Thursday, February 13, 2014

Vacation planning and thoughts [Disney]

As I type this, we're in the midst of yet another winter storm.  This one is particularly rough as it consists of rain, sleet and snow, which makes for some massive ponds of icy water on the roads and walkways.  So I'm dreaming of hot, humid weather, which brings me to Florida and Disney.  I think we've finally nailed down the exact dates of our 2014 trip.  We still haven't made any decisions or given much thought to where we'll stay, other than it will be a Disney resort.  I spend enough time commuting and don't plan to do so during my vacation.  The girls will be happy anywhere, as long as there's a pool.  Although, I personally did not like the massive pool at Art of Animation because of safety reasons.  What deals Disney offers during our dates will be a deciding factor on where we book.

I do want to get a jump start on my sewing projects for our trip though.  I had actually planned to start already but as usually, there's life.  And other sewing projects.  Ack!  I spent a huge chunk of time last Sunday attempting to sew a winter coat for Emily's AG dolls.  It did not go well, partly because I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance instead of a 1/4 inch.  I need to double check the pattern because apparently, I can read but I cannot process.  Anyway, I hate when a project goes unfinished.  I was obsessing over it but I had to walk away.  

Here's a list of what I can start on for customs:

  • Tank top sundresses with Minnie fabric
  • Elsa (Frozen) sundresses - I'm still tossing around a few ideas
  • Park bags for the girls - just big enough to fit their autograph books, a pen/marker and park maps

It's too early for me to make dining reservations but my first priority is to score dinner reservations at Be Our Guest.  There'll be some sort of Belle dresses if that happens.  I really need to get my embroidery machine up and running too.  Let the creativity begin!


8 comments:

Bernice said...

Hi
Have never posted, but love your blog. We love Disney, spent Thanksgiving week with the Grandsons We love the moderate resort Port Orleans Riverside, they now have rooms decorated for Princesses, the girls may enjoy that resort, they do have "quiet" pools, that are not as crowed, they also have a nice food court for breakfast.
Have fun planning:)

Anonymous said...

We are going to Disney in October for my Anna's birthday (9)and staying at the AOA. I let my daughter pick since it is for her big day.

I love your blog and all of the pictures you posted of your past trips.

Anonymous said...

Hello!

I usually do not post either, but I'm also a disney lover. We spent a week last June at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside and LOVED it!! As the above poster mentioned, the quiet pools are WONDERFUL!! We spent hours in one one day with three (yes three) other people. They have rooms that can sleep five and I think they're a lot cheaper then suites at AoA. We also ate lunch at BOG, it was fabulous and my seven year old girl loved every minute of it. If you go for lunch and get in line early the entire staff comes out and sings "Be Our Guest" before they open the restaurant, it was really fun. Happy planning!!

Anonymous said...

Port Orleans French Quarter is one of my favorite resorts. It is small, the themeing is great and the pool is great for kids!

Anonymous said...

We went a couple of months ago and stayed at Art of Animation because my youngest is obsessed with Cars. It was ok but we have enjoyed others more! We had dinner at a restaurant in the Wilderness Lodge and that is definitely where we are staying next time- it was such a neat hotel! I can't wait to see the cute outfits you will make for the trip!

Sarah said...

I couldn't get online reservations for Be Our Guest, but when I called in they were able to get me a table, so if you can't get in through the online registrations, call them and see if they can get you in.

Amy said...

We just got back from Disney and had a great time. I've heard the Beach Club is amazing... we didn't stay there (we traveled with 19 people and they didn't have enough space during the times we were there). We did Old Key West - they are villas, so are kind of expensive, but they are very big and the pool was really fun for the kids... little water slide, but nothing too giant.

We always do the Chef Mickey breakfast buffet, because there are lots of characters there... food is fine, nothing special. Did the Hoop De Doo review a couple of years ago - highly recommend it. It was SO funny and fast paced... even the little kids thought it was great. This time we did the Luau, which was neat, but I would do the Hoop Dee Doo review again if we went back.

Enjoy - it was 85 and humid while we were there. We were on the park shuttle one day and Lilly saw the temp (with wind chill) at home and the temp in Orlando and was proudly announcing to the whole bus that it was 82 degrees colder where we lived! :)

Amy said...

Oh... and one other thing. When we were there the line to see Anna from Frozen was 4.5 hours long! Crazy. I stood in a line for about 20 minutes, and then asked someone where she actually was, when they told us that we were 2 lines away from actually getting in the real line. Needless to say we didn't see her this time. You would think they would put an Anna in every park... they wouldn't run into each other! :-)