
I’ve been wanting to do this Disney puzzle for a long time, but 1,500 pieces seemed like a lot.
2026 – It’s the year. I was at a puzzle exchange and “there was the puzzle.” I immediately snapped it up.
Imagine my surprise, when I opened the box, and the person who donated it had left many sections intact. Sometimes this is done, when it is too hard to take the pieces apart.
I have to admit… I was excited versus annoyed.
I did think… Is this cheating?
I mean, we’re “supposed” to do a puzzle from start to finish. Then I thought, it’s winter, I’ll pretend I’m on a cruise. I’ve gone to the game room and the puzzle is sitting there and I just continue working on it.
As you can see, I need to improve my evening lighting. Hard to get clear photos, but you get the idea.

I was able to complete this puzzle in one evening. Disney puzzles are SO MUCH FUN!

We had a snow storm yesterday, so a lot of puzzling and book reading here.
I sure hope Spring comes soon, miss outdoor walking! Too icy to walk outside right now…

It isn’t cheating because there are no rules when working puzzles. It’s your choice how you go about it.
I’m sharing my feelings, but please don’t think I am criticizing you in any way or trying to insist my way is the right one.
I don’t want any pieces already worked when I open a puzzle. If I find even two pieces together, I separate them and place them far apart back on my puzzle board.
If I find that the 300 pieces are too easy, I sometimes work them without looking at the picture for more of a challenge.
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I’m like you, if I open a box, and a few pieces are together, I separate them. However, while puzzling is enjoyable, sometimes we just want to get it done. It depends on the day. For example, I got a beautiful puzzle at a puzzle exchange, Art & Fable brand. I was excited to do it. When I opened it, it was still intact and nicely separated into quadrants. Now, that one, I took apart completely, so I could do it myself. This Disney one though, because it was 1,500 pieces, I was kind of excited to have it partially done. It’s all in our minds… I looked at it as the Cinderella story, where little mice come in the middle of the night to lend a helping hand. Happy puzzling.
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😊😊😊
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I love the colorful brightness of this one. I tend to do more flowers and farm scenes though. It’s just what makes me happy!
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Yes, it’s important to do what makes us happy. As I go to different puzzle exchanges and thrift stores (I also buy my own.), I’ve been venturing out, because I see puzzles / different brands that I have not heard of with beautiful illustrations. I tend to go for bright colors. I’m just doing a puzzle by Magnolia. I have mixed feelings on this brand. Beautiful colors, nice quality pieces, but the pieces are quite small for 1,000. Also, this image is rectangular vertically, so I can’t reach the top of the puzzle. I like a puzzle where I can sit in one spot and do it. The White Mountain brand are large, but I can still reach the top. So many NEW puzzle brands out there. It’s fun. Happy puzzling.
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I share your feelings on the vertical ones.
I also hate small pieces.
I’m not too fond of the really large pieces either though. It makes me feel like I’m working a kiddy puzzle.
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Agree, the pieces have to be “just right.” I did a Yazz puzzle recently, really enjoyed that and the Boardwalk puzzles, the 500 ones. Oh, I did a 1Canoe for the first time, really enjoyed that puzzle.
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I haven’t been paying much attention to brand names, except for “Bits and Pieces”. I intend to check some of these new brands out.
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I was tempted to do the same with our completed Advent puzzles when we broke them down after Christmas. It took a lot of time to put the mini-puzzles back into their individual boxes as piles of pieces. But next year we’ll get the same enjoyment out of it. As Vero says, whatever rules you come up with are fair! BTW, that’s an impressive time frame of Disney villains. I can’t name the movie for the crowned lion, can you?
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I was “thinking” the crowned lion was Scar from Lion King… Am I wrong?
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I’m enjoying the “cheating or not cheating” debate you’ve stirred up in the comments here. No, the lion remains a mystery. He looks more dated than Scar. The crown is really throwing me!
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Agree… that Crown is unique, memorable, but not enough to know WHICH Disney film it was. LOL
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It’s not cheating. I would do the same. Looks like a great puzzle!
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I loved how bold this puzzle was.
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Puzzles can be hard with so many pieces. I gave up on mine with 300 pieces and redonated it! Someone will be happy with their Andy Warhol solve.
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For sure, someone will be happy. A few years ago, I was like you. I tried a puzzle and wasn’t feeling it, so back into the box it went. Then last year, it was so cold in Chicago. I was at a book store with my daughter and I found a puzzle on Rothenburg, Germany. I so enjoyed doing that puzzle that I actually went to the city during their Christmas Market. That’s how I got hooked on puzzling. Also, in the evening I was getting bored with reading, scrolling my phone, watching a show… Needed to change my routine. So started listening to audio books while I puzzled. We go through phases in life. I’ve been meeting a lot of new nerdy people, I like it. 😉
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I have discovered that sometimes it is good in this world to be a nerd or have nerd like hobbies as you can’t in trouble with reading, puzzling, or writing, mostly.
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Yes, I agree. Also, I think the Universe guides us in new directions. It’s nice.
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I’d be tempted to leave those pieces intact with such a large puzzle. A 1,500-piece puzzle would take me a very long time to complete and I wouldn’t have the room while I worked it.
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Yes, I think that’s why I felt like little elves had helped me. 😉
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Absolutely not cheating! Puzzling is for fun, and you do what works for you, in my humble opinion! It’s a neat image.
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LOL, yes, I think in life, we need to do what makes us happy. Forget the rules. Just kidding. Some rules are good in life. Yes, I really enjoyed this image.
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It’s all about having fun and getting lost in the moment.
I still have 600 pieces to go with my Alfred Hitchcock puzzle, and then have to solve the crime. Who needs that coffee table anyway?
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LOL — I loved your last night… who needs the coffee table. That’s how puzzling is, it takes up our tables for sure.
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And we don’t mind at all.
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It is absolutely cheating! I know this because my mother would thoroughly take every piece apart when she finished a puzzle. And what our mothers taught us was always the right way, wasn’t it? At least that was how it worked at my house! 😛
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LOL – hysterical!! You made me laugh, made me think of all the church rules, and other rules by parents and grand parents. We need to be FREE! LOL
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It is cheating…..but nice cheating!
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Look at it as a nice treat!
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kind of cheating, but there are no rules, as long as you had fun 🙂
♥♥
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LOL – yes, since it was 1,500 pieces, I was thrilled to have the “head start!”
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