WDW Trip Diary: The Lost Tweets

After a week of blissful Disney fun, I am back. As I mentioned earlier, I decided to do this trip "unplugged" - no live-blogging, no tweeting, no emailing. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, honestly. In fact, staying unplugged allowed me to really soak things in and appreciate all the little things that make WDW so magical.

That being said, there was a LOT of cool stuff that I wanted to share with all of you. And so, throughout the trip I wrote down (with pen and paper) things that I would have tweeted had I not locked my blackberry in the hotel safe. This should provide a snapshot of my overall adventure, and coming soon I'll have lots more to report here (assuming I ever finish going through all my pictures). But for now, here's a look at my trip, in 140 chracters or less:

Just tried Sanaa for the first time - menu was limited; pretty sure their tomato soup is Campbell's with some pepper added. #fail

Had our professional photo session at the Grand Floridian - amazing value, and the pics look fantastic! My mom is so excited (this was her Mother's Day present).

Narcoossee's: good food, nice atmosphere, up-close water pageant viewing is worth the price alone.

Waiting for a bus to Animal Kingdom. Drivers are sending the buses off half-full. Huge crowd still waiting. Grrr.

New Space Mountain: Now with More Dark.

Space Mountain cast member just yelled to our party, 'Happy Birthday, Space Travelers!' My sister (the bday girl) is letting the attention go to her head.

If Disney collected all the coins at the bottom of It's a Small World, they could feed an African nation. Or build a new attraction.

We've been stuck on Splash Mountain for 20 minutes. Touche, Laughing Place.

Safely off of Splash Mountain; got fast passes to come back and ride any MK attraction. Off to Big Thunder!

Big Thunder Mountain is down. The terrorists have won.

Off to Epcot for Le Cellier lunch reservations! Maybe I'll get to ride the TRON-o-rail.

Monorail is down. Chaos. Taking bus to Beach Club and walking from there. #murphyslaw

My mother, on Living with the Land: "Why would they grow alligators?'"

I wish Club Cool had a soundtrack for purchase. It's like my junior high homecoming dance in here.

Have been in the Soarin' Fastpass line for over 20 mins. #fastpassfail

Cast member in Germany just serenaded my sister with the "Happy Birthday" song in German. People stared. My sister blushed. It was fantastic.

It's official: the best looking cast members work at La Cava del Tequila.

Blood orange margarita at La Cava is soooo delicious. And the flautas are to die for!

omg margaritas are amazing i can haz one more round so sleepy now zzzzzz

Wishes Dessert Party: meh. Not worth the $. More importantly, Tinkerbell is a real person??!! #whoa

I look out my window at AKL and see: a zebra, a couple antelopes, and one naked man watching the view from his room. Yes, fully nude. #AKLgoeswild

Test Track is down; we're off to MK now. #whyiseverythingbroken

Order a Dole whip swirl, get one with no vanilla ice cream. Cast member: "The vanilla is in there; you just can't see it." Riiiiiight.

It's 10 PM, do you know where your bloggers are? Driver got lost going to AKL from MK, have been on the bus for over 45 minutes now.

The California Grill wine list makes me realize how much I still have to learn about wine.

I must say, watching the Celtics beat the Magic while in Orlando feels extra awesome. #letsgoceltics

In Animal Kingdom today - got SOAKED on Kali River Rapids. Anyone have any dry shorts I can borrow?

To everyone in line at Everest: just because there are prayer bells overhead does not mean you need to ring them.

The Toy Story 3 materials in The Magic of Disney Animation are amazing! I cannot WAIT for this movie!

Just met Lots-O Huggin Bear. He is, in fact, full of hugs.

Family just asked Star Tours cast member: "Is this a roller coaster?" His response: "No, roller coasters do not fly in space." LOVE IT.

Just got moved ahead in the Toy Story Mania line from the middle to the front! Lesson: if someone in your party has a birthday pin, make sure they wear it loud and proud.

ABC Commissary has a "McSteamy" chicken curry dish. Heh.

Finishing our trip with some shopping around the world at Epcot. Almost time for Illuminations. Do I really have to go home tomorrow?

I'm told we "must" leave now or we will miss the flight. Goodbye, WDW, it's been a great trip! I miss you already!

This post was part of the DisMarks Blog Carnival. For more post by Disney bloggers, click here.
---
Related Links:
* WDW in T-Minus One Week!
* Out of Office
* The Five People You Meet in Line at WDW

Out of Office

It's finally here. After the weeks of planning, the months of anticipation, the hours spent packing, my family leaves for WDW tomorrow. I couldn't be more excited, because I've desperately needed a vacation for awhile. And while I'd love to share all my WDW adventures as they happen, I'm something of a purist when it comes to vacationing. As in, no cell phones in the park. My blackberry will stay in the hotel safe. I won't be - gasp - tweeting. Even though WDW isn't necessarily the most tranquil place on Earth, these opportunities to unplug my life and just be are so few and far between that I'm going to embrace the moment. So for the next week, I'll be incommunicado. No tweets, no posts, no Facebook updates. I'll miss it, sure, but everyone needs a break now and then.

But you can bet your Mickey ears I'll be serving up some major trip recaps when I get back :)

Much love,

The Disney Chick
---
Related Links:
* Things to Be Thankful For - Disney Edition

* 10 Signs You Are a Disney Dork

WDW in T-Minus One Week!

With my next trip to WDW only a week away, I can barely contain myself. Maybe it was the long winter, maybe it's been the stress of moving to a new apartment, but I am extra excited this time around. Sometimes, you just need a Dole Whip and a ride on Big Thunder Mountain, you know? And my family and I go to WDW often enough that we sometimes fall into that "been there, seen that" trap, so we always try to arrange  a couple new things each time around. And next week, I'm looking forward to three - count 'em - three Disney firsts:

Star Wars Weekends: I've never been to one! And this wasn't planned at all, but I'm looking forward to seeing all the action. In my head, it will be like Comic-con, only with the American Idol Experience nearby. Either way, I'm bringing extra bobby pins because I am going to rock the Leia buns.

Wishes Dessert Party: We couldn't get reservations last year, but this year it is ON. On like whipped cream on a key lime pie. I've already started fasting. Pics to come! And speaking of pics ...

Private PhotoPass Session: It's something of a running joke that my family cannot take a decent photo. And the last time we sat for a real photo session, I was in braces. So for Mother's Day, The Disney Chicklette and I presented our mom with a private PhotoPass session at the Grand Floridian. I plan to smize, model H to T, and unleash my inner fierceness. But first, I need to figure out what to wear.
 
Have you done any of the above WDW activities? Advice, words of wisdom, etc are welcome!

---
Related Links: 
* 10 Signs You Are a Disney Dork
* The Force is Coming

Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Walt Disney World

The steps to creating a theme park seem pretty obvious - choose a location, find your investors, hire some people, build the park, open the park, make lots of money. And yes, those things still have to happen - but within each of those steps, there's a LOT that needs get done. And finally, we have a book that takes you inside all the big decisions that had to be made before construction on Walt Disney World began.

Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Walt Disney World by Chad Denver Emerson is everything its title promises and more. Meticulously researched, Emerson's book takes a deep dive into the days before any ground was broken on the top secret project that would change Florida forever. Emerson, a law professor by trade, uncovers all that transpired in secret meetings and the "real estate espionage" that was needed in order to make Walt Disney World a reality.

Featuring interviews with major behind-the-scenes players like Harrison "Buzz" Price and Tom DeWolf, Project Future is an interesting read that is sure to impress even the most seasoned Disney fan. And maybe it's because my own trip to WDW is fast approaching, but this would be a great book to take with you on the plane ride there. I know that when I touch down in Orlando, when I ride the resort bus to the Magic Kingdom, when I walk down Main Street USA and stare at the castle (as I do), this time I'll have a little more appreciation for the research, planning, and the sheer determination it took to make Walt's dream a reality, to truly bring magic to life.

A note about Amazon: I like Amazon, so I was very excited to see they now have an Amazon Associates program available for Blogger. Turns out, they won't let me participate in the program because my blog has the word "Disney" in the title, which is trademarked. So thanks to Amazon, I will not be showcasing all my favorite Disney books in a cute little sidebar here, nor will I direct traffic to Amazon for purchasing.

On that note, Project Future is available at Barnes & Noble for the same price :)

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Project Future for this post.
---
Related Links:
* Up, Up, and Away
* Bolt - (Almost) Fully Awesome