Disneyland 2012: First ADR made!

Nothing makes me dance more,
like making our ADRs!

I called down at 8am Alaska Time this morning to book our first ADR for Disneyland. Actually it's not an ADR, it's "Priority Seating" but close enough. It works basically the same. Deanna was quick and easy to work with - just what you want in a Cast Member when booking anything.

Before chatting with the Cast Member, however, I sat on hold for about 8 minutes. Not bad considering it's summer, but it still had me a little worried. With Carsland openning next weekend it's no doubt they are busy, still I started worrying about our own plans in August. I got to listen to nearly the entire soundtrack from the animated version of Alice in Wonderland before getting my turn at the reservations.

My worries were for naught, however, because it was easy-peasey for Deanna to plug our party of 7 into a dinnertime of 6pm. I also took the time to ask her to make a note of the different celebrations - engagement, first time, and kindergarten graduation. I also asked about dietary concerns with Deanna. With Goofy's Kitchen being a buffet I wasn't sure it much mattered but Deanna took down the big ones anyway. We didn't have a problem finding things for Haille Rae to eat last time, but it never hurts to have the Disney staff aware.

So over all the first reservation of the trip was a breeze. Tomorrow I get to call again to book the girls' Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience, and then it'll be a couple of days before I can book our last reservation. I may also book a couple for myself - I gotta have breakfast at the Carnation Cafe - but I'm still debating that one.

I'm pretty much riding a Disney High at the moment. 'Tis a good feeling!

Movie Review: Snow White & The Huntsman

Save the money and rent the movie on DVD this fall.

The tagline for Snow White and the Huntsman should be "Never believe the hype." A film that was supposed to be a fantastically dark retelling of the classic Snow White story is a garbled mess of special effects, CGI creatures, and missing storyline. The film leaves the viewer creeped out - and not in a good way - with it's topics of incest and life stealing.

The cast is promising, Charlize Theron is always certain to get people in the seats. Chris Hemsworth is riding high after his turn as Comic Hero Thor, and do I really need to remind you what Kristen Stewart is known for (hint: she was in that vampire/werewolf series of movies). However, "Monster", "Thor" and "Bella" do not make a good casting trio.

Theron, of course, was the big gun during promotion of the film. The Oscar Award winning actress (for her role in "Monster") has the chops to pull off the Evil Queen hell bent on killing the princess - still the rival for the throne and title of "fairest of them all" - but she's limited due to the film's need to have her turn into tar puddles and ravens. If you've seen the previews you've seen the majority of her contribution to the film.

Thor actor, Chris Hemsworth, plays the drunkard huntsman who - of all the characters - is the most fleshed out... but that's not saying much. He is forced to hunt down and bring back Snow White after she escapes the tower the Evil Queen locks her in. We find out that his wife has died and he's lost the will to do or be anything. He is hired for his knowledge of the dark forest (which is not as intimidating as they try to make it out to be), and off they go. Within the first few minutes of meeting his quarry he is talked into changing sides. So much for scary, right?

Kristen Stewart is no rookie to the simple and overhyped films. Her role as Snow White seems similar in most ways to that of Bella from Twilight. She says very little, but is the one everyone is after. Typecast? Maybe a little. Snow White spends most of her time running, feeling guilty, sympathising, and looking stoic. Not your typical Princess. She's supposed to be the heroine of the story, but honestly it's such a jumbled mess I can't tell who really wins - though I do know it was not the audience who claimed a win.

The actors should not be blamed for the flatness of the film, that sits squarely on the storyline. Which, as noted before, there is none. The story does not hold up against the many scene changes which looks to be 85-95% CGI. We meet secondary characters flippantly and never really learn who or what they are. There are scenes that make absolutely no sense, and do not advance the storyline. The graphics are incredible, but the cost seemed to be that the story no longer fit with what they wanted to do in the computer.

My friend and I were left with a very high creep factor and disappointment. We had such high hopes for the film and had been waiting for days to go see the movie, only to be met with a story that went no where. The only entertainment we had for the more than two hours in the theater was our own snarking.

This movie is not family friendly for the darkness and incest (the Evil Queen has a brother who... um... is very creepy... like Dateline Predator creepy), and I was surprised at how many children were in the theater. Like the previews didn't give you enough heads up?!

My advice? Skip the boxoffice and netflix it when it comes out later this summer on DVD. It's not worth the price of admission.

Pinterest Find: Lasagna Soup

Pinterest is the latest greatest social media craze.

Who knows if Pinterest is here to stay, even I was sceptical, but with everyone talking about it and friends sharing their finds on facebook I bit the bullet and joined. It's a dreamer's paradise. Everything you could possibly want at your fingertips. Boards for travel, reading, movies, life, children, clothing... and, yes, food.
For a picky eater like me, most recipes are intimidating because they are typically food stuffs I don't like. However, we do eat with our eyes and pinning a picture that looks amazing before you know what's in it? Makes it hard to pass up.

There have been some misses - smoothies just aren't for me it seems - but lately we've found some great finds. There was the nacho cheese (fake cheese!) during football season, and the glueten free chocolate cookies...

Photo from Deen Bros.

And last night we tried the Lasagna Soup that's floating around the Pinterest Boards. It was AMAZING. As a big lasagna lover I was not disappointed. It's basically just a deconstructed lasagna, but it is oh so good -and it's faster than baking one! The recipe used is Bobby Deen's version of his mother's Lasagna Soup. It's deemed "lighter", but it tastes pretty filling to me.

In the soup you have everything that makes a great lasagna, the only thing I would change is the portion of red pepper - I'd use about half of what the recipe calls for. I would also make a double batch, three people cleaned out a full pot of the stuff with just a little left for one of our lunches. I've never been so sad to see no leftovers in my life!

The depth of flavor is what, I think, makes one want more. At first taste you think it's your basic tomato sauce, and then the other flavors kick in. It's almost a religious experience. It really is like eating a lasagna, but it's not as heavy. Even though it was a hot day it was well worth it to have soup!

You MUST try it, you will NOT be disappointed! - http://thedeenbros.com/index.php/recipes/recipe_detail/bobbys_lighter_tastes_like_lasagna_soup/

New look!

Disney won out, not surprising, as my new design for the blog. Layout is still the same, just the colors and pictures have changed! :)

Doing the Disney Math

Sometimes crunching numbers and breaking down costs
makes choosing to go on a Disney Vacation worth it!

Disneyland is still two months off, so what better way to kill time than to begin the pre-planning of the next Disney trip. My parents, myself, and the sibling are looking at going to Walt Disney World September of 2013. Mom has been apprehensive due to costs. This finally came to a head this weekend as she basically said a Disney trip would be impossible.

Considering the subject was Disney, and Walt himself was the master of making the impossible, possible, I jumped at the chance to prove her wrong. Crunching numbers is not normally my thing, but Disney Math - as we Disney-holics lovingly call it - is simple enough. Admittedly the total amount is a huge chunk of change, but once you begin to break down costs it's much more manageable.

Disney has not released the rates for next year - aside from their hotels. It's anyone's guess when we'll know the vacation package prices for 2013, but typically they release middle to late summer so folks have time to plan and budget. Basic budgetting, however, can begin well in advance of packages by using the current packages and rounding up. It may not be completely accurate - I round up to the nearest 50 or 00, which typically makes it far more expensive than it will be - but it gives you a figure to work with.

Attention to detail outside the Tusker
House in Disney's Anitmal Kingdom.

We're looking at going in September of next year. There are several reasons, the main one being my dad's 60th birthday will be September 15. He has been very vocal with his desire to go for his birthday over other options. Considering he's the bread winner, it's the least we can do for him. Another reason is that, in the past, September is the time Disney gives deep discounts like their free dining plan promotion. This is never promised, and should not be a deciding factor or even budgetted for, but it's good to keep in mind. When estimating I never budget with discounts in mind, I go for the full fare so I will not be disappointed or unprepared later on.

For our family of four we will need two rooms - to give the parentals some privacy. This bumps up the fees a bit, but not terribly so. For me Park Hopper is a must have for tickets. We also will have the Dining Plan. With four adults who do enjoy food, and want to be pampered once in a while, the Dining Plan works well as we can eat at places we would normally pass up because of costs. Tip is the only thing not included and that's just fine by us, we can take care of that. And, while not believing it will be available to us, we could get it for free should they offer another promotion (with the opening of the new Fantasyland, though, I don't see them offering deep discounts next fall).

Dad also chose Port Orleans Riverside as the resort he'd like to stay at. This makes me happy as I enjoy the moderate resorts over the values or even deluxe options. Again this adds a bit of expense, but if need be we *could* go down to a value, but with Disney Math you really don't need to. Little splurges are a good thing for a relaxing part of the vacation.

After visiting the Disney World Website and plugging in our "wants" out came the cost: $6293.44. This is a huge number. Rounding up to $6500 makes one gasp even more. Again I always try to give myself a little buffer so when the real price comes out I'm not under-estimating, and it's always nice to feel like we're getting it cheaper.

Even though the cost seems steep, this is for four "adults" with the extras listed above. It basically comes to 1575 or 1625 (depending on how you round up) a person. Granted we haven't added in airfare, but even after that it's not a bad deal. Did I mention this is for a 10 night, 9 day trip. That's a huge bang for the buck. If I wanted to get really detailed I could go down to the day per person cost, but I'm not THAT crazy about Disney Math.

With this info in hand, it makes the Disney Budget seem much more doable. With just a little bit of game planning, saving for the trip becomes something that doesn't seem impossible. Once again, Walt Disney is making the impossible, possible (all the while making a killing).



Needing some ideas...

I really love my Iditarod themed layout for the blog, but it's far past Iditarod 2012, and the new race season isn't for quite a few months yet... But I have no idea what to change it to. Disney? Family? Alaska? Dogs?

What would you like to see?

New Beginning

With my best friend's recent engagement, I have been on a "get in shape" kick. I am severely overweight. It's been a struggle, I am a very quiet and unactive person. I prefer curling up with the laptop, my scrapping, or a good book than going out and doing things. I never realized, though, just how out of shape I was until I started trying to work out. 20 minutes and you'd think I'd just run a marathon the way my body reacts.

Erin gets married in 11 months and I want to look semi decent in the bridesmaids dress. So I'm trying to eat less and exercise. I'm working out on the wii and taking walks with Yuka on the beach. I don't see much improvement, I just notice I'm hungry all the freaking time because I am focussing on it more.

Yuka is loving it, though. She loves going off leash and is so well behaved when she's got the beach to herself. The only time I ever even worry is when she goes after the sea gulls and the eagles. She hates birds, but thankfully she comes when called and typically knows when I'm serious about her staying close to me. I did have to chase after her the other day as she took off after an eagle, but she's getting better at ignoring the birds...

I really hope this summer will be a good one and that we will be able to make this goal a reality for me!