Snacks, Sips & Spooks in October 2012... and a Mexican Fantasy cruise in June 2013!

[disneybarbie]

I know how hard it is to study and work at the same time. I am doing the same thing and I'm exhausted. But my trip is coming too. At least there's some bright light in the distance lol

Thanks Chrissie it is hard to fit in studying around work.. but my aim this year is to get through the last few exams so I'm qualified and finished studying.. hopefully! I'm going to start the studies for the next papers in February, for exams in May.. then there'll be resits/final paper in September and November.. it'll be a busy year!

The idea to spread out the toiletries is a good idea! I will have to remember that!

Also, it's probably not a good idea that I now know Amazon sells Disney Couture brand. To quote Filch from the Harry Potter films, "Oh, we are in trouble..."

Hi! I really like spreading out buying our toiletries before a vacation now - it also means each week in the supermarket I can think "what shall I buy for Florida this week?!"
Lol about Disney Couture on Amazon .. mine was from the UK site but sure the US one will have it too.. the prices were much much better than I'd seen on other sites though I really like the DC jewellery range too!

I'm so excited to have found your PTR!!

I love that you're going to be Barbie from Toy Story 3!!! Please keep us updated on how the costume is coming along.

Hi! Thank you so much for joining in not long until your wedding & honeymoon now! I'll have to read some of your TRs this weekend Costume is going pretty well so far - I'm trying to find blue leggings but not much luck yet lol



Emma x

 

[monica23535]

Hi Emma,

Just read about your plans this year, OMG two trips!!

I'm in WDW this October too, staying right across the water from BWI so I'll keep an eye out for you, if our dates overlap lol

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Emma,

Just read about your plans this year, OMG two trips!!

I'm in WDW this October too, staying right across the water from BWI so I'll keep an eye out for you, if our dates overlap lol

Hi! Thanks for joining in our dates for October are 7th-14th at WDW.. are you staying at the Beach Club or Yacht Club? We love those resorts

It's amazing having two trips this year.. and pretty close together too! They're going to be quite different though - first is with a much bigger group & staying offsite.. then Boardwalk, Food & Wine and lots of Disney with my DH in October

Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi everyone, hope you're all having a great weekend so far

Just a quick update on my Halloween Party costume for the October trip!

As I already have the right hair colour to be Barbie, I won't need to wear a wig (don't think I'd want to in the Florida heat either! lol) .. but I decided that I might need a bit more hair to make it obvious who my costume is meant to be...

so I have bought a blonde ponytail from a shop on ebay! The prices were so much lower than I was expecting.. including postage this was about £5 ($8) and I think it works pretty well...

It clips onto my hair then wraps around..

I've also bought a piece of pink sparkly ribbon to tie in my hair too... should stay in place for the party!



Emma x

 

[PopArtGal]

the ponytail looks pretty nice.

I'd even consider wearing it for events or for fun.

 

[jenny105]

Looks great!

 

[disbeachprincess]

I would suggest American Apparel for the leggings (if you have that where you live!). They seem to always have a million different colors.

 

[disbeachprincess]

double post, sorry!

 

[monica23535]

Hi! Thanks for joining in our dates for October are 7th-14th at WDW.. are you staying at the Beach Club or Yacht Club? We love those resorts

Hi, we may bump into you lol, we check into BC on the 13th for 8 nights and then onto the Dream for the first time. I think your last TR convinced me that I needed to cruise!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Cute shirt! I need to check out this Disney Couture! And I love the ponytail! That is really going to make your look come together. It looks like it matches your hair perfectly!

 

[disneybarbie]

the ponytail looks pretty nice.

I'd even consider wearing it for events or for fun.

Looks great!

Thanks both! Lol Chrissie I was thinking of wearing the ponytail clip into work one day.. see if anyone notices I have a foot more hair

I would suggest American Apparel for the leggings (if you have that where you live!). They seem to always have a million different colors.

Thanks for the tip! There is a UK version of American Apparel - just been on their website and they do have teal blue leggings.. I'm still deciding whether shorts would be better for the costume, as it will still be pretty humid in Orlando in October? decisions decisions! hehe

Hi, we may bump into you lol, we check into BC on the 13th for 8 nights and then onto the Dream for the first time. I think your last TR convinced me that I needed to cruise!

Wow that sounds like a fantastic trip in October! I can't wait to go on our next Disney cruise next year, we had such an amazing time - hope you love it too!

Cute shirt! I need to check out this Disney Couture! And I love the ponytail! That is really going to make your look come together. It looks like it matches your hair perfectly!

Thanks Courtney - I was pretty impressed how close the 'golden blonde' ponytail was to my real hair colour hehe!
I love the Disney Couture range - but the tshirts and tops are usually around £40 ($60-$70) - but Amazon seemed to have everything at half price! They also do really nice jewellery, like necklaces that say 'Believe' and 'Fantasy'

Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi everyone,

So today marks...

200 days until our August trip! Which means 20 days until I can begin making ADRs .. I need to speak to DH's family about where they'd like to eat at Disney - I have some ideas but want to check everyone is ok with the menus


I had some inspiration from Courtney (Southerntinkerbelle.. thank you!!) and decided to make a monthly newsletter for DH's family for our vacation this year! .. they already think I'm mad about Disney, and this probably confirms it for them , but I had fun designing the first one and putting all the sections together!

This is what the January edition looks like..

Each month I'm going to pick a park (the four Disney ones and also the two Universal ones) - give an overview of its history and the attractions, and include links to the official websites & park maps
There's a hidden mickey of the month, useful website links, a trivia section, a few photos.. and a 5 question quiz too... they are all going to email me their answers and I will give a prize to whoever gets the most correct! I'm trying to get a good mix of questions about Disney, Universal Orlando and general knowledge about Florida.

This month's questions were...

1. What year did Walt Disney World open?
2. What is our outbound flight number on August 9th?
3. What is the State Capital of Florida?
4. What are the names of the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty?
5. Which newspaper did Spider-man work on?

I emailed the newsletter yesterday and have already had replies from my mother and father in law


I've just started reading the book 'Project Future' about the beginnings of Walt Disney World.. it's really interesting!

and - I've made another purchase for our trips this year... large ziplock bags for cameras/wallets/valuables while on water rides in the parks! I think these will be particularly useful at Islands of Adventure in August.. I always seem to get soaked on those water rides

Emma x

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi Emma! I hope you had a great weekend!

Woohoo on today marking 200 days!! I can't believe how quicly time is passing.

What a great idea to make a monthly newsletter and have questions etc to make it fun but at the same time keep everyone updated with what to expect during the trip

Lol I love getting soaked on the water rides! I also think it's great that you are making small purchases as you go along.

Tanz

 

[oboedm]

Great Update! I have never thought about buying ziploc bags for the water rides. That is a great idea! I have heard that the IoA rides get you ridiculously wet, so I will need to remember that. =)

I like the newsletter/quiz idea. I will have to do that for our 2013 trip. I think the kids we are going with will have fun with that. Maybe that is how I can distribute Disney pins!

 

[Leshaface]

Omgosh, I don't even know how I missed this!

Sorry i'm so late. Will be back to read. Lunchtime

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Emma! I hope you had a great weekend!

Woohoo on today marking 200 days!! I can't believe how quicly time is passing.

What a great idea to make a monthly newsletter and have questions etc to make it fun but at the same time keep everyone updated with what to expect during the trip

Lol I love getting soaked on the water rides! I also think it's great that you are making small purchases as you go along.

Tanz

Thanks Tanz - you're right this month feels like it's flying by, usually January is so slow!
I'm hoping DH's family like the newsletter.. I just want to share some of those great Disney/Orlando websites with them.. then everyone can do some planning/anticipating as the months go by it's been 3 years since they last went to Florida and there'll be quite a few new things at all the parks, plus this is the first time for us taking DH's niece - and touring with a 7 year old will be very different to our last trip (I've already had to find out where Tink & the other fairies have their meet & greets hehe)

Lol I enjoy the water rides too.. I did find the ones at IoA got me absolutely drenched though.. I have to be careful to close my eyes on the drops too otherwise my contact lenses seem to start playing up! hehe

Great Update! I have never thought about buying ziploc bags for the water rides. That is a great idea! I have heard that the IoA rides get you ridiculously wet, so I will need to remember that. =)

I like the newsletter/quiz idea. I will have to do that for our 2013 trip. I think the kids we are going with will have fun with that. Maybe that is how I can distribute Disney pins!

Thank you! That sounds like a good idea for your 2013 trip.. pins as prizes I still need to think of a prize for our quiz ... they do sell pins at the Disney Stores in the UK so that could be a good idea

Omgosh, I don't even know how I missed this!

Sorry i'm so late. Will be back to read. Lunchtime

Yay thanks for reading along Lesha!



Emma x

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I love your newsletter, Emma! It looks so much more professional than mine! I love all of the fun info you've included! I am also planning on doing a newsletter/letter for each day of our trip with info about the park we are visiting that day, the daily itinerary, must do's at the parks, etc. I think I will give it to my family in an envelope each night. I was hoping to do a layout kind of like you have to make it look more organized.

I can't believe you are so close to your ADR day! That is such a fun milestone in the countdown. Can't wait to hear which restaurants you choose!

 

[Nermel9]

Hi, I'm joining in, but I have to go back and get caught up later! Just wanted to sub before I forgot!

 

[disneybarbie]

I love your newsletter, Emma! It looks so much more professional than mine! I love all of the fun info you've included! I am also planning on doing a newsletter/letter for each day of our trip with info about the park we are visiting that day, the daily itinerary, must do's at the parks, etc. I think I will give it to my family in an envelope each night. I was hoping to do a layout kind of like you have to make it look more organized.

I can't believe you are so close to your ADR day! That is such a fun milestone in the countdown. Can't wait to hear which restaurants you choose!

Hi Courtney - that sounds like a great idea for the daily newsletters.. like the 'navigators' on the Disney cruise ships!
Lol my newsletter was a word document, but I saved it as a PDF - it looked quite good that way & the website links still worked

Hi, I'm joining in, but I have to go back and get caught up later! Just wanted to sub before I forgot!

Thanks for joining in!




Hope everyone has had a good weekend, we saw DH's parents yesterday and did a little vacation planning!
We did our online visa waivers, ESTAs, these aren't hard to do but took quite a bit of time as there is a lot of information to enter.. and for eight of us too ... but it's all done and luckily we were all 'approved' so will be able to enter the USA in August!

I gave them our guidebooks from last year, Birnbaum & the Unofficial Guide to WDW.. I said to DFiL that the latter book is pretty huge and goes into a lot of detail.. but he really seemed to like it! He read lots of it last night (while we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on tv ) ; it's nice to see that they are all getting excited about our trip together... just 28 weeks to go lol.

We are getting together weekend after next to talk about dining reservations and make a rough plan of the trip ... DH and his Dad want to book a few rounds of golf at Disney (probably Magnolia, Palm and Lake Buena Vista) so that will need booking too.

I am conscious not to over-plan this trip and want to make sure we'll have lots of free days - but at the same time I think we need to have a few days planned out... as it's going to be August... and it'll be very busy and very hot!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I can't wait to hear what you end up deciding on during your planning session!