The New Fantasyland!! TONS of pics!

Been home for almost two weeks and finally I have the chance to start writing some blogs about our trip!

It really was a fantastic trip! The kids are both at great ages. My youngest could finally go on almost everything. That was so so great!! So many attractions we can FINALLY enjoy together as a family!! No more making one parent wait while the other goes on with kidlet #1!

We got to experience some pretty cool things on our trip, and one was the new Fantasyland expansion! It wasn't "officially" opened yet...we missed that by one day. We came home on December 5th. But it was all open and we got to experience everything!

The one thing I wanted to experience most was the new Little Mermaid attraction, since it is one of my favorite movies! :) I was prepared to wait in line for it...longer than we normally wait. But to our surprise, since we went there first thing, there was no line! Walked right on!!! And it was so so awesome!!

Eric's castle :)

Inside the queue.

There she is! Not a great photo though :(

Outside the attraction.

After the ride, we checked out the Ariel meet n greet in her new grotto. Waited maybe 10 minutes!!!

We checked out Gaston's Tavern next. Very cool! We weren't ready for a snack but vowed to come back another time.

Inside one of the dining rooms.

We then headed over to Storybook Circus, which was also still dead at this time of the morning. We rode Dumbo right away, and even though there was no wait, we let the kids check out the new waiting area. It was cool, but I think I expected more. It was real nice not having to wait in a long line and I bet the double Dumbos really helps during busy times.

The Dumbo play area.

We lucked out and did character meet n greets, which was really cool to see Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie all decked out in circus wear!

We also met with Pluto and Marie in another tent. We rode the reimagined Barnstormer then headed back into the other part of the expansion for an early lunch at Be Our Guest. The place is GORGEOUS!! Like, unbelievably amazing. I only wish the food would have been as amazing :( We got in line before 11...pretty long already. I think we got in and ordered somewhere around 11:30 ish. The touchscreen was real nice and there were CMs there to help. We sat in the main ballroom and the food arrived shortly after. Nice to have it delivered like that! I had the croche monsieur sandwich, which was just a fancy name for grilled ham and swiss. It really wasn't anything special. And it just came with regular Disney fries. I guess I assumed because the menu said pomme frites it would be something different and special....though I do know that just means friench fries in French. Oh well! Hubby had the steak sandwich, which he said was okay, and the French onion soup, which was pretty blah. He was really disappointed since he is a connoisseur of French onion soup and must try it everywhere. My daughter didn't eat her kids pork meal...and when I tried it, I wasn't overly impressed. But the place was gorgeous. Maybe dinner is better :)

On the bride leading into Beast's castle.

Two of these lions flank the doors.

The hallway leading to the ordering room.

The ordering room.

The main ballroom.

My sandwich.

The blah soup.

The rose room. Kind of a dark photo...but it was pretty dark in there.

The rose!

The third dining room.

Mosaic on the way out.

One thing I noticed that to me made SUCH a huge improvement to the current Fantasyland was the moving of Dumbo. It really was in an awful spot and it made maneuvering through extremely difficult at busy times of the day. Without it, the land feels so open and so easy to walk through. Kudos on the move Disney!

New entranceway to the expansion, where Dumbo used to be.

Our second day at Magic Kingdom, we got some tasty treats from Gaston's and got to meet n greet with him :)

LeFou's brew, giant cinnamon bun, and chocolate croissant, all bought with DDP snack credits :)

So there you have it! I think the changes to Fantasyland are wonderful and I look forward to seeing it when it's all finished later on with the new Dwarves mine car ride :)

Starting to worry about everything :(

Our next Disney trip is less than 2 weeks away!!! It feels like it's been forever since we've been and there are so many new things to do and experience. And this trip is going to be so cool because my son is finally tall enough to ride almost everything. We can actually go on roller coasters as a family!!!

But now the anxiety is kicking in. I worry about the weather. I worry about crowds and being able to do everything we want. I worry about getting sick while there. 

And now I have to worry about my daughter and her concussion recovery. It happened over a week ago...so when we go, it will have been 3 weeks since. The doctor told us she can resume normal physical activity a week after her last headache. We are pretty sure the concussion was mild- no vomiting or prolonged pain- and she only was a little dizzy that night. Her last headache was the afternoon after it happened, which was over a week ago. She has felt like a million bucks since then. And I'm left wondering what she can and can't ride. The doctor was supposed to call me so we can discuss this...but no call yet.

I know no trip can be perfect, but I have been planning this trip for so long and have been looking forward to it for about two years. It had to be postponed once, due to my dad's health issues (they were supposed to go with us) and then they ended up backing out (for no-health related issues). I can't help but want the trip to be as perfect as it can be.

It's shirt making time!!!

I absolutely LOVE making fun shirts to wear in Disney! The first time we did it was out last family trip two years ago. The plan was to make the Mickey tie-dye shirts and maybe one more. Well, that snowballed into park icon shirts for each park, and TWO tie dye shirts since we already had enough dye for them. So yeah....we had 6 sets of shirts! It was really fun to wear them and we got so any compliments. Hubby loved that! And he loved having outfits for each day already planned ahead of time.

So now it's a tradition! We started talking about this trip's shirts a few months ago. But we weren't going to do as many....maybe 2 or 3. Well......as I'm sure you can guess, that didn't happen. We only have 5 sets though! LOL! I blame Pinterest. There were so many cool ideas and we couldn't pick only 2 or 3!

So far only one set is completely done, and this was our own design :) No borrowing for this one!

We plan on taking lots of pics in them and using them for our Christmas cards! :) These were so fun to make and they came out so much better than we'd planned!

Taking little kids- why you shouldn't wait!

I hear many many parents state they are not taking their children to Disney World until they are old enough to remember it all. This seems kinda ridiculous to me. Kids who are 1 or 2, even 3, don't remember anything from that age, so any vacation they're taken on will be a long forgotten trip. So why not go to Disney?

To me, vacations are all about family bonding, fun, togetherness. Enjoying each other without the responsibilities of home, whether it's an amusement park, a beach, camping, historical sites, museums, parks. The point is to be together and have fun. And young children aren't going to remember playing in the sand or roasting marshmallows either.

My first, and probably the most important reason, to take young children to Disney is that Disney knows how to cater to families. We've done family vacation to other places...not so easy. The restaurants aren't entertaining and the kids get bored. It's not always easy to find a bathroom or somewhere to change a diaper or nurse a baby. People give you dirty looks if your kid cries or throws a little tantrum. Strollers are frowned upon and often hard to maneuver in many places. And if you've ever tried to take a stroller on a sandy beach, you know it's nearly impossible! LOL! Disney makes traveling and touring with kids so easy...effortless. Which allows parents more time to relax and enjoy themselves.

Secondly, compared to other amusement parks, Disney does it right when it comes to families and small children. If you go to any Six Flags park or other similar park, you're lucky if you find 2-3 family friendly rides. Mostly they have thrill rides or rides just for small children. There is rarely anything parents and kids can enjoy together. Well, guess what, the majority of Disney attractions are family friendly. We even took our son on most things when he was only 9 months old. Obviously the roller coasters are out, and a few others, but Disney knows how to make attractions, and Broadway-style shows, that families can enjoy together.

Reason number three is all about money and the money-saving aspects of taking young kids to Disney. This is the only time you can take them and not pay for them. Once the kids turn 3, they need a park pass and if you decide to do the Disney Dining Plan, you need to pay for a plan for them too. When the kids are under 3, all you pay for is the adults. A value resort room is roughly $100 a night, give or take $10-15 depending on the season. In my experience, it's hard to find a hotel or accommodations anywhere else in the country for much less than that. Add on your entertainment, which in Disney is the parks. For two adults, you need to figure roughly $500 for 2 basic park passes for a week, which includes all four main parks and all the attractions and shows within them. Anywhere else you go, you have to pay entertainment costs, whether it be museum entrance fees, mini golf fare, Six Flags entry, etc... Yes, camping is pretty cheap, and the entertainment is pretty much free, hiking and what not, but it is not easy to take small children camping. I can't see how that is a relaxing vacation. And I guess if you take a beach vacation and do nothing but sit on the beach everyday, you can eliminate entertainment costs there too. But, if you're like me and like to do and see things while on vacation, it adds up fast.

Lastly is the memories parents will have. The kids will not remember it...we know that. They won't remember anything from that age. But you as a parent sure will remember it, and remember the smiles on their faces going on fun rides for the first time, experiencing attractions together. You will have pictures of your toddler with Mickey and Donald, excited and happy with a pure joy that wanes as kids get older. You will remember how it it felt to sit in front of the castle at night as fireworks explode above, cradling your sleeping child in your arms.

We're heading West!!!

The second I read the details for Carsland at Disneyland, I had already started planning a trip out west!! We are HUGE Cars fans here and it's a must do for us. No "someday," no "maybe," no "when we get the chance." It was "we are going...I don't care how much it costs!"

For us, a trip to California involves a long cross-country flight. That is not cheap. The flight itself is not much less than our entire Disney World package for this year, including resort and park passes for 7 nights. (We got free dining, so technically the $2300 includes food too.) But yeah...I priced flights and for the four of us, we'll be lucky to do it for $2000. We will most likely fly home from Las Vegas, which should save us about $400.

So yeah, our vacation will include a night in Vegas. And a night in Hollywood. And a couple more nights in So Cal, in addition to the 5 nights at Disneyland. If we're flying that far for that much money, we're sure making it into a grand vacation!

In the end, the trip will cost almost double what we pay for a trip to WDW. It will be longer though...11 nights versus 7. And we have to rent a car for the second half of the CA trip, which is something we never do at WDW. But I know it will all be worth it to walk down the street in Radiator Springs!!

Decided against Be Our Guest for dinner

Everyone in the Disney community was all a flutter when it was officially announced that the new Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom would open on November 19th. We arrive only 9 days after that!!! When I made my original ADRs, I made one for Liberty Tree Tavern with the hope of canceling it for the fancy new place. Not that we don't love LTT, we do. The food is awesome, but since they discontinued the characters there, we haven't been back. There always seemed to be somewhere else that sounded more fun.

But anyway, our ressie at BOG would be the final piece in making this upcoming trip fantastic!!! Until I saw the official menu posted just a  few days ago. It's not all that great, in my honest opinion. Did I really want to give up a good meal for a so-so one? Did I really want to get up early and wait on hold for who knows how long...and possibly come up empty-handed anyway?

After talking with hubby, we decided to skip it. The lunch menu for BOG sounds awesome and much more up our alley. And since it's a counter service place during the day, we can still dine there and see how cool it is. Win win!

I perused the Disney boards to see how my fellow Disney mega fans fared in the great ADR hunt. I read stories of it taking hours to even get through the phone lines, to hold for an hour or more, and not get a reservation. Others had luck, but not without hours of calling and trying to get through.

The Importance of Vacations

I think vacations are very important to one's sanity. Everyone needs a break from their jobs and life to relax, rejuvenate, spend time with their loved ones and reconnect. Daily life is so busy, so hectic...it's easy to get so involved in trying to make ends meet and provide our kids with an enriching life that we miss out on truly bonding.

If you're anything like me, you understand how unrelaxing being at home can sometimes be. Don't get me wrong, I love my home and I love being lazy and relaxing here....but the dishes stare at me, the laundry piles, the phone rings.....life interrupts constantly. I cannot truly relax or bond with my family unless we escape our daily lives, and that means getting away from our home and all it's responsibilities.

We take a vacation every year, and it's really not a luxury, it is a must for us. Moneywise, we always make it happen even if it means giving up other things and sacrificing. We keep everything to a minimum and stick to a strict budget so we can make it happen. Last year we went to the beach for 6 days and I was unbelievably proud that we made a $300 food budget and stuck to it!!

Disney is our #1 vacation designation, and even that we manage to do on a strict budget. We stay in a value resort during value season, and luckily the last few years, have been able to take advantage of the free dining promotion. We look forward to these trips, these bonding experiences, the entire year. We can sit back and relax- no dishes to do, no laundry- and have fun with our kids.