Hello, everyone!
As many of you know (and for those that don't), earlier this month, I surprised my niece with a week long trip to Walt Disney World! This plan had been about 8 months in the making, and man, did it feel great to finally let her in on it. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't come dangerously close to spilling the beans a few times, but I'm SO glad that I didn't; being able to see the sheer joy and shock that swept across that girl's face was worth more than anything in the world!
As a brief recap:
Who: Myself (D) and my niece (S)
Where: Originally scheduled: AKL; Actual resort: keep reading to find out!
When: July 8th to July 14th
Why: My niece's 12th birthday plus just because she deserved it
Travel Day:
With pup all squared away to be spoiled, my niece and I got everything ready the night before; laid out our clothes, placed bags at the door, etc., and set alarms for 4:00 AM, 4:15 AM, and 4:30 AM, which would give us plenty of time to reach the airport for our 7AM flight...except that they never went off...
I just so happened to roll over at 5:03 only to give myself a mini heart attack. After bursting into my guest room and sufficiently scaring the %^$# out of my niece, we somehow managed to be downstairs and in the Uber by 5:30! While the street traffic Gods were on our side, we, of course, came to a complete standstill once we turned onto the ramp for our terminal; getting to the doors just in time for the agent to tell us that bag checking for our flight had finished, and that we would not be able to board.
(literally me in front of the curbside bag check person)
*To divert for a second, my niece is, without question, the greatest kid I know. Like myself(my hands we shaking like leaves at this point), she suffers from anxiety, and there was no convincing me that I hadn't "ruined everything" by over sleeping. My wonderful, thoughtful, and amazing niece, who always thinks of those around her, gives me the biggest hug, and says "Auntie, we're here and we'll figure it out!"
There's no doubt in my mind that she was panicking as well, but she put her feelings aside to make me feel better. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?
*
Shoutout to Delta Airlines, because after a few deep breaths, they happily rebooked us on the next flight out (about two hours later) free of charge. Someone out there was really looking out for us, because once we breezed through TSA (pro tip- if you're traveling with a child under 13, and you have TSA pre-check, they automatically do as well), we got to our gate, only to discover that there was both a Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts directly across from our gate, and neither had a long line
!
By the time we got our breakfast and walked the length of our area (I don't know what it's called where all of the gates are lined up) to finish calm down, it was time for boarding! While we were technically on stand-by, and waiting for them to call you up to gate for a seat assignment is worse than waiting for college acceptance letters, the lovely gate agents quickly got us two neighboring seats with no one in the middle!
Continuing the trend of having a guardian angel, the flight attendant must've seen the stress on my face, because throughout the course of the flight, he proceeded to bring me two of these; stating that he could tell I needed them
:
By noon, the Uber was pulling up to baggage claim, and we were on our way! Like some people advised, I put a note into the Uber request for the driver not to mention Disney since it was a surprise. He adorably responded with concern that she might figure it out when we go to the sign. Yes, kind sir, that was the plan. Thankfully, S was nose-deep in her phone for most of the car ride, and I pretended to be answering work emails; as we approached the sign, the adorable driver "stealthily" cleared his throat to let me know. It was then that I asked S to look out of the window to check which exit we were getting off of.
You guys...this kid did the most hilarious double take I've ever seen, and then screamed "WHAT?! WAIT...WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!!" all while she, myself, AND the Uber driver fought back happy tears!
Our original Disney home was set to be Animal Kingdom Lodge, and as much as I LOVE it there, I made a last minute switch (one that would work out to our advantage many times this trip; gotta love that Monorail access) to what it is truly my favorite resort. As it turns out, an old family friend works for Disney, heard about the trip, and just before leaving my sister in law's baby shower, gave me the option of upgrading to the Polynesian at no additional cost. Once I managed to get over the utter shock of what she'd just said, I fervently said YES and thanked her profusely! My last trip to WDW was seven years ago, when I took another of the tiny humans in my family, so to pull up in front of the Poly again, mixed with the pleasure of seeing S take it all in filled me with an array of happy emotions and memories that I won't ever forget
.
No room ready text just yet, so we dropped our bags off, and did some exploring. Frankly, I don't care how many times I've been here, this place never fails to take my breath away. Especially after having gone to Aulani earlier this year, I have to say that Poly really captures the vibes perfectly!
Once the adrenaline had officially worn off from the day's hectic events, we headed to Captain Cook's for lunch (I am the absolute worst at remembering to take pics of my food, so I apologize for the lack thereof). While my order was blasphemous for a place like Captain (I'm not officially in Disney until I've had chicken tenders and fries. Yes, I know, you can get them literally everywhere, but it was always what my Nana and I split as our first lunch at Disney, so it is a tradition that I will continue for the rest of my life), S, on the other hand, after looking at me like I was nuts, got the Aloha Pork Sandwich; "crazy good" as she referred to it. As luck would have it, our room was ready right after lunch, but we weren't done exploring this oasis (and the Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai was calling our names
). After indulging our eyes and stomachs, we headed to the room to get settled in for the week. I gave her the rest of her birthday gift, which was a beach bag filled with a new water bottle, Moana ears (when I tell you that this kid is the spitting image of Moana, I'm not even joking), a MagicBand+, and her half of the somewhat matching shirts that we wore to Magic Kingdom(the black one is my half).
Since we were arriving late, I pushed back our dinner reservation at Maya Grill while we were still in the airport, and thank goodness I did, because it would be another few hours before we were hungry again. Once we finished relaxing in the room, we decided to take a Lyft over to Coronado and walk around the property until dinner. This was my first time being back since the tower was finished, and I have to say, it looks great. Somehow, I always forget how beautiful the views are from this place until I'm actually there, and it is now the next resort on S's list of places to stay. After our stroll, we headed to the restaurant, and wow, did they not disappoint! I consider myself a bit of a Mexican food "snob", as I grew up eating very authentic Mexican, and am now located geographically close to the country itself; making crossing the border for a great meal quite easy. From start to finish, Maya Grill was a thumbs up for both S and myself. There was live music being performed at the perfect volume, with an excellent mix of Disney and cultural classics. There was a nice variety of cocktails to choose from, and I went with the Prickly Pear margarita; so good. The guacamole was fresh and flavorful, the salsa roja was amazing, and my chicken enchiladas were very good. S had the fish tacos and just about licked her plate. For dessert, she had the Mexican Chocolate Lava cake, and I the Tres Leche, and both were amazing. I know this place is off the radar for a lot of people, but I'd suggest giving it a try.
S insisted that we walk around CSR a little more, because, as I would come to learn on this trip, selfies at different times of the day are very important,
but after about 30ish minutes, I called an end to the photo shoot, and was ordering the ride home. It had been a LONG day, and we (meaning I) had to be up extra early to make my first ever attempt at snagging a popular attraction Lightning Lane at 7 AM.
As many of you know (and for those that don't), earlier this month, I surprised my niece with a week long trip to Walt Disney World! This plan had been about 8 months in the making, and man, did it feel great to finally let her in on it. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't come dangerously close to spilling the beans a few times, but I'm SO glad that I didn't; being able to see the sheer joy and shock that swept across that girl's face was worth more than anything in the world!
As a brief recap:
Who: Myself (D) and my niece (S)
Where: Originally scheduled: AKL; Actual resort: keep reading to find out!
When: July 8th to July 14th
Why: My niece's 12th birthday plus just because she deserved it
Travel Day:
With pup all squared away to be spoiled, my niece and I got everything ready the night before; laid out our clothes, placed bags at the door, etc., and set alarms for 4:00 AM, 4:15 AM, and 4:30 AM, which would give us plenty of time to reach the airport for our 7AM flight...except that they never went off...
I just so happened to roll over at 5:03 only to give myself a mini heart attack. After bursting into my guest room and sufficiently scaring the %^$# out of my niece, we somehow managed to be downstairs and in the Uber by 5:30! While the street traffic Gods were on our side, we, of course, came to a complete standstill once we turned onto the ramp for our terminal; getting to the doors just in time for the agent to tell us that bag checking for our flight had finished, and that we would not be able to board.
*To divert for a second, my niece is, without question, the greatest kid I know. Like myself(my hands we shaking like leaves at this point), she suffers from anxiety, and there was no convincing me that I hadn't "ruined everything" by over sleeping. My wonderful, thoughtful, and amazing niece, who always thinks of those around her, gives me the biggest hug, and says "Auntie, we're here and we'll figure it out!"
There's no doubt in my mind that she was panicking as well, but she put her feelings aside to make me feel better. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?
*Shoutout to Delta Airlines, because after a few deep breaths, they happily rebooked us on the next flight out (about two hours later) free of charge. Someone out there was really looking out for us, because once we breezed through TSA (pro tip- if you're traveling with a child under 13, and you have TSA pre-check, they automatically do as well), we got to our gate, only to discover that there was both a Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts directly across from our gate, and neither had a long line
By the time we got our breakfast and walked the length of our area (I don't know what it's called where all of the gates are lined up) to finish calm down, it was time for boarding! While we were technically on stand-by, and waiting for them to call you up to gate for a seat assignment is worse than waiting for college acceptance letters, the lovely gate agents quickly got us two neighboring seats with no one in the middle!
Continuing the trend of having a guardian angel, the flight attendant must've seen the stress on my face, because throughout the course of the flight, he proceeded to bring me two of these; stating that he could tell I needed them
: By noon, the Uber was pulling up to baggage claim, and we were on our way! Like some people advised, I put a note into the Uber request for the driver not to mention Disney since it was a surprise. He adorably responded with concern that she might figure it out when we go to the sign. Yes, kind sir, that was the plan. Thankfully, S was nose-deep in her phone for most of the car ride, and I pretended to be answering work emails; as we approached the sign, the adorable driver "stealthily" cleared his throat to let me know. It was then that I asked S to look out of the window to check which exit we were getting off of.
You guys...this kid did the most hilarious double take I've ever seen, and then screamed "WHAT?! WAIT...WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!!" all while she, myself, AND the Uber driver fought back happy tears!
Our original Disney home was set to be Animal Kingdom Lodge, and as much as I LOVE it there, I made a last minute switch (one that would work out to our advantage many times this trip; gotta love that Monorail access) to what it is truly my favorite resort. As it turns out, an old family friend works for Disney, heard about the trip, and just before leaving my sister in law's baby shower, gave me the option of upgrading to the Polynesian at no additional cost. Once I managed to get over the utter shock of what she'd just said, I fervently said YES and thanked her profusely! My last trip to WDW was seven years ago, when I took another of the tiny humans in my family, so to pull up in front of the Poly again, mixed with the pleasure of seeing S take it all in filled me with an array of happy emotions and memories that I won't ever forget
.No room ready text just yet, so we dropped our bags off, and did some exploring. Frankly, I don't care how many times I've been here, this place never fails to take my breath away. Especially after having gone to Aulani earlier this year, I have to say that Poly really captures the vibes perfectly!
Once the adrenaline had officially worn off from the day's hectic events, we headed to Captain Cook's for lunch (I am the absolute worst at remembering to take pics of my food, so I apologize for the lack thereof). While my order was blasphemous for a place like Captain (I'm not officially in Disney until I've had chicken tenders and fries. Yes, I know, you can get them literally everywhere, but it was always what my Nana and I split as our first lunch at Disney, so it is a tradition that I will continue for the rest of my life), S, on the other hand, after looking at me like I was nuts, got the Aloha Pork Sandwich; "crazy good" as she referred to it. As luck would have it, our room was ready right after lunch, but we weren't done exploring this oasis (and the Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai was calling our names
). After indulging our eyes and stomachs, we headed to the room to get settled in for the week. I gave her the rest of her birthday gift, which was a beach bag filled with a new water bottle, Moana ears (when I tell you that this kid is the spitting image of Moana, I'm not even joking), a MagicBand+, and her half of the somewhat matching shirts that we wore to Magic Kingdom(the black one is my half).Since we were arriving late, I pushed back our dinner reservation at Maya Grill while we were still in the airport, and thank goodness I did, because it would be another few hours before we were hungry again. Once we finished relaxing in the room, we decided to take a Lyft over to Coronado and walk around the property until dinner. This was my first time being back since the tower was finished, and I have to say, it looks great. Somehow, I always forget how beautiful the views are from this place until I'm actually there, and it is now the next resort on S's list of places to stay. After our stroll, we headed to the restaurant, and wow, did they not disappoint! I consider myself a bit of a Mexican food "snob", as I grew up eating very authentic Mexican, and am now located geographically close to the country itself; making crossing the border for a great meal quite easy. From start to finish, Maya Grill was a thumbs up for both S and myself. There was live music being performed at the perfect volume, with an excellent mix of Disney and cultural classics. There was a nice variety of cocktails to choose from, and I went with the Prickly Pear margarita; so good. The guacamole was fresh and flavorful, the salsa roja was amazing, and my chicken enchiladas were very good. S had the fish tacos and just about licked her plate. For dessert, she had the Mexican Chocolate Lava cake, and I the Tres Leche, and both were amazing. I know this place is off the radar for a lot of people, but I'd suggest giving it a try.
S insisted that we walk around CSR a little more, because, as I would come to learn on this trip, selfies at different times of the day are very important,
but after about 30ish minutes, I called an end to the photo shoot, and was ordering the ride home
. It had been a LONG day, and we (meaning I) had to be up extra early to make my first ever attempt at snagging a popular attraction Lightning Lane at 7 AM. Attachments
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). With just under 12 hours to kill, relaxation would be the name of the game; after we finished packing, we made our way to Kona Cafe for some goodbye breakfast (Breakfast platter and Liliko'i Mimosa for me/Tonga Toast and Moana Smoothie for S). Whomever came up with the idea of putting macadamia nuts in a pancake deserves a medal and a holiday, because WOW, was it good.
