We made it to Disney thanks to quick thinking, phone waiting, luck, and God

Now I'm not a religious blogger, nor do I ever talk about religion, my beliefs or anything probably remotely related to that.

But I have to say there was some Devine Intervention yesterday as we got out of DC before snomageddon, snopacolypse and snOMG #3 came barreling down on us.

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Here's a brief recap of what happened:

We are scheduled on a flight for Wednesday 2/10 at 1:20pm

On Monday 2/8 I'm looking at the upcoming storm and see they upgrade it to a 'warning' calling for 10-20 inches of snow.

Around 10:30 am I am chatting with other DC area bloggers headed to Disney and someone on Twitter alerts me to the fact that many airlines are NOT charging change fees for people trying to avoid the storm.

I immediately get on with Air Tran and sit on hold for about 30 min. Lo & behold they are NOT charging change fees AND there are 4 seats available on a Tuesday morning flight! whoot!

Now we start scrambling to finish work, get packed, find a hotel room, etc.

Later in the afternoon it dawns on me that I can check in 24 hours in advance! Oops!

I go to the AirTran website to check in and I realize I'm on a different flight!! WTH?

I then scramble to call AirTran to figure out what happened but the flight is for 12:28 so I still think we're safe. We stick with the flight and spend the rest of the day/night getting ready.

Day of Trip

I just have to say that it was really a miracle we made it.

1. Of all days this day we leave late for the airport

2. Somehow there is no traffic going to the airport despite the snowy roads (some have been reduced to one lane because of all the snow)

3. The line at security was minimal...I could have sworn it would be awful with everyone and their brother trying to get out of dodge before the next storm. But maybe everyone's flight had already been canceled and they didn't want to get stuck at the airport?

Anyway, wishing all my friends good luck getting here...some are on busses, trains, and driving down. In the mean time I'll just be grateful we made it safe and sound.

Janine

Snow Snow Go Away, Come Again Another Day...and other wishes before Disney

So, I need your help.

Everyone get together and think REALLY HARD about the snow storm coming this way this week and THINK about it disappearing! PLEASE? Cause I really want to make it to this:

I promise lots of good stories including bickering between me and the Mister as I tell HIM what he can do Friday when I'm in a conference room (since the ONLY reason this family even gets to go to Disney is because I'M GOING TO BE IN A CONFERENCE ROOM),  plus the misadventures of the Mister and the Twofer as they explore a Disney park (THAT I CHOOSE because I don't want to miss out on certain parks) on their own on Friday (when I'm in the conference room all day).

Now here's the thing...I'm actually really excited for the Disney Social Media Moms conference and here's why.

1. Guy Kawasaki - Co-Fouder of Alltop, author, and guru of all things Mac and online. I've heard a lot about Guy but never had the opportunity to hear him speak so this should be really cool.

2. Motivational Speakers discussing "social media, work-life balance, entrepreneurship, with a ROFL comedic ending" - I have no idea who or what exactly but I can tell you that I need a little refresher in all of these including the comedy. Life in 30 inches of snow is starting to get stale.

3. Bloggy friends - I can't wait to meet some of these online friends for the first time and to reconnect with others. To follow along with other people attending, use search.twitter.com and type in #DisneySMMoms.

NEEDED - more Disney Advice!

Last year when we surprised the Twofer with a trip to Disney for their birthday we only toured Magic Kingdom. I had tons of questions then and you guys were great with answers.

Now we have the opportunity to explore Epcot and Hollywood Studios so again, I have questions. Of course, this is sorta last minute so I've shrunk down the list.

1. If you had to choose would you pick the IllumiNations fireworks at Epcot or Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios?

2. If you had to choose one park to miss out on exploring with your family, which would it be? Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom?

3. Which countries at Epcot would you suggest we target if we have time?

4. How cool is the monorail??? Now that we finally get to try it? (ok, this is a rhetorical question but I'm so excited!)

5. Flipflops and bathing suits in February? It's looking like it will be 60s at best. Are the pools at the Polynesian heated? Or should I not even bother to pack them...

Thanks for all your help!

And keep wishing that next storm away :).

Janine

Why you should celebrate a birthday at Disney

Goodies from the In-Room Celebration (read more below!)

You've already seen how I'm a complete sucker for Disney Magic.
But what made this trip extra special is that the Twofer turned 6 our first day at Magic Kingdom. We had planned this to take advantage of Disney's "Free on your Birthday" promotion thinking this was a real twin discount!

What I quickly learned is that a birthday at Disney is more than free admission. In fact, if you pay your admission (as we did because we bought the dining+room+park tickets package) there are other very cool options to choose from!

Birthday celebrants get special treatment at Disney

If you decide to spend someone's birthday at Disney be sure to a) bring evidence like a driver's license or stamped birth certificate and b) TELL EVERYONE.
We told the folks during check-in and receive our first (yes, we got more than one) surprise bouquet of balloons in the room.

We told the folks at the park entrance and they issued each girl a special birthday button that also had their name on it. This button alerted the staff and other patrons who promptly shouted "Happy Birthday L! Happy Birthday M!" as they walked through the park. Disney characters look for people with these special buttons and make a point to come over to them during the parades. AND, each girl received a separate dessert during lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table with a candle and lots of chocolate goodness (FREE and tasty!).

Birthday Options if you choose not to go for free

First thing we did upon entering the park was head over to guest services (same people who gave the girls their buttons). I presented their birth certificates and told them we had already paid for our park tickets but had heard there were other options. Here they are:

1. Birthday no-return Fast Pass!
Deets: this is the golden ticket of Fast Passes. Basically it's a separate card that you can insert into the Fast Pass machine and in return you get a ticket that allows you to get in the Fast Pass line immediately! No return means you don't have to come back to that ride in an hour or later. You get right in the FP line and for us that meant no more than a 10 min wait!

Note:
You can only use the Birthday FP on 6 rides and they give you a list of two groups to choose from (pick 3 rides from each group). However, the list had all the rides we wanted to go on at Magic Kingdom so we were thrilled. Plus, we could still use our room key to get 'regular' Fast Pass tickets (with return times) which we used in the early morning. Also - the birthday Fast Pass is good for up to 5 people including the birthday celebrant. That means most families can enjoy the benefits.

2. Gift card good at any Disney hotel, park or downtown Disney gift shop!
The gif card value for a child ticket was $63.00. This was a terrific thing to have because we knew we would not have to say NO all weekend long to every item they picked up in every little shop. Not only did we not have to say NO, we didn't have to feel the pinch of the wallet coming out when we did say YES!

TWIN Discount Alert: Because we had twins we opted for one of each - one birthday Fast Pass that covered our entire family, and one $63.00 gift card which, if you continue reading, ended up being a treat for ME!

Disney Florist and the "In-Room Celebration"

OK, here is the 'sponsored' portion of this post. It was not my intent because all of my other Disney posts have come straight from me as I surprised the girls and then planned the trip. However, I did reach out to the Disney staff and explained that I was going to be down there covering the Free on Your Birthday with my twins, and that I've been generating a lot of interest from my readers and Twitter friends, and was there anything else I should look into while I'm down there? (pretty much that exact run-on sentence too)

It was then that I was offered the In-Room Celebration to help us celebrate the girls 6th birthday. HOLY MOLY ON A CANNOLI!


This package consists of 5 huge, bright-colored boxes stuffed with goodies and left as a surprise from Mickey and the Gang (Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto).
Needless to say, we were speechless.

The girls, however, were SCREAMING with delight...at 11:30 in the evening. Whatever exhaustion they had felt from dealing with the rain, the wait for the bus, and the ride back to the hotel was gone. Just. Like. That.

If you are planing a birthday at Disney all I can say is GO FOR IT. GO for some kinds of in-room surprise, even just the balloons. My kids were thrilled the first day thinking that Mickey had snuck into their room to deliver the balloons. (They were crazed when they got this mega package!) But the surprise is what made it all so special.

And when all was said and done the girls had enough Disney goodies that my husband suggested I spend the gift card on myself. Which I did.

Read more in this series:
Disney Magic: Now I get it!
Help! Disney World Questions - Need Your Input!
The Twofer Get a Disney Surprise

Enjoying the memories,
Janine

Disney Magic - NOW I get it. I get it and I love it. Here's why...

I believe in Disney magic.
There. I said it.

And, I cried like a baby during the Wishes Fireworks, but more on that later.

Disney Twofer

As you know from my earlier posts we planned a trip to Disney World for the Free on Your Birthday promotion to celebrate the Twofer's 6th birthday. Last week we flew down Wednesday and only had Thursday and Friday to spend at Magic Kingdom but that was enough to catch the bug.

If you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed some tweets go by with the hashtag #disneytwofer – that was me and the folks following along on the journey. And it was quite a journey. I may have to break this up into 2 different.

The Magic of Disney at the hotel

OK, there was definitely a line and some time spent waiting for the Disney Magical Express bus. But at least we didn’t have to wait with our big bags, just our carry-on bags. We got to the hotel (we chose Pop Century) and were able to check in right away and enjoy the pool. Later on, our bags were delivered to our room – voila!
Other highlights:

• The Dining plan felt magical because we didn’t feel the pinch of pulling out our wallets each time we ate.
• I told the front desk we were celebrating our twin’s birthday and there were balloons and Mickey photos in the room when we returned after dinner!
• The pool was open until midnight and what is more magical than swimming on a warm Florida night?

Magic at The Magic Kingdom

Rides


On each ride I allowed myself to really see things from a child’s perspective and I’m telling you I remembered. I remembered how excited I was at age 5 to climb aboard Dumbo, and wind through It’s a Small World. I allowed myself to really feel like I was flying over Never Never Land with Peter Pan and witness a battle on Pirates of the Caribbean. I did something I haven’t done in a long time…I used my imagination. And I liked it.

The Castle

I have ALWAYS wanted to go in that castle. The one way I knew I could get in there was to make reservations to have lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table and seeing as it was the Twofers’ birthday, I knew they would love it too. So this is what it’s like:

First we met and took photos with Cinderella – fabulous blue dress, white gloves, and all.

Then we headed upstairs for our meal and a number of other princesses stopped by our table for autographs and pictures. Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Jasmine were gracious and charming. The dining area had big chairs, wooden beams, and large windows with a view of the park. The food was surprisingly good and the desserts were deeeelish. Throw in some wishing stars and wands and you’ve got Disney magic…bippity, boppity, boo!

After an enormous lunch and all the excitement We headed back to the hotel for a break and returned in the evening for more rides, dinner, and those darn….Fireworks.

The Magical Fireworks

Yes, I cried during the Wishes celebration fireworks. But here’s what was swirling through my head: I remember thinking about what a great day we just had and how good it felt to be able to share this with my girls. MY girls who are no longer babies but big 6 year olds. I thought about all that is wrong in this world, and how lucky I was to have my family safe, healthy, and experiencing this together.

I thought of the Make-A-Wish kids who often get trips to Disney World and what their parents feel as they watch those same fireworks night after night. And then I thought of how my dad, who passed away just weeks after the Twofer were born, would have f-ing LOVED the whole damn thing.

What I realize now is that it was not just the fireworks that brought me to tears. It was the combination of fireworks + touching music about wishes + lack of sleep that most likely caused me to tear up (ok, bawl).

But what happened when we got back to the room was truly magical.
And that you will have to come back to read in my next post…Why you should celebrate a birthday at Disney.

Read more in this series:
Help! Disney World Questions - Need Your Input!
The Twofer Get a Disney Surprise

Wearing my mouse ears,
Janine

Help! Disney World Questions - Need Your Input!

So first I want to thank my travel agent/stress reliever/ Twitter friend @DailyJen who also has a very funny blog. I bought the Jet Blue tickets on a whim one day when talking with my friend Barb (otherwise known as my Flip Videographer from the Yanni Voices concert).

Anyway, Jen saw me tweeting about Disney and came to my rescue! That is, if everything goes well...no sweat, right Jen?

But even after hours on the phone with her answering hundreds if not thousands of questions...I still have more.

I have decided to give Jen a rest and see if you, my faithful friends, readers, and advice-givers can help me muddle through the crazy World of Disney.

(PS: we are going Wed-Sat. but only Thurs and Fri at Magic Kingdom)

Explain to me again Le Fast Pass?

This really only pertains to Friday since I've heard we'll get some ultimate Fast Pass on Thursday which is the girls actual birthday and we'll be foregoing the FREE part of "free on your birthday" since we paid for the tix in the package, blah, blah, blah.

What rides should we stop at first for a Fast Pass?
How many can I get at one time?

Crocs or sneakers?

I'm going with sneaks but you tell me.

6-year olds in strollers??? Won't people make fun of me?

Apparently there are Disney issued strollers that look more like jogging strollers. Still, my kids haven't been in a stroller since they were 3. I'm not kidding. I don't even know if they'll WANT to sit in one. A wheelchair, definitely! A stroller? I'm not so sure.

But I've heard from people that especially since we've only got 2 days, they will be very long days and as parents, we'll appreciate cutting down on the crankiness by having one of these.

What say you?

Must-See places in Downtown Disney?

We have dinner reservations for the first night but what else should we see while we are there? It will probably be our only time since we'll be at Magic Kingdom the other two days and nights.

Besides the rides, what are other Must-Sees at Magic Kingdom?

Note - we are having lunch at Cinderella's Castle (eee! I just peed a little I'm so excited for that) and so we'll meet some princesses there.
What about places like Ariel's Grotto or other little hideaway places?
Whatever you can tell me....

OK, that's it for now. I welcome any and all advice! Thanks!
Dreaming of Mickey,
Janine

Related Posts: Our Disney Surprise Video