Navigating the new Disney FP+ system - NOT a tutorial.

I'M LOST!

I don't know what I'm doing.  There, I said it.  It's Disney, it's WDW and I'm lost.  I am SO looking forward to planning being over now so that I can relax.  And yet, and yet...  Planning is kind of fun and adventurous, right?  But it's a bit like having a baby; everyone will love it, but you know that ultimately it's your responsibility to plan for it, and plan in detail to get it right.  You don't want people too tired to appreciate it, and you want to capture memories that wont come again.  You want everything to be perfect right from the start and it's ALL DOWN TO YOU.

So, the Fast Pass Plus system huh?  That's new.
When we went to Disney before we had our Key to the World cards, and would use these to gain fast passes in the parks.  The fast passes meant that if we came back in the allotted time, we could pretty much walk on to a ride without need to queue.  This system has become known as the Legacy FP, and sadly, is no more with us.
Now we have Magic Bands:

And they do lots of things, one of them being that they store your fast pass + selections.  Yes, selections - these days you can (and indeed it is recommended) book your fast passes in advance.  60 days before you even set foot in a Disney Park you should not only have planned where you will eat and which park you will be in, but also what you will see and do while there.


Cut to the future - FAR in the future.  Well, it's been over four years since I looked at this blog.  I want to post something new but I can't without hitting send on this draft.
The Magic Bands were AMAZING.  Oh wow, to control so much from my wrist!  And it's only got better since then, with more options to book from the app on your phone.  I remember getting home and wanting to pay for shopping with my Magic Band at the Asda checkout.  I didn't want to take it off for days, it was too special!  And yes they did open a new background on Disney Infinity, which was fun.
The band could be shrunk down to even (then) tiny Robin's size.  We still have them floating around, I keep meaning to make a memory shadow box, but you see how long it took just for me to finish this, what chance do I have...?

I *CAN* Go The Distance!

Oh man, I can remember the hours I spent on this game!

So a while ago I got it in to my head that I would love it if I could run 5k at Disney.  I don't know why, I guess it's because as much as I hate running, I do feel a massive sense of achievement every time I make it through a 5k jog.  Even more so now, with life getting in the way, and recovering from some agonising pelvic girdle pain which is still lingering slightly from my last pregnancy.

With all my Disney fascination, I found out that Walt Disney World actually have their own races!  From the Expedition Everest 5k to the Disney Princess Half Marathon, with plenty of other themed runs to try in between. 
Doesn't that sound amazing??  The adrenalin of the race, the excitement of Disney, all magnified 100% by the volume of people all around, exactly as hyped up and raring to go as you are!  Wow.  They even have an after party!

Just HOW MUCH do you think I want one of these?  Wrong, I want it more than that.

But alas, I have had to resign myself to the fact that this is just not going to happen.  This time at least...  Some day, maybe.
OOORRRRR - Lookie what I just found! http://www.distherapy.com/2013/03/is-disneyland-paris-dream-rundisney.html  Could it be?  Perhaps?  Maybe one day I could run Disney - Paris!  The plot - unlike my waistline - thickens...
At least I hope.  I need to shift this muffin top!

I have been doing runs (trying, anyway), lifting weights, squats, planks, sit ups, crunches and trying trying trying to cut some of the sweet stuff out of my diet.  I really do have a hopeless sweet tooth.

So January saw me doing this squat challenge with my friends:

So...much...squatting...

By the end I was borrrred, so switched to doing less squats but with added weights.


Then February meant the plank challenge:

Torture!  Torture I tell you!

I'm a little worried that with only four days to go the longest I have managed is 3:52.  But it's not my fault that February is short, so maybe I will tack on a couple of days - and then probably continue in to March because planks are really hard!

Stitch, I'm with ya dude.

A couple of weeks ago I worked out that if I lose 1lb per week, I will only be 1lb away from my target when we board that plane.  That sounds doable, right?  Only then of course at the very next weigh-in those numbers remained static.  Grr.

But having an achievable number does motivate me somewhat.  I am trying to be sensible, both with what I do not eat, and what I do allow myself, when I need it.  Yes, I am a comfort eater.  I know this is far from ideal, but I have recently come to accept that if a whacking big bar of chocolate stops me from slipping in to a pit of despair, then it's worth it.  I am overweight, but only *just*.  And my mental health is more important than my dress size.  Generally my diet is ok when it comes to meals - but snacks...  Uh oh!  I'm trying to limit myself to one unhealthy food a day - even that looks awful to me when I type it out, should it be one per week?!

And the running.  Yes back to that.  I'm still at the stage where I dread going out the door - but I'm always at the high on my way home!  Doing a 'Run Disney' race would be the ultimate motivator, if we were going at the right time of year to enter.
But would you look at this?

Coronado Springs Baby! My future home in the zone.

I'm going to do my very own Disney 5k!  It's now on my bucket list, so no escaping it!  I'd love a medal, but I'll have to settle for a pin on my lanyard instead.  For now...

Let's get down to business!

Yeah yeah I've been a bad blogger, I know.  Lets spend less time talking about that and more time talking about DISNEY!!!

Hey guys look at this:

77 days to go babyy!

I'm going to have to do a few blog updates to bring things up to speed, but this one will at least give a taster, I hope...

So we had a Tangled Birthday Night:

A Christmas reveal:

We have news from a Galaxy Far Far Away (sort of)!

Getting to see new (and old!) Disney movies for the first time!



Getting fit for Florida

And all the many changes happening at The World!

*Gulp*
This last one has me worried, there's so much different there now!

Be back tomorrow - I promise!

"That's what friends are for"

Crikey, I had better get on with posting before Christmas rolls around!

Well hello there fellow Dis-fans!  Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and get comfortable.  Fancy a biscuit?  Here you go - ah go on, take two or three, we are all friends here.

Darjeeling, anyone?

So, I will come clean.  Thing haven't been at their best here for me, and I really, *really* needed my friends to pull me through it.  I didn't even realise that I had them at the time, let alone know to call on them.  Now by that I'm not meaning that they abandoned me - I mean that I was so low I was hidden away too much to know they were there.

And when you're outside looking in who's there to open the door?

But you know the great things about good friends?  They crawl in to that hole and coax you out, offering the hand of support and strength to get you back.

So I take a short break from the Disney World planning to say thank you to my friends.  To my fantastic Copper Husbeast, to my purple haired Riot Grrrrl, to my kooky German Mama-friend, my school mama Swede and all my lovely Nostrils.
And yes, I know that's cryptic to anyone that doesn't know!  But I would also like to thank all of the Disney people online for keeping me perky.  All those pins I found on Pinterest were like little rays of light on cloudy days.  Reading the fun times on the disboards bring giggles all the time - I recommend living vicariously through trip reports to everyone!  And a special little wave to the fab DisneyKid4Life, who waved to me all the way from England in Epcot - dude, your TR is a smile with every update.

So what can I do to say thank you to these lovely folks?  I'm gonna have to think on that one.  They're special people for sure, and I want them to know that.

What I want you guys to know is that I'm back on it now.  This is me back to planning mode, and I have a lot to talk about!  Coming up I need to cover flights, meal planning, a rather Tangled birthday affair - that's just to begin with!

See you all soon, OK?  :)

Money Money Money!

MONEY MONEY MONEY!

I've been quite surprised at how many times I've been messaged privately on facebook or elsewhere, to be asked for tips on how to get to Disney World on a budget, if it's even possible - because so many parents are desperate to live the dream with their children too.  I have posted a lot of pictures of our trip I guess, and we got a LOT done while we were there so I suppose people wanting to know how isn't so strange.
I don't mind at all - I *love* sharing the Disney bug!  And I fully believe that if you dream of going to the happiest place on Earth, then so you should go!  I'm writing this blog entry today because I thought it would save me retyping in future, but also because anyone can stumble across it this way.

Now firstly, any way you get to Disney from the UK, it's going to cost.  I'll break it to you first and fast - it's not going to be cheap.  It's just not possible - but it will be totally worth it.

<And here's where I try to avoid going off on a tangent about how wonderful WDW is>

Wonderful!

                                           

Wonderful...

  

Wonderful!

                                         
Ahem.
Well, I tried!  (and did well I might add)


So, how to do Disney on a budget.  As with all things Disney, it's all in the planning.  Research, plan, research, plan and research some more if you can.

Start with the http://disneypackages.co.uk/ website and expect to come back to it.  Expect to come back A. Lot.
You see, although there are ways of tweaking what you get for your budget, there's no way around paying for it and this is the site you will need.

Time of visit.
This is a biggie, and you want to think about it!  Fortunately, the quieter times of year cost less, and Disney will often give more incentives for you to go at non-peak times.  I say fortunately, because although it can be inconvenient with school terms, etc, if you're only going to the World once, you're probably better off aiming for a time when it's not so packed that you spend all day in lines.
The two times we found to be best were the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or some time in spring.  We chose to go in May.  It's less expensive, less busy and not too hot and humid - but still WAY hotter than the UK.  We're talking UK summer highs really.
Yes, it did mean taking time out of school, but it was our once in a lifetime thing.  Our children had otherwise perfect attendance, so we were given permission.  This time around I know the rules have changed.  We will no longer apply to the school for holiday time, and then my Drummerboy is at secondary too so even less likely...  Still worth it!

This is the crazy dance I do in my head - Lala I'm not listening, it's woorrrrth it!                   

The first time I went to WDW, we assumed that a family room in one of the budget resorts was the most cost effective way of staying onsite.  I was wrong, but it was amazing and I raved about it here once.  We stayed onsite which meant that we had free transportation and extra magic hours in the parks.  We chose to pay for a Quick Service Meal Plan (QSDP), which meant that we had a refillable cup each, which gave us unlimited drinks at our resort.  In terms of food it gave us two counter service meals and two snacks a day.  Doing our research we realised that it probably wasn't cost effective and that we may have spent less if paying out of pocket, but the piece of mind it gave us in knowing that all our food was paid for was worth it!

This time we are doing it differently.
I found out that if I booked a Moderate hotel instead of budget, we could get the quick service meal plan included for free.  It would mean no family room - but get this:  Two rooms at a moderate costs less!  Yep, so we have upgraded our stay, requested connecting rooms and we have the meal plan, my children are older and cost more and there's one more of them - but this costs us less than before?  Mind.  Blown.

                                  Would you look at this beauty!  Coronado Springs.  It will become our new home.

I do feel the need to include that the QSDP no longer includes two snacks per day, but even so, this works out good.

I'm so excited at the idea of staying at Coronado Springs Resort.  It's central to all the parks and from what I've read, it's the highest end mod that Disney has to offer.  Yippeeeeee!!!

Through the Disney packages site we also included our park tickets.  I think the standard offer is 14 days for the price of 7 park hoppers - which means that you can go to as many parks as you like each day.  This gave us a lot more freedom compared with being stuck with tickets limiting to one park a day.  The park hoppers cover the Magic Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, the two water parks Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, plus the golfing course (which we never went near and probably never will!)

Lastly, the package gave us a $200 giftcard.  But as we are booking two rooms this time we get $400 - bonus!

Flights.

Well this is the big one.  It's not pretty.  We found it cost less if we didn't include it in our Disney package, but still...

We fly direct.  The prospect of taking five children through any more airports than is strictly necessary is more than our nerves can take!  Of course taking connecting flights will reduce the cost considerably, so if you're used to flying, have less children than us, or are just much braver, that's the way to go.

We flew with Virgin and hope to again.  

At the moment flights for all of us will be a whopping £3323!

Jumping jellyfish!  That's a lotta money.

Things to consider:

Once a child hits the age of twelve, they fly as an adult.

A baby below the age of two can sit on a lap and fly for free.

^Can you see why I'm feeling some sense of urgency?!

Regarding ages - The Disney Dining Plan and park tickets also change in cost with age; Up until the age of 10, children are children.  Hit those double digits and they're paying as adults.  But a child under the age of three is a freebie!  They can eat off the plate of an adult (or you can buy your own food off the dining plan for them) and are not charged to enter the parks.

So yeah, the sooner the cheaper, for us anyway.

Now if you look around online you're sure to find lots of tips from frugal mamas suggesting that you buy a whole load of Disney tat to give to your children while there, to prevent them asking for you to shell out on expensive souvenirs.

1)  It wont work.  If my kids see something in the park then THAT is what they want.  Not a pound shop toy.

2)  Do I really want to pack out my luggage with that?  Nope.

3)  I'm the one that wants to buy most stuff anyway!

4)  The Disney Parks Shops have a website where you can buy things from when you get home!!

5)  Believe me, do this right and you will actually have so much fun that you wont need to be buying stuff.  We had so much to do that we only really went in gift shops for the air conditioning!

However, making an autograph book is a souvenir that I do recommend taking - this is something that can be done cheaply, personalised as much as you like, and will provide years of memories.  We still love ours.

That's my tips as I found them.  Links to help though...

http://www.disboards.com/ - Can tell you just about *anything* to do with Walt Disney World

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World - This book is *amazing* and became my WDW bible last time.

Both of the above will give you a good idea of what to do and where to look.  The Unofficial Guide will give you ultimate touring plans that will maximise your trip, as I'm sure you will want to do if it's a once in a lifetime stay.  There are so many other helpful places online, though I don't know many that will help you to budget from the UK.  If I find any I will be back to link them, be sure of that!

I do hope this has been of some help to someone.  I just want to say here that we all deserve to follow our dreams, we all deserve to be unbelievably, overwhelmingly happy at some point in our lives.  Yes this might be a massive expenditure, but isn't it worth it for memories that will last forever?  I can honestly say that our whole family has never got along so well, been so happy and had so much fun as we did for those two weeks.  The amount my children *still* talk about it, years later, tells me how amazing they found it.

Walt Disney said "If you can dream it, you can do it" - I say if you can dream it, go for it!

"I will hold you close (in a thankful heart)"

I'm a big fan of babywearing.  You might not know what this is, but let me tell you, it sounds a lot better than me saying I'm a fan of slinging babies.

Toddlerwearing at Disney

Babywearing is choosing to carry your baby, not only for practical purposes, but because you know that it is good for the little one to be kept close.  Since I discovered how many benefits it had and how much easier it could make my life, I didn't just carry my babies, I wore them.  I only wish I discovered good slings with my first two children!

But what does this have to do with Disney?
Well, with it being an interest of mine, and Disney being a passion, I thought I'd see what the Mouse makes of it - does he believe that keeping babies close is important?  He sure does!  In fact, it would seem that those babies who are not held close are far more likely to add to the Disney Orphan Epidemic!

Keep your baby close = don't lose your baby.

Squaw... Carry dat baby!

But do slings work with Disney World trips?  Sure they do!  I actually took five slings with me to WDW.

Sorry?  What, you didn't catch that?  I said five slings.  No, still?  Gah OK - I took FIVE SLINGS to Walt Disney World.  Yes, on our first ever trip out of the UK I felt the need to pack FIVE BABY SLINGS in our luggage.  

I was well prepared  ;-)

And yes, I brought a stroller too.

The heat - it's not nearly as much of an issue as you might think.  Yes you will sweat - but wont you anyway?  That's what showers are for right?  The sweat keeps you cool and actually, babywearing in a *good sling* (unfortunately this means those that you're unlikely to find in a store) means that your body can regulate your baby's temperature far better.  Yep, your body will go up or down by a couple of degrees according to what your baby needs.  Cool, huh?

It's also ace because lets face it - there is a LOT going on at Disney.  We're talking serious overload for many small people.  Over stimulation a-go-go.  Wearing your baby gives them the space required to hide away if they need to.  Whether that's hiding from crowds, fur characters, fireworks or just the sights - you're giving them sanctuary.

Good in crowds.  Good when pouring drinks on your knees.  As you do.  At Disney.

When we took our first trip to WDW my Sunshine boy Robin was 23 months old.  I carried him at the Magic Kingdom:

Check out the Emokid theme started here.
Happiest place on earth?

At Disney's Hollywood Studios:

Oh, hey there Minnie!  Cheer Rowan up will ya?

At the Animal Kingdom:

Clearly too emo to even BE in photographs - but you can just about see Sunboy.

And EVEN at Epcot:

What's this?  Almost not quite completely utterly miserable?
Best hide it - Look down look down!

...although I'm not entirely insane.  On our world showcase days we did bring the stroller too ;-)   Every Person Comes Out Tired, after all.

The Disney World transportation is fantastic.  Yeah yeah, people can moan all they want but I'm assuming all these people drive cars when at home.  Well let me tell you something - I live in LONDON, and in London it's almost pointless having a car.  We don't drive at all.  Charged if you go down the wrong roads, congestion everywhere and insurance through the roof!  But our public transport is quite good, and I can say that WDW has it good too.

*However*  You will want to minimise fuss as much as possible.  Strollers must be folded on WDW transportation.  Then when you get off you have to do the mad Quickly-Unfold-Get-Baby-In-Get-Him-Strapped-And-Run-For-The-Gates Rope-drop routine.  Yes, I'm serious.  In those minutes it takes to get the baby back in his stroller you can bet that everyone on that bus is now way ahead of you.  They're getting those Toy Story Mania fastpasses, or front of the line for Splash Mountain.  

Not to mention the hold up at the other end while you find somewhere to put the stroller, grab baby and head for a queue - but of course now you have to keep hold of him to stop him running off...  That's always fun.

This woman *seriously* needs a sling.  Or three.

Because of course when you have a few children, it helps to have at least one tied down while the others jump all over you.

Happy families, good times.  Kuzco approved.

Have I convinced you yet?

Well take a look at this Mickey baby carrier, or how about the one on the daddy here (fab Q&A on slings at DL too!) or this *gorgeous* Minnie Mouse sling I found on the disboards!  When you can step out in such fun style, why not?


If I know one thing for sure, it's that I'll be bringing our trustiest carriers with us to Disney World next year.  The only question is, which ones?  (and can I get away with buying a new custom Mickey one because I think I really NEEEED it)

Lets face it.  The coolest families in the world wear their babies.  I'm with Elastigirl on this one.  I'm a supermama.

Coolest.  Family.  EVER.

PS, "I Will Hold You Close in a Thankful Heart" is the song sung by Scrooge in the Muppets Christmas Carol.

"A Very Very Unbirthday, to you!"

A very Disney Birthday to me!

Last week saw me turn 33.  Only the day was such a disaster from start to finish, that I asked my husband to promise me I can re-celebrate when we get to Disney!
Do I really need to go in to details?  I'd rather not relive it.  I will tell you that our smallest disaster was when our Playstation3 decided to die, with my brand new DVD inside it.  Yes, that's the smallest - there were many more and much more frustrating, upsetting and annoying!

So I am going to have a BIRTHDAY AT DISNEY WORLD!!!  Squee!  What better place to enjoy your special day?  Although I am going to have to hold Liam to this and remind him - I expect a cake and a present if nothing else...
So what do you get for a birthday at WDW?  I can answer this because we celebrated Frazer's last time we were there.  His actual birthday was just a few days after our return but we couldn't book our holiday to cover it.
Don't expect a day full of freebies - I think this is something that many in our 'entitled' culture want.  It's fun, but you wont be getting a free dinner with Cinderella for it!  There must be hundreds of people (if not more) celebrating something at Disney World every day.
You can get a button for it.  Button?  A badge to my UK friends:

Err yeah it's a big button.  Nothing to do with me being too lazy to resize... *ahem*

And you write your name on the front and all day long people wish you a very happy birthday!  If you're lucky, you might even get a little freebie - my Drummerboy was given a cupcake when we ate at Chef Mickey's.  He wasn't expecting it and the poor love had eaten so much that he couldn't fit his birthday treat in!

Birthday wishes all day for the Drummerboy!

You may also be in for other little treats, like a card signed by the characters, or even confetti on your (full service) table, if you let a CM know you're celebrating when you book and/or arrive that is!

Secretly, I'm hoping that my husband orders me a birthday cake while we're there.  From what I've gathered on the disboards cake chatter thread, it can sometimes be a little hit and miss.  Depending on what you want, how you ask for it and who you ask, it can be spectacular, or it can be just not special enough.

Of course there's the price too.  These speciality cakes aren't going to cost the same as what you would pay in your local supermarket, but as I've read elsewhere, it is the experience you are paying for.

I highly recommend that if you're thinking of ordering a cake at WDW, that you do your research.  Know who to call and how to explain specifically what you want from them.  From what I have gathered if you call and don't get the response you hoped for, your best plan is to try again in a few hours and see if you can speak with someone else!  The chefs are quite accommodating if you have something unusual to ask for, but the people on the phone cakeline often aren't aware of this.

Anyway, I don't want anything special!  It was only a vague idea in the corner of my mind - UNTIL...

Until I saw this and it completely and utterly *melted my heart*

Taken from http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=13634732&postcount=3

OK well not exactly this cake.  I'm sure the one I saw was round and chocolatey and a bit messier, but it had "Happy Birthday Mommy" written on it and I want that cake!  I'd definitely need less (as in, none) flowers and more stars/hidden Mickeys though!

Not sure I can convince my husband...

Hmm, but a present.  What Disney themed gift would you want?  There are so many I would love to pick from if I could!