Trip Report Turning 30 - A two week birthday celebration!

Hi, everybody! Well, here we are. Two weeks after returning from the World and I’ve had a serious case of the Disney blues. Probably more so than after any other Disney trip we've been on. So, it took me a bit to gather the strength to start a trip report. But, I'm ready to tell you all about our amazing two week trip!

If you didn't read my pre-trip report, let me introduce you to the cast:
From left to right: My mom, My sister Katie, and myself (Crystal)

When: January 10-24
Where: 2 nights at DoubleTree Hilton by Universal; 12 nights at Disney's Boardwalk Villas
Celebrating: My 30th birthday!

So, here we go; let’s just dive right in! (This is my first trip report by the way. Hope you enjoy it )


Day One - Saturday, Jan. 10 - Arrival Day and Universal Studios!

Saturday morning started off pretty smoothly for Katie and me, considering we only got about two hours of sleep. We were packed. Luggage was by the door. We woke up on time and were ready to go by 4:30 am, which was ahead of schedule! Go us! My dad would be so proud.....

And then, I decided I wanted to double check the weight of my bag. I had been very proud of myself for fitting two weeks worth of clothing and necessities in my suitcase. With room to spare. The mistake I made, however, was thinking the required weight was 50 lbs. But that's for international flights, not domestic. and I remembered that little tidbit at the last minute. I weighed my bag and it was 55 lbs! So, I scrambled upstairs for another suitcase and threw half of my previously, neatly packed stuff into the 2nd suitcase. And at this point, it was closer to 5am, which was still on schedule, but I was now a little frazzled and frustrated that I would have to pay for another bag. But, on the plus side, I'd have room to bring souvenirs back and not have to ship them!

So, we said bye to our fur babies (my dad and uncle would be taking turns taking care of them while we were gone),headed to my parents' house to meet my mom, transferred our luggage to my dad's truck, and were on our way! I made sure to add my extra checked bag online on the way to the airport, and listened to my dad make fun of me for being such a girl with so much stuff

I don't really have any airport pics. Things went very smoothly. We got through security check, had some breakfast, and then next thing we knew, we were boarding our flight!

Bye Houston!

 

[Disneygrl]

We took our time walking through Hogsmeade trying to get some better pics than the day before.

Here's a much better one of the castle.

Of course, we had to stop for some Butterbeer, so Katie could refill her souvenir mug.

We said our last goodbyes to the Harry Potter area. We really enjoyed our 2 days there. I told Katie I think they should have a Harry Potter themed resort hotel. Each floor of the hotel could represent the four houses at Hogwarts. They could have a mock "sorting ceremony" to determine which house you would be placed in. Their dining area could be themed similar to the Hogwarts dining hall. I would totally stay there.

We called my mom at this point to see if she was still out shopping, and we found out that she had been sleeping off and on almost all day! So, we told her we'd join her for shopping and dinner and made our way towards the park exit.

Of course we had to spend some time with our superheroes first.

We sent these pictures to my nephew.

Along with a little "We miss you" note:

 

[Disneygrl]

And that was it for Universal Studios. We had a blast!

Pics on the way out:

By the time we got back to the room, mom was ready, so we went out for an early dinner, did our necessary shopping and headed back to the hotel to make sure everything was ready for checkout the next morning.

That's it for now. Up next, Disney's Boardwalk Villas and EPCOT!

 

[LisaBelle]

Although Disney is my first love, I would definitely consider staying at a Universal hotel if they decided to take your suggestions and build a Harry Potter themed hotel. I can't believe the Universal cast member who was so uninterested in helping the woman who collapsed on the steps! I can't imagine that happening. Glad you and your sister had so much fun. My sister and I are planning a trip to Disney next February and we are planning to get a one day two parks ticket for Universal. She hasn't seen either of the Harry Potter parks and I have only been to Hogsmeade. We are really looking forward to it because we are both huge fans of the books and movies. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Disneygrl]

Although Disney is my first love, I would definitely consider staying at a Universal hotel if they decided to take your suggestions and build a Harry Potter themed hotel. I can't believe the Universal cast member who was so uninterested in helping the woman who collapsed on the steps! I can't imagine that happening. Glad you and your sister had so much fun. My sister and I are planning a trip to Disney next February and we are planning to get a one day two parks ticket for Universal. She hasn't seen either of the Harry Potter parks and I have only been to Hogsmeade. We are really looking forward to it because we are both huge fans of the books and movies. Looking forward to reading more.

You will love it! We're considering a February trip next year as well!

 

[Disneygrl]

Day 3 - Monday, January 12

Well, we'd had our Universal fun, and it was a total blast, but now it was time to go home. Our Disney home, that is! We woke up bright and early and the room was buzzing with excitement. We quickly got ready and packed up the last of our things, and headed out the door.

Funny little story.. We got the elevators. My sister and my mom made their way in, and as I started to walk in, the doors started to close. Well, my hands were full and my mom and sister weren't really paying attention until it was too late. The doors literally closed 2 inches from my face as I was trying to walk on. I could hear the laughter as they made their way down. They were still laughing when I finally got to the first floor. Needless to say, I made sure to be the first one on the elevator for the rest of the trip. Ok, maybe you had to be there, but it was funny at the time!

Not long after, the car was loaded up and we were on our way!

What's that beautiful thing in the distance?

This is about the time we start chanting, "Dreams come true! Dreams come true!" in our Mickey and Minnie voices. Oh yes, we've perfected the Mickey and Minnie voices.

Epcot Resort Area! Here we come!

We made it to The Boardwalk Resort, dropped our bags off with Bell services, parked the car and then headed inside to the front desk.

Isn't it lovely?

I managed to snap some pictures on the way through the lobby.

This was our first time staying at the BWV. Previously, we've stayed at AKL. We absolutely LOVE AKL and , but I have to say... Because of how long we stayed, the convenience factor won out for me here. The Boardwalk atmosphere was great. LOVED being just a walk away from EPCOT and HS. We will definitely be back.

 

[Disneygrl]

Our room wasn't ready yet, so we got our Magicbands and picked up a Birthday pin for me

We checked the weather that morning before we left and knew that thunderstorms were on their way. So, Katie planned accordingly with her cute zebra rain boots.

At this point, we were STARVING and decided we'd have breakfast at the bakery, so we headed to the Boardwalk. Prior to this trip, we had only ever been to the Boardwalk at night time. I was loving all of the colors.

So beautiful.

Hi YC and BC! My mom thinks she'd like to stay at one of these next time. We'll see

Rare food pic. I guess I really liked my blueberry muffin, because I don't really do food pics lol. My mom and Katie each had a breakfast sandwich.

These guys ... Someone must not have informed them to NOT feed the birds.. Shortly after this, birds were EVERYWHERE. Trying to steal any food they could. At least in general, this year the birds were nowhere near as bad as they were last year for us. Last year at EPCOT, our friend had her entire funnel cake stolen right off of her plate as we were walking. She was pretty traumatized. It was hilarious.

Once we finished our breakfast, we debated whether to walk over to EPCOT or take the boat. I voted walking, but it was beginning to sprinkle, and the boat just showed up. So, we hopped on.

Love this entrance.

 

[Disneygrl]

We managed to make it to WS by 10:55 am, so we just waited for the rope to drop.

As you can see, we didn't have a huge crowd that day.

Pretty soon, we were off to explore the world!

Hidden Mickey!

One of these days I will buy one of these lamps! I just love them!

There's that great big beautiful ball The only downside to the back entrance is not seeing Spaceship Earth right away.

 

[Disneygrl]

Still making our way around the world..

I knew from reading updates on the forum and a few Disney fan facebook pages that the Christmas decorations were still up. What I didn't predict is that I would get pretty annoyed by it lol. I LOVE Christmas time at Disney, don't get me wrong. But, this was the middle of January and my brain had already adjusted to the fact that it was no longer Christmas! The decorations were definitely starting to look a little worn.. and the Christmas music.. played.. all.. the.. time..

Those clouds are looking a little ominous. The weather was terrible for my hair. You'll find out for yourself soon enough

Look how cute she is Our very own Ariel. Although, most people compared her to Anna the majority of the trip. I think mostly because of my blonde hair and her red hair, we were constantly told that we looked like Anna and Elsa. Katie wasn't fond of the comparison. She's not a Frozen fan haha.

 

[Disneygrl]

So, what happens when the humidity gets to my hair?

Yep.. Big Texas hair. It definitely went into a ponytail shortly after this

Moving on..

I just love the tiny town

And moving on

We were really enjoying how slow it was. We felt like we had the park to ourselves.

Because of the looming weather, we didn't spend a lot of time in each country, but we took our time in China. This has always been one of our favorites.

 

[Disneygrl]

I so agree!

I just love Mulan. I related with the movie big time as a kid. Maybe even more so today. I've always tried to be "as good as the boys" when it came to competition, sports, and eventually business. Mulan was definitely a hero to me

Is it bothering anyone else that the bench is not centered with the frame?

We skipped Reflections of China, because the 360 thing makes my mom feel dizzy.

Told you we spent a lot of time in China But, we did eventually pull ourselves away to finish our world tour.

Can you tell what we're not about to ride?

 

[Disneygrl]

No Maelstrom We were so sad to see it all closed up and sad. Even though we knew it was gone, seeing it just hurt my heart. I'm glad we got to ride it last year. We almost didn't, and it was a last minute decision to go on it. We took my nephew, and he was TERRIFIED the majority of the time. But, once we got off the ride, he acted like it was the best thing ever. We asked him what his favorite part was, and he said "All the Jesus's!" I guess the bearded men looked like Jesus to him lol!

These guys look just as sad about the Maelstrom closing as me!

And This guy wants to know who he has to kill for taking Maelstrom away!

Ok, I digress...

Look, It's Christmas in Mexico!

And that, my friends, concludes our trek around the WS. I hope to be back sometime this weekend with the rest of our day at EPCOT, but for now I bid you goodnight

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the share! Your worldtrip looks more than great! Not crowded at all, not much rain! Only not so many sun Looking forward for the rest of the TR! Absolutely following along!

 

[draybook]

12 nights at the Boardwalk??!! Color me jealous!! Great TR so far.

 

[mrdrift]

What a wonderful day so far at Epcot World Showcase. All of the pictures are really spectacular. Ask Katie were she bought the Zebra rain boots, my daughter want a pair just like them. Following along.

 

[lostpro9het]

OMG, go back RIGHT NOW and FIX IT!! I cringe when I look at that pic. It will probably be the first thing I do when we return in May, go fix that dang bench!

Is it bothering anyone else that the bench is not centered with the frame?
View attachment 83763

 

[Disneygrl]

Thanks for the share! Your worldtrip looks more than great! Not crowded at all, not much rain! Only not so many sun Looking forward for the rest of the TR! Absolutely following along!

Yes, the rain held off for a long time! Until we got safely back to our hotel room. Then the skies opened and it stormed big time. Flash flood warnings and everything haha. It was like it was waiting for us to finish our fun

 

[Disneygrl]

12 nights at the Boardwalk??!! Color me jealous!! Great TR so far.

It was amazing! We rented DVC points; it's the only way we would even consider staying there that long. I'm so glad we did. Looking forward to seeing the pics from your trip!

 

[Disneygrl]

OMG, go back RIGHT NOW and FIX IT!! I cringe when I look at that pic. It will probably be the first thing I do when we return in May, go fix that dang bench!

I know I would totally go back if I could lol. Can't believe I didn't notice it at the time. I thank you in advance for fixing it!

 

[draybook]

It was amazing! We rented DVC points; it's the only way we would even consider staying there that long. I'm so glad we did. Looking forward to seeing the pics from your trip!

Just posted some. Renting points there is exactly what I plan on doing. I was in Heaven on the Boardwalk!! I could seriously spend a day or two just people watching on the Boardwalk. Total tranquility!

 

[Disneygrl]

What a wonderful day so far at Epcot World Showcase. All of the pictures are really spectacular. Ask Katie were she bought the Zebra rain boots, my daughter want a pair just like them. Following along.

Thank you! Katie got her boots at Academy. I think they were only like $20!