Day 1314: Book It

It's pretty obvious at this point that 2016 is the year of Disney trips. It's been a stark contrast to years such as 2013, when, initially, I didn't think I'd be going on any trips (despite the fact that I picked that year to begin writing for Everyday Disney), and really, four trips in one year, in less than 10 months really, is more than even I'm used to. I still have a trip scheduled for October, when I'll finally get to attend the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot for the first time since my childhood, but after that we didn't really have anything in mind. 

Until now. 

After some debating over whether or not we would go to Florida over Spring Break, similar to what we did my freshman year, we ultimately decided that just Mom and I would head down for another January trip, which just happens to be one of my favorite times of the year to visit Walt Disney World (next to Christmas, of course). We even added an extra day to our stay, making the trip the longest we'll have taken since January of 2015, which will offer for plenty of time to film videos and do some photography while avoiding rain and the cold weather. 

The point here is this: Disney fans have this problem, where if we don't have another trip planned for after our next trip, we'll end the day depressed and sad, so instead of just moping around wondering when another trip will fall into our hands, we take the initiative and just book another trip. Because, as Disney reminds us on our Magical Express ride back to the airport, the best way to get over one vacation is to start dreaming about the next one. 

Do you frequently have multiple trips planned at a time? 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1175: Pictures from Home

Spring Break is prime time for visiting Walt Disney World. Even I've visited this time of the year, and while this spring break meant staying home, it apparently hasn't meant the same for pretty much everyone else. It seems like everyone and their brother has spent at least part of their spring break chilling at Walt Disney World, and as we round out our break, pictures from people I haven't talked to in ages pop up on my Facebook feed, Spaceship Earth in the background.

As Megan pointed out, this is how the world probably feels when I'm at Disney, but thankfully I've got some great friends who send me pictures from home because they know I'm missing it. This year, it seems that most headed to Hollywood Studios, which, oddly enough, is where I've spent a ridiculous amount of time over my past few trips, but there have been pictures from all four parks constantly showing up on social media. To celebrate my pals heading to the most magical place on earth, I also shared some pictures from my last trip in January that I hadn't shared yet, which wasn't quite like being there myself, but reminded me of the great times I had there not long ago.

Ironically enough, I also happened to plan fastpasses for my next trip yesterday to, just as my friends were heading on Rockin' Roller Coaster. You can't beat timing like that! Plus, I suppose if we can't be at Disney World, there's nothing like our friends experiencing the magic...and sending a bit of it back to us to celebrate too.

Have a magical day!

Day 1148: Waste Nothing

If there's one thing I've learned so far this semester in my Environmental Science class, it's that we really need to pay attention to what we waste. Actually, the class as a whole really has me looking at my life, from what I eat to how much water I'm using when I wash the dishes to what I actually do end up throwing away at the conclusion of each day. Of course, if I'm going to adopt a "waste less" mindset for my life, then that has to apply to everything, right? Including airline points that expire well before your next planned Disney trip?

I occasionally get a call from my mom asking about a specific set of dates, and honestly it's been all over the map since I started college. As a kid, I headed to Disney in one of three months: January, November, or December. I also went in February once, but that's about as far as we broke from the pattern for most of my childhood. I also headed down in June once for a convention, but since my high school graduation, I've been to Disney in July and March as well as two trips in June and two in January. Apparently I'm just trying to knock every month off the list too, because in a very short amount of time I went from zero Disney trip plans to one in May and another in October.

Normally, this wouldn't happen, but because we had some extra airline points that were set to expire long before October, we figured that it would really be a shame to waste an opportunity to get an extra trip in and use that cheap airfare. We already have annual passes, after all! It's sort of strange, being more spontaneous with these trips, especially when we used to be so methodical with our planning. Now it's more of a "what haven't we had a chance to experience yet and how do we fit it into our schedules?"

The greatest part about this extra trip in May though? You get to help me plan! Head over to the google form I've created to help plan my trip to Walt Disney World! You can answer the questions HERE!

Have a magical day!

Day 1132: Before the Blog: FBLA

I realized that while I'm entering my 4th year of blogging, there's a whole lot of my life that came before Everyday Disney, and so much of it was focused on Disney. A while back I did a post titled "Before the Blog," where I discussed where I draw the line for what "Everyday" means for my blog. However, after chaperoning for FBLA this weekend I recalled that in all the blog posts I've written, I don't know if I've ever mentioned, or at least discussed in length, the Disney connection I have to FBLA.

In 2011, my FBLA adviser suggested to me that I should join Future Business Leaders of America, as it would most certainly benefit me professionally, but also for one key reason: nationals that year was in Orlando, and we all know what else is in the Orlando area. I obviously did end up joining FBLA, particularly participating in Public Speaking, although I had literally no clue what I was doing. I ended up writing a speech about public speaking, of all things, and it led me from Regionals and onto State. Much to my surprise, I took first place at State too, advancing me on to the National Convention in Orlando that had gotten me into the organization in the first place. We did head to Disney World on that trip, and you'll have to excuse young Lizzie in the picture above. Turns out I've changed a lot in 5 years or so...

That was a sort of odd trip for me though, as it was the first I'd taken in the summer, the first one I stayed (at least part of the time) at a hotel off property (that I remember), and also one of my first experiences with other Orlando area attractions aside from Disney. I loved every second of my FBLA Nationals experience, although I still definitely wouldn't trade my time at Disney for anything else.

But I think more than anything else, this trip holds a special place in my heart because I got to experience Disney with my Adviser's son and many of my friends from FBLA. That's not an experience you have everyday, and it's one of the reasons I love trips like these so much. Even though I wasn't going somewhere I'd never been before, I created memories that I'd never be able to create on a solo trip or a trip with my family, and that's what lasts in the long run.

I'm definitely hoping to do more of these "Before The Blog" posts in the future though! There's a lot of my life that's been filled with Disney long before I started blogging, and while those "everydays" may have been in the past, it doesn't mean they're completely irrelevant now!

Have a magical day!

Day 780: We're Going Where?

Just a note...if you're my Dad or my brother, you'd better stop reading right now because this blog post contains spoilers for you and I'm not supposed to tell you...but let's be honest, I might not be able to let you know what's going on, but that won't keep me from alerting the entirety of the internet. After all, my blog is kind of behind here. Twitter found out last week!

Found out what exactly? Well, that's a very good question, and it requires a little bit of a story.

My family has this tendency to plan out several trips at a time. When I was a kid, it was basically one trip per year, generally around 9-10 days, and it worked because my school schedule really didn't matter. But with me in college and my brother in high school, our schedules tend to conflict, and with the band trip in there and everything else, it's led to a continuation of randomly scheduled Disney trips. Of course, we already knew about our Disneyland trip coming up in August, and I'm SUPER excited about it, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a bit bummed about the fact that I had no idea when my next trip home was.

Keyword: had.

Last week, my mom called me after I got out of class. Or I called her, or something like that. Regardless, I was pretty confused about why in the world my mom was calling me at 11 in the morning, immediately after one of my classes. Turns out she wanted to ask me if I would support an extra trip to Disney in June to celebrate my parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary.

Support a trip to WDW in June? WOULD I!?!

So within a few minutes we had plotted and schemed and yet another trip was planned. Of course, I took it to social media instantly, but Jonny and Dad aren't going to find out until Easter. I'll be honest: keeping this one a secret has been pretty hard so far. I mean, I almost slipped up at least 5 times the other night while looking at slides. Granted, that might have something to do with the fact that we were literally staring at Disney World, the exact place that we are going (albeit almost 30 years ago to the day) and I'd spent quite a bit of time a few days previous making a list of some of the things I want to do when we're down there, but still. Secrets are hard. I'm starting to understand the frustrations of Snow White.

What exactly does this mean? Well, it means that 2015 won't have just two Disney trips anymore, but rather THREE, two to WDW and one to Disneyland. It also means that I'll head to both coasts in one summer, therefore repeating the last (and only) time I've gone to Disneyland, which was in 2011. That summer I ended up traveling to WDW in June for the FBLA Convention and Disneyland in August, so it's almost like history repeating itself...minus the whole FBLA Convention thing (although I would totally love to do that again!)

I guess I need to start a new countdown...

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 24).

758: Where Would You Be?

Over on the WDW Radio blog, young blogger Ruby just wrote a post about a conversation she had with her family at dinner on her birthday, which you can read right HERE (and please do! She's a wonderful writer and I adore her posts and WDW Radio!). The discussion was about, if you were at Walt Disney World, where would you be and what would you be doing, which definitely got me to thinking what I would be doing too!

Since I just returned from my last trip, it's kind of weird to think about what I'm really craving at Walt Disney World. Last night it was a Dole Whip, the night before the delicious raspberry sorbet I had at Boma, and at the moment, it doesn't really even matter if it's food I'm craving. I think, if I could only choose one place to be in all of WDW, right now it would be either strolling around World Showcase at Epcot or making my way through Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, I know I cheated a little bit there and included two, but I really can't decide between them. They both sound spectacular at the moment, and maybe that's just because I've been mostly working or in class since noon today.

World Showcase is pretty much always on my list in this case, as is most of Epcot, but Adventureland is a new one, and I really have no idea why a walk through that portion of the Magic Kingdom sounds so appealing at the moment. But just walking through, listening to the wonderful music while eating a Dole Whip and then heading on Jungle Cruise sounds like a great end to my night, even if I'm ridiculously far away and that will never happen (especially when I still have work to do once I finish updating this blog!). So when I get back to my room (I'm on my office computer at the moment, sneaky person I am...but don't worry, I'm not on the clock!) I might just have to pull up the Adventureland track I have saved to my computer and listen to that while finishing up the rest of my work for the night!

The second half of Ruby's article talked about a similar, but different aspect of waiting between trips: things we do to make that waiting seem easier, and I know I've blogged about this before, but I do feel like I need to mention that, at the moment, the best remedy for me is getting the rest of my work done! Since coming back to school, I've just been busy all the time (and I honestly feel like there's not enough time in the day to finish everything I need to), and that, at least, keeps me pretty focused and makes the days go faster. Other than that, planning the next trip is probably my personal favorite remedy for making the time between trips go faster, even if my trip to Disneyland is still roughly 192 days away (we haven't booked the whole thing yet, but I know I'll be there for D23 for sure, so California, I'm coming for you!)

Where at WDW do you want to be right now and what do you do to make the time between trips move a little faster than the speed of a snail? And if you haven't, go check out Ruby's original article on WDW Radio and send her your answer in the comments there too!

Have a magical day!

Day 352: The Echo Cave

I have a story to tell you.

Remember back in Episode 3x06 of Once Upon a Time? It was called Ariel and off in Neverland the entire purpose of the episode was for Emma & Company to rescue Neal. Ultimately it ended in CaptainSwan hearts being brokenish and lots of Hook sad puppy dog faces. Here's a reminder:

Anyways, in order to rescue Neal everyone had to tell a secret. So if you remember, Hook was all "I love Emma" and Snow was like "BABY!" and Charming was all "I ALMOST DIED" and then Emma was like "Neal...die." Ok, so maybe that's not totally what happened, but that's what my CaptainSwan shipping brain says. 

The point here? Confessions. So let's pretend that I'm in the echo cave for a minute...and in order to rescue Hook, per say, I need to tell my deepest darkest secret. Yes, I have one. But don't worry, it's not that bad...I don't think. I mean it's not scarring or anything. 

My secret is (why do I hear that in an Irish accent?) that I have only been to Walt Disney World 23 times. 

Yes, I know. For months I've been saying that I've been there 24 times and that when I go with band it will be my 25th trip and so on and so forth. But I wasn't totally lying. When I go in June of 2014 with my High School Band it WILL be my 25th trip. Why? Because I'm actually going in March too! 

Yes, I will be going to Disney World a second time (or first really I guess) in 2014, and I couldn't be more excited. You'll get more vlogs, and I can not wait to take plenty of pictures to post on my instagram, as well as capture all the video I'll need for my band trip video in June. 

And I can't wait...as usual. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1933: During a ceremony at the studio in which he is receiving an award from The Parents Magazine, Walt Disney gets word that his pregnant wife Lilly is about the deliver. He dashes off to the hospital and arrives just in time to see Diane Marie Disney born! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 30 due to time restrictions).