What is your name? Carol Vandiver
MFL ImaginEAR Carol Vandiver with her DGD, Haley.
Who does your family consist of? My husband Darren, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I have 1 son, a daughter-in-law, a beautiful granddaughter who is 10.5 years old, Haley and a very handsome young grandson, Logan who just turned 1 last month.
What is your occupation? I work for a large company doing Proposal Pricing.
Who is your favorite Disney Character and why? I'd have to say Tinker Bell. Occasionally it's Minnie, but MOST of the time it's Tink. She's cute and she's feisty and I love the thought of spreading Pixie Dust whenever I want! :o)
As an ImaginEAR, what regular feature/job do you do for MFL? If I attempted to list them all here, you'd get bored and leave. LOL! We'll just say I have "several various & interesting jobs" and leave it at that. :O)
How many times have you vacationed to a Disney destination? I couldn't even begin to count. Only to WDW though. But someday I'm going to at LEAST get to DL/DCA!!
What is your favorite Disney Resort (or off site property) and why? I'm not sure! My favorite Value is Pop Century. My favorite Moderate is PO-FQ I think. My favorite Deluxe is Wilderness Lodge. I've only stayed there ONE night, but I love the theming there! If I could get that fireplace in to my suitcase..... it'd be in my living room! LOL!
What is your favorite Disney restaurant, in or out of the parks? Casey's Corner in the MK. Ok, stop laughing! My trip isn't complete without a hot dog and fries from Casey's!!
What is your favorite ride or attraction at any of the Disney parks? Only one? If so, I guess I'd have to say Tower Of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios. A very close 2nd would be Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in the Magic Kingdom.
When visiting Disney theme parks, do you "park hop" or not and why? What? Be trapped in ONE park? I think not! I'm a park hopper all the way. I can't remember the last time I stayed in one park all day long. That being said, I go to WDW frequently so normally "time" isn't a pressing factor in what I do. Park hopping DOES take time out of your day so if your schedule is tight, park hopping might not be for you.
What is your favorite Disney memory? One favorite memory? I guess the one that comes quickest to my mind was from about a year ago. Haley & I rode Splash Mountain. It was her first time and she was excited but VERY nervous! We didn't have a FP so we had to wait in a VERY long line. Needless to say, by the time we were in our "logs", she was a nervous wreck. She was fine until we went down that first little "dip" and then she she started SCREAMING! Shrieking is more like it! Add to that that she shook her leg (which was crammed up next to mine!) up and down (how you do when you're nervous) from the time we sat down until the time we stepped out on dry land again, it made for an interesting ride! She screamed and screamed NONSTOP but we were both laughing so hard we could barely breathe. She screamed through all of the beautiful, relaxing scenery and that leg just kept bouncing. Everyone around us was laughing! By the time we got to THE DROP we were crying from laughing so much! And of course, WE GOT DRENCHED! Which made her scream more and both of us laugh even more. It's probably one of those "you had to be there" things, but it's very memorable to me and I'll never forget it! I even sprung for the outrageously priced "ride photo" at the end! LOL!
What is your favorite "extra cost" event/tour? Event? Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Tour? The "Around the World at Epcot" Segway tour. It was a LOT of fun! P/S Riding a Segway is NOT easier on your back and legs than walking!!..... But it's great fun!
Have you met any MFL members at a Disney park? If so, who and what did you do? Again, too many to count! My very first "MFL Meeting" with another member was with one of our "owners", Pam Forrester. I was there with my friend Tracey & Pam was with her DH and DD. We met at the MK. My intention was to meet up, introduce ourselves, chat a bit and then go our own way, but it didn't turn out like that at all. We ended up spending the rest of the evening with them and had so much fun! Since then I've met so many members. We've done things from meet at Beaches & Cream for ice cream, to hanging out at DTD and just talking, to saying HI at Chef Mickey's for 10 or 15 minutes, to spending hours, days and yes, even a week, with my MFL friends! Tina K. and I have spent a week together in June at WDW for the past several years and Binnie and I spend a week together each year at MouseFest. So long or short, minutes or days, it's always a great time to meet with other members! :O)
Besides "things Disney", what do you like to do in your free time? What is free time? Ok, ok. I do have some occasionally. I love scrapbooking, reading and hanging out with Haley, my DGD. My DGS Logan, is starting to be a lot of fun to hang out with, too!
What would people be surprised to know about you? There's not a lot of "surprise" left in me. LOL! I'm pretty boring for the most part.
What is your best MouseForLess money saving tip? Make Casey's your favorite restaurant. LOL! Ok, seriously, always ask if there are discounts. You'll never know if you don't ask. You'd be surprised at how many discounts you can get that aren't "advertised".
What area of TheMouseForLess.com do you use most frequently? Not a fair question for me since I update the site. LOL! But I enjoy the COMMUNITY area of the site. There's a lot of stuff there that helps us get to know one another on a more "personal" level. The DOWNLOADS area is also full of some great, fun things!
What is your favorite aspect of MFL? I've met so many wonderful and what I hope will be life-long friends in this group. I've learned a lot about Disney through it, but I've also learned a lot about "total strangers". When brought together by a common interest, there really aren't that many "strangers" out there. We all quickly become friends.
