Living a Disney Life – 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

You guys are the best! I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you. Another year has come and (nearly) gone – it’s hard to believe it! 2015 was incredibly busy and also full of life’s joys and sorrows. I know sad times are necessary for us to truly appreciate happy ones, but that knowledge doesn’t always make those tough times easier to bear. What did make a difference in my life in 2015 was all of you.

Through this blog and the Disney Exchange Podcast, on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – you and I have formed friendships. In many cases, we’ve shared life’s challenges and successes and cheered and supported each other along the way. Our common interests brought us together and the kindness of the Disney fan community is humbling and amazing.

Living a Disney Life – 2015

In February, I ran in my first three runDisney events and you were there via social media with words of encouragement. From the Frozen 5k (very appropriately named as the weather was certainly freezing) to the Enchanted 10k and the Princess Half Marathon…I shared my view along the way tweeting pictures as I ran and your responses kept me going when I got tired. Thanks for that!

In June, family tragedy struck. Just before The Fam and I sailed through the fjords of Norway on the Disney Magic, I lost my mom after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. This blog would have gone dark for weeks if not for my Disney friends’ help. Mike and Gary from the Por Favor Podcast, Keith and Sean from Enchanted Tiki Talk, Andrew from The Mouse for Less, Curt from Geekin’ on WDW, and of course Nick and Barbie from Disney Musings all provided entertaining and informational Disney articles for your reading pleasure. They also offered me kind words of friendship and support during a difficult time in my life. That meant more than I can say.

In September, Raymond walked Megan down the aisle and suddenly our little Princess became a grown-up married woman and our family of four became five. The entire pixie-dusted wedding was as perfectly perfect in every way as any of our imaginations could have dreamed up. We are as proud to call Grant our son as Joseph is to call him brother. After a honeymoon at Walt Disney World, the newlyweds have settled well into their new life together. Thank you for all the well-wishes and kind words during that time.

The year is coming to a close – Many months ago, Raymond and I decided that we couldn’t let 2015 end without one last visit to our favorite vacation destination. In a year packed with hellos and goodbyes, we consider ourselves blessed with the very best family and friends any two people could ever wish for. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love you guys! We’ll be back with more Disney adventures in 2016 and we hope you’ll be along with us again! Wishing you a very Happy New Year – Lisa

A DVC Membership Story

Posted on October 15, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Hello everyone my name is Sean Duffy and Lisa was nice enough to allow me to guest blog for you. A little bit about me, I am a father of 2 and husband to a wonderful wife. I am lifelong Disney fan and Co-host of Enchanted Tiki Talk Podcast (enchantedtikitalk.com). I am also a DVC Member and that’s what I wanted to write about here.

In June of 2008 we started the process of purchasing DVC via resale. That was the only way we knew we could afford to join DVC. So we initially purchased a 50 point contract at the Wilderness Lodge Villas, which at the time we would get about 4 nights in September (We have since purchased 75 more). On about August 13^rd our closing had finished and we were added to the DVC system which meant we had the ability to book our first trip. We immediately booked our first trip for Sept 10^th and were planning on only spending 4 nights. But Pixie Dust had been sprinkled and we had a bonus of 50 points that had been banked from the previous year. We decided to do 6 nights and spend time there over the weekend which ate up most of our points.

There wasn’t much of a difference for us going from cash paying to DVC rooms. Granted you had to make your own bed and you didn’t get fresh towels everyday but who cares we literally owned a piece of the magic. But the real difference in having DVC was the extra space in our room. We loved having a couch to now relax on after coming back to the room after a long day in the parks. Disney was literally starting to feel more like a vacation home than a hotel room.

That trip Disney started to feel different for us. We were now part of a cult. We had a secret handshake with other DVC Members, oh ok well at least I think there should be one. The things we noticed about being DVC Members was that other guests that were members seemed to be more outgoing and would go out of their way to say hi if you were wearing anything that said DVC. It was starting to feel more like a community than just a place to go on vacation. You immediately have something to relate to with other members. They are more likely to talk about why they became members or where they lived. Everyone had stories to share and they all understood the family memories that had been created in Walt Disney World.

See that’s it, that why I wanted to become a DVC Member. It’s not just about racing to Soarin or getting that highly sought after reservation at Ohana’s. It really is all about the memories that you get to create with your family. I know that my son’s first ride was Peter Pan and my daughter’s was the Little Mermaid or that the first banana that my son ever ate was in Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World is just the start of our family memories that have yet to happen. But it is DVC that has brought us that ability to have someplace to look forward to year after year and create new magical family memories.

Sean can be found on Twitter @1MinDisneyDream, Facebook here and on YouTube here.

While I’m at Walt Disney World This Week

Posted on October 12, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know how I hate to go on vacation and leave the place unattended. I wouldn’t want you to get bored or lonely or have nothing new to see. This week is no exception and I’m proud to announce that I’ve left some very special folks in charge of entertaining you!

Please help me welcome some of my favorite podcast hosts!

Here’s a sneak peak of what you can expect to read about this week:

On Monday – Scott Campbell, co-host of the Dixie Landings Radio Podcast, will drop by with an introduction about and some background on this great new show.

On Tuesday – Welcome back Curtis Stone, co-host of the Geekin’ on WDW Podcast. Curt LOVES to have fun at Walt Disney World and offers some very valuable tips on making the most of your Disney vacation time…being goofy!!!

On Wednesday – Sean Duffy, of the Enchanted Tiki Talk Podcast, will bring you his personal experience with becoming a member of the Disney Vacation Club. I know several of you have been thinking about buying DVC points and will love reading Sean’s story.

On Thursday – I’ll take a minute to report in from Walt Disney World and let you know how our vacation week is going. I’m sure to have a thousand pictures by then (and I’ll have gained a few pounds as well). If you don’t already follow along on Facebook, head on over there and see what I’m sharing while in the parks and resort restaurants!

On Friday – Those two wild and crazy guys, Gary and Mike, from the Por Favor Podcast will be stopping by with some VERY important Walt Disney World tips for….well, I’ll let you be surprised.

See? I may be taking a few days off, but you’ll be in excellent hands. If you’ve never listened to a Disney podcast before, I highly suggest you start with these:

Dixie Landings Radio

Geekin’ on WDW

Enchanted Tiki Talk

The Por Favor Podcast

I hope everyone has a great week – I’ll see ya real soon!