To the Cloud

If you’ve ever tried to take a picture of your kids together. BOTH smiling, BOTH looking SOMEWHERE near the camera AT the same time is just about impossible with out some sort of goofy dance (pun intended. See photos) to get their attention.

Do that at Disney World when your kids get about a 2 shot chance of getting this right with a character meet and greet.

HA.

So I will show you what I mean…

Shot A.) Buzz is taking a nap.

Shot B.) Great they are both looking but I’m too low on Goofy and he has NO eyes!

Shot C.) Goofy has one eye, and Tink is more amused by Mickey Mouse behind me…

Shot D.) Now I introduce you to… Windows Live Photo Gallery ‘Fuse Photos’ option under ‘Create’ THIS is one, tricky thing to pull off let me tell you. The pictures have to line up JUST about pretty much perfect. You chose the two or three pictures you like. (maybe more)

And Photo fuse matched up the photos. And it starts to help, sometimes it’s spot on. Sometimes it tries to decapitate your people. I just close out their box. And draw my own around the person I need to swap out. And it chooses the same head. From the other shots to add in. GIVE yourself a bit more then around their head, this photo fuse is a bit off sometimes.

I was able to get Goofy with two eyes, and both kids looking… thank you technology for fixing this once in a life time shot!

If you want to see the funny commercial on ‘The Cloud’. Check it out here. I sweat it’s NOT that easy, but pretty close.

Happy photo editing!

JCat McGack

Zoo Day on her Anniversary

Starting at the beginning, I was on Facebook. I saw that ABC 7 Chicago News This Morning had a question posted on their page…

“What's your dream job? Tell us here and maybe that dream will come true!”

So I take a chance they will pick me, now I’m sure like many people out there, we all have multiple dream jobs. To own an art/craft store workshop with amazing gardens all around with my mom is one of mine. To have enough money to live comfortably is a big one (that’s more of a dream we ALL have, not so much a dream job)

And I think to myself. Well let’s be realistic. It’s a BIG news station that COULD make a dream come true for a day. BUT make it so they COULD do it. And I know EXACTLY what I’ve always dreamed about…

I tell them my dream is to work at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. I’ve loved animals all my life, and have worked in a few Animal Hospitals and love every aspect of helping and caring for animals.

Out of hundreds of people, they messaged me to give them contact information. I eagerly gave them email and phone numbers and waited…

I have to say it’s pretty cool when your caller I.D. reads ABC 7. And I spoke with D from the network. Just being my usual self, joking and laughing. I realized after a few minutes this was more of a phone interview! But I knew to just be myself and hope they like it. She said I had a good idea, and my personality was great. But they wanted more.

They were holding a table meeting about the possible jobs. So I hadn’t gotten it, but I was a good contender. She needed a bit about me, some pictures of me with animals. A story to share at this meeting.

I quickly typed out a few paragraphs, about my family. Life. Interests. Posting pictures from back when I had done the ‘Trainer for a Day’ at  Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium behind the scenes for my 30th birthday.

Yeah, THIS is me. I had JUST felt her heartbeat. I was ELATED.

There was TWO of us. JUST two of us together for this experience. We were IN the dolphin show. Hand signals and all.

A.MAZ.ING.

Still hands down the best birthday gift for me EVER.

 

 

 

 

I told them about how much I had wanted to be a Zoologist, with out going into to much detail about how I did attempt school for one semester and stopped. I knew we wanted to start a family soon, and trying to start school for a big career just wasn’t going to work out.

After a few days D responded to my email with this…

This is perfect Jacki!

We’ve chosen you for our “Dream Job” segment at Brookfield Zoo.

Congratulations!

It didn’t hit me right away. I mean it did. I called my dad right away (my parents and sister are HUGE fans of the zoo) and gave him the details. But when I was telling my best friend she’s like “Is this really hitting you?! Because your excited but not freaking out. You should be freaking out right now” I said maybe when it’s closer to the date. And more details come around… maybe I was in a excited shock?

When my caller I.D. then reads ‘Chicago Zoological Society’ my heart stops. I PRAY the kids will behave for the time I need. I ran up to my bedroom and locked the door.

The conversation was great, she asked what animals I was interested in. I said primates and big cats, and reptiles. (along with Zoologist, I had considered Herpetologist as a field at the zoo) I added in that ANY animal at the zoo would be fine with me. I love them all.

After talking with me, she said she’d like to have a staff meeting (did you read that. A STAFF meeting over ME?! I mean the people at the ZOO are holding a meeting about ME! It’s hitting me now.) to go over possible idea’s of what I could do. And she’d contact me next week on it.

That was Friday, and by the next Thursday I was obsessively checking my caller I.D. to see if I had missed her call. Finally Friday night she called back.

She said after a long meeting, they had ideas like a harness to go in with the big gorillas, but too many safety issues. OMG the fact that that was considered made me excited. Big cats are also a HUGE safety risk.

BUT this IS what they came up with… and I just want to let you know the WHOLE time she was telling me my ‘schedule of events’ tears were running down my face.

9 am – Giraffe.  I will get to clean, rake, and pick up poop. (understand I’m doing exactly WHAT they do!!) I will put hay in the racks outside, and… feed the giraffes!! SQEE!!

10 am – Penguins. Prepping fish with their special vitamins then feeding them!! OMG!!

10:30 am – Harbor Seals. I will be giving them some hand signals. Then giving a ultra sound as part of their husbandry program. ESTATIC!

Rhino -  Cut up food. And I kid you not, I about died when I heard her say this… they are training them to paint. So I will HOLD A CANVAS while the RHINO paints it. I mean, seriously?! I do art. THIS is the BEST.

Reptiles -  Monitors

Galapagos Tortoise

Poison’s Frogs feed them crickets!

Snake – I get to feed them a mouse! (she may have said what kind, I don’t remember.)

So after this list of animals, after going over my outfit, and what time to meet them it’s hit me. I called my dad freaking out, he’s very happy for me. Knowing how much I’ve always wanted to do this.

So on Friday the 20th I will be doing the one thing, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do. Hoping to get a digital copy of this when it airs. So I can share it.

I know this will be an emotional day for me. Being with animals that I love, the Zoo, and being around the zookeepers themselves it will be an overwhelming day.

And what are the odds that it’s the one year anniversary of Maggie.

 http://spaghettiandbagels.blogspot.com/2011/04/maggie-may.html

I can’t wait to tell you all my story, hope to share the video, and fingers crossed I don’t loose my shit over Maggie and all these animals. But I’m sure that would be good for t.v., right?

JCat McGack

Very unexciting. But lots of pictures of my desk

This is exciting blogging. I know. It’s my loft. It’s about 7 feet wide by 11 feet long of open floor space. And way back before I can remember, we had no kids and both of us were working so money was more fun back then. We bought a desk.

A BIG fucking desk.

THIS big ass desk is wonderful. It’s ALL oak. It’s got a ton of storage, and desk space. Which only means ONE thing in my house. PILE SHIT ON IT!!

I spared you with a  before picture if you’ve seen any of my other clusterfuck pictures of my house. You get it. I’m sloppy at times, but damn I can rock and organize like a freak with OCD if I want to.

Onto more exciting pictures…

First off I have to brag about this window. I never did get the point of this window. I mean it’s two stories up. I’ve cleaned it ONCE (when we painted and I was on this crazy rigged scaffold built by my dad, and I mean who doesn’t trust what their retired labor dad builds, right?)

Soon after living here, I realized how amazing this window is. It brings pretty much ALL the sunlight to the hallway and loft area.

Details.

I’ve shuffled these pictures, nik nacs, and office supplies around more then I can remember. But this is pretty. Uncluttery and it works.

Office files (One for each of us) my stapler, pen cup and empty tape dispenser up top.

It’s HARD. VERY hard for me to have that ‘open space’ or ‘white space’ so your eyes can rest. I like my stuff, BUT I like this look. It’s clean, and uncluttered looking.

I’d say I won’t open a cabinet to show you… but I’m not one to hide things. So here you go…

This one is holding computer game books, my books on organizing, and me books. YES that is a Britney card there. The other side is a 2002 calendar. LOVE Britney. Don’t hate.

Most of the cabinets look like this. Little books. One has CD’s in it. One has address books (which now we have to hoard, since they are stopping publishing them)

 

This side is busier. I tried my best, but I NEED my binders, and that (ugly) flower box opens to more paper storage. It’s up off the desk. I think it’ll work.

Basket holds a ton of note pads. The middle is where my Maggie May is, her ashes and her paw print, with her last bandana.

Some mom books.

The printer, phone and surge protector outlets ALL have to be here. Still clean. But I wish It wasn’t all out… oh yes I have a cabinet JUST for printers down below. But I need a spare day to purge all the electronics, plugs and old crap in there to move this down. AND I need to set up the wireless printing/scanning since the USB plug is too damn short to reach from down below to up in the center of the desk.

AND onto the last and least exciting of them all. The bottom.

The keyboard drawer, which is now useless with a laptop. I have my paper calendar (YES some of us still use these) my mouse pad (I LOATHE the touch mouse on my laptop)

I cleared the crap from where the old CPU storage once was. Now it’s a nice place to stick my garbage can!

My drawers are pretty organized. Checks I never write, gift cards with balances of $1.42 or less on them. Paper clips…

AND that’s about all I’ve got for you today.

I have to say this is one of the most boring posts I’ve ever done. But damn it, I’m trying to get in the routine of blogging more. And not just making a quickie post on facebook. And bringing it here.

In more exciting house news. I cleaned Buzz’s room. Moved the furniture around. Getting it ready for his BIG birthday present. A new bed. Pictures to come, not for another week or so. (I’m sure you were holding your breath for that one)

So if your still reading. Well, thanks. You now know what I did all day. eat bon bons and watch canceled soap operas organize the shit out of my house.

JCat McGack

That ONE Disney moment.

Tonight Tink came running in to the family room screaming and crying about something. I was trying to 1/3 listen to her, in case there was real damage. Broken bones, blood, something wrong with her brother, and 2/3 listen to the t.v. so I could finish my episode of New Girl (I had like 6 minutes left!)

In her rambly mess of boo hoo and sobs, I caught “Belle”… “She’ll forget me”… and something about “Disney World sad”

I stopped watching my show to realize that my daughter was dealing with sadness. A Disney sadness that I WANTED to fix.

If you know me, you know that Disney has consumed me for most of 2012. Planned it in January, went in March and spent the last 3 weeks editing pictures and starting the scrapbooks. I just can NOT bear the thought of forgetting a memory, so I couldn’t have Tink crushed because of one.

So to somewhat hear that my daughter is distraught over a love for a princess makes my heart sad. I had wished that I had taken video of the time with Belle, like I had for some character meet and greet. But this one was all pictures.

I heard my show go to commercial so her attention was all mine. I ushered Tink into the front living room, sat her down and went right to the bookshelf.

Off the bookshelf I pulled a picture. This particular dinner was in Norway, at Epcot. We had dinner with 4 of the princesses. AND Belle was at the front to greet everyone with an individual photo shoot.

Which after dinner they came to our tables with these BEAUTIFUL folders (they look like leather) with a HUGE 8x10 for each of the kids, plus velum envelopes with four more 4x6 size photos of the same shot.

I quickly showed Mia the photo, and asked her if she remembered this moment.

She said “When Belle held my hand? She loved my dress. My gloves and my purse” I said “Yes Tink. When out of ALL those little girls that were there to see her. She was JUST with YOU. For that moment. That moment it was just YOU and Belle.

Sure she lives FAR away in Disney World, and you live WAY up here. But you STILL had that moment with her. A moment SO many little girls dream to have.

I said to remember Belle, read her story, watch her movie, and do what she does. What’s Belle’s favorite thing to do?” she said “READ!”

“Yes! So read. Study, and get smart like Belle. You can be beautiful, kind and smart. What a great Princess to admire, Tink”

I asked her if I could tell her a story. She said “About your princess?”

I said “Well my ‘person’ is not a princess. She’s a rock star.” Tink says “OH I know. It’s P!nk”

I replied “Yes. P!nk is the person who sings all those song I love. And once upon a time, I went to see her sing. And right before she was done singing. She came down off the stage and held my hand (plus everyone else in the front row, but for the story to a 5 year old I left out ALL the other people. JUST me there)

She held my hand and she looked right at me (I wouldn’t let go till she did. I just KNEW this moment was a once in a life time)

I said “Tink. She is MY person. The person who even though they live FAR away, have their own life, her own family. I had my time with her. Even if it was short. So many people wish that they had that with the person they look up to and we both have had that. We are so lucky.”

“So I know your sad. I know you miss her. But when you miss her. Look at this picture and remember she held YOUR hand. Even just for that moment. YOU and her hung out. You have that memory. And NO one can take that away.”

I have to say people ask why I scrapbook, why I blog, why I write it ALL down.

Maybe it was seeing my grandfather suffer for two years with Alzheimer's. Where he didn’t know anyone, he just sat and his hands just shook. He didn’t even know what a day of the week was…I fear the loss of memories. It’s one of my biggest fears. I want to teach my children to hold on. To remember to take THAT one memory. To use it for ALL that it’s worth. That one memory that makes their heart sing. Hold on to it. Use it to fly with.

Thanks P!nk. For inspiring me to fly.

JCat McGack

THAT is pink’s boot. That black boot there under the second arm. That is my best friends arm. THAT was taken seconds before P!nk came down and held my hand.

Content with Today

 

Today was a day like many other days. It’s baseball season, and that means one thing to us. We don’t see  Blue that often.

He works his 40 a week day job. But some days, there are night games at Wrigley Field in Chicago (home of the Cubs, if you live on another planet) and he goes there RIGHT from the day job. (Changes into his uniform in the car)

He’s a beer vendor up there. Got the job through his dad who’s been vending just about for.ev.er.

This whole last 5 days has been VERY little Blue around the house. Being opening weekend with the Cubbies. But it’s good money, so we can’t complain too much.

So what DO I do, with an almost 4 year old boy, and almost 6 year old girl. It’s the last day of Spring Break, and thanks to the school system for realizing we all had a candy/Easter with family hangover to get over. Perfect remedy?

Stay home and tinker. I chose this…

To be my project of choice. NOT a good time. Each winter I just DUMP, TOSS, FLING whatever I don’t want to put away, goes onto my workbench. So then come each spring I get this.

I’m a weird breed of person. I’m SUPER organized, I swear. But I can go for MONTHS like this. It’s like I start to get a bit lazy, and the whole ‘if I don’t see it, it doesn’t bother me’ and when it’s 30 degrees in the garage, I really don’t see it as we run into the house from the car.

AND so to carry out this job, with said small children underfoot I set up their pile of… transportation.

ALL of these, bikes, scooters, wagons and cars are my two kids. (I need to remind you they are the ONLY Grandchildren that EITHER of our parents will have. So YES they get SPOILED)

I have asked for a 3rd car garage JUST for their stuff!

They had a blast driving all over the yard, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Once we got to the 5th hour straight of being outside in 60 and SUPER windy they got creative…

Tink said she’d push Buzz, WHILE in her skates. This lasted longer then I thought it would. They found it funny and amusing.

Sophie hung out with us too. I found a bag of pig ears for her. It’s been 7 years since she’s had one of those and she was in HEAVEN.

I know this is what you’re waiting for… the results of my labor…

Tada!

LOVE the peg board, all my little hooks, and yes I did the jar’s from the top idea. Nail the lid from a clean empty jar up on the bottom side, and fill jar, screw back in! I can see what I’ve got. Just be warned to have your jar SCREWED TIGHT. I had one fall and scare the crap out of me today!

I was ALL over this thing. The floor to the top. Pulled it ALL out, sorted, organized, and purged.

I came in the house to toss in something, and saw the clock read 5:15 pm! Holy canoli it was late. Dropped what we were doing in the garage, made it so you could walk in, picked up ALL the toys from the front yard. Ran with the kids to the library to return the Nook I borrowed from them.

Buzz was PASSED OUT before we got home at 6 (it’s a 4 minute ride!) and it’s 10:00 and he STILL out. I tell you fresh air is the BEST knock out remedy for kids.

After getting him to bed. Tink ready for bed. Took a shower, then came down and cleaned the WHOLE mess of a kitchen and FINALLY got to sit here to blog around 9:30. PHEW.

NOW the rest of the garage is for another day. And timing it perfect, I just chatted with Blue. He’s almost home after being gone 15 hours today.

Have a happy night!

JCat McGack

Confetti Kids, and my LOVE of theater

I have one of THE best things going in my town. MINUTES from my house (about 8) is a Fire House… well the firemen moved out, and they gave residence to a wonderful group of people making a difference.
Three Rivers Art Council, or as we all call it TRAC. It’s a place to create… ANYTHING artistic. There are painters, and builders, 
singers, and musicians, drawers, sketchers, doodlers, real life 
and abstract, from the wonderful ages of kids, teens, us middle aged people, and the seniors… well they are some of my favorite artists!












While cartooning one night at the ‘Open Art Night’ with my friends, and always making new ones, I had the chance to chat with Amy. She’s boss around this fire house… I guess that makes her Chief, right?


She knows I bleed love for crafts, and this week they are having “The Confetti Kids, Children's Theater Camp” they need to do costumes, and SINCE I just so happen to know what to do with pipe cleaners, fuzzy vests, paper wings, glitter, glue, feathers, and construction paper. I was asked to come by and help.

To be honest with you I’m not one for volunteering to work with kids… And while we are being honest, I often say “I’m not a fan of other peoples kids” and I’m all right with saying it out loud. Unless your one of my CLOSEST friends, I shudder at the idea of play dates…I’ve been getting better at them. But now after a day like this… I can’t imagine why NOT kids.


I mean I walked into the garage bays, to the kids practicing their show for this Friday night.
I was taken back to a place, to the stage, to the choreographed moves, ‘Stage RIGHT!’, seeing these kids, I started to place them with my friends from High School. Oh she reminds me of this person, and he reminds me of that guy…


From the old memories, to realizing that theater is alive in kids today. But now it’s OUR job to make sure of that. I had amazing teachers help me learn the love of theater, and even if my job was just creating costumes with the kids. It was the best 3 hours for me.



I would stand in the center of these tables, I had my ‘Angry Bird’ group designing their head wreaths of feathers, how to wrap the feather boas around their arms.


I had my ‘Clap-o-Meter’ makers busy at work, and the one girl, who is King Lear (and a knight) we worked on her costume of shiny gold fabric, hand made crowns, and paper towel rolls to a sword



This is Paige… she’s one of the Angry Birds in the show, and, well I have the pleasure of hanging out with Paige every morning at our driveway waiting for the bus.


Even though I see her everyday, it’s usually rushed getting everyone out for the bus. But seeing her here, in her PERFECT element, we had a blast together.






THIS little rock star, Elizabeth, has a skill she said she learned from a friend… all I know is I asked for a paper crown and she made this pointy triangle out of paper… I said that doesn’t look much like a crown… it’s like King Lear had a beak coming out of her head…we all said “ANGRY BIRD BEAKS!”
So I quickly learned the origami art of making these beak like masks, pipe cleaners through them, and around their ears! Some like the one below, rocked a pipe cleaner mustache.

We laughed, sang, and at times took a dance break (Ah hello! Tweens LOVE top 40 pop music?! Show tunes?! OMG we had a blast)

Before I knew it the two hours for costume design was over, I was calling myself “Costume Designer” the kids had to go off to lunch, I stayed behind and wrote out lists of who’s costume was who’s. What pieces they needed.


A few of the older girls are (self titled) “Costume Dictators" so they will be there Friday night to get the girls dressed and ready.


I chatted with Chief Amy some more, and she showed me this HUGE curtain, for behind the stage… she said something about it needed to be sewed across the top… and when she got a chance between now and Friday… she’d take it home… even though she’s already there 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. 


It’s a not for profit place so I’m pretty sure there is little or no pay. I sew, and I’ve got time. So I said I’d take the stage curtains home and work on them. (thanks to my mom for helping me out! She’s my sewing hero!)


I wish so bad I could be there Friday night to see the Confetti Kids and their play. To see the Angry Birds v.s. the Pop Star Fairy Princesses fight it out. I’ve got my father-in-laws birthday party that night.


Either way I’d like to thank the TRAC house for letting me volunteer… sure I did you a favor… but in return you did me a much bigger favor, reminding me why I love art, kids in theater, and what this Three Rivers Art Council means to me.




Love and creativity,
Jcat McGack


This would be me… the dancing banana…in the Joliet West production of “Once On This Island” circa 1994. My photographer cut off my head. This kid was my ‘Kid’ when I was my other character, one of the island peasants.

And for the sake of keeping my head in this showcase of 1990’s pictures I also found this one…


Again, not the BEST shot, blurry, but that may be a good thing. I was rocking some killer glasses back then. LOVED the costumes of this play. Had  BLAST on this one…
Which reminds me… Frances and I should go see a musical at Joliet West… they are the best you know.

MY tips for a successful Disney Trip

This is a warning. Coming from me and my coffee induced buzz, I warn you that the title may say ‘Disney’ but that will NOT halt me in any way from using the words fuck, shit, and any made up words I feel to express myself.

And please don’t take those words as negativity towards Disney, I big puffy red heart Disney… a fucking lot.

So with out further having to explain myself. Here is what I think you need to know before dragging your children to the most magical place on earth. (in no particular order)

Notes. Our party included 7 people. Myself, husband, Blue. Daughter Tink who is almost 6. Son Buzz who is almost 4. My Mom, Queen. Dad, Carrots. And sister Frances (who has a disability, she CAN walk, but those parks exhausted her. So a wheelchair helped her keep up)

Moving on…

1. Bring your OWN strollers. YES they have them BUT it’s a small arm and a leg to rent. We opted for the umbrella strollers with storage underneath. Small enough to get around, but comfy for the kids.
2. TAKE AN EARLY flight. You WILL be tired regardless. Ours was a 6 AM flight out of Chicago. So you do the backwards time, we were up at 2 am, picked up at 3 am, airport by 4 am, for naked cartwheels security and boarding. Same note, take a LATE flight home. We had a 7:35 pm flight out of Orlando. Again do the time you need to get to hotel, picked up, security…
3. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT do Magic Kingdom the day you get there. Or the day you leave. We did, and it was ROUGH. I suggest something like Animal Kingdom for one of those days.
4. Magic Kingdom is NO JOKE. It’s easily a 3 day park. We did it with two 1/2 days. We saw Adventureland, the Electric Parade, Fireworks and a character dinner the first day. YES that’s it. So the day we left we went back to cover Fantasyland (Rapunzel meeting was an hour wait, and THAT was a short wait from what we heard. Some waited for 3 hours other days) rode the train around the park to Adventureland to do the Pirates ride we missed on Monday. And out the park by 2 to go back for the shuttle. So we missed the WHOLE Tommorowland and Libertyville (we were OK with that) AGAIN give Magic Kingdom it’s respectful time!
5. Hollywood Studios is ALL about SHOWS. Sit with a time guide sheet (at front of the park) and get your schedule straight RIGHT away.
6. Hollywood Studios. IF you have a Star Wars fan who is between the ages of 4 and 12 years old. GO RIGHT TO THE ABC studios FIRST thing when you get in to sign up for Jedi Training. You get this…magical little piece of paper. Park opened at 9:00 am that day. I ditched EVERYONE else (Blue took my bag to get checked) took Buzz in the stroller and JOGGED through the park to the sign up (YOU MUST HAVE THE KID WHO IS SIGNING UP WITH YOU) we arrived at 9:24 am, and got the second to LAST show. Not kidding. It fills up before the first hour. And YES it’s worth it. (See Buzz fighting Darth Vader!!)
   
7. Same thing goes for Toy Story Mania. This is your fast pass ride. No 2 hour wait for us. OH and again, GO GET YOUR FAST PASS EARLY. By 11:30 am ALL Fast Passes were OUT for the WHOLE park.
8. Do the dining plan. Seems to expensive? You should try eating out of pocket there. HOLY SHIT. $2.49 for a bag of Cheetos? Dinner for Blue and I was a personal pizza, a Italian sandwich, two drinks… $34.87. THANK YOU dining plan.
   Oh and you get these BIG mugs to use ONLY at the resorts for drink refills. ANYTHING at the self serve can go in these. Hot chocolate, coffee, pop, tea, juice… DO NOT take them to the park. Bulky, and from what we heard they get stolen often.
9. Gratuity is NOT included in the character dinners on a dining plan. AND they suggest anywhere from $20-$40 for tips.
10. Get a Disney Visa card before you go. You get 10% off after you spend $50 in a store (AND remind the store workers when you check out of your discount. They forget EVERYTIME!) And if your like me you’ve used it for the last 7 years and saved ALL your points and finally cash out a Disney Card worth $250 to use on ANYTHING in ANY PARK (or Disney Store at home)
11. KNOW your maps. KNOW where bathrooms are. I studied the maps before I went. I took a month to borrow the 2012 Disney book from the library. I read what TO DO and what TO SKIP.
    I then had a page a day and made a loose agenda. As in each day we had a dinner with characters in each park RSVP’d. If there was a parade, or like in Epcot, Blue was to dive at a certain time.
12. SOMEONE HAS TO BE “Julie the Cruise Director”… otherwise your all over the fucking place, sweating, swearing, tripping over people, rushing, and missing SO much. TAKE THE TIME TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK. (carry a clipboard if you feel it helps… I didn’t)
13. Don’t expect to relax. Don’t expect to sleep. Do expect to be brainwashed by the songs “It’s a Small World” and “In the TikiTikiTikiTiki Room”
14. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Not sure why some women were in heels. You will be in about 2% of the pictures. YOUR KIDS will be in 98% of them. I even had mine coordinate with the park they were in.YES she is at the Animal Kingdom wearing an animal print dress. YES he has a yellow shirt to match with his sister, and it has Donald Duck on the front (from Target) and we saw Donald that day for our breakfast. And the fish JUST so happened to match.
15. I packed TWO outfits a day for each kid. IN a zip lock bag that on the front read the park. The shoes to go with (yes they each had at least 2 different pairs of shoes) and what day of the week it was. One outfit on. One to take with in the park, just incase. Also helpful for the hotel, since I was a zombie in the morning, grabbing a bag was easier then trying to match clothes… all I had to do was remember what day of the week it was.
16. Tink (my daughter Tink… not THE Tink) was a Houdini in the parks. Magic Kingdom was Rapunzel dress… But then it was also Tinkerbell and Peter Pan day…

this was a dress (not sure where from) but has Tink on it. YES she had LAYERS on, and we would switch outfits via character (don’t think I’m super nuts, just part nuts but this was what she wanted. And it was NOTHING to carry around a little dress for her.

 

17. So onto my bag. I carried a messager bag. I only needed my wallet, camera, and a small pouch with my inhaler, chapstick, and antibacterial in it. The BIG center was the map, and bag with extra clothes in it. Oh and snacks.

18. Snacks. Pack them. My mom the wizard packed a carry-on suitcase FULL of food. Granola bars, apples, fruit roll ups, oatmeal for the mornings in the hotel rooms. Anything you like to snack on to keep you and the kids happy. Remember full tummies are happy people.

19.  Sunblock. I need not say much more. It’s Florida people.

20.  Realize that if you don’t get to see EVERYTHING it’s going to be ok. I knew going in we wouldn’t even see a whole part of the Magic Kingdom. And I was fine with it. Rushing the kids everywhere makes them unable to appreciate what the did see!

21. We didn’t take a day at the pool. We just didn’t’ have the time. If your there for more then 5 days, sure, or if you want to skip a park. You can schedule some Florida sun in. The way I saw it, we have sunshine, and a pool at home we can see.

22. We stayed at the All Star Movies. Great hotel. Clean hotel. TINY room. But you know what we did in that room? Sleep. Dress. Shower. Never touched the t.v. again unless you are going to have a few days to relax around the place, a small room in a value hotel ON PROPERTY is best (the perks of staying ON property are nice)

23. As crazy and as busy as you are, try to take in all the details

This is above the large doorway into Magic Kingdom, or the native birds were awesome too.

24. Cameras. I have a Nikon. It’s a point and shoot. It’s nice. Takes video too. It’s all I needed. My dad left his fancy pants SLR at home. To bulky and he trusted I would paparazzi the shit out of all of us anyway.

Video during the Character meet and greets. This is a neat trick I do. Take the video home, put on your computer. Play it. Pause the shot you would like to be a picture. Push the button on your keyboard (next to the F12) titled “PRTSC” it stands for “Print Screen”

Open your Paint software, click Paste. It should paste WHATEVER was on your screen into paint. Click ‘Crop’ draw a box around what you want to be your picture (edit out the rest of the page) click ‘Crop’ again when you are done…wala. You’ve now got pictures, from your video. Save them to your computer. (I didn’t tell you to do this but if you do this to ANY website, ANYTHING you see on your screen you can print screen to paint, crop to what you want and save it.)

25. Disney Photo Pass. It’s a must. It’s FREE to do. Give them your card (get one I think at the Photo stations at the park) they take your picture, scan your card. And when you GET HOME. You can sit and look at their pictures.

They will also take YOUR camera and take pictures for you. Because when you get home, they will charge you $14.95 for two 4x6 pictures. YES it’s insane… but see tip #24 here for a really good idea on getting around that.

26. I scrapbook. Both digital and paper form. And I’m going to do a paper scrapbook of this. NOW I usually do a digital one with SO many shots. BUT there are SO many things I want to add, tickets, cards, memorabilia. I will take the time and to this in my own hand made books.

On that note, EVEN IF YOU DON’T scrapbook, bring a notebook. Each night before you pass out, write out (bullet point style if you need) all the memories from that day. Don’t think you can do it the next day. By 11 am on day two you will forget what you did an hour prior. WRITE IT DOWN.

27. Take pictures on busses, waiting in line, some of my best shots were NOT at a park! (bus ride to Hollywood Studios to meet her favorite guy… Woody)

28. Look into cool things. Just having a Disney Visa at Epcot, got us a special Meet and Greet with Mickey Mouse, and Pluto. NOT RUSHED. They danced with the kids, and we got about 10 minutes with them.

AAA member? Take the perks that go with it. I reserved us in the preferred seating for the fireworks. Tink flew over our heads, and we had tables and chairs to sit at.

Another AAA perk was at Epcot, I reserved ‘Story Time’. You get a random character, you find out when they come on stage who it is. My kids had no idea, but my sister, myself and my mom were elated to see Mary Poppins! She read a story, chatted with us, and took pictures, signed the autograph books and book marks for us. OH and there were FIVE kids there. Yes 5. VERY cool, and all because we are AAA members!

So I came across a random picture in a brochure. And googled this in Disney’s Epcot to find out that if you are a certified diver, you can dive in the 6 million gallon tank at the Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Well Blue is a certified diver, LOVES to dive, and so for his birthday my parents bought him a dive. About $175 per person. MUST have your certified card with you. (and they have other scuba things that you do not need to be certified for)

Here he is, in the water, watching his two kids. WE LOVED it. HE LOVED it. His visibility here at home when he dives is about 5-10 feet ahead. Here it was 203 feet ahead. OMG. He said it was amazing!

28.  Be ready for rain. But you don’t NEED a $8 poncho if it does. Bought myself and the kids theirs and it rained for 7 minutes. Oh and enjoy the little moments. Like jumping in puddles.

29. Be prepared to be visually fucked. It’s a Small World is amazing. Little kids love the colors, the people, the animals. It’s a LOT like it was in 1990, but it’s so bright and pretty and visually overwhelming. I loved it.

On that note be prepared to take a few days to let your over processed brain stop. I shit you not. We got in around 10, the airport lost Frances’s suitcase, and we didn’t get home till midnight. (she did get the suitcase by lunch the next day)

Saturday I woke up with the biggest mind fuck. I couldn’t tell you what day it was, what time it was, and my hands kept wanting to take pictures of things. You go from this…

EVERY DAY. Not even being dramatic, I just needed to STOP moving each night. In the hotel and face down for 10 minutes to get up for 2 more hours, to get ready for bed, get baggies of clothes out, and write out what we did before I really passed out for 5 hours to start all over again.

Well come Saturday it was a DEAD stop for me. I couldn’t sleep in, I was still on some crack-like overdrive to get up and do, go, walk, see… but I was home. And so most of Saturday was seriously trying to understand that it was over. Disney was over. And I survived.

Barely.

30. If you have the people to do it, we had my parents to sit with the kids. Try the roller coasters. They are NOT your average coaster. I mean I’ve ridden Great America, and Cedar Point rides, the BIGGEST, the SCARIEST… then I go to Disney. Animal Kingdom has Expedition Everest. Holy fuck. THAT. WAS. MESSED. UP. Dark, backwards, no joke. AND we did the Aerosmith ride in Hollywood Studios. THAT was fucking awesome too.

And that’s all I have for now. So I hope you got something out of this post. If not I at least emptied my brain out. I’m impressed I got to 30 tips… thought I’d get some dumb number… anyway.

I can’t wait to go back, it was since 1990 that I was last there with my parents and sister. 22 years later that place is even more magical then I remember. Hope to take the kids again when we can ride all the big roller coasters together, and not wait to get autographs from ALL the characters! (it was cool for them and to see their reaction, to them meeting the REAL characters)

Questions? Ask away. I’m sure I can help. If not Google it, search Disney’s site. Read the books, ASK people.

JCat McGack

 

Me and the famous “Hotel Mugs”