Days 1 and 2

Day 1
After a very frantic first hour at BWI we stopped at Shannons for breakfast. Ummmm... Nasty. Security was a nightmare. We haven't flown since 9-11 and it was very confusing. I found myself very upset over the ordeal. It didn't help that we had people behind us very aggravated at our slowness. The girls handled their first flight well. The take off was a little iffy but they made it. They loved the fact we got snacks and drinks. We arrived at Orlando and got the van. We then headed to Orange Lake. Orange Lake is amazing and I have never seen anything like it. We had dinner at River Island Grille and it was fabulous. The staff was amazing and the food was was really good.  We were definitely ready for bed when we got back:)

Day 2
We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Again, great food. We shared plates and there was definitely enough food for everyone. After breakfast we headed to Sea World. We went through back check and ticket check in. All went smoothly. When we got into the park we headed to the show Blue Horizons. Wonderful show. The animals and humans were very talented. I was awed through the whole thing. We left Blue Horizons and went to Penguin Encounter. Can we all just say AWWWW. They were adorable:) Shark Encounter was next and I wasn't as thrilled with this one. I guess I was expecting more. The next show was Believe. Oh this was just incredible. Loved every minute. It was time for lunch and we had a great one:) Then we took the girls on the rides. They loved it.
We were tired and ready to go. So we headed out to go to the grocery store. We bought snacks and other items then headed back to condo to get ready to go Sleuths Mystery Theater. The show was fabulous and a great time was had by all. I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance. The cast was amazing and the food was decent. We got home late and everyone crashed.

Day 2 down, 8 more to go.

5 Days and Counting

Wow, it is hard to believe we are at the 5 day mark. It feels like we just started planning, lol. I have lots to do but of course I came down with a cold. So now I don't feel like doing anything:( But I am pushing through. I got our album completely done last night. It turned out so cute. I added a christmas mickey and did it in a new font. It looks more professional now and will be such a nice keepsake.

Sea World finally has its schedule up for the days we will be there. I was a little disappointed that some of the shows I wanted to see was not there but I did find a few we can see. I scheduled them so we could see all three on Friday ( our full day in Sea World) with time in between to see other exhibits.  The shows we are going to see are:
Believe
Blue Horizons
Alure Call of the Ocean
The other scheduled shows are kid shows and are too young for my girls. Pets ahoy looked really cute but unfortunately it is shown around the same times as the 3 above and I couldn't fit it in.

We are going to the Mystery Dinner Theater in Orlando Friday night. This is something we are all looking forward too. The show we are going to see is WKZY. It sounds like a hoot. I was very pleased to see the rave reviews it received on Yelp. Yelp is the place I go to when I need a review. I even write reviews for them of places around here. The information is pretty accurate and it is amazing too see how many people view a place differently.

We did have one major crisis this week and of course it was my fault. It had to do with my ID renewal but I was able to take care of it and on Tuesday I will have my new ID. I am so happy because I was afraid they wouldn't let me fly or I would have to go through heck trying to get on the flight. Dodged a big bullet on that one and definitely learned my lesson. Never listen to anyone from the DMV:)

Well that is about it today. I will be updating more since we are so close to leaving.

Bobbie

15 Days and Counting:)

Wow, we only have 15 days!! It is so hard to believe. The time has just flown. I think we are all experiencing fluctuating emotions. We could one of us excited and then another one goes down, lol. So I am making a new rule. No one is allowed any Vacay blues. From here on out we are all going to be excited! We are going to Disney, the most magical place on earth! There is NO CRYING at Disney, unless it is me crying over the castle or something, hehehehe. So even though Disney has screwed up the reservation system online, they are experiencing their highest crowd rate since 2007 and I still have so much too do it isn't funny I will remain pumped. How am I doing this? With a whole bunch of caffeine and chocolate of course:) I jest, not really, well okay maybe just a little but I am dependent on it or anything. Seriously I am not. Quit rolling your eyes, I am NOT I tell you! Okay, maybe just a teensy weensy bit, happy now?

This morning I went over to Orange Lake web style and found they have so many activities!! Now I know we won't be able too do much while we are there but it is nice too know they have some things too do if we can. I am seriously considering selling a kidney or something to do the Sea Doo rental. I have always wanted too ride a Sea Doo. Then I found out that have a Dinner Mystery theater not far from Orange Lake. It sounded like a lot of fun and I know everyone would enjoy that because all 4 of us love a good mystery. Dakotah, Mom S and I love to read them and Alianna loves to watch them. On Friday nights they have Karoake for all ages. We will happen to be at Orange Lake on a Friday night because we will be packing so I may take the girls there for a bit and give Mom S a much needed break. I found it very interesting they have a big nature walk early in the morning on some days. I may take Dakotah on that because she loves learning about ECO systems and nature type things. I on the other hand will be bored to tears but lets not tell her that:) Orange Lake has a flyer on line that you can print out for the month. I will definitely do that next month just to have it handy. Okay, pumped for Orange Lake! 

I was not happy to see that Sea World still does not have their calendar up for November. Hello people! How am I supposed to plan? I am not a fly by your seat type person. I did not let it get me down though. I am going to see Shamu, well I am not sure it is really Shamu but they are dolphins so therefore they are all named Shamu. Looking on the site I know I want to see Believe, Shamu Rocks, Blue Horizons, Shark Encounter, Dolphin Cove, and Penguin Encounter. I know I probably will not be able to fit everything in but oh well. I will be in Sea World and that is another dream brought into reality thanks to Mom S. Okay, pumped for Sea World!

How could you not be Pumped for Disney? I am so pumped I am about ready to explode. For 25 years I have been waiting to go to Disney. To walk down Main Street and see the Castle for the first time. I know it will be emotional for me. Seeing the girls walk down it will be something I will always remember. Did you know my favorite Princess is Cinderella? I had never seen the movie until VCR's came out and Disney released it. I watched it over and over again. I really loved that movie and still have the first copy I owned. Except now it is worn out, lol. I have a lot of Cinderella items my most treasured being my Cinderella Music box my ex-husband bought me many moons ago. I adore that music box and no one is allowed to touch it. I know Disney is for kids and Cinderella is not real but I think when we meet her it will be really hard not to be a kid, lol. I think those will be the most treasured memories. Dakotah meeting Tinkerbell for the first time and Alianna meeting Ariel. Of course I can't wait to introduce Mom S. to Uncle Scrooge:)

Thanks for reading my rambles. I promise next post will be a more informative one. I will be breaking down how the blog will go while we are gone and all that good stuff:)

Bobbie

Where has the time gone?

I know it has been awhile since I posted! I woke up this morning and realized we have 20 days! 20 Days!!! I have so much to do, lol. But before I get into the flurry of activity I wanted to share with you some of the things we have for the trip. Our planning book has shrunk:) We didn't need a big one so I found this really cute little photo album at Micheals, and it was on sale, YAY, so I picked it up. So far it is perfect.

Here is the front:

Inside I have printed our daily schedule, important numbers, medical info and a little card of what we will need in the park each day. 3 by 5 index cards were perfect for this. I am not sure if I like the way they are now. I may change them into a better format.

I think it will be great for the park. Light and easy to carry in this wonderful bag! I looked at all kinds of designer bags but found exactly what I wanted at Wal Mart, double YAY! It has two huge sections, one zippered section in the front and two pocket sections. Perfect for carrying all of our stuff. I love the two front pockets especially because my cell and camera will always be in reach.

The two big pockets will be great for holding the girls autograph books I designed and had printed for them. They will be using these for Mickey's Christmas Party. They are so excited about that party and they loved these. I got lots of kisses and yes I got cool mom of the year;)
Cover:

Title Page:

Inside where the characters sign:

Last but not least are the girls pins. Pictured are Alianna's:) These are for their pin trading with CM's. They are hoping to trade them for Tinkerbelle and Ariel pins. The princess lanyard is for holding the pins. Dakotah got a tinkerbelle one of course.

That is it for now. As things happen I will keep you updated!

Disney Bound,
Bobbie

Started our Planning Book:)

I spent some time today printing out our divider pages for our planning book. I designed all the pages using paint shop pro. Right now they are in a 1 inch black binder but they will be finding a new home shortly. This one will stay at the hotel. The one we will have for the park will be a 4 by 6. That will be much easier to carry around the park.
Click on the images to see the large version:

I think they turned out really nice and I can't wait to get the whole thing put together.

Bobbie

OMG! SO EXCITED!!!

So my MIL calls me and says we have a problem. I am thinking oh god, we are not going. So she proceeds to tell me that if we leave on the 4th of November that the airline tickets are cheaper. Then she says " So how would you feel if we leave on the 4th and spend a few days at Sea World?" How would I feel? Freaking over the moon! I have been wanting to go to Sea World for years. I cannot believe all the good things that are coming up. I pray every day that everything will work out because all of this is a dream come true. I have been waiting to go to WDW for 28 years and to be going there and Sea World at the same time is just incredible! I just don't know what to think but I am very happy!

Bobbie

Total Freakout:)

I had a freak out moment last night when I realized all the ADR's have been made and I was finished. I mean this trip is not for 90 days. There is no way I can handle the excitement, I have to keep doing something. 

As always, DIS'ers came through for me. I found out I can make a planning book, WHOO HOO! You see in my other life I am a Copyright Agent for several artists and a huge art licensing firm. My biggest hobby is making signature tags, scrap kits, and the like. So this is right up my alley, 

I just have to figure out what kind of planning book I want? A Full size, one of the smaller 3 ring binder, or business cards? I don't think business cards are for me because they are so small I am sure to lose them. I am on the fence about a full size three ring binder because it may get heavy but a small 3 ring binder may be to small. Decisions, Decisions. I definitely want this to be a keepsake for my girls

Anyone have any suggestions?


Bobbie

Quitting Smoking for Walt Disney World!

In case you haven't noticed I am very excited for our trip. The planning has really been awesome. As I have said before my MIL is paying for all the trips expenses. This in a way emberasses me but I know my MIL well enough to know that if she didn't want to do this she wouldn't. She is da' bomb! Even though my ex-husband and I are divorced I think of my MIL as my 2nd Mom. If my ex ever decides to get re-married I am going to look at it this way. I was here first, I am the mother of the grandchildren, I have seniority, so... MY MIL.... LOL!
Even though my generous MIL is doing all these wonderful things if I want something while we are there I will have to buy it:) Not a problem but over the last week I have found that there will be some things I want in advance. One thing being the essential trip item. Personalized Mickey ears. My girls inherieted my anti-minnie stance so it is Mickey all the way:) Then of course they will need special Disney autograph albums for all those wonderful autographs they will be getting ( secretly I will also be getting an autograph album to, but shhhh...) and starter sets for Pin trading which I will cover in another post. All of those things in addition to ID cards for the girls, which have to be government issued, a replacement Birth Certificate for Alianna, and some other things needed for the trip we are talking about some serious cash before the trip. So knowing this trip means a lot I have decided to do some things to make sure I can save money. Quitting smoking is one. Man it is hard:(  I have been doing this cutting back before I quit route and it is helping. It is still hard though. Planning this trip has been a blessing because it has kept my mind occupied. My Mom has my cigarettes and she is being tough. So I know I can't sneak and I can't cheat. She will find out and be disappointed it me, lol. So not only will the trip to WDW be a once in a lifetime experience but it will also be a journey to a healthier me.
My mom had this to say " If I would have known a trip to WDW would make you quit smoking I would have taken you years ago".
Bobbie

Via Napoli.September 8. YAY!

***Food Itenrary Added in top Bar complete with Links***

For those that don't know, Via Napoli is the hottest new restuarant in WDW. Right now it is only open for walk ins but starting in September it will be open by reservation only. I wanted to go really bad and when my MIL called for us to make the reservations it started out very frustrating. As you can see from my food Itnerary up top we left several options free so if we found something else we would have some free spots to fill. All of our free spots were filled already. Gosh, it was the first day they were accepting ressies online and already November 7th through the 14th was filling up? Anyway, I decided to try for the night we had reservations at the Coral Reef. Jackpot!! They had a 4:45 PM. I was so excited that when my MIL was having trouble signing it I jumped the gun, signed in, made the reservation in her name, and well, I just got overly excited, lol. Now that meant I had to give up the Coral Reef but I wasn't very disappointed. After all the Coral Reef is only an experience if you sit next to the aquariums and if you are not lucky enough to get a seat there then what are you going for? So I was more then happy to give it up for Via Napoli:)
Via Napoli serves authentic Italian pizza, pasta, apps, and desserts. The pizzas are cooked in giant ovens that are shaped in roman god-like faces named after the three Volcanoes in Rome. I am embarassed to admit I honestly thought they were the old dudes from the Muppets that sit in the balcony and heckle people. But if you see them you will see why, lol.
I think the girls will find this experience much better then Coral Reef and will have more fun watching them make the pizzas and cooking them in the fire pit ovens.
You can read more about Via Napoli ( including pictures) HERE
Bobbie

Making.Reservations.OMG

Okay, so for those of you reading you are probably wondering how I came into being the planning machine. Well I started with breakfast. I wanted to contribute to the trip so I decided to try to find some decent breakfast places. By this time I had begun to talk about it a little more and of course dream about it a little more. During this time my MIL had hand surgery, on her left hand, that she uses all the time, no big deal....right? I mean we weren't leaving to November so we had plenty of time. Right?
Ummm... no. So one afternoon she calls me to tell me she had called Orange Lake to let them know she would be using her week. Just in case you don't know, Orange Lake  is an incredible resort where my MIL owns a time share. While she had them on the phone she decided to also reserve our  tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Well the nice customer help person told her that it would be in our best interest to reserve everything we wanted now. Uh? Apparently Disney recommends at least a 180 days in advance. Yes, 6 months. We at this point were talking just a little over 3. So my MIL calls me because I had been the one scouring the menus and restuarants and lets me know that we have to make reservations now. What?
I start telling her about all the restuarants and she is trying to write them down, poor thing. So finally she gets her cell phone, calls Disney, and has me, the CM ( cast member) and her all on speaker phone. So this poor cast member is not only talking to my MIL but also to me. Since my MIL could not write it was up to me to write all the info and confirmation numbers. We got everything we wanted except Le Cellier. It was booked solid the week we were there. Bummer. After about 20 minutes everything was reserved and our journey began. So now I am a planning fool. In a few days I will have our itinerary up for everyone to browse:) Hope you will come back to see it.
Up Next.... Why do I suddenly feel like I am on Space Mountain and I am not even at Disney World yet?

Bobbie

Beginnings of the Trip of a Lifetime

Little background:) This is mine and my girls first trip to WDW. My MIL who is taking us there has been a few times. I have just started the planning but already I am learning a few things. We just decided a couple of weeks ago to go. Lesson #1-- When planning a WDW Vacay start a year in advance. The upside is you can pretty much get everything you want reservation wise, downside is you have to wait a year for your Vacay. Me, I would rather do it the way we are doing it. I would drive everyone crazy in a year:) Anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.
So how did this all start? Well my MIL told me a few weeks ago she wanted to take us on a trip to WDW. Between me and you,  I was super excited. However, I was nonchalant, lol. The first order of business was to tell my girls. The princesses of this vacay are Alianna, age 10 ( 11 when we leave) and Dakotah, age 12. Neither have been on a plane and are actually very nervous about planes. So I set them both down to talk to them about flying and to make sure they would be willing to get on a plane and go. They both said Yes, so systems were all a go. After that I tried my best to extract myself from the situation. After all November is a ways away. A lot can happen from now until November. What if we don't get to go? So I let my MIL and my girls start eagerly looking over all the parks. Picking and choosing things to do. Sweet MIL is allowing each one of us to have one special dinner so the girls eagerly looked at all the restaurants. I got on this to:) I was blissfully extracted and pleasantly told everyone " I will do anything you guys want to do". All that changed after one fateful phone call from my MIL...... stay tuned for more....

UP NEXT.... Frantic Reservations and me going into planning mode.

Bobbie
WDW First Timer