Our WONDERFUL Disney World vacation has come and gone….I can’t believe it’s already over…seems we waited so long for it to get here…and POOF…it’s done! But what an AWESOME time we had…each day was better than the day before! And my long awaited dream of being there with my daughter…and seeing HER experience Disney World for the first time…came true…and it was truly magical!! She was like a little girl again…laughing, wide-eyed, and relaxed…enjoying every sight and sound…finally getting to ride all of the rides she had dreamed about since she was young…and hearing her say that the fireworks and light show on Cinderella’s castle made her want to cry because it was so beautiful…those are moments with her that I will never forget!
My husband, daughter and I were in Orlando for 3 days before we actually began our Disney World adventure. Our first hotel…the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista…was VERY nice! It is on Disney property and is an official Disney World Hotel…and is within walking distance to Downtown Disney. We had our first Character breakfast there with Minnie, Goofy, Brer Fox and Brer Bear…it was so much fun watching Brer Fox making eyes at my daughter…it made her first Character breakfast very special! LOL! We also enjoyed our visits to Downtown Disney…they have such FUN stores to shop in…and shop we did!!
Two of our evenings were spent watching awesome shows! We went to Jellyrolls on Disney’s Boardwalk…it’s a dueling piano bar for patrons 21 and over…and the 4 guys who performed were fantastic! The object is to turn in songs and try to stump the piano players…but no one did…they knew every song from every era and genre that was turned in! Of course, there are songs that they CAN’T sing because they are performing at Disney World…and they actually explain that a child could walk by and hear them…so they don’t sing anything that is too raunchy for that reason. Cool, huh? It was great fun and we highly recommend it, if you want a fun adult night out!
We also went to see Yehaa Bob at Port Orleans Riverside…a fun family oriented, audience involved show. He is a non-stop singing, piano playing maniac for about 1 ½ hours…he’s the most energetic performer I believe I’ve ever seen! And he is SO nice…after his show, he invites everyone in the audience to come up and take a picture with him to put on his Facebook page. You should check out Bob’s show sometime!!
We checked into our hotels (we had already done an online check in), Port Orleans Riverside for us and Port Orleans French Quarter for our daughter, early Monday morning (8:00 a.m.) and they actually had rooms ready for us! As soon as we were finished there, we jumped on the bus and headed to Magic Kingdom!! My husband and I had our Magic Bands on and were anxious to try them out! Our daughter had the standard Key to the World card as her hotel wasn’t participating in the testing phase just yet. My husband’s band worked perfectly…he touched the Mickey head on his band to the Mickey head on the touch point and put his finger on the sensor and when the green light came on, he went right on through…a very quick process! But if the green light DOESN’T come on…guess who’s didn’t…they get it remedied as quickly as possible! It just took a couple of minutes for the cast member to get mine working and we were good to go for the rest of the day!
Our tickets, room, dining plan, FastPass+ and PhotoPass were all on our MagicBands, so all they had to do is run a scanner type device over the Mickey head and the information was transferred for our meals and any pictures we had made by the photographers! Super simple and quick!! Having already made an itinerary for each day of our trip, we had scheduled our FastPass+ online in advance…but knew that with our daughter NOT having a MagicBand, this might present a problem. But of course, Disney World cast members go out of their way to make sure everyone has a pleasant experience, so this was never a problem for us once we explained the situation. They either sent her on through without a pass so she could ride with us, or they wrote out a pass for her so she never missed out on the rides or shows we had chosen beforehand.
Our son, his girlfriend (our other first timer) and our grandson arrived on Thursday…and the old saying…the more, the merrier…is certainly true! It had been killing them because we were already there having fun, so as soon as we picked them up from the airport, we were off for more Disney magic!
We had breakfast with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom and lunch with the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot. We dined with the Dinosaurs at T-Rex in Downtown Disney and enjoyed kidding around with the sassy waiters and waitresses at Whispering Canyon Café in Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. We were mesmerized by the fire dancer at Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at The Polynesian Resort and enjoyed eating a delicious buffet breakfast with Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. We went Trick or Treating in the Magic Kingdom at Mickey’s Not-So- Scary Halloween Party and had a few snacks at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival. We were enchanted with the surroundings and the food at Be Our Guest Restaurant and we watched our daughter try out for the American Idol Experience in Hollywood Studios and make it through, so seeing her perform on stage and having people stop her on the street to tell her how beautiful she sang and that they had voted for her was a special treat!! We rode the rides we loved…sometimes twice…and watched the parades and fireworks at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We all had a blast and this was a trip that none of us will forget anytime soon!
But now it’s back to reality (sigh)…work, bills, traffic, responsibilities…UGH!! Remember those suitcases I couldn’t wait to pack…I had so much trouble UNPACKING them…with
each thing I took out and put away…it was just another reminder that our vacation was over and we won’t be going back for 2 more years!!
713 days to go!
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As Julie says: “I am addicted to all things Disney! 🙂 I grew up in Vernon, TX and now reside in Waller, TX (outside of Houston) on a small ranch with my hubby and all of our animals who we affectionately call “The Zoo Crew”! We have been married almost a year now (together for 7) and have 5 children and 9 grandchildren between the 2 of us. We knew we were meant for each other when we discovered we were both Disney fanatics! 🙂 I went to Disneyland for the first time when I was 6 and fell in love with the magic of Disney. Now, my husband and I go to Disney World every 2 years either with friends or with whichever kid and grandkid are available to go at the time. We spend a lot of time planning our trips to ensure that everyone has the most memorable time while there, so that is what I will be writing about and hopefully give you some ideas to try for YOUR next Disney vacation. I am very excited to be a part of The Affordable Mouse team!”
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