Flame Tree BBQ Lunch Review

Oh, Animal Kingdom. I love you but you have a long way to go. I will be really interested to see what Avatar Land does. Hopefully brings more air conditioning. We managed to land at the park on a day when it was a balmy 95 degrees with a heat index that got up to 105.9 degrees. We wandered a bit trying to decide on our best lunch option and finally settled on Flame Tree Barbecue.

Decorating Our Disney Magic Bands

I have to be honest, I was a little anxious about decorating our MagicBands but I really wanted to give it a try. For our trip back in August, I ordered vinyl stickers from the company Magic Your Band, and while these worked alright, they weren't quite as durable as I liked. Plus, I like to pretend I'm crafty. I'm not really, I don't have the patience for it, but I think if I did have patience I could do well with lots of fun little crafts. My parents' MagicBands were delivered straight to their house, so I only had four out of six of our bands to play with.

Before starting with each band, I attached them to an empty soda bottle, as you'll see in some of the photos. First, I've got way too many of those lying around, and second, it allowed me to set them down easily without messing up one side. I heard many warnings about painting the bands while they were laid flat, so I wanted to make sure we could avoid that problem.

Band #1 - Toy Story
One of the movies I most associate with my little (6'2", 23-year-old) brother is Toy Story. He sort of came of age with those films and I know they mean a lot to him. For his band, which started orange, I went over it twice with a brown nail polish. FYI, solid brown, non-sparkly nail polish is very hard to find, at least where I'm at. It took one Target and three different CVS's before I finally found one I liked! Anyway, once I went over his enough you couldn't see the orange peeping through, I used a black sharpie to write Andy's name. My initial thought had been to smear and smudge it, ala Woody's boot after he has been well-loved, but it seemed to hold firm after I wrote it. Maybe if he wore it long enough :)

As you can see in the photo, I still had some cleaning up to do. I went back in with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol and wiped down the gray edges and managed to clean up most of the overreach from the brown polish.

Band #2 - Winnie the Pooh

I asked my brother what his girlfriend's favorite Disney character was, and he mentioned that she really likes Winnie the Pooh. This design was actually one that I had seen on Pinterest before and thought was really cute. Her band was originally red, so I had to go over it with several layers of yellow polish before I felt like it looked good. In future, I'll definitely plan out what designs I'm going to do in advance so I can better match colors. Once I'd done the yellow, I went over with a black pen and did Mickey's head and the bee bodies then finished off with a white pen.

Her design was the only one I had that wrapped all the way around the band, so I took a quick little video so you can see all of the different angles.

Band #3 - Star Wars
My husband is not big on overt display's of Disney, so I wanted to do something subtle for his. I found a beigy-gray polish in my reserves, went over the central circle a few times, then drew over it with my paint pen. I debated redoing this one with a darker gray color, but he immediately recognized it as the Death Star so I left it as is. This one was by far the simplest of the designs, but that was just the way he liked it. His, surprisingly enough, was actually the only one I heard any comments about

Band #4 - Kim Possible
Mine was by far the toughest, and in fact, I completely scrapped the whole thing at one point and started over. Growing up one of my favorite shows was Kim Possible, so, of course, my band needed to be the Kimmunicator. My band started green, and in the end, it took three coats of the teal to cover it completely. In my first design, I had the lighter mint color all the way around the "screen" area and actually laid that down as a layer before going over it with my black paint pen. The texture got really gummy and gross and resulted in my redo. The second time around I put down the black first, then put two strips of the mint using carefully applied tape as a guide. If you do use tape for straight lines, be very careful that everything is VERY dry or you'll make a huge mess. Voice of experience here.

After taking this photo I actually went in over theMickey head with yellow and green, trying to replicate the Kim Possible logo. It looked awful, and I went back over the whole thing again with black.

When I finally decided that my designs were good enough (after all, art is never finished, just abandoned) I sealed them with Modge Podge Arcylic Sealer. I chose the matte version, as I didn't want them to be too shiny. I sprayed the entire surface, including the gray outside part as I wasn't sure how to avoid that. All-in-all, it worked out very well. There was some slight cracking of the bands by the end of the trip, but really nothing that I felt disrupted how they looked.

I hope this helps anyone thinking about decorating their own bands. I would love to see pictures or details of how you personalized them!

Home Sweet Home

We've officially returned from our trip to Walt Disney World. I'm exhausted but happy and don't plan to tackle my suitcase for at least another two or three days. I'll get around to posting recaps and reviews (promise!) but I just wanted to share a couple of my favorite photos from our trip.

Day One - Magic Kingdom

Mmm...dole whip, and when its 55 degrees no line!

Best Day Ever!

Day Two - The Big Question & California Grill!

My brother and his now fiancee :)

The view from our dinner table at California Grill

Day Three - Dad's 60th Birthday

Dad opening his "1990's" era gift, one for each decade!

We got to meet Baymax. We fist bumped, because we're awesome.

Day Four - Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts

Loved the Hogwarts Express "ride"

My amazing hubby who won all of the points after pushing me in a wheelchair the whole day

Day Five - Animal Kingdom

Absolutely fantastic ASL interpreters during the Finding Nemo musical

How my family spent most of its day: staring at the Tree of Life

Day Six - Star Wars Day (aka Hollywood Studios)

Tiny Jedi, one of whom had Rey hair. Squee!

AMAZING new fireworks, "Symphony in the Stars"

Day Seven - Back Home :(

Early morning in Epcot, one of my favorite times of day

Got actual kitty cat cuddles upon our return. A Disney miracle!

What I'm Wearing to Disney: January 2016 Edition

We're heading back to Walt Disney World on Tuesday (eek!) and once again I did my best to put together fun outfits based off of some of my favorite characters for each of our days in the park. The weather, as is usual in Florida in January, is going to range quite a bit. With the exception of Tuesday we're looking at anywhere from low 60's to mid 70's for the high, and at night, it is getting down into the 40's.

Here's what I'm packing:

Tuesday: Travel & Magic Kingdom

My whole family all together in Walt Disney World? Talk about BEST DAY EVER! I absolutely adore this t-shirt, which I got from the Etsy shop Happily Ever Tees. The shirt itself is super comfortable, plus I think it is the perfect fit for our first day in the park. 

The Walt Disney World Boardwalk Inn & Resort Review

During our Walt Disney World trip in August 2015, we had the pleasure of staying at the Boardwalk Inn & Villas Resort. This was my first time staying there, and it was a big upgrade from Caribbean Beach. Not to knock the latter, it always served my family well, but you really can't beat the convenience of the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk at large, which includes the resort as well as a number of restaurants, shops, kiosks, and  portrays the elegance and grandeur that combined with the carnival atmosphere to create the Atlantic City Boardwalk in the early 1900s. One thing that can be said about the Disney Boardwalk? It is absolutely beautiful. The main lobby is really stunning and is full of tons of intricate details. Some of my favorites were the working miniature carousel (ya'll know I love a good carousel), the hippocampus electrolier light fixture, and, of course, the creepy nanny chairs. As always with Disney, make sure you look up.

My husband and I took the Magic Express from the airport and got to the resort a little earlier than my in-laws (who were driving in). We went up and let them know we had arrived, and were told that our room wasn't quite ready yet. This was no problem, as our bags would be placed in our room once it was ready.

Since we were there and had some time to kill, I asked about linking our credit cards to our separate Magic Bands. There was a young gentleman on his second day at the job, and with some guidance from his mentor, we got everything all set up. We wandered around, browsed a bit in some of the shops, and nabbed my first Mickey Mouse Premium Bar of the trip.


We wandered down by the swimming pool, where I was very impressed to find a sign for the "New Balance Running Trail," an eighth-of-a-mile loop that takes you along the Boardwalk, past the Yacht & Beach Clubs. You could also increase the distance by crossing over to the Swan & Dolphin and head over towards Hollywood Studios. How cool is that?

For four people (two couples), we rented two rooms. My mother-in-law asked when she booked if we could get adjoining suites. They told her they would try but couldn't make any promises, but we ended up having adjacent rooms with the little door between. Also, check out the cute Ferris wheel themed carpet in the hallways. Super adorable, right?

The only blip in service that we had was with our luggage. My husband and I came in from the airport via Magic Express, and our bags were delivered to our room no problem. My in-laws drove in themselves, and my mother-in-law left her bags with the bellhop. It took a VERY long time for them to come up to the room, to the point where we were waiting around for them instead of going to the park. Eventually, she called down and they were brought right up, but it does knock the service rating down a bit. To correct it back a little, my husband was having some minor allergies to something in the air, and when the hotel's little gift shop didn't carry anything other than very expensive large quantities of otc allergy meds, the woman called down to one of the gift shops along the boardwalk and found out exactly who had something less expensive so I didn't have to run around a bunch.

To be honest, the rooms themselves are never a big factor when I stay in a hotel, especially in Disney. Is it clean and does it have a bed? Then I am good to go hang out in the parks and really only sleep and get dressed in the room. We had two double beds, plus a little fridge, and were just down the hall from the ice dispenser which is handy when you have a malfunctioning ankle. That said, our rooms had a beautiful view looking out towards Hollywood Studios and the Swan & Dolphin, and the beds were very comfortable.

The biggest upside of the Boardwalk is its convenience to Epcot. We were an adult only group and completed our goal of having one drink in every country spread out over the course of our trip. That meant that, even after a day in another park, we'd take the bus back to our resort, relax for a few minutes, then head into the World Showcase. It worked out perfectly, and I think in the future I will definitely look hard at all of the Epcot resorts because of this. Plus, you can either walk back along the Boardwalk or, as we often did with my ankle getting grumpy by the end of the trip, take the Friendships back and forth from the hotel to Epcot. Plus, it is pretty hard to beat that view.

TLDR Breakdown
Room Rating: B+
Atmosphere Rating: A
Service Rating: A
Convenience Rating: A+
Service Rating: A-
Overall Rating: A
Bottom Line: I would 100% stay here again, and on future trips will likely do so unless given a really good reason not to or outvoted.

5 Ways to Deal with Pain in Disney

I have had the not so much a pleasure of traveling to Walt Disney World twice while dealing with chronic pain and am about to make that the charming third time. First time around was my shoulder and now I'm fighting with my lovely left ankle, the latter of which has flared up and will likely be a bit of an issue during our upcoming January 2016 trip.

Surviving Disney, preventing further injury, not slowing down your family or friends, all while still enjoying yourself can seem like a daunting task. But there are steps you can take that hopefully will still give you the chance to have a magical park experience.

#1 - Identify those things that are going to cause you more pain or difficulty - there might be some that surprise you!
When we went to Walt Disney World back in August 2015, I was actually in a pretty good place ankle wise. It held up a lot better than any of us expected and wasn't really until the last two days out of a five-day trip that it even slowed me down. I had planned ahead for a lot of walking through the parks but did not anticipate the rides. A number of the rides required a fair amount of bracing, which put a lot of stress on my ankle. Space Mountain, in particular, was hard to enjoy. I was really caught off guard by that, but now going into this upcoming trip I know to be more careful or to just be the official bag holder for some of the most intense rides.

#2 - Train for your trip
Now that you've identified those things that might cause you problems during your trip, do what you can in advance to prepare yourself. Worried about walking a lot? Try to take small walks every day to build up your stamina. Worried about jostling? Talk with your family about football-style blocking for you in the crowded walkways (this is what my dad and brother did during our 2010 trip!).

#3 - Take breaks. Lots and lots of breaks. 
My first Disney trip with chronic pain was way back in 2010, pre-scapular muscle reattachment surgery. My family's usual pace through the parks was frenetic to say the least, and I just physically couldn't have kept that up. So instead of sprinting from ride to ride, we got the Dining Plan. We sat down and ate meals instead of eating on the run, we talked to each other, we relaxed. And our day at Universal after getting jerked around by the Spiderman ride, I called a cab and went back to the hotel. I was really bummed to miss part of a day, but it meant that I was alive the next day when we went swimming with manatees (still to this day one of the coolest things I have ever done).

During our trip last August, we had just finished the Finding Nemo show and my in-laws and husband decided that they wanted to do the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Now, I don't know how good your Animal Kingdom geography is, but those are pretty much opposite sides of the park, and the "trail" is a self-guided stroll.  After some internal debate, I let them know that I would be happy to meet up with them once they were done, grabbed myself a bottle of soda, and parked on a nice flat wall where I could people watch and just bask in the awesomeness that is the Tree of Life. Did I miss that walk? Yup. But was I more alive and present for more of the trip because I took a break? Absolutely.

#4 - Bring supplies
What physical items will help make your trip easier? For me, I'll always have Aleve in my purse and I'm going to be wearing my ankle brace. A cane would probably also help me out, but I'm going to be too stubborn for that. I'll also have plastic bags with me and will ice my ankle in the evenings once we get back to our room using ice from the handy dandy ice machine in the hotel. There are some supplies you can get when you're in the parks, but they'll be more limited.

My last ditch if everything is awful plan is to rent a wheelchair when we're in the parks. The cost per day from Disney is $12, $10 if you're renting for multiple days. Wheelchairs don't leave their respective park. Disney also has a partnership with five different rental companies who can deliver right to your resort, but for me the idea of traveling in the buses with a wheelchair seems cumbersome and I am not that limited mobility wise. The website All Ears has put together a much more comprehensive explanation of dealing with the parks while in a wheelchair, and I won't repeat their well-arranged information here!

If you've looked other places for information on dealing with mobility issues in the parks, you've probably heard about the Disability Access Service Card, formerly known as the Guest Assistance Card. Please note that Disney has modified how the card works and it is no longer available for wheelchair guests. You can see get more information about the new DACS card from Disney themselves.

#5 - Don't be afraid to ask for help
This can mean a lot of things depending on yourself and the people you're going with. Need a wheelchair? Don't be afraid to ask someone for help up a hill, especially in Animal Kingdom. Need to slow down for a bit? My family walks VERY quickly (I'm the shortest legged at 5'7") so I occasionally need to remind them that I'm falling behind. Need to sit down and take a break? Maybe suggest that it is time for your daily Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar break. Every family does one of those, right? (BTW, swap out the rando in that picture for a golden retriever and that is the most "my mom" photograph ever taken.)

I hope that this helps you, and takes some of the nerves out of your trip. I'm starting to get kind of anxious about my visit, which is in less than a month. I can't get in for physical therapy for another week, so I will only have a few sessions under my belt before the trip. I am thinking that if it is the week before and I still have a lot of inflammation and pain, I may see about getting a cortisone shot. I had one right before our wedding and it let me dance at the reception and wander around Quebec for our honeymoon.

Have you dealt with pain in the parks? Is there a piece of advice I missed that you think would be useful for someone else?

Chefs de France Dinner Review

 I love France. I studied French in college, I've visited the country six times, lived in Nantes for a semester, Paris for two separate months, and of course visited Disneyland Paris twice. So it is a given that whenever we're in Epcot, I love getting to eat at the France Pavilion. Our first in-park stop on our first day of our last trip was to try the first of our Drinks Around the World at Les Vins des Chefs de France (I went with the Grey Goose Slush, yum!). Our last day I'd actually been planning to eat lunch at the quick service Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie, but we ended up eating dinner at Chefs de France so we ended up eating our last lunch in Japan at Kastura Grill (review coming soon!).

La Hacienda de San Angel Dinner Review

One of my favorite things to do in Walt Disney World is to eat, especially around the World Showcase. Sure, a lot of the food is a slightly watered down version of what you might get if you actually traveled to those countries, but it would much harder to eat lunch in Japan and dinner in France. My parents were never big on Mexican food, but my in-laws (who we took this trip with) eat it quite often so I knew this was a safe bet. 

Starring Rolls Cafe Lunch Review

Our day at Disney Hollywood Studios went by very quickly, but we still managed to ride all of our top choices. Between Rockin' Roller Coaster, Toy Story Mania, and strolling through the exhibit before "Walt Disney: One Man's Dream" (you can take the girl out of the museum...) we managed to squeeze in lunch at Starring Rolls Cafe. My husband and I are big sushi fans and I knew they served sushi as well as cafe style sandwiches, which would appease my non-sushi eating in-laws. Plus, they are known for their cupcakes. Hard to go wrong there!

Big River Grille & Brewing Works Lunch Review

During our trip to Walt Disney World in August we stayed at the Boardwalk Inn. My husband and I arrived (via Magical Express) just after noon, and my in-laws pulled in around 1:30. Before jumping into the parks, we decided to start with our bellies full. As a family we like to visit craft breweries, so my father-in-law voted that we visit the Big River Grille & Brewing Works, located right on the Boardwalk next to our hotel.

Also, I managed to take exactly 0 pictures while we were at lunch, so my apologies for not having images to go along with this review. You'll have to channel your inner Figment and use your imagination!

Be Our Guest Breakfast Review

We had the chance to eat at so many awesome places during our trip to Disney World in August, and I wanted to share my experiences with you. There are so many options for dining in the parks that it can get very overwhelming. I may or may not have a spreadsheet just to help me keep everything sorted. Here's the breakdown of the only real breakfast we had in the parks (my husband and his parents are not big breakfast eaters).

Be Our Guest Breakfast, August 2015
Making Reservations
I feel like we really lucked out in terms of our reservations. Being slightly Disney obsessed, I get a lot of news updates for new and exciting things happening around the parks. I knew they had been doing a test-run of breakfast at Be Our Guest, but it was scheduled to end before our trip and all the remaining lunches and dinners for the duration of our stay were already booked. Luckily, I saw the news that breakfast was being extended, and after a brief consultation with my mother-in-law we made the booking. The process was very easy online, and you use a credit card to hold your reservation.