Disney Inked

One of the ways that I keep my love of Disney going, as well as expressing how much Disney means to me, is through my tattoos.

Every tattoo that I have has a bit of Disney thrown in somewhere...some more obvious than others!

It all started a fair few years ago when Simon & I became intrigued with the world of tattoos after watching a number of 'ink' related TV programs. We loved the artistry involved and the stories behind the tattoos and soon we were talking about getting our own and what we would have done and why.

My reasoning was very simple - it had to combine the loves in life (family and Disney) as well as be designed by Simon.  The thought of having a piece of his art on my body was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

So the first tattoo I ever had was at the base of my spine. It spans across my lower back with a tri-circle Mickey at the centre; this was designed by Simon, and tattooed by Gray Silva at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio. It also incorporates Simon’s initials and those of our two children (if you know where to look!)

Photo taken at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Dinoland USA after riding Primeval Whirl, 2008

My next tattoo carried on the Disney theme and once again incorporated the classic tri-circle Mickey at it's centre.  This was designed by Simon along with input from tattooist, Rachel Huntington who also worked at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio.

Photo taken at Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, 2010

My third tattoo is around my ankle and foot and has flowers with tri-circle Mickeys at their centres flowing off an abstract tri-circle Mickey.  This time I took Rachel some designs of tri-circle Mickey’s that I had come across on our previous visit to Disneyland, explained where I wanted the tattoo and that I wanted cherry blossom type flowers as well.  I told her all about ‘hidden Mickey’s’ and love the fact that she was able to get so many into one tattoo; between the main ‘Mickey’, the flower centres and tiny hidden ‘dots’ there are 11 hidden Mickey’s!  I also love the fact that those in the know see the 'Disney' element straight away but for others I have to point it out, and when they realise they are completely awestruck!

Photo taken at the Magic Kingdom, Main Street USA, 2011

My next tattoo was based on a drawing that Simon completed as part of his 365 Mickeys Project; the drawing celebrated the day I got my original foot/ankle tattoo!

Simon's 365 Mickeys Project drawing for 8th July 2011

The tattoo version is almost the same but with an extra flower and a total of seven hidden Mickeys. This tattoo has since had a small star added to represent my mum who recently passed away.

Freshly inked Tattoo by Rachel Huntington - May 2014

So what to do next....well it's true what they say that you can never stop at just one tattoo and the idea that started bubbling away in my head was that of a full sleeve...a full Disney sleeve of course.

So in February this year the first part of my sleeve was begun. Now this sleeve is still a 'work-in-progress' and will contain a mixture of images of all different kinds that help to signify what Disney is all about for me personally; favourite movies, characters as well as representing my Disney home - Walt Disney World. The tattoo was started initially by Rachel while she was working at Rampant Ink. We started with Cinderella's castle (to represent the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World) and then the rose and bell jar from Beauty & The Beast as well as Scrump from Lilo & Stitch...

...next came some words, colour and a classic Disney blue bird...

...this was followed by more words, tinkerbell and some fairy dust...

 ...oh and the genie's lamp from Aladdin.

Now this is where I had a change of artists as Rachel decided to take a break from tattooing. Luckily for me Rampant Ink also employs the amazingly talented Simon 'Saint' Heywood who agreed to take on the rest of my sleeve for me. My first 6 hour session with Simon included lanterns from Tangled...

 ...colour and enhancements to the rose and bell jar as well as filling in around some of the words...

 ....there was also the apple from Snow White along with Cinderella's glass slipper...

...and then moving onto my lower arm...

 ...a movie clapper board to represent Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

I have now had my second 6 hour session with Simon which has resulted in seven new pieces to my sleeve. So continuing on my lower arm...

...on the front I have Figment, the purple dinosaur from the attraction Journey Into Imagination which represents Epcot. I then have the Simba cave drawing from the movie The Lion King which represents the Animal Kingdom. So that's all four main parks at Walt Disney World represented!

On the back of my lower arm there is...

 ...Mrs Potts, from Beauty & The Beast, and of course that means that...

...Chip had to be included too! Also on my lower arm there is...

...a classic Disney butterfly as seen in the likes of Bambi. Moving back onto my upper arm there were a couple of smaller pieces added...

...a silhouette of Mary Poppins and a couple of 'Mickey' balloons which are synonymous with any visit to the Magic Kingdom!

But I still have plenty of space left to fill and plenty of ideas of what I'd like to fill those spaces with...but I won't spoil the surprise and will leave the reveal to another post after my next inking session later this year!

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 6

I thought that it was about time I got back to telling you all about our vacation to Walt Disney World last August...so where were we?

Ah yes...Day 6...

Today was Epcot day.  We managed to get up and be at the bus stop for 9.00am but then had to wait what seemed like ages for a bus, and when our bus did turn up it decided rather than go straight to Epcot it would take a detour via Fort Wilderness Campground, which all resulted in us not getting to Epcot until 9.45am!

Anyway, once there we managed to hit all the major rides.  We rode the new Test Track and had great fun as the girls paired up against the boys and suffice to say the girls car came out tops.  The kids loved the interactive area after the ride and we spent an absolute age in there with them wanting to try everything.  We also spent a small amount of time in the gift shop purchasing t-shirts (for the kids) and a couple of car antenna toppers (for me!).

Before we knew it it was time for lunch which just had to be Sunshine Seasons inside the Land pavilion - I love it in here, the choice is great and varied which means all of us get to pick something we like and as we were on the Quick Service Dining plan great value too. After lunch we rode Soarin' (thanks to Fastpasses we picked up when we first got into the park) and then Journey Into Imagination with Figment.  Now I don't mind the Imagination pavilion ride but I have to say it's not as good as the original version...I miss the Dreamfinder with Figment but I suppose at least we still have the little purple fellow.

Now as we spent our time wandering around the Future World half of Epcot we found time for two things.  Firstly there was Club Cool, which is described as 'an exhibit sponsored by Coca-Cola'. Here you'll find plenty of heavily Coca-Cola themed merchandise plus numerous 'stations' offering you the chance to experience different soft, fizzy drinks from around the world for free.  One of these drinks called 'the Beverley' seems to have developed some what of a cult following amongst Disney fans and was on our 'To Do' list.  So off we went to give it a try...now in my opinion (and the kids) it was a bit bland and something I wasn't going to rush back to, however, Simon loved it (no accounting for taste).  Whenever we found ourselves at Epcot during our vacation and in need of a drink we would head over to Club Cool for Simon to drink the Beverley whilst me and the kids tried all the rest that was on offer - a great, and free, way to quench your thirst on a hot Floridian day :)

Secondly we took advantage of the air-conditioning inside MouseGear and did the obligatory trying on of silly hats...why...just because we could...

Molly with a platypus on her head!

Stylish Steampunk Mickey Ears (I did buy these eventually)

Molly doing her best Captain Jack

Yes I have a Figment on my head,
and no I didn't buy this one!

The afternoon saw us meet up with Michelle (my co-host from the Disney Dream Girls podcast) as we met some American fellow podcasters in World Showcase as well as some other UK friends Jeff & Chris - meeting friends new and old seemed to be the theme of this vacation!  We then decided it was time for an afternoon snack...

Double Chocolate Funnel Cake

Original Funnel Cake

...mmm yummy, one of my favourites and must do's!

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering World Showcase with a large amount of time spent in the Japan pavilion; the boys were in their element inside the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the 'gaming' section, suffice to say a couple of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts purchases were made!

Me & the obligatory Japanese fan (bought by Molly)

But the highlight of our stay in 'Japan' was our meal at Teppen Edo that evening; this was our one and only ADR (Advance Dining Reservation) and had been highly anticipated by all and it did not disappoint.

The dining here is family style with up to 8 guests seated around a large Hibachi grill and the food is cooked right there in front of you with great skill, artistry and theatre.  We all decided to go for sushi starters, a mix of spicy rolls and california rolls which were amazing (and quite filling) whilst our chef got on with cooking the main course.

Onion volcano - the skill to make this is amazing to watch

Noodles anyone?

The girls opted for the chicken and shrimp combo whilst the boys went for chicken and steak; both of which were served with rice, noodles and veggies and all tasted amazing. The shrimp was to die for!!  I can't recommend highly enough adding Teppan Edo to your Disney bucket list if you haven't already managed to get there; everything about it was fantastic - the food, the service, the skill, the showmanship - a definite 'must do'.  When we had finished our meal we came outside just in time to watch the start of IllumiNations; Reflections of Earth.

So we walked our way around the World Showcase Lagoon as fireworks filled the air and headed home...at the monorail we bumped into friends Jeff & Chris again!! And this is where I confess that I made a bit of a 'boob'...I was convinced that the monorail went straight through to the Magic Kingdom...well it does if you get off at the Transportation and Ticket Centre and pick up another monorail...suffice to say we saw Epcot again that evening!!