Ronni Loves Disney!: April 2009

Friday, April 24, 2009

Meal Planning!

On May 18, the window opens for my ADRs. I like to try new places as well as stick to some old favorites. Because Aidan is coming along, it's going to be more tried and true places because he's pretty picky. I mean, really, who's heard of a 6-year-old who didn't like bread?

The new places I want to try this time around include:

Liberty Tree Tavern
Chefs de France
Ohana

I also want to try different meal times for restaurants I've already dined at. For example, I'd like to try Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park Fare at dinner instead of breakfast.

The top places on my list for our August trip are:

Garden Grill - The Land, Epcot
Liberty Tree Tavern - Magic Kingdom
Ohana - Polynesian Resort
Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic Dinner Package.

I have a huge list of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices of places I want to eat each day. In some cases, I have a 4th choice! We will only have the meal plan for four days, but we have a late flight out on our 5th day, so I plan to treat them to breakfast at Ohana that day.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Not So Mini Intro

Hi! I'm back again, and this time with an intro. Most of you reading this probably came from my Live Journal or my domain, or maybe from one of the message boards I post at, so you might know a little, or a lot about me. :)

I'm 34 years old, but a kid at heart. I work as a freelance proofreader for an ad agency in Chicago, and I adore my job. I also do freelance proofreading for a university in Chicago. I'm married to Adam Selzer, a children's book author, and I have a 6-year-old son named Aidan, who is adorable beyond words. I love reading (especially), writing, eating spaghetti, collecting American Girl dolls, and Disney! I love Disney movies, Disney stores, Disney shows, Disney music. I especially love hitting up Disney Parks. I've been to Disney World three times and Disneyland twice.

I'll be taking my 4th trip to the World this August, and I'm totally excited. Adam, Aidan, and I will be going on our first major family vacation, and Adam and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I'll be blabbering on about my trip in this blog, and all sorts of other Disney-related stuff as well. Hope to see you soon!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Mini Intro

Hi! I'm Ronni, I'm a Disney freak, and I wanted an outlet for my obsession. I'll be back soon with more. :)

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The Disney Freak

My Disney Trips

2001: Walt Disney World (All-Star Music)
This was my very first trip to Disney World. It was also my first time ever flying. There were no digital cameras back then--at least, they were not widely used--so these few pictures are scans from that trip. I also have a scrapbook that I love looking through.

2005: Walt Disney World (All-Star Movies)
This was the first time I took my son to Disney World. He was two. I was worried that he wouldn't get much out of it. Aidan's dad had planned the trip (9 days!) and really, I was freaking out a bit. But Aidan LOVED it. Going to Disney World with a young child is an amazing experience.

2005: Disneyland (offsite)
My friend Amy decided to fly me out to Los Angeles just to hang out. Prior to that meeting, Amy and I had only spoken online and on the phone. We had never met. But she flew me out and took me to Disneyland because I was having some difficult times and she wanted to see me smile. It was an incredible trip because I never thought I'd get to Los Angeles, let alone Disneyland! And I got to spend the day at the parks with someone who was as big of a dork as I was (er, am.)

2008: Walt Disney World (Pop Century)
My new husband Adam and I decided to take our honeymoon at Disney World. It was only after I'd booked the trip that I learned that his parents, in addition to his brother Eli and sister-in-law Melissa, had all taken their honeymoons at Disney World. We *had* to continue the tradition, right? :)

2009: Disneyland (offsite)
Now that Adam's brother and sister-in-law were living in LA, we decided to go and visit them. And while we were out there, why not pop by the ole Disneyland for some good times? Melissa works for ABC Family, which is owned by Disney, so she got us all in for free! I've been to Disneyland twice and haven't had to pay for admission either time! Anyway, we had a really fun time. The weather was pleasant, the food was good, and the crowd level (except for the Tinkerbell line) was excellent.

2009: Walt Disney World (Pop Century)
Freshly back from Disneyland, I landed a lucrative freelance proofreading contract. I was insanely busy, but making great money. Then, Disney sent me an email telling me all about their free dining offer. So, guess what I decided to do? Yup. I booked a trip for Adam, me, and Aidan for Disney World in August of 2009. Again, a great time. Aidan brought tears to our eyes with his excitement over Pluto, Mickey Mouse, and Pinnochio. Going to the parks with a six-year old brings its own share of challenges, but more importantly, it brings its own share of blessings and magic.

2011: Walt Disney World (Port Orleans French Quarter)
Adam and I went back to Disney World in January of 2011. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and utilized the free dining offer. We had a great time. Many of Adam's family members were there, so we got to visit with them at various times. The highlights of the trip were meeting Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, meeting the fairies, eating ourselves stupid at Liberty Tree Tavern, riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad five times, Expedition Everest, and getting hugs from almost ALL the characters! It was truly magical. :) We had such a great time that I sent an email to my travel agent as soon as I got home!

June 2011: Walt Disney World (Port Orleans French Quarter) Adam, Aidan, and I went to Disney World in June of 2011. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter again, taking advantage of their Kids Play & Stay Free offer. Aidan experienced rides he never had before, or rides that he'd ridden as a two-year old but didn't remember. He really enjoyed Test Track, Mission Space: Green, Soarin', Toy Story Midway Mania, the Hall of Presidents, Star Tours 3D, and Carousel of Progress. His favorite by far, though? Pirates of the Caribbean. I really enjoyed the Magic, Memories, and You Castle show, and Garden Grill outdid itself this time. Good times!

February 2012: Walt Disney World (Port Orleans French Quarter) Oh my God, what? Another Disney trip? AWESOME. Popped down for a short Valentine's Day/get-me-the-hell-out-of-the-Chicago-winter-please trip. This trip was super spectacular. Lots of magical moments, good food, nice people, and mostly great weather that made up for my lost luggage. I'd do it all over again. The highlight of this trip was that Adam and I got to ride a float in Animal Kingdom's Jammin' Jungle Parade. I'm not sure anything will be able to top that, but you can be sure we're going to try!

February 2013: Walt Disney World (Port Orleans French Quarter) We had a great time on this trip. It was another "get the heck out of Chicago before Ronni's SAD gets out of control" and it was a lot of fun! I did a lot of dancing, we ate great food (we were lucky enough to get reservations to Be Our Guest!), and we had pretty nice weather! I was so excited to meet Gaston and Wreck-It Ralph, too. We're so lucky that we can do this every year. :)

June 2013: Walt Disney World (Pop Century) This trip was one of my favorites EVER. I took my mom and Aidan, and my cousin Falandos met us in Orlando. It was my mom's and Falandos's first trip, and they had so much fun. I'd never seen my mom smile like that. Her face on Soarin', when we took off, was the highlight of my trip. We had good food, good laughs, and just a super amazing good time. I'm so glad I was able to take my mommy on this magical trip!

November 2014 (Art of Animation) This trip was with Adam's family! I got to spend more than a week on Disney property, and I got to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Some of the new things I experienced were Fantasmic (finally!) and Finding Nemo the Musical. It was a nice, long trip, and I felt like I got to do everything I wanted and then some.

June 2015 (Pop Century) Aidan and I took a trip to Disney (and LEGOland, and Daytona, and Jacksonville, and Jekyll Island) during the summer of 2015 and it was epic! Aidan and I both tried new things and enjoyed our old favorites. It was a super amazing trip.

Next trip? August 2016 at Saratoga Springs! My first time staying in a deluxe resort, and I will have three people with me who have never been. SO EXCITED!