40th Birthday Disney Trip

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So as always this “trip report” took me longer than I would have liked to get up on my blog.  And as my first time as an honest to goodness REAL Disney TA, I wanted to take the time to make sure to get it right!  🙂

This trip was a trip for my 40th Birthday.  40.  The BIG 4-0.  But to be honest, I was truly in my favorite place with my favorite people, so it wasn’t nearly as bad turning 40 as I thought!  When I started planning a year or so ago, it was just going to be Dan, M and I.  I decided though I wanted my parents to be there.  I mean they were the ones to give me birth so it just only seemed right!  We usually invite them about every other year to join us on a vacation, so they hadn’t been with us since fall of 2017.  Well kind of.  Mom came with M and I for our Spring girl’s trip in 2018.  Mom and Dad weren’t sure if they wanted to spend much time in the parks but I wanted them to be with us at Magic Kingdom on my birthday (again, back to the favorite place/favorite people thing).  However, when Mom realized that it was Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, Mom decided that they needed one more park day.  Dan, M and I had our Annual Passes.  Which we are stinking spoiled with.  So spoiled that on the last day of the trip we went into Magic Kingdom just to use our snack credits and ride Big Thunder Mountain.

Prepare yourselves for all the food in this trip.  I mean like lots.  So much that I don’t think any of us were hungry until like a week after we got back.  We got the deluxe dining plan.  It was a lot of food.  We did get to try a bunch of places though that we hadn’t before and also go back to our faves.

Day 1.  We arrived late on a Tuesday night (did you know that Tuesdays tend to be the cheapest flight days?  If not, now you know!) While planning for the trip we were able to secure free tickets to the Moonlight Magic event on 3/27 so didn’t want to rush that day.  I moved our flight to Tuesday night and we stayed at Comfort Suites Airport.  It was about $130 for the 5 of us in a Suite with free breakfast and free shuttle from the airport.  It worked out fine.  Breakfast was just ehhh, but again it was fine.  The place was clean, the showers were hot, it was close to the airport, and they fed us.  Not bad.

Day 2.  Of course no one could sleep the next morning since we were in Disney so everyone started moving earlier than I had planned.  Even though we had packed carefully so we didn’t have to get stuff out of every suitcase somehow it was kind of a hot mess putting everything back together for our move to the Grand Floridian (GF).  We have done the stay one place the night before the trip was supposed to start but it has been fine.  For some reason, I felt kind of hot messy this time.  I don’t know how people do split stays in the middle of their trips.  I’m more of an unpack and get comfy kind of girl.  We headed off though to GF and were ready for the trip to really begin.  When we got there one of the rooms was ready.  That is a rarity with DVC.  Usually 4pm is the “rule”.  We dropped all of our luggage in the one room and headed off to Disney Springs.  We had 1pm reservations at Rainforest Café.  Since we had all had just a light breakfast though we were starving so we decided to head straight to the restaurant and see if we could get in early.  Since we are Landry Club members and Rainforest is a Landry’s restaurant I mentioned that when we checked in.  They seated us within 5 minutes even though we were about an hour early.  Best $25 I spent.  $25 gets you a membership.  You then get a $25 certificate to use when you first sign up and another $25 on your birthday every year after.  After lunch we walked around the Springs and about 4pm we headed back to the hotel.  Our room was ready and I wanted to unpack before heading to Moonlight Magic at Hollywood Studios.

Moonlight Magic started at 7pm (well 9pm, but they started letting you in at 7pm), but we arrived at 6:45pm and were let in.  We had checked-in at the hotel prior to heading to the park.  Mom and Dad hadn’t been there in years and it was nice to be able to add another partial park day for them without having to pay.  We hit up the Frozen show when we first got there as it wasn’t going to be open during the party.  It is one of our favorites and they hadn’t seen it (like most of the park).  I was however bummed that @equityben wasn’t there that night.  If you don’t know who that is, check him out on Instagram.  Hilarious.  We then headed over to Sunset Boulevard use our food vouchers that was part of the celebration.  We always have a hard time choosing a quick service restaurant at Hollywood Studios but this time I think we chose well.  We ate at Sunset Ranch Market which has multiple options.  I think out of everyone’s choices my mom chose best and had the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at Rosie’s All American Café.  Dan and I chose Mexican and it was good.  Dad had a burger.  M had what they call a Power Pack.  Little bits of everything she likes.  We then headed to the Toy Story area to enjoy the rides with relatively short waits.  The rain was on and off that night and it was cool, but we still made sure to get our free Mickey bars on the way out of the park later that night!

Day 3.  Our first full day on property was kicked off at our favorite breakfast buffet.  Chef Mickey’s is a favorite choice of all ours and we tend to go back to our faves.  After a late breakfast Dan, M and I headed to Animal Kingdom and Mom and Dad headed back to the hotel to relax.  We hit our three fast passes that day and did a little exploring of Animal Kingdom.  Spoiler alert, it isn’t our favorite park.  There is lots to do but I feel like because we have an awesome zoo in Pittsburgh, we tend to not be as impressed with the animals.  Spoiled.  I will admit it.  We had a reservation that afternoon at the “Caring For Giants” tour.  It was a closer look at the elephants on the safari.  It was a fun tour, not too expensive, and I learned a lot.  Did you know that farmers in Africa were taught to put bee hives around their farms to keep the elephants out?  This is done because the elephants don’t like the bees, and the farmers don’t like the elephants because they destroy their crops.  The farmers win b/c the crops aren’t hurt and they get honey, and the elephants win b/c the farmers don’t need to poach them for their tusks. Pretty darn smart.  We finished up our touring early that night and checked to see if we could get into Tusker House early for our dinner reservation.  The thankfully were able to take us.  The food was alright but we have been to many other restaurants at Disney that we have liked much better.  The characters were great, but I feel like it was a one and done place for us.  We headed back to the hotel that night as we had an early morning the next day.  Mom and Dad had had dinner at Grand Floridian Café and their review was much better.  They really enjoyed their meal and would go back.  Dan and I had eaten there a long time ago (Before M) and enjoyed it as well.

Day 4.  It was the big day.  My birthday! 🙂  We all put on our birthday shirts and headed into the park for Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom.  I know there is always a debate on whether or not EMH makes the parks more crowded or if it’s better to do another park those days.  We find it to be great to get a lot of the smaller rides in before the masses come in.  Plus, it was my birthday and we were spending it in my favorite park.  After getting Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Under the Sea, and our first fast pass to Seven Dwarfs in, we headed to Be Our Guest for Breakfast.  Mom, M and I aren’t huge eaters so the 3 of us split an adult meal and a kids meal.  Dad and Dan got their own.  And we all enjoyed.  We love to sit in the ballroom.  It’s just a cool atmosphere.  We did our next two fast passes and then I started to get us more.  After you use your first three you can get another one at a time.  We rode more of our favorites with a quick break for lunch at Columbia Harbor House.  As much as we love it there, we had dinner planned that night and then the dessert party.   We totally should have skipped it.  Oh well, you live and learn.  We hit some more of our favorites and headed out right before the parade to catch the boat to Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist Point with Snow White, the Evil Queen, Dopey, and Grumpy.  We all enjoyed this dinner and thought the character interaction again was awesome.  (Check out the fun video on my FB page to see some cool things about the kids meals!)  After dinner we leisurely headed back to the park.  I had a fast pass for Buzz and we used that.  After that I had some issues with my fast passes and had to stop to see one of the Cast Members in Tomorrowland.  Magic Kingdom has added some guest relation teams in different lands so that you don’t have to go all the way back to Main Street if that is an issue.  That is awesome.  You walk so much that it is nice to not have to walk even further when you need help.  Look for these teams in blue shirts and kiosks around the park.   After that we headed into the dessert party.  We chose Garden Viewing.  Even though you don’t get to sit during the fireworks the view of the castle was amazing.  We would for sure choose that location again if possible.  We enjoyed all the amazing desserts (especially the giant chocolate covered strawberries) and would do it again for a  special occasion.  We had talked about staying some more that night to ride, but were honestly tired.  It was a long but amazing day!

Day 5.  Off to another big breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno.  Mom, M, and I had been there before for the girl’s trip but this was Dan and Dad’s first time.  All was enjoyed and I think it has moved to the top of the list for Dan and Dad for a sit down breakfast.  I personally could just eat all the pastries and be good.  So yummy!!  M really enjoyed Prince Eric and Flynn Rider.  Dan was not so happy!  Haha!  After breakfast Dan, M and I headed off to Magic Kingdom again and Mom and Dad headed back to the hotel and planned to go to Disney Springs for a bit.   We all met up later that night for everyone’s favorite ‘Ohana.   Dan went to Trader Sam’s prior to us eating to put our names in so we (okay Dan) could grab a drink.  If you haven’t been…it’s small, the wait is long, but it’s a fun atmosphere!  Perfect timing as we got the text that we were next in line for Trader Sam’s just as we were done with dinner.  M headed back to the hotel with Mom and Dad and we headed to Trader Sam’s.  We all hit the sack early that night as we had a long day at Epcot the next day.

Day 6.  We had a pre-park opening reservation at Garden Grill this morning.  Similar food to ‘Ohana breakfast but we really enjoyed this much more.  It was cool walking into Epcot that morning with almost no one there.  We were slightly late to breakfast though.  After switching monorails at the TTC there were some long waits that morning.  Thankfully we had planned an hour travel time so were only about 15 minutes behind.  Looking back, we probably should have used Uber/Lyft.  Ahhh…hindsight is 20/20.  We had a beautiful (and sometimes very warm) day in Epcot.  But we can’t complain.  We broke our rain curse in Epcot.  I swear it ALWAYS rains when we are there.  And thankfully this time it didn’t.   We got some new things as we ate around the world at the Flower and Garden booths that afternoon.  And one of my favorite things (not Flower and Garden related) was the macaroon ice cream sandwich in France.  I swear I’m still dreaming about it.  We took some time in some of the countries on the way to our dinner later that night.  Dinner was at Akershus.  Good food, M loves the princesses, and our waitress was amazing that night.  Very sweet and personable.  The best we had had all week.  Always makes the meal just that much better.  After dinner we did Test Track one more time and Mom and Dad took M back to the hotel for a sleepover.  Dan and I hit up Soarin’ one more time and then headed back to the hotel to pack.  The DVC rooms at the Grand Floridian didn’t have much drawers for storage and to be honest the room looked like a tornado hit it.

Day 7.  We were up and moving earlier that we thought so we were able to check our luggage into the airline, and put our carry-ons in Mom and Dad’s room.  After one last large meal (because that’s what this trip was about!  Haha!) at 1900 Park Fare, Dan, M and I headed into the parks and Mom and Dad got to chill in the Grand Floridian lobby and watch them bring in all the beautiful chocolate eggs for Easter.   We had just enough time at Magic Kingdom to use a fast pass for Big Thunder and then head to the Main Street Confectionary to fill up some to go containers with our left over snack credits.  It was then time to head to the airport.

It was a great way to spend my 40th Birthday…maybe someday I can talk Dan into spending all of them down there!?!?  😉

This trip was the kick off to a large year of travel.  Even more than we usually do.  Family visits, beach, and of course some more Disney trips because of the Annual Passes (I priced it out and a weekend to Hershey Park was more money out of pocket than Disney this year).  I feel like I pound it into M’s head about how lucky she is to be able to travel as much as we do, but sometimes I need to remind myself.  Yes, I use coupons.  Yes, I often skip other things I want and sometimes put off stuff I need.  Yes, we use Southwest points and M has flown for free all of last year and this year from our companion pass with Southwest.  Yes, we have DVC points to use each year with our time share.  But when it all comes down to it we are blessed be able to travel like we do

 

Christmas 2018 WDW Trip

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Ahhhh…the most Magical time of year in the most Magical place!

It’s time for another blog of our Christmas trip to the World!

So this trip started with how a lot of our trips have been.  Hey Dan…why don’t we move our 1pm flight to the morning?  Ok.  Then both of us…why are we just not going the night before?  We have the time share points to use.  Ok.   *Carrie dials Southwest…evens saves reward points…New flights booked! Carrie dials DVC…one more night booked!*

So we ended up at Animal Kingdom Lodge again the first night.  Nice room.  Amazing Christmas decorations in the lobby.  Giraffes outside our balcony in the morning.  Sweet score!  We (Okay, mostly me) packed pretty well so that we didn’t have to unpack everything.  The next morning after getting ready for Magic Kingdom we decided to Uber/Lyft to Bay Lake Towers.  Disney will take your luggage to your new resort for you if you would like but since we were heading to Magic Kingdom anyway and can walk there from Bay Lake, we chose this method.  We dropped off all of our stuff at Bay Lake for them to hold until our room was ready and off we went to our “extra day” at the Magic Kingdom.  🙂

I kept it pretty low key (well low key for me) that day.  We rode our favorite rides, took time to meet a character or two, and even didn’t run from place to place!  As it was chilly that day (hoodies and jackets) we didn’t ride Splash Mountain again.  Dan is bummed we keep missing it as he hasn’t been on it since they refurbished it.  We ate at Casey’s that day.  A new one for us!  It wasn’t bad and I would do it again.  The portions are huge, and it’s different from the places we usually choose.  Right after lunch we realized that M had left her stuffed animal and lovey wrapped in the sheets at Animal Kingdom.  We rushed to guest services to call the front desk (don’t ever try to call the front desk of your hotel yourself for anything…even from within that hotel.  You are routed to a general number and they won’t actually get you someone within that hotel).  They thankfully were able to reach someone in the hotel and they just happened to be cleaning our room at that time.  All was found and later delivered safety to our hotel.  We headed back to the hotel around 5pm/6pm and unpacked a bit.  Later ran up to the quick serve in Contemporary for some dinner.  I like their food there.  Good choices for being small and healthier options too!

The next morning we were running late as usual for Hollywood Studios.  Our goal had been to get there early to sign-up for Jedi training and then rush over to get in line for Slinky Dog (since we couldn’t grab a fast pass).  Since we were already running late we grabbed a Lyft and had them drop us off.  The bus/parking/car sharing area is a hot mess right now with construction at HS and the walk is about 5-8 minutes from drop off.  We walked quickly and the line was still pretty long for Jedi Training.  Upon getting into line I quickly gave up all hope of riding Slinky Dog that day.  When we got to the front of that line for Jedi Training, they said they had one more spot open for the first Jedi Training of the day.  We took it (again messing up our plans), but knew since M had been wavering on doing the training or not, this was our best hope for success.  Don’t give her time to think about it!  haha!  It of course was AMAZING and she loved every minute of it like we knew she would.  We continued to tour the park that day with M and Dan riding Alien Swirling Saucers, and us doing Toy Story Mania, plus lots of other rides and shows.  We tried Woody’s Lunch Box for the first time.  Total one and done.  Not a good option for M (no Uncrustables) and Dan and I were not happy with our lunches either.  That evening was a Hollywood and Vine reservation.  One of our faves.  It gets bad reviews, but we always like it.  Good character interactions and lots of food options.  We watched the light show over by Tower of Terror after with the “snow”.  It was pretty awesome!  We then decided it was early enough to head to Disney Springs so we jumped on a bus to see the Trail of Trees.  While nice, it was extremely crowded.  We again grabbed a Lyft back to Bay Lake.  There is totally transportation available everywhere, but we had started to get spoiled and the walk back to the busses seemed like a large hike after a long day and the Lyft pick up was right there.

Saturday was a later (like 10am start) to Animal Kingdom.  Jumped on a bus and headed over around 9/9:30.  We walked into Pandora first hoping to grab a rider swap for Dan for Flight of Passage since he had yet to ride.  No dice.  You had to wait in the line and get all the way to the front before receiving the rider swap and we didn’t have time for that as our first fast pass was 10am.  We headed to Everest and M and I jumped in the regular line at 9:50 (there was only a 15 minute wait) in case she wanted to ride it again.  She rode it once and was a one and done for this trip.  We had time before our next fast pass for the Safari and so we did the newer bird show.  Pretty cool, but I wouldn’t head to Animal Kingdom just for that .  While in line for the Safari, Dan noticed John Stamos walking by with his family.  He was a reader for the Candlelight Processional that week.  As many times as we have been, I think that was my first celebrity sighting.  We then grabbed a quick lunch and headed to our fast pass at Navi River.  It was the first time riding for all three of us.  While in line I happened to check the app and there was a fast pass available for Dan for Flight of Passage for 2:30pm.  Grabbed it!  M really enjoyed the ride and we then decided to leave Dan for him to ride FOP and we headed back to the hotel to change and take a few minutes of down time.  We met up at the Polynesian for dinner at ‘Ohana at 4pm.  One of our favorite things at Disney is the food options (specifically sit-down) so we did have the dining plan again this time.  Doing the math, it came out pretty close in comparison if we paid out of pocket, so we just went for it.  After dinner we took a Lyft over to Fort Wilderness for the campfire/sing-a-long and had a reservation for a sleigh ride later that night.  The campfire was cute and they had bingo for the kids too, plus a meet and greet with Chip and Dale.  We took the internal bus system to get there from the front and then the internal bus system to get to the area where they were doing the sleigh rides.  The ride was fun and we got to see many of the Christmas displays that the campground visitors had put up.  We also got a limited edition pin for those that are pin collectors.

The next morning was Chef Mickey’s for breakfast.  Another one of our favorites.  So much good food and the characters are great!  We then rolled ourselves out of there and took the monorail over to Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house and all the decorations.  The line was ridiculous to get hot cocoa and gingerbread (which we aren’t huge fans of anyway) so we just picked up a small one in their gift shop.  We then hopped on the monorail again to head to Magic Kingdom.  It was our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party day, but we also wanted to get some extra rides in so we hit the parks up early (a benefit of our Annual Passes) with some Fast Passes.  We could barely still eat at lunch so we grabbed a snack and rode more rides until grabbing our wristbands around 5/6pm for the party.  We then were finally ready to eat so we chose Cosmic Rays (one of Dan’s faves) for a quick meal before heading out to see the shows and parades.  Since we had ridden many rides already in this trip and hadn’t ever been to a party to see these shows/parades/fireworks this was going to be our goal this time.  We grabbled some of the goodies and free snacks and we did the second parade (less crowded) on Main Street so we could watch it snow while we were there.  Got a great spot and after enjoying the parade we headed quickly to see if we could jump on Big Thunder (M’s request) and actually rode it twice in a row before they closed down the line.  It was now after midnight and M fell asleep on the walk back to Bay Lake.  By the way…that walking to Magic Kingdom thing?  Yeah, it’s the best thing ever about our “home” resort.

Monday it was off to Epcot.  We had it timed so that as long as we got to Spaceship Earth by 10am we could hit all of our fast passes.  We also had a bonus fast pass that afternoon from Soarin’ because of a breakdown on another ride the day before.  After hitting SE, Test Track, and the Seas with Nemo, I jumped online to see if I could grab us another fast pass.  Saw one for Test Track (One of Dan and M’s faves) and grabbed it for 6pm.  We then decided to grab lunch in The Land.  Their quick service there is also full of healthier options and not the same boring pizza and burgers.  We also knew M would eat the pasta there and since we were having dinner that night at San Angel Inn, we knew she should eat something good for lunch as she won’t eat much at dinner.  As we were leaving The Land to head to the countries for a bit, the rain started.  I’m not kidding you when I say that EVERY time we are in Epcot.  EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  So we put on our ponchos and stroller cover and went.  They came on and off a lot that day.   We did about half of the countries and jumped on the boat back to the front of Epcot to hit our Soarin’ fast pass.  We then decided to hit the other countries and then head to our dinner.   It was fabulous as always and M actually decided she liked the 3 Caballero’s ride this time too.  Just in time for them to change it as I see it changing to a Coco theme here in the future as part of the pavilion has already seemed to head that way.  We then headed back to that boat just in time for it to start raining again.  Back on with the ponchos and stroller cover.  As we waited in the Candlelight Processional line (our dinner came with tickets for the show), it started to pour.  Like bad.  M was taking cover in the stroller and staying very dry until we got to the point where they parked the stroller for us.  She then climbed under my poncho and tried to stay dry as the water literally rushed all around us.  This is where we saw the “nasty” of Disney come alive.  You don’t see it often, but when you get to an outdoor auditorium that is only half covered in pouring rain and the seats are very limited under cover, people start pushing.  Dan was ready to bail, but I wanted to give it a few more minutes.  Thankfully right before it started, they found two seats in the front row at the end.  Dan had water rushing at his feet, but it was not on our head and I had M on my lap.  We could see the choir well but only had a limited view of Neil Patrick Harris.  He was amazing as a reader and Dan and I enjoyed it.  M fell asleep.  Yes, with all that singing, she only made about half of it.  What she saw though she enjoyed.   After we found our stroller, we headed to the back entrance of Epcot, walked to Beach Club and did a Lyft back to the hotel.  We at that point didn’t want to do buses.  Too far, too crowded, and again we had gotten spoiled.

That night (yes at like 10pm) we had to pack.  Boo.  And we thought for some reason it was a good idea for our last day to make a Fast Pass for Slinky Dog.  So we packed, we checked our bags, and we had them hold our carry-ons and off we went to Hollywood Studios (another awesome thing about the Annual Pass…a quick pop in was easy!).  When we got there I noticed the line for Toy Story Mania was short and we couldn’t get in line for Slinky Dog yet, so I figured we could push it.  We had a blast on it and on SD but as always I was pushing our time.  We quickly rushed out of HS as we still had to grab lunch and use our last few snack credits.  At Bay Lake we had the slowest cashier in the history of cashiers and she kept screwing things up so I sent Dan to get our food to go and M and I figured out the snack thing.  We grabbed the bus with 5 minutes to spare and made it to the airport in more than enough time.  At the airport our friends from home who had also been there at about the same time were on our flight.  The girls quickly made fast friends and kept each other busy on the plane ride home.

This was another magical trip.  Beautiful decorations, great food, and lots of fun.  We really enjoyed the Christmas holidays, but I have to say fall might still be our favorite time.  It’s a hard call because I love that time at home as well, but the fireworks for the Halloween party are AMAZING, and there is just something about that time of year down there for us.

Onward and upward to the planning of our next trip!  M (and Momma!) is already counting the days!!

Surprise! We are going to Orlando for the WEEKEND!

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So if you follow my blog or my FB you know Labor Day weekend we surprised our 5 year old with a quick weekend trip to Disney/Orlando.   Not only did she get an awesome surprise trip but she also got some dresses from Little Dress Up Shop.  She just loves those dresses!  They aren’t itchy, they wash awesomely, and they are easy for her to get on and off herself when she is playing dress up.  Oh.  And most importantly for mom.  They are reasonably priced!  This trip she had the underskirt too.  It made a difference in the heat of Florida.  Kept the dress off her and kept her cooler.  And to be honest, made the dress look even better.

As always we try new things each trip and I try to learn a little each time.  Here goes for this one…

We took a late flight Friday night with Southwest direct.  Our last few trips to MCO we have taken this flight.  Part of me loves it.  Part of me hates it.  I love the fact that it doesn’t feel like we wasted a whole day of travel down.  I don’t love that we have to pay for a hotel that night and we usually don’t get to bed until 11pm/12am.  We don’t however have to take another day off from work or school.  And we do have a later start to the day the next day.  So as you see.  The pluses and minuses kind of even themselves out to the point I usually make the jump and take that flight.

This trip was our first stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We stayed at Jambo House on our DVC points.  This hotel is mainly hotel rooms and not DVC.   We did have rooms originally at Saratoga, but then rooms opened up at Animal Kingdom Kidani and then we finally ended up at Jambo because a Savannah view room opened up.   Who doesn’t want to wake up to giraffes and zebras outside their room???  The location of our room was pretty perfect.  About halfway down one of the “horseshoe shapes” of the lodge.  We got one room over from our requested room that I did from Touring Plans.   The distance of this hotel is what everyone always complains about.  I don’t feel that it was a huge issue.  It felt like about the same distance from our favorite Value resort Pop Century.  If you were doing a lot of back and forth between the parks, you might pick a different one, but in general it wouldn’t stop me from choosing this park in the future.

Our day at the Disney parks was a hard one to pick.  Inadvertently we did a 3 Park Challenge (I know.  It’s probably not a thing…Can we make it a thing?). Magic Kingdom is a must of course. We did a bunch of our favorites.  Mine Train, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Pirates, Big Thunder, Small World, Buzz and of course a visit with Rapunzel and Tiana.   Ate at Columbia Harbor House (one of my faves and one of our usuals).  We did Mobile order.  I hate doing this when we are using a gift card to pay for most of the trip and you can’t pay with gift card or charge to the room yet.   However it was a time saver.  So we went for it.  My biggest mistake in this park was I accidentally deleted our fast pass to Big Thunder when I was trying to switch one from Splash Mountain. I seriously almost cried.  Thankfully it was just a fast pass.  We all survived.  We headed out right before the parade.

Next on to Epcot.  We knew it was going to be busy and it was hot.  It was the first Saturday of Food and Wine Festival.  Dan’s requirement of this trip was Test Track.  I kept checking out the app and somehow grabbed a fast pass to Test Track at 5:35.  After the shock wore off that we didn’t have to wait one hour in line, we headed over to Soarin’.  The posted wait was 40 minutes.  It was like 20.   We had time after so we rode Living with the Land.   The original plan was to head to the countries and walk them (and the food booths) on our way out of the park to Hollywood Studios.  With the crowds, heat, threat of rain, and now our fast pass for Test Track we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons.  The food was good.  I had a kid’s version of the salmon and that was a perfect portion for me (I miss my mom on the trips with just the three of us, all the time but lots at meal time.  We tend to share meals and I waste less).   M had pasta which she devoured and Dan had the pork.  All of us were happy.

After our Test Track fast pass, a beer for Dan, and a quick stop in the DVC lounge (free snacks and drinks!) it was off to Hollywood Studios.   We took the boat from the back of Epcot.  Not an awful option but it was warm inside that thing.  And it made a bunch of stops.  If you are in a hurry, maybe try Uber or Lyft from Beach Club.  The main goal at Hollywood studios was to watch the Star Wars fireworks and walk through Toy Story Land.  Being able to ride Toy Story Mania twice was an awesome bonus.  We actually didn’t walk much of Toy Story Land because M decided it was more important to ride twice than walk the Land.  The second time we basically walked right on.  It was pretty awesome.  After watching the awesome Star Wars fireworks we headed  to the parking lots with the masses.  It was a long day and we decided to call an Uber.  The parking lot there is currently a hot mess.  Like a huge hot mess.  It made getting out of there at the end of the night pretty awful.  The poor Uber guy also had to sit in traffic at the end of the night.  It was so much better being in an Uber though.  I can’t imagine what those busses were like.  We were in a climate controlled car, sitting and comfortable.  Was worth the $15.  I probably would have paid more.

The next day we were off to LEGOland. Dan left the hotel a little before 8 and Ubered 5 minutes to Enterprise.  We had rented through Costco and the experience with both Enterprise and Costco were good.  I feel like we got like 3 calls minimum from Enterprise making sure we were happy.   It was about an hour and 15 minutes from the hotel to LEGOland.  The park is a nice small park with lots to do for kiddos.  Probably best ages 4-8 but there is stuff to do and see for older and younger children as well.  It rained mid-day so we didn’t get to do everything we wanted but we did a lot!  They had some nice small coasters and lots of models to look at.

On the way back to the hotel we hit the Disney Vineland Character Warehouse.  Oh and the Crocs and Oakley Outlet too.   There went the “cheap” theme of the trip!   We got some good deals though!   We ate at Freddy’s (a local chain) across the street and it was similar to a Steak and Shake.  Food was good.  Ice Cream was better.

The final day was our “pool day”.  We checked our bags in at the hotel, had them hold our carry-ons and headed to Kidani to eat breakfast at Sanaa.   It’s a quick service for breakfast and you can sit and watch the animals.  Pretty darn awesome.  We hit the pool at Kidani after.  It has a nice big slide, a kiddie play area, a smaller slide, and lots of shade for this “over-protective from the sun” mom.  There is a bar at the pool side which has some sandwiches and snacks.  Not anything to write home about but it did the job for a small snack since we were having a late lunch/early dinner at Rainforest Café.  There is a nice shower and changing area up by the fitness center.  It was nice to be able to wash the chlorine off before changing for dinner and the plane ride home.  It just made me feel better the rest of the afternoon and I wasn’t as concerned about not giving Maddy a bath before school today since we didn’t get home until super late.

Rainforest Café was a nice option since we didn’t have park tickets that day and the sit-down options at Animal Kingdom Lodge are a bit much for a late lunch or light dinner.  You can still visit the location at Animal Kingdom Park without a ticket.  They have an entrance outside the park.  We are Landry’s club members and I had a few Landry’s gift cards.  We paid the balance with Disney gift cards.  They take both.  After our meal we headed back to AKL to visit the animals one last time.  And maybe have one more Mickey bar…

So the question is would I do a long weekend trip again if I found the right “deal”?  Yup.  And again.  And again.  Besides the weather delay on the way back to Pittsburgh, it was a pretty awesome weekend.  I came home exhausted, sore, and happy.  An awesome weekend.

Couponing My Way to Our Vacations…

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The last few weeks I have fielded like more question than I can count about our vacation habits.  While I get that it’s really none of people’s business (and I say that with peace and love!), I also get the curiosity.  We do like to travel a lot.  So if you have ever been curious how we do it, here are a few questions I have been asked and my answers.

Q: You go to Disney a lot, how is that possible?  It’s so expensive!

A:  Yes, yes it is.  For us the savings comes down to a lot of things.  First being our time share with Disney.  We use that as our hotel accommodations.  And, if we don’t have the points left, we stay at a value resort. Value is the cheapest, but our second favorite to the other hotels.  We also buy Disney gift cards at Giant Eagle when fuel perks are high.  I sometimes even use credit cards to buy those cards sometimes at an extra percentage of 2%-5% cash back.  We use the dining plan when it makes sense.  We don’t when it doesn’t make sense for that particular trip.  Depending on length of stay, and how soon we’ll be coming back to Disney, annual passes are sometimes a better deal than individual tickets.  Even more so when we get a discount with our Disney Vacation club/timeshare.  We get food discounts with Annual Passes and free Memory Maker (aka, they take pictures for us, a service that can be pricey when purchased a la carte, but let’s face it…when the vacation is over memories and pictures are what you have left).  We get food discounts with DVC (Disney Vacation Club).  We aren’t souvenir people, and neither is M.   We share meals sometimes.  I have groceries delivered to help with food cost for the easy things (breakfast bars, water, pop, juice boxes, etc.).  I use Southwest points to pay for our flights.  It all adds up.  Our next upcoming quick trip is costing me about $50 out of pocket (which includes a car rental for one day that we don’t usually do).  Plus food.  But, to defer the food cost a bit, I’ll be using some gift cards that I earned for free from a rebate website.

Q: All your traveling is expensive – Disney, Aruba, Vero Beach, etc.  You go to some nice places!

A: We do.  And we know we are blessed.  Each of these I have couponed my way to our vacations.  I use Websites and Apps like Ebates, Mr. Rebates, My Points, Ibotta, Fetch, Shopkicks, etc. (and if you have interest in any of these, let me know and I would be appreciative to send you a referral link!) to get cash back, gift cards, etc.  Plus regular old printed coupons.  My child has been conditioned that we probably won’t get it if we don’t have a coupon, discount or a gift card.  Extra bonus if we have all of them!  Most things go on promo eventually.  Sometimes you have to be patient.  Additionally, I shop secondhand.  A lot.  M has a ton of toys and clothes.  More that she needs I know, but a lot of that came from a garage sale, Salvation Army etc. for $1 vs the $25 it was in the store.  Including some of her birthday and Christmas gifts.  She is okay with that and I for sure am.

Q: Flying isn’t cheap.  How can you afford for all of you to go?

A: Southwest.  When the flights first become available.  Points that I have earned from our credit cards.  And I earned enough points that either M or Dan fly free for all of 2018 and 2019.  I love their companion program.  I am happy with their luggage policy.  I am happy with their direct flights to Orlando from Pittsburgh.  Just learn how to work with the system.  Ask…it’s like a sport to me, so I’m happy to share!

Q: How can you plan so far ahead?

A: I have to.  I want to show M as much of this world as I can and traveling in itself is a teaching tool.  “When you travel with your children you are giving them something that can never be taken away, experience, exposure, and a way of life” ~Pamela T Chandler~.  To do that and to do it so I can still retire someday, I do it ahead to get the cheaper flights, rates, etc.  And then I watch those rates and if they drop, I get a rebate.  And quite honestly, for Disney…you really have to.  The restaurants book up early.  By early, I mean 180 days ahead.

Sure…this is all a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it.  It’s a game to me.  A game that I’m really good at.

Miscarriage

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I don’t know where to even start this post. Like most of my posts, I’ve written it and rewritten it in my head a thousand times.  I haven’t even posted in such a long time because M keeps me happier and busier than I ever thought a child could keep me.  But this is my therapy.  I can write all the stuff rattling in my head, and if helps one person or even just myself, I feel like I have done my job…

Early in January we were surprised by a positive pregnancy test. With all the stuff that we had done to have M, and after having her trying to get pregnant again, we were shocked again when it actually happened a second time.  After the initial shock wore off, the glee of being pregnant kicked in.  We told family and close friends and started to get used to being a family of 4.  Mid-January on a Friday, I started not feeling well and started some small complications.  After calling the doctors, I was told to relax and just keep an eye on it.  And I did, for almost 4 weeks.  I’m not shortening the story here, but it was a long 4 weeks of ups and downs.  Of doctors and nurses telling us not to worry, of more and more complications, and then sonograms of seeing the heartbeat, of more and more complications, and doctors telling me I was miscarrying, to seeing the heartbeat again, to eventually miscarrying on February 9th.  It was awful, it was physically and mentally painful, and it was tiring.  Oh so tiring.  My brain hurt, my body hurt, and my heart hurt.  With that said, I can not imagine the pain that a miscarriage causes if you don’t already have a child.  I have said it before and will say it a thousand more times.  We were blessed with M.

Oh, and did I mention it happened again within 3 months? This time much sooner in the process, but it still happened.  I had that positive pregnancy test, and then complications, and then the negative test.  And again I’m tired.  And again I hurt.  And this time I didn’t deal with it probably the way that I should.  I haven’t taken time to grieve.  I haven’t taken a day to myself.  And I will, in time.

Dan and I haven’t talked about having more kids at this point. We have danced around it, but he hurts too.  We were blessed with M and she is our world.  That’s all we need to know right now.  The rest will be as it is, and we will be okay.

I just want to be left alone…for two minutes…

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I’m always thinking of a new blog post.  Some go in and out of my head in 5 minutes, but others stick around.  With Mother’s Day right around the corner, this topic keeps popping up.  This morning it really came up again.  I don’t know about the rest of you but I do my best thinking in the shower.  I always thought they need to come up with some kind of white board that works in the shower…but then it needs to somehow magically transfer those ideas that I write on there to my cell phone/email which is where I keep a lot of my “To Dos”.  That’s too technical for me, but there is your next million dollar idea for Shark Tank.

I digress.

Anyway, so I’m about halfway through my shower this morning and M comes in to tell me her nose is running and she needs a Kleenex.  Really?  I’m in the shower.  Her father was 5 feet from her.  And she had to come ask me?  So I kindly told her, “M, I’m in the shower…please go ask Daddy.”  “Otay Mommy…” And no I didn’t spell “Okay” wrong.  That’s how she says it.  Too cute.  Part of me wants to keep her saying words these cute ways forever.

It got me thinking.  I work in media and last year right before Mother’s day, one of my co-workers came around and asked the Moms what they wanted for Mother’s Day.  99% of us said a nice small gift but then to leave us alone.  It’s true.  That’s what I want again.  I’m okay with even a nice breakfast and then to be left alone.  From pretty much the time that I wake up to the time I go to bed, I’m rarely “alone” and doing things I want to do.  From home to work and back home again, there is little time as a mother and wife that I have time do something I want to do and don’t feel obligated to do, even for two minutes.  Another one of M’s phrases right now is “two minutes” …”Just two more minutes Mommy”.

With that said, when I do get those rare two minutes alone I miss M or Dan…or just feel weird because I’m not doing something productive.  I don’t relax easily. So, if I get time alone I don’t want them to go tooooo far.    🙂

Even if you aren’t a mom or a wife…I hope all you ladies get left alone sometime soon…if only for two minutes…