WDW May 2016

Before I even get into what we actually did during our time at WDW, let me say that it was as close to a perfect trip as we've ever had.  I know I say a lot of positive things about our travel, and particularly about trips to Disney parks, but there have been trips when the weather was awful, it was crowded, or we had negative experiences with cast members.  This trip, however, was really and truly awesome.  The weather was fabulous every day – in the 80s, sunshine, blue skies, not a cloud to be found, and little to no humidity.  It was glorious!

Also, here's a photo of our Magic Bands – Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia.  I've been having a pretty serious love affair with Zootopia since first seeing the movie in March, and along with our Magic Bands, I had Zootopia buttons and tsum tsums with me.  Additionally, one of the monorails on the resort loop was decked out with a Zootopia wrap, which we managed to ride multiple times.  We also spotted Judy and Nick in the Move It! Shake It! Parade, so it really felt like Zootopia was everywhere!

Friday, May 6

C and my mom picked me up right after school so she could drop us off at the airport for our flight at 6:15.  The flight itself was uneventful, which is a very good thing.  This was during the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with Pittsburgh and Washington battling it out to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.  I've been pretty clear about my allegiance to Sidney Crosby, so obviously I was rooting for the Penguins to defeat the Capitals.  Well, the first sign that this would happen (which, it did, just a few days later) was that our plane had penguins on it.  You see, Frontier planes have animals on them, and as we boarded, we noticed that the photo showed Emperor Penguins named Jim, Joe, Jay, and Gary!  I was feeling pretty encouraged at this point.  The second sign came ten minutes later when I spotted a guy walking down the aisle in a Crosby/Penguins shirt, and wouldn't you know it, he took the seat beside me!  Given that we were flying out of Washington, DC, it was definitely a pleasant surprise to be seated next to a Penguins fan!  Right then and there, I knew it was going to be a great weekend.

This is the lousy weather we left behind!

A gorgeous sunset as we began our descent into Orlando

After we landed, we picked up our rental car and drove over to the Polynesian to check in.  We had not stayed there for about ten years, so we were super excited!  When you check in, they give each person a lei, which is fun, but really the best thing about staying at Polynesian is the availability of Dole Whip Floats at Pineapple Lanai.  This was the first thing we did after checking in, before we even went to our room, and over the course of the trip, we ate more of those floats than I was able to keep track of.  SO yum!

After dropping our bags off in our room, we headed straight to MK.  The weather was perfect, the lines were minimal, and we were able to do a ton of stuff in a few short hours.  We stayed for the Kiss Goodnight, and while we were hanging out in the hub and taking photos, a cast member came over and asked if we'd like some cupcakes!  What a nice surprise!

Saturday, May 7

When we got up the next morning, I looked out the window and realized that we could see the Wedding Pavilion from our room.  Ahhh, such happy, happy memories!

We had some Tonga Toast down at Captain Cook's for breakfast, and while we were eating, a mother duck and several of her ducklings were waddling around.  One decided to lie down right beside my foot.  I was in love!

After breakfast, we took the monorail to the TTC and then to Epcot.  Lucky for us, the International Flower and Garden Festival was still happening, so the park was even more beautiful than usual.  I had brought two new pairs of mouse ears that I bought from Etsy, and I wanted to get a photo of one of them with Spaceship Earth, so C patiently waited while I tried to get the perfect shot.  We also grabbed a drink Starbucks so that I could get a cute photo with my Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde tsum tsums.  After wandering around for a while, we walked back to the World Showcase because we had a lunch reservation at Via Napoli in Italy.  Seriously some of the best pizza we've ever eaten!  We got some ice cream from L'Artisan des Glaces in France before walking over to International Gateway to leave Epcot.  I stopped to take a photo of the store sign, and by doing so, I spotted Rapunzel as she came out for a meet and greet.  I was kind of stunned for a minute because all of the meet and greets are so formal now, with particular spots for certain characters, and specific times posted for their appearances (not to mention those that practically require fast passes)!  But she smiled and waved to people as she walked over to a spot where it was clear she was ready to take photos!  Let me say this:  I LOVE Rapunzel.  I love the character, I love the movie Tangled, I love the other characters in the movie, I love the soundtrack, I love the Tangled bathrooms at MK, I loved the musical we saw on our Disney Cruise, I've got the sun from Tangled on both my car and my water bottle…you get the idea.  I have even, on several occasions, used one of my fast passes to meet Rapunzel at MK.  So clearly this unexpected encounter made my day, and the reality is that some of the face characters are better than others, and this was a really, really, really good Rapunzel!  She was very excited by the "Best Day Ever" shirt I was wearing, which was a very happy coincidence!  Unfortunately, I was not prepared for this encounter, so I hadn't planned anything witty or clever to say, but she was so sweet that it didn't really matter.

We walked over to Beach Club and Yacht Club, visited our gazebo, then continued on to DHS, where we stayed until the park closed.  All of the construction has really made this my least favorite park because I feel like there is very little to do, but some of our favorite attractions are there, and we were able to fit them in even though we were only there for a few hours.

Sunday, May 8

We met my brother and sister-in-law at Fort Wilderness for breakfast at Trail's End because they happened to be at WDW for the weekend as well, and we had a great time.  They were also having a fun trip and were telling us some of the things they'd done so far, and there were two things that made me so proud.  One, my sister scored 999,999 on Buzz Lightyear at MK, which earned her the title of Galactic Hero – this may seem like a silly thing to be excited about, but C and I have been trying to get that score for years, with no luck, and she was able to do it accidentally!  I mean, look below at my score, which is pretty typical for me, and C's much more impressive score.  To say I struggle with this attraction is an understatement, so for her to get the highest score possible?  I was practically giddy.  Two, they ate at Crystal Palace, which is a character meal, so Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, and Pooh Bear roam around for photos and autographs.  When PB came to their table, my brother said he had a bone to pick with PB and that Mr. Toad had sent him.  I'm not going to explain why this was such an amusing comment, but I was so impressed he'd thought to say that!  The little things in life really do make me so happy!

After breakfast, they were off to DHS, while C and I went back to the Polynesian.  We rested for a little while because we knew we were going to have a late night, and I also FaceTimed with Ginny, which is always fun.

We had an early dinner reservation at Tony's Town Square Restaurant and met Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater.  This was where I took photos of the second set of ears – they were Tinker Bell ears and those who know me know why Tinker Bell is so near and dear to my heart.  This particular Tinker Bell was adorable!

WDW tested a new ticketed event at MK called After Hours, which gave guests three hours of access to attractions after the park closed.  It was not a very successful endeavor apparently, because they ended up offering annual pass holders tickets to the event at 50% off ($75 vs. $150).  While I had no interest initially, when the reduced price was offered for one of the nights we were visiting, I jumped at it.  Well, let me tell you, it was worth every single cent.  The park was practically empty and every attraction was open between 11 pm and 2 am.  We walked right on to every single ride and had entire vehicles to ourselves on most of them.  A bonus was unlimited ice cream, but it was really all about the empty park.  If only it could be like that all the time!  It was heaven!

My favorite part of the night, other than obviously being in one of my favorite places with my very favorite person ever, was Peter Pan's Flight.  It was always my favorite attraction as a child because I was completely convinced we were actually flying over London and everything about it was so incredibly magical.  The queue had been redone, but we'd never seen it because we always use a fast pass since the line is always so ridiculously long.  During the After Hours event, however, there was no line whatsoever, so instead of getting right on the ride, we asked if we could walk back through the queue to see all of the new additions.  OMG.  It is completely amazing and I got a photo of Tinker Bell in the bureau drawer.  Love, love, love!

I'm so sad they've decided to not continue the After Hours event because I would jump at the chance to experience the park that way again!

Monday, May 9

Despite getting back to our room well after 3 am, we were up pretty early to pack and check out.  We spent most of the day at MK, and it was fabulous.  I was fairly disgusted with the Starbucks employee who spelled BOTH Aladdin and Jasmine incorrectly (see below), but other than that, it really was a perfect day.

The highlight was that I was on the lookout for a family with two girls so I could give my mouse ears to them. While part of my motivation was to avoid having to find room in my bag for them, I really wanted to spread a little magic.  I found the perfect family on the PeopleMover.  I was worried I'd lost them because they were several families in front of us, but as we got off the ride, I spotted them!  I am notoriously awkward on my best day, so I did not do a very good job explaining why I wanted to give them my ears, but after stumbling through a few sentences, I managed to hand the ears over to the two sweet little girls.  It made me so happy to give them the ears and I hope they enjoyed them.

Before heading to the airport, we stopped at Disney Springs to look around for a while, and then sadly, our perfect weekend drew to a close.  A few hours later, we were home with our little gals and back to reality.  We are already looking forward to our next trip!

luggage tags from Disney Springs

I'm now ready for a Mad tea Party!

Happy Tails to you!