Disney Motivation

Disney has done it again; they are now offering vacation time in the amazing parks in exchange for volunteer work all over the World!

Disney's new program, "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day," officially begins January 1, 2010. With this program, Disney hopes to inspire families to volunteer in their communities by "rewarding" volunteer service with admission for a day to a Disney theme park. To enable people to sign up for an eligible volunteer project, Disney is working with HandsOn Network, the nation’s largest volunteer network. Starting January 1, you can go to www.DisneyParks.com for the United States and Puerto Rico or www.DisneyParks.ca for Canada to search for volunteer opportunities available in those areas through HandsOn Network and sign up for a day of volunteer service. Many of the opportunities will be for projects that entire families with children age 6 or older can participate in together.

As part of this program, Disney's Honorary VoluntEARS Cavalcade will start January 8. Each afternoon just before the daily parade at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (and at Disneyland Park in California), Muppets characters and parade dancers will join special floats and vehicles celebrating volunteerism and presenting Honorary VoluntEARS serving as Grand Marshals of the parades. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sweetums will be part of the merriment, while the dancers will be donning outfits that celebrate the work of volunteers.

Traditions

I have been thinking a lot about family traditions, specifically holiday traditions. Centsational Girl has a post up this morning that really brought it into the forefront of my mind.

This is mine and Brad's first Christmas in our new house, and only our second as a family, so we do not have a long list of traditions for the holidays. That is something I would like to develop over the years. Often, when people tell me their holiday traditions, they involve their children, so I imagine more will come with time. So far, here is what we have, either individually or as a couple.
**For the past few years (and upon Lauren's suggestion), I have read Lessons For Life, a Christmas-themed Harry Potter fan-fiction.
**I try to watch "The Holiday" and "Love, Actually" every Christmas. Now Brad gets to watch them, too! (Lucky Brad...)
**Morning relaxation. On Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a leisurely morning of coffee and snuggling, interspersed with Macy's Day Parade. We look forward to repeating this for Christmas, and for years to come.

We have been slowly acquiring decorations for the season, as our 600 sq ft apartment didnt require much. It is amazing how big this house feels when I'm trying to fill empty walls! I cannot say that, as of yet, putting up decorations is a tradition, but I do hope to follow in the idea that putting up the tree is a day-after-Thanksgiving classic.

Oh, I almost forgot the best one! Every year we find one ornament that represents that year on our tree. Sure, we often get more than one new one a year, but each year must have a representative. I was worried sick last week, as I could not find our sentimental Christmas stuff (embroidered stockings, yearly ornaments, etc). I was SO relievfed to find and empty that box! So far our yearly ornaments consist of:
2007: a white snowflake that says "Our first Christmas", even though we got married four days later.
2008: a gold "Just Married" ornament we bought in Walt Disney World on our fix-it honeymoon.
2009: a red front door that says "First Home" on it.

We are so thankful for friends with good taste, too, as my friend Susan bought us two of those three! We havent been able to find another "First House" ornament, so I am especially thankful for Susan's gift!

I am really looking forward to forming a lifetime of traditions with my family. What things do you treasure year after year?

Perfect Gift

I found the perfect Christmas gift. If there is anyone in your life that loves Disney and Walt Disney World (ahem), then this gift is perfect.




This calendar by Barrie Brewer is made up of photos of "the World". They are are so bright and energetic and stunning. Not only that, bu tthe proceeds from the calendar sales go to sponsor Deb Wills in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Do you need a better cause? You have to buy new calendars every year, people, either for yourself or for others. This is the perfect one.



http://www.lulu.com/content/lulustudio-calendar/2010-focus-on-disney-world/7795905

Validation for my Other Side

Most of my life, I have been someone who did not mind messes, who left projects unfinished, who only remembered to pay a bill when it was shoved in my face; someone with little to no organizational skills.

While some of these qualities are still a constant battle, I have trained my brain to be freakishly organized about a few things. I keep an extremely detailed budget on file (really, it is a combonation of balancing a checkbook and planning ahead for major and/or consistent costs). Spreadsheets have become a bit of a crutch for me, but I just LOVE them!

Every week I get an email newsletter from AllEarsNet.com - they are a website essentiallly designed to help you plan vacations to Disney World (WDW), with some additional tips for DisneyLand and the cruises. The bulk of the newsletter is an article; sometimes these are completely boring or irrelevant to me, other times they are fun bits of history or trivia. This week, the article is all about a mom whose WDW vacay plans are always meticulously planned out on spreadsheets. Let me tell you, reading her article was so cathartic and validating! I have never been more proud of my own neurosis. As she discussed her specific design and her plan strategy, I got the itch to go look at mine from our last vacation. Mine may not have been quite so set-in-stone as hers, because I knew we would need spontaneity for Brad's first trip, but the idea and the feeling were the same.

Now I cannot wait to start planning our next trip, but I can't get much progress done any time soon. We are hoping to visit again next November; it would essentially be a birthday trip for me, which is why we would hop over to Universal to see The Wizarding World fo Harry Potter theme park, which is slated to open around that time! I have never been to WDW outside of summer, so this will be a whole new perspective ("A whole new world!") for me, and the WWoHP will be immeasurably wonderful.

Anyway, my point is that I cannot plan too extensively yet, as the park prices are not set for Nov 2010, and it would be pretty hard to set times/dates/prices for flights then, as well. But I can dream, and oh-so-slowly accumulate plans and tips.

Spreadsheet, here I come!

Holiday Wish List

I posted a blog last August with a random wish list. I was reading it, and it really made me smile. Mainly because one of the things on this list was tickets to Disney World, because I missed it. I posted that on August 10, 2007, and on August 10, 2008 Brad and I arrived in Orlando for the trip of our lives! How fun is that?!?

Now, onto more current matters. People, mostly family, have been passing around "wish lists" for Christmas, so I decided I would post a few things here for fun. Here goes:
*Mini Fridge
*Gift Cards (Disney, Express, Pappas, iTunes, Amazon, Best Buy, World Market, Chipotle, Red Robin, etc)
*House DVDs - we owned Season 4, but it was stolen when my folks' house was robbed. So any season of House, really...
*Harry Potter movies - I only own "Order of the Phoenix" (5)
*Beedle the Bard
*"We Are Wizards" documentary DVD (find here)

Or things that make me laugh.

Random Acts of Kindness

WDW: The Highest Concentration of Joy in the World

I receive a weekly letter with tips for Disney World goers, and I love it. The hvae also been keeping up with reports of The Year of a Million Dreams. I read this one, and I literally almost got tears in my eyes, because this was not about a grand prize from the corporation that is Disney. This story is about a random act of kindness that kind of "paid it forward".

"I was staying at Wilderness Lodge during September and met a couple on their honeymoon. They had made no advanced dining reservations and since it was during the free dining plan promotion there were none to be found. I had some reservations for the Beach Club's Cape May Cafe and I asked the concierge to switch them to this couple's name. I explained that my family and I could get a Quick Service meal somewhere else. The concierge smiled, asked me and my daughter to wait, and got her a colorful wildlife conservation pin. When my daughter politely asked if she could please get one for her big brother because he liked animals, the concierge returned not only with a pin for him but an extra special Tinker Bell pin for my daughter for being so thoughtful. So not only was the honeymoon couple thrilled to have a beautiful dinner out, my kids were so excited with their special pins and wore them every day the rest of the trip. Truly magical!"

Wanna know what makes me happy?

http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/2008/11/walt_disney_world_vacation_pac.html

Yeah, that's right. Did you read it? NO? Ugh, you lazy.

The new year will bring new ways for guests to celebrate their special occasions with family and friends at Walt Disney World Resort – and special savings that make a Disney vacation even more affordable.
Guests who buy a four-night/four-day non-discounted Walt Disney Travel Co. Magic Your Way hotel and ticket package for stays most nights from Jan. 4 to April 4, 2009, and April 19 to June 27, 2009, will receive three extra nights of hotel accommodations and three more days added to their theme park tickets for free.
As a bonus, guests traveling on this package from Jan. 4 to March 29, 2009, will also receive a free $200 Disney Gift Card to splurge on merchandise, dining or other Disney fun.

Now, unfortunately I do not see us getting to do this; not that soon anyway. But OH MY LANDS that looks like such a great deal! And a $200 gift card?!?

(Yeah, I say "Oh my lands"... what about it? My Mamie says it... and it is better than swearing...)

So, for those who have not heard my speech about a "Wish List" this year (birthday/Christmas), the top thing on my list is Disney Gift Cards. I'm sure we will want/need to save for a while planning our next trip. That way we can upgrade to a better resort (although the All Star Sports was fun). The third thing on my Wish List is travel vouchers - basically gift cards to airlines and such. Brad and I have so much stuff - far more than we need. And while there are things we need, most of them are not material (or easily afforded). Right now we are trying to focus on saving for things like, oh I don't know, a HOUSE. My point is that memories are higher on our priority list than things right now. We want to go to new York [if only we could get up there while Binkie is still on Broadway] by next summer, but that it a lot of saving in little time. We wouldn't need to pay for a hotel, but travel alone would be steep. Plus, with plays, food and shopping...pretty penny. So I don't know... if you are likely to send me a gift this year (BTW, thank you in advance) those are my wishes.

Oh, and the second thing is a mini fridge. Just for the curious...

Disney Pics!!

Yea, friends and loved ones, we FINALLY got our pictures developed! Woo-to-the-Hoo! Now, be forewarned, that I am not a good photographer (nor am I generally photogenic) and I didnt take nearly as many pics as I thought I had. But I had to include some of my favorites!

This first one (surfers on the wall) is the food court in the All Star Sports, which I will be to abbreviate by saying Sports, since I cant REALLY abbreviate it...

These are from our room. Don't you love the towel Mickey?

Our first stop was Magic Kingdom, and our first task was the get personalized Mickey Mouse ears. We headed to the hat shop, and Brad disocvered this Captain Jack Sparrow hat. Stunning, eh?

Then we got our Mr and Mrs ears. I already have a pair that say Allison, from my trip in high school, so we went for Mrs Phillips and Mr Phillips.

You know what? I'm not going to photo-walk you through the whole trip; it would take far too long and I am at work. I will just plop my favorites in here, and if you see fit you may ask questions. I will post them on Facebook later, and probably eventually on MySpace.

I Fail at Life

I PROMISE I will finish my Disney World journaling. I should have done it right away while it was fresh in my colander-like memory, but alas. I kept wanting to wait to develop the pictures (see alos, FAIL), but I will hopefully add the Wednesday account this week. Check back to my previous journals by typing in WDW into the search bar at the top. Woohoo, more Mickey on the way!

Disney World Journal - Day Three

Tuesday morning we had a reservation for “breakfast” at Chef Mickey’s, but it was not until 11:20am, so we started our early day with orange juice, peanut butter crackers and bananas. When we finally got going we caught a bus to MK. We only had about 30 minutes to spend before we needed to head to the Contemporary; we wanted to be early for our reservation in case we could be seated early. We pretty much wandered through the shops on Main Street for half an hour before heading out. We found the monorail tracks in order to go straight to the Contemporary; we wanted to be sure and use all three of the resort transportation methods during our trip (bus, boat, monorail). The monorail goes directly to the Contemporary (before hitting up the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian) and we got there close to an hour before our reservation time. I had heard that most restaurants will seat you early if you arrive early. That may be true, but apparently Chef Mickey’s was booked to the teeth because we actually got seated a few minutes after our reservation! We would have been a little perturbed except that Chef Mickey’s is SO WONDERFUL! We were immediately greeted with the most wonderful smells and sights. The hostess showed us to our table where we received place mats that said “It’s my special day!” with the “autographs” of all of the major characters. We got to keep them – so cute! We went to the breakfast buffet and found loads of fresh fruit, omelets, breakfast pizza (YUM), biscuits, gravy, Mickey waffles, bacon, sausage and so much more! Everything was delicious and we could have as much as wanted! Plus towards the end of our meal they brought out cupcakes with candles to everyone celebrating their “special day” (including an adorable little Asian girl next to us having her 2nd birthday) and the characters paraded around singing for us to CELEBRATE! We got pictures with several characters (which I will upload later) and had a blast.

We decided to head back to our room for a while before heading to Epcot. Originally the plan was to return to MK to do the rides we had missed, but it was very warm that morning and we wanted to give it time to cool down outside. We got our wish (oh, Disney Magic). After a short nap we went outside to find perfect weather. It was sunny, but there was a nice breeze to keep it cool. We caught a bus to Epcot and began our ‘World Tour’.

We visited a few things in Future World before heading on our international walkabout. We started off in Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which was interesting. Neither of us knew what to expect, but whenever Brad thought he was bored something cool happened. We went form a little theater into a bigger theater with seats that seemed mobile. Sure enough, we ended up going for a little ride through time with Ellen and Bill Nye the Science Guy. A good time was had.


When we emerged the weather was perfect. I think it may have sprinkled while we were in the Universe of Energy (the movie/ride takes close to 45 minutes), so it was nice and cool. We started our World Showcase trip with Mexico. Now, as Texans, we had promised ourselves (and my mother) that we would not eat in Mexico, because we can get good Mexican food anytime. The thing is we were hungry and it smelled SO GOOD!!! We started out in the exhibit, where they have a cute miniature street market and a little boat ride for the Three Caballeros. When we got outside again we went straight for the Cantina de San Angel. We split a combination platter with a beef taco, a chicken taco and some sort of fried cheese…thing. It was great, plus we got to wander around with a hot, fresh churro.

The next country we found was China. The first thing we saw were all of the kiosks for souvenirs and such in the street. I found one that was selling all different kinds of puppets, and I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks – there were Linda and Johnny! Remember the puppet show I did for GE, where we went to the Texas Children’s Hospital? Well we named our two lead characters Linda and Johnny, and their dopplegangers were looking at me from this puppet cart! It was so funny I had to take a picture. We went into the Chinese theater they had set up and watched a quick film about Chinese culture, then and now. We were in a round room with eight large screens all around the wall. It was truly beautiful.

We continued to wander. Not all of the countries had significance, but Germany was certainly fun. First we went into the WeinKeller. It was a beautiful wine cellar that sold German wines. Did you know that 80% of Germany’s wines are white? That works for me, as I am inexperienced with red. They were selling some by the glass. I asked if I could sample one of the reislings and the woman behind the counter said that I couldn’t, but then she changed her mind since I had on my Just Married button (seriously, that button is the best souvenir and it was free!). Then we went out into the street again and stood in line so Brad could get a dark German ale. We got a souvenir glass (it was the German flag on it) and a free pretzel – yea, honeymoon buttons!
We wandered through France and Italy, but by this time we were getting tired. We headed for the English pub, the Rose and Crown Pub, to get a beer and find a seat for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This fireworks/pyrotechnics show is AMAZING! It was beautiful, and it is well told as a story.

After the show we got our Extra Magic Hour bracelets so that we could stay later. We went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which may have been a mistake. I think those kinds of things are fun, but Brad does not seem to agree. Oh well. After that we were tired (and a tiny bit cranky) so we headed home for sleep and a drink.

We were amazed how tired and sore we were after only two plus days!

Disney World Journal - Day Two

Monday morning we woke up and tried to hurry out; we were headed for the Animal Kingdom and they opened their gates with a “musical gathering”, which I did not want to miss. We grabbed a quick, yummy breakfast croissant from the End Zone Food Court and caught our bus.

The first thing you see at AK is the Rainforest Café right outside of the gates (way to go, Landry’s), and even it is a sight to behold. It definitely fits in. We all gathered inside the main gate and waited for this performance. It turns out it was Mickey and Minnie, in safari clothes, on a bus singing a checklist-song of what they would need through-out the day (you know, sunscreen, water, product placement, etc). It was really pretty cute, but not really worth the half hour of sleep we could have gained by not rushing. At least we got there before any lines could form at rides! We went straight to the Kali River Rapids, which are nearly my favorite in that park. We were the ONLY people going there, though, because everyone rushed either to a) Expedition Everest or b) the Kilimanjaro Safari. Both of these form lines quickly, and apparently am is the best time for the safari (although all times have their advantage). So we had an entire raft to ourselves. Note to self: when starting your morning with a bone-soaking water ride, do not wear white shorts! Brilliant move on my part. When the ride was over the guy asked if we just wanted to stay on because there was almost no line at all. Most (clever) people were waiting until it was actually hot outside to get soaking wet. Hmm… well, we got a Fast Pass so we could do it again once it once hot and there WAS a line. Oh, the Fast Pass: the first few times we rode rides and people were passing us, Brad got so irritated! I told him, “Wait until we have the passes, then you will appreciate the system” and sure enough, the truth! As we passed people for the rapids that afternoon, he couldn’t help saying “VIP, excuse us, VIP” not-quietly-enough under his breath. It was so funny (to us) and he did it EVERY TIME WE HAD THEM!

So after the rapids we walked, dripping, towards the Safari location. What a marvelous job they have done with this whole park! The AK is truly beautiful and interesting at every turn. We have heard exchange employees from Africa say that the park décor is so accurate in some places that it keeps them from being homesick. The market places and atmosphere feel truly international. Well done, Walt! Anyway, we waited some time in line for the Safari (maybe 15, 20 minutes in the shade) and embarked on a wild ride. We saw most of the animals, several of which I have forgotten their names. We got to see hippos and crocodiles. We saw elephants and giraffes, as well as ostrich eggs. We even got to see the lion out of his den and sitting on his shady rock. That in and of itself is mildly uncommon, but the best (and rarest) part was that we heard him roar! That almost never happens (we are told) so it was truly exciting. Brad was so excited; it was adorable, he turned 6 for a moment!

When we left the Safari we found some people crowding in the walkways. The first group was crowding around a character – Baloo from Jungle Book – which we could bypass. Then we saw a crowd around DeVine, a performance artist that works in AK. WOW. This woman is covered in vines and general shrubbery. She will generally stand up against a wall of foliage to blend in for a while and once she is surrounded by people who have not seen her move yet, she very slowly creeps out and… performs. Imagine a very slow motion Cirque de Soleil performance. No, Brad and I decided it was more like an extremely slow motion pole dancer with class. I do not mean that her movements were overtly sexual in nature, but my God. It was inarguably hot! We both were impressed.

Well after that ‘show’ we headed for Dinoland USA for the biggest thrill AK has to offer that I am actually will to endure (no Expedition Everest for me). We went to DINOSAUR before we could be distracted by all of the fun stuff around us (including the Finding Nemo musical which we did NOT see. Unfortunately I do regret missing that. My bad.) The line for DINOSAUR moved very quickly and soon we were on our mission back in time to secretly retrieve an herbivore. The ride was so dark and so bumpy that every shock was genuinely thrilling and somewhat scary. I knew about most of the “surprises” so I knew when to close my wussy eyes, but Brad did not. He was screaming his head off, all in good fun! The ending is the very best. I won’t detail it here, in case you hate spoilers, but it was intense and fun! That was by far Brad’s favorite of the trip, and it is one of mine.

After our detour with dinos we headed for “It’s Tough To Be a Bug” in the massive and impressive Tree of Life. That movie is so cute and silly, but I will admit something to you. The first time I saw this 3D movie (when I was 17, mind you) it kind of startled me a bit. You know how sometimes you register shock as pain and even though you realize later that it didn’t hurt, you still remember it as pain? Just me? How embarrassing… Anyway, this time I truly enjoyed it (because I knew when to lean forward or pick up my feet). It is fun, especially if you prefer to people watch!

After another round of Kali River Rapids we headed out. On our way we decided to have Rainforest Café for lunch. It tasted wonderful and our server was great, but we have suspicions that a minor malady later in the evening might have been caused by the nachos… no details, for your benefit and mine.

After we left Animal Kingdom we headed to Typhoon Lagoon, one of WDW water parks. For this park the theme is a ship wreck (for Blizzard Beach the theme is a ski resort that is melting due to unseasonable weather). This place was the heart of my best memories from my previous trip; Jessie and I had SO much fun here (we swam with sharks, we crashed in the wave pool, so many jokes). Brad and I, however, did not have quite as much fun. The first thing we did was the wave pool, which I remember having MONSTROUS waves that “shot me like a rocket”, but these were the little rocking waves you would expect from any wave pool. Well that got old quickly, so we headed to the lazy river. Normally I love these, but the current was weak. They are more fun when you feel slightly out of control. So that was boring after a short while and we headed off to fins slides and tube rides. We wandered for-ev-er before we finally found one of the ones that sounded fun. We waited in line for a long time before hopping on a raft for what felt like 20 seconds – ride over. It was very disappointing, but as we walked back down we heard these loud thump noises. I followed my instinct to the wave pool where these gigantic waves were crashing over people. Now THAT is what I remember! We rushed in and steadied ourselves for the first one, which hit like a brick wall – but, you know, in a fun way. We went flying, and it was a lot of fun. After a while it became slightly less fun as you tried not to crush those in your wake. We decided that we had extracted all of the fun we were gonna get from TL and headed out.

After a quick change in our room we moved on to Downtown Disney. We had dinner reservations at Wolfgang Puck Café, which we were excited about. The food was very good, and the service was satisfactory, but certainly not exceptional. We had a nice view of the lake from our table by the window. As part of the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) we got an entrée, a dessert and a non-alcoholic beverage. This is a great deal financially, but is so SO rare that I need, want or can even attempt a dessert to myself after a big meal. I had steak and Brad had the meatloaf (WP specialty), so we were sufficiently full. We ordered the crème brulee and the chocolate cake – whoa. The brulee was excellent, but we couldn’t even finish it. The cake was flourless, so imagine the darkest, densest cake you have ever eaten. TOO rich!

We did a little shopping in Downtown Disney; we found the most amazing store focused entirely on Christmas decorations and ornaments. We could have gone broke in there – we wanted all of it! We decided to comeback another time for an ornament so we wouldn’t be burdened with a breakable when we crossed the block to Pleasure Island. We wandered in and out of the bars there, which weren’t crowded yet. “Mannequins” has a rotating dance floor and $2 drafts, so we spent a little while in there. We went to the Comedy Warehouse for their Improv show and had a blast! It was a troupe of five women, and they were quite funny and very personable. It looked the most fun job in the world. The drinks in there were pricey, though. Oh well, lesson learned. We stopped into a few more bars after that, but they were pretty much empty, so we went to sit in Raglan Road and relax for a bit. There was a girl river-dancing on a small stage in the middle of the room, and after her show they brought on a band that played somewhat traditional music. It was so fun, PLUS we found out that they serve Yeungling beer! Brad discovered it in Pennsylvania on a business trip; it is brewed there (and also in Florida) and it is the oldest brewery in America. It is absolutely delish, but you can only get it in a few states, all on the East coast. They don’t even seem to distribute it in Texas, but I will be on the lookout.

We were EXHAUSTED by this point, so we headed home for a romantic and relaxing end to our day. Even after one-and-a-quarter days we had sore feet and tired bones. The pain was all worth it, but we could see we would need to pace ourselves better in the days to come. We went to bed, excited to see Epcot the next day!

My girl Morgan

My BFF is getting married! I am so excited for her, and for Andy who is a very lucky man. I get to be the Matron of Honor; that's right, the Matron. Sounds old, doesn't it? Oh well, it will be WONDERFUL!

They are planning on next July. They are both in Lubbock this semester; luckily they have several months together before Morgan graduates early (way to go, brainy) and moves home to Houston in December! Then I have her (not really) to myself for a few months before he graduates in May.

Brad and I are already planning a trip for the four fo us to go to Disney World in 2010 or 2011. He keeps "joking" that he wont see me anymore come January, and he started that before we he knew we would be planning a wedding in that time. Hopefully I can balance them with neither feeling neglected. And once the Midkiffs move to Katy (teehee) they will be close enough to hang out with a lot, but far enough so that we maintain family time.

I cant believe how lucky I am to have one best friend living with me and the other living near me! Oh, the blessings we obtain!

Disney World Journal - Day One

Sunday morning I jumped out of bed like a kid on Christmas. I let Brad sleep a bit longer, as his excitement was not as visible as mine. When we were both up we double-checked our luggage, packed everything up and then picked up my folks. We headed to Bammel for class, but left before service. We had Denny’s – yummy – and then made our way to Bush Airport. Phillips’ parted ways from Organs (ew) and we meandered to our gate; having arrived quite early in excitement we had time to dawdle and shop. We even found a Pappadeaux in the airport and had ice tea.

Once we were on the plane our excitement reached a new high. I couldn’t even try to sleep, not that it was a long flight. When we arrived in Florida we made our way to the Magical Express Service station. They showed us to our bus, which would take us to the All Star Sports Resort – woohoo! We arrived about 45 minutes later, checked in and made our way to our building. You see, the All Start Resorts are multi-building setups. There are ten buildings paired into five themes: Surfs Up, Touchdown, Homerun Hotel, Center Court and the Hoops Hotel. We were placed in the Touchdown, which was perfect; close to the main building and pool, but not so close that late night kid-noise would pollute our rest.

Once we checked out our room, which was perfect, we headed to the Magic Kingdom (of course). One of the first things Brad noticed was how he had underestimated Disney World. Even I forgot how huge the property is; they have their own freeways within Disney; it can be intense. When we finally arrived I was greeted with nostalgia and sense-memories, making me long for a popsicle. It was so exciting to be experiencing this as an adult, and with my husband! We walked in, bombarded by sights and people, we wandered through the shops. Our first mission: Mickey Mouse ears. We knew they had bride and groom ears, but we opted for the traditional kind you can get embroidered. They say “Mrs. Phillips” and “Mr. Phillips” (I already have a pair that say Allison).

Armed with our ears and out Just Married buttons (this was our honeymoon, after all) we set off for food. We decided on Pecos Bill Café in Frontierland. We had our first magical moment, as a Cast Member brought us a little carrot cake and said, “Congratulations!” After enjoying a burger and fries we found Big Thunder Mountain, one of my favorite thrills. I had forgotten how crafty Disney is about lines: it doesn’t ever appear to be a long line until you realize that it serpentines for about a mile inside the building! Oh well, it was worth the wait. It looks so tame and Brad was a bit surprised at the intensity! We went next to Adventureland to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which turned out to be one of Brad’s favorites for the week. It was nice and cool inside, with practically no line at all. They have added a few things since I was there last. Captain Jack Sparrow makes several appearances, and at least one of the mannequins is so life-like that I literally thought some poor Cast Member had been stuck with the short straw. Even riding it a second time I was unsure if it was real or fake – wow! Once we got our Extra Magic Hours bracelets we wandered in the direction of the Tea Cups. We came across It’s a Small World, which we rode. I neglected to tell Brad how pleasantly lame it is, instead going with “Everyone has to ride it at least once”. A Cast Member announced us newlyweds right before the ride started, and we got applause! (It is so cheesy, but I had forgotten how much I loved that sound!) We disembarked the creepy monotonous children ride and found Disney’s PhilHarmagic. I couldn’t remember what it was, but I remember wanting to do it, so we went inside. What a joy! It is a 3D movie that takes Donald on a wild-hat-chase through scenes of several Disney movies! He is invited to “Be Our Guest”, he meets “the girl who has everything:” and learns all about the “whole new world” in the sky. It is a lot of fun, and I would recommend it to anyone of any age.

As we left the theater we heard loud noises. We stepped out and got to see most of the Wishes Night-time Spectacular. It was amazing! Really, I usually don’t care about parades and fireworks; those are the best times to ride rides, anyway. But something about standing directly underneath the ‘works, standing next to my husband, made it breathtaking and I actually got tears in my eyes (I know, I know, like it is hard to make me cry).

Afterward we went to a snack counter to get a bottle of water, but they were closing. Brad asked, “Do you guys just have some bottled water” and the guy threw him a bottle, said “Magical Moment, sir” and then closed the grate. Woohoo, free stuff! We headed over to the Mad Hatter Tea Party for a quick spin and then headed out. Waving good-bye to Cinderella’s castle we found our return bus and went back to our resort. We already felt as though we had been there for ages, but it had only been four hours! It was a hint of how exhausted we would be by week’s end. We spent a little while relaxing by the pool in our resort that night, and then made our way back to our room to rest and…relax. All in all it was a perfectly excellent first day at the World!

One Day

TOMORROW! TOMORROW! TOMORROW! TOMORROW! TOMORROW! TOMORROW!

I am reminded of an incredible song from Les Miserables. I bet you can guess which one - "One Day More"!

Two Days

TWO DAYS LEFT!!

Try and imagine just how useless I will be at work today! I am setting up my travel binder; I found this adorable "stationary" on mouseforless.com that I'm taking. They have journal pages so you can keep track of each day. Wow, I am such a complete and total nerd. I just want this to be perfect. This is technically our "replacement Honeymoon", because Brad was so sick during our original trip that we made almost no memories (other than freezing my butt off trying to find a store with Tylenol Cold and Sinus). I am treating this like THE honeymoon, so want memories galore. I want our kids to look back at this album as well as our wedding album (no time soon - don't get ahead of yourselves).

Wish us luck. OH, and while I'm thinking about it, my friends from school, Lindsay and Ryan, are getting married tomorrow, so they will be honeymooning simultaneously. Congrats and best wishes to the new Massies!

Three Days

THREE DAYS UNTIL WE FLY TO THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!

We have made our reservations for the Yachtsman Steakhouse - woohoo! I am including a picture of the restaurant, but I couldn't find a great one of the aging room, where you can select your own cut of meat!!

Even borrowing a suitcase from Kelly and starting to pack it, I can feel the adrenaline pumping. How lame am I? But you love it. I need to find a scale just to be sure we dont go over the weight limit. Plus I have to figure out what Brad will do for a carry-on bag.

The first thing we are doing is going to the Magic Kingdom, getting our complimentary "Newlyweds" buttons and buying Mickey ears, Bride-and-Groom style. You know you love it.

Four Days

FOUR DAYS UNTIL THE MAGIC!!!

Teehee, still the count-down eager beaver. Gonna do it every day. No sense in pretending I won't.

This picture is of one of the two pools at our resort. This is the Grand Slam pool and, as you can see, it is shaped like a baseball diamond complete with home base.

The percentage chance for thunderstorms has gone down for that week. Most days it is 30% likely it will rain a bit (down from 60%). According to my dad, though, that usually happens. Light showers in the afternoon to cool it off are common, at least from our previous trips. And seeing as how I dont remember it, it must not have ruined our fun or anything. If nothing else it will be a good chance to sit down for a snack/drink.

Counting down

66 days until we go to the happiest place on Earth!

I am going to try again to make a reservation for Le Cellier, but I am not holding my breath. I am really looking forward to this trip, but in a different way than ever before. I never really considered food in my anticipation. Or alcohol, or sex, but my focus is food. I always knew, when getting ready for a trip, that i would eat; it is a natural assumption, but food was never what I ecstatically anticipated. I am really excited to explore the restaurants all over the World Showcase. I can't wait to introduce Brad to the character breakfast at Chef Mickey's! It is just an interesting shift. I am also pretty intrigued to observe the use and allowance of alcohol at WDW, having never visited at a legal age. I have no intention of getting drunk; that would ruin the experience for me. I do plan to imbibe a few fun ones, though.

Walt Disney World Countdown

We are now 75 days from WDW!! I cannot explain how excited we are! My Disney vacation planning book is my Prozac right now. Seriously; car crash stressing me out? Read up on restaurants in Disney resorts. Money trouble getting me down? Compare the rides in Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. No lie, it is my crack.
Our stimulus check cannot come fast enough, either. I want to pay off more of the trip and put aside more spending cash. I am going to buy souvenirs like it is my JOB, people!!