A Very Merry Birthday Trip to Mouse City Orlando! Feb/March 2015

[TXMNie]

Love all the character photos! Looks like a ton of fun!

 

[goodmorningirl]

You are very kind. He is growing up so fast! He is two months and almost 14 lbs, 2ft tall. I love that kid. I can't wait until we go to Disneyland. I really enjoy your updates and pics. What are the things you loved most about this trip and things you wouldn't do again?

So cute! I'm sure you'll have so much fun enjoying the magic with your little one. That's a good question! I'm going to put some thought into that and come back to it at the end.

Hi all. Sorry it has been almost a month (!) since my last update. A job change means not so much "free" time, but I'm back and ready to give another update in a few!

 

[goodmorningirl]

We were back bright and early at Hollywood Studios as we had not yet conquered our goal of Cory winning the Bear on TSMM. This would be our last ride of the vacation and we weren’t sure when we’d be back. We sat in the car, put on our 3D glasses, looked at our each other and knew we had to be together on this. We flipped the barn, made the balloon meteors hit, broke the plates, revealed the monster by knocking out the aliens, and opened up all the targets in Woody’s little town. We felt like we’d done well, but as we approached the screen we started to doubt ourselves. Well…





We did it! Woo!




I mean, look at the happiness at winning a fake top prize in a ride. Perfection.


We walked out on a high and saw an Army Man meeting.





We were getting hungry for breakfast and made our way to a favorite stop, Starring Rolls.





While adult choice may have been a bagel, I went for the Cinderella cupcake that was just as sweet as it looks. It was good, but I tried, and failed, to finish it.





We walked past the new hat free Theater which completely brings me back to being little. I LOVE it.





And on to Star Tours.








We then left Hollywood Studios and went back to our hotel for a quick change. I was DisneyBounding in Epcot.


We got to Epcot around lunch time and found ourselves here.





Cory had the Tacos al pastor from the Flower and Garden food booth while I had the Blueberry Pomegranate Margarita.





Then we stood and listened to the Mariachi Band.

 

[disneyguy4life]

We flipped the barn, made the balloon meteors hit, broke the plates, revealed the monster by knocking out the aliens, and opened up all the targets in Woody’s little town. We felt like we’d done well, but as we approached the screen we started to doubt ourselves. Well…

Nah! Everyone knows if you flip the barn you are solid gold, yo! Welcome back to your TR. I can't wait to hear the rest and your best a worst list. How is the job change going? Are you enjoying it? You are awesome... keep it up playa.

 

[goodmorningirl]

Nah! Everyone knows if you flip the barn you are solid gold, yo! Welcome back to your TR. I can't wait to hear the rest and your best a worst list. How is the job change going? Are you enjoying it? You are awesome... keep it up playa.

Hey disneyguy4life. You're awesome! Job is going well. Just busy, meaning not as much time on the disboards ha. It's more toward my intended career though which is good. I've got my thinking cap on regarding the best and worst!


Yikes! It’s been so long! Sorry all, things got so busy so quickly. I’m pretty sure I should probably finish this before it’s been a year since the trip! Lol

Next it was on to China.



We spent some time just admiring the architecture and thinking about almost having our wedding here. It definitely would have been cool to dance under this dome.



Then we went in the Tomb of the Warriors…which we do every trip. I think it’s really cool, but I don’t have to read about it every time. Cory though, he does, and so this is a picture from a bench in the corner. Lol



We then walked into Japan, and past the food booth, to get back to the aquarium for one of Cory’s gifts.





I quickly grabbed some tangerine couscous from Morocco because it is my favorite. Seriously. So good we had it at our wedding. Yum.



I left him there at the Seas and went back to the UK. I was Disney bounding as Alice and also had something for her to sign. The garden here was so cute with tea leaves growing in teacups.



While meeting with the family in front of me, Alice saw a squirrel and chased it into the bushes, claiming they were playing hide and seek. She kept trying to find him and made a big deal about how she would find him. It was absolutely hilarious.



I was up next and I presented her book to her. I was getting this signed for my best friend’s baby. It was the nice leather covered one from Barnes and Noble and she was very happy to see it.



She spent a bunch of time with me just flipping through the pages. She pointed out characters, ones not even in the Disney movie, and named them. She asked what my favorite part is and we talked about that.



She was so amazing, it was easily one of the best interactions I’ve ever had. Also major props to the handler who took all of these pictures. I was so in love.



I checked the time and it was getting close to when I could actually watch Cory, so I grabbed some flavored popcorn over by Figment and went back to the aquarium.

 

[goodmorningirl]

Walking back I passed these pretty gardens. I love how bright it makes everything.



Once I got back to the aquarium, there was still a bit of time, so I actually went to Turtle Talk with Crush, which we have never done. I loved the light fixtures.



Crush himself. This was SO cute. Not having kids, I still found it so cute and funny. Crush’s answers to the little kids were hilarious and sometimes went right over their heads with a more “adult” joke, which was great.



Then it was time to see my guy Scuba diving in the tank. This was his fourth time, I believe. He really loves it and it’s so fun to watch the kids interact with them.





Spot Cory!





The sea turtles are my favorite. I was a little jealous one seemed to make friends with Cory.



A nice woman with her children, her husband was in the tank, took this picture of us which is pretty cute. It’s so hard to get the flash to not completely blur him out with the reflection. I look a bit crazy, but I still like it.

 

[goodmorningirl]

Cory loved his dive, as always, and we headed back to Morocco for dinner. We love it here. SO good. If you haven’t been, do it. You will not be disappointed!

Waiting for our table.



Inside the restaurant. It’s so beautiful.



Our appetizers which were so tasty. Top is the Beef Brewat Rolls. Along the side is the Goat Cheese with Crispy Bread for two. Ugh I’m so hungry now.



Now I’m pretty sure Cory had the Roast Lamb Meshoui and I had the Couscous M’Rouzia. We both loved our meals. Seriously, go here.



We walked out of dinner to a very empty park. I just love Morocco, especially when it’s empty at night.







Just look at these doors! The detail is so gorgeous.



Love little Pooh Bear.



Goodnight Epcot. See you again real soon!



Up next: Our last day at Disney!

 

[goodmorningirl]

Our last day in Disney was spent at the Magic Kingdom, because when you plan the trip, you get to pick your favorite park for the last day

We entered early and the park was very quiet. I grabbed a coffee and we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain.



Only to find it was closed. Boo. We walked past a very pretty looking Splash Mountain…



…through Frontierland…





…to the Jungle Cruise.





Cory then surprised me by saying we should go on It’s a Small World.





I then really wanted to meet Peter Pan to get a book signed. Turns out so did everyone else. We waited for a while and as we were waiting, Peter kept whispering things to his handler, which seemed odd. As we got up there, the handler asked Cory, who’s pretty tall, if he could reach the cord to turn the fan on above Peter. Guess he was very hot lol He was really fun and liked to see his story. I may have kept that book for myself…



We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Cannot get enough.



Then we rode Ariel. This queue is so pretty.







And then Space Mountain, our last ride of the trip.



Then it was over to Main Street to line up for our first viewing of Festival of Fantasy. I was SO excited!

 

[goodmorningirl]

I will just say that I was completely blown away by this parade. It was beautiful and unique and just really amazing. The characters and floats were fantastic. I’ll let my favorite parade photos speak for themselves from here. I got a lot of shots I’m pretty proud of.

 

[TXMNie]

Beautiful photos of the parade! Great update.

 

[goodmorningirl]

Beautiful photos of the parade! Great update.

Thank you, TXMNie!

 

[goodmorningirl]

I hope you all can see why I absolutely love this parade!

And with that we left Magic Kingdom and headed back to Pop Century to catch the Magical Express.



We sadly boarded our flight and everything went well. We got back to PA where it had snowed, which was not what I thought we’d come home to! Lol All in all it was another fantastic Disney trip. We had an absolute blast!

Stay tuned for my best and worst list!

 

[goodmorningirl]

I've tried to think back to make a five Best and five Worst list, but I wasn't able to remember that many...lol so the below is what I'd say:

Best:
-Character Meets. (Some were not so special, but overall we had great character interaction throughout the trip)
-Meeting Baymax and Hiro. (While this falls into the above, I cannot say enough how fantastic they were. It was SO cool meeting Baymax and I'm so sad he's gone)
-Sanaa. (This restaurant NEVER disappoints. The food is to die for and the view is fantastic)
-Getting the bear on Toy Story Midway Mania! (This was a goal we accomplished on this trip that made us both very happy lol)
-Festival of Fantasy Parade. (Just look at the pictures. Oh my god, this parade is so amazing. A must-see)

Worst:
-Brown Derby. (So you may not remember this from my report, as I don't even think I mentioned it, but we ate dinner here and it was horrible. We have loved the Brown Derby in the past, but this night was so off. The cheese plate, at one time the best I'd ever had, was disgusting and cheap. We ended up sending that back. My cobb salad came with bacon, when I requested it didn't. Our waitress was horrendous, the list goes on and on. I spoke with the manager and he ended up comping our meal, as we sent almost all of it back anyway. I wouldn't say we'd never go back, but it really was probably the worst part about our trip)
-The weather. (I don't mind the cooler weather, but the fluctuation between the days of hot to warm to cold was in simplest terms, annoying. While it wasn't terrible for us as two adults, I wouldn't want to do it with kids where you are carrying around layers for four people)
-Hollywood Studios. (We like this park, and we love most of the rides, but it really is a half day park right now. Though I can't say I'm not willing to deal with that while they develop the new Star Wars expansion...)

So the best outweighs the worst, which really is why we keep going back to Disney World. Because no matter what happens, something good is always right around the corner. I really hope you all enjoyed my report. Sorry for the stop and go, but hopefully my next one will be more consistent. I hope you all will join me on my next one, for our October 2015 trip. I just started with the introduction to that trip which can be found here! Thanks guys! I've really enjoyed the love and communication!

 

[disneyguy4life]

Cory's dive looked amazing. It makes me want to be certified so I can go on my next trip. It just goes to show that there is always something to do at wdw. I didn't know you could do that. I agree... you plan that means you decide which parks lol. I am the same way... my wife loves me lol. I love festival of fantasy parade... I'm not much of parade lover. I would rather be riding or character spotting. But that one... I'll take the time. I loved your best and worst list. It was helpful. You are right, the best far out weighs the bad and that is what makes wdw/disney the best destination.
I really loved your tr. I am always said when some of my favorite ones finally end, just like a really trip. But thankfully you started a new one. I can't wait to follow along. All my best to you and cory. Lata playa.