My Walt Disney World Resort Dining Reviews.

I've used the internet for all my Walt Disney World Resort planning. Back in 2007, when we were planning our very first vacation, I found an overwhelming amount of information on the web. The Walt Disney World Resort website was a good beginning, but back then there wasn't much information about dining. There was information on the Disney Dining Plan but not the individual restaurant's menus. That's when I found The DisBoards and the wealth of information on the discussion boards.

I've been posting my Disney Dining Reviews over there. You can check them out here and here. Stop by and have a read! I'd love to hear any reviews you might have also.

Since then Disney has begun updating the official website with the actual menus and the ability to make reservations on-line. It's a great way to research and time-saver when making reservations.

Melted, Roasted and Cooked at Walt Disney World (and that's not just the food!)

We decided to take a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for a Star Wars Weekend and beyond. Here is my story:

(Giggle *snort* - that sounded really dorky!)

We love going to WDW (this is what I'll be using instead of typing the entire name out, is that okay?) We've only been going since 2007, neither Fred nor I had ever visited as kids, but we always enjoy it. We've had favourite moments on all our trips, and we're always planning our next trip. Even while we're still there!

More Disney Magic, after the jump:

We're going to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida!

It's time for a vacation.  Fred has been working ridonculous hours, and we've been saving up!  Of course there are many places we could go to, but we all agreed that it would be the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida!  (Just for ease of use, from now on I'm going to refer to it as WDW, okay?)

Originally we had planned on going to California this summer, from San Diego to San Francisco and everything in between.  But with Cars-Land opening at the Disneyland Resort in 2012, we decided to postpone that trip.

The last time we travelled to WDW was in December 2008.  It was time we went again.  This time though, we're going to make the drive home part of the adventure.  Wait a minute!  Did you say DRIVE?  Yes, yes I did.  We drive to Florida from Toronto.  It's all part of the adventure.  This time though, instead of driving straight through to go home we're planning on making two stops.  One at Patriot’s Point near Charleston, SC and one on Delaware Bay, somewhere.

Patriot's Point is an aircraft carrier/museum that Fred and I have wanted to visit for while now.  On our way home from Myrtle Beach, SC (a pre-kids trip) we visited Battleship North Carolina and we really enjoyed it.  (This was also the first time I saw a Piggly-Wiggly Store & an Alligator living in the wild).  We thought this is sorta-kinda on the way home, so why not?  Since we're homeschooling now, it seems like a fun field-trip.

The big deal for us though is going to Delaware Bay to help with the census/survey of Horseshoe Crabs.  We watched "Nature" on PBS a while ago and the kids were mesmerized. You can watch the full episode here.  I think I've found the best place to see and help with the horseshoe crabs, and now have to plan our stay.  We're all really excited, and I think it will ease our transition from WDW to home.  I think this is going to be a highlight for the kids too.  We've read so much about the Horseshoe Crabs, and to make it a "real" activity is going to complete one of our homeschool tasks for this year.

Now, where to stay?  I guess I'll be checking out TripAdvisor tonight, while Fred's at work and try to find a great hotel, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  I love planning vacations - wish I could do it more often.

Homeschooling. The Beginning.

I've been homeschooling the kids for the last month or so.  One day I'll go into detail about the reasons, but for now I'll say that we're very unhappy with our local school, the administration and many of the children that attend the school.  The administration also refused our request for a transfer to another school.  We can't afford a private school, and I'm not sure that's a solution we would like anyway.

So, we're homeschooling.  It's a decision we didn't take lightly.  This means that I won't be able to work outside the home, and with Fred's travel/work schedule this means very little, if any “me” time. 

I truly think we've make the best decision.  The Padawan is enjoying what we're doing, even if I have to remind him that we're homeSCHOOLING, not just playing video games and building with Lego.  The Princess really liked school, so I have to try a little harder to make it interesting for her.  She also likes that we can do whatever we want to, or not do each day.

I've been browsing many homeschooling websites, and took the advice of many sites to not buy too many things all at once.  I have quite a collection of small workbooks that we've used before, and took advantage of a few websites printable worksheets; but we finally went to an educational store and bought math workbooks and English workbooks comprised of Canadian curriculum.  We've also used the Library and internet for many resources. 

The kids have chosen topics they would like to learn more about.  They've also decided that planting a garden (flowers in the front and veggies in the back) would be a great idea.  We're also going to buy a membership to the Science Centre and use that often.  We’re also going to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in May and plan to include a stop at Delaware Bay on the way back to participate in the Horseshoe crab census/survey, this is something that the kids have wanted to do for a while.  We watched a documentary about the relationship between Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knots (birds) that has stuck in their minds for over a year.  Fred and I are pretty excited about this too!

But getting going in the morning is a challenge.  I have to focus on getting our school-work done in the morning, first thing.  The kids are most productive then, and there's less arguing about what needs to be accomplished.  It seems like we've had so many distractions lately getting in the way.  We took an impromptu trip to Montreal, while Fred was working there.  (We did learn quite a bit, stuff we wouldn't have been able to do if we had been stuck at home)  The weather hasn't been cooperating either.  I was hoping for a few days of snowy perfect weather, to use for animal tracking.  But lately it's been miserable and raining.  We go outside when we can, but I can't wait for Spring. 

Most days I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing!  But the kids are happy, they're learning and we're taking this one day at a time. 
 

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration Debacle, in 700 words or less.

I've been thinking about blogging for a couple of years now.  But I never thought anyone would want to read what I had to say.  Then I remembered that some people like to listen what I have to say - why should blogging be any different?  Plus blogging means testing my spelling and punctuation skills.  This leads me to thinking about blogging conferences, get-togethers and mommy-blogging.

I was beginning to think that being a mom-blogger wasn't exciting or meaningful - but when I looked at the blogs I was reading, or using Google to research something that ultimately led to a mom-blog I realized that we're out there, we have something to say and we're intelligent.  But I needed a push to start blogging.  I had bought a new KitchenAid mixer this summer (and started using it right away, even though it's meant to be a birthday gift - and my birthday's in December) I knew that I would have to include cooking & baking in my blog.  Then I was laid-off from a part-time job I had started, after not working for almost nine years.  And then I heard about the Disney's Social Media Moms Celebration (Conference) coming up in March.  I wanted to go, but from what I understood, you need to be a blogger/tweeter/facebooker.  I wanted to learn how to do this:  be part of the social media.  I also thought it would be a learning experience for seasoned as well as newbie bloggers. 

It was the jump-start I needed.  I started blogging.  I have been on Facebook for years now, but that's a personal account, just for friends and family.  And also some fabulous DisBoutiquers that started me sewing and crafting again!  I've had fun on Facebook and had been thinking about Twitter for quite some time too.  So I waited for the registration date and time for the Social Media Moms Celebration to open.  The dates for the conference were good for my family, and I loved that I could bring the family with me, and even spend some time with them.  We don't have the desire to travel without our kids, so this was perfect.  I set my calendar reminders, set the alarm on my phone, and waited.

And waited and waited and waited.  The time for registration (it was advertised as "First Come, first served") arrived and it was nearly impossible to complete.  The server was overloading, and the page kept refreshing and refreshing.  Tweets from far and wide were describing the "orange spinning circle of death".  I had faith, trust and (hopefully) pixie dust on my side.  Right?  I didn't think it would take almost two hours to "register".  I had to put that in quotes, because it was really an application process.  With no explanations or qualifications listed.  I was sent an e-mail stating that I would receive e-mail notification of acceptance (or not) shortly.  I then waited some more.  A day later, I received notice that I wasn't accepted.  I was confused.  I thought it was a given that if you were able to register, you were in.  I guessed they were going to review and make certain that you were a real person before sending confirmation, but that wasn't the case.  I'm disappointed that I'm not able to go, I would have loved the experience to go and craft my blogging skills.  Maybe even get some inspiration and some new followers.  Find lots of new blogs to follow too. 

I will apply again next year, just as I will once again apply for the DisneyWorld Moms Panel.  At least with the Moms Panel I know it's an application process.  Hopefully next year's Disney Social Media Moms Celebration will have some glitches ironed out, and a more open application process.  I look forward to reading all the blogging about the conference.  I congratulate all the bloggers who were accepted to attend.  I hope you have a great time!  Please have a Mickey ice-cream for me 'kay?  ºOº