Disney Time Again!

After many years away from Walt Disney World we've just returned from the most amazing time away fully immersed inside the Disney bubble.

So let me fill you in.

Back in 2020 things started to align that meant a visit to Walt Disney World was on the cards...but then we all know what happened that year! Our plans and dreams were once again put on an indefinite hold while we waited for the world to get back to some semblance of normal. Fast forward to September of 2023 when in an attempt to get a little Disney fix we embarked on our first Disney cruise (and first cruise ever!) aboard the Disney Dream. Not only did this give us that Disney magic we'd been looking for but it also gave us a whole new way of 'doing' Disney, which we fell in love with! So much so that we made new friends while aboard and were booked for the following year (dragging the kids with us!) almost as soon as our feet touched land!

So after our second cruise in September of 2024, and with Simon joining me in retirement nine months earlier, our thoughts turned once more towards Walt Disney World. When our new friends from our cruise in 2023 mentioned that they too were hoping to visit WDW in early 2025 we vowed to meet up and set about coordinating diaries. As soon as dates were confirmed we were able to sort flights, hotels, tickets and more.

Our itinerary ultimately involved a couple of nights staying at Disney's Coronado Springs resort, followed by a 3 night Disney cruise aboard the Disney Wish, returning to Walt Disney World for a 19 night stay at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter resort, with a 14 day park ticket to experience all that the parks had to offer!

Suffice to say we had the best time and have lots to tell...so stay tuned as I try over the course of the next few posts to recount our travels.

So what do you do?

Back in 2014 my journey to better health and wellbeing began. I didn't know it at the time but that desire to simply 'lose some weight' would cause a complete new way of life for me that has evolved, and continues to evolve, ever since. And because of those changes, along with my passion for knowing and understanding more, I often get asked the question 'so what do you do?'...well this is what I do!

Where shall we start? Well let's go with the obvious...food! Back in 2014 I started off with a low carb/keto approach to eating which gave me the weight loss I'd been wanting for so many years, but since then my approach has changed as I learned more and more. So whilst the ethos of low carb/keto is still there I think the easiest way to describe the food I eat today would be to simply say 'real food'. By which I mean we cook whole foods all the time. We avoid ultra processed food (I urge everyone to read Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken it is eye opening and will put you off packaged foods for life!). If we do occasionally buy any packaged foods then we follow these simple rules...does it have more than 5 ingredients? If the answer is yes put it back! Does it contain ingredients that you have never heard of or that you wouldn't find in a kitchen cupboard? Again if the answer is yes put it back!

So what do you eat I can hear being asked? Well a typical day for me can look something like this;

I'll start the day with a black coffee (fully caffeinated) and will usually have my first meal of the day around late morning/lunchtime which tends to be bacon, eggs and mushrooms (breakfast foods are my favourite!). Dinner is around late afternoon/early evening and will be some type of animal protein (chicken, ground beef, steak, salmon etc) with either green veggies (stick to veggies grown above ground) or salad. To round out the day I will have an evening dessert/snack of greek yogurt & berries (raspberries & blueberries are my go to) with a drizzle of honey. If I do feel the need for a snack at any point then this is where my favourite dark chocolate comes in, I prefer 90% cocoa but will always aim for a minimum of 70%. But other options can include a couple of dates, an apple, small amount of cheese, hard boiled egg, small amount of nuts or deli meats. And for drinks I will stick to black coffee or black tea which after our first morning coffee will mostly be decaffeinated.

A couple of caveats to the above;

Protein (animal based is preferable...more satiating and more nutrient dense) should be your primary source of food, not only does this keep us satiated it helps to maintain our muscle mass which becomes so important the older you get.

Alcohol - I try to avoid alcohol and only have a small glass of red wine occasionally. To be honest I like the taste of red wine but I don't like the effects of over indulging and the less I drink the less I want it.

Treats or cheats - these do happen occasionally and we aim to stick to the rule of 80/20...as in 80% of the time we keep to our regular foods and routines (although I suspect this is probably closer to 90%). Treats may involve indulging in something carb focused like bread or potatoes if out for a meal or maybe having a sweet treat with a coffee (but we do tend to buy just one thing and share it between us!). We make sure to really enjoy any treats that we have while at the same time not letting those treats define us...all too often I hear people indulge in something they know they perhaps shouldn't have which then gives them the green light to throw all their good work away and revert back to their old habits. Have a treat, enjoy it and then get back to what you know you should be doing.

So with food covered let's move onto exercise. Now I need to start this by saying that I have never been sporty; poor coordination, lack of confidence and an aversion to getting sweaty and out of breath always meant that I just simply didn't have any interest or desire to do any sort of exercise. In the early 1990's we started going to a local gym; this was in the days before big franchised gyms, it was relatively small, friendly, supportive and non-judgemental. We made a great group of friends and we sustained going for a good number of years (even during both my pregnancies)...although I would often remark that sometimes the muscle that got the most exercise was my jaw muscle from all the talking I would do! But at that time our diet wasn't great and so all the effort I put in down the gym had very little effect on my weight or body composition.

With the addition of children and Simon working away from home we gradually slipped out of our gym routine. In 2014 when I started my initial weight loss journey I was introduced to body weight exercises - squats, lunges, press-ups etc - and along with my new way of eating I began to see a change in how my body looked and felt. Fast forward to around 2018/2019 and we re-joined our old gym (although by now it was much, much bigger and much busier) and we were even able to enrol the kids along with us. Then the pandemic and all the various lockdowns hit; having no gym to go to we invested in some basic equipment and converted our garage into our home gym, and it was the best thing we ever did - no more gym subscriptions, no more having to drive to get to the gym, no more looking for some where to park, no more having to turn out in all sorts of weather, no more excuses on why we couldn't get to the gym and no more waiting around for machines. 

We still use our garage as a garage but have bought equipment that we can store easily and make the best use of. This means we now workout with weights three times a week for about an hour each time...and the 'non-sporty me' now schedules gym time into our calendar so that we never miss a session! But the other thing that we do is walk; we aim to get in excess of 10,000 steps per day and it is very rare that we don't get outside and get our steps in. It has become an integral part of our routine so much so that the day just doesn't feel right if we have not gotten those steps in. The effects of walking are tremendous; it is low impact, it is free, it keeps you mobile and active, getting outside you get the benefits of sunlight, the therapeutic affect of being outside and the chance to 'blow those cobwebs away' as well as a chance to destress and re-connect with nature. For Simon and I it is a great opportunity for us to connect, to chat about our plans, to have the time to talk and simply be together. Walking in our local community means that we have made connections with local businesses and with people we see on a regular basis, and simply seeing others out and about and saying 'hello' provides those social interactions which are so important.

In addition to food and exercise we try to ensure that our sleep patterns are consistent. I'd like to say that we aim to get good quality sleep but I'm not really sure how you do that and how you would prove it?! As a menopausal woman I will suffer from night sweats (although these are a lot better and much less frequent than they have been!) and these will obviously disrupt my sleep.  But we try and have a regular(ish) bedtime routine and are pretty consistent with the times we go to bed and the time we get up in the morning. 

We are also very fortunate to have our own infra-red sauna and try to use it for 30 minutes every day. We may even use the time getting sweaty to meditate as well...after all we have no where to go so why not multi-task and make best use of the time!

But with all of this the key to success is consistency. Almost 11 years after my initial weight loss I have kept the weight off and continue to learn more and adjust but I keep on going. I keep on doing what works.

My goal is to live as long as I can, to be as healthy as I can and to be in the best physical shape I can be. I want to be able to enjoy the life that I have ahead of me in the best way possible for the longest time possible. To live my life to its fullest unencumbered.

So, to sun it all up eat real food, lift some weights, walk, connect with others, sleep well and repeat!

Welcome to 2025...

A new year begins and as we reflect on the previous 12 months we look forward to what the coming months may hold.

It is also that time of year when resolutions and pledges are aplenty and the mantra of 'new year new me' can be heard ringing along with the bells chiming midnight!

But how many of those resolutions and pledges actually come to fruition over the year ahead? Why do we always use the ringing in of a new year as the time to make that change...well we say we're going to make that change!!

And while the start of a new year, or maybe the start of a new week, or perhaps the beginning of a month or even a point in the future that links to current plans (you know the 'when I get back from...') all sound amazing and may even feel great they very rarely even happen. The problem is that by telling ourselves that we will do something at a certain point gives us a feeling of positivity, a feeling that we are in charge, a feeling that we are moving forward and will achieve our goals because we now have a 'plan' and unfortunately that is where it all falls apart. That feeling of achievement because we have said we will do something on a certain date is enough for us to feel good about ourselves and it tricks our brain into thinking we've 'done something' when actually all we've done is thought about doing something. This in turn means that when that date rolls around we often find an excuse for the 'plan' to not happen or get delayed or only last for a few days until something comes along to derail us. We feel good about ourselves for thinking and planning about making a change but that feeling wains and our desire to make the change wains with it. Something else more important comes along and gives us the excuse to 'start next week' and the whole process repeats itself.

We've all been there, I know I have. I've lost count of the times I thought about starting a diet to lose a few pounds for that holiday, or before Christmas or for a special event only to find that before I knew it my starting point had moved so many times that 'the event' was suddenly upon me and I'd missed my opportunity. Which of course at that point made me feel like a failure and I would just give up, throw my rattle out of my pram and convince myself that I was always going to be this way and there was nothing I could do about it. Rinse and repeat this process over and over, for years and years.

You know that old mantra of 'don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today' actually rings true. If you want to make a change, if you want to try something new, if you want to lose a few pounds or get fitter then why wait for a 'date in the future'? Why not just start today? What's stopping you?

If you want to make a change in whatever aspect of your life then the best time to start is now, today, this minute. Waiting until Monday, or the new year, is only delaying you becoming the person you want to be. That better version you want to be will only happen if you make the changes you need when you decide to be that better version.

So the question you have to ask yourself is that if you are waiting for that specific date in the future to make those changes do you really want to make that change? If you can't start now, right this minute,  then why? Surely if the change you need to make is important enough, or wanted enough, then starting now is the only option.

Remember the only person you have to please is you, and the only person who can make the changes you want is you and the only person stopping you from starting is you! So don't wait till tomorrow start now. You don't have to start big, you don't have to start perfectly, you just have to start and each day you just keep on going until before you know it the thing that you wanted to achieve is happening. It may not happen as quick as you would like but it will be happening and if you miss a day or mess up then just start again the next day. No-one is perfect, we all have bad days and the trick is not letting those less than perfect days derail you. Simply dust yourself off, get back up and get straight back on with what you should be doing. Don't berate yourself, just chalk it up to experience and start again. 

So instead of reading this, you know what you need to do...start NOW!

I'm not a morning person...or am I?

So for as long as I can remember I've always described myself as being 'not a morning person'. You know that person who struggles to get out of bed and who simply doesn't function all that well at the beginning of the day and who needs a few hours to 'get going'. But lately I've been questioning that belief.

And it is a belief...and one that I don't think was ever truly mine.

I had always been told, since a very young age, 'you're not a morning person' or heard things like 'don't talk to Jayne first thing she's grumpy in the morning'. But I've now come to realise, after decades of believing this particular thing about myself, that it may not be true, and that just because I believe something about myself then it must be set in stone and cannot be changed...or can it?

It is proof that decades of something being said to you on repeat by your nearest and dearest can have a staggering impact on your own self belief and esteem. The repetition of the mantra that 'Jayne doesn't do mornings', that 'Jayne wakes up grumpy' had convinced me that that was just the way I was. Because if everyone was telling me that then it must be true and I simply had to accept that me and mornings just didn't mix.

But you know what? Me and mornings actually get on pretty well...in fact I'd go so far as to say that getting up early and embracing the day is one of my favourite things! So what has changed? Why has that belief changed?

So I think we all have things that we believe about ourselves that tend to err on the negative...after all it's easier to believe in the negative than see the positive about ourselves. We live in a world where we are bombarded by idealised images that we think we ought to be like, we have expectations thrust upon us by family, teachers, friends and employers. And so all the time we are trying to live up to everyone else's expectations except our own and as a result we focus on the negative, we quiet the positive and we let other peoples thoughts and opinions dictate who we should be.

I'm sure we've all had the boss who's constantly criticised something or the teacher who told us we wouldn't make it in life or the friend who always seemed to belittle you or the parent who failed to say 'well done'. And when we hear the negative often enough, and especially if we encounter it at a young age, we begin to believe that we must be that person, that we must display those traits and that is just who we are. But these are not who we are, we can be whoever we want to be; we just have to take the time, and effort, to change those beliefs about us.

We can be the person we would like to be, the person we deserve to be, we can be the person that we have always been rather than the person that we have become to believe we are.

A belief is just something we tell ourselves so why not tell ourselves a different story? 

And that is just what I've been doing of late. By taking the time to evaluate what I want my life to be, and who I want to be, I am beginning to discover that there is more to me than what I believed and being a morning person is just the beginning. 

I now embrace the morning, I enjoy starting the day early so that I can make the most of every minute, I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at getting things done and I look forward to what the day has to offer. So I suppose you could say that I AM a morning person!

And early mornings mean I get to experience sunrises like this!

This realisation didn't happen overnight and in fact it kind of crept up on me. Through being willing to delve into what makes me me, to question who I am and coupled with a desire to want to learn and know more changes are beginning to happen. And I am here for whatever those changes may be. 

I've even discovered that the girl who didn't like exercising actually enjoys getting down the gym a few times a week and throwing some weights about!

Early mornings mean we hit the home gym in our garage
(this was at the very end of my workout so excuse the face I'm pulling!)

At almost 57 years of age I want to be the best version of myself both mentally and physically so that I can enjoy and experience whatever the future may hold. I want to grab life with two hands, give it a massive hug and see where we will go!

Well...It's been a while so I better get typing!

Well....here we are once again, and once again the time between posts has been so much longer than I would have liked, and had planned for. But sometimes things happen that cause the best of plans to go astray! 

In fact as I type I realised that this post has been sat waiting to be finished since late July!! So I think we need to get this done!!

Since retiring our focus on life has changed and the direction in which we find ourselves going has emerged organically over the last few months. I have always said that being retired gives you the opportunity to do what you want, when you want, where you want, if you want and with the people you want! This approach has enabled us to tackle life differently to all those years when work, inevitably, was the constant, and by default, the driving force behind how our lives played out.

But this retired way of life has taken a little time to adjust to, and being able to live in the moment rather than conforming to day to day demands has been interesting, especially as I am someone who likes (and has a need) to be organised and have everything planned out.

Simon often refers to us as Peter Pan and Wendy...he is Peter wanting to fly and explore in all directions while I am Wendy always wanting to keep us safe and calm. But together we compliment each other; Simon will push me outside of my comfort zone and I will temper his desire to fly too high and in that way we find our way through this crazy thing called life.

So just what has life dealt us these past few months? Well at times it has all been a bit of a whirlwind! 

We have been able to get out and about with our fellow Star Wars cosplayers as part of The East Midlands Garrison. Devoting time for this at weekends is now much easier as we no longer have to juggle work and free time. We have also been able to get involved with special troops during the working week. In July we were able to support a local charity called Ducklings at the children's school within Nottingham Queens Medical Centre hospital. We have also taken part in our local comic con in Nottingham, Emcon; both during the event and helping with their promotion leading up to it. We were also able to get out to a special cinema troop which celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, along with some smaller events along the way and at each event we helped raise money for The East Midland Garrison's chosen charity of Pasic.

Promoting Emcon in Nottingham - May 4th 2024

Cineworld Sheffield - The Phantom Menace 20th Anniversary

Simon’s extensive, four decade, career in video games has opened up the world of retro gaming with invitations to take part in various events. We had a lovely weekend at the Nottingham Video Games Expo where Simon not only spoke at the event but he was able to share some of his original game design documents along with selling some of his game related art. He was even able to produce a piece of canvas art live throughout the event. He has also worked with a local college to share his experiences of working within the industry with their students and is looking forward to more collaborations in the future.

Nottingham Video Games Expo - art in progress

Nottingham Video Games Expo - completed art

Earlier in the year Simon had used his knowledge of electronics to help a friend with their university project. They were completing their final year in costume design and needed help with the programming of LED lights in their Neuromancer inspired outfits. After attaining a first they had one last thing to complete; a catwalk show and we were invited to attend. It was a great evening filled with friends, laughter and too much Chinese food. 

My favourite band, White Lies, we're out and about with some special gigs playing two of their albums in full; Ritual and Big TV. We were able to make one of their gigs in Manchester and got to experience Big TV in its entirety. As this album features one of my all time favourite songs, First Time Caller, I was very happy and excited to be able to hear it live! And as a bonus we had a great couple of days in Manchester too!

White Lies at Gorilla, Manchester - July 2024

There have been lots of opportunities for catching up with family and friends. We've had movie nights, a dark arts craft fair, a retro computer museum evening and multiple cinema trips. There was a weekend visit to Bournemouth to see Molly and Dan to help celebrate Mollys birthday. They then came to see us a couple of months later which resulted in a trip to a local Ninja Warrior centre...I was the official photographer for the day and let everyone else throw themselves around!

An earlier trip to Amsterdam in April had opened up an opportunity for Simon which resulted in another visit, at very short notice, in early August. And that visit resulted in an art commission for Simon in which he had 3 weeks to create 6 paintings for a fashion show!

August also saw us make a trip to London to meet a new friend for lunch while Simon spent every spare minute drawing to ensure that his commission work would be completed on time. 

Grabbing every spare minute to draw - sat on the train home from London

We also made it to the Droid Builders UK event where Simon was able to show off a couple of his own builds!

Droid Builders UK meet-up - Simon's creations - August 2024

Ethan finally completed on his first house at the end of July, almost a year after first seeing it! But as there was a fair amount of renovating required there was a lot of work to be done; quotes, planning, house sitting and more to squeeze in around our busy schedule and Ethan's work! In fact as I write the house has now been rewired, plastered, decorated, a new boiler fitted, a new bathroom installed, numerous deliveries have been managed and the kitchen and flooring are now being fitted! All very busy, and all very exciting for him. And I think Simon and I have become unofficial project managers!!

Ethan finally getting into his first home for the first time...now waiting for all the renovations to be completed!

And while all that was happening Simon received an invite to speak at an Amiga event in Spoleto, Italy. An invite with some of the expenses paid...well that was an opportunity we couldn't turn down! We also decided to make the most of the flights and extend our stay by a taking a few extra days in Rome. So as Simon was busy drawing away for his art commission I was busy organising flights, car parking and hotels.

Oh and as September rolled around we also had our second Disney cruise and this time we had the kids join us. And four days after we returned home we flew out to Italy for a week!

And breathe...I am hoping that as life calms down I will be able to find more time for blog writing which will mean I can share more about our recent travels to Amsterdam, Italy and of course our time on the Disney Dream. But for now I will stop and recharge my batteries!

Health & Wellbeing

What to talk about next?

Well, I've introduced myself and I've spoken about my love of all things Disney so I think the next logical subject will be to chat health and wellbeing.

Now I do have a couple of pages that talk about various aspects of my life with regard to eating well and looking after myself but I think it feels right to give a bit of an overview of where I started and where I am now.

For most, if not all of my life, I seem to have been in a constant battle with my weight. I was never really happy with the numbers on the scale or the image in the mirror looking back at me. I think I was pretty typical of most women craving the slim and sexy figure but never being able to obtain the image I had in my head. 

As we moved into the late 1980's my then fiance, Simon, was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolaemia, a genetic condition leading to high cholesterol levels and was told to adopt a low fat diet as a matter of urgency. We dutifully did as we were told; we ate as low fat as we could, we embraced the plethora of low fat foods that appeared on the supermarket shelves, we abandoned eggs, cheese, full fat milk, yogurt and cream and we even became regular gym attendees! But I still battled with my weight and my figure. Two children later and things had not improved, and all the time we stuck religiously to the low fat diet and did as we were told by the powers that be.

And then in 2014 a couple of things happened. First we watched a couple of documentaries; 'Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead' and 'Fed Up'. They highlighted the perils of processed foods and sugar along with the strength and commitment of people who were prepared to put in the effort to getting themselves fit and healthy. Then a few weeks later a chance conversation with my daughters karate instructor introduced me to a locally run group called 'Get Real Fat Loss'; a 90 day challenge to lose weight. Now I have never bought into the whole weight-loss industry of clubs and meetings but this was different. It was run by a local guy, Jason, who wanted to give women the right information to set them up for a new way of eating and living. We were a small group of women who encouraged each other by way of a private Facebook group all guided by Jason who gave us personalised food plans along with some body weight exercises (see my page Getting Real for more details).

About two thirds of the way through the 90 days I had reached my target weight and by the end I had lost around two stone (28lbs) and dropped from a UK dress size of 12/14 down to an 8 (and sometimes even a 6!). Then, while on my 90 day journey, I read a book by Gary Taubes called 'Why We Get Fat and What to Do About it' which provided the science behind the nutritional changes I'd made. So what were those changes? At that time the major change I made was the number of carbohydrates in my life - no more potatoes, no more pasta, no more rice and no more bread. All those foods that I'd been told were good for me because they were 'low in fat' were in fact hijacking my insulin response and causing me to hold onto fat rather than burn it. (see my page Eating Well, Staying Healthy for more information).

Since then I have been able to stick with the low carb (or keto) approach to eating and as the years have moved on I have become more focused on eating real foods. I try to cook everything from scratch and limit the amount of processed, and especially the ultra processed foods, in my diet. The approach is that if something has more than five ingredients or contains things that wouldn't appear in a standard kitchen cupboard then I will not buy it. There is a great book by Chris van Tulleken called Ultra Processed People and I would urge everyone to read it and understand just what the so-called 'food' in the lovely packaging on our supermarket shelves actually is!

The bodyweight exercises that I started back in 2014 have now evolved into a weights workout three times a week. Around 2018 I had joined a local gym with Simon and both our kids but when the 'lockdowns' happened in 2020 we decided to convert our garage into a home gym and it has been one of the best decisions ever. We have enough equipment for us to workout effectively and are still able to use the garage as a garage! It also means 'getting to the gym' is easy and quick and we have no excuse for not getting out there and getting a workout done.

Then a couple of years ago I decided to step away from my job of 18 years as a pre-school manager and I entered the world of retirement. Being at home enabled me to spend more time being active; daily walks became the norm and gym sessions didn't feel quite so onerous. I was also able to spend more time 'on me' and began to incorporate cold showers, Wim Hof breathing and meditation into my daily life. 

Last year Simon decided to set himself a challenge to lower his body fat percentage. As part of a routine check-in with our doctor we were introduced to a set of scales that recorded not just our weight but our BMI, body fat percentage, muscle percentage, visceral fat percentage and our RM calories (resting metabolic number of calories). And while all our figures were great Simon wondered whether he could get his body fat under 10%. With an upcoming cruise (Disney of course) as incentive he found a personal trainer to try and help him achieve his goal. So with a focus on getting enough protein in our diet and increasing our daily step count to around 14,000 Simon hit (and has maintained) his goal and along the way I also managed to reduce my body fat much to my surprise. 

Late last year we took the decision to invest in an infrared sauna after a home improvement project gave us the extra space we needed. A daily sauna has now become part of our lives; thirty minutes a day to relax, meditate and absorb the benefits of heat exposure.

And as we rolled into the new year Simon joined me in this retirement malarkey so we now have the time to pursue those things in life that have had to take a back seat during our working life. We have the time to devote to our own wellbeing, to concentrate on our diet and exercise, to spend quality time together, to kick start travelling more than we have been previously able, to enjoy spending time with our Star Wars cosplay family as well as numerous projects that we now have the time and the head space to take on.

And that is where you find me now...enjoying life with my soul mate and best friend by my side, in the best physical shape of my life and looking forward to each and every day and the possibilities that lay ahead.

Disney you say...

So how did my love (some may call it obsession) of Disney come about?

When I think back Disney has always just 'been there' in my life. I remember as a child growing up in the UK we would watch 'Disney Time' a movie clip compilation show that would appear on the TV at special times of the year. 

I have a vague memory of one of my very first trips to the cinema being to watch 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', although I can't be sure this was during its initial cinematic release as I would have only been about 4 years old. But growing up in the 1970's and 1980's Disney was simply a part of the pop culture we were exposed to.

I very recently re-discovered an album that I still own to this day and which was probably bought for me as a child, it's dated 1975.

Then in November of 1990 during a trip to London we made a point of visiting the then brand new Disney Store on Regent Street; it had only opened that month and was the first Disney Store outside of the US. I have this photo of me wearing the Mickey ears that we had bought. I remember them being of a very hard, shiny plastic and that they dug into my head so hard it meant wearing them for anymore than a few minutes just wasn't doable! Oh how times, and ears, have changed!

Then in 1991 Simon and I made our first trip to Orlando, Florida which was kind of by accident. We had originally intended to go on vacation with my parents who were planning a trip to Austria but I'd gotten the dates mixed up and had booked the wrong weeks off from work. It was also the time of the Gulf war and the rumours were that flights to the US were 'going cheap' so we decided to take advantage and book a Florida vacation. However, when we came to make the booking we soon found out that the rumours of cheap flights were just that, rumours! But as we had chosen where we wanted to go we decided to book the vacation anyway staying in a hotel on International Drive.

On 30th July 1991 we made our way to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the very first time and stepping onto Main Street USA I just knew I was 'home'.

Taken 30th July 1991, waiting for the fireworks.

Since then there have been numerous trips to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, one trip to Disneyland, one Disney cruise and Simon has been lucky enough during work trips to visit Tokyo Disney Resort. I have lots of books and memorabilia, handbags, clothes and just the odd one or two Disney themed tattoos! Oh and I co-host a Disney theme parks podcast with my very good friend Michelle, called the Disney Dream Girls.

So yes Disney plays a big part in my life and I think it always will. 

There is something in the ethos of Walt Disney and the company that he created that draws you in. But it is still hard to explain what it is exactly that drives this love of all things Disney and the indiscernible magic that it creates. It's in the story telling, the attention to detail, the characters, the customer service, the ability to leave the real world behind for a little while and for everyone no matter what age or background to enjoy something together. 

Some will look at Disney and the theme parks and assume it's 'just for kids' but it is so much more than that. And to use a quote attributed to Walt himself from the opening of Disneyland in 1955, and then immortalised in plaques at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom...'here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy'...oh and remember 'adults are only kids grown up anyways'!