Disney Jan 2018 ~ Disney’s Hollywood Studios

We enjoyed a slower, quieter start to our day on Thursday.  We spent some time walking around Pop as we waited for the Hippy Dippy pool to open at 10:00am.  As you can see, there wasn’t a long line at the gate when it opened!  Crazy Canadian’s swimming in January in 16^oC/60^oF weather!

Hannah had the entire pool to herself for about 10 mins and then a few kids joined her.  I want to take this time to say how absolutely impressed I am with the care and dedication that Disney requires of their life guards.  What you’ll see here happens every single second that their pools are open.  Hannah is the only person in the pool yet all 3 guards are 100% focused on their section of the pool and constantly monitoring their section.  When another life guard comes on duty you will watch them diligently walk back and forth in the section they are taking over while the current life guard continues to do the same.  They give one another an all clear sign and the old guard moves to their new section and does the same.  it gives such confidence to the parents as their children are swimming.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long as we had a brunch reservation later in the morning but she enjoyed the bit of swim. 

After her swim we got ready for the day and made our way to the Contemporary Resort to go to Chef Mickey’s for brunch.  This is one of Hannah’s favourite places to eat so it’s on our list each trip.   Meeting the Fab 5!






When you leave your phone on the table when you go to grab more food, your daughter may take advantage of that and snap adorable selfies of herself with her dessert!

After lunch we headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS) for the remainder of the day. 

DHS is a park under a lot of renovations right now so we knew we didn’t need a full day there. 

Next time it will be a new story as Toy Story Land is opening on June 30th and we’re super excited to check it out on our next trip!!!

For this trip we visited some old favourites and met a new one too.  Hannah was excited to meet BB8 although I think she might have been a little star struck when she did.

We enjoyed a quieter afternoon of shows and rides.  After riding Star Tours Hannah wanted to use her money to add to her little droid collection.

Something Hannah enjoys at DHS is the Peanut Butter and Jelly milkshake that is found at the 50’s Prime Time Café.  She talks about these year round so it’s on her must-do snack list each time we visit DHS.
 
As our day drew to a close we took a walk down Sunset Blvd.  One of the carts was closing up for the day and giving away their extra stock.  We enjoyed a free churro thanks to this generous Cast Member.

We continued down the street and rode Rock ‘n Roller Coaster before finishing up our day with a couple of rides on Toy Story Mania.  (Another great touring tip is to get in line for popular rides close to park closing.  Even though the posted wait time for TSM was 50+ minutes, we got in ride at 7:25 and rode it twice before the park closed!  As long as you are in line before the park closes you get to ride)
One our way out of the park we found one of these great water drawings on the ground that was created using a broom and dustpan of water!  I love these little gems that you find at Disney that make us smile!

Good night Mickey and Minnie!  See you at Epcot tomorrow!

Disney 2014, Day 9 (Magic Kingdom)

(Sunday, September 28, 2014)

Sadly the day arrived all too quickly that we had to say goodbye to Uncle Dave, Auntie Trish and their family as well as Bonnie, Paul and their family.  They arrived a day before us and went home the day before Hannah and I.  I think Kallen was the only kiddo with a big smile that morning.

Sharing some last moments together before we all went our separate ways.

Once we’d said goodbye Hannah and I headed back to our room and prepared to go to the Magic Kingdom.

Hannah had been saving her money for months and today she purchased a couple of treats for herself.  A charm bracelet

plus an Anna and Elsa flip-flop doll.

This was another day that was toasty hot and humid.  Hannah was sprinkled with a little Pixie Dust in the heat of the afternoon when these 2 cast members walked up to us and asked if they could give her a frozen lemonade!  It was really neat for her to receive some Disney Magic when she’d helped me share our extra food credits and sprinkle pixie dust on others less than 24 hours earlier!

We had a FP+ booked for Seven Dwarfs and were able to snag another one at the kiosk so we rode it 2 more times.  What a great ride!!

We rode as many rides as we could possibly fit in that day before leaving the park for the final time this trip.  We made our way to the Contemporary Resort to dine with Mickey and friends.

We rode an articulated bus back to our resort which was my own moment of Disney Magic.  As we waited for our bus to arrive I asked the gentleman assisting at the bus stop for our resort what the chances were that we would get an articulated  bus?  I had seen these new buses at our resort all week but not yet had an opportunity to ride one.

He smiled at me, walked about 200’ feet away to talk to someone and then came back.  He found me in line and said,  ‘I think you’re going to get your wish!’  Sure enough, a couple of minutes later an articulated bus drove up to take us back to our resort.  Fun!  These busses are neat and were new to Disney since the last time we’d been there.  They sure hold a lot of people and the ride is really smooth!

The skies reflected my heart as we returned to our resort.  Oh my can it rain in Florida!!!  By the time it stopped I was walking in water over the top of my sandals  most of the way to our room!

Yes, when we reached the room, in spite of walking through the rain and her legs getting wet outside the stroller hood Hannah was in a deep sweet sleep. 

Why was her sleep sweet?  Because she knew that Mommy and Auntie Trish had already booked next year’s September trip together, once again taking advantage of Disney’s Free Dining Bounceback Offer!  (A  bounceback offer is one you can book prior to checking out.  If you’re staying at a Disney resort, be sure to find out what’s being offered when you’re there.  This offer will save Hannah and I over $800 on our 10 day trip next year!!)

Yes, we love Disney and I hope these posts have given you a little glimpse why it’s our vacation destination over and over….and over again!

If there is anything you’d like to know about Disney or have questions, feel free to post them here and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Have a Magical Day!!

Disney 2013, Day 9, Part I: Epcot

All too quickly our final day of fun at the parks was upon us.  I had purchased Annual Passes for Hannah and I on the first day of our trip in 2012 and now at midnight tonight those would expire.  365 days of fun and for us, we’ve got our moneys worth for sure!  Purchasing APs is not for everyone and in years to come it probably won’t be cost effective for us either but now while she’s young and we visit Disney at least twice a year, they are the best answer and we’ve enjoyed having them!
Our day began with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.  This character meal is special to me as it reminds me of the very first time Hannah met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto back in April of 2010 when she was just 13 months old!
2010 @ 13 months old
2013

Kisses from Minnie and spotting Donald

I love this picture of Hannah and Nana sharing a special moment!

Nana and Josh scanning their MagicBands.  Lurved these!!  Do you have any questions about the MagicBands?  I’d be happy to answer any you might have.  We’re super excited about this improvement to our Disney vacations!
Check out the awesome car they created for their Test Track ride!
The Figment ride is a favourite of Hannah’s and then she mailed her Figment home to Grandpa and Grandma.
I was able to capture a little bit of Hannah’s excitement as she enjoyed Soarin’.  I love how she experiences this ride and all rides with her entire being!  Oh the innocence and fun of children!

We stopped at the Canada Pavilion and took some pictures together.  Tor had chosen to spend the day at the resort so unfortunately she was missing at this point.
Daniel and his ‘Grandma Sid’  (LOL!  Sharon had many names that week depending on which kiddo was calling her!  She was Grandma Sid, Grandma and Nana as she shares special relationships with each of the kiddos!)
Josh and Grandma
Precious friends!  Love you friend!  Let’s do this again in November, okay? 
Mommy and her amazing, wonderful, precious girl!
Sadly…all good things must come to an end.  Shortly after this our two groups went our separate ways as Hannah and I headed for a supper reservation and the others went back to the resort to pack for an early Sunday am departure.
We love you Nana, Daniel, Tor and Josh!  We had a great time sharing this vacation with you and all the wonderful memories we created together!!!