Trip Report The Happiest Birthday on Earth!

Our last trip was February 2023 - an amazing first trip as a family of three!

It was SUCH a great trip and we had so many amazing memories made together.

We decided our next trip would be right before Nora's 3rd birthday, December of 2024. We even booked right away as soon as we could! Art of Animation family suite from December 1st - December 7th of 2024.

Okay so... now what? We have to wait THAT LONG to go again?

Fast forward to late September of this year. Work was hard. Parenting was hard. Ian looks at me and says, "wouldn't it be cool to go to Disney just us for your birthday?" I mean... YEAH, DUH. But was it possible?! My birthday is November 7th!

We crunch some numbers. I am not typically an All-Star Resorts type of girly, but at just over a $100 a night.. this just might work. Now for flights. Somehow roundtrip flights from Boston to MCO are looking achievable.

Okay. Now what about the little 21-month-old who we are not going to haul down to Florida for a two-night trip? Quick call to my mom and she is on board to watch her!

Sorry Nora - you'll be back in 2024!

So, buckle up for a whirlwind 2-night trip for my birthday. It was everything I could've asked for!!

 

[k8einwdw]

First!

Also…

We even booked right away as soon as we could! Art of Animation family suite from December 1st - December 7th of 2024.

I may know some people that will be there at the same time.

 

[Tuvalu]

 

[Seagull59]

So excited to hear about your trip!!

 

[cgersic]

Oh my goodness!! What a great last minute trip of fun!! Can't wait to read all about it.

 

[Swissmiss]

 

[Minnie1986]

Following along!!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

How great to spend your birthday in the World. Looking forward to reading this.

 

[littleroo]

Happy belated birthday!! Following!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

So fun! I'm following along!

 

[annienevells]

First!

Also…


I may know some people that will be there at the same time.

maybe a meetup with the littles in our future?!

So excited to hear about your trip!!

Oh my goodness!! What a great last minute trip of fun!! Can't wait to read all about it.

View attachment 753952

Following along!!

How great to spend your birthday in the World. Looking forward to reading this.

Happy belated birthday!! Following!

Thank you all! let's get started!

 

[annienevells]

Reminders:

Who: Me (your helpful TR guide) and my husband Ian

(left behind was Nora Bea - who is turning two on NYE. HOW?!)

When: November 6-8 2023

Where: All Star Sports, with just one day at MK!

Okay... here we go!

Monday, November 6th

We had booked at 7 AM nonstop flight out of Boston (about 1.5 hours from our house in Maine), so had to leave pretty early just before 4 AM. My dad dropped my mom off to stay with Nora and picked us up to head to Logan.

We made sure Magic Bands were secured first!

We made good time getting to the airport and soon we were checked in and headed through security. The line seemed REALLY long for that early in the morning, even for Boston, but I soon determined the cause.

Just a hard-working good boy doing his job to keep us safe!

Once through security we did the thing we simply cannot avoid doing - we walked all the way to our gate to make sure it still existed Once that was accomplished, we headed to grab some breakfast.

And since this really was the start of my birthday... I figured that I deserved pizza for breakfast!

No photo but Ian had a breakfast sandwich... how reasonable.

Boarding was underway once we returned to our gate, though that was not stressful for us with our basic economy seats. We were not even seated next to each other!

The flight itself was straightforward. No delays or issues and we both (rows apart) slept most of the time.

Before long we had arrived in Florida!

Time for our first ride...

Joined by our flight crew

We waited for our checked bag (no carry on allowed in basic economy) and requested an Uber. We ended up getting one pretty quickly and were heading toward the World!

Our driver was fine but he didn't get the memo to slow down by the sign lol I tried my best at a photo!

On our journey, we received our room ready text at only 11 AM - score! We were hoping for a swim and a snack and this made it that much easier to achieve.

Ian's first impression (his first time at an All Star resort) "doesn't seem too different from Pop Century"

 

[annienevells]

We headed in, snapping pictures along the way.

Our first order of business - my birthday pin!

I was so happy I got it because everyone really went out of their way to wish me a happy birthday the whole trip. It just made it extra special!

We grabbed a couple refillable mugs and pretzels to curb our appetites.

We grabbed a table outside to enjoy and while we were getting settled a CM came by with a cupcake and wished me a happy birthday! The magic has already begun

We enjoyed the snack and the WARMTH (it was in the 20s at home) and felt the bubble of being back in our happy place return.

While Ian refilled his drink I took some photos. This was my first time at Sports, I have stayed at both Movies and Music but this was a first for me.

 

[annienevells]

It was time to head to our room. We were assigned Center Court 4, which felt far away on the map but wasn't too bad once we figured out the route.

We found some friends out along the way!

Donald gave Goofy the boot

And insisted on a solo shot with the birthday girl

See the finger in the selfie? It was Goofy being... goofy LOL

We both walked away from the interaction giggling like kids. Such a fun way to kick off this little trip!

Time to check out our room.

You've all seen it before, but here's a couple to set the scene

We got changed into our swimsuits IMMEDIATELY and headed off to the pool

 

[rshell68]

Can't wait to read more!!

I love that they have characters at all the resorts now!

 

[Katiekitten]

Following along I can't wait to hear about it, as if Nora is almost 2!

 

[k8einwdw]

We waited for our checked bag (no carry on allowed in basic economy)

That is wild!

That character interaction was too cute! I love that they have characters popping up at the resorts more frequently now!

 

[annienevells]

I took a bunch of pictures on the way over to the pool.

I sent a bunch to my SIL because I thought my 7 and 4 year old nephews would actually love it here.

I was loving this section until I realized it was the smoking area

Just a happy girl - and yes I put my birthday button on my swim cover up

The pool area was relatively quiet and the poolside games for kids just getting kicked off.

I read for a while while Ian sunbathed. I finished this book before we left - It's called Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam.

We took quite a few dips in the pool. it felt SO AMAZING after such a cold morning back home in Maine.

Ian headed back to our room around 230 to shower and I read a bit more while we did so. I went and grabbed some chicken tenders for us to share because our dinner reservation at GF Cafe wasn't until 545

Note another cupcake? Some more birthday pixie dust!

After I got showered up, we headed out to grab a bus to MK.

We didn't wait long before our chariot was arrving!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Happy Belated Birthday! Glad you could spend a few days at Disney!

 

[annienevells]

Where were we?

Ah right, arriving at MK to catch a boat!

This was my first time EVER in all my years of WDW trips coming when there was any type of Christmas decor. Ian's too, of course! That was actually the entire reason we booked our 2024 family trip for the first week of December, but it was nice to get a sneak preview just us two!

Before heading over to the boat, Ian asked me to sit down with him and just take it all in. We just quietly sat and held hands and appreciated this special moment. We were back in our happy place, not chasing around a toddler or worried about work, and we were just feeling the MAGIC. Later, at the airport on the way home, when discussing our favorite parts of the trip - we both mentioned this moment

Now.. off to another mode of transportation.

We had a bit before our dinner reservation, so we decided to visit the Poly. If you have read my reports before, you know the Poly is where Ian stayed for his first ever trip and also where Nora stayed for hers! Even with the gigantic eyesore, it will always feel like home to us.

Squinty photo with the sun shining right down on us.

Palm trees!