Family Disney Vacations

Planned Another Trip - February 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:59:00 +0000

We are officially booked at Bay Lake Tower in a 2 bedroom villa for Thursday, February 14 - Monday, February 18, 2013! This is a 'quick' trip because I want to take my grandma to Disney "one more time" (she will be 90 this July!) and it is not possible to get her on our upcoming October trip.

I booked Bay Lake Tower because it's our home resort and I wanted to make sure I could get a place since that is President's Day weekend but I really want to waitlist for the Beach Club Villas!!! CJ and I absolutely LOVED staying at the Beach Club this past March and I think grandma will love it too!

Since this is going to be a short trip and one planned specifically for grandma, we want to do what she loves; the Biergarten in Germany at Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. What better place to stay than the Beach Club - walk or take a boat to Epcot and enter via World Showcase and take a boat to Hollywood Studios! We will be right in the middle of her two favorite places!

My mom is going to be with u as well and really wants to see Harry Potter so we will be planning a day trip to Universal Studios as well.

Our October 2012 Itinerary

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:36:00 +0000

I am SO excited! Only 4 months and 27 days until we are HOME again! There are now 9 of us going - 5 adults and 4 kids. Here is the unofficial 'official' itinerary:

Sat. 10/ 6 - check in at Bay Lake Tower - Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner - 6:35pm
Wishes Fireworks Cruise 8:30pm

Sun. 10/7 - Disney's Hollywood Studios - stay until Pixar Parade is over then head by boat to Beach Club for ice cream at Beaches 'n Cream then walk to Epcot - Beirgarten for dinner - 7pm
Illuminations Fireworks 9pm

Mon. 10/8 -sleep in then hit the pool. In the afternoon head to Downtown Disney - Paradiso37 for early dinner - 4pm. Kids getting their faces painted after dinner then head to the Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP!

Tues. 10/9 - Magic Kingdom Day! Ohana's for dinner - 6:40pm then heading to the Top of the World Lounge to watch Wishes Fireworks Show!

Wed. 10/10 - Resort hop to Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village. We will likely just get up and go to Animal Kingdom Park and then around 5 pm or so head the AKL to check in. Boma for dinner - 7pm then maybe check out the pool?

Thurs. 10/11 - pool in the morning. Back to Disney's Hollywood Studios to check out anything we may have missed. Sci-Fi restaurant for dinner - 4:05pm then Fantasmic - 7:30pm

Fri. 10/12 - Magic Kingdom - Crystal Palace for breakfast - 8:35am. SPemd most of the day at the MK then head to Epcot - Marrakesh for dinner - 5:05pm.

MNSSHP is on Friday which is why we will spend the evening at Epcot. Usually the very last park we visit is the Magic Kingdom.

Sat. 10/13 - Leave :(

5YF7THWEPR86

MNSSHP 2012 Dates

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:33:00 +0000

The dates for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party are out! I first learned of this via the Disney Parks Blog. If you're anything like me, you plan way in advance. I, of course, started planning for this party last month - simply by looking at the Magic Kingdom's October calendar, basing party nights on nights the Magic Kingdom closes at 7pm. Makes sense, right?

I picked Monday, October 8th. I look at the announcement on the Disney Parks Blog and notice parties October 4, 5 and then not again until the 11th. That's a huge gap. (click to enlarge)

So I leave a comment asking about this. Comment goes from being in moderation to *POOF* gone. So, I ask what happened to my comment regarding my question about the MNSSHP dates. Again, comment goes from being in moderation to *POOF* gone. Hmmmmm....

I decide to go to the order tickets section of the Disney website to see if I can purchase tickets for 10/8 and sure enough it IS a party night!!!! (click to enlarge)

I am soooooo relieved there is a party on October 8th. Our dates are October 6-13 and we are at Bay Lake Tower from the 6th - 10th, then we go to Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village, from the 10th - 13th. I really wanted to be close to the Magic Kingdom for the party and I prefer going during the beginning of the trip, before burn out sets in, LOL.

So, here are the official dates, thanks to AllEars.net:

-- September 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28 & 30
-- October 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30 and 31
-- November 2

Who knew I would have to rely on an UNofficial Disney site! I hope Jennifer Fickley-Baker updates her blog post - I am a bit bummed my question not only went unanswered but was also dismissed.

Epcot's Red Phone Booths

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:11:00 +0000

If you have ever been to World Showcase in Epcot, then you may recall the red phone booths located in the UK. Many people love to pose for photos inside or next to these red phone booths.

Did you know they are working phone booths? They are! You can certainly make outbound calls. Guess what else? You can call them too! So, say you're missing Disney and need a little magic - call a phone booth, chances are someone will pick up! Here are the Epcot red phone booth numbers:

U.K. Phone Booths

Right Booth: 407 827-9861
Left Booth: 407 827-9862
Center Booth: 407 827-9863

Canada Phone Booth

407-827-9884

On a side note - People don't always answer and once in a while callers may hear a busy signal (guests posing for a photo, receiver in hand) or hear fax-machine tones after several rings.

If you call or answer a call, I want to hear all about it, so please leave me a comment!

Paradiso 37 in Downtown Disney

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:58:00 +0000

When CJ and I were in WDW this past March for our DisneyMoon, we ate for the first time at Paradiso 37 - in Downtown Disney's West Side. I hadn't been to the West Side since 1997 and CJ was never there. It was neat to see the Characters In Flight Balloon up close as we arrived at Paradiso 37.

Photo Credit

I wish I would have taken photos of the food items but I was too wrapped up in the scenery! I honestly cannot remember what we ordered but I do remember that we really liked the food and were extremely happy with the prices.

We requested a table outside, the view was amazing! It was a beautiful day out, although a little windy.

We are going to eat here again this October. Check out the video below - I found it online - shows the layout of the inside of the restaurant.

Never Been to Disney World? You'll FILP!

noreply@blogger.com (Blogging Queen) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:43:00 +0000

I LOVE taking people to Disney who have never been there. In October we're taking my nephew, Cody. He is 11 years old and has never been to WDW. Actually, he has never been to any sort of amusement park! Can you imagine, as a child, you're first experience at a park is DISNEY WORLD?!

Recently I posted this image on Facebook - read Cody's comments

(click to enlarge)

He just has NO IDEA! AND...not only is he going to the Magic Kingdom, he's going to ALL 4 parks, on a Wishes fireworks cruise, MNSSHP, and to see Fantasmic! All DVC style! 4 nights at Bay Lake Tower and 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village!

5 months and 16 days, but who's counting?! ME!

Disney Planning for Eight in October!

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:51:00 +0000

YES! We are going back to Disney in October and this is going to be a very unique trip! There will be 8 adults and 3 kids! The last time we had a group this size was during our June 2011 trip - but there were only 8 people for half the trip.

The people going this coming October are: me, CJ, our 3 kids (ages 5, 7, and 9), CJ's mom, Fawn, and 2 of my best friends, Cherie and Stacey. We are staying in a 2 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower from October 6-10 and then moving to a 2 bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village from October 10-13.

When things are organized (or as organized as they can be, LOL) even larger groups can enjoy WDW without hassle. I LOVE planning trips - for me and for others! If you need help planning or want to book a trip - I can do that too!!! Please contact me and we'll plan!

Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco at Epcot

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:48:00 +0000

During our DisneyMoon, we ate at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco at Epcot for the first time. We had lunch reservations and for that time of day the restaurant was very quiet.

Photo Credit

We were seated right away - the place was empty! We started off with an appetizer, the combination for two.

Photo Credit

This appetizer consists of beef brewat rolls, chicken bastilla, and jasmina salad. I loved the jasmine salad - very fresh and tasteful with the just the right amount of dressing. CJ preferred the chicken bastilla because he said he really like how the powdered sugar tasted on them.

For our main course, CJ had the beef couscous and I had the chicken couscous. An excellent sized portion of grains with beef or chicken - the meat was very tender, it reminded me of eating roasted chicken - I tasted CJ's and the beef tasted like a pot roast type beef. YUM!

Photo Credit

Dessert was Bastilla - crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds for two. It was good but a bit too 'soupy' for us - just overboard on the vanilla cream. I ordered coffee with dessert - I never got coffee. I know, I should have said something, but we got our dessert rather quickly and by the time I realized our waiter must have forgotten I ordered coffee, we were pretty much done with dessert. The coffee was not on the bill, had it been, I definitely would have said something.

Final Thought: we did enjoy this restaurant, the food was even better than we had expected. The atmosphere was unique - although we did not get to see the belly dancer we still had a wonderful dining experience. We are going to try dinner here during our October trip.

Entertainment Info:

Traditional Moroccan music and dance inside Restaurant Marrakesh.
Daily at 12:50, 1:50, 2:50, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 & 8:10pm
Belly Dancer begins 10 minutes after show begins.
Length of show: 25 minutes

Yachtsman Steakhouse Review

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:38:00 +0000

On the first night of our DisneyMoon CJ and I had dining reservations at Yachtsman Steakhouse - we had never been there and CJ loves a good steak, so we figured we'd try it. We both dressed nicely and then headed to the restaurant.

We arrived on time for our reservations but were told they were running 15 minutes behind reservation time. We only wound up waiting an additional 5-10 minutes though.

We were greeted right away by our waiter who immediately acknowledged that we were celebrating our anniversary...lol...I think I only corrected him once - honeymoon not anniversary.

We got a special "anniversary" menu to keep - we forgot it in the room but I did find this image online:

No appetizers for us, we decided to order the main course and get 2 extra sides instead. We did get bread and butter as well as garlic spread for the bread and that was tasty!

We both ordered steak. I got NY Strip Steak - 12 oz with peppercorn brandy sauce and Carmody Potato Gratin - $44.00 and CJ got: Porterhouse - 24 oz. Center cut porterhouse with Smoked Paprika fries and roasted garlic butter - $46.00 and the two sides we ordered were: Caramelized Onions - With white balsamic - $6.00 and Truffle mac and cheese - Orecchiette Pasta and Reypenaer - $9.00

Our food took FOREVER. I am guessing it was because of CJ's steak - you can't properly cook a porterhouse steak in 10 minutes, so this tells me they don't premake anything. I can't say for sure though, all I know is that almost 45 minutes went by from the time we ordered until we got our food.

The food was well worth the wait. Exceptionally delicious! His steak melted in his mouth - the knife cut it like it was butter. My steak was also made perfectly. The side dishes were good but the Truffle mac and cheese was to die for! WOW!

We were completely stuffed after this meal and so we decided against desert. They did give us something sweet for our "anniversary" :) lol

Final thought: overall we enjoyed ourselves.
Negatives - extremely pricey (but we knew that ahead of time), very crowded (even lots of young children), food wait time was too long.
Positives - food was delicious, everything was fresh and nothing was undercooked or overcooked, the staff was friendly and service was wonderful.

Although we did enjoy this restaurant, we are in no hurry to return. It is just not our 'style' - a little too fancy for us :)

Storybook Circus in the New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:37:00 +0000

Thanks to Attractions Magazine, we get a peek at Storybook Circus in the New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. This part had its soft opening 3 days after CJ and I left :( BUT we will get to see it when we go in October!

Back From the World

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:40:00 +0000

We got in Friday night around 10, safe and sound. We had a wonderful trip but I did miss the kids terribly. There were a few restaurants we tried for the first time during our trip that I will be posting reviews about. They are:

Yachtman Steakhouse
Restaurant Marrakesh
San Angel Inn
Paradiso37

In Disney!!

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:47:00 +0000

Today is day two of our DisneyMoon! We are having a wonderful time! Wanna see? Follow Disney Family's Adventures and Plans for real time updates and photos!

We are staying at the Beach Club Villas and love it here. So quiet and peaceful. This place is now one of our favorite resorts.

We even saw IllumiNations from our balcony! That was a really nice surprise, we had no idea we had a secret Epcot view, LOL.

We ate at Yachtman Steakhouse. I will post a review of that once I return home and gather my thoughts.

Well, we're off to Epcot now! It's sunny and in the 70's :)

Temporary Monorail Closures in March

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:01:00 +0000

During the daytime hours of 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the month of March 2012 (except for a few Sundays), monorail service from the Ticket and Transportation Center and Magic Kingdom-area resorts on the monorail line (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary) to the Magic Kingdom, will not be available.

Bus and boat service will still be available and the Epcot monorail line will not be affected. Disney says the service suspension is due to maintenance and construction in the area.

Official News Story

Disney FREE Dining Fall 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:33:00 +0000

Disney Visa cardholders can get FREE dining during travel dates from August 25, 2012 to September 29, 2012.

The basics:

Minimum 2 day ticket
Minimum 3 night stay
Booking window until may 18th
Free Plus Dining Plan for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts
Free Quick Service Plan for Value Resorts

NOT VALID for Campsites, Art of Animation or All-Star Music Family Suites.
This offer opens to the general public March 5, 2012

Want more details? Contact Me

Tell Me About Your One More Disney Day

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:33:00 +0000

Were you at One More Disney Day? I noticed many of my Twitter friends were! I would have loved to have been there to share in the magic and see Mickey and Minnie in their jammies!

Photo courtesy of Orlando Attractions Magazine

If you were there, please share your experience. Tell me about something memorable. Share a fun photo.

24 Hours of Disney!

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Today the Magic Kingdom is open 24 hours straight in a celebration of One More Disney Day, in honor of the extra date for Leap Year, Feb. 29. Opening ceremony was pretty much as it always is, although the mayor of Main Street USA did make mention about One More Disney Day.

The Week Before Disney

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:46:00 +0000

The week leading up to Disney vacations always stress me out but this time I am a tad more stressed, simply because we are not taking the kids. So you might be thinking, if you're NOT taking 3 kids, then stress should be less, right? Wrong! I will miss them. I mean, come on, look how much fun they are!

Okay, wait, here is a much better picture of the kids having fun. From our October 2011 trip, in our room at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa:

My mom and grandma will have the kids for the entire week we are gone. Believe it or not, this will be the first time the kids will be sleeping over there, simply because we live next door so there was really never a need to have them sleep over.

A honeymoon, or in our case, 'DisneyMoon', should be about the newly married couple, right? Come on, please make me feel better about going without them...

Tell Me About the Beach Club Villas

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:13:00 +0000

Well, I did it, I checked in to the Beach Club - online of course! Doing this always makes me start to feel anxious and excited all at the same time. It means I have a little over a week to get everything in order for vacation.

As I have mentioned before, we have never stayed at the Beach Club. All the reviews I have read are so mixed, there is no middle of the road; people either absolutely love it or were really disappointed.

If you have ever stayed at the Beach Club, especially in a deluxe studio villa, please tell me about your experience. Just leave a comment or send me a message using the contact form here on this blog.

Feeling a Bit Guilty

noreply@blogger.com (Blogging Queen) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:03:00 +0000

We are less than 2 weeks away from our adult only trip to Disney and suddenly I have some mommy guilt going on. The kids keep talking about Disney and even got out old pictures that we put on a DVD to music. Do you recognize the song?

I keep reminding myself that we will be back in WDW as a family in just a little over 7 months.

My Daughter's Disney Excitment

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:04:00 +0000

My daughter (who is almost 9), journals quite a bit - which I think is great for keeping up with writing/grammar skills. She cleaned up her room last week and got rid of some old papers. I happened to see some (she shared with me) and this one just stood out to me; an entry talking about our family's upcoming Disney vacation (the June 2011 trip):

I must say, my kids always talk about Disney (I've done a great job instilling a love for Disney in them, lol) but to read something like this - to know what she really thinks about going, it just brought such a big smile to my face!

At the All Star Music Resort

First day arriving at Bay Lake Tower

Waiting at the Polynesian Resort to go on a Wishes Cruise

Getting ready to set sail!

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House, watching the animals

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani pool play area

That was definitely a fun trip! Now in just 15 days CJ and I will be back in Disney for our DisneyMoon! I gotta admit, I am going to miss the children.

Last Day Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Blogging Queen) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:01:00 +0000

I've been trying to decide what CJ and I should do on our last day of vacation. Our flight doesn't leave MCO until 6:46pm so I am guessing we won't need to be on the Magical Express until around 3-3:30pm. We have never had a late flight on the last day so this is new to the both of us.

We pondered sleeping in. I just know I will NOT be able to sleep in. I will be too anxious and sad and well, look, there is just no way I am gonna be able to casually roll out of bed and leisurely pack up to leave.

We thought about going to a park on the last day. We have annual passes so it isn't like we'd be spending money for just a few hours. I'm just not sure we will feel up to going to a park.

We LOVE the Polynesian and were unable to get ADRs for dinner at 'Ohana this trip so we thought having breakfast there on our last day would be a nice way to wrap up the trip. I checked online and the only times available are after 10am - not really into eating a big breakfast that late.

Fun breakfast at 'Ohana back in 2008:

Since we are staying at the Beach Club, we finally decided to have breakfast at Cape May Cafe. ADR is for 9:35am, so we can take our time getting out of our room yet it isn't too late for a big breakfast. After breakfast we will likely go to Downtown Disney. Since we have well into the afternoon, we won't have to hurry getting there. I think having a late (light) lunch there is on the agenda as well.

Reality is Sinking In!

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:58:00 +0000

We are down to less than a MONTH until our DisneyMoon!!! Today I received the best mail ever - you know, DISNEY mail!

This month is getting crazy already! My husband is on the verge of being offered a full time position with the company he has been working for as a temp., we have had some financial issues that are on the way to being straightened out (the job thing definitely helps too!) and things are just looking better (FINALLY) overall. By the time we get to WDW, we will have SO MANY reasons to celebrate!

AND....we are already booked for our October 2012 trip!!! I have some tweaking to do, but can't do that until 7 months out - more on that later.

27 days and counting...

Disney in March

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Well, we have decided we are definitely going to give the Beach Club Villas a try. The upside is that we will be within walking distance to Epcot. The downside is that I will miss being close to the Magic Kingdom.

We finally sat down and decided where we want to eat. We have not eaten at any of the places we chose. We made ADRs (advanced Dining Reservations) for the following places:

Monday, March 5th - dinner at 7:15pm - Yachtsman Steakhouse - Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Tuesday, March 6th - lunch at 11:45am - Restaurant Marrakesh - Epcot
Tuesday, March 6th - dinner at 8:15pm - Bistro de Paris - Epcot

Wednesday, March 7th - dinner at 8:15pm - Paradiso 37, Taste of the Americas - Downtown Disney - West Side

Thursday, March 8th - dinner at 7:30pm - California Grill - Disney's Contemporary Resort

Friday, March 9th - nothing yet. Not sure if we should make ressies for breakfast (like at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom or maybe at 'Ohana's just to get our fix of the Polynesian) OR sleep in and then head to Downtown Disney for lunch. Our flight leaves MCO at 6:45pm so I guess we will have to be on the Magical Express by 3-3:30pm. Thoughts?

Visiting Disney World With The Kids - It's A Small World Is Always The Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Blogging Queen) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:46:00 +0000

We try to get to Disney World as often as possible as our budget permits. Sometimes we make it there yearly and when things are a bit tighter we take a year off and then go the next. Disney World is the best place for kids and I must admit that once the kids are gone I'll still be going there on my own!

When you first visit Disney it seems like you'll need radar detectors to keep track of your kids. Honestly, it can be quite overwhelming when you first get through the gates and see the crowds. If you're lucky, and you time it right, you can visit during the low season where the crowds are thin, and you won't feel like a valentine radar detector is necessary to manage your children through the throngs of people.

That being said, we always arrive when the crowds exist. Once you get used to the amount of people and start walking around, it seems more like a party atmosphere and the more the merrier. You start to enjoy yourself amongst the crowd because you are visiting the happiest place on earth and everyone else there is ecstatic too!

Every time we go we always gravitate towards It's a Small World and I don't plan on making any excuses for it. I love the ride and I will until I'm 100 years old. There's just something magical about it that can't be explained in words. You have to see this attraction for yourself. I have yet to see anybody get off the boat without a smile on their face and a calm serenity in their attitude.

What is It's a Small World? Literally speaking it's a ride that brings you around the world where young children, (as dolls), lift their voices in melody dressed in their native clothing. As you travel around on the boat you will hear the song It's a Small World being vocalized in various languages.

Again, this simple explanation of what this attraction is about does not give it justice at all. How can anyone be happy sitting in a boat listening to the song It's a Small World being sung over and over again by dolls? It seems silly but the magic of Disney brings it all together, and you can't help but be transported into another world where everything is okay, there is brotherhood of man and life is good.

If you have any troubles or worries when you are entering the boat they will magically disappear during the ride. I simply can't get enough of it. In fact, whenever I go to Disney we head over to the Magic Kingdom first and during the day I will drag my kids over to this attraction at least three times.

Everyone has their own thing that they love about Disney. Mine just happens to be the attraction It's a Small World. I'm over 40 right now and I'm not ashamed to say that I will return to Disney as much as I possibly can as I get older for everything it has to offer, but especially for this one attraction.

Walt Disney World 2012 Spring Specials

noreply@blogger.com (Disney Family) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:32:00 +0000

As some of you know, I have a good friend who is a Disney travel agent. She is THE BEST when it comes to planning Disney vacations. Her name is Kelly and she runs Travel with the Magic - her services are FREE.

Listed below are the current awesome Disney deals Kelly can offer you if you are planning a trip between now and June. Even if you already have a trip planned, she can still save you money!

Buy 3 nights get one free selected dates Feb 26th thru March 10, 2012:
http://www.travelwiththemagic.com/one-more-day-and-night-of-disney-magic-free.html

Spring discount at Disney World select dates Feb 21, 2012 thru June 14,2012

http://www.travelwiththemagic.com/spring-2012-discount-disney-world.html

Annual Passholder discounts selected dates March 9, 2012 thru June 14, 2012

http://www.travelwiththemagic.com/spring-2012-annual-passholder-discount.html