"Is There A Red Jacket For Me?"

“Is there a red jacket for me?” asked the boy while we were getting ready for our next trip to Walt Disney World in the early morning at the hotel across from the airport as he watched his dad put on a red fleece Mickey jacket.

“Of course there is,” the husband and I replied as we motioned to the third red fleece Mickey jacket waiting to be worn.

I turned away to continue gathering our belongings smiling.  Why?  Because there has been speculation that there will come a time when he won’t want to match; to wear matching shirts when we are either at Disney or traveling to and from.

A photo from our first trip to Walt Disney World.--November 2006

You see, wearing matching shirt is one of our “things.”  Our first trip to Walt Disney World was almost ten years ago now. . . more like 9 ½ to be exact.  We had one set of matching shirts during that trip and we enjoyed wearing them.  As the years have gone on, we’ve added more sets of matching shirts, updated sets as the boy has grown out of his, retired some sets due to a growing boy, and even added jackets.

We wear matching shirts for a variety of reasons, but here’s a good summation—click here to read more.

But beyond the reasons of why we wear matching shirts, it warmed my heart that the boy still wanted to and was asking for it.  Even his tone indicated that he wanted to be included.  But isn’t that we all want?

As for the matching shirt tradition ending anytime soon, I say no.  While we were at Walt Disney World, we bought two more sets of matching shirts, with the boy’s help no less. 

Why We Make Family Vacations A Priority

Kids grow up fast!  And, that’s one reason why I’m glad that we have made family vacations a tradition. 

The husband has fond memories of annual treks to Minnesota and other travels. . . to California and Colorado for example.  I can recall two family vacations from childhood—Florida and Pennsylvania—but do remember my grandparents taking me to other nearby destinations for day trips.  When I got older, I traveled with student groups and friends.  The husband’s tradition of family vacations has seeped into our family, even though the destinations have changed.

Here are some reasons we have made family vacations a tradition, a priority:

• Memories!  Wow—we have lots of them and they are shared.  The stories and photos last a long, long time.
• Fun!  Family vacations are a great time to let loose and have some fun.  The family that plays together stays together.
• You have to be “present.”  At home, it’s easy to get distracted with chores, duties, responsibilities, as well as escapes such as TV, computers, and phones.  On vacation, the mere fact that you are most likely removed from those distracters means that you can be “present” in the moment to listen, connect, and enjoy.
• Seeing family members in a different light.  At home, I’m the problem solver, but on vacation it can be any one of us.  The husband has dealt with baggage handlers and hotel services and the boy has navigated queue lines and menus.
• There is some learning, too.  Destinations require research and the whole family gets involved learning the ins and outs as well as helping with the planning.

Family vacations don’t have to break the bank and can happen during any time of the year, any season.  And, if your family can’t agree to a destination—compromise.  Now, go ahead, make some memories!

Tickets To Ride. . .To The North Pole!

On Saturday, we headed to Mount Pleasant and the ground of the Old Thresher's Reunion for our annual trip to the North Pole via the North Pole Express!  Our tickets were purchased mid-October via mail in registration for the first train of the day.

When I picked up the tickets at the ticket booth, the outside of the envelop said "Poinsettia" and I figured we were again riding on one of the coaches.  It wasn't until I looked inside the envelope and saw that our tickets were for the Poinsettia Caboose!  We were excited!

A list of offerings at the North Pole along with a map were provided in our envelop as well.

The husband asked if all the trains were sold out and was told "yes."  The trains were running the Saturday we were there and for the next two week-ends. . . the first two week-ends in December. 

We had a few minutes before the the train pulled into the station.  Guests were either too excited or too cold to sit and wait for the train.

You can see the train coming round the path behind the boy.  It was the number 6 Shay!  Nothing can stop the Shay!

Here is a video of the train coming:

Soon we were climbing into the Poinsettia Caboose.  Here is the video:

The husband and the boy decided to sit in the top of the caboose for the trip to the North Pole.

Here is video inside the caboose:

During the ride to the North Pole, a portion of the audio of book The Polar Express, is played throughout the train.  The story ends and the music swells as the train pulls into the North Pole and guests are greeted by a winter wonderland!

Our first stop is Santa's Caboose at the North Pole!

We saw the Snow Princess while waiting in a short line to see Santa.

Santa has a pocket watch with a train!  The boy told Santa what was on his wish list. . . video games for his Nintendo 3DS XL.  Santa took note!

Here is video inside Santa's Caboose:

The husband and the boy were thrilled after seeing Santa and stopped for this photo on the way out of the caboose.  Can you see the bell in the boy's hand?  Each guest seeing Santa receives a bell.  The bell rings for all who truly believe!

Hot chocolate and cookies were next on the list and are included as a part of the ticket.  I believe this photo was taken during seconds!

We visited the Red Caboose Gift Shop next, but not before I snapped a photo of the sign on the door.

Oh, so many things to look at and all train themed.  We can home with an ornament for the Christmas tree to commemorate the event and a small battery operated train set.

One of our traditions at the North Pole is take a photo of the boy with the conductors.  Here are as many conductors as we could gather at the North Pole for this photo.  Each coach or caboose has a conductor for the trip to and from the North Pole.  We appreciate these folks volunteering!

Electric trains were set up for children to take turns running and the boy spent quite a bit of time in this spot while we were at the North Pole.  He got a certificate to bring home, too.

A commemorative photo is taken of every group while at the North Pole and is included as a part of your ticket.  Just remember to pick-up the photo before loading the train back to Mount Pleasant.

Soon it was time to board the train.  In total, we spent about an hour and a half at the North Pole.  Just enough time.  The boy grabbed more cookies and another cup of hot chocolate to take with him on the train for the return ride.

Here we are back at Mount Pleasant after deboarding the train.

We went to get a closer look at the engine. . . the number 6 Shay.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the manufacturer's stamp on the train.  It was made by Burnham and WILLIAMS Company!

A lovely family from Muscatine, that was with us in the Poinsettia Caboose, offered to take the picture above for us.  How kind!  It was their first time at the North Pole Express.

The boy made it inside the the engine thanks to a familiar face.  The gentlemen in the picture below has been a conductor for a number of years we have been going to the North Pole Express and is now a "fireman" on the train.  It was great to see him!

We have bells from Santa at the North Pole Express dating back to 2006. . . that hang on our Christmas tree.  Each year, the bell is a bit different in size or color, or colored ribbon attached to the bell.

Riding the North Pole Express to the North Pole has become a family holiday tradition.  This year, the boy pointed out that the North Pole was a shed decorated to look like the North Pole, but he had no hesitation visiting with Santa.  The lure of trains may be part of what keeps him coming back and he enjoyed interacting with the other children.  I'm wondering how long this family tradition can continue but am hopeful for at least one more year.

If you would like to a ticket to ride to the North Pole via the North Pole Express, click here for more details.    Mail-in registrations typically begin mid-October and phone sales begin Nov. 1.  Tickets are usually sold out with a day or two of phone sales opening, so plan accordingly.  This is not an event that you can stop by and get a ticket so planning ahead is a must.

Ready For Walt Disney World Trip # 9!

We are a hop, skip, and jump away from our next trip to Walt Disney World—our 9^th visit!  EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival will be in full swing, which is a lovely time to visit.  We’ve been at the festival two other times and enjoyed it immensely. 

Since we are getting close, I decided to brush off our plans and take another look.  It’s been about 5 months since we finalized our plans:  which park on which day, dining reservations, which resort, flights, etc.  Now that the trip is paid in full, it was time to take another look.

There are no plans for our arrival day.  We have a park ticket for the day if we want to use it.  We should arrive in Orlando about 1:00 pm and be at our resort by 3:00 pm, giving us time to decide.  Since we are staying at a new to us resort—Coronado Springs, it might be fun to explore the resort and/or take a swim.  We’ll be sure to put swimsuits in our carryon bags and it may take a while for our luggage to magically appear in our rooms via Magical Express!

Day 2 brings us to Hollywood Studios with dinner at Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic! Dining Package.  The package gives us “back door” access to Fantasmic! with reserved seating.  Well worth it if you ask me!  Click here to read more about the benefits of the Fantasmic! Dining Package.

Animal Kingdom is on our agenda for the next day with dinner at ‘Ohana’s at the Polynesian Resort.  We typically take the bus from Animal Kingdom to the Poly without making a stop back at our resort.  After dinner, we can go to the Magic Kingdom for nighttime festivities, ride the monorail to EPCOT for Illuminations, or head back to our resort.  That’s one thing we love about Disney—all the options!

Our 4^th day will be dedicated to touring the Magic Kingdom.  Some of the new Fantasyland expansion will be open so we will want to take a look along with enjoying favorites!  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be experiencing a refurbishment while we are there so Splash Mountain here we come!  Hopefully, twice!  We’ll take the monorail to EPCOT for dinner at the Garden Grill.  We haven’t been to the Garden Grill since our very first trip to Walt Disney World six years ago, so it will be good to go back!

This brings us to the middle of our vacation when we like to take what the boy calls a “break day.”  We have a park ticket for the day and plan on using it later.  A late breakfast at Cape May Café is on our agenda.  Then, we will head to Downtown Disney via bus to check out the Lego store, shop at World of Disney, and have a late lunch at T-Rex Café.  We’ve eaten at the T-Rex Café in Kansas City several times, but his will be our first time eating at the T-Rex Café in Downtown Disney.  The rest of the afternoon is ours—stay at Downtown Disney, head back to the resort for a swim, or go to EPCOT?  Hmmm. . . decisions!  We will eventually be at EPCOT for dinner at Rose & Crown and a viewing of Illuminations from our table!

The 5^th day is devoted to EPCOT with lunch at Les Chefs de France and dinner at Biergarten.  You’ll notice a theme of us dining at EPCOT as they have incredible dining opportunities.  Our touring plan has us spending the evening at EPCOT on most days!

Our last full day will start off at Hollywood Studios.  We have a dinner reserved at Cape May Café so will plan to take a Friendship boat from Studios to the Beach Club.  After dinner, the night is ours!  Resort, EPCOT, or back to Studios?  My vote would be EPCOT for one more go through Spaceship Earth.  That seems to be our tradition to end our trip with that attraction and we don’t typically leave EPCOT without riding it.  A Studios/EPCOT day is a great way to end a Disney vacation!

We go home the next day, hopefully with many memories in our hearts.  We will most likely have sore feet, a full SD card on our camera, and stories to tell!

There are new things we are looking forward to for this trip. 

• Trying out a new airport for our flights.
• New refillable mugs!  They are included with our dining plan.
• A new to us resort—Coronado Springs.
• Cape May Café—we have yet to dine here, and are trying both breakfast and dinner.  We will let you know how it goes.
• Fantasyland expansion completions. 

More things we are looking forward to that aren’t necessary new:

• Being pampered Disney style—driving, luggage handling, and service!
• Catching Remy at Les Chefs de France.  We missed him the last time we were there.
• The sights and smells of EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival.
• Photopass Photos!!
• Some warm spring weather in Florida!

Interestingly, while this Disney trip, # 9, is in full swing and plans completed, my mind has started to focus on our next trip including phoning our travel agent for prices and setting flight alerts.  I am much happier with a Disney trip in my future—either to dream about or to plan!