IHSW Results

Despite very dismal progress on Saturday, and a very long nap today, I still managed quite a bit of progress.

From here:


To here:


I have really been pushing myself hard on this project and I have been unable to control my OCD much lately. I think I'm gonna need a bit of a stitch break once I'm done!

Re-introduce Myself Blogfest

Today is the Re-introduce Myself Blogfest, a chance for new followers to discover the madness that is me!

I've told parts of my story a lot, so most of you aren't strangers to it. I started this blog after my withdraw from Facebook, as a way to still be social, but without having to read about the lives of people I went to high school with (who I didn't care about then, much less now). I wanted to share my stitching progress, brag about my pup, mercilessly plug Walt Disney World and pretty much all things Disney, as well as describe what it's like as an adult with Asperger's, OCD, and Social Anxiety Disorder. I think I've pretty much managed to beat all those topics into the ground with vigor, but that's what an Asper-girl does...I don't love much, but what I do love gets 200% of my heart and soul!

Not long after starting my blog, it was discovered I have a left temporal lobe meningioma (a benign brain tumor). I named the tumor after my two least favorite bosses and, upon occasion, you will see mention of Ferg-id and his evil plot to make my brain explode! I've been able to share my experiences with Ferg-id as well as my constant struggle with severe migraines (well, actually, I just whine a lot about not being able to stitch or blog because my head hurts or because I'm doped to the hilt).

I do participate in a couple of different blogging events, most of which are stitch related, but I'm very selective about the kinds of blogging events I join. I am, after all, a social-phobe, and every "public" event I join has consequences with my psyche. I'd like to say that blogging has helped me socially, but it really hasn't. I force social interaction because I know it's "good" for me, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. At least with blogging it's all about me versus Facebook which was all about everyone else. I have, however, made a couple of really good friends who I hope will stick with me long after my blogging career has ended!

I mainly post about stitching, but every once in a while I jump on my extremely high soapbox and mouth until I feel better. I wish I could say I regret a lot of my soapbox rants because I have been known to hurt the occasional friend, but that would be a lie (when the powers that be were giving out empathy and compassion, I must have either been in another line or on a plane to Disney). I have been known to do the occasional review or two about a favorite British television show or a band, but those are typically few and far between.

That's basically all there is to me and my blog! I'm extremely opinionated, offensive at times, self-absorbed, passionate to a fault, but immensely loyal and dedicated to the things that matter most to me as long as they are loyal back. I just realized...I'm a female Mr. Darcy (well, without the fortune, I'm as poor as a mouse). "My good opinion once lost is lost forever" pretty much sums me up in a nutshell!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 7: The Final Details

First up...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Today was my big day! I never work on my Birthday, so this weekend will be when I start packing for Disney! I'm usually more organized than this and have it all done by now, but I think it's because flying takes more preparation and, since we're not flying this time, my prep brain is not working as fast. Flying is a very stressful thing for an Asper and it takes ton of mental prep and considering how work has been the past few months, I don't have the mental juju to get through a flight anyway.

But alas, enough about me, on with the show...You've made it! It's weeks or even days before your trip and you think you're ready...but you'd be wrong. There are some finite details that make the OCD'er not only feel better, but make for a better, more controlled trip.

I spend months loosing weight because my vacation clothes are a smaller size and I usually also spend that time on the treadmill, but I have done a crappy job of that this time. One very important thing you ought to know...I've talked and talked about how big Disney World is, but it never really occurs to anyone (myself included) that a big chunk of that you end up walking on. Even the Magic Kingdom, which one would think is a small park, is deceptively large in size. By day 3 of your trip, you're lucky to be walking without limping or without the aid of prescription drugs! It's painful on your feet, legs, back, your entire body, so please, if you do nothing else, prepare yourself physically!

Since I don't get to the store much, when I do in the months before we go, I always pick up little items for the trip, trial size items and ziploc bags (if we're flying, I put my clothes in them because I can't stand the thought of airport security touching my stuff). I make sure I have enough camera stuff and adequate batteries and chargers for everything (although I do keep most all that stuff from previous years in one location).

I buy coupon holders to use as storage for all the receipts from our trip. Each divider is a day and it makes it really easy to keep track of expenditures and of the resort shipping receipts that you need when you pick up your packages from the gift shop. Plus, it's a great and inexpensive way to store all of those receipts in case you might need them (and I have had to look at old receipts before, so it's not as odd as you might think).

I take all of our info, schedules, dining reservation numbers, hotel information, park hours, Food and Wine Festival information, and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party information, put it on 4x6 cards and have them bound at Kinkos. We call it our PIB, or Personal Itinerary Book. I also add pages for logging expenditures so I don't go over budget and can tell how much cash I should have left, pages for daily notes and comments, as well as shopping lists, photo ops I don't want to miss, etc. It takes time to create a PIB, but it's just figures and dates. The hardest part is coming up with a cover.

Disney also has a thing called pressed pennies...where you put in two quarters and a penny (of course) and the penny gets pressed into a flat shape with a Disney design on the front and back. There are pressed penny machines all over the park and they are all different. It's been years since I've done this because I had most all of them at one point, but I might consider doing it again. It's a process preparing for though. You have to pick out really pretty pennies or clean up dirty ones. You need enough change (and a great way to keep change is in M&M tubes). Just remember, if you are flying, be really careful with that much change through security! Masses of metal tend to set off the metal detectors and show up on scanners, so prepare to have your bags searched (which is another reason why I quit doing it).

But there is always a monkey wrench in even the perfect schedule...never fails. I ran across mine on Sunday while preparing our PIB. I was doing the routine checks of my schedule against our ressies on the Disney site and all appeared to be fine from a dining aspect, but when I checked the park hours, I was royally screwed! At first I thought I had my dining ressies mixed up and I tried to fix them, but the more I tried to fix, the more I kept loosing, which sent me into uber panic mode. I double checked our Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets and realized I had booked our second party on the wrong day from the schedule (at some point I got my schedules mixed up and have been studying the wrong one. Even OCD's get things mixed up sometimes).

I got the schedule fixed, somehow managed to get my dining ressies straightened out, and got a large chunk of the PIB done. But it was definitely a pretty hairy day! But it's all in a day's work for an OCD'er!

The closer times gets, the more details get checked and rechecked and checked again. Mental prep starts and I get short-timers at work. It's not out of character for the very grumpy pants that is my personality to be completely high-jacked by a humming, singing mutation of me. The day before leaving is crazy and very little sleep is had by anyone, but finally the day arrives, I hug and kiss my little munchkin who gets to stay at home and be babysat by his gran, and hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to Disney World we go!!

And that's how I do it...Disney Planning 101, OCD style. The important points are just research and prep. Being an obsessive planner makes for a better trip and a more prepared mind when it comes to the actual execution of the details. Plus, having something other than the actual trip to obsess about makes time fly by a bit quicker!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 6: Scheduling

So you've booked your resort package...picked your hotel, ticket and dining options as well as planned your transportation, now you have to sort out a schedule. Disney is not a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of place (not that any place is so for an OCD).

Parks are open at different times on different days, there is the Extra Magic Hours to consider, if it's during a party night the Magic Kingdom closes at 7 (Mickey's Not So Scary or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas), during the Food and Wine Festival there are special events on specific days. Then there are events in the parks every day, parades, stage shows, and fireworks that happen at specific times. You need to know these things before booking your dining reservations.

The window between when you have to fix your schedule and book your 180 plus 10 dining ressies is very small...the park schedule is released only days before your dining window comes up. This is why the scheduling time is the most stressful part of trip planning. You can use the previous years schedule as a guide until the new hours are released, but you can't count on it. And even when you plan the perfect schedule, booking your dining plans can completely screw you.

There are plenty of online sources that provide menus of the Disney restaurants, so by the time scheduling comes around, you should have a good handle on where you want to eat. Disney is not the kind of place you decide that day where you want to eat, or you will definitely be eating counter service and NOT in a restaurant, they book up months in advance. I don't get it when people say "I won't know what I want to eat until that day, so how can I book 180 + 10 days ahead of schedule?". I don't think of it that way, I think of it as, "Yea! We get to eat at Le Cellier on Tuesday!". It's not like your day to day life where you can get into your local Red Lobster after a 30 minute wait. You have to think of it as you're planning to eat at the most exclusive restaurant that you've waited months to get into.

Thankfully, Disney no longer allows you to book more than one reservation for a particular time slot, they make you cancel one before you book another (and if you somehow manage to sneak under the radar, they will catch it and cancel both). They used to have a very lax system when it came to ressies. People would book two or three ressies for the same time under that same ole pretense, "I don't know where I want to eat that far in advance" with the added moniker of "so I book several places so I have options". Thing about that is, double or triple booking prevents someone else from getting in since there is a limited amount of ressies for any given time. To say this is unfair and rude is an understatement and I'm so glad it's done!

You've done your research, so you know what is going on in every park on every day of your trip, you've picked out your restaurants, and you've bought your party tickets. Your personal schedule WILL fall into place. I usually end up with three or four workable schedules and the outcome of the dining ressies determines which one becomes "the one".

But you still have to keep an eye out on everything, park schedules change, EMH change, and you have to be ready to adapt. Certain dining ressies can be adjusted, but plan carefully and make sure there is an opening before you cancel your current ressie or you might loose both.

Next is just to wait it out till time arrives! There are a couple of pre-trip things that have to be taken care of, but I'll safe that for part 7, the final chapter in this series!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 5: On-site vs Off

I've been saving this post until the end of the initial planning stage for one very particular reason - it encompasses all aspects of the initial planning phase, booking, dining, and transportation.

I'm not a fan of staying off-site. There are way too many perks to on-site guests (which I'll get to shortly). It drives me nuts when people say they stay off-site because it's cheaper. That couldn't be further from the truth! Yes, your actual hotel stay might be cheaper, but the benefits to staying on-site save you so much money, it all works out in the wash. Most people only see the initial costs and don't factor in all the little expenses that occur once you get there, which leads me to these infamous benefits I keep mentioning.

You can safely assume that ticket prices and your meals will be cheaper if you get a resort package, simply because Magic Your Way Packages and dining plans aren't available to non-resort guests (although you can book dining reservations, just not at the 180 plus 10 window that I mentioned before). But it's all the other perks that make it worthwhile.

First up, free parking for resort guests. Parking costs are $14 per day, a 7 night trip, which is 8 days of park time, makes a total of $112 for parking alone! If you haven't driven your own vehicle, then odds are if you're paying parking fees, then you've rented a car. Car rental fees alone are enough to make up the difference in cost for the resorts. Then you have gas, which is always expensive in vacation spots, as well as the fact that most all the major thoroughfares in Orlando are toll roads, and I've just answered my argument!

Automobiles bring up yet another costly topic...time. The time you spend from your hotel on to property and then to the parks is enormous. And oh, the traffic! Let's just say you are not going back to your hotel for lunch or an afternoon nap.

Disney transportation is only for resort guests (although they don't strictly enforce it, like I mentioned before, I have seen people get turned away for not having a resort ID). Besides, riding buses are stressful enough, it makes them down-right murder when they are filled with non-resort guests who shouldn't get the perk and you're either crowded in or forced to wait for the next bus because of it.

Next up, extra magic hours...resort guests get either an extra hour in the morning or an extra three hours in the evening (about to be knocked down to two) in selected parks on selected days. So while the general population is performing a mass exodus from the park, you're still in line for the Haunted Mansion! EMH is one of the best perks for entertainment value! I've seen it play out a hundred times, there is always a non-resort guest demanding to stay in the parks and causing a scene - it's hilarious! At first, Disney set up barricades where you can't get into certain parts of the park without the EMH wristband (which is where most of the non-resort guests get caught) and then, once they are assured the masses have cleared, they really only check it when you're trying to get on rides, but by that point, all the non-resort guests have gone. In Animal Kingdom, three extra hours is the only time you'll ever be able to see the park in darkness, or for Magic Kingdom or Epcot, be there into the next day!

My most favorite perk, package delivery service! We buy a lot of stuff in Disney, in the parks, the stores, other resorts other than our own, and if we had to carry all of it around, our days would be short. But resort guests can have their purchases delivered directly to their resort gift shop the next day (or directly to the park entrance the same day). Oh what a blessing this is! Although the resort gift shop CM's (Cast Members are the official name of Disney employees), might disagree - by the end of our trip, they run like cockroaches in the daylight when they see us coming because of the quantity of packages they have to dig out!

Speaking of shopping, resort guests can also use their room card/park ticket (called a Keys To The World Card) to charge purchases back to their resort...it could be your purchases in a store or even your meal, anything you can purchase, you can charge provided you've allowed charging privileges. Different resort levels also determine how much a day you can charge, with the deluxes (of course) providing the highest level of charging.

There are times when the parks fill up to capacity and have to close. For those still outside waiting to get in, that's a royal pain. But resort guests (although not guaranteed entrance into the park they are in line for) are granted admission to "a" park, whether they have a hopper or not. Non-resort guests are just stuck out.

There are other perks, least of which is being immersed in Disney magic 24/7 or having the quality of service that Disney provides. Only Disney guarantees magic and only they can deliver it. Disney goes above and beyond in every aspect, and like I always say, "if you have a bad time at Disney, it's more than likely your fault and not theirs!".

Once you've booked, scheduling your days comes into play next, because you can't make your dining ressies without it! But that's a post for another day!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 4: Transportation

This is gonna be the easiest part of your planning...transportation. How far away you live or how quickly you want to get there will determine your arrival method, be it planes, trains, or automobiles (yeah, I know, that joke is getting old). We usually fly, but this time we are driving. But however you get there, transportation while you're on property is easy...Disney takes care of that for you!

We book airfare pretty early, just because flights to Orlando fill up fast and I want to be guaranteed a seat. I don't do well with the unknown. But, for those more adventurous people, you might get better fares by waiting (or you might end up having to drive).

If you do fly, transportation from the airport comes pretty straight forward as well. You can either rent a car, use a car service, use a taxi (the most expensive option) ,or use Disney's Magical Express, a free (yes, I said free) bus service provided by Disney for resort guests only. They not only deliver you to your resort door, but get your bags from the airport for you and deliver them to your resort by the end of the day.

We don't rent a car because driving in Orlando can be tricky. We don't use the bus service for a completely different reason: I just spent two hours on a plane enclosed in with screaming kids and annoying adults, I sure as heck don't want to be in an enclosed bus with them! At least in Disney it's a wide-open enclosed space!

We use a car service because it's the easiest for someone with my problems. You get off the plane and they are waiting for you at the bottom of the escalator. You grab your bags, sit in your own private environment, and 30 minutes later..."WELCOME HOME!" (what they always say to you when you arrive at Disney). I can't think of a more relaxing way to detox from a plane ride!

Even though we're driving this time, once we get there, it's still Disney transportation. You don't want to be driving yourself around on vacation! On site Disney transportation consists of buses, boats, and monorails, but is only available to resort guests (yes, lots of people use the transportation service that aren't resort guests, but I have seen bus drivers ask for resort passes and seen people turned away because they didn't have one). The monorail system is the only Disney transport not restricted (well, except for the resort line unless you have dining reservations at one of those particular resorts, but they only really enforce this at peak or heavily crowded times).

Transportation is pretty straight forward if you're a resort guest, but if you're not...well, the next post is for you!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 3: Dining

After the last post, you should have a good handle on resorts and tickets (or completely confused by my ramblings, either is a possibility). But this post deals with the subject of the Dining plan and dining reservations, the most nerve racking and exciting part of the booking process!

As the same with the ticket options, there are different levels of dining plans as well, but I'm really only going to discuss two of them (for the simple reason I only have experience with these two); the quick service dining plan and the basic dining plan.

I guess I should first describe the different meal levels (yes, Disney does so love their levels). Snacks, which, believe it or not, consist of a lot of choices from rice crispy treats to Disney cookies (my personal favorite, they are huge and thick and doughy in the middle-perfection!) to Mickey head ice cream treats to chips to soda to donuts to turkey legs, to fresh fruit, to well, you get the point. Then there is quick or counter service, which basically functions like your local fast food joint, but definitely different where the food is concerned! And finally, the table service, which is a sit-down meal in a restaurant.

With the quick service dining plan you get one snack and two counter service meals consisting of an entree or a combo meal, a dessert, and a non-alcoholic drink for each day of your package. The basic dining plan is one snack, one counter service (with the same choices as the quick service) and one table service (buffets are also included in this category) consisting of an entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic drink. Any alcohol or appetizers are out of pocket expenses. Appetizers used to part of the dining plan, but no longer. Frankly, I'd rather have an appetizer than a dessert or have the option to choose one or the other, but it really doesn't affect us...if we want appetizers, we get them and we definitely get the alcohol (ICE WINE!!).

Both plans also include a refillable mug...one of my favorite collectibles from trips and something we always get. For the entire length of your stay, you can use your refillable mug in the food court at your resort (but only there, not in the parks) and get unlimited drink refills. This is also a very controversial item. Originally, the cup was valid forever, but Disney soon changed that and it became only valid for the length of your stay. Some people bring back their mug on their next visit and reuse it (their expired cups, not the forever ones), but we don't nor ever will do since it's stealing and just plain uncool (and Disney can actually ban you for life and that's a stupid reason to be banned). There have been rumors of barcoded cups that you have to scan to fill, and I personally can't wait until this practice comes into play!

But people will be people and, not only do they continue to bring their non-valid cups, but I've heard of them filling bread bags with coke (and I've personally seen someone filling a small milk container). Come on...you've just paid a small fortune to come to WDW, if you didn't get the dining plan, spend the extra $12 and buy a new cup. After a couple of days, the bloody thing has paid for itself! Every single time I hear, "we're paying a fortune for this trip, it doesn't hurt Disney if we do...blaa", it makes me cringe. OK, yes, you are paying a fortune to be there, but there is no place in the world like Disney, so you are definitely getting your money's worth.

But more importantly, what lessons are you teaching your kids? "Honey, mommy and daddy say it's OK to steal soda because we've given Disney enough money already". Yeah, and when your kid gets nicked for stealing candy bars from the grocery store because "you've given the grocery enough money already" by buying a ton of groceries, don't go blaming anybody but yourself! While I'm on the rant, same goes with cutting line on rides, pushing people out of the way who have been waiting a lot longer than you for the parades just because you have a kid and they don't (little Johnny can look at the back the entire parade, I paid my money just like you did and just because he's a kid doesn't make him more entitled to see Donald than me - Disney isn't just for kids and saying so might just get you hit, get their earlier next time and wait like the rest of us), leaving your trash all over the tables when you're done eating for someone else to clean up, or just basically being rude all 'round. People wonder why their kids are satan spawn...hmm, don't look in the mirror much?

But alas, I'm digressing...normally, we choose the basic plan, but the quick service plan comes into play for one very specific reason - time restraints. Dining reservations are made 180 days before your trip arrival. Disney resort guests get to book an additional 10 days early (one of the many perks to staying on site, which I'll address in the next post). But there is one major caveat to table service meals...getting reservations. Some table service restaurants are very hard to get into, even if you are either online or on the phone exactly at opening time. If I don't have the time to book reservations, then I always go for the counter service plan. Table service without LeCellier just isn't worth it!

There are certain times of the year that Disney offers free dining and it definitely can save you lots of money, but keep in mind that it also tends to fill WDW up with tons of people, even in the off seasons. People do so love free food!

Now, when you choose a plan, you get credits for each night of your stay, so if you're staying 7 nights, that's 7 snacks and 14 counter service credits for the quick service plan and 7 snacks, 7 counter service, and 7 table service credits on the basic plan. But some table service restaurants are what is called a "Signature Dining Experience" basically meaning they take two credits instead of one. For example, at least three of the restaurants we are eating at next month are Signatures, leaving us with only 1 credit a piece if we use them all up on the Signatures, but there are ways around this (quite legal, I assure you). Disney doesn't restrict what time of day you use what credits, so making a Signature for lunch and not using the credits for that meal at all means you have two additional credits for another day. A table service at lunch time is always cheaper than dinner time and basically has most of the same food choices. Using it for lunch often makes it affordable to just pay for it with cash. You can use your counter service credit for dinner time, which in the case of Magic Kingdom, works out brilliantly (taco salad from Pecos Bills anyone?). Plus, there is always one night we don't eat a table service meal, so it all works out with very little out of pocket expense.

But, in the end, not getting the dining plan is also one of those big mistakes that can cost you. Although it goes up in cost every year, right now the quick service plan is about $35 and the basic plan is about $52. Considering the average counter service meal is about $15-$20 and the average table service is $60-$120, having the plan pays for itself very quickly! There are no limitations to menu choices using the dining plan, so if the restaurant has lobster, then it's covered! You could have lobster and your table-mate can have a salad and you've both paid the same price, one credit!

Once your trip is booked, the next big step before actually making your reservations is making your schedule, which determines what meals you eat where on what days, but there is one more booking step ahead before we can get to scheduling...transportation. But that's for part 4!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 2: Booking

Here we go with part 2 of my Disney planning series...
Once you’ve got your dates in mind, the next step is to book your trip. First step is your Disney World package, then depending on where you live, you have to decide how to get there, either by planes, trains, or automobiles which will also affect how you get around not only Orlando, but also inside WDW. But one step at a time…let’s start with the WDW portion of your trip.

There are several ways you can go about booking a Disney trip, either online, through the phone to Disney central reservations, or through a travel agent (although I don’t get using a travel agent…why pay extra to have someone do the same job you can do yourself with a bit of research-Disney doesn’t offer very many discounts privately that they don’t offer publically, the travel agents just know what they all are (as could you with that magical tool called research!). And what are websites like Travelocity or Expedia but online travel agents?

We book directly through Disney because it makes it very easy for an OCD to go online several times a day to check to make sure everything is OK (well, except for the two hours a night that Disney’s website is down for maintenance that is). You can also buy special event tickets and book your dining reservations online (again, which we’ll discuss later) and they are all tied to your package reservation (making it even easier to stalk your booking).

You can book either a package or book the individual components separately (your resort, park tickets, and dining options). Frankly, unless you’re a Florida passholder or an annual passholder, I don’t know why you’d want to book separately, and even they have package options. It would be almost insane not to book everything ahead, the longer you stay the cheaper it gets and if you buy your tickets on a day to day basis at the park gates you're paying full price, and that's just plain silly! The base park ticket for one day is $95, after 7 days you've hit $665 (more expensive than the price of an annual pass), but for a 7 day package ticket it's about $307, that's a savings of $358 (at least 30 pins or a big fig or 10 to 15 T-shirts...in other words, major shopping dough!).

The first thing you'll need to do is to pick is the level of resort. I’ve discussed the different levels and quantity of resorts before (oh, BTW, resorts are what WDW calls their hotels and motels because they are so much more – they are worlds upon themselves). But I’ll give a short recap – you have five levels of resort and each has their own theming: the deluxes (10 in all) with theming based on the lodges of the Pacific Northwest (hmm, wonder why I started with that one) or Hawaii with all it’s flora and fauna (and don’t forget Merriweather-take your time on that one), and the list goes on and on; then there are the moderates (5 of these including the cabins at Fort Wilderness), with their islands of the Caribbean and the French Quarter of New Orleans; the next level is the DVC’s (Disney's answer to timeshares) and are located adjacent to the deluxes sharing their themes, but some have their own theming like the old town of Key West; the values with their very scary over-sized outdoor theming based on movies, music, or sports or pop culture through the decades, or even the newest resort based on the new classics of Disney/Pixar movies; and finally, you have the campground at Fort Wilderness.

We do typically stay deluxe for many different reasons, the least of which being the fact that there are fewer children there. Yes, I know it's inevitable to run into children at Disney, but you don't have to swim in them! Plus, deluxes are hotels instead of motels like moderates or values, so there is that whole comfort level of being indoors (and not having to hear tons of little feet running up and down the walkways outside at all hours of the night screaming and hollering - which always happens!). I'd rather pay for a higher level of resort and go less, than deal with the chaos that is the values! Moderates are tolerable, less kids than values, more than the deluxes, but there is still that walkway issue. I may be poor, but I do have social issues and first and foremost is making sure I can deal with my surroundings, or the trip is ruined, and money wasted anyway, so best to just be on the safe side. Besides, I have been by myself a couple of times, and I feel that the indoors of the deluxes makes for a safer environment than the outdoor resorts (which is why I choose Wilderness Lodge since it's one single building and no external ones to half to walk to and fro from - not including the fact that I have a horrible sense of direction and always get lost trying to find my building at the other resorts).

Next up will be ticket levels. The Base Magic Your Way ticket is where you start. Then you’ve got to decide the add-ons. The first choice is the Park Hopper option, which is really the most important. The ability to go to the Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot for dinner in the evening is almost a must (frankly because the table service restaurants in MK are all pretty much character meals), but that is not the only reason to get a hopper...Animal Kingdom is not a full day park, and even if you manage to stay all day long, it still closes at 5 pm, you need to be able to hop to another park or you’re wasting an entire evening of your trip (although you could spend the night shopping at Downtown Disney-but I don't recommend going there at night unless you like tons of people (it's always better to go Downtown in the morning). Or if you don’t finish in Epcot one day (well, actually you need at least 2 to 3 days for Epcot as you do in the Magic Kingdom), you can go the next morning and then finish up the day in another park like the Disney Studios (which really isn’t a full day park either, but you definitely want to be there in the evening…a reason we’ll discuss later in another post).

The other add-on is the Water Park Fun and More option. We personally don’t go to the water parks and the “more” part is golfing, Disney Quest (the worst example of Disney not taking care of their property), and Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex (where certain major league ball teams do their spring training, and even sometimes, someone’s favorite footie team!). We don’t use this option and we never add it. Unless you are planning to spend half your trip in the water parks, it's just cheaper to buy a one day ticket to them, Disney Quest is best left alone, and the Wide World of Sports are usually only frequented by those on specific reasons, like training or competitions.

After the ticket options, is the dining add-on, but let’s save that for another post because it's a life onto itself!

OCD Disney Planning 101-Part 1: When

Hopefully with this series I will be giving you an idea of what it's like to plan a Disney trip in the only way I know how, with gift of OCD. There are many levels of OCD, my particular brand leans very heavily on the obsessive side and not so much on the compulsive side (although I do have my moments), but needless to say, it makes for great planning! But my social issues wreak havoc and play a huge part in planning as well. But as Buck from the Country Bears says, "hey Henry, lets get on with the show"!

It never ceases to amaze me how people don't do research on this particular vacation destination. You wouldn't go to Europe or even new York without planning. I've discussed in the past how huge Disney World (or WDW for short) actually is, and considering it's twice the size of Manhattan, one would think a little bit of planning would be in order. But a lot of newbies make the mistake of thinking of Disney as their local amusement park, in need of no prethought, and it certainly is NOT an amusement park. One visit will cure that misconception, but for a lot of folks, that first goof is enough to keep them from trying again (and I've known several).

I've heard it all from "certain rides were closed" - which happens for refurbishment and are almost always announced months or weeks in advance. WDW is one of the few places I've been to that actually takes care of their "show" and keeping the rides in working order and the exteriors looking new and freshly painted are a priority. Plus, drop a piece of paper on the ground and see how quickly someone shows up to pick it up...it's kind of freaky!

"There were way too many people there and the lines were too long", well, yeah, if you go in the middle of July or at Christmas, expect wall to wall people anywhere, not just WDW. And it's sister complaint, "it was way too hot to have any fun". Yeah, go in the middle of August through September and see how hot "hot" actually is. It's central Florida and they are not immune to hurricane season. Plus the humidity can be high even in February (even if the mornings are freezing).

One of my faves, "we couldn't get in any restaurants to eat and had to eat hamburgers for a week". Well, if they had planned, they'd know you have to make your ressies 180 days out and even then, some restaurants are extremely difficult to get into. Which brings up another sister point, "everything was just so expensive!". Yes, you may pay $10 for a hamburger, but it's a big frickin burger! I will say this a lot, you get what you pay for at WDW.

The first decision to be made is when to go. Preferably, I need almost a year to plan and we pretty much prefer to go at Halloween time anyway. That makes planning pretty cut and dry for us. But for those that haven't been, it's a lot more complicated than that. Each season has a different event; spring has the Epcot Flower And Garden Festival, early summer has Star Wars Weekends, late summer has the Sounds Like Summer Concert series, fall brings the Epcot Food And Wine Festival and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and then the holidays brings Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and the Osborne Festival Of Lights. Those are just the main events, but there are numerous others, from golf tournaments to concerts to marathons to spring training for certain big-name teams...you name it, WDW has it! You just have to decide what you're interested in and plan around that.

Or, if none of these appeal to you, you can always plan during an off-season...but planning is a definite must, because while by Disney standards it's an off-season, it doesn't mean that it's off-season for other groups who like to go in the slower seasons, from the "notorious" foreign tour groups (known for all kinds of hijinx-I've witnessed it myself and I avoid them like the plague) to the numerous band, cheerleading, and sports groups (encountered those too-too many teenagers together is never a good thing), to Gay Days (which never ceases to frighten the homophobes into coming out in droves to complain online-had they've planned, they'd known). You need to be aware of what is happening during the time you are planning and schedule accordingly...the fate of a happy trip rests on it! Decide what you can tolerate and move on from there.

Play around with your dates a bit, you could get cheaper packages from Disney or airfare by just adjusting your dates by one day. WDW weekend rates are higher than weekday rates. Holiday or peak season rates are also higher than lower season rates or off months like January or February. Sunday is typically the most expensive day to fly with Monday, Friday, and Saturday being the busiest. We typically start our trip on a Tuesday or Wednesday and end on a Thursday...best way to avoid the rush and only allows for one weekend of higher rates.

You can use the Disney World website to get some ideas of potential dates and even save offers for several days until you make your decision. Airline websites will pretty much do the same. Sites like Travelocity or Expedia won't really give you a good offer off the bat unless you are willing to book right then, and you have to put up with the tons of pushing they do.

But I can't stress enough...RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! There are numerous Disney websites out there - AllEars, WDW Magic, Orlando Theme Park News, mousesavers.com, to even the official Disney blog itself is gonna give you tons of information. I have a love/hate relationship with the DisBoards, and I'm always a bit hesitant to direct people there, but in the short term, you can find out tons of info (just don't get yourself caught up in all their drama). There are tons of other websites, some less accurate than others, but you'll soon be navigating through them like a pro!

Then there are the books...I don't buy them anymore, other than the precious Birbaum's Official Walt Disney World Guide (which is more of a collectors item than a true learning tool), but the best book is The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World.

You've also got tons of podcasts, from WDW Today - with Len Testa (a co-author of the Unofficial Guide) to Mike Newell of MouseWorld Radio (to get you in the Disney mood) to Mike Scopa, a blog writer for allears.net, and Matt Hochberg, from Studios Central and brilliant host (as well as a total hottie!). Then there is the genius that is Lou Mongello at WDW Radio, who is also a co-author of an absolutely gorgeous Disney magazine called "Celebrations", as well as the author of The Walt Disney World Trivia books.

But that's about it for the first stage. Next up, what to do once you know when you wanna go.

Dreams and questions

I don't know how many of you pay attention to your dreams, but I've always been fascinated with mine since a very young age.  I used to be much better at manipulating them than I am now (a side effect of a childhood filled with nightmares-got to keep the baddies from getting you somehow), but, needless to say, I have an overabundance of dreams every single night in many different guises (as do most Aspers since our brains run non-stop) and I also typically remember most of them. I believe that not all dreams are gobbledygook, some are actually your subconscious (or, depending on your religion, insert message-sending deity here) trying to tell you something, be it an omen or a solution to a problem.  Our minds are amazing and uncharted things that we may never understand, but when I run across one of these beauties, I do find myself looking for the meaning behind it (must be as prepared as I can for every eventuality, ah the power of OCD). I have numerous dream dictionaries I typically refer to, but the web is also a great source of info and I often compare and contrast the meanings depending on the situation, to get the best possible answer (most good sources are pretty similar ).

A recurring dream that I have quite often (as well as lots of other people) is one where my teeth are falling out and I just keep spitting them out, handfuls at a time, usually lots more than there should actually be. Typically, most sources will tell you that this means change is coming.  I've always seen it as a bad omen because the entire dream is a constant freak out as to why are my teeth falling out, how can I stop it, and what will people think of me and my snaggledy mouth!  The combination of blood with the teeth usually means I'm about to get sick (I didn't have one when they found Fer-id, but I had tons when they diagnosed my migraines). But last night, for the first time ever, I had the teeth dream with constant handfuls of crumbled teeth, but when I checked my mouth, they were still all there and intact, no blood, no snagglies, solid as ever, and this kept up for quite a while, me spitting out handfuls of teeth and then checking to find them all still there.

I have a huge change coming at work at the end of the week, new position, new hours, and a massive responsibility that I'm not quite sure I can handle.  So the teeth dream is no surprise.  But what has been plaguing my mind all day is why were my teeth still there after falling out?  Is that a good omen or bad?  Does it mean big changes but all will still be intact, or all will be restored after the change, or I'll still save face after the change?  Or does it mean change for others (because my switching jobs is going to affect everyone elses jobs as well) while I stay rooted?  I've been driving myself crazy all day trying to work it out and the more I think about it, the more I'm completely stumped!

Anyone have any thoughts? For those of you that have had this dream, have you ever kept your teeth, and if you did, how did that work out for you in your waking life?

I'll do my stitch update when I get home, but I just wanted to put this out there, hopefully so I can stop obsessing about it!!

What a week!

The last couple have been crazy, but this one was MURDER! My I.T. duties have swamped me at work (on top of all my other ones), and it ended on a high note with one of the computers having a virus and the virus protection had been shutting off for heaven only knows how long and it was never reported to the I.T. department. We really need to come up with a better process for checking these machines. I just wished the time allowed for me to manually go around once a week and do all the necessary checks!

These people around here may use computers all day, but they know absolutely sod all about them!! That's gonna be my biggest struggle as a new I.T. specialist...dealing with these people! Maybe it's just me, but when I have to use something, be it an electronic device or what-have-you, I make it a point to know all I can about it BEFORE I operate it! Or is that just a girl-thing? Reading the instructions BEFORE you touch something new? Sure, once you're familiar with the territory, just scan the manual or read up on the latest innovations, but there still has to be that initial burst of learning, right? Or is that my Asper brain working again? Oh, why can't everyone be an Asper with OCD! Life would be so much easier!

Needless to say, I'm back at work today (and I never work weekends), to make sure it all still OK (which is why I have time to do at least one blog!).

I didn't get much stitching done this week because I started Epic Mickey (again), and could have finished it Friday night so I could get back to stitching, but I ended up at work until 6 am Saturday and when I finally got up yesterday, I didn't wanna do anything but look for Disney travel stuff online!

Hopefully, if I'm not here too long, once I get home I can stitch and post an update before the night is through!

On the diet front...had a bit of a setback (and only I could think of it that way). I've been working harder than ever to show my neuro that I am trying to loose weight. He said if I was at least trying, I was in a weight class high enough (and that's NOT a good thing) to be eligible for diet pills. Never in my whole fat life has any doctor agreed to give me diet pills! So, I tried my hardest, and when I went for my appointment Friday, I had done so good on my own, he wouldn't give them to me! Said I obviously didn't need them because what I was doing was working! UGH! I was brought up in the fast-food generation and this eating healthy sucks! I will NEVER get used to eating vegetables!

But I did want to drop a little figment (hehe...Disney people get that) of new knowledge on you. My friend Kate over at The Suddenly Kate Show has been doing quite alot of indie music reviews from bands in and around London, Manchester, and even Birmingham, so drop by her blog and give some of them a listen! You may find your new favorite band!! Not only has she got links to songs and videos, but she also has been able to interview band members as well through Twitter! She never ceases to amaze me!

OK, right, back to the grind...Hope everyone has a nice week (if I don't get around to blogging and/or reading blogs again this week), and we're in double digits now for Disney time!! Woo Hoo!! Because, in the end, all this work and struggle is just to support my Disney habit afterall, so bring on the next virus (OK...maybe not a virus, but some simple hardware matter, which is more where my area of expertise lies!).

A to Z Reflections Post - Walt Disney World

As a final hurrah to the A to Z Challenge, they have asked us to do a reflections post about our experiences during the challenge. So here we go, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!

I got turned on to the challenge by my friend Katy at The Suddenly Kate Show and jumped in with both feet first! I started off-topic with a dedication to my beloved Zander, who was born on April 1, 1997, "B" through "Y" was all about my chosen topic of Walt Disney World, and "Z" was a dedication to Zachy-pooh, so this challenge was very personal because it combined my two favorite things, my pups (passed and living) and Walt Disney World!

I had a very hard time keeping my posts short (obviously!) and I had an even harder time restricting my topics for each letter but, in the end, I decided that it was more important to get my full thoughts completed, length be damned!! I didn't attract a lot more followers, but that's totally fine. For one thing, I was number 1501 on the list, so I'm sure most people (myself included) haven't made it that far down the list yet, and, for another, I don't really relish the thought of having a lot of people following me anyway...I am a total social-phobe after all!

Like I said, I'm still scanning all the blogs (I'm only in the 1200's), but I have found a few amazing ones! Even though I thought Disney would be a popular topic, I only ran across one other blog so far that was also about WDW, Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts. But funnily enough, she and I had a lot of the same topics (great minds think alike!). I also found a few that shared my work experiences, Grumpy IT Guy comes to mind, and Theresa's Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts did her blog on bands of the 80's, most of her choices I totally agreed with and it made me glad to know I'm not alone in my love for the great new wave and obscure bands of the 80's. I did find it odd that people kept commenting that they haven't listened to those bands in years, I guess I'm stuck in a decade, I still listen to that music (as well those bands new stuff) everyday! Since the humor of others most times just annoys the crap out of me, it was nice to see that there are others out there that share my dark sense of sarcastic humor and that could actually make me laugh (and trust me, it's a massive feat)!

About mid-stream, I read that the organizers issued another challenge to reach 100 followers. I didn't start this challenge to gain followers...it was more about me compiling my love of Disney World into organized groups - like the typical OCD'er I am, but I still found the very idea of blogging to add followers a bit off-setting to be honest. I felt like they were taking something fun and turning it into a competition which I guess was the original goal of the Challenge to win it, but at no point was that my personal goal (besides, I've never won anything in my whole life...why start now?). My blog has always been about me and my trials and tribulations, my loves and hates, in a nutshell it's about my world, as small as it is and this challenge was specifically about one of my passions, Disney World. I'm not writing to appeal to the masses (obviously, or I wouldn't offend so much!) and I definitely don't want to feel like I have to be funny 24/7 to keep others happy or to appeal to new people. A social-phobe on a stage...yeah, that's really gonna work!

When I started my blog, I said I wasn't in it for followers and I meant it. As an Asper-girl, I tend to isolate myself from the people around me because of my social issues, but I'm still human (even if I am a totally screwed up one) and I need to let what's in my head spill out my mouth (or in this case, my fingers) just as much as the next person, if not more because I live in my head and I need the space...it's crowded in here! I'm just not able to spill it face to face with others which is why a blog is the perfect outlet, so to speak, I can spill as the mood strikes me. I could really care less if anyone reads my verbal diatribes, because it's about the spilling process itself and that fact is as true today as it was when I started! Frankly, I'm really surprised I have any followers! Who in the world would want to listen to the junk that comes out of my head?

But back to the challenge, the biggest turn off was having someone leave a comment "your blog is great, check out mine!". I'm gonna offend here, but that's too much like pimping yourself out and that's not what I'm about and I pretty much steered clear of people that did that (unless their blogs were good) just on the principle of the matter. I added blogs that appealed to me. I'm not the type to add you just because you add me and I don't want others to do the same for me...it's too much high school gym where everyone's screaming, "pick me, please pick me!", but you're still the last one picked. Nuh-uh, I've lived through those years already thank you.

Overall, it was an amazing experience, that was mentally and physically exhausting, but I really did enjoy myself! I didn't really learn anything new from my blogging experience since I pretty much know Disney World like the back of my hand, but I guess I could say that I did learn that there are others who feel the same way that I do about WDW (and others who don't, but that's OK, to each his own) and, despite my comments to the contrary about appealing to the masses, I did find myself at times really wanting people to love WDW as much as I do! I hope I inspired people to go to Disney World, but I also hope they listened to me enough to know you have to PLAN or you will have a total crappy time, or worse, make my time in Disney crappy because you get in my way! Heed my words...Keebles is good, Keebles is wise and always let an Asper-girl have her way or there will be hell to pay - we tend to throw temper tantrums in public!

See ya next year A to Z Challenge (geez, I only have a year to come up with a new topic...OCD in full effect!). Thanks everybody!

October WDW schedule is almost out!

I've been a cave lately and completely missed the fact that the October Walt Disney World Park schedule is about to be published! You know what that means...it's time to officially plan days! That gives me the best way to pick restaurants which is definitely the most fun (and most frustrating) of the whole process!

For those of you unfamiliar with WDW, you're probably thinking what's this crazy OCD chick talking about? The plan is to get the most "bang" out of each day and the only way to do that is to know what the schedule is. For example...On Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party days, the Magic Kingdom closes at 7 to non-party guests. We are doing two parties, but there will be more parties happening, so I don't wanna schedule a day in the Magic Kingdom only to be kicked out at 7 since MNSSHP is a private ticketed event! The scheduling process is one of the most delicate dances of the whole trip process!

On top of all that, one of the many perks to staying on Disney property is Extra Magic Hours (and I've had the on-property/off-property debate, so we know where I stand on that issue!), and Extra Magic Hours also have to be factored into the schedule to help maximize the day. But just because it might be Extra Magic Hours in Animal Kingdom, that means that the park still closes at 8 pm if its an evening EMH, meaning there is plenty of time to go Downtown shopping or what not. Or, for example, a normal Animal Kingdom closing night is 5, but a night EMH elsewhere, means another park is open till 11 pm or midnight (the joys of a Park Hopper Pass!!). Unfortunately, we've never made an a.m. EMH, but I have done a park opening ceremony and what an amazing experience that is! It will bring tears to even the hardest of people when at the Magic Kingdom the train pulls up and all the characters arrive (even me!). I can't even imagine what it's like for the random family that gets picked to open the park (and a bit of trivia, it's the only time of the day that the Walt Disney World Railroad train is perfectly centered at the Main Street Station and is the perfect photo op for at least the first 30 minutes of the opening of the park!). The other park openings are not quite as magical, but they have their own appeal just the same.

Other things to consider is the fact that fireworks can be at different times, some nights there can be two firework shows, crowd calendars have to be consulted (because god forbid I want to be in Epcot on a crowded day...the line for Soarin' is already long enough!), several schedules have to be made in case dinner reservations can't work out, it's not as easy as people think it is. Plus, I have to monitor the DisBoards to see which major tour groups are going to be there the same time as us and try to track their movements as well, so that we can stay well away! This is still my reasoning for why most people that go and have a terrible time is because they don't plan. You wouldn't go to Europe without planning! I've said it before and I'll say it again...Disney World is NOT Six Flags!

I usually come up with about 6 to 10 options and then at the 120 day mark when I can make dinner reservations, which ever plan works out best is the one that gets to live! Then, there is a rare occasion when the schedule has to be changed again, and you talk about a nightmare! But, that's why I only go to Disney World once a year (OK, not the only reason, the main reason is down to money), but it takes a whole year to plan a trip!

If someone where to call me and say, "you've won a trip to Disney World but you have to leave tomorrow", believe it or not, I'd probably say no! My nerves couldn't take it! I would have no restaurant ressies (and the food IS part of the experience and you're not going to get them last minute unless you're incredibly lucky, which I'm not). Then there is the weight issue, I've got 30lbs to loose and all my Disney vacation clothes are two sizes smaller than I am right now! Plus, you have to be of a certain physical strength to even manage walking around that place and, even when I am, I still end up in extreme pain by the end of the trip with swollen feet, blisters and it takes me a good month to get over it! I know nothing about the current guest climate (one needs to know these things...don't want a repeat of '99 and waking up to cheerleading squads every morning!). And probably the most important reason of all, I need tons of spending money! I have "I want" syndrome and my house is the showplace of that syndrome and I need new "stuff"!

So, in the coming weeks, I'll give you guys an inside look at what goes into planning a Disney trip, not just from the view of an Asper-girl with the added bonus of OCD, but in the way that makes for the best trip ever because I've had quite a few!!! My Disney mantra is this, if you have a bad time at Disney, it's your fault, not theirs!!

As a parting gift, I've found a clip on YouTube (god bless YouTube) of the opening ceremony, so you guys can get a a taste of what I mean, although it can't do the same justice as being there in person!

What a productive IHSW!

Just not in the stitching foray! Sorry! I did stitch...on Saturday I worked on the 35th Anniversary stitch and got to here:


And Sunday I worked on my little Highland girl and got a lot more done:


So a little bit of stitch work. I'm just surprised I made it two days without a headache!! The progress I did make was in the house work area. I figured I'd better get what I could get done now while I felt like it. But not only did I get the house clean and shiny, but I managed to get a certain child of mine de-hippied!!

Before:


and his cute little butt after:



Trust me, he's not as miserable as he looks in the second "after" pic! He HATES his picture taken (he comes by it naturally)!

I have definitely decided it's time to say goodbye to the Effexor. I'm pretty sure it's why my stitching is suffering, my work is suffering, and everything else is suffering...my OCD kept me motivated and the Effexor is taming it way too much. All I want to do is sit on my butt and do nothing but watch TV (and I pretty much do just that). I've never seen my OCD as a bad thing, if anything, it's one of my finer attributes...it keeps all my bad traits in check, including the Asperger's. And even though the Effexor is helping tame the Asperger's too, the risks far out-weigh the benefits. I'm just not me anymore, which is what I knew would happen. Problem with Effexor is, it speaks for you and wants you to keep taking it. Last time I was at the neuro, I had to control myself to keep from asking him to up the dosage! This may be what I would be like if I were a "normal" person, but I'm not now, nor will I ever be normal and, quite frankly, I don't want to be if this is what normality is (or at least normality for me)! At least when I'm the real "me" I have passion and goals and a head full of magnificent uselessness! I want it all back! Now I just have to ween myself off it again. Maybe since I've only been taking it for a month and a half and only 75mg, I can quit it quicker than last time. I guess only time will tell. But NO MORE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS!! I AM NOT DEPRESSED! Anti-depressants seriously fuck up people who aren't depressed and especially people who are already fucked up and also not depressed! I haven't been depressed since I was a teenager and I ain't about to start now!

Oh, and Vickie, I am SOOO jealous you got the Lion King Kinkade before me!!! (Like how I shifted gears there...yep...there might still be a bit of crazy left in me yet!).

Small stitch update

Got very little done this weekend! Problem with the zombie meds is that they diminish my OCD and that's my stitch motivator!! Me and the Neuro are gonna have a little talk about that tomorrow!!



Plus, this dark fabric is a huge pain! How do ya'll do it?

Disney - A way of life

I wanted to do a blog about Disney people and non-Disney people, because in my world, other than my family, I am pretty much the only "Disney" person I know.

I have a note card on my bulletin board at work that says "Disney World, for those that get it, no explanation needed, for those that don't, no explanation possible". This is the truest statement if there ever was one. Disney, for me, is a spiritual journey. Having Asperger's I don't feel much. But at Disney, I laugh, I cry, I feel happy, I feel mucho pain (mainly in my feet!), but, the point is, I FEEL. That's major for me.

I've known people who have gone to Disney and come back totally not impressed, complaining that the food was too expensive, couldn't get into any restaurants, the rides weren't thrilling enough, the lines were too long, it was too hot, it rained everyday, everything was just too expensive, the roads were too congested, blaa, blaa, blaa. I'm about to address these points, probably out of order, but bear with me to the bear end (Country Bears reference, told you I'm in the Disney zone!).

My first thought when I hear this? "You obviously didn't plan". You wouldn't take a trip to Europe and not plan would you? And yet you would be surprised how many times when I ask them, "well, did you plan ahead?", I always get the answer back "why no, it's just an amusement park!". First off...Disney World is NOT an amusement park, it's a THEME park...four of them to be precise, spread out over what used to be 47 square miles (but this has changed since the recent land sales, so the current figures are unknown). This means Disney World is twice the size of Manhattan!!

This the official property map from Disney:


And this is a screenshot from Bing of the Wilderness Lodge from the air (a good size itself as you can tell from the cars):


And here is the entire property - the little itty bitty purple arrow points to the Lodge to give you perspective on the property's size:


The best point of reference that I can give is this one - the purple is Disney, the pink is Universal Studios, and the green is Sea World (which are huge parks in and of themselves):


OK, I think I've made my point about the sheer massive size of Disney World, now onto the other points. Point two I think was food and prices. Here again, planning. Every single Disney website, official or fan, screams from it's four mountain tops...Splash, Space, Big Thunder, and Everest (ha! inside Disney joke!), to MAKE DINING RESERVATIONS! There are also numerous sites that not only have current menus, but also have menu pricing! Yes, you may pay $10 for a burger at Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland In the Magic Kingdom, but the burger is HUGE! You get what you pay for at Disney (just don't drink the water! It smells like swamp water and tastes like pure chlorine! I'll happily pay $2.50 for a bottle of water!). Disney dining reservations are made at 120 days before your trip and some restaurants book fast. For my time zone, I have to be online at 3 am at the 120 point and still can't manage to get into certain restaurants. But you can keep trying and trying and hopefully someone will cancel and you can get in.

And while I'm on the subject of dining...luckily this is a mute point now because the new booking system doesn't allow double-booking (but some people still do it under different reservations if they are traveling with others), I do want to address the subject. When people double-book a restaurant, usually because they don't know where they will want to eat on a particular night, it keeps other people from being able to book that restaurant...it's selfish and rude and I'm glad they fixed it where not only will it cancel your second booking, but it will also cancel your first booking as well so you loose both reservations! I've always thought of it as, "on Wednesday we're eating Le Cellier" and I gear myself up to eat it", not, "hmmm, wonder if I'll want steak tonight?". You can't think like that in WDW. Off rant (for now).

Next point...weather. Come on! It's central Florida! It's hot and muggy and it rains! Duh! There are certain times of the year you can go, however, when it has it's cooler days and doesn't rain as much. Here again...PLAN! And a lot of these softer weather times have the best entertainment...Flower and Garden Festival in March and April, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in Sept/Oct (my personal fave), and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in Nov/Dec.

Nowadays, people take their children out of school to go on vacation instead of waiting until the summer time (a sore spot with me, but apparently Am and I disagree on this point...I think education is more important, she thinks family time is...you say tomato). That argument is as mute as religion, it's a matter of personal preference, but needless to say, no matter what time of year you go, there are kids there, so for those (like me) who don't particularly care for the little ones, be prepared, they are always there! Plus, other countries have different school let out times, so, depending when you go, there might be an influx of foreigners (which I mind less, unless it's tour groups and that's a whole other ballgame...stay far far away when they are there!).

OK, moving on...rides not being thrilling...Disney is a family park, not a teen park or an adult park or a kid park. It's made for all ages! I'm a roller coaster person and have been on a "real" roller coaster and Disney's coasters aren't the "real" thing, but some come close. The point is, all rides can be ridden with all family members (well, most rides providing you meet the height requirement - another sore spot with me - if you kid isn't tall enough, don't force it, it's a safety issue! I wish I had a dime for everytime I saw a parent fighting with a CM over their kid not being tall enough to ride a ride! Would you want your kid to get hurt because they were too small for the safety equipment to adequately contain them? Idiots! Which brings up another idiot parent move - forcing your child to ride something they don't want to...ugh! It's bad enough having to watch the episode play out, but to have to sit in a car behind a screaming child ruins the ride for other people! Then, having to listen to the kid go, "that wasn't so bad, can we do it again?" and the parent going "I told you so!", only my ride was completely ruined listening to the the entire scream-fest! Off topic again, sorry!).

Another side note, as a "large" person, or "pooh-sized" as we are referred to via Disney speak, Disney World is the first park I have ever been to that caters to pooh-sized people!! There is not a ride I can't ride or a place I can't go! Back when I was married and quite a bit larger than I am now, I had a very embarrassing episode at Six Flags St. Louis where I was asked to leave a ride because the safety bar wouldn't go down over my stomach! Can you imagine how horrible that was?! It was a long time before I went to another park after that (as a matter of fact, Disney was the next park I went to). I can't go to Universal Studios because most rides there I can't fit into (plus, I wouldn't go anyway as a matter of loyalty to Disney, but I would like to see the Harry Potter stuff, but I'm not going until I can fit on the rides, which will probably be never).

I'm not even gonna get into the roads being too congested discussion because I've already made my point about that in a previous blog...stay on property! That way you can use Disney transportation (don't use it if you're not staying on property BTW...see aforementioned blog) and get around without having to drive and you don't worry about the road congestion! Yes, there are times where you get a bad bus driver who doesn't know where he's going and end up trapped on a bus with a bunch of drunks from Downtown Disney at 1 am for over an hour, but that's only happened once and hopefully never again! But if you have to stay off property, prepare for the toll roads! Florida doesn't have state taxes, so they have to collect money somehow! And living in a state that has taxes, I'd much rather have toll roads instead! Plus, if you have reservations at Animal Kingdom and you are staying in a Magic Kingdom resort, don't wait until 20 minutes before your reservations to get a bus! It might take an hour to get there since they are all the way across property from one another! Plan appropriately!

And finally, the money issue. I only go to Disney once a year because it takes an entire year to save up enough money to go. And, if Am didn't pay for the actual trip, I probably wouldn't be able to do that! Why, you ask? My Disney obsession stems from my love for the duck! Remember the infamous duck room I keep mentioning? Here's a teaser of it's contents:





And I wish I could say that was all I had...that's only part of the room and a wide shot. I also have a Mickey bathroom, my bedroom is princesses and villains and there are numerous other thing spread throughout the house. If it wasn't so cool, it would be just sad! I'm what one would call an "organized hoarder"! A hoarder with OCD might be better?

But anyhoo...just because I shop like a total maniac, doesn't mean you have to too! Donald merchandise is rare, so I buy it up like crazy! Even Aurora merch is limited. I always choose the least liked characters, I guess! And yes, everytime you exit a ride, you are pretty much gonna exit through a gift shop, but hey, if it wasn't that way, then when you left Mickey's Philharmagic (which should be called Donald's Philharmagic, BTW), there wouldn't be a completely Donald themed gift shop, so there you go! Here's a pic of it:

Oh, and before you ask, no, there is nothing I won't take a picture of in WDW. Don't believe me? One of my favorite tile designs, can you guess where it's at?

Did you guess? It's the bathroom outside of Lights Motor Action at the end of Streets Of America in the Disney Hollywood Studios! Yep, that's right folks, a bathroom! But hey, it's a rarely used bathroom, so good tip there!

As another side note, our favorite thing to take pictures of? People that dress like total idiots! So be careful what you wear to Disney, or you just might end up in our collection! You'd be surprised what people will wear in public! Off topic again, I know!

Let me just shut up here because I have pics to work on, but in conclusion, I don't get the non-getters of Disney. I think it says a lot about a person's character if Disney doesn't affect you. If it can take a closed off person like me and open me up, even if only for a little while, than what kind of person must they be that have no reaction whatsoever? I know people who have been and didn't like it, and I do group them into two categories: those who didn't plan but could have a good time; and those who are hopeless. The hopeless people I stay away from because, like I said, it says a lot about their character, at least from my point of view. They have a distinct type of aura anyway and I can tell those people from a mile off. They wouldn't be the type I would associate with anyway. I'm an excellent judge of character (a few notable exceptions excluding) and Disney is definitely a good measure of character!

I've helped a lot of people plan their Disney trips and I'm always surprised when people first tell me that they are going to WDW and ask me questions, how little they know, and would not have known had they not have asked me! I do tend to overwhelm them at first, but once I load them up with the necessary tools, I haven't had one unsatisfied customer yet!

My Disney motto is: "If you have a bad time at Walt Disney World, it's your fault, not theirs!". It's one I stand by!

Soapbox dismount!

General updates and 2012 Box!!

Well, not so good of a weekend here in Keebs World! I had a really bad day at work on Thursday resulting in my first panic attack in years resulting in a 3/2 (3 naproxen&imitrex/2 stadols) migraine yesterday. I still don't have feeling in my face, the inside of my mouth, most of my head and the backs of my upper arms, but I'm awake now. I've drank, but still no food...can't risk it. I've got my monitor turned down pretty much as low as it will go, but I've got so many blogs in me right now, I'm going nuts and I'm sick of laying in the bed! I know I can't stitch and there's no way I could stand the television, so you guys get to put up with me!

But, there is good news (hopefully) workwise on the horizon, I'm just not ready to announce it yet, just in case I jinx it (probably just did).

The really only exciting news I have this weekend is I STARTED MY 2012 DISNEY BOX!! I know, I know, "what the hell is a Disney box, Keebs?", or better yet, "only Keebs would have a Disney box". Yes, you are probably right on #2 there. A Disney box is a collection of trip memories for that particular years trip. I always start it off with a copy of that year's Birnbaum's Guide (a collectors item only - if you've never been to Disney World - don't buy Birnbaum's to use for information, it sucks in that capacity, buy The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World (which BTW, Len Testa, the co-author of, has a great podcast called WDW Today that any Disney Fan should not miss!) or The Complete Walt Disney World, they are the best). By the time the trip is over, it's filled with everything, from all travel documents (including my notes), to all mailings, to airlines documents and luggage tags, to napkins from the flight(yes, you read that correctly - OCD, remember), to check in documents, to park tickets (which is also your room key and also has charging capability), to maps, to room toiletries, to coasters, to pens, to paper, to wristbands, to rain ponchos, to all shopping receipts, to one of each size of bag from the stores and different bags from different stores, to various napkins (again, yes, you read that correctly), to our pictures raw and the final DVD output, to our little book I make, blaa, blaa, blaa, you get the point, and if you don't, here's some pics:

This is the '09 box (because '10 still isn't finished since I have't made the DVD of our pics yet - yes Am, I'm working on it):

There's more in there than meets the eye. Why is there is a coupon holder, you ask? That is where I keep my receipts. I sort them by day (no, that's actually not because of OCD, believe it or not). Disney has this great perk that if you're a resort guest, whatever you buy on property, you have shipped back to your resort gift shop free of charge so you don't have to carry around your bags all day. Considering the amount of crap we buy, trust me, that's a good thing (although the CM's working in the gift shop would definitely disagree and are usually running for cover when they see us coming!). All you have to do is take your receipt to the gift shop and *poof*, they bring your purchases to you (then they have to provide us with a cart or several strong men to help us carry them all back to our room - but that's a different story).

The decorations & socks are from my bestie #2 Madison who sent us decorations for our resort (we stayed in Port Orleans French Quarter that year). I just couldn't bring myself to wear them or put them up because I'm a collector by nature! I wanted to preserve them (but we did eat the candy she sent!).

Here's what's in the pack, all the maps and tickets and pens and coasters (yes, that's a Guinness stain on the Raglan Raod coaster - see memories!) and such:


And here are all my boxes lined up in the "Duck Room" with 2012 on top:


I don't have a box for '81 because I don't come from hoarders or OCD people like myself so my parents kept nothing (barely any pictures - I take thousands each year (which is why it takes so long to sort through and edit them), they took maybe 30). I have bought a couple of things off of eBay throughout the years, but nothing significant, you can't recreate memories IMO, and I'm not a big fan of purchasing someone else's memories as well as the fact that used stuff carries "energy" (I can't stand to be near antiques - another story for another blog). I do use eBay a lot, but mainly for new stuff (although I have bought toys to replace ones I had as a child that were taken away - my Step-Dad decided when I was 10 that I was an adult and too old for toys, again, another blog for another time).

My '99 box is pretty sparse because I was too chicken to go up and get things like maps and such, but it looks full because it has actual pictures in it (the last year I used a film camera), and it was pre-internet era (at least in Arkansas for the general population), so I didn't have the research tools available that I do now and I didn't know that it was Food & Wine Festival and all kinds of other things, so we missed out on a lot of stuff that was happening at Disney that year.

And technically, the "Box" didn't start until the fiasco of the '04 trip, but it wasn't hard to create the '99 box because I had it all stored in a bag, so I guess the first "Box" was a "Bag"!

Oh well, enough on that subject! I wish I could say the Disney World blogs are eventually gonna slow, but that's a promise I can't make! Asperger's and OCD make a powerful combination!!

Disney beginnings

OK, one more post for tonight just because this one will keep me from sleeping! I got to get it out!

The first time I ever went to Disney World was in the summer of 1981. I was 10, about to be 11 and Am was 4. I also swore after it was over with I would never go on another family vacation again (and I didn't until 2004, which was also to WDW, and boy, what a story that is!).

This is us - gotta love my Mother's hair! And aren't we such a happy bunch! One of the rare photos of me...I take them, I'm not in them.

Notice how my Mother has extra legs? That's because I'm standing behind her. That's my usual photo taking position.

In 1981, Disney World consisted of only the Magic Kingdom. Epcot was only a model in Tomorrowland, it wasn't to open until October 1, 1982. Staying on property was a luxury we couldn't afford, so we stayed off property. We also went to Sea World, Circus World, and Cape Canaveral (I have ALWAYS wanted to go back to Canaveral, I was WAY to young to appreciate it then and I swore if I ever got close enough with a vehicle, I'd go...hint hint Am!).

But, the trip was horrible because I was cutting my molars and felt awful and my Step-dad is a very military kind of guy (or used to be). Wake up 6 am, breakfast 6:30, catch bus 7:00, be at park 8:00. If he got off schedule, we were all doomed! It was mid summer, hot, humid, extremely crowded, and overall miserable!! He wanted his moneys worth, so we stayed in the parks until closing as well and had to take the long trip back to the hotel and get a couple hours sleep and do it all again. He's also the type of person that thinks there is only one restaurant in the world -McDonald's; breakfast, lunch, and dinner (which plays in the 2004 saga as well).

I blame that 1981 trip for my current Disney spending habits. We were only allowed one souvenir. There was this plush Mickey and Minnie I wanted more than life itself, but Mother said I could only have one. I can remember throwing a massive hissy fit in the store (my Asperger's I now know) because I couldn't split them up...they were, after all, boyfriend and girlfriend! In the end, I got both of them (spoiled, I know...) and had them up until a few years ago (they were kept in my parents attic in a garbage bag and mice peed all over them). Now, I buy tons of stuff because I don't like to be denied. It stems from that trauma of that particular hissy fit (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

But from then on, Mother, Am, and my Step-Dad went on vacation without me. My Aunt stayed home with me for a couple of years, then I stayed home by myself. I did go on vacations with my Aunt though, so I wasn't completely vacation deprived. When I got older, I would drive a lot (especially at night when no one else was out) and would go pretty far, sometimes all the way down to Biloxi, get out, walk on the beach, get back in the car and drive home, 7 hrs each way! I felt safe as long as I stayed in the car, so I just continued to drive! I haven't done that in years though.

Back on topic...when I was married, my then husband and I were supposed to go to WDW, but we ended up getting divorced and, even though the trip was half paid for, the travel agency felt sorry for me and gave me all my money back. The next year, Mother and I used most of that money plus some more and went on our own. That was November 1999...the height of my panic attacks. It wasn't the worst trip, that was yet to come.

Me and Donald 1999 (yes, I look totally drunk because I am, it took massive amounts of Margaritas before I'd get close to him! I was terrified!! (and "him" turned out to be a "her", totally freaked me out when "she" tickled me! Donald is a boy!):

In 2004, we decided that since we're all grown up now, Am is married, I'm divorced, why not go back to Disney as a family. We're all adults now, how bad could it be? My Step-Dad put me in charge of planning since my OCD was in full swing by that point and I was super obsessive and so off we went! We can laugh about it now, but at the time, I spent at least the first part of the trip crying! Good thing we got separate rooms! Am and Matt in one, Mother and my Step-Dad in one and I had my own room (how wonderful that was!). I fought for the longest for us to stay together, afterall, it was supposed to be a family trip, but in the end, once we split up, it got SO much better! Am, Matt and I had the best time ever and it started our yearly jaunts from then on! "Yo Ho, Yo Ho a pirates life for me, I use a knife to stir my tea!"

What made 2004 so horrible? Numerous things, but the main reason was just two little words...No McDonald's...we couldn't eat McDonald's 24/7. Yes, there are fry stands that sell McDonald fries and chicken nuggets (or there were in 2004, not now), but one of the best parts of WDW is the food! Why on earth would we eat at a McDonalds?!?! Every place we ate at he hated until he eventually just stopped going to the reservations with us. On the last day I gave up and we ate at one of the very few full service Mc'D's there were and you know what my Step-Dad got to eat? Prepare yourself for something shocking....strawberry shortcake! Yes, that's right folks! A week long rant begging for a McDonald's burger and now that one's in his grasp, he's gets a strawberry shortcake! I believe Am's exact words out loud were "what the FUCK?".

So 2004 was my last family vacation. Ever. No third chances. Ever. There won't even be a family trip to Wal-Mart in my future!!

But here it is, 2012, Disney World is now massive, no longer just one park, it's now four full theme parks, two water parks, a shopping district, a boardwalk district, a full sports complex that's the official spring training ground for the Atlanta Braves and training grounds for Chelsea (boo...Man U all the way!), a speedway, a full service wedding pavillion, well over 30 resorts on property, four championship golf courses (used to be five but the fifth is being turned into luxury housing for the mega rich who want to live on Disney property - another Lottery wish), two miniature golf courses, a full service pet spa/boarding facility, numerous lakes and nature preserves, a future west end shopping district, their own fire and emergency services, their own power grid and water supply, they have their own transportation system with buses, boats, trains, and monorails, and god knows what else! They are also the largest single site employer in the entire United States (and probably the lowest paying)! It truly is a world in itself!! It even has it's own zip code...Lake Buena Vista, Florida, 32830! They have very little hurricane damage when one blows through because of its construction (usually only downed trees), and it's been said that Disney is the safest place to be during a storm!

I always say, "if you have a bad time at Disney, it's your fault, not theirs" and, in our case, that's always been true! Sure, there are the occasional CM (Cast Member - their employees), who are total prats, but I like to smother them with kindness and they usually pretty quickly change their tune (except for one particularly nasty hat embroidery guy Downtown in the Christmas store...we've complained about him twice I think) and one really nasty older man in 1999 who made me cry because I didn't have my hand stamped and he kept yelling at me until a really cute CM yelled back at him and let me through the gates (yes, he caused me to have a panic attack too), oh, and one nasty CM in Spaceship Earth at Epcot who motioned me forward, but then yelled at me for stepping onto the moving platform...I told on her too- careful CM's, we tattle!).

After every trip I always write a letter to WDW and name the good CM's as well so that they can be recognized (another page in my little book I make is notable CM's, I note their name, their station, the date and time and what they did, so I can pass on the info to customer relations). Disney does give employees their props, so if you're a Disney visitor, please do the same, good or bad, but make sure you get their name, their location, and the date and time or they won't know who you're talking about...largest employer in the US, remember?

OK, bedtime now, I've gone on long enough about Disney, and unfortunately for you guys, it's probably gonna get worse before it gets better!

Wilderness Lodge dedication

An extremely horrible day at work calls for a shift in my thinking and what better way to do that than to focus on our upcoming trip!

For those who have been to Disney and who have stayed at the Lodge, you know what I'm talking about, for those that haven't stayed there or have never even been to Disney World, I'm about to give you a taste of what Wilderness Lodge is like (in shortened form, of course - or shortened form for me anyway!).

I've posted a couple of pictures already, and I'm afraid my crappy photo taking cannot do it true justice. Believe it or not, Wilderness Lodge has it's own fan site (told you I was a total Disney geek) and if you'd like to check it out, it's Wilderness Lodge Site and it's got some great history and info as well as great pics.   The official Disney World link also has some great highlights!

The Lobby of the Lodge Oct 2005:

Same Dec 2006 (and yes, the Christmas tree WAS that big):

As an avid fan of Mouse World Radio (and if your a Disney fan and don't listen to Mouse World Radio, what's wrong with you?!  It's free and I can't imagine life without it!), they often have the BGM (background music) for the Lodge and talk about feeling the memories!

But, as most of you know, I'm a Donald Duck freak.  Have been since I was a young'un.  One of the main highlights of the Lodge, is it's totem poles, but one in particular:

Bit of trivia for ya...does anyone know who the bear is at the bottom of the totem? Think back to your childhood and think of this tune "first you stick a rag, put in the bag, bump bump, then you bend your back put in the sack, bump bump...". Anything yet? Maybe this will help:


You got it now right? Well, Humphrey stared in most of his few cartoons with my main Duck-man! Maybe this will help:


Humphrey is kind of the mascot of the Lodge which makes me happy to no end because you get to buy cool stuff like this:

God, I love pins!!

My Wilderness Lodge dedication shelf (and oh, that scent of Yankee Candle smells JUST like the Lodge smells!):

My Wilderness Lodge throw:

I always regretted not getting the Wilderness Lodge lincoln logs because you can't buy them anymore! But the thing with Humphrey and the totem is that you are supposed to rub his nose upon arrival at the Lodge so that your Disney vacation will be extra magical! Disney vacations are always magical, but we rub his nose, just in case!

The rooms have gone through at least one rehab since I've been staying there:

Oct 2005:

Oct 2008:

And I think I've stayed in about every end of the resort! I've been there twice by myself because it's the one I feel most comfortable in and it's one building (unlike the other resorts at Disney which can be spread out over forever...Caribbean Beach, for example, has some buildings that are as far as a 25 minute walk from the Old Port Royale, which contains the food court and gift shops...imagine walking that to breakfast every morning (been there, done that twice!)).

Speaking of Disney by myself...yes, you did hear me correctly. Me, Asperger's, OCD and SAD suffer, who can't go to Wal-Mart by herself most times, actually gets on a plane, flies the 850 some odd miles, takes a car service, checks into the Lodge and spends a week in Disney World ALL BY MYSELF!!! It's the only place, besides my home and work that I am absolutely comfortable. Granted, I do have my moments, but I just sit on a bench, call up Am, rub it in that I'm in Disney and she's not, then I feel better and can move on! I eat in the restaurants by myself, ride the rides by myself, shop by myself (OK, that would NEVER be a problem)...it's a total mystery!

But, anyway, I've bored you enough on the Lodge. But I think I will continue a series of blogs on Disney for those who don't know much about it, maybe focusing on particular rides or parks or restaurants (Le Cellier anyone! ICE WINE!!) and sharing photos of mine from visits past (yes Am, I will do our DVD from the 2010 pics, I promise! And yes Am, I know you want a copy of all the pics and I promise I've got them pulled out to redo and now that I have motivation, it WILL get done!).

A final note, I think I'm gonna add a third WIP, a Disney project, just to keep the other two flowing, and keep my Disney spirits up and in the stitching mood (it's not like I don't have a ton of Disney projects in the wings!).