I'm the (wo)man with the plan.

So, here we are.  Nearly February.  My NCAA Football season is over (blah Auburn blah ... it'll be vacated in 5 years anyhow).  I'm filling the void with basketball until draft time.  I'm a football girl, but just can't get into the NFL.  Bunch of whiny crybabies. 

Anyhow, I'm occupying my time with working on a few new ventures, MBA work, and the usual ESPN rotation (save for tennis - that sucks).

Oh.  And planning our next Disney trip.

I think that we're going to go back the same week as last year (September 28 - October 4).  This is Wednesday - Tuesday, and for good reason.  Airfare.  Look at what Southwest charges, and when.  The cheapest days to fly with them are Tuesday and Wednesday every week.  If I stalk the sales, I can likely hit airfare for $59 each way, per person.  Plus, leveraging the "off days" for Magical Express is perfect.

Another reason to choose that week - we can catch the Food and Wine Festival soft opening on September 30th.  The booths are all open, and are serving the same food ... but with 100% less crowds.  And of course, who can forget MNSSHP?  It's quite possibly the perfect week.

Of course, I plan to go "home" to the Polynesian.  My husband has always dreamt of staying at the Contemporary though ... I need to talk it over with him and see where he wants to stay.  Both are similarly priced (we'd do Theme Park View Tower at the Contemporary versus Garden View at the Polynesian), but the reality is that I just love the Polynesian.  Maybe a little aggressive negotiation is in the works?

Next time I write, I need to talk through a few things ... my thoughts on the water parks, Halloween costumes, and my stepdaughter's pending diagnosis.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

Dear Fellow DisNerds:

Well, hello there. It sure has been a while.  Sorry I haven't written much lately, but life has kinda happened.  Between finishing my first MBA course with a 98.3%, Christmakwanzakkuh, New Year's, and a whole lot of other things ... life's been busy.  But I realized one thing - I miss writing about my favorite place on the planet.

I'm getting ready to book my trip for 2011.  Of course, we'll be staying at the Polynesian again in late September/early October.  We get the best of both worlds, spanning months ... the annual Free Dining discount (allegedly, it hasn't been released yet), and the kickoff of the Food And Wine Festival.

And boy, do I like the Food And Wine Festival. 

My thoughts on Tron: Legacy

The fam went to see TRON: Legacy on Friday night.  In 3D, of course.

I can honestly say that I give it a solid 7/10, and most of that was because it was a great 3D experience.  I can also honestly say that ...

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

OK now that's done ... here's what I think.

Starting with what I didn't like ...

I think that they didn't do nearly as much as they could have with the possibilities presented by the storyline.

I think that Garrett Hedlund was only marginally pretty to look at.

I think that Flynn's character was less "Flynn" and more "The Dude From The Big Lebowski".

I think it's DUMB that TRON didn't remove his helmet.

I expected SO MUCH MORE from Daft Punk.

The ISO subplot was weak.  It seemed like merely a MacGuffin to get Olivia Wilde in the flick.  Don't get me wrong, I liked the Quorra character quite a bit.  However, I think I'd have liked it better if she ended up being Sam's sister or something. The sheltered weirdo that followed The Dude around?  Not the best use of her talents.

And where the Mickey Mouse were the TANKS?  Seriously - just the discs and lightcycles?  And really, since when do lightcycles have curved trails?  Just sayin'.

Now, here's what I DID like ...

I cannot express my love for Michael Sheen enough.  TEAM ARO!  I had to, of course, interrupt my husband's nerdgasm to inform him that Aro is my favorite vampire.  Clearly, I am not Team Sparkle Vamp.  Gah.

They knocked the Sirens' costuming out of the park. Home run, people ... simply fabulous.

When they used the 3D effects?  BRILLIANT.  Sadly I think too much of the movie was shot in 2D, but when they did the effects of the programs shattering?  Brilliant.

The re-imagining of the uniforms of those in the Grid, by the way, was awesome.  And I really liked when TRON was falling at the end, and his "lines" changed from the red (CLU loyal) to white (Flynn loyal).  Even though I know that it was clearly a set-up for a sequel to the sequel, it still made me squee.

All in all ... I liked it more than I didn't.  Will I buy it on Blu Ray when it's released?  Maybe.  But it's not the ZOMG MUST HAVE IT NOW!!1! that I expected to feel.

And here ... via the awesomeness that is EPBOT ... check this out.  This year's IceHotel?  TRON THEMED.  This is at least twenty kinds of awesome.  Maybe more.

Clearly, Someone's Wished For My Freedom.

I've been in total purgatory over the past two weeks.  Between the pending holiday season (I just love Christmakwanzakkuh), finishing my first MBA class (I am officially 1/10 of the way to my MBA), and the usual cat-herding that ensues in a family ... writing for pleasure has taken a back seat.

To that I say ... NO MORE!

I have a lot of pent up Disney energy, and I'm not afraid to use it. 

But before I do that ... I need to get a decent night's sleep.

ESPN: The Weekend

My Panda and I are huge sports fans.  And I may or may not have a schoolgirl-like crush on Mike Golic (of Mike And Mike In The Morning fame).  So, the opportunity to mix two of my favorite things (sports and Disney) is really appealing.

At this year's ESPN: The Weekend, I'd have the opportunity to actually stalk meet Golic face-to-face.  Of course, this will require me to actually get out of bed at a relatively early hour (when one fine female is usually just getting to bed), and to stand in line to get a table.  I'd also have to decide what's most important: Golic, or rope drop?

Also - if I get to the radio show's broadcast at oh-dark-thirty, will I have to stay the whole time?  I'd honestly want to get in, get my hero-worship completed, squick out my husband, and give up my table / seat to another fan in line.  I really don't need to stay for the entire show, merely just long enough to not get arrested for trespass / stalking / other inconvenient misdemeanor offenses.


Also scheduled to appear is Chad Ochocinco.  I've been a fan of his for a while now, and would actually enjoy stalking meeting him as well.  If Jared Allen ends up being scheduled to appear, I may be forced to move in to the Polynesian (or the Yacht / Beach Club, as I hear that most of the talent stays there) to catch him too. 

So, in case anyone has been keeping score, we're planning a Christmas trip next year.  And this trip in March ... so that means we'll be at The World twice next year, minimum.  WIN.

This is my confession.

Channeling my inner Usher here, apparently.

So, I know that this may come as a bit of a shock to everyone, but I'm a bit of a planner.  I'm kind of a control freak.  Stop laughing at me.

Disney vacations are really an OCD planner's dream.  So many options, so many details, so many variables ... of course, all must be researched and discussed.  It can be very overwhelming to some people, to the point to where they ask random people their opinions (or trust a travel agent that doesn't specialize in Disney travel).  This logic is flawed because most of the information that's given will be that of conventional wisdom.  You know ... Christmas is the best time to visit, make sure you hit those extra magic hours, and sleep in as much as possible. 

To quote my daughter: Oh noes, mommy.  Oh noes they didn't.

When planning my first trip, I scoured the interwebs for information.  There are literally thousands of Disney planning sites out there - some are based upon the books you'll find in the stores, some are web-only resources, and some are provided by travel agencies or those that have some other sort of "skin in the game".  Understanding each site's "angle" or philosophy is key, because if the site's philosophy doesn't match yours, then it's a waste of your time to even review its most basic information / guidance.

Personally, I am a pretty seasoned traveler.  OK, that's an understatement.  Travel is my drug of choice.  And my daughter has had her own frequent flier account since she was 3 months old.  My kid is better at navigating the TSA checkpoints than most adults!  So I don't need basic travel advice - I need location-specific guidance, and to-the-point facts. 

This is why I'm a devotee of TourGuideMike.  Now, many people will say "why should I pay for Disney planning advice when I can get it for free some other places?"  Well, although places like The DIS are wonderful ... sometimes the quality of the advice that's given isn't the best.  As registration isn't well-controlled (anyone can join), you will get basic and publicly available advice.  TGM, on the other hand, is a wealth of information from "the best of the best".  Not only staffed by Mike himself, the forums are a group of Disneyphiles that visit often. 

Mike (and his staff) analyze the park calendars, known group outings (such as Pop Warner, Wide World Of Sports / Disney Endurance races, etc), and other pixie dust.  They then assign each day a "color", and tell you what parks are the best to visit that day (and why).  Now, you could likely do this yourself.  But honestly, once you're paying thousands of dollars for a Disney trip, the meager TGM subscription price (approximately $20) is worth every penny.  And since I've used TGM for my last two trips, I can honestly say that he's yet to steer me wrong.  Also ... if you look around on the internet, you can find discount codes published by partner sites (one of which is the DIS), to even make it a more economical purchase. 

I highly recommend TGM.  Give them a try.

Wordless Wednesday. Really, There Are No Words For This.

Pizza. Epic Mickey. Glee. WIN.

Sorry that I'm MIA.

Panda got me some delicious pizza.  And the Collector's Edition of Epic Mickey.  And Glee's on.


Even my Sam-Cat is in on the action ...

Tomorrow is the day!

I am giddily anticipating the release of Epic Mickey tomorrow.  I've already had my fit at GameStop for not having a midnight release party.  After all, if they can have one for stupid Halo ... why not My Favorite Mouse?

Harumph.  Clearly they just don't understand how important this is to me.

Anyhow, I'm ecstatic.  The release date is upon us.  Panda pre-ordered the collector's edition for me, so I can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and play it.

Also on the docket for release tomorrow:  Waking Sleeping Beauty.  This documentary chronicles the reworking and resurgence of the Disney Animation team.  I've heard such wonderful things about this movie, so I really am anticipating it.

Besides ... I need something to occupy my time until next Tuesday. What's that, you ask?  Why, it's the Blu-Ray release of Eclipse. Yes, I admit it.  I'm one of "those women" ... the Twilight moms.  ***paperbag over head*** 

Here's to some great video and gaming releases this week!

photo courtesy Game Informer / GameStop.

Black Friday FTW!

So, my husband got his first taste of the madness that is Black Friday today.  He's never went shopping on this fateful and joyous day.  So of course I schooled him.

During our travels today, we came across two things that were for mommy (me) ...  Check them out.

First, my hubby threw this in the cart ... the Epic Mickey Wiimote Charging Station.

 

You sit the Wiimote in the inkblot cradle, and it charges.  He also snagged a black Wiimote for me.  Get this - its eyes light up!  It's really spooky, but very very cool.  You can't see the Mickey figure very well, but it is on the lower right corner.  He's wielding the paintbrush!  Speaking of ... check out my other exciting purchase:

 

 Yes, that's the paintbrush nunchuk.  Seriously, it's really cool.  I'm really excited about using it to play the game. 

Tuesday will be quite the stressful day for me ... so many choices!  Do I zone out with Epic Mickey all night?  Or do I take an hour-long break for my weekly Glee fest?  Of course I'll break for Glee.  But still.  Decisions, decisions.

(photos courtesy of Toys R Us)