Walt Disney World and Diagon Ally July 2014

We took a last minute trip to the World in July, it was planned a month before. Amazingly enough we got our magic bands within enough time.

In this cute box contained our bands to get into the 'World'.  We didn't get passes to the four parks in advance the only thing on our bands was our room access.  Its a little odd they send these to you in advance, what if we forgot them? Im sure it wouldn't be a big deal but Id be upset, these bands have your names on the inside and the color you wanted, who wouldn't want to show them off?  

We didn't wear them until we got to our resort. It was no ones business what we were doing and so we kept them in our bags, I didn't take the box just the bands. As DVC members we got these tabs that slip into the band. My youngest with a small wrist had to have hers modified, theres this gray removable part to fit her wrist a little easier. It helped a lot.  

When we arrived we decided to get season passes to the waterparks/Disney Quest. This combination pass was only obtainable at the 'World'. You can usually get passes/dining in advance and placed on your band before arriving.  Guest relations in downtown assisted us with the purchase and put the passes on our bands, they even gave us 'cards' just in case.  We hit the water park daily and quest on the rainy days.  It was fun to pass the time. I gotta be honest Disney Quest isn't as exciting as it used to be. The waterparks were fantastic as always, there was one day it rained in the middle of the day and we just waited it out.  Turned out to be a fantastic day. 

There was one day we decided to go to Diagon Ally and well we didn't wear our bands while we were there, whats the point?  People if you are not at the park or resort why are you wearing the bands?

On Tuesday was the opening day of Diagon Ally in Universal Studios and well I had to go!  Call me a nerd but I had to experience it.  We got there early or least I thought it was early.  9AM, yea that didn't work.  We were treated like cattle, following an endless line with grouchy/sticky people.. What the heck was I thinking.  

Well while in line I checked the wait time into the area:

Yea thats a 6 hour wait!

Not counting the line we were already on waiting to get into Diagon Ally!

We waited about two hours, maybe more just to get in!  

Finally got in and i gotta say it was SMALL!  

Loved this thing, it blew fire every so often. It was hot a hell in there and the wait for the ride just got longer and longer,  we had no intention of waiting another 6 hours to get on the ride.  It was insane cause it kept going down and the line was emptied. Once it was available again the line got long again. You weren't allowed to take anything so the lockers had a wait it self, just crazy. So we walked around and went into the many stores. I honestly wasn't impressed with the stores but the ambiance was completely amazing. We loved the experience at Olivanders wand shop.  The kid they selected just didn't get it and almost killed it for us, but again it was crazy to go opening day I know.  We were there an hour at the most. I wasn't happy that I wasted 2 hours for that.

So we tried the Hogwarts express. 

 

Yet another long line to wait in. The train is on the outside of Diagon Ally so you didn't have to go thru it to get on the train. This line was super long too, but at least there was AC in the waiting area.  Once we finally got on the train we weren't allowed to take photos. It was just a fun experience.  We went to Island of Adventure for a while and returned to Universal later that day via the train. You have take the train in each way for the full experience. Unfortunally they put a lot of people into the 'cabin' and on the return trip we were with another large family and they hogged the seats on both sides instead of sitting together, I was seated right onto of the door and didn't really get to see the 'door' effects.  

I would still recommend going but maybe not in a summer month. 

Disney Saratoga Springs - August 2012

Our first trip as DVC members we booked a short trip for our daughters birthday week. It was her 10th birthday.  Call us crazy we had the trip booked a month ahead and ended up purchasing a Prius on saturday and leaving on sunday! lol..

We left Sunday and arrived in Orlando around noonish and surprised they allowed us to check in early even though check in was not till 4.  It was my daughters wish to be by the pool and lucky for us we were by the stairs that was at the pool! We never got theme park tickets as it was such a short trip.  We stayed in a studio which had a large bed and a pull out sofa bed.  A kitchenette and large bathroom.  So we couldnt really cook but we had the ability to put things in the fridge and use the microwave.  SO think cold cuts for quick sandwiches. We actually went to Olive Garden, they had the deal with all you can eat pasta. We were able to take left overs and the waitress even gave us an extra dish! So we could nuke for dinner the next day! 

Downtown disney is just a short walk away, boat,bus or car ride away.

On her birthday they left her a ballon, button and a card from 'Mickey' on the cabinet!  How cute is that.   The pool was large with a slide, they had activities daily pool side and played music. The negative was that the ice machine was a million miles away on the other side of the building.  

Some people dont like this resort but we like it, we only stayed the one time but if I had the chance I would stay again. 

My disney cruise recap

I never got to finish blogging about my disney cruise trip! I wanted to blog each day but its been so long I cant remember much about it, except that I need to go again! lol  So here is a recap of the week.

It was a great trip, 7 nights with the mouse. There were so many activities on the ship that there was no way we were bored.  Our child went from wanting to disappear daily to the kids club to wanting to stay with us to experience things together.

I do have to say be sure to see the shows daily.  No matter what cruise line we have been on we have never been disappointed on a show. They always show two a night. One so that the early dining can see and the second so the late dining can see.

It always worked out and there was always enough room to sit. The 'actors' you start to recognize at the week goes along as they are preforming multiple roles.  They were all interesting.

They play movies in the theaters during the day and on the large screen at the top deck by the pool. They had kid exclusive events and adult exclusive events. Let me tell you that they never go beyond PG13 on the ship.

There were many opportunities to see characters on the ship as they would come out various times and multiple times during the week.

One night out to sea there it was called Pirates on the Caribbean!   Of course everyone on the ship was on the top deck to experience the event. There was dancing and music and then Mickey came out to rescue us and the FIREWORKS! Yes you heard that right, right off the ship there were fireworks.  Im pretty sure they were shot off the back of the ship as they had wet the decks and closed it off to people.  Amazing as it was you could see the other ships in the distance lol.  No doubt wanting to see the same fun stuff.

As an adult there were a lot of adult only events and I suggest to leave the kids and just spend time doing the 'adult' stuff. We learned so much about Disney, the ship, the crew, they even explain the patterns of the carpet!

The private island was just amazing. It was huge, the water was perfect! There were fish and sting rays in the water swimming with people! The food was right there for us, buffet style - your basic BBQ items. Notes: Be sure to have footwear - the sand and walk paths can get hot.  No need to carry much as there are chairs everywhere and your on an island alone with other cruise on the same ship! lol.

Ill never forget returning to the ship.  They give you a time to return and we started walking an hour before the start time.  As we got to the walking path these dark clouds came out of no where and just a quickly as they came it started to rain. People were running out of the water, it was funny. We had rain whipping us from all directions!

That afternoon we got back on the ship we got to see Brave in 3D - it was just released in the theater so that was a treat!

Since this cruise left from NY we had a stop in Port Canaveral! We got one day pass hopper to Disney World - it was the first time in our lives we hit all 4 parks in one day. Just riding on our favorite rides then heading to the next park lol.

Each night we ate at a different restaurant but remained with the same servers!  Our favorite was the black and white room which turned into color by the end of the meal.  But they were all fun. Each night was a theme and the menus matched that theme.

Disney cruise is a bit pricy but I loved it.

Disney Cruise 8 night cruise - Night One

Saturday our cruise ship was scheduled to leave NY harbor at 5PM.  During our Mandatory boat drill we stood there waiting.  We watched the other ship next to us depart port.

We were envisioning the captain 'driving' the ship in reverse. LOL.  It was moving pretty quickly.  We found out the Disney is the only fleet that has yellow lifeboats, or rather the ones that started the trend. Most ships have Red or Orange boats.

Of course leaving NY we had to take pictures of lady liberty.





Dont forget the world trade centers. In August 2001 we took this same voyage on our very first cruise and I have pictures of the originals, If I remember I will upload them.
During our tour of the ship we found out the madness to the carpet patterns. Now when you go on a ship you will start looking down everywhere.

They also explained that these three decks have various ceiling heights!  On deck 5 they are lower then on deck 4 with deck 3 having the highest ceilings.  The guide (Andy) explained that deck 5 is the 'kids' deck with the kids clubs mainly on this deck. The low ceiling gives kids the feeling of being 'tall' while they walk the deck.  When you are standing in the lobby of deck 3 and look up it also gives you the illusion that everything is so much higher! Its amazing.

The sculpture in the center there is also made by a famous guy that made the ones in Atlantis in the Bahamas, check out those photos in another post.

We passed the Buena Vista theater which is on deck 5. This theater shows movies pretty much all day.  In our room we got the schedule for the week. The Friday before we left Brave came out in the movies, not sure if you can see it in the image but they showed Brave in 3D on our cruise!  They also were showing the Avengers, Toy Story 3 and Reel Steel. What a treat!

The tour ended at Animators Palette.  This restaurant is black and white and changes color as you sit there for dining. Its interesting for sure.   This brings me to where do you eat on the cruise? 

On our key to the world cards there is a code on the front in our case it said  PLAPLLAP - what the heck did that mean? Well the first night our dinner was at Parrot Cay, the second night was in Lumiere's and third night was Animator's Palate. Then it repeated - Lumiere's is there two nights in a row because that was the day we were in Port Canaveral and were not eating on the ship. I think majority of people were off the ship that day.  There is also a buffet on deck 9 and two other places to grab a bite besides room service.  Eating times are posted on our cards, we had late seating 8:15PM which is kinda late, early sitting was at 5:15PM. 

Our room: We had an ocean view room that fit 3, only 3. 

Upon entry there was a small bathroom with a toilet and sink, then another bathroom with the shower and sink.  Closet opposite the bathrooms then the room.  There was a bed, queen size I think, and the sofa which flipped down into a twin bed. There are drawers next to the closet and opposite that sofa.  The TV is also opposite the sofa with curtains separating the space into 'two' areas. In front of the bed is also a cabinet with shelves. There are nightstands next to the bed and a table in the room. This room also had a door to the room next door. 

Since we had late dining we went to the early show every day. There is also 'in between' shows.  The early show usually started at 6:30 and lasted an hour, dinner was 8:15, they constantly told us no need to wait on line since our seats were reserved. Our servers were fantastic and our dining mates we also very nice it made for a lovely week.  Every show we attended was fantastic!  Make a point to go you will love it. 

Our Disney Cruise out of NY

So it was a surprise we really didnt tell anyone in our family cause the all wanna go with us but we went on our first Disney Cruise!

It left NY June 30 and returned to NY on July 8th.  Upon arrival to NY pier we were greeted by staff with Mickey hands the large white ones you may see at the parks. It was neat. They took our luggage from there. *When you book any Disney trip they send you a nice booklet with all the information you may need for your travel including luggage tags for your bags.  We had booked a special rate so our tags had no room numbers. Lucky for me I logged in the night before and was able to see a room number!  We were on deck 2 with a window, we had an ocean view room.  On a cruise you really dont spend much time in your room so no reason to get a balcony.

During online check in we had to pick our arrival time to the ship.  We managed to get 12:30 which is not that bad. We got thru security with our passports, got the ship schedule for the rest of the day, got our key to the world cards, registered our child for the clubs, pictures taken, then on to the ship.

When we got to the doors they asked our family name.  They walked us through the doors and say 'The Disney Magic welcomes the 'fill in name' family!'" - Boy was I floored! Never had I seen that before.

The first place to visit was the buffet! We ate lunch and then walked around. There was a ship tour at 2pm which was our first stop.  During the tour they showed us some 'hot spots' on the ship. It was nice to know ahead of time where these were. At around 3pm our room was ready and our luggage was slowly making its was to the room. At 4pm was the mandatory drill.  Everyone had to get to deck 4 and to their muster station - ours was N. It was easy to locate and we waited there until the drill was over.  It took maybe 15 minutes and then we were free to do what we wanted.

Before we even got on the ship everyone got one of these. A Personal Navigator. My husband would say the Nagivator. lol.

Any who during the tour we first did they explained how to read these. Page one shows at the top where we are, the date, evening attire and ship aboard times.  There are highlights showing the special 'show' of the evening, special events like 'Adventures Away' and other tips. There is also the menu at the bottom, drink of the day and weather.  The dinner menu for this night varies based on the eating location. Inside is a detailed schedule of events for Family, Kids, Adults and anything Special going on. It looks like a TV Guide if you remember what that looks like.  Page 3 shows highlights and on the back more tips and hours of the restaurants.  More details on these later.

Check back for Our Disney Cruise day one part two - evening!

Booking Disney Cruise line

Ok I wont talk numbers here... just details.

We booked our cruise less then 55 days to cruise so we got a 'special' rate.  We have no idea where our room is, we wont know until we get to the ship.  We booked a room with a window or two. Depends on what we get I guess.  After booking we saw we could have booked a room with a balcony for a few bucks more and well since we got a special rate the only way to change it would be to cancel our current booking and rebook. The problem was that the cancellation fee was 100% the cost of the trip so well that didnt make sense.

I called Disney Cruise line and they told me the same thing, but they also said to wait till we get to the pier and ask.  There may be something available. So we are basically on standby.  It does make planning a little tricky since we are not sure where we will be on the ship.  We could be on ANY deck!  If we knew we could plan ahead meaning, we would know how close the restaurant is to our room, and the pool and everything else.

I guess it does not really matter as long as we have fun right?

Well on the website you can start planning your off shore excursions and on the ship activities, mainly the spa and adult restaurant.

The cruise we are taking is an 8 night trip from NY to the Bahamas - this trip includes a one day hopper pass to the Disney Theme parks the day we are 'parked' in Port Canaveral. Its the only day we will have to get a meal for our selves.

While I castaway cay I read all our meals are included, in Nassau we shouldnt be so far away that we cant go back to the ship and eat. We have been there before.

I am going to try to write everything down and blog it all when I get back. We are so excited to be able to take this trip!

Finally a trip planned!

Ok  this year was looking very dismal for vacations... we have 3 weeks to use in our timeshare and well dunno if thats happening. We have spoke of using it during Christmas, just get away from our family you know.

Anyhow, we just booked a cruise on Disney!  8 night cruise from NY - its hitting Nassau, Cape Cay and Port Canaveral.  Oh we are so excited!

We got a passport for our youngest child - took record time to get it - just two weeks!  And in about 40 days we will be in the ocean! I love taking cruises.

OK we have been to Nassau before, but my daughter has not. I am so looking forward to this trip as it may be the only trip we take this year.

I will blog our trip, keep posted.

Travel this year looks dismal...

We are trying to plan trips this year and its looking very dismal, we are so sad.

We have so many timeshare weeks to use and not enough time available to use them. I am thinking of using one of the weeks in Las Vegas during ASD in the summer. Since I have wanted to go to this show as it is one of the largest events with hundreds of vendors that I would love to see all in one place! That could be a business expense, oh yea!

Then we are talking about going to Williamsburg VA and use one week there. We have been to Virginia Beach which was nice, if we get to go it will be in July. Perfect for a visit to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens.

We then have another week available to us that we will most likely not use. Its getting frustrating to keep having to bank these weeks and even more frustrating trying to rent them out to someone else. Its a great buy but I cant find a buyer and those companies that promise to rent your week are so bogus!

Its also tough finding the funds to travel. I hate stay cations, I truly believe we HAVE to go somewhere. I dont care where just somewhere. Driving to Virginia is a great deal, its about an 8 hour drive and depending on gas prices it will still be low priced for us. Since we stay at a timeshare we will be able to save on buying meals by cooking inside. People think timeshares are expensive but you have to remember that majority they come with a fully equipped kitchen. How much would you spend on eating out daily for ALL your meals and snacks? Since we mainly drive to our vacation spots we can being everything with us or find a local market and stock up on things.

When we went to Hawaii we stayed in a timeshare. We were there for two weeks! Can you imaging how much we would spend on meals? We were able to bring spices with us on the plane and thats about it so we had to buy everything. If you plan you meals carefully you can buy enough food and not have waste. While in Hawaii we purchased one cereal box, one tub of ice cream, one box of pasta and sauce, small packs of meats. Things like that really help save money. Even instant items that dont require a lot of ingredients. We love our timeshare and actually dread staying at a hotel since we are 'spoiled' by them.

Since we will drive to Williamsburg we can shop for everything locally and bring it with us and what ever we dont use we bring back home! Perfect! OK there will be 3 or 4 of us on this trip. 3 meals for 4 people with each person averaging $10 per person per meal... figure $40 per meal or $120 per day or $840 for the week! We rent our time share for just $900 a week! Thats a two bedroom that usually sleep between 6-8 depending on the location. You would spend that much on a week of eating out! Eat breakfast in daily save $280. Make sandwiches for lunch and buy items for dinner you could save another $280 on lunch and $280 for dinner! Its a no brainer.

Anyone want to rent a timeshare week!

What do you do for a last minute trip?

We dont usually have them but sometimes to occur.

We found out on Tuesday that we had to be in Atlantic City for Friday AM! Talk about last minute. We had to rearrange out schedules for work and school then we had to locate a place to stay, it was an overnight stay since we needed to be there for 8AM. Atlantic City is a 3 hour drive for us so we had no choice to drive down Thursday night and stay over.

Lucky for us the event blocked out rooms for us. We were able to get a room at the Trump Plaza for $45 for the one night. The hotel was nice but the beds were really small. There were 3 of us and two beds, I dont think they were full size beds. We couldnt move at all otherwise we would have kicked each other around. The room had a view of the ocean but it was dark when we arrived and dark when we checked out so we didnt see much.

Our event was at the Atlantic City Convention center... that place charges $15 to park so we walked over from the hotel. It was crazy since that day was VERY windy! We were freezing but saved money. Parking at the hotel was $5 for the day so we just left our car there from the day before.

We have another trip up to Binghamton NY coming up. We have to be there for 8AM so this another last minute trip we will be booking a hotel room. The drive is about 2 hours but it would mean I would have to leave my area at around 5:30am. Thats just too early for me lol.

Then again, I could save the $50 or so bucks and just stop being lazy! But what if it snows? That would cause delays.

Oh Im not great at last minute trips.

When do you start packing?

I guess its a personal thing.

I know many people that pack a week before the trip and I know some, like myself, that pack the day before sometimes the morning of.

Why?

I dunno. When I pack ahead of time I always seem to forget something. When I pack the day before I have everything! We have even started leaving our travel bag filled with a toothbrush, paste, deodorant, mini hair brush and q-tips.

It is rather strange.

There are a few things that people forget... here is a short list:

Q-Tips

Tweezers (for the ladies)

Hair Brush

Deodorant

Toothbrush and paste

Eyeglass cleaner cloth

Lotion

Lucky for you there is always a market of some sort to purchase those things you forget. I locate a common market that the locals would shop at. I refuse to buy something at 5 times the price because of where I am!

The Best and least expensive Souvenirs!

We travel a lot and most of the time we want some sort of souvenir to remember the trip. Sometimes you can find a shirt or sweater, maybe even a bag with a logo or a photo that is something special.

Do you buy things for friends and family on your vacation? We stopped doing that a long time ago. It was either 'what do we get them?' or they become jealous of our trips. We have purchased things and given them as Christmas gifts but its not a priority for us. We also found it can bring us down on the trips so we stopped.

My newest obsession is collecting PENNIES! Yes pennies!

Everywhere we have been on vacation I have found these really neat machines that crush your penny with an image! Majority of machines have 4 image choices - what a great way to remember your trip! You can find websites with locations of these machines but whats the fun in that. Theme parks have them, any tourist place will have them, and sometimes you can find them in museums, even restaurants! Some of these places even sell books to hold your pennies in. I have been to a few places that have quarter and even nickel machines!

People sell them on ebay! Dont do it... get them yourself. There are also methods to getting the perfect stamp. Dont make yourself crazy. Its true a shiny penny may look better then a dull penny. But remember that experiment in school you did with the vinegar and the pennies? Easy to clean them!

I have a tray full right on my dresser cause I cant find my 'book' lol. Its fun to look at them once in a while and remember that trip to Disney or to Hanama bay in Hawaii, or to the NY Museum of Science.

We make it a game with our youngest. We will visit a location and purposely search for a machine. Who ever finds it gets to pick the image they want on the penny. This past November while in Disneyland we found a place right on main street that had a dozen various machines. Some where pennies, some quarters and some nickels. It was like being in a candy store trying to figure out which designs we want to take home.

Be sure to being a lot of coins!

I think its a better souvenir for the kids. They will appreciate it more cause it will remind them of the trip they took. They will also be able to carry it around in their pocket with ease.

Next time your out there search for one of these machines!

Disneyland in California

So for the first time we went to Disneyland in California. Boy what a difference! The place feels so much smaller than 'the world'. I think that has to do with the fact the castle there is so small! Its Sleeping Beauty castle and its puny compared to Cinderella's in Florida! The set up is almost the same, they even have similar rides! I wanted to visit Disney during Christmas so we figured we would you know kill two birds and visit my brother in San Diego at the same time. San Diego was great, perfect weather and I miss it! I hate the cold weather of the north east but what can I do?

We went right after thanksgiving and missed 'peek' time which worked out great. The parks were not that full but I guess average. We were able to go on most rides without waiting more then 20 minutes. My goal was to see the parade.

The parade started at ' Its a small world' and ended at main street. The people there were really snobby and were 'holding' empty spaces for 'their coming' friends or family. It really kills me when people do that, its so not right!

In any event, no matter how many people deep the crowd was other people figured it was ok to just walk thru you like you were not standing there at all.

The parade was great as I thought it would be and I loved it. Maybe the one in Disney World would have been better since they have a 'seperate' event for the holidays which limit the amount of people at the parks.

California Adventure Park was good... we LOVED the Aladdin show - the genie was so hilarious we could not stop laughing! You gotta see that show. We had lunch with the princesses which was EXPENSIVE! All the other girls had dressed up like little princesses and well I totally flaked on dressing up my little girl but she didnt notice. We also forgot the autograph book! Talk about duh moment.

While the food was FANTASTIC the price was outrageous! And it was Off peak! It was $35 per person and my child was $25 I think. Now my husband and brother had a drink but the total bill for 5 people, including one child, with tax, gratuity and 10% discount for DVC - $240. The plus was we were seated right were the princesses came in. So it was announced who was coming in and she would walk in right to our table first! No it was Ariels Grotto so we saw her first, then out came Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) and Snow White. The told us there are 5 princesses that vary but you always have Ariel so the other four could be any princess.

We got to see Phineas and Ferbs dance party. My little one got to dance with the fireside girls it was so fun. We got a free photo with pluto because of our Disney cards. We stayed to see World of Color which had technical difficulties and was delayed about 20 minutes. I think it was the first time I had ever seen technical difficulties at Disney.

There was also a lot of construction going on, apparently they are building Radiator Springs from Cars. Thats what I heard, I would love to see what that looks like.

I would so go again, but my heart is really in Disney World.

Traveling on Thanksgiving Day.

We were/are one of those crazy people that decided to travel on a holiday. Amazingly enough it was actually cheaper to travel on the actual holiday then the day before!

We had a flight at 10AM from White Plains NY connecting into Dulles in VA to Las Angels, CA.

I had never had a flight out of this airport before but it was an experience. The airport was small to say the least. We left to give ourselves 2 hours like you would normally but we got thru security to quickly, we were sitting at the gate which was a few feet from security! So now we had to sit for 2 hours waiting for the flight! lol.. we know better in the future.

The plane we took was so small its had propellers! You could feel the vibrations on your feet, it was the scariest flight I ever took. Now Im ok with flying, I just dont like take off, landing or turbulence. And this plane was rough for all of those parts! LOL.

The connection plane was a bit normal and besides a little turbulence we arrive early in LAX at 2:30 in the afternoon where we were picked up and drove down to San Diego. We didnt connect to San Diego because the flight prices were a little high.

The time difference was a little rough on us, waking up at 6:30 on the east coast and traveling to the west coast, we were so tired we went to be at 9pm PST! lol.

The air is drier here and the weather is nicer then in NY this time of year. Keep posted as I will post places we visit during our stay of course.

San Diego CA

OK Ive been quiet lately. Have not been anywhere since August where we spent a few days in the blistering heat of Florida!

For Thanksgiving we planned San Diego, CA. How did that happen?

Well the spouses job was supposed to be 'closed' for that week. They were supposed to conserve money by closing. This was planned early in the summer and they placed a bunch of silly rules just in case. One of them was basically your out of luck if they decide to open and you planned a trip and it was not your 'vacation' week. They also put a little saying - they can choose to be open for clean up or something like that.

When the spouse mentioned this to me I said lets to to visit my brother in San Diego! Honestly I am tired of having to trek to the families in laws during the holidays. Lets be honest - we are a family of 5 and have the youngest kids. My nephews in the area are both over 19 so they are not kids anymore. When I first got together with the in laws the holidays were celebrated at their home every year. It didnt bother me since the whole family was in the same area. Its been 10 years, both parents have passed away, the kids are older and no one 'has money' so no one gets gifts anymore except the kids. Who has the kids? Me! So every holiday we have to take the normally 1 hour ride that becomes 3 hours during the holiday to spend it with the family.

So we planned San Diego to get away and not have to deal with the family gatherings. We are flying out on Thanksgiving day! Call me crazy it was the best price for flights and flying into Las Angeles were my brother will pick us up and drive back to San Diego. We are staying a week with him and he is cooking for us! We are in trouble. lol.

We planned 2 days in Disneyland, and its our first time so it should be fun.

I cant wait to get outta here!

Driving from New York to Florida

So many people think driving from NY to FL for vacation is crazy.

Well Im here to tell you yes it is!

Ive done this trip so many times over the years I still cant get used to it. When we first started doing the trek I often took those No Doze pills which would make me shake. Most people are not effected by the pills cause they drink coffee or soda. I dont drink coffee and soda is rare. I stopped taking the pills because they would cause me to become really sick.

We often leave on Friday and drive overnight since the kids are really crazy for the drive, at least over night they would sleep. Going overnight is tough too unless you already work the night shift and happen to be up. I cant do it, I have a hard time staying up past midnight!

Well this time around we split it up between two days. We left early on Friday around 10AM and stopped driving at 9PM - there was so much traffic on the way down we barely made it into North Carolina. We found a hotel and stayed for the night. On Saturday AM we left around 9ish and continued the drive, we didnt arrive into Orlando until almost 830PM. There was a lot of rain and congestion it was crazy.

During the week we didnt drive much but we did so much that we were beat! By the time we had to leave the following Saturday we didnt think we would make it back in one night. We really didnt want to spend the money for a hotel.

We left around 9AM which we had never done before. We were making such good time we decided to go straight without stopping. We were tired and the drive seemed to take longer, but 19 hours later we arrived home at 4:30AM! No we were not speeding, the speed limits in many states is 70 and people still drive by you like your sitting still! We even stopped for Dinner and made a quick stop at exit 97 in North Carolina to visit JR stores!

If possible split the trip between days and people. Try to drive in a car that has cruise control.

Did we save money by driving? Yes,.. flights would have cost us about $1000 for 4 people. Driving cost us under $300. Do I need to do the math?

Disney Water Parks Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon

OK I have no images because we didnt bring a camera but the water parks are great!

We just spent 3 days straight in water. Two days at Typhoon Lagoon and one at Blizzard Beach. The best thing about staying on property is the ability to use the Extra Magic Hours! We were able to get to the water parks at 8AM, an hour prior to opening up to the public. I didnt think it was enough time but we were able to ride everything without a wait! The only thing that was rough was the stairs to the ride itself. It was a killer! I cant tell you how many 'floors' we climbed but my legs were killing me.

If anything a water park reminds you of is how out of shape you are. lol.

Best things at Typhoon Lagoon: Wave Pool - Insanely tall waves that can knock you down! Lazy River of course, Crush n Gusher. Funnel Cake! Worst: Wave Pool - cause they have insanely tall waves that can knock you down! Having to carry your tubes up a ton of stairs to get down the rides. Short family raft ride, Sand.

Best things at Blizzard Beach: LONG family raft ride, Lazy River, 'older' kid area. Worst: Hiking it up the stairs to get on the rides, some rides you had to carry your own tube up the stairs, wave pool was really unnatural waves and felt strange - we didnt like it.

Having to deal with rude people didnt help: We had some little girl go down a slide within seconds behind my child and knocked right into her. I 'ran' to get to my child and the other child because they knocked into each other. The girl just looked at me and her father said she can swim fine, no apology at all! My little girl was crying, it was horrible. On another ride my sister ran up ahead of me and grabbed the family raft and some people came in between us. When I finally got to the top these people were in front and I said excuse me three times when he finally turned around and said 'WHAT'! I said I need to get by and he says go over there, pointing to another rope, Im like dude its closed whats your problem? My sister is right there! He finally let me by but not without making stupid comments. I know there are line jumpers but I was not jumping lines.

Besides those experiences Disney Water Parks were pretty amazing.

Busch Gardens Tampa Florida

So we took a drive to Tampa to visit Busch Gardens - I had not been there in something like 10 years and the only things I remember at the animal areas. They had animal topiaries and animals of course. This Rhino came pretty close to us and it was a bit scary. We picked a hot day to go, not only that there were a whole lotta international school trips there. Looked like there were from Brazil, Italy, Venezuela.. I walked up to the guy standing at SheiKra to ask about a child swap and all these kids came running up behind me and I was like OMG!

I think there are more rides for the kids then adults!

I first rode the SheiKra alone. They dont have a lane for 'single riders' instead I had to wait on line with everyone else. Remember those international kids? Well every chance they had they were singing and clapping and oh my it was getting crazy. The wait time was less then an hour. Round and round in the lines then up the stairs. There are three rows each 'car' holding about 8 people. Two cars load up at the same time and one at a time is released. Up and up you go... then it turns around on the track and just when you think your about to drop, it holds you there for a few seconds... then BAM! Lets you go! I was screaming on the way down. Its a 90 degree drop so you cant see the track beneath you. It was quick but a nice ride. When I got back to the ground, I swapped and the other adult I was with got a 'pass' to skip the line and waited about 5 minutes to get on the ride. Child swap was pretty nice.

The second ride I tried was Kumba. It has 7 inversions which was nice smooth ride. It was nothing to exciting for me, more like relaxing. Again I waited on line and since I was a single rider, I kinda skipped those waiting to sit together. They let me go in front of them which was nice. I rode alone. Im not a roller coaster nut but I love a nice ride. We didnt make it to the other 'adult' rides. I got the kids to go on the Sand Serpent and boy was that a mistake for me. I dont like twisty, sharp turns or spin me around rides! This ride did ALL of that... I screamed, I cried and hated every minute of it lol.

We did take the train around the park which was a relaxing ride and a nice view of the animals. I did see a Zebra try to take on the train! Ok more like it tried to cross the track just when the train was passing by. It was pretty interesting.

For meals at the park we purchased the 'All Day Dining Deal.' For two adults and two kids it cost $30 per adult and $15 per child. We ate every chance we got, I think we sat down 3 times. We were able to pick up one entree, one side/desert and a drink. You also had the ability to pick one of the three items instead of getting everything and tossing it. We had to wait on line with everyone else but once we got to the front we could basically pick up just about anything. They gave us a list of the restaurants to eat at and what I did was circle them on the map so we could find them easily. My favorite meal was at the Zambia Smokehouse! It was perfect for dinner, that meal alone was worth the $30 per person fee. Everything else was basically free in my eyes. We picked up Aquafina at a few places and snacks here and there. One note: It does not work everywhere!

Totally worth it!

As the evening rolled along there was this 'party' going around.We stopped and danced around, played with Hoola Hoops... During the 'party' they announced this show called Kinetix starting at 9PM. The park closed at 9PM so we ran back to the front of the park and grabbed one last drink and went to the show. The restaurants close an hour or more before the park does so keep that in mind.

There was live music with current songs, dancers, acrobats, and more! Here is just one video!

Once the show was over the park was closed and we left. The drive back to Orlando was a little over an hour. It was a great experience, I would go again.

DIsney Jambo House Animal Kingdom Lodge

Well this time around we traveled to Disney we stayed at Jambo house, itsright next door to the Kidani Village. We have a one bedroom Condo.. In the living room there is a pull out couch and a chair, the Condo has just one bathroom. The 'bowl' is in a separate room but its still in the bathroom. Which means someone cant use the 'bowl' if there is someone in the shower. I would have thought that a 1 bedroom suite would have had two bathrooms - as a two bedroom has 3 bathrooms. There is a full kitchen which works great for keep costs down and having meals in the room instead of outside at the parks. And a separate bedroom with a queen bed, which is not a master bedroom. There is a washer and dryer which helps too. The bathroom has a double sink and a jacuzzi tub and its a little difficult to get into because it is pretty high, so one may have to sit on the side and throw your leg over. The bedroom and Living room has their own TVs and access to the outside deck. We have a pool view but you really couldn't tell since there are these rather large trees blocking the view of the pool. There is internet access, Free for DVC members but a fee for everyone else.

We are amazed a how the sliding glass doors keep the sounds out of the rooms! At night they have been having a movie at the pool side and its pretty loud with the doors open but once they are closed its pretty quiet! You cant even hear anyone walking down the halls. I am impressed with that.

The Jambo house itself its rather large. The buildings have 5 floors and a few 'wings', there is a large store at the main level and a lot of activities daily. Parking is a little far of a walk in Jambo house, when we were in Kidani Village the parking was below the building so its just an elevator ride down. This parking area is across the main entrance and down a little ways and no coverage from the sun.

As DVC members they offer a towel exchange once every 3 days and a clean every 4 days. Without the DVC membership it would cost a lot more.

Of course everything is decked out in Animal Motif. There is even a sign when you leave the property that says... watch out for Poachers. Around certain areas of the building you can see the savannah. Do you need a view of it? Only if you really wanna see the animals daily but otherwise you can walk down the hall and see them.

All in all the Jambo house is rather nice in Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Heading to Disney Again!

Ok what am I thinking?

We just went to Disney in January/February this way for a 8 days and Im going down again in the summer?

Oh boy.

Ok my sister has a timeshare with Disney. She planned a trip with her family and well she had someone ditch her. So she was crying and all and I was like ok fine Ill go with you.

So in July we are heading to Kidani Village in the Animal Kingdom. We will be spending out time in the water parks and possibly heading to Busch Gardens. We are winging it, but I gotta say it will be nice to see how it is in Florida in July.

Virginia Beach

While at an expo we purchased a voucher that gave us 4 days and 3 nights for just $99! $25 bucks a night is decent anywhere. The only thing was that the voucher was not valid from Memorial Day to Labor day. Not a big deal.... oh and we had to give them 2 hours for a timeshare tour.

We left Friday afternoon from NY to Virginia Beach. This was about an 8 hour drive. For some reason it felt longer then our drives to Florida! We managed not to pay tolls on the way down based on the directions we were given. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel - we had no idea the toll was $12! But its 17.6 miles long with two tunnels on the way. It was an amazing trip. We found out the toll amount on the return and took the Jersey Turnpike back instead of going thru Philadelphia.

This was our first time in the area. Virginia Beach's boardwalk is about 3 miles long. There are tons of hotels and one timeshare company that owns 4 buildings on the beach. Upon arrival Friday night there was a car show on the street and we couldn't get into the hotel parking lot!

Once we final got in, we walked around to view some of the cars parked on the street. It was LOUD! LOL... we stayed at the Comfort Inn & Suites Oceanfront. We had a one bedroom suite but there was no living room. Instead there were two queen beds in two separate rooms. There was a mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. You cant beat the FREE breakfast! There was eggs, sausage, pastries, waffles and more! The food was prepared in advance, not made to order but this helped save us money. Having the boardwalk was right outside the backdoor was great!

On Saturday we took the tour of Ocean Beach Club. It was a nice place but its still under construction and well we knew we were not going to pay all that money for a spot on the beach. We already own a timeshare and know the deal with these things. After the tour we received two $30 vouchers for a restaurant on their list. One of the restaurants was Pi-Zzeria. It was next door to the Ocean Beach Club. We had never heard of this restaurant before this trip. There was quick service and great food. We had lunch, I had soup and I practically licked the bowl! We also had a salad with their signature dressing which was amazing. A nice place at a decent price. We went back the next day and had pizza which was also very good. We also ate at this buffet called Yukai. We found this place in those books you can find all over the boardwalk filled with coupons. Considering all the buffets in area this one is a 2 mile drive away from the beach. We are not big seafood eaters but love our chinese food. We took a chance but it was easy to locate. They have the prices clearly posted as you walk inside. It was Sunday and the lunch was 10.95 for each adult, my child is 7 and we paid 3.95. They had the usual selection of Chinese food. Im personally not a sushi eater but they had so much sushi my child and spouse were in heaven. I cant tell you how much they ate only that it was worth the price paid for the buffet. If we ever come to Virginia Beach again, we will visit this place again.

Besides walking the boardwalk there was not much we were interested in doing. We found these cool statues and play areas for the kids on the beach. I got to see Del Sol - one of my favorite stores. But it was not warm enough for a swim on the beach. On Saturday night there was a Tornado warning in the area so we had to stay in! Which was the only excitement we had.

We returned on Monday. In the end it was a nice weekend.