Disney Vacation 2020 || Day 2, Part 1

We woke up Monday morning, ready and excited for our first park day! But first - one of my favorite things to do on our trip was greet each day with a few minutes on our balcony, taking in the sights and sounds around us. The singing and chirping of the birds, the quiet peacefulness of our resort, the Skyliner gondolas quietly floating by above the lake, the warmer but crisp fresh air before the sun was fully awake. We put in a request through our travel agent for a lake view when we made our reservations, but you're never guaranteed to have your wishes fulfilled. I was very pleased when I discovered that we received top floor, lake view rooms. The views were pretty great, and my parents were right next door.

And another one of my favorite things about our trip was our frequent walks around the lake to get to the Skyliner. Every time we took that walk, I kept thinking how I wished we could replicate it around our own backyard. ;)

Our first park stop of the trip was Epcot! We hopped aboard the Skyliner on Monday morning and admired the views on our way to the park. We could see so much of Disney from up above when riding to and from our resort. The Epcot ball, The Tower of Terror from Hollywood Studios, the spires from Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, the beautiful resorts, pools and beaches that surrounded us.

We arrived before park opening, breezed right through security and bag check, and headed straight for Frozen the ride before the line would get long. I won't go into detail about Disney ride strategy and how to beat the lines, but I feel almost like an expert at it by now so feel free to reach out if you need some planning assistance. ;)

After the first ride of our trip, we stopped for some coffee and donuts... and to feed some birds! The wildlife around Disney is so familiar and comfortable with people that the birds don't hesitate at all to come up and peck at your snacks. ;)

Epcot is known for its festivals year-round, and we happened to be there during the Festival of the Arts. We enjoyed some special art displays, live music and extra offerings while we strolled the streets of Epcot.

We enjoyed our Fast Pass reservations for Spaceship Earth, Soarin' and Mission Space. Enjoyed some lunch halfway through and took a relaxing break with a little boat ride through "Mexico."

And then before heading back to our resort late afternoon for a small break, we happened across the main Mouse, himself. By sheer luck. It's actually not that easy to meet Mickey Mouse in person as he is in high demand, you can imagine. ;) I was so happy to see him and get these pictures taken after not being able to during our 2016 trip.

I love this. It's as though he's saying, "Oh! THERE you are!"

After a pretty full day at Epcot and a quick boat ride on the Epcot lagoon, we headed back to the resort for a quick rest before continuing on with our evening.

Disney Vacation 2020 || Day 1

"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of every day.

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

and tomorrow is just a dream away."

~Carousel of Progress, Walt Disney World

Oh, how different life felt three months ago.

If you know me or my family at all, you are aware that Disney has a huge piece of our hearts (and has taken a good chunk of our money, too!) ;) Growing up, it was our number one vacation destination, and after my parents treated us to our first family trip back in 2016 - and after Cody fell just as in love with it - we decided then and there to make it a goal to visit every three years. (Really, I would go every year if I could!)

So - ever since our trip in September of 2016, we had been planning and dreaming up our next visit. It didn't hurt that the new Star Wars Land - Galaxy's Edge - was set to open shortly before our time period. In fact, we originally planned to vacation in December but when it was announced that the biggest Star Wars ride wouldn't be opening until sometime that month, we decided to push our trip back to the end of January. And I'm so glad we did! It was so nice to have something to look forward to after Christmas in the dead of winter - and it turns out, our timing couldn't have been better. The weather was gorgeous, and little did we know what we'd soon be facing after we returned home...

The hardest part and only downside of our trip was that we made the decision to leave Kaitlyn at home with Cody's mom and dad. It was the longest I've ever been away from any of my kids, and it was not easy saying goodbye to her, but I know it was the right decision. She wouldn't have been able to hang the way the rest of us did, and we would have been greatly holding the boys back had we had her tag along. She had a great week with Papa and Nana, and now we're of course busy saving up and dreaming about HER first trip in two-three years. :)

It's taken me a long time to be ready to document this vacation - but now I need to revisit these memories more than ever. I so miss being in my favorite place. The Disney bubble, the gorgeous views, the fantastic entertainment, the fun and thrilling rides. There's no place like it for me. And anyone who has done a Disney World vacation also knows that the anticipation of and the planning for the trip is almost as fun as the vacation itself! Which is why it doesn't take me long after returning home to already start making plans for the next visit. ;)

Without further adieu... Day 1!

||

We flew out of Minneapolis very early on Sunday morning after staying overnight at a hotel near the airport. We had a nonstop flight to Orlando and touched down on the ground shortly before lunch time. We immediately grabbed the complimentary Disney Express bus from the airport to our resort, Pop Century, where my Aunt Sally and Uncle Bob were there waiting for us. They live about an hour and a half from Orlando and were able to drive over to join us for the day.

Here are the boys, at our resort, looking out over the lake and admiring the Skyliner Transportation views. This was one of the main reasons we chose to stay at Pop Century. These gondola rides just opened up in the Fall and are only stationed at a few resorts so far, with plans to expand the system in the future. These were SO fun and easy and located right in our own backyard. We had views of them from our room balcony and were able to take them from our resort to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios and some neighboring resorts, as well. More fun and quicker than buses - with no lines because they are constantly moving. These were one of the biggest highlights of our trip.

Our first ride on the Skyliner! We hopped aboard with Sally and Bob to go grab lunch at the Caribbean Beach Resort, located right next to our own.

We ate outside at Caribbean Beach and enjoyed soaking up that Florida sunshine. We were blessed with 60's and 70's the entire time we were there and never had any issues with rain.

After lunch we rode the Skyliner back to our home resort, checked ourselves into our room, unpacked and explored, and then caught a bus to Disney Springs for shopping and dining that evening!

Disney Springs is a must visit for us every vacation. It's beautiful at night, has a LOT of places to eat and shop, offers outside live entertainment, and it's a great place to kick off a Disney week. I never get to spend enough time here, and I have a dream that one day I'll spend a full TWO weeks at Disney so that I can pace myself, spread out our must-do items, and have more time at the places I love the most.

Before our dining reservation, we made sure to visit the big World of Disney store, and the Lego store, while Dad was listening into the UNI basketball radio broadcast via his phone. ;) After we knew our Panthers had secured a big win, we once again met up with Sally and Bob and enjoyed dinner on the water at The Boathouse.

It was a great way to kick off a great vacation. Here in my happy place. My favorite place.

Walt, you done good.