Three Things Thursday

1. I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my training recap, BUT, I fell off my bike for the first time last week!

We were stopping at a red light, and I misjudged my distance from the curb, and.... missed. I just toppled right over. And since I was basically at a stand still, it was mostly just... I was standing, and then slowly settling in on the ground.

It was INCREDIBLY lame and dumb. And I don't even have any fun scars to show for it.


2. Related to above, here's a PSA for you: Don't text and ride at the same time. The H has been riding his bike to work, and thought he would be clever and text while riding home. And then he fell, but not nearly as lazily as I did. That is some dangerous isht, and I don't know why anyone would try it. Don't do that, you guys. (and, related to The H, today we've been married FIFTEEN YEARS. That is so long!)


3. A second interview happened yesterday at the (second) happiest place on earth.....

That mouse makes me so happy.

Disney Store South Coast Plaza - Grand Opening!

As you may have noted by previous posts, we're kind of Disney nuts in this household.

Kind of. We hide it pretty well, I think.

So when I got an email from a Make a Wish rep a few weeks ago inviting us to the grand opening of the new Disney Store at South Coast Plaza, I was a teeny bit excited.

It was a bit of a logistical puzzle, since I was racing Chapman 5K in the morning, too, but we made it work. 

After meeting our Make a Wish contact at the store, the district manager led us into the store for our private tour, with two other Wish kids and their parents. 

If you haven't seen a remodeled Disney Store yet... they're pretty amazing. Interactive Princess mirrors, movie theater, scrolling screen with upcoming events, giant trees with leaves that change with the seasons... Pretty remarkable (and, did you know, Steve Jobs had a hand in the redesigns!). I LOVE the remodels - I've always thought the Disney stores didn't really reflect the Disney magic, but the new stores are pure Disney. 

Gabby, and the other two Wish kids, were treated to a magical morning, with a private tour of the new store, shopping spree personal shoppers, meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie, and an opportunity to lead the store opening ceremonies (if you're close to a store that's been remodeled, they also do an opening ceremony every morning!).

It's been a stressful week - some insurance issues with her meds, carefully watching her cold to make sure it doesn't morph into something more. It was a magical morning. That's all. Sometimes, that's all you need.

Yeah, so. We're now the happy owner of some earmuffs....

IT'S MICKEY! You know. Because she didn't JUST see him.

A GIANT thank you is owed to Make a Wish and the Disney Store at Costa Mesa! 

Gab's Wish Trip, EPCOT Day, Akershus Review

I'm recapping, very slowly, Gabby's Make a Wish trip from July. Previous recaps here, here, and here.

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One of the things we were most looking forward to for Gabby's trip was seeing our families. We moved to SoCal in 2009, and Gabby hadn't seen my dad or her cousins since we left Florida. To kind of try to make things fair and balance time with our families, we planned on my in-laws being around Friday/Saturday, and my family Monday/Tuesday.

We had 8:15 breakfast reservations at Akershus in Norway. I maaaaaay have been a little overzealous, and we were the first people in the park. Literally.





Ever wondered what a really empty park looks like?







Akershus is probably my favorite Disney World restaurant experience - I love the interaction with the princesses, the food is delicious, it's just fantastic.

When your party is called in, you're greeted first by Belle in her yellow dress (always the yellow dress here - you can see her sometimes throughout EPCOT in her blue/white dress), signing autographs, and taking pictures. The photographer doesn't take PhotoPass, they'll come around later with the photo package for you (included in the price of the meal).

After you're seated, a Norwegian server comes by for drink orders, explains the buffet for you (cold items - meats, cheeses, fruit, yogurt, danishes), and then brings the hot foods - eggs, some potato cheese delicious casserole from heaven, bacon, sausage, etc.

While you're eating, the princesses make their rounds - they circulate through the room, spending a few minutes at each table for autographs, pictures, etc.








 

It's kind of pricey for breakfast - around $40+ for adults (ages 9+), $25 for kids - but if your kids are really into princesses, it's a fun choice.

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After breakfast, we headed back out towards the front of the park to meet up with my sister and her kids.



While we were waiting for my parents (and brother and other sister), we rode Spaceship Earth for the first time (IT'S MY FAVORITE!), then killed time visiting some characters (with the Magic Pass, we didn't have to wait for character ops, either - MAGIC).





After a kind of teary super exciting family reunion, we hit up (in order) Innoventions East, Mission Space, Universe of Energy, Soarin', The Land, the Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Journey into Imagination.








We ate a small lunch in the Land, somewhere in that madness, but I think most of us saved our eating for World Showcase.

World Showcase is my favorite place in Disney World, hands down. We took our time, wandering the World, eating all types of things, taking a million pictures, and... kind of just enjoying everything - the park, each other, all of it.

Here's a fun fact. This kid hates kisses. Even Snow White kisses.

Krissy at Shiawase Life used to be a Cast Member, and worked some amazing magic for us - reserved viewing of Illuminations! I'm a sucker for Disney shows (shocking), and this was one of the highlights of our trip for me.




Thanks again, Krissy :D.

Overall, we had an amazing time at EPCOT. It's hard to go wrong, in my eyes, since it's my favorite and all. But the characters really spent a great deal of time with Gabby, they all were fantastic. There was one run in with a rude parent who took issue with us "cutting" in line, but absolutely everyone else was kind and gracious.

Since this is already pretty OMGALLTHEPICTURESEVER.... here are some more. A photopass was included with our Give Kids the World stay, and we took full advantage. If you have kids, you know someone almost always ends up being not in pictures... usually me. Because I hate being in pictures. Photopass takes that excuse away, so I sucked it up and took #allthepictures.