It's almost vacation time!

What's this??  A new Blog??  Sorry, I apparently have been hibernating for winter.  I'm so glad it is spring time.  Not much left of the school year and that means it is almost vacation season  WOOHOO!!

We are taking a very short trip this year.  We will visit some family in Florida, and while we are there we'll hop over to Disney for a couple of days.  We have everything planned and now I just try to wait patiently.  That is very hard for a Disney junkie.

While waiting I decided to look through pictures of vacations past.   Do you ever see a recurring theme in your vacation photos?  We have one and it is one I am NOT a fan of.

My husband (who is wonderful by the way) used to have an old blue floppy hat.  I think he loved that hat as much as he loved me!  As soon as it was vacation time, that hat came out.  It seemed to be in every picture.  It didn't matter where we were or what we had on; that hat was in the picture.  Cruise, beach, Disney....YES the hat was there!    Here is the hat in St Lucia in 2008.  I never see the Pitons in the background....I see the hat!!

Here the hat was about to ruin a beautiful picture in Antigua.  I made him take it off at the last minute - you can see it in his hand.  I'm glad it was removed because I love this pic!

In 2010 the hat made it's last journey with us.  He took it to the beach in Florida.  He wore in the ocean and it was carried out to sea by a massive wave.  He was devastated and STILL talks about that old blue hat.  I tried very hard to act sympathetic, but inside I was rejoicing.  Here is the last time the hat was seen.

I thought all vacation photo problems were solved!  My dear, wonderful and handsome husband does have a rather large head. Because of this, he has trouble finding hats that fit well.  He looked and looked and could not find a replacement.  He finally found a tan hat that is ok, but it doesn't get quite as much wear.  BUT look what he found for our son......

If you haven't planned your vacation yet, there is still plenty of time.  You can even still get discounts at Disney for the summer season.   email me at amdhawkins@gmail.com    I can help you plan, get you the best price available and my services are are FREE!!  Don't stress over details, let me handle it all and you just enjoy :)

My personal testimonty

My Testimony

Aug 2013 – June 2014 was the hardest time of my life.  It was a difficult year in regards to my health and our finances. Plus it was just plain stressful for my family.  God saw us through it all.  Not only that, but he started working before we knew what was coming.

My husband is a high school economics teacher and was a football coach until July of 2013.  Before July we had never even discussed him quitting his coaching position.   After the first football practice of that summer he came home with ice cream.  He asked me to come eat it with him in the kitchen and talk….I knew something was up!  He said “I know you’ve wanted to go to the beach.  You have a couple of weeks to plan it.”  By this point in the summer I knew it was too late because of football obligations.  What about practice I asked.  He responded “I don’t have football next week, or the next, or the next….”  I’m not sure how many “nexts” he went through before I said “What?!?” 

He said he had quit football.  I have never been more shocked at anything in my life.  My ice cream melted as I sat with my mouth hanging open.  He said he had felt for months that he needed to quit. He didn’t know why, but it was just nagging at him.  Why hadn’t I heard about this?  His response was again unexpected, but was dead on.  “If I had asked you if I should quit, and you said yes You would  feel responsible and guilty if I wasn’t happy.  I knew you wouldn’t have a problem with me quitting and I didn’t want you to have that hanging over your head.”   He was right. I would have worried that I talked him into something he didn’t want to do.  I’m so grateful he listened to that nagging because the coming year would be much more difficult if he had kept his very busy football schedule.

A similar thing happened with my dad.  He planned to retire in the summer of 2014.  All of the sudden in the spring of 2013 he decided he would retire a year early.  This was essential as well, because he was able to help me recover for many months.  He took on a much more difficult job because he spent many hours sitting with me in the hospital and chasing my kids around the house.

In late spring of 2013 I had some very minor health concerns.  A few aches  and pains as well as some swelling.  Nothing major, but it gradually got worse and worse.  I went to the doctor in the summer.  She tested me for rheumatoid arthritis and the test was inconclusive.  I went about life without worrying about it too much, but things continued to escalate.  I went to see a rheumatologist.   He diagnosed it as rheumatoid arthritis even though his tests were negative as well.  He started me on some medication.  A week later things were even worse.  I now had a horrible rash and was retaining fluid throughout my feet and legs – 12lbs worth.  I was taken off the medicine and given a pill to get rid of the fluid.  More problems emerged.  I developed what we thought was a UTI and was given an antibiotic.  This lead to the first of many hospital visits.  I had a severe reaction to the antibiotic and spent a night in ICU due to severe swelling in my throat.

This same kind of episode continued for the next 2.5 months.  New diagnosis, new drug, new problems…repeat!  I was diagnosed with more UTIs, strep throat, Lyme disease, among other things.  I had more allergic reactions and hospital visits.  I became the mystery case that no one could solve. During this time I also ran a constant fever.  It started very low, but gradually got worse.  By late Oct it was up to 102 – 103 every day.  My daily tasks had become too much for me and I struggled to get out of bed.   I had stumped all the doctors.

By Nov I developed a swollen lymph node in my neck.  Now the doctors were worried about something more serious. I heard a word I never wanted to hear in my life.  Leukemia.  My grandmother had it so it ran in my family and I knew how terrible it was.   I had a biopsy and after a week of waiting we finally got results.  No cancer! Everyone was so happy. 

I was not overjoyed.  Leukemia was not something I wanted, but there was something terribly wrong with me and we still had no clue what it was.  The fevers continued and that week the nausea hit as well.  I could no longer hold down any food.

By this point my Dad was coming every day to help with the kids and to take care of me.  At the start of the second week of the vomiting he said “that’s it!  We are going to a different hospital to find out what is wrong.” 

When we arrived at the ER I was dehydrated and malnourished from the past couple of weeks.  After the doctor heard my story he said “The only thing I can do is give you fluids and send you home.”  Here we go again.  After a little bit he came back and made a statement I will never forget.  He said “I’m not going to send you home.  I’m going to admit you and run tests.  I think we owe it to you to find out what is going on.”  God bless that doctor.   I believe God had a hand in this, because had I not been at that hospital the following days I’m not sure if I would still be here.

When I was admitted they said I would be there a couple of days, but we probably would not have any answers before I was sent home.  Some of the test could take a while to get results.  They tested me for everything under the sun and I saw about 5 different doctors. On the day I was supposed to go home, a more serious problem occurred.  My kidneys began to fail.  If I had not been in that hospital we would not have known what was going on, and I’m not sure I would have gotten the help I needed. 

The 2 day hospital stay turned into a 17 day sentence!  I had a kidney biopsy during this time.  That is when we finally got the correct diagnosis; Lupus Nephritis.  This is an autoimmune disease which means my body is attacking itself.  In my case it was attacking my kidneys and now they were shutting down.  I went through 6 dialysis treatments – the first one on Thanksgiving Day.  It was a little difficult to be thankful that day, but looking back I’m very thankful for where I was.

When I finished my six treatments my new kidney specialist walked me through a treatment plan.  It sounded horrible!  Her exact words were “this next year is going to suck.”  She was right.  I had to do 3 months of chemo treatments.  Chemo??  Yes, a lower dose than cancer patients receive, but it was hoped to put the lupus into remission.  She said I wouldn’t lose all my hair, but it would thin a lot.  She mentioned lots of other medicines and side effects as well; including high doses of prednisone which would make my face and stomach swell.  So I was going to be fat and bald.  Oh joy!  I also would have no immune system to fight off an illness.  I had to be very careful about  where I went and what I did.

I was discharged in early Dec and went back every 2 weeks for the chemo treatment.  It took a long time regain strength and even do daily tasks after that long in the hospital, but gradually I started to get back to normal.  Unfortunately the chemo did not work as they hoped.  I was not seeing the needed results.  They were right about one part.  I did lose a lot of my hair.  That’s about the only thing it did!

I was switched to an oral medication in Feb, and we slowly started to see some results.  I was feeling better and thought things were improving.   On March 1^st we were knocked back a few steps.  My kids got a stomach bug.  Since I had no immune system from the medications I of course caught it too.  The illness made me unable to hold down any of my medications.  This caused my blood pressure to go through the roof.  You see, the kidneys control your blood pressure.  I had no clue about that before my illness.  On Sun March 2^nd I had missed my meds for over 24hrs due to the stomach bug and I felt horrible.  I went back to our room to rest, but I apparently never made it into the bed.

Around lunch time Will came back to check on me.  He found me in the floor, unresponsive.  He says he tried everything to get me to wake up, but I wouldn’t budge.  He realized he had to call 911.  When the ambulance arrived even the paramedics seemed to be disturbed by my state.  They said I had all the signs of someone who had a massive stroke.  When I was in the ambulance they intubated me  and reported that my blood pressure was over 250!  The hospital decided my case was too severe to stay in Smyrna and I was sent to the neurological ICU at Centennial.

Once there I had an MRI.  Will was told that I had lots of swelling in my brain due to the high blood pressure.  Unfortunately I would have permanent damage.  They kept me sedated until late on Monday.  When they woke me up and removed the tube I was not myself.  I had hallucinations, was very paranoid and I didn’t even sound like myself.  I stayed that way for all of Tues.  During this time word spread about my condition.  A friend heard and started an online group to pray for me.  Over a 100 people joined and began to intercede on my behalf.  I had never met many of them, but my friend knew they were people who were prayer warriors. 

Their prayers worked!  When I went to sleep on Tues I was still not myself, but when I woke up Wed everything seemed to be back to normal.  The doctors weren’t really sure what was going on so they did another MRI.  All swelling and damage was gone!  Praise God for his touch!! 

I stayed in the hospital a little over a week and was sent home.  After this things really did begin to improve.  I had a couple more minor infections and hospital stays but nothing major.  I’m also still taking around 20 pills a day, visiting doctors every couple of weeks and have a suppressed immune system.  However, since June I have seen a huge improvement in the way I feel. I believe it will continue to get better.  The doctors say there is no cure for the lupus and I will have to deal with it for the rest of my life.  They also said I would be brain damaged…..I know my God is bigger than lupus.  Someday I will update this testimony to say “The lupus is gone, my kidneys are healed.  To God be the glory!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love going to Florida in the summer for fun and sun at the beach, but Disney world is a different story.  Disney is of course great any time of the year, but there are so many special things to see and do in the fall and winter it seems extra special Sept - Dec!

Disney starts gearing up for Halloween in Sept.  In the usual Disney style everything is decorated for the fall season.  Pumpkins, special food and characters in costumes are just a few of the special treats. There is the Mickey's Not So Scary Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.  This is a special event that requires a special ticket, but you get LOTS of special treats as well.  Trick or treating with character, special Halloween shows, parades and snacks!    Even if you don't feel like paying extra for this event, you can find extra free activities at the resorts on Halloween.  In addition to these exciting events add smaller crowds, a little cooler weather and if you time it right great discounts!  It's no wonder the fall is becoming a more popular time to travel to Disney.

Not a fan of Halloween?  There are plenty of other activities in the fall, especially if you are like me. Food is one of the best treats on vacation.  I love to splurge on my vacation. I plan to do just that next year.  I always splurge at Disney World but next year for the first time ever I will be there for part of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival in the fall.  I am always excited about a trip to Disney, but great food just puts it over the top for me!  The festival lasts for several weeks from mid September to early November.  You can taste food and wine from countries all over the world.  There are free events included with park admission as well as extra ticketed events.  
I need to make sure I pack my stretchy pants! 

Want some good music with your food?  During the festival there are also Eat to the Beat Concerts.  A long list of artists are featured each year.  This year artists range from The Pointer Sisters to Smash Mouth! 

If you need to run off some of that food you can participate in the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  I'm not sure what it would take to get me to run (probably the threat of physical torture) but if you enjoy a run you can do it at Disney!

As soon as Halloween is over, Disney starts gearing up for Christmas!  The number of Christmas lights and decorations at Disneyworld makes Clark Griswold's house look like scrooge's house.  There are 8.5 Million Christmas lights and it takes 150 semi trailers to hold all the decorations for the season!  The Magic Kingdom is usually decorated by the first week of Nov with the rest of the resorts and parks completed by Thanksgiving.  Decorations start coming down by January 3rd.
 

Disney decorates Cinderella Castle for the holiday season with a “Dream Lights” effect that makes the Castle seem to be covered in ice. Over 200,000 lights are draped over the Castle to create this beautiful effect. A short show called “Cinderella’s Holiday Wish” and a castle lighting ceremony is held each evening, usually around 6:15 pm, and the lights remain on, slowly changing colors, for the rest of the evening.

At Hollywood Studios you do not want to miss the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. It incorporates millions of Christmas lights and fake snow. It was created by Jennings Osborne at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas. After he was forced to remove the display due to complaints by his neighbors, Disney agreed to use parts of it at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where it has become an annual event. The spectacle has been enhanced to include choreographed “dancing” lights that swirl and soar to an exhilarating medley of holiday music every 15 minutes. For the 2014 holiday season, this display will be offered November 7 – January 4. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights is included in regular admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is held after the regular closing of Magic Kingdom and requires separate admission. (The event is held from 7:00 pm to midnight on selected nights, usually running from about the second week of November through approximately a week prior to Christmas. Admission to the event includes complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, “snow” on Main Street, holiday stage shows, carolers, two performances of the holiday parade, and a special fireworks display. Plus, most of the major attractions will be open.

I could go ON and ON with the number of holiday attractions at Disney World.  These are just a couple of the biggest items.  Want to know more?  just ask.  The closer it gets to Christmas and New Years, the more crowded the parks become.  If you can go in early December or early Nov it a great time avoid crowds and still enjoy all the holiday attractions.  I'd like to ask Santa for an early Christmas gift...a trip to Disney before Christmas :)

What's the perfect age for Walt Disney World?

I've always heard lots of people ask if their kids are too young to go to Disney World.  Recently several people have mentioned wanting to take their kids before they are too big for Disney World.  So what is the perfect age to go?

 I personally never thought I would take a child younger than 5 or 6.  I never wanted to mess with diaper bags or strollers in the parks.  That would ruin all the fun wouldn't it? 
I changed my tune after we had our son.  I had no desire to take him as a baby, but when he was 2 and started to love Disney characters I got the bug.  I gave in and I'm glad we did.

For those with little kids under 3 you can get them in the parks and feed them at buffets for free! Plus, what can beat this expression of pure joy??

The best time to take a small child is right before their 3rd birthday.  If you can time it right to go at this age your child will still be free AND big enough to enough for lots of rides. Even if your child turns 3 during the trip (what a birthday present!) he or she will still be free the entire time.
 Our son was also potty trained by this age so that saved us from needing a diaper bag.  Although, we did have to visit LOTS of restrooms. 
Each child is different.  There are questions to consider before you take them at this age:
-Is your child scared of characters in costume?  That is a lot of the appeal at this age so if they are scared waiting might be better.
 -Is he/she scared of the dark?  Several of the rides that small kids like the best (Winnie the pooh, peter pan, etc) are dark rides.  I never thought about my son being scared of these, but he was the first time.  After he knew what to expect he loved it. 
-For small children their height will also determine what they can ride.  There are plenty of rides for small ones, but here is a list of rides with height requirements as well.

 

Want to ride one of these, but your child isn't big enough?  No problem!  Disney has a child swap pass!  Just tell the cast member at the ride entrance that you want to use child swap.  You get to go ride while your spouse and child go play somewhere else.  When you are done your spouse can use his pass to skip the line and go ride!  It is a fantastic system that my husband and I have used many times.  we love the thrill rides and can't miss those!

 

What about those wanting to wait until their kids are older?  I still think 5 or 6 is the perfect age for the first trip.  They won't be free any longer, but they will remember more of the trip and be able to enjoy more of the rides.  We took my son back at age 5 for 1 day at the Magic Kingdom and it was perfect.  He wasn't scared of anything, still loved the characters and had a ball!  Plus we didn't have to visit quite as many restrooms.

 

Now for those of you asking if your kids are too old......NEVER!!!  You never outgrow Disney.  Lots of people associate Disney with princesses and character that only little ones would enjoy.  Disney is so much more than that.  All those rides above with height requirements are awesome at any age. Plus pirates, haunted mansions and fireworks. You never outgrow good food or good rides. There is so much great food (my next blog will talk about food).

My husband and I actually like to go without our kids (please don't tell them!).  We had several trips together before they were born, and even a couple of date nights since they have been around.  We love not only the rides, but the food and the atmosphere.  And what big kid wouldn't enjoy this water slide at Blizzard Beach?? 

 

So the best age?  Well it really depends on your family and your child's personality.  If you are going to make more than 1 trip in their childhood (of course I think you should), then try my suggestions above at 2, 5 and anytime after that.   If you are saving up for 1 big once in a lifetime trip wait until at least 5.  If they are still a little scared of rides at that age then wait a couple more years.  They won't outgrow it by then!



Don't let the new FastPass system stress you out!

 Recently Disney changed the Fast Pass system.  I know this has raised many questions, even with Disney veterans like me! I was stressed out, and  VERY opposed to this new system.  I think I pouted over it even more than my 5 year old pouts over bedtime!  (that's pretty bad)
How could Disney do this to me??  Oh the drama!
 I recently got to put this new system to the test with my family. Once I pulled myself together and gave it a chance I actually liked it (most of it anyway). I should take the advice I give to my children more often.  This new system was like the new food I put on their plates.  You have to try it before you say you don't like it :)

Figuring out the new system can be overwhelming so here are some tips!
After your vacation is booked (call me for that part :))  you want to make sure you log onto www.mydisneyexperience.com    Here you can set up an account if you don't already have one.  This will help you keep track of everything in one place:  hotel reservations, dining reservations, Fast passes and more!   You will just  have to enter your reservation number.

First customize your magic bands!  You need to do this before your vacation is 30 days away.  If you don't, you will get boring grey bands.  They will still work fine.  They just aren't as much fun as these!

These new bands are your room key, theme park tickets, they hold info for your Fast passes and you can even add the ability to charge purchases to your credit card.  They are pretty comfortable and water proof.  I really liked the bands.  It was much easier to me than trying to keep up with tickets and paper fast passes. 

You can make dining reservations from this site.  If you are my client I can do this for you as early as 180 days in advance, and those most popular restaurants book up fast!  If you want this pineapple  bread pudding let me know and I'll reserve it for you.  YUM!

 

Now for those very important FastPasses!  I NEVER thought I'd want to plan my fast passes 60 days in advance.  How do I know which park I want to be at each day, much less what time I want to ride splash mountain??  What if it rains and I want to go to Epcot instead??  Isn't vacation for having fun and being spontaneous??  Before my trip I really wanted to throw a hissy fit over these fast pass changes, and believe me my kids have taught me how to throw a good one.  Now I know it's not so bad. 

The one bad thing is deciding in advance which park you want to go to each day.  (once again I can help with this - I can tell you what the crowd levels will be like at each park).  The good news?   if you want to change it once you are there you can!  Of course the best FPs for that day may already be gone, but there will still be some good options if you want to change.   The My Disney Experience App makes it easy to change your FastPasses and check wait times for rides in the park.  I LOVE the app!

When booking your FPs 60 days in advance you can book 3 for each day.  They do have to be in the same park.  There are some rides listed that you do not want to waste a FP on - for example I love Mickey's philharmagic, but it does not usually have much of a wait and would be a terrible waste of a FP.  Instead go for the roller coasters or Peter pan. 

 

When reserving your FP online it will give you just a few times to choose from.  pick the one you like best and then you can go back and change or look for more times. They don't show you all the times in your first option.  After playing with the system a good bit I found out it is easy to change your times and their are usually a lot more options than you see at first, 

 

Once you have used your 3 FP for the day you can get more!  This is the best change they have made to the new FP+.  You will have to go to a kiosk in the park to get your FP, but there are cast members there to help and it is easy.   When you get these extra passes that is the best time to get a FP for shows or parades.  They are great options, but I would not waste my first 3 of the day on one.

 

There are a few things I still don't care for with the new system.  I do not like the categories they use for FP at Epcot and Hollywood studios.  I still hope they will change those.  While it was nice to have 3 FPs at the start of the day, I miss some of the spontaneity of deciding what should we do next!  You can still tour the park this way, but you may have to wait in more long lines. 

 

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for tips on dining plan, changes to the memory maker package and tips on going with small kids!



Our quick family Disney trip - June 2014

This year we were not able to do a big family vacation, but we were blessed to be invited to visit my sister-in-law in Fl.  We had a blast with her and her family!  Thanks for letting us invade :)  Of course since we were going to be an hour from Disney World I could not pass up a chance to visit.  After all 1 day at Disney is better than none!

We took off with our 5 year old for 2 nights at the All Star Sports resort.  My sister-in-law was kind enough to keep the baby.  (Since it was such a short trip we decided to make her first trip next year when we wouldn't be so rushed.)  We usually stay at Pop Century, but decided to try a new place this time.  My son LOVED the giant football field.  He ran around and had a great time.  I personally prefer the theming at Pop, but it was fun to visit someplace new. There were not that many differences from Pop, but I think the transportation at Pop was a little better. It's still my favorite value resort.  I'm saving to try a moderate next time though.

 

After arriving we had a dinner reservation at our favorite Disney restaurant - 'Ohana.  YUM!  We cannot make a trip to Disney without having wings, steak, shrimp and pineapple bread pudding from 'Ohana.  It was excellent as always.  We stuffed ourselves as proved by these before and after pics.

 

 

We went back to our room for early bedtime.  The next day we had a breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace before the Magic Kingdom opened.  That is the absolute best time to go!  You get to walk down Main St in the MK before the crowds are there.  It is a perfect time to have your picture made infront of the castle.  It is one of my favorite things to do.  Plus, they have custom made omelets that are great too.   My son enjoyed Mickey Waffles and puffed French toast as well as meeting the Winnie the Pooh characters.  I'm glad he still loves them, but even when he thinks he is too old to meet Pooh we will still have to go here for early entry to the park and omelets.

 





After breakfast it was off to tackle the park!  This was my very first trip using Fast Pass +, magic bands and the My Disney Experience App.  I have been a Disney World fanatic for 24 years and I was nervous about these changes.  I've always loved using fast passes, but the thought of planning them in advance did not appeal to me at all.  Right now you are allowed to reserve 3 per day in advance.  I was lucky enough to get us FPs for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the new 7 Dwarves Mine Train.  The hardest thing about these advance passes was explaining to my 5 year old that we couldn't just jump on every ride we saw because we had scheduled times for these rides.  I have to admit that I liked the new system much more than I expected.  I think I'll always prefer the old way of getting Fast passes as we go, so we don't have to plan so much in advance.  BUT I did enjoy having 3 passes already in hand when we arrived.   The new system also lets you get more FPs after you use the first 3.  You can only get 1 at a time after this, but that is no different than the old system.  We were able to get 3 more passes during the day including one for the 9pm electrical parade. 
This is one of my new favorite tips!!  If you plan to see the parade this is the way to do it!  The area in front of the castle is roped off for these FP holders.  You are allowed to enter 20 min before the parade to claim your spot.  It give you an uncrowned, prime spot to view the parade without having to sit and save your spot an hour or more before. 

I loved the magic bands and the My Disney Experience App.  They are both great additions.   My 5 year old did not want to leave his band on all day, but we had no problem with ours.  As I mentioned we were very lucky to get a FP for the new ride that just opened: The Seven Dwarves Mine Train.  I was really excited for this new coaster.  The animatronics in it were fantastic.  I loved what they did with it, but I wanted more!  I was hoping for more movie scenes, but what is there is very well done - as most Disney things are. 

After 12 hours in the park we were worn out.  My son even asked to go to bed and fell asleep before we got to the room.  Those are 2 things that are unheard of for him.  Needless to say, we all slept well at All Star Sports that night.  We made a quick visit to Downtown Disney then next morning.  We could not miss a visit to the Lego store to spend my son's life savings on the biggest lego set he could find.  I'm not sure how long it will take him to complete the set he bought, but I think he may still be working on it when we make it back to Disney next year.