Birthdays | Wishes And Pixie Dust

November 2, 2013
by wishesandpixiedust 1 Comment

Our Bucket List Revisited #1-50

On April 13 2011, at our 100 day mark, we put out a list of 100 things that we wanted to do as Florida residents. See the original post here . We thought it would be interesting to see what we’ve done so far- our comments will be in blue. We’ll cover #1-50 today, and #51-100 tomorrow.

1. Resort hop. We have only ever stayed at POR-Riverside as a family, and we really want to experience each resort on property. So even though our current goal is to live 20 minutes away from Walt Disney World, we plan to do weekend stays at each resort, over the course of a year or two, and really take in the charm and uniqueness each resort has to offer. Nope not yet. This is something we still want to do.

2. Enjoy a Dole Whip 🙂 We’ve enjoyed them at Magic Kingdom but we still want to experience them at the Polynesian where you can disperse your own.

3. Attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Our first time next year

4. Attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party No, we haven’t, but between the two parties we’d prefer to do the Halloween party first, as you can experience most everything the Christmas party offers on the week leading up to Christmas on a regular day in the Magic Kingdom- well except for maybe the hot cocoa and cookies!

5. Go on a Disney Cruise! Right now with living in Wisconsin, the price of getting to the cruise has been a huge obstacle for us. We’re of the mindset that if we’re going to spend that much money, we’d rather spend it at WDW! Cruises are really very reasonable as long as you don’t have to travel over a thousand miles to get to one. Nope, not yet but still in the works!

6. Explore Animal Kingdom Park. There are so many areas of AK that we have not discovered simply due to the intense Florida heat, or lack of time available to us. We have done the basics, such as Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Festival of the Lion King, Nemo & Friends and Kilimanjaro Safari, just to name a few. (There are more). But it seems that there is so much more to Animal Kingdom to take in, and we are looking forward to being able to do that in the cooler Florida months, when we have the time to dedicate to it. We have not explored all that Animal Kingdom has to offer, but we have done more. We find the cooler months are the best times to visit Animal Kingdom, and we tend not to even go in the hot, summer months. Jen will be touring the backstage areas on Thursday through a special promotion with Disney Parks Blog, so check back later in the week for a special post detailing that.

7. Go to Magic Kingdom in the evening just for the parades We have not done this, primarily because although we only live 25 miles from the Magic Kingdom, it takes us approximately 45 minutes to reach the parking lot, and another 15 minutes or so for monorail/bag check time. With the cost of gas prices, it is not cost efficient to travel two hours just to attend a parade.

8. Have brunch at Chef Mickey’s 🙂 One of Ben’s favorite spots to see his buddy Mickey!

9. Ride the monorails, just for the fun of it We do so once in awhile

10. Start a new tradition of celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World This a wonderful perk of living so close to Walt Disney World.

11. Ride Splash Mountain at night during Wishes We haven’t since moving to Florida- used to be a favorite thing to do while on vacation

12. Ride Big Thunder at night during Wishes See #11

13. Listen to Lou Mongello’s audio guides while on Main Street/Adventureland/Fantasyland/Liberty Square and take the time to absorb all the details No we haven’t but we should 🙂

14. Have lunch at Le Cellier Yes, one of our favorite places to eat in Epcot.

15. Watch Illuminations on a winter’s night, enjoying the fact that it is warm & there is no snow on the ground Yes & we enjoy the no snow fact not just at Illuminations but every month from November to May 🙂

16. Go to Universal Catie has been to Universal on a school trip but the rest of the family has not made it yet

17. Go to Sea World A few times- we especially love the new Antarctica attraction.

18. Explore the beaches of Florida–kids have never been to the ocean before. We plan to go to both sides of Florida: The Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean Yes and yes. We’ve been to Anna Maria Island and Treasure Island on the Gulf side, and Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic side.

19. Dinner with Amy and Craig Petermann No, it never worked out.

20. Being able to meet Facebook friends who do not live in Florida but come to Walt Disney World on vacation. Shelley Urick Jones , we look forward to meeting you! This is another awesome benefit of living so close to Walt Disney World, the ability to meet up with our Facebook friends! There are too many to mention here, but we love meeting up with you all!

21. Lou Mongello’s WDW Radio Meets of the Month We have been to some!

22. Exploring the city of Clermont and getting to know our new home city Yes we know our way around fairly easily. We really like the area and enjoy living here.

23. Spending time in the Parks with Stephen and Judy Demeritt We always enjoy spending time in the Parks with our friends.

24. Meeting Marilyn Johnson in person! Marilyn and her husband Dan were extremely gracious and made us feel very welcome after we first moved to Florida. We’re blessed to have met them.

25. Go to Gatorland Still on the bucket list!

26. Enjoy the Osborne lights at the Studios as many times as possible These are incredibly awesome and guaranteed to instill the Christmas spirit in you! We do try to go as many times as possible during the season.

27. Enjoy making new friendships with all our Facebook friends who live in Florida Absolutely!

28. Walking through the World Showcase at Epcot while our kids are in school. We have not been able to explore all the countries because of the kids not wanting to spend time there. Exploring the countries is still on our bucket list. We pulled our children from the public schools and homeschool them. Can we say field trip! 🙂

29. The various shopping opportunities, not only at Walt Disney World, but at the many outlet malls in Orlando and the surrounding areas. Ikea! Yes, IKEA rocks, and we love being able to visit any store we want to within a short driving distance. We have discovered a few Disney Outlet Stores in the Orlando Area, which can be hit or miss on the merchandise available, but definitely worth checking into it.

30. Just enjoying the whole adventure of relocating to a new state! 🙂 🙂

31. Day trips to explore Florida: cities in particular that pop into our heads for no particular reason are Tampa, Naples, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville. We have not yet had any day trips, but two that may happen in the next year are St. Augustine for the historical aspect of it (another field trip!) and Naples…..can we say Culver’s! Ok, that is not the only reason to visit Naples, but it’s definitely an incentive!

32. Shelling at Sanibel Island We have not done this yet; we have heard it’s not as good as it was in years past, but we would still like to visit.

33. Chuckling to ourselves in February when the temperature is 80 and sunny, knowing that back in Wisconsin it is probably blowing and snowing and bitterly cold. Will we miss snow? No we will not! We apologize to all our Wisconsin friends, but yes we do chuckle 🙂

34. Taking in Bob Jackson’s show at the Port Orleans Riverside resort! We haven’t, but the main reason is the noise level is just too unbearable for Ben. He has noise sensitivities and he can’t tolerate it.

35. Staying at the Port Orleans Riverside resort for old times sake! Definitely on the want-to-do-list SOON! We have eaten in the food court a few times.

36. Christmas shopping at Downtown Disney Every year- we love the atmosphere at Downtown Disney!

37. Riding down the Sassagoula River from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney (and vice versa) No not yet.

38. Exploring the cities of Lake County Yes, we’ve visited Leesburg, Fruitland Park, The Villages, Mt Dora, Eustis, Astatula, Tavares, Lady Lake, Minneola, & Groveland

39. Visiting Celebration for leaf drop (to replace the Fall we will be missing in Wisconsin) No not yet

40. Being there for opening day of the new Fantasyland No, but we were for opening weekend 🙂

41. Resort hopping at Christmas to see all the different Christmas decorations This is in the plans for this year. We have been to the Grand Floridian, to view the Gingerbread House and the Christmas decorations, which are incredible.

42. Counting garbage cans to make sure the Demeritts caught them all 😉 No.

43. Trying on every hat that is sold on Disney property We’ve given up the practice of trying on hats, after a cast member friend of ours mentioned how everybody tries on hats and do you really want to put something on your head after hundreds of people have put it on their head? Um, no.

44. Food and Wine Festival 🙂

45. Enjoy a carrot cake cookie No, but we have enjoyed a Butterfinger cupcake. Actually it was too rich for our tastes, would not buy it again.

46. Visit Star Wars weekend Yes

47. Dinner, lunch and/or breakfast with Lou Mongello Not yet, hoping to one day!

48. Movie at the Downtown Disney AMC theatre We saw Wreck It Ralph there before it was released, courtesy of a special meet-up with Disney Parks Blog.

49. Trying all 500 flavors in the Coke Freestyle Dispenser Not all the flavors- that would take gobs of money & tons of time.

50. DisneyQuest We love DisneyQuest. It was the main reason we renewed our premium passes this year.

April 25, 2012
by wishesandpixiedust 1 Comment

Happy Nine!

Today we are celebrating our ninth month anniversary of arriving in Florida as residents! The interesting thing about a moving blog is that it gives you an opportunity to look back at your thoughts prior to the move. On April 13, 2011 we wrote this blog: 100 days and we thought it would be fun one year later to take a look at a few of the items on our “Top 100” List to see how we feel about them now.

10. Start a new tradition of celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World

This is an awesome tradition that we have started and will continue. In February we purchased the Tables in Wonderland card and we anticipate that we will not only receive back the membership fee, but also extra savings above and beyond the initial cost. We purchased our card from Guest Services at the Magic Kingdom, and received our card immediately.

14. Have lunch at Le Cellier

Reservations are set for August 8!

18. Explore the beaches of Florida–kids have never been to the ocean before. We plan to go to both sides of Florida: The Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Done and done! We have been to Anna Maria Island and Treasure Island on the Gulf side and Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic side. We definitely intend to schedule in more beach days this summer.

22. Exploring the city of Clermont and getting to know our new home city.

We haven’t done this as much as we expected to. We even missed the annual festival Pig on the Pond due to inclement weather, something that we had been looking forward to ever since we made the decision to move to Clermont.

26. Enjoy the Osborne lights at the Studios as many times as possible.

We never tire of this.

27. Enjoy making new friendships with all our Facebook friends who live in Florida.

We really have enjoyed meeting y’all and we feel blessed that we are able to spend time with two different couples who we consider good friends of ours. Facebook is a really great way to connect with people to begin that friendship.

33. Chuckling to ourselves in February when the temperature is 80 and sunny, knowing that back in Wisconsin it is probably blowing and snowing and bitterly cold. Will we miss snow? No we will not!

Yea, we’ve done that 🙂 Although we feel it is ironic that Wisconsin had a mild winter this year.

34. Taking in Bob Jackson’s show at the Port Orleans Riverside resort!

35. Staying at the Port Orleans Riverside resort for old times sake!

We have not done either one of these yet, but it is definitely in the works. We’d like to stay in one of the new Princess rooms.

37. Riding down the Sassagoula River from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney (and vice versa)

See above!

40. Being there for opening day of the new Fantasyland.

We were not there for the soft opening of Storybook Circus. The crowds were absolutely packed in, and we’ve discovered as residents, it’s simply not worth it. We went a couple of days later when it was not as busy.

50. DisneyQuest

Yes, we’ve done this a few times, and thoroughly enjoy ourselves every time we go. It’s a great alternative to a rainy day. Our philosophy is that we do not go to the parks when it rains- it’s simply not worth the hassle of dealing with the ponchos. We have been a couple of times, and it does detract from the magic of the parks.

54. Flower and Garden Festival

We are not garden people by any means, but walking around Epcot looking at the various topiaries and displays was enjoyable.

66. Take a family Christmas picture at WDW

Hmmm. We did not do this at Christmas; may be a new tradition we need to start.

69. Move in to our new apartment in Clermont

It was quite exciting to have that newness of being able to discover everything and experience many “firsts” but it was also overwhelming to not have the basic necessities with us those first weeks. While it is fun to buy all new items, it can be scary to walk into Target knowing that you need to buy “everything”. Nine months later there are still a couple of pieces of furniture that we need to purchase, and a few assorted kitchen items, but we want to let our readers know that everything does not need to be purchased right away. To do so requires gobs of money or extending yourself on credit, the latter being something we would never advise.

70. Find the best pizza places in the area.

We have found two good pizzerias, and this is a goal we are still working on!

71. Our first Saturday library visit to our new “home” library.

We still regularly visit the library every Saturday. The kids are currently into the ‘Harry Potter’ series, and we pick up other books as well. It is not as nice, nor as big, as our library back in Wisconsin. There are no tables and chairs to sit at, and the kids used to enjoy doing that. So consequently, our visits are shorter.

88. Swim with the manatees.

We have not swum with the manatees, but Ben has become a huge lover of manatees, loves to visit them at Epcot, and we all are looking forward to visiting Sea World for the first time.

89. Explore Florida’s state parks.

Between the poisonous snakes, alligators, bears and black panthers, this is not something we are so eager to do anymore. 🙂

96. Enjoying the scenery of Florida, knowing that it will stay green year round, and not become brown and dead for six months out of the year.

This is still huge for us. Love, love, love seeing all the palm trees, and it is so nice to see flowers in bloom in January! Yesterday and today it was cool enough to open our lanai doors and let the fresh breezes blow in.

99. Take a yearly family picture in front of Cinderella Castle.

We have not done this yet, but will need to do soon! Another new family tradition!

We had heard prior to our move that it may take as long as one or two years after relocation to adjust fully to our new environment. We still feel that we are in the adjustment process, but that it gets better every month. We couldn’t have picked a better apartment complex to move into, for which we are very grateful. The cost of living is higher here than in Wisconsin; but we knew it coming in. The only negative thing to report is the school situation for Ben, but we know God is in control with it and he will lead to us to the right school or option for Ben.

August 16, 2011
by wishesandpixiedust 1 Comment

Going to Walt Disney World

What does it mean to be 24 miles away from Walt Disney World? We thought we would share our perspective here. Just a side note: our blog focus has been and will always be the issues surrounding relocation. If you are searching for the latest merchandise displayed at the parks, or the latest news regarding refurbishments, this is not the blog to read. There are several Disney blogs out there that provide that information, and we feel what we have to offer would only duplicate previously published news, and it is not worth our time to write about it nor your time to read it. What keeps us unique is our primary focus on the issues surrounding relocation.

There is something magical about living here as a resident with the knowledge that we can go to Walt Disney World any time we can fit it into our life. We don’t feel the urgency to go to the parks every day, and when at the parks, we are able to stroll about leisurely and not feel harried to fit every single attraction in. As our son noted, he never has to feel sad about leaving Walt Disney World again, and he gets to see “his buddy” (Mickey Mouse) any time he wants.

We chose to purchase premium annual passes to Walt Disney World using the monthly payment plan that is offered to Florida residents. The premium annual pass allows unlimited admission to all four theme parks, complimentary parking ($14 value per visit), 20% discount on merchandise purchased, special offers in regards to resort stays and dining, unlimited access to Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Disney Quest, and the Water Parks. Disney requires a down payment equal to the admission price of a one day ticket, and then monthly payments of $37.63 per person. Click here for more information.

We keep a box in the laundry room that is dedicated for items that we need when we travel to Disney. We purchased insulated water bottles with a carrying strap from CVS for five dollars each, and it has been the best investment for us. We fill up the bottles with ice water when we leave the house, then place them in a soft sided cooler filled with ice for the drive to Disney, and they really do stay cool for quite awhile once we are in the parks, which is impressive in the Florida heat. The SuperTarget located in Kissimmee (4795 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy) does sell them as well, with Mickey Mouse imprinted on the insulated carrier, for $8.99. This store has an impressive selection of Disney merchandise, and if you have access to a vehicle, we recommend a stop here to check it all out.

As noted in our last post, it takes us approximately an hour to travel to WDW, given the waiting time at traffic lights and traffic in general. Once in the parking lot, it is necessary to board a tram to take us to the front gates, or in the instance of the Magic Kingdom, to the Transportation & Ticket Center, where we will need to board a monorail or a ferry to arrive at the Magic Kingdom.

The Florida heat does not lessen as a resident, unfortunately. We have been told by several people that it does get better, but after chatting with a CM about it, he told us that we will learn to not go to the parks in the summer! Well we certainly doubt that will happen! Though, on that note, we have not yet been to Animal Kingdom park due to the excessive heat. We may brave a trip in the next couple of weeks, but we look forward to being able to explore the park at length when the weather is less blistering.

We typically try not to spend an entire day at any one park. One of our goals while going to Walt Disney World is to try to avoid purchasing food or merchandise items unless it is planned in advance. It is so tempting to stop for lunch or wanting to purchase that unique souvenir, but these items add up very quickly. We have discovered that we really miss the dining plan; not only for the delicious food but also as a way to relax, escape the heat and refresh for the rest of the day’s activities.

However, as a resident we are able to take in a meal at any time of the year. We plan to purchase Tables in Wonderland, which offers a 20% discount on all food and beverage purchases at participating Walt Disney World locations. Annual passholders receive $25 off the purchase price of $100, and we anticipate that it will more than pay for itself over the course of a year. For example, this Friday we have reservations at the Crystal Palace for our daughter’s birthday lunch. The cost is $30.88 per adult, which equals $123.52 before tax and gratuity. Twenty percent off would equal $24.70, bringing the balance down to $98.82: one meal results in recouping a third of the cost! If you mail in an application, it takes approximately two weeks to receive your card, but you may also visit Guest Services at any of the parks or Downtown Disney for immediate purchase.

Does the Disney magic lessen for us because we have continual access to it? No, not at all. If anything, it leads to a deeper appreciation of the vision Walt Disney had, a desire to discover more about the man behind the mouse, and it allows us the ability to experience as much Disney magic as possible.

April 13, 2011
by wishesandpixiedust 5 Comments

100 days and counting…..

As we reach the 100-day milestone, we thought it would be fun to make a list of 100 things that we plan to do once we are settled in Florida. (We consider buying annual passes to Disney as part of being “settled”; so you won’t see it on our list!) 🙂 These are in no particular order, and certainly not an exhaustive list, just thoughts that popped into our head.

2. Enjoy a Dole Whip

3. Attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

4. Attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

7. Go to Magic Kingdom in the evening just for the parades

8. Have brunch at Chef Mickey’s

9. Ride the monorails, just for the fun of it

10. Start a new tradition of celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World

11. Ride Splash Mountain at night during Wishes

12. Ride Big Thunder at night during Wishes

13. Listen to Lou Mongello’s audio guides while on Main Street/Adventureland/Fantasyland/Liberty Square and take the time to absorb all the details

14. Have lunch at Le Cellier

15. Watch Illuminations on a winter’s night, enjoying the fact that it is warm & there is no snow on the ground

16. Go to Universal

17. Go to Sea World

18. Explore the beaches of Florida–kids have never been to the ocean before. We plan to go to both sides of Florida: The Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean

19. Dinner with FL friends

20. Being able to meet Facebook friends who do not live in Florida but come to Walt Disney World on vacation. Shelley Urick Jones , we look forward to meeting you!

21. Lou Mongello’s WDW Radio Meets of the Month

22. Exploring the city of Clermont and getting to know our new home city

23. Spending time in the Parks with Stephen and Judy Demeritt

24. Meeting Marilyn Johnson in person!

25. Go to Gatorland

26. Enjoy the Osborne lights at the Studios as many times as possible

27. Enjoy making new friendships with all our Facebook friends who live in Florida

28. Walking through the World Showcase at Epcot while our kids are in school. We have not been able to explore all the countries because of the kids not wanting to spend time there.

29. The various shopping opportunities, not only at Walt Disney World, but at the many outlet malls in Orlando and the surrounding areas. Ikea!

30. Just enjoying the whole adventure of relocating to a new state!

31. Day trips to explore Florida: cities in particular that pop into our heads for no particular reason are Tampa, Naples, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville.

32. Shelling at Sanibel Island

33. Chuckling to ourselves in February when the temperature is 80 and sunny, knowing that back in Wisconsin it is probably blowing and snowing and bitterly cold. Will we miss snow? No we will not!

34. Taking in Bob Jackson’s show at the Port Orleans Riverside resort!

35. Staying at the Port Orleans Riverside resort for old times sake!

36. Christmas shopping at Downtown Disney

37. Riding down the Sassagoula River from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney (and vice versa)

38. Exploring the cities of Lake County

39. Visiting Celebration for leaf drop (to replace the Fall we will be missing in Wisconsin)

40. Being there for opening day of the new Fantasyland

41. Resort hopping at Christmas to see all the different Christmas decorations

42. Counting garbage cans to make sure the Demeritts caught them all 😉

43. Trying on every hat that is sold on Disney property

44. Food and Wine Festival

45. Enjoy a carrot cake cookie

46. Visit Star Wars weekend

47. Dinner, lunch and/or breakfast with Lou Mongello

48. Movie at the Downtown Disney AMC theatre

49. Trying all 500 flavors in the Coke Freestyle Dispenser

50. DisneyQuest

51. Enjoying the streetmosphere entertainment

52. Festival of the Masters

53. Going to the Night of Joy

54. Flower and Garden Festival

55. Holidays Around the World at Epcot

56. Sounds Like Summer at Epcot

57. The Candlelight Processional

58. Finding a good Friday fish fry!

59. Visiting the Kennedy Space Center

60. Riding TTA during Wishes

61. Sit at each of the Parks and take time to “people watch”

62. MLB Spring Training

63. Pick a fresh Florida orange from a tree

64. Go swimming on a warm December day

65. Enjoy a “work at home day” with Craig Petermann at Epcot

66. Take a family Christmas picture at WDW

67. Earn all the Gowalla WDW stamps and pins

68. Be one of “those people” checking in all over Lake Buena Vista with Foursquare

69. Move in to our new apartment in Clermont

70. Find the best pizza places in the area

71. Our first Saturday library visit to our new “home” library

72. Stroll the Boardwalk

73. Share a Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream with the family

74. Wild Africa Trek at AK

75. Pirates and Pals Fireworks

76. Backstage Magic Tour

77. Family Magic Tour

78. Get a haircut at The Harmony Barbershop on Main Street USA

79. The Pirates League with Ben

80. Keys to the Kingdom Tour

81. Walk through Fort Wilderness Campgrounds at Christmas to see the campers’ decorations

82. See a University of Florida football game

83. Stay in the Magic Kingdom until the wee hours of the morning to enjoy the peace

84. Orange Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day

85. Have a holiday sandwich at the Earl of Sandwich

86. Have a diabetic friendly treat at Babycakes

87. Go to Butterfly World

88. Swim with the manatees

89. Explore Florida’s state parks

90. Visit the Everglades allligator farm http://www.everglades.com/

91. Hearing the word blizzard and knows it only refers to a waterpark or a DQ dessert!

92. Go to Port Canaveral and watch the Disney ships leave port

93. Finding all of the local arts and crafts shows and fairs.

94. Getting to see the White Sox play in Tampa Bay.

95. Being able to get more exercise by taking walks and biking the trails of Lake County year-round.

96. Enjoying the scenery of Florida, knowing that it will stay green year round, and not become brown and dead for six months out of the year.

97. Enjoy a hot dog at Casey’s whenever we want one

98. Sit at Cosmic Ray’s and enjoy an entire Sunny Eclipse show

99. Take a yearly family picture in front of Cinderella Castle.

100. A family picture and mini-celebration immediately after we cross the Florida state line on our way to becoming Florida residents!

March 2, 2011
by wishesandpixiedust Leave a comment

Update- One Dream Deferred, One Continues

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Good evening all. We had been quiet this past month but have an update to share. Jen’s dream of being a teacher was looking like it might need to wait, but through God’s graces she has now been able to switch schools and continue.

The “bad” news is that we will need to move back our moving date to June 15, 2013, about 9 months later than we had been planning. This puts our countdown under the 1000 day mark today.

But, this brings good news as well. Now, we’ll return to our loved WDW next August, in time to celebrate Catie’s 13th Birthday.

We continue to look forward to sharing our Adventure with you all.

Mark