Disney Ticket Options

    Now that I have talked to you guys a little about Disney lodging and told you my favorite place to stay, I think it is time to cover tickets!

It’s no secret that Disney is expensive. It really truly is, there is no sugar coating it. 

**Not Updated Prices**

Photo Credit: http://www.vitamin-ha.com/funny-disney-19-pics/funny-disney-14/

But Disney has created these wonderful Magic Your Way tickets that allow families to create the tickets that work best for their family.

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregula/155638738/">Gregula</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

The Magic Your Way tickets come in a few different options.

The first is the one park per day ticket. Theses tickets only allow you to enter one park a day. If you have never been to Disney World I really suggest doing one park a day. There are so many things in each park, it could be over whelming to first time visitors to try and park hop.  You don’t want to miss something because you were trying to do more than one park a day. 

The second option is the park hopper ticket. This ticket is for you seasoned Disney vets, like me. This allows you to jump from park to park throughout your day. I’m not a huge fan of park hopping, just because I want to see every little thing in each park. However, when I was a senior in high school we went to Disney World for the annual Grad Night. We were only there for three days so my friends and I went into Disney marathon mode and did all of our favorites in all four parks in ONE day. We were so beat at the end of day! That was definitely one of my most memorable trips to Disney World.

Grad Night in Disney's Hollywood Studios 2009 (EEKK I'm old!)

You can also add the water park and more option to both of these ticket options!

photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrsmith/12312695224/">Scott Smith (SRisonS)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a 

The Magic Your Way tickets are designed where the more days you visit the parks the more you save on tickets. You can find the complete updated list of prices here.

Now for my military families Disney loves our service members and has a very special promotion that is only available to active duty, Guard and Reserve, retired, and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Photo Credit http://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-armed-forces-salute/disneys-armed-forces-salute-has-been-renewed-for-2013-2014/

It’s called Salute to the Military and it yearly promotion that makes visiting the Disney Parks affordable for military members and their families.

Just like the Magic Your Way tickets, the Salute to the Military tickets come with a few different options so that you can chose which ticket package works best for your family.

The first option in the Salute to the Military tickets is the 4 day Park Hopper tickets. These tickets are 177.00 each. That’s a 182 dollar difference from the Magic Your Way tickets! HUGE  SAVINGS. This ticket allows for four days in the Walt Disney World theme parks. That’s one day for each park! But it has the park hopper option in case you want to jump from one park to another.

photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrsmith/5166537453/">Scott Smith (SRisonS)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

The second option is the 4 day Base ticket plus Fun and more. This cost 177.00 just like the 4 day park hopper, but includes a lot of extras. With this ticket you get 4 visits to one Disney theme park per day, plus an additional 4 visits to the Disney World extras, which include the water parks, Disney Quest, Golf, Mini Golf, and the ESPN World of Sports Complex.

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The third option is the 4 day Park Hopper ticket plus Fun and more. With these tickets you get everything that was mentioned in the 4 day Base Ticket plus Fun and more, but have the added park hopper. These tickets are 207.00.

photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrsmith/3457856300/">Scott Smith (SRisonS)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

When my husband and I went to Walt Disney in February 2014 we had the Salute to the Military tickets and we chose the 4 day Park Hopper tickets plus Fun and more. We got more than our money’s worth with these tickets. We spent four amazing days in the theme parks, visited Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney Quest twice.

photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrsmith/3457856300/">Scott Smith (SRisonS)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

Now, the Salute to the Military tickets do come with a few restrictions. They have a few blackout dates which are: December 22, 2014 - January 2, 2015 & March 29, 2015 - April 9, 2015. These are two of the busiest times at Disney so it’s good to avoid them anyway.

Also you can only purchase these tickets on your base at the Information and Travel Center or at Shades of Green.  When you purchase them you will be given little vouchers and not actual tickets. You just take the little green vouchers to any Disney Guest Service Center and they will trade them in and set up your park tickets.  My husband and I just headed to Downtown Disney for dinner the night we arrived and got them activated before dinner so we wouldn't have to visit the ticket center at the park the next day.

These tickets are also only available during certain dates.  They can be purchased until September 30, 2015. They expire on October 3, 2015. This is a yearly promotion so there is no guarantee that it will return the following year. As far as I know it has been renewed every year since 2009, so just keep your figures crossed that it keeps returning.

To use these tickets not everyone has to be military, but the military member must be present when they are activated for the first time to present his or her military I.D. Military member are allowed to buy up to 6 of the Salute to the Military members. Spouses may also purchase up to 6 tickets each year.

If you wish to visit the parks for more than 4 days or if some reason you are not able to purchase the Salute to the Military tickets, Disney also offers a Military discount on the Magic Your Way Tickets.

To learn more about the Salute to the Military tickets call your base ITT or visit the Shades of Green website here.

photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tombricker/5645645619/">Tom.Bricker</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

Happy Travels,

Jessie

Dean's List VoxBox

A few weeks ago I received my second VoxBox from the wonderful site Influenster. If you don’t know about Influenster you can check out the site and my profile by clicking on the Influenster badge on the right side bar under my Pinterest widget.

I received everything in this VoxBox for free and for testing purposes.

Most of the products that I received I haven't even heard of so I was excited to try everything out! 

The first product I tested out was the Air Heads bites. Air Heads was one of my favorite candies as a kid so I was very excited to find out that they now come in little bite size pieces! The Air Heads bites were really yummy and each flavor reminded me of the original Air Heads and my childhood. 

The next product I couldn't wait to try out was the SinfulColors No Text Red nail polish. SinfulColors released this product to help raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving. I am a big supporter of not texting and driving, so I was extremely happy to see a popular company using their products to raise awareness. The No Text Red nail polish came with an instruction card that explained the name and what to do with the nail color. SinfulColors wants you to paint your thumbnails with the No Text Red color as a reminder not to text while driving. So if you have painted your thumb nails and you pick up your phone while driving the red nail color will serve as a reminder to put your phone down. Besides being used as a safety movement the color No Text Red is beautiful and a perfect fall color. This was the first time that I have tried any type of SinfulColors nail polish and I was really impressed by the quality of the nail polish. 

The next beauty product I received was the Ready, Set Gorgeous Foundation by COVERGIRL. I'm not a huge fan of drug store brand foundations, but I will try anything once! I was actually surprised at how much I liked this foundation. It went on well and was easy to blend. I found it to be very light weight and it lasted pretty much all day. I also have extremely sensitive skin and this foundation didn't irritate my skin at all. I think this foundation would be great for anyone who is looking for light/medium coverage for a bargain price. 

This VoxBox was was packed with beauty products. I was also sent the Softlips Cube. I actually got this product in my very first VoxBox. I really love this product, it gives my lips amazing moister and shine. You can check out my first review of the cube here.

I also received Looks So Natural false eyelashes from Kiss. But unfortunately due to my extremely sensitive skin I had a bad reaction to the glue. Just because they didn't work for me doesn't mean it's not a great product I read a lot of positive reviews and everyone seems to love them. To check out the reviews just click here. 

Up next in my Dean's List VoxBox are two pens from Pilot. This box was designed for college students like me and this was by far one of my favorite items I received. I have always found that my hand writing is 100% better in ink, I have no idea why but I have been taking notes in pen since high school. It just feels wrong to pick up a pencil to write notes down. One thing that I hate when taking notes with ink if I make a small mistake I can't fix it and it throws off the flow and look of my notes. The FriXion erasable pens have changed the way I take notes! Now if I make a tiny mistake or a big one I can erase it and move on without giving up my love of writing with pens. I love these pens and I will be buying a bigger pack with more colors, because colorful notes are the best notes! 

Excuse my horrible doodles please :)

The very last item I received in my VoxBox was another repeat from my SpringFling VoxBox which was The Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons. To read my review on them please click here! 

Thank you so much to Influenster for sending me these products free for me to test! 

Stay tuned for my review of the Moda VoxBox soon!

Stay Beautiful,

Jess 

Where to Stay in Disney/Shades of Green

The biggest and most important part to planning your Disney vacation is deciding where to stay!

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There are a ton of options for lodging in and around Disney. I personally recommend staying on property. When you stay on property you never have to drive or pay for parking! Every Disney resort has transportation to the theme parks, Downtown Disney area, and the water parks. Disney resorts also offer the Magical Express, which is a shuttle from the Orlando International Airport to all of the Disney Resorts.

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There are also many options off property, but if you want to stay off property, do your research to see which off property hotels offer shuttles to the parks.

My vote is always for on property and Disney has done an amazing job of making sure there is a resort that works for every family’s budget.

Staying on property for me means staying in the magic that is Disney. Seriously everything on property is amazingly decorated, even the street signs. When you are on Disney property it feels like you are in a whole other world and that feeling for me just can’t be beat.

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/randar/477724827/">Tom Simpson</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

So let’s break down resort options! In the Walt Disney World Resort, you will find three different types of resorts:

Value Resorts- Start at 85 a night.

Moderate Resorts- Start at 162 a night

Deluxe Resorts- Start at 284 a night.

Prices for the Disney resorts change with the season. They are typically cheaper in the off season. They also offer discounts for military members, Florida residents, and AARP members. 

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/2708745974/">Express Monorail</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

To check out each Disney Resort and their specials please click here!

Now let’s focus on our military families!

There is an amazing military resort on Disney property, which until a few years ago I had no idea even existed. It is called Shades of Green and its located extremely close to the Magic Kingdom. It’s actually on the same street as Disney’s Polynesian Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian!

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/familymwr/4910921702/">familymwr</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

Besides the fact that it is on Disney property, there are a ton of other great things about this resort that make it a great option for military families who are visiting Walt Disney World.

First off, Shades of Green is comparable to the Disney Deluxe Resorts! How is that so, you may be wondering. Well because it used to be a Disney Deluxe Resort. In the early 90s the building that is now Shades of Green, was the Disney Golf Resort, which seems appropriate because it sits on one of the two golf courses in the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney sold the property to a military organization in 1994.

Although Shades of Green is comparable to the Disney Deluxe Resorts, the prices are not. The room rates at Shades of Green are based on rank, so that they are affordable for all income levels. You can find the complete list of rates and ranks here!

Shades of Green is also beautiful, look at that water fall:

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There are a few things that are important to know before you decide if Shades of Green is right for your military family.

Shades of Green is not owned by Walt Disney World, therefore, guests of Shades of Green are not eligible for the Disney Dinning Plan, Magic Bands, or the Magical Express.

They have their own buses that travel to the parks, but they are not the same as the Disney transportation; however, they are free to use and go to all four parks, the water parks, and Downtown Disney. They run every 30 minutes; you are given a bus schedule upon your arrival.

Even though Shades of Green is not considered a Walt Disney World Resort, guests are still able to attend the Extra Magic Hours in the parks; you just have to show your room key when entering the park.

My husband and I have stayed at Shades of Green twice and are heading there again at the end of November.

This adorable patriotic Mickey lives in the lobby of Shades of Green. He's a very popular photo spot! 

Each time we have stayed we have had a wonderful experience. Most of the staff are former military and they are extremely polite. They really go out of their way to make sure your stay is magical.

To learn more about Shades of Green and their vacation specials,check out their website: shadesofgreen.org.

Happy Planning,

Jess

Disney Series Introduction

Okay so if you haven’t figured it out yet I LOVE Disney!! And my favorite of all Disney themed things is Walt Disney World!

The Walt Disney World Resort is truly the happiest place on earth. At least it is to me and trust me I would always rather be at Disney!

Sometimes it shocks me when I hear that people have never been to the happiest place on earth! How can they truly be living without experiencing the magic that only Walt Disney can create? 

So since I love Walt Disney so much I thought I would start a series on the blog dedicated to the happiest place on earth.

Here are some of the things you can look forward to in the series:

Tips & Tricks on planning

First time Visits

Military Discounts and Promotions

Park Information

Ride Must Do’s

Dos and Don’ts of Planning.

And so much more!

*I am not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company in any way*

**I am not a professional travel agent** 

MIA Update

Hello Loves,

I’m sorry that I have been MIA on my blog for quite some time! I have had a crazy month! So I thought I would do a quick post let you guys know that I have not gone completely off the grid. First off I turned 23! Woohoo! Two more years until cheaper car insurance.

One of my presents from my amazing husband!

Monogrammed baseball hat from my grandma! 

  

I had a fabulous birthday; I got the chance to spend it with three of my very best friends, my mom, and two of her friends. I started my day with my favorite outdoor activity, paddle boarding and we ended the night at my absolute favorite restaurant here on the gulf coast, McGuire’s Irish Pub. Seriously if you are ever in Destin or Pensacola, you have to eat at McGuire’s, not only is their food amazing, they also have the best drinks ever. I seriously recommend the Irish Wake and Emory Chenoweth, they are both so yummy!   

I spent the rest of my week shopping and being a beach bum with my mom, who is my ultimate best friend. She helped me finish decorating my house since I have no sense of interior design and she does!

One of our many shopping hauls! 

 

                                      

Since my birthday I have been crazy busy with school and preparing for my husband to come back from his deployment. We are in the home stretch now and I could not be more excited to be reunited with him.

I’m going to try and be more active on my blog and Facebook page, so just hang tight. I am still getting used to this. I have some great things planned; I just have to write them up!

xoxo,

Jess

Liebster Award 2014

Thanks to my best friend/un-biological twin and fellow blogger Briana, I have been nominated for the Liebster Award. I am still a little inkling of blog and still trying to figure out the blogging world, so I was excited when she nominated me.

This award is for beginning bloggers (under 200 followers). It is a great way to discover new blogs!

Here are the rules:

1. If you have been nominated, you must write 11 facts about yourself
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator has given you and write 11 questions for your nominees
3. Nominate and tag 5-11 other blogger who have less than 200 followers
4. Let the blogger you nominated know they got the award.
5. No tagging your nominator.

So let’s jump right in, shall we?

My 11 Facts:

1. I have an unhealthy addiction to Disney and mostly Walt Disney World. If my husband would let me, every trip we ever took would be to Disney World. And I promise I would not ever get bored of going. NOT EVER!
2. I’m so far behind in my degree because when I started college I was a nursing major but after 3 years in I decided that it was not what I want to do. I am now an Elementary Education major and I could not have been happier with my decision to switch majors, even if it set me back over a year.
3. I love books. Not just reading, but books in general. There is just something that makes me happy when I see a bookcase full of books. And even though I have a Kindle that I love, I still buy books.
4. I have been obsessed with owls since I was a little kid. My favorite children’s book was Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman. Which is about an owl and you guessed it, a firefly. I think this started my obsession with them. My mom would take me out late at night to hear the owls and we would shine a flashlight to see the glow of their eyes in the trees. And now my house in covered in owl related things.
5. My favorite author of all time is Sarah Dessen. The first book I read of hers was This Lullaby and I just fell in love with her stories and writing style. I now own every book she has ever published.
6. I love the beach! I grew up near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and spent my summers baking in the sun and playing in the waves. Now I live on the Gulf Cost and I love the beach here even more. There is just something about the salty water that melts all your problems away.
7. I have always wanted to be a writer. I once wrote 50 pages of a book when I was in high school; it was about my group of friends in 9^th grade.  Maybe one day I will finish it!
8. I love to cook and I am slowly learning how to make more than just the basics!
9. I love to paint, even though I am not that good at it. I am probably my own worst critic but I think I am horrible at it, but I still do it. Practice makes perfect right?
10. I have broken a lot of bones. Both legs (not at the same time), my arm, wrist, my elbow, along with multiple fingers.  And some of those have been broken multiple times. I’m pretty much the definition for clumsiness.
11. I am married to my very best friend. Seriously we were the best of friends for six years before he made a move. So our friendship makes our relationship so much better and we didn't have to go through a let’s get to know each other phase when we started dating.

Questions from Briana:

What is your favorite color to wear?
Anything brightly colored. I am currently obsessing over a neon pink top I got from Target!

What do you consider to be your spirit animal?
A sloth because I love being lazy and taking naps whenever possible!

If you had to create a Chopped basket, what 5 ingredients would you choose?
Okay so I had to Google this because I had no idea what a Chopped basket was. But after reading about the show, I want to watch it. So now that I know what a Chopped basket is I would put in 5 of my favorite foods: blue cheese, olives, banana peppers, chicken, & spinach.

What would your dream house look like?
Like this:


Describe your personal style in 3 words.
Comfy, Laid Back, & Colorful

What things do you doodle subconsciously on a paper?
Hearts, Anchors, Sunshines, & Flowers

What is your favorite thing about summer?
The beach! I love living on the beach and it is my favorite place to be. The salt water, the sand, & the sun just make me feel so peaceful and it wouldn't be summer without the beach.

Have you ever been to Disney World?
YES! I have been a total of 12 times and I am in process of planning my 13th trip during the Christmas season. I am actually planning to do a series soon on my blog about Walt Disney World planning tips and tricks with specials on all the great things they offer for military families

What made you want to start blogging?
Well I got into because of my amazing friend Briana, which is also who nominated me! She knew I needed an outlet and something to do with all of my time while my husband deploys. So after many talks with her about blogging, I finally started one. It has really been fun these past few months and I am still learning so much. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me and my blog.

What is your go to, can't live without hair product?
Chi Keratin Mist! It is the best and it protects your hair from heat and it smells amazing!

My nominees are:

1. The Carolina Country Girl

2. Makeshift Margaritas

3. Real Housewife of Greenville

4. Krazy About Teaching

5. My Carolina Classroom

My questions for my nominees:

1. What are a few of your favorite books of all time?

2. Dogs or Cats?

3. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year where would it be and why?

4. What do you feel is the most important thing you have learned about blogging?

5. What is your favorite Disney movie?

6. What was your favorite subject in school?

7. What is your motto or favorite motto, for living a happy life?

8. Would you rather be at Disney right now?

9. What is your favorite southern comfort food?

10. What is one beauty product you could not live without?

11. What is the best thing about being southern?

Books, Books, Books

So I recently finished a few books and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write a review for them individually. So I decided to smash them all together in one post. I promise in the future I will dedicate one post to each book but for now, I’ll be reviewing three books at once.

As a preteen, my favorite book series was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. So when I came across the first book in her series written for adults Size 12 Is Not Fat on Bookbub for free a few months ago, I knew I wanted to read it.

This is a murder mystery but also filled with comedy. I felt that the story plot was great; however the character backstories were a bit farfetched.  Heather Wells is an ex-pop star, who after her mother ran away with her money, took a job at as a college RA in New York. When a young student’s body is found at the bottom of the elevator shaft, Heather feels that is it more than just suicide as the cops rule it. Heather goes on the hunt for the real killer and finds herself in a lot of sticky situations. Overall I really liked this book, it was a light read, with a great ending; who the real killer is a major plot twist.

Next up is the Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This book was beautiful, the story, the characters, everything. Most of the population has read this book but if you haven’t, read it. The Fault in Our Stars is about the love between two teens, one of which is dying of cancer. The love between Hazel and Augustus is real love; you can just feel it jumps off the page. I don’t want to say too much about this book because it’s hard to write a synopsis without giving too much away. This book is amazing trust me; I was in tears almost the entire book.

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder  

This is the story of Campbell, a young girl who is fighting a rare cancer. In a desperate attempt to save her daughter, Campbell’s mother packs up their family to find a mysterious town in Maine that is not on the maps. Going off the tips of a member of her yoga class, this mysterious town has magical powers and any sick person who finds the town is healed. Magical things do take place in this town, purple daisies grow, a flock of flamingos show up, right after Campbell’s arrival, and Campbell starts to feel the best she has ever felt. When a list appears with everything she wanted to do before she died shows up, she knows she has to complete it. This book is a beautiful tale, of love, magic, and loss.

Deployments Suck

Being a military spouse means you will be faced with many difficult situations and one of the hardest and most difficult is deployments. My husband just left for his second deployment in less than a year. We have been lucky with the time limits though his first to Afghanistan was almost five months and this one is just four short months. However four months is still a long time to be away from your spouse, let’s face it being away from them for more than a few weeks is way too long, at least it is for me.

Since Allen and I have been married I have gotten a lot of mixed opinions from friends, family, and even strangers about how I should handle a deployment.  I’ve heard things like “I just don’t know how you do it” to “You knew this would happen, it’s what you signed up for.” That last one really burns me up! And I could go on a million page rant about everything that is wrong with that statement, but I will refrain, because that is not what this post is about.

This post is about coping and keeping yourself busy during your spouse’s deployment. So here are three of the most important things to do to stay sane while your spouse is away:

1. Keep Busy: Since my husband has been gone I have been trying to keep busy all day long! I go the gym, come home walk my dog, do homework, study, walk the dog again, cook, read, watch a little T.V., read again, bed. I am a stay at home wife for the time being so I have to fill my day with tons of stuff to make the time go by. The first few days after he left I was a mess and stayed in bed and watched Netflix and Hulu until my brain was mush, then I got up and got over it. Being sad and wanting to do nothing is normal when you are missing your spouse and a few days of wallowing is acceptable but no more than a few days; you don’t want to get bed sores.
   
2. Get a Hobby: During Allen’s first deployment I found so much comfort in painting. I would paint for hours and hours. So find something that you enjoy doing or try something you have always wanted to try. I promise it will help keep your mind off of the distance and make the time go by so much faster. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to projects to do while Allen is gone, check it out: Follow Jessica Maynor's board Let's get Creative! on Pinterest.  
3.  Have Good Support: Keep in contact with family and friends! Also if any others are deployed in your unit, get in contact with their spouses. Trust me having someone who is going through what you are is a big help. During Allen’s first deployment there were a small group of other wives whose husbands deployed with Allen so we had weekly girls’ days and checked up on each other it was BIG help. This time Allen went alone but since I got so close with the girls during the last deployment and they understand all the feels that go along with deployments I have them to lean on this time. Big shout out to my friend Monica she has been my rock since I met her, I would be lost without her support during these deployments!
   
   
   

Excuse my puffy face, this was taken the day Allen left for Afgahanstan. 

On my birthday of all days, but Monica made sure I still has a awesome day!

If you are going through a deployment right now just stay positive, it is only temporary. The good-byes are always sad, but the reunions are amazing.

Stay Strong,

Jess