We made it!

We left Biloxi, Mississippi this morning so early that it feels like it was days ago!

 Not long after we got our start, we crossed into Alabama...

And still after that, we finally made it to Florida! Which, by the way, looks suspiciously like Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama...

Today's drive really seemed to take a lot longer than yesterday's. Maybe it was because of the anticipation we had for the end of today. :) The drive itself was uneventful... two lanes and lots of trees. As soon as we hit the Florida state line and found the sign to snap our picture, I was out like a light! I'm so thankful that Chris was at the wheel and I could snooze in peace! We turned on our Disney Pandora station about 2 hours into Florida to get us in a Disney frame of mind. Our adoring parents were blowing up our phones with text message versions of "It's a Small World" and bickering back and forth about who ate the rest of the Cheetos. It was almost unbelievable that they were several hundreds of miles away and not right in the back seat! :)

Around 5:45 this afternoon we finally arrived at our destination!! Walt Disney World! I was on sensory overload for probably 30 minutes. I didn't even want to blink for fear that I would miss something magical! From here, it was just a short drive to get to our resort!

I'll try to snap a picture of the lobby some time this week to show you how wonderful it is! Colorful and full of animations from Disney! We checked in with Sarah and she gave us more information than we can possibly absorb about the parks and resorts. She also gave us special buttons to wear to let everyone know that it is our 5th anniversary! Finally, she gave us our room keys and told us how to get to the Little Mermaid buildings! The next few pictures are of our home for the next 8 days!

Here we go! The Little Mermaid Room!!! 

The Seashell beds!Of course with Flounder and Sebastian hanging out too!

Mickey shaped towels from our housekeeper!

Chris was appalled that Ariel didn't have more clothes on...but she is on the shower curtain after all...

 

The inside of the shower is just like Ariel's treasure trove!

I can't say that my heart didn't pitter patter just a little with this picture of Prince Eric and Max!

 

 

After we got everything settled, we headed out for our first dinner reservation. We went to Disney Hollywood Studios and were greeted with our first glimpse of Disney's holiday spirit!

 



Once we finally made it through the gate, I was again overcome with excitement! Lights, buildings, people, mouse ears...it went on and on!

We were pretty early so we started to walk around to see what we could see. It seemed like everyone was leaving just as we were arriving so it felt more and more like we were getting the park all to ourselves. :) I can't wait to go back and visit when we can spend more time at the attractions. Our reservation was at 8:15pm at The 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was an adorable restaurant themed completely around America in the 1950's. Old school televisions, wood panelling, and 50's Pop art everywhere! When we walked in, the hostess called us kids and we thought it was charming. We were early so we sat in the lounge until the table was ready. Every time the hostess called a family for their table, they called them by their last name and then "kids". So when we were up, they hollered out, "Madigan Kids! It's time to eat!" It was really fun! We each had the sampler special and it was DELICIOUS! A little fried chicken, a little pot roast and a little meatloaf with all the fixin's! Our table had an old black and white TV running old 1950's shows. Our waitress' name was Cousin Marnie. She challenged us to come up with 20 movies that Disney made that only have 1 word in the title and that are animated. It could be Disney and Pixar. It was a lot harder than I thought! Can you do it????

 

Now we are back in our hotel room and talking about what tomorrow will look like. We are planning to do Epcot tomorrow. They have a food and wine festival that we have heard great things about. YUM! :) we are really looking forward to it all! I know this post got pretty long with all the pictures, today was a busy day. We will set out tomorrow with our walking shoes on and our Happy anniversary buttons securely in place. Thanks for reading along! TwoMadigans, OUT!

On the road!

Well! The day has finally come! The day Chris and I get to head east for our vacation! We are beyond excited! I feel like I have been looking forward to this for so long that I felt like it would never come. I'm also a little worried that the anticipation for other trips may not be able to live up to the hype of this one! This is a picture of me and Chris before we left our driveway. Ready and full of energy! We even bought a legitimate map for the trip! Look at us, all profesh! :)

We made it from Katy to downtown Houston (about 30 miles) before Chris had his first official traffic outburst. A huge success for us! He has wanted to be the Director of Nonsense Management for quite some time now and he likes to get in all the practice he can...especially on the road! :) I also had my own success: I made it all the way to Baytown (about 50 miles)  before I decided it was time for my first nap. A glorious nap that lasted me about 30 minutes.

Eventually, we made it to Louisiana!

We fully intended to board a flat bottom boat and cruise the bayous in Louisiana. Too bad we couldn't find anyone to take us. :( By the time we got to America's Wetlands, everyone capable of showing us gators were all done for the day. Kind of disappointing, but we did find an acceptable alternative: The Candyland Cottage & Ice Cream Shoppe. This is the World's largest gummy bear! It cost $40! We didn't get it, but I snapped a picture so folks would believe us.

                                       LOL! doesn't Chris look great with a moustache? :) HA!

Obviously, that was a great stop. It was a neat shop in Rayne, LA which just so happens to be "The Frog Capital of the World"....in case you didn't know. Even though the Candyland Cottage was great, we actually scooted across the street to Ol' Reliable (Dairy Queen) to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Most of the drive through Louisiana was nice and smooth. However, as soon as we hit Baton Rouge, I lost all awe and respect for the state. The traffic we hit was abominable. I mean it. It was absolutely terrible. And the worst part was that it lasted from Baton Rouge ALLLLLLLL the way through New Orleans! I may or may not have been caught (several times) growling at the slow pokes on the road. I think it put us behind almost 2 hours! We eventually tried pulling over for dinner to try and let the traffic clear up, but no amount of pancakes helped. When we got back on the road we were just that much more behind.

FINALLY, we made it to Mississippi and we are currently holed up in the Ramada Limited Hotel. If it sounds a little shady....it is. We have the deadbolt turned and the chain on the door. It smells a little funny, but the important thing is that we have a room to stay in and it's very inexpensive, (hence the shady-ness...it's really our own fault). I'm thinking about Toby as we get ready for bed and I hope he had a fun day at Waggin' Tails Ranch and that he didn't notice we weren't there.

We have an early start tomorrow. The GPS lady says we have about 8.5 hours to Orlando. We are up for the challenge and so excited for tomorrow! More thoughts and pictures to come! Thanks for reading along with us! TwoMadigans, OUT!

It just got serious....

Oh yeah! Got the Minnie Mouse case on my phone, Mickey and Minnie on my sweatshirt and the vacation laundry rolling! I can't believe that we are just a mere 2 days away from jumping in the car and heading east! I have to remind myself to slow down and not to rush each day. Chris' birthday is on Thursday and that is a much more important day to me than the trip to Disney World. :)

On our way to Florida, Chris and I have decided to leave a little earlier on Friday to be able to stop off in New Orleans. I think there might be a few restaurants/coffee shops to check out, but we also found a swamp tour that we fully intend to be on!! :) We are definitely "that couple" that watches the Discovery Channel and A&E for Swamp People, Call of the Wildman and Duck Dynasty. We must be fascinated because we tune in every week! Really looking forward to spotting some gators and exploring the swamp (with a guide).

I've been reading more about Disney World and about the places we should go and shouldn't go. The important lines and the not so important lines. It's all so interesting. I'm wondering though if I should pull the reins on all the book stuff. I'm almost getting to the point where I know too much. Is that possible? I think I might be spoiling some of the magic of our first trip. I'm hopeful that this won't be our last trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth" so some things we will explore on our own. :)

I don't know who might be reading this blog, but I want to pose a question. Have you been to Disney World? What was your favorite part? What is a must see and what was skip-it? I'd love to have your input!

I'll close here and hopefully leave you with the same excitement that I have. My Minnie ears are out and ready to go. My Snow White t-shirt is clean and folded. The cooler is ready to be filled with snacks for the drive out there. 2 kids trapped in grown-up bodies anticipating rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. TwoMadigans, OUT!

Costume Change and Waggin' Tails

I'm just curious...how soon is too soon after the previous blog post to add a new one? I'm claiming ignorance until someone tells me otherwise.....

Last night, after writing my first post, I got even more excited. I bought and began to read two books on the secrets and hidden magic of Walt Disney World. I agree with the authors that the magic of this place is in the details! There are so many wonderful things I'm sure we would have missed if we hadn't been filled in! Did you know that the pavement that lines Main Street are a particular shade of red based on Kodak's recommendation for great photos?! I love all that I'm learning.

 

These are my Minnie Ears complete with fabulous bows! I've got 4 adorable options to make sure I'm appropriately outfitted each day that we are at WDW. I still haven't got a commitment from Chris if he will wear anything as dedicated...

So now I'm down to just 14 days away. I like to think of it as not next week but the week after... :) Not sure why I think that sounds better.

 

This is our dog, Toby. While we are enjoying Disney World, Toby will be enjoying a vacation of sorts also! Toby will be staying and playing at The Waggin' Tails Ranch here in Katy. They have him booked for the entirety of our trip to Florida. There is a swimming pool shaped like a bone, a huge yard to play in and lots of other doggie friends! We really love our pup, but we are definitely ready for a break from our Toby-chores! He's going to get a BATH the day we pick him up! Toby loves baths and we LOVE not having to be the one's to give it to him! I'm sure he will have a great time there and not even notice that we are gone!

I heard that some folks were having trouble commenting on the first post. My lovely Mother-In-Law discovered that you need to have a gmail account to be able to comment on the blog page. It's ok if you don't want to set one up just for this (if you don't already have one), so I'll be sure that I also share this on facebook whenever I post.

Mickey and Minnie are coming closer and closer into focus. 14 days and counting. I fall asleep thinking about the trip hoping that I will dream about it. WDW, we're coming for YOU! TwoMadigans, OUT!!

And so it begins....

Wowwww....So this is blogging, huh? Seems pretty easy so far. I decided to start this blog so that I could document our upcoming trip to Disney World! My best friend told me that she wanted to know every detail of the trip and I think this will be a neat way for Chris and I to remember everything too.

I guess "normal" folks would say that we are 17 days away from D(W)-Day. These two Madigans have a little different logic. I say that since today is half over, it doesn't count and also the day we get there shouldn't count because even if we get there at 11:30pm, D(W)-Day has technically arrived. So you see, I've shaved a massive 2 days off and now I only have to wait 15 to jump on the fun train! (that's right, I said 'fun train'...and I meant it!)

Since booking our Disney Your Way vacation, we have received little bits and pieces of information regarding our trip from the Disney Cast Members. They are such teases! A letter here, a small booklet there...for MONTHS! Still, Chris and I drop everything to go over every microscopic detail of each page together. The latest little booklet they sent us included our very own luggage tags! You would have thought they sent us gold bars the way I squealed. :)

We also started making our dinner reservations! We got a great dining package through Disney that gives us one quick-service meal, one sit-down meal and one snack per person per day. So that just leaves one meal every day that we have to fend for ourselves. The sit-down meals can be at any restaurant in any park or resort area. Some of the fancier restaurants and dinner shows would require more than one of our allotted credits, but overall it's a great set up. We made a reservation at the 50's Prime Time Cafe which looks adorable! There are old school TV's at each table playing 1950's re-runs and the staff are supposedly loads of fun. We looked at The Brown Derby because is came recommended in the Disney World morsels that they have sent us, but we couldn't pronounce a lot of things on the menu and I think I heard someone say once that you shouldn't eat what you can't say.

Our room at the Disney's Art of Animation Resort was the least expensive room we could find. Much to Chris' demise, it just so happens to be the Little Mermaid room! There are starfish everywhere! Ariel is singing and dancing faithfully on the shower curtain. The headboard to the bed is made to look like a giant seashell!  I'm in Disney heaven and so lucky that Chris will put up with it for 8 days straight!

I'm really not sure how long blog posts are supposed to be and since I'm almost positive I could write a dissertation before we even get there, I'll spare you here. More to come. I hope you all will enjoy reading this as much as we will enjoy experiencing it! TwoMadigans, OUT!