Another quick trip! Early January with the teens.

[Dotluvsdisney]

Hello everyone! I hope and pray you are well. We are in the final morning of a quick weekend trip using the Military Salute Celebrate America pass. What a fantastic opportunity for vets and our service members!

The dirty deets:
January weekend after New Year’s.
3 teens+Navy vet (aka Grumpy Cat) and me, the wife
Blended family+friend.
Dining plan.
Old Key West

Will post more as I have time! I love looking back at my trip reports, puts me right back in the moment. If you’re here reading along with me, welcome and thank you!

I’m going to drop my last morning of the trip pic here (coffee on DVC balcony) before packing up and squeezing in brunch at AK. We head home today and it was a perfect trip for us!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Can’t wait to see! Meega, nala kweesta!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Welcome home! This Monday, was the last day of our long weekend trip. I decided to report in reverse chronological order. Like the paper medical and educational records I kept as an SLP!

About us: Gen X parents to some teens and an adult. My favorite characters are Stitch and Tigger. Hubby is partial to Eeyore and the villains. On this trip, we had 2 of our sons, aged 15 and 19 plus a 17 year old friend. My DH is a Navy veteran paving the way for our Disney pass.

This is the first year I’ve ever seen Disney offer an “annual” pass option for the military salute. I’ve been part of the active duty military family community for over 20 years. Have worked with vets with brain injury. My dad is a vet. So just saying a special hello to all who have served!

After loads of fun (and 40,000+ steps over the past 2 days), DH’s youngest was raring to see FOP at AK and the safari. On this trip, the buses were our friend. We completely lucked out on a room in Bldg 23 which was near a bus stop AND hospitality house. Hubs got up early, packed himself and DS 15 up. They bussed to AK and were in line using ETPE at 7:45. Already a 75 minute wait! They both loved it and the safari afterwards. DH said the giraffes were especially fun: momma with baby crossed their paths!

I slept in until 7, had my coffee with Stitch and the OKW ducks, got the other boys going. We got to AK after packing up around 10.


Headed straight to Everest and met DH and DS 15. The queue was so full of eye candy. I just adore being at AK. The greenery, beautiful birds and animals, live music and surprises like the cavalcade or puppets. I also LOVED the way each place had their own fun touches for Christmas.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

A word about the crowds the weekend after New Year’s. When we arrived at OKW on Saturday afternoon, I was so delighted to see the Christmas decor was in full effect. And the huge mob of people leaving the resort!

The parks and resorts were busy but, not packed. Sunday evening was especially nice. We “lucked out” with a light rain Saturday night which also allowed for some shorter waits.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

One last bit before bed…the dining plan was great for the way our family vacations. We all love steak and seafood, the fancy drinks and desserts. It’s nice for us to be able to go to a restaurant and not curtail their order. Also, we are “local” so typically go for 2 nights max. I would not have the dining plan for more than 2 nights as it is just sooooo much food! I was remiss to take pictures but, trust me when I say Boma and Jungle Canteen were the stuff dreams are made of. For the imbibers of alcohol: get the mango coconut foam drinky at Jungle Canteen and the honey boo drinky at Boma. Our boys loved the virgin daiquiris.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Can’t wait to see! Meega, nala kweesta!

I love Stitch but, had to look this up. What a good saying for me to remember during that drive through Orlando traffic! I literally cried like a baby at live action Stitch at the bottom of the ocean.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I love Stitch but, had to look this up. What a good saying for me to remember during that drive through Orlando traffic! I literally cried like a baby at live action Stitch at the bottom of the ocean.

Perhaps like this?

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Exactly!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

1st Sunday of 2026 or, why did we do this to ourselves? EDIT: So tired after holiday hosting but, now we just remember the good times.

Up at 6:30 (after closing out MK) to ride bus at 7 in hopes of GOTG action. We totally did it! Were in line at the ride by 8:00 and ETPE was listed ant 8:30. Line began moving ant 8:20. Bonus!

Every time I saw Rocket, I screamed for him but, he just ignored me. Kinda rude. My son and his friend tried to get Chris Pratt’s attention with equal success.



Please don’t ask what hand gesture my husband used immediately following this.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

As I get older, I need larger print! We had such a busy and fun holiday season. That back to work suck was real. After reading back to my first post, I see I intended to post in reverse chronological order. Ha! My memory is another casualty in the march against time. Here are some random memories and pictures from a fantastic weekend.

Our first day in was MK after parking and a quick lunch at OKW. (Side note: What a GORGEOUS, spacious and super squeaky clean room! I was in love with that jacuzzi tub. Plenty of space in the 2 bedroom for the 5 of us. )



When planning, I decided to splurge on LL for the next day at Epcot and was hoping lines at MK would be manageable. Some rain helped with that! At MK we did Pirates, HM and then on to our dinner reservation at 8 at the Skipper Canteen.






Our server was fun and the food was fab. Except bonus son thought there was too much cilantro on his shrimp noodle dish. I had the swordfish special, the rest of the boys had steak, and we all enjoyed a fancy drink. I wish I had taken pictures of our food and drinks! The presentation was impressive too. Hubby and I agreed my coconut mango cocktail was the winner. We boxed some of our desserts and headed back out to fireworks allll around!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

More memories! My mother worked in Epcot when it first opened in the China pavilion gift shop. Whenever I see the fireworks, I get warm fuzzies as I think back to a special holiday party they held for the cast members. As we exited the dinner, the fireworks were going off over the lagoon. I was 6. Our childhood was less than ideal, but our time at Disney was always magical.

Back to 2026! The boys wanted to ride 7DMT and I wanted to see the new Country Bears so our paths diverged for a bit. I of course have fond memories of the OG Jamboree but, it definitely had adult themes that don’t play well to today’s children. Loved the refresh and there was a little girl who was beyond delighted at every moment. From her seat near the front row to each new character. May we all approach life with such enthusiasm and wonder!






Shout out to my dad, a fellow Melvin!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Ok kids! You’ve been amazing for following this silly, rambling thread. Some final favorites of the rest of our MK night, then Epcot Sunday. I hope I can add more details some day soon before they vanish into the ether. I do remember we got to ride Tiana’s and Tron right before park close after 10 pm. Two thumbs up for the strategy and rides!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

At Epcot we rode Guardians, Frozen, Soarin, Test Track. The boys diverged to HS and did TOT, RR, and Buzz. Aaron and I were in the jacuzzi tub back at OKW! Soooo many steps. We did over 10 miles both days. Jacob had 1 request for his birthday, Boma! That boy loves AYCE. Just as amazing as our last time there in May. And less busy!

We ended Monday morning where you all began. At AK.

Peace, health, and blessings to you all! I love sharing our stories together here. We all definitely have more in common than the opinions flying around would have us believe. TTFN! Have a magical time dreaming of your next Disney day.