Disney...Here We Come Again!

My work week mornings are pretty monotonous. I wake up, get dressed, do my hair and makeup, get Shaylee dressed and ready to go, gather my belongings, pack my lunch and am out the door by 7am. After dropping Shaylee off at my grandmother’s (G.G’s), I head off to work, often stopping to purchase an energy drink or iced coffee somewhere and enjoy the local country radio station, Cat Country 107.1 FM on my drive to work.

Lately, Cat Country has been giving away Disney World ticket to the seventh caller that can answer that day’s Disney trivia question. Yesterday, they did a snippet of three Disney classic movies which I instantly recognized as scenes from Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, and Dumbo. As I listened, I figured I would give it a shot. I could recite most Disney movies from beginning to end and I certainly knew these ones. I was doubtful that I would even get through after my first three attempts to call their studio line rang busy. On my fourth, and final, attempt, I actually got ringing and not the busy tone. My heart skipped a beat as I waited to see if someone would actually answer….

Then someone answered in a loud and boisterous Southern accent, “Congratulations, your caller number seven!!! What’s your name and can you correctly identify the three Disney movies?!”

I got through! I was caller number seven! I was so excited and surprised that I almost forgot the answers but somehow managed to state my name and squeak out the Disney titles, in the correct order, hehe. The hosts laughed and asked how old I was and when I answered “27” they said “you sound like your fourteen!” I had to agree, “I get that a lot.” Apparently being caught completely off guard in my unanticipated expectations that anyone would actually answer, my surprise must have raised my vocal octaves a bit, LOL. The female host exclaimed “Well, you certainly know your Disney!” and I proudly stated that I had a three year old (but actually am a big Disney fan all in my own right, with or without kids!).

So today I drove down to the radio station (which fortunately is located about 15 minutes from my work) on my lunch break and picked up my tickets! We are going to Disney!!! Hurray!

Since we had just gone to the Walt Disney World resort in January for my birthday, we decided that we will be going to the Animal Kingdom, one of Disney’s newer parks. Animal Kingdom is dedicated to nature and conservation and home to over 1,700 animals from 250 species and sprawling across 500 acres of landscape, making it the largest animal-themed park in the world! Its very family friendly; I think there is only two rides that Shaylee may be too little for, but other than that, its all about the animals and attractions. And who doesn’t love animals?!

The only downside is Shaylee is getting so big there is no way I can pass her off as a two year old anymore to get in free, so her ticket is going to cost us $63. We will probably stay at another Disney All- Star Resort since they are economical, fun themed, and right there in the Animal Kingdom park area. To avoid high room rates, we will probably go some time between August 9^th through October 1^st, when the rates are lowest at $82 a night. So roughly we are looking at $227 out of pocket (before food- and you can bet we will be going to the O’hana restaurant for Mickey waffles again!) which is a very, very, very reasonable price for a family of three summer vacation! I can’t wait!