Disney World Post #2 - Star Wars Mania!

WARNING: STAR WARS OVERLOAD

Our little one is a bit Star Wars obsessed. I'm not sure where it came from or how it reached this far, but she loves everything Star Wars, maybe with the exception of Kylo Ren; depending on her mood, he seems to scare her.

On Day 2, we made our way to Hollywood Studios. Filled with excitement and anticipation, we had a day planned with ALOT of Star Wars activities, along with a few Fast Pass selections; Sing Along with Elsa and Anna, The Great Movie Ride and a Disney JR Character dining event (lunch) at Hollywood & Vine.

A few things about the pictures below:

• Meet & greet with Kylo Ren: he remained in character, definitely not friendly or welcoming, which is why he is standing so far away from us. I was also chased out of the meet & greet by him as I was taking pictures on our way out. He raised his hand, we got scared and ran out laughing. 
• Star Wars- The Adventure Continues, a great ride! Our scenario played out as if we were in the Millennium Falcon. I was fearful Autumn would get scared or cry, but she LOVED it. I, on the other hand, became nauseous. 
• Jedi Training - Trials of the Temple - this experience was something Autumn had been waiting for, for a very long time. She battled the Seventh Sister, and used her force on Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. This little is serious about her force, she truly believes she has the force, sometimes using it on her daddy.  
• Build your own Droid: customized by Autumn, she named him/her "JOYED the Droid." 
• I added new Mickey ears to my collection; C-3PO, now with a total of 3. 

Disney World Post #1 - Disney World Polynesian Resort and Spirit of Aloha Luau Dinner Show!

Our fourth trip to Disney World, we celebrated Autumn's 5th Birthday. Our girl turned the BIG 5! We stayed at the Disney World Polynesian Resort, it happened by accident, but a good accident I might add. We opted for the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, but at the time of booking, there was no availability. This will mark our third Disney World resort we've stayed at. Last year we resided at the Port Orleans - Riverside, you can view our trip/photos here, and in 2013 we stayed at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. We like to stay on Disney Property due to the many conveniences and benefits. Trips to Disney World can get chaotic and tiring, especially when traveling with children, for us, the resorts have provided faster and easy access to the parks with MANY additional perks!

• Disney World's Magical Express; before our trip began, DW sent luggage tags via mail. When we arrived to the Orlando Airport (MCO), all we had do was scan our Magic Bands, hop on the Magical Express bus and head to our resort, avoiding baggage claim. Upon arrival, our luggage is automatically sent to our room. The buses are large, air conditioned and quite luxurious. There are TV's to keep the children/adults entertained on the way to the resort. 

• Magic Bands. Magic Bands are genius, really, THEY ARE. Magic bands are your wallet, your resort room key, the master key to EVERYTHING Disney World. Anything and everything pertaining to your trip is linked into those magic bands. Magic Bands are your ticket entrance to all parks and rides, they also contain fast pass access, which if you stay in a Disney Resort, you get 60 day prior access to start making Fast Pass reservations. Magic Bands are water proof, so you can have them on you at all times. We never carried our wallets, money, ID's or debit/credit cards, we used our Magic Bands to pay for everything. Disney World will deliver your magic bands to your house about 30 days prior, via mail also. Photos taken at DW can also be linked via the My Photo Pass. 

• Monorail/Transportation: Staying at the DW resorts, transportation is always readily available, and with staying at the Polynesian resort, we had access to the Monorail from the resort, which was convenient to accessing Magic Kingdom, Epcot and other resorts close by; The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and the Contemporary resort.

• Guests staying at certain Disney World resorts also have the benefit of enjoying EXTRA MAGIC hours to certain parks.  

Our first day was a "chill" day, the calm before the DW chaos. We arrived before noon, had lunch, took a short nap, enjoyed the pool and later attended the Spirit of Aloha Luau Dinner Show at the Polynesian resort. We spent a total of 6 days at Disney World, so we made sure we had at least one or two relax/chill/pool days, which I would HIGHLY recommend! 

The Spirit of Aloha Luau Dinner Show was everything I had hoped and anticipated, if not more. I reserved a few months prior as this would be Autumn's birthday dinner. The food was amazing! Entertainment was great and interactive! We had Category 2 seats, and we were seated in front of the stage. Our original reservation was for the 5:10 dinner show, but since our luggage had not arrived, the resort changed our reservation to the 8 o'clock showing. No big deal! I thought it worked out better for the night showing; a better showcase of the fire dancers. We were educated on the various dances, languages and cultures from the different Islands. Autumn and Re were brought up to the stage and there was also a moment for couples to share a slow dance together, we took advantage. 

Day 2, we made reservations for the Lilo and Stitch character breakfast in Ohana. Many of the dining experiences at Disney World are "all you care to eat," so food continues to be served until you've had enough. Along with Lilo and Stitch, Mickey and Pluto also make an appearance. Autumn really enjoyed the characters, she fell in love with Stitch. 

We definitely indulged in a lot of the food/drink areas around the resort; Pineapple Lanai, Captain Cooks, Ohana, Kona Cafe, Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, and the Barefoot Pool Bar. The tropical atmosphere was serene and exotic; you definitely get the "island/tropical" feel of everything, its almost as if you are on an island. 

I've shared a few photos from the Resort and Dining experiences. I will have another post soon with pictures from the Parks, characters, and of course: Star Wars Mania!

Photos Below:
DW Polynesian Resort 

Spirit of Aloha Luau Dinner Show

A Memorable 2015!

The New Year feelings of aspiration and hope are contagious. I am not big on making New Year resolutions, I actually try to steer clear of the whole “New Year, New Me” cliché. I strive to continue to grow and uplift myself throughout the year; lessons are learned, travel always a must, and fitness & health remains consistent, but something about this year has definitely taught me a lot about ME, and I’ve stumbled upon the conclusion that there are a few things I want to center my focus on. I want to first and foremost thank you for visiting my Blog and wish you an amazing 2016! Thank you.

Relationships.

As we get older, our relationships, whether family or friends or even co-workers , fulfill a large chunk of our time, and energy. Many situations this year have shed light on how much effort I put into my relationships.  I found that I tend to give more of myself than what I will inevitably get in return. As I type this, it all sounds very selfish, that I should enforce myself to asking this very question: would this person do the same for me? I will seek to question, along with test myself when it comes to not only my efforts, but the people around me.  The blame is simply aimed towards me, only I can control what I will and will not do. I can’t dwell on the actions of others, perhaps they are smarter for not putting forth the effort. Someone said to me this year “You do too much.” At first I felt offended and somewhat confused, but as those words continue to echo in my head, I’ve come realize the accuracy in that statement. I am thankful for it. Relationships are about give and take, and sometimes we have to evaluate when we may be giving too much. Of course all of this does not pertain to Re or Autumn; my time, energy, & every ounce of me are always automatic for them. My balance, core; my sanity in this chaotic and busy world, are how I would describe Re and Autumn.  I found that in order for me to remain well balanced, ALL energy and efforts should always stay with them first. Everything and everyone else remain second. This is something I will keep in mind as I stride into 2016.

Health/Fitness

Fitness is a consistent entity in our life. I hope to continue our journey to becoming the best we can be. In 2015, I added weight lifting to my regiment, I am excited about what the future holds. My running has progressed and advanced. Balance is definitely the key. 

Travel.

Travel allows you to gain and increase perspective on life. Travel creates an opening, an exit from the small box in which we live every day. I feel travel is extremely pertinent to our growth as individuals.  We have done our fair share of traveling this year; the year of journeys I’d like to call it. A lot has happened these past couple of months, I almost feel like I’ve opened my eyes to a lot of things going on around me, even with the people in my life; family & friends, hence the "relationships" section of this blog. I feel travel plays an important factor in my realization, along with knowledge, maturity and possibly an increase in age as well.  2015 was a great year for travel. Within 365 days, we managed to travel to Thailand, China, California, Chicago, Disney World, Alabama/Florida, Tennessee/Kentucky. The bar was set and I am hoping 2016 is at least half of what this year was for us in terms of travel. We have a few places in mind; Atlanta in March, Disney World again in May and hoping for an international trip in the Fall. 2015 proved that a lot can happen within a year. 

Happy Thanksgiving!