Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Disney Lovers!

We are exactly 365 days away from our BIG surprise Disney Vacation! I am so excited that this trip we will be staying in the NEW Art of Animation suites :)

It was surreal to add our newest little princess' name to our Disney Vacation line up! :)

I am already in full planning mode but over the next two weeks I will be finishing the details of our last trip :)

Some Disney Magic.

Its been a nice 4 months since my last post. There is a reason behind this.

Shortly after my last post in August-we found out that we brought home some Disney Magic. After not conceiving for 4.5 years-we left Disney world with the greatest dream come true-our precious Baby #3...and not just any baby-our 3rd little Princess!

It has been a rough couple of trimesters but Little Amelia will be making her debut in March-just 9 short months before our SURPRISE Christmas Vacation to Disney :)

I have alot to catch you up on-but for now-I'll let you bask it that magic :)

Day 3. Hollywood studios!

Day 3 we went to Hollywood studios. (as I've said before the Park I least adore. Disney could do so much more here!)

Anyway-We started the morning in a split up rush-Todd ran to Toy Story Mania to get Fastpasses and the rest of us in the grew went to sign Gavin (or little friend) up for Jedi Training.

Once we got the "have to before they run outs" done-it was off to meet some characters!

The kids have never seen "singing in the rain" and its featured 2x at Hollywood Studios so we had to add it to our "movies to watch this summer" list :)

 My girls weren't digging the annual "picture in front of the hat" this year.

 After some character meetings Gavin got to go to Jedi training! This was really fun to watch! He used his powers to "Stop The Force!" very fun! We had lunch! Then after that...we were HOT. So we hung out in the Animation place watching people take pictures with more characters.

 Then we got into the action---I love this picture of Daddy Byrd and baby boy byrd

 we made our annual stop at the Honey I Shrunk the kids play area! (find Chris)

 We rode some rides....and then headed to dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. Let me explain. This has been my favorite restaurant. It now takes 2 dining credits. I knew my meal (the Cobb salad) was going to be $15.00. And the kids eat the chicken soup (under $5) so it was pointless for us to use table points for this. So we paid out of pocket. Well-Our server was the worst server we had in Disney world. He never came to check on us. We only got one refill in the 1.5 we were there. All-in-all it was a sad experience. (And that makes me so sad because I ADORE the brow derby!) but this trip it was at the bottom of the experience list.

(and yes-she was really asleep. This became a tradition for her at dinner...right after I ordered her food :)

Day 2 Magic Kingdom!

Magic Kingdom.

Its just a great wonderful place that makes life feel like nothing bad can ever happen to you.

On day 2 we woke up VERY early make our breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey.

Like our previous experiences it was a delight but it is no longer my favorite (more on that later)

After breakfast we monorailed over to the Magic Kingdom where we got to watch the Opening Ceremonies. (Personal Goal: To be the family of the day next trip)

We started in Fantasyland. First ride. Peter Pan. We walked on! No Wait!

Then we trucked over to Small World, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Teacups, Tomorrow Land Speedway, Dumbo, and played in the new Casey Splash Park.

WHEW! After all that (around 11) we headed to the hotel for 1)Lunch 2)A swim 3) a nap!

I can not stress how much you need naps in Disney!

One of my favorite things about the All-Star Resorts is the Quesadillas they have for lunch. Quick Service meal and AWESOME!

We headed back to the park around 5pm. We had dinner at the Crystal Palace! The food was my least favorite meal of the entire trip. It just left a lot to be desired.

After Dinner we rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Aladdin's magic carpets, all the fanstyland rides (again) then watched the Electrical Parade & Fireworks!

It was EMH at Magic Kingdom so we were there until 2am! We enjoyed tomorrowland during the early morning!

Day 3 We went to Hollywood Studios....stay tuned!



Disney Day 1: Epcot

Our first day at Disney we visited Epcot! This year the girls were really into Epcot and all it had to offer. A lot of adults think Epcot is geared more towards adults and not so much kids! I disagree!
and here is why!

When we arrived we rode Finding Nemo first, then we did Turtle talk with crush and explored the aquarium!

After we left the "seas" we went to the "land". Here we rode Soarin (awesome ride!) and Living with the Land, this was a really cool ride because we got to see how Disney grows the vegetables, fish, etc. that we would be eating while in Disney!

When we left the Land headed back to ride spaceship earth. I must be honest. This was my first time EVER on this ride it was neat to go up...then come down. The kids enjoyed "creating their future" on the screen in the ride cart!

I love Epcot because you can knock out majority of the princesses and the fab 5 without a lot of wait!

The fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto) can be found at the Epcot Character Spot!

The princesses can be found in Norway at Akershus (we saw belle in gold dress, cinderella, sleeping beauty, ariel, and snow white) and throughout the countries (we saw Jasmine, Mulan and Belle in blue dress with the beast!) the longest we waited was 15 minutes and that was for the beast :)

We had Lunch at La Cantina in Mexico (really good Pollo Tacos!)

and then we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour in the Mexico Pavilion!

We went back and rode soarin again before dinner (hello Fastpasses!)

then headed to Norway for dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall!

After dinner we rode Maelstroms (in Norway) and got our snacks for the firework show! The girls went with Mickey Ice Cream Bars!

We enjoyed the fireworks then headed back to the hotel! We originally were planning on staying at the All-Star Music Resort but once we got into our rooms that evening we had distinct mold smell. So we called the front desk and they had us moved to the All-Star Movies! (more on that later!)

Our first day at Epcot was a good one! We knew we had another day to tour the countries so we were relaxed and enjoyed Future World! Stay tuned! Tomorrow we head to Magic Kingdom!

Big Announcement!

I am so excited to announce that I am now a "DIVA" on the blog Tips from the Disney Diva

I joined this awesome group of Disney loving writers a few weeks ago and have already learned so much from the Divas!

My Diva name is "Food Diva" well, simply because there isn't a lot of food I do not enjoy! I will be sharing money saving tips on how to eat like Scrooge McDuck without his pocketbook! Where you can find good/healthy food, Dining with the Fish....and much more!

My first article posted today "Character Greetings"

I am so excited about this adventure and can't wait to share a whole new slew of tips with Disney Friends!

We leave tomorrow!!!


*Love and Pixie Dust!,

Sarah
#gone2Disney

LAST WEEK!!!

4 days until we leave. I can not believe its finally HERE!

I believe everything for the trip is ready-we are packed, backpacks ready, stroller reserved, early check-in complete, dining reservations made, "agenda" for the week done, Pins ready to trade, road trip supplies a go....I think it is just time to get here!


For you tech savvy people: I have a pinterest board with fun Disney Things:

and.....you can follow us on twitter during the trip (@SarahBroadus) or #gone2disney

stay tuned during the week for some exciting announcements! :)

Leading up to vacation!

7 days! 7 Days! SEVEN DAYSSSSSS!!!!!

We are FINALLY headed to Disney World in seven magical days!

Today we are going to talk about leading up to the vacation and ways to stay calm and focus during the homestretch.

leading up to vacation (esp. these last few days) is one of the most exciting times. The anticipation builds. EVERYDAY we are watching Disney Movies, Disney YouTube, and doing some sort of activity. Alot of bloggers, I have researched, suggest Tinkerbell gifts. These are little magical happies that usually come from the wonderful world Dollar Tree or the magical bins at Target. I, do love some Tinkerbell gifts, However...I reserve them for special times (waiting in a long line, right before the parade, on the last morning) I prefer to lead up to vacation by helping the anticipation.

For example: We have 4 kids going on this trip 3 are old enough for Pirates League and Bippity Boppity Boutique...1 is not. Instead of that one missing out-we had an "adventure day" where they got to go to the pirate leage or bippity boppity boutique and go on a treasure hunt. They understood why we were doing it here and not there and were just as happy!

Another thing is we make "list". A list of rides we want to ride, A list of snacks we want to eat, A list of characters we want to meet.

One day-we worked on our penny press holders (take an empty mini M&M container and decorate the outside with stickers...stack 2 quarters and a penny all the way up)



The kids favorite thing is picking out what Disney movies they get to watch in the car. ;)

Whats some of the ways you lead up to your Disney Vacation? 

The one "off the wall" thing you need for Disney.

When people ask me, "what is the ONE thing I need for Disney" my response always gets a weird look.

The answer: Ziploc Bags.

After you book your trip-make your dining reservations-you need to head to the dollar store and pick up a few boxes of Ziploc bags in different sizes.

Here is some of the things we use them for:

1) packing. I pack everything in ziplocs-the kids outfits/labled for what day&what park, our cool kits, socks/undi*es, autograph books, you name it...it gets packed in a ziploc.

cool off kits-personal fans-wash cloths-misting fans

2) Snacks: I buy a big box of goldfish or trailmix and then divide it out into single servings. ALSO-i pack all our single servings in 1 big ziploc.

3)Keeping valuables dry during water rides. I have our camera, phones, etc in a ziploc in my backpack. That way they don't get ruined if I need them.

4)Dirties: On rainy days at the park, socks get wet. I always have a fresh pair in our "extra clothes ziploc" so we take the wet ones off and stick them in the dirties sack.

5) Trash in the car: I keep one gallon size in the kids travel box for trash. That way its not all over the car.

6) LEFTOVERS: When you go to a meal and there is a muffin or apple or something left over that you can use for snack later....pull out an empty ziploc and store it! You have paid for that food (Either in Dining Plan Points or Cash) so use it later. **DISCLAIMER: DO NOT go to an all-you-care to eat and load up ziplocs from the buffet....Not cool.**

We are just 8 days from our trip! I am so excited to share with you all the fun details that have gone into our planning! -Stay tuned!

Princess of the Day 2010

**flashback memory from our 2010 trip. This has been selected as our family's favorite Disney memory**


During our last trip we celebrated my 26 birthday and Madyson's 4th birthday

 (same day...22 years apart!)

We scheduled a very important breakfast at the most magical place in Walt Disney World,

Cinderella's Castle.

We had an extremely early reservation and we arrived EVEN earlier. We stood at the gate talking to the Cast Member telling him how special the day was and he agreed.

We were the FIRST people in Magic Kingdom! As soon as they let us in, Madyson took off running. I really wanted a family picture with us and the castle (without 2,000 people in the background) but what I got was a VERY excited little girl running.

As I chased her snapping picture after picture I realized that this was so much more special than a family photo. Tears streamed down my face. I could feel the excitement she had generating off of her little princess clad self.

Once she reached the castle she did turn for a smile

And then ran off to find, Cinderella! Not only did she(we) get to meet Cinderella...BOTH girls got to be Princess of the Day! They donned precious little stickers and got to led the other dining guest up the stairs to the dining room.

It was such a wonderful experience!

ITs almost here!

The excitement that surrounds our house right now is infectious! We are now 11 days from our Disney trip!

We have been busy prepping all 4 kids for this amazing adventure. Madyson is the only one out of the 4 with Disney Memories. Aubrie kate, only knows shes been to Disney but has no memory of it (so its like her first time!) Gavin, has never been and is getting very excited thanks to Madyson sharing all her knowledge with him! Then there is sweet Rachel...the baby of the bunch. She is going to be SO much fun on this trip! She has been getting so excited watching YouTube videos!

Todd and I are busy finishing packing. I have been doing a continuous post throughout this process and will share that real soon!

We are busy packing because next week, I will be helping the Byrds (our Bffs going with us for the 1st time) get packed.

In my opinion, packing is THE most crucial part to the whole planning process. I can't wait to share how we do it!

I will leave you with our new favorite youtube videos. This family is great!

autograph books

When you have little kids, autograph books are a great way to help them get over the fear of going up to meet the characters. There are SO many types of autograph paraphernalia!

1) the original Disney Parks Autograph Book

Source: disneystore.com via Anna on Pinterest

2) The DIY autograph book

Source: eastcoastmommyblog.blogspot.ca via Sarah on Pinterest

3) The Photo Mat! I love this idea to frame that special family photo!

Source: disneytripexpert.com via Sarah on Pinterest

4) The autograph Pillowcase

Source: etsy.com via Regina on Pinterest

Disney Characters will sign anything (as long as you aren't wearing it!) Make sure to bring a good marker for them to use! I like the click sharpies. That way you don't have to worry about keeping the top with the marker :)

We love collecting Disney Signatures! We have a big book we have been working on since our first trip and each year we are adding to it. This year though, we might bring along the photo mat! I think that is such a cute idea!

Do you and your family have a unique autographing idea?

A Disney A Day!

One of my favorite things to do leading up to our Disney Trip is to watch a Disney Movie a Day!

There are SO many wonderful Disney movies and with all the characters and rides having something to do with movies this is a great way for kids to "feel the magic" before the trip!

We own alot of Disney movies (thank you disney movie club) we also rent from the library the older movies and watch the few that netflix has!

Here is this years Disney a day movie list!

1. Robin Hood
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. Toy Story 1
4. Toy Story 2
5. Toy Story 3
6. Mary Poppins
7. Snow White
8. Sword and the Stone
9. 101 Dalmations
10. Cinderella
11. Finding Nemo
12. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
13. A Bug's Life
14. Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers
15. Jungle Book
16. Lion King
17. BRAVE! (the new movie coming out June 22!)
18. Beauty and The Beast
19. Little Mermaid
20. Lilo & Stitch
21. Pinochio
22. Sleeping Beauty
23. Peter Pan
24. Tinkerbell
25. Mulan
26. Dumbo
27. Honey I Shrunk the Kids
28. Tangled
29. The Princess and The Frog
30. Tarzan

For the Car: Up!, The Incredibles, Bolt, Mosters Inc, Lady & The Tramp

 

You can use our Disney A Day Movie List or create your own!

What bags do the Broadus' carry inside the park?

Hi!

I got an email asking how the Broadus' pack to go inside the park. Great question!

We use Thirty-One bags to travel to Disney! Here is a quick vlog on how we do it!

If you see any products you are interested in feel free to shop at my Thirty-One store! I have a party ending May 31st!

May's special is spend $31 dollars and get the all-in-one organizer (great for your car to keep your snacks, kids games and such in while traveling or anytime) for $5!!!

Products Seen Are: Cinch Sac $20
Zipper Pouch: $15
Wristlet Wallet: $25

all can be personalized for $7 each :)

A Disney Countdown

To help esculate your Disney Trip excitement, I suggest a Disney Countdown.

It can be as easy as a Paper Chain

Source: vermillionrules.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Or as cute as a custom Chalkboard.

Source: happyclippings.com via Suzy on Pinterest

This year, I wanted something cute...and CHEAP!

So first, I took note of what I had around my house...

Old picture frame....typing paper....suction cups....Scrapbook Letters...LOTS of paint chips (I had plan but the Disney Paint chips at home depot would be cute!)

So I ran to the local dollar store and picked up some Disney Stickers...and WhaLa!

Stroller Rental

One of the biggest issues when planning a Disney Trip is what to do about a stroller.

This is my BIGGEST TIP: No matter if you are traveling with a newborn or a 7 year old. You are going to want a stroller. It is A LOT of walking.
 I am an adult, and I want to ride in the stroller!



Here are some options:
1) driving? Bring your own!
2) Flying? Bring your own!
3) Rent one at Disney Parks! They have single and double strollers.
4) Rent one from an off-site rental company!

#4 is new to me! I have researched and if we don't have room for our own then this is what we will be doing. It is inexpensive and they deliver and pick up from your hotel.!

I have "googled" some other stroller rental places!

Orlando Stroller Rental

Baby Wheels Orlando

a baby's best friend


So what do you do with your stroller while you are on the rides? Stroller Parking.

Near every ride is this neat little stroller parking You park your stroller there and go about your rides! I suggest MARKING your stroller. 99.9% of the time, you will NOT be the only one with that stroller! So mark yours! Make a little tag for it, tie a bandana around the handle, I make us one similar to this

Idea found here

Stay tuned! over the next few days we will be discussing other Disney tips and tricks!