Disney Photo of the Week: Easter Rabbit!

Hope that you all are enjoying your Easter Sunday!  I wasn't able to go home this weekend due to lots of schoolwork. :(  The first full draft of my senior thesis is due tomorrow, and I still have a lot of work to do on it!  And if I need to respond to your e-mail, don't worry!  I've been neglecting my entire inbox this week, but I promise I will reply as soon as possible!  And at some point this week, I'm going to write a post with some actual updates in it!

On to the main event!

Week 18: Easter Rabbit!

I wanted to try and post something Easter-related for today, and this rabbit photo is the best that I could find.  This photo was taken during my birthday trip in 2009.  We were in the Magic Kingdom for the day, and we saw the White Rabbit on the Teacups!  I was pretty excited because I have never seen him around the park before.  So of course I had to take pictures.  Later I was able to get my photo taken with him outside the ride, but I don't look good in that one so I'm keeping it secret. :)  Anyway, it was so cool to see him on the ride!

Disney Photo of the Week: Checking In!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend!  I went home to visit, so I've been MIA from the internet a bit over the past couple of days.  But now it's time for this week's Disney photo!

Week 19: Laura with the Check-In Papers

To me, few things are more exciting during a Disney trip than checking into the resort (or wherever you are staying, if not on property)!  There is nothing like that "We're finally here!" feeling.  It's one of my favorite parts of the whole Disney vacation experience.  So this week's (slightly blurry) photo is of my sister Laura with our check-in folder and room keys for the All-Star Music Resort during our December 2007 trip.  We drove in from St. Augustine that morning, so it was still early and we were ready to have some Disney fun!

Cooking on the CP: Housing Kitchens

Who wouldn't love a post about food?  As for myself, I love to prepare food almost as much as I love to eat it.  And while it is still early, I got to thinking about the kitchen situation in the CP apartments.  On the Checklist of Things to Bring page, they recommend bringing a toaster.  Well, I have a toaster oven already.  So if none of my roommates has one, we're covered. :-)  I also have a slow cooker, although I just got it and haven't even used it yet.  Now I don't know how others feel about this, but I'm a big fan of cooking up a large batch of food (even if it's just soup or Hamburger Helper!) and saving leftovers for a couple of days' worth of lunches or dinners.  And if this is at all possible in the CP housing, then I'm going to attempt it.  I'm not saying I do this incredibly frequently.  But if I know I've got a busy few days coming up, then it's good to have at least one less thing to worry about and have some of my meals covered.  As wonderful as the idea of fresh food for every meal is, there are always days when it's just not possible.


Anyway, all of this got me wondering exactly what is available in the CP housing kitchens.  So here is the list of amenities, according to the official site:


Appliances

• Refrigerator w/ ice maker
• Stove, Oven, & Microwave
• Dishwasher

Utensils and Dishes

• Assortment of Pots & Pans w/ lids
• Mixing Bowl Set
• Measuring Cups
• Cutting Board
• Spatula
• Can Opener
• Cutting Knife
• Ladle
• Tea Kettle
• Serving Spoons
• Cookie Sheets
• Dinner plates
• Salad Plates
• Cereal Bowls
• Drinking Glasses
• Coffee Cups
• Set of knives, spoons and forks

Honestly, this is a lot more than I was expecting in the ways of kitchen amenities because I'm used to unfurnished apartments.  The cookie sheets through me for a loop, because I have a set of 3 that I was going to bring.  My current roommates and I were planning on divvying up the silverware when we move out, so odds are that I'll have some extras to bring if my CP roommies are interested.  Even between the three of us here, we are always running out of either forks or spoons long before we run out of any other silverware.  So with several roommates, it couldn't hurt to have some extras lying around.  Right?  And it seems like there is no colander provided, so that may need to be added to the list of things to purchase after checking in and evaluating the kitchen.

Now as for what to cook, I thought I'd share one of my favorite websites for getting recipes: AllRecipes.com.  It's amazingly helpful for finding dishes, reading reviews, getting some suggestions for modifications, etc.  I've found some of my favorite recipes there, and there are many in my account's Recipe Box that are still waiting to be tried.  In regards to cooking while on the CP, I'll steer you in the direction of the Everyday Cooking section.  Here you can find recipes for budget cooking, campus cooking, 15-45 minute dishes, etc.  If you do some searching, odds are you'll find some very doable recipes for any kitchen situation and budget.  And if nothing else, you can look at some pictures of yummy food.

Some people might think of the next two paragraphs as full of pretty obvious info, especially if they've lived with roommates before; but I'll post it anyway.  It's my blog and I can do what I want. ;-)  Whether you intend to cook your own meals regularly or whether you plan to rely on frozen meals and cans of Chef Boyardee (which believe me, I do that too!), you will need to consider the fact that you are sharing kitchen space with 1-7 other people.  The other day Jenn posted a link to a thread on the DIS in which a former CP'er shared her experiences including those related to fridge space.  The entire thread is worth reading, but this post offers some pretty good advice on how to share the space in the housing fridge without jumping down each other's throats if you will have several roommates.  Last year, I moved into our apartment a few days later than my other two roommates.  So when I arrived, they had already finished their grocery shopping and filled the entire fridge/freezer and every cabinet.  I had to scrounge for any space to put my groceries, and it took a few weeks for the three of us to get into a groove as far as kitchen space goes.  There will probably be an issue now and then with kitchen space, so be prepared and remain civil at all times!

As for my own personal advice, label any food that you don't intend to share in some way!  Even if you just get a cheap pack of small stickers to put on cans or boxes, it can help.  There is always the "I don't remember buying this, but I'm still pretty sure that it's mine!" phenomenon among roommates.  Just a couple of weeks ago my unopened jar of peanut butter walked away with one of my roommies on her weekend trip because she thought it belonged to her.  And if you and any of your roommates use the same food products that don't last very long (milk, bread, etc.) and you know you won't use them fast enough, then it doesn't hurt to consider going in on some of your groceries together and sharing.

Well that's all I can think of to write on cooking in the CP housing right now.  Have a great day, everyone!

Disney Photo of the Week: Captain Hook and Mr. Smee!

Technically it's Sunday now where I am.  Another week, another photo!

Week 20: My sister and I with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee

This picture always makes me laugh! It's from our trip in December 2007 right after Christmas when my family decided to spend a few days in WDW before New Year's. In case you don't know, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee are often available for Meet & Greet in the Magic Kingdom, right outside Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland. That morning my family got up early and made it to the EMH at 7:00am! We saw quite a few characters that morning. But we hadn't taken a photo with Captain Hook in years, so Laura and I took advantage of the chance. Unfortunately I haven't had a picture with them since this, but hopefully that will change in the fall! One thing I don't like about this photo? It's very obvious that my younger sister is taller than me. How embarrassing.

Disney Photo of the Week: Not-So-Scary Halloween!

So I've counted twice, and if I'm correct there should be 21 weeks exactly until it's time for me to check-in at Vista for the WDWCP!  Well, it's 21 weeks from tomorrow.  But close enough.

As a weekly thing, most likely to happen every Sunday, I'm going to post a favorite Disney photo from one of my trips and tell you about it!  I hope that you'll enjoy them!

Week 21: Me at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

It's only fitting that the first Photo of the Week would feature yours truly! As you may or may not know, I was able to attend my first MNSSHP this past October on Halloween night. Rob, my sister Laura, and I all drove to WDW for a quick weekend trip to go to the party during fall break. It was so much fun, but there was so much to do! I'm definitely going to need to attend this party again while I'm in Orlando this fall!

This photo was taken while we were waiting to enter the Magic Kingdom right before 4pm, when they start letting those with party tickets enter the park. Rob and I dressed up as Gaston and Belle, and here you can see my attempt at re-creating Belle's village ensemble. My costume was very comfortable and worked out well! Except that around 10:30pm, my shoes seemed to give out on me and my feet were very sore for the rest of the night. They were shoes designed for trekking, so I don't know why they couldn't handle the Magic Kingdom. But it was totally worth it!

Take care, everyone!  It's time for me to knock out some schoolwork!  Or be knocked out by it.

First thoughts on arriving for the CP

For something much more CP-related than Disney movie news, I thought I would share the beginnings of my prospective plans to arrive in Orlando in August.  Obviously it is all very tentative at this point, but planning needs to begin!

I have decided that I will probably be arriving on my own, rather than bringing anyone with me.  This is for several reasons.  Firstly, I am driving to Orlando, so whoever would be coming with me would either need to drive their own car there and back or ride with me and take a very short flight home because we do not live very far away from WDW.  This is not terribly practical for anyone that I would want to bring with me.  Secondly, considering how much independence the CP requires I feel that it will be perfectly fine for me to make the drive by myself and check in successfully.  With the CP website providing all necessary paperwork ahead of time, I expect this to be relatively easy to do by myself.  And I will be checking in with my roommate(s), so it is not like I will be totally by myself anyway.  Lastly, bringing a loved one with me would probably make it that much harder to say goodbye. :-(

As for the drive itself, I have made it a few times with no problems, except for trying to find the elusive I-16 near Statesboro, GA.  I swear, there is a different route to it every time I drive to Florida!!

So I check in on August 9th.  Bright and early.  There is talk of a CP meet-up the night before, and I would love to be there for that!  So I think I will drive to FL and arrive on  the evening of the 7th.  Estimated travel time is eight hours.  This way, I can already be there August 8th and be able to find exactly where I need to be the next morning in order to check-in.  I'm the kind of driver who needs not only directions, but to drive the route myself ahead of time if it is somewhere important and I've never been there before.  So rather than risk getting terribly lost on check-in morning, I want to be familiar with the location early.  Hopefully my roommate and I will be meeting up on the 7th or the 8th, too!

Now with this tentative plan, I need to scout out hotels to stay in as close to the check-in area as possible!