Anna Skamarakas

 So the family is embarking on a fall getaway on the Disney Wonder!  This trip will be Jim and I; all three girls; my stepmom Ann; and two nephews, Danny and Christian.  We have gone back and forth on how to make this trip possible, and decided a weekend where the kids would miss the least amount of school worked just perfectly.  My girls have Thursday off, the nephews have Monday off, so the most school anyone is missing is two days.  Jim is flying down to Orlando on Wednesday night, and he and Brighid are meeting the rest of us at the airport on Thursday morning, where we will caravan in a rental car and Brighid’s car with a mountain of luggage to Port Canaveral. 

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After a short flight from oh so cold Philly to perfectly comfortable Orlando, I wait in my seat on the plane for all of the passengers traveling with children under 5, those needing special assistance, anyone who is related by blood or marriage to a US Airways flight attendant, people under 5′4, men named Xavier, and women who own or would like to own a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes to gather their carry on bags and get the heck off of the plane, and then it’s my turn!  I head off to the train that takes me to baggage claim, where I expect to meet someone who will drive me to the hotel.  I know there are a couple of other moms coming in at the same time, so I figure we’ll all be riding a short bus (no offense, ladies, I mean the short DVC type buses) to Coronado Springs Resort.  I head down the escalator and find Tom, the driver, holding my name in his hand.  I walk over and introduce myself, and he immediately congratulates me for making it on the panel, and he walks over to where my luggage will eventually come down.

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One of our favorite Walt Disney World restaurants has always been the Liberty Tree Tavern.  LTT is an all you can eat, family style dinner that features several of the popular Disney characters dressed in colonial garb.  The meal here is all traditional American fare, hearty and homestyle.  This does not necessarily bode well for those of us who have had Gastric Bypass Surgery.

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First, before this blog goes anywhere, I went to post a HUGE THANK YOU to my father-in-law’s friend Richard.  We can’t tell him how grateful we are to him for gaining our admission to EPCOT.  We all had a great time, got a big dose of the Christmas spirit, and truly appreciate you going out of your way for us.  Thank you so much!

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Tonight is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so we’re going to try to take the morning easy.  We get up when we’re ready - which for me means by 6:30, and the rest of the crew by about 8:30.  I offer the kids breakfast now, pool later or reverse, and of course, they are kids.  They want to go to the pool NOW.  The AKL pool is so nice.  It’s a zero entry pool, which means you don’t climb down steps, you go in like you do at the beach, and the water gradually gets deeper.  It’s also HEATED - YAY!!!  The air temperature is still a bit cool - low 70’s - but the water feels pretty good and the kids go right in.  The water slide is closed, since there are no life guards on duty yet, but I don’t think the kids would use the slide anyway.  We hang out at the pool about an hour and a half, and the girls have worked up an appetite for some breakfast.  We head on up to the room, and I throw breakfast together while Jim puts the kids in the shower, then while they eat, I hop in the shower.  We are going to head to Downtown Disney to get Granuaile’s silhouette done.  I have one of each of the other girls at age 2, so it’s her turn.

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You know when you plan the perfect vacation, and everything is falling into place, and you can’t wait to get started, watching the kids enjoy themselves and then you start to relax and enjoy yourself?  Yeah.  Ain’t happenin’.  This is a Skamarakas family trip - did you expect the Brady Bunch?

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I am up way too early.  My internal alarm clock seems permanently set on 6 something in the morning, and I don’t know how to break the habit!  I may have to find out during Christmas break!

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If you are spending any part of your holiday season in Disney World, this is a not to be missed event that will have you wishing you could come back to Disney every year at Christmas time.  This is a very popular, celebrity hosted event, and there are two ways to get in to see it.  Anyone who purchases a ticket (any ticket - annual pass, seasonal pass, park hopper, single day ticket) into EPCOT center, can go to see one of the three nightly performances that takes place from the day after Thanksgiving up until the day before New Year’s Eve.  There is no extra charge to go and see this spectacular holiday event.  HOWEVER…

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Anna is an expert on what goes on at Disney - she is the Anna in DIsney Anna. And as a mom of a champion irish dancer, she was answering and participating in many discussions around DIsney and Irish Dancing

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