Tag Archives: mummy bloggers dubai

Disney World | Orlando, Florida | Tips and Hints on the best way to tackle one of the largest theme parks in the world

The Magic of Disney | Planning Disney this year?

Disney is probably on every parent’s agenda at some point in the first 18 years of their children’s life. Usually, between 3 – 15 years old would be the peak period when every family undertakes a trip, and at every stage of the children’s life the family will enjoy Disney in a completely different way.

Ever since I was little I had a thing for rollercoasters, the faster the better.  I had only been to Disneyland LA once when I was 10 years old, and that trip has been ingrained into childhood memory forever as one of the best holidays. It was my first time on Space Mountain –  back then it was so innovative to have a rollercoaster experience in the dark. So when I was invited by the Disney Team back in January to explore Disney World in Florida, I didn’t know how I would feel as an adult – I thought it might be best for children and probably be an anti-climax as an adult.  I was totally wrong.  For those of you who don’t have children yet, do go now!

For those who have been to Disney will understand how difficult it is to capture the essence of Disney in words.  Most of us won’t remember the details but we remember the emotional aspect of the experience. Disney’s goal has always been to be the best storytellers in the world.  I can see how and why they remain at the top of their game as Disney Imagineers for generations have brain-stormed to bring every story to life through touch, sound and visual effects resulting in emotionally connecting with park visitors. There is an element of ‘magic’ in it.  By walking through the park, you will see rides and go through experiences, and still many years after the death of Walt Disney his parks still remain at the frontier of new experiences.  The latest one being Pandora: The Land of the Avatars. Their new simulation ride, Avatar: The Flight of Passage, is a must, and I cannot describe the sensation of flying a banshee.  Before  the ride, I was warned people cried after as it was such an emotional experience.  I witnessed one or two guests in tears.  Needless to say, I returned and used my very last Fast Pass + token to ride Flight of Passage again.

Disney World | Orlando

Disney World is made up 4 parks; Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, and two water parks.  There are also  over 20 hotels & resorts to choose from.  By 2020, Disney World, to celebrate its 50th birthday would have expanded with even more attractions and hotels for guests to choose from including Toy Story Land and a Star Wars Hotel.

Children & Organisation

One thing I took away from my week at Disney and from experiencing all four parks is that there will be a great deal of logistics involved when booking your holiday. I am a mother who would prefer to ‘wing it’ normally on arrival and to be spontaneous BUT travelling to Disney with young children will take some thought, planning and consideration as hotel accommodations and restaurants are booked months in advance.  With the huge volumes of guests visiting Disney each year everything is booked in advance with restaurant bookings requiring 3-months booking prior to your trip especially for Disney signature restaurants. For mums and dads planning a trip, I would recommend doing some research online and to consult travel agents on how to tackle the parks.  Ideally, if possible, I would also recommend staying at a Disney hotel to enjoy the benefits of Disney properties especially the the Disney Hour.

Here is a schedule to start organising your trip.

#6months – 1 year in advance

Start looking at the seasons and when you might like to go.  Think about the 27 resorts you might like to stay at.

#6 months in advance

Book your rooms as soon as possible especially for resorts like the Grand Floridian and Four Seasons to guarantee adjoining rooms, concierge state rooms  or the villas.

Book your 16- hour flights via Emirates Airlines through Emirates Holidays to guarantee the right days as there is currently only one flight per day, and to ensure Economy or Business Class seats.

Book your VIPGuides.  See more below.

#3 months in advance

Organise your restaurant reservations at the top and most sought after Disney restaurants. The top restaurants include:

Tiffins Restaurant in the Animal Kingdom, Be our Guests as you dine at the Beast’s Castle, California Grill at the Disney Contemporary Resort, The Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios, and my favourite 1900 Park Fair at the Grand Floridian where you have breakfast with your Disney’s favourite characters.

#30- 60 days in advance

Organise your My Disney FastPass +.  Hollywood Studios has a high demand for FastPass so organise which rides you might like there in advance.   There are higher chances of getting Magic Kingdom passes on the day when you have used up all your fast passes.

#1 month in advance

Book also your Magical Express transportation.

#1 week in advance

It’s time to get excited and to get packing.  Pack comfortable shoes (I cannot stress this enough as you will be walking a lot), sunscreen, hats, swimsuits, goggles, comfortable clothes, and for my family there will also be some healthy organic snacks.  There is a dress code in Disney’s signature restaurants (no shorts, flip flops) so do pack shirts /polo t-shirts for boys and a casual summer dress for the girls.

Top 10 rides for children 8 years and over

Top 10 rides for children 7 years and under

Consider VIP Guides

We hope to take our 4 children to various Disneys around the world at least 3 or 4 times during their childhood.  As time is precious in Disney, we will recommend booking at least for half a day a VIP Guide.  You can think of them as Disney gurus or high ranking Disney conceierges who make the time spent at the parks extremely efficient including transportation. They are a little pricey but totally worth the investment.  They will cost approximately USD1,500 for 7 hours for up to 10 adults and children including infants.  The guide will be able to plan your wish list allowing to skip queues, book restaurants in advance of your arrival (again, do give the guides as many weeks notice as possible as everything is fully booked months ahead).

Book 6 months in advance as there are only 30 full-time guides so they do get booked up much in advance.  They are all very professional with decades of experience working in the park.

Accommodation

If you are coming from the Middle East, the most popular hotels chosen by Middle Eastern guests would include the following

#1. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Deluxe & Deluxe Villa Resort)

Disney’s Grand Floridian resembles colonial hotels such as the Raffles Hotel in Singapore with its impressive white buildings and red roof tops nestled next to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The property design is inspired by the Victorian era, and the property is furnished with genuine antiques and artefacts collected from around the world. The property has 867 rooms but it doesn’t feel so vast as the rooms are located between 6 separate buildings, with two shared outdoor pools.  The hotel has baby sitting and childcare options available upon request.  The most popular rooms would be their private villas and adjoining rooms, and it is important to book this 6-months in advance of your stay. It has 7 restaurants of which 1900 Park Fair is one of their signature restaurant and families can have breakfast with Disney characters, but like everything at Disney it is worth booking this 3-months in advance of your stay.

#2. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House ( Deluxe & Deluxe Villa Resort

We stayed at the property, and it was pretty magical to wake up in the morning to see a family of giraffes walking past your window.  There are over 30 species of African wildlife and you can spot zebras, gazelles and flamingoes amongst them.  Do ask for for view of the safari park as it is not always guaranteed.  There is also the Simba Kids Clubhouse for children aged 3 – 12 years.

#3. Disney’s Contemporary Resort Review (Deluxe Resort)

This hotels is at it sounds – a modern take on a Disney resort.  It is a contemporary building giving guests a different feel to more traditional Disney hotels.  It one of the few resorts that has direct access to the Magic Kingdom via the monorail making accessibility very easy.  The resort has two pools and one has a 17-foot slide.  Don’t forget to book in advance the California Grill, a Disney signature restaurant at the top of the hotel with beautiful views of Magic Kingdom.

#4. Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort.

It is the only hotel in Central Florida to receive the coveted AAA Five Diamond Award.  There is a complimentary kids club, and have an adult pool, family pool, splash zone, lazy river and a water slide. Kids under 5 will eat for free.

Tips for families with children 7 years and under

#Don’t stress and don’t cram. Disney is not a cheap experience and understandably many families try to ensure they schedule as much in as they can.  However, be mindful of the fact that if you are travelling with young children, you won’t be able to cover much of the park as it spans 40 square miles. Be realistic with the number of rides you wish to cover in a day, and have plenty of breaks for snacks and let the children experience other activities like Cinderella’s Castle and make sure each day is a Happily Ever After for everyone.  The children won’t realise they missed a single ride.

#Bring a water bottle to fill up because purchasing bottled water at every kiosk will quickly start adding up.

#If you stay at a Disney resort, do make use of the Magic Hour which opens one-hour for Disney residents before the general public arrive.

#Do check if there are any closed attractions prior to your trip to avoid disappointment as there are always a few rides closed for refurbishment and safety checks.

#Ensure the children are well-fed before the firework displays in the various parks.  Disney’s Magic Kingdom Happily Ever After fireworks begins at 8.55pm and lasts for 18 minutes so it is worth getting there early to find a fabulous spot on the grounds near the Cinderella’s Castle.

#Do purchase a Disney Autograph book (one for the whole family), to collect Mickey’s and the whole cast’s autographs.  They will be available usually at the hotel gift shop.

#Download the Disney App which will tell you about the waiting times, shows and locations of various activities

#Do bring a stroller – the kids will be exhausted, and it will be tiring trying to carry them around when they want a quick snooze.

#It is also lovely to get out of the parks for one day by visiting Disney Springs, a lovely retail therapy day for the family.  Visit the Lego store, Sephora, Anthropologie and have lunch at Paddlefish.

#If you have time do consider a three-night cruise to the Bahamas on Disney Dream.  Click here to find out more.

Travel

Emirates Airlines flies once a day from Dubai to Orlando – 16 hours.

The team at Emirates Holidays will also be able to help you plan the trip as many of the team themselves have experienced Disney World. They can arrange hotels, flights and much more and be able to guide you on the best time of the year to visit.

www.emiratesholidays.com

To find out more about the Disney Cruise

To find out more visit www.disneyworld.go.com

Easter Holidays are upon us | How to enjoy the fabulous weather | Creating outdoor living with ACE

Creating an outdoor living space was our priority this winter/spring – we had put it off long enough. We wanted to take advantage of the great outdoor living weather by adding a comfortable furniture set that was durable with four children and a space to create memories for our family.  We also needed to look for something a bit more sophisticated for entertaining our friends too.  Now that my youngest is three, and gone are the nappy days, I am finding it much easier to entertain again and less concerned about accidents.

We will stay in Dubai during this Easter holidays, and there has to be something said about not packing 6 suitcases and rushing straight for the airport.  As much as we love travelling as a family, I also love staycations in our villa, and with such busy schedules we realise we spend little time in the house.  This holiday will be the perfect way to catch up with home friends and to spend quality time together as a family, and more important to enjoy the unstructured time for the next two weeks.

Staycations at home means a great deal of outdoor time as a family – BBQs and beach days. My husband’s ideal day would be to have his whole family outside in the garden for breakfast and dinner everyday but as the children have grown older their school commitments have increased too.  The holidays are just perfect for lounging in pyjamas having long leisurely breakfasts in the garden before jumping into the pool or sea.

We had outgrown our previous outdoor furniture and it was falling apart because of the harsh summers (it was a quick purchase from Dragon Mart several years back, I confess).  It was time to discard the old and bring in the new. True to my new shopping style I even now buy my garden furniture online. ACE recently launched its online site showcasing a full collection of BBQs, Sheds, outdoor garden furniture, laptops and Dyson products and much more so it was ideal for my husband and me to scroll through looking for furniture sets as the stores displays are much more limited.  We came across a neutral coloured Maui 7-seater Sofa Set with multicolour pillows from ACE online price fairly resonably and if you wait long enough they always have fabulous offers and deals to economise your finances even further. (who doesn’t like a good bargain?)

After the purchase online, ACE was quick to contact us with a delivery, and outdoor set was unpacked by the ACE team and set out.  Honestly, I don’t know why it took us so long to get it organised especially when ACE made it all painless.  To make the furniture design our own, we threw on some outdoor Pottery Barn palm cushions (Seashells On The Palm, of course!).  Then, we had tailors from Satwa make out fabulous fitted outdoor protective covers to increase the durability of the furniture.

I do encourage you to have a scroll on www.aceuae.com and get 10% off your first online order.  They also have 25% – 50% off End of Seasons collection until 15 April 2018.

Top 5 things to do to enjoy the fabulous weather this Easter

#1. Do an Easter Egg hunt in the garden

#2. Visit Park House on Ness Nass Beach

#3. Spend the day at Legoland Water Park to exhaust the children

#4.  Join Privilee and enjoy access to hotel beach clubs, restaurants and spas.  We often frequent, Fairmont the Palm, Waldorf Astoria and Sofitel, the Palm.

#5. Have dinner every evening outdoors with the family.  With recent increase of mosquitos, I also use DoTerra’s essential oil blend of Terra Shield to diffuse outdoors to protect the children.

Motherhood | I can’t do it on my own | How I rely on my faith

It has taken me a long time to figure out that I can’t do motherhood on my own.  There are many moments I catch myself doing it on my own strength and that’s when problems start.

I found God around 12 years ago.  It has been a relationship that has grown over time, and I am certainly still not where I want to be or I will probably never get to that point.

Raising 4 children and being a wife who works part-time makes it difficult of me to juggle everything.  I often feel I do a lot of jobs badly.  As the old adage say, jack of all trades but master of none.  It is easy to succumb to the stress of daily life.  All mums face it.  You can worry just about everything.  Am I giving my children enough time? Am I screwing them up?  Have I disciplined them? Do they hold the right values? Are they at the right school? Are their friends good influences? Do they have the right teacher? Do we have the finances to provide? And so the list goes on.

Without God, I would be in a constant state of panic.  I have to trust Him that he blessed me with these four children that he is at the steering wheel taking charge of their everyday and their future.  Whilst I do what I can, He is ultimately in control.  I seek my rest in Him.

God works best when we are at our weakest.  We are not, I am certainly not, a super woman.  I have seen God take many of my weaknesses and used His strength to achieve his will.  Over and over again He has also taken care of many impossible situations over the years.  All the while, I felt His peace.  A life with God does not mean that there will not be troubles ahead but when you walk closely with God, but it is amazing to see that you can face every situation with a strong sense of peace.

A well-known pastor in the UK, from Holy Trinity Brompton, Nicky Gumbel, shared something.  He said that he kept a pray journal.  Looking back at his prayer journals over the years, he has seen that God has answered all his prayers on God’s perfect timing.  Too many coincidences, you might say. or we can conclude that God exist and He does listen. I can also testify the same.

Matthew 19:26 says ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’

When I first started my walk with God, my mother, gave me Psalm 23 to say everyday.  Now every word rings true and it gives me comfort when facing life’s adversities.  I really recommended saying this every night with your children even.

Back in March, I felt totally overwhelmed and I let the huge waves of issues and challenges overcome me.  I was exhausted and broken.  I realised when it was already too late that I was trying to take charge of everything again, controlling everything in my life for fear of not doing enough and I felt I burnt out.  Then over the Easter holidays, I took some time to reflect on what I had done, and spent time with God and my children.

During the last few weeks, I felt God minister to me that I put myself, yet again, in the driver’s seat, trying to steer myself through the rough seas of motherhood and everything else.  I have taken my foot off the accelerator and I am now waiting on Him.

He told me and he sent a message via family and friends around me that my children are my ministry.  That’s the only job He has asked me to do.  Then, if that is the case,  then I must obey.

I realised that Jesus has ordered our steps.  First comes God, then our husbands and then our children.  I certainly find more peace when I stay true to these priorities. God has always said that He would never leave us nor forsake us.

I am blessed to have found a church that has helped my children develop their love and passion for God.  As a family we pray together and trust God to keep us close and to always have His hand upon us.

Don’t let fear ruin your precious moments with your children.  Let God take care of it all.

I would be the first to say that I am not the perfect Christian or the perfect mother.  I have faced many challenges but I am also on a journey of faith and hope that God will change me slowly everyday with his refining fire.

Billieblush Dubai | One of Sofia’s favourite clothing brand.

Billieblush Dubai | Summer is fast approaching and Sofia and I were lucky enough to be introduced to a lovely brand called Billieblush, and having had a look at it’s Spring Summer collection we are both hooked.  This is Sofia’s mood board that she put together herself, and it looks like the perfect wardrobe for our family’s summer holiday.

The clothes are designed with children in mind, but parents will be happy that the clothes are stylish too especially if we have strong headed children who insist on dressing themselves, and the results are not always what we hope for (I am sure most mothers have a story of what their kids chose to wear to the birthday party).  With these clothes you can mix and match them, and still look cute whilst wearing age-appropriate fashion.

The brand is a fabulous fun girls wear brand that offers pet-a-porter fashion at affordable prices.  The new collection has enough sparkles and lace to keep all girls happy.  They have thoughtfully designed t-shirts, leggings and dresses that Sofia struggled to narrow her selection to just these items as her favourite items from Billieblush.  Sofia’s sequin t-shirt cost retails in the UK for around GBP18, and a dress costs from GBP30 and up.  They are great outfits for children to wear to birthday parties as well as being great to give as birthday gifts for children and family.  Most importantly, Sofia thinks the clothes are comfortable.  (What a relief)

Stockists in the UAE:

Lollylop- Dubai Mall

Courcelles- Dubai Mall

My little Angel- Abu Dhabi

Tryano- Yas Mall