The World of Insta-gram!!!

I'm in the process of trying to decide if I want to film my Disney Bag collection or share my Disney Planning Binder (which I am still in the process of adding to). So today I thought I would share some of my favorite Disney "Instagrammer's". This is a short list (at least for me lol), because honestly I have found a ton to follow and this is just a small representation of them. So lets just say I am "highlighting" a few that stand out. I tried not to include ones I shared in my previous post from last week, and I tried not to concentrate to much on the ones who have merchandise to sell.

I couldn't share everyone else and not share my own lol! I debated as to if I would create a "Disney" Instagram page, but I like sharing lots of other things on this page so for now I am going to stick to the one account!

Dressed In Disney just started making YouTube videos as well. If you want to see some pretty unique Disney fashion then go check her out.

If you already follow me on the world wide web, you might know that I love to decorate. So I had to follow Disney AHome .

Two couples I have started following on Instagram (as well as their Disney vlogs) are Spoonfullofsugar21 and thedisneydoubledose. The are just really fun (and kind of quirky) people to watch and their videos at least help get you excited (aka me) about upcoming travels!

For fashion follow styledbymagic and abbycorkins. These girls are too cute (and yes, I said that. They are probably younger then my own girls but I love their Instagram and their YouTube channels.

So when I started posting about my upcoming trip (and doing a bit of research I was surprised that there was such a large community of Disney addicts on Facebook!!! And I definitely wasn't expecting for other Disney Instagrammer's (sorry if this is not a real name...it should be lol) to start following me. So imagine my surprise and delight when I found out DisneywithMichael was following me (if you don't follow Michael Kay on YouTube you should)! I also discovered  that the Bucketlistnarratives were following me as well. Let's just say, this made my day. All I need now is some Mickey ears!!!

Ok, if your not a "sista" you may not get this...but I was soo excited when I found brittalecia on Instagram. Let's face facts....there is not a lot of Disney addicts of color out there and I wish more would share (hence why I kind of stepped up my game this year). A lot of people I know (within my community) just don't get my love of Disney. So I find is so cool when I see someone who "looks" like me who doesn't mind shouting (from the roof tops) that they love Disney as much as me! And she is part of mainstreetpress !

Vacation Schedule (TentativePlans)

I'm still in the process of working out which rides to try and get a Fastpass for (and thankfully I have a few months to work on that before our 60 day window). But I thought I would share what we have planned so far since its changed from when I first initially started planning the trip.

As you know the "Cast of Characters" has changed to just my oldest daughter, my husband and myself. Unless we find a really, really (really) good deal on a flight we will be traveling the 14 hours from Virginia to Florida by car.

We will leave early on a Friday morning, and drive until we get to Savannah GA, where we will spend the night at one of their local Hampton Inn and Suites. We have stayed at HIAS several times over the years and have never had a complaint with them.

Then early Saturday morning we will depart for Orlando. Of course no trip across the "border" for us is complete without first stopping at the Welcome Center! Got to get that "Welcome to Florida" picture in LOL.

From Savannah we are about 4 hours (and some change) to Orlando. We will probably check into the All Star Sports Resort (if the rooms are available) and then head to Disney Springs for the day (if we can keep hubby away from the outlets and flea markets).

Later that evening we are scheduled to meet up with my other daughter and her husband for dinner at Ohana's (and hopefully a ride around the monorail to resort hop, and catch a glimpse of Magic Kingdom and Epcot. A lot of this will depend on how tight security has become now that they have made the new changes).

Bright and early Sunday morning my daughter and I (and possibly the hubby if he gets up in time) will head to Magic Kingdom for the "rope drop". This is where I have to decide (and hopefully get) which rides to book a Fastpass for. My thoughts at the moment are to get a Fastpass for The Mine Train Ride and Haunted Mansion, and possibly the Pooh Ride because its my daughter's favorite (and try and see The Pirates and Jungle Cruise first thing in the morning before the lines get crazy). We have lunch already set at the Be Our Guest Restaurant for that day, so at the moment our plan is to spend as much time as possible (depending on the crowds, not to mention the heat lol). We are not big thrill ride people so Splash Mountain and Space Mountain are not on the list. I know most people do not consider Splash Mountain a "thrill ride" but my family tried it the first time we went to Disney and never got back on again. I never recovered from that drop or my butt coming out of the seat (and my mom threatened to kill me after we got off. nough said lol)

Of course time will tell if this pans out! If crowds get to bad we will head out for a bit of rest and then head to Animal Kingdom later in the day to try and catch the Festival of The Lion King and just take in the atmosphere of Animal Kingdom. Since we have a five day hopper we can be a bit flexible with our schedule. And since I know from experience how hot it can be in Florida in August the "plan" is to enjoy the trip, but not kill ourselves trying to see everything. We will be back again LOL.

Monday is a full park day (with some rest periods in between...which for us may mean leaving the park and going shopping lol). As of right now I have us entering the Disney Studios early morning hopefully to catch  Toy Story Mania (which will be a first for us), Star Tours and The Little Mermaid (and Muppet Mania of course). My "plan" is to catch The Great Movie Ride early or later that day (or on another day depending on how things go). Again, since we don't do thrill rides we will be skipping the Tower of Terror, and Rockin Roller Coaster. Midday we will leave the park and either take a break or take the Friendship boat from Hollywood Studios over to the Boardwalk and then to Epcot for the rest of the day. If it gets to hot or crowded we will probably head to one of the outlets or flea markets (preferably the one with air lol). Then we will probably head back to Epcot for the evening. I've even heard that later at night you might get lucky and get into Frozen in the stand-by line. I will try and test that theory at least once on this trip...but on our main day at Epcot my plan is to get a Fastpass for Frozen.

Tuesday morning we will head to Animal Kingdom Early morning to catch Its Tough To Be A bug, and the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. I am not a big fan of the Avatar movie but I know with its opening less then a few months before our trip that if I want experience at least one the new rides on Pandora land I will have to get an advance Fastpass. This may mean missing Dinosaur this year or catching it in a stand by line (one which hopefully won't be extremely long). If time allows we will also try and see Finding Nemo. We have never ridden the Kali River Rapids, so if we are going to....August is most definitely the time to do it. LOL That evening we will head to Magic Kingdom (Lord willing, after a break...maybe back at Disney Springs, and after dinner at Giordanno's .

 If you noticed, I have not said a lot about dining because we probably won't eat in the park that often (although I do have a list of places I would like to try), my husband prefers eating outside the park (I mean, it is actually cheaper in most cases if you are just looking for some burger and fries lol). And I have this "wish list" of Disney snacks I would like to try this go around. My daughter and I intentionally booked at a Disney resort so that if hubby wanted to leave the parks (and we didn't lol) he could and we would still have access to transportation. Again, time will tell how this all pans out! I will have a post next week highlighting some of my "possible" dining choices and the snacks I would like to try this trip.

Wednesday has always been a great day for our family to visit Epcot (and we have been known to stay all day...minus the small break to get something to eat lol). The "plan" for the day is to once again get into the parks early, head to Test Tracks (and then the Land to ride Soarin and hopefully the Under the Seas Adventure ride). A stop at The Cool Station is another family favorite that we will have to be sure to squeeze in. My daughter who will not be with us on this trip, loves Figment so if we don't get to ride this trip it will not be that big a deal. This is the day I hope to get a Fastpass for Frozen (crossing the fingers). Haven't quite decided what other rides to get a Fastpass for yet (still doing my research) and then we will just "explore" World Showcase. I do know I would like to see the Boardwalk at night so we may head out for the afternoon then return later in the day to explore the Studios before heading back to Epcot for the evening (when the fireworks start we will probably hit the Friendship boats to the Boardwalk (maybe for some ice cream at Beaches) before heading back to the resort (or more then likely shopping with the hubby) before hitting the sack for the night.

Two things that I quite haven't figured out how to "add" into my schedule, but that I would really like to do is catch the riverboat from Disney Springs over to the French Quarter to check out the resort.  I also have this crazy idea to ride the Orlando Eye (my daughter has already told me her dad and I will have to do this one on our own, but that she is willing to take video and photo shots from the ground lol). Perhaps on one of the days hubby is not interested in going back to the park my daughter and I can take the bus from one the parks to the French Quarter resorts, do a bit of exploring and then catch the boat to Disney Springs and have hubby meet us there. Then we could try out one of the many food offerings at the Springs (more and that in a later blog post).

Our last full day at WDW is on Thursday. Which, I don't know about you but that is probably the saddest day in the world ! By the end of the week my family is usually ready to leave...but not me (hence part of the reason they call me DisneyCyndi AKA the Disneyqueen...because I could live at Disney if I could afford it lol).

Thursday we plan to hit Magic Kingdom with a vengeance (we always start and end our trips at MK and Epcot if we can). I don't have any of that day planned out in my head yet, but more then likely we will try to hit up some of the characters up and also catch some of the classic rides (like the People Mover and Carrousel of Progress). I'm still trying to decide if Peter Pan is worth me using one of my Fastpass tickets on but I have a bit more time to decide. We will more then likely head to Epcot (via the monorail), probably after the afternoon parade for a last look and that evening end our trip with the Castle show at Magic Kingdom before heading back to our room for the night. We will also need to pack up for the sad return home.

Of course I can't leave Disney without one breakfast meal so this year we have Priority Seating at Boma's early that morning before the very long trip back to Virginia (we usual stop overnight when we are heading to Florida, but for some crazy reason...maybe because all of our money has been spent lol, we usually drive the 14 hours back home at the end of the week. The difference now is that the daughter can help drive). LOL

And there you have it folks!! Just think, this is only the pre-trip report! I cannot wait until August to really share my favorite place in the world!

Disney Merchandise

Disney is one of the few places that you can go and dress in all Disney Gear (you can't really see it but if you look close you will see Mickey heads on my shoes) and not feel like a fool. Its also the only place where a grown 52 year old woman can wear Disney Ears, Disney Shirts, Shoes, Purse (you name it and I guarantee it can be found lol) and not feel like she is by herself. Why? Because everyone else is wearing them as well!

I've become even more excited about this trip after finding out there is a whole community of people who not only wear their Disney gear with pride, but who have created some great items that can't be found in the park. Thanks to Instagram there is a boat load of Etsy Creators who share their creations on social media and I have found a few myself. Hopefully before our trip I can at least pick up something from one or two of them! And since I am all about sharing I thought I would highlight a few of my favorites here!

Lilian & Company

Pretty Little Monograms

Main Street Printing Company

Once Upon A Mickey Tee

Parkbound Buttons

The Fairy Godsisters

The Fantasy Bands

I hope you get as excited as I did if you have never come across these designers. It takes Disney "merchandise" to a whole nother level! LOL If I can keep up the pace I am going to try and upload a Disney post every Tuesday and Thursday. Unfortunately with all the planning (and a long bout of sickness) my poor personal blog has taken a hit, so I am going to try and get back on track with that as well by posting on Monday's at least until my schedule dies down a bit. I kind of miss doing a wrap up of my weekends anyway and with Easter and my Birthday coming up soon I will have a lot more to post about! My next Disney post will be about my Planning Binder (not sure if I will do a Video on just a regular blog post. I have decided that I will definitely be vlogging our trip so this might help me practice my editing skills (the little bit I have lol). Also, if you want to see lots of throwback memories from past Disney trips I suggest following me on Instagram. I have been sharing a ton of old memories to keep me going until August.

My Favorite Disney Planning Sites (and a few new favorites).

Part of the fun for me has always been the actual planning of a trip to WDW. Some of my all time favorite planning sites still include Deb Willis All Ears (especially her Menu database). My favorite planning board by Pete Warner Walt Disney World Info. And the best place to learn about deals has to be hands down Mousesavers .

In the last few weeks I have stumbled onto two new Youtuber's who I love to watch, including the BookishPrincess and Natasha Rooney . These girls have some really great videos and their style appeals to my Disney side. LOL

I also recently found a new Food blog to drool over. No, seriously if you are looking for a great source of what's available food wise at the parks (including some great pics) you should check out the The Disney Food Blog (which I learned about while watching a zillion of Natasha Rooney's videos).

Another great blog to explore is the Disney Tourist Blog .

Lastly some of the coolest Disney Instagrammer's (is that really a title) to keep an eye out for include Tom Bricker (who has the most gorgeous photos of the parks) and Touring Plans (who seems to know everything about everything related to Disney. Of course it helps that they are part of one of the best planning books around ).

Which brings me to my final favorites. Planning books have come a long way!!1 This year for the first time I purchased my copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and had it put on my Kindle. This has always been my go to book when planning for Disney (especially for the touring plans in the back of the book). But they are long with the Passporter Guide have now gone digital, and I must say I am looking forward to not having to bring a bunch of heavy books).

Since I am kind of into YouTube I have decided that some of my updates will be in video form. I already filmed a Disney Mug Collection video and hopefully soon I will have a What's in my Disney bag video (along with Disney Hauls before and after our trip). And of course I will have lots of pics during the trip and a hopefully a few videos from the trip to share as well. Boy, have trip reports come a long way...not to mention all the new social media outlets and YouTube channels out there!

Disney Mug Collection

Update on Disney Trip: Dining Plans

Since my last update we have confirmed the three special dining reservations for our trip in August. I have a "tentative" plan laid out for the days we will be there and a list of blog/video post I would like to do before and after our trip.

First up, I did not realize we were within the 180 day mark of our trip (which meant we could make dining reservations), but thankfully our Disney Agent did and after a couple of back and forth emails between her and my daughter, and myself we narrowed it down to one Disney dinner, one Disney lunch and one Disney breakfast. Surprisingly none of these are character meals. I would love to take advantage of free dining one year (I don't see that happening any time soon though, with two adult kids in college and a hubby going back to get his doctoral degree). Without that free option I don't see us being able to afford to many "Disney park" meals. I personally would love to be able to go during the off season (or at least during cooler weather lol). Anyway, back to planning!

Ohana is a must for our family, and is usually the one dining experience we try not to miss. Even though our younger daughter and her husband will not be coming with us to the parks, they will be in Orlando the same time as us for a few days and I wanted to give my son in law a "taste" of Disney since he has never been. So we have reservations for the whole family the first night that we arrive. We also plan to show him around the MK resorts and hopefully ride the monorail pass Magic Kingdom and Epcot...just because (its also another tradition we have done over the years the day before we start using our park tickets).

My daughter and I decided we would try Boma's for breakfast since she had not actually ever been ( Hubby and I have did the dinner many years ago). So we will be doing that this time around just before we leave for home on the last day in Florida.

Other then a one time visit to Chrystal Palace, and the Princess Breakfast at Epcot's World Showcase we try to avoid eating in the parks. But after seeing a few videos I really wanted to "experience" The Be Our Guest restaurant at least once. I heard it was hard to get dinner reservations so we tried for lunch and surprise, surprise we got it! Granted, our Travel agent actually got the reservations not us. Another reason I love, love, love using Dreams Unlimited. We have used the same agent for years and she always come through for us. Also this helps take the stress off of me when it comes to the planning. Especially making reservations for dining. Needless to say I am excited!

We probably will skip eating at the Sports resort in the mornings just because my daughter and I plan to get into the parks as early as possible. So we will pick up several snacks to keep in our room (including yogurt, fruit, breakfast bars, water/juice, etc). My husband really likes to shop at the local outlets and flee markets ( I know, unusual behavior for a man lol) so usually mid afternoon we leave the parks anyway and head outside of Disney to eat lunch and shop. DD and I have already discussed letting him go on his own a few times and just the two of us staying in the parks or resting back at the hotel (which I highly doubt will actually happen).

If we get a snack in the morning and eat a good size meal mid day we are usually ok for the rest of the day (especially when it is hot). With a park hopper we can be a bit more flexible with our day and head to another park if the one we start at in the morning begins to get to crowded. Of course big on the list of places to eat outside of the park is Giordano's the chicago style pizza place (which will be another first for my daughter). Marc and I ate there for the first time in 2013 during an anniversary trip.

I have this crazy idea of trying out a few snacks in different areas of the park. I'm in the process of making up a list (I am a big list maker) and may share in a later blog post. The plan at the moment is to get a different "snack" each day (which should take care of any hunger pains I may have with only eating one full meal a day and a light fare for breakfast.Time will tell (especially in the heat of the sun in Orlando in August) if I will actually want to do that much eating anyway. LOL

Update of Pre-Planning for WDW 2017

Well its official!! We are heading to WDW in August!!!

Our group has gotten much smaller. Cast of Characters include my daughter Quisha (32 year old case worker), my hubby Marc (53 year old Pastor) and myself (52 year old retired SAHM and Disney fanatic) . My daughter Nicki and her husband who were originally scheduled to tag along will not be coming (at least not to the parks).

I am disappointed, but I am trying to not let it get me down since I am extremely excited to be heading through these gates in a few months! Once again we are using my favorite Travel Agency, Dreams Unlimited to help us with the planning.

So let the planning and the memories begin!

We are still staying at a Value Resort. This time we have reservations at The Sports Resort. A first for us, but I do believe this is the last of the value resorts we have not had a chance to stay at.

It's been nearly six years since I last official trip to WDW if you don't count our anniversary trip which did not include any parks. So much has changed since that visit that it will be interesting to see what new rides/shows will become new favorites.

As of right now our only dining plans include dinner at Ohana's (a must for my family since our first ever trip).

We are leaning towards adding Boma's to the list only because my daughter has never been.

Another must for us is Turkey legs!

Not a Disney restaurant, but Giordano's is at the top of the list of places that have become a favorite of ours.

Also a favorite for us now is ice cream on the boardwalk as well as the nightly entertainment.

A lot has changed since the last time I was at Downtown Disney (including the name), so I am curious to see all of the new shops but more then likely will only shop at the Disney store. If I want name brand items there are plenty of outlets to keep us happy outside of the resort area.

I am looking forward to seeing all of the new stuff that have been built since our last visit, But the one thing that hasn't changed that I am looking forward to is a run around to all of the monorail resorts hopefully on the monorail ( I hear they are going through some changes as well, hopefully not during the same time we are there).

I will share more updates as they occur.