A - Z of Walt Disney World
17 July 2018
Ah, the happiest place on earth; formally known as Walt Disney World. I loved every moment of it and wanted to relive it through an A-Z. I decided the parks couldn't be included as it made it too easy... now I wish I hadn't made that decision...
A - "And Welcome Home"
Every time the announcement said this on the bus when we arrived back at the resort I wanted to cry. I can still hear it as clearly as if I were still there!
B - Blaze Pizza
This was a toss up between Blaze Pizza and Big Thunder Mountain, but ultimately Blaze Pizza just made more of a lasting impact. CREATE YOUR OWN PIZZA IS LIFE
C - Characters
Specifically my bae Tigger. Although, overall, Character meets are mega awks (anyone else think this?)
D - Dinosaurs
I love dino-land. I feel like it's a very underrated part of Animal Kingdom; it's so colourful and fun!
E - Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
Okay I KNOW I said I wouldn't use parks but I never knew EPCOT was an anagram for this until I overheard a lady telling her child on the bus... how cool! The more you know
F - FOOD
The bread service at Sanaa. The lobster mac & cheese at Coral Reef. The Katsu Curry at Katsura Grill. EVERYTHING MICKEY SHAPED (waffles, ice cream, cupcakes etc.)
G - Gaston's Tavern
I really wanted to get LeFou's brew in a souvenir stein but they were sold out (also it's not a good drink). But the whole Beauty and the Beast area of Magic Kingdom is so cute!
H - Happily Ever After
Also known as the most emotional firework show of all time. "Grab ahold of your dreams and make them come true. For you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go. Let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your Happily Ever After"
I - Ice Cream Sandwiches
Basically I ate my way around all the ice cream cookie sandwiches bc they are the BEST! Hollywood Scoops 10/10 would recommend
J - Journeys
Every form of transport is somehow better at Disney World. Bus. Boat. Monorail. Anywhere else this things would be mundane.
K - Kilimanjaro Safari
One of my favourite attractions! You get to see so many animals on the safari, I just wish we'd gone early morning or late night as I've heard the animals are more active then! It's incredible whatever time you choose though!
L - Lazy Afternoons
Every day we'd head out to the parks around 9am and go back to resort around 2/3 (before heading back out around 6). We'd spend a few hours lounging round the pool drinking cocktails and it was so nice to unwind.
M - Magic
Magic Bands. Magic Kingdom. There's magic everywhere!
N - Nighttime
The parks at nighttime are truly spectacular. The shows, the lights, the atmosphere. It's so special seeing the parks all lit up!
O - On Site Resorts
We stayed on site at Port Orleans French Quarter which was so magical. Next time we're hoping to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. But I'd also looove to stay at Beach Club, Polynesian, and of course, Grand Floridian! Or basically anywhere Disney!
P - Pandora
I know Pandora isn't typical Disney but the level of detail is incredible. And the food/drink there was so good!
Q - Quick Service
We had so many delicious quick service meals; D-Luxe Burger, Casey's Corner (the cheese sauce is amazing), Sassagoula Floatworks at POFQ (make your own pasta made fresh in front of you and beignets, yaaas), Satu'li Canteen, Cookes of Dublin, and Yak and Yeti... to name a few!
R - Rivers of Light
Such a spectacular show! Admittedly I wasn't totally blown away but it's so amazing to see the images project across the water. It's nice to see something different to fireworks.
S - Splash Mountain
I have the full ride song on my Disney playlist. I think that says it all.
T - Terrifying Tower of Terror
The worst experience of my life. NEVER AGAIN! It's called Tower of TERROR for a reason!
U - Under the Sea
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, and of course Coral Reef. The restaurant in an aquarium so you can watch the fish swim around as you eat!
V - TV
(I'm allowed to use the 2nd letter, right?) The Disney info channel is the best thing ever. Whenever you turn on the TV, BAM, it's there. The Disney music, the pictures of the parks, it was the best!
W - Water Parks
The theming of Blizzard Beach is amazing. But Typhoon Lagoon is so just... better!
X - My Disney Experience App
(X is a hard letter ok? There's an X in there somewhere!) This app is a life saver around the parks! I used it to check wait times, book fast passes, link photopass photos, book dining reservations; it's basically everything you need in one place!
Y - Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy
"Here you leave today and enter a world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy" - Walt Disney
Z - Zoo
Ok I know there's not specifically a zoo but Animal Kingdom is very zoo-like. We saw the cutest baby tiger!
Let me know what some of your A-Z would be!
My Favourite 10 Walt Disney World Snacks
7 July 2018
It wasn't easy limiting my favourite snacks to only 10 but here they are...
1. Starbucks - And I know what you're thinking 'what's special about that? you can get them anywhere', but let me tell you, it's so much better when it's free and in a Disney World cup. All sizes are free so I would 100% recommend always getting a large!
2. Ice Cream Sandwiches - 2 cookies with ice cream in the middle, what could be better? The best I had was at Hollywood Scoops in Hollywood Studios. If you're going you HAVE to try one there! Although I ate them every at every opportunity! (The pic isn't from HS because I scoffed it down too quickly)
3. Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich - An oreo Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream sandwich of oreoy goodness. YUM!!
4. Night Blossom - You'll find this at Pongu Pongu in Pandora at Animal Kingdom, I was always going to try this (even just for the gram) but didn't expect to actually like it. It's the most incredible slushi, so refreshing!
5. Cupcakes - All the Mickey shaped cupcakes... chocolate, salted caramel, vanilla. Cupcakes galore! Although my ultimate favourite was from Sprinkles at Disney Springs (...which unfortunately isn't available on the dining plan)
6. Beignets - The only place you can get these is Port Orleans French Quarter which is where we stayed, and I'm so glad we did else I wouldn't have tried these. They're actually Mickey shaped now but weren't when we were there *sad face*. Also, try them with the caramel sauce because... YAAAS!
The only photo I have is when we had some left overnight... they usually look a lot nicer! Honest!
The only photo I have is when we had some left overnight... they usually look a lot nicer! Honest!
7. Rice Krispy Treats - There are so many different rice krispy treats but my favourite was the M&M white chocolate covered one!
8. Dippin Dots - Ice cream that's millions of tiny little balls. A phenomenon I am still amazed by!
9. Croque Glacé - Now I don't think this is actually available on the dining plan BUT it's ice cream and sauce in a warm brioche bun and it's not to be missed! You can only find them in the French pavilion in Epcot at L'Artisan des Glaces
10. Cookies - you can get so many different cookies but of course the chocolate chip were my favourite!
There are so many more snacks that aren't to be missed! Let me know what your favourite snacks are or if there's anything else you think is worth a try!
Choosing Our Walt Disney World Hotel
26 June 2018
Can you believe that I wrote this post over a year ago and never published it? I kind of gave up on the world of blogging thinking I wasn't good enough or didn't fit in. But you know what? WHO CARES!
When I was first writing this it was exactly the 365 day countdown! It feels like forever ago, and over a year has passed since then and our holiday has been and gone. It was like a whirlwind. A crazy, amazing, Mickey shaped whirlwind. I wish I could go back in time and experience it all over again.
When we were looking for a hotel to stay in there was no question that it was going to be on site at Disney World. I knew 1000% that I wanted to stay on site and there was no stopping me. Although there are undoubtedly cheaper places to stay they were all ruled out immediately, and after doing some research on Disney Resorts I soon found that you get a lot of perks staying on site at Disney.
There are 3 different levels of resorts: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. As much as I would LOVE to stay at a deluxe resort there is no way we were going to be able to afford one. That left two options: Value or Moderate. Value resorts are the cheapest option so if you want to save some dollar I would definitely recommend these, however, they are also the most child friendly. So, we decided we wanted to stay in a moderate resort.
There is one huge pro to staying on site and booking at the right time: free Disney dining plans. Is there anything better than free food? Value Resorts get one free meal credit, Moderate get the Quick Service Dining Plan, and Deluxe get the Disney Dining Plan. As we were staying in a moderate resort we got the QS plan for free which includes: 2 x Meals 2 x Snacks and 1 x Free Cup & Refillable Drink every day. It was the best decision we made as we didn't have to worry about not having enough money for food - which means more money for souvenirs! We even had loads of meal credits left over, and top tip: 1 meal credit can be exchanged for 3 snacks!
There is one huge pro to staying on site and booking at the right time: free Disney dining plans. Is there anything better than free food? Value Resorts get one free meal credit, Moderate get the Quick Service Dining Plan, and Deluxe get the Disney Dining Plan. As we were staying in a moderate resort we got the QS plan for free which includes: 2 x Meals 2 x Snacks and 1 x Free Cup & Refillable Drink every day. It was the best decision we made as we didn't have to worry about not having enough money for food - which means more money for souvenirs! We even had loads of meal credits left over, and top tip: 1 meal credit can be exchanged for 3 snacks!
When we were deciding which moderate resort to stay at I had my heart set on Port Orleans Riverside but it was just too expensive. After researching almost everyday for months we somehow found a deal on TUI to stay at Coronado Springs for an amazing price (it was around £1000 cheaper than anything we'd seen). So we booked it. I was SO excited until we received an email around 2 weeks later telling us about construction at the hotel. I knew we wouldn't be at the hotel a lot so it wouldn't be a huge deal but after watching several vlogs we found that there was A LOT of work going on, and it wasn't fair that TUI hadn't told us about it before we'd booked. We asked to move and after months of back and forth emails and phone calls they finally agreed to move us to Port Orleans French Quarter for no extra cost!
Staying on site was the best decision we made. The personalised magic bands (for free), the memory maker, the dining plan, the extra magic hours, the early access to fast passes, the free transport (that drops you right outside the door!), and of course the Disney magic!
Let me know what your favourite resort is, I'd love to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge or The Grand Floridian. I just need to win that lottery...
Staying on site was the best decision we made. The personalised magic bands (for free), the memory maker, the dining plan, the extra magic hours, the early access to fast passes, the free transport (that drops you right outside the door!), and of course the Disney magic!
Let me know what your favourite resort is, I'd love to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge or The Grand Floridian. I just need to win that lottery...
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