The Next Adventure!

from http://www.fortmyers-sanibel.com/explore-map/

Today I wanted to share with you my next adventure! I'm pretty excited and can't wait to tell you all about it.

From January - early April 2016, I'll be living in Fort Myers, Florida! I'll be staying with my sister (my aunt and uncle also live there) and am very excited. This has been in the works for the last few months but now I've got all the details worked out so I wanted to keep you all in the loop.

I'm so incredibly excited, I could burst.

I'll be able to do a lot of cool things this winter; I'm so excited to share those experiences with all of you. I'll be closer to the theme parks (not just Disney but also Universal, Sea World, etc) and so can bring you even more up-to-date news, pictures and videos. I also want to explore other Florida vacation spots and attractions, too, and share that information with you. I've got all sorts of ideas in mind, but I'm really open to any of your ideas and hope you'll share with me the types of things you'd like to see.

I'm also collaborating with my friend Krista and the Living the Dream Podcast team and will have many more opportunities to bring you along on some awesome media experiences including meet and greets with Disney royalty, movie premiers, openings of new attractions, etc.

I'm very excited to bring you along on this new adventure! Stay tuned for more info!

Have a magical day!

Dining on the Disney Magic

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend.

Today, let's cover dining on the Disney Magic. You've already made your way to port (whether that be Port Canaveral, Miami or perhaps Europe!), you've checked in and your boarding number has been called. First things first - let's eat!

When you get on the boat, you can go up to Cabanas and grab lunch; that's a cafeteria style buffet with LOTS of choices that's good for breakfast and lunch. You can either sit inside the dining room, or there is outside seating as well, which is really nice. Typically, one of the evening table service restaurants is also available for lunch on embarkation day - check the Daily Navigator or ask a Cast Member when you get onboard.

For snacks and grab-and-go, there are many places on board to eat a quick lunch or snack on pizza, sandwiches, fruit and more. On the Disney Magic, you can find these on Deck 9: Daisy De-Lites, Pete's Boiler Bites, Pinocchio's Pizzeria and my personal favorite, Eye Scream and Frozone Treats, where you can help yourself to soft-serve ice cream in flavors that change every day.

For dinner, Disney Cruise Line has what they call rotational dining. This means that each night of your cruise, you'll go to another of the sit-down restaurants and your serving team will follow up. This is very nice because they get to know you, your likes, any allergies or dietary restrictions you have, etc. When you check in you'll get the dining rotation for your cruise, which will be printed on your Key to the World card (a card which opens your stateroom and is also used for charging privileges). You'll rotate among Animator's Palette, Carioca's and Lumieres. Attire for dinner is dressy-casual (they really don't want you wearing swim suits, cover ups, flip flops, etc but nice shorts, capri pants, skirts, pants, etc are all fine). On longer cruises, Semi Formal and Formal nights will be part of the itinerary. You can dress up as little or as much as you like; but don't worry, tuxes and tails are NOT required!

In addition, before dinner each night there will be photographers and characters in the main lobby/atrium area if you'd like a family pictures. These pictures can be purchased at any time during the cruise. There are two main dinner seating times, 5:45PM and 8:15PM. Dinner usually takes between 60-90 minutes. You'll be greeted by your server and assistant server and you'll be given the menu for the evening. If it's a Formal night, or perhaps Pirates in the Caribbean Deck Party night, you'll be given special menus. 

Each menu has courses for appetizers, soup/salad, main course and dessert. You can choose WHATEVER you want here; don't feel like you have to choose one from each category. Perhaps none of the appetizers appeal to you, but you'd love to have both the soup of the night and a salad. Go for it! Also feel free to order more of something if you really, really like it. All your food is included so don't be shy if you'd another serving, or if you want to try something else.

For those 18 and older, you can also have dinner at Palo (or brunch on cruises with at least one sea day). For $30 per person, you'll get an amazing dining experience. Brunch is a buffet like you've never seen, with choices from caviar to croissants to fruit and more. You can also order warm items that will be made-to-order such as pizza, Chicken Parmesan and Eggs Benedict. (Psst - for those over 21, you also get one free mimosa with your meal.) Dinner is equally excellent with antipasti service, a phenomenal menu featuring filet, lobster, pasta and more, and the real star of Palo - the chocolate souffle. Order it, just trust me. You won't regret it! Attire at both brunch and dinner at Palo is dress pants and shirt or jacket for me, and dress or pantsuit for women. They request no jeans, shorts, capri pants. tennis shoes or flip flops. If you happen to dine at both the Palo brunch and dinner on your cruise, you'll have the same server (although he/she will be a different server from your regular ones during the evening dining).

Remember that with Disney Cruise Line, all of your food is part of your cruising fee (apart from Palo) - even the room service menu! The only things not included are alcohol, popcorn and snack items at the movies and if you order soda from room service (as they bring you cans of soda). If I go to a movie and want a snack, I order room service and have them bring chocolate chip cookies - an awesome movie snack! :) Otherwise, everything else is included.

I do like to bring a some $1 bills to tip the room service staff; everything on the ship is credit only (on your Key to the World card, you won't use cash or credit cards to purchase items while on board) but with room service I find it easier to bring some $1 bills and tip them with those.

There are self-serve beverage stations on the pool deck with coffee, soda, water and tea - I either bring a Tervis or similar cup from home, or buy one on the boat. They have cups at the self-serve stations but they're a bit small, I think, so I like to bring my own cup.

If you've dined before on the Disney Magic, what's your favorite restaurant? How about favorite grab-and-go place?

Have a magical day!

The Pool at Disney's Grand Californian

One of my favorite parts about staying at the Grand Californian at Disneyland was the amazing pool area. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time out there this trip, but trust me - I'll be back! So many great places to lounge, read, watch the kids, etc. It's a large pool area; there are three separate pools, including a waterslide, a hot tub and a shallow area for little ones who like to splash around.

You can also rent poolside cabanas for the day! I neglected to check the price but they looked awesome; a nice covered place to sit, beverages, towels, etc - perfect for a hot California day!

What Disney resort pool is your favorite?

Have a magical day!

My reivew of "The Wisdom of Walt" by Jeffrey A. Barnes

"Big dreams require big canvases."

As I started reading Jeffrey Barnes book "The Wisdom of Walt - Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth", this particular sentence on page 51 hit me upside the head. Like all good advice, it's succinct but powerful. Not only did it resonate with me, it also set the stage for the remainder of the book.

Mr. Barnes is an author, professional keynote speaker and university professor who gives a wonderfully unique and interesting perspective about using lessons from Walt Disney's life, and the creation of Disneyland, as inspirations for success.

With chapters titled "Taking Care of Your Team", Listening to your 'Walter Ego'", "Using Forced Perspective" and my personal favorite, "Telling Stories," Mr. Barnes relays how you the reader can gain leadership skills by using the lessons of Walt Disney and the creation of Disneyland.

One of my favorite sections of the book is Chapter 6, "Mastering the 4 Cs" of Curiosity, Confidence, Courage and Constancy." I've re-read this section a few times - SO many great lessons.

I also really enjoyed that Mr. Barnes gives you space within the chapters to write down your own ideas and thoughts; this was a nice surprise, something you don't see in other books. He asks questions related to the chapter material, and then encourages you to think about what you just read and apply it to your own life. I jotted down some of my own notes; it'll be very interesting to read those a year from now, 5 years, etc and see if any of the answers have changed, or what action steps I was able to put into place.

Some of you might wonder if this book is a good fit for you; I would argue that we're all working towards a goal. Maybe you're working on accomplishing a dream and are looking for some inspiration as you start your journey. Do yourself a favor, and pick up this book!

There's so much I could talk about in relation to the book but we'd be here all day (and for quite a few days, actually). If you're a Disney fan and always like learning more about the history of Disney (from Walt's life to the theme parks), this book is for you. If you're someone who's looking for a "how-to" to jumpstart moving towards your goals, this book is for you. Even the non-Disney fans (or perhaps, not as passionate fans) in your life will really enjoy "The Wisdom of Walt." I plan on sharing it with my parents, my uncle and brother, as I think there are great principles and ideas they could apply to their particular businesses.

As Mr. Barnes states, "Reading this book will change the way you see and experience Disneyland. Instead of being a place of escape, Disneyland will become for you a model of success. Learn how the Park can challenge you to live your dream, inspire you to take action, and teach you how to create your own magic so that every day for you is as fun as a day at Disneyland."

You can purchase the book through Mr. Barnes' website www.thewisdomofwalt.com or on Amazon. Please treat yourself and pick up this book - you'll be glad you did!

Have a magical day!

I was provided a complimentary copy of Mr. Barnes book for my review. All opinions are my own.

Movin with Mickey - David Sevcik and Training his Mom for a Marathon

If you'll remember, every other Monday I'll feature a Movin with Micky post, talking about my own fitness and health goals, and also featuring blog readers who are achieving their own goals and/or helping others as well.

Today I want to feature David Sevcik, from Denver Colorado. David is my cousin and I knew he'd be a great person to talk to about health and fitness as he's an avid runner who has participated in many marathons and other distance races (and has placed very highly in many of them. Seriously, he's CRAZY fast. Those genes didn't trickle down to yours truly.)

David helped his mom (my aunt Lisa) train for her first marathon, so I asked him if he'd share about the training and some of his tips. Take it away, David!

* Tell us about your running background and when you started running.

I started running as a sophomore in high school after deciding golf wasn't for me.  I was never a front runner in high school and finished 7th on our team as a senior.  I then started the Iowa State Running Club where I saw a lot more success.  In our best year the club finished as the 2nd best collegiate running club in the nation.  We lost to a team we had beat just 3 weeks prior.  The same year the running club won the Half Marathon Collegiate Club National Championships as well as I won the race individually.  I've become an avid distance runner with my best ever finish being 49th (27th American) at the 2015 Boston Marathon.

* You mentioned that you helped your mom train for her first marathon; what program did you use in her training? Can you give us an idea of the training schedule?

My mom started running in her late 40's and initially just wanted to finish her first marathon under 5 hours.  She had never ran in her life and had trouble making it a mile without walking.  Her first go around she worked on a training plan through a local church group.  Most of these training plans involve running 3-4 days a week with a few very short runs (2-3 miles) and one very long run (15+).  When my mom mentioned she wanted to run Boston I knew I needed to give her more advice.  We started with 3 days a week running anywhere from 20-40 minutes.  We gradually built her weekly training up to 5 days a week with an hour a day.  The goal was to just run for one hour without stopping.  Pace truly didn't matter as long as it was continuous.  We then built up a mid week and weekend long run.  These runs ended up peaking at 2 hours and 2.5 hours.  Once these were going, we also looked at the course she was going to run and designed certain workouts to mimic the course.  Since her goal was the Des Moines marathon I knew that the first 8 miles were hilly and the last 18 were relatively flat.  So one example of a workout would be to run hill repeats and then follow that with a 3-4 mile marathon goal pace run.  At the end of 4 months she was able to finish her marathon in 3 hours 59 minutes and some change to qualify for Boston.

* Do you follow a particular diet or eating plan while you're training?

As I get older I believe diet is more and more important.  I've never followed a strict diet, but I do watch what I eat before a big workout or long run.  If I know I'm running 20 miles in the morning I won't drink a beer, or have ice cream the night before.  It's important to listen to your body and make sure your stomach is comfortable the following day.  I do think Calcium pills, iron supplements, and a multi-vitamin are beneficial.

* What device(s) do you use in your training, if any? (FitBit, Garmin, etc)

I just use a normal $30 watch that tells me time.  I'm a fan of Garmin, however I think it is important to not pay too much attention to all the numbers and let your body tell you what it should be doing and what it should not.  Don't worry about your pace as much as your time and the overall effort.  I do warn people that as beneficial as a Garmin or other GPS device might be they can also be just as harmful when you let the numbers direct your running

* What advice would you have for someone who's thinking about doing their first long-distance run?

Here's a couple things I'd tell someone doing their first race:

1. Your mind will limit your potential more then your body.  Running is very mental and don't talk yourself into believing anything negative or against your goals.

2. You are only going to get out what you put in.  Starting to run is hard for everyone.  It will take 3-4 weeks to create a comfortable habit, but running consistently is the only way to improve.

3. The proper shoes make all the difference.  Go to a running specialist store.  Do not go Dick's, Scheels, or other big box retailer to find the proper running shoes.  Big box retailers will not do a good job period. Also with your running shoes, your focus needs to be on comfort and the correct style.  The best shoes will not be as pretty as the Nike Free's, but you will be less likely to get injured.

4. Having a personalized coach will help you a lot more then finding a random plan on the internet.  If you want to see your best results it is best to have a personalized training plan that focusses on your strengths and weaknesses, as well as can be built and adjusted around your normal schedule.

Thanks again to David, we appreciate you sharing with us!

Have a magical day!

Happy 60th Birthday, Disneyland!

Today is a very special day - 60 years ago today, the gates opened at Disneyland for the first time and as the saying goes, we all lived happily ever after.

As a Disney geek, I can't imagine a world without the Disney parks. To have the vision, drive and chutzpah to create such a place is truly amazing. 

As Walt famously said on that opening day, "To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

Thank you, Walt, and thank you to the many thousands responsible for the creation of Disneyland, as well as the many thousands of past and current cast members, who help to keep that Disney light shining. It IS still a source of joy and inspiration, 60 years later.

Here's to the next 60!

Have a magical day!

it's a small world - Disneyland style

One of the things I was most excited about seeing at Disneyland were those attractions that are also at Walt Disney World. I knew there'd be some similarities and differences, and I was looking forward to checking those out for myself.

When I arrived at Disneyland that Saturday, May 30th, I got checked into my hotel, freshened up a bit and then headed right over to Disneyland. I couldn't wait to get in my first Disneyland attraction.

So I went over to it's a small world!

The difference from Walt Disney World is apparent right away; the loading for the attraction is outside, so as you line up and step into your boat for the Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed, you're in the nice California sunshine.

The building that houses it's a small world is ADORABLE. I loved it. Similar in color scheme to its counterpart at Walt Disney World, but with enough differences to still be brand-new to me.

Riding the attraction itself was very cool - it's the small world you've come to know, but with some important differences. In the midst of the animatronic children/dolls that are familiar, you see some of the Disney characters! I didn't know about this difference beforehand, so it was cool to ride it for the first time and check out how the characters were represented. You'll see Cinderella, Nemo and Dory, Woody and Jessie, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, and so many more. When I rode later in the week with my nieces and nephews, my niece and I tried to make up a game and find as many characters as we could.

As our cruise was nearing an end, the ending was also a bit different. At Walt Disney World, you see "Goodbye" in various languages; here at Disneyland, it's post cards from all over the world, letting people know what a great time they're having at Disneyland. Super cute!

I have to say, after going on this attraction - I prefer the Disneyland version over the Walt Disney World version! Having the characters represented is a lot of fun. Next time you're on the attraction, see how many you can count.

Have a magical day!

Dining Review: World of Color Dining Package

As we were planning on June 2015 Disneyland vacation, my cousin and I knew we wanted to see World of Color, the AMAZING nighttime show at California Adventure. (Don't worry, I'll dedicate a whole post to that incredible-ness later.) In reading about the show, I knew how popular it was, and since we had three little ones with us, we wanted to avoid waiting in a line or jockeying for space in what I knew would be tight quarters.

I'd read about the World of Color dining package, and that seemed to be the best bet for us. After consulting the menus and dining options, we chose lunch at Wine Country Trattoria, located near the entrance to Cars Land in California Adventure. (You could also chose to eat dinner.)

We arrived on time for our reservation, and we seated shortly. The format for the meal is prix fixe - for about $40.00 per adult and $20.00 per child, you get your choice of soup or salad, an entree and then a desert sampler. There is also a kids menu with many standard choices - pizza, sandwiches, pasta, etc.

There were many delicious choices and we all tried to pick something different, so we could sample each other's meals.

I chose the salad and it did not disappoint. It was delicious and fresh, and the perfect meal starter. My cousin and her husband both chose soup; one getting the tomato and another the Italian wedding soup. I like the wedding soup the best - the little meatballs were delicious and it was all well-seasoned.

For the main meal, I chose the Potato Gnocchi. Oh MY this was so good - cooked perfectly and a large portion, as well. My cousin's husband chose the salad with sautéed shrimp, and once word got out how good those shrimp where, I think he only had one or two for himself!

My cousin Kim chose a special that wasn't listed on the menu; a pasta with broccoli, which she liked. In tasting the entrees, however, we agreed that my Gnocchi was perhaps the best of what we'd gotten. In the picture below, the items are: Gnocchi at top left, salad at top right, shrimp salad at bottom left and broccoli pasta at bottom right.

I didn't take pictures of the kid's meals but they enjoyed them; they each had a mini pizza and a side of vegetables.

Finally came the grand finale - the desserts! In looking at the menu, we thought we each had to choose something but they bring you a sampler platter with one of EACH of those amazing offerings listed on the menu - DROOL. We had a tiramisu, macaroons, panna cotta and a lemon creme puff. They give a full platter to each two adults, so we ended up with two platters of desserts which was more than enough. All of us, kids included, sampled a little bit of everything. As I gravitate towards fruity things, my personal favorite was the Lemon Cream Puff.

At the conclusion of the meal, our server came to our table with 6 FastPasses for the World of Color show. He told us where to go and the return time for the FastPasses.

However, here's a tip - go EARLIER than they say. On the tickets was printed a time of 8:45 PM, as the show starts at 9PM. However, lines start to form about 7:45ish and they start letting people into the WoC viewing area around 8PM. Ask the cast members where the line is forming for the dining packages, and they'll tell you where to go. This means that you'll be at the viewing area about an hour before the show starts, BUT you'll also have a better chance of standing right near the front. The WoC dining FastPasses are the very front of the viewing area and it's first come standing area only but the view cannot be beat. You will get a bit damp (as they project the images onto water) but it's so worth it.

I would do this again in a heartbeat; in fact, when I go back in November I plan on doing it again and trying another of the restaurants offered.

Have you done this dining package before? What did you think?

Have a magical day!

The First Movin with Mickey Monday!

Greetings, friends! I hope you all had an amazing 4th of July weekend that had both relaxation time and fun with family and friends. I took it pretty easy - went to eat with friends, saw Jurassic World, and caught up on some reading I've been wanting to do. Ooh! And my new, fun colors FitBit Flex bands came via Amazon. (Have I said lately how much I love Amazon Prime? We're dating. It's serious.)

So today is the official kick-off for the bi-weekly feature, Movin with Mickey! First, thank you all for the great response about the blog series. I think it'll be fun and a great way for us to motivate each other. Health is not an end-goal thing; I don't think you can ever say, Well, now I'm healthy, I can cool my heels and rest. Nope, not how it works. Especially as you get older. (Can I get an Amen?!)

Once a month, I'll be giving you an update on my personal progress. My friend Chris with On A Roll Designs will update the map each month, so you can see my steps progress. You'll need to hang with me for a while here, because by my calculations, if I walk an average of 10,000 steps per day (which is about 5 miles), it's going to take me over 250 days to finish this walk. So we're in it for the long haul, folks. Get comfy.

For the second monthly entry, I'll be featuring a reader who is on their own personal journey to health and wants to share their tips, ideas, what motivates them, etc. I've already heard from a lot of you who want to be featured and there are still slots open, so if you'd like to be featured, please email me at katie@mouseworldtravel.com.

But to get started, I wanted to give you some baselines about what I'm doing and how I'm tracking my information for the "walk" to Orlando. I'm not planning on sharing the nitty-gritty numbers such as my weight, but I do plan on letting you when I've lost inches and other progress points in my journey.

Here's the basic info and what I'm doing:

 - I know I need to eat better and make better food choices. I am not interested in "diets" - I want to make lifestyle changes that I can follow and sustain through the next (God willing) 40+ years of my life. I'm adopting an eating plan that my sister has been using with great success, which takes out un-natural sugars (candy, cake, etc) and processed food. I will still enjoy a treat every now and again, but my goal is to make good choices 85% of the time, and allow the other 15% for "cheats" (things like birthday cake, an occasional margarita, etc).

 - I've used a FitBit in the past, but the dongle-thing that plugged into my computer and synced my info broke during one of my trips, and so I've been without it for a few months. I ordered a replacement dongle-thing, as well as some fun color bands (because, accessories) and I'm all armed and ready to go. With the FitBit app, you can also see the progress of your Friends and how many steps they're taking per day. (If you'd like to be FitBit Friends with me, send me an email and we'll get linked!)

 - I took Before pictures, measurements and bought a new scale. I am not someone who thinks that weighing yourself every day is healthy (your body weight can fluctuate from day to day that has nothing to do with what you're eating) but I do plan on weighing myself and taking new measurements once a week. I'll take new pictures once a month, as well, so I can see the progress I'm making.

 - Rewards are important - and so I am going to do something fun for myself once a month. I'm thinking things like getting a pedicure, getting a massage, buying myself a new shirt or pair of shorts, etc.

Thank you again for being so great and taking this journey with me - I'd love to hear how you all stay fit and healthy, recipes you'd like to share with the group, exercises and ways to move that you find effective, etc. I say it all the time but this blog is Full Audience Participation. Let's cheer each other on!

And rest assured, the other posts all month long will be the same Disney-esque goodness you've come to know (and hopefully love).

Let's get started Movin with Mickey!

Have a magical day!

Movin with Mickey - It's Officially On the Move!

Can you HANDLE the cuteness of this?! Chris, you are amazing, girl!!

Happy Thursday, Friends! Hope you all have fun and relaxing plans for the 4th of July weekend. I have about zero plans and that suits me just fine. :)

I wanted to show you something I am SO EXCITED ABOUT I could hardly contain myself. Remember back about a month or so, I talked about the Movin with Mickey feature on the blog? Where I was going to be tracking my steps and seeing how long it would take me to "walk" from my home in NE Iowa to Orlando, FL?

Well, Monday officially starts those posts! AND I have a SUPER CUTE graphic, designed by my gal Chris over at On A Roll Designs. Isn't this ADORBS?! I'm obsessed. I love it so much. You can find her Facebook page HERE and her Etsy page HERE - please bookmark / Like those and contact her for your graphic arts needs.

Every two weeks, on Monday I'll be doing a Movin With Mickey Monday feature on the blog, where I update you on my progress. I'm going to keep track of my steps using a FitBit and I'll update you on my progress. I'll also use those posts to share other healthy tips like recipes, exercises and more. If you have tips you'd like to share, or have been moving towards health yourself and would like to be featured on the blog - please get in touch. I'd love to hear from you!

Have a WONDERFUL 4th of July weekend - be looking for Monday's post! Let's get started!

Have a magical day!