StuCrew Fun
  • Home
    • Popular Posts
    • Blog
  • Family
    • Marriage
    • Parenting
    • Life
  • Lifestyle
    • Holidays/Parties
    • Recipes
    • Fitness/Wellness
  • Travel
    • Disney
    • Nashville, TN
    • Florida Fun
    • American Exploration
    • International Adventures
  • About
    • Contact

Disney Springs with the Baby

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I've been in that new mom fog... feeling trapped in my house, lonely, bored, covered in baby vomit. One day, when I could stand it no longer, I called my sister and asked if she'd be interested in meeting up at Disney Springs one day soon. As luck would have it, she and her wife had a Disney trip planned for the near future, and they'd be thrilled to spend a day at Disney Springs with us. YAY!
Picture
We picked an excellent day. The weather was perfect - a cool breeze, not too hot, not too cold. The spring break crowds had not yet descended on Walt Disney World. Seriously, I don't know how or why, but it worked out better than I could have hoped. 

I knew it was going to be a good day when we pulled into the parking garage and there were plenty of spots available on the second level (this is the level with the pedestrian bridge to get into Disney Springs). We parked and waited for my sisters. 

Once my sisters arrived, we all headed toward the World of Disney store. This might be my favorite store at Disney Springs. It's enormous. Reagan was on the hunt for a new backpack bag to use as her everyday bag. 
Both boys hated it. Riley is always a pill when we are shopping - even shopping at Disney. Remy wanted to be held the entire time. He would have none of his stroller. While Jackie and Meghan were in line to purchase stuff, I took my babies outside. Riley said, "You know, Disney has the best popcorn." So naturally, we had to buy some. 

Read More
0 Comments

Post-Labor Day Vacay

9/7/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
About a month ago I received the greatest text message from my husband. It said, "Call and get a room at Disney for sometime in early September." In the 14 years Stu and I have been together, this is the second time he has ever initiated a Disney trip (The first was our 1st wedding anniversary. He surprised me with a room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.). Anyway, I called him right away to make sure he hadn't been hacked. 

Then I booked our trip and began counting down the days. For this mini vacay, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. It's a gorgeous resort. 
We drove up on Tuesday (day after Labor Day) morning and headed straight for the Magic Kingdom. The kids had picked out Fast Passes ahead of time. The first was for Space Mountain at noon. 

The drive up was easy. Actually, it was incredible. The traffic was nearly nonexistent on the Turnpike. The funniest part was that Riley fell asleep in the backseat. I cannot remember the last time he slept in the car - including the drives from North Carolina and Tennessee. Crazy. 
Picture
He woke up just as we exited the highway. 
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Epcot, Finally

5/23/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Finally because, as you know from my previous post, I had entertained the idea of hitting Epcot first. Oh well, better late than never. 

And actually, I kind of mislead you. We have one brief stop to make. We spent about an hour at the pool. Coronado Springs Resort has an excellent pool area called The Dig Site. Reagan and I discovered it on our December trip. She raved about the slide for months. Now it was time to introduce it to her bro. Stu chilled in the pool. I reclined on a lounge chair, as is my usual poolside custom. It didn't take long for my skin to feel the effects of the blazing Florida sun. I called it quits at an hour. Buddy returned to the room with me. I left in the nick of time... one more minute and I would have become a painful tomato. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Ok, NOW Epcot.


Read More
0 Comments

Turning 40 at the Happiest Place on Earth

5/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Who says Disney is only fun for a child's birthday? 

This year Stu turned 40. We threw a party for him at our house the weekend before his birthday. It was awesome. I took the liberty of booking a room at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort for a mid-week birthday extravaganza minivacay. 

Coronado Springs Resort

The kids and I have stayed at Coronado Springs before. You can read about it here. The Resort is nice.  It is located in the Animal Kingdom Resort section of Walt Disney World's Orlando property. At the time of writing this (May 2018), the Resort is still undergoing a major renovation. The rooms have been overhauled and they are beautiful. Currently, they are constructing a massive tower which will hold more hotel rooms and convention center space. The project is expected to be completed in early-mid 2019. Don't let the construction deter you... this is a great time to get excellent rates at this Resort. 

Read More
0 Comments

Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue

5/5/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of our favorite dinner spots at Walt Disney World is definitely the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. The food is great. The show is amazing. The ambiance is playful. 

Our most recent trip to Disney World was to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday. Perhaps you read about his poopy birthday party already. We had fun celebrating at home. But I am ALWAYS up for any excuse to head to Orlando. And a 40th birthday is nothing to shrug off and let simply pass by. I booked us a room at Coronado Springs Resort and got a table at the Hoop Dee Doo. 
*I've written about Coronado Springs before. We stayed there in December 2017. I'll be posting about our experience this time later. 
We drove our car from our hotel to the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. From the Outpost we hoped on a Disney bus and rode it down to the settlement. For the first time ever, in our Disney experience, everything went without a hitch and we made it to Pioneer Hall in record time... which meant we had an excess of time to kill before we needed to check in. Luckily, there is a playground. 

Read More
0 Comments

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2017

12/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
This year, Reagan's birthday is going to be overtaken by a cousin's wedding. So we went to Disney early in December to celebrate! This was the first time we had been to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We've been at Walt Disney World for Christmas festivities a handful of times in the past - including actually being there when Santa came (the two images below are from 12/25/10 at the Magic Kingdom)!

Read More
0 Comments

Animal Kingdom - September 2017

10/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
This was a great morning. Maybe it was the best part of our quick trip. I don't know. It's hard for me to pick one moment of a Disney trip that is better than another... any time at Disney is a win. But this particular morning seemed to go exceptionally well for us. 
We woke up early. Well, I woke up early. Then I dragged the rest of the family out of bed. We packed up our stuff and the car. For breakfast, we ate at the hotel cafeteria. It was meh. 

After we fueled our bodies, we hopped in the car and drove over to the Animal Kingdom. The plan was to be there when it opened, run over to the new Pandora section, and get on one of the new Avatar rides. 
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Magic Kingdom - September 2017

10/5/2017

0 Comments

 
We rested for a bit in the hotel room. Epcot was fun, but we needed a recharge before heading into the Magic Kingdom for the night. 
Picture
From the All Star Resorts, you can take a Disney bus to any of the Parks (including the water parks and Disney Springs). We waited for the Magic Kingdom one. 

The buses always remind me of little Riley... he was utterly OBSESSED with them. We had to ride one, even if we had no real purpose in doing so. He just loved to be on them, around them, shouting when we saw them. 
Disney World buses
Here's Riley freaking out over his toy buses. We used to buy these every single time we came. At one point, we owned a fleet of Disney buses.
Disney World bus
He is literally jumping and squealing in excitement for this bus.
Alright, enough cute young Riley for now. 

*sigh* The Magic Kingdom in the fall is so beautiful. I love all the pumpkins and fall leaves. If only the temperature would cooperate and drop a few degrees...
Picture
Picture
There was a snafu with our Magic Bands at the gate. Something went terribly wrong at the hotel check in... Somehow, my sister-in-law was checked in and Stu was left off. And the rest of us were wearing the wrong bands. We put the Bands in my bag and used our Annual Pass cards to gain entry and for our FP+. No worries. 
Picture
Since you are only allowed 3 FastPasses per day and we used 2 at Epcot, our only one left was for Buzz Lightyear. That's Riley's favorite ride (next to Splash Mountain - which is currently closed for refurbishment) at MK. And Buzz ALWAYS has a long line. Anyone can ride it, kids love it, grown ups like it... plan to wait or FastPass this ride. 
Picture
After Stu beat us all on Buzz, we went over to Space Mountain. The standby was ridiculously short, like 30 maybe. And Riley was game to try it. But, as we slowed down in line, he said he needed to go to the bathroom. So, he and I walked out in search of a potty. 

Stu and Reagan had a great time. Space Mountain is her favorite ride here. 

While we waited, Riley and I rode the PeopleMover. This is one of my MUST dos. I love this ride. There is very rarely a line for it. It is long (8 minutes) and it is relaxing. Some of the funniest and best photos we have are from this ride. Want to see some? 
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
This is from this trip. Riley was shouting HELLO and waving to all the people below. I love this one because he is so happy and carefree.
TTA PeopleMover
Reagan and Aunt Jackie
Walt Disney World
Riley, this trip. This pose is a family requirement.
Magic Kingdom
The photo that started it all - Reagan is one.
That was fun. Good times. Now, back to the present. 

We met up with Stu and Reagan. By this time, it was getting kind of late, so we went to the Starlight Cafe for dinner. It's across from the Tomorrowland Speedway. Riley had a tiny meltdown while waiting for the food. He told me he was done and just wanted to go back to the room. 
Magic Kingdom
Dinner in Tomorrowland
Dinner perked him up though. So we powered through. Both kids wanted to drive the race cars on the Speedway. The standby line was about 30 minutes. We went for it. This was BY FAR the funniest thing we did the entire trip. Reagan and Stu were in the first car. Riley and I right behind. Riley could not see the road ahead, he had no idea there was a rail keeping all the cars in specific lanes. He kept trying to pass Stu and Reagan, which would smash us into the center rail and cause our car to jerk around. I think my back cracked a dozen times. I laughed the entire time. Riley screamed and yelled and laughed the whole time. Luckily, Stu had the foresight to video it:
Reagan and I rode Space Mountain together. Riley was tired and did not feel like trying anything else new. So he and Stu hung out. They went on Buzz again (no line because people were at the castle waiting for the fireworks), then they watched the fireworks from the PeopleMover. 
Picture
Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom
And that pretty much ended our night. We left just as they were doing the slide show on the castle (that's super cool to see, if you haven't seen it before, plan to at least once). The bus was packed, but we made it. 

It did not take long for the little Stus to pass out after their showers. Now it's time to rest up and get ready for Animal Kingdom! 
Picture
Perhaps you'd like to read one of these:

Mini Golf, Disney Style

Disney with Your Special Needs Child

Living It Up - Hollywood Style

And please don't forget to vote & vote often. 
Vote For Me @ The Top Mommy Blogs Directory Vote For Me @ The Top Mommy Blogs Directory
0 Comments

Epcot - September 2017

10/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Every single time we go, we have fun. Every single time we find something new to do. This trip was like Riley's first time... he experienced a world of new rides, new resort, new food. 
Epcot at Walt Disney World
This trip was simple:
  • Drive to Epcot on Monday morning. 
  • Pick up our Passes.
  • Ride some stuff (we FastPassed a few things).
  • Check into the All Star Sports Resort.
  • Go to the Magic Kingdom for dinner and more rides. 
  • Sleep.
  • Wake up early, get to the Animal Kingdom in hopes of making it on one of the new Avatar rides. 
  • Ride more stuff at Animal Kingdom. 
  • Eat lunch outside of the Parks and head home. 

Not a bad trip, right?

Read More
0 Comments

Disney with your Special Needs Child

7/2/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
Written By: Lea
My first trip to Disney sealed my fate as a lifelong Disney nerd. I was a 25 year old wannabe Disney Princess that day. No shame. I met Ariel and was practically speechless. No kidding. We waited an hour and a half in line to meet Mickey. No regrets. 

This was before kids!

Fast forward a few years. 2010 found us unexpectedly traversing a whole new world of another kind. The special needs world. 

For parents with special needs children nervously considering a trip to Disney, let me share my tips and tricks. 

1. Set your child up for success!


Read More
2 Comments
<<Previous
    Follow my blog with Bloglovin
    Follow

    Our Disney Sides

    We are fortunate enough to live a short drive away from the Happiest Place on Earth! And we take full advantage of it!

    Categories

    All
    All Star Resorts
    Animal Kingdom
    Animal Kingdom Resorts
    Blizzard Beach
    Character Sightings
    Christmas At Disney
    Contemporary
    Coronado Springs
    Disney Resorts
    Disney Springs
    Disney Wedding
    Epcot
    Food Spots
    Ft Wilderness Campground
    Grand Floridian
    Halloween At Disney
    Hollywood Studios
    Magic Kingdom
    Polynesian-resort
    Port Orleans
    Resort Amenities
    Things To Do
    Things To Love
    Thrill Rides
    Tips And Tricks

    Archives

    March 2019
    September 2018
    May 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    September 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    June 2013
    February 2013

    RSS Feed

Thanks for the love and support!


Check out our most popular posts by clicking on The Good Stuff. 
The Good Stuff
Want us to know something? Email anytime.
Disclaimer

Email

editor@melindastuder.com
  • Home
    • Popular Posts
    • Blog
  • Family
    • Marriage
    • Parenting
    • Life
  • Lifestyle
    • Holidays/Parties
    • Recipes
    • Fitness/Wellness
  • Travel
    • Disney
    • Nashville, TN
    • Florida Fun
    • American Exploration
    • International Adventures
  • About
    • Contact