Young At Heart: The #BirthdayFestivus13 Adventure!!! 5 UPDATES, 1/8!!!!!!!!!!!!

[__disneygirl]

More Disney24 is all good by me!!!

My God I'm such an idiot since I've STILL not gone in and picked up those phones.

I don't know. Something about an Electrical Parade at 1am just makes it so much more awesome.

Thank you for the bonus photos. God I really want to attend an all-nighter at MK SO BAD.

I am quite saddened that this report is getting close to being done, but THANK GOODNESS there's another in the hopper. And more HALLOWEEN. I can't wait to see the Halloween costumes again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Lia, and I hope your 2014 is filled with loads of pixie dust. I have a feeling it will.

Set a reminder on your phone! Sometimes when I know I'm going to be in a certain park at a certain time I set little reminders for Hidden Mickeys or whatever. Because you're never going to remember everything you wanna do but if your phone beeps you will! Of course in October I set 2 reminders so I wouldn't forget to buy the Hitchhiking Ghost Mickey and I still didn't, luckily they had them available days after Halloween!

It really was an extra level of awesome! I loved it!

I hope you get to do the all nighter someday!

Happy New Year to you too Rob!! I have a feeling there will be more pixie dust for you too!! Hopefully new trips for us both soon!!!

Happy New Year Lia!

Thanks for the wonderful Disney24 updates - Fab pictures too! You & Gina clearly had an AMAZING night When I was younger I'd have LOVED to have done an all-nighter at the MK...Sadly my energy levels aren't what they used to be though & the crowds would have killed me!! Great to live it all through your eyes instead though!

I know I'm super late to the party but I finally found the time to read your entire 2010 McLOVINS trip report (not all in one go!!) & really enjoyed it! Looking forward to reading your Dec 2011 report next!

Best wishes for many more happy Disney memories in 2014!

Siân.xx

Happy New Year!!

Aww, well I'm glad you could experience it through me! Toward the end of the night I was definitely about to fall over a few times... but then something would happen that would invigorate me!

I'm SO happy you read my McLovin report! Thanks!! I love that one I'm glad you enjoyed & hope the next one entertains you as well!

You too!!

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

OMG! It looks like that lady behind Gina has no pants on!! Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

hahahaha what can I say, it was a crazy night!

Great pics!

Thanks!

So excited for all of the Disney24 pics!!

Awe man, what an awesome welcome into the magic kingdom, fireworks and all! We totally got some of those buttons a few weeks prior!! they’re awesome!! Ah the backstage passes that they open are are super cool, we got through the one on the other side on the parade taping day, and I’ve been on the casey’s side during the KTTK tour! I do understand their “not taking any pictures” thing but when it is a situation like that it doesn’t seem to be as crazy

Sounds like you girls really were having a blast and into it already, yay!! Oh my gosh those treats sounds amazing! Om nooom!! Man, I’m feeling the energy of you guys just from reading this, it truly must’ve been such a fun night!! I really hope they do another one that I’m there for!!

Glad you guys are having sucha a blast, I wish I could’ve witnessed some of it, bahah! Isn’t it just great to be able to see the magic through someone else’s eyes?! It’s amazing!!

Ah the second aid box! I noticed that in Sept & had a good little chuckle bout it! looks like enchanted tales was again a blast!

Oh my gosh that dance party seriously must’ve been the best thing of all night! Amazing! Also, tearing up at your 6am feels! URHG DISNEY FEELS. The all nighter sounds like it was such a highlight of your trip, and I can’t imagine the amazingness of being in MK while the sun was coming up! Or getting back to the resort at the time that others would be getting up! I’m definitely going to the next one!! Can’t wait for the wrap up and the next trip report. Obviously it’s going to be epic, Halloween is the greatest time of year!

Thanks for all the great comments Katt!! It really was so much fun and the energy of the park kept our energy up too! I hope you will get to do an all nighter in the future, it was such a blast!!

Halloween really is the greatest time of year!!! I can't wait to unleash this next report on you guys!!

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 25, 2013
Day 13, Part 1 In Which We Are Resort Hopping Extraordinaires!​

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We slept in. Big time. Longer than I ever imagined I would sleep in at Disney. But this was in a time before Disney's Woodstock when I never could have dreamed of being in the Magic Kingdom until 6:30 AM.

Gina and I didn't even get back until 7:30. It was pretty hilarious to be returning to our hotel room as if we had just been on some club hopping bender.

Nope. It was just #Disney24.

Jess had gone to sleep at a reasonable hour so I know she was up earlier than us but we must have slept until like 1 or 2 pm.

I woke up and it DID feel like I had come off a bender.

I was just like where am I and WHO IS THIS STRANGER NEXT TO ME?????

(It was Gina. I didn't bring a foreign CM back to the room with me. I think?)

Anywho. Again I don't even remember anything until we left the room which didn't even happen until like 3 or 4 PM.

We had a Wolfgang Puck pizza in the fridge from two days ago (spreadin' those dining credits out baby!!!) so that was going to be our lunch.

We headed to World Premiere to heat it up, fill our mugs, and split the pizza into three sections.

Let me tell you something... this was not enough food.

I think we all know from her reports that Jess could most likely polish off an entire one of these pizzas easily and with gusto.

Now I have known Gina a long time and she is never one to shy away from eating an entire pizza even though she is lactose intolerant.

I myself could eat like 10 of these pizzas so yeah we were all still hungry.

It was a good mid-afternoon snack at best.

Next we headed to the lobby to check out the pin board. This was going to be an epic day of pin trading, so what better place to start than our home resort?

I mean... technically my DVC home resort is Pop Century but I mean my home at the time was Movies.

Whaddaya know, the Cast Member's name was ANDY!!!! <3 <3 <3

We were like, obviously this is *THE* Andy. I mean he works at the resort where his room is located. IT'S ANDY.

So that was pretty perfect. We then headed into Donald's Double Feature to look at their pin book. During my #StuckInDisney trip I traded here like every day, it's one of my favorite gift shops in all of Disney.

For the 309823098th time, I really wish I had kept track of my trades because I don't remember exactly what I got at which place but trust me I was getting awesome pins that I now have displayed on a board at home!

As I have also said before, this trip was about firsts and I wanted to visit the resorts I never had before.

Saratoga Springs was the only one that remained besides All Star Sports. We should have just walked over to Sports from Movies... but none of us are that into sports really so off to Saratoga we went!

Welcome Home!

There was a dude in an old timey outfit greeting people in the lobby!

More people need to wear top hats. Magicians don't even wear them anymore! Hello, David Blaine, what are you doing?!

They have pictures of Disney horses on the wall.

In my opinion they need a Maximus one STAT!


This resort is extremely chill. It's just not that exciting. And that's not a bad thing.

It wouldn't be my first choice to stay in, even though it's very pretty and within walking distance of Downtown Disney. In my opinion it can't compare to any of the other Deluxes. When you're dealing with stuff like AKL, The Beach Club, Poly, etc... this pales in comparison.

I still love it though, I mean it's a Disney resort. Hello.

We checked out their pin board and then went over to the DVC kiosk where they had another either board or book, I can't remember.

I do remember that Jess FINALLY found a baby Ariel pin! This was the pin Mark was looking for like his entire program. Well, I can't remember if it was that long but I do know he was looking for it a long time and brought it up several times when we were together. It figures that Jess would come across it the day after he left!

We walked into Artist's Palette because for some reason I have always been attracted to that place. It was nice to see the awesome decor in person after seeing it on the DIS for many years.

I love this little Artist of the Day display.

It says "We love you Disney" in Mickey's mouth. Aww.

It was a pretty short visit at Saratoga Springs but I'm glad we did it because I really wanted to see it and we got good pins there!

I wanted to, FINALLY, once and for all try the King Cupcake at Pop Century so we headed over there next.

Oh my beloved Pop.

It was nice to visit again after staying there and then moving to Movies, just like I loved visiting Port Orleans after staying there and moving to Pop! Things were coming full circle for me on this trip!!

We went right into Everything Pop and to the dessert bar. I ordered my King Cupcake and we went to sit down in a booth. I don't have a photo of the cupcake... so I will just post a random one from the internet.

Thanks Disney Food Blog!!!!!!!!!

Immediately Jess was staring at my cupcake with the same look a hungry dog gives while sitting under the dinner table so I shared some with her.

Gina couldn't eat it because of the bacon. THE BACON!!! What an inspired choice to put bacon on a cupcake. I know candied bacon is all the rage and althought I had enjoyed chocolate covered bacon in the past, a bacon cupcake was new to me! But I LOVED IT!

The entire cupcake was SO DELICIOUS. All the different flavors worked very well together. What a fitting and delicious tribute to the King.

The peanut butter icing was ridiculously light and fluffy and the perfect flavor. The banana in the middle of the chocolate cake was probably my favorite part and getting a bite in with the icing, banana, and chocolate together was Heaven.

Luckily a bakery chain here in Jersey makes a similar cupcake which is a Godsend because I could not live without it!!!

On my Cupcake Delicousness O-Meter the King scored a whopping 293,238,829 points!!! So get it!!!!

After that we looked around in the store for awhile. It was Goofy's birthday so they had his trivia up today!!

Then we pin traded and I FOUND A PIN OF THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK FROM THE HAUNTED MANSION!!!!!!! Oh my GOD.

That was definitely one of my favorite finds the whole trip!! WOO!!!! Jess was like "I have that one!" cause she has every pin ever except like 5 but I never even knew it existed so I was THRILLED!!! Thrilled by a pin. My life.

Duffy Lightyear was out!

I feel like we checked out the pin board at the Front Desk... but I can't remember! Hmm.

We headed to Brooke because our next destination was the stunningly gorgeous Boardwalk!

I always want to spend more and more time here and it's never enough! The other thing was that I've never been inside the actual Boardwalk HOTEL even though I've been to the Boardwalk many times. So it was another first! WOO.

We went into the lobby of the Boardwalk and immediately I fell in love.

I have been dying to stay there for SO MANY years and seeing the inside just reinforced that so much. I wish I could do that sometime soon but I doubt it will happen for awhile. Luckily I've been through this before so I know that when I finally do get to stay there the wait will make it that much better!

I found this chair very creepy.

I'm 99.9999% sure that thing comes to life at night and preys on people. Be warned!!!

I would rather sit on this. I thought it was quite pretty. (Notice the scary chair still being scary in the background).

*Shivers* Worst chair ever!

We went up to the desk to pin trade and Jess knew some of the people who she worked with when she picked up a shift there.

There was this super nice guy who said to me "Now, are you cast member too? Because you look like you could be a princess." BLUSH.

We looked at their pin book and then went on to explore the resort. I finally got to see the pool that makes the world shake in terror... THE CLOWN POOL! I actually don't think it's that bad but it's still funny that everyone was in agreement that it was a good idea, hahaha.

I love the whole circus/carnival/vintage Boardwalk theme so much because it reminds me of the Jersey shore and also when I did Boardwalk Empire. So this resort just makes me CRAZY CAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! AHH!

Next we went to walk on the boards. We went inside the Screen Door General Store to look around and pin trade.

This magnet cracked us all up:

And of course any Alice tea set is flawless.

I think I like the one they sell in the UK better, but this one was amazing as well!

After leaving the store we walked along the Boardwalk for awhile just enjoying life and decided to a loop around the water.

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[__disneygirl]

MAY 25, 2013
Day 13, Part 2 In Which We Frolic on the Beach!​

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I feel like I always take the most photos in the Epcot Resort Area. I just CAN'T STOP it's so beautiful!

Once we reached the beach at the Beach Club I had to take off my shoes and put my feet in the sand! I never can resist walking on the sand.

I was so happy it was only the very beginning of the summer, I could not wait to go to the beach back at home!

We went inside Yacht & Beach to look at their pins. There are so many places to stop inside here, both front desks, both DVC kiosks, both gift shops, and then just various CM's lanyards. If you are into Disney pins, this should be your #1 spot.

At the Front Desk of the Yacht Club, Gina spotted an Ichabod pin in the pin book that she liked. She just has a thing for Ichabod. I had told her many times that if she wanted to pin trade I would give her one to use during a trade, but she kept saying that she would NEVER pin trade because she would become too obsessed with it and so she had to stay away. It was amusing for Jess and I because we have heard this all before! We were both like, "Yeah... before this trip is over that girl is going to pin trade." hahaha. But she actually didn't... yet. However, remember this story for tomorrow!

Beach Club rugs are my obsession.

Onward... we wondered if The Swan & Dolphin Resorts had pin trading. I haven't been inside since 2006, so I had no idea and neither did Jess. Oh well, we didn't feel like stopping in at the time.

Back to the Boardwalk! I just love making this loop.

I always have to take a Crest O' The Wave picture because it's my dream to stay specifically there!

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[__disneygirl]

MAY 25, 2013
Day 13, Part 3 In Which We Travel To Hawaii Alongside the Monorail​

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Step right up!

I noticed one of the shop windows had a Halloween display. In May!

WOOHOO gotta keep that spirit going all year round!!!

Foreshadowing of our amazing Oct/Nov trip that I didn't even know would happen yet? Hmm. Boo to YOU!

I love this pool so much.

Back inside! As you can see I could not stop taking pictures.

I loved this flower mix!

This art really captured my eye.

"LETS GO SEE IT

LETS GO

LETS ALL GO"



As we left I had to take a picture of Jess's antenna topper just because.

Our plan for the night was to go to the Polynesian to watch Wishes from the beach there, another thing I have always really wanted to do!

We decided to head over early to get dinner at Captain Cook's. Again, I've always wanted to eat there, so I was very excited!

The drive to the Poly was lovely, the sky looked amazing and at one point it seemed like we were racing the monorail.

The short term parking lot at the Polynesian is really small and it took forever to find a spot. Just a warning if you are driving there for a reservation, GET THERE EARLY or take a bus from a park.

Jess was filling with rage because when she is hungry, forget it. Omg, different person. I find it amusing because I know how sweet she really is. We needed to get this girl some food now cause she was just done!!!

Once finally found a space, we all cheered and headed in. We saw this sticker on a car window and found it awesome!

Jess speeded in there like it was her only night to work and the rent was due tomorrow! Gina had never even been to the Poly so she was ooohing and aaahhhing. Once we caught up to Jess I saw her dash over to one of the ordering screens, and the speed at which she placed her order was impressive. Literally it had to have been less than 5 seconds.

I took the time to look at the options. I always thought I would get the adult grilled cheese, but I really felt like the noodles from Ohana and I remember hearing that they use the same ones in the noodle bowls at Captain Cook's, so that's what I went with.

Jess ordering at the speed of light

My noodle bowl aka Stir-Fry Noodles with Chicken:

OMG. THE REPORTS WERE ACCURATE. IT TASTED JUST LIKE 'OHANA!!!!! I was so happy because I had missed going to 'Ohana on this trip and the noodle bowl was the perfect substitute! Yay!​

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 25, 2013
Day 13, Part 4 In Which We Have One Last Wish​

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Gina and Jess both went with the Adult Grilled Cheese. They absolutely loved it and Jess was back to her normal self. It was a magical transformation!

I got this meal in November, and I can tell you it really is one of, if not the best, grilled cheese sandwiches you will ever have! I highly recommend both this and the noodles. It all depends on what you're in the mood for.

We thought Wishes was at 9 but when I double checked I found out it was actually at 10 so we had a lot of time to just chill out and relax which was lovely especially after the crazy night before!

Toward the end of our meal Gina said to me, "Did I correctly see a Dole Whip machine over there?" I told her that yes you could in fact get Dole Whips here! She had wanted to try one since she heard so much about this iconic Disney treat!!!

Of course Jess decided to get one too.

Yeah, she's a professional.

I passed because guess what? Dole Whips aren't my favorite! I'm just not the biggest fan of pineapple.

I like them, but i'd rather get something else. At the moment though I was quite full! So I just got some hot chocolate out of the machine and put it in my refillable mug.

WOW this hot chocolate was delicious! I was not expecting it to be as good as it was... coming from a machine and all. I was wrong. It was especially perfect because it was a really chilly night. So chilly in fact that Jess wanted to go back to the car and get the new sweatshirt she had purchased today at the Boardwalk.

So after stopping at the Front Desk to pin trade and discussing how cute we would look if we worked at the Polynesian due to the pretty flowers the girls wear in their hair, we went back to Brooke.

On the way back in I went to the bathroom and filled up my mug with more hot chocolate because I had already finished my first serving. SO GOOD.

We headed out to the Polynesian beach and they were playing Wreck-It Ralph. OH NO.

I don't even know how that picture turned out that way but hey it looks cool.

Normally "Oh no" would not be my reaction to Wreck-It Ralph since I adore that film! However, Jess was so upset about Mark leaving and this did not help.

I told her that she had to start separating the movie and Mark in her mind or she was going to be really miserable a LOT since Ralph is everywhere in Disney! She said that she simply couldn't. It was really sad and I felt for her. But hey, it's a life lesson. Friends leave, and you have to learn to live with it. That's just the way it goes. =(

So that was kind of a womp womp start to our Wishes experience. I felt bad because Jess was like on the verge of tears and Gina hadn't gotten to see Wishes in full the night before so I wanted her to at least get a good experience here... but they didn't pump in the music. That was really disappointing because I had heard that they do. They did stop the movie when it was time for the fireworks to begin though, so that was good!

Gina and I were cracking up cause we kept mocking King Candy so that helped to lighten the mood. We also discussed how Wreck-It Ralph should have won the Best Animated Feature Oscar over Brave for 2012. Oh well.

I LOVED seeing Wishes from the Poly beach. It was great to finally see it from there after wanting to for years. The Polynesian is one of my #1 happy places of the World and that beach is just pure serenity... so seeing Wishes from it was absurdly magical.

Jess took some great pictures!

Ahh, I loved it. If you have the time to spend a night here, I highly recommend it. Sitting on the beach watching fireworks is not something you get to do everyday, but in Disney World, of course it's not the first thing you go run and do cause there are so many other activities. But I am SO happy I finally got to see Wishes from here.

Another experience crossed off my Disney bucket list! Wow, I really made a huge dent in that list during this trip!

After the show we headed to Brooke and back to Movies. Jess had an early day at work the next day and Gina and I wanted to make the most of our LAST DAY IN DISNEY!

I could not believe that this trip was coming to end, honestly it flew by. I'm so happy that didn't happen with my fall trip, because it really kind of sucked that 2 weeks went by in a flash.

We went back to the room and one of my favorite movies, Pretty Woman, was on TV. RICHARD AND VIVIAN 4EVA!!!

We watched part of it and did some packing before bed. I could not believe Gina and I were leaving for her house tomorrow! ​

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[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha, after the previous night's bender, I think it's totally appropriate that you slept in a little.

Andy??? How cute is that?

And thank you for a Welcome Mat photo at Saratoga. Clearly necessary. i love Disney Welcome Mats

Ahh yes, your home DVC POP Century Resort and Spa. I know it well.

I'm actually shocked this was your first King cupcake! Your description was epic.

Aww I miss the Boardwalk. I spent so much more time there last trip and just love everything about it, especially at night.

One day I will see Wishes from the Poly beach. One day. That makes me sad that the soundtrack wasn't played though. That's a HUGE part of the experience. I've heard others say that it wasn't played for them too. I hope this isn't permanent.

 

[cinderellaurora]

Thanks for another great update!

Ah - this was the night I walked past you, Gina & Jess as you were entering the Beach Club! Really wish I'd said hello now!

As a MASSIVE fan of Elvis, I would love to try a cupcake that's in his honour, but I don't eat meat so the bacon is a major turn off for me!!

Oh dear Lord that chair at the Boardwalk Hotel is SO creepy! Why would anyone want to sit on that?!

I remember how chilly that evening was...My family & I were eating outside at the Rose & Crown right by the water & were all freezing!

Sad that you only have one more Disney day on this trip, but looking forward to your Halloween report!

Best wishes,
Siân.xx

 

[katt789]

Ahahha your trip report little comments are simply the best! Foreign cm, the BEST!
Looks like a nice visit to Saratoga, I agree with you in it really not being the greatest of pulls for me to go stay there or anything!

CUPCAAAAAKKKKEEEE. I REALLY REALLY wanted to try it when we were there in Dec, I even had the intention of it but decided I wanted something a little healthier, now I’m sad! Gonna have to get it next time!!

WHAT IS THAT FREAKING CHAIR IT IS STRAIGHT UP TERRIFYING!!

I like the shore feeling over at BW, but if I’mma stay over there it’ll be at the YC! Walking in that sand is one of my favorite things, heck, beaches are my favorite, I think that’s why I love the BC/YC so much!

Those flowers are gorgeous! So pretty, everything about the boardwalk area is awesome! Love it there! Oh my gosh, the rage of being hungry angry/hangry is just terrible! The food all looks delicious and amazing, I’ll definitely have to make a stop there some trip! I have always wanted to, do they still have a pb & j cupcake there?

Awee, I’d never thought of the “see things that remind you of your friends that left” that sucks for Jess! Wishes from the beach is on my list of many things to do, and I can’t wait to do it, it just seems so fantastic and amazing, crappy that they don’t pump the music in anymore! SAD. Great pics of the fireworks too! Looks like it was a nice relaxing day, a bonus since the 24 event probably drained you guys!

Excited to read more!

 

[__disneygirl]

Great pics!

Thanks!!

Haha, after the previous night's bender, I think it's totally appropriate that you slept in a little.

Andy??? How cute is that?

And thank you for a Welcome Mat photo at Saratoga. Clearly necessary. i love Disney Welcome Mats

Ahh yes, your home DVC POP Century Resort and Spa. I know it well.

I'm actually shocked this was your first King cupcake! Your description was epic.

Aww I miss the Boardwalk. I spent so much more time there last trip and just love everything about it, especially at night.

One day I will see Wishes from the Poly beach. One day. That makes me sad that the soundtrack wasn't played though. That's a HUGE part of the experience. I've heard others say that it wasn't played for them too. I hope this isn't permanent.

I love the Welcome Mats too!!

Pop Century Resort and Spa still cracks me up

The whole music thing at the Poly is weird. I've heard people say they do play it and was expecting it. Jess seems to remember them playing it very faintly, to which I say WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT? Either play it loudly or don't play it.

Thanks for another great update!

Ah - this was the night I walked past you, Gina & Jess as you were entering the Beach Club! Really wish I'd said hello now!

As a MASSIVE fan of Elvis, I would love to try a cupcake that's in his honour, but I don't eat meat so the bacon is a major turn off for me!!

Oh dear Lord that chair at the Boardwalk Hotel is SO creepy! Why would anyone want to sit on that?!

I remember how chilly that evening was...My family & I were eating outside at the Rose & Crown right by the water & were all freezing!

Sad that you only have one more Disney day on this trip, but looking forward to your Halloween report!

Best wishes,
Siân.xx

Thanks for reading!! That's so funny that you saw us!

I don't understand that chair at ALL. It is pretty horrifying. Someday when I am the CEO of Disney I will have it removed.

The Halloween report is going to be amazing, I can't wait to start it! It was such a fun trip!

Ahahha your trip report little comments are simply the best! Foreign cm, the BEST!
Looks like a nice visit to Saratoga, I agree with you in it really not being the greatest of pulls for me to go stay there or anything!

CUPCAAAAAKKKKEEEE. I REALLY REALLY wanted to try it when we were there in Dec, I even had the intention of it but decided I wanted something a little healthier, now I’m sad! Gonna have to get it next time!!

WHAT IS THAT FREAKING CHAIR IT IS STRAIGHT UP TERRIFYING!!

I like the shore feeling over at BW, but if I’mma stay over there it’ll be at the YC! Walking in that sand is one of my favorite things, heck, beaches are my favorite, I think that’s why I love the BC/YC so much!

Those flowers are gorgeous! So pretty, everything about the boardwalk area is awesome! Love it there! Oh my gosh, the rage of being hungry angry/hangry is just terrible! The food all looks delicious and amazing, I’ll definitely have to make a stop there some trip! I have always wanted to, do they still have a pb & j cupcake there?

Awee, I’d never thought of the “see things that remind you of your friends that left” that sucks for Jess! Wishes from the beach is on my list of many things to do, and I can’t wait to do it, it just seems so fantastic and amazing, crappy that they don’t pump the music in anymore! SAD. Great pics of the fireworks too! Looks like it was a nice relaxing day, a bonus since the 24 event probably drained you guys!

Excited to read more!

hahaha thank you Katt!

I know what you mean, sometimes with the overload of sweets in Disney I'm like "Okay I have to eat something healthy now before I die from sugar overdose..."

I'M SO SCARED OF THE CHAIR. I JUST WANT TO FORGET I EVER SAW THE CHAIR.

I would have a LOT of trouble deciding between Boardwalk and Beach Club if I had the money, but I'd probably pick BC so I could experience Stormalong Bay!

Yes they do have the PB&J cupcake!

I hope they start playing the music again! It's just crazy that they don't.

 

[khertz]

I love all of the resort hopping pictures! I always say I am going to visit more resorts each trip, but we always end up spending more time at the parks instead. That is definitely one big benefit of taking really long trips!

 

[__disneygirl]

I love all of the resort hopping pictures! I always say I am going to visit more resorts each trip, but we always end up spending more time at the parks instead. That is definitely one big benefit of taking really long trips!

Thank you! Every time I spend time at the resorts I am always so happy I did it. There is just so much to see and do without needing a park ticket! I hope you get to spend more time there in the future.

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 26, 2013
Day 14, Part 1 In Which It's Time For Africa​

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DAY 14!!!!!!!!!!

Whew.

Today I was LEAVING DISNEY!!!

Wow. How did we get here? I swear Jess was just telling me she was applying for for the DCP, and if she got in I had to come visit her! And now here we are saying goodbye?!?? TIME WHY MUST YOU FLY AT THE MOST INOPPORTUNE MOMENTS?

I was pretty unhappy with how fast the time flew on this trip. It's all relative, it did not feel like 14 days at ALL.

Strangely, on my Oct/Nov trip I was blessed with time slowing down. I was there 8 days, and yet it felt much longer than my 14 day May trip!

You just never know I guess.

I got up super early on this last day because Jess had to go to work and it was the last time I was going to be seeing her. =(

I wish we had gotten to have a proper goodbye but it was early and I was in a daze. I told her I had the best time with her and that everything was going to be okay. She said "I hope so" and I seriously wanted to cry! It turns out I was right and now everything is more than okay, but at the moment she was so upset! Don't you hate when you can't cheer your friends up? Sigh.

After that, I went back to sleep until like 9ish. Then Gina and I got up, finished packing, got ready and said goodbye to Movies. OH IT SUCKED. Hated it!!!!!!!!!

We called Bell Services to help us get all our crap down to Gina's car.

Farewell, Andy's Room!

We were not ready to leave Movies just yet, so we hit the food court one last time to fill up our mugs.

I finally took a picture of this awesome old camera that I've been admiring since my Stuck in Disney trip.

Then we went into Donald's Double Feature so I could pin trade. I remember getting a cute Snow White pin and Gina bought an Alice in Wonderland shot glass. Unfortunately, the next day her cat knocked it off the counter and it broke into a ton of pieces!! She was able to buy another one in November, though!

This store has the best package pick-up of all the resorts in my opinion.

Oh how I love the movie theme!

After that we had to leave, but not before I attached myself to the side of the main building to hug it goodbye. Yeah I'm weird.

We drove off and over to.... THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE!!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This trip wasn't over just yet!!!

We had the whole day to hang out, pin trade, watch animals and most importantly EAT ZEBRA DOMES!!!!

I've always wanted to take a day out to just chill at AKL. I usually spend a good amount of time there but had not even visited yet during #BirthdayFestivus13. That just would not do. From the first time I went there in 2006, I knew I would never go to Disney without going to AKL. It's just one of my favorite places on earth and Gina absolutely had to see it!!

Once we parked and walked up to Jambo house, I saw a CM playing a bongo drum.

What a great job! How do you go back home to a normal job after SITTING IN DISNEY PLAYING MUSIC ALL DAY??? Dream life.

Welcome home!! JAMBO!!!

We spent some time marveling at the lobby, a requirement of all guests visiting AKL! Then I did some pin trading at the front desk and in Zawadi marketplace.

This is one of my favorite stores in all of Disney. Well, anywhere really. It's the best because you can buy authentic African art, Mickey plushes, AND frozen macaroni & cheese. The perfect store.

This art is AMAZING. It reminds me of the Lion King on Broadway, which is quite obviously something I recommend if you are ever in New York.

However, I actually think FOTLK is better! Just my opinion.

Pin trading accomplished, we headed around the resort to explore and outside to see the animals!!

This dude is pretty much my kind of guy.

He is resting his head on a stuffed Simba. LOL. And he caught me taking a picture of him... oops. Hey man!

Out of all the non-park things you can do, I would probably say that coming to AKL is my favorite. It's crazy what an incredible experience you can have here for FREE!!

That's one of the reasons living in Orlando would be awesome cause even if you were broke, you could do so much. Can't afford to go to the movies until your next paycheck? GO STARE AT GIRAFFES FOR FREE!! Not many places you can do that.

Around lunchtime we headed over to the Mara. I love this place even though the flatbread I had here was shall we say less than stellar. It doesn't matter because this is the land of ZEBRA DOMES, people!!!

If you are visiting here for the first time, you have to walk outside and down a path to get to the Mara. I remember when I went in 2011 I wasn't sure how to get there, so I just wanted to make a note of that so you guys know!

It was hard to decide what to get for my meal. I was actually kind of in the mood for your basic chicken and fries, but I wanted to go with the more adventurous choice because hello, WHEN IN ROME! So I got the African Stew.

The African Stew - Hearty stew with beef, turkey, ham, carrots, potatoes, peas, chickpeas, and raisins served over basmati rice

WHAT A FLAWLESS CHOICE! Wow, this was delicious. I can not believe I almost got chicken and fries over this!!! SO GOOD. Honestly it tastes a lot better than it looks. I miss it. I WOULD LIKE TO EAT THIS NOW.

For my dessert quite OBVIOUSLY I got ZEBRA DOMES!!!! The highlight of my and any life.

The best!!! I just can't even tell you how much I recommend going over to AKL no matter what your trip situation is. There is just no excuse for missing this amazing resort's atmosphere, animals, and food.​

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[__disneygirl]

MAY 26, 2013
Day 14, Part 2 In Which We Visit Necklace Village
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For her meal, Gina got the Falafel Pita - Served on a warm pita with sun dried tomato hummus, cucumber, tomato, mixed greens with mint yogurt sauce.

She said it was so good. For her dessert she got the Orange Marmalade Cupcake!

I really wanted to get a cupcake myself but my hands (stomach) were kinda full with the Zebra Domes, ya know? Gina told me to have some of hers through and omg I LOVED IT. Definitely different from any other Disney cupcake! If you like orange you will love it. And the little crunchies tasted like Trix cereal. I enjoyed them!!

We were sitting next to a monkey sitting on a giraffe.

It was lovely.

I went to the bathroom (which, FYI, is right next to the Mara but you have to go outside and to the left to get there) and then we headed out on our next AKL adventure - Kidani Village!

Of all the times I have visited AKL, I've only been to Jambo. We asked a CM how far of a walk Kidani was and they made it sound like it was further than it really is. Like there's a shuttle van that goes over there and everything, or you can just take the bus cause it stops at both Jambo and Kidani of course. We were in the mood to walk anyway so we set out expecting it to be way longer but it wasn't bad at all! Less than 10 minutes, I'd say.

On the way we noticed the AWESOME Zazu elevators!

UM?!? Freakin' ZAZU ELEVATORS GUYS!!! BOOK YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW CAUSE OMG

SO COOL.

That is the kind of Disney freak I am that I literally will jump up and down over Zazu elevators. I think I will probably name my next girl band Zazu Elevators. AAAHHHH and someday when I'm rich and own a castle I will have Zazu elevators installed and everyone will be like you have the coolest elevators ever and I will be like I KNOW

I was SO EXCITED to see Kidani Village! OH MY GOD FINALLY.

This was on the wall right before you walk into the lobby.

I liked this little butterfly.

It's the little things.

I LOVE these lights. Oh my God. This adds a whole new level onto my Disney Lighting obsession.

Just like at Jambo House, I was in awe!

I went over to the Front Desk to pin trade and I found one of the BEST PINS EVER!!! It's of one of Donald's nephews in his ghost costume trick or treating from this short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skdVouumMk4

I have been obsessed with this short since I was a baby. My mom taped it for me off the TV and I watched it every Halloween my whole life. This pin is pretty rare and it was an AMAZING find. Definitely one of my favorite pins ever! I was so happy when I saw it!

Also it of course fit right into my spooky pin theme for the trip YES YES YES!! I cleaned up! To this day I look at all my Halloween pins and I'm like *SIGH* YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL.

Gina was looking through the pin book too and of course wanted so many pins. I was like, sheesh, just get over your no pin trading rule and let me give you a couple so you can get what you want! She declined, but then revealed that she had been thinking about the Ichabod pin from the day before ever since she saw and it and so she would take me up on my offer so that she could get that pin!

I was SO HAPPY because this meant we were going over to the Epcot Resort Area after AKL!! YAY! Gina doesn't like driving on highways in the dark so I thought we were LEAVING DISNEY after our Kidani visit. Turns out no! Ichabod is important, people!!!!

We went outside to look at the animals and right there is when I fell in love with Kidani.

This is one of the most serene places on earth. I promise you that!

If I lived in the area I would come here not just to observe the beautiful animals, but to read, write, study, do anything that requires being quiet really! It's amazing.

I actually like the viewing areas here more than at Jambo. It's extremely peaceful and stunning and I just loved chilling out watching the beautiful animals roam for awhile.

I am just going to post a ridiculous amount of animal photos because I love them all and this was so fun!

So did you guys know "kidani" means "necklace" in Swahili? So technically we were in Necklace Village. I saw no necklaces!!! Hmm.
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[__disneygirl]

MAY 26, 2013
Day 14, Part 3 In Which Must Find Ichabod Crane!!​

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I love this fire pit. It makes me want to go there at night really bad! I will have to make a note of that for the next trip.

Hello friend!

After a good long while we unfortunately had to say goodbye. Ugh, I SO badly wanted to just go over to the Front Desk and say "Heyyyy, I'm gonna be checking in!" But alas.

I couldn't be too sad though because we were off to the BEACH CLUB!!!!!!!!! Woo!!!!!!!

We parked and went in through the DVC entrance which is my fave because of the Ariel statue and this painting:

Do any of you understand how BADLY I need this in my house? Because it's a problem. Possibly with the help of a 12 step program I will be able to recover from not owning it, but I doubt it!!!!

Ahh, Disney carpeting.

*Sigh*

This is the OH MY GAD WE'RE ON A PIN TRADING CRUSADE MUST FIND ICHABOD CRANE picture

You're welcome!

We couldn't remember if the Ichabod pin was at the Yacht or the Beach Club. I literally could have SWORN that it was the Beach Club so that's why we checked there first.

We couldn't find it at any of the pin trading areas and I began to lose hope because I was sure it was at the Beach Club.

We headed into the Yacht Club and FOUND ICHABOD IN THE CONCIERGE PINBOOK!!! Shows how much I know.

There it is!

We decided one more trip to the Boardwalk Bakery was in order so that was our last stop of #BirthdayFestivus13!

MY FAVORITE.

You know that I was extremely full from 2 weeks of Festivus Craziness... because I DIDN'T EVEN GET A CUPCAKE! I got lemonade and a Mickey Tartlet (or as they call it here, the Mickey Oreo) to go. That was my essential road trip snackage.

I have to say I have NO idea why they call it a Mickey Oreo. An Oreo is two chocolate cookies with vanilla icing in the middle and that is not what they are serving. But you know what it is not a big deal so let's all move on with our lives.

Gina got another cupcake. That's right, one a day just isn't enough. This is how it goes in Disney! Deal with it.

This is the Cappuchino cupcake. Gina was pretty full when she ate it so she didn't enjoy it to the fullest but she said it was really good, I think it was her favorite of the trip.

I could smell the pizza from the Boardwalk pizza window and I really wanted to try some but I was TOO FULL. Plus I hear it's like $5 a slice, LOL. I'm from Jersey where you can get the best pizza ever for way less than that so yeah no. Maybe someday!

I took a picture of all my recent pin trades. CHECK OUT ALL THIS AWESOMENESS:

You can see the amazing Trick or Treat pin on the bottom there! Yay! So many of them are great though. The one on the top from The Great Mouse Detective!!! If you have not seen this very underrated Disney movie, I highly recommend it! The beginning used to scare the CRAP out of me as a kid but I soldiered through cause I loved the film so much! Below it and to the right a little is a pin of Daisy in a punk rock look. I LOVE IT hahahaha. We all know how much Daisy loves to shop so maybe sometimes she gets a little edgy with her clothing. How fabulous.

Also there is the Chip & Dale Typhoon Lagoon pin, I found that one trading at the Poly the night before. Me and Jess were in LOVE with it. And then next to it is CLARICE!!!!!!!! How cool. On the other side of it is one that says Magic Kingdom 2000 and has characters and the castle on it. I like this pin but I mainly traded for it b/c I decided I want to collect pins for every year I have taken a Disney trip. So far I have two that say 2000, one from 2008, one from 2012, and one from 2010... as you can see on the bottom there! I think it's a New Years pin.

WOO! WOO! WOO! WOO!​

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 26, 2013
Day 14, Part 4 In Which We Leave HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN​

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Sadly... that brings an end to the Disney portion of this trip. Here are some final pictures!

I love this picture. I swear on my next trip I am going to rent a surrey bike.

I LOVE this next one.

It was just such a gorgeous day!

Bye bye, Beach Club. You were good to me.

I seriously just wanted to jump in that damn pool. It was so hot. I should have just done it. I'm a rulebreaker and I was wearing a swimsuit under my dress. Wow what a missed opportunity! Note to self: When leaving Disney, randomly jump into pools.

Gina and I headed out to the car and LEFT DISNEY.

It sucked.

I rate "Leaving Disney" 0 out of 5 stars, do not recommend.

I have nothing new to say on this topic. We all know how much leaving Disney blows. I was excited to go to Gina's again though, so at least there was that.

My other awesome roadtrip snackage was this Minnie's Bake Shop cookie I had scored earlier in the day.

Love those.

Once you see this...

You know you're leaving Disney.

:'(

@babybritney I left Disney. what am I going to doooooooooo

BUT WHAT DID I HAVE TO BE SAD ABOUT? I had just spent TWO WEEKS in Walt Disney World with 3 of my friends. We did so much LIVIN IT UP we gave Livin It Up a new name!!

Uhh... not sure what that name is, that's really just an expression. hahahaha. But there was no way I could complain. This was such an epic trip and even though I was really sad because I thought it would be over a year until my next Disney trip... I just had to be thankful I even got to be in Disney this long. 14 days in May, 12 days the previous October, 11 days the December before that, 10 days the April before that. So yeah... no complaints here.

Gina and I set off on the road for our 3 hour journey to her house. It didn't even feel that long and we had an enjoyable ride discussing a million different things and listening to Disney songs and The Spice Girls. This music ranked a 93839803 on the Roadtrip Music Awesomeness-O-Meter so I was happy with that.

On the way there I spotted A KFC BUFFET. Oh my God the south. I do not even want to know about how much premature death is caused in that place.

We stopped at a gas station and I actually went with healthy snacks that time. I was maxed out on sugar. Disney is literally the ONLY place that happens, at home I want sugar every day to no end!

And yes I realize that package says "BUTTER" on it in large yellow letters, so we're talking relatively healthy here, folks.

Somewhere we passed a town called Nesbit that I was very amused by.

@babybritney: We just passed a sign that said NESBIT!!! I AM MRS NESBIT!!!!!!

We arrived at Gina's and I was thrilled to see NEW PRINCESS BEDDING JUST FOR ME!!! Woooo HOooooo!

The new stuff with the vintage Ariel is so perfect.

I am going to keep this part of the TR as short as possible because I have a WHOLE OTHER one to write and also this time I went to Gina's we were both DEAD TIRED. It was fun but we were zombies 90% of the time!

It was great to see Gina's parents and her adorable kitty, Katniss, again!

She is beautiful.

Okay so... I don't even know how to begin to explain the way I was treated here. It was honestly like I was real princess being bestowed with gifts and kindness at every turn. All my friends are awesome when I stay with them but Gina seriously went above and beyond at this time and I have to give her credit because I REALLY appreciated it. It made me SO happy!

Also it was SO unexpected even though she had been telling me for months that she had surprises for me. But I had no idea there would be SO MANY different things!

First of all, she gave me a ton of presents ON TOP OF the stuff she had given me in Disney! I am the kind of person where like... I really don't care if no one gets me anything. Sincerely. But when they do... OH MY GOD it's so fun and exciting. There was a bag filled with stuff from Bath & Body Works like lotion, candles, hand sanitizer, etc. She also got me an Amazon gift card which went to good use when I bought the Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD. I swear there were more presents but I am literally having trouble remembering them all because there were that many! Thank you Gina!

She also gave me this AMAZING Mad Libs birthday card.

Mad Libs were our thing back in like 1999-2002. We used to do them and just laugh hysterically for HOURS and then talk about all our inside Mad Lib jokes in school all day and no one ever had any idea what the hell we were talking about. HAHA those were the days.

So you probably think the surprises for Lia part of this report is over, but no. Not only did Gina buy me gifts, she MADE me DISNEY FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went into the kitchen and she gave me a glass of juice. I tasted it and I was like, "Omg, this is so good!" and she was like "Do you know what it is?" and I thought it tasted familiar but I wasn't sure and she was like "IT'S FRUNCH JUICE!!"

oh My GOD. As soon as she said that I realized how much it did taste like it.

It wasn't PERFECT but I didn't care at all because 1. It was still absolutely delicious, 2. It was awesome having a different version of the juice, 3. IT WAS SO THOUGHTFUL THAT SHE WOULD EVEN DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE. LIKE WHO DOES THAT!?!?!? I was dying. I appreciated that so much.

So then we went into Gina's room for some quality chilling with Katniss time. Gina left and when she came back she plopped this plate down next to me and I almost had a heart attack. Like I kept thinking the surprises were over but they just kept on comin'!

SHE MADE MICKEY ICE CREAM SANDWICHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my God they were DELICIOUS. I am in love with these. She used So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream since we are always trying to be healthy and I FELL IN LOVE with that. It is now my favorite ice cream alternative. It's expensive but I don't even care because it is (no pun intended) so delicious and hardly any calories!

The chocolate cookies were seriously perfect too, I have to find the recipe that she sent me and make them. Thank God she made a HUGE batch of these because I loved them so much. We ate them every day.

She also tried to make Mickey Rice Crispie treats but it was really hard to cut them because she used a healthy kind of rice cereal and vegan marshmallows (did you guys know regular marshmallows have animal products in them?! Like WHY) so we just kind of ate them out of the pan, hahaha.

Last but not least she made jello shots but also in a pan instead of cups. I remember her telling me why she did that but I don't remember what the reason was. It was frumpy, hahaha. The surprises just kept on coming and it was beyond wonderful!

She also showed me this picture of us at her birthday party in 2000.

She had just turned 10, and I was turning 10 the next month! AHH! I am so glad we have pictures like this to look back on. I should dig out the photos of us from my 10th birthday, it was at a roller rink and I had an *NSYNC cake, hahaha. THAT WAS THE LIFE!!!

We also went through some of the old notes I gave to Gina from like 4th-9th grade. I am SO happy she saved these. I have a ton from her and my other friends saved as well and they are so fun to look at! They really capture a moment in time just like pictures do. It's so funny how we STILL remember some of our inside jokes from when we were 10. I am planning on making a large scrapbook of all these notes soon.

We hung out awhile and then went on a Wal Mart trip. Btw, I just typed Walt Mart on mistake. Wow, Disney really needs to trademark that and open a Walt Mart filled with Walt merchandise. LOL! I love my ideas. HIRE ME DISNEY!!!

I really hate Wal Mart and do not want to give them any money but I could not resist this shirt.

It means no worries for the rest of your daaaaays!

We got some Redbox movies and headed out!

Gina's town kind of has nothing going on, it's the kind of area where kids hang out at Wal Mart. I got kind of scared because these guys got SO CLOSE to me, I thought they were going to try and touch me or steal something! It was crazy. There was suddenly just these huge groups of teenagers around us and they didn't seem too friendly. I was so uncomfortable and walked to the car SO fast.

Once we got in the car, Gina turned to me and said dead seriously, "I think they're having a rumble." and I DIED laughing. hahaha. I can always count on my friends to break serious tension. That comment reminded me of the Outsiders and it was just so funny.

We watched the movies Norman and Celeste & Jesse Forever. Norman was good, but really sad. The acting was wonderful though, I love Richard Jenkins. I didn't like Celeste & Jesse Forever but that probably had more to do with the fact that Gina wanted to have the subtitles on and I can not STAND reading a line before an actor fully says it. Plus I was so tired that I was about to pass out!​

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 26-29, 2013
Days 14-18 In Which I'm At Ginas!​

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Okay so for the rest of the trip I am just going to post some pictures with comments, not necessarily reporting on our every move cause hey this is a DISNEY Trip Reports board and all.

Katniss and I had a standoff.

She is one of those cats that will just relentlessly scratch you until you die so I prefer playing with her from this distance LOL.

Here is the Tangled coloring book Gina got me. I LOVE IT.

Of course I had to sit down and color a picture. I chose one that featured my lover Eugene.

We ate breakfast, watched Boy Meets World, and then headed out to the movies where we saw The Great Gatsby! Usually I see all Leo movies the first day they come out or before, but I waited so we could see it together! It's a crazy movie, my review of it would be way too long for here! We also went to Chipotle, aka the place where heaven on earth is contained. Damn.... now I want a burrito but it's almost 2am. WHERE ARE THE 24 HOUR CHIPOTLES PEOPLE COME ON.

The next day I was like almost too tired to function, the 2 weeks in Disney caught up with me big time! We chilled most of the day and then went to a bar & grill type place. We regrettably ate a bunch of fried food and it was awful.

Once we got back from that restaurant, I didn't change clothes or do anything, I literally just collapsed onto Gina's bed face down and she did the same.

I felt really sick and I just wanted it to pass and be over. Oh man it sucked. I fell asleep like that for awhile and I think Gina did too. It was funny cause we weren't laying straight or under the covers or anything. We just fell over onto the bed and practically died there.

The next day was my last full day in town! I could not believe this trip was coming to an end. Again, I had been away from home for so long.

The plan head to Sarasota and visit St. Armand's, eat at the Tiki Bar, and see The Big Wedding.

I LOVE Sarasota. It is so beautiful.

We went straight to the Tiki Bar. I was SO excited to come back here. I was thinking about it the entire trip. I even purposely didn't get a burger the whole time I was in Disney cause I was waiting for the deliciousness that is O'Leary's Tiki Bar!

You may remember me describing this place at the end of my last TR. Basically it is the best because the food is good, it reminds me of the Poly, it's right on the water, and THERE ARE DOGS EVERYWHERE.

A trademark of a good restaurant is dogs everywhere, tbh.

So not only did we get the same table as last time but THE SAME DOG that we fell in love with last year was there! Oh my GOD! I was so happy, you have no idea. I love dogs more than anything in the world and I didn't think I would ever see this one again so when she was there I just died. We think she is the owner's dog.

Her name is Abby. This time she came right up to our table and went to Gina first. Gina petted her but was like "GO SEE LIA!" right away because she knows how obsessed I am with dogs. Abby listened and came over to me and I cried of course. I LOVE DOGS. She put her head on my lap and rested for a minute, and I just petted her for awhile. It was precious. I LOVE ABBY SO MUCH!

I spotted this other dog who was living the LIFE, yo.

There were a ton of other dogs just like last time and the burgers were great again.

*Sigh* This place is so perfect.

After that we walked around St. Armand's for awhile. I enjoy that place so much but I have to stop going at the end of very expensive vacations! LOL. I just have hardly any spending money left by the time I get there.

We went into the Spice and Tea Exchange just like last year, I LOVE that place and I highly recommend their products, which are also sold at Downtown Disney. Check 'em out!!!

There was this cupcake place we were excited to go to, but then we found out it closed. BOO. So we went to a macaron place instead and they had cool art in there.

Anything involving Madonna AND Albert Einstein is #1 in my book!

Macarons are one of my favorite things in the world to eat so I was happy.

So you know that famous photo from the end of WWII of the sailor kissing a girl in Times Square? They have a huge statue of it in Sarasota.

This is the picture if you don't know what I'm talking about.

So what's weird is that this statue wasn't even there last time I visited in October because someone DROVE THEIR CAR INTO IT and it was ruined.

Don't worry, the person had minor injuries so you aren't evil if you find that picture amusing like I do.

For some reason it took $125,000 to fix!!!!!!!!! Sheesh.

Anyway it's a really cool thing to see, if you are in the area check it out.

So then we went downtown to Whole Foods to get movie snacks and I saw another awesome statue.

Florida has great statues. Who knew, right?

Then we went to see The Big Wedding. What a mess! Too many good actors in that movie, I don't know why they agreed to it. Oh well, I still enjoyed myself. I adore all talented actors so I will watch all the crap they do no matter what.

That night we went to Daquiri Deck which is apparently the nightlife hotspot of Sarasota and Venice. It was a weeknight and there was no one I wanted to flirt with so it was kind of lowkey. However it WAS Ladies Night and ALL DRINKS WERE $1!!!!!!!! What a dangerous promotion. Whew.

On the way home we stopped to buy champagne and Nutella because we know how to live. We watched a movie and went to bed.

The next day I had to leave! Bye bye Katniss.

I seriously could not believe I had not been home in 18 days. I may sound like a broken record but I can not stress how fast this trip went! That was really the only thing I could complain about though. And wow... I started this TR at the end of September and by the beginning of January I am finished! Longest trip ever, shortest time posting the TR! Interesting.

Some final thoughts...

The way this trip ended up coming together was SO amazing. Jess being there for her CP, Gina living in FL able to drive up, Lee-Anne & being able to come back so soon after our October trip and us all having spring birthdays to celebrate was just all so serendipitous and wonderful. I got to do so many things that I hadn't done before and a lot of things were crossed off the bucket list. I just got to escape life and go crazy in Disney for 2 weeks with my friends and I am so thankful and blessed that I am in a situation where that can happen. Disney makes me happier than I could ever explain and every minute I get to spend in this magical place fills my heart with more joy than can be captured in words!

Little did I know, I would be back in the magic very soon! On October 30, I would leave for one of the best trips in my life that trumped this one in MANY ways. I know that probably sounds hard to believe, but trust me, the Oct/Nov trip was one for the books. I am still kind of astounded at how perfectly it went, how long it seemed to last, and how AMAZING it felt. I mean... you expect amazing in Disney, but this trip went to the next level!

I haven't started that report yet, but I will soon. Make sure you stay tuned here for when I post the link. I can not wait to share that adventure with you, it will be so much fun to relive such a magical trip.

Until then, thank you SO MUCH for reading another one of my long winded accounts of my Disney lifestyle!! It is so awesome that I get to share everything I do with you guys. It gives my trips a whole new life. So thank you, and see ya REAL soon!

Please stand up as you exit. BYE BYE!
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[aubergine]

I sort of wish the disboards had a giant Like (or Love) button so I could be lazy and just Like everything you post. There's just too much to say! This trip report was awesome and I had an amazing time and I love you! I can't say anything else because it's 2:21 AM and I have work in 7 1/2 hours and I read these updates instead of sleeping. BBFFAE!

 

[angelicamy12]

Aww Lia I loved reading your trip report....thanks again for sharing yet another one of your fabulous trips with us!

There's something about the way you write (and, as a journalist, I can say you are a FANTASTIC writer) that doesn't make me jealous of your trips, it makes me feel excited and like I am there with you.

I remember following your October trip on Twitter live and I can't wait to read all about it on here!

 

[JessM]

Lia what a great trip report! Thank you so much for sharing all your stories and photos with us! I really enjoyed reading along with you! I can't wait for the next one!