Can the 1995 GEO Metro make the trip?

I think it is a guy thing.  My husband has this car...it is his Geo Metro.  We acquired it a year ago January 2011.  Our minivan was not running so we scrapped it and began shopping for a car.  We rented a  2009Ford Fusion for nearly 30 days until hubby found this car being sold by it's owner.  She knew him from work and she and her husband had been maintaining the car for years...however no one was driving it.  So hubby asked her how much and she said $1.00.  He only had a $5.00 bill on him so we settled it for $5.00.  We put in several hundred dollars of mechanical work over the year...especially tires.  So now we have this bright Green-colored, no power steering or anything else, four-door compact car.  It's actually pretty funny how this thing just keeps going and going.  Anyway, as you might have guessed...he loves this car.  I hate it.

Ok, the above photo is actually a hatchback model of the Geo Metro we have...BUT it is exactly this color and from the front looks just like this one.  The (below) shot looks just like Greeny too.  We call him Greeny.



So why in heavens kingdom is this man SO insistent that we drag our family down the East Coast in this little pearl?  I have a 3year old and a 10 year old.  When Hubby makes a right-hand turn he jabs me with his elbow.  I cannot survive a family vacation in these close (Car) confines!  It is 22 hours of driving!!!

I say we need a minivan for this trip.  More to come on the dilemma of "How" to get there!

Epcot! (Home of The Big Ball)

My son calls it the Big Ball, but we all know it is the SpaceShip Earth Ride.  I LOVE IT!  I had to miss it on my last visit unfortunately.

The SpaceShip Earth "ball" is one of the first things you will come to upon entry into the Epcot Park, preceded only by rows of memorials.  It is an impressive structure and a wonderful introduction to the purpose of Epcot itself...and into the future-wise mind of it's creator, Mr. Walt E Disney himself.  Walt drew up the plans for this attraction before his departure from this world.  and now, there it stands!

**When you leave the park at night there are "magical" twinkling sidewalk squares.  As you exit, come around the righthand side of SpaceShip Earth and you will cross right over them!

One of my favorite views in all of The Walt Disney Area.  I love it so much.

Once you get past the majesty of the park's entrance and take in all the mystery...there are so very many places to see here.  You simply must do it in 2 days.

DAY 1

Future World is open from 9am to 6pm and The World Showcase opens 11am to 9pm.

SO!  Let's linger in the doorway, shall we?  On your first trip, definitely ride the SpaceShip Earth first.  If you have kids, do the more interactive places early-on and when they are more tired, jump in line to see an attraction.  Here is our first day Itinerary:

9am, be there when the park opens!

1. Spaceship Earth
2. Innoventions East
3. Sea Pavillion
4. Land Pavillion, lunch inside Land Pavillion.
5. Innoventions West
6. Imagination Pavillion with Figment

After this, take an excursion to World Showcase.  Stop and get the Kimmunicators before crossing over the bridge to Canada.

Tour the entire World from Canada through to Mexico (from right , circling about and exiting from the left) On the first day visit, head home after this...do not stay for Illuminations.  Instead, do this on the 2nd day.

Here are the highlights of World Showcase, according to me...that cannot be missed.

OH CANADA!

There is a Show...a "Canada Experience".  My favorite place is the gardens.  It is just majestic.  Lex loves the waterfalls.

 

UNITED KINGDOM

I (heart) the UK!  I really adore the ambiance of the UK pavillion... so adorable!  And I always buy a gift here at one of the shops...usually tea.

Tune into the next Blog Entry to continue around the World Showcase!

More Walt Disney World Itineraries

So in my last Blog, I covered Magic Kingdom Half-Day and Full-Day itineraries.  Assuming you are traveling from anywhere outside of Florida, you will want to visit parks for at least 4 days...because there are four parks.  As mentioned in past blogs, there are also many Miniature Golf courses, The Wide World of Sports Complex, The two WaterParks and much, much more!

So let's head to the AMAZING...HollyWood Studios!

Typically, this park closes at 7 or 8pm.  Some of the best Dining is here in this park.  There are character breakfasts and Dinner Shows and something (to eat) for every budget.  Prepare yourself to feel transformed to the Hayday of movies...the era of Walt Disney Animation Studios...to Hollywood!

Our first stop will be to pick-up Showtimes Schedules. 

We want to see Fantasmic, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, The Stunts show and any other programs that might be available during our day.  This gives us an idea how to flow through the park.  If there is an early show for Beauty and the Beast, that will be our FIRST stop.  The Fantasmic Show will be at 7pm, for which we will need to get seated at 6pm.  The Osborne Family Lights Display will be in the evening, so we will want to try and see that before lining up for Fantasmic, although these are at opposite ends of the park.  The Lights, Motors, Action! show can wait till afternoon.

SO!  Let's get started...our route will take us up Hollywood blvd (from the entrance) and maybe down Sunset to see B and B...then over to The Aerosmith Rockin'RollerCoaster.  Backtracking to Hollywood blvd once again, we can enter the enclosed pavillion where we may see Disney Junior Live on Stage...then The Magic of Disney Animation.

then the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Walt Disney: One Man's Dream.

From here, we may pass under the PIXAR gateway and get in what I can only guess will be very very long lines for Toy Story Mania...or we can backtrack out the pavilion entrance to go on The Great Movie Ride

Which is directly accross from the famous Sorcerors Hat
 ( a cheesy gift shop underneath)

We can come out of that ride and eat at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre, then off to Star Tours and Indiana Jones.  We have not been to Drew Carey's Sounds Dangerous...so we could go there.

Then off to the Muppets 3D and a character-greeting hotspot near Mama Melrose's..we met Mater and Lightning there last time!

The kids will want to spend an hour or so playing inside of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" Playground.

Oh it is a wonder!  My kids will barely be ready to leave after an hour here!!!

So after the Stunts show, there is time to grab a snack and maybe even to be part of the "American Idol Experience" Audience...last time I was a contestant performing up on the stage.  But it took so much of our park time away from the family that I will not do it again this year.

So off to FANTASMIC!

We will want some pre-packed snacks in our bag or purse because inside we will sit and wait a long while for our show and the drinks and food will be pricey.  You cannot walk-in carrying any open food from the park, but at least you can have something like a granola bar in your bag!

After Fantasmic...HOME (Resort Room)

Creating your Vacation Daily Itinerary

Hi again!

I LOVE planning my family's Walt Disney World Vacations.  It is the best part of my year.  I start in January, planning our December trips to Florida.  With so many details, and so much advice out there about HOW-TO and WHEN-TO and WHERE-TO-STAY...well, let's just say there is a plethora of resource on this topic.

I always start with the Birnbaum's Guide.  I buy a new one every two years and review the newest ones by paying a little visit to my nearby AAA office.  In about 15 minutes time, I am updated.  I purchase a new one every two years for my personal use at home.  2012 is shaping up to be a period of much change at WDW and so this means that I cannot rely on past itineraries...plus my children are changing now too.

SO!  We "RoadTrip-it" from RI to FL.  This takes 22 hours of driving over 2 days time.  Day 1 is SUNDAY.

Day 1.  SUNDAY

• Arrive at Resort, 2pm...check-in and unpack.
• 4pm Stroll around Resort (All-Star Movies) and see the giant Icons.  Make our plans for playtime at resort.
• 6pm board BUS to Magic Kingdom and spend nightime there until park closes.

MAGIC KINGDOM EVENING ITINERARY

Enter park at Main Gates and Board The Train at Main Street.  Take a scenic train tour around the entire park!  This is for the kids' benefit to remind them of all the places they have visited before and loved...it is so easy to forget.  SADLY, we will be missing our favorite spot, ToonTown.

After the round trip return to Main Street and leave train.  There are character meet and greets at Town Hall on Main Street now that the Judges Tent is no longer here.  If the children are interested and the lines are not too long, we can see who is around to meet.  Then, a stroll up Main street and perhaps just in time to see the Mickey & Minnie Dance Show at the Castle.  Turning left, and heading through the castle gates , we enter Fantasyland.  My goal on this trip is to ride the following attractions immediately!:

1.  It's a Small World  

2.  Haunted Mansion

3.  Pirates of the Caribbean

(in Adventureland, not FantasyLand)

It is a little goal, but the lines could be long, so I expect we may wait 45 minutes in each.  By going on these attractions Sunday night eliminates the wait for them on a regular full day visit and guarantees my kids will be more patient...after all, they just sat in the car for 8 hours to get here right??  They need to stand in a line!

 Assuming the park will be closing at 10pm, we have from 7pm to 10pm to accomplish these 3 rides that are close together. 

This is out of sequence, but next I will talk about the full-day at Magic Kingdom that will follow in a few days from the above time.

MAGIC KINGDOM FULL DAY ITIERARY

• Breakfast at Resort
• Grab earliest bus over to MK (approx 8am)
• Enter Park and stroll Main Street, turning right to enter the Bridge to TomorrowLand!
• Head Directly to BuzzLightyear Attraction and then Stitch and The TomorrowLand Metro!
• I want to ride Space Mountain! And then The Tomorrowland Speedway (for Lex)

This brings us to early afternoon because of the lines

• Lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
• Alice in Wonderland Teacups ride
• Carousel
• Fantasia
• Pooh's Thoughtful Spot
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Snow White's Scary Story Ride
• Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• TinkerBell's Shop!

This will be evening...Lex will be exhausted so we will need to find some way for him to rest.  We could let him sleep in the carriage while we wait in line to visit Ariel (Mermaid) at her Grotto or browse gift shops or board the Steamboat.  There are street shows to catch and the lights will start going on.  

After the Little one has had his siesta, we should head to Adventureland for the Jungle Cruise (better done in the daytime btw) and take a liesurely boat tour.  Line for this could be long...Then the Enchanted Tiki Room if the lines are not too long.  We could skip that because we have done it before.  While in Adventureland, maybe the Magic Carpets of Alladin?  Then to Frontierland and the Hall of Presidents, The Swiss Family Robinson TreeHouse and Tom Sawyer Island (by boat).  If we decide to go for it, there is The ThunderMountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.

This Treehouse has always fascinated me!  Lex has never walked it and I have never seen it in the nightime.

 

By this time, it is evening and the Fireworks will begin soon.  After all the walking and rides and lines, we will all be feeling very exhausted.  We like to grab a snack at the Liberty Square area and then stroll...If we can find a place near the Tomorrowland Bridge and the Rose Gardens, that is a favorite place of mine to watch the castle change colors and to see the Fireworks display.

 

 

 

So this is one way to catch the higlights. 

 

 



Choose a THEME for your next Family Trip!

We are now in the throws of planning our third trip to Walt Disney World, Florida (WDW).  Unfortunately, our budget restrictions have not changed and so our trip is shaping up to be very similar to past trips.  With a little innovative thinking, I have decided that one of the main areas where I can express creativity in the planning of this trip is by creating a new theme for the visit.
The first trip was to celebrate Annika's 5th Birthday.
The second trip was Lex' First visit AND Annika's 8th birthday.
This next trip, Annika will turn 11.  But I do not want to focus this trip on any one traveller.  I want the theme to be more original then that.
So I have been thinking about what each person wants to get out of this trip.  Let's start with Daddy..David.  He wants a low-budget, low-stress vacation where he can watch his children get excited and no doubt, feel some satisfaction for creating it.  I can handle that...CHECK
Next is Annika, who loves to learn new things and be hands-on in exploring and discovering but HATES rides and amusement parks in general.  So she will need to engage in activities and experiences that do not involve rides.  I can handle that...CHECK
Then there is Lex, who will be four and who loves pretty much everything!  He will enjoy rides and character visits and playgrounds and pools.  Aside from exhaustion which will be a main part of his trip, he will be easy...so...CHECK
Last is Me.  I want what David wants pretty-much, but I am also like Lex because that childlike side of me really wants to go on every ride.  Then again, I am like Annika, I also long to discover something new or deepen my passion for discovering more about Walt Disney and the creation of the Parks and Resorts.  I know that David is also a person who enjoys learning new facts and likes history.  So the History of the creation of Walt Disney World is a wonderful backdrop for our trip.

What conclusion can I draw from this?  A trip for discovery, collecting, experiencing, inspiring and relaxing.  We certainly chose the right destination!  We will travel in a budget-friendly way by choosing the least-costly but still Disney-owned resort.  There are four in this value category.  Add to that we will travel at a value-period of the year and still get the benefit of the Christmas-themed park.  Christmas at Disney is practically a necessity for me now.  We started Pin-collecting on our last trip, so we have that to continue.  Pins can get expensive, but it is a fun and engaging hobby.  The pins are so beautiful.  As a family, I have been gathering any and all "old" or "used" Tee-shirts that reflect any Disney themes or parks or characters.  I have a found a really awesome website to purchase Disney merchandise and I receive regular updates:

www.laughingplacestore.com

So this is the first step to anything enriching...asking and answering the question, "WHY"?

Our "why" is answered with a simple, "because life is for the living".  So let's enrich our visit, our trip and our family connection by embracing each little step and victory and each thing we see and hear and feel.  Let us make loose enough plans to allow room to discover while having enough of a plan to get us to the place we should be.

Walt Disney, the man who inspires

Walt Elias Disney was an inspirational visionary and animating pioneer.  His vision and faith in himself is what created the fascinating culture of Disney that is so very American.  For me, Walt Disney is the heartbeat of the American dream.  He lived it and inspired it in others and somehow the company that bears his name to this day still holds those high standards.  Roy, Walt's dear older brother, was the most loyal companion a man could have.  He honored the vision of Walt on his deathbed, and worked tirelessly to see Walt Disney World Florida emerge.  Fortunately, Roy was every bit the businessman his brother had been and secured the perfect predetermined location along the East Coast, in Central Florida.  Where there once were miles of swampland, there is now my family's favorite getaway.  I am proud to have lived in a time when I could be affected by the Life of Walt Disney.

The characters that created my childhood were born in his mind.  Perhaps these were common stories and not original, but they were brought to screen in the most original way and that was how I got to know them!  They are one of the only reliable parts of my childhood memories.  I salute you "uncle Walt", Mr. Disney sir.  I cannot wait to take my children back to WDW in 2012 and experience all the wonder...the secret places and the hidden Mickeys.  As I stroll the World, I will happily reflect on the things I have learned about Walt and his way of tributing special memories by embedding them in these experiences.  I will learn to cherish nostalgia, even if it means borrowing someone else's memory!  I will boldly keep up with technology (Epcot), even if it frightens or befuddles me.  I will stand in awe.  I promise I will dream.

Teaching my children to appreciate these details, this story of Walt and his life...this is a very important part of my life.  I suppose it is a hobby.  Walt Disney World and Disney's vision is a hobby for me.  Walt's fascination with his characters and his enthusiastic leadership style and his confidence...inspire me to follow in his footsteps.  I want my children to be like this man.  I want them to achieve more than could be imagined.  If they do not see it with their own eyes, I want them to imagineer it. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396555/quotes?qt=qt0391972

Favorite Walt Disney World Attractions Part 1

The difference between Disney World in Florida and DisneyLand in California is that in Florida, the expansive Resort area involves 4 Parks, 2 Waterparks, Downtown Disney Area, Campground, Sports Complex and much much much more.  The reason for our interest in Florida is the proximity to where we live. Being from the East Coast gives us an easy connection to falling in love with a Resort like WDW which is a two day trip down the coast along Route 95.  We have made the trip before.  We have flown once and didn't like it, so even if driving is hard, it is our preference.  Here are some highlights along the journey if you drive:

The top of the East Coast is Maine, then New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.  Now in New Jersey, if you are driving, you must use the NJ Turnpike in order to shave 2 hours off your trip.  It isn't pretty...and there is a toll...but you have to do it.  My advice is to try and make this part of the trip in the dark of night, when at least the view is speckled with lights in the night.  Anyway, enough about New Jersey...next you pass through Delaware which is extremely small and then Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  When you hit the line of SC and NC you must stop at "South of the Border".

Honestly, PedroLand (SOB), is small but packed with silly thrills and inexpensive.  We like to stop and stay overnight at the SOB Motel.  It takes us a good 11 hours of driving to reach this point so, plan ahead!  After North Carolina, you hit Georgia and then enter Florida at Jacksonville more or less.  From the border, WDW is 2 hours away!  Along the highway you will see the Universal Parks Resorts and soon you will come to your turn..."Welcome to Walt Disney World".

After you have checked out your resort and ventured into one of the four parks of WDW, you will compile a list of your favorites. 

Annika (11 years old):

• Cali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom
• Ariel's Grotto in FantasyLand at Magic Kingdom
• It's a Small World in FantasyLand at Magic Kingdom
• The Metro in TomorrowLand inside the Magic Kingdom
• The American Idol Experience at Hollywood Studios
• KimPossible Mission in Epcot
• "Finding Nemo, the Musical" at Animal Kingdom

Alex(4 years old):

• The Tomorrowland Speedway at Magic Kingdom
• Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground at Hollywood Studios
• Pooh's Thoughtful Spot Playground at Magic Kingdom
• The Dinosaur Boneyard Playground at Animal Kingdom
• Canada Pavillion waterfalls at World Showcase inside Epcot

David(Dad):

• Haunted Mansion in FantasyLand at Magic Kingdom
• Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom
• Being with Family..anywhere in the park (how cute)
• **Looking forward to "Soarin' " at Epcot inside the Land Pavillion in Future world
• Other FutureWorld Attractions that have tech/video game features.

AngelMarie(Mom):

• (can't miss):  Buzz Lightyear attraction in TomorrowLand at Magic Kingdom
• All rides in FantasyLand at Magic Kingdom, at least once!
• Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios
• American Idol Experience (SINGING!)
• The Oasis and Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom
• The entire World Showcase at Epcot
• SpaceShip Earth at Future World in Epcot

So these are my family's favorites.  There are lots of smaller attractions or events that are not to be missed...little programs that are easy to overlook.  Even the Hidden Mickey's can be a blast.  There is Pin Collecting throughout the Park which is not so much a passtime as a passion!  The quaint backdrops that create the ambiance for your visit are imagineering at it's best!

Annika discovered the Chicken Coop from The Hannah Montana Movie...it is a little hidden treasure you can find if you take the "Backlot Tour" at Hollywood Studios!  At the time of this picture, we were HUGE HM fans...XxOo Miley!

This WALL of animals winds and curves and is probably 200 feet long.  It is a beautiful mural you will pass as you enter Rafiki's Planet Observatory.  This can be found in Animal Kingdom

Annika cannot fully appreciate the excitement of this spot at Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom.  You see, as a child, I grew up watching the Walt Disney version of the Sword in the Stone.  To come across it here near Cinderella's Golden Carousel was like a dream come true for me!  People line up to pull on it...LOL

http://youtu.be/TuAc8-GyQjg

Inside Future World in Epcot, vist the Sea Pavillion.  It is an expansive indoor aquarium with a Manatee tank and 2 "Nemo" attractions.  This photo is a little indoor exploration area based on characters from the "Finding Nemo" movie...Bruce the Shark and the shipwreck are a little sopt for the kids to crawl through stuff and pose for photos.