Why I Went to Disney World During a Pandemic

Why I Went to Disney World During a Pandemic

Yes, there’s a global pandemic. Yes, I have a kid with an underlying condition. And yes, I went to Walt Disney World. Before you judge me (or anyone else) for going to Disney World instead of staying quarantined at home, let me explain why I went to Disney World during a pandemic.

empty main street usa magic kingdom

Safety Precautions

Disney is doing everything they can to not only follow but go above and beyond the CDC and WHO guidelines. I had heard from other people that it’s safer than going to the grocery store. After going myself, I can absolutely agree. Here is a list of some of the things they are doing:

  • You must get a reservation before showing up because they are only allowing the parks to get up to a maximum of a 25% capacity. I can’t say the same for other theme parks. 
  • Nobody with a fever or showing symptoms of COVID-19 is allowed to enter — and yes, they do temperature checks (administered by Advent Health professionals) before going in. 
  • To avoid cross-contamination, they stopped doing bag checks and instead require everyone to go through metal detectors. This also makes getting in quicker.
  • In addition to sanitizing high touch points like rails and ride vehicles often, they also offer hand-washing stations and plenty of sanitizer throughout the parks. 
  • Masks are required at all times (even outside and even while having your photo taken), with the exception of when you are actively eating or drinking while stationary and not near other guests. 
  • There are neither parades nor fireworks, which would typically mean guests are crowded near each other in close proximity. You cannot meet and greet with characters either. They do, however, have sporadic character cavalcades.
  • Signs are displayed throughout the park with frequent announcements over the loudspeakers to remind guests of the rules.
  • Markers along each queue indicate where to stand to ensure physical distancing of at least six feet between parties.

Physical Health

Because my son has a rare liver disease called biliary atresia, it was of upmost importance to me to talk with his doctor before we made any decisions about visiting the parks. And when I say that we talked with his doctor, I mean that we spoke with his transplant doctor — not just his pediatrician.

My son went through several blood tests, an ultrasound of his liver and a COVID-19 test. This is routine; I didn’t do it just because I wanted to go to Disney World. But the test results came back indicating that his liver functions are currently at practically normal levels, and his COVID-19 test came back negative. All of this was in our favor. And after talking it over with his doctor, he said it would be absolutely fine to take our son to Disney World as long as we remained socially distant and washed our hands often, which we of course did.

Additionally, I do have grandparents in their 80s, so after leaving the parks, it’s my intent to remain quarantined at home for at least two weeks before I see them again. While I still maintain that Disney is safer than the grocery store, it just seems like the right thing to do. My family’s health and wellbeing remain my top priority.

Empty Park

And the final reason I decided to go to Disney World was because of the nearly non-existent crowds. Even just driving up to the Magic Kingdom, my husband and I remarked to each other how almost eerie it was to see the empty road leading into the parking lot. I had never seen crowds that sparse — certainly not in broad daylight.

The only line that was at all a hassle to wait in was “it’s a small world,” and that was mostly because we had to wait for them to do the deep clean to sanitize all of the ride vehicles. I’m absolutely OK with waiting a little longer if it meant that it was going to be safer to ride.

Was it fun wearing a mask outside in the Florida heat and humidity? Nope. But we stayed in air conditioning as much as we could and didn’t find the masks to be as much of a nuisance as we were expecting — probably because we were too focused on enjoying our time.

We pretty much walked right onto Peter Pan’s Flight, which is typically at least a 90-minute wait on a normal day. And when we were done riding the Winnie the Pooh ride, nobody else was in line, so the cast members asked if we just wanted to ride it again. Given the fact it seemed like the ride our youngest son enjoyed the most, we were all for it.

Seeing the happiness on my sons’ faces after months of being locked up was priceless to me. My younger son had never even seen the outside world in his entire life before this. Hearing the giggles of my two boys made the trip absolutely worth it.

In the end, you have to assess what’s right for you and your family. But given the safety precautions Disney has taken, the fact our son’s transplant doctor gave us the green light, and for the sake of my own mental health, visiting Disney World was the right choice for our family. The allure of an empty park was just the cherry on top.

Review of Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort: Feels Like a Deluxe Resort at a Moderate Price

Review of Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort: Feels Like a Deluxe Resort at a Moderate Price

Everyone in our family (my husband, son and I) is born within ten days of each other. So, when we were planning our birthday celebrations for this year, I wanted to stay somewhere on property that I had never stayed at before. I had actually never stayed at a moderate resort before, only either value (because I’m just there to have somewhere to rest my head and to take advantage of extra magic hours) or deluxe resorts (because I planned to spend the majority of my time relaxing at and enjoying the resort).

This time, because I was about eight months pregnant, I wanted to stay somewhere nice because I didn’t think I’d be able to handle walking at the parks for too long, but I also didn’t want to spend a crazy amount of money. For about the same price, I was considering either a princess room at Port Orleans Riverside Resort or one of the water view rooms at the new Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. I knew with a baby boy and another boy on the way, my chances of getting a princess room in the future would be pretty low. They’re probably going to be more interested in getting a pirate room when they’re old enough to voice their own opinions. However, I also liked the idea of staying at the newest resort on property (it was about a week before the Riviera Resort opened). Ultimately, I opted for the Gran Destino Tower because of the appeal of staying somewhere brand new, and I’m very glad I did.

The Lobby

Gran Destino Tower main lobby at Christmastime

Immediately upon parking and walking into the lobby, it took my breath away. It was Christmastime, so there was a huge Christmas tree in the middle, and the walls were glowing with red and green lights. The atmosphere and everything about this resort was gorgeous. I absolutely loved the décor. It reminded me a lot of when my husband and I traveled across Spain with touches inspired by Spanish artists Antoni Gaudí and Salvador Dalí.

Gran Destino Tower side lobby

In fact, Dalí and Walt Disney were actually good friends and started collaborating on a film together, Destino. This film wasn’t actually finished until 2003, but it served as inspiration for the name of this tower, and it could be found playing on screens by the check-in and concierge desks.

Side note: They also had infused water available for free next to the concierge desks, which was yummy and refreshing after coming in from walking around the parks all morning.

The Room

Gran Destino Tower water view room

We had a water view on the ninth floor, and it was gorgeous. Not only could we see the lake and pool of the resort, but we also had a pretty good view of Expedition Everest, Pandora: The World of Avatar, and the Tree of Life from Animal Kingdom.

Gran Destino Tower water view

The room itself was just as nice as any deluxe resort room I had stayed in before (except maybe the three-bedroom treehouse I stayed in at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House). There was plenty of storage space for our luggage, and I appreciated the complimentary tea and coffee with the little Keurig and condiments. It was roomy, the beds were comfortable, and the linens and pillows were very soft. Plus, I loved the Mickey head made out of towels that Mousekeeping left on one of our two queen beds.

Gran Destino Tower Mickey towel animal

The room also featured a smart TV that welcomed us with our family name on it. We could not only watch regular TV and Disney+, but we could also use the TV to check the weather, look at our PhotoPass pictures, see what the resort and parks had to offer, and even connect our phones.

Gran Destino Tower bathroom shower

The bathroom was really nice as well with a waterfall shower, two sinks and a separate little room for the toilet. The theming overall was beautiful. It’s absolutely worth the price — I think our annual passholder discount brought it down to about $190/night, which is hundreds of dollars less than what we would pay for a similar room at a “deluxe” resort and not that much more than what we had paid to stay at All Star Movies just a couple months earlier. I would say our room was significantly nicer than an All Star resort and honestly not any worse than rooms I’ve stayed in at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (with a Magic Kingdom view) or Wilderness Lodge Resort. I’ll still give Animal Kingdom Lodge the edge when it comes to views overall if you can get a Savannah View.

Dining at Toledo: Tapas, Steak & Seafood

We had 9 p.m. reservations at Toledo on the top floor of Gran Destino Tower, and we showed up about 20 minutes early to request a fireworks view. Because we were so early, we stopped into Dahlia Lounge to hang out while we waited for our table. My husband ordered a beer, but before he even got it, our table was ready. I didn’t get to see a lot of Dahlia lounge, but what I did see looked very nice. I was pregnant at the time, so I unfortunately didn’t get to taste any of the drinks.

Gran Destino Tower Toledo restaurant

The restaurant itself was beautiful with a stained glass arched ceiling and filled with trees down the center and bottles of wine along one side. We were seated on the window side and were treated to a fantastic view of the Hollywood Studios fireworks. We saw both Fantasmic and the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks. This view alone was worth coming to the restaurant. I’m sure it would be beautiful to go during the day too, but I didn’t get to see it while it was light outside.

Toledo Tronchon Cheese Gratinado

For an appetizer, we ordered the Tronchón Cheese Gratinado off the tapas menu, which was cheese melted over crunchy bread topped with nuts, tupelo honey and lavender. I absolutely loved it — definitely the star of our meal.

Toledo Gran Destino Tower Hangar Steak

My husband ordered the Hangar Steak because he was told it had more meat than the Manhatten Filet. To be honest, while it did taste good, it wasn’t enough food for him and was still pretty small. I’d hate to see how small the filet was. At least we had ordered some Bravas Potatoes on the side, and those were very yummy.

Toledo scallops Gran Destino Tower

I ordered the scallops, which were plenty for me, and I liked it a lot. My favorite part was the harissa vinaigrette. If you’re trying to decide between the steak and the scallops, I thought the scallops were certainly more flavorful, but if you’re really hungry, you’re going to need to get a side or appetizer in addition to either of these entrees.

Toledo Gran Destino Tower birthday dessert peppermint bark

Because it was our birthdays, they brought us a complimentary chocolate-peppermint bark for dessert. Again, if you’re hungry, you’re probably going to want to order another dessert because it was pretty small. But the cheesy appetizer and potatoes on the side were enough to help fill our bellies, so we didn’t get any extra desserts. It was tasty, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best Disney sweet treat I’ve ever had by any means. Now that Christmas is over, I’m sure there’s a different dessert that they offer anyway.

Overall, I’d say Toledo was a bit overpriced for the small portions, but I loved the view of the fireworks, and the food (especially that appetizer) was delicious. I’d like to go back to Dahlia Lounge after I have the baby to taste some of the drinks and maybe order a different dessert too.

Disney World Dapper Day: Donald Duck Disney Bound

Disney World Dapper Day: Donald Duck Disney Bound

If you’ve never heard of Dapper Day, it’s really more like two different dapper weekends—two days in the spring and two days in the fall—in which people dress up in retro outfits like in the time of Walt. You see outfits from about the 1920s to about the 1950s, and they’re mostly fancy Disney bounds. Not sure what a Disney bound is? Check out this post.

While a lot of people like to pick out their characters that they want to Disney bound as ahead of time, I did things a little backward. I went to Nordstrom Rack to find a dress I thought could pass off as retro that would also be affordable but good quality. I figured I would find something that looked good on me and then decide which character I could Disney bound as after picking out the dress. After trying on several outfits, I found this beautiful Eliza J blue neoprene dress with bows on the shoulders.

Eliza J blue dress with bows on the shoulders

I immediately thought of Disney bounding as Donald Duck, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it because he’s a boy character. I thought maybe village Belle or Dory or Sadness. But then my friend Suzy told me, “It’s definitely Donald. Stop trying to make it anything other than Donald.” And she was right. This dress definitely screamed Donald Duck.

Because I was going for a retro look, I wanted to get a fascinator or a pillbox hat to go with the dress, but my husband convinced me to go with a beret to make my Dapper Day outfit look more like Donald Duck.

To put the finish touches on my Donald Duck Disney bound for Dapper Day, I added white gloves, a red bow tie, a yellow belt, and red high heels. I would have worn yellow high heels if I owned them, but I didn’t and didn’t want to spend the money on them either. I bought a white feather boa (feathers because he’s a duck of course), but I unfortunately forgot to bring it with me to Disney World. I accessorized with white cat-eye sunglasses and a white parasol.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom

I must have done a good job with my outfit because the official Dapper Day Facebook page actually featured me. I was so excited! I couldn’t convince my hubby to dress as Daisy Duck, so he went for more of a Dapper Dan look with a pale blue pinstripe suit and a boater hat.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle

I wish that I got a photo with classic Donald, but we were at the Magic Kingdom Dapper Day, and classic Donald is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I did get a photo with Donald in his circus attire though, and he loved my outfit.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom the astounding donaldo

Probably the most exciting part of the day was telling Mickey Mouse that we were expecting a baby! This was when Mickey could still talk. It was great to be able to hear him tell us congratulations, and it makes me a little sad that Mickey can’t talk anymore.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom talking Mickey Mouse

So what do you think of my Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney bound? Who do you think I should Disney bound as at Dapper Day this year? Let me know in the comments! And be sure to follow me on Instagram for more Disney fun.

What to Look Forward to at This Year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

What to Look Forward to at This Year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
I think we all know that my favorite time of year is the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, but a very close second in my heart is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. And there are some great things coming up this year!

First, in case you didn’t know, pineapples are my spirit fruit because they are sweet on the inside and wear crowns. Ha! Dole Whips are my favorite treat at Magic Kingdom, and I loved getting it with the coconut rum topper at the Food and Wine Festival. But what I’m really excited about is an entire area dedicated to pineapples at this year’s Flower and Garden Festival—the Pineapple Promenade. Champagne is usually my go-to drink, so I seriously can’t wait for the Florida Orange Groves Winery Sparkline Pineapple Wine. And it’s from my hometown of St. Petersburg, FL!

I love fruit. I love sushi. But have you ever heard of frushi? Yes, it’s sushi made out of fruit! How cute is that? You can find it at the Japan pavilion. It has pineapples, strawberries and melons rolled up with raspberry-coconut rice and sprinkled with toasted coconut. Plus, there’s whipped cream on the side.

My all-time favorite drink at Epcot is the Grand Marnier slushy at the France pavilion. But they have a twist for the Flower and Garden Festival this year—La Vie en Rose Frozen slushy with Grey Goose Orange, St. Germain Liqueur and cranberry juices. Yum!

Of all the places I’ve traveled in the world (the real world, not just Epcot’s world showcase—ha!), Morocco had some of the best food. I just adore all the spices, so I can’t wait to try the homemade falafel with pickled beets and turnips, tomato salad and tahini sauce at the Morocco pavilion. Now if only I can talk them into adding some harissa sauce on the side….
It’s no secret that I love spicy food, so when I saw the beef brisket burnt ends hash with white cheddar fondue and pickled jalapenos on the menu at The Smokehouse at this year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, my mouth watered at the idea of it. Definitely a must!
What are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments!

Be Our Guest Restaurant

Be Our Guest Restaurant

entrance to be our guest

With the expansion of the new Fantasyland at Walt Disney World came new attractions and restaurants, including the Be Our Guest restaurant, named after the song from Beauty and the Beast. The theme of the restaurant is Beast’s castle, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Decor- and ambiance-wise, this is the most beautiful restaurant in all of Walt Disney World—yes, even more beautiful than Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle.

rose napkin

The first time I went to Be Our Guest was for breakfast, which is quick service. Even though it’s quick service, you still need to get reservations in advance. I was lucky enough to get last-minute reservations, most likely because someone else canceled that day, but that’s not usually the case. It’s better to book as soon as you can. However, if you can’t get in on the day you want, keep checking the My Disney Experience app every day because something may open up. For breakfast, you order from kiosks, get a plastic rose, and then your meal magically shows up at whatever table you pick to sit at. I ordered the egg whites, thinking I was going to be healthy. Ha! I should have known that’s never the case at Disney World. With breakfast came an array of delicious pastries, and the diet went completely out the window.


When I went for dinner with my husband, I booked six months in advance. That’s how quickly this restaurant gets booked up. We checked in at the front a little early, and the cast member said that they were running a little late. So he said we could either wait on the bridge (where they had free water, which was nice), or we could walk down to Gaston’s tavern and hang out in the air conditioning. I am SO GLAD we listened to him and went to Gaston’s tavern because not only was waiting in the air conditioning better than waiting in the hot Florida sun, but we also ordered a couple of LeFou’s Brews. This might now rival the Dole Whip for my favorite sweet treat at Disney World. It’s amazingly delicious. It’s like an apple cider slushy with a hint of marshmallow taste, topped with a passion fruit foam. I can’t even begin to describe how good it was. My husband said he liked it even more than the Dole Whip. It’s still a tight race for me.

be our guest ceiling

We got a text message to let us know that our table was ready at Be Our Guest, so we headed back. The cast member at the front of the castle handed me a Lumiere figurine to “help light the way” to our table. We were lucky enough to be seated in the ballroom, which looks exactly like the movie. It’s so opulent and gorgeous, and they even have the mural with cherubs on the ceiling. If you look out the “windows” in the back, it looks like it’s snowing outside. The other gorgeous room is the West Wing, which, again, looks just like the movie. It has the painting of Beast as a human (Prince Adam) that he clawed at as well as tapestries that had also been clawed. The coolest part of the West Wing is the enchanted rose. It really is just like you stepped into the movie.

be our guest steak

For dinner, I ordered the shrimp and scallops, and my husband ordered the steak. This also happens to be the only place in Magic Kingdom where you can have alcohol. Be Our Guest offers beer and wine, but only for dinner. (If you really need a drink, you can go to any of the other parks, or I’ll give you some tips in another post.) Both of our meals were superb. This may be my favorite sit-down restaurant at Disney World (at least for the restaurants that aren’t all-you-can-eat).

the grey stuff

Everything was so amazing that we couldn’t even imagine how delicious “the grey stuff” was going to be. In fact, the whole reason I even wanted to eat at Be Our Guest for dinner was so I could try the grey stuff. It comes from the line in the Be Our Guest song, “Try the grey stuff; it’s delicious. Don’t believe me? Ask the dishes!” Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but the dishes are liars. The grey stuff, while decent, was not great. I wouldn’t have called it super delicious. It tasted like Cool Whip—just Cool Whip with grey food coloring. Womp womp. My husband says that instead of asking the dishes, you should ask the steins. We both would have rather gone back to Gaston’s Tavern and had more LeFou’s Brew.

enchanted rose

After dinner, we had a chance to walk around and see more of the restaurant. The ballroom is definitely the best place to sit, but the West Wing is a close second. However, I would have been pissed if I had to sit in Belle’s picture room. It looked like they ran out of budget because they spent so much on making the rest of Beast’s castle look so incredible that they just slapped this room together with some pictures on the walls.

meeting the beast

We also had the chance to meet the Beast after dinner. All the cast members referred to him as “the master” and “our host for the evening,” which I thought was a nice touch. However, I think it would have made more sense if instead of the Beast, it was Prince Adam. A cast member happened to drop a dish while we were there, and I said to my husband that’s like murder if the castle is enchanted. He said that it’s not because the curse was broken, which is why all the servers are humans. I said that was a good point. But if the spell was broken, then why is the Beast greeting guests instead of Prince Adam? That’s a miss in my book. Also wish Belle could be there too, but I guess she’s over in the cottage for her Enchanted Tales.

be our guest menu

Overall, I highly recommend Be Our Guest for both breakfast and dinner. I can’t comment on lunch yet, but I assume it’s good. But opt for a different dessert than the grey stuff because that was a bit of a disappointment. I’m not saying it’s bad; I’m just saying there’s probably better options on the menu. It’s such a gorgeous restaurant with beautiful decor that it makes for great photo ops. There’s even a room with suits of armor that talk! Disney certainly knows how to pay attention to details.

High Tea at the Grand Floridian

High Tea at the Grand Floridian

First off, do resorts get any prettier than Disney World’s Grand Floridian? I mean, come on! Gorgeous! My sister and I absolutely love high tea. We grew up going all the time with our grandparents on cruises, so of course I had to take her to try out the high tea at the Grand Floridian in the Garden View Tea Room for her 19th birthday. It did not disappoint.

High tea at the Grand Floridian

You do need to book this in advance because times for high tea at the Grand Floridian do fill up. Both my sister are huge fans of the book Pride and Prejudice. So of course I had to get the Derbyshire Tea package, just because Mr. Darcy owns half of Derbyshire. However, I pronounced it like they do in the movie, but our waiter pronounced it phonetically. I was a little put off by that. Maybe I’m just a snob — ha!

Grand Floridian champagne

The Derbyshire Tea package was $45 and included various finger sandwiches, cheeses, fruits, a scone, a tart and my choice of dessert and tea (duh). It also included a glass of Veuve Clicquot, which happens to be my favorite champagne. (We had it for the toast at my wedding.) Because she’s not 21 yet, my sister opted for the Bedfordshire Tea package, which is $30 and is essentially the same exact thing as the Derbyshire Tea package, just without the champagne. A $15 upcharge to include a glass of Veuve didn’t seem like that bad of a deal when you consider how expensive a bottle is.

Grand Floridian high tea

For the teas, my sister got the Earl Grey, which the server warned tasted more like licorice than regular Earl Grey. My sister didn’t seem to notice the licorice though. I opted for the nutty chocolate tea because it sounded like it was going to taste like Nutella. While it was good, it wasn’t Nutella good. Then again, few things are.

Grand Floridian high tea sandwiches

The sandwiches they brought out were all very good. In order of how I liked them, there was a curry chicken sandwich, a golden beet and goat cheese sandwich, a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, and an egg salad sandwich. This actually surprised me because cucumber and cream cheese and egg salad are usually my two favorite kinds of sandwiches. However, I wasn’t huge on the bread they paired with the cucumber, and the egg salad had a bit too many chives. Overall, they were all yummy, especially that curry chicken one. The scones came with butter, apricot jam and lemon crème. The lemon crème was definitely my favorite. It was delicious!

For dessert, my sister chose the strawberries and cream—so beautiful! It came with a sprinkle of red sugar in the Grand Floridian logo, and she said it tasted as good as it looked. I got the assorted pastries, which included two macaroons (love!), a chocolate-dipped strawberry and a puff pastry in the shape of a swan, filled with a strawberry cream. Amazing!

Briar roses

Everything was absolutely delicious and well worth the price. Plus, they even gave us each a rose at the end of tea. A Briar Rose, get it? (If you don’t get it, you’re not a true Disney fan.) We were so full from this (our reservations were for 4:15) that we didn’t even notice that we didn’t eat dinner before the fireworks at the end of the night. I highly recommend afternoon tea in the Grand Floridian’s Garden View Tea Room!

Animal Kingdom Penthouse

Animal Kingdom Penthouse

One of the coolest experiences I ever had at Walt Disney World was when my family got upgraded from a one-bedroom suite at Animal Kingdom’s Kidani Village to the two-story, three-bedroom penthouse with two living rooms, a dining room, a kitchen and four bathrooms. I wouldn’t even call it a hotel room. It was bigger than my house. And let’s not forget about the view. I think we saw more animals from our three balconies at Kidani Village than we did at Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom. Want a peek at what the penthouse at Animal Kingdom’s Kidani Village looks like? Check out these photos.

Animal Kingdom Living Room

This is the living room on the first floor. You can see the dining area and kitchen in the background as well.

Animal Kingdom room

Here is one of the three bedrooms. I wish I took more photos so you could see all the beautiful details, but of course at the time I didn’t know I was going to have a Disney blog, haha.

Animal Kingdom Kidani Village

While my mom relaxed, I couldn’t stop checking out the view.

Animal Kingdom view

And this is why. Look at all those zebras and giraffes! They fed the animals right outside our window.

Animal Kingdom balcony

My brother, husband and I were all so excited about our upgrade.

Animal Kingdom breakfast

We had enough space for eight of us. In the morning, we had room service delivered, and it was actually really reasonable and not expensive at all. I think it wound up being around $15 each, including tons of food, juice and coffee, all served by a private butler who set the table and made extra pots of coffee in the kitchen. She was really great and super friendly.

Animal Kingdom dining room

Animal Kingdom kitchen

Check out some more photos from our three-bedroom villa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village.

Animal Kingdom bathroom

This is one of the four full bathrooms.

Animal Kingdom staircase

Here’s the staircase to the second floor.

Animal Kingdom landing

When you walked up the stairs, this was the landing.

Animal Kingdom couch

View of the living room from the second floor.

Afrique

One of the beautiful pieces of art.

Animal Kingdom Lodge view

Animal Kingdom chair

View from Animal Kingdom Penthouse

Happiest 4th of July on Earth

Happiest 4th of July on Earth

I love going to Disney World pretty much any day of the year, but it is a little extra special to go on a holiday. Here are some photos from my trip to Disney for the 4th of July. It was pretty crowded and really hot, but I love seeing all the patriotic décor around Magic Kingdom.

4th of july tinkerbell

Where else would you expect me to be on the 4th of July? Ha! Check out my patriotic outfit: blue tank top with white stars, red shorts and Magic Band. And I know you can’t tell in this picture, but my blue Mickey ears actually light up like fireworks — get it?! I’m such a nerd. 😛


Of course I had to get a red, white and blue snack too. As much as I love the Nutella waffles from Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom, I’m not sure it was the best choice to have a hot treat on such a hot day. I would, however, highly recommend it in the fall or winter. It’s amazingly delicious.

Ice cream probably would have been a better choice. Can’t go wrong with the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor!


How freaking cute is Cinderalla’s carriage? And the Independence Day sign was a nice touch!


It was so hot that I couldn’t stay the whole day, just for the morning. But it was still worth it! Going to Disney for a few hours is better than not going to Disney at all. That’s my motto.

God bless America (and Disney World)!

How a Disney Gold Pass Pays for Itself in One Day

How a Disney Gold Pass Pays for Itself in One Day

There are many options for getting passes to Walt Disney World, so how do you know which one is the best and most economical for you? I’m here to tell you how my Disney World Gold Pass paid for itself in only one day.

1. Buy a Three- or Four-Day Pass First

My husband and I bought four-day Florida Resident passes to Walt Disney World in July of 2015. On the fourth day of that pass, we decided to upgrade to annual passes. The great thing about this is that we didn’t have to pay the full price of the annual pass — we just had to pay the difference in cost. Even better? The day we bought the annual pass is the day the pass started; it didn’t start on the day we originally bought the four-day passes. That means we actually got about three months added to our annual pass for free (between July and October). That alone was a savings of about $200/each.

2. Photo Package Included

Ironically, we bought our annual passes on October 3, which was the last day of the old pricing. The very next day, October 4, Disney changed their pricing structure. When I found out that the new Gold Pass included all of my Photo Pass photos for free, I knew I had to upgrade. In addition to being a blogger, I also happen to be a professional photographer, and it’s always frustrating to take perfect photos of everyone else and not get any really good ones of me because nobody else I’m traveling with knows how to use a camera. So it was a no-brainer to spend the $21 for me to upgrade from the old annual pass to the new Gold Pass. There was no need to upgrade my husband’s band because as long as I could get photos on my account, why spend the extra money to upgrade his? Plus, all of the photos we had taken since our original trip in July were included as well!

You want a vacation full of professional photos? A Disney PhotoPass will cost you $149 (if purchased at least 3 days in advance) to $169. It’s included for free in the new Gold Pass. This alone is a huge savings. The Gold Pass photo package gives you an entire year full of beautiful photos. Your typical Disney PhotoPass will only give you the length of one trip before you have to buy another package. If you go to Disney once a month, you used to have to pay for the photo package separately each time. Now, it lasts all year. That’s a savings of anywhere from $149 for one day to $2028 for a year of photos. The savings for one day alone pretty much covers the difference between the Silver Pass and the Gold Pass. Plus, you get a lot fewer blackout dates. Totally worth it.

Here’s another secret. You have friends who are going to Disney World? Even if you aren’t going with them, add them as friends on the MyDisneyExperience app. You’ll be able to download their photos for free as well. So not only are you saving money for yourself, you’re saving money for your friends. You’re so generous! If you’re lucky, they might even buy you a Dole Whip for your trouble. 😉

3. Hotel Room Discounts

My husband and I got married in Hawaii, and we were lucky enough to go to Disney’s Aulani. (Yes, it lives up to the hype.) So when our one-year wedding anniversary rolled around, I wanted to go to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. I figured it’s the closest thing to going back to Hawaii and reliving our wedding without actually having to buy plane tickets back out there. (So I guess you could say that’s a savings of another $2,000 — ha!)

One night with a theme park view at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the night of our anniversary is about $722. With the Disney Annual Passholder discount (this applies to all annual passes, not just the Gold one), our price was more like $400 — a savings of more than $300!

4. Free Parking and Discounts on Food & Merchandise

Just parking before you even get into any of the Walt Disney World theme parks is going to cost you $20/car, but it’s included with any of the annual passes (excluding water park passes). If we’re going with a large group of friends and/or family who don’t have annual passes and we can’t all fit in one car, my husband will take one car, and I’ll go in the other. That way, both cars get in for free.

Plus, the annual passes include discounts at all the gift shops on property and most sit-down dining options. Make sure you tell the cashier or the server that you’re an Annual Passholder and show your pass (I don’t think just scanning the Magic Band works for the discount yet) because the discount isn’t automatically applied. Warning: Not all restaurants accept the discount, so make sure ahead of time you know if the one you want to go to takes the discount.

5. Only One Person Needs a Gold Pass

With all these discounts I already mentioned, you only need one person in your family or circle of friends to actually own a Gold Pass. Everyone else can get one-day passes. Let’s say you have a family of four, and, for the sake of keeping things easy, you’re all at least 10 years old. If you’re only going for one day and only go to one park, that can be anywhere from $97/each during the low season to $124/each at Magic Kingdom during the peak season. For one night at a deluxe resort, that’s about $700. You want all the photos the professional photographers take while you’re on vacation? That’s another  $149 to $169. So for a family of four to spend only one day at Magic Kingdom during peak season, you’re looking at $1,365. If only one of you gets the Gold Pass for $549, that $700 hotel room goes down to about $400, and the cost of the photo pass goes away. That takes the total of your trip down to $1321 — a savings of $44. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a lot, but consider that you also get discounts on merchandise at gift shops and on food at restaurants, the savings start to add up. Not to mention, Gold Pass members get free parking, so that’s another $20 of savings. Plus, at least one of you can keep going to Disney over and over again for the next year.

Bonus: Minimal Blackout Dates

My favorite part of the Gold Pass is the free PhotoPass downloads, but the next best part is that the only blackout dates are the two weeks around Christmas and the two weeks around Easter. With the Silver Pass, you pretty much can’t go for half the year. A lot of the spring is blocked out. Forget summer and Christmastime completely. The two weeks around Christmas and the two weeks around Easter are the worst times to go anyway because they are the busiest. My family went to Magic Kingdom once on Christmas, and it was like you couldn’t walk down Main Street at all. My best recommendation is to go after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. The crowds are among the lightest of the year because everyone is saving money for the holidays, and you still get to see all the beautiful holiday decorations.

What to Wear to Walt Disney World

What to Wear to Walt Disney World

Sure, anyone can tell you to wear comfortable shoes and to dress for the weather (e.g., the hot Florida sun or afternoon showers), but let’s face it. When you’re at Disney World, you’re probably going to take photos that you’ll want to look at for years to come, so you shouldn’t dress like a slob.

Did you know that while kids are allowed to dress up, people age 14 and older are not allowed in the parks if they are in costume? While you may not be able to dress up in a costume, there are still ways you can capture the essence of a character without actually dressing as that character. My best suggestion is to think of that character’s color palette and accessories. For example, Snow White dresses in blue and has a red bow in her hair. Plus, she poses like this:

SnowWhite

Notice that my fingernails are also yellow, like Snow White’s skirt. See? You can dress up at Disney without literally dressing in costume. However, I wouldn’t recommend wearing a blazer all day in the middle of summer at Disney World.

Here’s an example of me channeling my inner Princess Jasmine. Jasmine wears all blue and is (I think) the only princess who wears pants. She also has a blue headband and fabulous gold earrings and necklace. Bonus points if you pose in front of your character’s ride.

Princess Jasmine

Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean that I always want to dress up like a princess. (Although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love dressing like a princess!) Sometimes you just have to go with a classic, and what’s more classic than Mickey Mouse? Of course I have my Mouseketeer hat, my “home” T-shirt with Cinderella Castle on it, black shoes, red Fitbit, Mickey bangle bracelet and yellow Magic Band. I could have gone with my red Magic Band, but I decided on yellow to match Mickey’s iconic yellow shoes because, well, I don’t own a pair of yellow shoes, and I can’t picture myself buying a pair either.

Mickey Mouse Disney Bound

Thanks to Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is loaded with Star Wars experiences. My favorite character from the newest movie is BB-8. And when I saw this T-shirt and Mickey ears on Etsy, I had to have them. These are probably my favorite pair of ears I own, and I own several, haha! Plus, I wore my pearl earrings (because they are little white balls, like BB-8), white scalloped shorts (because of the color and round shape of the scalloping) and carried around my BB-8 thermos, which you can pick up at the popcorn cart outside of Star Wars Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios. I just wish I had an orange Magic Band!

bb8

Dressing up for Disney World doesn’t mean that you have to dress like any particular character either. Sometimes it’s fun to dress in a theme instead of a character. For example, my husband and I wore “safari gear” on a trip to Animal Kingdom. I even made sure to wear my purse that looks like a satchel.

sarai outfits at Animal Kingdom

Have more suggestions or ideas of what to wear on your next Disney trip? Let me know in the comments!