Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

So back in January, I squealed and danced around the living room on account of a very  pixie dusted email . Five days before our Three Mousekateers trip, our FedEx driver dropped by a very magical package that continued the dancing. There may have been an impromptu dance number associated with the box magically appearing on my door step. Now what on earth was hiding in this lovely box?   Nail polish, and sprinkles and coupons. Oh my! 1. #DisneySide , 2. #DisneySide , 3. #DisneySide , 4. #DisneySide , 5. #DisneySide , 6. #DisneySide , 7. #DisneySide , 8. #DisneySide , 9. #DisneySide , 10. #DisneySide , 11. #DisneySide , 12. #DisneySide , 13. #DisneySide  What's in the 2015 #DisneySide @Home Celebration box??? 1. #DisneySide , 2. #DisneySide , 3. #DisneySide , 4. #DisneySide , 5. #DisneySide , 6. #DisneySide , 7. #DisneySide , 8. #DisneySide , 9. #DisneySide , 10. #DisneySide , 11. #DisneySide , 12. #DisneySide , 13. #DisneySide Honestly, that's only a...

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers! This Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by an unforgettable moment! Unplanned. Unposed. Unforgettable! Thank you to  Focused on the Magic  for hosting!

After circling around the back side of Cinderella Castle, Chris broke out the map and off we went to hunt down our first portal on our Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom adventure.  Impressively beautiful, any day of the year. After several portals, they really began to get the hang of the game. Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom is a cute, multilevel and very addictive card game where you quest around one of the lands at the titular Magic Kingdom park helping defeat various Disney villains and eventually Hades. It can be played near endlessly as you collect different cards each day you enter the park. Did I mention it's addictive? My kiddos happily forgot about all of the rest of the most magical place on earth in hopes of rescuing Aurora's good fairies.  Busy fighting the Mistress of All Evil Until I remembered our Seven Dwarfs Mine Train FastPass+ window. Trotting through the FastPass queue, we went straight to the front of the line. Being a party of thr...

At long last, we were going to get to go to Magic Kingdom!!! SQUEEEEE! We layered on the hoodies and hit the food court for a quick breakfast. Hopping on the bus, we made it to the Magic Kingdom early enough to hang around for a bit before the Welcome Show. The cold brought out my kids snuggly #DisneySide Kylee asked for an "I'm Celebrating" button while I picked up the map and an entertainment schedule for the day. After being wished a very pleasant good morning by the people of Main Street, Cinderella, Elsa, Anna, and Mickey, we walked under the railroad station, around the flag pole and caught our first view of the castle. Walt and Mickey are hiding in a crate while a crane and two workers take down the Christmas decorations. It was kind of awe inspiring and weird and wonderful all at the same time to see such an enormous crane hanging over Cinderella Castle. We were swept up and along in the excitement as half of the guests sped off to meet Elsa and Anna...

Back in January, I vowed to accomplish six impossible things as my Disney New Y-Ears resolutions for the year. So now that six weeks have past, how is my to do list weighing in the balance? Taking on ALL of the "Big Kid" Rides Kylee crossed the point of no return, hitting the forty-four inch mark. Despite lingering fears of waiting for an E-Ticket ride only to drag both kids out of the chicken exit, the slow and steady work up to the scarier rides did seem to work for the most part.     Kylee raved about Space Mountain for the better part of the afternoon and evening. Chris mostly rode each of the fast rides once to humor his sister. In addition to working our way from the Barnstormer to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to Space Mountain slowly over the trip, I also made judicious use of FastPass+. Although the line for the Tower of Terror didn't make a FP+ necessary, the odds of Chris getting creeped out and letting his imagination run away with him were far greater ...

The Magic Kingdom may be the most magical place on earth, but it is also smack dab in the middle of Walt Disney World. My biggest problem at Disney is there is literally, "more to see than can ever be seen or to do than can ever be done." Forty-three square miles brimming with tons of things to see and do and eat, to be exact. So where do I start planning my perfect, stress-free Walt Disney World vacation?   It can be done! Whether it's as simple as my kids' picks list out of the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids or a well detailed down to the minute spreadsheet developed from pouring over PassPorter's Walt Disney World and The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World . Step 1: Do Your Research! Look at projected crowd levels . Learn about the FastPass+ system. Measure your children (at the end of the day in sneakers) and note any rides with height restrictions out of your range.  Please note: they do not count bows, high ponytails or f...

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers! This Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by my favorite action moment! Kylee and Chris earning their last Wilderness Explorer Badges! Now to make them "Trust me, I'm a Senior Wilderness Explorer," shirts for next trip. Thank you to  Focused on the Magic  for hosting!

On arriving to All Star Movies, the three Mousekateers made a beeline toward the online check-in desk. It was too early for our room to probably be available, but checking couldn't hurt, right? After a little technical mumbo-jumbo we were told our room would be ready anytime after one. Therefore off to World Premiere Food Court for some lunch in the intervening half hour. Chris ate all of one of these items. Smart money is on the pizza. Chris glowed when he was permitted to walk over to the pizza counter and order his lunch by himself while Kylee and I waited for a veggie burger to be prepared separately. I did the math on a "length of stay" refillable mug for this particular trip (ten days, nine nights) and despite the rarity of our soda drinking, came out on the side of pro-mug. Kylee's first really goofy pic of the trip. I'm not sure I would buy the mugs again, as most of our meals at the resort were breakfast and the kids' meals came with milk...

Do you know where to find this artistic set up?

So after popping last minute odds and ends into our luggage and checking my list a time or two, I tried to go to sleep early. A 7:20 am flight (meaning the possibility of arriving at our Walt Disney World Resort before lunch) seemed like a great idea! Until about four the afternoon before when I realized that we would want to be leaving our house shortly before five am. Thankfully, pre-trip pixie dust levels in myself and the children meant we were awake, enthusiastic and dressed in advance of when we needed to be. When Chris is tired he gets quiet, but Kylee talks a blue streak. While Kylee told the United agents about every detail of our upcoming vacation, I printed off our boarding passes and checked our bags. We practically flew through security, with a minor hang up when Chris didn't want to talk to the security guard or respond to his name. (Frankly we all needed our coffee.) The security guard thought it was funny once Chris woke up enough to respond to his name a...

Have you ever fantasized about spending a week cruising the Eastern Caribbean in the Walter E. Disney Suite? Come along for the ride as we rewind back to our Very MerryTime cruise courtesy of the Disney Cruise Line. Beware, jellyfish ahead!   Episode VI: A New Ship Disney Fantasy November 29, 2014 Seven Night Eastern Caribbean A New Ship The Journey Begins Glacial Breakfast First Terrarium Second Terrarium Good Morning! Raspberry Dust and Botanists I Spy Personal Flurries Bobbing Along Meanwhile Back on St. John Meanwhile Back on the Ship Palo in Pajamas Have Fun Storming the Castle! Heffalumps and Sea Turtles Something About Apples Little Paper Cabana Cabana 18 Kisses and Castaways Now with added mice! Jaq and Gus! To answer the obvious question, Episode I, aka our first cruise (in which the kids are left ashore in the tender care of their grandparents) is not written or linked anywhere yet! Episode II and V can also be read in t...