DIS and DAT Thursday - Coming Into a Disney Family - Happy Anniversary

I often wonder if when our first daughter-in-law Renee joined our family, she knew what she was getting into?  We did not have quite as much Disney “stuff” as we do now, ten years later.  Although at one point during the wedding process we did offer a Disney wedding to them, which she politely turned down. Though recently she said, "maybe we should have taken you up on that offer."  

Every mom wants their daughter’s wedding to go off without a hitch, well believe it or not so do the mom's of the groom's.  Renee tried to include me in as much as she could, but sometimes things don’t go the way the bride wants them to either.  I am sure moving in with her in-laws was not on her list of things to do as a new bride, but she did it with a smile (they did have their own apartment in our house) and we all got along quite well, even their dog Flash who would come upstairs to “visit” us on her own. I would get a call from Renee asking, "is our dog up there??" To this day we still miss hearing Flash pawing the back door to come in.

They did not last long with us, a little under two years, before the Coast Guard moved them to Kodiak, Alaska. You should have seen the moving van guy's face when I told him that everything in his childhood bedroom was going with them too! That saved us from moving it into storage like the youngest's things.  As they drove away, with Flash, two rats (Pinky and the Brain as my husband called them and yes I said RATS, not my favorite pets, remind me to tell you about the time they asked me to pet sit for them), and two guinea pigs, we looked at the SUV they had like, "are they going to make it??" Yes they did and since then have lived in Seattle and now in Elizabeth City, NC.

Wordless Wednesday - December Calendar Shot

Disney Gal Lori:

The Making of a Princess

From Pumpkin to Princess

The Road to Fit and Fabulous

Gayle: So why put off until tomorrow when you can start today?  To say running is so not my thing is, well, let's face it, is a huge understatement. I am a "walk with purpose" kind of Gal, and lately not much one at that. My form of exercise is teaching kindergarten and dancing with them and when we do "Bop Until You Drop",    I've been a lot better at the dropping part than the bopping part.  For me it is all about the tee shirt, and let's face it, the tee shirts for the people doing the half marathons and full marathons are just so much cooler. But it's also about setting a goal, and going out and living Walt's words when he said "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" because for me, this seems impossible. I am proud to say that I completed my first Run Disney 5K event in September and was amazed that I finished in under an hour. For those of you that are seasoned runners, and were able to actually run the 5k or better yet, complete the Tower of Terror 10 miler-you are my inspiration!

Wordless Wednesday - Mickey Mouse

Disney Gal Judy:

Trip Talk - Cheating on Disney

Yes I cheated on Disney okay not on Disney itself, but on the Disney Resorts. Our niece Kendall got married on October 13th, in Tampa (Congratulations Kendall and Garin).

Now of course being a "Disney" person you always have to think of a way to squeeze that Disney trip in when possible, so being that close to Orlando we had to go!

Hakuna Matata Monday--Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my 1^st Born

Happy Birthday Heather

 

     36 years ago today all my dreams came true when I became a mommy for the first time.  Heather is our Princess, the first, best and only girl of the Turner clan and the glue that holds us all together. She has taught us all how to believe and follow your dreams and that to fight for what you believe in. I cannot imagine my life without her, as she is not just my daughter; she is my hero and my best friend. And so, happy birthday to my wonderful, incredible daughter.  

I know I say it a lot but I can’t help myself-I love you and there is nothing in the world I would not do for you. I am so proud of the young woman you have become.

Guest Author Sunday - Cherrie West

Guest Author Sunday

The Disney Gals Welcome

Guest Author Cherrie West

Evolution of the Disney Experience

Can you believe that this October marked the 41st anniversary of the grand opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando? Since that time, Disneyworld has become the most iconic family amusement park in the world. Of course, much has changed in the years since visitors had their first meet and greets with Mickey and Minnie and took their first rides on Cinderella’s Golden Carousel and the Mad Tea Party.

Disney World 1976
Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/

Shopping on the High Seas

The running joke in my house, and probably yours too, is to bring an extra empty suitcase with when traveling to Disney World for all the souvenirs you will buy. Every park you enter has carts, kiosks and stores, all for your shopping pleasure. If that's not enough, every resort has a gift shop or two, and for the heavy hitters...Downtown Disney!

But what if you are in need of a little retail therapy and you are cruise ship bound? Get ready for a shopping overload! Each ship has 3 distinct shops:

Mickey's Mates (Magic & Wonder) or Mickey's Mainsail (Dream & Fantasy) is what I call the souvenir stores. Here you find every type of character merchandise, pins, photo albums, pens, plush toys, pirate wear, tee shirts, swim accessories and more.

Disney Cruise Line and Disney Dream patterns

Treasure Ketch (Magic & Wonder) or Sea Treasures(Dream & Fantasy) is the more upscale shopping. You will hear many parent saying "Kids, don't touch anything!". Okay, maybe that's just me. Need a little bling for your outfit tonight? Look no further. Need the latest cruise inspired Dooney & Bourke? They've got you covered. Jewelry, watches, logo wear, collectible figurines, fragrances and more will have you stepping out in style.

Up Beat (Magic), Radar Trap (Wonder) or Whitecaps(Dream & Fantasy) is the place to stop and order your top-shelf liquors and tobacco items. The only drawback is your purchase will be delivered to your stateroom the last night of your cruise. Since open bottles can not be brought through customs, you have a great excuse for polishing off a whole bottle of wine. :)

It's Always a Very Merry Christmas at 

Walt Disney World!

Ever wonder what the wonderful folks at the Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL do to create a magical Christmas vacation for you and your family? Well it's one thing to tell you but it's a whole different thing to show you! Check out this video from Disney to see all that's in store for an unbelievable holiday!

Wordless Wednesday - Disney Letter G

G is for Gals, Disney Gals of course! Being the busy Gals we are, we are missing  Lynette, Beth (she was prepping for her 10 mile Villain run) and Gayle (she was making sure everyone's vacation was running smoothly).

Disney Gal Lori:

Guest Author Sunday-Autumn Barnes

Guest Author Sunday

The Disney Gals Welcome Back

Guest Author Autumn Barnes

This week Autumn gives us some great tips about how to get the most out of your trip Walt Disney World when traveling with a child with special needs.

Traveling to Walt Disney World with a Special Needs Individual pt 2.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about what I had learned in preparing to travel to Disney World with a special needs individual, and how this would be my husband and I’s first trip to the House of Mouse with a child. Today I am writing to tell you what we learned by experience, and if we survived.

Let’s start with the surviving part. Yes, we did, and to be honest our little friend “E” was great and I think Drew and I may be spoiled by this, because now we will assume ALL kids who go to WDW with us will be such fun, well behaved, mellow travel companions.  “E” unlike me is a morning person, so he was usually up and ready to go before I was in the morning. What we started doing at character meets was Drew and I would go first and just clue in the Princess or character that “E” was non-verbal, but this did NOT stop him from trying to kidnap Peter Pan. Yes, you read this right, the three-year old grabbed Peter by the hand at the “spindle” heading into Adventureland and took him for a walk all the way to the Crystal Palace. This by the way is one of those moments where I have to give HUGE props to the cast members because Peter just went with it crowing and talking away to “E” about becoming a lost boy etc., and his “handler” just sat and laughed with the rest of us.  The longest line we really stood in was for the Little Mermaid ride. Yes! We were there for the first weekend they opened it for dress rehearsal and you have NO idea how wonderfully excited I was.

Wordless Wednesday - November Calendar Shot

Disney Gal Tricia:

Guest Author Sunday - Kim Jordan takes us to Epcot's Food and Wine Festival

Please help The Disney Gals in welcoming our honorary Disney Gal for the day Kim Jordan!

A little about myself:

My love for Disney World and all things Disney began with my family’s first trip in 2002. The first time my daughter saw the castle is a memory permanently etched in my brain. In my opinion, there is no better place to create cherished family memories than as Walt Disney World.  Since that first trip we have gone back 12 times and added a son to the memories. 

In fact, I felt so strongly about Disney, that when my husband moved us from lower Alabama to Upstate New York, I started a new career as a Dream Maker with Magic of Mickey Travel. Now, I get to help other families create a love for Disney and experience the Magical World that it truly is. 

Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival: What a Blast!!!

First, of all my friend and I had only known each other for 2 months when we planned this trip. The trip was just us, leaving the Husbands and children back in New York. We didn’t know whether we would become friends or enemies – but we were willing to give it a shot for the sake of the Mouse and Food and Wine of course.

Guest Author - Paul Roszkowski takes us drinking around the world

About myself:

I'm the one on the right

First I'm Disney Gal Judy's son. I'm 32 and a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. I am a homebrewer and write a blog about my travels and brewing. I've been going to Disney since before I was born (no, really mom went when she was pregnant with me). I've lost track of how many times I've been to the parks on both coasts. I'm usually the one taking the photos at Disney so I'm not usually in them (thanks mom).

Drink your way around the world or One reason EPCOT is my favorite park:

I love EPCOT. As a homebrewer, food and beer lover it's a great place to experience new flavors and, especially during the Food and Wine Festival, different beers from around the world.

When it comes to the parks I get a little disappointed in the beer selection. Yes, I will admit I've been accused of being a beer snob. I prefer the moniker of beer geek personally but I think you get the idea. My problem is that in the parks that serve alcohol the beer is usually an AB InBev product. I won't go into an entire diatribe here but suffice it to say...not my first choice.