Do you remember the time?

I apologise for the lateness of this blog but it appeared life was conspiring against me, well more to the point time.....how can one hour make such a difference to how you feel? I mean which idiot decided it was a good idea to change the clocks twice a year, I struggle to know what time it is at the best of times without added complications!

So anyway, as you can gather yesterday was the start of British Summertime when we all lose an hours sleep, this seems to confuse more than just me as some daft person on the radio said that because the clocks have changed the weather is suddenly going to get better (I think she is confused because it has the word summer in it?!?!)

And can someone please explain why the clocks changing doesn't happen on the same date all over the world, in the US the clocks went forward on March 9th and don't go back until a week after ours; which has confused me no end. We will be here for the clocks going back and then we will do it all over again a week later; even though sometime has tried to explain it to me I still can't get my head round what the time difference will be for the first few days we are there......

It was also Mothers Day in the UK, my card for my mum was as sentimental as always - not really; I'm the daughter who always picks the humourous card and this year was no exception and included peas.....yep, you heard right peas anyway my mum liked it so all's good.

Which brings me onto my thought for the week, did you know that Mother's Day is not on the same date in the US as it is here? Nope neither did I until we made our first trip in May, this year its on May 11th in America; Mothers Day is a busy day in the parks but just due to its sheer size Epcot seems to deal with the crowds best; but if you want to have a table service meal its highly unlikely you will be able to get a walk up

There are loads of other holidays in the US which we don't celebrate (like thanksgiving) which can make a real difference to crowd levels so it could be worth checking the net to see if there are any whilst you are at the world; I've just taken my own advice and found that Veterans Day will happen whilst we are there. This is to recognise anyone who has served in the US military and is a federal holiday so schools will be closed which will lead to increased crowd levels in the parks

So being confused has actually helped me out as I will now factor this into our plans, maybe we might even have a non park day......now who am I kidding?

I'm off to look at my flight tracker app as my Emmie Lou is making her descent into Gatwick after spending the weekend in Spain; can't wait to hear all about it. Until next week xxxx

Oh what a picture....

Have you all had a good week? Mine was a bit stressful as I was put in charge of putting together a leaving present from the region I work on to be given to our CEO who is leaving later this year. Now I am a person who loves making things I knit, crochet, sew, make jewellery and bling things with my fab hotfix crystal gadget but this is normally for my own pleasure and that's where my OCD went into over drive

I had to make sure the pictures that had been sent in by all of the stores were in alphabetical order, that they were straight and exactly the same distance apart and were fixed onto the backing within an inch of their lives and therefore wouldn't move. Thankfully when my bosses and the zone managers saw it and they were happy so alls well

But whilst I was creating this masterpiece I did something I haven't done in ages and went and printed some photos, we live in such a digital age where we have instant access to our pictures on our phones, iPads and digital cameras that we don't bother printing them

And on top of that with the increased forms of social media and instant messaging everything happens in an instant and can be beamed around the world; there's nothing to make you want your holiday countdown to go quicker than seeing your friends posting pictures from their holidays

There are some amazing picture opportunitys at WDW, obviously there are the character pictures (even I will queue to meet Mickey or Tinkerbell) but there are also what Disney call their magic shots.

These are available in all 4 theme parks but from what I can remember the one at Epcot doesn't include characters instead the photo pass photographer will try and position you in such a way that it looks like you are holding up Spaceship Earth (or the giant golf ball as it's otherwise known)

So what exactly is a magic shot and more to the point what is a photopass photographer (or maybe that's now changed to memory maker???). Around the parks in key locations including all character meet and greets will be Disney photographers who will take pictures of you which you can then buy/ download/ get on a disc or made into a book or some other type of souvenir ( they will also take pictures with your camera if you ask) but the magic shots are official shots so have to be purchased

A magic shot is a picture where you are asked to create a specific pose and then during processing Disney will insert a special bit of magic into the photo, they are very clever and a great souvenir; last year we were offered a new one which I hadn't heard of before - we were between Caseys at the top of Main Street and the Crystal Palace restaurant with the castle as the backdrop and in the photo I was trying to find my Prince Charming...........my little piece of magic was small and green and I had to kiss him

On that note I'm off to see what my Prince Charming is up to.....until next week xxxx

I little bit of colour can make all the difference.....

I have been waiting patiently for a day just like today, the sun was shining and even though it's only spring sun it was warm enough for me to dig out my flip flops; but as any girl knows it's not that simple - we have to file, moisurise and paint our toe nails

So, I spend 5 minutes running around the house this morning looking for my nail varnish as I had put it in a safe place (you know the type of place, so safe you can't find it!!!). But after a flash of inspiration the crisis was over as I laid my hands on a gorgeous bottle of dark purple nail polish

And it was then I realised I really am a Disney addict, I mean I knew it anyway but as I painted I noticed my toe nails were a lovely shade of Malificent purple; on top of that I have Tinkerbell on my necklace, my watch is Disney and I normally have a Disney charm on my bracelet

I'm not saying that everyone needs a little bit of Disney in their life but at WDW you would be hard pressed not to find the perfect gift for your nearest and dearest. Of course the theme parks have their stores but a great place to do shopping is Downtown Disney - soon to be Disney Springs and home to World of Disney the biggest store at WDW

DTD is a mix of shops and restaurants, not all owned by Disney or selling Disney products there are the quirky stores like Little Miss Matched where you buy packs of 3 non matching socks (saves the hassle of never being able to find a matching pair - or does the sock fairy just visit me and pinch my socks?)

Or you have Once Upon a Toy which would be a kids idea of heaven; it is a store full of.....well toys including the option to create your own Mr Potato Head (you buy a box and basically fill it with as much as you can; the box just has to close - a great tip is put some of the smaller peices like eyes inside the body

You can create your own t-shirt, have a Christmas decoration personalised, buy left handed products, a multitude of fridge magnets or get some free chocolate from Gihardelli; that is some good chocolate and even better when it's free.

Speaking of food a great place to eat is Earl of Sandwich for a quick meal (don't be put off by the queue it moves pretty quickly) but there are plants of other choices to.And if you aren't interested in shopping you could always take in a film, go bowling, take in Cirque to Soleil or play some video games at Disney Quest; so if need a break from the parks why not visit DTD

2 things to add right now DTD is going through some improvement works so you may find some closures or building work going on and secondly if it rains for a prolonged period of time This area seems to draw people to it so it maybe a little busier

Until next week xxx

Isn't the internet a wonderful thing....

I often think that the internet has made it a really small world (I'm going to have that song in my brain for hours now, you know the one; go on admit it you're singing it to now!!!) and it's a place where everyone can post what they are thinking just like I am now.

To think that you can see what people on the other side of the world are doing as it's happening is pretty special and this Sunday evening was a perfect time to do just that.....today Disney debuted their new Festival of Fantasy parade (that's the 3 o'clock parade just in case you were wondering).

And thanks to the trusty Dis Unplugged I got to watch it live via Livestream....it looked a beautiful day in Orlando and although I couldn't be there to see it in person this was the next best thing. They streamed from the Main Street Railroad platform which is a fantastic viewing spot for any parade as it's shaded but you have to be prepared to stake out your spot hours in advance.

The new parade floats looked incredible and will probably be even better up close, I am not sure what I am more excited to see - the Tinkerbell float or the Malificent one.....I saw a you tube video of it arriving at Magic Kingdom at night but that didn't give anything away; to see it in action all I can say is WOW!!!! (I know this is very irrational but for those of you who have read the Kingdom Keepers series of books will completely understand where I am coming from but Malificent in her human form freaks me out!)

So with everything if there is a good side to the internet there must be a bad right? I have already bored Emmie Lou and James with this story but there is a lady who has posted a complaint all over the internet about her unmagical trip to Magic Kingdom.....I don't mean to sound disrespectful but I was rolling my eyes as I read it and was nearly shouting at my ipad that she would have had a much better time if she had planned and not acted like she was the only person visiting that day (but then I would have looked a bit odd; well only a little more than usual)

I'm not saying she shouldn't have complained because everyone has the right to but she should have at least engaged her brain before she pressed the submit button, I'm sure there are times when you may wonder if I have done this but with my OCD you can be sure I have checked, rechecked and then checked again just to be sure that I am not posting drivel....ok maybe a little but that's allowed right?

So for those who are going soon have a safe flight, I hope you grab a fantastic spot (we like Main Street) and enjoy WDW's new parade; I am counting down the days until we are there

Until next week xxx

I'm hungry......

Can someone please explain to me why it is that when you decide to follow a healthy eating plan all you can do is think of food? I have had my dinner and pudding (fat free yoghurt and jelly - not exactly a nice slice of key lime pie or a profiteroles dessert but beggars can't be choosers)

As you are probably aware I am not exactly waif like ( actually I am far from waif like but I have curves which I guess is a plus point) and I have decided that its time for a change; it's not like I have been eating badly but I am definitely making more of an effort.

Now if only I could get my behind in gear and do some exercise, there is just one little problem which is my injured shoulder after a little disagreement with a door towards the end of last year, we do have a cross trainer in our living room but it not easy to do one handed.

And probably not making things easier is the Disney food blog email which drops into my inbox each day filled with pictures of the most mouthwatering items like frozen cheesecake on a stick (who thinks up this kind of stuff?) which brings me back to thinking about all of the yummy food I am going to eat on holiday and then I'm hungry again

At Disney there are so many dining options available; snacks, counter service or table service - plus there are all of the dining plans as well which gives you a set amount of meals per day (there is much debate as to the value for money of the plans but the convenience of it can't be argued)

And just to make things more complicated Disney throw in ADR's ( advance dining reservations for table service restaurants) which can be made up to 180 days in advance of your trip

Previously we have always paid for our meals out of pocket but a couple of years ago we got a great offer on Port Orleans which included free quick service dining; this worked perfectly for us as we don't like to plan too much. If we had the full dining plan we would need to figure out our restaurant choices in advance which is just way too regimented for us.

I was a bit worried about the QSDP as I had this vision of eating nothing but burger and chips for 2 weeks but we had some fantastic meals including Japanese, great sandwiches, roast dinner and pasta and look at this little beauty

Each day you get a number of credits - qs is 1 snack and then 2 meals which includes a drink and a dessert although there are opportunities to swap things out (you can use your credits how you like you just get a set number for each day of your stay at a Disney property)

I have just realised that even though I have just spent the last few minutes writing about food I'm not really hungry anymore - go figure!!!

Until next week xxx