Saturday 27 July 2013

Even rain reminds me of WDW!

So I had a nice surprise the other day upon checking my mailbox (in the pouring rain!) I found my travel documents - yippee!

I wasn't really expecting them till early August so their arrival was a very nice way to start the day, and thankfully I had got to them early in the day as the day proceeded to be very wet and my mailbox is prone to an odd leak or two!

We have been having a bit of a heatwave over here in the UK these last few weeks, which I consider as a chance for us to get acclimatized to the sort of temperatures we will be experiencing in a few weeks time.  And then this week the rain and thunderstorms have taken hold; so there we were coming out of the theatre on Monday evening (we went to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert which was absolutely fantastic!) and we were greeted with a very warm evening and light rain to which we both said 'ah this is like being in Florida'.  What we hadn't realised was that whilst we had been inside the theatre we had missed the most spectacular of storms that really would have reminded us of Florida.

Then the following evening I was taking my daughter to karate when the heavens opened, so much so that I had to stop driving because the rain was that bad.  But yet again it reminded me of a trip to WDW.  Back in 2011 I remember one particular evening driving down I-4 (thankfully in a taxi) and it being the most horrendous rain I'd ever seen; this was the view outside Port Orleans French Quarter when we finally got back.  This photo was taken no later than 6pm and you can see just how dark it had become by the fact that all the lights were on!

And back in 2008 whilst staying for 3 whole weeks (ah bliss!) we were lucky enough to experience a tropical storm which left us rather wet at some points..
This however was the car park at the Kennedy Space Centre following the storms...so where should we park?!!

We English seem to have an affinity for the rain, it is after all, what everyone always associates with the UK and whilst we do get our fair share of rain we do occasionally have some lovely weather too.  One thing it does mean though is that we always come prepared for whatever the weather and never let a little bit of rain stop us from doing anything.
1996 - Fantasia Gardens miniature golf in the rain

2008 - Epcot - Mexican Pavillion...in the rain
Notice that I'm still wearing the same waterproof!
2011 - Disney's Hollywood Studios - taking shelter under Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat, and an excuse to buy pins!
 Notice the new waterproof!
2011 - Disney's Hollywood Studios, outside The Great Movie Ride
So whatever the weather, rain or shine, you can guarantee one thing that we shall be out there enjoying all that WDW has to offer...24 days to go :)

Sunday 14 July 2013

Getting Closer

Well that vacation of ours is getting closer, only 37 days to go as I type.  But life seems so busy at the moment that I don't seem to have had chance to think or plan or anything...let alone write a blog post!

Working in education at this time of year is busy, busy, busy. Not only is it the end of the academic year so there are reports to write and end of year concerts to plan and rehearse it is also the ideal time of year for fundraisers. A Summer fair a few weeks ago and a 'Back 2 School Disco' last night!

Plus having two teenagers whose school lives also seem to impact on everything that I do - reward trips, school plays, work experience etc etc I don't know whether I am coming or going at the moment.

Work has also meant completing staff appraisals, sorting new contracts for the next academic year, planning the coming years curriculum and even talking about Christmas concerts, parties and visits from Santa - no seriously Christmas has been planned in July!

I have also had a couple of personal things happening with close family members that thankfully are sorting themselves out and now beginning to look really positive.

So now I am beginning to get a bit of my vacation mojo back, in fact typing this is beginning to re-invigorate my vacation vibe.  Everything is booked and paid for including the overnight hotel at the airport, the car parking at the airport and the ESTA's for travelling to the US.

I have even booked one ADR at Teppan Edo and we are debating booking at least one more...possibly the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge resort.  This desire to make another ADR is partly the fault of Lou Mongello and his WDW Radio podcast; we were catching up on old episodes and heard his live review of the restaurant and it reminded us of our visit back in 2008.

We had done the Backstage Magic tour, taking advantage of my parents being with us to look after our then young children.  We had a day exploring behind the scenes with lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe; we really enjoyed both the food and the experience and are very tempted to book for our kids to experience it all first hand.

Then would you believe the next WDW Radio podcast we listened to was also a live review of a restaurant; this time Via Napoli at Epcot (anyone would think Mr Mongello liked his food!!), so this is now also on our list of possible places to eat at!

Decisions, decisions!!

I also joined Touring Plans awhile back and have their 'Crowd Tracker' printed off so I can see which parks are best to visit on which days.  On our first full and our last full day I always like to visit the Magic Kingdom and the good thing is, according to Touring Plans, it's the best park to visit on those days.  Now I just need to figure out where we go in between!!

On our last vacation to WDW in 2011 our two children decided which parks we would visit on which day; they even completed an Excel spreadsheet!  So I think I shall arm them with the Crowd Tracker, the date of our meal at Teppan Edo and let them plan again.

My brain is also starting to go into overdrive about the mundane aspects of taking a two week vacation; things like the shopping to be done before hand, making sure bills are paid that are due whilst we are away, when can I book a grocery shopping delivery for when we return etc etc.  But this is all part of the fun of taking a vacation, all part of the build up, the anticipation, the excitement...Oh and did I mention only 37 days to go :)