My dear guests! I
offer you my many apologies for not hosting my usual parties recently. I have been very busy painting my roses red
and haven’t had much time for daydreaming.
I do hope you all have been well and Wonderland has remained kind to
you, and you had no run-ins with a Jabberwock of sorts. We have a very interesting topic today, but
first for a brief update while I was absent.
Prince Richard and I have ordered and received our tickets for MVMCP
about a week or so back (VERY excited).
Also, I’ve been picking up hours at work and have managed to pay off my
portion of the trip so now I can continue to save up my pennies to spend at the Most Magical Place
on Earth! Another thing that is
currently happening is Lady Layla is currently celebrating her 1 year
birthday! She is really a Lady now since
she now has her first collar!
Enough about my Cheshire Cat though and onto different
things. We’ve talked about many things
here in Wonderland from what fun things to do and what delicious things to eat. Today I would like to talk about some of the
wonderful guides I have discovered to help plan this amazing journey. One of the toughest things about planning a
Disney trip is deciding where to start, or how to continue. If you google something like “How to plan
Disney” I’m sure you will get 1,000s of answers fluttering around you like
bread-and-butter-flies. Below are some
brief reviews (and links) of some of the great “maps” to guide you.
If you feel like you have many questions that need answering
about anything ranging from whether the hotel pool is heated to the best place
to watch Wishes from, I highly suggest you follow the Mome Raths over to The Mom's Panel on the WDW web site.
These moms (and dads) on the panel are from all different backgrounds and all
have their unique “Disney expertise.”
I’ve personally asked two questions, and gotten really good answers
(Thank’s Ashley F!). This panel even
goes above and beyond a normal Disney forum because if they are asked a
question that they are unsure of the answer, they call Disney themselves and
post the answer! I usually check back
daily to see the responses to new questions (some questions I’ve never thought
to ask).
Another fantastic website I have visited is Allears.net This website boasts itself as
“The Unofficial Disney Vacation Planning Guide.” I find it sort of silly that it is
“Unofficial” because it is home to so much information, that it should be
considered “Official.” Although many
topics are represented on this website, the dining section is what gives this
website its gold star. In addition to
reviews on restaurants, this site has CURRENT menus and prices (updated
frequently) for many (probably close to all) the eateries at the Most Magical
Place on Earth. This is proving to be
extremely helpful to plan out our budget for out of pocket food expenses
(gratuity ballpark for our dining plan and food purchased out of the
plan).
For all of us who feel that our day is not complete without
our Daily Disney Update , subscribing to the Disney Parks Blog with your email
address is excellent for a quick fix on all things Disney. This blog is updated multiple times daily (Thankfully you
only get one email a day) and includes updates on park events, resort info
(great play by play of the Art of Animation Resort), and everything in
between. If you are also interested in
Adventures by Disney, this blog often features articles on the Disney Cruises,
Aulani menu updates, and much more. The
best part of this blog is that it is filled with excellent pictures! You can find pictures of new merchandise,
performances, and much more. I think
this is a must visit and must subscribe blog for any Disney fan!
In the case that you cannot be tied down to a computer
(can’t exactly chase a rabbit in a waistcoat while trying to operate your
laptop), I have dabbled in an “oldie but goodie” source of info---a BOOK! Now, if you will pardon me for just a moment
as this section may be a little biased.
Ever since my first trip to Disney with my family, I always remember my
mother using Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World [2012 or other year] guide to help
her in the planning process. Looking
through all the colorful pictures and maps of the parks always got me
excited. Another thing I remember about
this guide in particular was that it was affordable and gave very nice
descriptions of everything from rides and parades to shops and
restaurants. With all this being said
about my memories, this was naturally my first choice at a “hard”
resource. However, when I went online to
Amazon to price out the book, I found a review of the book that was only 2/5
stars (It’s the only one less than 4/5) and the author of the post stated that
a book called “The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2012” was a far better
book for only a dollar more. This made
me debate which book was actually better for my needs. I ventured to the book store for a side to
side comparison (I mean, how can you actually decide on something if you can’t
see it and flip through it?) I won’t
discredit this book, because it seemed to be chock full of goodies, but at 864
black and white pages with very minimal pictures compared to 288 pages full of
color in the Birnbaum’s guide, it didn’t seem like much of a quick
reference. I ended up sticking with my
gut and picking Birnbaum’s in the end.
As a side note (I haven’t actually bought or flipped through the
following), Birnbaum’s also has a Dining Guide (not so great reviews from
Amazon users) and a Pocket Guide (Really great reviews). I may have to do some further exploring!
Now I have a great surprise for you, my most valued tea party participants. Just yesterday my friend Jen who is just as crazy about Disney as we all are told me she has created her very own Disney blog called Disney Dreaming ! Jen has been such a great resource on all things Disney (She's a frequent flyer too and also got ENGAGED at Disney!). I have to say, she just started her blog and it is already up there in my personal favorite Disney Resources! If you would like to take a trip over to Jen's blog AFTER you have finished your tea, please do! Jen also said that one of her personal favorite Disney resources is Disboards.com I personally haven't used this resource YET in my planning, but based off my first impression today, it looks pretty well organized. It is a classic forum style website with topics arranged by general subject such as a Disney Resorts board and a Disney for Teens board. I am planning on putting a little bit of a dent in this website since it is unfamiliar territory and Jen the Disney Master recommended it.
I do hope you have enjoyed our lovely evening chat today. So sorry to cut short, but my Prince has turned into the Queen of hearts and is threatening me with "OFF THE BLOG OR OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" We have much to do and can't spend all day daydreaming in Wonderland unfortunately. I do hope you check out some of these guides, but more importantly check out our dear friend Jen's new blog. I am sure you won't be disappointed. I am already writing out the invitations for another party so be sure to keep checking your mailboxes! Until next time fellow dreamers! Have a magical evening and remember, Wonderland is but a day dream away!
I do hope you have enjoyed our lovely evening chat today. So sorry to cut short, but my Prince has turned into the Queen of hearts and is threatening me with "OFF THE BLOG OR OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" We have much to do and can't spend all day daydreaming in Wonderland unfortunately. I do hope you check out some of these guides, but more importantly check out our dear friend Jen's new blog. I am sure you won't be disappointed. I am already writing out the invitations for another party so be sure to keep checking your mailboxes! Until next time fellow dreamers! Have a magical evening and remember, Wonderland is but a day dream away!
