Disney and the Yearly Price Hikes

Mickey wants your money!

It's a new year so it's time for a price hike from Disney. Disney Parks, especially Disneyland and Walt Disney World are extremely popular vacation destinations for fans of all ages. If you've read this blog before, you'll know that I'm a huge Disney fan and love going to the parks.

The price hikes don't bother me. Yes, it may cause me longer to save for my next trip. It doesn't effect my trip in December since I'm already book at the old prices. But I'll pay more to have less crowds, and crowds are just going to go up.

I had planned on going to Disney World last month to experience the holidays, Disney-style. I wanted to go in 2018 because I knew the clusterf*** that is going to be Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge this year. But kidney stones made it that I had to reschedule for this year.

I am looking forward to going. If Galaxy's Edge is open, I look forward to trying to see that area. I told Emily today that if it is open, we are getting to the park before opening. She seemed indifferent. We'll see how it is when I wake her up at 5 am for our Hollywood Studios day!

But until Disney announces the open date for the Star Wars expansion at Hollywood Studios, it's just planning just in case. But, my point is, that Star Wars is coming and the rides look amazing.
This land is going to appeal to many a Star Wars fan who may come to see it without being a Disney fan.

I remember when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom. For a movie that wasn't half as popular as Star Wars was, the crowds to see the new land were insane for a long time. With something as beloved as Star Wars, the crowds are going to be even worse.

So that goes back to the price hikes. While it's something that happens every year at this time, I think they have a few things in mind. Maybe this will price some people out and it might decrease the crowds. Though I don't have a whole lot of hope for that. But Disney could also probably use the money. They are putting in all kinds of new rides in the parks (in Disney World - and I'm sure in other parks, but Disney World is my park so I focus on their news). Disney World is gearing up for their 50th Anniversary in 2021, and it's going to be a big deal. And they want as many new attractions as they can by then.

And of course there is a big chunk of change they are spending on acquiring Fox. I'm only speculating, but that could have something to do with it as well.

Any of the Disney Parks are expensive, but people seem to think that Disney should be cheap because Disney should be a rite of childhood. And while it can be a rite of childhood - it certainly was for me - that doesn't mean that people are entitled to a Disney trip.

I know I'm lucky and Emily's lucky. I went to Disney World twice as a kid - once when I was 9 and once when I was 16. Emily will have three trips come December and she'll only be 11. I foresee at least a couple more while she is still a child. Todd also went a bunch when he was a kid - 3 trips, I think. He had a grandmother who lived in FL so his family would visit and go to Disney.

Disney isn't cheap though it's not too bad when it's just me and Emily going. But only having one kid is definitely a perk when it comes to travel. But if you really want it, there are a lot of ways to save. I'm a on Facebook group that's called Couponing to Disney that has lots of different ways to help you save for a Disney vacation.

Some people may never be able to afford a Disney vacation and that's sad. And says more about the state of our country, I think, than Disney. I feel very lucky that I can go to Disney every three years or so. It's my favorite place in the world. But I save, and I book my trip as soon as I can to lock in prices because lately the prices have been going up a couple times a year.

Yes, it probably will take your average American family a few years to save for a Disney vacation, but it's possible. Barring any apocalyptic / doomsday scenarios, Disney will still be there and if you can take your kids, I know it will be magical!

Michigan Trip 2018 - Part Two

To read the first post of this series, click here!

We got up bright and early, got the car loaded up and then went to Denny's with my dad for some breakfast before we made the trek across the state. We opted to not visit with my (Great) Aunt Jackie who lives in Bay City because I still wasn't feeling great.

We did stop in Mt. Pleasant / Central Michigan University but it was mostly just a potty break. We got to Todd's parents in the afternoon, and soon after we arrived, Emily's cousins came over. We gave them their birthday / Christmas presents and Emily got presents too from my brother and sister in law.

The kids played until it was time for dinner which was steaks and a variety of sides. The kids sat in the living room and the adults, including Todd's grandmother, ate in the dining room. Emily and her cousins get along really well, so they had a lot of fun.

After dinner, we went over to Todd's brother's house. The kids wanted to go swimming in their pool so they did that for a while. I got in for a bit too because it was really hot

out and I love swimming. It also gave Todd a chance to hang out with his brother for a while.

We went back to Todd's parent's house and watched some tv before heading to bed. I was pretty wiped because the drive across the state is long, especially after only have a couple of days without driving at my dad's house.

The next day, Emily's cousins (also my niece and nephew but it's easier to say Emily's cousins) spent the whole day at Todd's parent's house. They played with toys, worked on putting together the Pokemon lego-type set we had gotten Austin, and had a water fight.

The children had asked Todd and I to join in the water fight. We had these squirter things, and the kids took the long ones which held more water. Todd and I were stuck with shorter ones, and the kids, of course, targeted the adults. I got really soaked!

Todd and I quit after a while so the kids chased each other. They got bored of the squirter and switched to water balloons after a while. They all got wet but had a lot of fun.

We had another yummy dinner, and then went out to get ice cream. The Thumb of Michigan is an odd place. There can be fields for miles - all that you can see besides the many windmills that dot the landscape. And then all of a sudden there is a little church or store, with nothing else near it. It's weird to me.

The ice cream place was one of these and it was packed! Of course, it was the day before the 4th and very hot out. We got our ice cream and ate it up, then headed back to Todd's parent's house. Em's cousins went home and we watched some tv before turning in.

We got up early again, because it was the day that Todd and I were driving home. Emily stayed for another week and a half - she had a great time.

The drive was pretty uneventful, though we did stop at Red State BBQ in Lexington, KY. We had eaten there when we went to Lexington Comic Con in March and had discovered our route to and from Michigan took us right past there.

They were packed but we got a seat, and had yummy, yummy bbq nachos before we got back on our way. We did see some fireworks from the highway after it had gotten dark, which was a bit fun.

It was a whirlwind trip, like we normally have but it was good to see our family!

Lexington Comic Con 2018 - Saturday!

This is the 2nd post in this series, click here to start at the beginning!

We got up bright and early on Saturday because we wanted to be to the con before the doors opened. There was already a line just to get into the convention areas so we got in line. Sadly none of the food places were open so we didn't get breakfast.

Once the doors opened, we got in pretty fast. We did have to go through metal detectors, which slowed things down a little. We booked it over to the autograph room and got in line for Chuck Norris.

His was a prepaid, so we just had to show the ticket from when Todd paid for the autograph online. The line was long but it moved fast. Chuck Norris was super nice, shook our hands and talked to us for a minute. He was sweet to Emily which is always a plus in my book.

From there, we got more autographs. We met Ric Flair who was also super nice. It was great to see Dragon Con last year for health issues. We saw Pauly Shore but opted not to get his autograph.

him after he had to cancel his appearance at

We met Lou Diamond Phillips and got a picture with him which was awesome. The same for Rey Mysterio who is only a tiny bit taller than I am. It was starting to get really crowded so Emily and I went off to go see the Powerpuff Girls panel.

Before we went to the panel though, we stopped and got some snack food because Emily spent the entire time we were in the autograph section complaining she was dying of hunger. We took our food and found seats in the back and ate while we waited for the panel to start.

It had the voice actors for the original three Powerpuff Girls plus the voice actor who played the Professor. It was a great panel especially since they would launch into different voices they did as they talked about it.

After that, we met up with Todd and got the heck out of there. It was starting to be beyond crowded and we were all hungry. Todd had found a BBQ place online when he was looking at things in Lexington, so we headed there.

It was called Red State BBQ and it was a hole in the wall kind of place. But the food was so good. Emily got BBQ nachos and it was huge so we ended up having to take it back to the hotel with us. We were all stuffed when we got done.

We headed back to the hotel and went swimming for a long time. Todd joined us this time which made Emily very happy. Once we were done, we went to the nearby convenience store for some snacks.

The rest of the evening we just vegged in our room watching "Ghost Adventures" on TV while Emily played with her toys. I read all the complaints about the overcrowding at the con and the insanity with the crowds that had happened after we left.

All in all, we had a great day, partly because we left the con before the crowds reached their peak.

Up Next - Sunday and Final Thoughts!

Disney Plans!

This October, Emily and I are heading to Disney World for our first girl's only trip. It will probably be the first of many because Todd is not as into Disney as I am. We are going to be doing several things that Todd thought Emily was too young for on our last trip.

Firsts for Emily is going to be going to Epcot for the first time plus going to the Halloween party. We are eating at some old favorites but some new restaurants as well. My wonderful travel agent was able to get us all the dining reservations we wanted!

Just for fun, here's our plans!

Saturday - October 1st - Arrival Day! Because I'm driving and can't drive straight through like Todd does, we are stopping the night before. I hope to be on the road nice and early to get to our resort, Art of Animation, in the morning.

We aren't going to do early check-in, mostly because Emily wants to be able to watch Disney cartoons in the lobby. I don't think that our room will be ready right away so we are going to head over to the Magic Kingdom.

In the late afternoon, we have a dinner reservation for Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. Emily really wants to ride the monorail and I really want to eat at Ohana. So we are going to take the monorail there and back. We probably won't stay too long at the Magic Kindgom after that, maybe ride a couple more rides. We'll have to get into our room after and I'm sure I'll be tired at least.

Sunday - October 2nd - Epcot Day! I'm hoping to get there at rope drop and then we'll take an early lunch because we have a reservation for the Nine Dragons a little before 5 pm.

Emily's never been to Epcot though she says it's her favorite park. I'm really excited to ride on Spaceship Earth, which I haven't rode since I was a kid. Emily is looking forward to playing the Agent P game and doing the Kidcot stations.

Monday - October 3rd - Hollywood Studios Day! My main goal is to see the nighttime show. It was raining too hard when we were at Disney for our honeymoon and last trip it was our last park day so Emily was a bit worn out. I will see Fantasmic! this time!

We will probably try to do rope drop, especially if Emily changes her mind and wants to do the Jedi Academy. Otherwise, we'll probably just try to get there early but not stress too much. Probably will head out for a nap after our character lunch at Hollywood and Vine.

Tuesday - October 4th - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party day! So we are sleeping in, though we do have a character breakfast at 9 at Ohana because that's the only way Emily can meet Lilo.

We might go to Disney Springs after that, but mostly we'll be resting and napping until it's time to head to the Magic Kingdom for the party! We'll be there close to 4 pm so we can maximize our Magic Kingdom time!

Wednesday - October 5th - Rest Day! We are going to sleep in and do a whole lot of nothing this day. Probably will hang out by the pool and maybe go put-put golfing. We have a dinner reservation for the Whispering Canyon Cafe which is at Wilderness Lodge. This is a new restaurant for me and I'm looking forward to seeing Wilderness Lodge too!

Thursday - October 6th - Animal Kingdom Day! We'll probably do rope drop again this day if possible. I know we'll want to go on the Safari at least once plus I know that Emily wants to see both Festival of the Lion King and the Finding Nemo Musical.

We'll probably go back to the resort early for lunch and a nap because we have a Yak and Yeti reservation last afternoon. I really hope that the Animal Kingdom nighttime show will be up and running by then. Either way, we'll probably not stay at Animal Kingdom too late.

Friday - October 7th - Magic Kingdom Day! This will actually the 3rd time we we'll have been to the Magic Kingdom this trip but this is our main day in the best park (in my opinion) at Disney World.

We have a pre-rope drop reservation for breakfast at the Crystal Palace so Emily can meet Eeyore and Piglet. For rides, we'll probably mostly focus on what we haven't gotten to earlier in our trip. We have a counter service reservation for lunch at noon for Be Our Guest because Emily wanted to eat in Beast's Castle again. We'll probably just stay at the park until 7 because it's a party night and we'll have to leave once the party starts!

Saturday - October 8th - Departure Day! I'm hoping that we'll be on the road fairly early. I'm hoping that I can actually make the whole drive home without having to stop for the night. I'll play that by ear. I'm sure we'll make our normal trip to the food court to use up any extra snack credits so we can have snacks to go home with.

Both Emily and I are really looking forward to this trip!

Disney World and the Middle Class

A few weeks ago, Washington Post ran an article about how theme parks like Disney have left the middle class behind. I think that is completely untrue and I wanted to share some thoughts about that.

We are a middle class family. Both Todd and I have to work, but we own our house and we manage to be able to afford vacations and weekend conventions. This includes Disney World.

Now, we can't go to Disney World every year, that would be too expensive. But every two to three years, yes, that's completely doable for us.

Magic Kingdom - 1986

In the Washington Post article, it states that when Disney World opened in 1971, it cost $3.50 to enter the park. It neglects to mention that entering the park is all that $3.50 got you. You had to buy ticket books in order to actually ride any of the rides.

Prices for tickets do go up every year. It's something those of us in the Disney fandom expect, but it seems to outage people who don't know anything about Disney. If you really want to go to Disney, you can if you save.

There are tons of time shares all over Orlando and a lot of those time shares will give you free theme park tickets if you sit through their presentation. You can also save a ton of money by staying in a hotel off of Disney's property.

As kids, neither Todd nor I had ever stayed on Disney's property so we decided to stay on property for our honeymoon. We were hooked, especially since we had the dining plan as well. I'm a big fan of having just about everything paid for, and just having

Animal Kingdom - 2013

money for tips and souvenirs.

Disney does have a lot of high end resorts that cost tons a night. But they also have quite a few value resorts where the rooms are only about $100 a night. In fact, the newest resort is a value that mostly has family suites which make it more affordable for families with more than two kids.

If you go on an off time of the year, you can also get room discounts or even free dining. You may have to move to a different resort but it can save a big chuck of money.

Tickets are cheaper if you buy more than one day at a time, and the dining plan is great if you have a young kid who wants to do a lot of character meals.

If you are middle class, and you really want to go to Disney World or any other theme parks, you can. You may have to stay off site, you may have to stay at a value resort, you may have to sit through a time share presentation, but it's completely do-able.

Why I Like Disney's Magic Bands

I saw a blog post this morning about all the Disney resorts going to be Magic Band only by the end of this month. There is a lot of information out there about Magic Bands, some of it not very true, so I thought I’d share my experiences with them for our trip this past October.

When my travel agent emailed me to let me know that we would be getting Magic Bands I was very excited. I had heard a lot about them and I had hoped that we would be able to take part in testing. We got our Magic Bands customized. I got a green one, Emily got pink and Todd got blue. Sadly, purple, which is Todd and Emily’s favorite color, is not one of the options for the Magic Bands.

They arrived really fast in a cool box that had Mrs. Incredible on it. Magic Bands are one size, but the outer part can be taken off to fit smaller wrists. We all tried them on when they arrived and then they went back in the box. They sat in my office until it was time to pack up for our trip.

Once we got to Disney World and were checking in, they activated our bands. We arrived in the morning and our room wasn’t ready yet, so we did other things. Once it was time to get our room, our Magic Bands did need to be readjusted. That took a couple of minutes but that was the only issue we had with them.

I had heard horror stories before the trip about the bands falling off. But when we checked in, we got a free Magic Band holder that said 2013 on it. It helped keep the bands securely on our wrists and none of us had problems.

The Magic Bands had our room key, our park tickets, our dining plan, Fastpass + and our Photopass. We did get a Key to The World too but we never used it once. It was so easy to use the Magic Band and it was especially nice to be able to open our hotel room with arms full of stuff or child just by taping the band.

Now there has been some concern about tracking information on the Band. We didn’t hook a credit card up to our Magic Bands because we knew it would be too easy to over spend. So the only information that the Magic Band got from us was what parks we went to and where we ate. That’s not any information that I care about anyone having but I’m not too fussed about anything tracking me while on vacation.

We were able to wear our Magic Bands everywhere, even in the pool. Emily did get sick of wearing it after a few days but I just put it in my fanny pack to be used for getting into the park and Fastpass +. We didn’t ever lose them and they never were even loose.

The only snafu we had with the Magic Bands took place after our vacation had ended. Most of our photopass pictures were linked to the Magic Band though we had used a card the first few days. Our pictures showed up on the photopass site right away but a few weeks after our trip, they disappeared. I emailed support and they did get them back. Plus they gave me extra time to view / purchase the pictures. So that turned out ok in the end.

All in all, I loved the Magic Bands. They made our vacation easier and now we have a cool souvenir!

Disney Trip 2013 - Departure Day and Final Thoughts

This is the final post of my Disney Trip report – click for  post #1, post #2, post #3, post #4, post #5, post #6, and post #7!

We got up early on our departure day. We had to be out of the room by 11 and needed to do most of the packing. Emily and I went to the car to load some things up and I got some pictures of her in the resort which was really beautiful.

We had some credits left on the dining plan so Emily and I got some breakfast. Todd wasn’t hungry because he was a bit sick – he thought he might have gotten food poisoning though Emily and I were fine.

Todd finished up loading the car while I amused Emily in the arcade since we had some credits left. We got checked out and then went to the food court to spend the rest of our dining plan credits so we could have snacks for the drive home.

The drive home was pretty uneventful and we got back late that night. I was sad to go but it was nice to be home.

Emily and I want to go back to Disney World as soon as we can, though Todd is less thrilled about going back. We are tentatively planning on going back in 2016, probably in September.

I thought the trip went really well. We didn’t see everything but we had a pretty relaxed time with taking afternoon breaks. It really helped Emily be able to keep going by taking a nap in the afternoon.

The new Magic Bands are great! They work for everything from opening the room, to the dining plan to Fast Pass +. I was really intrigued when I first heard about the Magic Bands and I’m really glad that we got to try them.

I also loved the new Fast Pass +. We never used Fast Pass that much before, and we still didn’t for a lot of things. But it fits our style of touring which is laid back. I didn’t mind scheduling our Fast Pass + selections in advance. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to print out all our Fast Pass + selections for each day so I wouldn’t have to try and fiddle with the My Disney Experience app.

All in all, it was a pretty magical first trip for Emily. I asked her last night what her favorite things to do at Disney were. She said that she loved meeting the characters and riding Dumbo and Star Tours. Hopefully she’ll still love it once we go back in a few years!

Disney Trip 2013 - Animal Kingdom

This is the second post of my Disney Trip report – click here for post #1.

When we were planning our trip, we decided to skip Epcot. We felt that Emily would enjoy Animal Kingdom more this time. Since both Todd and I feel that Animal Kingdom is a half day park, we thought it would be a good starting park.

We met my in-laws in the lobby at 8:30 so we could all ride to the Animal Kingdom together. Emily was a little grumpy; we don’t think she slept a lot on the drive down. But she looked adorable in her Alice costume.

The bus ride was short and we were soon at the Animal Kingdom. My mother-in-law and I went through bag check while Todd and his dad went to get the tickets. I had ordered the tickets from Disney’s website a few months before and it was really easy to pick them up.

Our entry into the Animal Kingdom was the first chance we got to use our Magic Bands as a park ticket. It was cool to see the Mickey head light up. We got our maps and headed toward the Kilimanjaro Safari. The wait was pretty short and soon we were seeing a lot of cool animals. Emily was very excited to get to see a

Waiting for Festival of the Lion King

baby giraffe.

After we were done with the Safari we were walking by the Festival of the Lion King. The first show was starting soon so we decided to all go do that. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this show but we never got a chance to see it on our honeymoon. It was an amazing show though! Definitely a must see from now on!

An aside here – we got Emily some Disney gift cards so she could have her own spending money. She wanted to get one thing when we got into the park and she picked a baby Simba stuffed animal.

We tried to keep her from going to hog wild because we knew she’d burn through her money fast that way.

Since we were already in Camp Minnie-Mickey, we decided to go see Donald Duck. Donald was awesome – he asked for Emily’s Simba and then he lifted Simba over his head like from the beginning of the Lion King. It was so funny!

From there, Emily was getting worn out already. So we stopped for a snack which was the Mickey bar that she had been talking about eating for months. It made quite the mess and ended up with a trip to the bathroom. Luckily she didn’t get a lot of it on her dress.

We headed over to Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama in Dinoland so we could play in the Boneyard. Emily liked going down all the slides and wanted me to go down some slides too. In the process of going down the slide, I lost my phone. This lead to a freak out

but Todd went to talk to the cast members at the front of the play area and thankfully someone had turned it in.

From there we went to Triceratops Spin, which is basically a Dumbo clone with dinosaurs. Emily enjoyed it but was getting crankier as her normal naptime approached. There wasn’t a long wait for the Primeval Whirl roller coaster so Todd rode that while Emily and I shopped. I got some pins and she got some princess gummy candies.

Todd was kind enough to volunteer to take Emily back to the hotel for a nap so I could stay and ride some more rides. I walked with them on the way out and we passed by where Pooh and Tigger were meeting. We asked Emily if she wanted to meet them and she did.

I love Pooh Bear in part because of my own bear. He was one of the only characters I went out of my way to meet. Pooh and Tigger were really sweet. But it was extra awesome because Pooh came over to give me and then Todd a big hug. The Photopass photographer got

the shot so I was very happy with that.

From there, we went to see Mickey and Minnie in their safari clothes. Emily was happy to see them again, but really didn’t have any desire to stand in line to meet them again at the other parks we went to.

I walked Todd and Emily to the front of the park and then went back to Dinoland so I could ride Dinosaur. This was the longest line of the day for me – about 40 minutes. I played on my phone a little but I didn’t get great signal and my phone was dying.

Dinosaur was a lot scarier than I remembered! But it was still a lot of fun. I thought briefly about riding Expedition Everest, but chickened out. I headed to the only other ride I wanted to do at Animal Kingdom - Kali River Rapids, which is a whitewater raft ride.

The post wait time for Kali River Rapids was 20 minutes but I walked right on. The ride was fun and I didn’t get too wet. Since I hadn’t waited at all, I decided to ride it again. This time I got soaked! So I thought it was time to go back to the resort. At the bus stop, I met up with my in-laws who were heading back

After I got changed and Emily got up from her nap we met the in-laws in the lobby again. We got Emily’s

carseat into their car and all rode over to the Polynesian to have dinner at Ohana. This is my all-time favorite Disney restaurant from our honeymoon. We got there early since we had to wait a long time for a table on our previous trip.

We got checked and want went over to the gift shop. We had made one pressed penny and then our buzzer went off! It was so fast! We were seated near the window, which you could make out Cinderella Castle through the trees.

When I gave my information to my travel agent, I had her notate that I am allergic to shellfish and to tree nuts. Nearly every table service restaurant we ate at, the chef would come out and advise me what the safe dishes to eat were. It was very nice to know which ones could cause my issues. Thankfully the only thing I couldn't eat at Ohana was the shrimp.

There was course after course of meat on skewers that had been freshly cooked on a huge fire pit on the other side of the room. It was so good, and even Emily liked it, though she mostly ate the noodles that were

part of the side dishes.

There were games for the kids (though Emily opted not to play) and a lady who roamed around the room singing songs and giving out leis. Once we were done, I took Emily over to the lady so she could get some leis. The lady saw Emily’s birthday button and gave her extra leis in the form a lei crown. 

We made one more stop to the gift shop. There was a Minnie Mouse dress up toy set that Emily had seen and decided she wanted. The price was pretty good, especially since we were at Disney, so she got it with her gift cards. It was a great purchase because she still plays with it daily.

It was time to turn in for the night so we headed back to the resort. Emily got a bath and went right to sleep. I didn’t stay up too long either because we had to be up early the next day.

Up next post – The Magic Kingdom, Part 1

Disney Trip 2013 - Travel Day

 After years of waiting, earlier this month it was time to go to Disney World. Todd and I had honeymooned there and I had been dreaming of taking Emily to my favorite place in the world since I found out I was pregnant. Originally we had planned on waiting until 2015 when Emily would be turning six. But I convinced Todd that this year would be better because she’d be turning five but still in pre-K preschool because of the way her birthday fell. He agreed and I started planning about 18 months in advance.

I worked with Sara, a travel agent with Mouse Fan Travel. She was excellent – answered all my questions quickly, got us some great reservations for dining and helped me with getting our Fastpass + fixed. Finally it was midnight on October 11^th, so it was time to go.

Since Todd had switched jobs a few months ago, he wasn’t working on that day so we were able to leave earlier than we had intended. We packed up the car, got Emily up and we were on the road before 1 am. The drive was pretty uneventful. I slept some and Emily slept a little. Todd opted to drive the whole way even though I did offer to do some driving. Around 11 am, we arrived at our resort.

We had picked the new Art of Animation resort because they had family suites. Todd’s a night owl so the

Trying watch cartoons and smile

separate rooms were really appealing to us since we wouldn’t have to go to sleep when Emily did. The outside was so bright and fun, and then inside was as well. I’d see lots of pictures and videos but it was even more awesome when we got inside.

Despite it being early, we went to check-in. Right next to the check-in stations there was a little room that had couches and a TV playing Disney cartoon. There was also a table set up that had free lemonade and cookies. Emily wanted me to watch cartoons with her, so Todd handled most of the check-in. I wasn’t surprised to hear our room wasn’t ready, so we left Disney World to go see my in-laws.

My in-laws had come down to Florida in part to see Emily around her birthday but also to visit some friends who were snowbirding in Orlando. Their hotel was actually pretty close by, maybe 15 minutes away. They were staying in a hotel in Kissimmee right next to Old Town. They were happy to see us, especially Emily. We visited for a while, then got some lunch.

Lunch at KFC!

We were going to go to the arcade in Old Town, but it wasn’t open yet.

We all went back to Art of Animation and we played in the arcade there. Todd got enough tokens that he was able to get Emily a stuffed puppy. Finally around three, our room was ready and we got to see it.

It was a great room, nice and big with a kitchenette and two bathrooms.

After we got the car unpacked and got Emily changed so we could go to Chef Mickey’s. Emily was so excited to meet all the characters, but especially Minnie Mouse. We had a lot of fun and the food was decent too. The only bummer was I had used my camera to take the pictures and for some reason when I transferred the pictures to the laptop later that evening they disappeared after a moment. I was very upset but figured all the characters we had met, we could meet again. I finally gave up trying to find the files and went to bed.

Up next post – Animal Kingdom and Ohana!

I'm Going To Disney World!

I’ve been neglecting this blog and I’m sorry for that. I’ll be neglecting it more since we go on vacation on Friday. Last week was a comedy of errors with all kinds of weird things happening. And I still have a cold and having packed a thing. But all that doesn’t matter, because I’m going to Disney World this week.

Someday I’ll finish my honeymoon recap, but I wanted to share some thoughts I was having about this trip. First, even though we leave in four days, it doesn’t seem real.

I think it doesn’t seem real because I’ve been dreaming of this trip since I was pregnant with Emily. That’s been nearly six years. And we’ve had to nearly cancel our trip twice this year because of different things. I don’t think I’m going to feel like I’m really going to Disney World until we see the sign as we drive in.

Even though it doesn’t feel real, it is. I’m going to Disney World and I need to pack. Because I was sick all last week, I didn’t get anything done. Now this week I’m working extra-long shifts and also need to do laundry and pack. I did manage to get to the post office on my lunch break and got my mail held for while we are gone. But I have a lot left to do.

I’m really hoping that this vacation is awesome. I’ve been waiting for it so long that I can’t wait until I get to see Emily see the castle for the first time ever. I’m going to cry – a lot! My in-laws are joining us for a few days and I’m looking forward to seeing them too.

If you follow me on Twitter, it’s going to be a lot of Disney for the next week. But I’ll be live tweeting when I can and I’m planning on taking tons of pictures to capture those special Disney memories.

One Month Until Disney!

Dressed as Sophia & ready for Disney World!

Today is a special day for me that doesn't have anything to do with the events of 12 years ago today. Today is exactly one month until we go to Walt Disney World!

I've talked about my previous trips and I’ll finish up my write up of my Disney honeymoon soon. Disney World is my favorite place in the whole world. It was only three months after we got back from our last trip that I became pregnant with Emily.

Since I was pregnant, I've been dreaming about taking her to the World. When we were on our honeymoon, Todd and I both decided that we wanted to wait until our child was old enough to walk on her own and be potty trained. We originally thought about waiting until her 6^th birthday.

Because of the way the school cut-off falls in NC, Emily is still in preschool this year. Because of that, I convinced Todd that we should go this year instead of next year because she wouldn't be missing actual school. My logic won out and I started planning our trip in earnest in March of 2012.

I've been working with a great travel agent over at MouseFan Travel to get everything set. My travel agent, Sara, was able to get us the coveted Be Our Guest reservation as well as a great early reservation for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We are also lucky enough to get to try out the new Magic Bands!

There have been several things that nearly derailed our trip. First, Emily had to have dental surgery back in

May and we weren't sure if we could afford both.  We were able to come up with the money and Emily’s teeth have been very healthy since her surgery.

Then about a month ago, things got very bad for Todd at his job forcing him to find a new job. Thankfully he

found a new job that he likes a whole lot better right away, but it made me a little nervous for a while there.

But here we are, one month away and everything is all set. Our trip is paid off and mostly I just need to pack. I got Emily a Sophia the First dress last week for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and even made her a countdown chain.

She’s excited but I know I’m more excited than she is. It’s been a heck of year but in 30 days I’ll be in my favorite place in the whole world and that will make everything better.

My Second Trip to Walt Disney World

Epcot - December 1993

This is the 2nd post in my series of Disney trips I've taken in the past. You can read part one here!

When I was 16 years old, my parents decided we were going to go back to Disney World. It was a little last minute, only a month or two before we went. And they decided to go the busiest week of the whole year – the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Now I didn't realize that this week was the busiest week of the year until I started doing research for my Disney honeymoon. I don’t remember it being that busy but it was crowded.

We drove down from Michigan on Christmas Day. The only thing I really remember from the drive was that we stopped at an IHOP to eat. It was the only thing open so it was very crowded. We got to our hotel later on Christmas Day.

During the trip we went to all three parks that were open at that time. Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) had only been open for 4 years at that point. I loved MGM, especially Star Tours since I had always been a Star Wars fan. I do remember wanting to eat at the Sci-Fi Diner and being disappointed because we didn't eat at any table service restaurants the whole trip.

Once we left, I wanted to go back. My lifelong love of Walt Disney World was cemented with that trip. My college best friend and I talked about taking a trip down to the World, but being poor college students it didn't happen. It would be13 years before I would step foot into my favorite place again for my Disney Honeymoon.

My First Trip to Walt Disney World

Three months from today we are going to be driving down to Florida for our first family vacation at Disney World. I’m a huge fan of Disney and I've been dreaming of taking Emily to Disney World since I found out that I was pregnant. As we are getting to the last few months before our big trip, I’m going to be writing about my past trips as well as our plans to make Emily’s first trip unforgettable!

Me and my sister with the Big Cheese

My parents took my sister and me to Disney World for the first time in the summer of 1986. I was 9 at the time so I have a lot of memories of the trip that made me a lifelong Disney fan.

I think we drove down from Michigan and we spent part of the vacation visiting my uncle who was living in Florida at the time. Back then, there was only the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We spent at least one day at each of the parks, starting with the Magic Kingdom.

Driving with my mom

The ride that made the biggest impression on me was The Haunted Mansion. It scared me but I was fascinated. After one ride, it was my favorite and is still my favorite ride to this day. Later in the day, we were in a spooky magic shop on Main Street where I found a storybook and record set for The Haunted Mansion. My parents got it for me and it was my favorite souvenir.

The Haunted Mansion

We rode a lot of the other rides that were around in the late 80’s. I really liked the 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. We also rode on Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway and It’s a Small World.

Me and my Dad flying with Dumbo

Character meets were a lot different back then because the characters just roamed around the park. We got to meet Mickey, Minnie, some of the mice from Cinderella, Eeyore, Donald and the 3 Little Pigs. The character meeting that I remember the most was the Big Bad Wolf. This is because the Big Bad Wolf was big and bad and popped my sister's balloon. She was really upset about it.

Post balloon popping

Epcot was another day and it was a pretty new park at the time. I still remember joining in with some of the activities at CommuniCore. I also remember the Kitchen Kabaret, which was a fun show with singing food. But my favorite ride in Epcot was Journey Into Imagination. Figment the dragon was adorable and the story with the Dreamfinder as he took us into the world of Imagination was awesome. Sadly that version of the ride no longer exists but I am still a big fan of Figment.

Me and my sister with my dad in Epcot

I loved every minute of our time at Walt Disney World. It would be a long seven years before I’d be back at my favorite place in the world. You can read about my 2nd trip to the World here!