WDW May 2021 Day 1

I have decided to break this trip into three posts (even though it was only about 60 hours long!) because of the many photos I took!

one of my favorite pics from the weekend

Back in February, a friend - who wholeheartedly shares in my love of Disney - texted me because she'd found cheap flights to Orlando. I decided to take a look and there was availability for the weekend of C's birthday, which I obviously took as a sign that we needed to go! We also had quite a stash of Southwest funds from all of our canceled trips in 2020, so it only made sense to use those up, right? I also found a great deal on a room at WDW, which I will get into shortly, so it seemed like it was meant to be!

On Friday night, we drove Ginny to my mom's house for the weekend, drove back home, and managed to get a few hours of sleep before leaving our house around 3:45 am for our early flight. We recently bought new travel backpacks for shorter trips that are smaller versions of the backpacks we already own and use for longer trips, so this was their maiden voyage. They turned out to be the perfect size!

Once we landed, we took a lyft rather than the Magical Express because that same Disney-loving friend had been there the previous week and had warned against the long wait and the crowding on the bus. Since we had no checked bags and didn't have to wait for the Magical Express, we got over to our resort in no time!

This was the sixth birthday C got to celebrate at WDW! On those previous birthday trips, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn, Polynesian, and Bay Lake Tower. This time, we stayed at Riviera, which is the newest resort at WDW!

The resort itself is absolutely lovely and it being on the SkyLiner route is a huge bonus! Our room, though, was unusual. When I booked it a few months ago, I thought it would be cool to stay in what seemed like a unique room, and while it was ok, I would not choose it again. It was a studio and it was tiny! The bed was a pull-down murphy bed and there was very little space in the room when the bed was open (although the bathroom was surprisingly spacious!). On the plus side, it was super close to the SkyLiner station and there was beautiful artwork all around the resort, including two gorgeous archways - Peter Pan and Tangled!

Since WDW isn't selling new annual passes right now, we had to buy park tickets when we booked our resort so that we could make park reservations. We are usually pretty laid back about the parks, but had to take a different approach this trip to get the most bang for our buck!

We took the SkyLiner a little after 10:00 am from Riviera to Epcot and as soon as we entered,I began to cry. Not the single-tear-running-down-my-cheek kind of crying...the full on, my-heart-could-honestly-not-handle-it sobbing.

It had been 463 days since we'd been in a Disney Park (with Disneyland Paris being our most recent in January 2020) and 531 days since we'd been in an American Disney Park.

The joy I felt walking into Epcot on Saturday morning was indescribable.

The Flower and Garden Festival was happening and the park was colorful and vibrant and we spent our time going to the various food booths for snacks and drinks. Unfortunately, it was pretty hot, so we went back to Riviera for a nap in the afternoon before returning around 5:00 pm. The area in front of Spaceship Earth has been reimagined and I absolutely love it, and that's pretty much where we eventually ended the night before heading to the back entrance of the park. My friend had warned me that the SkyLiner would have a very long line at park close, and she was right! Luckily it moved quickly and only took about twenty minutes.

my MagicBand for this trip

One final thing from our day...I ran into the owner of a small shop I love! I have purchased a phone case, a mask chain, and many adorably themed buttons - including customs ones I ordered from her for our vow renewal at WDW! If you know me in person, you know how awkward I can be in social situations, and when I spotted her, that awkwardness was on full display. However, she was so kind and gracious! She also gave me a button to add to my collection...she was seriously so sweet!

my new button

my phone case

our custom buttons from 2014

A grand and miraculous day.

Happy Tails to you!