Disney at Christmas Day 5: Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom

Happy Wednesday! The week is halfway over and we are already on our way to another weekend! Can't wait! :)

Today, I'm continuing with the "Disney Wednesday" theme I've had going for a while - this is the remaining parts of our last full day at WDW from our December 2015 trip. We started the day at Animal Kingdom, then ended it at Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom. 

If you're interested in the other aspects of our trip, here's previous recaps:

• Exploring Orlando Area/Grand Floridian Gingerbread House
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
• The Osborne Lights 
• Epcot  
• Animal Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios & Magic Kingdom at night
• Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter

After dinner at Trails End, we took a bus from Fort Wilderness Campgrounds to Hollywood Studios. Although we'd seen the lights once already, we wanted to say our final goodbye!

First, we stopped in One Man's Dream - my favorite Hollywood Studios attraction. This is also where I've taken a picture with "Mousketeer Karen" ever since our Honeymoon in 2007. I was sadly disappointed in 2014 to see that Mousketeer Karen had been replaced by Mousketeer Cubby.

Boy was I in for a surprise! I'm sorry for anyone I scared by jumping up and down in excitement when I realized they replaced Cubby and returned Karen to her proper location. Yes, that really did happen. Sorry...

After a quick walk through of One Man's Dream, we meandered over to the Streets of America.

In all, we spent about an hour looking through all the details one last time. It was sad to say goodbye...I've had so many wonderful memories here!

We left Hollywood Studios and caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom. They had extra magic hours until 2 a.m. (although we didn't plan on staying that late) but we definitely wanted to catch Wishes at 10 p.m. and the Main Street Electrical Parade at 10:45 p.m.

Although the street was crowded, Wishes was amazing as always!

After Wishes, we walked over to the castle hub and found a spot along the curb to wait on the parade.

The castle is so gorgeous at Christmas!

This parade is one of the memories I have from visiting Walt Disney World as a kid. My family and I sat on a curb much like this one and as Goofy drove by in the train, my dad and brother would say "No Goofy don't hit us..." They got suck a kick out of it as they laughed and giggled while the float passed by. It kinda became a little joke that carries on today! It's memories like that which make our WDW trips so special!

We hadn't seen this parade in ages, so it was nice to experience it once again!

After the parade, we walked around a bit, rode pirates and haunted mansion, then decided to call it a night!

What a day!

Goodbye Magic Kingdom! Next time I see you, I'll have a little one in tow! :)

Are you a fan of Disney parades? What's your favorite parade to see at WDW?

February Disney Trip Part 1

Did anyone catch Dancing with the Stars last night? I LOVE Disney night and ABC went above and beyond on this season’s episode. My favorite dance of the night was the Pirates of the Caribbean dance and I love how Riker got 100% into the Jack Sparrow character! Overall great episode and definitely one of my favorites!

Speaking of Disney, I realized that I never shared anything outside of the races during our Princess Half Marathon trip!

Overall it was a really fun trip and I enjoyed spending time with friends and making new ones!

Our flight left Houston super early in the morning (around 6 a.m. maybe?) which put us landing at MCO around 9 a.m.! I loved having an entire day to spend at Disney that wasn’t mostly filled with travel!

Obligatory MCO picture :)

Did I mention that it was SUPER cold in Disney when we landed? Like, holy cow this is COLD. I was dressed in so many layers, it was a bit ridiculous!

Magical Express was not busy and we were able to get right on a bus to Coronado Springs.

I loved my Magic Band addition – simply cut with vinyl on a Silhouette Cameo!

The best sight in the world (and Carissa)!

Our resort of choice was Coronado Springs. A friend of mine warned me about the huge size of this resort, but I’d stayed there before in 2009 with Heather and didn’t think anything of it because we were close to the main building and enjoyed our stay there. Well this time around….even though I requested a building close to the lobby and a first floor room…we were placed literally in the very BACK corner of the resort, a good 10-15 minute walk from the lobby (and we were placed on the second floor). To be honest, I didn’t mind it at all – we had a bus stop right outside our room which was super convenient, especially for the races. We also weren’t on the dining plan which means we didn’t have refillable mugs to worry about (thank goodness)! Had the later been true, I would have been a little more annoyed. Does anyone know if there’s another refillable mug station at Coronado apart from the lobby? If not, there should be!

Jason and I hung out at our room for a few minutes, then hopped a bus to the Expo. We met up with our friend Randy for lunch at the Wide World of Sports Grill and it was GOOD!

My friend Lisa also happened to be at the Expo so I messaged my location to her and we were able to meet up for a quick hello. She also brought goodies to me which were amazing!!

YUM! Cadbury chocolate is my favorite! :) I also brought her a gumbo mix…hope she enjoyed!

After the Expo, we decided to bypass park plans and take a nap instead. I’m SO glad we did!!

Dinner that evening was at Ohana with friends.

Always a favorite, I love this place!! (I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me talk about it, but it really is my favorite restaurant on property!)

Here’s a few pictures of our food…it was delicious as always! We also had a vegetarian at our table and they fixed an extra special dish just for her! So nice!

On our way back to the Magic Kingdom bus stop, we spotted Wishes from outside the Magic Kingdom. It was neat to see a different view! We stood and watched for a while, then began walking to the buses to beat the crowd.

Overall it was an amazing first day at Disney! We went to sleep as soon as we returned to the room because Jason was participating in the 5K the following morning!

How do you typically spend a travel day at Disney? Parks when you get there? Take a nap? Relax?

A Little Bit of Magic

Last night, my husband and I decided to have a very impromptu date night! We began at the theater with Monster’s University (which was awesome, by the way), followed by dinner, then FroYo.

During the movie, I realized something….I need a little happy in my life right now, so I’m thinking Disney thoughts and reliving fun memories. Follow along and answer the questions for yourself if you’d like!  By the way, this is my 500th post here on Just Me & My Running Shoes! I couldn’t think of a better topic to celebrate it by! :0)

Favorite runDisney Race

Hands down, the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I ran the Princess Half in 2012 and had a BLAST. I am registered for the 2014 Glass Slipper Challenge and I cannot wait! Besides, what girl doesn’t like wearing a tiara all weekend? (Especially if it’s a sparkly one!)


What? A Glass Slipper Challenge? Yippeee!


Favorite Disney Movie

Goodness, I can’t pick just one. My favorite animated movies are Tangled and Lilo & Stitch. Favorite film movies - Princess Diaries and The Rookie.




Favorite Disney Song

When You Wish Upon A Star. This song really brings me back to my childhood and I love that the Wishes Fireworks show is centered around Jiminy & this piece of music!

 
As viewed from the California Grill on top of the Contemporary Resort


Favorite Disney Park

I absolutely love love love Disney World, but Disneyland in California holds a special place in my heart as well. We visited Disneyland for our 1st Anniversary and there’s just a magic in the air I’ve yet to feel at any other Disney park. The sheer fact that Walt Disney himself walked down Main Street and stayed inside the park on occasion gives it an extra special feeling! I’m excited to return for Dumbo Double Dare in August/September!




Favorite Disney Restaurant

Ohana. Why do I love Ohana so much? The food is good, but my absolute favorite is their dessert – Bread Pudding with Ice Cream and Bananas Foster Sauce. Every time we go, I always ask for dessert first. (Which I then inform the wait staff that I’m kidding – even though I’m really not.) When it’s actually time for dessert, I always ask for my own portion….yes, I do share with others at the table, even though I really don’t want to!  :0)


Heaven on a plate!


Favorite Disney Character

Mickey and Minnie Mouse are my favorites! I used to LOVE Eeyore back in high school, but as I grew up, my tastes changed to Mickey and Minnie as well!




Have you ever dressed up as a Disney character?

Why yes I have! My Church held a “Cinderella’s Closet” event a few years ago. I dressed as Cinderella for the dress drive and had SO MUCH FUN! I also dressed up as Cinderella for a friend’s little girl’s birthday party. Her party was Cinderella themed, of course!




Describe your favorite Disney Memory

My favorite memory from all of my Disney experiences is from my Honeymoon in 2007. I wrote a blog post about this incredibly magical moment here. Go check it out!




Any additional random Disney fact you’d like to share?

You probably already know this if you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, but I’m a BIG kid at heart and absolutely loved the Disney Channel growing up. As an adult, I still love the Disney Channel although I have to admit that I don’t watch it as much anymore. Anyway…Sonny With A Chance, Hannah Montana, Suite Life, High School Musical, Camp Rock….yeah, loved them all. I event spent my 28th birthday at a Camp Rock 2/Demi Lovato/Jonas Brother’s concert. Yes I just admitted that out loud. What can I say? My internal clock says I’m 16 years old and I would like it to stay that way! :0)



Somehow, I also recently talked my husband into dressing up like High School Musical characters for a friend’s 18th birthday party. I still have no clue or idea why or how I got him to agree, but he did…and we were a big hit!



What time is it? SUMMERTIME! Woooo!

I feel better now! A bit of Disney Magic was all I needed! :0)