Getting in Shape for Disney...Update 6/19, pg. 5

[MouseEarsJenny]

...but I am officially down 7.2 pounds!

Congrats!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Vera Bradley! That is my guess.

And you would be right...

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

So I didn't exercise today--boooooo--but I was able to cash out for another $5 Amazon gift certificate on Swagbucks, so not a total waste of an evening!

If you read my last post, you saw I got my bathing suit and shoes, but now I am on a quest for a good park bag. My fiance has very graciously agreed to buy it for my birthday since it falls within the spending limit we agreed on after forking over all of our money to Disney.

Right now, I have a mini-hipster in the Blue Rhapsody pattern, but that is way too small for what I want to bring to the parks. I want to get a bigger bag in the same pattern. The bag I get has to be able to fit my small Vera Bradley ID case, my sunglasses case, my small camera, my iPhone, a travel-sized tube of sunscreen, a travel-sized bottle of Advil, chapstick, and hopefully a bottle of water. I'm sure I am forgetting something else I want to bring, but those are the essentials. Other than fitting all these things, my only other requirement is that it has a zippered top (unless it's a backpack which could be different).

Here's the bags I am considering.

Hipster

I'm not sure if this one's big enough to fit water, though. Does anyone know?


Backpack

Large Backpack

Or is it TOO large?


On the Go

Stephanie

So which of these bags do you guys think I should get? I am also open to suggestions other than these bags as long as they fit all my stuff and have a zippered top.

Hope to hear some suggestions soon!

 

[kate_wdw]

Subbing.

Congratulations on your weight loss!

On my last trip to WDW, I carried VB's Hipster and I liked it a lot. I was able to carry around a bottle of water as long as the top was unzipped (so I kept important stuff such as cash, room keys and credit cards in the zippered section).

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Subbing.

Congratulations on your weight loss! I can really relate to your posts. I am 4 months out from my trip as would like to lose as much as possible before then, not only to be kind to my feet, and to keep myself cooler, but also because I really want to ride FJ at the WWOHP (yes, I'll be crossing over to the "dark side" for a day of the trip), which apparently is not designed for chunky monkeys like me.

On my last trip to WDW, I carried VB's Hipster and I liked it a lot. I was able to carry around a bottle of water as long as the top was unzipped (so I kept important stuff such as cash, room keys and credit cards in the zippered section).

Hey, I don't consider WWOHP crossing over to the dark side...if we didn't already have plane tickets, I might have added on a day to go there myself!!! But I am glad I am waiting since I might not fit on FJ anyway!

I'm glad to hear about the Hipster; that would probably be my first choice except I wasn't sure about the water bottle. But I have a better idea now of how it will fit from what you said...thanks!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

My favorite Vera does not have a zipper but it works so WELL. It's the Saddle Up bag.

I have used the mail bag as well, it's a bit bigger than the hipster and fit everything in very nicely.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Congrats on the weight loss and the gift cards!

I'd go with the hipster. I've heard great things about those for the parks, and you should definitely be able to fit everything you need in it.

DH carried a backpack once, and it was terrible. It was way too bulky to fit in the pouches that some of the rides (like Dinosaur) use.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

My favorite Vera does not have a zipper but it works so WELL. It's the Saddle Up bag.

I have used the mail bag as well, it's a bit bigger than the hipster and fit everything in very nicely.

I will have to check out those two. I think I want to see everything in person again before I make a final decision.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Congrats on the weight loss and the gift cards!

I'd go with the hipster. I've heard great things about those for the parks, and you should definitely be able to fit everything you need in it.

DH carried a backpack once, and it was terrible. It was way too bulky to fit in the pouches that some of the rides (like Dinosaur) use.

The hipster the one I am leaning most towards. I just want to see it in person again to remind me of the size. Hmm...might not do the backpack then! Especially in August!

 

[Nermel9]

I like the Hipster too, it's just hard to see how big it is in those pictures!

DH carried a backpack during our trip and he didn't have any problems putting it anywhere on rides, he would usually just tuck it under his legs. But I personally wouldn't carry a backpack, so I'm glad he doesn't mind!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Just a quick post for today...I wanted to talk about some of my must-dos for this trip and some of my want-to-dos. I'm sure I'll probably forget some of them or come up with some more, so I will probably update this list every so often. Some of them are things I have already done and loved, and some of them will be new to me.

Must-dos

• Visit La Cava de Tequila and get the margarita sampler
• Gran Marnier slushie in France
• Alcoholic tea drink in China (forget its name)
• Snacks around the World Showcase
• Soarin'
• Test Track
• Rockin' Rollercoaster
• Tower of Terror
• Fantasmic
• Get something sinfully delicious at Starring Rolls
• Wishes--in park and at Poly Beach
• Splash Mountain
• Space Mountain
• TTA
• Haunted Mansion
• Lion King show at Animal Kingdom (love, love, love this!)
• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Expedition Everest
• Visit Downtown Disney
• Get lots of Photopass pictures

Want-to-dos

• Animation lesson
• Innoventions
• Visit Boardwalk and get ice cream at Beaches and Cream
• Mini-golf near Boardwalk
• Kim Possible mission
• Toy Story Mania (not a must-do because it's not supposed to reopen until the end of our visit, and we all know they ALWAYS reopen on time )
• Get upgraded to concierge theme park view...hey a girl can dream, right?

Hmm as I was thinking of these, I remembered some never-will-do-agains!

• Mission Space
• Teacups

So can you guys think of anything I should add to my list? The only thing I am not including are restaurants because I already have all my ADRs.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I think your list is a very good list. Not too much, not too little. It's just right.

I'm right there with you on the tea cups! Yikes!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Great list!

I will never, never, never go anywhere near Mission Space. I HATED that ride; I was terrified anyway because of all of the warnings, but it was terrible. It wasn't even worth the sick feeling I had afterwards! Bad choice, Disney, bad choice!

 

[Nermel9]

Lol, how can you guys hate Mission Space? I LOVE it!

Ok I know it's not for everyone, and I was terrified to try the orange side after doing the green side first, I thought I was going to throw up everywhere, but I didn't feel sick at all, I LOVED it!

The teacups though? I will not go near those!

I want to do the Animation lesson to, I don't even know where that is! I'm assuming DHS right? But where?

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

Good list! But if you like frozen drinks, you should add the frozen chai at Royal Anandpur Tea Co. in AK to your must-do list. The only problem is that unlike your other tasty beverages, it's non-alcoholic.

Hope TSM opens up in time for your visit. You listed Innoventions as a want to do - have you tried the Sum of All Thrills ride? Looks like you're fond of coasters, so it might be worth a look.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Good list! But if you like frozen drinks, you should add the frozen chai at Royal Anandpur Tea Co. in AK to your must-do list. The only problem is that unlike your other tasty beverages, it's non-alcoholic.

Hope TSM opens up in time for your visit. You listed Innoventions as a want to do - have you tried the Sum of All Thrills ride? Looks like you're fond of coasters, so it might be worth a look.

I just saw the frozen chai on someone's PTR--in fact, it might have been yours--and that's now added to my list. I LOVE tea, and I LOVE frozen drinks...so I don't know how I didn't hear about this before!? Is it available at their small tea carts by the exploration trails, or is it at a CS location?

I definitely want to try SOAT...I didn't read about that until the other day. It's amazing how much you think you know Disney, only to discover new things all the time!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Alrighty, it's time for an update! I've been trying to post every day, but I didn't get a chance for the last couple of days.

On the weight loss front, I haven't really lost anything since the beginning of the week, but I haven't gained either. I'm not quite sure why, as I have been eating pretty well and staying within my calorie limits. However, I have not been exercising as much as I should, so that's probably it. Also, I've been kind of stressed the past week (don't worry--nothing significant, just everyday stuff), and I've read before that our bodies produce more cortisol (I think that's the name) when we are stressed and this slows down weight loss. So maybe that's it? Who knows!?

To help motivate me to burn some more calories, I picked this up at Best Buy today:

I had a Reward Zone coupon, so I saved $5. I tried it out tonight and burned about 100 calories in 20 minutes. I like it a lot so far, especially since I figured out how to adjust the controls to make them not give you as many steps to do at once. I can't move around very quickly yet, but hopefully with practice I can turn up the settings. I really like how it has a workout mode that not only lets you know how many calories you are burning, but also charts your weight loss and exercise progress.

I also ran over to a local store called Heart and Home with my fiance to check out the Vera bags in person. After he waited patiently for me to check out each and every bag, I finally chose the On the Go bag:

I considered a couple of others, but this one seemed to work best for my needs. I almost got the Hipster because I found out they are retiring it , and it was 25% off. However, this one will work much better for this trip, so the Hipster will have to wait. I also picked up a Wristlet to use on my Vegas trip in two and a half weeks (can't wait!!!!) It will be easier to carry around when we go out at night.

My fiance bought me the On the Go bag as an early birthday present (as I won't be home from Vegas until the night of my birthday), and I bought the Wristlet. The store offers a rewards program, which I had already earned money towards in the past, so with our new purchases today, I am now only $18 away from earning a $25 gift certificate!

So how are everyone else's trip plans/weight loss/etc. coming along? I try to check out everyone's PTR to see, but not everyone has one. I look forward to hearing how everyone else is doing!

 

[Nermel9]

Sometimes not gaining weight is just as good as losing! I know it can be frustrating but at least you didn't gain, right? I wish I could say the same...I tried to be so good last week and I failed again. I really need to start weight watchers this week, or it will be November before you know it and my trip will be here...and I'll still be pooh sized!

Love the purse you bought...they are retiring the hipster? Oh no, I was considering buying one for November! I might have to make a trip to the mall today and check them out in person!

Oh btw-I started my PTR! The link is in my signature! Come join!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Take the staying the same, no gaining is good. Sometimes our bodies just have an off week.

I love the Wii games you can get, they force you to be active. I love the EA Sports Active games, they track your calories too.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Sometimes not gaining weight is just as good as losing! I know it can be frustrating but at least you didn't gain, right? I wish I could say the same...I tried to be so good last week and I failed again. I really need to start weight watchers this week, or it will be November before you know it and my trip will be here...and I'll still be pooh sized!

Love the purse you bought...they are retiring the hipster? Oh no, I was considering buying one for November! I might have to make a trip to the mall today and check them out in person!

Oh btw-I started my PTR! The link is in my signature! Come join!

I know, I can't believe they are retiring the hipster...it's a lot of people's go-to bag! The one consolation is that means it's on sale, both in the stores and online. You should go now and get yours before they run out of the pretty patterns. Following you over to your PTR now!