Epcot 2015

Hi! I know it's been a while. It takes a lot to put one of these posts together, and I've been super busy with work. But today my brain is scattered in 23849 different directions, so I thought, why not catch up. Or try to, anyway?



Aidan and I went to Epcot twice while on our trip. The first day, it was the two of us, and we had a good time. There was adventuring and characters and rides! There was one part that sucked, though. We were in line to meet Donald Duck when my phone started going crazy, showing me all these fraudulent charges using my Capital One. Then we were next and Donald had to go eat a taco (It was the Mexico Donald Duck.) I'd been trying to get a Donald all trip and argh. The card stuff eventually got sorted, so it all worked out. And that evening? We ate at Garden Grill and had an amazing time. Seriously, that restaurant blows me away EVERY SINGLE TIME I go, and this was my 11th time there.



We got the HOOKUP for dessert, thanks to Sam, the amazing manager. Check this out:



Can you even believe? I still can't.

We watched the fireworks with my friend Joey and he dropped us off at the hotel after which was so nice of him.

The 2nd day we went, it was our last day in a Disney park for our trip. So those days are always bittersweet. Aidan wanted a hat, but not any hat. THIS HAT:



I'd just gotten the official word that Humana wanted to hire me as a contractor, so I was happy to buy it for him from the China pavilion.

We did the Character Connection, which is always different every time we go!



Eventually, Aidan and I met up with Joey and his daughters (Bella and Victoria) that afternoon and ate pizza at Via Napoli. That pizza tasted FREAKING DELICIOUS. We rode Test Track and Mission: Space with them as well. Aidan wanted to ride Orange: More Intense and so did Bella. Joey didn't want Bella to ride it at first; I just think he didn't want her to go alone. When I told him that I was letting Aidan go, he let her go too. I love that I can let Aidan do that. I was never going to tell him "no."

Victoria and I played the games in the Mission Control part while we waited, and when that ended, I got her some astronaut ice cream, which she'd never even heard of, let alone tried!

At some point during the day, this bird somehow got ahold of a mayo packet. There was a cast member standing under the tree trying to get him to drop it but this bird was like LOL.



That night, I had to pick up my rental car. Aidan and I were crashing out at Joey's for a couple of nights before heading up the Florida coast. Joey made us dinner and let me do laundry, and we got to talk to Ricky Luna on video chat, and watch Wishes (the Magic Kingdom fireworks) from Joey's window. Then we had to go to bed. It was LEGOland the next day!

Hollywood Studios 2015

Aidan and I spent one day at Hollywood Studios, and it was a great day. We skipped Toy Story Midway Mania and Tower of Terror (which gets a resounding HELL NO from Aidan), but I got to do Rock'N Rollercoaster (yay single rider!). We shopped and watched the Muppet show they have there, and met characters and ate and rode Star Tours a LOT. We also rode The Great Movie Ride, which has a super long line all the time now for some reason. Thank goodness we had Fastpasses. The ride has been redone a bit, maybe that was the draw. Anyway,

We met Baymax and Phineas & Ferb and Goofy! Doesn't he look dapper?



We hung out and acted silly.



And we drew a picture of Mr. Frederickson from Up! Aidan's looks professional. Mine is HUGE.




Hollywood Studios may as well been called Frozen Studios. It was All Frozen, All The Time. I don't mind Frozen. Aidan is not a fan of it. At All.



There was a Frozen clavicle, where they stopped and sang Let It Go and skated around, wearing winter clothing in 90+ degree temperatures. There was also "snow." It was so strange. We did the Frozen Sing-Along which was fantastic. The comedy bits were on point (there was even an Arrested Development joke!), and the singing was great. Let It Go again. Then there was the Frozen Dance Party, where there were remixed versions of Let It Go to dance to. I left all my stuff with Aidan and joined the dancers on the dance floor. It was super fun. Then, there were the Frozen Fireworks. Which were OMG beautiful.

After Frozen-time, we watched Fantasmic! which is always gorgeous. It was Aidan's first time seeing it and he enjoyed it!



Hollywood Studios is usually a fun, easy park for me and Aidan. We don't have rides we really need to hustle for if you go on the right day (and we did! the lines for Star Tours were never more than 10 minutes the whole day), and 50s Prime Time Cafe, where we had dinner, is always yummy and a good time. So many changes are coming to the park soon. I wonder what it'll be like then?

Magic Kingdom 2015

Yay, Magic Kingdom! We went to Magic Kingdom twice. The first day, Wednesday, Aidan and I got there at about 7:40 or so, but the park was already open! I was confused until I realized that this is a *thing* they do--open super early. We'd even missed the welcome song. No worries, though. We were still there early enough to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice in a row, the Barnstormer twice in a row, and get some yummy things to eat!

We managed to pack a LOT into a very long first day. Haunted Mansion (Aidan finally got brave enough to try it--and ended up LOVING it), Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Mickey's Philharmagic, wow, so much. Character greetings (I finally got to meet Merida and she loved our hair!), general people watching, and both parades plus fireworks. And I finally got to eat at Casey's! I still didn't get a hot dog, but we shared a big order of fries and they were great. I also got my chocolate-covered pineapple, which always makes me happy. I can't even remember where we ate dinner. OH! It was Liberty Tree Tavern! Aidan loved the mac and cheese, and I enjoyed the cake.



Our second day, that Friday, we ate lunch at Be Our Guest. I had the Croque Monsieur (grilled sandwich of carved ham, Gruyere cheese, and bechamel with Pommes Frites) and oh my God yes. It was perfect! Aidan loved his pasta with marinara sauce as well. We got there TOO early (I thought the park opened at 8, nope, it opened at 9) so we spent a lot of time people watching. The park did open early again, though, and this time we headed toward Tomorrowland, which was so empty! I got to ride the Astro-Orbiter for the first time in ten years and it was as fun as I remember! And then we did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger spin, another one I hadn't done in years. So much fun!



We didn't do too much on that second day. I did convince him to do Country Bear Jamboree, which he found entertaining (especially that Blood on the Ground song), and Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain happened again. I didn't convince him to try Space Mountain. Maybe next time! OH I did get him to try my churro and he liked it so much he wanted to buy his own! Only a rainstorm rolled in and the cart shut down. So we hung out and waiting until it was safe to open again, then we had to wait for the fresh churros to arrive. SO WORTH IT. We also met the talking Mickey Mouse in Town Hall, and Tinker Bell!

We ended up leaving earlier than I wanted. A storm was rolling in, and Aidan was getting tired and cranky. I was tired too. We headed back to the hotel to rest up. I'm always sad when I leave Magic Kingdom, but I was looking forward to the next day of nothing before heading back to the parks on Sunday.



I can't wait to go back. :)

(crossposted at anywhere is)

Animal Kingdom 2015

Our first day in the Disney Parks was Animal Kingdom. It used to be Magic Kingdom always, but I think the crowd calendar or dining reservations or something factored into my decision to start with a different park this time. It was a fun, but short day, even though Animal Kingdom stayed open until 8pm that day.





We got there and immediately headed over to the dinosaur section, where we hopped on to Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin. Aidan was excited to ride Dinosaur again. That ride is fun but it has a lot of jump scares which I am not a fan of, but I'll take that over Tower of Terror any day (which I used to LOVE).



He didn't want to see the Finding Nemo show ("I don't like musicals") but I dragged him to The Festival of the Lion King because I wasn't going to miss it. He liked it. We ate Pizzafari for lunch, went on the safari, and took the train over to the Conservation Station where I made him hold the elephant poop.



We watched the Flights of Wonder show and that was really cool. I'd never seen it before. I got selected to sit on stage with my camera and *try* to photograph the owl coming at me. I couldn't do it. It was fun being on stage though!

We had a minor emergency! After using our FastPasses for a second go-round on Primeval Whirl, we marveled at how much faster and spinnier it was compared to that morning. We walked along and I noticed that Expedition Everest had a 10-minute single rider wait. Aidan has no interest in riding that coaster, but it's one of my favorites. He sat down to play on his phone...and there was no phone there. He'd had it before we got on Primeval Whirl, so I deduced it had to have come out in there. Back to Dinoland USA we went, and we talked to some cast members. Sure enough, they found his phone in one of the cars. The ride was so much more spinnier it spun the phone right out of Aidan's pocket! But we got the phone back and all was well! And I got to ride Expedition Everest with only a 5-minute single rider wait.

Animal Kingdom is undergoing a lot of renovations, so a lot of what makes the park so beautiful was masked by tall fences and signs. There were some pretty parts, though.



We didn't have a very long day at Animal Kingdom. We did everything we wanted to do, and I had a phone call scheduled, so we made an early day of it. It was a super fun day, though. Not too tiring or overwhelming. After my call, we hung out at the resort. I sunbathed by the pool and sent Snapchats. Then at 7:30, I watched the Movie Under the Stars (which was Wall-E) and ate a turkey sandwich and Doritos. It was a relaxing night. We knew we'd need to rest up for Magic Kingdom the next day!



So obviously, my next vacation post will be about Magic Kingdom! So, till next time!

(crossposted at anywhere is)

It's About That Time

2013
I made the BIG payment last week--you know what I'm talking about. MagicBands have been customized for the (hopefully) last time, FastPass+ plans have been scheduled, ADRs made, and now I'm just waiting for the travel documents to show up. And in just over a month, Aidan and I will be heading to Orlando once again!

We're both very excited. I'm also a little nervous. It will be just the two of us for most of this trip. He's been wanting to do a mom-son trip for a long time, and I wanted to really do this and make it special for him before he became a teen and decided that being seen with me in public is a travesty. (I really hope that never happens but you never know.) I really hope we can spend the time to talk about anything and everything, and just enjoy each other, and have fun together.

This time we're staying at Pop Century. He really wanted to stay at Art of Animation, but the thing about that is the only room that is practical for us would be The Little Mermaid rooms and he really did not want to stay in one of those. However, we're going to be so close to AoA that I figure we can walk over and explore on our "resort" day.

I made ADRs for The Garden Grill, Liberty Tree Tavern, 50s Prime Time Cafe, and Be Our Guest (lunch). I am looking forward to having a Dole Whip, eating a churro, and having a chocolate covered pineapple. If they have brought back the Reese's Pieces covered marshmallow wands, I will have one of those as well.

Because he and I have gone so many times, and because I have the FastPass+, I feel like we can take it pretty easy this trip. It will be crowded and hot, so I'm hoping we won't feel the need to rush or cram a bunch in. Also, the longer trip will help spread things out. We don't have Park Hoppers, but I reserve the right to add them if I feel led to.

I have so much to look forward to! We'll be there soon.


2005

My Top Five Disney Snacks

Eating is a very important part of life and therefore, and important part of any Disney vacation. And what's a vacation without snacking? NO FUN is what I say to that!

Needless to say, I enjoy snacking when I'm on vacation at a Disney park. I walk a lot (nearly 9 miles per day in the Parks) and I get hungry. A sister's gotta take care of herself. And when the scent of delicious confections fill the air, it's really hard to say "no." So I don't! :)


5. Mickey Ice Cream Bars. Those Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream bars. So simple, and yet so pleasing. Sadly, I can never finish a whole one. That doesn't stop me from trying.

4. Dole Floats. Take pineapple juice, plopped in a swirl of pineapple soft serve, and you have a treat that is delectable. The lines for this thing are out control sometimes, but dang, is it good. And refreshing!

3. Mickey Cake Pops. I tried one of these babies on my most recent trip and OH MY GOODNESS. Best cake pops I have ever tasted. Ever. The ears are marshmallow, and the inside is this ooey-gooey rich chocolate heaven. I devoured the entire thing without even thinking twice, that's how good it was.


2. Churros. I LOVE churros. I don't even care if they're stupidly overpriced. They're a perfect snack. Not too big, not too small. Not to sweet, not too savory. Just right. I can always go for a churro.

1. Marshmallow Wands. Disney World used to have those chocolate-covered marshmallow wands that were covered in tiny Reese's Pieces candies. They have recently discontinued these delicious, amazing treats, much to my disappointment. However, they still have the ones covered in mini M&Ms, and while they're not as good as the Reese's Pieces, they do in a pinch. My favorite snack at the Disney parks HANDS DOWN. I just really hope they bring back the ones with the Reese's Pieces. Soon.

Honorable mention: These big ole cookies. My son loves them.

All Hail Mickey Mouse!

Guess who recently returned from a really cool Disney vacation? If you guessed ME, you'd be right! :) I didn't post much about it here because well, it was such a random, sorta last minute thing. See, my brother-in-law Eli and his wife Melissa both work for the Disney company in California, so they get free tickets (four each!) and discounted accommodations for the parks. They also run marathons and crazy things like that. They came to Orlando to do the Wine & Dine Half Marathon and then to vacation a bit. Adam's family was joining them, along with Melissa's mom. That left one space for me! I just had to pay for my flight and contribute a bit to the room cost, which was VERY VERY reasonable, what they asked. And of course, buy my own food, etc.


the gang!
The trip was from November 7-15. I had to be with Eli to get let into the park, and then I could do whatever I want the rest of the day. Sometimes I stuck with Adam's family (his mom, dad, sister, and niece), sometimes I hung with Melissa, Eli, and Vicky. Sometimes we were ALL together. A lot of times I went off by myself. I took a lot of selfies! Ha.


The Magic started right away, when I went to check in and the guy at the desk gave me a pile of stickers and coloring books and crayons and buttons! And it just kept continuing, with people doing nice things, my friend Joe getting us into Garden Grill for dinner even though it had been booked for months, big hugs from Mickey Mouse and the gang, and so much more.

Here are the things I've learned the times that I was on my own at Disney World:

1. It's an interesting experience. I loved the freedom of doing what I wanted when I wanted. It was much faster and easier to weasel my way through crowds when I was by myself. I enjoyed just answering to myself. If I wanted to do something, I did it. I didn't have to get approval or wait for people, I could just go for it. And single rider lines for rides are the best. I pretty much walked right on to Test Track more than once. And there are some really warm and open people at Disney World. I talked to one wonderful woman about ten minutes and by the end of the conversation, she was embracing me. Little girls seemed to love me--so many would just stop and smile and/or say "hi" to me or just start talking to me. Little boys, too! And I got a free churro because I was at the Christmas Party by myself. If I wanted to sit and people watch, it was OK for me to do that. I didn't feel like I was putting people out when my tiny bladder made its needs known loudly and often. If people in the group were doing something I wasn't all that into, I liked being able to say "I'm going to do [some other thing] and I'll catch up with you later." I loved that.

2. Eating was so cheap when it was just me! Before I left for Disney, I purchased $150 in Disney gift cards from Target (using my RedCard so I'd save 5%), and I didn't use all of it. Granted, one meal was an expensive one and I paid for that NOT using the gift card, but the rest? Well, I came home with $20 left, and I'd even bought a souvenir with some of the gift card money. This was done with some extra help though: I had granola bars and Pop-Tarts in my room. I bought one bottle of water and kept refilling it, and I also bought a refillable drink mug (with a gift card!) to use when I was at the resort. Seeing as I was there so many nights, it was a good investment, especially on my resort day. I also have a small appetite, so many times, the kid's meal was adequate for me. I also forgot about my gift cards and got a couple of Food & Wine entries with cash. So, truthfully, I probably spent about $180 to feed myself at Disney World for nine days, including a refillable drink mug, a fancy sit down meal, and novelty snacks. I'd say $20 a day isn't bad.

3. During a long trip like this, a day in the middle to do NOTHING is a fantastic idea. I never knew the value of it until last week. I realized that I am absolutely capable of melting down like the toddlers at the end of the night (or morning or whenever) who have had ENOUGH. I was like that Monday night after the Christmas party. I was just DONE. Then I dropped my brand new phone INTO the Murphy bed that I was sleeping on (which was very comfortable by the way). I didn't sleep well. By Tuesday morning, I was a mess. I got on my computer while waiting for maintenance to come and help me get my phone out. I took my medication, and tried to calm down. It worked. Maintenance came and my phone was rescued and unharmed. The meds kicked in. I pulled on my bathing suit and decided to stick around the resort all day. I hung out at the pool and had a drink, and talked to my mom and Aidan on the phone. Then I took a nice, hot bath before heading to the food court for something yummy to eat. (Probably corn dogs, seeing as I can't seem to get enough of the things lately.) It was a nice, relaxing, much-needed day of downtime and self care. I highly recommend a resort/pool day for all long Disney trips.

I got to spend time at Disney with a little kid, which doesn't happen often. I mean, there are kids THERE, but they're not with me, so yeah. Hanging out with Lola was great. To hear that little voice say "I want to sit with RONNI" was soooo fun!


how cute is this?
And I had to admire how they kept her fed and happy with PB&J, fruit, cheese sticks, popcorn, etc. They didn't have to spend a lot of money on her nor worry about feeding her since she can be a picky little eater. And because she was in her stroller, they could just feed her just about anywhere. Chris and I didn't do that with Aidan! Not that he'd have eaten PB&J anyway....


I got to do some new things this trip. I finally got to see Fantasmic! :) I'd been hearing about this fireworks show for years and years but it always seemed like a pain in a butt to get to. You had to line up a million years before to get a good seat or even a seat at all, blah blah blah. But FastPass+ made it possible for Cassidy and me to get front row center seats (now, we'd have normally never wasted a Fast Pass on a show but that's about all they had available by the time we made it to Hollywood Studios that evening), so there it was. And I LOVED it! It lived up to the hype for sure!

I sat at the Pinocchio restaurant and waved to people riding it's a small world. That was fun.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is so much fun! Such a cute coaster!

I saw Finding Nemo: The Musical. I liked it, but The Festival of the Lion King wins. I missed the Jammin' Jungle Parade. So sad it's gone. I heard it is coming back after all the work is done in Animal Kingdom. I hope so.


Animal Kingdom in the dark! That was certainly new! It either closes so early or it stays dark so late that I've never see it at night. It's just as pretty.

And there was Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, where I got to meet these guys:


And see Main Street look like this (complete with fake snow):



The pictures do not do the castle justice, how pretty it is. It's incredible, and now they've incorporated Elsa and Anna and Olaf (from Frozen) into the castle lighting in a very clever way. I approve! :) Here's a video of the very ending, complete with a "wooo" from me.


And oh oh oh, I got to see the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights! It was sooooo cool. Definitely will put you in the holiday spirit, as long as you can handle the crowds!! Here's a snippet!


Honestly, I cannot even begin to put all the stuff I got to see and do. It was just a nice, long, awesome vacation. If you'd like to see more photos, click here! There's lots to see! :)

And I leave you with a photo of Mickey and me. Because yes.


Till next time! :)

(crossposted to my personal blog)

My Top Five Disney Coasters

Disney has so much to offer, and their rides are no exception. Now, I grew up in Cleveland, OH, which was just a couple of hours from Cedar Point. Cedar Point is known for its record-breaking and unprecedented coasters, and I'd ridden almost all of them, until I moved from OH in 2008.

Because I'd been reared on riding the tallest, fastest, blah blah blah coasters, I just have to say that I've never been afraid of Disney coasters. That's not to say Disney coasters are for wimps or that they're no fun. They are loads of fun, because they're not just full of thrills. They're also amazingly themed and fit in well with Disney's brand.

Wow, did I just use the word brand?

Anyway, here are my favorite Disney coasters:

5. Space Mountain. A classic. The dark, the space, the whole 80s vibe makes Space Mountain truly magical. I have to say that I'm a bigger fan of the Disneyland version, though, with the music right in your car and being able to sit next to your companion. I love them both regardless.

4. Rockin' Roller Coaster. The blast off at the beginning is the BEST. It's the only coaster at Disney World that goes upside down and has corkscrews and let me tell you, they are amazing. The coaster is kind of jerky, which is hard when you have to keep your head smashed to the seat back for that blast off. But it's a lot of fun to ride and probably the most thrilling coaster in all of the Disney parks.


3. 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. This new coaster is freaking adorable. Smoothest ride in the park, and the cars gently rock from side to side! The queue for this coaster is the best queue of any coaster, with fun activities and beautiful theming.

2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This coaster has some of the best theming in the park. It's an old favorite--a runaway train in a mining town. There's something sweet about it and I love, love, love to ride it. Over and over and over.

1. Expedition Everest. OK, I lied when I said I wasn't afraid of Disney coasters. The first time I rode Expedition Everest, I was terrified. I didn't know why. Probably because I knew it was in the dark and it went backwards and there was a YETI inside. But I'm a brave soul. I rode it and LOVED it and it became my favorite. If I can, I ride it multiple times in a day. I love it just that much.


my first time riding!
Honorable mention: I am not sure if it even counts as a coaster, but I freaking LOVE Test Track. It's just such a well-designed ride that is great for all ages. At first, I wasn't a fan of the redesign, but now I'm in love with it.

So, there you have it. My five favorite coasters at Disney Parks. I hope to make this a series, so keep coming back! :)

Ten Trips to Garden Grill

Garden Grill is my favorite restaurant at Disney World. It's a family-style all-you-can-eat place, with fresh vegetables, succulent meats, and the best character interaction in the parks. Instead of going to a buffet, they bring the food to you. And the restaurant rotates, so guests are looking over the ride "Living With the Land" for part of their meal. This restaurant also has the best character interaction in all of Epcot and possibly Disney World.


The menu changes ever so often, but they tend to keep a few favorites: turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy; some sort of beef; some variety of fish; and a type of cobbler for dessert. They're often accommodating when I ask if I can have some of the macaroni & cheese from the kid's menu. They used to use Stouffer's macaroni & cheese, but this year they seem to have come up with their own recipe.


I've been on ten trips to Disney World, and managed to eat at Garden Grill on every single one. Check out this picture history!


August 2001 - my first Disney trip and my first time ever meeting Mickey Mouse!

May 2005

September 2008 - on my DisneyMoon with Adam

August 2009 - Chip and me.

January 2011

June 2011

Valentine's Day 2012.

February 2013

June 2013

November 2014
Interesting to note how the outfits have changed over the years! Mickey got a completely new makeover from when I first saw him. At one point, the chipmunks wore overalls. See?


Some things that have not changed though: amazing service, delicious food, and awesome characters. I will continue to go back to Garden Grill.