Well, all the meals have been booked! FINALLY!
So, here you'll find a rough draft of our itinerary - please feel free to give any suggestions!
Wednesday,
Check in at the Polynesian Resort - mid afternoon
Check out Downtown Disney to shop a bit and get a bite to eatEat at either Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck ExpressCheck out Ghirardelli's for ice cream!Back to the resortCheck out Wishes fireworks from beach at our resort?
Thursday,
Visit Animal Kingdom - get there when it opensLunch at Flame Tree BBQBack to resort mid afternoon to relax and freshen upDinner at Kona Cafe (5:30 pm)No evening plans - maybe see Illuminations fireworks at Epcot if everyone is up for it
Friday,
Visit Magic KingdomCharacter breakfast (Tigger and Pooh and friends) at The Crystal Palace (8:25 am) we're there before the park opens!Late lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in TomorrowlandBack to resort to relax and freshen upGrab dinner at Captain Cook's and enjoy the resort grounds!Get ready to board a boat from our resort for a Wishes Cruise - we are all super excited for this!
Saturday,
Visit Hollywood Studios - arrive when it opensLunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (12:50 pm)No evening commitments - stay at HS or back to Poly - depends on kids' moods!
Sunday
Character breakfast (Lilo and Stitch) at Ohana's (8:20 am)Free late morning/early afternoonHead to Epcot around 3 pmDinner at Coral Reef (5:30 pm)Finish out the evening at the park, maybe see the fireworks?
Monday,
Sleep in? (hahaha)Lunch at Teppan Edo in Epcot - Japan (12 noon)Hang out in park? Go back to resort?Character dinner (Cinderella, Prince Charming) at 1900 Park Fare - Grand FloridianNo evening plans - maybe go to MK to watch Wishes fireworks
Tuesday,
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe - Wilderness Lodge (9:05 am)Free day - go anywhere we want to see things we may have missedCharacter dinner (Mickey Mouse and Pals) at Chef Mickey's (8:05 pm)See if we can catch any fireworks - maybe from the beach at our resort?
I weighed in today with a bit more weight loss. I'm now at 243! Yup, three pounds this week. Hours on the treadmill does wonders.
Also, Lisa brought up watching fireworks from the Lagoon on a private boat! Seems cool. I don't have much info on it yet but we decided it would be a good idea. So, once I get a little more info on this I'll pass it on! Sounds like a cool way to see the fireworks without having to be in the Magic Kingdom with $50,000 other people.
So the accident happened in 2000 but the boy died of complications stemming from a fall from a child’s ride in Disney Land. This just goes to show you that you have to be careful, even in the greatest place on earth. You rarely hear of any thing bad happening at Disney but it does happen. We let our kids play in a huge play area while at the Magic Kingdom and it was so hard to keep track of all three of them. I remember being scared that we would lose one of them in the mass of people. Ugh! Being a parent is hard!
Seems like things might not be so crowded on my return trip to the big castle. Disney is feeling the pinch of the economy and is trying to axe 600 executives making 100K+ a year. I guess the grandest place in the world isn't immune to hard times.
Really, the bad economy is why we are going. With Disney offering 7 days when you pay for 4 it made it impossible to refuse! With almost all entertainment business suffering it's easy to get deals for vacations this year!
Bad news: I’m fatter than I thought I was. I thought I was 250 in January but it turns out I was 256 at the end of October. So, I was likely higher than that when January rolled around. I guess I should have weighed myself before I started my diet. I saw my Dr. yesterday and got my records from the last visit.
Good news: I lost 10 pounds so far this month! Yup, I’m down to 246 with clothes and boots on! So, I likely lost more than 10 pounds but I’m happy with that for three weeks of exercise. So, I still have 46 pounds to lose but I’m confident I’ll lose it before it's time to go visit the mouse.
Okay, so I’m going to rant: I really think the government is getting a few things very wrong. They are spending millions, if not billions to make sure American’s get government subsidies to convert their analog televisions to digital so no one is left without television when the switch to digital happens. However, the cost of healthy living is absolutely astronomical. Healthy food is literally twice as high as junk food and god forbid anyone be able to actually afford a gym membership for a family or be able to purchase a quality piece of equipment.
If the government has all this extra cash sitting around that they can afford to give everyone money to keep their televisions working maybe they should look at tax credits or subsidies for people who choose to be healthy. After all, healthy people are less of a tax on social systems like Medicare and government sponsored health care. Maybe they should look into the ethical practices of companies that supply health goods and equipment to see why they are literally milking people. After looking at the extravagant prices of Bowflex I feel more frustrated about getting myself healthy…guess it’s back to the treadmill for me.
On a side note, I’m going to have to get after Lisa on those dining plans…that’s odd, I’m the one that’s getting antsy
Life's been busy the last few days. I'm still waiting on the final revisions for our dining plans for Disney. I'm not so optimistic that many of my choices will be on the list. As soon as I know, I'll post the results.
It's funny how some times there is all this excitement around getting the resort booked, getting the airline tickets purchased and then there is this big lull due to the fact that you have to plan so far in advance. Right now I think we are in that lull but I know as soon as Lisa can start calling to make reservations the hype will quickly swing to full force and won't stop until our trip is over.
Well, I’ve made my decision on which restaurants that I would like to eat at while in Disney. Now, once they get combined with the list that Lisa and my mom put together we’ll see how valuable my time was putting this list together.
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café
The Crystal Palace
Flame Tree Barbeque
Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Olivia's Café
Rainforest Café® — Animal Kingdom
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Yak & Yeti Restaurant
I’ve been charged with picking out a few places that I would like to eat at when we go to Disney this year. Last year Lisa coordinated everything, including meals. So, she sent a link on Disney Dining and their menus. Once Lisa, my mother and I compile our suggestions a final list will be made for dining choices. Sounds like more work then just letting Lisa pick her favorite places but I’ll do it. Once I decide I’ll post my suggestions and we’ll see how many are on the final list!
By now if you read my blog or you know me personally you know I'm a big sports fan and recently I've gotten back into playing sports games on PlayStation. I love football, drag racing and professional wrestling like they were my own children (well almost.) Over the last few years I've become a big fan of MMA (mixed martial arts.) You've seen me reference it several times on this blog.
So I'm left with a major quandary as of this morning. Yes, I found out that the UFC is releasing their own video game right around the time we are scheduled to leave for Disney. I'll possibly miss the release date! I'm sure every woman who reads this blog just rolled their eyes and any guys who read are empathizing with me!
I know you can get Internet access in Disney but can you rent a PS3 when you are there? Seriously, what's the point of wearing my MMA fighter gear at Magic Kingdom if I can't play the video game on its release date?
Yah, I'll be tagging this post under "the fighting" because I know it's going to be a fight and I know I'll tap out in the second round!
Yesterday I received in the mail a belated birthday gift from my mother. Its a t-shirt from Zazzle. Zazzle is a make it yourself t-shirt website. As you can see in the picture it's a Dude In Disney t-shirt with the website URL on the back and a picture of Lisa and me taking a break during our last trip to Disney.
It's an interesting shirt to say the least and I'm expected to wear this around Disney on our next trip. I have to say I was a little taken back by this shirt and at first I thought there would be no way in hell that I would wear it in public simply becuase I'm on the shirt but on second thought, I'll wear it, if it isn't way to big on me when we get there!
I was talking to a friend of mine about going back to Disney and as luck would have it, he and his family are planning on going back as well. They will be heading down to Disney about a week before we make our trip. They are taking advantage of the same Deal Disney is having: pay for four days, get three days for free.
He's in the same boat as me. He's another Dude in Disney and I'd be willing to say that he isn't a guy who would want to go if he didn't have kids.
Like I've said before, I go about 250 and I have a lot of tattoos so I usually stand out in a crowd. However, this guy goes about 190, is about 5"11 and trains for mixed martial arts fighting. He runs around work in his MMA fighter gear all the time talking about a fight he's training for. The dude is really built too. My guess is, if we were both walking down the streets of the Magic Kingdom at the same time more people would think he is scarier than me!
Well, I went and put myself in the hot seat with this whole weight issue. I decided to get one of the throwback John Elway NCAA jerseys for motivation. The motivation is, IT"S A LARGE! Yup, I went and bought a smaller jersey so I could guilt myself into losing weight so I can wear it proudly in Disney this year.
Lisa's been great trying to motivate me but I thought I needed something extra to stare at. I'm going to hang it on the wall in front of my treadmill and use it as a goal to help me lose weight. The last Jersey I got was an extra large and it "fit" me but barely! So I figured having Mr. Elway looking after me would help.
You know, I've never thought so much about my weight before. Really, I'm starting to lose faith in my manhood...I think I need to go and read about the playoffs.
Lisa and I decided to try out a few places to eat that we didn’t try on our last trip to Disney. One of the places we’ve decided to make reservations at is the Coral Reef Restaurant. It actually makes you feel like you are in the ocean! Sort of freaks me out being a big Jaws fan and all. Hope a big great white doesn’t start attacking us. Oh, even worse, I hope Kevin Costner doesn’t show up on one of those Polaris water ski’s showing off strategically placed Polaris accessories like he did in Water World. Sorry, I’m a nut for product placement in movies!
At a dinner party the other night the infamous wheelchair rentals came up in conversations which reminded me just how funny it was to watch two ladies trying to maneuver their electric wheelchairs around the resort and in the park. We had several funny incidents during the trip that made the wheel chair rentals somewhat of a family joke.
Lisa’s grandmother took out the velvet rope lines at the Buzz Light Year ride when she attempted to backup. Did she stop? Nope, she just kept on going like she didn’t know it happened! We also had a crazy time when we went in to the Finding nemo ride. No one told us that it was about two miles of chutes and when you get to the ride you have to park the chair. We had to stop several times and let people go because the whole line was in the dark so you shouldn’t see where you were going for the most part. I didn’t see it first hand but I also heard that she almost drove her chair through the glass door that led to the balcony. Lisa’s mom didn’t fair so well with the chair. She had a few break downs and ended up not having a chair due to malfunction once we got to the Magic Kingdom.
The whole weight issue hit home for me when Lisa asked if I would need one when I got to the parks! Now I’m only 250lbs and my frame supports it well but I got winded and actually thought to myself a few times that I wished I had my own chair! I refuse to go back this time and feel the same way!
We’re what; three days into the New Year and three days into my new plan to lose 50 lbs by Disney? Well right now I could eat a small village of people. Eating in moderation is not a new concept but for me it’s never been one that’s been practiced. If I was hungry I ate. Well, now that I’m in my 30’s that practice has not been working so well. I really thought that the exercise would be the worst part of getting in shape and losing weight but I realized last night while I was at a family dinner party that not being able to eat whatever I want is the real killer here.
The dinner consisted of pork roast, mashed potatoes, corn, white bread and Sour kraut. Right off the bat, most of that stuff is bad for me so the moderation thing kicked in. I had a small scoop of potatoes and a bit of corn and 1 piece of roast. When I got done with my potatoes and corn I thought I was going to cry! I love mashed potatoes and right now my body is craving starch so it’s bad! Seriously, it’s only been three days and right now I want to lose a grip on society!
From what I’ve heard, it takes 21 days to form a habit so I have a long way to go until my body accepts the fact that I’m trying to starve it to death but in the end I will be healthier, leaner and walking around Disney wont be nearly tiring as it was the first time! Well, I’m off to stare at fat people eating!
With the new year finally here and with the NCAA football bowl season in full gear I've come to a very sad realization. I've become over weight! I'm not the biggest college football fan but when I went to put on my John Elway Standford University throw back NCAA jersey it didn't fit like it did last season.
It wasn't even 24 hours later that Lisa showed me a few pictures of the family at the pool on our last trip to Disney and it was very clear that I'm no longer at my youthful 180 lbs with a ripped stomach. I'm now 240 with a keg and unless I do something I'll be sporting a few kegs in no time.
So, being that it's the new year and all I've done something I've never done before. I've committed to a new year's resolution to drop my weight to 200lbs by Disney. That's a 45lb drop by the end of April. I've already started on the treadmill and bike and we have cut out our trips to Red Robin as well as eating healthier foods at home.
We've done the diet thing before but I really want to feel better and less winded while chasing my kids around the Magic Kingdom this time around.
