
It was nice because we didn'thave to go wait two hours to
have a spot in front of thecastle.
We had a set spot.
We were able to enjoy thedesserts.
So that's something nice.
(05:00):
But even just watching thefireworks because how many
people?
Unless your birthday is on the4th of July, you're not probably
guaranteed fireworks on yourbirthday.
Kris Johns (05:08):
Exactly.
Vanessa Ferguson (05:09):
So Disney is one place that you can be
guaranteed fireworks on yourbirthday.
And another fun thing to do isjust to go get character photos.
I know we've talked aboutcharacter dining.
We've talked about good placesto meet characters, but really
for kids of all ages whetheryou're an adult or you have kids
in your party, I think it's agreat day to go and take photos
(05:29):
with characters.
Of course it's great to meetthe princesses For us.
With our daughter, we tend togo to Epcot.
If we want to meet a lot of theprincesses, if we don't have a
character dining meal set up,because you can go and meet them
in the different countries,we've done that near her
birthday before.
If you have some extra money inyour budget, doing the Bippity
(05:50):
Boppity boutique and taking yourlittle one there to get a
makeover and then go around thepark and take photos, it's a lot
of fun.
And, of course, if you have, ifyour kids aren't really into
the princess thing, you couldalso have them.
They don't have the pirateexperience anymore, but just
have them dress up as a pirateand I know some people talk
(06:11):
about going to buy pirates ofthe Caribbean and usually
there's the Captain Jack Sparrowmeet and greet doing that.
If your kids or adults in yourgroup are into Star Wars, you
can go do some of the great StarWars things at Hollywood
Studios.
A lot of people will save upand buy the lightsaber or a
droid, which is more expensive,but then you have to have a
(06:35):
reservation ahead of time.
But if you're really into thatI think it can make it extra
special.
Another thing of course we talka lot about food.
Sure, do and so our last episode.
We talked about specialoccasion dining and like the
fine dining options you have.
But I think another thing, andso I'll put the link to that
show in the show notes in caseyou missed it.
(06:57):
But I think character mealsreally add a lot on a birthday.
For our daughter's birthdaythat was last year we went to
Chef Mickey's and again, nothingbetter than photos with Mickey
on your birthday.
A while back we were down forone of my aunt's birthdays and
we all went to Tusker House andthat was so much fun.
(07:18):
The adults loved it.
We didn't have anybody underthe age of 18, I don't think in
our group and we all had a greattime.
Kris Johns (07:25):
Wonderful time.
Vanessa Ferguson (07:26):
So that's a great thing, and finding those
character meals and gettingthose reservations is wonderful.
Now, one thing that goes intothe dining and something that
you can do is having what's kindof synonymous with birthdays.
Kris Johns (07:42):
Cake.
Vanessa Ferguson (07:42):
Yes.
So you have a lot of differentoptions for cakes.
So number one if you're at aDisney resort, you can have a
cake delivered to one of thedining locations.
You have a couple of differentoptions.
Now when you make a reservation, you can just do for any of the
table service restaurants.
It will allow you to do aMickey celebration cake.
(08:03):
It's kind of a basic design butif you're wanting something
basic and simple, it's still asMickey.
It's still a lot of fun to beable to do that.
It's just called a celebrationcake and it lets you do it right
on the website.
And the nice thing with those isusually you can get same day
ordering on those, which isgreat because if you maybe have
a last minute trip or youhaven't had some time to plan
(08:25):
that out ahead of time, anotherthing you can do is you can
order ahead of time from acouple of the different bakeries
on property.
So there's a cake orderinghotline.
I will say in the whole planetmy favorite food, I have to say,
is probably cake.
So the fact that there's a cakeordering hotline just melts my
heart and I've actually calledthat hotline before and we had
(08:49):
Kris' birthday cake made by them.
A few years ago, with Olaf onit, we had a replica of our in.
This wasn't a birthday but areplica of the top tier of our
wedding cake and we had thatmade and delivered to a
restaurant.
So I'll put the cake orderinghotline number in the show notes
.
I'm going to give it here.
I know most people are justgoing to go to show notes, but
(09:10):
it's 407-827-2253.
Another thing you can do is theEmirates Petitie in Disney
Springs.
They have a cake line and youcan, with 48 hours notice.
They do character inspired domecakes and they have like a
signature Mickey cake you canget as well.
And if you have people who needa vegan cake or gluten free,
(09:36):
the Aaron McKenna's Bakery atDisney Springs will do it.
But what?
And the nice thing is thatthey'll also deliver to the
table service restaurants and Iwill say a great option.
We talk to so many amazingvendors and if you have some
time and you're able to book itin advance, I highly highly
recommend Storybook Delights.
(09:57):
We had Ashley from there onepisode 101, which I'll put the
link in the show notes.
She made our daughter'sbirthday cake last year which
was a little mermaid design, socute and so delicious it was
chocolate and peanut butter.
Delicious yes it was reallyreally good, way better than any
of we were at Chef Mickey's waybetter than any of the desserts
(10:18):
that we got there.
And the nice thing was is thatour friend that was with us she
is on a gluten free diet theymade gluten free cupcakes, which
were delicious as well, andthey designed them and had them
look and have a same feel as theregular cake, so it's perfect.
(10:38):
She has lots of other goodiesthat you can have delivered.
If you don't want a cake, youcan have treat boxes.
I know we're getting a treatbox from them for upcoming trip
with the Halloween theme, butdefinitely check out Storybook
Delights.
They can't deliver right to therestaurant.
So what we did is we were eatingat Chef Mickey's.
We had it delivered to ourresort we were staying at Art of
(10:59):
Animation Went back to theresort it was in the.
There's like a cooler storagethat they have at the front and
they had it already therewaiting for us.
We picked it up and we took itto the restaurant.
So that's always an option,which is really great.
Now, second to food, I wouldsay the next thing that is most
(11:20):
important in our, in our realm,is photos.
We take a lot of photos.
Kris Johns (11:27):
We sure do a lot.
Vanessa Ferguson (11:29):
So if you've paid for the memory maker, if
you're an annual pass holder,you just added that to your
package.
The great thing is you can getso many wonderful pictures all
over the parks and for ourdaughter's fifth birthday we had
our matching shirts.
We went all over Magic Kingdomgot photos.
There's also at right near it'sby Sir Mickey's.
(11:51):
Right behind the castle thereis a place that you can go and
you can have photos done there.
One of the fun things is thatit's called.
You can have a reservationwhere you pay for what's called
capturing your moment session,where it's a 20 minute session
and they'll go around takephotos.
But you can also just stop bythere.
(12:12):
So that when our daughter'sbirthday we just stopped at Sir
Mickey's and there happened tobe a photo pass photographer in
there.
We went in, got some cutepictures of our daughter with
her shirt on.
So lots of fun.
Get photos all over the park,wherever you are at that day for
your birthday.
And I will also say we've nothad him on the show, but we have
(12:36):
an amazing photographer that weuse all the time at Disney.
Who is our photographer?
Kris Johns (12:41):
Randy.
Vanessa Ferguson (12:42):
Yeah.
So Randy Chapman of ChapmanPhotography.
He primarily does weddingphotos, but he does family
shoots, all kinds of things.
So for our daughter's fifthbirthday, we had him come and
take pictures at.
We are seeing at Art ofAnimation because she loves
Little Mermaid, so we are seeingin a Little Mermaid room.
We had him come and do a familyshoot there.
I'm actually looking at some ofthe pictures from there hanging
(13:05):
up in our office.
So look at some.
There's some amazing vendorsthat can take photos, but we
highly recommend ChapmanPhotography I'll put his link in
the show notes as well and hehas all kinds of great locations
.
He can take you around theproperty to get photos.
I also say that it's worthwhiletaking some time to go buy
(13:26):
yourself a special gift.
So whether you are someone whocollects certain things maybe
it's something from, maybe youjust like spirit jerseys or
lounge fly bags or you want anew set of ears I think a
birthday is a great way to goout and celebrate and go to a
special shop, get somethingengraved, something unique, and
(13:48):
that's also something thatyou'll be able to remember that
day for for a long time.
Besides going and gettingyourself something great, it's
also fun to have some thingsdone for someone else in your
group that may be celebrating.
So if you are celebrating aspecial occasion for yourself or
someone else in your party,definitely look at having some
(14:11):
door decorations done, or inroom celebrations, and we had a
while back we had Michelle fromEnchanted Dreams Boutique, and
that was in episode 128, whichI'll put that in the show notes
as well.
She does decorated doors.
So what you can do is you cansurprise your somebody in your
party when you come home fromthe parks.
Have the door decorated withtheir favorite characters, maybe
(14:35):
just marking that milestonebirthday.
We've had that done.
We actually had that done on apast trip.
It was right in between my momand my dad's birthday, so I kind
of had it done for both of them.
So much fun, such a bigsurprise.
I forgot, though, that it wasbeing done that day, and they
(14:55):
went ahead to the room before us.
If I would have been betterprepared, like I would have when
in videoed, but it totallyslipped my mind Can't think of
everything.
Kris Johns (15:03):
No, it was a busy trip.
Vanessa Ferguson (15:04):
So, anyways, check out Michelle.
She also does some in roomdecor, so if you want, there's
ways that you can set up withher where she would come in and
decorate with Mickey or havewhatever you want set up for you
when you come back from theparks.
So that's a super fun thing todo.
One thing that is a lot of funthat I've heard people talk
(15:26):
about is that Animal Kingdom youcan do the nature theme
challenges where you do thewilderness explorer and you
collect pets.
You can do the outdoor and youcollect badges around the park.
I think that would be super funfor kids or even adults.
If you're at Animal Kingdom ontheir birthday, it's a great way
to check it out.
We are having a guest in acouple of shows who does some
(15:48):
really fun scavenger hunts atthe parks as well as at at the
resort, so you could look upsome of the options she has as
well.
But honestly, I mean Kris isn'teven a huge Disney person, but
I think your birthday at Disneyis still fun.
Kris Johns (16:06):
Oh, definitely wonderful.
Great people, great restaurant,just a wonderful memory.
Vanessa Ferguson (16:11):
Yes.
So those are some things toconsider if you are planning
your birthday or really anycelebration at Disney.
We talk about all of thosedifferent options, but there's
even lots more, from backstagetours to really doing something
special like a carriage ride ora boat rental We've done
(16:31):
actually, for my aunt's birthdayas well, we did one of the
pontoon rentals where you getthe special viewing of the
fireworks.
There's just the possibilities,or endless.
So many fun things you can do,from a more laid back experience
at a resort to maybe a jampacked day at the parks.
You really have a lot of greatoptions and you can spread out
the birthday fund for more thanone day as well.
(16:53):
So think about planning aDisney birthday celebration, in
particular, if it's not in thehottest months, like my birthday
.
So take some time, think aboutwhat you may want to do and
whether it's for an adult or achild, you'll all have a great
day on your birthday.
So give us a minute.
We're going to get our call upwith Rachel and hopefully, for
your birthday celebration, youcan get some of her awesome gift
(17:17):
baskets to mark the occasion aswell.
We'd like to welcome Rachel tothe show.
Her shop, strange Magic Giftsprovides all kinds of really fun
gift baskets, from customdesigns to kind of like ready to
go designs.
She is a corgi mom, a redhead,a Disney fanatic and a cosplayer
.
She recently moved to Orlandoto pursue her dreams while also
(17:41):
kind of healing her inner child.
After some struggle she had had, she started her business and
she's just really hella pee tobe a part of the Disney
community.
So welcome to the show, rachel.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
This is my first podcast, so Ijust feel so honored.
Vanessa Ferguson (17:56):
Awesome.
Well, we're excited to have youon the show.
It's always fun to see all theunique things that people come
up with for their businesses.
Now we start off by finding outa little bit about what you
enjoy at the park.
So lately we've been askingpeople what is your favorite
character to meet at the parksor at a like a character dining?
(18:17):
What's your favorite character?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
You know, I get really shy meeting them.
Kris Johns (18:22):
I just feel like I'm meeting a celebrity or
something.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
I often watch from a distance, but who I really love
to watch are the evil stepsisters from Cinderella.
Oh yes, they, they're so funny.
I just feel like they makeeveryone laugh and they're kind
of sassy, you know.
I just I think they'rehilarious.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:42):
I know we've been waiting for 1900 Park Fair
to open back up because we had areally great time with them
there with our daughter a coupleof years ago, right before
covid.
So yes, I agree, they're alwaysa lot of fun for sure.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
They're super funny.
And then, of course, winningthe poo and stitch.
They're just fun, cuddlycreatures that I can hug, and
it's no pressure at all.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:04):
Right, exactly , and that's a fun thing.
I think the characters do agood job about making you
comfortable, whether you'reyou're an adult who's nervous,
or I've seen kids that were shy,and they're just always so
great about helping people openup, for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:19):
Now we have you here to learn more about
your business and what is theservices that you offer
connected to Disney.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
So I deliver gift baskets and gift boxes to Disney
World and Universal Resorts.
I work with a lot of travelagents and Disney guests to
surprise their loved ones withsomething customized especially
for them.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:42):
Now, one of the things that I think is fun
is the variety of things thatyou offer.
Could you maybe give us somedescription of a couple of the
baskets that you offer?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Sure.
So I have a lot of customizableDisney baskets so people can
tell me their favoritecharacters, their favorite movie
or color and I'll really workto customize something special
for them.
And I have a lot of differentprice ranges for all people.
And then I also have some likecoffee lover baskets.
I have a quick grocery runbasket for people to, you know,
(20:14):
make quick PB and J sandwichesfor the parks and snacks and
water.
I have lots of differentoptions kind of for everyone,
whether it's, you know, a Disneydad who needs some extra coffee
or a little girl who loves pink.
You know everything in between.
Kris Johns (20:30):
That's awesome.
What was your inspiration tostart the business?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah, so whenever I have my family or friends here,
I usually help them with finding, you know, their favorite
Disney ears that they need forthe next day, or stalking their
fridge before they get there,and they're always telling me
you know, you should make this abusiness, you need to do this.
And I didn't realize thatpeople actually did this, and so
(20:56):
I got really excited and itjust emerged into doing gift
baskets, gift boxes, and it justemerged into this really
beautiful business that I've,you know, been a part of in this
community so far.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:10):
Now have you had your business very long.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I haven't.
I've been up about a month anda half now.
I'm very new.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:17):
Well, that's awesome, and it's been so fun
seeing some of the differentguests that we've had at
different parts in their journey, because I know when we will
talk to you six months from nowor a year from now, it'll be so
neat to see all the growth andall the new things that you're
offering, as you see whatcustomers need and want.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Absolutely, and I'm just learning new things every
day and trying new things,meeting new people.
It's so much fun.
I just it feels like so muchtime has passed in this short
month.
I feel like I've done so much.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:46):
Now you've talked about all of the great
baskets and boxes that you offer.
How do you think that theseoffer Disney magic into your
customers' lives?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
So I think receiving a customized gift from someone
just makes you feel so specialand loved and I really try to
focus on making that extracustomized.
You know, whether it's theirfavorite color, like I said, or
character adding in specialnotes.
I can really do whatever anyoneneeds and I just feel like
(22:17):
adding some magic to people'slives.
Whether it's through a travelagent thanking their clients for
, you know, using their services, or you're trying to surprise a
family member for their reallybig vacation that they saved so
much money for, I just reallythink it makes people feel so
special and so loved to receivesomething like that.
Vanessa Ferguson (22:38):
Now if I were wanting to order a basket from
you, how does that process work?
How early do I need to place anorder?
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Yeah, so the website is super easy.
When you go in you can choosewho it's to, who it's from, what
you want your message to say.
You can write any favoritecharacters, colors, what they
like, what they don't like, andthen you can pick a delivery
date.
You know I can squeeze inlast-minute orders as needed.
(23:07):
You can always email, but theideal amount of time I would say
is about two weeks before yourvacation.
Obviously, for holidays thesooner the better.
But I have my calendar open upall year.
So if you have a vacation fivemonths down the line and you
want to plan something, you canorder it now.
Vanessa Ferguson (23:28):
And with that I know we've talked a little bit
about how the delivery works.
Where do you deliver to andlike?
What are the costs for that?
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, so I have a free delivery for the Disney
World Resorts and the DisneySprings Resorts and then I offer
delivery to Universal and allthe surrounding areas, even some
vacation homes, airbnbs, etc.
But what I do is I deliver tothe front desk and I deliver the
(23:59):
day before you check in, soit'll be waiting for you when
you check in.
Sometimes you know certainresorts.
They might run it to your room,but at that point it's in
Disney's hands and I justdeliver to the front desk.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:13):
Now I think this is also a perfect timing
because I'm not sure if you'refamiliar or our listeners are
familiar, but Disney floral usedto offer like you could get
things delivered to the rooms,like chocolates or different
things, and Disney floral wasrecently.
Disney kind of did away withthat department.
So it's nice to be able to havethis option where and you offer
something that's so much morecustomized than what they had
(24:35):
for sure.
Now I know you have likedifferent containers.
I thought it was fun.
You have one that you can getwhere it's in the popcorn bucket
and you tell people what isthat?
What does it mean by having itin the popcorn bucket?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, so we have the refillable popcorn bucket, so
any refills that you use in theparks for popcorn.
I believe it's two twenty five,so it's a really nice way for
people to get their loved onespopcorn or the little kids snack
, and I fill it either withDisney snacks so Disney candy,
Disney popcorn or I fill it withmore affordable snacks like
(25:12):
chips and candies and granolabars.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:16):
And what is your favorite basket that you've
done so far?
Do you have a certain themethat you enjoy?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I recently did one for a little girl who was
turning eight and her favoritewas Rapunzel, and so I did.
I found those lanterns from themovie with the sun on it oh fun
, I put, yeah, I put a littleflameless candle in there.
I found her Rapunzel's crown.
I had a little birthday sashPascal, some stickers, some
(25:45):
temporary tattoos, some candiesjust a really fun Birthday
present, which, just you know,portrays the movie so well
because it's her birthday.
For the lanterns, I thinkthat's my favorite.
I also recently did a reallybig Moana Polynesian theme and
so I stacked I had those giftboxes that you can stack where
(26:06):
it's kind of tiered, oh yeah andyeah and I added some tropical
leaves on the sides and I addedPua on top, and they loved it.
It was super cute.
Now, real quick, because you'vetalked about all these custom
options are people able to?
Vanessa Ferguson (26:18):
do like a price range.
Do you offer a wide range?
Do they kind of set that budgetwith you?
Yeah, they do, so I canbasically work with any budget.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I would say, you know , most people want to work
around 50 to 100.
Some people really want to goall out, like the Moana was, I
think, 300.
Sure, and just really wowthey're.
You know they're family members, but yeah any budget.
Really, I have so manydifferent options for people.
That's great.
Now you mentioned all theseawesome options.
(26:49):
Where can people go?
Kris Johns (26:51):
online to find out more.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram as Strange Magic Gifts
and on TikTok and Facebook aswell, also as Strange Magic
Gifts, and my website isstrangemagicgiftscom.
Perfect, and I will make surethat you guys are all ready to
go.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:11):
And I will make sure to share all the links
to your socials and yourwebsite and the show notes and
make sure that our listeners canfind you.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Thank you so much.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:20):
Thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Of course, thank you for having me again.
It's my first podcast.
This is super fun and I justfeel honored that you guys
wanted to interview me, and itreally helps small businesses,
so I really appreciate it.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:33):
Well, we appreciate all of you.
We couldn't do it without allof our wonderful guests.
Kris Johns (27:38):
Thank you again to Rachel for joining us today.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:41):
And now we have our two minute trivia and
our wisdom from Walt Quote andKris you are up with trivia.
So today's theme is birthdays.
Yes.
Kris Johns (27:50):
Mickey Mouse was the first animated character to get
a star on the Hollywood Walk ofFame.
Which birthday did he receivehis star in the Walk of Fame?
Vanessa Ferguson (28:02):
Like whose birthday?
Kris Johns (28:04):
Mickey Mouse's birthday when he became the
first animated character toreceive a star in the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
Which birthday was it?
Vanessa Ferguson (28:13):
Oh, oh, oh, I see, can I ask a clarifying
question?
Kris Johns (28:20):
Yes.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:20):
Was Walt Disney still alive?
Kris Johns (28:23):
Doubtful.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:25):
Then I'm gonna go with maybe his 50th birthday
you are right.
Oh, that was a random guess.
Kris Johns (28:31):
And that's a random question, but yes, mickey Mouse
was the first animated characterand this is according to the
web internet to get a star inthe Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It happened on his 50thbirthday.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:43):
I actually thought you were gonna ask me
when Mickey Mouse's birthday is.
Kris Johns (28:48):
I didn't find that on the internet.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:50):
I believe it's November 18th or 19th, because
I've been there before.
Kris Johns (28:53):
That is correct.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:54):
Is it the 18th ?
Kris Johns (28:56):
November 18th Wow.
Vanessa Ferguson (28:57):
I've been there before 1928.
I don't remember why I wasthere in November, but I've been
there on Mickey's birthday andthey sometimes will sell shirts
or something special.
Awesome, very interesting.
So let's go ahead and end out.
I think just this one is justtalking about dreams and how you
really want to look towardskeeping those alive, and I think
(29:19):
that's what birthdays are.
It's about looking towards hopefor the next year and all the
things that might lie ahead inlife.
So this is a great quote to endus out.
Laughter is timeless.
Imagination has no age, dreamsare forever, and is that not
true?
And, of course, all your dreamscan come true at Disney World.
At least that's what they aresaying.
(29:39):
So don't forget to check outour other episodes on our
Buzzsprout page and, of course,follow us on social media for
even more updates.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode of
the Dislove Podcast with Vanessaand Kris.
Kris Johns (29:52):
I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris.
This podcast is not affiliatedwith the Walt Disney Company or
its holdings, and it is intendedfor entertainment purposes only
.
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