Introducing Real Disney Mom Jewelz P!

I am so stoked to introduce to you all another Real Disney Mom that will be blogging here at The Real Disney Mom!

Meet Real Disney Mom Jewelz P!

Real Disney Mom Jewelz G.

Hi all! It’s me, Jewelz. My husband thinks I am obsessed! I guess so when you consider that I had our daughter at the hospital right across from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank,CA. (not to mention I planned our WDW trip when I was still preggers with Alexis)

But it doesn’t stop there; I started a business that takes me down to Disneyland every week!!! I love all things Disney from Mickey, to the Incredibles, to Handy Manny with my little girl. I worked in Disney Imagineering when the concept drawing and models for the Tree of Life were in it’s final stages, and I also helped with Disney Quest concepts.

Now as a mother of three, working full-time and happily accomodating clients to making their meltdowns at the parks easier, I look forward to sharing my 38 years of planning trips from a single and family point of view.

I hope to see you real soon!!

Wishes

From the happy heart of Real Disney Mom Janice B!

Photo Credit: http://www.wikipedia.com

It seems as if I am always planning the next WDW family trip! Probably because as soon as I return from one trip I start planning the next. I have been planning one to two trips per year for almost 30 years. When my children were young, I took great care in planning each step of our WDW trips. After all, having two children almost four years apart in age, one boy, one girl, it was not always easy to make everyone happy all the time. Their likes and dislikes were so totally different that once they were school age, I began a WDW vacation game/contest. Each one was allowed to keep a “running list” of things they wanted to do on our next trip with the understanding that not everything could be done on each trip. 100 days before the trip, they each received a hand-made by Mom booklet. Their booklets included a count-down calendar, the top 3 things on their wish list with a point value attached to each and a list of how to earn the points for a coupon/promise that if not the whole family, at least that child would be able to do one of his/her special requests. They earned points for good report cards; chores around the house; etc. Several years in a row my son chose taking an animation class that required us to drop him off early in the morning at MK and pick him up later in the afternoon. My daughter always seemed to want to earn dinner in the castle! Before leaving home I would actually create a spread sheet with each day across the top, outlining what we would do at each park trying to make time and room for both of their wishes (I also used this to keep all of my dining/special event reservation numbers in one place.)

I am now planning a 7 day trip for October, 2011. My children are now adults, 27 and 24, they no longer live at home and I think they would argue if I tried to make them earn points, but they do look forward to updates and e-mails with new ideas and suggestions, as well as sending me e-mails with new ideas. Planning has not really gotten any easier even with adults. I still want to make sure they each are able to do all the things that excite them. After all, no matter how old, they are still my little kids! I get an enormous amount of pleasure watching my son (27) in the Magic Kingdom. He gets just as excited now as he did as a small child! He loves to find hidden Mickey’s and show them to little kids in the park. My daughter, a chef who has actually cooked at the 2010 International Food and Wine Festival, always wants to go when the festival is in full swing. I search daily for new ideas; constantly try for reservations for their favorite restaurants; check websites, facebook, etc., daily for new items. My son is extremely excited this year to try the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom.

I may not offer points for WDW rewards anymore, but I still create a folder with a spreadsheet trying to get in everyone’s favorites. After all, once you hit WDW, everyone is a child a heart again!

http://about.me/bjkbrady

Disney Beginnings

From the magical mind of Real Disney Mom Janie GD!

Me on Main Street in 1979

“I’ll start at the very beginning, as it’s a very good place to start” This statement is very appropriate, as this is my very first adventure into the world of blogging!

My own love of Disney began in 1979 during a vacation with relatives in Wisconsin.  Our American family had been enjoying visits to Walt Disney World since it opened in October 1971, and thought that their Cornish cousins would like to meet Mickey Mouse too. So off we flew down to Orlando, not having ever heard of Mr. Disney or his mouse before!  Can you imagine that today?  You’d have to be living on the moon not to be acquainted with Disney in some small way!  At least I don’t believe that cable is available yet in other parts of the galaxy?!

We arrived in the beautiful Sunshine State, and lodged in a Vacation Villa on the shores of Lake Buena Vista.  At night time from our balcony we could see the charming “Empress Lily” (so named after Walt’s wife, Lillian) gleaming with twinkling fairy lights.  A few years later, I enjoyed my first character meal aboard her called “Breakfast a la Disney”.  This still impressive steamboat can now be found moored at Downtown Disney, with a restaurant afloat re-named “Fulton’s Crab House”.

For me, the memory of entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time , and walking up Main Street USA with the aroma of popcorn and cookies in my nose, the jolly park music, and the sight of Cinderella’s Castle towering high above, has remained as fresh in my memory as if it happened yesterday.  It connected with my senses which was quite a powerful thing for a 10 year old country girl who had never tasted popcorn or ever seen a fairytale princess castle before!

The other memories that remain special to me from that first trip are a particularly hysterical and wild spin on the Mad Hatters Teacups where my aunt laughed so much she almost burst with glee!  Then there was the stomping evening entertainment at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness! Here, my Dad was chosen to be the fairy in the shows finale, which I’m sure to this day my aunt pre-arranged for our amusment!  (The Revue is the longest continually running musical stage show in the whole of the USA, a “Disney fact” that I love.) I now share all it’s rowdy silliness with my own children!

When I’m asked for some planning advice from a “newbie” Disney vacationer, I tell them to savour the first moments of stepping onto Main Street USA, “Let Disney enchant you and wipe your daily worries away”, I tell them.  Yes, I know, I hear you………that’s practically impossible when you’ve got your own little princes and princesses chomping at the bit, ready to race into Fantasyland and take their first flight on Dumbo!  So…… I advise, go buy them a tub of popcorn each (so they won’t have to share, and lead to yet more high drama) which then should buy you a few moments to make and memorise your own special Disney beginnings.

Remember it’s not always the “big” things that remain with you from childhood….so now that you’re the parent, don’t stress about making memories happen for your children, because at Disney, the magic is everywhere…even in a tub of popcorn!

Mickey, my mum, and me 1979

Big News for The Real Disney Mom!

Since I have started writing for the Disney Driven Life my own little Real Disney Mom blog here has been severely neglected! Between being the Kids writer for the DDL, finishing up the planning for my own WDW vacation on August 5th, and being a mommy and wife, I have had very little time to do much of anything else and I was very sad for my little blog here!

That is why I am very happy to announce that I will be introducing to you a fabulous group of Real Disney Moms that are going to be contributors to the Real Disney Mom blog!! Your own original Real Disney Mom is also going to assign herself one night a week to write a blog post for you about the planning of her WDW vacation! That being said I’d like to introduce to you the first 3 lovely ladies that are proud to call themselves Real Disney Moms!

Meet Real Disney Mom Janice B! Hang with her on FaceBook!

Real Disney Mom Janice B.

I am an almost 56 year old mom of 2 adult children (27 and 24); married for almost 30 years; and a true Disney fanatic. I was born and bred in NJ. When my husband retired in 2005, and both children were off to college, we moved to SC (much closer to Orlando!).

I began my love affair with all things Disney when, in 1972, my single mother drove her 2 teenage daughters from NJ to Florida to see the Magic Kingdom. Since that time I have returned to WDW approx. 35 times. It seems as if I am always planning our next trip. I have gone to Disney World alone; with my son for Mother/Son bonding; with my daughter for Mother/Daughter bonding; with my husband; with friends; bringing friends of my kids – I will never tire of visiting the “happiest place on earth!”

I am fortunate that my children, having been raised with the belief that everyone goes to Disney World on a regular basis, still look forward to our family trips. One of my proudest moments was when my daughter, a chef, was invited to cook at the Party for the Senses at the 2010 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

http://about.me/bjkbrady

Meet Real Disney Mom Janie GD! Tweet with her on Twitter! Hang with her on FaceBook! 

Real Disney Mom Janie GD.

I’m an English girl who’s been been enchanted by Disney since my very 1st visit to WDW in the late 1970’s.  Sharing my life with my much beloved husband, our own four little darlings, & an array of close family & dear friends, I aim to do random acts of kindness & think happy thoughts each and everyday!

Meet Real Disney Mom Michelle W! Tweet with her on Twitter! Hang with her on FaceBook!

Real Disney Mom Michelle W.

I’m a wife, a mom, a former Disney Store CM & all total “Diznoid” from NJ! I’ve been a visitor of WDW over 25 times, have enjoyed a few visits to DL, and have sailed on 2 voyages on the DCL. No one asks me where I’m going on vacation anymore…only when I’m going back!

Michelle is also a contributor to Disney World Nation

I am thoroughly excited to have a this fabulous group of Real Disney Moms here to help you get wrapped up in some pixie dust! I can’t wait to read their first blog posts, how about you?!