Disney Fantasy Cruise video....FINALLY!!!

After a very busy summer.....a very busy start to the school year....and Hurricane Isaac........

It's FINALLY here!! It's FINALLY done!!!!  Oh but wait...still no video on Youtube yet......fell into the copywrited music trap....sighhhhhh...so I will be finding ways to rework the video with new music over the next few days. Welcome to the tales of a first time Youtube poster!!!!

Well, at any rate, Trip Reviews will begin later this month!!!

Hope you enjoy.....come sail-a-way with the Funny Farm Family. . . . soon!!

Those lazy procrastination days of summer!

Sorry to all those that have been waiting for my Disney Fantasy Cruise tales.... we have been quite busy this summer! After our cruise, we were home for a week, then we headed to Destin, Florida with some old friends. We were home for a week from Destin and then we headed up to Rhode Island for 16 days..... I am still here! I will be returning home in a few days. I have over 2000 pictures and lots to report on my trip. It's taken me quite some time to edit all those pictures! I am also still trying to put most of the pictures together into a video.....I will be updating again later this week with hopefully my first trip report. Provided the Things and I don't get distracted onto another summer adventure! Enjoy your lazy procrastination days of summer! When in doubt, start swaying around like Capt'n Jack and throw a couple of "Savvy's" into your conversation, always spices things up!

So close to our Fantasy!

Sorry I have not been posting as often as I should. I have been very busy getting the family and the Things ready for our Fantasy Cruise! I have been working on the story of My most Magical Moment with Disney and Thing 1, but I don't think I will be able to pull it off in time......I guess we will see....

After our return from our Fantasy Cruise, I will be posting my Trip Report and lots of photos and videos!!

See ya real soon!!

Just a little Monday Morning funny!

One of my DISboards friends posted this to remind me that maybe I don't want my cruise to go just like the Disney Commercials.....

Writing Prompt.....

In an effort to get my children to work on their creative writing.....somehow the "talent" didn't get passed along with my DNA....I have started giving them creative writing prompts. I also got them Disney journals that they can use to record their memories of the cruise along with future Disney trips and adventures. Today is the first day they have been given their journals to write in. The excitement level, to put it mildly, is underwhelming! I don't get it! I loved writing in my journal as a kid. I loved creative writing assignments. Little work and an easy A. Sigh.....guess Math and Science has won out again with the younger generation.

So, they have their prompt for today and I told them I would write to the prompt also, since I am such a mean mom and force them into such awful non-school assignments. Our Prompt is: What I expect my Disney Cruise will be like.

What I expect my Disney Cruise to be like? Hello! I want the Disney Commercial! Who doesn't? I want a constant stream of perfect moment background music. Perfect family happiness, togetherness and unity! Hugs, laughter and no arguments. Yeah right! Those darn Disney Marketing folks. I swear they send them to Evil Genius and How to Catch a Dumb Sea Bass school before they are allowed to start winding their perfect Magical Marketing Schemes. They are good I tell ya! Too Good! Yes, I am a Dumb Sea Bass that has been caught. I'm OK with that. Reel me in further!

 To be quite honest, I have researched, read, watched, blogged, talked and planned so much for this cruise, I have about 100 scenarios going through my head on what exactly I think it will be like. To narrow it down to one fluid trip and scenario is kind of difficult. I am preparing to expect anything and trying to prepare for when (("GASP!")) the plans don't work out as planned. I am trying to fly by the seat of my pants, go with the flow of the ocean, just enjoy and have fun with my family. I know, simple enough, yet unheard of for me. What I expect my Disney Cruise to be like....well, let's just go with the flow....

I know we will be leaving on a Thursday right after Thing 1 and Thing 2 get home from school. We will have the car all packed and ready to go. We will drive for about 5 hours and end up at the Holiday Inn that we also stop at going to Disney World. We will probably get there around 8pm so we will grab dinner and then settle in to sleep. If we can. Then we will get up the next morning bouncing so much that even Tigger would tell us to calm down. Head downstairs for the free breakfast that the kids love, pack up the over-night bag and drive the next 5 hours down to Port Canaveral. We will check into our port hotel, which is just a stone's throw away from the port. We will enjoy the pool for awhile and then do the pilgrimage to Fishlips. Fishlips is the bar and grill located right at Port Canaveral. We will be able to enjoy watching the sail aways for that day and find out where exactly that Port Canaveral webcam is located at Fishlips. We will head back to the hotel and once again try to get sleep. HA! We will get up on that fateful Saturday morning that FINALLY arrived, put on our family cruise t-shirts that I told them all we MUST wear (yeah they just LOVE them), choke down breakfast, load the overnight bag into the car and head over to see the Fantasy, LIVE and in person, for our first time ever!!!!! We have an early check-in time, but we will probably stand outside in the parking lot gawking and taking pictures before I rush everyone into the terminal and begin to have a full on emotional breakdown. I am sure the gauntlet of emotions will range from absolute joy to stress and panic attack. I will be running around making sure we have all the paperwork to get checked in, then checking that we are checked in, Thing 1 and Thing 2 are checked in to the kids club, reminding the Hubby (for the 500th time) that he knows to go to Guest Services as soon as we board to secure a wait list position for a cabana at Castaway Cay (haha! I know!). I will be planning the mad dash up to the D-Lounge to try and secure that much coveted Remy reservation for we "foodies". We have been trying to get into Remy for 90 days to no avail.

Then I can hear our group being called to board! EEK!! Jumping up and down, grinning beyond ear to mouse ear and someone may even pee their pants....yeah, it will be me! I am sure the Things will be excited too. Hubby will probably smile and "Moo" during the boarding round-up of the heard. Then we will walk over the "plank" and there we will be, standing in the doorway of the Fantasy. Looking in awe over the beautiful atrium. I am sure at this point I will break down into tears. We will be greeted by the first of many CM's that will be on the Fantasy with us. We will get announced onto the Fantasy and board!!!! (hey should we be announced as the Funny Farm Family?)  Once in the middle of the atrium, I am sure I will fling all carry-on bags down (but not too hard, the wine will be in there!) and grab the Things hands and start jumping, dancing and skipping in a circle! It will look like the Things are enjoying this display of joy with their mother, but they will just be trying to break free! When they finally do, they will run and hide behind Hubby who will be trying to protect his young. What? Don't judge! I'm on a Disney Cruise, Peter Pan syndrome is fully expected, if not encouraged! I don't have to grow up! Besides no Things will be harmed (physically) in the making of this Magical Moment.

After the initial humiliation has been cast upon my poor family by yours truly, it will be all back to business! D-lounge and Guest Services people! Move it! Move it! Move it! Once that little bit is done, this is where I start to go with the flow, and the idea of what we do from there becomes a bit sketchy. We will either go up on deck and grab something to eat and check out the view or go roam and explore. We might even throw all caution to the wind and hit the pool or the Aqua Duck! There will, of course, be the grand event of the Sail-away party and then that Magical Moment of the sail-away itself. I have cruised several times (never with Disney, sadly). To me, the sail-away is the pinnacle of any cruise. You are finally underway. You have your whole cruise ahead of you. The fun has just started. All possibilities await you! It's the moment I have been dreaming of for months! Standing out there on deck, feeling your first breezes from the moving ship......uggh! Amazing! I can already see us standing up on deck 12, waiting to get to Fishlips to smile and wave to all of our family and friends watching at home on the webcam......I have a few "special" ideas to make us stand out a bit more and make their watching oh so worth it! (insert evil snicker...yeah Hubby isn't going to like this part either, poor guy). Then slowing sailing out through the rest of Port Canaveral. I have watched for months as ships sail into or out of port. This time, it will finally be us! Past the jetty's and then finally into the open ocean! 7 days of anything await us! I see dinners together in the restaurants, the Things playing in the Club and the Lab, Hubby and I getting pool and relaxing time in, exploring and enjoying island adventures, Pirate party and fireworks......then the inevitable end of our cruise. Our family usually does really well with happiness and togetherness on any family vacation. Hopefully this one will not be any different. (Of course we are the next generation of Funny Farm Family, so I am sure there will be LOTS of new material to write about!) Overall, I usually chill out (a little) on my strict parenting style. Hubby and I actually have real conversations about solving the worlds problems and just life in general instead of kids, job and schedules. The Things actually become best friends again without the influence of other friends, school and schedules. There is NOTHING I enjoy more than seeing the Things enjoying each other, laughing with each other and sharing secrets with each other. I see us all enjoying family times together, but for the first time on any vacation, I also see us chatting over dinner with the Things to find out the fun stuff they have done throughout their day, without us. A little odd, but hey if the Things decide they don't like the kids clubs, no problem, hello AquaDuck! I know this all seems like too pretty of a picture. I know that the Things will still have moments where they are going to argue, or fall and scrape a knee and I am sure the usual Funny Farm Family not so magical moments are bound to creep in. Some things just aren't going to be perfect, but hey you never know what will happen when you head out for adventure on the high seas!

In conclusion to my writing prompt "homework", I don't really know what the cruise will bring. So what do I expect my Disney Cruise to be like? I expect to enjoy the time with my family, no matter what happens. As long as we stick to that, I expect it will be one of the best adventures we have ever had.

...........oh, and I expect to embarrass my family no less than 10 times by running up to Mickey (get outta the way kid!) and dancing and singing my "Me and My Mouse are on a boat" song.......I expect Hubby and the Things will high-tail it to the other side of the ship faster than Jasmine at a Snotty Castle Breakfast!

The Sneeze Heard Round the Castle

So far, it has always been our family's luck. Someone ALWAYS gets sick before a Disney vacation. From our very first Disney vacation, this has become a family tradition I am desperately trying to change.

Our first trip to the World, we had planned for months and months on end. We were so excited and I, of course, was still pouring over and planning every detail. We were staying at the beautiful Wilderness Lodge. To this day, still my favorite Disney resort. We had our days planned out, including several Character Breakfasts and lunches. I even managed a small miracle and was able to procure a breakfast at the one and only Cinderella's Castle on the last morning! Anyone who is even remotely crazy about Disney knows that getting a Cinderella's Castle breakfast reservation is harder than trying to train your cat to use the toilet! But I had done it, achieved the almost imposable. . . . . if only I could say the same for the cat.

Unfortunately two weeks before we were to leave for our 9 days of Disney bliss, Thing 1 got the FLU! Not just sick, the FLU! This was Thing 1's first real big sickness and I of course panicked. Poor baby was so sick. The doctor gave lots of meds and said Thing 1 would be over the worst in a week, but symptoms would linger another week or two after. Thing 1 would be just fine to go on vacation, so no need to cancel. PHEWWW! Crisis averted. . . . . . then Thing 2 got the Flu a week later. Crisis back on. . . . . Rushed Thing 2 to the doctor. Meds, rest and Thing 2 should be ok to leave for vacation. The day before we left, I brought both Things back to the doctor, just to make sure they would be up for vacation. They were doing much better aside from still stuffy noses and coughing. They were thankfully cleared for Disney!

The trip proved to be a great social experiment! We would be standing in line with the Things, who even though still taking cough medicine, sounded like they had the plague. Of course we would get looks from other parents to the effect of , "What is wrong with you people, dragging those kids around when they are clearly sick?", "Come over her Jr. ,don't want you standing too close to those two." I would probably act the same way, being such a germ-a-phobe, so I would smile and try to explain they are over the Flu, the doctor said they are not contagious. Eventually I would just start to complain about the warm, moist, Florida air and that they have allergies. That usually worked better and was meet with understanding, sympatric nods and war stories of their own allergy problems. . . . grrrreeeeeaaatttt! Still, it was amazing how much more personal space you are given at the World when other people look at your children as if they have Tuberculosis. It was even more amazing the stares and judgment that people pass, as if I wasn't a good mother and didn't want to cancel my trip. "Sure lady, keep looking at me that way! Seeing The Mouse is clearly way more important than my children's health! Come a little closer so they can cough on you and I can smack you!" I felt I was going to have to pin an All-Clear doctor's note on them or just wrap them in a bubble so other people would feel more comfortable! Thankfully as the week progressed the coughs got less and less and we were pretty much just left with a few coughs and a runny nose.

Sadly, the last morning of our vacation came. Days of being fully immersed in the Disney Kool-aid was about to end. We hadn't even set foot outside of the walls of Disney World for 9 days! In just a few short hours, we would be rejoining the real world. Worst part of any Disney vacation. We got dressed, loaded the car and checked out of the Wilderness Lodge. The plan was to go to the Castle breakfast, then go on our 5 favorite rides at the Kingdom and then start the long, sad, drive home. We walked down to the boat launch at the Lodge and rode the boat over to the Kingdom. One of the best and coolest rewards for staying at the Lodge. Taking the relaxing boat ride across the winding lake over to the Magic Kingdom was always such a treat, as was returning at the end of the day. Such a unique idea and way better than taking the bus!

Since the breakfast begins before the park is "officially" open, you go to a side gate to present your tickets. They direct you to the Castle, as if you could miss it. . . . . and in you go, the Kingdom, BEFORE HOURS! So quiet and calm. Walking up main street, by ourselves, with only a few other Castle breakfast people further down near the end of Main Street. That has to be one of the most Magical moments I have had in Disney! For that moment, we had the illusion of having the park almost all to ourselves! My favorite walk down Main Street and it was just me and my family! The music was on and the smell of waffle cones were already floating on the breeze. For just those few minutes, it was all for us and for us only. That moment was worth all the time and money it took to get the breakfast reservations and was even more magical than the breakfast promised to be. We all knew this moment was unique and special. We looked at each other and smiled. We walked hand in hand up to the Castle a little slower, savoring our magic. Such a great way to begin our last day, Thank- You Disney!

Our moment finally came to an end as we walked up the drawbridge and under the castle to the entrance for the breakfast. There were a lot more people here, lined up and waiting to be admitted. After a few moments wait, we were also admitted inside. After all these years of not even knowing that you can go inside the castle, to finally be inside was amazing! There were stone walls covered with tapestries of kingdoms and other fantasy castles. There were princes and princesses everywhere! It was like walking into a mini royal ball! We waited for our turn to be announced into the castle and then we made the rounds to each royal couple for a greeting and a picture. The last, of course, being Cinderella! "I am so happy that you made it!" She gushed " We've been waiting for you! Welcome to my home! The chef's have made so many yummy treats for you! I hope they are your favorites and you like them!" She spent quite a bit of time with the Things and then snuggled in with them for a few pictures. Then we all took pictures with her. After, we were escorted upstairs to the Ballroom. It was enchanting!! Stone walls and tapestries still filled the space as well as hundreds of grand stained glass windows spilling color throughout the whole room with the help of the early morning sun. There were intricate mosaics, candles and chandeliers, pillars and archways, it was so warm and inviting! We were lead over to our table. After we were seated, we noticed that we all had blue wishing stars on our table. These were used later during the breakfast for us all to place a special wish on! Throughout the breakfast, which was really delicious, the princesses made their way through the dining room greeting guests and taking more pictures. We were all really enjoying the atmosphere, the breakfast and the overall magic! 

Well, clearly the Things come from a descendant of the Funny Farm Family. They too apparently carry enough in them that I should have known the magic wouldn't last too long. . . . . The Things had already meet with a few princesses and Jasmine was just a table away and was headed over to us next! The Things were excited to greet another princess guest at our table. Then, it happened. . . . Thing 1 sneezed! Not just a little "ah-chew" no, no, this was a whole giant, loud, entire sinus cavity clearing SNEEZE! The series of events that followed “The Sneeze” all happened in a matter of seconds, but they felt much, much, longer! After "The Sneeze" I look over at Thing 1 who was now in a state of "What the heck do I do now panic." and looking directly at me with large eyes. I am directly across the table from Thing 1 and I look back at Thing 1 with even bigger eyes, mortification and disgust! It was indeed a nose clearing sneeze! I see that Thing 1 has a LONG line (my guess about a mile long) of thick, nasty snot trailing out of the nose and almost into the lap! Thing 1 is 6 at the time, so "wipe your nose" has clearly been taught and mastered, yet, Thing 1 isn't moving or wiping! I look over at Hubby who is sitting right next to Thing 1 with the same mortified and even more disgusted look on his face than I have. Hubby is a HUGE germ-a-phobe and doesn't handle any gross bodily functions well. I can tell he's already holding back the urge to gag and he is looking a little green. He too is frozen in a state of shock and awe! “What is wrong with you people!” I frantically think to myself, not able to speak yet. Thing 2, also useless and frozen. Just then, I see out of the corner of my eye that Jasmine has left the table and was headed over in our direction. I say was. She caught one look at Thing 1, the snot line, made contact with all 8 pairs of mortified wide eyes and did what I have never thought possible of any Disney Cast Member, she BROKE CHARACTER! The Princess smile fell of her fast faster than a snot rocket and was replaced by a look of sheer terror! She turned on her heel, forced herself to plaster that Princess smile back on her face and headed to another table on the other side of the dining room so fast I think she left flames and burn marks in the rug! I look at Hubby and Thing 1 at the same time and in panicked hushed tones tell them to grab a napkin and WIPE THE NOSE! Hurry!! OH.MY.GOSH! Just wipe it, cover it, something, do SOMETHING!! Hubby dares to give me a look that said, "I can't touch that! Why can't you walk over here and do it?!" Realization hit him that he's the closest, he's gotta do it. Then he and Thing 1 at the same time FINALLY grab a napkin and begin wiping and scooping up the snot trail. This, of course, is followed by a few disgusted faces and some gagging from the Hubby. Thing 1 finally pulls the napkin down to reveal a nice, fresh, un-snotted face. Hubby ordered Thing 1 to throw the napkin on the floor because he didn't want it anywhere near all the food and gave Thing 1 his napkin to use. Thing 1 wiped the nose a few more times, just for good measure. We all looked around at each other unable to even speak. Our faces and the backs of our necks all buring hot with embarressment. Clearly, being in such close proximity to other tables, I am sure those immediately seated around had also seen the snot-trail, but thankfully they also saw our mortification and tried to be polite and just ignore us and that it happened. We all sat in silence for a few moments, trying to move past the awkward dilemma. I felt so bad for Thing 1. Thing 1 doesn't handle embarrassment well. I had to do something. This absurdly gross bodily function accident can't ruin what was such a magical day! Apparently Hubby had the same thought because finally he leaned in and said, "Did you catch the look on Jasmine's face?" We all had and we all smiled at the thought, then we all broke out into huge laughter! I mean hey, what can you do about it but laugh? We joked and giggled the rest of the breakfast. The survival of the traumatic "snot incident" clearly bringing us closer together. Poor Jasmine never made it back over to our table and in fact, I think she grabbed a magic carpet and flew away! We left the castle and enjoyed what was left of our magical morning at the Kingdom. Hey, we're a Funny Farm Family, Snot Happens!

Oh Spring Break!!

Ok, Ok, I have been very lax and have not posted a new story as I should, I know! I am sorry...It's been spring break and I have been carried away.....I promise I have a new story I am working on and it's coming soon!!! Hope you all have a Happy Easter! He is Risen!!!