travel

Potty Paranoia For My Peeps

April 9, 2012 By Blonde Mom 6 Comments

The Easter Bunny visited our house while we were gone this weekend which proves that chocolate won’t let you down even if you’re not around to let it in the house. THANK GOD.

If you’re ever at any type of Tennessee tourist destination near the mountains you know there is fudge. There is fudge like there are corn dogs and funnel cakes at county fairs and hot dogs and nuclear orange nacho cheese at football games.

We just spent a fun family weekend in Chattanooga and on nearby Lookout Mountain. We normally don’t travel Easter weekend but our spring break was late this year and we had the opportunity to review a lovely hotel downtown. More about our trip next week but first, a funny story.

Where was I? Fudge.

Sunday afternoon we browsed around in a souvenir shop and bought a slice of fudge to go. Fudge to go sounds like a grand idea until your kids open it in a moving vehicle and you realize you have no napkins. Any way, the girls bit into their fudge and before I could shove mine in my mouth they’d already inhaled theirs. I’m in the savor the fudge camp so I was taking my time. And then I realized that the fudge was just, well, weird. The consistency was wrong. It was almost runny in the center. Now some candy is meant to be runny. Think Cadbury Egg center yumminess. Fudge is not in this category.

Hubby was driving so he was not partaking in our fudge tasting session. “This fudge doesn’t look right.” I held it up so he could see.

“That’s not right,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t eat any more.”

“I don’t think it’s done,” I added.

“Eating fudge like that can make you REALLY SICK can’t it?” Miss A chimed in from the back.

Great kid. You’re NOT helping.

“UH mom…I don’t want to get sick. Is that going to make us sick?” Miss C’s face was filled with worry and, bless her heart, she has inherited my propensity to fret.

I put the fudge away and assured the girls it was no big deal that we’d eaten a little but that we should just throw it out to be safe.

I took a swig of water and then another. The OCD mama in me was silently freaking out. We could NOT get sick. We still had an afternoon of fun planned plus a two-hour plus car ride home. I shoved my neurotic tendencies aside and we changed the subject and just enjoyed the beautiful Sunday drive. That was until we arrived at Ruby Falls, an incredible waterfall thousands of feet below the surface of the earth. As we stood in line to board an elevator that would take us down into the cave, the tour guide gave an ominous warning…well, ominous to anyone who might have pending bathroom issues. “Take your bathroom breaks now. There’s no bathroom in the cave and the tour is about one hour and 15 minutes,” the tour guide cautioned.

NO BATHROOM.

His words echoed in my brain.

And then I remembered.

RUNNY FUDGE.

I was getting paranoid again. Was my stomach rumbling? Or was it the kid next to me?

We all headed to the bathroom for a pee break, despite Miss A insisting that she did not have to go after I insisted that oh yes she was going to go whether she felt like she needed to or not, and soon we entered the elevator for the start of the cave tour.

As we made our descent into the bowels of the cave (pun intended), I said a small silent prayer that we wouldn’t need a bathroom.

Thankfully the good fudge fairies of the mountain were looking over us.

p.s. We were fine and the girls ended the night raiding their Easter Bunny loot he’d left at the house while we were traveling Sunday morning. Chocolate wins! As it should be.

Filed Under: Blonde Moments, My Girls, Parenting 6 Comments

Epic Mickey: Lunch In Italy, $8 Beers In Germany, And Soarin’ (Day 3)

March 28, 2012 By Blonde Mom 3 Comments

It’s not every Monday that you tell your kids you’re going to Italy for lunch.

We headed to Epcot on day 3 of our Disney World family vacation and I was pleasantly surprised at just how much my girls loved it. Epcot, in fact, ended up being one of their favorite parks. We covered so much territory and so many cultures I could write even more than I have, but I’ll just hit the highlights. And you can’t read highlights about Epcot without mentioning food!

I’d made lunch reservations for Via Napoli back in December after reading several incredible reviews of Epcot’s newest Italian restaurant. We arrived at the park mid-morning and started working our way around the countries as we headed toward Italy.

Our first Disney princess we spied was beautiful Mulan from China. She was gracious and friendly and the girls loved meeting her. My girls are well past the Disney Princess age, but this was one princess they could relate to. Girl power rules! Speaking of girl power, as I was fumbling around in my bag for my camera because PRINCESS SIGHTING! I somehow managed to pop the button on my shorts. So classy ya’ll!

The girls with Mulan. They had a great conversation about Nashville!

In all seriousness, here’s a great travel tip for you if you head to Disney in early March. Epcot’s annual International Flower & Garden Festival’s official kick off date was March 7 but we were in the park March 4 and all of the incredible character topiaries were already on display. We may have missed the related festival events, but we got to see these topiary masterpieces minus the extra crowds. And every time you avoid huge crowds at Disney an angel gets her mouse ears, or something like that.

Yes it’s Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen as you’ve never seen them before. This seriously cracked me up.

The weather was also absolutely picture perfect. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day.

Donald and Daisy in flower form.

We logged plenty of walking time before our 11:30 lunch reservations at Via Napoli. The restaurant had just opened for the day for lunch and our food was absolutely incredible. The oven fired pizza was amazing and so was the ambiance. Even though we felt like we’d been transported to Italy, the subtle Disney touches that keep that magic going were there. The balsamic oil in vinegar for dipping bread was even artfully added in the shape of Mickey’s iconic face and ears by our server. Via Napoli is definitely one of my must do dining experiences at Epcot.

Are we in Italy? Because it sure feels like it.

Reservations are a must for Via Napoli, one of our favorite dining experiences at Epcot.

After lunch we explored more of the country expo areas but we eventually made our way to Soarin’. We didn’t have a Fast Pass (they were gone by the time we arrived) but we decided it was well worth the 40-minute wait and it was. Soarin’ simulates hanggliding and you really feel like you are flying thanks to the biggest movie screen I’ve ever seen. This was the longest wait for a ride we encountered during our 5-day vacation but as I mentioned, it was well worth it!

Speaking of Fast Passes, as luck would have it we struck up a conversation with a couple as we were leaving Soarin’ and they just happened to be leaving the park for the day so they gave us their THREE Fast Passes to Fast Track. Cha ching! We headed over to Fast Track and while hubby and the girls basically walked right in, I wandered over to the Fast Pass dispenser and grabbed four more for later in the evening as I really wanted to ride Fast Track. It ended up being one of our favorite rides, ranked up with Soarin’ in the top 3.

More topiary cuteness near England. Pooh!

After I snagged four Fast Passes to Test Track with our park tickets I trotted over to Mission Space to check out the wait time, which was less than 10 minutes. Miss C (my 9-year-old) and the hubby opted for the more intense ride, while Miss A and I opted for the less intense version. Maybe because every sign at every turn warned against claustrophobia and motion sickness, but I wasn’t so keen on Mission Space. The girls loved it, though, especially Miss C.

Mission Space, one of the coolest ride exteriors at Epcot.

We ended up circling back around to the World Showcase area and headed into Mexico where we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour inside the giant Mexico pavillion. It was honestly a tad hokey, but was a pleasant change from Future World and all of the space and technology theme attractions. An added bonus was spying Donald Duck in a full on sombrero! Photo op and autograph time again. We also rode another indoor ride, Maelstrom, a Viking inspired ride in Norway.

All the walking was making us thirsty and hungry so after wandering around aimlessly in Germany looking for beer (only half way kidding!) we headed to the Japanese Pavillion for dinner as I’d read that it was a good choice for a quick service meal (remember, we were on the dining plan). We sat outside by a beautiful koi fish pond and enjoyed a live show not far from Katsura Grill at dusk. Really pretty amazing scenery.

We walked around even more (I wish I’d worn a pedometer) and ended up closing the evening with The Seas with Nemo & Friends, a sweet ride suited for really young kids, Turtle Talk With Crush, and then finally used our fast passes for Test Track, which I loved! This was hubby and the girls’ second time on Test Track and my first. It’s a thrilling fast vehicle simulation ride (that sped up to 60 MPH) and another must do, along with Soarin’. It’s a 5-minute ride and I highly recommend grabbing a Fast Pass for either it or Soarin’ as soon as you arrive in Epcot.

I don’t have photos to do it justice, but Epcot closes with the 14-minute IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth fireworks and laser show and it was a highlight of our trip. We honestly liked it even more than Wishes at Magic Kingdom. The show and music were incredible!

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Day 2: Animal Kingdom

Next post: Return to the Magic Kingdom and dinner at the Grand Floridian with Cinderella, Prince Charming, and those wacky wicked stepsisters.

Filed Under: Travel 3 Comments

Disney Dreams On A Dime

March 7, 2012 By Blonde Mom 13 Comments

Hi everyone! We are wrapping up our first ever Disney World family vacation and having an incredible time! I can’t wait to share photographs and some of the highlights of our trip. In the meantime, I’ve asked my friend and fellow Middle Tennessee blogger Sami Cone to share her tips for experiencing Disney on a dime.

People are always asking me how to make their Disney dreams come true, but on a dime. Having lived in Florida for almost ten years, it’s safe to say my family and I became somewhat of a Disney connoisseur.

We realized we wouldn’t live there forever, so we decided early on that Disney was where we wanted to spend our family vacations. But after losing an income and a car right before having our second child, we had to get really creative if we still wanted to make that vacation dream a reality.

In fact, there have been times where we’ve never set foot in a Disney park, but our kids have still had just as magical of a stay at Disney World. A lot of that has to do with the ambiance of the hotels and the stellar attitudes of the cast members there, but you might be surprised at what else the property offers.

Over the years, we’ve learned a few tips that can help anyone with their dream Disney vacation, and I’d like to share just a few of our FREE Disney favorites:

1. Downtown Disney

DOWNTOWN DISNEY is a great way to see all things Mickey without spending a dime (that is, if you can get out of there without spending any money at the numerous shops and restaurants!). They have fountains for the kids to run in, a LEGO playland and play stations, a toy store complete with Mr. Potato Head and My Little Pony play stations, and so much more!

2. Disney Vacation Club

Of course the club itself isn’t free (Disney’s version of time share), but learning about it is. They transport you to their sales center, have a FREE Kids Clubhouse for your kids to play in (professionally supervised) while you’re there, offer you FREE refreshments in air conditioning (this alone is worth the trip after a hot day in Orlando!), and take you for a FREE Ice Cream Sundae in the Ice Cream Parlor before taking your picture and giving you a FREE copy before leaving! This presentation lasts about an hour an did I mention you also walk away with a $15 Gift Card for every person in attendance? That’s right! Even the kids got one! So for an hour’s worth of time, we walked away with $60 – which you can then use almost anywhere on property.

3. Character Dining

Again, this isn’t necessarily a freebie, but there are a lot of great character dining experiences around Disney World, many of which are in the hotels, which means you don’t have to pay for a park ticket to partake! As most of you with little ones know, all they really care about at Disney is seeing the characters, so one of my favorite tips to tell people is to book a character breakfast; it’s the least expensive meal and you have all the characters come to YOU at your table instead of waiting hours in lines with sweaty people inside the theme park. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Once we did our Vacation Club experience so we would have money to go to Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort the next morning and meet the Fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy) for FREE!

4. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground

This is a hidden jewel on the grounds. You can take a bus or a boat (from outside the Magic Kingdom) to the campgrounds where they not only have the famous “Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review” and one of our favorite restaurants, Trail’s End, but they also have a FREE petting zoo, great playground and beach volleyball courts.

Our new favorite freebie is Chip & Dale’s Campfire – a must see where you can meet the famous twosome, enjoy live music and even watch a Disney movie outside under the stars!

5. Animal Kingdom Lodge

When this hotel first opened, it was one of our favorite places to stay because no-one knew about it and it was SO reasonable for a “luxury” class hotel at Disney. They feature a 33-acre wildlife preserve that boasts over 30 species of wildlife that roam amidst 3 lush, tropical savannas. You can observe exotic animals from special viewing areas throughout the Resort as well as from the balconies of select Guest rooms. They also have great children’s activities all day, such as chalk rubbings in the lobby and stories by the fire pit outside. While it’s out of our price range now, it is one of the most unique places we’ve ever experienced.

If you’re looking for the best time of year to head to Walt Disney World, plan on February for great weather and no lines or October (when they typically offer their Disney Dining Plan for free!). They are always having special offers and if you know anyone who lives in Florida (like a grandparent), have them travel with you so you can take advantage of their Florida resident discounts…and of course make some new family memories

If you have more questions, or want to book your own Disney planning seminar, please feel free to contact me!

Have a magical day!

With a passion for teaching and mentoring others as her inspiration, Sami Cone began blogging at SamiCone.com to encourage others to live their dream life and pursue their passions. A published author and seminar speaker, she draws on her experiences as a writer, editor, university professor, performer, professional athlete, and pageant winner to help women realize their full potential in life. She appears regularly on TV and nationally-syndicated morning radio as a Frugal Expert. Sami and her husband of eight years, Rick, thrive in Nashville with their two children.

Filed Under: Nashville, Travel 13 Comments