Welcome to the Williams Family Blog!

Now that you have found us, we invite you to return often for more adventures!


We Came To Play!

We Came To Play!

Opening Magic Kingdom

Opening Magic Kingdom

Monday, May 31, 2010

100th Post--Birth of a Blog

Disney has a long history of celebrating milestones and in fact wants its guests to celebrate life's milestones and commemorate special occasions. So, in Disney style, this post is to commemorate the 100th post of the Williams Family Blog.


Sometimes events converge to create something or begin a journey. You don't always know at the time when something happens that it is a piece to a puzzle about to be completed. You realize it later. . . that the event, the happening, did indeed lead up to something. . . bigger.

The genesis of the Williams Family Blog goes something like this. .
Last July while visiting family in Houston, we were talking about all of our vacation experiences and the information we have collected along the way. My Dad suggested I write a blog. At the time, I was horrified and curious. Did I have enough tech experience to handle the technology side? How would I get started? I asked a techy friend about how to get started. They had suggestions about Twitter. I had read an article in a magazine awarding women for their blogs, but I didn't read it carefully enough to find out how to start. I wonder if I read the article before or after Dad's suggestion? Thanks, Dad!

The next conversation came over the dinner table with the husband in January or February. It was about our summer plans which included visiting many of the neighboring community's swimming pools and how we could write about our experiences for other people. The husband suggested a book. I suggested a publication in our local newspaper. Still no blog.

In mid February, a group of colleagues and I headed to Storm Lake, Iowa, for some training. With 10 hours in the car and two nights in a hotel in addition to the two full days of training, I posed the question to the group about a blog. Katie saved the day with blogspot.com. She said it was easy to set up and get started. The service was free. Thanks, Katie!

Three weeks later, the Williams Family Blog was born. Crude at first in terms of design, etc. And, the first post was about our latest Disney Cruise. It seemed logical to write/blog about things we had just experienced--especially since our summer swimming ventures were so far away. We e-mailed the link to family and friends.

The Williams Family Blog has grown since then. It is now a link on other's blogs, has followers, and gets 30-80 hits a day. It gets almost daily tending and an updated layout weekly with new pictures and poll.

In honor of this celebration, I would like to highlight three of my favorite posts. The first is the "What's Up With The Matching Shirts?" post. I feel the question in the title speaks for itself. The second is for the adventure--Adventures By Disney, that is, and the day we went white water rafting on the Colorado River. The third is Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas. There are actually three posts dedicated to Castaway Cay--Part 1, Part 2, and Castaway Cay Stingrays. Happy Reading!

What is interesting is that there is not day that goes by that I don't get asked a Disney question. It can come via e-mail, or face to face, or as a comment in the blog. I am happy to answer them if I can. And, if there is an answer in a post, I let them know about the Williams Family Blog.

I wondered out loud to the husband if I would ever run out of ideas to write about. He reassured me that I would not run out of things to write about. I sort of keep a list of ideas and add to it regularly. I sure hope he's right!

So, what's next? Well, we are for sure going to share about swimming pools in the area, as that was our initial intent. And, we will keep sharing highlights from our life and our passion for Disney.

Dining at Cinderella's Royal Table

The hottest dining reservation on property is a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table at the Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily family style, guests are treated royally at this dining location.

We have eaten at the Castle twice. . . once for lunch and once for dinner. After you have your advanced dining reservation, enter in the back of the Castle (from Fantasyland). The check-in is to the left. Once they have called your name, you will enter a royal chamber of sorts with suits of armor and a red carpeted staircase at one end of the room. Cinderella is greeting guests in this royal chamber. A photographer will take your picture with Cinderella. The photos will be presented to you during your meal and will include a commemorative folder, an 8 X 10, and wallet size photos. These photos can be added to your Photopass account at any Photopass location in any park. Click here to read more about Disney's Photopass service.

After your time with Cinderella, you wait a few more minutes for your party to be called. There are restrooms on this floor at the end of the room. Take advantage, as if you need to use the restroom after you are in the dining room, it is up another floor. But, the bathrooms are really cool, so use both!


Once your party has been called, you will be guided up the red carpeted castle like, spiral staircase, you will enter the dining room. Another cast member will guide you to your table. The dining room has tall ceilings complete with appropriate castle lighting and stained glass windows. The dining room has several levels to allow all guests to have a great view of. . . other guests.

Each child guest is given either a magic wand or sword for the wishing ceremony that happens at each meal. And soon enough the princesses begin to circulate throughout the dining room and come to each table.




The information about dining at the castle indicates princesses may vary. We got to meet Snow White, Princess Aurora (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), Princess Jasmine, and Belle.

Belle was in her "day clothes." If you want to dine and meet Belle in her yellow princess gown, she is in residence daily at Akershus in Norway in EPCOT. Click here to read about dining at Akershus.


We had a regal time dining at the Castle. It is one of those "Yes, we have done that" experiences. It is not one of our "we have to do that each time we go" experiences. The food is Ok, the theming excellent, service is fast and friendly. You come here to be in a castle and meet princesses, not for the food. And, there are other opportunities throughout Walt Disney World Resort to dine with and meet princesses. Click here to read about royal dining at 1900 Park Fair. Click here to read about meeting the Princesses at Toontown Hall of Fame.






Sunday, May 30, 2010

The Beach Ottumwa

The Beach Ottumwa


Location:

101 Church Street, Ottumwa, IA 52501; Just across the street from Bridge View Center off Highway 34; 641-682-7873

Cost:

$6.00 per person; Season Passes available.  (Price increase for Summer 2016.)

Hours:

Noon - 8:00 pm daily beginning Memorial Day; Inclement weather may close outdoor pool

The yellow tube slide is new for 2011.

Description:

The Beach Ottumwa has a outdoor wave pool, kiddie play area, a speed slide, tube slide, and another body slide. Inside, there is a competitive lap pool and a kiddie pool with slide.


Rules to Know:

1. You must be 48" to go on slides.

2. Children under 40" must have a life jacket and be accompanied by a person over 15 years old while in the wave pool.

3. No Smoking

4. Goggles only--no masks or fins.

5. Only coast guard approved flotation devices allowed in the wave pool and only small flotation devices allowed in the kiddie play area. (Although, arm floaties and other inflatables have been allowed in the wave pool as of late--summer 2012 update.)

6. Enter and exit the wave pool at the zero depth entrance only and no leaning or holding onto the walls of the wave pool. (Again, this isn't being enforced by the lifeguards--2012 update.)

The new Kiddie Play feature for 2011

Food:

Beverages, candy, pretzels, snacks, ice cream treats. Prices range from $.50 to $4.00 (Chicken strips and french fries have now been added to the menu along with other fried foods--update for 2014)

Cleanliness:

Pretty Good. Sometimes the bathrooms need attention and there are rust colored stains on the sides of the kiddie play pool. Debris can be found at the zero depth entry of the wave pool. Bushes around wave pool could use a good trim. (2014 update--the bushes around the wave pool have been removed!)

Friendliness:

Pretty Good, too.

Web-site: http://www.cityofottumwa.org/parks/beach/home




Pros:
Convenient to Ottumwans. Price is right and there are enough activities including renting a tube for $2.00 to keep a family busy for 2-3 hours. Staying open until 8:00 pm allows for trips to The Beach after work.  The bracelets are gone for 2011!  This speeds up the line entering into the Beach.  Guests who want to re-enter after leaving, just need to have their hand stamped before leaving.

Cons:
Now that the price has dropped from previous seasons, the crowds have picked up. Get there early to get a chair, especially during hot days. And, if you are getting a chair for a child who will be swimming most of the time and the chair will only be holding up a towel, don't. Put the towel on your chair and let an adult have the chair. There are three of us in our family and we only get two chairs--sometimes just one chair.

Note for 2016:  With the price increase, not sure what this will do to the crowds.  The City reported record Memorial Day attendance.  Also, the Kiddie Play area is in a sorry state--with pink paint all over marking areas in need of updating/improvement.  The City's engineering department also took a core sample from he concrete in the Kiddie Play area, so watch out for a hole.  The tunnels from the wave pool to Kiddie Play no longer have padding so caution.  Been told that improvements are planned for fall.
Photo taken June 2, 2016

Fun Factor:Now that our boy is tall enough to go on the slides, the fun factor has gone up. When the bell rings to signal the start of the waves, everyone cheers. The waves go for about 10 minutes and then are off for another ten minutes. The waves only have one setting and nice lulling waves until they "crash." Some wave pools have adjustable waves. . . not The Beach.

Planning For A Trip to Walt Disney World

I bumped into a prospective Disney fan today who had some questions about planning for a magical family vacation. The decisions and planning can be a bit overwhelming. And, as veterans of 6 Walt Disney World vacations (more than most, but less than some), we have uncovered some helpful planning tips.

This post is dedicated to those of you who have decided you're going. Congratulations, you're going to Walt Disney World. Now, let the planning begin. . . There are a few questions you need to consider. Here we go:
  • When are we going? This is important. All the rest of your planning will center around these dates.
  • How are we getting there? For us, to drive would cause severe strain in our family, so we opt to fly. We have lots of airport choice nearby, and we prefer non-stop flights. So, for us the answer is Air Tran which has non-stops from Moline to Orlando almost daily. Air Tran also offers non-stop flights from Des Moines to Orlando on the week-ends. Allegiant also flies from Des Moines to Orlando seasonally. Allegant is now flying into Orlando Interational for guests to take advantage of Magical Express service.
  • How long will we be at Disney? See, you have to answer the first two questions to get to this answer, as how are you getting there may affect how long you get to stay--driving can take longer and eat into your stay.
  • Are we staying on property or off property? This may sound like a silly question, but is actually one of the most difficult questions to answer. There are pros and cons. For us the answer is on property if we are doing Disney. If we plan to go to Universal or Sea World, we make it a non-Disney vacation and stay off property. Click here to read about our non-Disney vacation.
  • Let's pretend for simplicity's sake that you said on-property to the previous question, and now the question is Where will we stay? The answer comes in the form of value accommodations, moderate accommodations, and deluxe accommodations. Value resorts are he "All Star" resorts along with Pop Century--two beds, bath, etc. Your basic room. Moderate Resorts give you a bit more room along with a refrigerator in your room. Deluxe offers more space, proximity to parks or on the monorail line. No matter where you stay, the theming will be excellent, the grounds immaculate, and the service wonderful. We prefer to stay at Port Orleans--Riverside, a moderate resort. We love the convenience to all the parks and the ability to take a boat to Downtown Disney. The theming is great, the resort large but not too spread out. Also, when you are a guest here you can use the pool at Port Orleans--French Quarter and vice versa. Riverside has the most pools than any other resort. It is also the first stop on the Magical Express ride from the airport!
  • OK, now what parks on what days? We decide this first before deciding on dining. Luckily the Disney World web-site offers calendars of hours including extra magic hours up to six months ahead to aid in your planning. We typically only take advantage of Studios during morning extra magic hours and usually plan to be in a park the day after evening extra magic hours. The philosophy being that lots of folks were at that park just last time, and therefore won't be there today. Sometimes it works for us, sometimes it doesn't. Once we have what day we will be at each park, we book our dining. Ah, the choices!
  • What attractions? Once we have an idea of what park we will be at on each day, we rough out a schedule of the first 3 or 4 stops at that park--leaving room for flexibility. After those 3 or 4 stops, we regroup and plan what's next. Click here to read our Magic Kingdom touring plan.

Once you have done all of the above, the rest is cake, or magic! Just know a few things. . .

  • You can't do it all. Don't even try and don't get frustrated when you can't. Just enjoy what you are doing and what you are accomplishing. We have seen some unhappy families in the happiest place on earth--mostly because of frustration.
  • There are some rides the kids aren't going to ride. Even though they're tall enough, they may not want to ride. It's OK. Use rider swap and/or FASTPASS to allow those that want to ride get to ride. Click here to read more about FASTPASS.
  • Plan. Don't wing it. You will be frustrated by wasted time in the parks and wasted energy negotiating decisions. Would you visit Manhattan without a plan? If the answer is no, then know that Walt Disney World Resort is the size of two Manhattans. It is the size of San Fransisco. I wouldn't visit there without a plan either.
  • Leave room for magic. It seems that our best times have been when we weren't Type A touring, but just relaxing and enjoying our vacation. Click here to read about the most magical day of our 6th trip.
  • Find a travel agent, planning guide, friend, and web-site that can answer your questions when they come up during planning. And, trust me, there will be questions. We prefer Passporter's Guide to Walt Disney World as our planning guide. That, and our travel agent Shauna.

Again, Congratulations, you are going to Walt Disney World. You and 16 million people annually. Now, get back to planning!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Characters On Board Disney Cruise Line

What do you get when you combine Disney, a large moving vessel on the sea, about 2,000 guests, and seven nights? Give up? You get a plethora of Disney characters to meet and greet throughout the ship!
The adventure begins at Disney's Port Terminal. As you wait for your group number to be called to enter the magic portal and board your vessel, the characters begin to appear and greet the waiting guests. Sailor Mickey joined us for the photo above and Sailor Goofy for the photo below. If you look at the photo with Goofy, you can see the large Mickey ears to the left in the background. That's the entrance to the gangway and then on to the ship!

Once on board, the characters appear regularly. You can plan your day around meeting characters with the Personal Navigator delivered to your stateroom late each evening. The Personal Navigator lists all the activities on the ship for the next day. You can also dial 7-PALS from your stateroom phone for a current list of character locations. In the lobby atrium, a digital display lists character meeting times and locations.


If you are on a seven night or longer Disney Cruise, you will be scheduled for a character breakfast. To read more about the character breakfast on board, click here.
The photo above and below were taken New Year's Eve. Goofy is "Father Time" and Donald is "Baby New Year."



Ships' photographers are on hand to capture photos for you at character meeting locations. Taking the photos is free. The cost comes in purchasing the photos. Click here to read more about photo services on board.



Notice that many of the characters dress as if they are at sea. Just another bit of Disney theming and magic!



There are many locations throughout the ship where characters gather. One location is at the entrance to the Walt Disney Theater as shown in the photo below. There's a dedication to Walt just outside the theater.



Another character location is in the lobby atrium. The atrium is 3 stories high and typically Deck 3 and Deck 4 are host to character meet, greet, and photo locations.




On "sea" days the characters meet and greet throughout the day. One example of this is the Princess Gathering. Click here to read more about the Princess Gathering.



On "port" days, the characters are typically seen in the mornings and then again at dinner time. On any day, you can find "character" activities scheduled for the children's clubs. The Playhouse Disney characters join them, as does Captain Hook.



We could usually meet a few characters before going to dinner and then a few more after dinner. Disney Cruise Line does a great job of scheduling multiple meet and greets so that everyone gets a chance to meet the characters.



On our last two cruises, I have taken aboard a white 8 X 10 photo matte for a frame. The first day on board, I take the matte to Guest Services with a Sharpie markers and ask for the character autographs. Guest Services fills out a form with our stateroom number and the autographs we would like. On our last night, the photo matte shows is delivered to our stateroom with all the character autographs. Then, all we have to do is pick out the character photo we want to display in the matte and voila, a great souvenir.


The photos above and below were taken on a morning before we headed off for our Port Adventure for the Day.






You can also find your favorite characters in various dress themes. Daisy in the photo above is Princess Daisy and Minnie in the photo below is Princess Minnie.






The photo above and below are from the Golden Mickey's show. This show is no longer shown on board, as Roy E. Disney was the narrator of the show via video. We got to see one of the last showings as Roy had died just days before we were on board and Disney Cruise Line had yet to be able to change the production. Our Cruise Director, Brent, asked us to think of it as a tribute, which we did. A short time later, the Golden Mickey's show was taken from Disney Cruise Line's line-up. The Golden Mickey's was a play off of the Oscar's and featured highlights from many Disney films. Mickey and Minnie donned their "golden" dress clothes for the evening.







Pirate night featured your typical pirate, as shown in the photo above, as well as your not so typical pirate, as shown in the photo below. Along with Pirate Mickey, Pirate Minnie typically makes an appearance.






It is comforting that an experienced sailor, like Captain Mickey, is guiding your vessel across the sea!



In addition to the posted and publicized character locations, you just never know when and where characters might show up. Mickey and Minnie just happened by when I was seeking out deck chairs. The husband and the boy had ventured off somewhere. Luckily, I had the camera and a cast member volunteered to snap the photos.




Disney Cruise Line offers so much during all of its voyages. While we love being at the parks, cruising gives us a more relaxing vacation with just as much magic. And, our feet hurt less at the end of a cruise! °o°






















Most Frequent Response to This Week's Poll

This week's poll had more votes than any other poll. (Thank you for the votes!) "All of the above" was the most frequent response at 85% of responses. Overwhelmingly, when people think of their dream Disney vacation they are wishing for thrilling "E" ticket rides, spectacular parades and fireworks, meeting their favorite characters, and eating delicious food at top notch restaurants. And guess what? Disney can provide any and all of that for you every single time, if that is what you are dreaming. That's part of the magic and why we keep going back. Click here to read more about what keeps us going back and click here to read about our "pet peeves" when we are Walt Disney World.

Thanks for your responses to the poll and keep voting!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Dining at Akershus at EPCOT

Luckily my fellas enjoy time with the Disney Princesses, including dining with them. It's kind of funny to watch at princess come to our table and look at me, as if I am the reason we are dining there (OK, I sort of am), but then they look at the boy and the husband and know that they have fans. Actually, the princesses spent some extra time with the boy and gave some extra attention because he was. . . a boy. There are typically many girls at the princess meals, so having a boy eagerly join in the merriment, may be a bit out of the ordinary for the royal guests.

If dining with Disney Princesses is something you and a prince or princess want to do while at World, Akershus' Storybook Dining in the Norway Pavilion in EPCOT may be for you. Akershus serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner princess style. The meals are a combination of buffet and family style serving. For example, at breakfast the hot items--eggs, sausages, potatoes, and bacon--come to your table family style. Cold items, fruit, and pastries are on the buffet. Know that Norwegian food is served at lunch and dinner, while a more American offering is available at breakfast.


To find Akershus, journey through EPCOT's Future World and then turn left as you go into World Showcase. Mexico is the first pavilion and Norway is next. Now, while World Showcase typically does not open to guests until 11:00 am, you can make your way past Mexico and onto Norway to dine at anytime. The rest of World Showcase is roped off at Norway until opening time at 11:00 am.
The primary princess in residence is Belle. After you check in for your advanced dining reservation--and of course you will have made one--and after you have waited for your name to be called, you will make your way to meet Belle. A photographer is on hand to take your photo with Belle. Later at your meal, the photo will be given to you as part of the meal. It will include a commemorative folder with an 8 X 10 and 4 wallet size photos. You can add those photos to your Photopass account by visiting any Photopass kiosk or shop in any park or Downtown Disney. Click here to read more about Disney's Photopass Service.
As you dine, the princesses make their way from table to table signing autographs and taking photos. It is fun to interact and make conversation with them as their character. For example, you could as Princess Jasmine, as shown in the photo above, what it was like to ride the magic carpet.

Here's Princess Aurora, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty. We told her she looked well rested. She thanked us for the compliment. Did you know the name of her prince is Prince Phillip?



Snow White spent some time looking at all the characters in our autograph book. We asked her which was her favorite Dwarf. Of course she replied diplomatically that all of them were her favorite.


Mulan stopped by to say hello. She also sneaked a kiss!
We have eaten at Akershus twice. The time before Ariel was on hand instead of Mulan, so if you are set to meet a certain character just know that the characters may vary. While the food is tasty and filling the service can leave a bad taste in your mouth. At least it did for us. We didn't know if it was that he was new or just having an off day. Also know that the cast members working in the pavilion are typically from the country of the pavilion. So, it will be quite likely that the people checking your reservation, seating you, and serving you will be from Norway. The atmosphere is incredible. It is as if you are dining in a Norwegian Castle.
Akershus can be an easier reservation to get than Cinderella's Castle. Also, if you are on the Dining Plan, Akershus is one table service credit per person rather than the two table service credits it takes to dine at Cinderella's Castle. So, unless you are set to dine with Cinderella (click here to read about one dining with Cinderella option), Akershus may be just for you. . . and your favorite prince or princess.




Thursday, May 27, 2010

Dining at 1900 Park Fair

Many people come to Walt Disney World to meet their favorite characters, and we are just the same. We have found that dining with the characters allows you to meet and interact with characters and get a good meal to boot. On location that offers two character meals each day is 1900 Park Fair at the Grand Floridian--breakfast and dinner--both buffet style.

The easiest way to find 1900 Park Fair is to take the monorail to the Grand Floridian, unless you are fortunate enough to be staying there. Once you exit the monorail, go forward into the grand lobby. You are now on the second floor of the grand lobby. The elevators are to the left and the stairs are to the right. Either way down is OK. Just know that when you come into the grand lobby, 1900 Park Fair would be to the left, just one floor down.

Characters at breakfast have some variance, but typically include at least one Winnie the Pooh character. On they day we were there, both Pooh and Tigger were about. To read more about where to find Winnie the Pooh characters, click here.
Also on hand at breakfast were Mary Poppins, Alice, and the Mad Hatter.




Breakfast is fast paced, noisy, and fun! The Mad Hatter enjoys making jokes and it is great that he and Alice circulate throughout the restaurant together.
Dinner at 1900 Park Fair has a different feel. There is more pomp and circumstance as royalty are on the line-up. Again, the meal is served buffet style. At first, the Tremain Family joins your table. If you haven't met the Tremain's, there is Lady Tremain, mother to Anastasia and Drizella and step-mother to Cinderella. Once the Tremain Family has circulated, the music flares and out come Cinderella and Prince Charming for a lovely dance around the restaurant. Guests are invited to join the dance. . . so the boy and I joined.







Ah, two princes!






Two mothers, but which one is wicked?


Dining at 1900 Park Fair can be a lovely treat. The food is tasty and satisfying. Just be careful not to leave your seat as the characters are about to approach. If you miss them, it could be another hour or more before they pass your table again. The atmosphere is whimsical and lovely. The characters provide much interaction which is nice and there is a variety of characters at the meals, some of which you may not find easily in the parks. For that reason only, plan to dine at least one time at 1900 Park Fair.