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!!

 

[annienevells]

I'm REALLY going to finish this TR this week y'all. Before Christmas is my goa!

Life is so busy with a toddler - I'm sure many of you get the struggle.

If you follow me on IG, you've seen these. If not, this is what we've been up to:

Okay.. onto the next TR update. Thank you for your patience!!

 

[annienevells]

Tuesday, November 7th (continued...)

Last I left off we finished off our pretzels and were headed to our ILL for TRON.

BUT. Ian had a request first.

We had a wonderful journey on CoP before heading up the hill to TRON.

Guys. We never got our picture I was SO bummed. But we loved the ride so much. Like many of you, we felt it was much too short, but we enjoyed it all the same. We were crossing our fingers already that we might get a BG at 1 PM!

We made our way back to the train station in Fantasyland.

Caught it just in time!

Another one of our favorite MK day activities - a relaxing ride through the park. We had a LL for Big Thunder coming up, so we were Frontierland bound!

It was fun to take in all of the decorations during our trek.

 

[annienevells]

We made it just in time for the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

Ian's favorite part is watching the train come to a stop and people getting thrown back by it

We spotted a photopass photographer outside and asked for a photo. This man did not move a muscle in his face the entire interaction. Did not speak to me. Or smile. I wondered if he was even breathing!

After the strange photo shoot, Ian remarked that our friend might be better suited at a location near Haunted Mansion LOL

We checked out the progress on our way by.

We were doing a lot of playing around with Genie+. Mostly, we just wanted to ride EVERYTHING we could - so that was our strategy.

We grabbed a LL for teacups and sat down to watch some of our favorite bears in the meantime.

It was nice to take a little break and enjoy the show.

On to the next!

The teacups are extra special to us now because they remind us of riding with Nora

We had just a bit of time before our lunch reservation, so we caught PhilharMagic and booked an ILL for after lunchtime.

 

[annienevells]

We found that we STILL had more time until lunch, so off to a FIRST for Ian.

Hall of Presidents!

He was "meh" about it, but it was nice to sit and relax for a bit.

It was finally time for my birthday lunch. A place that @Tuvalu herself got me hooked on.

LTT it is!

We got a tiny table back by the kitchen, but it didn't bother us much. This meal break was coming at the perfect time. Ian has NEVER done a full day at a Disney park without a break midway through. We had to pace ourselves LOL

The salad was nice and fresh and it was hitting the spot after some hot hours in the Florida sun.

Everything was delicious. My personal favorite was the turkey as usual!

Our dessert came garnished with a birthday candle and accompanied by a song

With our bellies full and legs rested, we headed back out into the masses to our next LL.

 

[cgersic]

That last picture - holy people Batman!!!!

 

[annienevells]

That last picture - holy people Batman!!!!

 

[annienevells]

We made it through the crush of people to our next LL - PotC!

It was nice to be away from the crowds and the heat. It had been so comfortable all morning but it was starting to get a bit warm for us Mainers.

I took the below picture to remind myself that we took a bio break after Pirates!

I took the opportunity to respond to some birthday texts and to check in with my mom on Nora. She was having a great time with her grandparents.

After our pitstop we headed back to the train in Frontierland. As I mentioned, we were going wherever our LL selection options were taking us. Up next was Dumbo!

Once we made it to Fantasyland, we browsed for a bit before tapping into Dumbo.

We finished up just in time for the Festival of Fantasy parade. We quickly headed down to the hub!

 

[annienevells]

Though I have seen many a WDW parade, Ian was a newbie! It typically is just not a priority for us on our trips, though I am sure that will change with Nora in the future. So it was nice to do something a little different!

Lots of parade pictures here for you!

It was HOT standing in the direct 3 PM sun. We walked away right before the conclusion of the parade to beat the crowds.

First - a photo!

We decided on Laugh Floor next to sit for a bit and get some AC.

..... that was a great plan until we were evacuated from the line 15 minutes later for technical difficulties.

Oh well - at least we were out of the sun!

We did decide that it was high time for another birthday treat though.

This hit the spot! By the way - we are big Mickey ice cream sandwich > ice cream bar folks over here. Not sure if that is a controversial opinion or not

 

[Zipadeelady]

Whoo Hoo! New fight, the song at Guardians was getting old.

I would have added more but that is all I still have on my phone.

 

[meggo819]

By the way - we are big Mickey ice cream sandwich > ice cream bar folks over here. Not sure if that is a controversial opinion or not

My husband and I are with you!

 

[Swissmiss]

My husband and I are with you!

Me too, I’m team ice cream sandwich.

 

[annienevells]

My husband and I are with you!

Me too, I’m team ice cream sandwich.

@Zipadeelady you need to start rallying some troops for team Mickey bar, this isn't looking good for your team!

 

[Tuvalu]

Another team sandwich!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

I’m with the Mickey Bar team.

 

[Zipadeelady]

@Zipadeelady you need to start rallying some troops for team Mickey bar, this isn't looking good for your team!

Where are all my Mickey Bar people? There has to be more than just me and @Wicked Sisters ! The hard chocolate shell, creamy cool vanilla center. I mean come on.... With the sandwich your fingers get all gooey and gross.

 

[Swissmiss]

Where are all my Mickey Bar people? There has to be more than just me and @Wicked Sisters ! The hard chocolate shell, creamy cool vanilla center. I mean come on.... With the sandwich your fingers get all gooey and gross.

Ya got it all wrong. You bite into said hard shell, half of it falls to the floor (or worse, on your t-shirt right where you don’t need to call any more attention) and the ice cream drips down your hand.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

U

Ummm, I thought the original question was between MIckey bars and sandwiches and all other cool, icy treats. Since I can get MIckey bars and sandwiches (or something similar at home) I’’ll go for any other ice cream treat, slushie, milk shake, etc. in the parks.

Please continue to go for the Mickey bars and sandwiches, it might help (although I doubt it) keep the lines down for the other treats!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Team Mickey Bar here!!

 

[Bullseye1967]

Team Mickey bar!

 

[MinnieM123]

Team Mickey bar! (There's just something iconic about those, and they also are quite tasty. )