The film is out this weekend in the UK. You must go. It’s great. In case you missed my review first time round, I’m just putting it back up fyi.

I thought it was brilliant – as did my children. Both unusual and magical.

The film centres around a lonely old man named Carl Fredricksen and a very keen little Chinese Wilderness Explorer called Russell who fly to South America in a floating house suspended from helium balloons – in a wonderfully glorious 3D spectacle.

The initial part of the film focuses on the early life of Carl and the loving, happy relationship he has with his wife, Ellie. In a surprisingly un-Disney like manner the film touches on infertility, disappointment, financial issues, illness, broken homes, ageing and death and in parts it felt touchingly real – well it all made me cry anyway.

Their big adventure in South America has plenty of excitement and quite a few laugh-out-loud moments. It is here that the odd couple embark on a thrilling “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” style drama, complete with rabid hounds, a psycopathic legendary explorer and a splendid multi-coloured pterodactyl type bird.

All good.

Take tissues if you cry in films.

We were sent the new “Toy Story Mania” game to review recently.

I have a special guest blogger to review it. TA DA! Introducing my 9 year old son:-

“Hi,

My mum has asked me to write about toy story mania. i think thats mainly because she can’t even turn the wii on

well what i thought was that it was very good but i prefer it when you can run around the place and i think it would be much better on Play station 3 but i really did like the idea of shooting throwing and all the fun activities it’s me who doesn’t really like it but some people will love it bye bye!!!!!!!!!!”

I think the general consensus amongst my three children was that it was a bit boring as a Wii game because unlike the original game in Disneyland, you remain stationary and simply point the console at the screen. Which doesn’t make it very interactive. They all commented that they would have liked to have been much more able to move around Woody’s bedroom and become part of it.

Have just been to see a preview of the new Disney film “Up”

I thought it was brilliant – as did my children. Both unusual and magical.

The film centres around a lonely old man named Carl Fredricksen and a very keen little Chinese Wilderness Explorer called Russell who fly to South America in a floating house suspended from helium balloons – in a wonderfully glorious 3D spectacle.

The initial part of the film focuses on the early life of Carl and the loving, happy relationship he has with his wife, Ellie. In a surprisingly un-Disney like manner the film touches on infertility, disappointment, financial issues, illness, broken homes, ageing and death and in parts it felt touchingly real – well it all made me cry anyway.

Their big adventure in South America has plenty of excitement and quite a few laugh-out-loud moments. It is here that the odd couple embark on a thrilling “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” style drama, complete with rabid hounds, a psycopathic legendary explorer and a splendid multi-coloured pterodactyl type bird.

All good.

Take tissues if you cry in films.

I was last at a Disney resort ©1900 and only remember “It’s A Bloody Small World”. I seem to recall that my mother was ill in bed and my father put me on one of those boats that took you around the “Small World” exhibit and then went off in search of a beer. Three hours later he still hadn’t found one. “It’s A Small World” has now become an iconic symbol of the Disney theme park because it was the first ride that started the whole thing off after Walt was asked to provide an exhibit for a World Trade Fair. It represents the spirit of international unity with the theme song focusing on global peace. That is all well and good, but it is still an atrocious song that sticks in your head, rather like dog poo sticks to your shoe and the dolls all still look like something out of a horror movie:-

However, I am relieved to report that (apart from “It’s A Small World”) Disney theme parks have dramatically changed since I was last there. Yes, there are still a few super-sized people eating buckets of ice cream with a spade (I kid you not – they cost $10 each). But there no longer seems to be the tidal wave of blubber there once was. The parks now offer a fantastic array of food, some seriously good restaurants and healthy options galore.

There are still the obsessive Disney fans:-

and the “just marrieds” who might have been taken to their ceremony in Cinderella’s carriage:-

and the “honeymooners” who wander around the theme park all day long wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a veil on their heads:-

“Magic Kingdom” was my least favourite of the four parks. This is primarily because it represents Disney’s fearsome global reputation in all it’s pink and fluffy glory. If it’s the Disney characters you’re after, this is the place. Every night Cinderella’s Castle is illuminated by a stunning display of fireworks, the “Wishes Nighttime Spectacular” where all your dreams can come true. My fellow bloggers were all moved by the experience, whereas I on the other hand felt as if I was watching money literally go up in smoke. I have always had a problem with fireworks. Gorgeous and twinkly as they are I can’t help but feel that building a bonfire of $50 bills and watching the flames would have pretty much the same effect. Especially in this current global financial crisis. I would like to see Disney taking a more responsible view and suggesting that owing to the credit crunch (of which they are clearly not immune) the fireworks will only be on every other night, or twice a week and with the money they save (I would hazard a guess at approximately £10k per night) they will make a donation to various children’s charities around the world instead. I think that might help ease their reputation for blatant profligate capitalism.

Having said all that, I did enjoy the street parades, (once I’d allowed my good old British cynicism to crack) because everywhere I looked there were people dancing and singing. I loved the fact that there were grandparents, parents and children all out together, just having a really good time:-

and the night time “SpectroMagic Parade” was all twinkly and sparkly:-

I have become an expert on Disney facts: the number of theme parks (4), the size of the resort (47 square miles), other recreational options, the number of hotels, prices, budget options, sizes of rooms, dining plans, facilities, new rides, getting in free on your Birthday and so on. Let me know if you want any of my new found wisdom or better still check out the details listed by all the gorgeous “mummy bloggers” I went with who will no doubt tell you far more about all sorts of things:-

Little Mummy
English Mum
Exmoor Jane
Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy
Got Our Hands Full
Dulwich Divorcee

In the meantime all I am going to do is very quietly admit to almost becoming a convert. I would definitely go back with my children and ideally I would hope that we could do a multi-generational trip and go with my parents and my brothers and their wives and children as there was definitely something for everyone (although still no beer for my father in the Magic Kingdom).

If we won the lottery I would stay at The Grand Floridian:-

and I’d lie on this beach all week and refuse to do anything else:-

Although my children would prefer to stay at the wonderful Animal Kingdom Lodge:-

and observe the giraffes from their bedroom.

I would take them to “Epcot”, the second park and go on a ride called “Soarin”” which made me feel as if I could fly and I would take them to talk to Crush the cool dude turtle from “Finding Nemo”.

I would take them to the “Animal Kingdom” where we went on Safari and obviously to the water parks because they’d love both.

I would go with them on “Expedition Everest”, the latest rollercoaster ride which goes forwards and backwards because I have discovered that I don’t hate rides as much as I thought I did, I would go on the Dinosaur ride because that was brilliant and the “Toy Story” ride (there’s going to be a “Toy Story 3″ Hooray!) and the “Splash Mountain” ride and the “Buzz Lightyear” ride and “Peter Pan’s flight” and “Finding Nemo” show and the 3D “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” show and “Muppet Show” and, and, and, because I haven’t scared myself shitless or laughed so much in ages.

I would go back again because when the sun is shining and you are surrounded by happy, giggling children or screaming at the top of your voice on a ride or watching somebody else get a kick out of it all, then just for a moment, nothing else matters. This is pure unadulterated make-no-apologies luxury enjoyment.

Something we all could do with a little of right now.

We’re all back. Safe and sound. Weary but happy. What a great week we’ve had. I must say a huge thank you to my brother and his fiance for making it possible for me to go, by moving in and looking after my children and also to all my lovely friends who helped out. Another huge thank you must also go out to Sarah, Head of Publicity for Disney, UK for inviting us all in the first place. She looked after us so well and wasn’t able to leave our side even for a moment, because we were so completely inept when left to our own devices.

How absolutely fantastic to meet six other bloggers in real life. There is something ridiculously liberating about going away with a group of women – all sans enfant, at the best of times. Well that, mixed with our common interest and being let loose in Disney World proved to be a lethal combination. It meant we all behaved like small children with Tourette’s Syndrome for the entire week. “Mommy Bloggers” are a big deal in the USA and consequently we were treated like royalty which shocked and amazed us – particularly given that I suspect we looked more like a group of psychiatric patients out on day release most of the time. We met up with some US “mommy” bloggers. They did not look like psychiatric patients. They were groomed and poised. They appear to rule the brave new cyber world of parenting. We all felt a little bit rubbish compared to them. They were all glamorous with business cards and books and impressive websites and we felt a little out of our depth. Nevermind. We shall work harder on our blogentation, but in the meantime we’ve invited them over to do a Disney Paris trip in the near future and then we’re all going on the Disney cruise ship shortly after that (I know you didn’t know that yet Sarah, but sorry, it’s nearly all arranged).

At the start of our trip I was a little worried that we were all going to be anti-social and blog at every given opportunity – this was what some of us started doing as soon as we sat down in the Virgin lounge at Gatwick airport:-

However, we didn’t really have much time to blog and instead I think the following photo best sums up how we spent most of the week:-

When I’ve got myself a little bit more sorted, I’ll let you know who else was on the trip with me and put up the links to their fabulous blogs. In the meantime, I am now desperate to see my children.

We have had such a great time. The weather has been gorgeous and we have been incredibly well looked after and I have been on a rollercoaster.

More to follow.

ps:My son has been swimming in The Serpentine for charity this morning – in a “Sylvester The Cat” suit. Imagine how heavy a large full size furry cat suit is going to be when wet. According to my daughter he made it but got attacked by a swan and found it unbelievably cold.

I’m halfway through Barack Obama’s “Dreams From My Father” and the combination of “The Magic Kingdom” mixed with his story has made me start believing that I really can fly (if I want to). Barack’s whole “Yes we can” message resonates loud and strong here I can tell you. In fact it literally oozes out of every pore. However, more of that later.

We’re busy and I’ve got lots to tell you, but for now (because I’m bracing myself for another ride) I’m just going to show you some photos. My favourite attraction so far has to be the “Kilimanjaro Safari” that we did yesterday. To be honest I had no idea that Walt Disney World offered such an opportunity. An open-air safari vehicle takes you on what feels like a relatively intrepid expedition through Africa. OK it’s not quite the Serengeti, but if you happened to be on holiday with a relatively young family or elderly parents, this is something everybody would love. Giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, rhinos, elephants and many more animals roam freely through an African style savannah.

The photos speak for themselves:-

The enclosures were phenomenal. We went from there to the “Pangani Forest Exploration Trail” where I observed my favourite animal. I could have sat and watched the entire troop all day. There are eight gorillas in the enclosure and you can see them from lots of different aspects:-

Spot the Silver Back Male to the left:-

Close up of the same male and yes, I know it looks like Disney have potty trained him, but in fact it’s one of their food buckets and he’s rather cleverly fashioned it into a seat to keep his bottom dry:-

Our itinerary is packed. We have no time to think about swine flu or the rest of the world. The closest we’ve got to the global pandemic thus far is watching Miss Piggy sing a song during the 3D Muppet show.

We started off with breakfast in typical Disney style:-

Then we were given a tour of the water park yesterday and I have to say I had much guilt that my children weren’t with me.

My two older ones would definitely have been surfing in the wave pool where every 90 seconds a four foot wave is created:-

There was a snorkelling with sharks and sting ray option and a beach and water slides and it was beautifully designed and very lush and green.

I have to go now. Off for breakfast.

I have to admit I did have my reservations when I arrived at the airport and my flight wasn’t listed and I was thinking “shit, this has all been one big joke and now I’m going to have to sleep at the airport for 5 days so nobody finds out”.

How lovely to meet my fellow bloggers. We all have very different styles of writing and come from all over the country, but I suppose that is the point. The flight was great as we were all upgraded and there is not much more luxurious an activity for a mother than spending 10 hours sitting down, drinking champagne and reading magazines ON YOUR OWN (although admittedly last time I got over-excited and then was sick and got cystitis).

My hotel room is huge. I have a canvas bag on my bed with my name embroidered on it full of goodies and an autograph book with a message from Mickey Mouse (hand written) TO ME PERSONALLY.

Good grief. I might even do some rides after all.

Will take photos today and try and upload, but as have stolen my daughter’s laptop I have no idea what I’m doing.

I tell you this because I suspect that this is why I have found my new life as a blogger so comfortable. My cyber-friends are like my invisible friends. I spent some of yesterday looking about for “Mud” my cyber-friend who was running the marathon. Well of course I wasn’t going to spot her. I have no idea what she looks like.

All this is going to change tomorrow. I am actually going to meet some fellow bloggers FOR REAL. This is decidedly odd. My imaginary friends are going to take shape….

A group of “bloggers” are off tomorrow to Walt Disney World. Up until now I haven’t actually considered myself to be a “blogger”. I don’t even own a laptop. I’m going to have to borrow my daughter’s. Imagine being invited on a blogging convention and not taking your own laptop. It’s a bit like being invited on a photographic assignment and not taking a camera. Completely unprofessional.

It is 11pm.

My son has a large gash above his eye that was glued at the hospital on Saturday after being hit by a cricket ball. My daughter is feeling sick. My 8 year old is already pining and worrying. I am feeling guilty about leaving them all.

I haven’t started packing.

I haven’t put nail varnish on my toes.

I haven’t removed my leg hairs.

I haven’t found a swimsuit that fits.

I haven’t found a suitcase.

I haven’t put fake tan on my legs.

Oh well.

Mickey won’t mind I’m sure.

If I manage to get away with stealing a laptop, I’ll be back soon x