So, Disney World came upon us FAST. We had a blast. I spent most of that first day in denial and in a daze, but that might have been because I was so darn tired 'cause I couldn’t sleep the night before! (I was excited, but also because I'd left all my packing and organizing to the last minute as I am wont to do.) I didn’t start to feel like it was real until after the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade!
We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, which is one of the moderate resorts. OK, I got spoiled. The bus stops were close to the parks, the resort was small and quiet, there was a hot tub, and it was just pretty! (Check in was super slow, but we ended up meeting some people from Columbus OH who just happen to be now living in the house that Chris--my ex-husband and good friend--grew up in. How is that for coincidence? Guess who was singing “it’s a small world” all afternoon after that?) Anyway, Adam and I decided that it’s worth the extra $$ a night for all the extras we got out of it. We’ll be staying there this June as well.
(God, imagine if I ever get to stay in the Polynesian! Talk about spoiled rotten, right? But that won’t happen for a long time, not with rooms starting at $400 a night. Yowsa!)
Almost every character I met hugged (or kissed) me, some more than once! I even got a hug from Tinkerbell. The hugs from Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (the highlight of my trip) were the best, though.
Did I mention that Tiana is my favorite Disney princess? Oh well, now you know. On Sunday, our first day there, we were going around Magic Kingdom, and I’d mentioned to Adam that meeting Tiana and Naveen would make my trip. It would make my YEAR. We couldn’t figure out where their meeting place was, but we’d been planning on hitting MK the next day, so we decided we’d look for them then. Well, Adam and I got to the park at Rope Drop (I highly recommend doing that–it’s awesome so early in the morning!), and we ended up RIGHT BEHIND THEM as they walked down Main Street. When we got to their meet and greet place, they let me take pictures with them and chatted with me and it was like, amazing. I was like this when it was all done:
Yea, that was a pretty awesome day in the Magic Kingdom, even if it did rain quite a lot. It was warm, and I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice (ended up riding it five times total during the trip), and it was the day of the Main Street Electrical Parade, where Adam and I were quite entertained by a total brat who was 11-years old and acting like a spoiled princess (she had visited the Bippity Boppity Boutique at some point during the day–she was ALL done up). Adam and I nicknamed her Veruca Salt.
Although we had a great trip, I don’t know if I’ll go in January again. The crowd level was pretty great for the most part, and soaking in the hot tub in the evening was nice, also. But a couple of days, it got pretty cold, and that’s not what you want to have to deal with when on a vacation in FLORIDA. We only had one day of rain, though, and one day it was absolutely perfect out. So the weather was hit or miss, and a lot of things were being refurbished or fixed up. Tarpilicious! Not that I noticed…too much. I was too busy gawking over the fact that Christmas stuff was still up for the first few days of the trip. I was thrilled, to be honest, because dude, I still had my Christmas decorations up, and I figured if DISNEY didn’t have theirs down, then I shouldn’t feel bad. (Of course, once I came to this conclusion, all the decorations were gone the next day. Even the poinsettias that had been planted were changed to purple and pink and yellow flowers.)
Here are a few picture highlights:
And you can see many more pictures here: Disney World 2011
It was nice seeing Adam’s family at various times throughout the trip as well. Eli ran the Goofy (in case you don't know, the Goofy is when you run the half-marathon AND the full marathon in the same weekend--we saw a lot of people wearing their marathon medals and limping, let me tell ya), Melissa ran the half-marathon, and Adam’s parents were there for cheers and support. Also, Cassidy brought little Lola which was awesome because she seemed to enjoy the park in the best way a little baby could:
We ate good food (Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill, and Boma FTW), saw parades and shows, rode rides (yea Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, Rock N Rollercoaster [twice], Space Mountain [twice], and of course, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), and really had an amazing time. I cannot wait to take Aidan this summer. Because OH YEAH we are going again! Twice in one year for me, and Aidan too, because his father is taking him in August. ROCK.
Oh yeah, I have six words for you: GIANT CHOCOLATE AND M&M COVERED MARSHMALLOW.
So getting another one of those when I go in June. Mouth is watering just thinking about it.
And now, some lists:
New Experiences This Trip
* Port Orleans French Quarter (staying in a moderate resort)
* Expedition Everest
* Country Bear Jamboree
* Meeting Pocahontas, Meeko, and Flik
* It’s Tough to be a Bug
* Captain EO
* Boma
* Flame Tree Barbeque
* Meeting Frozone
* Seeing the JaMMitors
* Mission Space: Green
Things I Wish I’d Done But Didn’t Get Around To
* Buying bath bombs at Basin White
* More of the dark rides
* Visiting the Japan pavilion in Epcot
* Mailing Aidan’s package from Disney World
* Sending Aidan an autographed postcard from Mickey Mouse
* Sending postcards in general
Lessons Learned
* Don’t schedule more than one character breakfast. Too dang early to get up, or they interrupt Rope Drop advantages (little to no ride lines!). Go for character DINNERS instead.
* Crystal Palace > Chef Mickey’s
* Avoid shopping in the Emporium. That place is a mad house!
* I would probably go later in the winter next time. The weather in early January is too unpredictable. I’d go for February. Should still be low crowds as long as I avoid Valentine’s Day or President’s Day.
* Port Orleans French Quarter has pretty good bus placement at the parks! Close bus stops, and bus service is really good. We rarely had to wait for a bus and if we did have to wait, it was never very long.
Okee dokee, artichokie. Signing off for now. Hope you enjoyed my trip report. I'll be back soon!
Byeeeeee!
3 comments:
Wow! Just found your blog. Great trip report. Sounds like it was simply a blast! My wife and I head down to WDW in just a few weeks!!!
Hey, let me know if you'd like to exchange "followers" :)
I'd love to exchange followers! I will follow you now! :D
What a great report!! I am so jealous!! You have to post more details!! And you get to go back again this year?? HOw lucky are you??
Glad you were able to meet Tiana...great pictures!!! I have to give Tom a nudge now....lol
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