Shopaholic Goes Disney.... A Pre-Trip Report (Updated 12/26)

[BellaSoleil]

Formerly known as "A Little Dash of Fairy Dust"

Update: After being completey bored with my lack-luster title and being inspired by my new friend AGPrincess and her catchy title, I decided that I needed a change! I've thought long and hard on this, believe me!!!! My first thought was Ken and Barbie Do Disney, but I didn't want to give people the wrong impression. I am so not a Barbie type of girl! (Blonde-hair-aside ) In fact, when people gave me Barbie's for gifts (as a child) I would politley (okay, not-so-politely) inform them that I despised the doll and would not play with their gift. Barbie stories aside, I haven't been able to stop shopping since we booked our trip. AND, if memory serves me correctly I bought my first copy of the book Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella 5 years ago in the Atlanta airport before boarding a flight home from Orlando. That being said, I give you my new and improved pre-trip report. Yahoo!


I have an awful case of the planning bug! It happened about two weeks after my daughter (Belle, currently 15 months) was born. I looked deep into those big blue eyes and just knew that baby needed a trip to Disney World. My husband thought I was looney and so we realistically decided that we would take her for her 5th Birthday. I was satisfied with that and planned the whole thing in my head on the spot. We would stay at Poly, eat breakfast in the Castle the morning of her birthday, take her to the Bippity Boppity Boutique and shower her with all things Disney Princess. Then, 5 days later on our anniversary G (DH) and I would sneak of her a romantic evening at Cali Grill, while she played the night away at the Neverland Club. Oh, I couldn’t wait!

One day I got the bright idea that maybe we could swing this on her 2nd birthday. I even roped my parents in to come and help take care of her. It could really work! Then, a few weeks ago, I decided to take Belle on a mini-vacation. After pushing her around the Dallas Aquarium on a hot summer day I decided that I was absolutely, under no circumstances ready to take a toddler to Disney. Still, I longed to see the mouse.

Backing things up a bit…..

G and I were married on May 5th, 2006 and honeymooned at Disney World. It was his first trip and he loved every second. Three months into our blissful life as newlyweds, we were surprised to find out that a baby was on the way. (Not completely surprised, we understand how these things happen.) That January we planned a cruise to celebrate our 1st anniversary early, since I would most likely spend our anniversary giving birth. Belle was born 5 days before our anniversary, so it has now become a tradition to celebrate our marriage in January and focus on the birthday girl in May.

That being said, this year is a big year for G. He will be graduating from school and turning 40 in the fall. He’s worked very hard and deserves a vacation! Together we decided to plan our January trip at Walt Disney World! Woo-Hoo!

We are taking one, final trip to WDW alone before it’s all about our precious Belle!

So here it goes…. Our trip-planning report!

INDEX:
Castmembers
Oh, Happy Day!
Honeymoonin’s Part 1
Honeymoonin’s Part 2
Final Plans (HaHa)
Honeymoonin’s Part 3
I Don’t Do Lines
Flights and Fashion
Perfectly Princess
The Great Vera Debate
Fairy Tales Are True
Rain, Rain Go Away- Take me to my happy place
Cream Cheese, Cheddar Cheese and Chocolate
Shoes, Shoes, Glorious Shoes
Green Goddess
low-rise woes
Red Lobster
Bedazzled…The Shopping List
Guess Who?
I feel like Cinderella
What Not to Wear
Disney Boot Camp
It’s Man Purse Time!!!
Shopaholic Goes Dallas
A Very, Merry Un-Disney Birthday
Mr. Anti-Shopaholic
Rise & Shine...Day 1 Plans
French Toast and Funny Ghost...Day 2 Plans
Princesses and Rockstars...Day 3 Plans
Pizza, Pumpkins and a Patisserie...Day 4 Plans
Wishes and Wontons...Day 5 Plans
New York to Paris...Day 6 and 7 Plans
A Shopaholic Christmas
Shopaholic Goes Goodbye

 

[Native NYer]

Joining in!!!

 

[BellaSoleil]

Hey! Thanks! I've got to get my 10 posts going and then I will post pictures.

 

[BellaSoleil]

Castmembers:

DH (aka 'G'), 40, musician/ full-time student/doting father/the love of my life

G took his first trip to Disney on May 6, 2006. It was our Honeymoon. He did not travel alot growing up, but loved the Disney characters. Especially Donald. I have successfully turned him into a huge WDW fan!

Me (Soleil), 26 former Disney Castmember / mommy

I took my first trip to Disney at the ripe ole' age of 14. My grandmother took all of the grandaughters and spoiled us rotten for a week. At that moment I decided that all I wanted to do in life was dance at Disney World. I started working at Disney in January of 2000 and MGM Studios (it will always be MGM to me). Two summers later, I was in a car accident and lost the top of my foot, ending my dancing career. My dreams were cut short and I cry like a baby every time I watch The Festival of the Lion King.

DD (Belle), 18 months, too cute for just one picture. (Will be staying with Grandaddy and Nana this time around.)

Belle's favorite thing in the world is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Pooh. (Yes, the training has begun.) She is very prissy and will hopefully one day be a huge princess fan. We call her Tink, because she was a tiny 5 pounds when she was born. G said, "She's tiny like Tinkerbelle" and she's been Tink every since.

 

[BellaSoleil]

-Traveling in January
-6 days, 5 nights
- Wilderness Lodge Resort


Itinerary:

Day 1: Magic Kingdom / Dinner at O'Hana
Day 2: AM-Animal Kingdom, lunch at Yak & Yeti
PM-Epcot, Dinner at LeCellier
Day 3: AM- Breakfast at Chef Mickeys,
Shopping at Downtown Disney for me, DisneyQuest for G.
PM-HoopDeeDoo
Day 4: AM-Epcot, Princess Breakfast(I have to check it out before I take DD
PM- ?
Day 5: AM- MGM, lunch at 50's Prime Time
PM- Epcot, Dinner @ Tokyo
Day 6- Magic Kingdom

 

[spoonfulofsugr]

What a beautiful family! I can't wait to hear more about your upcoming trip.

 

[BellaSoleil]

Thank you very much!

 

[Native NYer]

Your daughter is such a cutie!!

Your plans look great. January is such a great time to visit. Nice weather and not so crowded.

 

[joelp]

You are two smart people waiting to take the DD to WDW (and as a former CM, you should know ) ... but don't wait until she's 5 ...


We took our DD in May 2007 when she was 3.5 - (with the GPs, too!!) - and it was GREAT!! Wonderful age to take a kid ...

So - we're heading back this December ... (I actually started planning our Dec trip on the plane home last May ... ) - my "original thinking" was a trip every three years-or-so ... That plan is now officially out the window ...

And when you do take her - since your anniversary and her birthday are both in May -- there's nothing quite like Mother's Day at Cinderella's Royal Table ...


And may I suggest for Day 4 pm - dinner at Boma ... ? and then hang out on the Arusha Rosk and take in the savannah (to quote my DW: "This is as romantic as s**t!" ... she has a way with words ... )

Now - since your PTR distracted me - I REALLY have to floss (and my DD just got out of her bath and asked me to put in the "cheerleader" ... and if you want to know what that - and the need to REALLY, REALLY floss!! - is all about, you'll have to check out my PTR ...)

 

[the4princesses]

Your DD is a cute pie!! You are right!! Her eyes are so pretty!!
I love to look at peoples eyes!!
Hey, I brought my DD19 when she was 11 months old I wish you could have seen her with Minnie!! I have a picture of her touching Minnie's nose!!

Hey, I see you are from La.!! We live in Gonzales! Where do you all live?
What did you do at WDW?
My DD14 want's to work at Disney!
I heard that WDW bought 1900 acres in Livingston Parish. do you know anything about that?/
We are flying to POP Sept. 3-10th with Free dining!!
Hey did you know about free dining?
Write back,
kathy

 

[BellaSoleil]

You are two smart people waiting to take the DD to WDW (and as a former CM, you should know ) ... but don't wait until she's 5 ...


We took our DD in May 2007 when she was 3.5 - (with the GPs, too!!) - and it was GREAT!! Wonderful age to take a kid ...

So - we're heading back this December ... (I actually started planning our Dec trip on the plane home last May ... ) - my "original thinking" was a trip every three years-or-so ... That plan is now officially out the window ...

And when you do take her - since your anniversary and her birthday are both in May -- there's nothing quite like Mother's Day at Cinderella's Royal Table ...


And may I suggest for Day 4 pm - dinner at Boma ... ? and then hang out on the Arusha Rosk and take in the savannah (to quote my DW: "This is as romantic as s**t!" ... she has a way with words ... )

Now - since your PTR distracted me - I REALLY have to floss (and my DD just got out of her bath and asked me to put in the "cheerleader" ... and if you want to know what that - and the need to REALLY, REALLY floss!! - is all about, you'll have to check out my PTR ...)

Tell me more about this Boma, please. I have only researched Jiko.

 

[BellaSoleil]

Your DD is a cute pie!! You are right!! Her eyes are so pretty!!
I love to look at peoples eyes!!
Hey, I brought my DD19 when she was 11 months old I wish you could have seen her with Minnie!! I have a picture of her touching Minnie's nose!!

Hey, I see you are from La.!! We live in Gonzales! Where do you all live?
What did you do at WDW?
My DD14 want's to work at Disney!
I heard that WDW bought 1900 acres in Livingston Parish. do you know anything about that?/
We are flying to POP Sept. 3-10th with Free dining!!
Hey did you know about free dining?
Write back,
kathy

-We live in North La. I do know where Gonzales is.
-I worked at MGM studios - Fantasmic, Mulan Parade and Beauty and the Beast.
-I have heard about the land in Livingston Parish. I wonder what that is all about, as well.
-Have fun in September! I do know about free dining, but DH is finishing up school in September. He graduates in December. (I think.)

 

[BellaSoleil]

I just thought I'd add in a few pictures from our wedding.



I know that's very cliche', but it was the best day of my life. We had a private ceremony with just friends and family, followed by a big (very fun) reception. The only bad thing was that I ended up with food posioning as soon as DH and I got to the hotel that night. It was the worst case I've ever experienced and I thought I would end up in the ER on my wedding night! I think it was pride alone that kept me from going. Needless to say, we've been left with very fond memories of our first night as man and wife. None of which are the least bit romantic.

G seeing me for the first time on our wedding day.

 

[joelp]

Tell me more about this Boma, please. I have only researched Jiko.

Well, first off - it's one of my DW's favorite restuarants (and I like it, too!! [and no - I'm not Irish ... ] )- so I've booked us to eat there twice for dinner during our upcoming trip (and since we're staying at AKL, we may end up having breakfast there, too ... they don't serve lunch ...)

While Jiko is a more refined "adult" dining experience (so I understand ...), with the big "draw" being the wine selection (as well as the food, of course) ...

Boma is more "family-oriented" ... It's a buffet, but with food like you've never seen at a buffet before!! I understand there are three different "menus" which rotate each night during the week, with Sunday being "potluck" ... And it's all made "fresh" right in front of you, with the chefs ready to answer any questions you may have... And - it's only 1TS - while Jiko is 2TS ...

"African-flavored" food - but nothing too outrageous (coming from LA, you shouldn't have any "problems" ...) - and since it's a buffet, you can "experiment" with small portions - - and then go stuff your face with the stuff you really like!!

For example, there's prime rib - but with 3 or 4 different sauces you can put on it ... I fell in love with "Palaver stew" (I think that was what it was called ...) which seemed to have everything possible (beef, chicken, shrimp, veggies ...) in it ... so every bite was different ...

If you haven't already discovered it, here's the link to the All Ears web site, which has menus, reviews, etc. ...

http://allears.net/

Enjoy!!

 

[spoonfulofsugr]

Gorgeous wedding pix. I love your dress! That stinks about the food poisoning but hey, nothing ever goes the way we plan, right?

 

[BellaSoleil]

I am going to attempt to recap our Honeymoon. It was over two years ago, so I am relying on pictures to help me along. Being that it was our Honeymoon, we really only took pictures of each other and not so much the scenery. Sorry!

The plans-
10 days at Disney at POFQ. We wanted to take it slow and sleep in every morning. (Well, almost every morning.)

Saturday, May 6th, 2006

We wanted to sleep in the morning after our wedding. It was a good thing we did, since I was suffering from food poisoning and had hardly slept the night before. Our flight left around noon. My mom came and picked us up at our hotel and we flew to Atlanta with my best friend Tina (also my roommate in Orlando). It was so much fun being able to fly out of Shreveport with her. G and I arrived in Orlando around 2 (I think). We took advantage of the Magical Express, because it was free at the time. (Is it still free? I don’t really enjoy bus rides and plan on getting a town car this go round. Any suggestions?) As far as I can remember it went very smooth.

We checked in to POFQ and it went very quick and smooth. The lobby was beautiful and we were even more impressed by our room. We were in room 6326, which was a corner room overlooking the river. It was so romantic. The whole time we were at POFQ felt very calm and private. (With the exception of breakfast in the food court. Oh my!)

We had originally planned to take the boat to Downtown Disney, but the line was extra long and I still wasn’t feeling well. We took a stroll to POR and tried to get into Boatwright’s. No such luck. Instead, I went and sat at the bar and ordered a Mudslide (YUM!) while G went and got burgers in the food court (not so yum). I managed to spill my Mudslide all over the bar in front of everyone and was very embarrassed.

After dinner we headed back to the room to relax and recoup from our wedding. For some reason we ordered a pizza and it was not very good. Our luggage finally came at almost 11:00 pm. I wasn’t super thrilled about that, but at least it did show up.


Next up: The magic begins…. DH’s first trip to Magic Kingdom and dinner at Epcot. I promise it's more interesting... and I've got pictures!

-Does anyone know of a good limo/town car transportation company in Orlando?

 

[Native NYer]

Beautiful wedding pics.

 

[BellaSoleil]

G and I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to have breakfast at CRT. I hadn’t been since I was barely a teen and couldn’t wait to eat the yummy food. It was so romantic walking through a basically empty MK and I was glad G could get a clear first view of Cinderella’s Castle without being bombarded by a thousand people. We were a little annoyed by the wait and chose to pass on taking a picture with Cindy. I was a little too cool for the princesses on our Honeymoon. Perhaps, I was still a little bitter from not making it to princess status, myself. We were finally seated and had a wonderful view of Fantasyland. The food was just as good as I remembered. We were full, but not miserable. The characters didn’t really mingle with us, they just stopped by and asked if we would like a picture. G wanted one with Snow White and she was very sweet. I really regret not making more of the situation. Oh well, there’s always January!

After that we enjoyed a very light crowd in Fantasyland. We pretty much walked onto every ride. It was great! We spent a few more hours there and headed back to our resort for a nap.

At POFQ, getting ready to hop on the bus.

That evening we headed to Epcot to check out the World Showcase. G had dinner in England (fish and chips) and I got a ham and cheese croissant from France (my favorite food in the whole wide world). G did a wine tasting in Italy and I had a glass of champagne in France. We were feeling a little silly and decided to ride Maelstrom.

After going through my pictures, I realized that we went back to MK that night for Wishes. Good to know, as I didn’t remember that at all!!!

After going through my pictures, I realized that we went back to MK that night for Wishes. Good to know, as I didn’t remember that at all!!!

 

[joelp]

We took advantage of the Magical Express, because it was free at the time. (Is it still free? I don’t really enjoy bus rides and plan on getting a town car this go round. Any suggestions?) As far as I can remember it went very smooth.

ME is still free ... we used it last May (2007) ... when we stayed at POFQ ... just about the same dates ... [so we only missed you by a year ...]

Can't help you with the town car - but I rather enjoyed the ME ride (the bus wasn't crowded at all ...)

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm joining in! All of your pictures are so beautiful!