Star Wars Weekends

On our most recent trip to Florida we spent a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios and took in Star Wars weekends. We've been once before, so with a little experience under our belt we spent a day with some amazing Star Wars fans and celebrities.

If you have never been to Star Wars Weekends (SWW) and are a fan of the movies and TV shows it is a blast.  We were lucky to be in town for weekend number 5 and were lucky enough to see some amazing celebrities in the parades and in some shows.  

 Up close and personal with an Ewok during the parade.

 Trading with a Jawa (we traded an elastic hair band for a coin)

 Storm Troppers escorting Darth Vader through out the park

 Chocolate and peanut butter Darth Vader Cupcake (yum!)

 Yoda cupcake which was also amazing!

 Jango Fett posing for pictures.

 Jawas in the parade

 Ray Park (Darth Maul) in the Celebrity Motorcade.

 Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)

 Tuskan Raidar

 Mace Windu and Kit Fisto

Last but not Least Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda)

We really enjoy the fun atmosphere and the celebrities. Last year we saw Mark Hamill in the parade. This year we had fast passes to see the Celebrity Talk show with James Arnold Taylor (Obi Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars). We got to experience the fun pre-show with some comical Storm Troopers and listened to both Ray Park and Peter Mayhew talk about their Star Wars experience.  We had a great time. One of our daughters favourite moments was having Ashley Eckstein (the voice of Ashoka Tano in the Clone Wars) speak directly to her during the motorcade.

If you are a Star Wars fan, it's time to start thinking about planning a vacation during  SWW 2016.  If you need a place to stay we can help!

Trader Sam's Grog Grotto - Our 2 Cents!

On every trip we like to try something new. This trip we did a couple of new things but today we'll only talk about one of them. Our first night in Florida we headed over to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort to check out their new restaurant Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.  There is both indoor and outdoor seating.  The drive to the resort is about 10 minutes from the house making it a quick trip.  Trader Sam's opens at 4pm and closes at 12am.  This is great unless you plan to bring your kids along.  The under 21 crowd is only allowed in until 8pm and then they need to find somewhere else to hang out.

The house is so close to Disney that you can feel part of the magic whenever you wish.  With kids in tow we arrived in time to pick up a pager to see if we could get a seat inside but while we were waiting decided to sit out on the patio.  This way we could get our order started so as not to miss out on the chance to partake in the food and drink.

The patio once the rain started!

With thunderstorms looming we got right to business. First up some drinks.  The kids tried a couple of Sam's No-Booze Brews. First up was Polynesian Punch.  This drink came in a souvenir sipper which was the big draw for our daughter and she really liked the drink but found it to sweet.

Next up for our son was Schweitzer Falls.  This had tropical juices and "Gorilla Grog", but the pineapple wedge and umbrella were a favourite.

Now as for Adult drinks, if you don't like rum then you won't find much to your liking.  Toby picked out the HippopotoMai-Tai (Coruba dark rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaco, Orgeat, Organic Agave Nectar, and lime juice).   I tried it and thought it was good but a bit strong. The best part is that it came in a souvenir Tiki glass. The drink was expensive around $15, but you could go to one of the stores in the resort and buy and empty glass for the same amount (and it doesn't say Trader Sam's).  

(Tiki glass, and No-booze brew sipper)

I have always wanted to try a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve) but never wanted to wait in line. There is now the Pineapple Lanai at the Polynesian and I had planned to go there after we ate but instead I ordered the Spikey Pineapple, which is basically a Dole Whip with rum. All I can say is Yum, it was really good.

With drinks out of the way we ordered some food.   It's not a really big menu more like a good selection of appetizers or finger food.  We ordered the Headhunter Sushi roll and the Pan-fried Dumplings.  The sushi was good but I wouldn't rave about it. None of us liked the beet dipping sauce and just stuck with the soy sauce.  The Dumplings were great, tasty and satisfying.  I would definitely order these again.  

Head Hunter sushi (top) and Pan-fried Dumplings

We did enjoy the experience and I'd love to go back and sit inside where I hear lots of Disney magic is at play when you order certain drinks.  Make sure you check it out on your next trip.                                                                 

Harambe Market opens at Animal Kingdom with African-inspired food and th...

Animal Kingdom has some of the best theming at Disney World. This new market area looks amazing. You will need to check it out on your next trip!

What do you mean the kids go back to School next week!

I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by.  The last post I wrote I told you all about how busy we were during our 2 weeks in Florida.  What I don't want to do is leave the impression that our visit was all work and no play!  We did manage to squeeze in some fun. So without a big into a summary of our FUN!

Well I will say that Windsor Palms itself provided tons of fun for the family.  The kids wanted to try out everything. They didn't manage to do that but they did do a lot.  The resort pool was a big attraction. I would have thought with their own pool at home they wouldn't be that interested, but I was wrong.  For Sarah the big draw was other girls. She managed to make a new friend every time we went up there. Both kids had to check out the hot tub, they thought it was to hot, I thought it was amazing! 

Since we knew this would be a working vacation we let the kids have a little fun we might not have done otherwise.  We let them go a little crazy with the arcade games.  Christian had tons of fun racing cars and Sarah found every game that gave a prize, and she wasn't shy if the machine didn't cough up what she was owed. Off she'd run to the concierge to get what was due to her.  There was also ping pong and pool tables but we didn't get to that. 

The next big adventure was booking a movie in the theatre.  The kids poured over the selections and settled on Bolt, the regular version, not the 3D version. Neither of our kids are wild about 3D movies for some reason.  The told the concierge and he put it into the computer for the next day and later that night we looked on the TV at the community channel and there was their movie on the screen! They thought this was great.  So the next morning we headed up and they went to their movie and I headed to the gym.  I managed to squeeze in that one workout.  Not my normal routine but better than nothing at all.

We wanted to try our hands at tennis or basket ball or volley ball but time did not permit.  We saw lots of other people enjoying the amenities though and that is great to see.

I told you about our trip to LEGOLAND so I won't bore you with another recap of that adventure. We also went to Mini golf, the exact name of the one we actually went to is escaping me right now as it wasn't the one we were planning to go to.  The good thing that came out of that miss direction was that they had some baby Alligators and for a mere $3 the kids got to feed them, which was a big hit.

My cousin and his family came to stay for the last few days and it was a great distraction for the kids.  They'd never met these cousins as they live far away so it was fun for them.  And it was great that they weren't complaining about how bored they were.  We had planned to hit Disney, Magic Kingdom to be specific during our second week but we were so busy we didn't think we'd be able to do it. So as a surprise for the kids we extended our trip by a day and booked a night at the Caribbean Beach Resort. 

So we got our tickets (park hopper passes for the first time) and headed to Epcot, met up with Mickey, hung out with Figment (Sarah's favourite) and went to school with Nemo.  We then checked into our hotel, cleaned up, left the car and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  Toby and I were so tired I think we fell asleep waiting for the bus and on the bus (to and from the parks, we were good if we were moving).  We first headed to New Fantasyland and I must say it is impressive.  We got our fast passes for Under the Sea with Ariel, which was a great ride. The animatronics are pretty impressive.  The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is an immense presence and I can't wait to see it finished. Another first was seeing the Electric Parade at Walt Disney World and seeing Wishes fireworks!  It was an action packed and very long day. 

In the morning we had some breakfast and then let the kids burn of some steam at the pool before the very long drive home.  In addition to all the above fun we also got to meet our Property Managers, John and Elizabeth and our Realtor Shaun. After talking and emailing Shaun for over a year and a half it was great to finally meet!

In the end the kids told us it wasn't the 3rd worst vacation ever, it had moved down and was now the 6th or 7th worst. Next time can only be more fun! Thanks for stopping by. I hope to update the blog with upcoming events in the area and any changes to the property.  Enjoy your long weekend!

From the Longest Short Sale, to the Quickest close!

Things have finally settled down after a very crazy week.  Our involvement in a very long short sale left us disappointed and drained, but we bounced back and found an even better home!  Our closing actually happened this time. The house is still located in the amazing Windsor Palms Resort, it is 1.5 storeys, with an amazing open concept design, soaring ceilings and lots of room for everyone to spread out.  Outside we still have a large private pool with waterfall spa, and lots of space to relax!

The closing was a whirlwind experience. I don't know if we could have done it if we hadn't been prepared to close on the other house.  What was different about this closing though was that we had existing rental bookings that would carry over with the house sale. We ended up closing on Thursday, to give us a bit more time to prepare for guests arriving on Saturday.  Everything fell into place before guests arrive and by the end of the weekend we had most of our advertising in place.

With guests arriving each Saturday for the rest of the month, I've been fielding calls and emails all week.  Today we made our first booking through Home Away.  Now we have a booking for July as well.  I have to admit I was/am concerned about being able to get people into the house, when we took possession during peak season.  Getting the reservation today and having our listing live on VRBO and Dwellable, is easing my fears.

I have to admit that I am getting excited about our trip in July. I am a big kid at heart and can't wait to go to Disney and check out New Fantasyland!  There are so many things I would like to do at Disney World, but I don't know if we will be able to do it all this trip.  Our just turned 7 year old son is a Lego fanatic and LEGOLAND is a must this trip.  We will be arriving not long after the opening of the new Lego World of Chima area, this is fitting as we just had a Lego Chima birthday party for him.

Our "to do" list is still long and we have lots to do before we leave to head south. For the moment though I'm going to work on getting more sleep than I have been.  Have a great week everyone!

This is Driving Me Crazy!

It's Thursday right, I'm not really expecting an update today. Just working my way through some work phone calls and messages and decide I should check our personal e-mail. There I find staring at me a time sensitive e-mail requesting us to re-sign some of the original documents.

Why re-sign them you ask? I sure called and asked, because it wasn't clear to me at first. This is at the banks request and they wanted the seller to have the contract in her name instead of in the name of the trust she has.  Since I'm not privy to her personal fiances/investments I'm not sure why they have asked her to do this. We're game, especially since things are moving much more efficiently this go round.

The e-mail requesting this came through around 9:30am but I didn't notice it until closer to 10:30am.  This gave me 1.5hrs to track down Toby at work get him to sign, scan and e-mail it back to me so I could sign and fax to the Realtor. Everything went smoothly until I had to fax. I can't figure out why our fax machine has trouble faxing to the realtor's office, maybe it's a sign (I hope not). I use it for work on a regular basis and no ones complained but what can I do, I faxed it until they got a good copy. This took me to 11:30am and everything had to be in by noon. Eek!

Everything got in though and we got back a full copy for our records.  We did have to make a few corrections to the contract though. The seller's agent failed to include a few things that were on the original copy (such as the pool fence, equipment and heater) and then they had check off that the seller could accept back up offers! Which was not in our original copy. That got rectified pretty quickly. We haven't waited all this time to have someone else come in with another off, no way!

What's driving me crazy is that I'm finally getting a little tired of waiting.  We are almost at the 9 month mark and it appears that my dreams of going to Disney this calendar year are fading.  Our Realtor assures me that we're not the only ones waiting like this but at least there is stuff going on with the file at the banks. I will take this as a positive.  A watched pot never boils and it seems that a short sale never sells. Oh well, we've waited this long. Nothing else that we've liked has come up and I don't think I'd jump to a different house that was also a short sale.  Another house like the one we're waiting for that is a regular listing has a price over fifty thousand more than our offer. Crazy, things seem to be picking up as the inventory shrinks.

For now I think I'll continue crossing my fingers and try to focus on some other things on my "to do" list.  Hmmm, maybe I should start my Christmas shopping!  Have a great day!

Thanksgiving!

It feels funny to be writing another post so soon after my last.  We actually got an update again on Friday from our Realtor.  It's not a big one but it at least gives me hope that things are moving along a little faster this go round.  We now know that the second bank the seller has a loan with has received all information and that "the  package has been sent to their loss mitigation department for review and if anything else is needed they will reach out to us or the seller".  With the seller's last lawyer I don't remember hearing anything from or about the second bank until months into the process. It's been just over a month  with the second lawyer and both banks are busy reviewing files.  No one has told us this is a good thing, I'm just reflecting on the previous 8 months!

In the meantime I keep continuing to occupy some of my thoughts with decisions about what to do when we get to Florida. Of course we'll have to update the house but we'll have to take the kids on a couple of excursions and of course Disney will be one of them.  I wouldn' t be opposed to seeing the parks all decked out for Christmas, but I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet! Fingers crossed we'll know soon.

My other past time is to keep up with all my on-line Disney friends.  I've managed to meet a lot of great people who love the Mouse as much as I do.  You can scroll down the page and see that I added a list of blogs that I follow. Many of these are people I've met through my Disney obsession.  Check them out, there are lots of tips on travel and lots of other information on Disney.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

Excuse me Do you Have any Availability?

Frustration! I would have to say it's high at this point in this process.  Our whole family is getting a little tired of waiting at this point. Our 6 and 9 year olds have been patiently waiting and saving their money to buy stuff on vacation.  And the number of times I'm asked "when are we going to Florida?, Did we get the house yet?" has risen exponentially over the last couple of months. I must admit, I too would like to make my way to visit my happy place (Disney that is)!

I had a friend enquire about what Mickey's Garden Villa was after seeing the posts from our Facebook page. After an abbreviated explanation of what we've been up to, she asked "So When do you get it?"  That my friends is the million dollar question!  We have even been asked by people if they could book with us yet! I wish!!!!

I would love to be able to push the fast forward button and have this process completed.  So I hope that all the fabulous people that have been following our journey, will continue to do so and see us through this crazy LONG Short Sale process.

Remember you can also visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/MickeysGardenVilla ; on twitter @mickeygrdnvilla; or at our website www.mickeysgardenvilla.com

The Anticipation Begins Again!

I haven't posted in awhile, but here I am back again!  It's been just over 2 weeks since we got any kind of update on the house. We've accepted that we're one of those looong short sales. So yesterday i received a couple of e-mails with some information on our progress since the new lawyers have taken over.  So here's the scoop...The Bank of America uses this equator system for it's short sales, it is supposed to help expedite the short sale process (LOL).  All information from the seller and from us has been submitted and accepted by the bank. I read on-line that we should hear from them within 20 days (we'll believe it when we see it).  Additionally another, BPO (brokers price opinion) or appraisal of the house has been ordered.  What does all this mean? Well from my point of view it means that it's taken a month to get everything in order to start this again. I'm hoping that things will move along now.

Why keep waiting you ask? Well I've said it before the house meets our needs and wants and I really love Mickey Mouse and just about everything else Disney! 

There's lots of things to do in the next few months in the Orlando area and we'd be happy to participate in any of them! Disney's  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is on right now and if you're into scaring yourself then a visit to Universal's Halloween Horror nights might be in order! Many of the other theme parks also have stuff going on for Halloween as well so if you're going to be in the neighbourhood check it out.

Coming up next is Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. A must do and see if you love to eat and drink I would highly recommend it! Cuisine from all around the world in one place and tons of special events. Many on line sites including Disney's own can fill you in on the details.  And once the frights of Halloween fade away all the sights and sounds of Christmas will start to fill the air.  I wouldn't mind taking in any of these events so fingers crossed that we can get this house closed so we can take a trip and start renting this darn place!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Another Day, Another Dollar

So as another week slowly comes to a close we no more news, boo hoo!  The funny thing is, I'm still thinking about it regularly. Not the house per se but how the Canadian dollar is doing in comparison to the US. When we started this whole process is was at or above par.  Now it teases me by jumping all over the place, arrgh!  The easy solution of course would have been to buy US dollars when the Canadian dollar was high, but that was months ago now and we have no idea how much closer we are to closing this deal.

So we wait and I watch. Today incidentally the dollar is doing really well but who's to say what tomorrow will bring.  I am definitely the impatient person in this whole thing. You'd think my 6 and 8 year olds would be the ones asking if we have the house yet, but no they have been very patient. Saving their money to buy LEGO at legoland. Yesterday they were debating which other theme park they'd like to visit when we go down.  Much to my dismay they were thinking yesterday that going back to see Dr. Seuss at Universal would be good. (How I could have kids that would abandon Mickey I'll never know). Time will tell they may change their minds again.

We're finally getting a break from the heat here in southern Ontario and are having a day of rain. So here I'll be contemplating when to buy US dollars and fretting about when this will all come to a conclusion. Fingers crossed it will be soon.

I hope everyone's week ends quickly and you all have a great weekend!

Do You Love Fireworks? A Photography App review!

This post is going to be a little different this time.  I was graciously asked to look at a new app and provide a review. I am only happy to oblige!

One of the things we love to do when we go to Disney is watch the fireworks. We love them anywhere, but Disney knows a thing or 2 about putting on a show. One of the most frustrating things can be taking pictures of these amazing fireworks..

So let's talk about this app! The Field Guide to Fireworks Photography.

Now in our house we have 2 kinds of photographers, myself who knows how to point the camera and press the button. I love the auto setting on our DSLR! Then we have my husband who like to tinker with the camera and has taken some courses and knows what all the other settings are for. 

I really liked the app, it was simple and told me how to set up our complicated camera to take some (hopefully) nice pictures of fireworks. The guide lets you know what equipment you need and what would be good to have. Then it tells you what settings to use on your camera and things to be aware of. A quick guide to help when time is of the essence!  That being said, we missed out on an opportunity to try it out as I got the app after Canada Day so unless we get to go to Florida soon (fingers crossed) I won't see many fireworks until, maybe, Labour Day in August.

My husband has his own feedback and I'll let him add it in here:

I am a more involved photographer than my wife...though very amateur. I like the app, but thought it was too basic to provide more than just general tips on taking night shots. For my level of understanding, it was not specific nor detailed enough to provide any new insight. Recommended settings and step by step would be my advice for a more well rounded guide.

In the end I am very grateful to have been asked to take a look at this app.  It has a home on both my iPhone and iPad and will be added to my Disney folder when vacationing so I can try and get some pictures to bring home to remember all the amazing fireworks displays we will get to see!

What Else is there to do when You go to Florida?

We are approaching 6 months since our offer was accepted by the seller on the house. While I patiently wait for an update this week I thought I'd put down some of the great things to do in Florida. We missed getting to see Star Wars weekends (maybe next year), so I need to have a list of other things we can do this time we visit.  Just about everyone knows about Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens and more recently LEGOland Florida but what else can you do to fill some time while on vacation. Below I'll list some things I've come across or know of through friends and family.

1. Gatorland (www.gatorland.com)
    My nephews had a blast here and where else can you sit on a gator and get your picture taken?
    They also have a nice water play area for the kids.
    It's about 17 miles and 25-30 mins from Windsor Palms.

2. Lets go to the BEACH
    Coco Beach (www.cityofcocobeach.com), about 90 minutes (75 miles) from Windsor Palms. This
    beach is very near NASA (another great destination) and Cape Canaveral.
    Clearwater Beach (www.clearwaterflorida.com), beautiful white sand beach and among other
    things, you can visit the Clearwater aquarium to visit Winter the dolpin -of Dolphin     Tale fame
    (www.seewinter.com). About 90 minutes and 87 miles from Windsor Palms.

3.  One of my favourite things to do is MINI GOLF.
     Florida has some of the most amazing mini-golf courses I've ever seen (although I'm sure there
     others elsewhere). Here are a few to check out: Winter Summerland and Fantasia at Disney
     www.disneyworld.com, Hollywood Drive-in golf at Universal Orlando,                                           
     www.universalorlando.com;  Pirates Island Golf in Kissimmee is fun with 2 different courses, find
     them at www.piratesislandgolf.com; finally there is Congo River Golf, www.congoriver.com.

4.  OLD TOWN (www.myoldtownusa.com)
     Kind of like a year round amusement park there is quite a bit to do. There is a ferris wheel and one
     amazing looking go-kart track. A good way to spend a couple of hours if you want to get out but
     don't want to make a whole day of it. About 15 mins and 8 miles from Windsor Palms.

5.  ECO Safaris (www.floridaecosafaris.com)
     I think I've mentioned this one before, but I think it looks like a lot of fun. (About an hour away
     from Windsor Palms.

I think that gives you a few more things to mull over when planning your trip.  There are tons of things you can do. I remember as a teenager going to Sarasota and visiting the Barnum and Bailey museum....maybe you'd see Nick Wallenda while you're there! 

Hopefully I'll have another entry later this week with an update on the house. Until then have a great week!

5 Months and Still waiting....

Good Morning Everyone! The weekend is upon us again and I am definitely looking forward to it.  The 25th of May brought 5 months of waiting on the house. Our short sale is turning out to be very long. Last I updated everyone the seller indicated that we were getting close. Over the last 3 weeks or so we've had no updates.

It's frustrating to say the least from our end. If we had updates regularly I think it would be less so.  I can't help but wonder if the seller is doing her part to negotiate and deal with the bank.  Whenever we have correspondence or forms to sign with them they are less than speedy.  Our hands are tied though, it's either walk away (which I don't want to do) or wait (patiently or not).

If there were other properties to consider that could be an option but right now there is nothing that meets our criteria. We were picky about the property we wanted. Just to give you an idea of why we picked the property we did here is what our list looked like:

• South or south/west facing (we could have been convinced to have west facing with the right view)
• Close to the clubhouse
• 4 bedroom, 3 baths
• Pool/spa
• Close to theme parks
• conservation view or green space to the rear

Doesn't sound like it would be hard to find but it was.   So in the end the house we are waiting for meets most of the criteria.  We are south facing (in the backyard so the pool is in the sun all day), about 7 houses away from the clubhouse, no rear neighbours, privacy from neighbours on either side with privacy hedging, 6km from Disney, over sized pool and waterfall spa and the 4 bed 3 bath model we liked. So when this goes through it will be amazing!

So for now we wait! Have a great weekend. My next entry will be sooner than this one, I'm working on what there is to do other than the theme parks!

And the Waiting Continues!

So today brings the end of another work week for a lot of us. Thank goodness for weekends.  Our vacation home journey continues to move along.  We received another update this week.  The extension of the short sale will go through, giving us another 30 days to wait on the bank. I guess in reality it is more like 60, if you count the 30 days after the extension.  At this point the process seems straight forward enough, but that's only because I've asked enough questions and gotten great answers from our Realtor (Shaun Reed PA, Keller Williams). 

So what's the update you're wondering? Well this is how I understand it.  The seller has basically said that she expects the offer to go through, if we're willing to wait. There is some negotiating that the seller and the bank will have to do in order to settle what is still owed on the home.  And of course we are willing to wait. Windsor Palms Resort is a great community. The house is the model we wanted and why would we walk away from a south facing pool with no neighbours to the rear!

What I think now is that while the whole short sale process is lengthy in time commitment, it will pay when the outcome is what we wanted. I'm still holding out for a closing that gets me to Star Wars weekends but I would put any money on it.  So my plans may need to change a little.  What should we do with the kids that they haven't done on other trips. So many options....

Perhaps we'll spend a day at a Disney water park, Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. Or we could do the Pirates and pals cruise to see the fireworks. Oh what to do! We could even skip Disney this trip (ah on second thought, I don't think I could do that) and check out some other non-theme park activities. Maybe the beach, zip lining, check out the everglades...the options seem endless. I'll get to work on it and update my planning as I find different options.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Update, update, update!

So finally we get an update that actually tells us something!  I can't help but feeling bad about calling our agent or his assistant and asking what is going on.  It's kind of asking them to get water from a stone. They can't tell us anything if the seller doesn't tell them!  So through the miracles of modern technology (mainly *67), our agent spoke with the seller. So here's the scoop...

The 2nd bank has come back to the seller and requested some additional information (3 things, don't ask me what they are, just that there are 3!).  It sounds like the bank is going to approve the sale, you'd think I'd be jumping up and down right? Not so fast.  Once the bank approves the deal there may be things for the seller to consider. The bank may not forgive her the total amount owning after the sale, if that's the case then she can back out and we're left with nothing and she gets to start the process again.  The bank could in theory forgive her the whole amount or part of it. It sounds like to me that if it's true and the bank is going to accept, we'll be at the mercy of the seller and whatever decision she makes. I hope that all makes sense (or at least as much sense as it makes to me[:)]. At this point, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope the bank is nice to us and forgives most or all of what the seller owes (we have no idea what she owes so it could only be $10 000.00 or as much as $100 000.00, who knows).

In order to makes sure we have ourselves covered we're doing an addendum to our contract to extend the short sale (lol) approval date for an extra month from today and this pushes out the closing date as well.  Of course if we are indeed close to an answer this could be just an exercise in paperwork. But better safe than sorry!

 My goal in this whole thing is to try and close the house while Star Wars Weekends are happening at Disney Hollywood Studios.  The last Star Wars Weekend is featuring bounty hunters and I think my 5 year old would be thrilled to see Jango, Boba, Zam, and Greedo, just to name a few.  I guess that getting the house would be good as well but for the kids this would be a highlight. But in the event that we go down before or after the 4 weekends of intergalactic fun they'll be none the wiser, I've managed to keep that fact under my hat!

Have a great weekend!  If you would like more information on any up coming events at Disney, Universal or Legoland, check out some of the links listed below!

No News is Good News...Right?

Well, we're still waiting. We are waiting for the BPO (Brokers price opinion) and then (I'm told) things will move faster.   Tick, tick, tick, I can't help but be impatient.  All the preparation I've been doing needs to be executed! It's not even just getting the house, I'm just ready to go somewhere warm. The crazy weather we've had in southern Ontario is driving me a bit nuts.

One of the non-house related things I accomplished was getting some Disney trading pins for the kids. EBay is a great place to get pins at an amazing price. This time around I got 25 pins and even with shipping they were less than a dollar each! It doesn't matter to the kids if they are brand new, especially since the trade them anyway! 

The other great thing I've had this week to keep me busy is talking to a couple of friends who are heading to Disney with their families.  As a self confessed Mickey lover, I love talking about Disney and what to do when you're there. (The whole family also loves Harry Potter and we are eagerly awaiting the new additions that are coming soon!) I hope that once we have the house and are able to welcome people, that we can help them with their vacation planning! 

Until the next update...

First Update!

Today we received our first update! As exciting as it sounds, an update is all it was.  All the information has been sent to the sellers lender and now they have to review them and the house has to be appraised. Then what they determine the house to be worth will be compared to the offer we submitted.

It appears that my wishful thinking that the house would close sooner than the 4 month time frame we have in place, is just that, wishful thinking.  As the time passes I will continue to revise my "things to do" list, and our "what to do" list.  I don't think that we'll be in Florida for Epcot's flower & garden festival, so now I'm aiming for Star Wars weekends(Starting May 18th), at Disney Hollywood Studios. There are many changes coming to the Magic Kingdom, some of which will be unveiled this spring. For anyone who's suffered the line up to ride Dumbo before you'll be happy to know that there will soon be 2 Dumbo rides and hopefully shorter lines.  The area where the new Dumbos will be is going to be called Story Book Circus and Goofy will be returning as the Great Goofini, at his newly refurbished roller coaster.  The big Fantasyland expansion is expected to be completed in stages with everything  finished by sometime in 2013 (I think, don't quote me).

Lots of changes at Disney and Universal Studios Orlando this year.( I've heard rumours that a more interactive Hogwarts Express experience might be coming soon!). I am hopeful that there will be lots of changes for us in the coming months as well!  And now that a month has almost passed, the updates should be more frequent and informative.

Thanks for visitng Mickey's Garden Villa and we value any feedback that you have for us! We look forward to your visits here on our blog and hopefully at our vacation home in the near future!

What to do next? Well, first the sale of the house has to be approved, but we need to be prepared because when it does happen we'll be ready to jump into action.

There are so many things that we need to put in place before we hope to welcome people to our vacation home. We have been researching management companies trying to find the best company to take care of our guests.  With that project almost finished we've turned our attention to details that are a little more...fun.

We have been looking for some good travel books to have available for everyone to use at the villa.  I'm a particular fan of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World".  Our first 2012 acquisition is Frommers Florida.  It's a good overall look at what to do and where to stay in Florida.

Does anybody have a favorite guide book?  Would you rather have access to information about Florida or theme park specific guides?

A New Beginning...

Welcome to Mickey's Garden Villa! 

My family and I are embarking on a new adventure.  We are in the process of purchasing a vacation home in sunny Florida.  I am a lover of all things Disney, specifically Mickey so our purchase will be within 3 miles of Disney. Fingers crossed, everything will go as planned. We are waiting on a short sale, that said we are at the mercy of the bank. 

As you can see, our new home will be called Mickey's Garden Villa! Renovations and updates will be in order once we have the home in our possession. Once we are done we hope it will be a place where memories are made for our family and yours.

Keep checking back and I'll keep everyone updated on our progress!