Destination Disney - Resort Organization 101

Congratulations!  You survived planning and booking your Walt Disney World Trip.  You made the journey to the most magical place on Earth.  You checked in to your home away from home for the next week. Now what?  Sure you can run to the parks.  Hey, those Mickey Mouse ice creams have been calling your name!  No explanation needed...  I completely understand.  I have another suggestion though interweb friends...  organize your resort room.

Why you ask?  You're on vacation!  You're ready to party!  There's a very good reason you guys!  It's going to save you time EVERY day.  Every morning you're going to get up early to get the most Disney hours in.  You need to shower, get prettied up, dressed.  You'll go to the park until you're hot & tired then decide to head to your resort for a swim.  You'll change twice more before heading back to the parks.  You'll stay out late watching Fireworks (& we CAN'T waste those extra magic hours now can we?)  Back to the room to hose off your children, get in your jammies, get ready for bed, then crash for the night.  That's a alot of changing and getting ready everyday. Do we really want to waste unnecessary time doing it?

If you answered no, then this post is for you!  Get your shopping list ready.  These are things you need to take with you on your trip!

A fold up clothes hamper

An over the door shoe organizer

If you're driving, pickup a few storage boxes. The flat 32 quart kind shown works well.

Now to organize with these new vacation goodies!  The clothes hamper is perfect to put in the corner by the sink  It fits perfect and it's easy to toss in dirty clothes after every change.  Dirty laundry at Disney has one of 2 solutions.  You can do laundry at your resort or repack dirty clothes to wash at home.  Either way this hamper helps. Doing laundry at Disney?  Pick up the hamper (It has handles!) and take it to the laundry room.  Hey, it's right by the pool for a reason!  Taking laundry home instead?  Wait until the hamper fills up then empty it into your bags all at one time.  You'll spend less time lugging luggage around after every change!  If you want your hamper sprinkled with pixie dust you can check out this link to Disney hampers on Amazon! 

Next hang up your shoe organizer.  No, don't pack enough shoes to fill an organizer... Fight the urge!  It has a different job! Stock it with your daily essentials.  Shampoo, body wash, hair brush, mouthwash, toothpaste and toothbrush... things you'll need every day!  You'll thank me when you have counter space and aren't playing a fun filled game of "Who moved my brush!" everyday!

Now for our storage boxes!  If you're driving, do yourself a favor and pick up one of these at least.  As you can see they fit in the area perfect.  We used these to pack food and special needs supplies   Having a food stash in your room will save you tons.  A Hershey bar is $2.00 from a Disney vending machine!  We also packed quick breakfast items and drinks.  I also need extra supplies when I travel due to my disability and luggage is generally full of... well, clothes!  Storage was something we needed a little extra of.  To keep things private and add some pixie dust, we lined each box with Disney paper.  You can see how we did it on a smaller scale in my post about road trip boxes. 

These things will keep your room nice, neat, and organized throughout your stay.  We normally stay at Value and Moderate resorts so I can't speak for the Deluxe, but these have made our trips nice clutter free and organized.

Destination Disney - Road Trip Survival Boxes

Disney is expensive!  Why wouldn't you want to maximize the magic of a Disney trip as much as possible?!  We always start sprinkling pixie dust months before the trip.  We make the itineraries, we make mousekeeping tip envelopes, and we pack pennies and quarters for penny presses.  Every preparation adds a little more magic.

The drive from Tennessee to Orlando, Florida isn't fun.  It's long, it's boring, and there's this inevitable funk that starts forming in the van sometime during day 2...  You get the picture. To make the road trip a little more "Disney" we made survival boxes for each person during our last trip.  It's a simple project that adds tons of pixie dust to the trip!

Here's everything you need: Scissors, Tape, a storage box with clear sides, and wrapping paper.

See, just a plain old boring box!  You can generally find these at the Dollar General store for a few dollars.  Naturally Wal-Mart always has them too.  We used the shoebox size for this project since we were making one for each person to keep with them in the van.

The wrapping paper is a Dollar Tree find.  Since we were going right after Christmas there were TONS of Disney prints!  You can't even tell this Ariel print is Christmas paper. $1 for a whole roll of The Little Mermaid?  Yes, Please!  We each had a different Disney paper print so we could quickly spot which box belonged to who.  To line the box we cut long strips roughly to match the depth of the box.

Now put the paper around the inside of the box with your lovely Disney character facing the sides.  Trim excess paper that might me sticking above the rim so the lid will snap shut with no problem.  When it's all trim, tape the paper to the sides.  You don't need to cover the entire edge, just a piece every few inches should do the trick.

The corner may seem intimidating, but don't worry!  Fold yourself a tight crease and add a piece of tape to keep it secure.  Tape fixes everything here in the south!

In the end hopefully your box looks like this.  See, I knew you could do it!

Now you have a survival box full of pixie dust!  It's easier to find things in than digging through a backpack and it's not getting holes ripped into it or spilling like redneck suitcases (AKA Wal-Mart bags) tend to do on road trips. 

What you fill it with is up to your crew.  You could do crayons and activities for kids.  It could be handheld games or DVD to pass time.  For us we each had a snack box!  This was genius because not only were snacks easy to find, but the hard box was keeping everything from being smushed in the bottom of bags.  This also saved a ton of money at every convenient store between here at Florida!  The boxes can hold a surprising amount.  There were Juice Boxes, Poptarts, Nutella To Go, Apple Sauce, Children Salad kits, baggies of snacks... too much to list!  We also put a bag of plastic spoons in each box.

Snap on the lid and you're good to go.  How cute is that?  Definitely a lot more magical than than throwing things in plastic bags! But wait!  There's more!

Sprinkle a little pixie dust on top too! We added stickers but you could do so much on these! Add names, paint, glitter... let your imagination be your guide.

Disney Withdrawals

Today Disney released the 2016 packages and I have to say I'm going though some pretty heavy withdrawals right about now.  This is the time of year we're normally planning out itineraries and adding them to the binder.  This year we aren't.  I know it seems silly having withdrawals already considering it's only been a few months but  Disney is a pretty special place.  Did you know almost every ride is accessible?  Did you know Disney chef's will actually make me special meals since I have dietary needs?  Did you know there's 1 resort that will provide me a microwave in my room so I can bring some meals with me?  Well don't feel bad dear reader, most people don't.

Most people realize that Disney trips can be very inclusive but don't realize how inclusive it really is.  It's actually the only place I've been that's like this which I guess explains the massive withdrawals I'm going through today.  Disney is freedom.  Disney is riding rides with your group instead of waiting around while they ride things.  Disney is eating a meal with your family.  Disney is pools with lifts.  It's simple things that people are used to on any vacation, but for me only Disney has offered. 

To combat the withdrawals I'll probably post some Disney Trip planning / preparation posts.  The second best thing to going to Disney is getting ready to!

Inspiration Porn - Yeah That's A Thing

New phase for you?  Yeah, it was for me too.  Let me explain.  Sometimes we all need a little inspiration.  Some wise words to get us motivated to get off our butts or a few words to remind us that no matter what is happening... we're going to be ok.  Pinterest is full of these images.  There's actually a whole category dedicated to them which should say a lot about how popular and enjoyed they are.

I am no different then everyone else.  Sometimes I have a bad day!  Sometimes there's things going on in my world that just suck.  I need that reminder that "Hey Short, to appreciate the good stuff... there's gotta be a little bad."  I also need that extra  motivation some days, especially since I started the gaming blog.  I get up some days and I don't feel well or I'm discouraged because a new video has 5 views.  It's nice to see Walt Disney remind me "Hey, if you can dream it, you can do it"  Call me cheesy but I always see that & think "You know Walt, by golly you're absolutely right! I GOT THIS!" and I open my editor & edit videos or hop on wordpress & get busy!  That's what it's made for... to inspire! To Motivate!

When I actually started getting more active online and met more people and joined more groups.about disabilities, I was introduced to a new phrase...  Inspiration Porn.  I was flashed articles about it. "I'm not your inspiration!" or how these memes and videos objectify people with disabilities. I didn't get it.  I saw how much people were offended and I tried my best to read articles to understand why.  Everyone always refers to the late advocate Stella Young and her Ted Talks interview. So I watched it in hopes of seeing their point.  I couldn't agree with the opinions.

I respect their opinions but I guess it's all about perspective.  Apparently mine is highly abnormal... big surprise there.  I like inspiration porn.  There, I said it!  Get the firing squad!  The photo above is the most referenced example of inspiration porn and why it's wrong.  As Stella explains:

I use the term "porn" deliberately, because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people. So, in this case, we're objectifying disabled people for the benefit of non-disabled people. The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you, so we can look at them and think, "Well, however bad my life is, it could be worse. I could be that person."

But that's not what I see.  I see quotes that do motivate.. people.  Not just "motivate non disabled" people.   I am disabled and I'm motivated because I believe the quote.  I believe sitting around saying "I can't" or feeling sorry for yourself does disable you.  I don't see disabled people, I see people who just happen to be disabled... I see someone with a disability included & represented in something the internet loves.  In this case it just happens to be motivational quote memes.  I don't feel sorry for them and I would feel just as inspired if it were puppies or a swirling background.  Another thing Stella says is:

And that quote, "The only disability in life is a bad attitude" the reason that that's bulls*** is because it's just not true, because in the social model of disability. No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it into a ramp. Never.

I agree.  Smiling at stairs can not change them into a ramp.  The thing is though... what you do to deal with those stairs can change.  Your attitude about those stairs can change.  This is the message I get from the meme.  I don't see the disabled people & think, "Oh! My life could be worse!"  I read the word's and think "Short... you want this right? So suck it up and find a different way to get it if a roadblock pops up."  Stairs may not always be a roadblock... they may be a detour.  My attitude could be "GREAT!  Stairs!  Why do I even bother?! I give up!" or it could be "GREAT! Stairs! Okay sooo how else can I get to where I'm going?" or "Something needs to be done about these stairs, who do I contact"  THAT'S what I see.  A bad attitude can be disabling to anyone.  Sometimes I need reminded of this.

As I said before, maybe it's about perspective.  I don't understand the hate some people have for these type of messages.  I don't necessarily see it as objectification of disabled people maybe because I don't assume it's inspiring just because it does contain a disabled person.  I think everyone deserves the right to see these and decide how to feel about them.  Everyone's feelings are valid.   I do have a problem with people preaching to the masses that this is how all disabled people feel.  I have issues with being told this is how we should feel.  I once read a blogger who discussed this and said after she read articles against "Inspiration Porn" she removed these type memes from her social media.  She was offended basically because someone told her she should be.

Call me crazy, but if we want people to stop noticing disabilities before noticing what's more important about a person maybe we shouldn't highlight it first.  Maybe we should hope that the meme helped convince someone with a disability that they COULD get around that roadblock of a staircase by taking action against it instead of believing they couldn't do something just because they're disabled.  Maybe we shouldn't assume that it's purpose is to only inspire non-disabled people. The world doesn't revolve around us.

Bad At Being Disabled

When I started getting active in the disabled gaming community it felt great.  People would leave me a comment or send me a message about some tip I had given and thank me.  "Thank you!  I didn't know you could play this with only a mouse!"  I started meeting more people because of it... people like me.  Disabled.

Growing up I never really knew anyone else disabled.  I went to Muscular Dystrophy Summer Camp through my teenage years and met some amazing people there but the problem here was that camp lasted 1 week.  I would definitely make friends and have fun but in 5 days we all went separate ways until the next summer.  So back home I'd go... the only disabled kid at my school trying not to be too different (basically just like everyone else was doing).

When I started meeting these people it felt like I was meeting kindred.  Sure we might be polar opposites on interests or personalities but we had this one thing in common that I never had in common with anyone for longer than 5 days at a time.  I felt like I was gaining comrades!  In some of these connections I definitely have.

My circle started growing.  As I met these people and my little piece of the internet was getting more known, I started participating in more community happenings.  Mass online chats about disability topics where people share and discuss ways to change the world.  This is where I went wrong.  Don't I want to see changes?  Ofcourse I do.  My problem wasn't with all the topics or working on solutions but meeting a new breed of human... the advocate.

I met people who openly and passionately hated various words for disabled... including disabled.  I met people who were purposely trying to use the... C word...  (the only word in the disabled thesaurus that I can't tolerate) not because it was what they were comfy with, which I could understand, but basically only to make some kind of statement.  I met people who were against things I enjoy.  I met people who seemed offended about, well, everything.  While I would see someone post something I disageed with & be like "ahhh, well, that's different", I would see these advocates correcting others opinions because the opinions weren't inline with popular advocacy beliefs.

I felt alienated.  Did being disabled really mean I couldn't enjoy things "disabled"?  Should I not like being represented in Hollywood by disabled people who are portrayed to struggle a bit... like me?  Should I hate when a child asks why I'm in a wheelchair instead of proud they are learning about disabilities?  Should I not (heaven forbid) like seeing wheelchairs in inspirational images because sometimes I DO need inspired myself?  I was obviously being disabled completely wrong.

I've tried avoiding disability chats since then.  I feel like I'm not a voice most want to hear, would relate to or respect the opinions of.  I can see advocates just downright not liking me! So I'll roll back into my corner of the internet and keep writing my help guides for games.  I'll speak up about the injustices that I expected the advocates to be fighting about like equal accessibility for all, a disability friendly job market, or the price tag of being disabled.  I'll keep enjoying seeing disabilities on tv & relating to them. (Except during Glee... Artie, you never should've danced!. =P)  And accept the cold hard fact that I'm just bad at being disabled;