Our Magical WDW Adventure ~ 23 Days of Fun, Food, Cocktails... London Trip 2/8

[disneydusted]

Hi Ariel.... humm traditions in our house.... well for the past 6 years our dd (17) has been in the Nutcracker Ballet. This will be her last season (not going professional). That has been a huge commitment.
My dh's family lives nearby so we all get together for Christmas dinner and presents at one of his sister's houses with all of the cousins getting crazy together! My parents come up from North Carolina for Christmas to see my sister's family and us.
Christmas Eve we go to a neighborhood dinner next door to us and then church at 8:00. My ds (12) and I like to bake, he is quite the chef! Lots of butter cookies to decorate. Yum!
We go to a local park one of the nights near Christmas to see all of the lights they've put up. It reminds me of the Osborne lights in DHS but in trees.... so amazing.
Sometimes we head down to Washington DC to see the National Christmas tree and Union Station. It's about a 40 minute Metro ride from here. Speaking of DC, it's going to be WILD down there on January 20th for the inaguration!! Don't think I'll leave home that day! They are predicting a massive crowd!
I hope your sweet kittens will behave themselves with your tree! Tanner, our Lab, is wearing her red bandana for the holidays!

 

[Alarose]

My childhood Christmas family tradition was to go to FL (we live in Iowa) for Christmas to visit my grandparents. We spent a good week or two right along the Golf of Mexico, sitting in the hot tub, and eating oysters...it was pretty rough

LOL

Well, I guess now that I'm married...we'll need to start our own tradition. Right now dh and I are arguing for what to do on Christmas day. He wants to just spend it the two of us and I want to take the invite to his parent's house (one other brother and sister are going to their grandparents). We'll see who wins lol


Ohhhh, and i LOVE the Disney socks. Where did you get them from again? I want! I love 'fun' socks. Your presents look like fun.

 

[ariel2007]

Hi Ariel.... humm traditions in our house.... well for the past 6 years our dd (17) has been in the Nutcracker Ballet. This will be her last season (not going professional). That has been a huge commitment.
My dh's family lives nearby so we all get together for Christmas dinner and presents at one of his sister's houses with all of the cousins getting crazy together! My parents come up from North Carolina for Christmas to see my sister's family and us.
Christmas Eve we go to a neighborhood dinner next door to us and then church at 8:00. My ds (12) and I like to bake, he is quite the chef! Lots of butter cookies to decorate. Yum!
We go to a local park one of the nights near Christmas to see all of the lights they've put up. It reminds me of the Osborne lights in DHS but in trees.... so amazing.
Sometimes we head down to Washington DC to see the National Christmas tree and Union Station. It's about a 40 minute Metro ride from here. Speaking of DC, it's going to be WILD down there on January 20th for the inaguration!! Don't think I'll leave home that day! They are predicting a massive crowd!
I hope your sweet kittens will behave themselves with your tree! Tanner, our Lab, is wearing her red bandana for the holidays!

Thats so cool that DD is in the Nutcracker every year, she must love that. I have never seen it myself but every year I pester Nick to take me, no such luck yet . But when I have my own children thats one of the traditions I plan, when they are old enough I will take them every year, whether they like it or not .

Thats so cool you can just go down to DC. Its like that for us, we can jump on the train to London and that takes about 40 minutes too. It always nice to visit around Christmas, they have great lights and everywhere is so festive. For the past few years we have been iceskating in one of the outdoor icerinks which is really nice, and we always do a little tour of Starbucks, we just love those red cups . Oh and Hamley's... Hamley's is this huge toy store that is like an institution in London, a bit like Harrod's. It has 6 floors and sells everything practically (toy wise). Its great to go there at any time but at Christmas it is magical.

 

[ariel2007]

The One Where The Magic Spreads Around...
... A Year of Holiday Plans, Updated​

As some of you know when Nick and I thought we wouldn't be going back to Disney we filled the void with 6 other holidays to keep us busy. Well you may have already guessed or heard that our holiday plans have changed due to the fact we are now going to WDW, which is luckily a good thing. But I have yet to share all my new plans with you so thought it was about time. First off though I will remind you what we originally had planned:


Holiday Planning... The What, When, Who, Why?
~ The Original Plan

1.
WHEN: 23rd August – 2nd September 2008 – 9 nights
WHERE: The Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: To celebrate Mum’s 50th birthday
CURRENT STATUS:COMPLETE

2.
WHEN: 31st October – 4th November 2008 – 4 nights
WHERE: Disneyland Paris
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: For Halloween and to celebrate Nick and My 5 year dating anniversary
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETE

3.
WHEN: Beginning of January 2009, dates to include 11th January – probably for 7 nights
WHERE: Las Vegas
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: To celebrates Nick’s 25th birthday
CURRENT STATUS: In the mid planning stages


4.
WHEN: End of April, beginning of May 2009 – 2 weeks
WHERE: Mexico
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: For a nice relaxing holiday with a bit of culture and a lot of pampering
CURRENT STATUS: In the late planning stages

5.
WHEN: July 21st – 27th 2009 (approximate dates) – 4 nights
WHERE: New York
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: To celebrate Dad’s 50th birthday
CURRENT STATUS: In the late planning stages

6.
WHEN: Late August 2009 – 2 weeks
WHERE: France and other European countries
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie; Grandma and Grandad
WHY: For a family holiday
CURRENT STATUS: In the early planning stages


---------------


So this was our original holiday plans for the next year. And then we decided to go to WDW again which changed pretty much everything. Well that along with the fact that we loved the Smokies and were desperate to go back there too. So after some discussions, and some initial planning, we have come up with a new plan for our vacations:


Holiday Planning... The What, When, Who, Why?
~ The New Plan

1.
WHEN: 23rd August – 2nd September 2008 – 9 nights
WHERE: The Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: To celebrate Mum’s 50th birthday
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETE

2.
WHEN: 31st October – 4th November 2008 – 4 nights
WHERE: Disneyland Paris
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: For Halloween and to celebrate Nick and My 5 year dating anniversary
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETE

3.
WHEN: April 26th - May 18th 2009
WHERE: Disney World
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: Because we love it
CURRENT STATUS: Accommodation booked, ADR's and tours yet to be booked


4.
WHEN: July - August 2009
WHERE: Brittany, France
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: For a nice relaxing holiday with a bit of culture and a lot of pampering
CURRENT STATUS: Accommodation booked, ferry to be booked

5.
WHEN: August 22rd - September 8th (17 nights)
WHERE: Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: To celebrate Dad's 50th birthday
CURRENT STATUS: In the planning stages


Please stick around with me and I will enlighten you with more of our plans for these vacations in a bit...

 

[troobabiee7]

Sounds like a great year of traveling! You guys have to come up to NY!!!

 

[ariel2007]

Yes we are definitely planning on it soon. But whilst we can take longer breaks we decided to go back to the Smokies as we don't know if we will be able to in 2009 etc. Its a lot easier to get a few days off for NY than a few weeks for the Smokies or WDW.

 

[troobabiee7]

Yes we are definitely planning on it soon. But whilst we can take longer breaks we decided to go back to the Smokies as we don't know if we will be able to in 2009 etc. Its a lot easier to get a few days off for NY than a few weeks for the Smokies or WDW.

I still have to read your report from the Smokies!

 

[ariel2007]

I still have to read your report from the Smokies!

We loved it there, as you will see in the report. But unfortunately we just didn't have time to do or see even half of what we wanted. I know when we go back we are going to want to go back again, but we are going to have to be strong as we really want to try some new places . We have actually talked about moving there, thats how much we loved it

 

[CoP Luv]

CoP Luv ~ That sounds like a lovely concert, I'm glad you get to go back again. I love big, beautiful churches around Christmas, they make everything seem so much more real and festive. And it sounds like you have a great day planned, I bet you will have a lovely time. Joe's Stone Crab sounds good, and going to see Christmas movies is always great. We planned to watch one when we were out shopping yesterday but time got away from us and we were so tired. We ended up watching The Holiday at homt instead which was really nice, although I still plan to go and watch 4 Christmas's.

Your parties sound like a lot of fun. I wish we did things like have people over to bake cookies but if I invited people around to do that they would think I am crazy or something. And Good luck for your Christmas party with your family, I'm sure it will go great .

I would love to visit Chicago one day. They visited there on The Girls Next Door and it looked so pretty, and they loved it. I bet its pretty cold there now though, have you had any snow there yet?

You should totally come to Chicago! Except not in the winter...unless you like cold...and wind...and 0 degree F weather. Like today! It is absolutely freezing today. We have had snow already. I do love snow...when I am inside and don't need to drive anywhere, or when I am on the slopes. We are expecting more snow tonight, but just an inch. Nothing to worry about. Yesterday, I saw a car with its front tires hung up over the guardrail of a bridge and the rest of the car hanging off the bridge into some trees. The roads can get really slick around here. You should come in the Spring...but sometimes it can snow then too!

Oh and I LOVE the Holiday. We put on Home Alone on Sunday after we put the tree up. Its one of my favorite movies ever! Actually, the home where Kevin lives is located not to far from where I live. DH took me over there one time...yes, we are weird...it's ok.

You should have people over to bake...like your mom or Sophie. My mom, aunt, and a few friends are coming over...so it's not a crowd, its just a few people in the kitchen. DH will be in the family room watching football and ignoring us all until we bring out the baked goodies!

 

[ariel2007]

CoP Luv ~ I will come to Chicago one day, but probably when its not so cold. I do really want to experience some real snow but preferably on slopes rather than in a city.

I used to love Home Alone but haven't seen it for years. My DBF goes on and on about the toy store in the Lost in New York one, so I don't think your weird for visiting the house. I may have to get him to buy them all so we can watch them before Christmas. I am looking forward to Sunday as Miracle on 34th Street is on and I LOVE that film. Its one of the most festive, and beautiful Christmas films. And I swear he is the REAL santa, he has to be

I would love to have my Mum and Sophie over but they live about 5 hours away so it may not be too convenient. I am hoping that my Mum will still be baking some goodies when we go down on Christmas eve though, she makes the best cookies and cakes

 

[ariel2007]

The One Where The Magic Spreads Around...
... A Year of Holiday Plans, Updated ~ Pt. 2​

So since I have enlightened you with our holiday plans for the next year I thought I would give you a little more information about each.


1. The Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETE

THE DETAILS:
Completed Trip Report HERE

---------------

2. Disneyland Paris
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETE

THE DETAILS:
Completed Trip Report HERE

---------------

WHEN: April 26th - May 18th 2009
WHERE: Disney World
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: Because we love it
CURRENT STATUS: Accommodation booked, ADR's and tours yet to be booked

THE DETAILS:
Well you know all our plans so far, after all you are reading this trip report

---------------

4.
WHEN: July - August 2009
WHERE: Brittany, France
WHO: Nick and Me
WHY: For a nice relaxing holiday with a bit of culture and a lot of pampering
CURRENT STATUS: Accommodation booked, ferry to be booked

THE DETAILS:

The Background:
We have been taking family holidays to France for many years now. Since Sophie was born we started to go to Brittany as it was far less driving for us both sides of the water. Well we love Brittany, there is so many gorgeous beaches, and being water lovers it is perfect for us. And Brittany has so much culture and is so interesting with all the little towns and markets. We used to stay at Eurocamp a lot which was always a lot of fun when we were children, but as my Grandparents have got older its not very convenient any more. In 2007 we rented a villa for the first time and loved it. The villa itself was traditionally Bretagne which I love), and really big and spacious. We had so much fun visiting all the beautiful beaches, exploring the local towns, shopping at the traditional markets, taking evening walks, and then sitting around drinking beer and wine and playing poker. Here are a few pictures from our last trip:

This is the cast for this time, plus my Dad

Our villa

Mum and Dad goofing around

The Holiday:
So this holiday is my Grandad's baby really since he spent hours searching the internet for the perfect villa and he booked it (not bad for someone who has only recently got there first computer). We love our family holidays and missed out due to Mum's birthday trip last year, but my Grandad was determined to get us back together this year. Last week my Grandad finally found a great villa and after getting my Mum's blessing went ahead and booked for next Summer. The villa is booked for 2 weeks, however Nick and I will probably only be doing 9-10 days due to already having holiday booked for Orlando and the Smokies. But we will be there over both Sophie and my birthday so will have fun celebrating. Dad's birthday is a few days before we leave, and we have planned the Smokies for him, but since it is his 50th and he probably won't be celebrating on the day and the Smokies wont be until a month after I plan to arrange something special, maybe a themed party . So firstly here is some pictures of our villa:

So the villa isn't overly plush, like our Smokies one, and the decor is a little old fashioned (something we find quite a lot in France), but it is nice and spacious (it has 4 bedrooms but one isn't shown) and has a huge garden. Its is set in the country so should be nice and peaceful too. It is also in a really good location, only 20 minutes from Normandy, and close to beaches, museums, aquariums, shops, casino's etc. For this holiday we will do very little to no planning as we normally just go with the flow. My Grandparents like to just explore which has led to us finding some of the most beautiful places over the years. However we will have 3 cars between us so can do our own thing whenever we want too.


---------------


5.
WHEN: August 22rd - September 8th (17 nights)
WHERE: Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama
WHO: Nick and Me; Mum, Dad and Sophie
WHY: To celebrate Dad's 50th birthday
CURRENT STATUS: In the planning stages

THE DETAILS:

The Background:
Well after our amazing trip to the Smokies and Atlanta this summer for Mum's 50th, we decided, when we were there in fact, that we had to go back. We were planning on going to New York for Dad's 50th which is July 2009, but all agreed we would prefer to go back to the Smokies.

The Holiday:
We loved our holiday to the Smokies this year, but didn't have nearly enough time. This time we wanted more time in the mountains to explore and we also wanted time to explore a little further. So we planned to go for 17 nights, and then began looking in to the places we wanted to visit. We thought about Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and Alabama. We looked into where we could visit and what we could do in each state, and how long it would take us to get to and from certain places. After much research and discussion we have come up with an initial plan but still have a long way to go until its set in stone:

3 nights in Atlanta
8 nights in Pigeon Forge
2 nights in Nashville
2 nights in Alabama - Huntsville
1 night in Atlanta​

Now we are not 100% on this plan, we are still not totally convinced about Alabama, or that this is the perfect route. So I would love ideas and opinions on this plan, please Oh and obviously I will be doing a PRT for this nearer to the time but thought I would give you a little bit of information about it now (mainly in the hopes you can help).

 

[CoP Luv]

If you want to come to Chicago, you should really plan for a Sept. or Oct. trip. The fall here is beautiful and not too warm, though we did have a few 75 F days at the end of Oct. here. If you are that lucky, the lake is it's warmest at that time of year! You better work this trip into your itinerary!...planning for 2010 now since you have all of next year already booked with fabulous holidays!

That's too bad that Sophie and your mom live 5 hours away. DH's parents live that far too so we hardly get to see them. But we will be there for Christmas and I know that DH is really excited to see his family.

I have never really been to the south, except Disney - so no help from me there. Though your trip report to the Smokies has made me rethink about not being a "nature girl" Everything looked really fun... especially the Atlanta aquarium.


Becky

 

[ariel2007]

CoP Luv ~I am kind of a nature girl as I was born and raised right next to the country and my family are very into taking walks and drives in the country and at the seaside and moors which are also quite close by. Its something we have always done, so I am just used to it. Saying that I am not someone who goes hiking, my outdoors experiences are very selective . But I do love animals and marine life and love visiting zoo's and aquariums and wildlife parks. Its great because Sophie is a major animal freak so we have lots of fun doingd tours and things. I do not like bugs and insects however

 

[disneydusted]

I must say that little white villa you had last year is just beautiful! I love the picture of Sophie and Nick in front of it.
The new villa looks like fun too. It's nice to have a vacation for relaxing. My parents live at a lake in North Carolina and we love to go down there to do the water sports and hang out on the porch.
Do you take your cats and Sophie take her dog along? Our Lab loves the lake and jumps off the dock going after fish. She gets pretty fired up about them! Doesn't take much to get her going!

 

[ariel2007]

disneydusted ~ Last years villa was beautiful, its very typical of the architecture and style of the houses in Brittany. I am hoping that I will be able to get a holiday house just like this in the future for all our family to use. I will try and remember when we go to take pictures of all the houses to show you just how many llok like this. The only difference is some have brown stone round the windows and some have grey, and then some have blue window shutters, some have brown. The houses are decievingly big inside too. The last one had 3 levels with the basement leading off the drive with space for 2 cars and then a small storage room which had lots of baby things in, and then a bigger room with the washing machine, an additional fridge and freezer, sink, dining table and more storage. I think this is quite typical to have additional space under the house for these things. The house itself then had a lounge, dining area off the lounge and then another dining area in a conservatory. The kitchen then had another dining area and then another outside... we had endless opportunities of where to eat

Unfortunately we don't take the cats. My Mum did think about taking the dog but as it is abroad she would have to have a passport, injections etc. It was also hard finding a house that took pets, and it would be very restrictive of where we could visit as most beaches don't allow dogs in the summer. My older sister will be home though to look after her and Nick's Dad looks after our cats so they will be fine

 

[troobabiee7]

Your family's so cute I love how much you guys travel, you remind me so much of my own family. Just that you all travel more and I'm way more jealous... Your plans for the south sound good! I'm in the middle of your Smokies trip report from last year, and the cabin looked BEAUTIFUL! We were renting one just like it if we went to Gatlinburg this coming summer, and as much as I'm psyched for Disney I do hate that we won't get to stay in a huge cabin overlooking the mountains I'm not an outdoorsy person at all, but there's something about the mountains that I absolutely love. They're so peaceful and beautiful, as long as I'm looking down at them from the comfort of my balcony, or walking along paved paths When you go back, are you renting the same cabin or a new one?

The rest of your plans look good, but I'm not sure about Alabama. There's not much there. I'm sure it's nice, but it's just not my thing. I don't want to offend anyone from Alabama so I'll leave it at that If I were you I'd add the extra nights onto Georgia and visit Savannah. It's a little farther out - around 4 hours from Atlanta and 6 from Pigeon Forge. You could start in Atlanta, drive up to Nashville since it's farther out, then head over to Pigeon Forge, and then drive around to Savannah (along the coast) and then back to Atlanta. It makes for a nice little loop around the area, and you get to drive through the mountains on your way from Pigeon Forge to Savannah, it's a pretty drive! And Savannah is absolutely GORGEOUS. It's one of my favorite little cities in the country, it's like stepping back in time to the Gone With the Wind era

 

[ariel2007]

Melissa ~ I love taking family holidays, my Grandparents are so much fun. They are really young at heart, especially my Grandad who is probably fitter then I am. And they are so funny too, especially after my Grandad has had a few whiskeys. I would love for them to come with us to the Smokies, I think they would absolutely love it all, especially as my Grandad is a big Dolly fan. But my Grandma won't fly, she is petrified, and my Grandad would never go anywhere without her. We were hoping to wear them down with all our pictures and video from last time but no such luck.

The cabin we had last time was so lovely. At the end of a busy day we would always sit in the hot tub with a glass of wine overlooking the beautiful mountains. It was just so peaceful and lovely.
We are not sure about if we are going to stay in the same cabin again yet. We loved it loads, the cabin was beautiful, we loved all the space, the spas, jacuzzi baths, gamesrooms, and the view and location was fabulous. We did pass quite a few that didn't have half the view or look half as nice, so we are worried that it may not be as good as our last one. We have found another beautiful one, it is practically the same but slightly different. It is laid out the same, has the four bedrooms each with jacuzzi bath and bathroom, the games room and all that, but is just decorated slightly differently. Its in the same area so should still have the great views and be close to all the same amenities so we may go for this one. And then there are ones with pools, but due to Sophie's obsession with swimming that may not be a great idea if we ever want to do anything else.

Alabama is actually my Mum's idea, she really wants to go there for some reason. I did have someone else mention that there is not a lot to do there, and when I looked in to it I couldn't find much but Mum wants to go and its an easy route that doesn't involve too much driving. We actually only plan to spend one full day there which we plan to go to the space place in Huntsville, and the other day we will probably visit Lynchburg en-route to Alabama. The only thing is we want to do something good on our last day. Last time we went to Stone Mountain and ended the day with the amazing lazer show there, it was a great end to the holiday. However we may be driving back to Atlanta for part of the day and its also Labour day so it will be busy.

 

[ariel2007]

I am so annoyed with Disney's stupid updates, I don't understand why they need to take quite so long. And its so frustrating to constantly be told different dates to when the system will be back up again. First there were reports it would late December, then beginning of December, so 1st of December I phone up to find out to be told that it may now be mid-late January but they do not know at all so to phone week by week to check. I phoned today to see if I could book any of the tours we want to do, and was told not until the system is up, and to check back next week. I just want to get things booked now, I hate having to wait around, worrying we may not get what we want .

 

[troobabiee7]

It sounds like you have it all planned out! You'll have fun regardless of what you do. And sorry about the Disney booking. I'm still not even sure what they're doing with the system, but I'm sure you'll still get what you want!

 

[ariel2007]

Melissa ~ From what I have heard they are updating the system so you can book reservations online. I know in the long run this will probably be a good thing but its typical it has to effect our bookings. I have heard they may be changing the booking window from 180 days to 90 too but all the CM's tell you different things, I don't think they really know TBH.