The Meerkats and The Rabbit

That sounds like the title of a children's book.  But it actually really happened and I saw it with my own two eyes on our vacation to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom last month.  I planned our trip around their Resort Early Opening Days, so Animal Kingdom was our last park day.  I of course love the fact that they have Meerkats and for the second time I planned to simply sit and watch them.  Of course I didn't know I'd be sick and running a fever by then or else I would have planned a shorter vacation, but my short time with the Meerkats was a treasure all the same.

We started out our morning leaving our hotel.  We stayed at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside on the off chance you were wondering.  That particular morning was yard work day, and all the wonderful mouse employees were hard at work mowing the grass, trimming bushes and so forth.  The resident rabbits were out in force and I think we saw three of them before we left the hotel.  But those aren't the particular rabbits I'm talking about.

The bus came and we were off, I was sick but I didn't care.  I was finally going to see my beloved Meerkats again.  Why mine?  Well I don't know, they aren't really mine, but all Meerkats especially Suricata Suricatta charm my heart.  The plan?  Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris and then take the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail of course, because the later is where the Meerkats are!

When we got to the Meerkats it was still nice and early.  Not cool weather but certainly not the sweat dripping temps of an afternoon in July and who cares anyway because the viewing area for the Meerkats is covered. Nice of Disney to plan that resting spot for me! The last time we were there it was much later in the morning and only two lone males (all the Meerkats in Disney's Animal Kingdom are boys) where out.  But this time more of the gang was visible.  I was surprised that while it was July and clearly hot Florida weather (Lake Buena Vista had Record breaking temps when we were there) yet the Meerkats appeared to have their winter jammies on and thereby looking a little shaggy.  What a charming change!  Now would you believe while these boys were on their guard watching the sky, a rabbit had hopped it's way into their enclosure?

Often when watching them on TV and/or having gone without seeing them eye to Meerkat in a while it's easy to forget they are only 2 to 3 pounds.  Small!  Tiny even, makes my Tiny cat look huge.  Now Meerkats are territorial.  There's no doubt about it.  They have to be coming from the desert as they do.  They spied that rabbit, who was truly as big as they were and so they set  about the business of chasing off the rabbit.  Now I'm sure Mr. Thumper was a bit frantic trying to recall how he/she got in there and more importantly how to get out!  But I was delighted - Meerkat mobbing behavior, what a treat!  Yes, Thumper got away safe and sound, why were you worried I told you the rabbit as big as the Meerkats!  So then of course Meerkats went back to being watchful Meerkats.

Of course while that was going on one fellow "guest" thought the Meerkats were going to eat the rabbit and disgusted herself so badly with her lack of knowledge that she had to leave the area.  Really.  I guess she missed Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor educating us all that a Millepede is an awesome and filling meal for a Meerkat or that they will eat ants in a pinch?

Maybe I'm awful but I think any animal willing to stand up to the most deadly snakes Africa has to offer deserves some respect, especially if they are only 10-14 inches when standing.  Would you stand up to a Cape Cobra?  When my pain is soaring I feel like I have a snake in my veins hissing, spitting, and sometimes even verbally striking out at my loved ones as I watch with my own eyes.  Wild Meerkats fight the literal battle while I fight the analogical one within my own skin.  But don't pity me, instead think of other people with chronic pain that have yet to find a mascot for themselves.  Trust me every little bit helps and I don't feel the breath of the snake as often as I used to anyway.

How Do You Eat?

My husband and I are considering a Walt Disney World Resort Vacation this summer 2011.  We'd like to get the deluxe dining plan because then we can eat whatever we want and for once not have to think about how much it costs.  There is a certain value in that alone, but really how do the dining plans stand up?  In all of my online digging I haven't found anyone matching point for point, this is what we eat and how we eat vs. the dining plan.  So for the past hour or more I've done just that.

What exactly am I talking about?  The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan this includes 3 sit down meals per day.  As a handicapped gal I do not like work-a-raunts as a general rule, and what else is Disney for besides to eat the best food in all of the United States?  LOL.

We are considering a trip for 7 days 6 nights.  That is 2 adults, and 1 child 3 sit down meals a day for a total meal allowance of 18 meals for the entire trip.

As a general rule we will grab a cereal bar in the am or a cup of coffee depending on the person, have a nice lunch, and a meaty dinner.  We sometimes switch that up with a late breakfast and an early dinner.  This will give us many extra meal vouchers that you will note I have put towards eating at Dinner Shows, and Disney's Signature Restaurants.  Prices come from both Disney's reservation site and Allears as of the posted date.  Total includes, tip, food, and non alcoholic beverage for each of 3 people.  Tip is calculated at Disney's recommended 18% on all bills for continuity.

Day 1 - Arrival Day
$156.97 Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue Category 2: 2 meal credits

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom Day
$143.63 Breakfast @ Cinderella's Royal Table:  2 meal credits
$166.97 Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show Category 2:  2 meal credits

Day 3 - Epcot Day
$122.72 Lunch @ Coral Reef Restaurant
$148.29 Dinner @ Yachtsman's Steakhouse: 2 meal credits

Day  4 - Hollywood Studios Day
$167.14 Lunch @ Hollywood Brown Derby:  2 meal credits
$226.21 California Grill: 2 meal credits

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom 2nd Day
$69.20 Lunch @ Tony's Town Square
$96.72 Dinner @ 'Ohana

Day  6 - Animal Kingdom Day
$121.80 Lunch @ Yak & Yeti
$115.60 Dinner @ The Boma

Day 7 - Departure
$58.13 Breakfast @ The Wave

This totals out at $1593.38 out of pocket, total out of pocket with the Deluxe Dining Plan onsite is $171.90 with a prepayment of 1079.82, for a total meal cost using the Dining Plan to be 1251.72  but wait.  What did I plan to eat?  You're going to love this, do not continue reading if hungry.

Day 1 - Arrival
Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue Family Style

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom Day
Cinderella's Royal Table Pre-plated all you care to eat breakfast
Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show Family Style Luau

Day 3 - Epcot Day
Coral Reef Restaurant Seasonal Soup X2, Seared Chicken Breast, Grilled NY Strip, The Chocolate Wave, Almond Gelato, Kids Meal
Yachtsman's Steakhouse 24 oz Porterhouse X2, Mushrooms, Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella - DD to share

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios Day
Hollywood Brown Derby Curly Spinach Watercress Strawberry Salad, Char-Grilled Fillet of Beef x2, Chocolate 3 ways x2, Kid's Celery and Carrots, Kids Grilled Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce, Kids Ice Cream Desert
California Grill Cheese Board - all five, Roasted Heirloom Beets, Hearts of Romaine, Oak-Fired Filet of Beef x2, Mascarpone & Meyer Lemon Cheesecake x2, Kid's Mac & Cheese, Kids Chocolate Pudding

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom 2
Tony's Town Square Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella, Bianca Flatbread, Spaghetti & Meat Sauce, Kid's Meal
'Ohana Family Style

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Yak and Yeti Salad x2, Baby Back Ribs x2, Egg Rolls,  Kid's meal, Kid's desert
The Boma Buffet Style

As you can see sometimes I had us eat desert sometimes not, sometimes appetizers sometimes not.  I did not plan it that we always had an appetizer, an entrée, and desert with lunch and dinner the way the meal plan allows.  I felt this allowed me to chart our more normal way of eating.  All of my math can requested for personal use in the form of an Excel doc.  Some of these are places we've been to before in that we'd love to visit again, as well as other places we'd like to go.  I had trouble using up our extra meal credits and as I am not done researching where we would like to eat thereby some dining locations are less likely than others.

Now what about those pesky snack credits?  Well if you estimate them to be worth the cost of a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream at $3.50 that is 3 people 2 snack credits a day for 6 days, 36 snack credits it works out to $126 in snacks.  Sometimes we'll be using those to snag a bottle of water or a piece of fruit, but if you think that's low try $4.00 per snack which brings it to $144.  At the lower estimate - if you think you'd snack that much brings your cash out of pocket to 1719.38.

I did this purely for my own knowledge with out any kickbacks and you are welcome to use it for personal use and research.  For republication purposes please contact me first.

She was in Labor on Labor Day

My mother hates that joke.  I can just see her cringe as more than once I have said "my mother was in Labor on Labor Day".  Now over the years she's learned to pipe up with "and I never worked harder a day in my life".  Of course she and I know that's not true as I wasn't even a big baby, unlike another child she had... 

Butterfly near the Quiet Pool

So anyway Labor Day babies pay dearly for their birthdays all through early school years.  Why?  Because  if you celebrate early - you don't get to invite your friends from school as school isn't in session yet and if you celebrate Labor Day weekend only your family can come and if you hold it a week or two late, you still end up being best friends with the family that is trying desperately to have one last family getaway before settling into the grind.

But what is great about being a Labor Day Baby is that when you start dating you can tell everyone to remember your birthday is Labor Day weekend, and then they will hit your birthday about 50% of the time.   So that's better anyway. 

Did you know there is a Tron Monorail these days?  Not really a fan of the movie, but hey I've seen it.

But this year my sister took all those less than ideal celebrations and threw them out the window with a delightful trip to Walt Disney World.  Oh yes that's what I said.  DH and I rode all the rides in the Future World of Epcot before noon, no waiting - no joke.  It was awesome.  Then my sis and I enjoyed splendid shopping all over Epcot.  We had Cloud Creams in Norway (call them cream curls, cream horns or Cloud Creams I don't care they were wonderful).  Pizza in Italy, a boat ride in Mexico, fish and chips in the UK (okay my sister had Fish 'N Chips I had Bangers and Mash), and then capped off the evening buying perfume in Canada. 

This was being written in the sky while it was just DH and I,
how sweet!

We stayed at the Polynesian which was wonderful.  I think the humidity is lower there, as it felt so nice to feel the sun's warm rays. 

The morning sun filtering through the Kukui Nut Tree imported from it's native Hawaii

I do hope that you too enjoyed your Labor Day weekend.

Aloha!

The last evening of our getaway we visited 'Ohana. This was a great time. The steak was excellent, and later I will look and see if I can find the recipes for the pineapple bread and the lime salad dressing. Sounds odd doesn't it? I promise it's great. There were pork dumplings (yum), broccoli and carrots (more yum), wings (fall off the bone great), also from the huge grill area came chicken and pork, not so good, but it was easy to lose those two in the sea of great.

The entertainment wasn't what I'd expected as the kids only did one lap around with the coconuts. They also did one lap around collecting others to hula with them, two laps around with the maracas (Jessica had such amazing smiles), and two laps around for a limbo which everyone was a winner. It was really nice because as other diners came and left they could join in or not, and a child that didn't get up on the first go around could easily get up for the next. Oh and I nearly forgot they also taught basic beginning hula. Anyone that participated in any of the little "events" received a lei, Jessica and my sister earned two. If Jessica had gotten a lei for everything she did I doubt we could have seen her head at all. At 37" she was certainly one of the smaller children to join in, but by no means the only one of her size. Afterwards we rode the Monorail to the Grand Floridian to shop at Basin and White, if you haven't been there yet I highly recommend a quick visit. This time around I picked up a "Life's a Beach" soap bar for the bathroom. As well as 6 bath bombs. I'd thought for months that I would purchase the $20 tube they sell (you can pack it as full as you can with bath bombs just so long as they can get the lid on). But the sale they were running when you bought three of the same size turned out to be a much better deal. So instead of a tube for the bathroom I have a slew of little pretty tied baggies. LOL! Have you seen the Monorail lately? Even the monorails are celebrating you and your special days. The monorails are covered in balloons. I just had to take a photo to show.

The Bold and the Beautiful

ORLANDO? Yep! We had a great time. We kicked off our mini vacation with dinner and Villa De Flora in Gaylord Palms. The food was good, all you can eat prime rib as well as a create your own pasta bowl. My group wasn't thrilled with the Alfredo at all but the prime rib gathered joy from every corner of our table. The tomato soup was not as good as I'd remembered, but the Sangria! Oh YUM! I'd never had Sangria before, but let me tell you what a nice blend. As one of the members of our party said "doesn't taste like wine and doesn't taste like a "girlie fru-fru drink".

The best shop by far is one selling Vera Bradley, Paradies Shops. They have an amazing collection including some I know for certain to be retired. Don't go here looking for Vera Bradley discount mark downs though you wont find them. The shopper in you will be thrilled to see that they do have a nice Clearance section for some of their other items.

Gaylord Palms now has gators. I don't remember that from before but they did have feeding times posted, while I'm certain some would really enjoy that Jessica tensed as soon as she saw them and didn't relax until we were on our way.

The top photo is the front door stright from valet, and as we left we made a point stop and take a look.
One last word before I leave you. If visiting for dinner merely for dinner use the valet. After using the valet you will be handed a ticket. If stamped at the resturant the price of valet (it's normally $20) with a dinner stamp it's dropped down to $8 (don't forget to leave a tip!) that's cheaper and easier than the self parking at $12. (rates as of April 2009)

We Might be Headed to Disney World

Thank goodness that doesn't say We might be beheaded! LOL, perhaps dreaming of Disney isn't the best dream with no outside income, oh well all the same, I found an amazing rate for the Double Tree Castle Hotel that my sister and I liked so much last time we went. For Labor Day Weekend of all things. And of course that works out to be my birthday weekend. Hey I'm not going to hide under the covers about my birthday! Seriously it's something to be proud of. I didn't make it to a month before my 28th birthday by skating through life. It's worth every hard moment, and each moment deserves to be recognized. So my sister might take me. She told me not to start planning out priority seating's yet, but I was thinking maybe just the two I'd like for September first might not be so bad... I can always cancel, or not. I'm sure getting right in somewhere on Labor Day would be a great gift to an unknown someone.

So I was thinking late Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and Dinner at my all time favorite restaurant in all of Walt Disney World House of Blues. Seriously I thought about it, and that's my favorite. I have wanted to visit 1900 Park Fare for years now, but have never made it. Sounds nice hu?

In order to keep costs down my sister and I are thinking we'll be doing lots of window shopping Downtown Disney. Key word here being SHOPPING, that does not equal buying no matter what everyone else things. I'm great at remembering what I like for a long period of time, and hey if I forgot I liked it, I guess I didn't like it very much in the first place. No trips into the parks this trip, just castle and shopping. :D Serve me up on a platter of happiness.

As a bit of a side, I'm hoping to do some autograph collecting for my autograph quilt. I have the following Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, and Alice. The one I feel I'm missing is Daisy Duck. Any other's come out at you? Eleven isn't the best number to make quilt blocks with, but whatever I have I'll use. I'd personally love to have Mary Poppins, and Dick Van Dyke, yes, yes I know dreams... But at least Mary Poppins and her Chimney Sweep friend could be had at 1900 Park Fare. I thought I was missing bunches and bunches, but really I don't have to have everyone that Disney ever created, and I can always make another quilt if I get more.

So tomorrow is my anniversary, I know, who knew with all that goings on about Disney. Five years it's been. I can't help but shake my head at little sometimes I feel like I just walked down the isle. Or that I was JUST pregnant. Right, sure. So the traditional anniversary for five years (HALF A DECADE!) is wood, what can you do with that? I'm hoping DH will build me an entertainment center for the bedroom our of wood. That sure wood be nice wouldn't it. I'm sure I'll get a more typical husband wood gift. uh, hu, you guessed it. No that's mean, he's currently in the bedroom working very hard on whatever it is.

My gift to him I've spent the past week working on. It's an applique wall hanging with a giant tree in the center on one side is hand embroidered "Like a Tree" and on the other "Our Love Grows each and everyday", and then I signed it. I even put some ribbon embroidery butterflies on it. Don't worry tomorrow's post should have the photos. I echo quilted the heck out of it, so the tree sort of expands outward. I think it looks very nice. Rather like ripples of life, and growing. A photo tom morrow I promise. My husband made a comment while I was working that it didn't have wood in it, so I went outside earlier this evening (in the dark all the same mind you) and ripped branches off my Maple tree until I had two that were long enough, those I ran through the wall hanging one at the top and one at the bottom to hang it from, someday I might redo the binding but for now I made my deadline (and it even has wood on it). Clearly since I'm here blogging to you.

The Blue Christmas Quilt (I showed you the fabrics) is coming along AMAZINGLY. I don't know why but I am constantly amazed by the art I've been making. Yes I see my flaws, but most of the time it really comes together. It's going together so fast I feel like I'm cheating, as if I could do that from a pattern DH and I DESIGNED ourselves, and fabric I hand picked. ;) It is currently more than half done, and I am glad to have finished the wall hanging so I can get back to it.

So I have a pain in my ear. No joke, let's see, SEVEN years ago this September (the anniversary of the beginning of my relationship with DH) I had a second hole put in my left ear. He bought a diamond for it, and I've worn it pretty much ever since. I don't really remember what event exactly it was that I felt I shouldn't wear it, but I took it out a while ago and the stupid thing has started to close on me. UGH! I'm the woman who has never had trouble with a piercing ever. My ears were done when I was 6 WEEKS OLD, and never a speck of trouble. Now here I am after seven years and I'm enduring the sting of having an earring back in it, yuck.

And on that note I'm off to see what the rest of the blogging world has done today, nice night everyone.