Twas the Week Before Disney

'Twas the week before Disney and all through the house, this momma is BUSY and so is her spouse!
The luggage lay open, clothes laid out with care, in hopes that at Disney, all would be there.
The children are nestled all snug in their beds, while Momma has 10 lists running through her head.

More rapid than eagles, the days have gone bye, when we planned this vacation, the countdown was high! There are projects to finish, grass to cut and snacks to pack too. There is no denying there is much to do!

Movies and shows, to brush up our "mouse" knowledge, for this is the stuff they don't teach you in college. Cookies to bake and goodies to pack, it's important to prepare, to make sure we don't lack.

As I drew in my list, and was fumbling around, down the laundry basket fell and made a loud sound.
The goodies I'd hidden from the kids with such care, had fallen about and spilled everywhere.

A bundle of toys, I threw in my basket, as the girls came running, wondering what is the racket.
I know I can do this, get this all done. And in a few days, we'll have a mountain of fun.

Until we leave, I'll be working away. On projects and sewing, that I'd pushed off 'til today.
I know it is crazy, to make homemade projects. To me it's important, I can't explain my logic.

Again it is silly, to make up this rhyme. But it made me inspired, despite lacking time. And so, I'll exclaim as I turn off the light, "Happy Disney Week to ALL and to all a good night!"

No, not all, but some of the homemade items for our trip

Why We Keep Going Back...

We just came home from another Disney vacation...this one was our best so far, and we've gone there a lot! In fact, someone recently asked me if we ever vacation anywhere BUT Disney World. Well, the answer is yes. In fact, in 2014 we didn't go to the land of the mouse even once! And, by the end of the year, we knew we were missing it. And so, here are my reasons for why Disney World is just so awesome, and keeps us coming back so often.

I'm sure I could list 1,000 reasons for why we love Disney World and why we keep coming back. But for know, I'll settle for my Top 10, in no particular order. 

1. The Cast Members LOVE their job! Years ago, Walt Disney named the employees "cast members", as they all have a job in a making memories and moments special for the guests. Well, Disney World employees have NAILED it! Ticket takers, security guards, bus drivers, custodians...you name it, they all love their jobs and have a way of making you feel like a valued guest in their home. If happiness truly is contagious, they are spreading it everywhere! On other vacations, we assume that people will love their jobs just as much, but they just don't. Disney sets the bar high for customer service and experience, and that is addictive! 
2. It's so clean! I'm not a neat freak by any means, but with young children dirty bathrooms freak me out. I mean, at any given moment a child will likely be crawling on the ground, laying down and then picking their nose with those same filthy little hands. Given the large volume of people that enter the parks daily, it is truly miraculous that you never see trash on the ground, gum on the curb, or even full trash cans. Like magic, it is all clean, all the time. We stepped off property for lunch once this past week, and instantly I knew we weren't in Disney any longer as there was "gunk" in the corner of bathroom sink. That just doesn't happen at Disney...and it's so refreshing! 
3. Exposes myself and my family to people and cultures different than our own. Raising children in the suburban mid-west of the United States, we don't hear foreign languages very often. Disney World attracts people of all cultures, from around the world. Employees work hard to teach children about their own country and my daughter even got her name translated in three different languages! How often does that happen on vacation?! 
   
   
   

   

   loved shopping in "Morocco" 

4. We grow stronger as a family team. Waiting in line, answering new questions, enjoying new experiences all outside of our normal routine requires all of us to step up and become team mates even more so than normal. We web and flow together, in unison...and the results, are pretty awesome! 
   
   
5. The little touches. And there are a lot! "Mousekeepers" create beautiful towel creations, arrange stuffed toys on the bed, and overall truly care about the home away from home. Our headboard in our room lit up in LED lights mimicking fireworks above our head. The little touches go far beyond the resorts, and are a part of everywhere you look. 

Maya with her Mickey Mouse towel

6. Ignites the creativity and magic within us all. Nothing quite like watching your little ones squeal in uncontrollable delight when they see a favorite character or witness the magic of larger than life performances. Broadway style performers, interacting with your kiddos and including them in the show...my goodness, what an experience!

Maya and Elliana were selected to be in the Lion King Show!!!  

7.  AMAZING FOOD! And, we tend to participate in the Dining Plan which gives a plethora of options, snacks, dining experiences and DESSERTS! We all gained quite a few pounds this last trip and it was worth every calorie! 







Banana Creme Brulee- Kona Cafe






Elliana with her favorite snack, a MICKEY BAR!






Unlimited bottomless fresh berry cobbler with fresh vanilla cream on top

8. This particular year we were able to share pieces of our trip with some close friends. You know God has intentions for our friendship when we booked the same trip, same flight and same resort without talking to each other ahead of time! What a joy it was to watch these sweet friends celebrate and laugh together in the magic of the mouse, and share in the meltdowns of young ones with their grown up counterparts. :) 

9.  I love to sew, but rarely make the time to do so. A Disney trip inspires me and gets my creative juices flowing. I love when we are all "matchy-matchy" and not only does it make our photos look great, but I have noticed a marked difference between the interaction of cast members and our family when we are wearing Disney threads and when are not. This year, the staff went cuckoo over the Duffy dresses my talented cousin made for her kids, and I modified to fit my girls, even awarding Elliana a special celebration button adorned with Duffy! 

My favorite! Monsters Inc shirts/dresses for us all! 



10. This year was the first year we participated in the Wilderness Explorer program at Animal Kingdom. I can't believe we never did this before! The girls LOVED searching for the little emblems, answering questions, performing tasks and earning badges for nature/geography/science based questions. On safari they identified animals and marked them off in their books. Elliana played African & Indonesian instruments, met people from other countries and learned about currency conversion rates. We were so busy acquiring badges we missed out on a lot of the theme park, but discovered a whole new side of it we had never before experienced. 

Preparing their adventure books for the next badge

P.S. Last year, the Frozen sisters overtook the world by storm making their songs and personalities a part of nearly every household in America. My girls were no exception to the craze, and their little wishes came true when we met the beloved princesses along side their friends. This was Elliana's highlight of the trip and insisted it be represented in the blog! 

Raising Polite Princesses

When our oldest daughter was about 2, she became obsessed with princesses. Disney princesses to be exact. The glitzy gowns, the beautiful hair, something about them just captured her attention and held it tight. Lucky for us, there are some valuable lessons that can be taught from these childhood icons, and we've been happy to use this love to instill polite manners and behavior. 

A few months ago, we began to notice that our daughter's table manners were not what they once were. Talking with her mouth full, squirming in her seat, interrupting others.... you name it...she was doing it. And it had to stop. 

We pulled out a favorite book which unfortunately had been gathering dust as it had fallen out of our rotation. This book is simple to read with simple directions such as please and thank you, taking small bites, etc. But for some reason, this just wasn't "sticking" like it had when we read it over and over again as a two year old. I was at a loss as to how to teach her manners in a fun way, that would make her WANT to be polite. 

Then it hit me. We had recently booked our annual trip to Walt Disney World and had not yet announced it to the girls. It was still several months away and experience had taught us to not let the news out just yet or it would be a LONG few months. 

I was able to score a reservation at the Cinderella's Royal Table, a meal we had always talked of splurging on, but had never made the plunge financially. Given this would be our child's fourth trip to Disney World (in 4 years), we had done most of the princess meals already and this seemed like a perfect motivator for a polite princess. Then, we put our plan into action. 

One night at dinner we began talking about how you can actually eat with the princesses INSIDE Cinderella's castle. My husband and I were just talking casually while little ears listened in. We played it up and talked of how you had to be invited to dine with her, and only the most polite people were invited as guests inside the castle. Instantly, my daughter spoke up and said, "I WANT TO GO TO HER CASTLE!"

We looked at each other and said something about how great that would be, but we had to wait until we were invited, and really work on our manners. The rest of the meal was PERFECT...but would it last? 

Many times throughout the summer, this conversation replayed. With each complaint of trying a new food, we asked if she would tell Cinderella the same thing if we were invited to her castle. Before long, she would try a new food without complaining, and then politely say, "I tried the new food, but don't really care for it. No more please." Now...I won't pretend this happened EVERY TIME as it didn't. But, it did happen more than it had before, and I was impressed and grateful. 

The squirmy, food talker, interrupting, lack of manners child had transformed into a more calm, patient and polite little girl, all on her own. At lunch dates with friends, I witness her explaining table manners and the importance of being polite. 

Before long, we felt it was time to write Cinderella a letter detailing the improvement and politeness our daughter had worked toward. 

Now we are awaiting a royal reply and hopefully a ROYAL invitation to the castle!

Secret Sewing Project

Looking back, I still find it amazing we kept this a secret. We realized last winter that we needed to have at least one warm weather vacation each winter to keep our spirits lifted from the cold and dreariness of living in the mid-west.  And so, last March, we began planning for Winter 2015. Originally, we arranged and booked a Disney Cruise out of Miami for February. However, when we began looking at flights to Miami during peak travel season, we were shocked to find flights were close to $400 per person! We began looking into our options, and given we were already excited for Disney, we rearranged some things and booked a trip to Walt Disney World instead.

I am a dork, and I like our photos to be matchy-matchy and themed to our vacation...and so, I began sewing. Sewing with two small kids is a bit tricky in and of itself, but sewing secret clothes for a trip they didn't know about...well, that was even more difficult!

By Christmas morning, I had finished 2.5 outfits. Not the 7 I had planned on, but hey...a girl needs to sleep too! And so, we wrapped up the goodies below along with a few Disney goodies and put it under the tree for Christmas morning.



 And so, at last...Christmas morning came. The girls were totally in shock, and all of those sleepless nights were all of a sudden redeemed.

And now the countdown begins until we venture down south to meet our favorite Disney friends. I'm hoping to make a few more outfits for our family before then, but if not...that's okay too ;) 

And after all of that prep work, I am 150% okay with using an advent calendar from the clearance Christmas aisle to use as our countdown. Tomorrow...only 24 days until we leave, and there just happens to be exactly 24 days in this countdown. :)

Vacation Junkie Confession

While on vacation, I realized it isn't the theme park, the characters or even the food that keeps us coming back to Disney World year after year. It's the SERVICE! The customer service at Walt Disney World and their resorts is addictive and we have come to expect that same level of service on every vacation we take!

Given the HIGH volumes of people, especially children, you would think of litter, smells and burnt out employees. No such thing at Walt Disney World, at least not in our experience the past four years. Sure, maybe an occasional employee's personality doesn't "mesh" with ours, but they still are happy, excited and willing to serve. The parks are immaculate, and employees at all levels go out of their way to make your stay magical and memorable.

Okay, free advertising aside. Just felt a need to explain why we keep going back!

This years trip was super special and unique as it was our first visit to the newly opened Fantasyland with their addition of several new rides, castles and restaurants. We've been home only a few weeks and I'm already ready to go back! Hi, my name is Ashley and I am a vacation junkie!!

A few photo highlights of our trip this year....

Elliana at the character dance party

Maya's first hair cut and first Mickey Ears!

We enjoyed characters and rides, food and fun. 7 days flew by and none of us were ready to come home. Overall, I think I made seven homemade skirts, 5 shirts, two dresses, two messenger bags to coordinate our clothes for the week. I ran out of time or we would have all matched all week :) Yes, I know I am a dork, and I'm okay with that! 

Using the map to find her way....

Our family at our resort

Completed homemade signature bag

Disney World 2012

Without really realizing it, we have created a family vacation tradition of going to Disney World. Our first time was with Elliana when she was just 15 months old. Elliana's laughter, excitement and growth on that short trip quickly made us realize that you can never be too young (or too old) for Disney World.

We returned again last year when Elliana was 2.5 years old, and again, we were swept away with the awe and magic of the vacation.

And so, we booked a trip again this year, with Elliana at 3.5 years and Maya just 6 months old. And again, it was a WONDERFUL vacation for all of us! I'll allow these few pictures to tell a thousand words :)

Elliana cuddling Maya tight on her first flight

Meeting the Fairy Godmother

Maya loving the Dumbo Ride

Elliana meeting her favorite princess, Rapunzel, while wearing a Rapunzel wig and dress

Family Photo with the Toy Story Gang