Mama Monday : Holiday decorating

Hi Mamas, We are sharing some of our favorite holiday traditions with you this week and one of my personal favorites is decorating our home for Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday as you all know. We don't go completely Disney in our decorations but there's quite a bit.

Outside you will find Tow Mater and Santa Mickey!  My sons like to say good night to them often.

Inside you will find most of our Disney decorations on our tree. The tree is not all Disney though. Actually I would say most of it is other ornaments. Each year we do get a few new ornaments. Sometimes we each get one and sometimes we get a family one. A few of our favorite's from years past are below. Each one has special meaning from the Mickey Ears that were a gift following a multi-family trip for Mason's first birthday, to Reed's first ornament(Pooh), Jiminy Cricket is my husband's favorite, and the Hoffbrau is one of the ones we have bought at Epcot.

And this year we opted for the family ornament-a Disney cruise ship, since we enjoyed the holiday cruise on the Wonder this year.

Under the tree you will find some presents wrapped with Disney wrapping paper. This is the first year in quite a while that I went that route. The paper at Target had a vintage feel to it and I loved it so there it is. Santa wraps in a different paper in case you were wondering.

And last but not least, Buddy our Elf gets in the Christmas spirit and likes listening to the snow globe with Mickey and Minnie. He even received his Mickey ears this Christmas too!

Other than all the wonderful Disney touches, the part I love about decorating our home is doing it together. It's an all hands on deck adventure and usually takes two days to complete. We decorate the outside the week of Thanksgiving and the inside is usually the day after we get the outside decorations up. This year I had a special moment with the boys when they really wanted to touch the nativity set. It's a sentimental set and very fragile. I let them touch it though and I told the Christmas story to them. I love those moments that aren't planned but end up just right this time of year.

I hope your holidays are filled with a lot of precious moments and family traditions and that you are warmed inside your heart.

I will be taking a week or two break from blogging as I make some changes to the blog. Here's a hint though-there will be a new blogger joining me for 2014! Stay tuned on facebook to see exactly who that might be.

Mama Monday : Favorite place for a Holiday meal at Disney!

Hi Mamas, Today we are visiting the Biergarten in the Germany pavilion at Epcot. It is one of my favorite places for a holiday meal. Our families are of German descent and there's something about having authentic German food that puts me in the Christmas spirit. It reminds me of Christmas at my great grandma's house. I love the dancing and music too.

The Biergarten is part of the Candlelight Processional lineup each year and is worth it! You can have lunch or dinner and have a reserved section of seating for the Candlelight Processional which is the ultimate in a holiday celebration. Before the show pay a visit to  die Weihnachtsecke. You will find every kind of Christmas ornament you might desire there. No matter what time of year we go, we buy an ornament here for our tree.

Please note the processional is not actually offered on Christmas day but the Biergarten is still a perfect place to visit on the actual day of Christmas also. It does get booked so book early!

I would love to hear from you on where your favorite holiday meal location is.

Holiday Photos on a Disney Cruise

Hi there! I'm actually on a Disney Cruise that is all decked out for the holidays. The entire lobby is filled with garland, lights, and a beautiful tree.

My favorite Christmas picture so far was on formal night with Minnie Mouse in front of the garland lined staircase.

There really have been a lot of opportunities for holiday photos.

Main Christmas tree in the lobby

Snowmen with snow on Castaway Cay.

Santa Goofy!

Santa Claus was even here.

And Donald in his Christmas Sweater.

My second favorite photo is the kids with new friends and old friends. So sweet!

Where is your favorite place on a Disney Cruise for holiday photos?

Mama Monday : Holiday Photo Op

Hi Mamas,  This week I am showing you our favorite places for holiday photos.

I am in love with the Christmas tree at Wilderness Lodge. I have chosen to stay at this resort for this tree! I think it is the most beautiful one of them all.

Gorgeous right?? The picture doesn't even do it justice. It is massive!

We have many family pictures in front of this tree but here's just a few to share with you.

This tree is up starting in mid November making it the perfect Christmas card photo.

Mama Monday : Disney's Beach Club Villas

Hi Mamas (and Papas), today we are going to visit the resort my family has stayed at the most-The Beach Club Villas! It is our favorite of the villa resorts. Why do I love this so much?

1) Location, location, location! This is a short few minute walk to Epcot. Our family loves spending most of our nights at Epcots for the dining options. We also like slowing down in the evenings and Epcot has a perfect mix of things for the adults and the kids to achieve that. Our belief is that you take the bus to the other parks in the morning and then at the end of the night when you are exhausted, you are just short walk home.  You also could walk to Hollywood Studios but we tend to opt for the boat. The Boardwalk area is walking distance as well from this location.

2) The theme! It is just the right amount of kitsche for me. It makes you feel like you are at a a beach on the east coast. It is comfortable and you feel like you can really relax in the rooms. I never worry about the kids breaking anything or feeling like it's not homey enough.

3) The pool! My favorite pool of them all is Storm Along Bay. There's a pirate ship slide and a lazy river. What more could you ask for??

4) The other options for activities-While our family spends most of our time at the parks, I like the other options available here. It is one of the resorts you can have a photo session at and we've done several here. There's a family game room with a nice sized tv to gather and watch Disney shows and movies. There's Beaches and Cream for your afternoon snack! There's also a character meal here which is so nice to be able to do at your own resort and not have to travel anywhere first thing in the morning. They also do an Artist of the Day for the kids. The list goes on and on.

Our villa of choice is the One bedroom because it is just right for our family. There's the kitchen, living room (where the kids sleep), and master bedroom plus split bathroom. There's also a washer and dryer which we use every trip if we stay in a villa. The balconies are nice sized. We have not stayed on the first floor yet, but it is a gorgeous patio option. You can have views of Epcot and the pool as well as the Garden view. I like the pool view. It is the "quiet" pool and it's pretty peaceful actually. I also like how this resort is lit up at night. There's just something extra magical for me here.

Mama Monday : The Polynesian

Hi Mamas,  Today we continue our tour of Walt Disney World Resorts with my one of my favorite deluxe resorts-The Polynesian. It is one of the three resorts that is on the monorail. I love just about everything there is to offer at this resort.

      1) Convenience-It doesn’t get much more convenient than being on the monorail. There is one stop between the Polynesian and the Magic Kingdom. And what is an added bonus here, is the Ticket and Transportation Center is walking distance from the Polynesian. That means you can walk over and take the monorail to Epcot also.

2) Spacious! These rooms can accommodate a family of five. There are two queen beds and a day bed. There’s a lot of storage space. The bathroom is huge! And there’s a little bit of open space too which our kids loved being able to play with their toys when we were in the room.

3) Peaceful-I was concerned that the monorail would be really loud but when the patio door was shut, we couldn’t hear it at all and we were literally right next to the monorail line going through. When you come back from a busy day at the parks and you step onto the grounds, it is so peaceful. The lushness of the vegetation definitely take you back to the South Pacific. The way the longhouses are laid out, you don’t feel how big the resort really is. It doesn’t seem crowded in the least.

 4) DOLE WHIP! Yes, this is a huge plus. You can get a Dole Whip at Capt Cook’s! It is self serve and no matter how many I served I never did get the hang of making it look as pretty as the cast members do. I guess I just have to keep trying. (Dole Whip picture courtesy of my friends at Disney Food Blog)

      

     

If you want a deluxe resort that allows you a peaceful but convenient location to the parks, the Polynesian needs to be at the top of your list. The rooms needed a brightening update and they have received it. The updates make the rooms feel even bigger and it makes it a bit cheerier. For those of you that stayed here as kids, you might be a bit nostalgic for the rooms before their update but you will still love the resort.

Mama Monday : Ft. Wilderness Cabins

Hi Mamas,  today we visit the Fort Wilderness Cabins. I have never personally stayed here. My husband did as a kid and loved them. On paper, I have never been impressed to be honest. You are basically staying in a single wide trailer. I swore we would never stay in them! Then I went to Disney for an Agent Education Program and had the opportunity to tour them in person. They are still pretty rustic for my preferred taste and do have some concerns about how they would be for our family’s needs. However, there is a definite appeal to them, especially if you have boys. So now, I can definitely see our family trying them out when our boys are a little older.  Here are a few things about them I think you should know-the pros and the cons.

 There is a lot of space inside them. Overall I don’t think the space is utilized well at all. I greatly dislike full sized beds. They are great for kids but not for two adults to share. There is a murphy bed in the living room which I assume most parents end up on. 

In the bedroom there is another full sized bed and a set of bunk beds. They can sleep six because of that. I could see putting four kids in the bedroom if they were young.

 There is a full sized kitchen which is nice if you have young children.

There is only one bathroom. Let’s face it, if you have six people in this cabin, you need more than one bathroom! And the bathroom is not spacious.  

 It is heavily wooded which is what is appealing to boys I am sure. I don’t really want to come across insects though. If you will notice you rarely see an insect at Disney just wandering around. I like that. I am sure that is not the case here.

There is a boat to take you to Magic Kingdom! That is pretty cool.  The main bus stop can be quite a trek from your cabin. There is an internal bus that runs but that can add extra travel time to the other parks.

 There are more recreation opportunities than any other resort. You can even rent a golf cart for your stay which in our family would be a must do for our boys. There’s also horseback riding and other fun things.

  

These were nicer inside than I had ever imagined but still too rustic for these to be one of my favorites. If I want the extra space, I would opt to stay at Art of Animation in a family suite.  I am sure we will be at Ft. Wilderness when our boys hit the preteen years though and they will love every minute. I will probably book a couple of nights at the end of that trip at a deluxe so mama has her time too!

I do have clients who love these and I am happy to make their wishes come true!