Wine Girl Mommy’s World

Tag: Disney

• A toddler in Hollywood (Studios)

  Posted at 11:30 am by CS, on November 14, 2019

  Most people, when they think of Disney think that’s its only just for kids. And while a good bit of that is true, there are plenty for adults to do. Case in point, Hollywood Studios park seems to be the least kid friendly Disney park in Orlando. When you look at what is offered as far as rides and attractions and shows, there seems to be more aimed towards older kids and adults, with the thrill rides, Galaxy edge and toy story land.

  So what do you do when you want to go to Hollywood studios but have a toddler in tow? The short answer would be to just suck it up and wait for another time when you may be kiddo free for a quick trip, but in some cases, when you’re on a family vacation, and there is no other option, you make the best of a park that may not have a lot to offer a younger kid.

  Here are my must do’s when you have a toddler tagging along. And these are my must do’s because this is what we did on a recent trip to Hollywood studios.

  Disney Junior Dance Party– if your child remotely enjoys any part of Disney juniors and the shows they show on the channel, this is a must stop and do. Two DJ’s, favorite characters, and lot of fun music, what more would or could your child ask for? Cameron loved dancing and laughing along to all the songs. Bright colors, lights, and bubbles/confetti/streamers also bring in the fun too.

  Disney Junior character meets– just outside the dance party, you and your child can meet a few of their favorite characters. Now these characters could change based on time of year and popularity but the ones that were there when we went were: Doc McStuffins, Pluto, Vampirina, and Fancy Nancy. We only met Doc and Vampirina and Cameron wasn’t having either of them. Normally she’s pretty into character meets, but she just didn’t seem super excited that day. It was still fun to see the different characters and their bright sets.

  Frozen sing-a-long: Frozen is still going strong since 2013, and with the release of the second coming this I don’t see the hype going down any. Cameron is a big Elsa and frozen fan so I knew we should try this out. Especially with there not being a whole lot at the park for her to do. Boy we were not disappointed. She loved it because of the songs, I loved it because the story tellers were actually quite hilarious, and I’ll admit the songs are pretty catchy. We were lucky enough to catch the holiday show so they also sang a few songs from their Christmas/holiday short that came out a while ago. All in all, would definitely go see it again.

  

  Honorable mentions: these are things I think she would like, but that we didn’t get to do.

  Voyage of the little mermaid show.

  Toy story mania and walking around Toy Story land.

  Other character meets, especially citizens of Hollywood.

  While this park may continue to not be geared toward the smaller crowd, I think there is definitely things that they can do and see to be entertained.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged dance party, Disney, Disney Junior, doc mcstuffins, fancy Nancy, frozen, Hollywood studios, Mickey, park, vampirina

• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort-kid friendly review

  Posted at 11:06 am by CS, on November 7, 2019

  I want to preface this with I’m not being paid or sponsored to make this post. Although I would love to be sponsored by Disney because I mean who wouldn’t. All opinions are my own.

  For Cameron’s second birthday, we had lots of different celebrations because family was in and out of town and we wanted to celebrate with everyone. One such celebration was that we treated myself, my mom, and Cameron to a weekend stay at a Disney resort when some out of town family was coming to visit Disney for the Columbus Day weekend.

  Now due to pricing and timing, we knew deluxe resorts were way out of the question. A few moderate resorts were reasonably priced, but knowing we wouldn’t be spending a lot of time in the room we weren’t completely sold on them. Then a Florida resident/annual pass holder offer popped up for our dates and a value resort opened up and I knew that was probably the best route to take. Granted the resort was still close to 200 a night, with it being a holiday weekend and all, we still made it out pretty well for a 3 night stay on property. We ended up staying at all-star movies, in a preferred room in the 101 Dalmatians section. Here are some pros and cons and findings from our stay.

  Let’s start with the room. Now as a value resort we knew the room wasn’t going to be huge or super fancy. But I was delightfully surprised that ever since they refurbished the value resorts the rooms were nicer than expected. Laminate floors, better lighting, and a Murphy bed to get more space within the room were really nice. It helped in the morning when we were trying to get ready. I also enjoyed the space of the room as a whole because we brought Cameron’s pack n play and we had plenty of room to set it up and have space to walk around. The beds were comfy, pillows great, AC worked wonderfully, so all in all a good room to be in. My two biggest issues with the room were the coffee maker and the bathtub. The coffee maker was a small single cup maker which just for me being spoiled with a full pot grinding beans coffee maker didn’t exactly cut it. The coffee just wasn’t as strong as I would have hoped. But we made due, and just grabbed more coffee inside the parks. The bathtub situation wasn’t completely horrible either. It’s just that it had a sliding door instead of a shower curtain. And while it looks nicer, probably easier to clean, and sleeker it just was harder to bathe Cameron because the door only stops halfway so you’re either stuck between the toilet and the bathtub or you’re far away from the faucet. But once again we made due for our short stay.

  Amenities, while the value resort may not have as many as some deluxe and moderate resorts, for our length of stay we had just what we needed. We never really ate in the food court, but they seemed to have some decent options. I did try mobile ordering for the first time at the food court, and my experience with that wasn’t terrible but I think it could have been better. I don’t know if they were overly busy, or if the person working mobile order wasn’t paying attention, but I feel like we waited a lot longer than we probably should have from the time I clicked the “I’m here” button on my app to when the food was actually ready for us to pick up. We weren’t in any rush as we were just going back to the room to eat, but it still was a bit of a let down to still have to wait around at the window. The only other amenity we really experienced was the kiddie pool/interactive splash pad area. Cameron had the best time playing there and meeting some other kiddos. Luckily we had no issues getting her away when it was time to go.

  It was so great to take Disney transportation while we were there. So nice to park the car at the resort and then not have to drive again until we left. The biggest con I found was that we had to share a bus with some of the other all-star resorts. This wasn’t every occasion, like early in the morning, or to certain parks, but in the middle of the day, or to places like Disney springs, we did find ourselves sharing a bus with the all-star music resort which made for busier busses in the middle of the day and more stops before being dropped off or picked up.

  All in all I think it was a great resort stay. Being a value resort I knew we wouldn’t be getting a super fancy stay, but having a kiddo and only being there for a few nights and mostly using it for sleeping it definitely did the job. I would definitely stay there again if it came to it!

  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged all star, Disney, hotel, Movies, resort, review

• Packing for Disney

  Posted at 11:26 am by CS, on October 24, 2019

  So you’ve planned your trip to Disney. You know when you’re going, for how long, where you are staying. You booked your dining reservations and your fast passes. Your magic band or tickets have come in the mail and you’re ready to go. Now it’s time to figure out what to pack.

  For us, the first time we went to Disney I was not 100% sure what I wanted to bring. I had watched a couple videos of what other packed for their kids to get an idea of what I wanted to bring for Cameron.

  Packing for adults is one thing, you bring a few outfits, some comfy shoes, toiletries and you pretty much call it a day. But packing for a child is definitely different. This is what we packed for Cameron for the first trip. I have found it a lot easier the subsequent trips we’ve taken because we learn each time.

  Outfits and changes of clothes. I planned out what we would wear each day, and yes I was that mom who matched with her daughter some of the days. So I made sure Cameron had an outfit every day of our trip, and then a backup or nighttime outfit for each day as well. This way if she spilled, or got dirty, or sweaty during the day she had another outfit ready and waiting. We also packed pajamas because of course she needed to wear something to bed.

  Swimsuit. I did pack a swim suit in the off chance we went to the pool. We never made it but it was nice to have.

  Diapers and other changing items. We made sure to pack plenty of diapers, wipes, lotions and anything else we needed for changing her throughout the day.

  Blankets, toys, nighttime items. We packed as much as we could for her to feel as comfortable as possible when it came to naps and bedtime. We brought her toys, sound machine, blankets so she felt like she was at home.

  Feeding items. Made sure to pack snacks, bottles, cups, plates, and anything else she used at home when eating. She was still mostly eating with her hands so a lot of stuff we didn’t use.

  Miscellaneous. I’ll admit I overpacked and anything I though we could use I brought. We got a fan and cover for her stroller. Books to read. Extra clothes on top of her other clothes. Also of course we packed her stroller and pack n play for the hotel room. You could rent these but we weren’t sure how she would do in rentals so we felt better bringing our own.

  She was the smallest in our group and had the biggest bag just because of everything I felt she needed. As first time parents taking a baby on vacation for the first time it was better to be over prepared than under prepared.

  It’s nice that now we know a bit better and can pack a lot less. It also helps that we live a lot closer and don’t need to pack as much anyway.

  Was there anything you packed and regretted? Or didn’t pack and wish you had?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, bedtime, blanket, clothes, Disney, food, luggage, packing, trip

• Disney planning tips

  Posted at 11:25 am by CS, on October 17, 2019

  Obviously I am a lover of all things Disney. I think some of my recent blog posts have shown that. One topic I had some people tell me I should write about is planning tips for Disney with a family. Now I’m not a Disney travel agent. And while planning for a trip to Disney takes a lot and is different for everyone, I wanted to give some tips on what has worked for us in the past. Now there are plenty of great other sites, and lists, and tips out there I’m sure, but I figured one more blog post could certainly help because things are ever changing with how things can come together.

  I think when you first start planning your trip, the first big decision is when you are going to go. Depending on your family this may be easy or hard. You’ll have to take into account school breaks and holidays, vacation time at work, family obligations, and time of year. Then you will want to take into account how crowded the parks will be and how you feel about that and if you could handle crowds. I personally love visiting during the holidays because of all the decorations but I understand it will be a bit busier than other times of the year. Granted it’s Disney and there seems to be more busy times than not busy times now with all the new lands and attractions and festivals and special events that happen all around the parks and throughout the year. Early in the year in January and February are good times to go, and late September and early October are also some good times as well.

  Once you decide when you’re going to go, it’s then time to decide how long you want to go for. Is it a long weekend, a week, two weeks? Is this a big once in a lifetime holiday, or is this just another trip that you and your family do all the time. For us we tend to take long weekends because we are able to go to Disney quite often.

  Next up will be the hotel and ticket options. Of course you’ll want to decide if you want to stay on or off property and weigh the pros and cons of both. You’ll also want to figure out what hotel will be best for you and your family. Do you want one with a great pool? One with lots of activities? One a little more quiet and made for adults? Do you want to splurge on the hotel or have something more value?

  There are also plenty of options when it comes to buying tickets. Do you want a single day ticket or a multi day. Do you want single park each day or upgrade to a park hopper so you can go more than one park a day. Or would it make more sense to buy an annual pass. If you’re a Florida resident you can get deals on tickets as well. Then you have to think about extra events, party tickets if you’re wanting to do other things while you’re on vacation.

  Once you decide when you want to go, for how long, where you’ll stay and what sort of tickets you’ll buy, you’ll also want to decide how to get to the parks and around the parks. Do you live close enough to Orlando to drive? Is it easier to fly and rent a car? Or fly and utilize the free Disney transportation if you’re staying on property?

  Then once all the big planning is out of the way, you have the miscellaneous things to think about. I’ve written a whole post on what to pack. You’ll also want to think about any dining reservations you may want to book, and fast passes you want to book as well.

  There is so much to think about and goes into planning a trip. It’s not like just jumping in the car and going for a quick trip. But I think having some sort of plans does make the trip better. Do you have any specific tips on best ways to plan?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, hotel, planning, tickets, travel, trip, vacation

• Beat the heat at Disney

  Posted at 12:16 pm by CS, on September 26, 2019

  We can all agree that Florida is hot most of the year. We can also agree that during the summer months that heat can become unbearable. Even with those summer rain storms that can cool down the weather just a tad, we still have those high temps and the humidity.

  Disney is a popular vacation spot in the summer due to school breaks, available vacation time, and events that can take place at the parks.

  Because of that, it’s nice to know how to beat the inevitable heat at Disney. You could also use a lot if not all these tips to beat the other weather issues at Disney. Such as the rain that Florida sees just about every day in the summer.

  First thing first is to stay hydrated. Disney is great about having water fountains around the parks and all counter services will give you free ice water if you ask, some even have them sitting out on the counter so you can just go in and pour yourself a cup. You can also bring in your own water bottles and continue to fill those up as well. It’s so important to stay hydrated and not get overheated.

  Water rides are your friend. Now I know not everyone loves water rides because they hate getting their clothes wet. But when it’s creeping towards 100 degrees then water rides are very very good. Splash mountain in magic kingdom, and kali river rapids in animal kingdom are some of the best. There is also a splash pad for the kiddos back near the dumbo ride in magic kingdom.

  Hotel/pool breaks. I know sometimes you think you have to, go, go, go but when it’s super hot and/or rainy, sometimes it’s best to take mid-day breaks. This is a great time to explore the hotel, go to the hotel pool and recharge for the rest of the day. Some of the resort pools are absolutely amazing. There are also some great activities you can do at the hotel that can help pass the time too and help beat the heat.

  Indoor activities. There are a lot of great rides and attractions at Disney that you can go on to beat the heat or get out of the rain or any other bad type of weather. Mickeys Phillarmagic and Carousel of Progress in the Magic Kingdom, Spaceship Earth in Epcot, Frozen sing a long in Hollywood Studios, and Its tough to be a bug, Finding Nemo musical, and the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom are some great examples of attractions that take you out of the heat for a little bit of time. These are not all of the attractions that you can do when you need to get inside and away from heat, but this is a good list to start with.

  Do you have any other tips to beat the heat at Disney?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Florida, heat, hydrated, rides, summer, water, weather

• Disney baby vs toddler

  Posted at 11:13 am by CS, on September 23, 2019

  So I’ve been to Disney a few different times with my child now. The first time I took her she was 13 months old and therefore considered a toddler, but because she wasn’t quite walking yet I still considering her a baby. Taking a baby to Disney and taking a toddler to Disney were two very different experiences. You have to prepare about the same, but I definitely saw differences that I saw and figured it would be good to share.

  Now when we took Cameron as a baby, as I said she wasn’t walking, so whenever we were in a line for anything she had to be carried. Luckily we did have multiple people with us so we could all take turns holding her, because even though she wasn’t walking she was also at the stage where she didn’t really want to be held because she wanted to be down and moving. But you can’t really have a crawling child trying to get in and around people’s feet while in a ride line. So it was a little difficult to wait in line because she was restless and did not want to be carried.

  The last couple times we’ve taken her she is now up and walking and running. Which is great because she can stand in the line, except she’s at the age where because she can walk and run she doesn’t want to stay in one place. So she tries to barrel into the people in front of us in line, so you have to hope they are good sports and know she’s not doing it on purpose.

  So my advice for this, is holding them, or letting them walk, most definitely opt for only going on rides with short waits or that you have a fast pass for. Cameron won’t wait very long anyway so this works well for us because we also have the luxury to go back to Disney fairly often.

  She is free in the parks until 3, as well as eats free until 3 so that’s a plus on both ends. When she was a baby and we went, we made sure to bring loads of snacks, and hadn’t really figured out meals, she was eating full on solids, but I for some reason thought ordering a full kids meal each meal would work. It didn’t, it was a waste of money because she would rather pick off our plates, or eat barely any of her plate.

  Now that she’s toddler age, she is a bit more picky in what she eats. We still make sure to bring snacks, but I’ve learned my lesson to not order anything for her and let her pick off and share food from our plates when we have a meal.

  When she was a baby, we were changing her a lot more often, and she was also a bit more messy so we brought her diaper bag packed to the brim of diapers, wipes, extra clothes, and the like.

  Now, depending on how long we will be in the park, and the weather forecast, we have chosen a smaller bag, throw some wipes, a couple diapers, a shirt and we are good to go. If we were to do a full day trip I do believe we would bring the whole diaper bag, but would still make sure we weren’t overpacking, because who wants to lug a heavy bag around the park when you’re walking upwards of 5 miles a day.

  Safety is another big thing to think about. When they are a baby, and sort of confined to the stroller, it’s easier to keep tabs on them. Even though you should keep tabs on your child at all times, but knowing they are strapped in is nice. Although sometimes I wish you could bring strollers into the ride lines to help with waiting.

  When you have a toddler who wants to roam free, or enjoy their freedom of walking and running through the park, you are very aware of your surroundings and how many people are actually around you. We bought Cameron a Minnie Mouse backpack/leash so that if/when we decide to forego the stroller just for a little bit we still have her contained. Because depending on your ride plans, it doesn’t make sense to keep putting her in the stroller and taking her out. She hates that anyway. So this way, she feels independent but I still have her tied to me.

  Interactions are a bit different too. When she was a baby, you could tell she was excited to see things, like the lights and colors and sounds of the rides, but that she wasn’t fully grasping things. Now she’s a bit older, she’s seen Disney movies, so now she’s recognizing characters, she’s recognizing rides that we’ve been on before, she gets excited when we are riding something. So it’s nice to see that progression.

  The more I take her to Disney, the more I’m learning that is for sure.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, differences, Disney, food, magic kingdom, memories, rides, safety, toddler

• Childless millennial…Mom

  Posted at 11:32 am by CS, on September 12, 2019

  So, a little bit ago, there was a rant then went around online about a women who was very upset about the childless millennials taking away from families at Disney. As a millennial that is also a mom I found this hilarious. Maybe she was having a bad day, maybe she was drunk, but to me I felt the post was not necessary. I mean sure, she’s allowed her opinion, everyone is but I love going to Disney both with my child and without. So I decided to write a post on the differences being a childless millennial at Disney and being a mom at Disney. I didn’t want to do a pros/cons list because I just wanted to more point out that it can be great to be at Disney either way. Now I know some may contradict each other, but that’s because there are good points for going to the park alone and with your child. So I’m not listing these to see if one wins out, I’m just posting to see the differences between the two. And once again this is MY OPINION, so if you don’t agree, then that’s fine. I’m not tacos, not here to please everyone.

  PRO for childless millennial: You get to ride what you want to ride. You don’t have to worry about height restrictions, or if someone will be afraid to ride something. It helps for if there are rides you haven’t done in a while that you want to ride.

  PRO for being a Disney mom: Getting to ride kid rides and see how excited they get. Riding the carousel 5 times because your child gets so happy on it is just wonderful. Getting the small world music stuck in your head because your child has to ride it and see all the colors is worth it.

  PRO for childless millennial: No stroller. Now as much as I love bringing my child, having to not maneuver a stroller through the crowds is great. I don’t know if people just have no awareness or what, but they stop right in front of you, don’t move when asked, so it gets very annoying and therefore not having one is pretty nice.

  PRO for Disney mom: character experiences. Now yes you can go see characters as an adult and it’s super magical. But when you can take your child to visit a favorite character and you see their face light up when they recognize them and run to them to give them a big hug, it’s enough to make your heart melt.

  PRO for childless millennial: Timing. You don’t have to worry about naps, or bedtimes. You can be at the parks as early or as late as you want. Get there at rope drop and stay all day until fireworks if you want.

  PRO for Disney mom: Baby care centers. Now I’m assuming they won’t turn you away if you don’t have a baby, but I mean it would be a bit creepy. The baby care centers were saviors for us when we have taken Cameron. One big thing I also loved was that they had regular bathrooms too. And although Disney is good about keeping their bathrooms clean it was nice to use one that probably doesn’t see the high number of people every day.

  PRO for both: The memories. You make different memories every time you go to Disney. They may be good or bad depending on who you are with. I have some amazing memories going with family, going with friends, going with my husband, going with my daughter. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you’re 1 or 100, if it’s your first trip or 1000th, it shouldn’t matter if you are there with kids or yourself, Disney is a place for everyone. I repeat Disney is a place for EVERYONE and if you are there and enjoying yourself it shouldn’t matter who you are or aren’t there with. And those who think they should get to pass judgement on others should be thrown in the moat around Cinderella castle.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged animal kingdom, baby, childless millennial, Disney, Epcot, Hollywood studios, magic kingdom, mom, mother, rant, theme park

• What I drank in August 2019

  Posted at 11:18 am by CS, on August 29, 2019

  Well I must admit this month flew by that I barely had time to process what I in fact did drink this month. Most things were repeats and things I’ve sampled before, but I got to try 3 new things that I was pretty excited about. Not shockingly all 3 items are found at Disney world, but luckily for me, not inside any park.

  Dole Whip Frozcato Mimosa: this to me is like a dole whip on steroids. You have the pineapple dole whip, you have moscato, you have vodka, then you add a champagne topper and boom you have an adult dole whip with all the fixings. It was good, when I got it, it was so hot it melted before I really could enjoy every bit of it but I would get it again for sure. Side note I never got a photo of it either because of how fast it went.

  Sangria-Tini: This drink I had during our parents weekend to Disney. I had to get what was in the drink from the Disney website because I chose it since it has the words sangria and Tini in it. It’s made with Stolichnaya Vodka, Garnacha Old Vines, Combier Crème de Pêche De Vigne, and Sweet-and-Sour. It was very very good. Had I not wanted to try other drinks out I would have gotten a second. This can be found at the Dahlia lounge in the new tower at Disney’s Coronado springs resort. It wasn’t to sweet or overpowering, a very nice drink to sip on during dinner or happy hour.

  

  Dole whip lime margarita: I’m sensing a theme with my August drinks. Both Disney and dole whip. This one is a dole whip lime that is mixed with tequila. It was very good, a little on the sweet side but nothing to overpowering. We found this at the Polynesian resort and it definitely didn’t disappoint as we sipped them while watching the fireworks. I will most likely be getting this again in the future. Here is hoping they keep it around.

  

  This year is flying, can not believe that we are almost to September which means another month, another few more drinks to discover and hopefully love. I have a feeling disney will pop up in some of my future months drinks as well. What can I say, I can’t stay away.

  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, dole whip, drink, drinks, frozcato, margarita, margaritas, martini, mimosa, sangria

• *My* child approved Disney snacks

  Posted at 11:23 am by CS, on August 15, 2019

  So I titled this as *my* child approved Disney snacks because I know this list may not work for everyone, but these are the snacks that Cameron loves to eat when we go to Disney. Some are Disney bought snacks, some you find in the park at stores or at carts. Some are ones that we brought in because they are easy and we knew for sure she would enjoy. The best is that these aren’t specialty snacks and are sold all year round and are pretty much staples in Disney park world.

  First we will start with the snacks we’ve bought while at Disney:

  Mickey pretzel– the Mickey pretzel, who doesn’t love a pretzel, and who doesn’t love Mickey shaped foods? The answer to both is not us, well not Cameron. She munched down on some Mickey pretzels while we were at magic kingdom. We found them at a kiosk in Frontierland although I know they are served all over. And what’s great is that they come with cheese sauce. And Cameron and cheese go together like Mickey and Minnie.

  Mickey bar– once again, ice cream good, Mickey shape good, put together and it’s even better. We’ve had both the bars sold in the parks and even bought the ones you could get at your local store and they are both amazing. We got ours at Epcot, but once again you can find these basically everywhere.

  Pickles– now this is one I was a little iffy about, but Cameron loves pickles at home so we figured when we saw those massive dill pickles for like 2 bucks it couldn’t be beat. And we weren’t wrong. She made a mess, but boy did she chow down on it. We got this at a counter back in Fantasyland near the little mermaid ride. It’s probably one of my favorite photos from our first trip to Disney.

  Mickey shapes cheese snacks– these can be found in most shops around Disney I believe. I know probably the confectionary, emporium, other big type stores. We found them at Goofy’s candy Co at Disney springs. They are basically like goldfish but in Mickey shapes. She’s had these before in foodles we got at our local grocery store so I knew she would like them, and granted you don’t get a whole lot in the container, they are still yummy.

  Mickey shaped veggie chips- just like the cheese snacks, you can find these in most stores. They are just potato type chips made more from veggies and once again in Mickey shapes. We got these when we got the cheese snacks at Disney springs and they were a big hit.

  Mickey shaped Rice Krispie treat- this is my daughters new favorite. I swear she can finish a whole one if I don’t stop her. We’ve bought these in a few different locations so I believe they are sold just about everywhere.

  Now for snacks that we brought in our park bag:

  Pouches– we normally give Cameron Gerber pouches for snacks at home, they are so easy to pack, and so easy to carry around for her. They also come in so many flavors so it’s a no brainer when we need a quick and easy snack for her. Most of the time you can find them on promo at your local grocery store too.

  Animal crackers– she is her mother’s daughter and loves animal crackers. So we always try to make sure we keep some around for snacks, not only for Cameron but for me as well.

  Puffs-Gerber puffs, another quick and easy snack that come in multiple flavors. You can bring the container, or put them in a plastic baggie, or a snack bag or container and you’re on the move. So they are always a go to whenever we travel and not only to Disney.

  Are there any snacks your kids just love to have when at Disney? Any we should check out next time we go?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged animal crackers, cheese snacks, Disney, ice cream, Mickey bar, pickle, pouches, pretzel, puffs, snack, veggie chips

• Parents Getaway

  Posted at 12:04 pm by CS, on August 12, 2019

  So this weekend we had the opportunity to have a little parents only staycation. Big shout out to my mom and step dad for watching the little one so that my husband and I could have a weekend alone.

  With my husbands travel schedule lately and everything going on with work, the move, life in general, we just hadn’t had a lot of time to ourselves. And yes, we are parents and signed up for that, but after realizing that this trip was the first overnight (away) trip that we’ve ever had since becoming parents we figured we would take advantage of it.

  Living in Florida you have so many great options for staycations because there are so many great options so close to you all the time. Well, my husband must really love me, because I convinced him to go to Disney for the weekend. I’m a huge Disney nerd/fan, have been since I can remember. My husband, not so much, but I can see that having Cameron has started to thaw that heart of his for the magic that Disney brings, so I’m beyond grateful I was able to convince him to let us stay at Disney and have a kid free weekend.

  And I know what you may be thinking, you can’t have fun at Disney without kids…well that’s what some people want you to think…cough cough. But I can tell you, I absolutely LOVE taking my daughter to Disney, the magic and the memories are beyond compare, but you want to know what else is amazing…not having to push a stroller through a crowd.

  But I digress with my rant about why we chose Disney, here’s how we spent our couple days of alone time. Now I will say, we did not go to any theme parks, we wanted to sort of just relax, spend time together, and take advantage of other things Disney has to offer.

  We stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs resort. It’s a moderate resort that very Mexicali/Spanish/southwestern themed that had been at the top of my Disney resort bucket list so I was SO happy when we decided to stay there. They have been renovating that hotel like crazy and just built a new tower that was so gorgeous, the design literally made my jaw drop. Now we didn’t stay in the new tower, but our room was just as nice. Very sleek and a bit more modern, it did just the job we needed it too.

  

  The first night, once we checked in, we got ready for drinks and dinner. We had drinks at the Dahlia lounge in the new tower of the hotel. I had an amazing sangria-tini and then a strawberry hard cider. My husband had an old fashioned that he said was quite good. The views from this lounge, being on the 16th floor were just wonderful. Now the weather was being it’s typical Florida summertime weather so we were dealing with clouds and rain, but still being able to see for miles was amazing.

  

  After drinks we went next door where we had reservations at Toledo- Tapas, steak, and seafood. The food here was good, I say good because it wasn’t great, but I’ve had worse. We had mussels, octopus, and a tomato bread as appetizers/tapas. Then I ordered the hanger steak and my husband got the filet. We both thought mine was the better of the two dishes. Once again, neither were bad, but we have had better. For dessert we ordered the Toledo Tapas Bar, a chocolate dessert that was progressive with its flavors and that was pretty darn delicious.

  Once we finished with dinner, I did what any Disney fan would do. I begged my husband to go see some fireworks. Yes we were on the 16th floor of a building and PROBABLY could have seen them from there, but I wanted to be closer and more certain I would be able to see them. So we took an Uber to Disney’s Polynesian resort and watched the magic kingdom fireworks from the beach while sipping dole whip lime margaritas. These were a bit sweet but oh so tasty. I will definitely be getting them again.

  

  

  Once the fireworks, and water light pageant ended it was back to our hotel for the evening.

  The next day we took full advantage of no child and slept in enjoying being able to do so. Once we got ourselves up and ready we headed to Disney springs to walk around, shop, and have lunch. We had lunch at The Boathouse which has become our favorite restaurant for a date on Disney property. We haven’t had a bad meal or a bad server here and so we’ve decided it’s going to become “our Disney place.” We had oysters, because we had been craving them. Then my husband got a salad and I had a sandwich which was wonderful.

  

  After lunch, back to the room for some relaxing and just lounging. I really didn’t want to do anything else but just spend time with my husband, and yes we could have done more shopping or go to the pool or other things, but the weather also was not looking so hot so we took advantage of spending some time hanging out in our room.

  The for our final Disney meal, we went to Disney’s beach club resort and had dinner at Cape May Cafe, which is a seafood buffet dinner. My husband was in heaven. It was a good meal, but I’m not one for buffets so I never really “spend the price” when it comes to getting my moneys worth. But it was still very good and a great last meal at Disney for the weekend. If you have any seafood lovers, this would be a good place to take them as well. After dinner we walked the resort a bit, took a look at the boardwalk then headed back to the room.

  Next morning, was checking out and going back to see our girl. It was a super quick and super chill weekend, but I think it’s what we needed. Recharge a little, spend time together, and just enjoy ourselves. Now if I can convince him to go to Disney with me all the time it would be perfect

  Can you believe this is the ONLY picture we took together the whole weekend?!

  

  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged beach club, Coronado springs, dinner, Disney, Disney springs, Disney world, drinks, parents weekend, Polynesian

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