Disney "Home" away from Home

I thought I'd show everyone where we're staying for our trip in September!  I'm so excited!!!

We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside (POR) and there is so much at the resort it's incredible!  There are nightly movies on the grass, the main pool is on an island in the middle of the resort, there's a boat that you can take to Downtown Disney (and a bus, the boat is cool), you can rent Surrey bikes by the half hour to ride around the resort, there are Carriage Rides around the resort, I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out because there's just so much!

They rent 2 and 4 person Surrey bikes.  Here's what the 2-person Surrey bike looks like:

Isn't it so cute!!!!  I can't wait for Wolf and I to ride it!

Here's the map of our resort!  It looks pretty big, but it's not as overwhelming as it might seem!

I can't wait!!!  Only 147 days!

~Chelle  *o*

Biking Attire

I was talking with some co-workers about what I wear when biking and found some pictures of my sneakers (recent) and of me all decked out (almost two years old) in my riding gear.  So, I thought I'd share them with you!

I absolutely LOVE my sneakers!  So much that I bought two pairs!  They are Clima-Cool sneakers from Adidas.  They are great!  A problem I had when I first started riding was my feet getting too hot in the summer while riding.  I did some research and found that these allow the air to flow through the sneakers, keeping my feet from overheating!  I love the crazy colors :)

Here is me from 2012 while riding the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  This was in Chatham, approx. 10-15m of riding by this point.  I have new, better fitting gloves (that also match my bike!), and a new phone, but the rest is the same.  I didn't realize until I looked at this picture that my tank top matched my helmet, lol!

~Chelle  *o*

Free Dining.....Yay or Nay....and a startling revelation!

So, for the past few weeks, rumors have been buzzing over on the Disney message board I lurk on.  Like most, I've been anticipating the announcement of the Free Dining dates for the Fall.  About a week ago the suspected dates were posted and I was excited that my trip fell within the correct time frame.  All that was left was to wait to see when it would be announced, and if any resorts would be excluded.  Some are always excluded, and it's usually the same ones each time.  For instance, Port Orleans French Quarter is always excluded, while Port Orleans Riverside isn't usually excluded.

Well...it was announced today semi-officially what the check-in dates and the excluded resorts are.  Port Orleans Riverside is excluded from the Free Dining promotion.  Now I had a decision to make....change resorts to get the Free Dining promotion, or stay where I am and pay for the Dining Plan.  So I took a look at the other Moderate resorts that Disney has (I wanted something a little nicer than a Value for Wolf's and I's trip).  The other two are Carribean Beach Resort and Coranado Springs Resort.  I looked at the maps for both and they are HUGE!!  I looked at the ameneties and offerings at each resort also.  I came to a startling conclusion...........

I'd rather stay at Port Orleans Riverside and pay for the Dining Plan than change resorts and stay somewhere I'm not very happy with just to get the Dining Plan for free.  If you're wondering....the Dining Plan is costing me $950 for the both of us for the trip.  $950.  And I'm choosing to pay it because I love the resort too much to stay somewhere else.  I must be crazy, lol.  There's just so much cool stuff at Port Orleans Riverside and I'd miss not having it at our resort.

~Chelle *o*

Epcot Food & Wine Festival

Every year, in the fall, Epcot hosts the International Food & Wine Festival.  A whole bunch of food/drink kiosks are set up around Epcot's World Showcase.  These kiosks are all from different countries, and not necessarily those found in the World Showcase.  I have never been to Disney during this event, but Wolf and I will be there this September and I'm so excited!!!  Our plan is to snack our way through lunch that day!

How fun does this look?!?!?!?!

I did some looking online and was able to find the menus from the kiosks/countries that were there last year (2013).  The items/countries may change for 2014 but this will give you (and me!) an idea of all the great offerings!  The Festival starts September 19th, so I would think that the menus will be out about then, then the real planning of what to eat can begin!!! 

Here's the link to where I got the pictures, in case you can't read the food items!

Poland had to be different :P