A really late random Disney post...

We had an amazing time in Disney. The decision at the last minute to add on two additional nights was great. I liked having another full two days at the parks plus we got to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival.

I have had a few friends comment on how we go every year (ie affordability and is there really anything new) and why. Here's my answer:

Affording a Disney trip each year for us - We own Disney timeshare, something Ray and I purchased back in 2001 (prior to even being pregnant with Ashley). It was an unbelievably wise investment for us considering how much we enjoy Disney. That also gives us a mini-condo for the week which means we cook many meals in our room. We only ate dinner out three times in 8 nights, once was just eating at the Food and Wine festival, once at the ESPN club watching the VT/NC State game, and once at Le Cellier in Epcot. All other dinners were in our room. We had two character breakfasts, and one those days Ray and I were so full from breakfast we didn't eat lunch. And we also packed lunch 3 days to the parks and when we did buy meals in the parks for lunch, we shared meals. And I love how with the kids meals in Disney they serve carrots and grapes, they made great snacks for later in the day.

We also give the kids a set limit to spend for the vacation on souvenirs. They both had $50 to spend which Audrey blew through by the second day. Ashley was a little more conservative with her spending.

In the end, we were very happy with our room charge bill at the end (we charge everything back to the room). It helped too that as annual passholders we got discounts in many places.

New things to do - We always, always try something new each trip. There was not a new ride this time in a park (although there is normally a new parade or show), but we did get to see construction for the new section in Magic Kingdom. There is so much in Disney World that there are still things we haven't done to save for later trips. We also always try and eat somewhere we haven't before. This year it was Le Cellier in Canada in Epcot. Audrey got to try a few rides that she was finally tall enough for (Tower of Terror being one which she says she will not go on again until she is a mommy...). Ray and Ashley saw Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios one night. We stayed late for the Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom too. Ashley pin traded for the first time and she got into Vinylmation trading too.

Things that were interesting - I saw many men with man-purses. It was actually quite funny. I told Ray I was going to buy him one for his birthday.

Disappointing things - And this had nothing really to do with Disney, but rather with people. We witnessed some really ugly behavior from some adults while waiting for the parade in Magic Kingdom. I think we all need to learn to be a little more patient. I also had a woman completely cut in front of me in line at a store. I normally don't do this, but as I walked past her after that, I said "karma is a bitch". Yes, I am that person. She pissed me off. The state of Americans and their weight was bothersome too. I saw way too many overweight kids and adults in wheelchairs. Pretty sad actually. There were times that the people waiting for wheelchair access was actually longer than the standby line for a ride.

What we really loved on this trip - We stay at Disney's Beach Club, and the pool at the resort has a sand bottom (not real sand, but Disney sand, sand that doesn't stick to you!). Plus it has a slide, a whirl pool thing, and hot tubs. Oh, and a bar which made the most amazing Tangerine Dream drinks that I have ever had. I may have had one or twenty of those. A couple of days we finished early afternoon at the parks and enjoyed the afternoon/early evening at the pool. It was relaxing and the kids loved it.

I still have not downloaded the 1200+ pictures I have taked, so none of those can be shared yet. And I am not sure when that will happen - I have travel for work this week and the big birthday week for Ray and I starts next week (we are both traveling on separate weekends in October). Oh, and throw in fitting in running when I can (like last night 7 mile speedwork on the treadmill at 8:30pm at the gym). I had never run more than 6 on a treadmill prior to last night, that was not fun last night.

Disney

I have tried to type this sentence multiple times to try and capture just how great a vacation we had. I will have to download some pictures over the next week and share some stories about the week, but it was great. Fun was had by all. We had great weather, we enjoyed the parks and the pool at our resort multiple times, rode rides, and ate great food at the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

I only ran once though, my only regret from this vacation. I plan on getting back on track this week as my half marathon is a little over a month away.

For now, it is back to school for Ashley after being tracked out for 3 weeks. This morning was only slightly rough after getting home at 8pm last night. And of course with stuff every.night.this.week, we jump right back into the chaos.

I wish I was back at the pool drinking my Tangerine Dream drink....

Out

I won't be posting next week while at Disney, so have a good week...I will tell the mouse you say hello....

And wish me luck, we are leaving at 2:00am to make the drive.

See you in a week...

The Countdown has begun....

And my training plan has even been tweaked for our upcoming annual trip to Disney World (I do plan on running while there). We are going the last week in September when Ashley is tracked out of school. I can't freaking wait. Neither can the kids; Audrey keeps mentioning things she wants to do in Disney World, and Ashley has money put aside already.

I need to finalize my spreadsheet for the trip and start a packing list. Yes, I am anal and I love spreadsheets and lists.

This trip will actually be a cheap-ish trip for us. We don't pay for our room (well, we paid for it years ago when we bought Disney timeshare), we have annual passes we purchased last December that are obviously still good, we still have some water park tickets from years ago, and we plan on packing our lunches again and eating in the room as much as possible (we packed lunches for the first time when we went in December, and it worked out great). Don't get me wrong, we have our traditional Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet planned as well as our first ever time to Le Cellier in Epcot to eat. I also plan on eating as much desserts as possible (bring on the Mickey shaped ice cream bars!). Whatever souvenirs the kids want they have to buy with their own money. Ashley has a Visa giftcard from her birthday she is saving and Audrey has some money in her piggy bank.

We also drive to Disney, normally leaving the Raleigh area around 2:00am putting us there before lunch. And yes, we might be crazy for this as well, but it works for us.

And here is our tally of times we have been to Disney:
Amy - 14 times
Ray - 10 times
Ashley - 7 times
Audrey - 4 times

Crazy? Possibly. We just love all that a Disney World vacation has to offer. I would go more than once a year if Ray (and our bank account) would let us. I am also excited about running while there. There is a great website for running in Disney here. And I know the next obvious question - when will I run an actual Disney marathon? There is actually one there the day after we leave this year, but we can't stay an extra day (its the new Disney Wine and Dine one). The Princess Half is the same month as the Austin Marathon I am doing, so that is out. I am hoping for 2012...

Vacation

I took over 900 pictures, I am not even remotely unpacked, I have only remotely started Christmas shopping, and I am tired.

But we had so much fun in Disney and once I sort through all the pictures, I just might post some. Especially the Jonas Brothers pictures. Yup, I think I was more excited about that then the girls were. We were there when they were tapping the Christmas Day Parade and the Jonas Brothers will be opening the special on Christmas Day. So on Christmas morning, look for us on ABC. We are one of hundreds holding yellow handkerchiefs and dancing and screaming like fools. The girls were just standing there, it would be Ray and I doing the dancing and screaming (okay, maybe he wasn't screaming, but I sure was!). We even had an extra kid with us for the week, a friend of Ashley's, and we still had that magical Disney time.

Unfortunately, back to reality, back to a schedule this week that is nuts, and throw in there two kids who are very tired, this should be an interesting week. Wish me luck.

Time Off

We leave tonight at 2:00am for our roughly 10 hour drive to Orlando. We are 90% packed (I refused to pack Ray last night as he was not home since the last time I packed for him I forgot to pack underwear) and will pack up the van this evening.

I will be checking email periodically over the next week, but blogging I will not. I think I need this week as a break for me. I am stressed out a little about all the activities in December, and not worrying about updating here will on vacation takes just enough off my plate.

Have a great week, and I will tell Mickey Mouse everyone says hi...

T-Minus 3 days and counting...

We leave for Disney on Saturday morning, about 2:00am. Yes, many think we are nuts, but it works for us. We would rather drive some where the kids are sleeping then deal with them for 10 hours in the van with them awake. Ray will drive the first shift while I sleep, and then we will switch. It worked out well last time, so hopefully it will this time too.

I have had a few ask me if I am going to run while in Disney. Um, per doctor's orders no. Yes, I went to a sports medicine doctor on Monday for my constant knee pain. Despite the fast Turkey Trot I ran, I had knee pain the entire time, and then pretty significant pain after the race.

After some examination and x-rays, my meniscus in my left knee is significantly more worn down then the one in my right. I saw a physical therapist, and she gave me strength training exercises to do. I am under orders to not run for 2 weeks, and then ease it back in. Which is just in time to start training for the Myrtle Beach Half marathon on February 13th. I will definitely start doing more strength training for my obviously wussy legs. So no running in Disney, which is fine because I think the walking we will be doing will be plenty!

Disney

Everyone knows I am crazy about Disney. I troll the Disney websites daily, especially as we get closer to our vacation in December. Ray and I bought a Disney timeshare before we even had kids. So crazy about Disney - yes.

So you can only imagine my excitement yesterday when I got an email saying I made it to the second round of the selection process for the Disney Mom's Panel.

I have applied every year; and every year nothing. Until this year. Now, I have no idea how many it was narrowed down to in the second round. I am hopeful that it was narrowed down a lot.

I had to answer three more essay questions and submit a photo. The essay questions were easy, the photo was not. I attempted to have Ray take a head shot of me last night, and to say it wasn't pretty was an understatement. I could post it here, but then I would be the laughing stock of the internet for the day. So I cut me out of a picture I actually took at Disney on Ice last week with Audrey.

Keep your fingers, toes, ears, hair, WHATEVER crossed for me to make to the final selection. I should know the last week of October/beginning of November. The next round will be phone interviews.

Disney Moms Panel

I have tried every freaking year for the Disney Moms Panel. I don't know what the magic equation is to get selected for one of 20 spots out of 20,000 applicants. I just hope I have that magic this year.

The application opens up at 9:00am EST today (which is of course the time when my all day meeting starts, GAH!) and you can get it here.

Just keep your fingers crossed for me. Pretty please.

Friday Pictures Old School

I have not downloaded pictures off my camera for some time now, and I figured you guys wouldn't want to see pictures of Christmas or Audrey's birthday again. I am embarking on a digital scrapbook project for our September trip last year to Disney, so I thought I would post my favorites, possibly again, here.

As for this year, we are going in December. I have only been to Disney once at Christmas time, and that was the week after Christmas while Ray and I were seniors at Virginia Tech. We were headed down to Miami to see Tech get crushed by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, but on the way we stopped in Disney for a few days. I am excited about going at Christmas time and seeing all the decorations. I am just not sure if I can wait that long to go back....

One of my favorites of Ashley...taken in China at Epcot.

I think Ashley fits well as Forelle Fairy.

This is the look she gives us right before she says, "What?".


I still can't believe she sat still for all of this....

This kid has so much personality...

Thought I would throw in something pink for Valentine's Day.

I just think this is a cool shot...and yes, I know that guy.

I think Ray was over Disney at this point...

Once again, this kid is trouble...

Shots of the two of them are few and far between, so I cherish the ones I have.

Again, with the goofy-ness (get it, Goofy??)

An even rarer shot of the four of us. I think only three of these exist.

Disney Pictures...

I missed my usual Friday pictures, and I finally got off my butt and downloaded the Disney pics. Here are my favorites:

The first night there....

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's

Audrey and me on the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios

Audrey did this a few times...

Ashley getting her face painted...

Insights and other delightful information from our trip...I promise to stop talking about our vacation soon...

Every year when we go to Disney, we see something interesting. Like the year Crocs were making their way into fashion, and I kept wondering why people were wearing gardening shoes to the parks.

This was the year of the stroller. Seriously, I have never seen so many weird strollers. The pod-like ones, the ones for airplanes, but the one that took the cake was the Peg Perego stroller we saw on the Monorail one night. And I have scowered the internet to find it, and I can't. Sorry, no picture. It was a double stroller, probably at least 4 feet long. The kids in it faced each other, and they could basically lay down as it made one big huge bed. And the damn thing had a steering wheel on it. And they had to use the steering wheel since it was such a long stroller, it took some work to go around corners.

And I saw a famous person. Okay, sort of famous. Maybe a B-lister. Or C. We were eating breakfast/lunch at a character buffet in Animal Kingdom and guess who was sitting near us??
John Tartaglia. Yea, I know, most of you have no idea who he is, but I do. My kids love Johnny and the Sprites. He was there with a friend and two kids. Not sure whose kids they were, but we saw them later in the park riding stuff.

I was too chicken to go up to him and ask for his picture. Ray will tease me about that until I die.

I'm Back...

We came home late on Friday night after a not so fun drive back from Florida with two very tired children.

Our trip was great...just as always though, too short. The kids had a blast, and Ray and I did too. I have started a post about doing Disney frugally, which at some point I will finish typing. Yes, we tried to save some money on this trip. Christmas will be here before we know it, and right after that Audrey turns three. Money may as well fly out of my pocket.

We did have some firsts on our trip despite it being the 16th time I have been to Disney, the 6th time for Ashley, and the 2nd time for Audrey (I have no idea about Ray, I can only keep track of three of us). Ashley and I rode in the front of the monorail (Audrey and Ray took the bus home that night, Audrey was FASCINATED with the buses, she kept calling them Mickey's Schoolbus). The girls had their faces painted. We ate at two restaurants we had not been to before.

Ashley is back in school this week after being tracked out for three weeks. She was so excited about going back, she was up at 5:45am. She will be one tired kid come this afternoon...

We Opened and Closed a Park

Last year we only spent about an hour at Animal Kingdom. Ashley had melted down, and it was hot and everyone was cranky.

But this year, we actually got to enjoy the park. We were there when it opened at 9:00am, and we left the park after it closed at 5:00pm. Audrey ended up taking a nap in her stroller, Ashley rode Expedition Everest, a roller coaster, three times, and we got to see the parade and the most amazing show I have seen at Disney so far, Finding Nemo the Musical. It was amazing. If you go to Disney, definitely go see that show.

We were hoping the girls would sleep in this morning, but no luck. They were both up before 7:00am even though Audrey didn't go to sleep until after 10:00pm. We are heading to a water park today, and then Magic Kingdom again tonight.

The only other thing to note so far is Audrey is obviously allergic to bananas. She broke out in hives all over her face after just eating a little bit. Thankfully the store at the resort had Children's Benedryl, and it cleared it up right away.

Yup, in Disney World

I need a nap. And a foot massage. And a reminder to actually put sunscreen on myself, not just my kids. And a nap.

I just don't think I have the energy to post about everyday, maybe when I get back from my trip. So far, we have stuck to the schedule, but it's only the second day. Today we spent the day at Magic Kingdom and even went back after dinner to see the fireworks.

I haven't seen anything outrageous on anyone, a lot of kids on leashes, people smoking in Magic Kingdom (the entire park is smoke-free I thought). Audrey was put up on TV in the Monster Inc. show which was cute. And when we walked up to our hotel on Saturday around 11:30am after leaving Raleigh at 2:00am, the woman who greeted us at the door asked us our last name, then immediately welcomed Ashley and Audrey by their name. And she didn't look at a list or anything. Some Disney Magic.

I hope everyone has a little magic this week...

My Favorites

Here are some of my favorites from last week's trip...enjoy!

Ashley doesn't like going up and down on things...but she rode Space Mountain, a roller coaster. I just don't get 5 year olds sometimes...
Considering how hot it was, I wish I could have run through this. Unfortunately, I don't look quite right walking around in wet clothes.
Parade watching. My kids love it.
Deep in thought on a ride.
Ashley's birthday breakfast.

Introducing - Hannah Montana!

Rest of the trip and why we need a new van...

I am a psycho planner when it comes to our Disney vacations. I have spreadsheets, I troll the Disney website message boards about crowds, best places to go, neat things to do and see.

And then we have a day like Tuesday where nothing was planned and it turned out great. As I said in the other post, we did Epcot Tuesday morning which was nice in the heat because Epcot has so many indoor activities. Ashley rode Test Track and Soarin. She loves Soarin, a ride where you feel like you are flying. The whole time she just kept talking and saying that we really weren't flying, but it sure did seem like it. We left Epcot at lunch and headed to Disney's Boardwalk and had lunch at a brewery there. After that, we went back to our room where Audrey napped and Ashley rested. A huge storm blew through, and I thought our chances for a water park were done. Ray the weatherman checked radar and decided we had a few hours before the next storms would hit, so we ate an early dinner in the room and were at Typhoon Lagoon at 5:00pm.

The air was much cooler (only 74 degrees) and the water temp was 84, so it was perfect. We splashed and played and had a great time. We stayed until the park closed at 8:00pm. There were no lines and the girls had a blast.

Ray and I decided to get up at the crack of dawn and drive back yesterday. We were in the van at 4:15am and got home at 1:45pm. The girls slept a little in the beginning, and then fell back asleep from 10:00am until we stopped for lunch around noon.

And our poor van. The poor beat up, missing side mirror, cracked windshield, cracked bumper, scratched side van. And now it has more problems. We had purchased some gummy bears for the trip as bribery for Audrey to go on the potty. On Saturday, Ray drove the van to his conference, were it was parked in the heat all day. And the gummy bears were in the driver's side door. And they melt. Seriously melt. They melted so well in fact that they seeped all the way down the door and onto the ground. Needless to say, opening the door was a challenge after that. We have cleaned up as much as we can, but it took the rubber liner off the door so now there is substantial wind noise when you drive.

It's always something, but at least Ray is now considering trying to trade it in...

Disney Trip Updates

Saturday: The plan was for me and the girls to go to Chef Mickey's for breakfast, then Magic Kingdom, then meet Ray for dinner. Ray was in a conference all day, and he dropped me and the girls off at Chef Mickey's. We had a great breakfast and Audrey really loved seeing all the characters. Because the girls wanted to, we rode the Monorail around to Magic Kingdom instead of walking there. Once we got into the Magic Kingdom, we headed to a few rides where shockingly, there were hardly any rides. We walked right onto the carousel, the Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo, Mickey's Philharmagic, Goofy's roller coaster. It wasn't until around 1:00pm that the park started to get packed. We took water breaks and the girls were really, really good for me. We watched the parade at 3:00pm and as soon as it ended, Audrey fell asleep. I let her sleep for about 45 minutes, and then we woke her up to go on a few more rides before we left. We headed back to the room around 5:00pm and the girls and I had some tortellini in the room for dinner. Ray called and was headed back, so the girls and I walked to Downtown Disney (we were staying at Saratoga Springs and we were in the closest building to the walking path to Downtown Disney). We shopped some, and then we went back to the room and crashed.

The Good: The lighter crowds that morning, seeing the girls' faces when they saw Mickey for the first time on the trip.

The Bad: Bedtime. The girls were sleeping together in the living room, and getting them to leave each other alone was not fun. Tour Groups. Huge masses of people who all moved together in a big group and annoyed the crap out of me.

Sunday: The plan was for me and the girls to go to Hollywood Studios and meet Ray for dinner there. Ray headed off early to the conference, and the girls and I headed off to Hollywood Studios. They both wanted to see the High School Musical show, and I wanted to see the new Playhouse Disney show and ride the new Toy Story Ride. And I haven't mentioned it before, but yes, it was hot. It wasn't necessarily hotter than it is in North Carolina, but stick a couple thousand people together in one park, it was a little unbearable at times. We stuck it out at the park until around 1:00pm, but the girls wanted to go to the pool. We had lunch with the Little Einsteins and JoJo and Goliath from JoJo's Circus, and rode Toy Story with our Fast Passes, and headed back to the room. Audrey took a nap, then we suited up for the pool. Ray meet us there, and we played some and then once again crashed that night.

The Good: Ashley dancing at the High School Musical Show, the really cool Toy Story ride, Audrey going down the water slide at the pool, June writing Happy Birthday to Ashley in her autograph book.

The Bad: Tour groups (have I said that before?), being first in line for the Playhouse Disney show only to have them tell us it was having technical difficulties.

Monday: Ray was actually going to get to join us today, and today was Ashley's birthday. We started off her birthday with breakfast at the Polynesian Resort at Ohana. It was a character breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. They brought Ashley a cupcake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. Then we headed to Downtown Disney where we had an appointment to have Ashley get dressed up as Hannah Montana. She enjoyed that (and she should, it was $130 freaking dollars..), but she was supposed to get her picture taken, and she refused to do. No amount of bribing would convince her otherwise. We headed to Magic Kingdom where Ashley took off her wig and the hundreds of bobby pins that were holding her hair up. So it lasted less than an hour. At least she is still wearing the outfit. Ray was having a hard time in the heat that day at the park, and we stayed until around 5:00pm.

Once back at the room, the heat and the lack of sleep had caught up to Ashley and she was not being good. Ray and Audrey ended up walking to get some dinner while I stayed with Ashley who was in no shape to leave the room. I finally got her and myself calmed down, and we ate dinner and went to the store at our resort for some dessert.

The Good: Having the whole family together at the parks, Ashley receiving pins from cast members for her birthday.

The Bad: Ashley's temper tantrum, the heat

Tuesday (today, I am sorry it took me so long to update): We really didn't have a plan for today. We wanted to do a water park, but we decided to head to Epcot this morning and do a few things and then head to a water park this afternoon. Right now, we are making dinner and hoping it doesn't storm so we can go to a water park still. Ashley is walking around the room in her Hannah Montana costume, and Audrey just got up from her nap. We are thinking about getting up really early to drive back tomorrow. We shall see how that goes.

I have a few observations...

1. I think I missed the memo where bras are optional. On most women, they should not be optional.

2. Huge tour groups from other countries have no concept of other individuals around them.

3. Double strollers can be used as weapons of mass destruction. I may or may not have run over some tour groups.

4. White spandex shorts are never attractive.

On the road again...

The plan: Drive to Disney, check into hotel, crash
What actually happened: Ray and the kids picked me up at work at little before 11:00am, and then we were off. We had packed a lunch, so we only stopped for gas and a potty break before dinner. And dinner was drive through at a McDonalds (which Ray and I think gave us diarrhea..). We pulled into the parking lot at Magic Kingdom at 8:30pm. I convinced Ray to head straight there so we could see the parade and fireworks at 9:00pm and 10:00pm. We found a spot for both and settled in with the girls on our shoulders to watch the parade. Audrey did fine, but at the end of the parade Ashley's feet must have fallen asleep while on Ray's shoulders, and she was crying. So we left and checked into the hotel, set up the kids on their beds (Ashley in her sleeping bag and Audrey on the blow-up toddler bed), and promptly fell asleep.