Disney Planning ... AGAIN! (YIPPEE)

Cinderella Castle

Yes, Jackson will be 3-years-old and yes, Addison will be an infant, but we are planning another trip to Walt Disney World. You may not think so, but there is still a lot that we haven't done or seen at the "Happiest Place on Earth." And, there is nothing like watching a child's face when they see Mickey Mouse for the first time or when they wonder why the elephant that they are sitting in is now flying. Fortunately, our family can enjoy everything about Disney World together and create countless memories—and, we love it!

This year, there are several things that I am looking forward to. They range from mom things to foodie things to family things, but they are all fun things.

And, here they are:

1. Dressing up a baby girl in Minnie, Tinker Bell and princess outfits. You can't say that little girls don't look adorable all dolled up. Think about it. See?
2. Eating at Boatwright's at Port Orleans. My parents said the food there was the best on property. I accept their challenge.
3. Riding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It is new this year and we need to give it a whirl. 
4. Trying anything at France in Epcot. The photos of the elegant French pastries really look amazing, so I just need to eat one ... or one dozen of them. There's a Brioche Ice Cream Sandwich, an Ice Cream Martini and Profiteroles au Chocolate. They just all sound delicious. 
5. Shopping at the new Sanuk store in Downtown Disney/Disney Springs. We love Sanuk flip flops so much that our family should be sponsored by them. There is also a new allergen-free cupcake shop called Erin McKenna's Bakery NYC.
6. Drinking a Frozen Hot Chocolate. TK and I loved them at Hershey, so we need to try them everywhere now. 
7. Checking off festive food in the Holiday Food Passport at Epcot. I know there's a Cronut listed on there and a Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate. Both will be ingested.
8. There is some dessert illusion called Biramisu. It is Tiramisu, but it is made with beer instead of coffee. Now, I am just curious. 

Jax and Donald Duck

This year, we are also hoping to throw in a little Legoland and a little Busch Gardens Christmas Town. We've experienced Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, so now we want to see how they do it in Tampa, Florida.

Any other thoughts on what we should not miss this year? I may have already done it the other 14 times I've been to Walt Disney World, but you can still suggest it and I will definitely take it into consideration. 

Trip Report Day 5: 11/26/13

Halfway through our trip, we woke up and headed over to Hollywood Studios for our breakfast reservation at Hollywood & Vine. Fortunately, when we got to the park, I found a cast member and asked where those who had dining reservations entered the park. Everyone else was lined up at the turnstiles, so he led us to a side area where we gave our names, scanned our Magic Bands and walked right into an empty Hollywood Studios. It was pretty cool to see the quiet streets before all of the guests filed in.

At Hollywood & Vine, we saw Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, June from Little Einsteins and Jake. Again, Jax wanted to eat in peace, so he wasn't so keen on the idea of pictures, but he did like all of the singing and the music. The waiter wasn't our favorite, but we had a good time.

Lightning McQueen

After eating, we headed over to Tower of Terror so most of us could ride it, excluding me. It is the only ride I refuse to try in all of Walt Disney World. I just think that the queue will freak me out and the ride will make me uneasy. When they were done, we went over to Rock N Rollercoaster to check the single rider line. They actually closed down that line because they said it was getting longer than the stand by line. I guess my secret is out. Fortunately, we were able to sit down to see the Lights, Motors, Action show and Lightning McQueen. Jax was interested in all of the cars in the show.

On our way to Muppetvision 3D, we saw a line to take pics with Lightning McQueen and Mater, so we waited so Jax could get up close to them. It would have been nice if he could have gotten a little bit more time to walk around them and analyze them, but there were people behind us that had been waiting too. When we got to Muppetvision, we went right in and I needed to change Jax's diaper, so I went in the dark corner and laid out his stuff, so no one could see and I could change him quick. We went right in after the little pre-show.

Osbourne Lights

Afterward, we headed over to Toy Story Mania, but only half of our party had Fastpasses for the ride. In the past, we would just get paper Fastpasses for the rest of our party and go right in. Unfortunately, with the new Magic Bands, we were unable to make any changes unless we went to Guest Relations at the front of the park and made the changes. This what not an option for us because the line for Fastpass return was already so long, so those with Fastpass went on and those without went to eat. Toy Story Mania is such a fun ride, but I lost the game to Tom. We met up with everyone else at Studio Catering Company for lunch, but they were already finished eating. We ate our lunch and I bought Jackson a Lightning McQueen snack bucket for $11.99, which was a pretty good deal. We went shopping in the Animation Courtyard for more cars, but were only able to find Star Wars versions instead. We bought a few, but we spent all day looking for Darth Mater and there were none in the whole park. We even asked cast members to look in the back for him.

Some of us went off to ride Rock N Rollercoaster and Star Tours, and we took Jax in to see Disney Junior Live. He loved it, but I wasn't a fan of sitting on the floor for the whole show. My dad couldn't even sit with us because with his knee, he couldn't sit on or get up from the floor. Also, I couldn't believe that they didn't sell any souvenirs or toys with Handy Manny or Oso. Where are those toys?

Tom and I were able to walk right on Star Tours even though stand by said 20 minutes. We had the Yoda/Wookie version of the ride and it was pretty cool. After that, I went with Georgie and Garrett to ride Rock N Rollercoaster and Tom and my parents took Jax to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, which ended up being closed. We were able to use the single rider line and I rode the coaster next to some first-timers, so I warned them about the initial take-off and how fast it is. When we were done, I met up with Tom, Jax and my parents so we could see the Osbourne Family Dancing Lights. It was pretty amazing, especially when the music came on. Tom told me that Jackson loved it when it snowed on the street too.

We had a dinner reservation at Cape May Cafe, so we all met up and headed over to the Beach Club on the boat. The captain of the boat that was waiting when we got there was pretty grumpy so I was glad that we were waiting for the next one. The seafood buffet we had for dinner was great, especially the crab legs. I used the skills that I learned at Joe's Crab Shack to open and eat a bunch.

After dinner, we took a look at the arcade and it started to thunder so we decided to grab a cab and head back to the resort instead of taking the boat back to Hollywood Studios. I missed out on a No Way Jose at Beaches & Cream and my heart still hurts ...

Trip Report Day 2: 11/23/13

We woke up and headed to Animal Kingdom. We started out at Pizzafari because none of us ate and I read that it was one of the places that served breakfast. When we got there, we just missed it, but the manager, Yusuf made sure that we got the last nine bounty platters, and if one of the plates was missing something, he threw in something else. He even threw in a plate for free because it was all he had left. It really helped us out and we were so grateful. I know I'll never forget his Disney touch of kindness.

The Tree of Life

After we finished eating, we headed over to Expedition Everest and rode it really quick and it was actually better on a full stomach. Jax couldn't ride Kali River Rapids, so we sat out with Aunt Rosie and hit the bathroom instead. By then, we were ready to use our Fastpass+ to ride Kilimanjaro Safari. Jax fell asleep, so I put him in the carrier and he slept through the whole thing. I noticed that they removed the Little Red/Big Red storyline and I think it was a good idea, but I did miss the guy saying, "Come in, Simba 1!"

After that, we enjoyed a few wonderful Mickey pretzels and then some of us went to It's Tough to Be a Bug and others to Festival of the Lion King. When the show was over, we met up and saw a character greeting spot with Pooh and Tigger. This was the deciding moment; would Jackson love the characters or be afraid of them? Well, Jax ran right over and into Pooh's arms. I did all I could not to cry like a baby. It made my day, no week, NO month! I was a proud Disney mama.

A Mickey Pretzel

We all then headed over to Dinoland U.S.A. so some could ride Primeval Whirl and we could take Jax on Triceratop Spin. He held on to Poppy's shorts for dear life. We also played a carnival game and I won Jax a stuffed turtle. At that time, our dinner reservation at Yak & Yeti was drawing near, so we headed over there. I checked us in and grabbed a drink at the bar before we were seated. We had appetizers and entrees, and our waitress was very friendly. I don't remember her name but she was blonde and I was able to leave positive feedback on the card on the table.

When we were done eating, we left the park to get back to resort to get ready for Poppy's birthday surprise that night. I told a little lie that I wanted to try the craft beers at the Crew's Cup Lounge and we were all going to go, so I arranged for cabs for us and we went to the Yacht Club. They have a cool train set in their lobby for Christmas.

When we got to the marina, I checked us in and then we told my dad that we had a surprise for him. My mom and I had planned a pontoon cruise to view Illuminations, complete with birthday decorations, snacks, soda, coffee, a fruit plate, cheese and crackers, and a special Mickey cake. We were able to go by Hollywood Studios to see the Christmas tree and then under the bridge in France in Epcot before the show started. It was great to see Illuminations from another angle, especially with snacks (thanks to the folks on my Disney list serv for the great idea).

After the cruise, we went back in the hotel so I could make a stop at the Crew's Cup Lounge (so I really didn't lie) and buy a round for me, Uncle George and Tom. We took our beers and made our way to the Beach Club to see the chocolate carousel in their lobby. It was amazing that the whole thing was edible and perfect. We went back to the hotel after that to get to bed and prep for the Magic Kingdom again on Sunday.

 

Jackson's First Trip to Disney Day 1: 11/22/13

Friday, November 22, 2013 is the date we have all been waiting for. It's been months and months since we started planning for my son Jackson's first Disney vacation. Our trip members included: me, Tom, Jackson, Nonna (my mom) and Poppy (my dad) from N.Y.; Aunt Rosie and Uncle George from N.J. and Georgie, Paige and Garrett from FL.

The Jambo House Christmas Tree

Our flight from NY was at 6:15 a.m. We took the earliest flight to get the fun started immediately. I scooped Jackson out of his crib at 4:30 a.m. as my dad knocked on the door. The car was already packed from the night before, so we only had carry-ons to lug along with us. We headed for the airport and Jackson was awake already, and he was soaked. As soon as we got into the airport, I changed his diaper and his clothes, and then we sped over to security. We let him run around in the airport before boarding because we knew he would be confined to a seat once we were in the airplane. On the plane, we put the portable DVD player on and started Cars 2. And, then we heard from our angels as the flight attendants said we could leave all electronic devices on throughout the flight. YES! He watched the movie and had some snacks, which kept him nice and comfortable. About one hour into the flight, he fell asleep and we laid him on the seat between us that was left empty, for obvious reasons. No one wanted to sit next to a crying baby for more than two minutes, never mind two hours. Jax didn't even cry once. He remained quiet and didn't wake up until we landed.

Upon departure, we got our stroller at the gate and made our way toward the Magical Express terminal to bring us to our resort. Uncle George and Aunt Rosie met us there and my mother handed out the Magic Bands to all of us so we could use them as our ticket aboard. Jax fell asleep again as we made the drive to our resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village. We had to make stops at Pop Century (we stayed there in '04 and '07) and the new Art of Animation Resort (more on that later on in the trip).

Walt Disney World Railroad Station

We finally made it to the resort and saw all of the decorations, including a huge Christmas tree decked in African animals and animal print. It was gorgeous! We could already see zebras on the savannah from the lobby windows, which is what makes this resort so special in my eyes. Unfortunately, we found that our room was too far from the lobby, bus stops, etc. for my aunt who just had back surgery, so they kindly changed our room to a more suitable location the next day. By the time we got to the room, we were all hungry, so I changed Jax and we headed to Jambo House and Mara for lunch and to get our refillable mug. We chose the "Length of Stay" option for $18, but only bought one mug for Tom and I. (I had the Carved Turkey Sandwich, but for more on what I ate, visit yumness.wordpress.com.)

After lunch, we went back to the resort to see if my cousin, his girlfriend and her son showed up yet. They just got there when we did and we were able to talk a little bit and then get ready to head to Magic Kingdom, since we had MVMCP tickets for that night. Tom and I decided to stop at the concierge to put a credit card on our Magic Bands for easier purchasing. Our dinner reservation was at 5 p.m. for Tony's Town Square and we were able to get in with our tickets at 4 p.m. After dinner, we decided to ride Pirates of the Caribbean because it's a favorite, and I was glad it was Jax's first ride.

Afterward, we headed back to Main Street to claim a spot for the show and parade. While we waited, a few of us got hot cocoa and cookies in Tomorrowland. After both events, we were super tired, so I decided to take Jax into the baby center and then make our way to the front of the park for the castle show and Holiday Wishes. Uncle George and Aunt Rosie left and Georgie, Paige and Garrett went on rides. The castle projection show was awesome. We were able to do a little shopping after and then leave the park.

Unfortunately, we missed the dance parties, but that just leaves some things to look forward to the next time we visit.

 

 

Some Kind of Trip

I had two weeks off and I have been taking a lot of trips. Trips to the bathroom. Trips to and from the car because I can't carry everything I bought at once. Trips to get more clothing to fill the washing machine. However, these are not the trips I wanted to take while I had this time off and now the window has shut on the idea.

All week I have been deleting emails from Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Sherman's Travel and Fodor's because I don't want to see what I will miss out on while I am growing and having my child. I don't want to see the countless bars of Key West or the castles of Scotland or even the new attractions slated for Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, because I can't visit ANY of them. Not now and not for a while.

This week, I wanted to discover a new place or lay on a beach relaxing in the sun or drink a non-alcoholic fruit concoction ... but now I will just have to wait, for longer than I probably realize, to start checking more things off of My Life List. Well, I know I can look forward to #26 and that is a wonderful and amazing thing, and I have loved every minute of it so far. I guess I am just coming to the realization that I will be sacrificing yet another thing, while I plan for my husband's trip to Toronto (another place I've never been). I will be home thinking of whether my little boy will have curly blonde or brown hair and whether he will have my brown eyes or TK's blue eyes, all from the comfort of my own home. Ah, to be a mother.

Big Plans for This New Year

I am not the biggest fan of odd numbers, but I think that 2011 might bring me a lot of new and exciting things. First and foremost, I plan on keeping my self-respect and fire so that I can still be called difficult and never weak or naive. So there.

Now for the rest of the year, I have a few trips planned because new experiences are what keep me inspired. This month, I will be heading to Las Vegas for the third time in my life to tear it up with my friends. I've been there for a bachelorette party and with my family, but never with friends. We are all VERY excited. I will be going to see my first expensive Cirque du Soleil show, O, while we are there. The next trip I have planned is for work. I will be attending a conference in San Francisco on "Social Media and Community." The subject matter is very interesting to me, which you can probably see if you are friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. I am always down to learn new things, and if a world famous chocolate shop is down the street (Ghirardelli), I am certainly interested in traveling across the map to learn about whatever you want to teach me. The last trip I have penned in the datebook is to the one and only Walt Disney World and then Orlando, Florida. I will be away for two weeks with my family. I have been apart from Mickey for too long, even though normal people will say I was just there in 2009. I just love it there because I can break out in song randomly or skip down the street or dance to the music in my head, and no one cares! They just think, "She's feeling the magic," and they are right. The second week of our trip will be dedicated to golf, shopping, dining and Sea World, I think. For us, the second week is spent recuperating from the prior week of go, go, go at Disney. Also, speckled within the year will probably be a couple random weekend road trips with TK to see the states that don't require a plane or train to get to. This is only the beginning of the excitement.

This year, I would also like for TK and I to buy a home. We are outgrowing our current home and I would like to be able to use my Kitchenaid mixer and some of the other items I received for my bridal shower two years ago. It just frosts my cupcakes that all of our stuff is still in their boxes and that I will probably have to replace all of the spices on my spice rack because they are probably expired. I would love a place with a large kitchen and a nice little nook for me to draw, read or write. Ahhhh, that would be lovely. Some other bonuses would be a nice bathtub for frequent soaks and a fireplace to cuddle up in front of, but I won't hold my breath.

Another idea for this year is a possible baby bump...but don't get too excited! I am just considering it. I don't want anyone spreading any rumors or putting a December 31st deadline on me. Kids change your life forever and I like to sleep, so this is a big decision that I don't need anyone making for me. Since September 13, 2008 (the day after getting married) I have been asked about pregnancy. It is so strange that pregnancy is frowned upon until the day you get married, and then the day after it's like GAME ON! That's a lot of pressure. But, I would like to have a kid before I have to worry about being old and having complications. Right now I have a prescription for prenatal vitamins in my pocketbook. It is haunting me and I am not sure how I feel about it, especially since people talk about morning sickness, weight gain, hormones, mood swings and how your vagina is never the same. I may have to reconsider this whole situation. I'll get back to you.

So, that is what 2011 has in store for me, well, I hope. Watch, I'll reread this on December 31, 2011 and laugh at how wrong I was or, I will peer at it over a huge belly with a bowl of Chubby Hubby ice cream perched on top of it. Either one.

Quite Meticulous

I am in the process of packing for my upcoming vacation. The packing method for me is a pretty lengthy one. It actually starts months in advance. Here are the steps I take to prepare myself for some time away:

1. When I know a big trip is coming up, I start going on websites, like WalMart.com, and start requesting samples for shampoo, conditioner, lotion, detergent, etc. This helps because I hate filling up little travel bottles with the shampoo and conditioner that I use on a daily basis and these samples are free! I collect them in labeled Ziplock bags in my linen closet and then pack enough to last me my entire vacation.

2. A couple of months before the trip, I start looking on clearance racks for clothing. This includes tanks, shorts, skirts, etc. It is best to shop for these items when the back-to-school items first come out because stores are trying to get rid of their summer stuff. I save these items in a plastic bag in my closet until it is time to pack them.

3. Then, the actual packing starts a couple of weeks before the trip. I make lists of bottoms and tops and match them up to my itinerary to see what I want to wear on what day for what activity. Usually, I have a day outfit and a night outfit because when I travel to places with hot or humid weather, I have to shower midday to doll myself up for the night.

4. Then, I make a spreadsheet that includes the itinerary, the outfits and a check box to make sure each item is packed on the list. After all outfits are scheduled for their appropriate day, I iron them all and pack them chronologically, with the first outfits of the week on top and the following days' outfits underneath, in order of appearance. This is just in case I do not take my clothing out of my suitcase the entire trip so I do not wrinkle anything searching through my packed items for that day's outfit. Pajamas are not put in order though. They are paired top with bottom and folded in the corner of the suitcase, un-ironed. Also, undergarments and bathing suits are tucked into the pockets of the suitcase to be grabbed at will.

5. Then the toiletries are packed in my toiletry case, with some things in Ziploc bags so they do not leak (The samples included). The toiletry case also gets all of my jewelry, which is mostly fake and cheap because I wear the expensive stuff on my person when I travel.

6. Then I make sure I have my bag that I will take on the plane all set with a book, my iPod, magazines (but I usually buy these at the airport), gum for motion sickness, socks (for when my feet get cold on the plane), a sweatshirt and playing cards. This year I will have to pack a bathing suit in my carry-on as well because our luggage may not arrive in our room as scheduled. I actually have a Vera Bradley rolling duffle for all this fun stuff, with matching travel organizer and toiletry pouch.

7. Repeat steps 1-6 for TK. I have samples of deodorant, shave lotion, etc. for him as well.

I know this all seems like an insane and scrupulous process but, it is what keeps me from getting severely unhinged when I am on vacation and trying to have the time of my life. It also saves time while I am on vacation so I do not have to worry about wasting time looking for something when I could be out the door in a jiff!

Presently, I am up to step 4 with less than a week to go so, I've got time.