Oh, I loved this update, Cynthia!!! What a way to experience a trip to Disney -- it sounds absolutely liberating to just do whatever as the whim strikes! Not to mention how absolutely perfect it all is to know that you stumbled upon the Food and Wine Festival AND Illuminations!!! I hope all this wonderful luck continued for the rest of the trip!
It really was liberating. We were just happy to be there and going with the flow and thankfully the flow...flowed!
Great, great updates Cynthia! I love hearing about past trips.
This sounds exactly like my family. And Scott's family is very quiet, so it was definitely like walking into a foreign country for him, as well!
I left a comment on your shutterfly page. The sample pages are really pretty! Will you be adding more? Definitely send me a link when you get them on Etsy. Or pm me. I don't really have any good suggestions for you, but trying to think of what I look for when I choose scrapbook papers, a few things occurred to me. I tend to choose patterns and colors that will not look too busy, and compete for attention with my photos. So, I lean towards analogous color schemes rather than something with a lot of contrast. I probably pick papers with small scale patterns more often than those with large bold patterens, again for the same reason. Not sure if that is helpful.
I saw your mention on Liesa's tr about a job interview - did you go yet? It sounded intriguing.... Of course, you've got to stick with your business idea too, now that you've told us all about it!
Hi! that is helpful. It's funny as I mostly use papers for card making, not scrapbooking so look at them very differently as a result. I'm trying to do a mix but to your point, some it may not work well for more traditional scrapbooking! I did get one set up on Etsy today....will keep plugging along.
I do find Etsy more than a little frustrating in many ways...there is just so MUCH and it's not super intuitive from a search standpoint so...we will see.
I think I have an interview, I received a request, responded with times but have not heard back so we will see.
What a great update!
Isn't it wonderful to not have a plan sometimes? Your update makes me miss the days when ADRs and dining plans weren't an issue.
I wish US would have the same fastpass system as Disney. That way, you wouldn't have to stay onsite. But I guess their fastpass system is the equivalent to EMH.
Yup, two trips a month a part
My friend, Denise, and I are spending 5 days in Disney between our birthdays. She's never stayed onsite and has never been to Epcot, AK, or DHS. I'm excited about playing tour guide. And excited about doing Disney adult-style.
Oh ADR's were definitely an issue in 2004. Of course we had no idea you could make reservations ahead of time so ended up flummoxed that we could never get in anywhere but thankfully, between the fact that we had a house to cook at and the blessing of the Food and Wine festival, it worked out fine.
I did make a big stink with Jeff last year about having ADR's for our trip but we both remembered how we couldn't get in anywhere in '04 and didn't want a repeat. Thankfully it worked out perfectly last year, his concern was feeling tied to an agenda (which obviously did NOT have in '04 lol) but that was about the extent of the tour planning so it still allowed for whims. Unfortunately due to the crowds, the whim tour plan didn't work nearly as well in '08 as it had in '04 so we will be shooting for a compromise of sorts this summer.
I really want to do an adult trip. We have talked about a sibling and spouse Food and Wine trip in '11. Since we all discovered it by accident together, we've all been dying to get back to it!
The phrase "Innocence is bliss" comes to mind.
I was just talking to a co-worker today who mentioned they were heading to Disney this spring. They didn't really want me to tell them anything about it because they just wanted to be surprised. So I bit my tongue and wished them well. I hope they have as good of an introduction that you did.
I can absolutely see that for a first trip. The funny thing is that it was NOT my first trip, it was actually my 3rd but I'd really only spent time at the MK on the other trips so in most ways, it was very very new. I think it's more about being open to the experience than what number trip it was, we were just in the right frame of mind!
We did it too... Zach rode ToT at 4. Oops! He wanted no part of it last year at 5 1/2... and I suspect it will be the same this year at 6 1/2. 
Your evening sounds amazing. Truly magical!
It's too bad none of us can go back & experience Disney like that - without knowing what to expect. It's seems so much more magical that way.
Oh he may recover! As traumatized as Eric seemed at the time, and as hesitant as he was to go on other things for the rest of the trip (he did, begrudgingly) he has turned into a full fledged thrill junkie, the only one of the 4 kids who WANTED to, who BEGGED to, go on ToT last Feb. I'll never forget that ride since I was the only one who would go on it with him!
If anyone wants to be amused, here is a snippet from my TR on it
Faster Faster Higher Higher!
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