Trip Report A Very Merry and very expensive 50th Birthday Celebration

Who: Brian and I
When: November 12-19
Where: Pop Century and Cabana Bay
Why: My 50th Birthday

Hello again everyone! My husband and I were able to make it back to Orlando again this year to celebrate my 50th birthday. I have to be honest I was not looking forward to turning 50 this year so a figured spending some time in the sun at 2 of my favourite places would help make it a lot more magical .



Our flight left at 2pm and we had a connection to catch in Ottawa. Due to the weather our flight from our home to Ottawa came in a bit late so it was a race to get to customs. When we got there they would not let us through because our luggage had not been transferred yet. I think I've mentioned before that I have really bad anxiety so I had a panic attack in the airport. It was embarrassing but I cannot control it and it can be quite scary. I was shaking and couldn't catch my breathe and trying hard to keep it together. Luckily for me Brian was able to get someone to help us with the luggage situation and they finally let us on the plane. The airline ended up holding the plane for all of the passengers that were running late so thank goodness for small miracles.

The good news is when we were at the airport in our hometown I saw someone who knows me from my job and she works for the airline we flew with so she had our tickets upgraded to 1st class on both flights! What a wonderful surprise that was for both of us.

Sunset

Menu for 1st class


We played it safe and we both got the cheese and fruit tray and I got a margarita because I really needed it .


We arrived in Orlando at 7:20pm and this is the next picture we took almost 2 hours later...


We quickly checked in, dropped off our luggage and hopped on a bus to Disney Springs to get a late dinner at Polite Pig.


After a delicious meal we did a little shopping until 11pm and then it was time to head back to Pop to unpack and get some sleep.
We really wanted these 2 decorations but they definitely would not fit in our luggage .

 

[Beastly74]

We stopped to ride The Mummy (no picture) before heading back to Diagon Alley because we wanted to catch the dragon breathing fire. I would have liked to try some more ice-cream but I had a chill because my clothes were still damp. We grabbed a hot butterbeer and then looked around a couple shops while we waited.






Then we caught the Hogwart's train again because we wanted to ride Velocicoaster and Hagrid's. However the wait time for one was 40 minutes and the other was 20 minutes and because of the noise bylaw they both closed at midnight so we did not have enough time to ride both. So we split up and I rode Hagrid's by myself and Mike and Brian were able to ride Velocicoaster twice. Sorry no pictures of either. All of the rides were walk-ons except for those 2 all night.

After we met back up for a late night meal at Thunder Falls Terrace,

Brian and Mike got the ribs and chicken meal and I just got some corn and potatoes.


We couldn't decide what to do next until Mike mentioned he would like another butterbeer so off we went back to Hogsmeade again. I lost track of how many he drank in the 2 nights - I think he almost got his money's worth of butterbeers though . If I drank that much I would have spent the event visiting the different bathrooms.
Since we were in the area we ended the night with another ride in Hogwart's castle.



Before we left we grabbed some snacks and Gatorade from the kiosks for breakfast the next morning (included in the price). It was another amazing night and we had a great time. It was noticeably busier Saturday compared to Friday but still a lot of fun.

Total steps for the day - 29,062.

 

[Beastly74]

Sunday, Nov 17th - My official 50th birthday

We slept in again because we did not have any plans until later in the afternoon. We decided to go shopping at CityWalk to get something for Brian's mother for Christmas. She is a big Harry Potter fan so we got her a blanket and a few smaller items from the franchise. Mike had to return something to Walmart so we met back up later. The only picture I have of our shopping expedition is a coffee from Starbucks .


It was another beautiful sunny day and it felt amazing. A perfect day for a leisurely stroll back to our resort. It is really a beautiful walk and only about 20-25 minutes.



I loved looking at all the flowers and greenery because by November we don't see any of that here until April/May.





Mike was waiting for us back at the resort and we quickly got ready for our next adventure.

I like the palm trees in the lobby.

 

[Beastly74]

We stopped for dinner at Polite Pig (again) in Disney Springs. Brian and Mike got the open faced turkey smash (a turkey dinner served on bread) and I got my usual - the salmon. Everyone loved their meals.

It looks a little gross but they said it was delicious. Brian had it last year too.


Then we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom Christmas party. Great way to celebrate turning half a century .



Crooked castle but cool picture.

And we are finally in the park. I forget sometimes how much longer it takes to get in the park when you are not staying on property. I think it was almost 5pm when we got to MK.






It was another sold out party but that is okay we were excited to start our night.