Disney recap day 2!

 We made it to Epcot!!! I personally think Epcot is underrated, maybe it isn't. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I didn't think Epcot would be fun.... but it was so much! We were there almost 5 hours that day! As you can see, it started out overcast, but still warm enough to wear shorts. By the end of the night (we went to Hollywood Studios in the pm) we were drenched! Of COURSE we didn't bring our ponchos and I was too stubborn to take an hour and a half out of our precious time to go back and get the ponchos....and even more stubborn to not buy them, knowing they were back at the hotel. It was awful. I was running (okay maybe super briskly walking) to the Rock N Roller Coaster, and I stepped in what I *thought* was a shallow puddle. Oh no, it went up to my ankles.  My feet looked like wrinkled prunes that night. It was disgusting. Also, it got SO cold. We couldn't even enjoy the Osbourne Lights to their fullest potential, but it was still a sight to see. Sadly, we didn't make it on Toy Story Midway Mania... NEXT time!

I wish I knew how to photoshop all of the people out of this photo but us!!!

 

If you like Fish and Chips --- eat here!!! It was "quick service" and so so good! I think it's counter-part to the left was the sit down restaurant which we didn't have reservations for.

Please tell me you notice every single person in ponchos, right?? Everyone but us. Can I tell you, this 2nd day was the first time we had the "fresh" popped popcorn. O H M Y G O S H it was HEAVENLY. Like, the best freshest popped popcorn I've ever tasted. We had about 5 of them for the remainder of our trip from the different parks.

Day 1 WDW Recap, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Without a doubt, our Walt Disney World vacation was the best one we've been on. (And this beats out our Honeymoon!). Okay, so maybe its TIED with our honeymoon, but it was just so fabulous! I have SO SO many pictures that I really need to break down these recaps into 3 or 4 posts. I'm sorry, I hope you aren't sick of me and Disney World after spending four days reading them! Moving on....

I have been dreaming of going to Walt Disney World since Michael and I started dating. I thought, this would be such a fun vacation for the two of us to do! But then I quickly managed to explore the idea of an All-Inclusive vacation and how affordable they are in the Caribbean and Disney was history from there. Time went by and we kept finding good Carribbean deals and Disney just kept slipping from our radar of vacation spots.  Fast forward to this year, when I've been asked to be a Maid of Honor, and a Bridesmaid in the next two years. AKA $$$$$. Also throw in a child (MAYBE) and where does that leave Disneyworld for me and Michael while we are still just "us" ?? So yes I sound like a brat when I tell you this is our third vacation this year. But there is no time like the present. YOLO people! So I started looking up prices for Disney and honestly, it was still really expensive but I knew I so badly wanted to go (and ASAP). My best friend's Aunt (who I've known since I've been a baby) works for WDW (corporate) and can get discounts on tickets and hotels.  For some reason, the weekend we chose she could not get a discount on the hotel (wahhh) but the tickets, yes! She totally helped us out. It wasn't a HUGE savings but it was something! (15% off the price).  And that 15% savings gave me my budget money for Disney shirts! SCORE.

Our flight had us arriving in Orlando around 2pm. I was toying with the idea of a 4-day park hopper but Sunday was practically wasted since we really wouldn't be able to get to the park until about 3pm or so. I saw an ad for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party and thought it looked good, but the reviews weren't all that stellar. I talked with Aunt Cathy and decided it would be our best option There were so many positives about going this route (getting a ticket to the MVMCP and a 3day hopper). A) it was cheaper for 3-day hopper. B) the ticket for the xmas party lets you in starting at FOUR PM and the park was open till MIDNIGHT!! This was so totally a win and PERFECT for our plans.  I'd get to see the Castle lit up with the most amazing lights (you'll see too very shortly) and see the Disney Christmas parade!   I'm so excited I wish I was still there!

The Magical Express that took us to our Disney Hotel!

Us in our Mickey shirt's "Aww!" Really though, could I be cheesing any harder??

Day One: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, highlight of the day, seeing Cinderella's castle lit up and the amazing fireworks show (which by the way I own the CD that they use for when they show the firework and it just is amazing). (P.S, just deal with the word "amazing" as I'll be using it SO MANY times throughout this post). Also, what was really nice about the MVMCP was the fact that they were making non-ticket holders leave promptly at 7pm. They had cast members in various parts of the parks just double checking bands and anyone who didn't have one was escorted out. Disney, you rock! The lines were NON-EXISTENT. If you EVER have a chance to attend a special ticketed event (Xmas party, Not So Scary Party for Halloween), I highly recommend this. We got on every single ride and that made our last day (in the Magic Kingdom) stress free because we had already gone on the rides and were just repeating ourselves the last day. Let's move onto the pictures:

We're here!!! OR this is at our hotel, I can't remember! 

Big Thunder, amazing shot!

One of my FAVORITE rides! We went on about 5 times!

Floating Lanterns in Rapunzel's village!

 

Fun ride, but a little overrated in my opinion!!! 

So sad this Minnie and Mickey photo is blurry! I do NOT know how to take pictures at night.

And of course, saving the most magical and BEST photo for LAST:

 

IS THIS NOT THE MOST MAGICAL THING YOU'VE EVER LAID YOUR EYES ON??

Disney: What I'm wearing

I'm really excited to share some of the tshirts that we've purchased over the last 2 months in preparation for our Disney Trip. As you know, I've been trying to be good about my shopping habits, but did you really think I wasn't going down to Florida without a proper wardrobe? I think not! So, I searched and searched for the best (and cutest) bargains I could find. Walmart, JCPenney, Target, and Kohl's really pulled through on this one for me!

So first, I'm pissed at walmart.com for not having the THREE other shirts I got listed online. And they are really cute too, so you'll have to wait to see those when I upload about our trip when I get back.

Starting with the aqua Minnie Tshirt. This is a kids XL from Target. $8.00

Men's Mickey Tshirt (white). JCP for $9.99 and with a coupon

Men's Hakuna Matata Tshirt: Kohl's retail for 12.99 but we had a coupon and they have a deal 2/$20 so technically less than $10.00 (SCORE!!!)

Men's Disney Heads Tshirt: JCP for $9.99 plus coupon

Pink Minnie Mouse Tshirt: JCP Girls department.....FOUR DOLLARS AND TWENTY FIVE CENTS.

Lastly, Mens Mickey Mouse Grey Tshirt: Walmart, $7.99

Not pictured, 2 baseball Tshirts from Walmart at $12.99 each, and 1 "Let it Go" Frozen Tshirt for $7.99, also from Walmart....

To make my grand total come out to............$79.21 with an average of  $8.80 per shirt!

Call me crazy, but I knew that when I planned this trip that I'd want to be decked out in Disney wear the entire time, so of course I factored in $100 in our budget for clothing.  I'm so excited I've come up $20.00 LESS than my budget!  Do I get the bargain shopper of the year award, or what!?!?!?!?

And really, how CUTE are these shirts?

But since this polar vortex crap has hit the East Coast, it's just my luck that I'm going to need to wear a thermal and sweatshirt over these probably the entire time! That's okay though, because I'm going TO DISNEY! The most MAGICAL place on EARTH!  Ok, are you sick of reading about this yet?? I know my coworkers are :)

i'm going to disney world! how i prepared

In 10 days and counting, and I will be partying with Mickey & Minnie at the Very Merry Christmas Party. Could life get any better than that? I think not.

Now this is not a post for me to brag (ok, maybe a little? forgive me. ) about taking my 756th vacation this year (St. Lucia, Vegas), but just to shout out that "I'm going to Disney World!" and let you know how excited I am, and how to plan a trip to Walt Disney World in 30 days or less.

1. Book Flights and a Disney Resort as fast as you can. I cannot stress this enough. I was toying with the idea of staying off-property, in a more eco-friendly hotel with a breakfast buffet already included. But staying off-property comes with many questions: How will you get to the parks? Do they offer transportation to/from the hotel? How often (if they do) are their shuttles between parks/to and from the hotel? Does the free breakfast really outweigh all of the above that is included with staying at a Disney property? To some, perhaps. But for myself and Michael, we aren't huge breakfast eaters so I skipped the breakfast off-property hotel and booked a Disney Hotel. As far as flights...well I kind of booked these simultaneously because you may find a hotel available, but the flight selection sucks!! It pays to know how to multi-task :)

2. Be flexible with dates.  For some, again, this may not be an option. Luckily for me, it was. I had my dates set on a Friday - Monday however the Value Resort on Disney property was not available. I had to adjust my dates by coming two days later on a Sunday in order to get a room. But now, I'm staying on property, and paying less than $100 a night.

3. Get a plan in action. When are you arriving in Disney? Can you go to the park the first day, or will you be low key, perhaps swimming or visiting Downtown Disney? Is it worth it to get a park hopper pass? For us, we are arriving at 1:30 pm which will put as arriving at our hotel by 3pm, transportation courtesy of the Magical Express (oh how I love that!!). I was originally looking into a 4-day park hopper, but found out that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party is on that Sunday night in the Magical Kingdom. They have extended hours till midnight and the party goes from 7pm - midnight. However, with the ticket to this party, you can enter the park as early as 4pm.  The price of two Christmas tickets is cheaper than a 1 day ticket to the park, so we decided to get a 3-day hopper and a pass to the Christmas party. That is a savings right there!

     3a. Along with a plan, get those Fast Pass Reservations. Funny story: I had already booked my fast passes but when I did it, at the time, I wasn't able to get one for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I was SO pissed.  That is their newest ride I believe and I figure that the lines will be LONG. Well, the other night, I decided to randomly check and I was able to get a fast pass!! (This was at midnight last weekend I believe). HA. The next morning I wake up to this: SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN CATCHES FIRE. Oh my gosh, NO!!!! Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the ride was back in action that same night. PHEW.

4. Do not expect to get reservations in the restaurants.  When I finally figured out which days I would be in the Magic Kingdom (1st and last) I immediately went to Fast-Pass to see if I could get a reservation at "Be Our Guest". NOT HAPPENING.  If you are planning a Disney trip with less than 30 days, just don't even bother. It will never happen. They do have an app for our phones now that you can try and get reservations the day or (for the restaurants) but most times, I'm assuming there will not be openings unless people cancel last minute (which you can get a fee because reservation restaurants require a credit card to secure the booking).  So park food it is. Is food really that important to you?? No!! You are there to see Mickey Mouse and go on the rides!!! Who cares if you are eating at a "fast food" type restaurant!  If you really want to see Be Our Guest, go take a stroll over to Fantasy Land and snap some pics... I am going to try to see if I can at least get a "Grey Stuff" Cupcake! I also went on so many Disney tourist websites to scout out some of the better "fast food restaurants" and what would meet our needs for lunch/dinner. I recommend the Disney Food Blog and All Ears for menus!

5. Buy Disney paraphernalia prior to leaving. Walmart, Target, and Kohl's are my new best friends. Oh, and JC Penney's too.  I have pretty much got my wardrobe for my trip set, and Michael's too for under $100 dollars. Dressing in Disney-wear was important to me and I factored this into my budget.  T-Shirts were approximately $10 each average. And they are cute too!

6. Check into your hotel prior to arrival. I will let you know how this one goes. We are staying at the All-Star Movies resort and I asked to be placed in the "101 Dalmations Section". I'm so excited about this. 

Source

7. If you are trying to save money, look into Garden Grocer. Like I mentioned before, Michael and I really aren't breakfast eaters. I scoured the internet for ways to save money on food in Disney. There are ways. For instance, the Garden Grocer delivers to Disney Hotels (for a fee).  For under $50 dollars, I got a case of water, bananas, grapes, goldfish, doritos, yogurts, granola bars and a few other things to be delivered prior to my arrival to the hotel.  If all goes well, it will be delivered to my room prior to check in.  If not, they will hold the food at Guest Services and it can be delivered to the room when I check in.  I'm flying Spirit Air (aka airline that charges you for every. single. thing) and am only taking ONE checked back (good luck to me). I don't have room for that stuff in my suitcase!! So basically for four days, we are covered for breakfast and snacks (in the park we will take the snacks) for less than $50 bucks! SCORE.

8. Make a check list for crying out loud!!! I have yet to do this, but wouldn't it suck if I forgot my mouse ears???? YES IT WOULD! I'm sure you can find anything and everything you need at WDW if you forgot it, but for hella expensive! Word of advice: Go to the dollar store and buy ponchos. I'm hearing it rains all the time, and apparently it is Hurricane Season now, but I'm thinking more along the lines of three words: KALI RIVER RAPIDS.  I do not walk around the park soaked after that ride, especially after I found out park guests can opt to have riders more soaked by pressing a little button! Oh, and don't forget the ziplocks!!!! wet socks from the ride? want to protect your cell phone? ZIP LOCK BAGS.

9. HAVE A COUNTDOWN AND LISTEN TO DISNEY MUSIC ON REPEAT UNTIL THE DAY FINALLY COMES. Thank you to Spotify (<-- seriously that channel is the best), I've been blasting the music NON-STOP. Oh, and how could I forget, DISNEY MOVIE MARATHON! One Disney movie a night until your day of departure finally arrives!! Tonight, we are watching Cinderella. The past few nights were Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, you get the idea!

So I really hate ending lists on an odd number, so YOU tell ME. For those of you who have traveled to Walt Disney World, am I missing any key preparation tips?? Let me know!