Booked Vero but then...Beach Club counts as a beach vacation, right? (Sept '15)

[Lidian]

DIY Disney Snacks

Thanks to our villa set up, we've got a stove. A stove means savings, because we can make meals and snacks in the room. We have some super simple and delicious staple meals like pesto chicken pasta and chicken nachos that are fast, and real crowd pleasers. We do delicious eggy breakfasts that fill up our toddlers too.

BUT... every once in a while, a vacationing parent needs to shove a treat at a toddler to get them to shut... er, share the magic!!!

To that end, I'm planning two batches of fun treats. One, what my girls call "mickey treats"... marshmallow crispy treats on a stick! Two, Mickey-Shaped Ice Cream Sandwiches. These are both super easy, especially if I make a big batch on the first or second day. Pop in our fridge, we are good to go. I plan to make them a little healthier by threading in some raisins and possibly even some peanut butter or nuts for protein. That way I can somewhat guiltlessly had the girls a mickey on a stick and we can jet out the door for rope drop somewhere.

Anyone else have any go-to treats for the parks? I'm trying to think of some fun savory options that might involve goldfish crackers---er, little Nemos

Oh wow, those sound YUMMY!

When we bring snacks from home, it's usually granola bars, poptarts, and dry cereal. I like the Little Nemos idea!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Another idea I am borrowing from someone else's trip report is to do themed Disney movie nights, maybe once a week.

And I have the perfect snack for nemo night: http://www.lovethemmadly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Nemo-Sticks.jpg

 

[twinsouvenirs]

You'll probably note there are not a lot of biographical details about my kids. This is basically to conceal our real life identities because my husband is all about internet privacy. I'm a little more lax, but that said, I respect his feelings. I'll try to post a few pics without faces Here are the little ladies meeting Stitch this January!

 

[Lidian]

Everyone has their own views on internet. I totally respect you wishing to remain anonymous with bio details. I don't give my real name here, but people I converse with frequently get my real name in a PM with a link to my Facebook or such. I do post pics of my kids, but I don't mention their real names. Sure, someone who really wanted to find us can probably dig enough to get that info, and that's a chance I take. However, what I do is not what everyone else does. So I respect your swirled or cropped faces if that's what makes you feel comfortable!

I love your Nemo snacks! That is so cool and I totally need to "steal" it for a yummy treat one evening!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

LOL nope... I REFUSE to cook or do anything while on vacation.. I do enough of that at home lol

I do not blame you--but believe it or not, I LOVE cooking, (I actually went to cooking school a long time ago) and as a working mom I am often bummed about how little I get to do it. We mostly live off of Trader Joe's freezer section and the crockpot concoctions I pre-bag when I feel ambitious on a weekend. Actually, that's not entirely true. My husband likes cooking too, but like me, on weekdays cooking equals reheating. The villas are small enough that the kids can play and I can cook while seeing them--our house is not quite set up like that.

So although I completely understand you needed a vacation from the cooking, my husband always laughs that on vacation, I get up early with the kids while he sleeps in (normally he is up super early) and I cook like crazy!

The other factor is that eating out with toddlers is HARD (especially after they start tossing whatever food they don't want, and egging their twin on ) even at Disney, although less so there than other places. Which is why we go

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Everyone has their own views on internet. I totally respect you wishing to remain anonymous with bio details. I don't give my real name here, but people I converse with frequently get my real name in a PM with a link to my Facebook or such. I do post pics of my kids, but I don't mention their real names. Sure, someone who really wanted to find us can probably dig enough to get that info, and that's a chance I take. However, what I do is not what everyone else does. So I respect your swirled or cropped faces if that's what makes you feel comfortable!

I love your Nemo snacks! That is so cool and I totally need to "steal" it for a yummy treat one evening!

I think a lot of it is generational too--I am in my early 30s and grew up on the internet (myspace, facebook, livejournal) with little expectation of privacy. My husband is in his early 40s and had no such public forum in his formative years so he finds it weird. And it's not worth arguing with him about, especially when his root concern is caring about our family So thank you for understanding and know I will TOTALLY show you pictures with faces in a PM if you care My kids are exceptionally cute if I do say so myself. And I look exactly like Aurora in my avatar, so that's that. *wink*

 

[clambert1273]

I do not blame you--but believe it or not, I LOVE cooking, (I actually went to cooking school a long time ago) and as a working mom I am often bummed about how little I get to do it. We mostly live off of Trader Joe's freezer section and the crockpot concoctions I pre-bag when I feel ambitious on a weekend. Actually, that's not entirely true. My husband likes cooking too, but like me, on weekdays cooking equals reheating. The villas are small enough that the kids can play and I can cook while seeing them--our house is not quite set up like that.

So although I completely understand you needed a vacation from the cooking, my husband always laughs that on vacation, I get up early with the kids while he sleeps in (normally he is up super early) and I cook like crazy!

The other factor is that eating out with toddlers is HARD (especially after they start tossing whatever food they don't want, and egging their twin on ) even at Disney, although less so there than other places. Which is why we go

haha I get that plus I cook EVERY. DAY.. blech ... I did not travel a lot with my kids when they were under 5 - I just refused to have to deal with them in public (especially my 15yo boy) LOL My kids are very far apart in ages (21, 15, 7) so for a long time we traveled with the 2 oldest and left the youngest with gramma (which to her was AWESOME! lol) ... now we all go together and its MUCH easier lol

I actually get the opportunity now to chill out without having to watch them like hawks... when we were at Beach club, my 7yo went in the pool, slides etc.. I sat in my chair ordering my moscato colada's lol She would always run back by me "hi mommy" as she was going to another section of the pool lol

 

[Lidian]

I think a lot of it is generational too--I am in my early 30s and grew up on the internet (myspace, facebook, livejournal) with little expectation of privacy. My husband is in his early 40s and had no such public forum in his formative years so he finds it weird. And it's not worth arguing with him about, especially when his root concern is caring about our family So thank you for understanding and know I will TOTALLY show you pictures with faces in a PM if you care My kids are exceptionally cute if I do say so myself. And I look exactly like Aurora in my avatar, so that's that. *wink*

Sounds like I'm probably closer to your DH's age, but I still have more lax views. I rarely publicly state my location (I try to keep it vague in TN), and until just recently, my kids names weren't mentioned on Facebook (and it's set to friends-only, so lurkers can only see profile pics and cover photos). I'm cautious, but not overly private. So I totally get it. I'm sure your kids are super extra cute!

And I'll just come out and say it. No beating around the bush ... but I look nothing like the Human Paladin with a checkered block on her head in real life (FYI, that was a video game glitch where my character's helm appeared as a checkered block instead of the proper helm she was wearing for a few days... yay for glitches!). Not sure how that happened, but yeah, I look nothing like her. The only thing we have in common is being human, female, and feisty.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

but I look nothing like the Human Paladin with a checkered block on her head in real life

See, I totally ALSO looked exactly like my favorite night elf priestess.... but I digress My Death Knight wasn't so bad either

Nothing really to report except that for the last few days it's been nice enough that I don't need a coat here in Cleveland. Even so, I'm dying to visit the mouse in his house. I just got an email with a 30% off deal and if we had the vacation time and extra cash, I'd be there. I'm desperately waiting for the Boathouse to open-- have you guys seen the concept art? Or the photos of the cool vehicles, Amphicars? According to another thread (http://www.disboards.com/threads/boathouse-what-i-learned-today.3395695/) It looks like May 23rd ish will be when they start taking reservations. However, the cast member I talked to on the phone said to keep calling every week about it, or check online.

That, and Trader Sams are my big 'missing reservations'. I'm not even sure if the Grog Grotto will be taking ADRs, but I know it's not on the dining website at all yet. I really want to watch all the cool drink videos and read the menu and all, but I think I'm going to force myself to wait and see it in person. I'm really psyched about what they're doing to revitalize the place.

I'm dying to know how much the amphicar tours and other novelties of the Boathouse will cost, because I'm starting to save for them ASAP. I'm so glad we're going while the kids are still free--five admissions for the price of two is way better than the price of four!

I'm starting to feel a little desperate for sun. I think I'm going to have to plan a mini-vacation around here, just for a weekend. We're right on the shores of Lake Erie, so maybe we can do a few day trips to the beach or something.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Quick follow up: Deep in another thread, I saw something that said the Boathouse is opening April 13th. That's just around the corner!

I am a total sucker for a raw bar.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

And something even MORE exciting! I was just on the Trader Joes website looking to see if they had a product list so I could brainstorm my groceries before heading out.

LOOK WHAT I FOUND.

Trader Joe's Orlando – Dr. Phillips (768)
Opening April 10th!
8323 W Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819 407-345-0611

This is something I have been hoping, nay, praying for since we started coming as DVC'ers. TJ's has THE BEST frozen meals; we eat them at home all the time. Many are astonishingly healthy and they're also easy to get our kids to eat, which is no small feat with 2 year olds. We use Amy at WeGoShop and she is really great at snagging our groceries--I am hoping she'll go there and we can give her a fairly specific list with a few substitutes--and our savings will be significant, as will the time savings!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

It sounds ridiculous, but I think I'd better draft my projected grocery list and then run it through Trader Joes. And I wouldn't be surprised if we could skip the liquor store delivery this trip--we got PLENTY last time, and we keep the leftovers in our Owner's Locker.

 

[Lidian]

So Trader Joe's meals? Hmmm... we don't have one of those around here. That's awesome you found a service that will shop for you! This may be a dumb question, but how does it work?

 

[twinsouvenirs]

It is fantastic. We send her a grocery list about a week before our trip (and sometimes even shorter than that)--as specific as we'd like, and she shops wherever she thinks she can get a decent deal. She delivers the food to the resort--our room if we have it already, or bell services if we don't--they will store refrigerated items and frozen items. You have to sign for liquor, at least the first time, and provide your ID. Then either she or the bell services people deliver the stuff to the room when it is available. She includes all the receipts and charges a fee (around $25 for the first store, and $5 or so for every other store--we usually end up with two--liquor and food) and then you tip. The savings is crazy over eating out constantly. It also makes the restaurants feel a little more special because you aren't going to eat out by default.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Just read in another thread about wearing running/athletic gear to the parks... genius! I am getting nervous about the heat for this trip and will have to pack with that in mind. Breathable skorts, etc. My sailing shirts are great for keeping the sun off of my albino skin!

 

[skier_pete]

Sent you a PM/conversation on another topic, but thought I would post one comment here:

You mentioned grilling. I know for a fact (even though we haven't stayed their yet) that their is a grilling area at Beach Club. Another DIS friend had a party their. I was able to find the link to the post. Link HERE. It looks like it's maybe not a gas grill but a charcoal grill.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Brilliant! I think they sell the charcoal & supplies at the mercantile style store there. I hope they replace the older DVC grills with gas--it seems so much easier!

 

[skier_pete]

Brilliant! I think they sell the charcoal & supplies at the mercantile style store there. I hope they replace the older DVC grills with gas--it seems so much easier!

I suppose - but I wonder if there's greater safety concerns with gas - someone leaving it on and blowing themselves up.

If we see you out there grilling - we'll come down for a bite!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

That is a good point Skier_pete. And you'd better! We love to bbq share I REALLY have to get on menu planning but my husband makes amazing grilled goat cheese stuffed peppers....

By the way, I'm adding bacon grilled cheese to our menu for sure

We just went on a short New England beach trip with the kids and I'm even more excited about the trip. I just know they are going to love playing in the sand and building castles. I know I am going to enjoy sipping a drink and watching them do so

I'll be off making a dining plan for real this time, and I'll post my bare bones plan later today.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Trying also to strategize about tickets here. We've got non expiring tickets banked, so we could use a few days off of those. However, we've got a long trip planned and we'd probably like the freedom to cruise the World Showcase for an after dinner beverage. We're also going next spring. I'm thinking AP's for my husband and I. It's only $1126.78 with our DVC discount and the kids are all free this trip. It's a full week (Sat-Sat) so I think we'll take the plunge. Tickets will never again be this cheap! However, we aren't rolling in cash right now so I think I'll wait till closer to our dates. The good thing is that because we have the non expiring passes 'in the bank' we don't need to get the APs to make our FP+s at 60 days.