DisLove E143: Theresa from Briar Rose Emporium and Somewhere Beyond Vacations Plus Creative Classes Outside the Parks

Join Vanessa and Kris on the next episode of DisLove Podcast as they dive into the magical world of creative classes and crafts available at Disney resorts and beyond! From cake decorating to castle painting, they'll explore the plethora of exciting projects you can indulge in during your next Disney World vacation.

Discover the perfect vacation cup for moms and women who love customization! Theresa from Briar Rose Emporium introduces her innovative duo lid cups, complete with a built-in carabiner and the ability to keep your drinks refreshingly cold for an extended period. Find out why these cups are the ultimate companion for your magical Disney adventures.

Visit Briar Rose Emporium and use code "Disney" to enjoy 10% off on your first order. Plus, enjoy free shipping on all orders over $100.

Planning a worry-free Disney trip? Theresa Delp from Somewhere Beyond Vacations has you covered! Whether you're a family, couple, or solo traveler, Theresa shares her tried and tested Disneyland tricks and handles all your bookings for hotels and park tickets. Tune in to learn about the amazing free gifts you receive when booking through her.

Get ready for a magical episode full of tips, tricks, and exciting possibilities for your next Disney World adventure! Don't miss out on the enchanting world of crafts, customized cups, and stress-free travel planning. Subscribe now to DisLove Podcast and let the magic begin! 

Travel Made Easy with Little Ones
High quality, clean baby gear delivered right to your resort while on your Disney Vacation.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris.

Transcript

Vanessa Ferguson: 0:05

Welcome to the DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa Ferguson.

Kris Johns: 0:09

And I'm Kris Johns.

Vanessa Ferguson: 0:10

We would like to welcome you to show number 143. And for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show features things we love at Disney and in each episode we have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney magic into your life. And, a side note, our guest today can do both. I'm really excited for you to hear that and, as a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you can take time to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or any other platform where you listen. That, of course, helps us have the show grow. So thank you again to everyone who's already taken time to leave those reviews. We greatly appreciate those. And before we get started, we have a message from our friends Eric and Alexa.

Kris Johns: 0:54

They want to remind you, when you're planning your next Disney vacation with the little ones, to make sure to reserve anything you need from them, including strollers and a car seat, to Cribs and high chairs and more. They will also deliver this directly to your resort. Is your baby quip independent quality provider. They will provide you with excellent customer service, providing clean and useful equipment, and we know this because we are also clients and the equipment came on time and it was spotless. Let them know what you need and they'll do best to accommodate your family's needs. We've used them for our daughter. Use them for your children.

Vanessa Ferguson: 1:31

And in the show notes I will have a link so you can make your reservation today. Now on today's show. I already gave a little bit of a hint, but we will be joined by Teresa from Briar Rose Emporium and she's also with somewhere beyond vacations, so she offers customized drinking cups, which we're going to hear all about, and she can plan your Disney land vacation for you. We have a lot of Disney world planners, but Teresa specializes in Disney land, so that's super exciting. And Theresa also has something for our friends.

Kris Johns: 2:02

Use the code Disney for 10% off your first order. All orders over $100 will receive free shipping.

Vanessa Ferguson: 2:09

And I will make sure to put those links and everything in the show notes as well so you can get that special offer from Theresa. Now, before we hear all the amazing things that Theresa does between her two businesses we are going to talk about, I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the fun things that you can do outside of the parks. Now we've talked about like pup pod and the different boat rides and different things you can do, but today I wanted to talk about there are some classes you can take, and I'm not talking about like homework kind of classes. They're talking about like some fun, engaging, creative classes. So we're going to talk about some of the different ones that you have, starting from some things at the resorts all the way to Disney Springs.

Vanessa Ferguson: 2:51

Now let's go ahead and start over at Emirates Patisserie over in Disney Springs, so they have a fun thing that you can do where you can learn how to make their signature character dome cakes, which is super fun, and so these cakes are kind of a mix of a chiffon cake and a mousse and they are super cute because they look kind of like a hat of a character. So, depending on the day of the week you pick to go depends on which character you're going to make. So they have Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse dome cakes and the classes. The schedule check online, but right now it's kind of like it's every other day, so Mickey starts on Sundays and then it goes back and forth. So the Mickey cakes are a particular flavor they're the chocolate flavor and the Minnie Mouse ones are a lemon and white chocolate flavor. So it's a fun thing.

Vanessa Ferguson: 3:40

I've heard a lot of people say that it's a great experience. It is $199 as of right now, when we're taping in February of 2024, but you're allowed to have two guests come in and make it. And if you've ever ordered a cake for one of the special occasions, we've ordered cakes for different things, not specifically from them but from some of the other bakeries on property, and the case can get pricey. So the fact that you get this experience, plus you get to take home the cake, is fun and I think if you were there celebrating for a birthday, it would be fun to go and make the cake. What do you think?

Kris Johns: 4:10

Big time.

Vanessa Ferguson: 4:11

Yeah. So it gives you an option and then they give you, like, while you're there you're learning how to make it, and they also have some drinks and stuff that you're able to do, and it's kind of nice because they package it so you can take it right with you. So if you have a dinner reservation later that day and you want to use the cake for a celebration, it's all ready to go. So that is one of the classes that you can take, which I think I would enjoy doing that. I know we've used cakes on quite a few special occasions, so it'd be a fun thing. And you can add on a second cake if you'd like. So if you know you're having a larger group and you want to have two cakes, you can do that and that's only $50 to add on a second cake, and you need to. If you want to add a second cake, you have to experience how toプー Call ahead of time and let them know. So, of course, so they have enough things for you. Now we're gonna. So that's an edible one, and actually this is the only edible class we're gonna talk about. I know there are some other things on property, but that's the only one that we're gonna touch on.

Vanessa Ferguson: 5:10

The next ones we're gonna look at are more artistic, and the first one is called brush of elegance, and this is held at the Toledo tapas steak and seafood restaurant that is at the top of grand destino tower. We've eaten there, we haven't done any of the classes, but this is a two-hour class and you they have Disney hires local artists to come in and do Some of these art classes and you do a Canvas. It's an 11 by 14, so that's something to keep in mind. Depending on how light you're traveling, make sure you have space in your luggage for it, and when you go, they change the design every month. So that's kind of fun.

Vanessa Ferguson: 5:50

If this becomes something that you want to do as a tradition, you can do that, and how it works is that you go up there and then the artist. It's almost like the Wine and paint things that you could probably do back at home, but it's gonna have a Disney flair and a Disney design, so it's super neat to do. I have read that they do these at Some of the other resorts as well, so we'll talk a little bit about some of the other options you have, but the brush of elegance Is supposed to be a lot of fun. It is every Friday afternoon and it's only $40, which I didn't think was too bad. Not at all, no, and so this one. They say that you should reserve ahead of time.

Vanessa Ferguson: 6:32

You can do it right on the my Disney experience app and you can reserve it as early as 60 days, just like your dining reservation. So that's $40 for the Disney app. So that's $40 per person every Friday, 1 to 3 pm, and I think that is something again if you're staying at that resort or staying nearby. It's just a neat little fun thing to do and we're always looking for new experiences because we go to the park so often trying to New, try some new things. Now, if you don't want to do a canvas, you also have a chance to paint a Ceramic castle over at Bay Lake Tower and this is on Mondays and Fridays, so kind of a theme. A lot of these classes are later in the week. It's from 12 30 to 3 30 and that's going to be in the community hall. So in Bay Lake Tower, the community hall is where, like, there's a lot of the DVC recreation things going on, but you don't have to be a DVC member to do it and you can call. I'll put in the show notes. There's a phone number that you call to make reservations and this one you do up to two weeks in advance, and this, if you're looking like on the Disney website, there's what's called those enchanting extras collection, and that's where you can kind of see these so you can paint the ceramic Castle, which I think is a fun thing. I saw pictures. It's not huge, so it's something that you could use set around in an office or somewhere in your house. It's kind of a fun thing to do, and there are some other classes that we're going to look at at some of the other resorts as well. So we've had a painting, we had a cake, we had now a ceramic castle. Now the next ones we're going to look at. I've seen some pictures and it looks. They look super cute because you can use them outside or In different areas, and that is Spanish mosaic art, and this has this is at Coronado Springs, and then, typically, they also have had it at animal kingdom, at the animal kingdom lodge as well.

Vanessa Ferguson: 8:26

So right now, though, I know the Coronado Springs has it on a regular basis. So what you are able to do is it's a Mickey head mosaic that you're kind of able to create, and they have you do all the pieces of glass and there's, of course, they go into the story telling and everything about mosaic art and how that experience is, and it also takes two hours. So all of these classes are generally around two hours, so you don't have to like Take a whole day away from going to the parks. It could be a thing where maybe you're gonna Spend the morning at the pool, go do one of these classes in the afternoon and then go have dinner at the park. Or if you're going to one of the after hours Events or one of the parties, it's a good way to fill your day.

Vanessa Ferguson: 9:12

And this, these mosaics I've seen where people will use them out in their yards. I've also seen where people will use them and Like just in their house for some decorative artwork as well. So this one, because it is a little bit larger, it can go all the way up to a 12 by 12. They're going to help you by providing a travel container that you can take it with you. Now this one in Coronado Springs this one is offered a little bit more frequently. This one you can go On Monday, wednesdays or Saturday afternoons. Again, it's in the afternoon, from 1 to 3 pm. It is at the top of the Grand Estino Tower, just like we were talking about earlier. It's really a great thing and it's super cute and you can personalize it, make it the colors you want.

Kris Johns: 10:00

So nice mosaic artwork, you Know, and I think it's fun to have these more creative keep sakes to take home, oh definitely and I think that's just one of the nice things is where you know Disney's about memories and then to be able to make something and take it home that really allows you to connect with that vacation.

Vanessa Ferguson: 10:19

Now we didn't take one of these classes but we did do with our friends Shane and Sharli. We did some ornaments over in Germany at Epcot where you can do the. So it was fun to make the Fuse Glass ornament and then they mailed it to you afterwards. So these are again some of those unique experiences that you can have. So this is over at Grand Destino Tower, and then I called the double check because I wasn't sure if they still had these. But they do still have them, which I was super excited to hear.

Vanessa Ferguson: 10:49

They have a program called Tasteful Artistry over at Wilderness Lodge and this one, I think, is a little fun because you get a little bit of add-ons. So it is in the Territory Lounge and it is from 12 to 2pm and it's only on Thursdays, which is a bummer because I was thinking about doing it on our upcoming trip and we're just doing a long weekend and we won't be there on Thursday. But you are able to basically create a serving board that you can a tray, so you could use it as a tray, as a charcuterie board, all kinds of fun designs. They have different stencil designs that vary. Typically they always have a Wilderness Lodge one and a DVC one, and this is an experience also for two people, just like the cakes were, the dome cakes were. So this price is $129. But when you're there, the two of you will work on one of your boards and they have a variety of snacks that are part of the evening menu from the Territory Lounge. So you're going to get some finger food, some drinks, and then anyone over 21, they said, is able to get a beer or wine option as well. So it was funny. When I spoke to them, they said it's a paired experience, meaning it's two people, but it does also include wine, so you can add an extra board for this one, just like you could add an extra cake for the other one. But I think this would be a fun experience as a couple to do, or even with a close friend or relative. It'd just be a fun experience to do. They do also offer this at Fort Wilderness, but these are smaller trays at Fort Wilderness, so the price is a little bit less and I'll put some of the information in the show notes. The ones over at Fort Wilderness are on Tuesdays and they said that you're not going to get those snacks and things as they are either. So Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge offer this opportunity for you to make these trays, which is a super fun experience and, I think, something unique, unique take home as well.

Vanessa Ferguson: 12:51

Now, finally, I didn't I'm not going to go through every resort that has it, but if you are staying at one of the DVC resorts in particular, check out every day. They will have a list of daily activities. So I know at the ones that we've stayed at, they will have everything from they have where you can make a Mickey tie dye shirt to making a button, bracelets, all kinds of fun things for kids, like making slime. I was looking up at Wilderness Lodge in particular. They had where you can make a Wilderness Explorer backpack. I know some of them have where you can make some like personal care products, like they have a sugar scrub and different things like that. I know the Mickey tie dye is pretty popular. That's done usually multiple times a week at the different resorts and all you have to do is check, look at the. The categorize them as different things. Some are called activity under the activities and some are under the craft of the day. But if you're staying at any of the resorts that have a DVC area, check out what the activities are, because there are some great take homes that you can have from those as well, and I've seen I've had quite a few friends that have done the Mickey tie dye shirts in particular, which always looks super cute and fun.

Vanessa Ferguson: 14:06

Now there were a few more of these classes that existed before COVID. These are ones that have been slowly being brought back, so it's great to see these. I'd love to hear from some of you who might have done some of these classes yourself. We haven't taken part in any of these yet, but I know they are definitely on my list of to-dos at Disney and really looking forward to maybe hearing and seeing what some of you have done before. So we are going to give us just a minute. I will also put in the show notes.

Vanessa Ferguson: 14:36

There's a website called magicalresortguidecom. They have a listing of all these activities and, as I mentioned, a lot of these aren't necessarily on the website. You have to call, like I had to call to get the information on the. The Kim confirm the information for the one at wilderness lodge. So check out things like on that, magicalresortguidecom. And then, of course, you're going to find these phone numbers and it's always important to call and see if you need to make a reservation or kind of what the schedule is at that point in time. So give us just a few minutes and we'll get our call up with Teresa.

Vanessa Ferguson: 15:09

We'd like to welcome Teresa to the show. She's here with two roles she is with somewhere beyond vacations and she's a travel navigator, so we're going to talk about booking your trips to Disneyland, and then she also is the owner of Briar Rose Emporium. She makes all kinds of neat products. She has dual lid cups, shirts, she has car coasters, kids cups, basically a lot of really cool custom drinking cups that you can choose from, as long as some other great products. But we'd like to welcome Teresa to the show. Hi, thank you. Now we've been asking everybody recently what is your favorite event at any Disney part.

Theresa Delp: 15:47

Oh, so that's really hard to choose from. Um, I'm particularly fond of going to Disneyland. I gather five, six times a year at least, and I will say my favorite event there is Ubi Ubi Bash. It is so much fun. Whether you're a kid, you're bringing kids or your adult running solo through the park, you get all of California adventure to yourself. There's basically no weights, there's tons of characters to meet and greet with and a bunch of candy. Who can go wrong with that?

Vanessa Ferguson: 16:15

right, exactly, and we've only been to the Halloween party in Florida, but we've heard so much good things about what that bash is, so we definitely want to go to that one here for sure oh yeah, I would highly recommend it now we want to hear all about your businesses and what are the products and services you offer connected to Disney awesome.

Theresa Delp: 16:37

So I guess I'll start with somewhere beyond vacations. I'm a travel navigator for them and basically that just means that you come to me and I help book your trip and I make it as seamless as possible. When it comes to what I specialize in, it's going to be Disneyland and that's the park that I know. That's what I've been going to since I was four years old, so I really know that park really well. I designed a bunch of tips and tricks that I'm giving to all my customers and I can book your hotel, your park experience with meaning, disney dining and everything and as well as your tickets into the park. The only part that I couldn't do is special events, like the oogie-googie bash that one, unfortunately for now, I'll have to book, but I got you covered on everything else and giving you some amazing tips and tricks on how to maximize your experience while still keeping your event and your time there very magical.

Theresa Delp: 17:34

And then, when it comes to my bryoros emporium, I make custom tumblers. That's the main thing that I make. My favorite ones to make are my 20 ounce and 30 ounce dual lid cups. Those are what I take to the park, so I think it's a great add-on for, like when you're wanting to go on a trip, whether it's to Disneyland, you want to go to Lake Tahoe, you want to go to New York City. The dual lid cups are amazing because they have two lids that come with it your regular standard lid and then also has a sports top lid. And that sports top lid is the key. Why that's my favorite? Because I don't have to worry about anything getting in my drink. My drink stay cold for 12 hours literally one of my favorite things to make and to have. And I can put any design that anybody would like on the exterior of them and the images are baked on so they don't come off now you are able to share so much joy with people.

Kris Johns: 18:30

What was your inspiration?

Theresa Delp: 18:31

to become both a travel navigator as well as provide Disney themed products so, like I said, I've been doing Disney since I was four years old. I grew up being a Disney kid. I am raising my daughter to be a Disney kid, as one of her teachers told me this morning, and I it's just. It's a happy memory for me. It always has been. When I go there, I feel like I'm an entirely different person and I just want to bring that joy and happiness that I have to as many people as possible, and so that's kind of where doing the cups came in.

Theresa Delp: 19:04

I used to do them just for friends and family. You know, stick some brim on the outside of it. Here you go. And when 2020 happened, I actually got a lot more serious about it. I do resin covered tumblers. Those ones are custom orders only and then I actually got a friend of mine asked me to do some comic cons and some anime cons, and then that's where the sublimation, which is mainly what I sell now, came about. And then to do the travel agency while doing the cups is amazing and fun, and I'm so glad I can do them for people because they are very much so a commodity that people want, and same with the shirts and the petting boards and the signs. That's something everybody wants.

Theresa Delp: 19:46

But I felt like I have already been helping so many people doing looking their trips all my friends and family and everything you know. They're always saying, hey, you just went, what, what can I do? What? Where can I save the most money? What's the thing I need to do? And I I'm always willing to help. It's just my personality and when the opportunity came to be of signing up to be a travel navigator, with summer beyond vacations, I literally jumped on it. I was like this is a great way for me to be able to be at home still with my daughter when she's needing me to be there for her classes, for her gymnastics, for whatever she needs, while also being able to help Get everybody to go someplace and make wonderful memories with their families.

Vanessa Ferguson: 20:28

Now let's touch on the travel navigator piece, because a lot of our listeners are individuals that mostly travel to Disney World. So for someone who is entered, like it's been almost five years since we've been to Disneyland, if I were wanting to plan a trip, what would the process be like? How soon should I reach out to you if I wanted to make a trip for Disneyland? Like, how does that process work?

Theresa Delp: 20:51

So you can reach out at any point in time. I always say if you want to have a good trip, the sooner that you have a date of mind, the sooner you should reach out to me, mainly because I can actually help. You say, like, if you want to go but you don't want to have a ton of people there, but say you want to visit during Halloween time, you want to experience that, but you don't want to have, you know, hours long waits on rides and everything, then I would say let's not do October, let's do September. September there's less crowds there. You're still gonna have somewhat of a crowd, but it's not gonna be as bad as October is. So you know, if you have flexibility of dates and everything that's, but you want to be there a specific time, you always reach out to me. I can let you know. I also offer.

Theresa Delp: 21:37

When anybody comes and asks me, you know like, hey, this is what I'm looking to do. What do you suggest? I'm always willing to give you as much suggestion as possible, give you options of, you know, different places to stay, different things to do in the park, and I have these really cool planners that I have almost had all of them finished now. They're printouts that you can take with you so you make sure that you can achieve whatever you would like to achieve and they're broken out to if you're going solo, if you have our parents and you have babies, or if you have toddlers, or if you have kids, teens, or say, like you're doing a huge family trip, we're planning one in December and there's about 20 of us going to Disneyland and I'm the person who gets to plan that and so I'm work. That's one of the trip ones that I'm working on right now of you know, just strategies best use of your time.

Theresa Delp: 22:30

Disneyland and Disney World are two vastly different parts. Disneyland you have two parks and they're very close together. There is a ton of rides in both parts, where Disney World are a lot more spread out and there's not as many rides. So you want to maximize the time as possible to do, and I would always advise anybody, if it's your first trip or it's your first time going back plan for three days in the park. It's an easy three-day park, you know, if you don't have extremely long waits. If you have long waits, go for that four to five day trip.

Vanessa Ferguson: 23:04

Now you've given us a lot of great information of kind of how you help and you add some of that. We always talk about Disney magic to your customers who help, who booked their travel with you. How do you think that your products, through your briar rose, offer that Disney magic to your customers lives?

Theresa Delp: 23:22

Well, I say that those items, they bring magic to your home. So you can't always go to the parks, you know, I mean, if it was me I would be at Disneyland every single day, and my husband knows that for a fact. There was an opportunity we had of living closer and I was like the second. He told me what town we're possibly living to. I lived up to see how long it would take me to get from that town to Disneyland and I was like perfect, it's an afternoon trip, like I could go every afternoon type thing.

Theresa Delp: 23:51

But you know, I live in Northern California, it's not an afternoon trip and I want the magic in my home too. So by having the cups I mean I use my cups every day, I wear my shirts all the time. It just brings that magic with me wherever I go, and I feel like for a lot of people that does it too. You know you're representing the things that you like and the things that you love. Carrying a cup around, wearing the shirts, having the pictures displayed on the wall, all of that brings it back into your home.

Vanessa Ferguson: 24:19

Now we have. Of course, your website has a lot of your products, showcase some great designs in that but how does that ordering process work? Like? Could I do a custom order like? What sorts of things?

Theresa Delp: 24:30

do you offer for the in regards to your designs? So I do have preset designs and not everything's on my website like I have over, say, five thousand designs at this point and that's going a little on the cautionary side. I probably have way more than that. But I also do offer custom orders and what I've always told everybody if you're not a hundred percent sure what you're looking for, the best thing is to email or reach out to me on Instagram. We can talk over, decide what you're looking for and the process for ordering a custom order.

Theresa Delp: 25:01

Once we decide what you're looking for, I send you the link and it gives you direct order to place it through my website and then, once that payment has been made and the order has been placed and if it's a custom order, I design it, do a mock design. I email you pictures of what it looks like. Once we both agree that this is what it's going to be, this is how we want it to look. All this going is correct, then I print it or I finish working on the design of it, get it on the cup and then it gets out to you that's awesome.

Kris Johns: 25:31

You mentioned all these wonderful products you make. Where can people go online to see the all the cool things you do?

Theresa Delp: 25:36

my website is brierrosinporiumcom and you can always follow me on all social medias underneath the same name brier Rosenporium. I'm often live on TikTok. A lot of my products are posted on Instagram first and a lot of sneak peeks to new product lines are always getting on Instagram before they hit anything else, including my website. I have a lot of fun stuff I'm watching for this year and I'm very excited about it well.

Vanessa Ferguson: 26:04

Thank you so much for joining us today. We will make sure to share the links to all of your great socials and how people can get in touch with you and, of course, show your products, as well as some of your experiences as a travel navigator as well.

Theresa Delp: 26:17

Thank you thank you, I appreciate this.

Kris Johns: 26:20

Thank you again to Theresa for joining us today. She's given us a promo code Disney for you to use to get 10% off your first order. All orders over $100 receive free shipping. And remember, use the code Disney to say 10% off your first order.

Vanessa Ferguson: 26:35

And now we are on to Two Minute Trivia and Wisdom from Walt Quote and Kris, you are up with trivia?

Kris Johns: 26:42

We talked a lot about classes and there's a little bit of difficulty finding trivia about classes, but this is more of a. Did you know? Did you know that you can receive credit from Western Illinois University for taking a Disney Communication Culture course?

Vanessa Ferguson: 27:00

Wow, that's interesting.

Kris Johns: 27:02

And also Hudson Community College out of New Jersey, and this is interesting you can receive up to essentially equivalent of six credits by going to Walt Disney World.

Vanessa Ferguson: 27:13

Wow. I teach at a community college. I need to see if I can get one of these classes added to my teaching schedule.

Kris Johns: 27:18

Imagine teaching Walt Disney Communication.

Vanessa Ferguson: 27:21

Yeah, I need to talk to my chair about that. Really interesting, all right, and I thought, because we're talking about trying new things and planning new adventures, like with Teresa, I really thought this quote fit well. I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things, so maybe don't repeat the same old trip that you normally have to Disney. Try one of these awesome new classes and add something new to your experience. And don't forget to check out our other episodes on the on our Buzzsprout page and to follow us on social media for even more Disney magic. And thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Dislove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris.

Kris Johns: 28:12

This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings, and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.