Our Magical WDW Adventure -24 Days of Food and Fun-Updated 3/8 -Come Join Us

[ariel2007]

Since its not long till I go now and its pretty quiet around here tonight I thought I would enlighten you on my WDW shopping list. Now as you may be able to tell I love to shop , I especially love to shop at WDW and end up buying a large number of souvenirs. Now since my trip was booked around 10 months out and I have been bouncing off the walls ever since I decided to have a look on the net and see if I could find pictures of Disney merchandise so I can get an idea of some of the things I want to buy. Now this is by no means anywhere near the sum total of what I want to get, but here is a random selection of what I'm hoping to purchase:

I really want a clock for the spare bedroom and saw a few really nice ones last time. Here is a couple I have seen that I really like:

Some pins, obviously I will purchasing a fair few of these to add to my collection:

Were planning on stocking up on a few ariel toppers as our last one got eaten by birds

And some I have seen for Mum and Soph:

And a cuddly (I'm sure I will get lots of these)

Thats some of what I have found for now, lets see how much I actually bring back

 

[retiredkid]

My word, what a lot of work you did on that last post. FANTASTIC read!!!
This is for sure one of my favourite TRs. Cannot wait for the upcoming trip.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I bought that Steamboat Willie pin on my last trip. hehe

 

[ariel2007]

My word, what a lot of work you did on that last post. FANTASTIC read!!!
This is for sure one of my favourite TRs. Cannot wait for the upcoming trip.

Ah Thank you so much, thats so cool . I was hoping at least one person would read and enjoy it so I guess I haven't done bad for my first report . The Reminiscing Part 3 kept me up till 3.30am, but I couldn't stop as I would have lost it so had to keep going, I was pretty tired yesterday morning.
Will hopefully post some more in the next few days, and guess what only 12 more sleeps

I bought that Steamboat Willie pin on my last trip. hehe

I love the Steamboat Willie pin, its so cool. I love all the Steamboat Willie stuff, probably as its where it all started

 

[ariel2007]

Well its been a hectic few days here, Mum, Dad and Sophie left this morning and I had to go straight to work, then come home and tidy the house up a bit before I could sit down and catch up on things. I thought I would post a mini-trippie and some photos of our last few days, and yes there is lots to do with Disney .

Monday
Mum, Dad and Sophie arrived on Monday night. We had a quick catch up and I gave them there New York gift bags which they all loved. Sophie gave me and Nick the most wonderful Disney collage

We had some pizza for tea it was time for bed.

Tuesday:
Tuesday we had a lazy day, in the afternoon we went to a nearby shopping centre for a bit. I was quite good and only brought a few hair things from Claires, although Sophie bugged me the whole time to get her a Hannah Montana wig . We had a Starbucks and headed home for tea. We watched Cars as none of them had seen it before - they loved it to.

Wednesday:
Today was our London day - every time they come up to stay we go to London for a day and do a different attraction and sometimes see a show. This time we were going to the London Aquarium, somewhere Nick and I had been meaning to go for ages.
We caught the tube to London, on the way we gave Dad a lovely makeover, unfortunately I didn't get any pictures but he looked really pretty .
We had lunch in a Chinese noodle bar on the waterfront then went to the Aquarium. The aquarium was good, it had a huge shark tank, rays that you could stroke (although they never came near the sides) and lots of tropical fish. It was cool and strange being there - cool because we knew that shortly Nick and I would be swimming with sharks like that and feeding rays. Strange because after going to WDW, Seaworld and Discovery Cove its hard to appreciate somewhere small like this as much. Heres some photo's of the aquarium:

How cool are these jellyfish... unless of course you meet them in the ocean

Can you spot it??

This cute little fella loved to suck onto the glass and have his picture taken

In 13 days we will be swimming with these

Watch out behind you pig

Nemo...

... And Dory

 

[ariel2007]

After the Aquarium we walked along by the river as we headed over to Buckingham Palace

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament from outside the Aquarium

And up close

A close up of the London Eye

We walked through St James Park, it was so pretty, I can't believe I have never been here before (well I did when I was a baby). There is a river running through the middle and there were Pelicans and swans on the water. We also met some rather friendly squirrels

The view from St James Park:

And in front of the palace:

Buckingham Palace:

A London bus

We went to Harrods to have a look around and of course, a Krispy Kreme

We saw this cool display in the tea and chocolate section... some traces of Disney here....

And here...

The teddys on the toy floor

Oh and I want one of these, it was so cool

By this time we were very tired so we caught the tube back again, Sophie however was full of energy:

Her Top Model pose

 

[ariel2007]

Thursday:
Late morning we drove to Lakeside, a huge nearby shopping center. We started with lunch at Wagamama's - this is a Japanese chain restaurant and the food is so good and fresh, and its a different experience. We took some pictures on the Boardwalk and then headed off to shop

Of course we had to look in here:

I was a really good girl though and didn't buy anything, Nick however brought me a cute little Mickey purse for our holiday
We then moved on to Bluewater Mall, another huge mall nearby. This time I did part with some cash and got a gorgeous pair of flip flops, a pair of shoes and Mum brought me a gorgeous dress all for my holiday. After all that shopping we needed a rest, and look what we came across

Sophie had fun

I want this one

I also managed to see the Swarovski Disney jewelery for real

The Disney jewelery collection

I love all these, they are so gorgeous

And the figurines:

We went and got a Krispy Kreme (2 in 2 days) and then drove home picking up some tea on the way back.
Once home we played Disney Scene It, I won again, good job else I would never live it down

They then left this morning and its back to reality for a week before our holiday. I have so much to do and so little time, so I better get on with it...

Just thought I would add these cause they are so cute

 

[retiredkid]

great little mini-trippie. Aquarium looks fantastic. You never seem to get too far away from Disney Love the jewelry.

getting close!!

 

[disneydusted]

Pelicans in London!! Who knew!?! That was a surprise! You all are such great trip takers... and now Disney coming soon!

 

[ariel2007]

great little mini-trippie. Aquarium looks fantastic. You never seem to get too far away from Disney Love the jewelry.

getting close!!

I know, I'm so excited, I can't believe its come so quickly

Yes the aquarium was good, it was a good run up to Seaworld and Epcot. And I can always incorporate Disney in anything

Pelicans in London!! Who knew!?! That was a surprise! You all are such great trip takers... and now Disney coming soon!

He he we were so shocked to see the pelicans, we saw these big white birds and no-one believed me when I said it was pelicans, but it was. It was certainly an unexpected sight .

 

[ariel2007]

We got all our villa details through today - it contained a list of all the details i.e. check in / out times, addresses, villa codes etc and then some maps of the villa, Glenbrook and the management company. Its beginning to seem really real now

 

[chcmama]

We are going to be there the same time, we are going April 25-May9. I haven't read your whole PTR, but I looked at your trip to London. My brother was stationed in England with the Air Force and Wagamama's was one of my niece's favorite places to eat. We were hoping to visit them before they got sent somewhere else but we never got to, my parents did though. Not too long until we all get to go. I look forward to reading your Trip report after you get back.

 

[BrittBritt]

I loved reading about your previous trip. Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of those pics. You all look like you had a blast! It was neat to see how much older Miss Sophie looks now!

I can't believe you have one week left! It will fly by!

Silly question, but does the queen actually live in Buckingham Palace?
And, do you care if Prince William gets engaged to Kate Middleton? I think if I lived in England, I would be OBSESSED with the royals!

 

[ariel2007]

We are going to be there the same time, we are going April 25-May9. I haven't read your whole PTR, but I looked at your trip to London. My brother was stationed in England with the Air Force and Wagamama's was one of my niece's favorite places to eat. We were hoping to visit them before they got sent somewhere else but we never got to, my parents did though. Not too long until we all get to go. I look forward to reading your Trip report after you get back.

Shame you never got to visit England, and try Wagamama's, its great . And yes not long now, we may even bump into each other.

I loved reading about your previous trip. Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of those pics. You all look like you had a blast! It was neat to see how much older Miss Sophie looks now!

I can't believe you have one week left! It will fly by!

Silly question, but does the queen actually live in Buckingham Palace?
And, do you care if Prince William gets engaged to Kate Middleton? I think if I lived in England, I would be OBSESSED with the royals!

What you said about Sophie is exactly what I said to Mum, she looks so much older even in the pictures from our 2005 trip to our 2006 trip, she seems to be growing up so fast. The thing is though she is still quite young mentally - I dont mean shes thick but she still plays with toys, loves dressing up and really doesn't want to grow up, quite unusual for kids her age . She is also really little compared to other kids her age but she still seems big to me as it seems like yesterday she was little, watching teletubies and crying for her dummy.

The queen mainly lives at Buckingham Palace but also at Windsor Castle, Sandringham House or Balmoral (in Scotland). I actually saw the queen once which was quite cool. No I dont really mind if William and Kate get married, she seems quite down to earth and sweet... although if he fancies coming my way I wouldn't say no

 

[chcmama]

How old is Sophie? My dd will be 11 in May and she loves to dress up too, she also is small for her age. I do notice that kids that have older siblings tend to act older sooner than the oldest. Although in your case she is probably more like an only child since their is such a big age gap. That would be fun if our paths crossed.

 

[ariel2007]

How old is Sophie? My dd will be 11 in May and she loves to dress up too, she also is small for her age. I do notice that kids that have older siblings tend to act older sooner than the oldest. Although in your case she is probably more like an only child since their is such a big age gap. That would be fun if our paths crossed.

Sophie's 11, but she is definitely the baby of the family. She doesn't have any interest of wearing make-up, looking fashionable or having boyfriends, she hates alcohol (something kids of her age begin to get interested in over here), and hates swearing. She hates me saying she looks grown up or older, she says she wants to be younger again .
If you get chance to look the rest of my trippie you will see loads of photos of her, lots in Disney throughout the last few trips and she looks so much younger.
I will keep an eye out for you

 

[disneydusted]

It is getting close!!! You are going to have so much fun! Eat a frozen chocolate Mickey head for me! Maybe even a Dole Whip! Or a chocolate crossiant from the bakery in MGM (Hollywood Studios!) Can you tell I am wishing I was there?? I hope all of the last minute plans are coming together..... smooth flights and all of that. Have a great trip! I will be looking forward to hearing about it!

 

[retiredkid]

oooooooooooooooooooooo

I'm excited for you!!!!

 

[ariel2007]

AKA...The One With A Bit of Plane Spotting, Some Pampering and A Whole Lot of Packing
Well its been a really long week, but its finally here . I finished my last shift at work last night, driving home was great, not only had a just finished my last shift for a month but the sun was still shining, it was a lovely evening and as I drove home I got to see lots of planes. Today has been a gorgeous sunny day and also been a long day so far. This morning I drove to the town where I work which means driving by Stansted airport, I love driving past here everyday seeing all the planes, its even better the closer the holiday gets knowing in a few days I'll be on one on the way to the most magical place ever. I had my hair and nails done and then it was home to finish printing off our plans, putting tunes onto our Ipod and cd's.

Our overall plan

My planning notebook

My important folder

I looked everywhere for a notebook to take, I just wanted a small lightweight one that would fit in my backpack so I can make notes. The last 2 times I brought 3 pack Disney Princess and Winnie the Pooh ones for Soph, Mum and I but this time nothing... I literally looked everywhere. So I brought the only one I could find and decorated it...

Oh and Nicks Mousekeeping envelopes as promised:

For the Polynesian and Yacht Club

And Royal Pacific

And then it was time for... the dreaded packing. It wasn't to bad, although it took me forever just taking off the tags of all my new clothes, I didn't realize just how much I had. I managed to squeeze everything in, just... lucky we have a spare case to take too.

Heres some of my new things and packing:

My GHD Mark 4 travel set

Inside

 

[ariel2007]

My hair stuff

Wash bag and wash stuff

My make-up

As you can see I love YSL make-up

Mini products for my hand luggage

New accessorize jewelery

And a bit of Disney:

The purse Nick brought me to take

My Tink t-shirt

Tink p-j's

Now that everythings done, Nicks off to get an Indian takeaway for tea, i'm going to open a bottle of wine and then its time to relax... and have our final sleep at home for the next 25 nights