Tag Archives: DisneySMMoms

An Unexpected Benefit of Running

Posted in Disney, Running by

When I started running I did so knowing I needed to be more active and get healthy.  A sedentary office job was starting to take its toll on my body. I had a lot of aches and pains and had a standing appointment with my massage therapist, Angie, to work out the kinks.  In particular the muscles under and between my shoulder blades were always badly knotted from sitting in one position at a desk typing on my computer all day. I think those muscles are called the Trapezius and Rhomboids but whatever they are called they caused me a great deal of pain on a regular basis.

v2.My back

During the first few weeks of running Angie had to deal with tight muscles in my legs and hips when I showed up for my appointments and didn’t get to spend as much time working on my shoulders as she usually would. Once my body got used to running Angie no longer had to work on my legs and returned to my shoulders but to both our surprises my shoulders were not in nearly as bad a shape as we expected, especially since they had basically been neglected for a few months.

It seems that for me at least, there is an added benefit to running. The motion of pumping my arms as I run also seems to loosen up the stiff muscles in my upper back and shoulders and I couldn’t be happier about this unexpected side effect.

Now if only I could figure out how to pay for my next trip to Walt Disney World for the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon to really stretch out those muscles, life would be almost perfect.

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Our Villainous Family Day

Posted in Disney by

I want to start by thanking all the wonderful sponsors: Disney Parks, MomSelect, Duff Goldman, HP, All, Wisk, Twinings Tea and My Image Bracelet Maker for supplying free products and providing me with the opportunity to host a #DisneySide @Home Celebration.  Although I’ve received free products, the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

disneyside box

Once my @Home Celebration kit arrived it was time to start the planning.  To me Disney is about making memories and spending time with family and friends so what better day to have our party than on Family Day.  It also meant I had a long weekend to get organized, or at least try to.

We received a Villains themed celebration kit so I sent out the invitations saying Disney Villain costumes were encouraged but not required.  I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of friends who are more than willing to dress up and act silly just because it’s something different to do on a cold Family Day.

I’ve come to the realization that roller derby girls and their families are some of the most fun and outgoing people I know and I love them all the more for it.   They take my Disney obsession in stride and never think twice about joining in with my craziness. They even dressed up as Darla, Jafar, the Sith Lord and the Evil Queen among others for the party.

In addition to the Villains theme I decided to focus on the tastes of Disney.  I invited a large number of people who have never been to a Disney Park so it was fun to introduce them to some of the more famous Disney dishes and ones that are personal favorites of mine.

The menu consisted of:

Cheese Soup from Le Cellier Steakhouse at EPCOT

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad from Sunshine Seasons at EPCOT

Kalua Pork Sliders with Spicy Pineapple Chutney from EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Pop Century Resort

Beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter Resort

Dole Whips from Aloha Isle at Magic Kingdom

There were also poison candy apple cake pops and a beautiful Maleficent cake to go along with the Disney Villains theme.

Once everyone had “stuffed their faces” (as someone put it) it was time to move on to the games.  The kids enjoyed playing tape the smile on Mickey, creating custom creations with the My Image Bracelet Maker and doing the Villains puzzle while the adults watched and chatted. Our youngest attendee was only 2 ½ months old and even he got in on the action by getting his photo with Maleficent horns on.

It was a lovely evening and one that probably would not have happened in the middle of a cold and nasty Canadian winter if not for the #DisneySide @Home Celebration so again I say thank Disney Parks and MomSelect for this opportunity.

When all was said and done I cleaned up and then sat down with a soothing cup of Twinings Goodnight Blend Tea.  Although it’s not my usual brand of tea is was a pleasant change and a great way to end the day.

All I have left to do now is print off some of my favorite party photos on all the HP photo paper that was provided and deliver them to my friends as mementos, oh and plan the next party because this one went so well.  Everyone who attended has decided to make it a monthly event to get together with our families and come up with some theme for the evening.

I Love Disney’s FastPass+

Posted in Disney, Reviews by

I’ll admit I was skeptical when Disney rolled out its FastPass+ program.  It just seemed like this was one more thing I would have to plan long before we actually arrived at WDW and as much as I like planning for our vacations, my family doesn’t like to have every element of our holidays “scheduled” in advance.

For instance, after purchasing the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan one visit and booking dining reservations for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, it felt like all we did was run from one reservation to the next and it took some of the fun out of the visit for us. Now I only book one or two Table-Service meals per week to avoid the dreaded “schedule”.

If you are staying at a WDW Resort you can book your FastPass+ experiences 60 days in advance of your check-in date and if you have purchased advance tickets (without a WDW Resort stay) you can book FastPass+ experiences 30 days in advance of your use date.

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From either your computer or your smart phone you can access the My Disney Experience web page or App to set up your FastPass+ experiences. You select 3 choices from the available attractions and the system will provide you with a number of time slot options for you to select from. It’s so easy.

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I liked the fact that for most experiences you get a one hour time slot and not just a specific time.  This one hour time slot provides a lot more flexibility to arrive at the attraction at a time that works for you within the hour window.

The hardest part about the whole process was deciding which 3 attractions/experiences are your favorites that you want to guarantee a time slot for.   We have a few must do’s every vacation that do not normally have very long lines so we decided to forgo using FastPass+ on those rides and used them for the rides that traditionally have longer lines (such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Toy Story Midway Mania)  so we didn’t have to wait as long.

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When all was said and done I loved the FastPass+ system and being able to book 3 attractions ahead of time.  I hadn’t realized before this trip just how much my family likes to sleep in.  We aren’t early risers.  We would much rather sleep in and then stay at the Parks until they close.  Under the old system, by not getting to the Parks early we were often too late to get a FastPass for our favorite attractions and would just have to wait in line.  The new system shortened our overall wait time immensely.  I loved it and can’t wait to use it again.

It’s here, it’s finally here. My DisneySide @Home Celebration kit is finally here and I still can’t open it.

Posted in Disney by

One day that seems like an eternity ago but was really only back in December I opened my email to find an invitation to apply for a DisneySide @Home Celebration.  I was over the moon with the thoughts that this year I might get selected to be a host.

I followed the link provided to submit my application. Imagine my surprise when I got to the section to fill out where I was from and there were no options available for Provinces only States.  Oh no, did this mean they were only accepting applications from people in the US? I hadn’t seen any disclaimer/rules saying it was not open to Canadians and since I’m not one to give up, I improvised.  I didn’t select a state; I let the survey default to the blank selection and then entered in Ontario, Canada on the second address line and hoped for the best.

A few days later I received the following email.

disney side problem email

Again I was thinking oh no, did my not selecting a state mess up the submission.  Well I wasn’t going down without a fight so of course I promptly filled out the survey and submitted again

In early January I started to see other Disney lovers and bloggers that I chat with post about having received congratulatory emails that they had been selected.  Since I hadn’t received an email, I was feeling a little discouraged until I spoke (ok, I texted, but spoke sounds more personal) to another Canadian who was in the same situation and she encouraged me to email BSM Media directly. As some great philosopher once said the answer is always no, if you never ask, so I emailed them directly and asked.

Well guess what, I had been selected and was told I would be receiving my email soon.   YIPPEE!!! I was elated.  What a great excuse to show my #DisneySide (not that I need one) and have a party.

Disneyside email

Now it was time to wait, and wait, and wait and wait some more for my package to arrive with items to help throw my party.

Finally today after stopping in eleven different cities in 2 different countries over 6 days my package has arrived.  But guess what, I have to wait some more.  Why?  Because it’s my husband’s birthday today and he deserves to have his special day without me jumping up and down in excitement over something besides him.

disneyside box

So my package sits on the table waiting and taunting me.  I REALLY, REALLY hope my husband takes pity on me and suggests we open it tonight. I’ve got my fingers crossed.