mickeymom22
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2012
January 17-22, 2020
All-Star Movies
3 day 1 park per day tickets, MK After Hours tickets and Moonlight Magic Hours at AK
Main Characters Involved: Me, Hubby, DD3 (college age DDS and DD1 would hang with us in Tampa)
Other Characters Involved in our WDW trip: Extended family and three other families of friends
The first new thing would be that we would be enjoying our WDW of our trip with 3 other families. We have only gone to WDW with family so this was a first for us. One of the families would be our partners in crime (BB1 and BB2)...waking up early and hitting all the attractions...trying new foods and experiences. The other two families would meet up with us later and make special memories as well.
Day One (1/17/20): We arrived at Tampa International super early! By 8:45 am, we had collected our luggage and secured our rental car. I was really impressed with this airport. Easy to get around and super clean. We spent the day with family and visited the FL Aquarium. It is a great way to spend a couple of hours. They have several touch tanks. We were able to touch sea urchins, jellyfish, and starfish (all firsts). Later that night we went back to the airport to pick up our college age kids. Now the gang is all here!
Day Two (1/18/20): Today was spent hanging out with extended family. We had a beautiful lunch all together at the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City (a first). The rest of the day was spent getting ready for our niece's wedding celebration. The night was spent at the wedding celebration in Ybor City. Great atmosphere, great food, and wonderful family time!
Day Three (1/19/20): Hubby, DD2 and I dropped off DDS and DD1 off at TPA around 11:00. We were sad they wouldn't be at WDW with us (a first) but classes and assignments were calling them. We started our drive to WDW. We stopped at a Target on the way there and picked up some waters and sodas for the room. Traffic wasn't too bad. We only had a slowdown as we came onto property. We went straight to ASMo in hopes we would have a room ready and then we were meeting up with our friends at Epcot. The CM told me our room wasn't ready, but she could get us in a different room right now if that was okay with us. Yes of course! We had not paid for a preferred room, but we ended up in Building 2 Mighty Ducks 3rd floor. This building is actually "preferred" for ASMu. You just have to walk across a small road and you are at the bus stop for them. We used this bus stop the entire time...super easy! BB1 and BB2 were in a Dalmation Building 4 and the other two families were in Toy Story Building 10. We unloaded our stuff. We actually stayed at ASMo 15 years ago in the exact same building! We missed the theming in the room, but we liked the queen bed and how you could put the other bed up when not in use. We needed to get to Epcot we had a fast pass for Soarin' waiting on us! We headed over to the Car Care Center to turn in our rental. This is where we got a little worried. I had rented our car from National. Well, when we got to the Car Care Center (a first) every sign that we could see said Alamo! Surely, I hadn't messed up and gotten the wrong drop off location! All the agents were dressed in blue Alamo shirts! Right when we decided to park and go ask someone, I spotted the smallest green National sign ever! Shew! We lucked out and got our own private shuttle straight to Epcot. We made it through security and made our fast pass with 3 minutes to spare!
BB1 and BB2 met us outside of Soarin'. We had fastpasses together for Spaceship Earth so we headed that way and learned about our future! Up next World Showcase! BB1 and BB2 had been there since opening but they had waited for us to check out the festival booths. Before we got to WS, we stopped and got some paint to participate in the painting of the Figment mural. This is another first for us...attending the Arts Festival! DD2 wanted to do the scavenger hunt so we stopped at the gift shop and bought the board and went ahead and got the prize for the end. We started in Mexico. We all tried the Sopes de Barbacoa. BB2 got the Frida Banana Daiquiri and I got the White Sangria. Super yummy! Made our way around WS looking for the Figment pictures and found ourselves in Germany. Hubby and BB1 were in search of a good German beer. Optimaters!
We left BB1 and BB2 in Germany. Hubby, DD2 and I went back to China to meet Mulan. DD2 had Disney bounded as her today and wanted to meet her. She didn’t think Mulan would know she had dressed like her since she was in her everyday outfit. Luckily, as soon as DD2 walked up, Mulan said she was looking at a beautiful reflection of herself. So sweet! Another special Disney detail. After meeting Mulan, we walked counter clockwise around WS. We thought about riding Frozen stand-by. Hubby and I haven’t ridden this ride since it switched from Maelstrom. Wait time was posted at an hour. We decided to miss it once again. This is where we saw the 3-D Frozen chalk mural. We had to pose with it. Continuing through Canada, we met up with BB1 and BB2 again in United Kingdom. Fish and chips for everyone, but DD2 and I. We wanted to try the booths, but ultimately we got too hungry and ate at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (another first). She got a ham and cheese sandwich and I got a quiche Lorraine.
We found an empty bench and had a seat to listen to the Disney Broadway show in the America Gardens Theater (a first). The performers were amazing...Heidi Blickenstaff and Gavin Lee. After the show, we made our way back to Germany. We were lucky enough to be able to pull up a bunch of tables. Our sis and bro-in-law who live in Kissimmee met up with us there as did one of the other families we were traveling with. Snacks, laughter and stories were shared.
At some point, our friends left to go eat in Italy, and the rest of us made our way over to Epcot Experience (a first). It is an indoor projection show that shows you all the changes that Epcot is going through and what the end result is going to be. Exciting times are coming! BB1 and BB2 wanted to grab a spot to watch the fireworks. Hubby, DD2 and I decided to let sis and bro in-law drive us back to the resort. First we had to dance on the twinkly light sidewalk (please Mickey don’t remove these during the renovations...these are one of my favorite Disney details) and shop in the temporary Mouse Gears gift shop. I normally don’t buy too much merchandise, but we found a really cute 3-D build it yourself model of the Walt Disney World sign. You know the one you drive under when you come on property. I just love seeing that sign, so I had to purchase it so I could have one at our house!
We made it back to the resort and crashed!
Thoughts about the day: It is fun to spend time at WDW with friends! The weather was perfect...not too hot...not too cold! The Arts Festival is a lot of fun. Epcot felt crowded. Twinkly sidewalks are my fave! I should have held out and bought more plates at the booths instead of the quiche in France. We got to see more of the shops this time since we were looking for the Figment pictures. I don’t think I have ever been in the shops in China and Italy before (another first). The pillow at the resort are amazing!
All-Star Movies
3 day 1 park per day tickets, MK After Hours tickets and Moonlight Magic Hours at AK
Main Characters Involved: Me, Hubby, DD3 (college age DDS and DD1 would hang with us in Tampa)
Other Characters Involved in our WDW trip: Extended family and three other families of friends
The first new thing would be that we would be enjoying our WDW of our trip with 3 other families. We have only gone to WDW with family so this was a first for us. One of the families would be our partners in crime (BB1 and BB2)...waking up early and hitting all the attractions...trying new foods and experiences. The other two families would meet up with us later and make special memories as well.
Day One (1/17/20): We arrived at Tampa International super early! By 8:45 am, we had collected our luggage and secured our rental car. I was really impressed with this airport. Easy to get around and super clean. We spent the day with family and visited the FL Aquarium. It is a great way to spend a couple of hours. They have several touch tanks. We were able to touch sea urchins, jellyfish, and starfish (all firsts). Later that night we went back to the airport to pick up our college age kids. Now the gang is all here!
Day Two (1/18/20): Today was spent hanging out with extended family. We had a beautiful lunch all together at the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City (a first). The rest of the day was spent getting ready for our niece's wedding celebration. The night was spent at the wedding celebration in Ybor City. Great atmosphere, great food, and wonderful family time!
Day Three (1/19/20): Hubby, DD2 and I dropped off DDS and DD1 off at TPA around 11:00. We were sad they wouldn't be at WDW with us (a first) but classes and assignments were calling them. We started our drive to WDW. We stopped at a Target on the way there and picked up some waters and sodas for the room. Traffic wasn't too bad. We only had a slowdown as we came onto property. We went straight to ASMo in hopes we would have a room ready and then we were meeting up with our friends at Epcot. The CM told me our room wasn't ready, but she could get us in a different room right now if that was okay with us. Yes of course! We had not paid for a preferred room, but we ended up in Building 2 Mighty Ducks 3rd floor. This building is actually "preferred" for ASMu. You just have to walk across a small road and you are at the bus stop for them. We used this bus stop the entire time...super easy! BB1 and BB2 were in a Dalmation Building 4 and the other two families were in Toy Story Building 10. We unloaded our stuff. We actually stayed at ASMo 15 years ago in the exact same building! We missed the theming in the room, but we liked the queen bed and how you could put the other bed up when not in use. We needed to get to Epcot we had a fast pass for Soarin' waiting on us! We headed over to the Car Care Center to turn in our rental. This is where we got a little worried. I had rented our car from National. Well, when we got to the Car Care Center (a first) every sign that we could see said Alamo! Surely, I hadn't messed up and gotten the wrong drop off location! All the agents were dressed in blue Alamo shirts! Right when we decided to park and go ask someone, I spotted the smallest green National sign ever! Shew! We lucked out and got our own private shuttle straight to Epcot. We made it through security and made our fast pass with 3 minutes to spare!
BB1 and BB2 met us outside of Soarin'. We had fastpasses together for Spaceship Earth so we headed that way and learned about our future! Up next World Showcase! BB1 and BB2 had been there since opening but they had waited for us to check out the festival booths. Before we got to WS, we stopped and got some paint to participate in the painting of the Figment mural. This is another first for us...attending the Arts Festival! DD2 wanted to do the scavenger hunt so we stopped at the gift shop and bought the board and went ahead and got the prize for the end. We started in Mexico. We all tried the Sopes de Barbacoa. BB2 got the Frida Banana Daiquiri and I got the White Sangria. Super yummy! Made our way around WS looking for the Figment pictures and found ourselves in Germany. Hubby and BB1 were in search of a good German beer. Optimaters!
We left BB1 and BB2 in Germany. Hubby, DD2 and I went back to China to meet Mulan. DD2 had Disney bounded as her today and wanted to meet her. She didn’t think Mulan would know she had dressed like her since she was in her everyday outfit. Luckily, as soon as DD2 walked up, Mulan said she was looking at a beautiful reflection of herself. So sweet! Another special Disney detail. After meeting Mulan, we walked counter clockwise around WS. We thought about riding Frozen stand-by. Hubby and I haven’t ridden this ride since it switched from Maelstrom. Wait time was posted at an hour. We decided to miss it once again. This is where we saw the 3-D Frozen chalk mural. We had to pose with it. Continuing through Canada, we met up with BB1 and BB2 again in United Kingdom. Fish and chips for everyone, but DD2 and I. We wanted to try the booths, but ultimately we got too hungry and ate at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (another first). She got a ham and cheese sandwich and I got a quiche Lorraine.
We found an empty bench and had a seat to listen to the Disney Broadway show in the America Gardens Theater (a first). The performers were amazing...Heidi Blickenstaff and Gavin Lee. After the show, we made our way back to Germany. We were lucky enough to be able to pull up a bunch of tables. Our sis and bro-in-law who live in Kissimmee met up with us there as did one of the other families we were traveling with. Snacks, laughter and stories were shared.
At some point, our friends left to go eat in Italy, and the rest of us made our way over to Epcot Experience (a first). It is an indoor projection show that shows you all the changes that Epcot is going through and what the end result is going to be. Exciting times are coming! BB1 and BB2 wanted to grab a spot to watch the fireworks. Hubby, DD2 and I decided to let sis and bro in-law drive us back to the resort. First we had to dance on the twinkly light sidewalk (please Mickey don’t remove these during the renovations...these are one of my favorite Disney details) and shop in the temporary Mouse Gears gift shop. I normally don’t buy too much merchandise, but we found a really cute 3-D build it yourself model of the Walt Disney World sign. You know the one you drive under when you come on property. I just love seeing that sign, so I had to purchase it so I could have one at our house!
We made it back to the resort and crashed!
Thoughts about the day: It is fun to spend time at WDW with friends! The weather was perfect...not too hot...not too cold! The Arts Festival is a lot of fun. Epcot felt crowded. Twinkly sidewalks are my fave! I should have held out and bought more plates at the booths instead of the quiche in France. We got to see more of the shops this time since we were looking for the Figment pictures. I don’t think I have ever been in the shops in China and Italy before (another first). The pillow at the resort are amazing!
