Tag Archives: Magic Kingdom

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Pixie Dust Delight

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With 66 days to go until our Disney vacation, I worked on a little surprise for the grandkids. I just love a company called Pixie Dust Delivery Service. I have ordered Walt Disney World treats from them many times. I always receive the items in top shape and very quickly. So when I saw the ad below on the Pixie Dust Blog, I couldn’t resist ordering:

“Pixie Dust Delivery Service-It’s time to think FALL! Visiting WDW late August through October? I can deliver extra special HALLOWEEN Pixie Dust fit for any ghoul or boy! Everything is custom designed – from Jack and Sally, to the Haunted Mansion, to those dastardly Disney Villains, and even your favorite mice – the only limit is your imagination (or mine) “

Fun, right? So tonight I perused what is on offer and placed my request with Amy from Pixie Dust Delivery Service. She will put my order together and deliver it to Disney’s Old Key West Resort when we are there.

Happy Halloween, Dear Grandbabies!

Meet you at the Kingdom.

Grandma…Donna

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2018 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Choices

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Since it’s only 68 days until our trip to Walt Disney World in October, I’ve decided to investigate the 2018 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival offerings. I ordered the Disney Food Blog’s DFB Guide to the 2018 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival by AJ Wolfe and the DFB Team. I cannot recommend this resource enough! It is so comprehensive and contains more information than one can possibly need. Two thumbs up, for sure!!

After much investigation and elimination, (I mean, how much food can one person take in at one festival?) I’ve come up with the follow list for Mike and me. We will share all plates, which are quite small in general.

  • Wine & Dine Studio-Butternut Squash Ravioli
  • Active Eats-Loaded Mac and Cheese
  • Hawaii-Kahlua Pork Slider
  • Refreshment Port-Beef Brisket Poutine
  • Canada-Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a Pretzel Roll
  • France-Crème Brulee
  • Belgium-Belgian Waffle
  • Hops and Barley-New Brunswick Slider
  • Germany-Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll
  • Brazil-Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Onions

If we choose to attend the festival more than one day, than we’ll save some of the above for the second day and perhaps add:

  • Canada-Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon
  • Italy-Cannoli
  • Ireland-Roasted Irish Sausage

That’s a lot of choices, but like I said portions are small, and Mike and I will split everything. It’ll be just enough to get a taste of each item.

I also found in the DFB Guide to the 2018 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival a Vegetarian Crawl. We have three vegetarians in the family so I thought it was worth a look. Here’s what they suggest:

  • Chocolate Studio-Sweet Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Whipped Cream
  • Earth Eats-IMPOSSIBLE “Burger” Slider with Wasabi Cream and Spicy Asian Slaw on a Sesame Seed Bun
  • Active Eats-Active Eats Energy Bar Bites: a mixture of Chocolate, Nuts, Dried Fruit and Dates
  • Cheese Studio-Maple Boursin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Cream, Caramel and Pecan Crunch
  • India-Warm Indian Bread with Pickled Garlic, Mango Salsa and Coriander Pesto Dips
  • Greece- Vegan Loaded Greek “Nachos”: Pita Chips, Meatless Sausage Crumbles and Vegan Tzatziki
  • Ireland-Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip with Irish Brown Bread
  • Belgium-Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream
  • Africa-Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew with Vegan Yogurt and Quinoa
  • Brazil-Pao de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread

Not bad, if I do say so myself.

We are going to have a lot of fun at the 2018 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Dining Changes

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Just 69 days until our trip to Walt Disney World. Woo hoo! By the time we go, it will have been three years for me, Mike, Jake and Eliza. It will have been six years for Emi and James. And this will be the first time for Ida and Elinor. We’ll have to get them their free “First Time Visitor” buttons  when we get there. 🙂

Today I made a few dining changes to our schedule. It turns out that Minnie’s Halloween Dine is happening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios while we’re there. According to the Disney website: “Visit Minnie’s favorite happy haunt for a spooktacular Halloween feast that’s frightfully delightful.” Minnie Mouse just happens to be one of Ida’s favorites, so I booked us in and canceled our reservation at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano. Then since we have more than enough character dining experiences, I canceled our Donald’s Safari Buffet at Tusker House in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In its place I booked us in at Yak & Yeti Restaurant. (They have an amazing Mango Pie with shortbread cookie crust, whipped topping and raspberry sauce. And I hear delicious things about their Fried Wontons, which are skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream with honey-vanilla drizzle.) Yum!

I haven’t been eating sugar, so I am looking forward to a few sugary treats when we are on vacation. But we tend to order just two desserts and six forks/spoons. Just a taste is plenty and so satisfying when you’ve been sugar-free. My weight is back to just below my lowest point since my stroke. Now to just keep eating well and taking my daily walks.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

Donna

 

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The Busyness of Being Ready

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Just 70 days until our journey to Walt Disney World. It’s so exciting to think about it!

Hotel reservation made. Airline reservations made. Magical Express bus booked. Dining reservations made. Tickets to parks purchased. Tickets to Mickey’s-Not-So-Scary Halloween Party purchased. FastPass+es picked out (keeping my fingers crossed on those). Whew! That’s a lot!

All of that business taken care of and yet the thing I am looking forward to the most is just have our family together, Mike and I, the kids, their spouses, and…tah dah…the grandbabies! I look forward to lounging at the pool, and looking around at all their precious faces. Lord, may it be so, please. It will truly be my Happy Place. I can feel my sigh of contentment now.

Here’s hoping… Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Fastpass+

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Hiya all,

Just 71 days to go until our trip to Florida. On August 21st, we can book our FastPass+es. These passes let you skip the long lines and ride/take part in three attractions much more quickly. Only so many Fastpass+es are available per day. Our travel agent will attempt to schedule our Fastpass+es for us. Better her than me! The last time I scheduled, them my palms were all sweaty and my heart was racing by the time I was done.

I picked Fastpasses that the grandbabies can take part in. These are the ones we hope to get:

Sunday, October 21-Magic Kingdom– FastPasses—The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan’s Flight, Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid

Tuesday, October 23-Animal Kingdom– FastPasses—Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King

Wednesday, October 24-EPCOT– FastPasses–Frozen Ever After, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush

Thursday, October 25-Hollywood Studios– FastPasses–Toy Story Mania, Frozen Sing-Along, Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Saturday, October 27-Magic Kingdom– FastPasses—Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Jungle Cruise, Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater

Wish us luck. Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

 

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Time to Get Ready

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Hiya Dear Readers,

I haven’t blogged since November. Wah! We are just 73 days away from our next scheduled vacation at Walt Disney World. Woo hoo! We are Disney Vacation Club members with 150 points to use per year. We banked points from last year, borrowed points from next year, and are using this year’s points. That gives us 450 points to use for this trip. With those points we will stay in a three bedroom Grand Villa for 8 nights. Being able to bank and borrow points is the reason  we vacation together every three years.

By “we” I mean, Mike, Jake, Eliza, Linnie, James, Emi, Ida and me.  That’s my husband, my son and daughter, their spouses and their little girls. When we went to WDW three years ago, Emi and James couldn’t come last minute, because of pregnancy issues. Now that little issue is nearly two and a half years old. I can’t wait to watch her as she discovers her grandma’s Happy Place. It will be such a pleasure to slow down and take it at the little ones pace. I expect to spend more time at the playgrounds of WDW than we ever have before.

To get ready for WDW, I began my daily walking today. Thirty minutes is a lot for me right now, but I feel so good about getting out there. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I get to watch Linnie for a few hours. She will benefit from my walking, because she absolutely loves being outside. And, when it appears, a cruise in her stroller can even sooth the savage beast in her .  🙂  I tend to chat to her while we walk. Usually she just studies me, as we stroll along, a look of pure concentration on her sweet face. I’m grateful to Linnie for making me move around more than I have for a long time. She’s a great workout buddy.

That’s it for today. It’s good to be writing again, and I hope to keep up daily until our trip.  God bless and keep you, dear readers.

Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Carrying On

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Hello Dear Readers,

I hope this post finds you healthy and at peace.

In just 5 days I will call Disney and schedule our next trip to Walt Disney World. We hope to go on October 20 of next year. Because we are Disney Vacation Club members, we can call and book our home resort, Old Key West, 11 months in advance. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we will have 8 nights and 9 days at Disney: Mike, Emi, James, Ida, Jake, Eliza, Baby Jarvi and me.

This time it won’t be so much about time in the parks, although we will have tickets for 5 days. This time it will be all about the babies. Ida will be 2 & 1/2 and Baby Jarvi will be 8 months old. Dumbo, Prince Charming Carousel, Meeting Mickey, It’s a Small World and splashing in the water fountains will be the focus of our days. Probably just a few hours in the parks and then time at Old Key West.

I take none of this for granted. I know that if we are all there it will truly be a gift from God. I am doing my part to be there. As of this morning, I am 54.4 pounds down since May. I am learning how to eat as a diabetic. Now I just need to start moving more. Please pray that I can and do move more.

May God bless and keep you, dear Readers. Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

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So Much Better

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Hiya Dear Readers,

Just want to drop a note to let you know that I am feeling so much better. It’s been seven weeks since my stroke. I spent six nights in the hospital in England. Since I’ve been back in the USA I’ve seen my GP, had blood work done, am currently 24 days into wearing a heart monitor for 30 days, have done a sleep study, have had an echocardiogram and have attended two of three scheduled diabetes education classes. (I have one more class in two weeks.) I will see a neurologist in two weeks and a neuro-opthomologist in three weeks. (I have some residual vision issues.) Then I will breathe a sigh of relief and bask in having gotten through all of that. Whew!

Anyway… I can tell I’m feeling quite a bit better, because I’m back to making plans for our next trip to Walt Disney World. We’ve bumped up our dates from October 2018 to the end of September 2018. Jake, Eliza, Mike and I had such a wonderful time when we went in the fall of 2015, so we thought we’d try fall again. Historically the end of September is a bit less busy than October, so we’ll try that. We can still enjoy The EPCOT Food and Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party while we’re there. The temperatures will be nice for some major pool time. I get so excited thinking about it! And then to have Emi, James and baby Ida there with us will be beyond anything that I can even imagine!

Disney World is so different from when we first started going there around 1990-ish. It’s almost too much for me now…almost. There are so many changes. Some favorite attractions have gone away to make room for new ones. There has been major construction of hotels adding many more rooms to the World. They built a whole new park, the Animal Kingdom. They have built another water park, Blizzard Beach. I miss the “intimacy” of the 1990’s World, but it doesn’t diminish my love for the new World.

My absolute favorite thing to do at Walt Disney World is to spend time with the family. I love hanging out at Disney’s Old Key West Resort at night and just chatting about our day. I love sitting at a great Walt Disney World restaurant (especially Olivia’s Cafe!) and sharing a meal with the fam. I love checking out the looks of awe and wonder on their faces while we watch fireworks at Magic Kingdom. I even love looking at their tired faces on the bus back to Old Key West.

I can call and make our reservation for a grand villa at Old Key West on October 23rd of this year. We already have our 5 day Park Hopper passes. I can make our breakfast/lunch/dinner reservations starting March 28, 2018. I can order our tickets for Mickey’s-Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in May of 2018. I can make our FastPass choices beginning July 26, 2018. Then it’s nothing but keep power walking to be ready to go.

I take nothing for granted. But Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, it will be a major Jarvi/Carmichael reunion and celebration. Just to be together with these people that I love in this place that I love is bliss!

I’ll write again soon.  Thanks for reading, Dear Friends! Meet you at the Kingdom!

Donna

 

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Once Upon a Time

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Today I sang at a friend’s funeral. This particular friend was a Lutheran pastor and then later he was a bishop. When he retired, he continued to work tirelessly where needed. His was truly a life well lived, and I know when he arrived in heaven, he heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” from the King of kings. This was the most joyous funeral that I’ve ever attended, a real celebration of a beloved man.  It was a privilege and an honor to be part of it.

Once upon a time there was a man named Ken who believed God and loved people…

We prepared 17 separate pieces of music for the service. By the time the service was over nearly two hours later, I was exhausted. So here’s what I decided to do. Mike had to go back to work, which is the nature of of his job quite often. We drove back to the farm so he could get stuck back in, and I went out to a quiet, relaxing lunch at one of our local faves The Full Moon.

Now I am rewatching the first season of Once Upon a Time on Netflix. I’ve seen the first two seasons before, but I’d lost touch with it recently. This show is so fun for me as an avid Disney fan. I am rather crazy for most things Disney. The story is captivating and the characters are so well written. Within the first three episodes, I was completely sucked in again.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Henry who believed a story…

Real life and fantasy. The mundane and the magical. Living in the moment and pure escapism. Life is a wonderful mix, isn’t it?

Meet you at the Kingdom.

Donna

 

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Tomorrow, Tomorrow…

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Day 429 in finishing the race to meet up with Mickey

Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya, tomorrow.  You’re only a day away….

Mike and I will be picked up bright and early tomorrow to be delivered to Midway Airport and then to fly to Orlando!  Woo hoo!  We are flying Southwest and their computers went caput yesterday, so please pray for a smooth journey.

On the down side, we just found out that Emi and James have to postpone their trip, so we won’t get to see them in Florida.  They will come to Chicago next month instead.  That is a wonderful thing to look forward to, however, we will miss them in Florida.  That means we have a spare bedroom that sleeps four in the Grand Villa for the next week.  Any family folk interested?  (Date Oct. 13-21 eight nights)

My bag is packed, and I am ready almost ready to go.  I just have to pack the last minute things: meds, phone charger, phone, sunglasses, etc…  My stomach is in pre-travel knots as usual.  🙂  But I am ready for some Florida sunshine and some Mickey face-time!

I will try to blog from Florida, but I’m not taking my laptop, just my phone.  Love to you all, dear readers!  Meet you at the Kingdom!