Why Florida & Not California? °o° *•._.•* ‘ *•._.•* °o°

When I made my announcement to my friends and family a couple of months ago, one of my friends asked me “Why Florida and not California?”.  A fair question, because we did think about that.

Mark and I have been to Disneyland in California several times together. We both have countless visits to the West coast parks logged in before we even met, but we have only been to Florida a couple of times each, and never together (until recently on our Scouting Orlando trip). 

When the idea started to gel that we wanted to move to another state, and then the idea to live near Disney started to percolate, Florida was the first place that popped into my mind.  We both dearly love Disneyland because of the intimacy of the park, as well as the history and nostalgia of the original, but there were a lot of factors to weigh in against.

My first concern about relocating to California was about the cost of living. From what I have read, and what friends have told me, it costs a LOT to live there.  I realize that income may be commensurate to the cost of living there, but I would rather make a lateral move than to try to win an uphill battle.  In addition to that, we want to own our home.  With the cost of real estate anywhere in the state of California, it would be totally prohibitive.

We had to ask ourselves where were we likely to find more available jobs as well?  With Florida’s unemployment rate as low as it is right now, I have been keeping tabs on a regular basis, and I have been seeing recent signs of improvement.  It’s staying even with Arizona’s rate, which are both slightly better than California’s.  The cost of living index is very similar to ours here in Phoenix. This doesn’t guarantee either of us a job of course, but I think both Mark and I are more competitive with our job skills in Florida, then we would be in California.

By size comparison, our “intimate” park is approximately 1 square mile in total.  That includes both parks (Disneyland and California Adventure) and downtown Disney.  Disney World is 47 square miles!  One of the questions friends ask is “Don’t you think you’ll get tired of Disneyland”?  Well, in truth, we might. With as much as Disney World has to offer, however, we can move from park to park to park.  Add in two water parks, Downtown Disney, DisneyQuest, the upcoming Pleasure Island as well as all of the other parks in the vicinity, and beaches on either coast (don’t forget the Florida Keys and Miami) I don’t think we’re going to be bored!

Now let’s talk weather.  I guess no one would choose scorching heat and dripping humidity over the breezy, mild climate of Southern California. But when you consider where we are coming from, we are trading hot-as-hell for hot-as-hell (if you will pardon the phrase).  In Phoenix, you spend your summer months indoors as much as possible, and you run from air conditioning to air conditioning as quickly as you can.  I imagine it will be the same when we get to the tropical heat of central Florida, but the difference is that we will be living less than 30 minutes away from Disney World (and we will have a pool in the back yard)!

It wasn’t a quick and easy decision. We wanted to make an informed one, so we have done a lot of research, and have discussed endless scenarios. I think we both have fallen in love with the idea of living in a state that is so much different from the one we live in. 

Besides, Mark is scared of earthquakes.

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Scouting Orlando - Budget °o° *•._.•* ‘ *•._.•* °o°

In planning for our relocation to Central Florida, Mark and I felt that we needed to budget in a trip to the area for scouting and research to make sure this was the right thing for us to do.  We visited the Orlando area March 23^rd to the 31^st of 2012... 

Mark and I have known for a while that it might not be a smart move to just up and move our lives to Florida without ever having visited the area. So, when we first made the decision to move, I set up a budget so that we would know how much this was going to cost.  Part of that budget included a “Scouting Orlando” section. 

Among the costs we budgeted for the Scouting Orlando trip looked like this:

flight	$400.00	4 days/3 nights
hotel	$300.00	($100/night)
Rental call	$154.00	Standard Car-$116-$154
Food	$150.00
DW tix (1 Day)	$175.00	$87.30 x 2
gas	$100.00
TOTAL	$1279.00

$1,279 bucks.  Economical, right?   Well, the reality ended up being something different:

Flight	incl.
Hotel	incl.	8 days/7 nights
rental car	$2,050.00
Food	$200.00
DW tix	$630.00	for 6 days (each)
Gas	$100.00
TOTAL	$2,980.00

So Priceline.com allowed us to bundle the flight, hotel stay and rental car.  Since we decided to extend the visit from just 3 days/4 nights, to twice that at 8 days/7 nights, I think we stayed within budget. I’m not sure how each cost broke out for the bundled flight/hotel/car, but having upgraded the hotel a bit so that we would be comfortable for such a long stay it works out to $120 a night for hotel, $200 each for flight, and $89 a day for the car.  The rental car was the most surprising cost.  Even taking the most basic insurance coverage they offered, we were shocked at the additional fees and charges that weren’t explained on the Priceline itinerary.  That and the extra hundred bucks that U.S. Airways charges to check your suitcase provided some wallet shock!

You’ll notice that we bought 6-day park hopper tickets for the Disney Parks.  I had originally decided that we would only go ONE day out of the 4 that we were going to be in Florida.  We were waiting for a price deal to crop up before buying the ticket, knowing that if we didn’t find one, we would just buy tickets at the gate.  It wasn’t until just days before the trip that Priceline send an email with a discount offer, in which the best deal was 2 days free if you buy 6 days.  We decided that if we went with that deal, at roughly $50 a day, we could still tour the city, and then just drop in on the park for a few hours here and there for a parade, fireworks and a few rides, then head back to the hotel.

I think we ended up spending about $3500 in full. It took some sacrifice to save it up, but by now, we have resigned ourselves to the need to reduce our spending for the next year and half so that we can have as much money as possible in our hands before it’s time to make the big move.

This Scouting Orlando trip was a necessary evil in terms of spending our hard earned savings.  It opened our eyes to some of the challenges that we will be facing when we arrive in Orlando, and begin the second, most-important half of our journey.

This posting marks the first in a series on the subject of “Scouting Orlando”. 

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Mission SLIMpossible Follow Up #2 °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Trying to lose weight can sometimes be a real mind-trip.  I was in my boot camp class Wednesday in which we have a dozen exercise stations that we rotate through, that are scattered throughout the space.  When the timer sounds, we all move to the next station and do that exercise.  The 5^th station was facing a huge floor to ceiling mirror.  So I was forced to watch myself from beginning to end for a solid five minutes. 

This was not good for my self-esteem.

As you have read by now, my total weight loss has been 22 pounds.  I have lost enough that friends and co-workers are noticing and are commenting (my favorite one was "You've done something different to your hair, didn't you?").  My clothes are obviously fitting looser, but when you are still 60-80 pounds overweight, without a lot of gym-floor coordination and your shirt sticks to your body because you are drenched in sweat, that doesn’t help to provide much of a morale boost. 

To make matters more uncomfortable, I am the only overweight boot camper in the class.  It appears most of the members at this gym studio are female, around 24, perky bodies dressed in juicy couture, seem to be in perfect shape and never break a sweat.  Compared to them, I’m like Mr. Snuffleupagus, loping around the room.

All self-deprecation and shortage of self-esteem aside, as awkward as I feel in these classes, nothing is going to stop me from seeing myself through this goal.  Sure I have my challenges; I tend to get dizzy or hyperventilate when I over exert, and it feels like it’s taking forever for that to improve, but I am seeing improvement, slowly but surely (and I had to lay my old jeans to rest… they don’t even stay up with a belt any more).  Not only that, but I will never cross paths with those perky dancercisers again.

°o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°   °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°   °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

The upside to the mind trip is this; the rocks that you see in the photo above are very symbolic for me.  Every time I hiked the Perimeter Trail of Piestewa Peak, and made it to the point that is referred to as the “Saddle”(this is the top to me; the trail continues over the saddle, but it goes back down and around the mountain), I would search for a small, white rock for a souvenir.  I even have a set of "rules" in place; I can't take a rock from anywhere except the very top, however, if I find a rock on the way up, I can carry it up and leave it in a hidden spot for the next time I climb.  I have a secret stash of a dozen rocks waiting to go home with me now.

But I digress...  these twenty-odd stones represent the twenty-odd pounds that I have lost so far. I certainly didn’t lose one pound on each climb, but they collectively stand for the weight that I am leaving behind on the Piestewa Peak trail.  Hopefully, when I’ve finished this journey I will have a collection of one hundred rocks.  It will be nice to see them displayed in a glass container so that I can think back on how many times I struggled with making it up that steep slope, always trying to beat my time from the last time I hiked.

°o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o° °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o° °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Back to the mind trip...  Today's official weigh in does not give me a lot of confidence.  It's only a 1 pound loss in 2 weeks.  I'm hoping this is not a plateau since it's been four months into my journey, and maybe the next weigh in will show a greater loss.

Official weigh in

Highest weight: 275 (January 1, 2012)

Previous weigh in: 250 (April 16th, 2012)

Current weigh in: 249 (April 30th, 2012)

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Happy Mother's Day °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Disney Moms, Dads, Step Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, and Mother Figures out there.

Thank you, Mom.

We love you.

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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(...and a little special love to our Moms: Linda and Mary)

Where in the Parks Are We???? °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

One of my favorite past-times when I am visiting the park is taking pictures to add to my collection.  Among others, some of the primary categories I am always keeping an eye out for are:

1. Where in the Parks ARE We?
2. Disney Parks Without People
3. Disney Fan Art
4. Hidden Mickeys
5. Disney Park Architecture

Periodically, I'll add 5 or 10 photos at a time, the link to the entire collection will be at the bottom of the post.



This photo blog is all about category #1.  There are three answers for each photo:

1. Can you identify the Park
2. Can you name the area (or "land")
3. Can you pinpoint the exact location of the following pictures that I took?

Click here:  Where in the Parks ARE We? - Entire Photo Collection enjoy. * Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!
Mouseketeer Ken
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(Thanks to Mouseketeer Phil for sending the glitter Mickey)

What if You Could Be a Different Person? °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Have you ever dreamt about running away from your life, and starting somewhere else, brand new?  A fresh start, but maybe this time you're a different person.  Maybe you'll change your hair color and style, maybe buy some colored contacts so that your eyes are blue instead of green.  Maybe you'll drop 80 pounds before you arrive so you can really change your appearance!

 

I'm not talking about impersonating, or stealing someone's identity.  I'm talking about making changes in your life that you may have been too frightened, or intimidated, or just not sure you could even pull off. You hear about people who have been in traumatic accidents, who then begin speaking with a foreign dialect, or even foreign language, but what if you could do it by choice?

And if you're going to change your looks, while you're at it why not change your personality? Maybe you know that you have a habit of showing up late, or twisting your hair, or laughing a little too loudly at dumb jokes.  Making a major move and starting over someplace new would be a perfect opportunity to make these kinds of adjustments.

 

Maybe even go by a new name, or nickname. Something you've always liked, but never caught on for some reason.

 

Maybe you've lived in the same part of town for years, and you're just tired of your job-you're not making a lot of money, there are no promotions on the horizon, and you're just sick of the politics. In fact, maybe you hate your job.  If you had the chance to move to a new state, a new part of the country, maybe things would be different…

 

I have all of these thoughts.  Some of them I will never do, but it still fun to run with the idea.

 

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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You Know Everything About Disney! (Part 2 of 2) °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

(Continued itinerary)

On the other side of the park is Tomorrowland.  Make sure you don’t miss the Small World ride on your way there.  The best rides for kids in Tomorrowland is the Little Nemo Submarine ride, Astro Blasters (it’s a Buzz Lightyear themed shooting ride), Captain EO (Michael Jackson 3D movie), and Autopia.  They also have a fun outdoors Star Wars show for kids; they bring up 10 or 12 kids to learn how to be Jedi’s.

Speaking of Small World… If you are going to catch a parade while you are there, try to see it in the curb area in front Small World.  It gets very crowded on Main Street, and you won’t need to walk all the way across the park to get back.

The rides I would avoid for young kids are: Star Tours (very shaky and causes motion sickness), the rollercoasters (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, etc.), The Mad Tea Party (just spins for 5 minutes). I would AVOID “Innoventions”-it’s a walk-through display about futuristic inventions and is very boring.

Something to remember is that there is a train that circles the park all day long.  If you need to go from one land to another, use the train!  You will love the ride, and your feet will love you! There are 5 or 6 stops all around the park.

Something else to see is Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbell.  Once you enter the area, you are the size of a fairy and you can take pictures and chat with Tink and her friends.

One last thing is that you should check into is using the Fast Passes. On certain rides (usually the adult ones like Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, etc., but Pirates and Winnie Pooh does, too), you use your ticket to scan the bar code on the back. It will print out a ticket with a time range printed on it.  When you return to the ride during that time frame you get to move to the head of the line.  These are FREE, and will save a LOT of time standing in line if there are rides you want to go on. The map you get when you enter the park will tell you what rides offer Fast Passes. 

Have fun at the park!  I wish I was there with you!

What do you think, Mouseketeers?  Did I steer her right with things to do for children under the age of five?  What other attractions would you guide her family to?

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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You Know Everything About Disney! (Part 1 of 2) °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

Quite often my friends tell me, “I really want to go to Disneyland WITH YOU. You know so much about it.  Can you make any suggestions for my next visit?”  I would often type out an itinerary to follow for a one day visit just to Disneyland (most of the people who have asked for my suggestions only go to Disneyland for a day or two, since the drive to Anaheim from Phoenix is only about 6 ½ hours… and they rarely ask me about California Adventures-maybe that's another post!)

I don’t know the Disney World parks as well as Disneyland (something that will change in the coming years, of course), so if you are a Disney World person, you can make some comparison notes if you like. 

My most recent request was for a family of 4 in which the children they were taking were 2 and 4 years old (which I often joke is awfully young for Disneyland-more on that in a later post), so this itinerary was tailored to that:

After you have arrived and have explored Main Street, I would go straight to Sleeping Beauty’s castle; it’s at the end of Main Street (you can’t miss it).  When you walk through the castle, you can explore all of Fantasy Land.  Everything in there should be great for a 2- and 4-year old (although Snow White’s ride can be a little scary for them-it depends on how sensitive they are).  Don’t forget the Dumbo ride and Alice in Wonderland.  I also love the Storybook Land ride; it’s a slow boat ride around miniatures of several of the Disney houses from the animated films.

Your next stop should be Critter Country.  It’s right next to Frontier land, and they have the Winnie the Pooh ride, and you will have a good chance of meeting Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore there.  I think your family will love everything about Frontierland and Adventureland which is right next to Critter Country.  The only ride that the young ones will not be able to go on is the Indiana Jones ride:  it’s VERY fast, and will probably have a height requirement. The Jungle Cruise is perfect and is right next to Indiana Jones.  There is another small “land” there called “New Orleans Square” where you can find The Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the Haunted Mansion.  I think the Haunted Mansion might be pretty scary for a 2 and 4 year old.. it’s dark and gloomy all the way through with a LOT of dead things and skeletons.  I would skip it if the kids are sensitive to scary things. This area is also where Tiana from the Princess and the Frog will show up sometimes to sing. 

Nearby in Critter Country, there is a nice place to eat, too.  The Hungry Bear Restaurant has burgers, but they also have healthier meals like roasted chicken sandwiches-you can sit and wave at passers-by on the Mark Twain Riverboat.  If you want a really fun dinner, look into the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue.  They are All-You-Can-Eat BBQ chicken and ribs, cole slaw, ranch beans and cornbread, smoked sausage and corn on the cob - $24.99 per person, but we really loved it.

Ready for the second half of the day?

.... to be continued on Monday!

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Mission SLIMpossible Follow Up #1 °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

I started my weight-loss journey on January 1^st of this year.  For the most part, I have really committed to sticking to the diet and the exercise, so I have been losing. My mind is set on the fact that working out is a part-time job, and I don’t want to get fired for missing work!

I am really a fan of the outdoors, and being outside as much as possible, and I especially love to exercise outdoors. We are fortunate that Phoenix has mountain ranges right in the center of town, so I have been able to leave work in the afternoon, and be hiking a nearby mountain within 20 minutes.  One of the biggest challenges I think I face, however, is keeping up with the program during the summer months.  Phoenix is a lot like Orlando in that the summer heat is unbearable.  We may not have the humidity of Central Florida, but the scorching sun can drain you of your strength in just about 10 to 15 minutes, especially when the temperature rises up to 115° on a regular basis.  Air conditioning and climate control is required to live in the Sonoran Desert, much less to work out in.  I don’t know how I’ve managed to survive 28 summers here! (In fact, just last summer, Phoenix hit a state record of the greatest number of 110° or higher days ever recorded: 33 days!)

I guess the best solution to this problem would be to join a gym.  I wouldn’t mind that, but Mark and I are truly saving every single penny and nickel that we are able to. We have cut all unnecessary expenses and a gym membership is just not in the budget.  So I have to be creative.

In trying to formulate a plan to beat the temptation of taking a break from working out between May and Mid-October I set up a spare room in the house to store an elliptical cross-trainer, and a treadmill, so I’ve got my at-home work-outs covered.  When I have no other option, I will do my cardio in front of the air conditioner in the spare bedroom.

But I have found other options.  One day I received a Groupon offer by email.  If you don’t know, Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to your zip code.  I have purchased dinners out, gift certificates to Amazon.com, even a Kindle Fire leather case, all for at least half off. This one was for 30 boot camp classes, for $18.  After reading the details of the offer, I decided to go for it.  The price was more than right, and I need the intensity that these classes assured me I would get. 

It turns out that this was the best purchase with the best value that I have made in a very long time.

I have only used 10 classes out of the 30 that I get to use.  I have to use them all by June 30^th, so I schedule two every week, usually a Tuesday and Thursday, and I hike the perimeter trail of Piestawa Peak on Mondays and Fridays after work.  This schedule helps me to avoid the boredom of doing the same thing day after day, and I am exercising HARD four times a week.

Just last week, I found another private gym membership; this one was $20 for unlimited use for the month of July.  I’m keeping my eye out for great Groupon deals to keep me working out in a gym for the rest of the summer.

Official weigh in

Highest weight: 275 (January 1, 2012)

Previous weigh in: 252 (April 16th, 2012)

Current weigh in: 250 (April 30th, 2012) 

Total pounds lost: 25

Would you like to join me on this journey?  You don't need to pick up everything and move to the other side of the United States, but we can compare weight loss successes if you want to be a support for each other. Let me know!

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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Coming Out of the Disney Closet °o° *•._.•* ' *•._.•* °o°

 

I haven’t really explained the timeline for the move.  It’s no wonder people look at me strangely when I say we’re moving in the Fall of 2013!  Heck, they might have a 5th park build in Florida by that time!

We came to that date by talking through several things that need to happen.  Since Mark got out of the Army in 2006, he is taking advantage of his school benefits, and he’s following his passion by going to culinary school at the Art Institute of Phoenix. He started the program in July of 2011, and he anticipates graduation to be in the spring of 2013.

The move is really dependent on his landing a job in the Central Florida area, if not with the Disney Corporation.  We agree that we would be making a huge mistake if we moved across country without either of us having some job prospect.  He plans on making connections through his school’s placement program to either intern, or be placed at a resort in the area.  Disney also offers a student intern program that he is hoping to take advantage of. 

Since Mark will likely be moving to Orlando first, we will have to set him up in an apartment, if his internship program doesn’t have student housing. 

The next step is listing the house.  We have heard that despite the scorching summer heat, homes in Phoenix generally sell faster in the summer.  Any families that are home hunting want to search while their children are out of school, and they will want to be moved before school starts so they can settle in. 

Assuming things follow along that train of thought, I may have to empty my house by early August. 

Another delay comes because of my job.  I work for a company that does a huge amount of seasonal business.  Since the busiest time of year is August through mid-October, I really want to take advantage of the nearly unlimited overtime pay that I am able to. It’s thousands of dollars more in my pocket if I can stay in town. The challenge will be if I have to be out of my house in August. If I do, I will have to find temporary housing myself. 

Comments are welcome. Positive feedback encouraged!

Mouseketeer Ken

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