Celebrating 12 years

Posing with a strange and random plastic duck!

 On 29th August 2009, Phil and I were married in Southampton Registry Office.  We don't give each other anniversary cards or gifts each year.  Instead we do something together which we will enjoy.  This year, we decided to go to Slimbridge WWT - our usual haunt being the sister location in Arundel. 

We'd been here before, many years ago; but that was on a very, very, very cold day in February.  The weather this time wasn't perfect, but it was at least warm and dry. The park was busy but not too bad, especially in the more remote areas (and there are plenty of those) 

We love ducks.  Plain and simple.  We love all animals, of course, but ducks seem to be our favourites.  The WWT locations have ducks, as well as geese, swans and other birds and wildlife, in abundance; so they are always a brilliant place to go.  You even get to feed them!   

It's not a well-known fact, but I do a very good imitation of an Eider duck.  These ladies and gentlemen however did not respond to my conversation - very rude!  Maybe being in eclipse makes them unusually tired?  They will always be one of my favourite ducks however.

We downloaded the app (clearly aimed at children; but also suitable for older kids like us) and "raced" around collecting the different badges.  They also provide a filter for your pictures.  I was clearly better at this than Phil, although he may disagree!  As a place for children to learn about wetland habitats and the wildlife which can be found there, the WWT locations are great.  Grown-ups can really enjoy it too.

We ended the day with a meal at the hotel where we were to stay overnight. They were very apologetic about having broken appliances, so the menu was restricted.  However, the meals we did have were delicious.  We even had an alcoholic drink each - such a rare occasion!

Breakfast the following morning was also great and definitely set us up for the coming day.

All in all, it's been a fantastic celebration for us; and we're looking forward to the next twelve years and more :)

Crazy or not?

 We're a long way off retirement, that's for sure.  So barring the unlikely event of a lottery win, this is absolutely pie-in-the-sky thinking.  But for the record, here goes.

I'd like to retire in Florida. I love the US, have done since I was a teenager, more so since I lived just west of Cleveland, Ohio for a year.  Now, as I get older , much as I love the UK, the idea of retiring in Florida sounds almost idyllic. 

I don't for a minute actually think it will ever happen; but for the moment, it's an idea which is keeping me going. 

If we look at properties in central Florida with the same value as the one we currently own, we could afford something twice the size with more rooms and better facilities; and in an area where I wouldn't have to worry about the pain of arthritis so much. I'd even be happy to work part time at DisneyWorld to supplement my income.

I've been watching loads of YouTube vlogs about the areas to live, the types of property and am not even fussed about having a pool - I just want to be somewhere I can use as a base to explore the whole USA from the Keys to Washington State and everywhere in between.  

It's a big dream.  It's almost certainly unobtainable.  But I'm going to hold on to it.  You just never know!   

Small gifts are often the best

 This has been a trying time for all of us.  The pandemic continues and even those who have been vaccinated are in danger of catching the virus.  

A few weeks back our neighbours both went down with the dreaded virus.  All we did was what every neighbour would do.  Phil walked their dog each evening, and we got them shopping when they needed it.  

Then they went away for a week, so I had the joy of looking after their two rabbits.  This is always fun for me - I get to be their dandelion dealer and give them proper food also!  

In return, our lovely neighbours gave us this card and a kit for our own cream tea, including home-made scones.  This is the height of luxury. We love our cream teas; and whilst I normally refrain from posting pictures of food on social media, this is an exception I'm happy to make.  

It was a simple, small gift; but it gave us a huge amount of pleasure, and we knew how much thought was put into it.  That's what really matters.  

We love our neighbours and would happily always help them for free. 

We didn't need a reward; but this was really wonderful.

  

Fast Pass is no more

 OK, so there hasn't been Fast Pass for quite some time; but now it's definitely not coming back - or not until enough people complain I guess.

Disney executives in their infinite wisdom have decided that it's OK to charge money for something which was previously free.  Now, I do appreciate that they are running a business and one which has suffered considerably during the pandemic; but I do feel strongly that they are not considering those people for whom a trip to Disney is a rare luxury.

Since our planned trip in May 2020, Disney have made the following changes:

• Announced the discontinuation of the Disney Magical Express  - to be fair, this will not affect us because we always rent a car; but it was a key, free way for many people to get from the airport to the parks.  
• Stopped giving guests a free magic band.  We had ours picked out and personalised.  Now we will need to pay if we want them - an extra $80 or more depending upon which we pick.
• Events have become more expensive and run for less time - Boo Bash instead of MNSSHP now costs considerably more.  Granted, our original trip was in May; but our first reschedule was in October 2020 - doing the same this year would cost us around $200 more
• And now, Genie +, costing us over $500 more for a two-week trip, not to mention the Individual Attraction access tickets which are as yet un-priced; but you know they're going to be a material difference, even if we're not travelling at a peak time.  

Those are the key ones, there are others but these will affect us most.  This is at a time when Magic Kingdom is to begin celebrating 50 years - a guaranteed time of maximum capacity even at times when normally it isn't.  

Who suffers the most?  Not the executives, that's for sure.  It's the people like us who can only afford to visit once every decade.  It's the Cast Members who will get increased verbal abuse from frustrated visitors.   

The name of Disney used to be synonymous with excellent customer service, entertainment and always putting the needs of the visitors first.  It appears that is no longer the case.  We will come one more time because we've been planning it for over two years.  But sadly, I do not think we will be able to return.  Not even our "local" park in Paris will be affordable.  

Sad times. :(

So Proud

 My daughter Lyta has not had a great couple of years.  But she is always hard-working, responsible and considerate of everyone around her.  She has been working in a retail establishment which was open throughout the pandemic, but constantly found that her good nature and willingness to help meant she was always called upon during her days off, evenings and even on holiday.  And the reward for this was just more examples of people taking advantage of her kindness.  

She recently decided that she wanted to get out of retail and managed to get a string of interviews within a very short period of time.  Today she found herself a new job in a bank, meaning that she will no longer work weekends, bank holidays, evenings etc.  She will finally get a life outside of work!

I am so very proud of the way she has handled this whole situation.  She is so much more grown-up than me!  She's wise beyond her years and has a level of empathy I can only dream of.  

Beds

 Having spent way too long looking at different types of accommodation both within and outside of Disney World, something has begun to bother me.  Why is everyone staying in a Disney hotel expected to stay in the same room with multiple beds?  We're talking some rooms big enough to sleep up to eight people, but all within the same living space, not separate rooms. 

Is it just me as a Brit who doesn't want to share a room with even my own children or close family?  I find it odd to say the least, especially when you're just travelling with adults, as is often the case.  

Are there not others who get up / retire at different times?  For example, Phil and I are classic early-to-bed-early-to-rise people.  We will be travelling with Lyta and her fiance who prefer to stay up later and get up at a more reasonable time. So while we want to go to sleep, they'll be still up watching TV; but in the morning when they're still sleeping, Phil and I will want to be up and making coffee, and planning the day.

We have pretty much given up on finding a Disney hotel we can afford, since we need two rooms; and have decided to spend considerably less on renting a whole house through AirBnB.  It does seem a shame; but we cannot think of a better way to get our own space. 

I'd be interested to know what others, especially native US guys, think the same way.  

My first T-Shirt

 I mentioned a while back that I was planning to customise some of the things we'll be taking to Disney World next year (if we get to go.)  I made my first t-shirt today for Lyta.  She is possibly Stitch's biggest fan, so I designed a shirt for her.  

This was done using my Cricut Maker machine, holographic iron-on material and a really cheap basic sleeveless shirt.

Cut and ready to weed...

Fully weeded and ready to go

Plain t-shirt ready to go

With the design ironed on

I am really thrilled with the result - I just hope Lyta is too!   If it works and lasts well, then we'll know what we need to do for more of the stuff.  

Year of the Hare

 Yes, I know that millions of Chinese will disagree; but this year really has been the year of the hare for us.

I was reminded of it today when we went for a short drive in the local countryside only to come across a hare sitting in the middle of the road ahead of us, looking most upset that we were disturbing him.  He lolloped off into a nearby field, turning round after a few yards to look at us staring at him, then finally went on his way.  It really was a privilege to get such a great view of him.

We saw many of them earlier in the year; and Phil even caught sight of a group "boxing" in a field as we drove by - by the time I'd looked, we'd gone too far past, but he was enthralled by having seen it, if only briefly.  We then saw them on several occasions throughout a holiday, but generally from a considerable distance.  Today's sighting was by far the best.

We do love nature in general, especially birds.  And part of the reason we like Florida is that we get to see so many different creatures we'd otherwise not see in the wild.  On our last trip to Florida - a very short one for various reasons - I even fell in love with a different species of spider.  However on that trip, it was probably the iguanas which caught our attention the most.   We always look forward to seeing something new, even when it's in our own country.  Although sometimes the more common creatures here will still make us smile.  Ducks and donkeys are pretty much guaranteed to make us happy, no matter how down we're feeling.  

Grumpy Day

 Not the dwarf - definitely me - although I do have a nightshirt featuring said dwarf, just in case there's any doubt.  I've had a chest infection for over a week now and, quite frankly, am tired of it.  So I have consoled myself by watching Disney+ most of the afternoon and evening.  Starting with Moana, I then went on to Wreck-it Ralph and Frozen.  The first and last I'd seen before and were absolutely feel-good movies.  The middle one was a first for me; and I have to confess it's not one of my favourites.  We're now rounding off the evening with Iron Man.  

I feel a day of Disney coming on tomorrow too, I mean it would be rude not to, wouldn't it?  I did also try a new crafting technique today though, I found a way of creating a form of marble design on card.  But I'm also waiting on a Cricut Easypress so I can trial it before buying one. I've been looking at new designs for t-shirts and other fabric products for our trip, so this is a huge step.  

I do wonder if others find comfort in watching the joy and fun produced by Disney.  It must be one of the many reasons they are so successful.  

I do remember vividly how much of a non-believer my husband was before we arrived at Disney World in 2015.   And I also remember the look of complete wonderment on his face when we stepped through the gates for the first time.  He was hooked from that moment on.  It really is magical in so many ways.  And I love it.     

Nutella

 This is kind of a moot point for me because I'm allergic to nuts.  But it still confuses me anyway.

We do, as I've mentioned before, spend a lot of time watching YouTube and our favourites, AJ of The Disney Food Blog, along with Molly of AllEars.  They both have something in common.  They cannot pronounce Nutella!  I actually believe it's not unique to them but common to everyone in the USA.  
So here is my question... Why pronounce it "newtellla" when it's not made of newts?  In England it's pronounced "nutella" because it's made from nuts. #justsaying!

The pronunciation of buoy really winds Phil up immensely - we pronounce it "boy" but even Jimmy Buffett calling it a "booey" grates on him.  
Other contenders are aluminium (we have the extra "i" in the middle) basil & Caribbean

Generally speaking we love the different words in the US for things we know differently here, and actually prefer the word Arugula to Rocket and Scallions to Spring Onions.  We never mind using a sidewalk or faucet but I do draw the line at having my hair cut in bangs!

Making it special

The First one

 Last time we went to Disney World, I made my daughter a backpack.  I thought it only fitting therefore that I make her a new one for the next trip.  It was ready well in time for last May; but is still sitting unused (OK, so it's full of all sorts of holiday stuff, but it's not actually gone anywhere yet.!)  I also made her matching scrunchies and everyone had cup holders.

The new one is slightly bigger and has better pockets and accessories (including a matching coin purse.)  And I made a smaller one for myself as well.  

This time however, I'm going all out.  Since we've just invested in a Cricut machine, everything will be personalised, including t-shirts, accessories, bottles - you name it, if I can put a design on there, it'll have one!  This is all in early stages now, but when I start creating, I'll put it all on here for sure.

My small one

Lyta's new one

Crazy!?

 We just had an interesting conversation which led to thoughts about what a new ride could look like.  

So it started like this....
We were planning to go kayaking next weekend, it would be the first time this year we've managed to get out on the water together.  We'd even planned to go out with some friends.  Then we looked at the forecast to see a day of thunderstorms.  Phil immediately said we'd need to call it off if the weather was like that.

My comment?  Well we'd probably be getting wet anyway!  My other comment... if only we could create a Faraday Cage to fit on the kayak.  

Now I've always loved physics as a subject - ever since school and being the only one in my A-Level class.  And I've always been fascinated by storms.  So the thought of being able to trial a Faraday Cage is exciting.  I do understand however that there is a huge difference between being in a land-based Faraday Cage vs one on the open water!

But it did also spark the conversation about different rides.  However the concept of watching people die in a water-based Faraday Cage during a Florida storm did appear to be a tad too extreme.  

Oddly enough, one of my recurring nightmares as a child was being stuck in a cage with scalding hot bars, so why I would now voluntarily go into a Faraday Cage escapes me.  But for the record, one of my other bucket list entries is to be in an underwater cage to feed sharks.  I'd gladly swim with sharks without a cage but apparently that's not always a good idea.  

Do I have a death wish?  No, absolutely not; but the part of me which loves science and animals does want to experience the less usual things in life.  My goal therefore when we do eventually get to Florida is to ride every single ride possible in the parks, go kayaking at night to see the bio-luminescent glow on the water, and find something else to do which really stretches the boundaries of safety.. all suggestions welcome! 

What lessons did I learn from our last visit?

 As I said before, we don't visit often.  My daughter and I have been on four trips - two Disney cruises (when she was little), a visit to Disneyland Paris and a visit to Disney World. All this spread over 15 years.  My husband has only been on one of those trips - the one to Disney World.  Our second trip was planned for last year, which would have been five years after our previous one.   Each trip has been paid by using "bonus" funds; we could not afford one on our usual salaries.  It's therefore vitally important that any trip we do make is treated as our last, and fit in absolutely everything we possibly can.  

The key to this is to look at what we've done before, change what didn't work and improve upon what did.   For the new trip, I decided to concentrate on my critique of the last Disney World trip.

In my last post, I mentioned how much I loved being part of a big family - I could never before have imagined being part of a group like that and it felt really special.  It might seem odd to others but as someone brought up as an only child in a small family, it really was beyond anything I could imagine.  This trip even had three generations, Phil's Mum, him, his sister, his sister-in-law, two nieces and a nephew.  And then there was Lyta and me!   There was enough of us to completely take over a single ride boat - the ride photo was just us!  

However, this is also the source of my first change.  Much as I absolutely adored being part of a large group, it was also a huge challenge.  You cannot please everyone all the time; and often it just meant that we spent a lot of time splitting into smaller groups and even more time trying to find each other again. I always want to please everyone and therefore got stressed when this wasn't possible. In the end I spent more time worrying about making sure everyone else was having a good time than actually enjoying myself.  This needs to change! 

This time around, there will also not be any children.  Last time we had four between the ages of 11 and 16, not young but still with very different priorities; and of course they were the most important people there. This time therefore, we can be more "adult" in our childishness and sample the more grown-up aspects whilst still acting like youngsters!

Phil and I are also determined that we don't have to be up at first light every day.  We are by nature early risers; but Lyta and Andy are not, so we are going to try being more laid-back, get up a bit later some days and therefore maybe be able to stay out a bit later too! 

The lack of children is also the source of another major change.  We no longer have to travel during school holiday periods, hopefully therefore missing some of the larger crowds. Our last tip was in August, so also in hurricane season.  We only saw the edge of one hurricane, but our day in Animal Kingdom was completely washed out because of the resulting rain, interspersed with showers and deluges... we swam back to the car!  We are therefore considering mid-May since it is outside peak holiday season and hurricane season but should also be very warm!

Last time we stayed at a hotel on I-Drive (budgetary constraints.) It was a great hotel and we had a fantastic time, plus being on I-Drive was our proximity to other facilities and being close to Universal.  The downside was that once we'd left the parks for the day, we didn't go back, so never saw any of the fireworks displays or evening parades.  When we started to plan our return, we were determined to stay in a Disney hotel so we could benefit from the all-encompassing experience.  However, we are again looking to change that and go for a villa in Kissimmee.  This will give us a great saving on accommodation and will therefore allow us to spend more on other luxuries.   All we need to do is be more mindful of what we want to do and when, and make sure we stay late in the parks on occasion.

Finally, as mentioned in my second post, we are undertaking daily research - literally! Before the last trip, I read a couple of guide books.  Now we're watching YouTube every day, reading subscription emails, taking in Instagram posts as they appear on our devices and still reading the books!  With the help of Molly, AJ, Tom and their teams we are determined to get the most out of our trip.

Meet the Team

 In the first posts, I've mentioned "we", "us" and that I have a husband and daughter; but who are we and why do we want to go to Disney so much?

When we went in 2015 it was truly a family affair - there were nine of us (10 if you include Dave the Dachshund) mostly my husband's family because mine isn't big enough!  I had literally never experienced anything quite like it and loved being part of a big group for once.

This really was going to be a one-off.  So when we planned to go in 2020, it was going to be my husband (Phil), daughter (Lyta) and one of her friends.  Another of the things which has changed since 2020 is that Lyta has become engaged to Andy.... so now her girlfriend has been replaced by her fiance. 

So who are we?

Phil - my husband
Loves: Star Wars (episodes 4-6), Fishing, Dad jokes (especially ones about cheese), Rugby, Everton Football Club, loud t-shirts
Hates: Green stuff in his sandwiches, Liverpool Football Club.
Favourite Disney Movie: Frozen
Favourite Disney Character: Winnie the Pooh
Favourite MCU Character: Black Widow
Most looking forward to: Riding Rise of the Resistance

Lyta - our daughter
Loves: Cocktails, Rugby, Warhammer, her pets, nephews & nieces
Hates: Working in retail
Favourite Disney Movie: Lilo & Stitch
Favourite Disney Character: Stitch
Favourite MCU Character: Groot
Most looking forward to: Seeing Stitch again, especially if breakfast at Ohana becomes a Character meal again

Andy - future Son-in-Law

Loves: Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club, Donkeys, Red Pandas, Rugby,
Hates: Snoring
Favourite Disney Movie: Lion King
Favourite Disney Character: Pluto
Favourite MCU Character: Iron Man
Most looking forward to: Visiting Galaxy's Edge

Mary - me!
Loves: Cats, Crafting, the colour Purple (not the movie or song, literally just the colour) Rugby
Hates: Celery
Favourite Disney Movie: All of them - I really cannot choose!!
Favourite Disney Character: Eeyore (closely followed by Chip & Dale)
Favourite MCU Character: Loki
Most looking forward to: the water parks and riding everything I did't ride last time, as well as everything I did.

What's changed?

 A few months ago, someone we'd been discussing our new plans with asked us what had changed between our new and former plans. My response was "not much really, except....."  and then we proceeded to list all the things we will be doing differently and suddenly realised that almost everything has changed!  Some of the changes have been fiscally based but most of them are through the information and suggestions we've gleaned from the experts on the ground.

Shortly before we were due to go last May, we began watching certain YouTube channels.  I cannot recommend doing this enough.  Most of the changes we have considered are as a result of what we've seen and read courtesy of the fabulous people on these channels. So here is a brief overview of the main ones we started to watch, have done continuously for well over a year and will continue to do probably long after our next trip:

The AllEars team - Molly, Morgan, Quincy (Phil's favourite), RJ (my favourite), Breedlove, Jared, Lindsey, Melizza, Alan & Duckfist all combine to provide an informative but fabulously entertaining look at all the different Disney parks, Disney Spring and Universal.  Their knowledge of all things theme park related (food, rides, hotels, hidden Mickeys, Easter Eggs etc.) is unrivaled and they are simply great fun to watch. 

Disney Food Blog - AJ (sometimes in conjunction with Molly et al) has an encyclopedic knowledge of every single food item available within Disney.  She and her team literally try every food item available and review it with an unbiased opinion to help you decide what you would like.   She also produces vast amounts of literature about the parks in general, along with the food guides; and this includes the festivals, not just the standard fare.  You never get to see AJ, but I do love her accent! 

WDW News Today - Tom has a brilliant and sometimes sarcastic view on the parks around the world, even recently travelling to Paris when even we in Britain were unable to do so!  His news updates, banter and quips are refreshingly honest and, quite frankly, hilarious.

Tim & Jenn Tracker (and Jackson) - Providing a slightly different perspective on all the parks, with this family, you're shown more about what it's like with a young child (Jackson is adorable)  They have a lot of "staycations" and show a full range of different accommodation available, giving valuable insights into the various types and levels of local hotels, but also spending lots of time in the parks and shops.

The key difference was our decision around accommodation.  We all love the "great outdoors" so our original booking was for a cabin at Fort Wilderness.  As wildlife enthusiasts, the thought of being able to see animals in the wild we don't have in the UK, like armadillos, was a huge draw; and the atmosphere seemed to be more on the quiet side, which was absolutely a consideration.  Then when our booking was moved to later in the year, the only thing we could afford which was available was a Cars Suite at Art of Animation.  We were happy with this, thinking that the Skyliner at the very least was going to be a great option for travel.  

However, having watched hundreds of hours of YouTube, we have now decided that we don't feel spending money on Disney accommodation is the best way to go.  Our funds are limited and with our visits being so rare, we wanted to make the most of the experiences available.  We therefore are now looking at an Air BnB in Kissimmee, and using the money we save - thousands - on doing "fun" stuff instead. 

It's also going to be a much more grown-up experience.  With our last visit being in 2015, our daughter was on 16 at the time.  Now, she's in her 20s, so the way we approach the whole experience is going to be vastly different.  When we started the old plan, we knew that she would be old enough to "drink" and had planned to do the Skyliner Crawl, but what we've now discovered is that there are many other things we can do which we would never have considered in 2015 or 2020.   

Don't get me wrong. We still want to do all the rides, have pictures taken with all the characters and spend the majority of the time just being really childish; but now we can do it from the perspective of people who can have an occasional mojito.  And yes, we have also now discovered Margaritaville, so hurricanes (alcoholic, not weather) are in order for sure.  Epcot has become the land of food and drink, as well as rides which didn't exist beforehand and we hope that the character meals will be almost back to normal so we can take advantage of those too - I mean, who doesn't want to have breakfast with Mickey?

We've therefore pretty much decided to start our plans from scratch. We've been writing down lists of things we really want to do, places we really want to go and food & drink we want to try.  And we're confident now that with the help of all the great experts, we're going to have the best Disney adventure yet.