I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas - A December 2016 TR **Updated 1/3/18

[chasingthtdream08]

Be Our Guest!

I created a pre-trip report and you can read that
here.

Here's a little synopsis:
Kaitlin (me!) 26
Jordan (BF) 26


Nov 30 - Dec 8

Port Orleans Riverside

We were on the Dining Plan, probably one of my favorite things.

Also spent a day at Universal.

So come along!!​

 

[chasingthtdream08]

The Week Before We Left

It was your typical chaotic week before Disney.

I had hair and nail appointments. And of course packing to do.

My goal was to have one suitcase for me and one for Jordan. He wanted to pack himself, but I'm controlling so needed to do his as well. Also, he would have waited until the day of. And I am too anxious to wait that last minute.

We had to introduce a third suitcase, not shocking. I had a list, three pages worth of stuff. You could say I'm an over packer. Wanted to make sure we remembered everything we could possibly need! I swear one page was just different meds/first aid. (Which of course we hardly used).

Jordan and I both worked up until the day before we departed.

I also wanted to make sure my house was spotless before we jetted off so at least I could come home to relax and to a clean home.

​

 

[Shrfleen]

I can't wait to read your report! Let me know how the crowds were!

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day prior to Departure

This day wasn't the most exciting. But it was part of our journey so I wanted to cover it.

Like I said above, we both worked this day. Me until 5pm and Jordan until 9pm.

They gave me an intern this day for the morning. It could not have been a worse day to have an intern. I was about to be out of the office for two weeks, today was my day to tie up loose ends. AHHHHHH. We got through it. I had actually prepped a lot on Monday (11/28) so work on the 29th wasn't so daunting.

I had a nail appointment at 5:30pm. Wanted to make sure the nails were the freshest, otherwise they'd be chipping. Which they were on our flight home. I found this nail technician from Groupon. She was not very friendly, but did a great and speedy nail, so I was happy. Nothing fancy, just red shellac.

I went home and waited for Jordan to get off. Honestly was a lot more relaxed then I planned on being. Picked up some last minute things around the house and threw it one last load of laundry and watched some TV.

Jordan got home from work and we hopped right in the car with the luggage and headed to our airport hotel for the night!

We didn't arrive until 10:15pm and had to drag all of the bags up to room as were parking and taking the shuttle.

Jordan ordered Dominos but I wanted to get to bed pretty early cause we needed to depart the hotel at 8am.

Neither of us could sleep. I kept referencing that Disney commercial from back in the day where the kids and the parents were laying wide awake in bed. That was us!

​

 

[Cruisinskier]

Looking forward to reading more of your review. We were there for New Year's so I am sure your crowds were better! Nice photos!!!
Jerry

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 1 - Nov 30

I woke up early around 6am after getting little to no sleep. But sleep or no sleep, I was in the best of moods! I needed to shower and Jordan insisted on sleeping in until the last possible second. I tried to turn lights on and the TV on to get him starting to wake up. He's the worst morning person!

As we were just packing up the last minute things to get ready to head downstairs and grab the shuttle I get a text that our flight had been CANCELLED!!!

Absolute panic set it. I would not say I'm a frequent flier but I've flown enough and have never experienced a cancelled flight. So I of course panic. We have to be hopping on the airport shuttle in 10 minutes. I whip out my laptop to discover that it was our second flight (ATL to MCO) that had been cancelled due to weather in Atlanta. So I jump on the Southwest website and am able to reschedule for a two hour later layover out of Atlanta. Not the worst. But I am totally military with my schedule so was bummed that two hours got away from us.

Our flight out of Milwaukee was on time at this point and I didn't know how busy the airport was going to be but let's just say I wayyyyy overestimated and we were sitting at our gate for about an hour and 45 mins. Such a tiny airport with so many little people.

While sitting at the gate we find out that our flight is delayed out of Milwaukee to Atlanta due to storms. So we have to wait an additional 1.5 hours. I was loosing faith.

We finally boarded, but could never seem to get boarding passes together but managed to sit by each other on each flight. Flight was really rocky the closer we got to ATL. Once we got to ATL I was sure our flight to Orlando would be delayed or cancelled. That was not the case!! In the middle of a tornado watch we flew out on time!

Arrived in Orlando around 5pm. Originally supposed to be 3:20pm so not the worst thing in the world. Disembarking the plane was the slowest thing I've ever experienced. And I don't know if it was my excitement or really it was slow. Orlando was getting some of the storm that was flowing through Atlanta, but not to the extremity that Atlanta was getting hit.



A rainy Orlando is definitely not as fun to land into as a sunny Orlando but I really didn't care. I was home!!

We speed walked to baggage claim to get our water soaked bags.

I like to think I did a good enough job packing that the only things that would get damaged by water were just some moist clothing.

We then went down another level to get our rental car from Alamo. There was a line of about 6 or so families so I opted for the kiosk. Great idea! Those are so quick and convenient. The machine printed out all my paperwork and copied my credit card and I.D. in a matter of minutes. We then had to go to the garage and pick out our car and we were on our way. VERY easy!

I lived in the Orlando area for 3 years following my College Program so am familar, so I drove most of the trip. Driving in rain at night on a road you haven't been on in a couple years during rush hour isn't the most pleasant vacation experience. Soon enough we were at Port Orleans Riverside!



We went straight to the room with our MagicBands thanks to online check-in! I wanted to unpack and get settled immediately and we both took showers. I was like speed unpacking. I wanted to get into vacation mode ASAP!

We were both hungry and planning on going to the Orlando Eye and Madam Tussauds Wax Museum. We decided to grab dinner on the dining plan at the Riverside Mill! So excited to use our first credits and get our refillable mugs. They had ones with the handles!! I got purple and Jordan got red to match our MagicBands. For dinner we both grabbed chicken nuggets and fries. Disney chicken nuggets are the best! We grabbed some cake for dessert and opted for juice as our "drinks" for the next morning since we had our mugs.



I wanted to run through the gift shop because I had bought a few items on Black Friday on the Shop Disney Parks app that they had delivered to the resort (like my Lumiere!!!!). So we grabbed those and headed to the car to head to I-Drive 360.

Up Next: Our Adventure at I-Drive 360


​

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 1 - Nov 30 (Part Two)

We drove to I-Drive 360 on International Drive and it was about a 15/20 minute drive. I think I also took the scenic route. Wanted to drive by some of my old stomping grounds. I was just so elated to be in Orlando.

Our first stop was the Orlando Eye! I am afraid of heights but figured this would be fine because they were large enclosed capsules, otherwise I'm terrified of ferris wheels. It was absolutely dead there at 8pm on a Wednesday night! There maybe was one other family in the whole terminal. It was quick and easy getting on.

Once we got to the top I was terrified. Don't know if I'd do it again. Also, definitely not at night, silly mistake. You can't see anything. It would have been much cooler during the day and you'd be able to make out things much better.



After that we went over to the Wax Museum. I had never been to one and am a pretty big pop culture fan so I was excited to see all my favorite celebs in wax! We were the only ones in there! Kinda creepy actually with all the wax figures that look so real. I really enjoyed it and got a lot of great pictures.

We obviously wanted to spend more time at I-Drive 360 but were just pooped from all the stressful traveling throughout the day. So we were happy to speed through both attractions and head back to Port Orleans for the night.

We got back to POR around 10pm and I crashed right away. Jordan stayed up for a bit to watch his beloved San Jose Sharks play.

Next up: Epcot!

​

 

[BippityBrittany]

joining in! can't wait to read more about your stay

Port Orleans Riverside is my favorite moderate resort!

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 2 - Dec 1 (Epcot!)

I woke up pretty early. I want to say around 7am or so. Jordan of course was still dead asleep. It was fine because we didn't technically have to be at Epcot until noon-ish. So I decided to relax a bit by the pool in the morning and then head to Walmart to grab some groceries for the room. Nothing crazy just some snacks and bottled water.

When I returned to the room Jordan was awake and showered. Awesome! Ready to go.

Going into the trip, I wasn't sure how much we were going to use on rental car on Disney property, but we didn't end up taking the bus once. It was kinda a bummer because I love the bus but the car is just so much more convenient and quicker.

So we got to Epcot around 11:15am. First stop....Minnie ears. I tried a few on and in the end elected to go with the blue ears with white stars on them. I thought they were really cute! Jordan ended up picking up a pair of sunglasses once he realized we were actually in the sunshine state. Our first FP was at Mission:Space so we headed over there and accidentally got into the Standby line...no biggie, there was no wait regardless.

I was a bit nervous when we decided orange, but I had gone on it before so not sure why. There were two girls in our vehicle and they had never been on it before and were really nervous. We told them it was going to be just fine. I think this was Jordan's favorite ride of the trip.

Next we went onto Test Track (didn't have a FP), the wait time said 35 minutes....not bad so we hopped in line. We definitely ended up waiting 50-55 minutes. Jordan was getting really hungry as all he had was a cup of coffee. Test Track was great per usual. Jordan liked making the car but the wait was really frustrating.

Once we got off Test Track we hustled to get some food before our Frozen FP from 12:30-1:30. It was around 1:00 at this point. And there was no way I was going to miss my Frozen Ever After FP. We wanted to go to Japan to eat but it was just too far from Norway to risk it. We settled on eating in China and were not pleased.

I had the orange chicken and Jordan got the Hong Kong chicken. It was OK but we would have much preferred Japan.

We then headed to Norway for our Frozen FP and I was SO excited. Only to find out it was down! They said that anyone with FPs could come back later in the day at any time when it was back up. That was a great thing but we just inhaled lunch to make this FP and could have spent more time and gone to Japan. Oh well!

We headed back into Future World but made a quick pit stop in Mexico. We looked around the cute marketplace and went for a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. We almost bought the chocolates with tequila in them but decided against it.

Back in Future World we headed to our FP at Spaceship Earth which is always a joy. It was funny because Jordan bumped his knee getting into the ride vehicle and then bumped the back of his head on the seat. All in the matter of a few seconds. Poor guy! We then headed over to Soarin and it was only posting a 40 minute wait. Not even sure if that was accurate because we were having so much fun with the trivia game in the queue. LOVED the new Soarin. Always a great attraction.

We headed back into World Showcase and went to Norway to find that FEA was back up! We got in the FP line and we were in line for 5 minutes tops. Loved the ride! Maelstrom will always have a special place in my heart, though. I think they did a great job with FEA and I loved singing along!

We still had about three hours until dinner so we strolled through World Showcase looking at shops and grabbing a few drinks. It was probably in my top 5 moments of this trip. I loved just walking around, talking and shopping. It was very relaxing. World Showcase is definitely a favorite. I knew Jordan would be very excited to check out Mistukoshi in Japan as he is into Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon. He found a sweatshirt that he just had to have. So we purchased that and he was so excited. It was nice to see because he's not much of a shopper.

We caught a glance of the Candlelight Processional from outside of the theater. We watched Neil Patrick Harris for a few minutes as he is a favorite actor of mine and Jordan's. After that we breezed through the last few countries then we hit Canada, where our dinner reservations were, with about an hour before our time. I have never spent so much time in the Canada pavillion before! We watched a band. Then went and saw Circlevision for the first time. Then we checked in for dinner at Le Cellier and waited for about twenty minutes until we were seated.

Le Cellier.....ahhhhhh. Probably our second favorite meal of the trip. I got the Filet and Jordan got the Rib-Eye. We shared a cheddar cheese soup for an appetizer. Our favorite! Towards the end of the meal Jordan had a horrible migraine starting. He wanted to get the check and head back to the hotel. So sadly we had to miss Illuminations. And of course once we got back to the hotel....he was fine...grrrr.

This was an early night for me...Jordan on the other hand had a little trouble sleeping.

​

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 3 - Dec 2 (Hollywood Studios!)

Forgive me, as this day is a bit of a blur for me and I have hardly any pictures to go through with time stamps.

I woke up around 8am. I let Jordan sleep in for a bit as he had trouble sleeping the night before. I went down by the pool and made some phone calls back home and just took in the nice weather and silence. Really reflected on where I was and it was very peaceful. I spent sometime in the room on my laptop and watching some TV until Jordan woke up.

We left the hotel around noon and were on our way to Hollywood Studios!

Our first stop was our Star Tours FP! Jordan was excited. And I always love me some Star Tours. We then went to Star Wars path of the Jedi, wasn't sure what it was. Just a quick video of Star Wars highlights.

We then had lunch at Mama Melrose! My old haunt! I had worked here on my 2012 College Program so I was excited to come back and enjoy it as a guest! It was just OK. Jordan wasn't thrilled by it and neither was I. Sad Face!! We both got the steak on a bed of mac and cheese and we barely touched it, not because it was bad just because we were so full from our appetizers I think. The dessert trio was actually really good.

After lunch we went to the Christmas shop next door and I ended up purchasing three of the shoe ornaments, they had a deal that made it worth it. I kept two for me and gifted one to my mom for Christmas!

We then headed to Muppet Vision 3D! Cute as always.

After this is where it gets blurry. I think the combination of a heavy lunch and two previous busy days were catching up to me. I know we hit Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, and Rock N Rollercoaster in that time. We were taking it slow as I was just dragging.

I then remember going to Star Wars Launch Bay as the sun was setting. We actually spent more time in the store at the end then we did in the Launch Bay. Jordan bought a book about the Dark Side, can't remember the exact name. I swear he had read about half of it before he had decided to purchase it.

After this we decided to grab a bite to eat. I wanted to hit Backlot Express for the chicken and waffles. So we high tailed it to that end of the park and got there just before closing. While eating we could hear the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam fireworks going off, I was so tired at this point I didn't care that we had missed them. I hardly ate any of my food.

We then decided to hit Star Tours again as there was no wait and we were right next door. There was EMH this night so we then made our way back to Toy Story Mania to finally ride it and then we headed out for the night.

I really don't remember the rest of the evening. I know we got back to the resort and Jordan finished reading his new book and I'm pretty sure I zonked out really quick!

​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am following along!

Neither of us could sleep. I kept referencing that Disney commercial from back in the day where the kids and the parents were laying wide awake in bed. That was us!

I totally remember that commercial!

As we were just packing up the last minute things to get ready to head downstairs and grab the shuttle I get a text that our flight had been CANCELLED!!!

This would have totally freak'd me out.

We obviously wanted to spend more time at I-Drive 360 but were just pooped from all the stressful traveling throughout the day. So we were happy to speed through both attractions and head back to Port Orleans for the night.

It was probably good that you did' have anything more crazy planned with coming in late. Sounds like you still had a nice evening.

I had the orange chicken and Jordan got the Hong Kong chicken. It was OK but we would have much preferred Japan.

What do you guys usually get in Japan? We haven't eaten there yet.

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 4 - Dec 3 (Disney Springs & Rest Day)

This was the one Saturday of our trip. I know parks are packed on the weekends, so wanted to avoid them. When doing my itinerary for the trip, I knew right away this was going to be our "rest day".

We slept in. Of course, Jordan more than I. I threw in whatever laundry we had accumulated to get that out the way. I love doing laundry...I know, I'm a freak. While waiting for the laundry just sat down by the pool and put my feet in the water. Got the laundry done and went back to the room and just folded the laundry and watched some TV and cleaned up the room a bit.

We decided to head to Disney Springs for lunch to meet up with some of my friends from Orlando. We parked on the top of the Orange parking structure. I couldn't believe how busy it was! This was the busiest day we had encountered all trip, glad it was at Disney Springs and not a park!

The line just to get to the elevator was like 15 minutes long. I didn't see stairs, but I'm sure there were some. Once we got down we walked straight to Basin and we were waiting for my friends to arrive. I literally blinked and spent $50 in there like nothing! Bath bombs and the sugar scrub for my hands, always wanted to purchase it! My friends Nicole and Alicia met us at Basin and then we walked to Blaze Pizza for lunch, I was excited to try it!

The line was long but once we got our pizza there were plenty of tables. Pizza was huge! And very delicious. They also had various lemonades and teas, I was so sick of soda by this point! We had a great lunch catching up with friends and laughing. After lunch the girls and I did some shopping and Jordan headed back to the resort for some real rest time. He took the boat back so I would have the car. We went a little wild on the shopping and then finished the afternoon off with a margarita at the margarita bar in Marketplace right on the water. Just a beautiful afternoon.

Also, I just have to say what a blessing resort package delivery is. Honestly, one of the absolute best things Disney ever did. I know it's common place now and it's been around forever. But it is just sooooo convenient. Purchase something and they do all the heavy lifting! So nice. I did this with almost everything we bought on the entire trip. It was even better when they delivered it directly to the rooms!

The girls had to head out so I just popped into a few more shops quickly and grabbed a cupcake for Jordan and I at the infamous Sprinkles. So good!

I headed back to the resort took a little nap before we had to get ready for our dinner that night. I had two dinner reservations for this night and was still debating on which one to go to. I know, naughty, naughty. We had California Grill or Whispering Canyon. We weren't in the mood for a super high end restaurant and really just wanted something a little more laid back so we decided on Whispering Canyon. We headed over to Wilderness Lodge and were a bit early. So we did a little shopping in the gift shop and played in the arcade as Jordan is big video game nerd. Then it was time for dinner. Our server wasn't too playful with us but maybe because we were a bit shy. Food was mediocre. Jordan isn't a huge BBQ fan, but I am and still wasn't that into it. We got our desserts to go.

I wanted to go to Poly after dinner to grab a drink at Trader Sam's and to watch Wishes from the beach. But being that it was a Saturday, they wouldn't let me park there. They said we could MK park and then monorail it over. But then I remembered we still had our Cali Grill reservation at Contemporary so they would surely let me park over there! So we headed over there and they let us park. We went in and Jordan went crazy for their arcade and I browsed the shops. Then headed up to the monorail to ride it over to the Poly. We were in a line that just didn't want to move and no monorails were coming or going. So we just looked at each other and said, let's just go back to the hotel and rest. So that's what we did



​

 

[tinkerbell1991]

Following along

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 5 - December 4th (Universal Orlando)

This was an early day for us! I wanted to be out of the resort by 8am to get to Universal at rope drop. We did end up leaving around 8:30 but were still one of the first ones in the park.

We decided to hit Universal Studios first and Islands of Adventure later in the day. We had purchased Express Passes to make sure we saw everything we wanted to in both parks since we only had the one day for Universal. We also purchased the Quick Service Dining Plan for the day. Which is similar to Disney's. One QS meal (entree and dessert), a snack and we added on the option for the unlimited Coke Freestyle cup.

Our first stop when getting into Universal Studios was to get our Coke Freestyle cups to make sure we were hydrated throughout the day (with soda ). Then we headed to the bakery to grab a breakfast sandwich and coffee. We scarfed that down then our first ride of the day was Rip Ride Rockit! I knew Jordan would love it cause he is a huge roller coaster and music fan. We loved that!

We then headed to the Mummy, which was great as usual. Then Transformers, which is (to me) just too similar to Spiderman at IOA. We continued around the park that way and hit E.T., The Simpsons, and Men in Black.

We waited to visit Diagon Alley for last in UO so we could do it properly and spend our time there then take Hogwarts Express into Hogsmeade. Just like in the movies. We're nerds. By this time is was only 11:30am so we were making great time.

I was just waiting for Jordan's reaction to Diagon Alley as he is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and to be honest it was pretty lackluster. When we went to Hogsmeade a few years before he cried and I expected the same reaction for Diagon Alley. Nope. Not Today. Bummer. Not saying he didn't love it. Just wasn't as excited I guess. We rode Escape from Gringotts (no Express Pass) wait was about 30 minutes. We loved it but still love Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey more. We went into the shops and Knockturn Alley. Debated buying an interactive wand but poo-poo'd that idea (they're so expensive!).

We then took the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade (IOA) and I don't know what Jordan thought it was going to be (maybe some dinky train ride) but he LOVED the Hogwarts Express and was so in awe of it.

Once we got off we were getting hungry for lunch so opted for Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and had a great lunch.

Unfortunately Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was closed over our stay for refurb. We found this out before we left home and were heartbroken and it is our favorite ride in all of Universal. However, we are glad we found out prior to our trip and not when we showed up.

Luckily Hogwarts was still open to do castle tours just no ride. We were still happy we could walk through Hogwarts as we just love it.

We spent a good amount of time in Hogsmeade and even sat down for a bit to watch our beloved Packers game on our phone while enjoying a butter beer. No better way to watch a Packer game if you ask me.

Then we went through Jurassic Park and to Marvel Superhero Island. We did the Hulk and Spiderman. Skull Island: Reign of Kong which was probably the only ride all day that we really NEEDED our Express Pass for. Then backtracked to Jurassic Park to do the River Adventure. I luckily wore my poncho. Jordan declined his and got soaked! We then got in line for the Raptor Experience. OMG We got the funniest pictures from that. I was terrified! It just looked so real!

Of course we realized that we had a package sent to package pickup at the front of the park so we continued on through Hogsmeade, The Lost Continent and stopped in Suess Landing and did the High in the Sky Suess Trolley Train Ride and then Cat in the Hat. Cute kiddy rides but not Jordan's idea of a good time. We continued to the front end of the park to pickup our package and we wanted to ride Hogwarts Express again back to Universal Studios. So we walked BACK to Hogsmeade to grab Hogwarts Express and then took another ride on Gringotts when we got back to UO. I then had to hunt for this Griffyndor sweatshirt I had been eyeing up all day and went to every shop and of course found it in the last one! Then we were hungry and pooped. We headed out of Universal Studios to the car.

We went across the street and ate dinner at Kobe Steakhouse which is somewhat of a chain in the Central Florida area. I absolutely love hibachi and Kobe Steakhouse in particular. I always feel like it's a special meal for birthdays or anniversaries so I figured why not!

By the end of dinner we were so tired and FULL! Got back to Port Orleans and crashed!

​

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 6 - December 5th (Animal Kingdom)

After our marathon day at Universal, today was another slow morning planned with a half day at Animal Kingdom. This morning we woke up and went down to the Food Court for once to get some proper coffee and breakfast (more like snack). We enjoyed walking around the resort when it was quiet and not so packed with people!

We were at Animal Kingdom around 11:30am. Our first FP was for Expedition Everest so we headed that way after checking out some shops on Discovery Island. The ride must have been down all morning because the FP line was way longer than the standby line. It was a mad house per usual in front of Everest.

After Everest I FINALLY got my first Mickey ice cream bar of the trip! We slowly walked to our next FP, Kilimanjaro Safari stopped along the way to play the drums in Harambe. Jordan is a drummer and thought they were really cool, anything that makes Disney cool to him is win for me. We hopped on Kilimanjaro Safari and got front row! Surprisingly, it was Jordan's first time and he had been to Disney several times as a kid and now 3 times with me! What the heck! He's not a huge "zoo" person but enjoyed the safari. The lady next to me though was on her phone the entire time. It was incredibly rude and obnoxious.

After Kilimanjaro Safaris, Jordan was of course STARVING per usual. So we went to Pizzafari.....after stopping at Starbucks, I wanted to get my Animal Kingdom mug and also use a snack credit on a Passion Tea Lemonade. Yes, Pizzafari. Not my first choice but we hadn't had pizza all trip and were kind of in the mood for it. So there we be! It wasn't awful but neither of us finished our meals.

Then we went to grab our DINOSAUR FP. Awesome per usual. Then walked back to Harambe to catch Festival of the Lion King. I think it was also Jordan's first time seeing FOLK. Such a classic for me. Probably my favorite show at WDW.

And that was it for our day at Animal Kingdom, I think we ended up leaving around 3pm. So very short day, I'm sure when we go next time with Pandora, it'll be a much longer day.

We got back to the resort and it was raining. So we took a quick nap then woke up and went out to swim in the pool when the rain stopped.

Then it was time for our dinner at 'Ohana!!!!! I had been waiting all trip for this. I hadn't eaten at 'Ohana in probably 7 years. I magically found an ADR for fireworks time, couldn't have been more perfect.

We got to Poly early as it is my favorite resort and I don't mind spending time there at all. Jordan's eyes had been bothering him for a while since we got out of the pool, I guess he has a sensitivity to chlorine. So first stop was the gift shop to get him some eye drops! Once he got those in he was feeling much better. I then of course purchased some more things from the gift shop that I shouldn't have. We checked in for dinner and of course they were running a bit behind so we grabbed a drink at the bar and found a spot to sit. I got the Lapu Lapu (I was on vacation, duh!) and Jordan grabbed a beer. We waited for a good 30-45 minutes before we were seated.

I don't know what was up with us this trip on the DINING PLAN and have little appetite. I don't think we finished one meal our entire trip. By the time the meat got to the table we were so full, I maybe had two pieces of chicken and one of the beef. But oh my goodness was that the best chicken I have ever had in my life. Jordan too. For once in our life we preferred the chicken over the beef!

This was probably the most magical meal of the entire trip. Just one of those moments where you sit there and are like, "I'm really here, this is paradise, this is amazing". The guy on the ukulele was walking around signing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and other super sweet songs. Just so beautiful and calming. All while having an amazing view of Magic Kingdom.

Then it was time for Wishes. The lights dimmed in the restaurant and the music started playing and we watched Wishes from our table as we were brought our dessert. Truly one of the most memorable and magical moments of the the trip, it definitely brought a tear to my eye. We are so in love with 'Ohana. The food, the views, the ambiance, the drinks, the entertainment. It is a MUST DO for every trip.

After dinner we made our way back to the resort and headed to bed. Probably my favorite day of the trip, if not second favorite day for sure...



​

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Day 7 - December 6th (Magic Kingdom) FINALLY!

Wow! It's been a while since I wrote on here. I finally wanted to finish it! I love reading this and reminiscing when I'm homesick.

Forgive my memory as the order of the days events are bit blurry and this has now been over a year ago. But stick around until the end, I promise it'll be worth it!

We got to MK around 11:30am as we had a 1pm 7DMT FP and 1:30pm Be Our Guest lunch ADR.

We first got stuck at the TTC on the monorail. They were bringing a new car onto the track which meant we had to sit in ours with no A/C for a good 20-30 minutes before we moved.

Then when we finally got to MK it started pouring out so we were literally sprinting from cover to cover. We got through security and decided to meander through the Emporium while the rain let up. I have to admit I was grumpy! The rain was making me a not so pleasant park guest.

When the rain finally let up we walked back to Fantasyland and got to Gaston's Tavern as it started coming down again so we hung out in there for a bit and grabbed a LeFou's Brew and also looked around Village Gifts. I was still clearly irritated. We got a notification that because of the rain that 7DMT was closed and our FP was cancelled but could be used later at any attraction at any time. Which was fine.

So then finally it got to be about time to check-in for our lunch at BOG and we got right in as we pre-ordered. It was Jordan's first time and we are both HUGE BatB fans. He thought it was beautiful but thought the QS lunch didn't quite go with the regal-ness of the restaurant. The food was OK. Not tremendous but we did it for the atmosphere.

When we got out it was raining again. So we hopped over to Haunted Mansion then the rain let up as we got out which was nice and the sun was finally out! Now this is where I get kind of lost about the order of events. I know we hit Pirates, Splash, BTMRR, 7DMT, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Space, TTA, Buzz Lightyear, Monsters. With all very minimal waits.

Then it was time for dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. Another Jordan first. We enjoyed it and got the French Press as we were just beginning MVMCP after. We knew we had a long night ahead of us. I just HAD to get my Christmas Minnie Ears so we got those after dinner and I was happy! We did some photopass pictures and I believe did a bit more in Fantasyland (sorry I know I'm not good at the details).

Then it was already time for fireworks. We got our spot but realized we were about 1 hour early! So we watch the stage show and just relaxed until the fireworks! In the middle of the fireworks Jordan POPPED THE QUESTION! Just as I had always dreamed. In front of the castle during the fireworks! I, of course, said yes! Honestly the fireworks were so loud I could only hear about half of what he was saying but he was on one knee with a ring so I knew the jist of it! He did it perfectly as there was a Photopass photographer behind us so he captured the whole moment and people were cheering for us and clapping! It was such a magical moment but it's also one of moments where there's just so much going on that you blackout and can't remember every single moment. I'm so glad I have the pictures of the actual moment!

Afterwards I, of course, called my family and Jordan his as we were wondering through Magic Kingdom! The last ride I wanted to hit was Little Mermaid and we did then left as we were both so exhausted. I think the rain took a lot out of us!

We went back and fell right asleep after a very exciting day!

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[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Congratulations! That is quiet the way to end your day!