WDW November 2019...again!

This is a quick post because even though it's about WDW, it is really just a precursor to a more grand adventure! We had just returned home on Monday, November 18 from a weekend at WDW, but about 96 hours later, we left home and drove back down to Florida! We left at about 1:30 am and drove straight through, arriving just before 3:00 pm.

Saturday, November 23

We checked in to Caribbean Beach in the afternoon; it was our first time staying there over three years because it was undergoing a pretty extensive refurbishment. Now that the Skyliner is open, it is a great resort to stay at because it's so convenient to get from there to many other locations!

After getting settled in the room, we went over to Coronado Springs for a quick lunch, then spent some time back at Caribbean Beach wandering around the resort. This is where we stayed the week that we got married, so we have a lot of happy memories at this resort!

We had a late dinner reservation at Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk, which was lovely, before calling it a night. We'd been up since 1:00 am, so we were pretty wiped out! However, we are not particularly proud of two Saturday nights in a row at WDW where all we did was sleep! LOL!

Kevin & Dug

Sunday, November 24

We went over to Disney Springs to get that amazing vegetarian bratwurst we found the previous weekend, and then over to Port Orleans French Quarter for beignets. We've been eating beignets there for 25+ years, but this was the first time they had Mickey-shaped beignets at POFQ! They were SO good!

We drove to Wilderness Lodge to see the beautiful Christmas tree, and then took an uber over to Grand Floridian to see the Christmas tree there – neither of the trees had been up the previous weekend, so I was so glad to have the chance to see them!

We walked over to Polynesian and on our way, I took what I think it is a pretty cool picture…my family's Walk Around the World brick in the foreground with the Wedding Pavilion where we renewed our vows in the background. I love it!

Our friend Dean picked us up at Polynesian and we hung out for a while before he dropped us off at our car at Wilderness Lodge before we drove back to Caribbean Beach. From there, we took the Skyliner to Art of Animation for dinner and then back to POFQ for beignets. Yes! Twice in one day! That's how good they are!

We ended the night taking pictures at Caribbean Beach because they have done such a wonderful job with the redesign! It was always a nice resort, but it is super pretty now!

these little stools reminded me
of the button on Bing Bong's lapel

Monday, November 25

We were up early to check out and go on a random but critical errand to buy a new charger for my laptop before driving to Port Canaveral for a Disney Cruise!

Happy Tails to you!

WDW November 2019

We went to WDW last month after not going there for over six months! Six months! That's a pretty good indication that life has been busy! Since our last trip to WDW, a few things have changed…we have a new baby nephew, a new sister-in-law, a new Dachshund, and I have a new job! So even though it was a quick trip and the weather was surprisingly chilly, we were really looking forward to it!

Daisy & Donald

Saturday November 16

We got up at 3 am, made our usual stop at Wawa for coffee, and then drove to BWI for our 7 am flight on Spirit. We did not have an empty seat between us, but it was not a problem because it's a short flight and I slept the entire time. We landed at 9 am, took the Magical Express to Coronado Springs, dropped off our bags, and took the bus to Disney Springs.

We ate lunch at Blaze Pizza and spent the afternoon shopping and looking at the decorated tree on the Christmas Tree Trail before taking an uber back to Coronado Springs at 4 pm. After picking up our bags, we went to our room for a quick nap. Well, that "nap" lasted 14.5 hours! We slept from 5:15 pm until 7:45 am Sunday morning! So much for our plans of a fun night!

Sunday November 17

After our very long night of sleep, we took an uber over to Fort Wilderness for our breakfast reservation at Trail's End. Even though the food was delicious and the service was excellent, it was incredibly busy and took a long time as a result. We spent a lot of time waiting in the buffet line, which was less than ideal! We took a boat over to Wilderness Lodge in hopes of seeing the Christmas tree over there, but it wasn't up yet, so we took an uber back to our resort and explored there instead. Let me say that Coronado Springs has really upped its game. It is absolutely one of our favorite resorts now! So beautiful!

At 2 pm, we took an uber over to Grand Floridian to see the huge Gingerbread House, and then we stopped in to see the new Enchanted Rose lounge. Overall, I was pretty underwhelmed; there are so many wonderfully-themed lounges around WDW and this one just felt like nothing special to me! What a let down! After Grand Floridian, we took the monorail over to Contemporary to see the Christmas display, and then walked to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

What a great night, despite the cold weather! We ate tons of snacks, went on our favorite attractions, watched the parade and the fireworks, and generally reveled in the holiday décor! The stage show at the end of the night featured the song "It Feels Like Christmas" from The Muppet Christmas Carol and it was completely magical!

We walked over to Contemporary to admire the Christmas tree – which is one of very favorites on the entire property – and then took an uber back to Coronado Springs.

<3

We were stopped on the PeopleMover for a short time...
perfect spot for Cinderella Castle in our selfie!

An entire boat to ourselves on "it's a small world"

Monday November 18, 2019

We packed, checked out, dropped off our bags at bell services, and took an uber to Art of Animation. The weather finally cleared up and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. After a quick lunch, we finally took the Sklyliner! It is amazing! We took it from AoA to Caribbean Beach, where we transferred and went to Epcot to visit the resorts over there. As always, the Christmas décor at Beach Club, Yacht Club, and Boardwalk was beautiful, and we also stopped at our gazebo, which always brings tears to my eyes.

From Boardwalk, we took the bus to Disney Springs, and discovered a new favorite…a vegetarian bratwurst at B.B.Wolf's. Seriously, it was one of the most delicious vegetarian things we've ever eaten!

We ended our trip at the Dahlia Lounge, which is at the top of Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs and has sweeping views of Epcot, DHS, Animal Kingdom, and Blizzard Beach. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

We took the Magical Express to the airport, and for some ridiculous reason, TSA pre-check was closed, which was very annoying. Thankfully, we still got to the gate with time to spare and for our 10:15 pm flight home, we had two of the Big Front Seats on Spirit, so it was a super comfy flight! We drove home from BWI, arrived just after 2 am, and had a very happy reunion with Ginny and Riley! A huge thank you to my mom for watching them for us!

Tinker Bell!

Happy Tails to you!