Disney World {Part 1}

Feb 12, 2014

This past Christmas, my parents took our family to Walt Disney World! 
Due to work, Josh and I arrived a day later than everyone else (have I mentioned lately that adulthood is the worst?)
My family so graciously offered to go to our least favorite park on the day we weren't there.
So we they chose Animal Kingdom, of course.
Not only did I take entirely too many photos on my phone, but we also had the photo pass plan where you can have your photo taken by any photographer you see in the park and you get all the candid pictures from the rides as well.
So that means this trip will be splint into three parts on the blog (and I probably wont finish blogging about it until 2015).
For our lodging, we stayed at The Boardwalk Resort, which was absolutely wonderful.
It was walking distance to Epcot and MGM Studios and was also home to two of our favorite restaurants: Flying Fish and Cat Cora's Kouzzina.
When Josh and I arrived, we met the family at Flying Fish for dinner.
Look at this cheese plate!
My favorite part was the top right, honeycomb
This dessert was probably my favorite from the trip:
Caramel corn creme brûlée, cherry limeade popsicle, and a s'mores lollipop.
The view from our room was so precious, particularly at night.
The hospitality at the resort was great as well.
They placed saltwater taffy on our beds with the turndown service each night.
. . . can't forget about the Mickey towel creations either.
Mikey. Is. Every. Where.
Seriously though, how cute was this resort?
We spent our first day at Hollywood Studios.
(Which called for an obligatory group selfie)
Btw, Disney at Christmas is magical, but seeing a Christmas tree while wearing shorts and sweating in 90 degree weather is just slightly weird.
Props to mom for planning out our fast passes each day.
It was truly a life saver. 
It allowed us to be super effecient and waste very little time waiting in lines.
From our pre-Disney research, we read that currently the top two rides with the longest wait times were Toy Story and Soarin' so we made it a priority to have fast passes for these.
The games were SO fun (and your arm kinda gets super tired from pulling the trigger/cord thing repetitively).
Next up: Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rockin Roller Coaster
Action shots are the greatest.
Somehow Michael is SO good at catching the cameras.
We had lunch reservations at the Sci-Fi Diner, which was probably my main food-related childhood memory of Disney.
The onion rings. 
It was the onion rings.
While we were waiting on our reservations, we found a beer cart that was serving an Icelandic beer that we loved from our time in Iceland.
According to the bartender, Disney is one of the only places in America that serves that beer.
Mikey was a fan.
The Sci-Fi Diner was everything we remembered and more.
More food, that is.
We ate until we were sick.
This Disney Dining Plan was a beast, I tell ya.
You can't say no to anything.
Three entire three course meals a day (with unlimited Evian) is quite the challenge.
#FirstWorldProblems
#IveNeverHadEvian
The view from our car was spectacular (as was the cute hipster family in front of us).
Due to the slightly heavy lunch, we had a difficult time making it through the afternoon.
I'm pretty sure all seven of us dozed during the stilly Muppets 3D whatever it was called.
We went back to the resort, took naps, regrouped, and with our Magic Band powers combined . . . 
. . . we drank and ate our away around Epcot.
We did a wine flight in Germany.
Followed by some waffles and school bread in Norway.
. . . and then some quality puppet action in China before dinner and fireworks.
Mom was channeling her inner Sound of Music Maria.
"High on a hill was lonely goat, yodelayee yodelayee yodaleyee-who"
The Christmas decorations and traditions featured at each country in at Epcot were one of the highlights of this trip.
They were each so unique and offered an authentic glimpse into their cultures.
Epcot definitely offered more than enough photo-op locations with the professional photographers (which Josh was extremely thrilled about).
I'm just glad I didn't have to scan the crowds judging all middle aged women trying to decipher who looked like they could possibly work a DSLR. 
We tried hard for a Christmas card picture.
This one came in a close second . . . 
P.S. I'm exceptionally terrible at kissy faces.
Note to self: Less fish, more smooch.

Although Josh and I never got to ride it, this photo is from Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. 
It gets my vote for greatest photo of the trip.
Michael and Ellie tricked mom into riding her one and only roller coaster of the vacation.

Parts 2 and 3 coming soon . . . 

2 comments:

Sara Louise said...

I really can't think of a better place for a family vacation, it looks like it was a blast!

Sara Louise said...

I really can't think of a better place for a family vacation, it looks like it was a blast!

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