And now back to Disney...

Presenting Mary Austin with Mickey Mouse and friends!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year season is about to begin. This year is the Year of the Rat Mary Austin's class studied CNY last week. they made paper lanterns, dragons and read several stories. Mary Austin got to wear her jade bracelet to school and took her framed Chinese name to show all her friends. They ended the unit with a parade! Have I said how much I LOVE her school and how sad it will be next year when she "graduates"?

In the pictures below she is in the green dress with red cherries and red tights.

Questions about Disney World

I've received many questions about Disney so I decided to make a post about what I did to get ready for our trip. First, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying a guide book. I used The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 and I loved it! It was a great book and they publish a new book every year so it is very current. (Wouldn't it be great to have that job? What a shame that you probably have to go to Disney at least once a year and it would be considered a business write off at tax time!!!) Next, I decided based on the book and Mary Austin's interest which character dining meals to make reservations for. You can make reservations 180 days out; if you are staying on property you can make reservations 180 days + 10 so you get somewhat of a head start on everyone else. HOWEVER, I did realize that they do not release all the tables until the 180 day mark which is pretty fair. I chose Cinderella's Royal Table since it is in the castle and she, along with Mulan, Belle and Ariel, is her fav princess. It was quite a fun thing and I do recommend it BUT there is also an alternative. At 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian the dinner is "Cinderella and friends" and has Prince Charming, the step sisters and the mice. If I was going to do 2 princess meals again I would do dinner at 1900 Park Fare and then the breakfast at Askerus which is in Norway. Since we did Cinderella's Royal Table and Askerus we got the same princesses for the most part except for the most important one - Mulan. We also did breakfast at 1900 Park Fare that was "Mary Poppins and friends". Mary Poppins was Mary Austin's first Disney princess. The child would and still will watch the entire movie mesmerized. This breakfast had Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter (who were hysterical!!), Pooh and Tigger. The best food was at 1900 Park Fare - a buffet - along with Cinderella's Royal Table (fixed menu). Askerus was not bad - just average. We do not really eat at buffet restaurants so I do not have alot of comparison.
Once I had decided all that I then focused on where to stay. Click here to see why we chose the Contemporary. Disney has lots of resorts at all different price points and the book goes over each one along with pros and cons. Another nice thing about the book is its critiques about each ride. It has ratings on each ride for preschoolers, school age, teens and adults. This was helpful to say the least. We avoided most of the scary rides (with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean) and were able to focus riding the rides that suited Mary Austin best.
I also recommend the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique. It was PRECIOUS and really good photo ops! There are several packages you can do and reservations are STRONGLY SUGGESTED. You can make them at the same time you make your dining reservations. We did the crown package that was middle of the line about $65 or so. There was a package that came with a dress, shoes, tiara and the likes but it was nearly $200 and we have just about every princess dress made so I opted out of it. In the end, Mae wore her outfit with Cinderella's castle embroidered on it and it was very cute.
I am not sure how long "Year of a Million Dreams" will go on as it started in 2007 but they have continued it for now. During this period people are randomly selected to do things like Fairy Godmother-in-Training, fast passes for a day, meals or the creme de la creme - spending the night in Cinderella's Castle.
We plan to go back in 2010 and in January again. The one thing we will do differently is to arrive on a Sunday and leave on Friday. The crowds were noticeably heavier on the weekend. Even so, we never waited longer than 20 minutes for a ride (using fast pass for the more popular rides). The one exception was Peter Pan's Flight. Mae begged to ride it again and there were no more fast passes being handed out so we had to wait about 30-45 minutes.

We interrupt the Disney posts.....

to bring you our new favorite TV show. That's right CMT'S My Big Redneck Wedding. If you are a fan of "reality" shows then this is a MUST SEE! It has just the right amount of silliness for both you and your significant other! Tripp yelled to me to turn on channel 35 (our CMT channel number) last night while I was watching figure skating and Miss America and he was watching a debate (don't get me started I am VERY tired of the politics as it seems like it will never end. I will get more interested once 2 candidates and running mates have been identified). I have never laughed so hard in my life. I suppose these are "real" weddings but not the kind that I have attended or been a part of. In last night's episode, Geneva and Kevin married at the golf club. He was in his finest camo "since camo always looks good" and she was her hunter green wedding dress and camo veil. The "club" was decorated with all sorts of dead animal heads and the guests feasted on beans, cornbread, and pork rinds along with pickled eggs and pigs feet. The exchange of gifts was very romantic - he received a skink from his new wife and she received a small pink rifle to hunt rabbit and squirrel with.

Tom Arnold's narratives alone are not to be missed!

Airing on Friday and Saturday nights this is a must see show!

Hurry, you have already missed 3 episodes or weddings!

Fairy Godmother-in-training

Disney is still doing their "Year of a million" dreams and while we did not get picked to spend the night in Cinderella's castle (rats!!!) Mary Austin was chosen to be a "Fairy Godmother-in-training". It was so sweet! She go to help "dress" Cinderella for the ball! I think she did a great job and they did too! She received an official wand and a certificate!

Mae and Mulan

We went to several Character meals including Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch and Storybook Princesses for breakfast the next day. We had a repeat of most princesses except Mulan. It was really important to me for Mary Austin to get to meet Mulan and spend time with her so I am glad we did the 2 meals. Mary Austin was in awe of Mulan and she spent over 5 minutes with Mary Austin instead of the 2-3 minutes that the rest did. Mulan was so sweet to Mae and the interaction between them had me in tears. I do not know why this was so important to me; perhaps because there is a part of Mary Austin's past that I will never be able to give back to her. We went to China in Epcot's World Showcase later that day and found Mulan again along with Mushu. It was the same Mulan from that morning and she remembered Mary Austin and even asked her where her dress was. I do not know who was "playing" Mulan but whoever she is I owe her a thank you!

Disney Fun

This is slide show #1 of many so hang in there! Mickey and friends, Princess Mary Austin meets the princesses, Mary Austin and Mulan and Fairygodmother in Training posts will all follow.

We had so much fun that I cannot even begin to describe it!

We arrived in Orlando just after 9am on Wednesday morning and were met by Robert from Happy Limousine in baggage. (Side note: we did not use the magic express provided by Disney because we had heard that your luggage sometimes arrived much later than you and that the bus would not leave the airport until it was at least half full. Since this was January we did not want to risk sitting on a bus with Mary Austin asking "how much longer" every 5 seconds.

We left our luggage with the bellmen in the Contemporary and set off! We decided to stay at the Contemporary based on a couple of reasons:

1. All the rooms were completely renovated last year. And they are gorgeous! I admit I did not take any pictures but they were very nice - sleek and modern with a huge bathroom.

2. Proximity to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We knew that we would spend most of our time here with one trip to the Animal Kingdom. We did not go to Disney Hollywood studios (formerly MGM) since there did not look to be enough for Mary Austin. We could either take the monorail or walk to the MK from the Contemporary.

3. When leaving the MK the Contemporary is your FIRST stop! So you only have about a 3 minute ride with your very tired and whiny child. This was NICE to say the least. You also had the ability to return to the hotel for a nap and break time without any hassle.

Everyone at Disney was exceptionally nice. They all called Mary Austin "princess" and she totally grooved on that! "Good morning Princess". "Welcome Princess", "How are you today Princess" and on and on and on......

Mary Austin loved most of the rides that we went on with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean and Test Track. She LOVED Peter Pan's Flight, Its a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, the Teacups, Soarin (my favorite - Epcot). Monsters Inc Laugh Factory, Buzz Lightyear, Festival of the Lion King (show at Animal Kingdom) and Finding Nemo the musical (also at AK). We did not ride any roller coasters with her - she would not have gone and she was too short! She just barely made the 40" cut for Soarin and Test Track and yes they check and they are pretty strict. She got checked several times prior to Test Track. We thought she would like Test Track because she loved Soarin. Hmmmm...that was a mistake. She like it until it seemed that you were going to crash through a couple of doors and then she did not like it at all!

January was the best time to go. The weather was very nice - not hot at all and it only rained Saturday night after we were in for the evening. The only difference will be that next time we will go from Sunday to Friday. The crowds picked up Friday and Saturday.

Going back?? You bet! We hope to return in 2 years - January 2010 - with Jane, my sister's family and grandparents! We definitely will stay at the Contemporary again and use Happy Limousine!

Stay tuned for more Disney!!

What Jane did while we were away

We had a fabulous time in Disney World!

While I sort through nearly 500 pictures here is a look at what Jane Harris got to do while we were gone!

While we were enjoying balmy spring like weather in Florida,

Mother Nature blew some Artic air down to Alabama and along with it came the snow!

Neither of the princesses has ever seen snow as it has been almost 10 years since it has snowed significantly down here!

Special thanks to Aunt La-La for taking these great pictures on her new Nikon!

It is one fabulous camera!

Pretty in pink and red with a background of the white stuff!
Hmmmm..
it's slippery stuff!
Ohhhhh.. the lake is so beautiful with snow!

I LOVE this last picture of Jane and Cap (Tripp's dad).

Three days and counting..

We are off to the mecca land of princess and fun...Walt Disney World on Wednesday. Jane will arrive at Camp Mimi on Tuesday night and we fly out early Wednesday morning for Mae's first trip to Disney! In case you are wondering why Jane Harris is not going click here. Enough said! Plus, she is too little to be able to ride most of the rides! Mae will need to stand tall in her big girl tennis shoes if she is going to make the 40" requirement! We will be dining with Cinderella and the other princesses plus Mary Poppins along with lots of other fun things! Be on the lookout for pictures when we get back!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

While Leigh Anne and Elizabeth were here, we had a small party for Liz who turned five this week! My sister took the girls to Build-A-Bear where they all got to pick out a special bear!

Then, it was off to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner and cupcakes!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth! We miss you!

More than just cousins! Sisters!
The girls were a whirlwind of fun!

Yummy!

Liz's first choice for a cake was the traditional Barbie cake with the cake part being her "dress". Unfortunately, they do not make those cakes anymore!

Liz, Leigh Anne and Mae

Kim- Note the Dilly Bop Design outfits on the princesses! Thanks for turning us on to them! We love our fun outfits!

Fun visitors!

My sister and niece, Leigh Anne and Elizabeth, came to visit a few days after Christmas!

They stayed with us for a week and the girls had so much fun! They played hard and had enough fights to make them sisters!

Three beauties!
The three pink princesses, Liz, Josie and Mae, having fun at lunch!

We traveled down to my maternal grandparents for the day and went out to lunch.

There were about 10 of us so they put us in a room that was nearly deserted! Probably a good thing since Miss Jane was in full force two year old mode!

Introducing.....

Princess, our newest family member!

She joined our family the day after Christmas

Mae and Princess settling down for a nap!

Sleep tight!