TechyDad | The Angel Forever

Category Archives TechyDad

Checking into the Polynesian Resort & ESPN time

Posted on February 18, 2010 12:41 pm by TheAngelForever

After a morning full of fun and adventures, we finally checked into the Polynesian at about 4:00. From there, we quickly went to the hospitality sweet where I literally bumped into Amanda Tinney from Disney Every Day. This is where we were given a large bag filled with goodies for the entire family, credentials, agenda for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and park passes. Then we rushed to drop things off at our room and change a diaper.

As you can see, the rooms at the Polynesian are huge! The decor is amazing and works perfectly with the theme. There was no need to crowd in the room and stuff the double stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals into the corner. We were now able to leave the stroller by the sliding glass door where the balcony was with the pretty garden view. For a fabulous walking tour of the room at the Polynesian head on over to see Carolyn’s vlog tour – I love it!

With time ticking, we quickly packed the boys back up and were off to meet Christina (@CutestKidEver) and her family to go to ESPN for the first official event. The chartered buses to the event were fabulous. We did not have to fold up the stroller. The cast members helped us to put it right under the bus and it was waiting for us when we stepped off and at our new destination. At first, we tried to stuff into a bus that was filled. The nice part was I was able to quickly meet and say hello to Monica Brady of Mommy Brain Reports (@MommyBrain). Wish I had had more time to chat, but the bus was filled and we had to move. When we arrived at ESPN, we walked in the cold to our destinations. Christina and I went to the press conference while the five boys went to play out on the fields.

Thanks to coming a little late, we walked into the session as they were finishing up the talk about the new plans for Fantasyland. As a long time Disney World visitor, it is hard to imagine such change. Of course, all of that went out the window when they explained how the new Dumbo ride would work. Rather than just have one set of Flying Dumbos for everyone to enjoy, there will eventually be two. The new waiting areas will be intereactive. No more waiting on boring lines, families will be able to participate in carnival games as they wait to fly with Dumbo. Once again, Disney shows that they understand how to get guests to wait patiently for a ride while keeping them busy.

In addition to this, we also heard news about the changes to the Disney Cruises. My extended family has always talked about taking a Disney Cruise together once our children are older. Now, there will be even more options for us to consider. The one that I am most excited about is the excursions to Alaska. My dream has always been to go on an Alaskan cruise, so Disney Cruise + Alaska = a Magical adventure at sea! We also saw the makeover plans for Disney’s Castaway Cay and the debut of the new Disney Dream Cruise ship. This new ship will have a water coaster called the AquaDuck and virtual port holes inside every cabin. You can check out video about the Disney Dream here:

Before concluding, it was time to explain the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. As visitors that evening, we were getting a sneak peak of the digs before they officially reopen later this month. For more details about the ESPN press conference, please check out some blog posts from other DisneySMMoms attendees:

@FreeIsMyLife – Disney Social Media Moms Conference Part 2 (Great summary of the announcements made at the conference)
Please let me know if you have another post you would like me to add here.

Meanwhile, the boys were out and about running on the fields. They seemed to enjoy the time running around. While listening to the press conference I received a Tweet from TechyDad that he had fallen while trying to catch a football or something. LOL! Apparently he was more worried about my reaction to a possible grass stain on his jeans than about being hurt. Oy! Here are some photos of NHL and JSL romping around outside with their friend TJ:

Once the press conference was over, Christina and I followed the crowd over to where the Tailgate style dinner/party was taking place. We grabbed a drink and went to the tables where peanuts and Cracker Jacks were on each of the table.

After a while, the boys met up with us and we had some dinner and met a few characters along the way.

There was music playing, activities on stage for the older kids and tons of people. Eventually, we spotted desserts. The Mickey ice cream bars were too much for us to say no to. The boys certainly enjoyed their treats.

We decided that the boys were getting really tired and packed our items up to head back. On the way out, we were given ESPN hats and then boarded the buses back to the Polynesian. During that ride, we also met up with @MorethanMommy (she writes at Quirky Fusion and More Than Mommy). We had been Tweeting with her while planning the Disney trip since she was also staying at Pop Century the night before moving to the Polynesian. Loved chatting with her and hope to do so again soon.

As we left the bus, we were able to see the Wishes fireworks from the Magic Kingdom over the Lagoon at the Polynesian. We went back to the room to settle the boys. The next morning, I had to be at the bus by 7:30 to be to Epcot for a busy morning.

More coming soon!

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The $350 conference fee included 3 nights at the Polynesian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Disney DisneySMMoms fun jsl nhl photos TechyDad video yummy

Making our way to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

Posted on February 16, 2010 1:24 pm by TheAngelForever

We arrived in Orlando the Saturday before the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. This gave our family time to enjoy the parks together. We stayed at the Pop Century Resort during this time. On Wednesday, we had breakfast reservations at 8:50 at Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club Resort. We figured we would go to Disney Hollywood Studios, walk to the Beach Club Resort and then go the back way into Epcot for a while before heading to Pop Century and making the switch for the conference to the Polynesian Resort.

Wednesday morning, the temperature was freezing for Florida. The wind was gusting and it made an otherwise nice walk from Hollywood Studios by the Boardwalk, Swan/Dolphin a painful one. We had done this walk many times on our honeymoon almost nine years ago. Perhaps age, hauling two kids, and pushing a double stroller in freezing temperatures changed the situation some.

After a 36 minute walk in the cold, we finally made it to the Beach Club Resort. I have to admit, this is still my absolute favorite place on Disney grounds to visit/stay. There is just something so beautiful and wonderful about the resort. One day, I hope to be able to stay here with the boys. We checked in for our reservations and were seated soon after.

This is a character meal. Goofy, Donald and Minnie are all there wearing their beach wear. Thank goodness this time around, both of the boys were accepting to the characters. JSL (2) was not in love with them, but he tolerated it and liked when they gave him a high five or gave him a tickle. Here are some photos of all of us with the Disney characters:

The food here was very good. We especially liked the French Toast bake along with Bagel, lox and cream cheese! Some shots of our plates of food:

When breakfast was over, we decided to head into Epcot via the back entrance. We did this a lot on our honeymoon. We walked toward the area that was open. TechyDad went to get Fast Passes for Soarin’ while the boys and I went toward The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. We did Nemo, Turtle Time with Crush (where NHL asked Crush a question), and went to see Figment (my history with him here).

Then it was time to head to The Land for Soarin’. On the way, we saw Mary Poppins and stopped for some photos and an autograph from her.

When we arrived in The Land, TechyDad went on Soarin’ with NHL, while JSL and I waited. When they were finished we were going to go, but the line for The Land was really short (less than 10 minute wait). We did this and then did the Lion King movie. NHL really liked seeing all of the fruits and vegetables growing.

At this point, it was lunch time and we were going to head back to Pop Century to switch resorts. Plans changed when we realized that we had forgotten JSL’s Nalgene water bottle at the Beach Club Resort. We went back there and thanks to Heather (who saves everything) they had it for us. We hoped onto the boat to Hollywood Studios and took a bus back to Pop Century. We stopped for lunch before going to our room.

Of course, we had to have one more serving of Tie-Dye Cheesecake before hitting the road. The gentlemen at luggage told us to call when we were ready and someone would whisk our bags away to Polynesian and they would be in our room there later in the day. We did that and went toward the Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian. As we left the monorail, TechyDad and I realized we had been riding along with LastMinuteMandy and her family (her blog is I’d Rather Be Crafting) . We had been Tweeting with them while enjoying the time before DisneySMMoms.

More to come about the rest of our evening and special events at ESPN soon.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Disney DisneySMMoms flowers and plants food glorious food fun jl jsl nhl photos TechyDad vacation yummy

Winter time soups

Posted on February 5, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

No matter what the groundhog said, the fact is that winter is still here. When the winter strikes, so does our need for hearty warm soup for meals. Of course, I would love my mother’s Matzoh Ball soup every day. The fact of the matter is that although it tastes delicious, it is not "point" friendly when watching your weight (darn Matzoh Balls). At least once a week TechyDad makes soup for us, typically in the slow cooker. Two that he has written about on Cooking With TechyDad are:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Slow Cooker Bean Soup

My favorite these days is Minestrone in the slow cooker with a TON of veggies in it. I also like to whip up tomato, barley and carrot soup on the fly. We keep a Kosher kitchen, so we often do things vegetarian style. Thanks to great veggie broth and No Chicken Chicken broth, we are able to tweak many recipes.

So my question to you on another wintery Friday:

What is your favorite soup to eat on a cool winter day? Always looking for new things to make, so list as many as you can think of.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #85

Categories:
Aloha Friday food glorious food TechyDad winter yummy

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.

Categories:
bloggy friends decisions Disney food glorious food looking back photos TechyDad travel vacation yummy

Disney on the brain

Posted on January 9, 2010 11:09 pm by TheAngelForever

If you have been following my blog long enough, you probably know that I am a HUGE fan of Walt Disney World. I have been there so many times over my life that I can not keep track. (Mom and Dad were not too helpful either.) I actually opted to take a family vacation to Disney World last May in lieu of going to BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. The deals were just too good to be true and the timing was right for us.

I sat and watched as BlogHer ’09 came and went. Then, everyone was talking about TypeAMom while I sat at home. This week, I heard rumbles about a Social Media Mom Celebration that was going to take place at Walt Disney World.

HELLO!!!! Could anything be more perfect for me as a first time conference? I think not! For more information, please head over to the fabulous post on 5 Minutes for Mom.

TechyDad and I talked about it as I waited for my invitation to arrive. Thursday afternoon it came. Without looking back, I booked the event. That night, we decided to extend our stay at Disney. Why not, right? We’re already paying for the airfare and who knows when we may get another chance to spend time in Orlando. By Thursday evening, I had plane tickets for all four of us and we were trying to get quotes on hotel/tickets/dining for the rest of the week. Friday, the little guy and I went to a travel agent and I put in a call for quotes from AAA. This morning, TechyDad and I tried out the new (for us anyway) online Disney advanced dining reservation system. Even with short notice, we were able to get some very nice Table Service meals. One favorite from our trip in May and a few new places for dinner and character breakfasts. Once those were made, we went back and booked the rest of the lodging/dining/park admission. In 24 hours the hotel booked up the standard room, so we had to go premium. Not thrilled about that, but we love Pop Century.

As I sit here sipping some decaf coffee, I am in disbelief. This is so unlike us to plan and go someplace so quickly. Still, as you will read on the 5 Minutes for Mom website, it was too good to pass up. TechyDad and I are looking forward not only to Disney World, but also meeting in person so many people that we have "met" online over the last 3 years. Another interesting item to note, my 3 year Blogoversary is days before we leave for this trip. Hmmm. . . perhaps that is what I should say I’m celebrating while visiting.

Now I am going to relax for a few days as more details come in about the #DisneySMMoms event. Then I will try to figure out what we need to pack for the trip. I have been to Disney a lot, but have never been in February before. This is all new to me. So in advance, I apologize if Disney is on my brain a little too much, but well I’m a kid at heart and can not wait!

P.S. Is it bad that I never finished blogging about our trip in May? Guess I may have to finish some of that up, especially JSL’s actual 2nd B-day while we were there.

Disclosure: Our family was provided with a discounted price for the days of the actual event. The additional days for our surprise Disney vacation were purchased at our own cost since we are long time Disney fans. All opinions about this event are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.