Disney 2020

 I was not sure that this trip wasn't going to happen this year due to #covid but the more and more I saw pictures of other friends going I knew we just couldn't skip out on our yearly tradition. I cherish this time with my girl and we both look forward to it. Austin and I literally decided on Sunday that we would leave on Tuesday. Campbell had her first days of school Monday and Tuesday and then started full time after Labor Day so I saw this as our last chance to get away before we got back into the swing of things. We had originally talked about doing something as a family but Austin had a couple meetings he couldn't get out of so we made the best of it. I picked Campbell up for school with our bags packed and ready to go. This video is one of my favorites of Campbell, I love her enthusiasm about our trip. 

So we drove down to Palm Coast and stayed Tuesday night. Wednesday we were up bright and early ready to finish our drive to Orlando. We ended up staying at the Contemporary this time and Campbell is a HUGE fan. I asked her if she wanted to stay at the Polynesian on our next trip and she declared she ONLY wants to stay at the Contemporary. 

We were able to get into our room upon our arrival and we were in Hollywood Studios by 10:00. First order of business was Rock n Roller Coaster which is Campbell's favorite ride at Disney. The lines were short and we probably rode it 5 times before we moved onto something else. The crowds were minimal and we were able to ride, and ride, and ride. It was perfect for us. We were able to do Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway which is new and was super cute. It uses magnets so there are no tracks for it. We were also able to do Galaxy of the Edge. On our last trip it had just opened and the wait time was hours so that was our first experience. 

Thursday we were up and ready to hit up Animal Kingdom home of my favorite ride (Everest). We were able to do Flight of Passage with a 15 minute wait time and honestly I think that's the amount of time it took to walk through the line. I don't think we were ever see lines this low again. We rode and rode and rode some more. 

Dining options inside the parks were pretty limited. All of our favorite restaurants were closed. So we ended up hitting up Disney Springs for dinner. With Animal Kingdom closing at 6:00 and no park hopping allowed we decided to try out Frontera Cocina. It was good and we had some great views of the sunset as well as the hot balloon taking off. 

Friday we saved Magic Kingdom for last but not before hitting up Chef Mickey's for breakfast. We always eat at Chef Mickey's but they were only open for breakfast and there were no characters. It was a totally different experience but Campbell insisted we go and who am I to break traditions. 

Not bad with a self timer

It was so nice being able to leave Chef Mickey's and head straight to Magic Kingdom. The security line and temperature check was a breeze. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised to find a few of our favorite characters waiting for us. First order of business was riding Space Mountain probably ten times before moving on to something else. Interesting enough the longest we waited at Magic Kingdom or any park was for Splash Mountain and that was when it felt like 113 degrees out! 

We were planning on heading back to the hotel to take a little break but ended up getting caught in a downpour. Campbell decided instead of wearing her poncho she welcomed the rain after the heat of the day. This resulted in a new Disney shirt once she realized how cold she was! 

We shut down the park by riding Space Mountain as many times as we could before it closed. I caught one more gorgeous sunrise on our last morning before we headed home. This Disney trip was so different from any other yet I wouldn't have changed a thing. 

Most Magical Place on Earth

Austin has a trade show in Las Vegas every year the last week in August. So this year we decided to take advantage and head back to our favorite place. It’s so hard to believe that this was Campbell’s 6^th trip to Disney World (7^th if you include Disneyland). I’m here to tell you it never gets old and it’s just so different every time we visit. She is totally over princesses which crushes my soul. I’m 36 and still not over princesses. We drove down on Sunday ready to hit the park for the next 5 days. We did Walmart grocery pickup once we got to Orlando and that was a lifesaver.

Monday: We were up early and ready to hit the ground running. Up first we headed to Epcot. We hit up Test Track. We had fast passes for Soarin, Nemo and Mission Space. We also did Living with the land and Frozen Ever After. We headed over to World Showcase for an adult beverage and for Campbell to get her face painted then the bottom fell out. We had dinner reservations at Ohana’s which is always one of our favorite stops. The food was amazing as always. We had big plans after dinner to head over to the Magic Kingdom. Campbell wanted to ride Space Mountain which ended up being quite a wait. It was a long but fun day.

 

 

Tuesday: We were back at it and heading to Hollywood Studios. Campbell wanted to ride Tower of Terror unfortunately none of us felt the same so she rode it alone like the rock star she is. Next up we headed over to Toy Story Land. I absolutely adore this new area. We loved the Slinky Dog Roller-coaster and the new Toy Story Mania.  I was expecting an extensive wait time but it was not that bad considering how new this area of the park is. We made our way back to Rock n Roller Coaster which is hands down Campbell’s favorite ride. We somehow talked Granddaddy into riding with us but he didn’t make that mistake later in the week. The rain started to move in again so we headed back to rest up before dinner. We headed to Chef Mickey’s for dinner. Campbell was unexpectedly excited to see all of the characters so that made my day. The food was great as always.

 

Wednesday: Also known as the most magical day. I love all of the parks but there is just something so special about Magic Kingdom. We literally spent all day long in the park and it was so nice. It was a long but super fun day. We felt like this was our most accomplished day. We had fast passes for Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight. We did Winnie the Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tomorrowland Speedway, Splash Mountain ,Small World, The Little Mermaid re-rode Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain and finished out the night with fireworks. It was special.

                                   


Thursday: It was time to head to Animal Kingdom, home to my favorite ride. We had fast passes for the Safari, Kali River Rapids, and Na’vi River Journey. First up Everest, my favorite ride hands down. We went to see the Lion King performance after knocking out some of our fast passes. Campbell got called up onto stage which is always fun. Next we headed over to Flight of Passage. We anticipated a much longer late. Last year when we went with Kari we waited almost two hours, this time we waited 38 MINUTES. It’s so worth it no matter the wait time. We had a pit stop for beverages and rode Everest. We headed to It’s Tough to Be a Bug, then rode Everest approximately 6 more times. We are Everest obsessed! The single rider line is the best kept secret. Campbell and I were on the same rollercoaster every single time. Two times riders even switched so we could sit together. Campbell said all of the people were so nice that she sat with. I absolute adore all of her poses for her pictures. We headed back to Epcot that afternoon as the food and wine festival had kicked off. We had some delicious food and delicious drinks. Most of my food choices were to seek out the perfect mashed potatoes and beef that I had last year then we called it a night.

 

Friday: Also known as the saddest day. We had some things that we wanted to do over again and catch anything we missed. We started the day at Magic Kingdom. We wanted to do Space Mountain and Splash Mountain over again. We watched the parade while we ate lunch then jetted over to Hollywood Studios. We did Toy Story Mania, rode Rock n Roller Coaster twice, Star Tours, then Slinky Dog one final time. Unfortunately Magic Kingdom closed early because Mickey’s Not so Scary Party. This was not high on my priority list because we went last year but it’s definitely a super fun, crowded time. It’s just hard to think about Halloween in August. Saturday we were up bright and early ready to hit the road.