Disney | The Angel Forever

Category Archives Disney

Dreaming of Disney’s Pop Century

Posted on January 20, 2010 9:14 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
Disney fun jl jsl looking back nhl vacation Wordless Wednesday

A Magical 2nd Birthday at Disney World

Posted on January 18, 2010 8:53 pm by TheAngelForever

When we planned our first ever full family trip to Disney World in May 2009, we realized that we would be there for JSL’s actual second birthday. I immediately asked TechyDad where he thought we should celebrate the little guy’s big day for dinner that evening. I called Disney Advanced Dining Reservations and made an ADR for Chef Mickey for the four of us. Within a short amount of time, we were going to be a party of six. I called Chef Mickey and at that point they only had very late reservations for our party of six. That was not going to work for us. I booked our first dinner at Disney there and figured we would try for something different on JSL’s birthday.

When the 90 day mark hit for our ADRs (now 180 days), I called in early that morning and after securing a time for Le Cellier, I asked about The Crystal Palace. We had eaten there on our honeymoon and had a wonderful breakfast. We figured we would try eating dinner there. The best part, we would be able to see Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and, my favorite, Eeyore. I told them that day that it was JSL’s actual second birthday and they said it would be on our reservation.

Fast forward to May. JSL got up that morning and received presents from Nana and Papa, as well as us. He fell in love with his Pup-Pup (aka Pluto) hat and Stitch backpack.

We figured we would take it easy that day. We decided to head to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. The boys had a blast picking out stuffed animals and playing at the LEGO store.

After that, we went back to Pop Century for lunch, exploring the grounds and some swimming.

Then, as we made our way to the Magic Kingdom, the sky turned an awful shade of gray and the rain came down in buckets.

We eventually made our way to The Crystal Palace and dried off inside. When we sat down, we knew that NHL was finally good with the characters and hoped to get some decent photos. As the week went on, he warmed up to this process.

Unfortunately, the birthday boy was not so thrilled. He cringed every time he saw Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore or Piglet coming around. After a while, he let Pooh Bear come close to the table. With Papa’s help, he touched Pooh’s nose. Soon after, Tigger came around and, without asking, JSL went to Tigger’s nose. We had a breakthough moment.

Several times during our meal, we told our server that it was JSL’s birthday. We saw several other tables celebrating birthdays while seated. NHL asked why they were not singing Happy Birthday to his little brother. Again, I said something to the server and she did nothing. As we left The Crystal Palace, I was asked how everything was. I decided I had to say something. I told them that I had made this reservation over 90 days prior for my son’s actual 2nd birthday. I told them that my older son was quite upset that his little brother was ignored. I was not as much upset, but wanted to know what I had done wrong. They went to our reservation. Sure enough, it was noted with the date we called. In addition to this, there was Mickey glitter on the table to signify to the server that there was a celebration. We won’t even go into the obvious of JSL wearing his birthday button:

The manager came over and told us that they were very sorry, it should not have happened. To make up for it (which we never asked for) they gave us a coupon for JSL to pick out any Tigger stuffed animal of his choice. So, instead of a cupcake and getting a Happy Birthday song, he got this:

Yes, Tigger was almost as big as JSL. The best part was trying to get this big orange critter back home on the airplane. Luckily, we had extra carry on bags that worked just for this occasion. Here is JSL with Tigger now:

Oh, and if you ever come over and hear us tell JSL to go and get Cupcake, that is just our pet name for this giant Tigger stuffed animal. Kuddos to Disney for fixing an "Oops" and making the little guy’s birthday even more magical.

Categories:
birthday customer service decisions Disney fun jsl looking back photos vacation

My new Leslie Sansone DVD and booster

Posted on January 17, 2010 7:13 pm by TheAngelForever

Raise your hand if you need to move it more. . . . picture me sitting over here wildly flailing my arms around. I fully admit that I slacked off and got way too lazy. Of course, I had no control over some of it. I may have wanted to workout, but I couldn’t. It had nothing to do with lack of time, place or anything like this. I literally could not breathe to do my beloved Leslie Sansone workouts. Thanks to H1N1 in early October, it took me until January to feel like I could workout. Just walking across the room left me winded and needing my inhaler.

For the New Year, I finally felt like I had the stamina to get my rear in gear and do some walking and kicking with Leslie Sansone. Over the last few weeks, I have dusted off my Omron Pedometer and DVDs to get moving. Monday morning I was ready for my third workout in a row, but something stopped me and woke me out of my sound sleep. I had a huge split in my heel and could not walk (also quite pink looking). I took a day off to treat it with antibiotics. The following day, I worked out and felt good with two miles. Yesterday, we were running around at stores getting lots of walking in. I also bought new batteries for my pedometer since mine died Friday night.

Today, while we were out at Target looking for some items, I went down the special sale aisles. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spotted the following:

I had read about these last summer when they came out. They are Leslie Sansone DVDs that come with workout boosters. Unfortunately, the Targets in our area did not carry them. I figured one day they would show up here. Today was apparently that day.

They had the following:

There I was at Target unsure of which one to try. I knew I was not interested in the one with the Walk Belt since I already have a DVD for that, along with a Belt. The Toning Bands was not high on my list since we have EA Sports Active for Wii. The other three were quite interesting to me. In the end, I went with the following since it was very different than anything else I have.

So tonight, I am hoping to test this out and see how it goes. Hoping that these will help me to get ready to walk up a storm at Disney World for the Social Media Moms Celebration. I know that doing these last year were huge in getting me ready for our May trip. No, I may not drop a lot of weight before the trip, but at least I can get myself some great exercise.

Categories:
Disney exercise looking back me moments

Dining in Disney World

Posted on January 14, 2010 2:58 pm by TheAngelForever

It may be sad to admit, but some of my favorite memories at Walt Disney World involve eating. Of course, if you have been to Disney World, you may understand why this is possible. Whether it is dining with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and company at a character meal, eating a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream or rice crispy treat while watching a parade, or getting a Dole Whip to share with your hubby on your honeymoon, each are special in their own way.

During one of our visits growing up, my parents decided to get the "Food & Fun" package. To say that we ate really well would be an understatement. Thanks to that plan, my brother, father and I not only got to go parasailing twice, but my brother had his first lobster dinner. Things have changed over the years with the plans. On our honeymoon, TechyDad and I did a dining plan as well. We had 2 meals a day that included appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage/shake/smoothie. We tried amazing items that we never would have and probably never will have again. We kept track of what our bills would have been and know we saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

In May when we went to Disney with the boys, we opted to get the Disney Dining Plan again. In 2009, the daily cost was $40 per adult and about $11 for a child 3-11 (I think it was 11). For each night that we stayed at the resort we received the following:

1 snack – could include a soda, ice cream treat, slice of Tie-Dye cheesecake or a number of other items. –> We used these for bagels and cream cheese or other breakfast items most days.
1 Quick Service (QS) meal that includes a meal, dessert and beverage. –> We used these for lunches and most of our meals rang up for $30-40 for 2 adults and a child. Our 2 year old ate from all of us since there was plenty to go around.
1 Table Service (TS) meal that included an entree, dessert and beverage (could also be smoothie/milk shake if available) –> This is where the money savings racked up for us. The two buffets that we went to were priced at $35 for each adult and $15 for our 5 year old son. That alone made our son’s breakfast and lunch bonus for what we had paid.

When we went in May, we planned out what restaurants we wanted for our TS meals. At the 90 day mark, I got up extra early and called the reservation line at Disney Dining (now 180 day and can be done online). I knew to start with the toughest reservation and was lucky to get the one and only slot left to Le Cellier during our stay. These are the restaurants we ate at in May:

Chef Mickey – Character meal at Contemporary Resort
50’s Prime Time Cafe – Fun restaurant at Disney Hollywood Studios
Boma – Buffet featuring African cuisine at Animal Kingdom Lodge
The Wave – Newer restaurant at Contemporary Resort
The Crystal Palace – Character meal in the Magic Kingdom that we had our son’s 2nd Birthday dinner at
Le Cellier – Restaurant in Canada at EPCOT. Happens to be one of the hardest reservations to score
Coral Reef – Restaurant at EPCOT where you dine "under the sea" looking at the aquarium from the Nemo ride

This time around, we had just about a month to plan things out. We knew that we wanted the Disney Dining plan for the extended part of our Social Media Moms Celebration. I was a little worried that we would not be able to get an Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs). Much to my surprise, we were able to get some that were not too shabby. This time around we are going to try some breakfast character meals, the dinner ones were all booked by the time we were planning. Here are the places this time around:

Boma – Going back since we loved this last time. So friendly for vegetarians like my hubby
Donald Safari – Animal Kingdom character breakfast
Kona Cafe – Restaurant at Polynesian Resort where we had the infamous Tonga Toast on our honeymoon. This time we are trying dinner there
Tony’s – Lady & The Tramp themed Italian restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. We ate here on our honeymoon and thought it would be fun for the kids
Cape May Cafe – Character breakfast at the Beach Club Resort. Hubby and I had breakfast here on our honeymoon where Goofy was hilarious.

These should keep us filled and busy during our time. We like being able to sit down at least once a day while at Disney to regroup, relax and get ready to walk many more miles.

If you have been to Disney World, what is your favorite place to eat? Where would you love to try?

Remember to bring an appetite to Disney, eat things you have never tried before and remember it is vacation – so live a little. I ate really well last time, did not turn down cheesecake and other goodies and still lost 5 pounds thanks to all of the walking.

Some great Disney restaurant/dining resources are The Disney Food Blog (we will be taking photos for AJ while there this time) and Disney Every Day (love Amanda’s Boma breakfast tour that she did recently).

For more on Disney click on my Disney category. I have written about some of our meals, along with other items about our trip planning and Magical Disney World vacation.