Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Disney Extravaganza: Art of Animation Resort

Our travel guide recommended Disney's newest resort for us (opened exactly 1 year ago) and let me just tell you that she hit the nail on the head.  We fell in love!  Disney's Art of Animation Resort is the PERFECT place to stay if you have young children.  It is fantasy like ... like a dream!  I felt like a kid walking through that place!

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The different sections of the resort are dedicated to Cars, Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King.

My brother's family and mine both stayed in the Cars family suites, right next door to each other. My parents got the suites for us because they are two rooms with a living/kitchen area.  This layout was absolutely wonderful considering we have two small children who go to sleep much earlier than us.  And Mom thought the boys would love the Cars decor ... she was RIGHT!  They were in Heaven!

Mom and Dad stayed in a Nemo family suite.  What we didn't realize when she booked the rooms was that they are all sectioned off, and so they were in a completely different building than we were.  It was neat, though, to get to see two different themed rooms.

It was just like traveling through Radiator Springs in our little section of the resort.  LOVE!!!

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I mean, how cute is this?!

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All of this was directly outside our building.  Just the cutest thing in life.

There are 3 pools at Art of Animation, and "our" pool was adorable, reminiscent of the tee-pee hotels on Route 66.  LOVE!

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In love!

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It was so happy coming back here every night.  It felt like home!

Mom and Dad's Nemo suite was awesome.  It was especially cool because it was right in front of the resort's main pool!

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This pool was too cool for words because when you went underwater, you heard DISNEY SONGS!

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There were three different beds in our suite!

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I just loved the vintage motel feel of it all.

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I wish I had better photos of the room, but I was too excited.  Just believe me.  Or look at it online. ;)

One of the coolest part of the resort was the lobby!  The walls are covered with original animation prints.

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We never had time to wander around and check out the Little Mermaid or Lion King areas, but I looked online at them when we got home and wish so bad we would have explored those areas.  They were so amazing, too!

When we saw the outside of the resort for the first time, we knew we were in for a good time!

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There was also a giant arcade room (Levi loved this) in the lobby and a great big dining area serving breakfast, lunch & dinner.  Somehow, I didn't get pictures of these things.

I recommend this resort to EVERYONE because it's affordable with every bit as much of the magic. But, if you have small children .... YOU SIMPLY MUST STAY HERE.

The resort directly next to Art of Animation is the Pop Century resort, honoring the 50's thru 90's, and it looks super fun, too.  It's also a value resort, so you'll get the best deal on these! :)  If I couldn't stay in Art of Animation, Pop Century would be my next choice.

But Art of Animation was truly magical! :)

The perfect resort for the perfect week.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Disney Extravaganza: The Planning.

Alrighty folks.  I am jumping in full force and providing everything I know about the Wonderful World of Disney!  I seriously feel like there needs to be a college course over WDW .... there is so much info!  I want to recap our trip in stages, so I can help any of you out wanting to plan a trip of your own. So get ready for a week dedicated solely to Disney World!





* Decide WHEN.

We chose the first of May simply because that's when everyone could take a week off of work.  We didn't know when planning, but we chose a great time to go.  School isn't out yet, so the crowds aren't bad at all, and the weather was in the 80's almost the entire time.  It was seriously ideal!

Stay away from the hot summer months - June thru August, simply because it's super hot and super crowded.  Easiest because your kids are out of school, but that is when everyone goes.

I hear September and October are great months to go, too.

There are some Disney websites you can pay to become a member of, and it will give you crowd calendars and whatnot.  That would be very useful for planning.  My friend is a member and showed me that our week in May was one of the lowest crowd weeks of the year.  We lucked out!

* Find a Disney College of Knowledge Travel Agent - They're FREE!

We had an EXCELLENT travel agent named Jackie and she handled all the difficult/confusing stuff for me.  I basically told her what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it and she made all of the arrangements for me!  Mommy's of little ones don't have time to figure all this stuff out.  :) She was an enormous help and made the planning stress free and answered every little question I had.  She had so much insider information and made things SO easy on us.  She was even texting me while we were on vacation reminding me of things and making sure everything was going smoothly.  She truly turned into a friend!

Visit her Facebook page and she will help you out with booking your resort, making your reservations, and she sends you everything you'll need before your trip in the mail.  She's truly THE BEST!

905 Travel

* Book Your Resort.

Disney World Resorts are THE way to go.  We'd never done this before, so it was a whole new experience for us.  It just adds to the magic of being there ... you know?  When you book, also snatch up a dining plan as well.  This will save you lots of money and just makes life easier. (They also have offers going at times that offer FREE dining plans.  So, look into that and snag that if you can.)

I was floored by how well Disney took care of us the entire time we were there.  From the moment our plane landed, they did the rest.  After we checked our luggage from Tulsa, we never even saw our luggage again until it arrived to our room in our resort.  We didn't even have to pick it up from the airport!  They did it all.  Amazing.

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(The boys' luggage.  My mom ordered them the exclusive luggage [only found in the park] before we left and she packed all new clothes and goodies for them.  She is the best and so much FUN.)

The Magical Express is waiting for you at the airport and whisks you away to the magic as soon as you hit town.  Let me also mention that the day you are leaving to go back home, you check in for your flight and check your luggage AT THE RESORT and then they take you back to the airport.  I can't tell you how great this is for people with small children.  We didn't have to lug around our suitcases at all.  Again, we checked our luggage at the resort and never saw it again until we hit Tulsa.  Plus, we had our boarding passes ready to go.  Huge perk!

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(I didn't take this photo, but I just love it.  I stole it from google images.)

There are so many resorts to choose from, ranging from all prices: Deluxe Resorts, Moderate Resorts & Value Resorts.  The Deluxe Resorts are hooked onto the park by monorail (amazing convenience), and the others are further away and you hop a bus to get to the different parks (easy peasy, and worth the saved money, in my opinion).  We stayed in a value resort and ... well, I can't even tell you how much we loved it.  I can't imagine ever staying anywhere else when we go back we loved it so much.  It. Was. AMAZING!  I want to do a whole blog post of it's own because it deserves it.  So, stay tuned!

- Another perk of staying in one of their resorts is that any time you purchase something in the parks, you can have it sent straight to your room instead of hauling it around.  Yes!  Life made easier!

* Dining Plan.

I was so confused on how all this worked.  What's a dining plan?  How do I use it?  What?  Huh?  I'm confused?!  When you arrive to your resort and check in, you get your Key to the World.  It acts as your room key, your ticket to the parks, and your dining card (if you purchased a dining plan) - they swipe it whenever you get food.  With our dining plan, we each had per day:

1 snack (basically anything under $5)
1 quick service meal (fast food type stuff - ex. sandwich, chips, drink, & dessert)
1 table service meal (buffet; or appetizer, entree, dessert & drink)

So basically, you don't need to carry money around with you.  You simply order your food, swipe your card and go!  The table service meals are the nice, sit down meals ... it's great to have at least one of those per day. (Some days, we did two - like a character breakfast and then a nice dinner.) We liked using those at night so we could all gather together around our table, eat, and recap our day.  Great time of refreshment!

We had so many "snack" credits left on the last day that we went to our resort gift shop and loaded up on fun cookies, candy and other snacks.

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My boys with some of their "snacks" as we watched Fantastmic! at Hollywood Studios.

* Restaurant Reservations.

You need to book your restaurant reservations as soon as you know you're making a trip to Disney because THEY GO FAST! This was so hard for me because I hadn't been since I was 13, had no idea what to choose, and didn't know what all there was to pick from!  This is where I spent days researching.  We had 7 sit down meals, so I had to choose wisely.

We knew we wanted to do several character meals, so we booked those first (they're the hardest to get in to).  Then, I got some input from some friends and booked the rest of the meals.  I'll blog about our restaurant choices, too, and what ones we'd do again. We had a party of 10, so the reservations were a complete lifesaver.  We never had to wait for a table at all!

Chef Mickeys


* Order a Photopass Plus Card

Sometime before two weeks before your visit, order a Photopass Plus card. (I ordered mine 3 months in advance just to be safe.)  This thing is AMAZING!  They'll send you your PPP package and then when you get to the park, you trade your voucher for a card.  Whenever you see a photographer in the park, you give him your card and he/she takes professional pictures for you.  You don't have to worry about capturing that "great shot" in front of the castle, etc. with your own camera.  Some people don't bring a camera at all - they just use the Photopass Plus card.

Each photographer takes 5+ photos each time they shoot, so you end up with TONS of photos. And they'll take as many shots as you want.  There's no limit!  And there are photographers ALL over the park.  When you get home you have 14 days to claim your photos and they're yours.  I'm still waiting on mine to arrive (I ordered the CD), and I can't wait to share!  LOVE LOVE this thing.  All of our "family" shots are on there.

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Everyone but my Mom was getting irritated with me because I made everyone stop to take pictures each time we passed a photographer.  Hahahaha....!  I love a good photo!

*NOTE: Photopass Plus is different from the regular Photopass.  Get the plus.  It's new and it's wonderful.  MUCH easier than the other.

*TIP: Snap a pic of your Photopass Plus card number on the back as soon as you get it.  If you lose your card, but have your number, you're good.


* Plan Your Days.

We spent four days in the parks, so trying to figure out where we would spend each day was tricky because they needed to coordinate with which park our restaurant reservations were in and other appointments we had.  We ended up doing it like this:

The day we arrived we checked into our resort and explored that for awhile.  Then jumped on a bus to Downtown Disney.  Super fun place.  Great shops and restaurants.

In the parks:

Days 1 & 2 - Magic Kingdom.  (This has the most for small kids, and is just plain amazing ... so we spent two days there so we could try to see as much as possible.  We still missed a lot. Oh, it's simply magical.)

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios. (LOVE this one. It's not as crowded, super awesome, and is just great fun.)

Day 4 - Epcot. (Wished we would have had at least another day at Epcot simply because there is so much to see.)

We didn't bother going to Animal Kingdom.  I haven't heard amazing things about it, and I kind of feel like a zoo is a zoo at this point.  Ha!  If I had it to do over again with an extra day, I would still skip Animal Kingdom and spend an extra day in Epcot.  Ideally, I would like two days in each park!

(The last day, we rented a car and booked it to the beach to spend the day there.  We thought it would be great to end our busy week with a leisurely day by the water.  It was so much fun.)

We had Park Hopper Passes, so that we could jump from park to park if we wanted to.  We ended up never doing that, but it was good that we had the option.  We had planned on hopping back over to Magic Kingdom Friday night for the electrical parade, but ended up staying longer at Epcot.  I recommend Park Hoppers definitely, though.

But absolutely plan out your days before you get there.  And then each night that you are there, grab a map and route out your next day - that way you don't just wander around aimlessly ... and you'll get to see and do more.

* Fast Passes.

Our package came with 3 fast passes each for each day.  USE THEM!  Choose the most popular rides with the longest lines, go grab your fast passes and then come back at the time it tells you to.  You get to skip the lines and get straight on when it's time to come back.  These were lifesavers for some rides! This also saves so much time where you can go ride other rides and see more things.

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(The Little Mermaid Ride)

* Strollers. 

With two 3 year olds and two infants, strollers were a must.  I looked up the strollers you can rent at Disney, and they look like this:

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Uh.  No.

Those look like the most uncomfortable torture traps known to man.  Huge, unwieldy, hard .... there is no way a baby could sleep in that thing.  And, it is $27 a DAY.  Plus, they have to stay in the park.  Obviously.

So, I looked up stroller rental companies and found Kingdom Strollers.  LOVE!

We rented two Bob strollers for the small babies.  They were $12 per day, comfort deluxe, and pushed like a dreamboat.  Also, they deliver it to your resort free and pick it up the day you leave.  Amazing! We had a wheel go flat one day, gave them a call, and they came right over and put a new wheel on.

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Bob!

Ezra slept like a champ in it.

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We originally thought Levi would want to walk the whole time (he's doesn't like riding - he prefers walking), but after realizing we had 4 days of non-stop walking, we snatched him up an umbrella stroller in a store in Disney World.  The umbrella stroller was a breeze hauling on and off the busses.  The Bob, not so much, but it worked and I wouldn't have wanted to do the week without it.

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Levi's umbrella stroller. (With a Mickey pretzel snack!)

I definitely recommend using a stroller rental company, and we loved Kingdom.

* Food For Your Room.

Since we were staying in the resort and not renting a car until Beach Day, we used a grocery delivery service to bring milk, water, food, and snacks to our room.  Loved it!  We can't go on vacation without scooby snacks in our room!  :)  It was a $12 delivery fee (cheaper than renting a taxi and trying to find a grocery store), and we didn't have to worry about trying to find milk for the babies all the time.  We used Garden Grocers, ordered the groceries online before we left, and the food was delivered to our room!

Also, our Bob came with an insulated bag, so we loaded it down with drinks and water for the park.

* Book Activities in Advance.

There are several fun "experience" type things for the kids, depending on if you have a little boy or girl.

Book them in advance.

There is the Pirates League for little boys (girls can do this, too, of course), where they get dressed up like a real pirate.  We did this and it was an absolute blast.  More on that later.

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If you have a girl, you must do the Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique where you get made up like a princess!  My niece is the only girl in the family and she's only 5 months old, so we didn't do it, but it is too cute for words!

* APPS

After you book your resort you'll have a My Disney Experience username/password.  You can use it online to plan out your days and/or download the app.  It helps you see everything and has lots of good information on there.

WDW Waits is a great app.  It tells you the wait times at each ride in each park.  I still have it on my phone and occasionally check it and pretend like I'm still there.

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Some websites I found super useful for my planning were:
http://allears.net/index.html
http://www.wdwinfo.com/


Okay - so I think that is all of my planning advice.  I'll throw in some other tips I learned along the way as I blog the rest of the week!

I  may need to reference this myself again in a couple years.  I am officially DISNEY OBSESSED.





Monday, May 13, 2013

WINNERS!!!!

Hey everyone!!

My family and I are back from a GLORIOUS trip to Disney World and after I recoup, unpack, and tackle my laundry ... I'll sort through all my photos (I took well over 1500) and recap!  We had the time of our lives and I can't wait to blog about it.  :)

But first, here are the winners of the giveaways from last week! Random.org chose the winners .... thank you everyone for entering!!!

APRON WINNER:
Entry # 5 - MEGGIE.

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER WINNER:
Entry # 97 - PAINTING 4 HIM

YAY! CONGRATS, LADIES!!!

To claim your prize, e-mail me at glamlifehousewife@gmail.com, and I will get you your goodies ASAP!

THANKS, EVERYONE!!!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

GIVEAWAY #2!

I am in LOVE with this.

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The cutest EVER apron from none other than Anthropologie.  Maker of all things cute and adorable.

I mean ....

I want this apron more than you do.

I promise.

I want it bad.

But, I'm giving it to you instead.  'Cuz I'm sweet like that.

And I really wish it were a dress because I'm dying over those gold buttons and those perfectly wonderfully adorable pleats.  Please someone get me this apron.  I would wear it every day and never take it off.

Even on pick-up-a-pizza night.

Do you want it?

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BY LEAVING A COMMENT!

BLOG, TWEET, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM THE GIVEAWAY WITH MY URL AND ENTER THAT MANY MORE TIMES!

And ... I think I'll enter this one myself.

:)

GOOD LUCK, LOVIES!

*Winners for both contests announced next week.

Monday, May 6, 2013

GIVEAWAY WEEK!

It's your lucky week, folks!  TWO giveaways this week! And not just two puddly duddly giveaways ... GREAT ones! :)

Today I want to giveaway my new favorite shampoo and conditioner.  Like .... I'm obsessed with it.

1. It smells AHHH-mazing.
2. It gives you pretty hair.
3. It's the bomb.com

Have y'all heard about these Moroccanoil products? They're amazing.  My Mom uses the oil and I'm dying to get a bottle myself.  The oil helps with styling and makes your hair SUPER shiny.  I need some.  I want some.

But since I know and have experience with the shampoo, I wanted to give it away.

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Enter the giveaway and one lucky winner will receive a 8.5 bottle of BOTH the shampoo & conditioner and your life will be changed forevermore.  And then some.

There are different "kinds", like Extra Volume (what I use), but if you prefer the Moisture Repair or Hydrating shampoo & conditioner, I can send that instead.  But trust me, you will LOVE this stuff.

LEAVE A COMMENT TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY.

BLOG, TWEET, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, ETC. ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY WITH MY URL AND ENTER THAT MANY MORE TIMES!

Good luck and check back Wednesday for another FABULOUS giveaway!!! Enter them all!!






Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Who's The Leader of the Club?

Mickey.  That's who!

We are headed to the happiest place on earth soon and the boys could not be MORE excited!!  It's literally all I have heard about from Levi since January - ever since my parents told us they wanted to take the family to Disney World!  We are THRILLED!!!

My mom hired a travel agent and then went out of town the week that we needed to get everything planned, dining reservations made, etc.  So, she enlisted me to be the go-to lady.  The travel agent and I are pretty much BFF at this point.  We're even Facebook friends.  Haha! Once we jumped in full force and started making plans and arrangements, I was absolutely FLOORED by all there was that I needed to know.  Like, for instance, making dining reservations 180 days in advance?!?!  I mean, how do I know what to book or where to eat?!? I don't know what we would have done without a dear friend of ours (thanks, Becca!), and the travel agent.

I seriously spent one entire week glued to the internet, books and endless conversations with Becca planning this vacay and trying to make it great and fun for everyone!  It's serious business, y'all!  And NOT for the faint of heart! :)

It got to the point that week that Levi came up to me and said, "What are you doing, Mommy?  Planning Disney?" I said, "Yes, baby".  He said, "Well, you plan Disney by working on the computer, and I'll plan Disney by watching it."  HA!  Deal, baby! So I turned on some Disney Junior and we both got to work.  ;)

I've been to Disney World and Land several times in my life, but we typically just go one day, and we've never stayed IN the park at a resort, which is what we're doing this time.  So, that makes for a completely different experience.  We're jumping full force into ALL things Disney World next week!

I can't wait to recap it all after we get back and blog about my tips and tricks for you guys.  I bookmarked SO many blog posts from other ladies who had Disney tips/info and they helped out tremendously.  I plan on using their tips and of course have incorporated some of my own, too.  I hope I can help another family out like they've helped me.

So.

Now let me open it up to YOU!

Any Disney tips and tricks that I simply MUST know before we go?!  I'm ALL EARS!  Mickey ears, that is! :)






Monday, April 29, 2013

A Missing Link.

It's always funny when one child is away and you're left with only one.  It makes you realize what a vital unit to the family each child is and that their role is absolutely precious!  I see just how wanted, needed and treasured my boys are to us.  I do not like being apart, no not one bit!

Levi went to Nashville with his grandparents over the weekend and our little family had a HUGE link missing.  Ezra wandered around, not really knowing what to do and often looking for him.  I had no buddy to talk to while Daddy worked the night shift.  And church on Sunday was too bizarre, only taking and picking up one child from the nursery.

Levi had almost three years of being the only child before his brother joined our family, so if Ezra is away and Levi's here (which rarely ever happens), it's not TOO weird for him.  But Ezra has only known life with his brother, and the void I can tell he feels without him is big.  He's hilarious.  He kind of bursts out as the "life of the party" with all the constant attention, but he also pulls into a shell a bit around other people without the comfort of his brother.  It's sweet.  Those boys rely on each other more than they know and it melts my heart as their Mommy!

The night before and the day of Levi leaving, he cried and cried and cried because Ezra wasn't going, too.  I knew then and there that those boys have a special bond, and they truly love being together.  They are the sweetest little brothers.  Truly the best of friends.   I love watching them grow together.

Since I had a lot of alone time with precious little Ezra, I snapped some cute pictures of him. Surprise, surprise.  And you know I just had to share.  :)

This boy is a bundle full of JOY I tell you.  I can't get over him!

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He's a pretty little handsome.

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Showin' off those pearly whites!

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Bein' hilarious.  And laughing hysterically.

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Strike a pose, little one!

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Pretty little sweet face.

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I mean ... he's just too much.

:)

Big Brother is now home and we've got a week before we're jet-setting again!  What a busy and F.U.N. spring!


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