Can You Still Do Disney On A Dime? How?

February 23, 2012

Apologies if you received the wrong blog post today! Here is more Disney-themed one.

When you have a child with special needs, some budget items can’t be cut. Glasses, gluten-free cereal, hearing aid batteries, occupational therapy, and/or socks without seams are not cheap. They also are not optional……

If you still want to share Disney with your children, focus on what is included at every level, and when you plan, look for constant costs vs. variable expenses. One is the cost of entry, the other kind of cost is more within your control.

Are You A Mean Disney Mommy?

February 17, 2012

One of my friends posted from Disney saying that if you don’t discipline your kids at home, don’t try to …

Things Boys Think Are Fun or Funny

February 7, 2012

What I love about these trips is that children who have a dry sense of humor, or who are learning about irony, gentle teasing, and social skills, see how humor can be used to raise your spirits, not lower your self-esteem. It is a vacation from the bullies on the baseball field or the world of snarky text messages and tweets from the mean girls on the blacktop. Your kid will also learn a few jokes that won’t get him sent to the principal’s office, so you have a vacation from those phone calls when you get home. How magical is that?

One More Thing…

January 24, 2012

A milestone trip in is the works, and all have been briefed that Mommy is calling the shots this time …

President Obama at Walt Disney World? Always. Well, in Animatronic Form

January 17, 2012

There has been some buzz about whether or not the Obama family will be at the Walt Disney World Resort on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Since today is Mrs. Obama’s birthday, I was delighted to hear confirmation that a trip is in the works!

Who is Karlie?

January 4, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4U66NtgaTc&sns=fb

Karlie is a little girl who is 3, and is receiving medical care for serious condition. Her family has a lot of faith. Others are supplying trust & pixie dust. Her mom and dad sent a prayer request out on facebook while she was having surgery to the 400 or so folks who were following her story. When she came out of surgery, over 1500 folks added her page to theirs, and rooted her on. She is now being prayed for (or wished upon a star for) by 13,241 friends. You can be one by liking her page: https://www.facebook.com/prayingforkarlie Sometimes grandparents update folks, sometimes it is mom, and Karlie has a sister who is working through the stress of having the family cope with so much news. Feel free to pray for her, too.
A request went out via a Mommy blogger I love: Kristin at http://www.couponingtodisney.com/ for a response from Tinkerbell, because mom & dad promised Karlie a trip when she gets well. The Disney community responded, and someone who uses the screen-name “villianslair” submitted this video. I suspect they are a cast member, but having seen the line just to meet Tinkerbell Christmas week, I think he/she must be an angel.
If you visit the facebook page, you’ll see where you can donate to this family, but all they really request is that you keep Karlie (and her friends who are also fighting some serious medical battles) in your prayers. I’m blown away by the faithful family she has, and when people ask why I love Disney, this sums it up.
Maybe you have been the mom with the child who is connected to a machine, or had a tube in the tummy. I have. Maybe you’ve had to look a doctor in the eye and say, “I hand this over to you for the next 5 hours. I’ll wait in this chair until you come back and tell me it is OK.” Maybe you’ve created a blog or social media page to update everyone, because you can’t repeat the stats of the day one more time. I have. Maybe you have been in the chapel or the cafeteria, hoping for the best, and reminding yourself that some people beat the odds. If so, please leave a message for this family.
I hope, when things got better, you made it Disney to celebrate. I pray that happens for Karlie’s family, as well, and I really hope it happens soon.
Who is Karlie? She is kind of all of ours, isn’t she?

A Holiday Surprise from runDisney: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler

December 21, 2011

http://youtu.be/tHNCc7AfZdE

Disney has this amazing approach to a hybrid holiday-Christmas/Halloween mash up. See: Nightmare Before Christmas. See also, this “Christmas Gift” from Mickey that gets you thinking about next fall’s plans. That being said, a 10-mile race in the fall means that your bathing suit is not be your enemy. When my husband and I ran a relay last October, I found it much easier to runDisney than runIRL (in real life). Our friend encouraged me to try the Princess 1/2 marathon, but 13.1 seems about 6 miles too far. This race is actually reasonable. Hint: secure a babysitter, or bring one with you, if you’ll need one. The post-race events go way past the hours of the kids club operating hours. Even if you aren’t a runner, this video of the characters donning gay apparel is pretty cute.