Well last week was interesting. My mom, Staci, and I drove down to Kissimmee in order to find a new place to live. Happily we did, so we were free to go to Disney World!!! We went to check into our resort, The All Star Sports Resort is one of our favorites. That is when we met a cast member who actually was grumpy. I didn't think they were allowed to be grumpy. We got "We're Celebrating" buttons, since we were celebrating moving to Disney, and the cast member had nothing nice to say about the area, instead she went on a rant that she was only there because of her job. I was shocked. I cannot imagine being that close to the happiest place on Earth is not fun. Any way buttons proudly displayed we hopped onto the shuttle. We went to the new Disney Springs for the first time, and it was quite different from the way it used to be. It was more of an upscale mall, and less of a Disney wonderland. Perhaps I just need to give it some time, and explore it more. I only really went to the Visitor Center to get my shiny new platinum plus annual passes :) The Visitor Center was nice, and if you are thirsty they have a huge dispenser of ice cold lemon water that is free and refreshing. After getting the passes we got on the shuttle to go to Epcot. We chose Epcot as first park since the Magic Kingdom was having the first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party that night and would be kicking people out around 4pm. OMG it was so fun walking into Epcot, of course I had to be randomly selected to go through the metal detector LOL I guess I looked suspicious. The decorations were up for the Food and Wine Festival, and they were beautiful.
Our original thought was to partake of all the dishes offered for the festival, but those kiosks were so busy that we just decided to have a late lunch at the Biergarten in the Germany Pavilion. I had never eaten there , so I was curious. The food was served in a buffet. I liked the beet salad, and the potato salad. The schnitzel was yummy, and the desserts were decadent. I liked the apple strudel with vanilla sauce. Disney needs to learn how to do sweet tea though LOL Now here is where people with annual passes need to be careful. For the resort we had magic bands, and with it we were using the app My Disney Experience. We had our resort reservation details, our fast passes, and dinner reservations linked to the bands. Apparently though when we went to Disney Springs and upgraded, everything was unlinked. Cue a moment of panic when I looked at the app and found everything gone. Thankfully the waitress noticed my distress, and immediately got the manager who contacted some fairy godmother, who put back all my information. Crisis averted, check paid, so off to fun. Did you know that there is a drawbridge by The Outpost? I didn't, yet twice in one day we had to wait for it to go back down.. Staci and I entertained ourselves banging on drums. Then beeline to my favorite ride. The Three Caballeros in the Mexico Pavilion. I love the Donald Duck ride. Inside is a lot like It's a Small World, but it has these beautiful fiber optic fireworks. Disney Imagineers are genius with decorating rides. The new Soarin Around the World was amazing. I will miss the orange fragrance of the California version, but the scent of the African Savannah was so real. I loved seeing the baby elephant. Journey into Imagination with Figment was so fun, We finally figured out if you bounce up and down on the squares the instrument plays a song. All of Epcot was fun, though our feet paid the price. By the end of the night my activity tracker said I had walked 20,000 steps, so we were hobbling to buses. The next morning we woke up and had Mickey Waffles LOL there is no better way to start the day than those fluffy delights. Then it was off to the Animal Kingdom. Perfect weather for just wandering around. We were not really concerned with rides, we just looked around at all the interesting decor. In the late afternoon it was back to the resort for a much needed nap. We finally stumbled out of bed, and made our way to the Magic Kingdom. It was definitely magical!!!
The Christmas decorations were so beautiful. The castle stage looked different. We found out it was because they were filming the Christmas Special in the parks. The park was very crowded, but we were rested, and we had magic hours. We used our fast passes to go on Peter Pan;s Flight, Philharmagic, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. After the parade and fireworks the parks cleared out, and that is when the fun began. We got to walk onto most rides with little to no wait. We closed the park down at 1a.m. The next morning it was time to drive back home. We were exhausted. Uneventful drive back, and then sleep. I had to go to work Friday night. I made it on time, and just out of curiousity I looked to see who I would be working with Saturday night. Surprise surprise not me. I had been taken off the schedule with no notice to me. So now I am unemployed. Walking out Saturday morning I almost cried. I know I had turned in my notice, but to be let go eight days earlier than expected, was a shock. I did not get to say goodbye to a lot of people. Five years just abruptly ended. It was a strange week, but now it is time to get ready for a whole new world LOL so I don't dare close my eyes.
Hakuna Matata :)
