"Why are you wearing jackets in Orlando?"-Nov/Dec '18 - Our first time in the World (updated 2/26)

[masterpabu]

Hello there dear reader!!

This is my first trip report after my first ever trip to DLR and WDW (although I was mostly there just for WDW) so please have patience and bare with me as I ramble on and try my best to recapture some of the best (and frustrating moments) of my trip!

Also I have no idea what I'm doing so good luck to you also for reading this!

Introduction

Who: My fiance and I (aged between 24-25), two Australians doing our best to figure out how to navigate and understand the rules of tipping in the States.




When: November 28th - 18 December (although between Dec 14-18th we were in NYC, lets see if I feel like elaborating much on that portion!)

Where: Disneyland for 4 nights, Disney World for 11 nights (split stay at AKV & Poly), NYC for 4 nights

Why: I have been obsessed with planning a trip to the World since about 2012. Growing up as a kid in Australia, a trip to Disney in the States was something I could only dream of, although my lucky DFi went to DLR 4 times with his family as a child -envy- because his mother loves Disney, and I probably couldn't marry into a better family!

Anyway, in 2012 after I started uni, I started to dream and plan for my future trip to WDW. I almost almost got to go in 2014 (had dates booked for rooms at AKV & BLT!), however life doesn't always go to plan and so back I went to dreaming.

I've traveled to other countries abroad and had a great time traveling on my own, and even got to visit Disneyland Paris in 2016 which was so fun! And while I most probably could have made a trip to WDW on my own, I just knew it would be even better if I had someone to enjoy it with (and someone with the patience to just go along with it!)


I met my DFi towards the end of 2016, we both love Disney and the rest is history!
Well a few events did happen like our engagement last September which was exciting, although he kept saying that he originally planned to do it sometime during our trip but just couldn't wait, oh well!


Anyway! I was thrilled to be able to go on this trip and while I did have sooo many plans and expectations, of course these things just fly out the window once you hit the ground running! So hopefully there will be some entertainment throughout this, and see that sometimes you just have to go with the flow!

​

 

[masterpabu]

I'm going to do my best in keeping each chapter updated very soon! The weekend could not come soon enough!


Chapters:

Day 1 - Getting away from the storms ✓
Day 2 - Only to be met by more rain - California Adventure ✓
Day 3 - Park hopping defined ✓
Day 4 & 5 - Rest day, are we at Disneyworld yet ✓
Day 6 - We made it to the World!
Day 7 - Animal Kingdom! and god I love this bread (mini Jiko review) ✓
Day 8 - Magic Kingdom for reals ✓
Day 9 - Half day at Hollywood Studios & Christmas shopping ✓
Day 10 - One park must be closed because it feels like everyone's at Disney Springs ✓
Day 11 - Kwaherini & Aloha! ✓
Day 12 - The day we stayed in bed all day ✓
Day 13 - Hogwarts & dinosaurs & wishing I didn't do that water ride ✓
Day 14 - The day we took out our jackets - Epcot
Day 15 - Back for more Magic
Day 16 - Feels more like Christmas than Christmas does
Day 17 & beyond - We'll see you soon / NYC

 

[masterpabu]

Day 1!

We set out bright and early, DFi's parents picking us up from our place, and with the weather warnings in place that day we were anticipating some delays and left at 6am, from Penrith to Sydney (typically a 50+ minute drive, on a good day). What we didn’t expect, was for the weather to have been just a little drizzly and windy, driving was almost a breeze and we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.
For non-Australians, when it gets a bit windy and drizzly here, the whole city shuts down because we can't seem to comprehend rain.

Funnily enough we had a couple of people messaging us if we were able to get to the airport because apparently they heard it was closed, to which we responded that the airport seemed to be open as we were already checked in and having breakfast inside.




We were able to make use of the Amex lounge which was nice and peaceful, myself blissfully enjoying the Christmas songs playing. After 9am more people started entering the lounge and after a while we decided to leave for our gate and just wander around a little before boarding.






The flight was delayed by about half an hour because of the weather and one runway was closed, but that was no fuss as we had already eaten and had no rush to be on the 13 hour flight.

We were flying with Virgin Australia and I opted to getting extra legroom seats hoping that DFi, being 6ft tall, would appreciate the extra legroom. And to my relief the extra leg room really did make a difference, as he practically slept through the whole flight skipping both meals. We also luckily had a spare seat next to us which is always so nice to spread out more, I think I got about 4 hours sleep which is as good as it gets for me! Movie selection wasn’t as great as I’ve experienced with other airlines (first world problems at large) but I just read my book and dozed in and out until we arrived at LAX.




Arriving at LAX!

We hopped into an Uber and arrived at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Anaheim, which was around the corner from Disneyland and for us took about 5 minutes to walk which was great! We were able to get a room when we arrived just after 8 am which was really nice, quickly showered & changed then off to our first day at Disney!




Even though this was my first time at the original park, this was DFi’s 4th/5th time (I can’t remember which) and so he made us make a beeline to The Haunted Mansion, which is his and his family’s favourite ride and their tradition to do it first thing. Unfortunately for him/luckily for me, it was temporarily closed so we got fastpasses for later, and headed off to do PoTC first thing, followed by Splash Mountain.

After a refreshing splash we went to Big Thunder Mountain, which became one of my favourite rides! I think after this we wandered around a bit until our fastpass for Haunted Mansion. Now even with the Holiday overlay I still wasn't keen for this ride because it's still supposed to be inherently spooky, but being one of DFi's favourites I had very little choice It was okay, but I'm glad we didn't have to do it twice! The rest of the day was a blur, although we did manage to get on the Matterhorn (also now a favourite of mine) and only waited about 20mins. The wait posted as 40mins which was why I was surprised DFi even wanted to get in line because he didn't want to wait over 30mins for anything lol




DFi declared he would be eating pizza always.

On this trip I also discovered that DFi had some weird need to walk into practically every shop we went past, I guess he's a compulsive window shopper
Later in the afternoon we popped over to Downtown for a while and at the end I was exhausted After a ride around the monorail loop we made it until dinner and decided to call it a night and watch the fireworks next time. I made it to about 7pm before crawling into bed and falling asleep straight away, recharging myself for another big day


(I really didn't take many photos at all on the first day because my exhausted brain didn't really think to do it, I'm sure DFi has some but he's yet to even bother sharing them but the rest of the trip will have plenty!)

 

[a1tinkfans]

Sounds like an Amaxing adventure to me so far. Looking forward to more.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along! We were at WDW at the same time-maybe we crossed paths!

 

[masterpabu]

Following along! We were at WDW at the same time-maybe we crossed paths!

If you remember seeing a bearded guy in his 20's walking around with a Na'vi stick next to a smaller female rolling her eyes a lot then we most likely did! (this stick will be a recurring character throughout the report)

 

[mustinjourney]

I'm with you on BTMRR -- great ride (and the Paris version is the best of the three I've done).

I did Matterhorn with my youngest daughter last May and just did not get people's fascination with this ride. I found it super bumpy, and not all that exhilarating.

 

[masterpabu]

Day 2! California adventure!

After a nice long sleep we woke up to a forecast of rain for the day yay! It started progressively raining more as we got to the park after breakfast and headed straight to Radiator Springs to grab fastpasses, and then popped over to do Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s also when I learned that rain does not keep the crowds away at DLR, ponchos everywhere! (in contrast to WDW where the rain drove people away from what we saw).




As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy rides with such drops, I didn't particularly enjoy the ride but at least DFi had a blast, even though he said he preferred the Tower of Terror version. We headed over to Pixar Pier afterwards which was quite cute, and Brave's "Touch the Sky" was playing as we got there and being a fan of Brave and anything Scottish related it lifted my spirits! We saw that the Incredicoaster was only about a 10min wait so why not.
Why not? Because just after we got on our ride, it started to pour down rain. I was already nervous about the ride, but the freezing cold water pelting down on your face helped me forget about the loops! My knees were trembling at the end of the ride (mostly due to the cold) and DFi regretted having his eyes open while the rain was lashing at us. We had a look at the photos and it was funny seeing everyone with their faces tucked down as far as possible or various hands trying to shield themselves.

It was still pouring so we ran for cover, and we saw that the ride became "temporarily closed", although there was still one car of poor guests just sitting there at the launch spot, in the rain.We wished them all the best.
By that point we were drenched, and popped over to the Little Mermaid and sat for a while deciding what to do next. The sun finally made an appearance and we went for a stroll, trying to dry ourselves as much as we could.

Along the way we smelt the alluring smell of buttered popcorn and churros, so of course we stopped to grab some. DFi's mum even transferred us some money just to make sure we ate some that day





We then went over to Cars Land and stopped by a couple of stores before our fastpass for Radiator Springs Racer. This was really fun, although the unexpected drop where the camera was did not leave me with a flattering photo I told DFi that we can do it again, but he had this weird mentality of "nah I've done it already so I don't need to again" Sharpen your pitchforks, that's sure what I did because why wouldn't you want to go on fun rides multiple times?!
Frustrated but also mostly hungry, we went looking for some lunch!




DFi's good choice above. I decided to find something from the Festive Holiday food stalls instead, and even though they're snack sized it worked out fine for me! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of it because I was too busy gobbling it up, but the Braised Pork + crackling + fried rice was lovely! We popped over to Ghirardelli to get a thickshake and holy heavens was it good! We don't have any shops/cafes in Sydney so it was a great first try for me, and also the free chocolate samples of the peppermint bark was the cherry on top, I looove minty things!

After this, we strolled over to Grizzly peak and although the River Run was walk on, we didn't want to re-wet our recently dried clothes. Instead we went over to the Grand Californian for a short break, for DFi to "reminisce his childhood" (his words) and for me to see what it's like. It was really charming and cosy, the lobby was smaller than I expected, but it was still so lovely nonetheless.



(a bit blurry because he was hopping around)

Chip and Dale, and Pluto were frolicking around and playing with guests which was fun to see. And that's when I didn't know where DFi disappeared to leaving me to my own devices Thankfully for the age of free wifi I got a hold of him, to which he responded that he was sitting right in front of the fireplace. Well that would be nice to do, but after half an hour I just wanted to get back to the park



Getting back to the park, we went for a walk through Redwood Creek, to which DFi kept questioning why they didn't do something with Brother Bear. I was somehow dragged up into the ropes course and even down one of the slides lol! This kept us entertained for a while, then our fastpass window for Toy Story Mania came along so we headed that way. But after checking our apps, we saw that it was temporarily closed There were still people hanging around hoping that it would open up, us along one of them as DFi wanted to sit down for a while and I spent the time people watching. The Incredicoaster was back up and running, and being close to where the cars get launched the screams still caught me off guard each time

I think it was after half an hour we decided to just try our luck another day, we heard those poor CM's out the front of the ride telling countless times that they didn't know when the ride would reopen. Evening came around and we walked back through Hollywood land and popped into Animation Academy, where we got to draw Olaf.



Our masterpieces! we were told to get creative with some of his features, one of us felt more creative than the other apparently!

I've always loved to draw as a child and we had some fun drawing Olaf, and it was also nice to see DFi dig into his creative side. It wasn't until after the session that I realised there was a board listing each show with the characters were being drawn at each time oops! Either way I enjoyed the spontaneity of our timing for it, otherwise I might have been a bit picky with who I wanted to draw!



We popped over to Sorcerer's Workshop and peeked inside the Beast's Library. The magic book gave me Pocahontas and DFi got Buzz Lightyear lol!

Eventually the the day was reaching its end and so were our energy levels.
However, we had park hopper tickets so of course the urge to go back to see the pretty Christmas decorations at the other park arose! I was able to convince DFi to go over to grab some hot cocoa, so we dragged ourselves over for some hot chocolate and coffee at Starbucks and I got to sit and people watch. It eventually started to rain again, so we called it an early night again and walked back to the hotel, just as it started raining some more, loving this weather!


While I’m usually dismayed to leave the parks early, coming back to our room to watch a movie in bed made me feel less guilty, and I really enjoyed having so many shows/movies to watch each day. So thank you hotel TV channel selections!


​

 

[Lesley Wake]

It was still pouring so we ran for cover, and we saw that the ride became "temporarily closed", although there was still one car of poor guests just sitting there at the launch spot, in the rain.We wished them all the best.

Oooh, that would suck!

I loved hanging out in the Grand Californian Lobby at Christmas!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Following along. I hope your Disney trip was everything you hoped it would be and more.

 

[masterpabu]

Day 3! Park hopping & I've forgotten where I am

Today we really did park hop. All I remember doing was starting off bright and early at Disneyland, running to Indiana Jones, because it had been closed since we arrived, so DFi HAD to get there when it finally reopened. It was still early enough that Main Street wasn't too crowded yet, but instead of being able to enjoy it DFi made us rush to the ride, we got there and it was I think a 15min wait, yay. I found it fun, and again asked if DFi wanted to get fastpasses to come back later, but sticking to his "ride once" policy I didn't bother arguing my case against his logic lol

After this we hopped right over to California Adventure to get fastpasses for TSM and check out the time for Soarin', DFi headed off to do that while I went to get him coffee, little did I know the line was going to move at a glacial pace By the time Dfi made it back to me I still wasn't at the front of the line with about 3 people still in front of me. Our fastpass for TSM was for later in the day, so we decided to hop back over to Disneyland and ease up our pace a little so I was finally able to actually look at things

We saw that IASM was posted at just 5mins, and not having done it yet I said why not! And while I guess it's nice to be able to do one of the classics once, once is definitely enough! It almost sounds cruel but I hope whenever we have kids and bring them to Disney, that we'll be able to avoid this ride altogether lol!
We were placed on the same boat as a group of women on what appeared to be a bachelorette's trip, and while Disney is a fun place to celebrate occasions, it was a bit amusing to see the typical "bachelorette behaviour" with the wooing and the selfies and the cackling, on an IASM boat. Poor DFi being the only male looked like he wanted to swim off the boat

We went for a stroll around Toontown, went on Roger Rabbit (I didn't know it was going to spin so much!) and bought ourselves some souvenirs, including my first ear headband I almost couldn't decide which to get but chose one of the holiday ears because I just kept going back to it.

Finding Nemo was a short wait so we did that next, which was really cute and we found the "native Australian" accent used amusing as it was so typically Australian, which DFi then switched up his accent into full gear to my embarrassment The story line for the ride was enjoyable, although going through some scenes did make me feel a bit queasy, I have no idea when I became so prone to motion sickness!

We got some hot dogs for lunch and decided to pop back over to the other park. We still had some time to kill until our fastpass for TSM so we went to do the River Run as it was walk on. With good reason as the weather was cooler, luckily I had my windbreaker to cover myself, and only a large portion of my legs got drenched DFi was so pleased he didn't get splashed but that was because he was seated in the middle and I had the luck of sitting on the outside -face palm- It was still fun, and we had a short break (me sitting in whatever sunlight available) before walking over to Pixar Pier.

Comparing TSMM to Buzz Space Ranger, I would say I prefer Buzz purely because I didn't have the energy to keep up throughout TSMM, even if it was slightly more fun, it's enough of a workout to last me for a week

We were both fairly tired by the afternoon, but agreed to go back to the hotel for a nap and come back out for the fireworks as I still hadn't seen them. On our way back out of the park we did wander by Cars Land for a little bit and we came across a CM doing some mop art which was cool as I was hoping to see some on our trip! There just so happened to be Jack & Sally too, much to DFi's delight!

After a nice nap and grabbing some dinner at McDonalds, we headed back to the park and perused in the shops for some time. DFi purchased a "Jack and Sally Embrace" Gallery of light, which I would later learned would take up the most space in our souvenirs suitcase But his parents sent us money for him to get it as a gift so that was really nice of them!

There was still an hour until the fireworks, and not really wanting to stand around I decided to go for a walk, and also in case I came across a nice viewing spot last minute. However different viewing spots were already being roped off and walkways being kept clear by CM's, this was a first for me so I had to figure out how to get back to DFi in time! I probably went around in a circle 3 times until I made it back to him, but decided to try to find a different that wasn't obstructed by trees (I'm sure it's really nice to have more trees and nature in the parks, but when it comes to the fireworks it becomes a bit of a nuisance I think )

The show was delayed so we walked around until the fireworks started. We were able to enjoy it as we slowly walked around the pathway, but at some point the crowds just don't budge and we got to see the last couple of minutes in a great spot. It was a lot shorter than what I was expecting, but I guess it isn't really fair at all to compare it to WDW's show, which by this point I was dying to see

We chose to wait until the sea of people heading out the park was less stampedey, and I got to sit next to the Partners Statue and watch the castle lights.

​

 

[masterpabu]

Day 4 - Rest day

The next day we took a break from the parks and went to South Coast Plaza, which was nice but I mostly just window shopped as I wasn't shopping for anything in particular. DFi on the other hand was happy to find a new coat, a sweater and a few other things I can't really remember, the shopping trip was essentially for him lol! We also went by to a Westfield on the way back to our hotel and got a few more things from there, I was able to at least get some gloves from H&M because I'd need them for New York There wasn't really much else to see, while we did originally plan to make a trip to Hollywood and see the usual tourist sights we decided not to once DFi realised it was over an hour away from our hotel lol! So again, not all plans went ahead on our trip!

We came back to our hotel and got some pizza delivered for dinner and t'was an easy event-less rest day!

Day 5 - Last day!

It was check out day, however our flight to MCO wasn't until 11pm so we spent the day at the park. Today was more slow paced (thankfully!) and I got to relax a little, and we also were able to do a few rides and finally catch some shows that we haven't been able to so far lol

We were able to do 3 dark rides back to back, Mr Toad's, Pinocchio and Snow White, and boy were they dark I could barely see, and I like to think my vision is still mostly functional And they sure were dark story & elements wise too, not so much for Mr Toad's, but I definitely remembered why I only watched Pinocchio once as a child and never again, and Snow White only a few times. Even as an almost grown adult it both gave me the heebie jeebies, so I'm glad they were short lol!

Mickey & the Magical Map was really cute, anything that includes Rapunzel & Flynn is automatically great (Tangled is one of my absolute favourites!). after this we popped over to the Royal Theatre which was really fun to watch so I'm glad we didn't skip that! For our show we watched the retelling of Beauty and the Beast which was lots of fun to watch, I didn't know what to expect and really loved it by the end!

Straight after that, the second parade was about to start and we managed to get a front spot in front of the castle. DFi decided to sit down (although he soon realised that was a bad idea because of his bad knees), and after a short while the floats made it down Main Street to the castle, and I tend to like watching shows as they happen instead of through my phone (both good & bad I guess!) so I only had a couple of photos of it.

But I mostly enjoyed the parade due to 2 other people standing nearby, they were cheering and clapping along to the music and they were just having a blast, both fully grown men. And their enjoyment was so fun to witness because I don't think I would have enjoyed the parade as much without their commentary!
At some point some other people even joined in with their "clap claps" to the music. When the Frozen float came past, they threw in all their effort in getting Elsa's attention and to their satisfaction (as well as others nearby I'm sure) Elsa gave them a wave and the dad-like cheer that erupted out of them was one of the highlights of my day Thank you gentlemen for being so entertaining!!

After the parade we saw a CM approach the guys and give them either a badge or pin for their enthusiasm & participation during the parade, and that really filled my heart to see as I didn't previously know that they gave out gold stars to park goers lol!
It was a cool moment to see and one of the reasons why I love Disney parks so much, many people get caught up in not enjoying the moment but really nothing else should matter other than having a great time with your friends/family and sharing the happiness!


We wandered around some more, until deciding to leave at around 6pm to our hotel to pick up our bags. I was happy to stay in the hotel lobby until it was closer to our flight but for some reason DFi chose to request an Uber anyway, so we arrived at the airport with just over 3 hours until our flight, great!!

Now by this point I was tired and wanted to be on my flight to MCO, but of course we get to the airport too early and apparently I didn't tell DFi when our flight was, (why on earth would i do that?!) after an expensive airport dinner we sat out the next few hours and finally we boarded our flight and off to WDW!! Our goal was to try and get some kind of sleep so we could hit the ground running, but alas it just wasn't meant to be

(I really didn't have any photos from this because of exhaustion lol)​

 

[LivingforDisney]

Day 3! Park hopping & I've forgotten where I am

Today we really did park hop. All I remember doing was starting off bright and early at Disneyland, running to Indiana Jones, because it had been closed since we arrived, so DFi HAD to get there when it finally reopened. It was still early enough that Main Street wasn't too crowded yet, but instead of being able to enjoy it DFi made us rush to the ride, we got there and it was I think a 15min wait, yay. I found it fun, and again asked if DFi wanted to get fastpasses to come back later, but sticking to his "ride once" policy I didn't bother arguing my case against his logic lol

After this we hopped right over to California Adventure to get fastpasses for TSM and check out the time for Soarin', DFi headed off to do that while I went to get him coffee, little did I know the line was going to move at a glacial pace By the time Dfi made it back to me I still wasn't at the front of the line with about 3 people still in front of me. Our fastpass for TSM was for later in the day, so we decided to hop back over to Disneyland and ease up our pace a little so I was finally able to actually look at things

We saw that IASM was posted at just 5mins, and not having done it yet I said why not! And while I guess it's nice to be able to do one of the classics once, once is definitely enough! It almost sounds cruel but I hope whenever we have kids and bring them to Disney, that we'll be able to avoid this ride altogether lol!
We were placed on the same boat as a group of women on what appeared to be a bachelorette's trip, and while Disney is a fun place to celebrate occasions, it was a bit amusing to see the typical "bachelorette behaviour" with the wooing and the selfies and the cackling, on an IASM boat. Poor DFi being the only male looked like he wanted to swim off the boat

We went for a stroll around Toontown, went on Roger Rabbit (I didn't know it was going to spin so much!) and bought ourselves some souvenirs, including my first ear headband I almost couldn't decide which to get but chose one of the holiday ears because I just kept going back to it.

Finding Nemo was a short wait so we did that next, which was really cute and we found the "native Australian" accent used amusing as it was so typically Australian, which DFi then switched up his accent into full gear to my embarrassment The story line for the ride was enjoyable, although going through some scenes did make me feel a bit queasy, I have no idea when I became so prone to motion sickness!

We got some hot dogs for lunch and decided to pop back over to the other park. We still had some time to kill until our fastpass for TSM so we went to do the River Run as it was walk on. With good reason as the weather was cooler, luckily I had my windbreaker to cover myself, and only a large portion of my legs got drenched DFi was so pleased he didn't get splashed but that was because he was seated in the middle and I had the luck of sitting on the outside -face palm- It was still fun, and we had a short break (me sitting in whatever sunlight available) before walking over to Pixar Pier.

Comparing TSMM to Buzz Space Ranger, I would say I prefer Buzz purely because I didn't have the energy to keep up throughout TSMM, even if it was slightly more fun, it's enough of a workout to last me for a week

We were both fairly tired by the afternoon, but agreed to go back to the hotel for a nap and come back out for the fireworks as I still hadn't seen them. On our way back out of the park we did wander by Cars Land for a little bit and we came across a CM doing some mop art which was cool as I was hoping to see some on our trip! There just so happened to be Jack & Sally too, much to DFi's delight!

After a nice nap and grabbing some dinner at McDonalds, we headed back to the park and perused in the shops for some time. DFi purchased a "Jack and Sally Embrace" Gallery of light, which I would later learned would take up the most space in our souvenirs suitcase But his parents sent us money for him to get it as a gift so that was really nice of them!

There was still an hour until the fireworks, and not really wanting to stand around I decided to go for a walk, and also in case I came across a nice viewing spot last minute. However different viewing spots were already being roped off and walkways being kept clear by CM's, this was a first for me so I had to figure out how to get back to DFi in time! I probably went around in a circle 3 times until I made it back to him, but decided to try to find a different that wasn't obstructed by trees (I'm sure it's really nice to have more trees and nature in the parks, but when it comes to the fireworks it becomes a bit of a nuisance I think )

The show was delayed so we walked around until the fireworks started. We were able to enjoy it as we slowly walked around the pathway, but at some point the crowds just don't budge and we got to see the last couple of minutes in a great spot. It was a lot shorter than what I was expecting, but I guess it isn't really fair at all to compare it to WDW's show, which by this point I was dying to see

We chose to wait until the sea of people heading out the park was less stampedey, and I got to sit next to the Partners Statue and watch the castle lights.

​

It's a small world and haunted mansion were 2 of my favs when I visited at Xmas, they don't do that for its a small world at wdw

 

[LivingforDisney]

Day 4 - Rest day

The next day we took a break from the parks and went to South Coast Plaza, which was nice but I mostly just window shopped as I wasn't shopping for anything in particular. DFi on the other hand was happy to find a new coat, a sweater and a few other things I can't really remember, the shopping trip was essentially for him lol! We also went by to a Westfield on the way back to our hotel and got a few more things from there, I was able to at least get some gloves from H&M because I'd need them for New York There wasn't really much else to see, while we did originally plan to make a trip to Hollywood and see the usual tourist sights we decided not to once DFi realised it was over an hour away from our hotel lol! So again, not all plans went ahead on our trip!

We came back to our hotel and got some pizza delivered for dinner and t'was an easy event-less rest day!

Day 5 - Last day!

It was check out day, however our flight to MCO wasn't until 11pm so we spent the day at the park. Today was more slow paced (thankfully!) and I got to relax a little, and we also were able to do a few rides and finally catch some shows that we haven't been able to so far lol

We were able to do 3 dark rides back to back, Mr Toad's, Pinocchio and Snow White, and boy were they dark I could barely see, and I like to think my vision is still mostly functional And they sure were dark story & elements wise too, not so much for Mr Toad's, but I definitely remembered why I only watched Pinocchio once as a child and never again, and Snow White only a few times. Even as an almost grown adult it both gave me the heebie jeebies, so I'm glad they were short lol!

Mickey & the Magical Map was really cute, anything that includes Rapunzel & Flynn is automatically great (Tangled is one of my absolute favourites!). after this we popped over to the Royal Theatre which was really fun to watch so I'm glad we didn't skip that! For our show we watched the retelling of Beauty and the Beast which was lots of fun to watch, I didn't know what to expect and really loved it by the end!

Straight after that, the second parade was about to start and we managed to get a front spot in front of the castle. DFi decided to sit down (although he soon realised that was a bad idea because of his bad knees), and after a short while the floats made it down Main Street to the castle, and I tend to like watching shows as they happen instead of through my phone (both good & bad I guess!) so I only had a couple of photos of it.

But I mostly enjoyed the parade due to 2 other people standing nearby, they were cheering and clapping along to the music and they were just having a blast, both fully grown men. And their enjoyment was so fun to witness because I don't think I would have enjoyed the parade as much without their commentary!
At some point some other people even joined in with their "clap claps" to the music. When the Frozen float came past, they threw in all their effort in getting Elsa's attention and to their satisfaction (as well as others nearby I'm sure) Elsa gave them a wave and the dad-like cheer that erupted out of them was one of the highlights of my day Thank you gentlemen for being so entertaining!!

After the parade we saw a CM approach the guys and give them either a badge or pin for their enthusiasm & participation during the parade, and that really filled my heart to see as I didn't previously know that they gave out gold stars to park goers lol!
It was a cool moment to see and one of the reasons why I love Disney parks so much, many people get caught up in not enjoying the moment but really nothing else should matter other than having a great time with your friends/family and sharing the happiness!


We wandered around some more, until deciding to leave at around 6pm to our hotel to pick up our bags. I was happy to stay in the hotel lobby until it was closer to our flight but for some reason DFi chose to request an Uber anyway, so we arrived at the airport with just over 3 hours until our flight, great!!

Now by this point I was tired and wanted to be on my flight to MCO, but of course we get to the airport too early and apparently I didn't tell DFi when our flight was, (why on earth would i do that?!) after an expensive airport dinner we sat out the next few hours and finally we boarded our flight and off to WDW!! Our goal was to try and get some kind of sleep so we could hit the ground running, but alas it just wasn't meant to be

(I really didn't have any photos from this because of exhaustion lol)​

Fellow Aussie here, loving your report. We went 16th dec 2015, had 4 nights in Disneyland, 14 nights wdw, 4 nights at Universal, then a 7 night western Carribean cruise on Disney Fantasy and then 3 more nights at wdw. Was the most fantastic Xmas ever. Please add NY in your report , love to know what u thought, On another trip in Sept 2013 we did Hollywood, my kids love the place, don't know why lol, New York and 14 nights WdW . Both trips the 14 nights also included outlet shopping, Kennedy Space Centre and a airboat ride.

 

[LeiaIsAPrincess2]

Following along! Wow, only riding each ride once? That would drive me crazy I love your holiday ears!!

 

[masterpabu]

Fellow Aussie here, loving your report. We went 16th dec 2015, had 4 nights in Disneyland, 14 nights wdw, 4 nights at Universal, then a 7 night western Carribean cruise on Disney Fantasy and then 3 more nights at wdw. Was the most fantastic Xmas ever. Please add NY in your report , love to know what u thought, On another trip in Sept 2013 we did Hollywood, my kids love the place, don't know why lol, New York and 14 nights WdW . Both trips the 14 nights also included outlet shopping, Kennedy Space Centre and a airboat ride.

Wow your trip sounds awesome!! And that was back when the exchange rate was doing much better too so it would have been great! We were so careful with our spending lol
I think kids probably like Hollywood because they still get to enjoy it without the adult-lens (something DFi realised on his return to NY lol!) I remember wanting to go when I was younger but now not so much! Although it may have also been a little nicer years ago pre-Trump era, DFi's mum said maybe the Trump affect had something to do with a few things but who knows!

 

[masterpabu]

Following along! Wow, only riding each ride once? That would drive me crazy I love your holiday ears!!

Thank you! And yes, one ride once was a total buzz kill! Because DFi said he's already done it all before (then why did we even go to DLR?! )

 

[masterpabu]

Day 6! Finally!

After our sleepless red eye into MCO arriving in after 7am, it felt like a bit of a blur going through the airport and arriving at the MDE check in (after initially getting lost oops!) We got on our bus and at some point we were on our way.

yaaay!!

When we went past the Disney World welcome sign I'm not sure I even registered where I was, or was probably too tired to react The first stop was at Coronado Springs and we got to see the construction of the new building, looking forward to seeing the completed result!

We were lucky last for our stop at Kidani Villas, when the driver announced our stop DFi shouted YAY (much to my embarrassment ). We got a lovely "welcome home" from the cast members and despite it being our first time there it kinda did felt like I was home! (after years of looking at vidoes and photos probably helped feel that way!)

Our room wasn't ready yet at so we left our bags with bell services then walked over to Jambo House for some breakfast at the Mara. It was a lot warmer today, it was as high as 29 degrees Celsius/84 Fahrenheit, and we had flown in wearing jeans and sweat pants lol! I did offer to grab a pair of shorts out from our bag for DFi, but he was more upset that I hadn't packed swimming shorts for him (even though he was fully capable of packing it himself!). It would have been a nice day for a swim, but it was forecast to storm during the day so I didn't feel too guilty.

I love love love the lobby at Jambo house (I took more videos than photos


Our original plan was to hit Magic Kingdom in the day, however we realised that sleep was more of a priority so we went back to Kidani to wait for our room. It was nice and quiet in the fireplace library room, where I sat down by the window and tried to start some of this report early. And then the storm came by so I guess it was good we didn't go out.

Also the story of how we ended up with refillable mugs, DFi had gone to grab our breakfast and while there the CM asked if he wanted to get the mugs as they're free if you're using the Disney Dining Plan. However, not being aware of what that was. And when he got to the check out, he learned that they were in fact not free for us as we didn't have the DDP Poor thing, but we made sure to make good use of them, I originally didn't think to get one for myself, but at the end I'm glad we did as we used them for all they were worth!

Luckily we only waited until 12 for our room and I was so thrilled as soon as we stepped inside.

Our peaceful view (facing towards the pool, but still peaceful!)


We had our dessert party that night so we napped for about 4-5 hours before finally heading out to Magic Kingdom. It looked like it was raining on and off so I just hoped it wouldn't be too bad when we got to the park.

Although I had pictured my first time at Magic Kingdom going a lot differently, it was still so wonderful seeing the park for the first time at night all lit up, and I couldn't believe that we finally made it!

(sorry for the potato quality, idk why it wouldn't upload better)

we're here!

It was warm and muggy and the rain was on and off, which left DFi a little less energised, but I didn't let it sour my mood as I was in the happiest place on earth!
That eventually became the wettest, as we ran undercover although at that point my shoes were already soaked through, I felt like I needed a boat for my feet
I was to get last minute fastpasses for Peter Pan that evening too which was awesome, it really was crazy how the wait for this ride can get so long! But we decided we weren't doing it without fastpass lol! It was a charming ride and nice to have done it once so I'm glad we did!

It was still raining and we had no choice but to run to Tomorrowland Terrace for the dessert party, where we met chaos. There were people spread everywhere undercover, not knowing who was just getting out the rain and who was here for the dessert parties, it was chaotic trying to be directed to the party entrance. We were told by 2 cast members to go to this line then that line, but eventually the one we had to go to had no line doh!

Nevertheless, we finally got to sit down and enjoy some nibblies, and my sweet tooth was satisfied for the whole week if not more that night.

I devoured the other the macaroons before realising I should take a photo lol


DFi wasn't interested in heading out to the fireworks spot while it was raining so I went off myself to get a spot. I reckon the dessert party is definitely worth doing at least once as it's so nice to not be crammed between people for ages to watch the show (especially during party night season).

There was lots of space in the garden and I got a nice spot with a clear view of the castle. DFi finally found me just before the show started, but seemed convinced he had a better spot over at the far left of the garden where noone else was. Why? because of the trees obstructing most of the view!
By then someone else already wandered over to my previous spot so I begrudgingly stayed, although the show began and I loved every minute of it anyway
Both DFi and I sang along (to ourselves of course never out loud) and it really was just magical.

(sorry I didn't try to get any photos of the show, I was too preoccupied with enjoying it, but was as magical, if not more,than all the videos and photos that we've all seen)

Also throughout our trip he kept trying to pry my engagement ring off me to do a "proposal" knowing it would mortify me, but luckily that didn't happen.

We had a fastpass for Buzz after the fireworks so we went to do that, DFi having a cry after I won that his laser gun wasn't working
We waddled off back to the buses (shoes and feet still wet) to head home where a long long sleep was had
​

 

[LeiaIsAPrincess2]

Beautiful pictures of the lobby and decorations! Animal Kingdom Lodge is a bucket list destination for me

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures