Disney World 2022
Day One
We arrived in Orlando Florida with a bit of a surprise. Stepping out of the airport we noticed that the air was cold for the climate Florida is normally known for. If I recall correctly it was high 60’s. Warm enough to still need pants and long sleeves. Hailing an Uber we headed to Pop Century Resort.
Despite the odd weather we were all happy to be on this trip. For Jerry and his Mom it was their first time seeing Disney World.
Because we arrived so late in the day we had no plans to go to any of the parks so instead we walked around the nearby resorts.
Photos from Pop Century Resort
Photos from Disney Art of Animation. (We really iked the cars area if that wasn’t obvious).
After some dinner Jerry and I headed out on our own to ride the Skyline to another set of hotels to explore. We were both very excited and couldn’t keep our feet still.
Day Two
Animal Kingdom
We arrived shortly before 8am and already the park was insanely packed. Following the herd mentality we made our way to the tree of life to get a picture. It was hard trying to get the chance with the amount of people but somehow we got it.
Just look at this cute trio. Melts my heart.
WIth pictures secured we got out of the area as fast as possible to escape the crowd (FYI you’ll never escape a crowd in Disney). We started off riding Kilimanjoro Safari. This was a big hit for Jerry and his mom.
After we spent the time exploring the area and catching some of the characters touring around on their boats. Including the jolly man himself.
Jerry and I were feeling hungry so we picked up some of the colorful flavored popcorn. Jerry claimed he wasn’t a big fan of it but his chipmunk cheeks say other wise in this picture below.
Hopped up on sugar and excitement we began our adventure again. This time we were going to be riding something a bit more thrilling. Securing some lightning lane passes we got in queue for Expedition Everest.
Note: When you go through the Lightning Lane for Expedition Everest you do miss out on all the cool art for the ride. The second time we came we went through stand by and it was worth it to see the art and story of the ride.
Jerry and I had watched videos of this ride before we came. I’m not sure why I thought that this very ride we were going on was something different but color me surprised when I realized that backwards part was actually going to happen.
We were too cheap the first time to get photo pass, don't judge.
After seeming to reach the end of the rail tracks you fall backwards into a dark tunnel, occasionally there were flashes of color but for the most part you couldn’t see your hand if it was in front of your face. This can be a bit jarring and cause vertigo if highly sensitive.
Disembarking the ride Jerry and I, giggling like a couple of children, made our way back to his mom, who had opted out of the intense ride.
We had completed almost all of the things intended for Animal Kingdom, aside from riding Avatar Flight of Passage, which had a two hour long wait and a queue that never seemed to have an end.
Before leaving we picked up a quick snack and some pirates of the Carribean Mickey ears for myself.
Pulled Pork Mac N Cheese. This was sooo good.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
After leaving the Animal Kingdom we all headed back to the hotel and took a small nap. This was probably a good thing since tonight we would be going to the Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom.
One reason I love going to the reserved parties: all people not part of the party get kicked out which makes the wait times for certain rides much shorter than average.
How ever that still doesn't mean that there is no crowds to worry about....
We wandered around for a bit exploring the area of main street and grabbing a bite to eat at Casey’s Corner.
Note: They do not start selling the foods advertised for the party until after the parties official start time.
We watched the early chirstmas show in front of the castle and claimed some curb space for the early parade as well.
We sat and waited for probably about an hour but it was worth it because your girl got to be part of the hype show.
With the parade finished we went on the hunt for cookies, took some photos at the disney photo op spots, even though we didn’t have the photopass, and rode Pirates of The Caribbean. We didn’t stay the entire night at the party because Jerry was being conscious of his mom who normally sleeps at 8pm.
Day Three
Today was very exciting for Jerry and I. Today we were going to Hollywood Studios!
We were so excited and amazed with the atmosphere that Disney was able to create in the Star Wars portion of the Park. With the scenic mountains, sounds of star cruisers and x-wings flying around it felt like we were truly transported to another world.
Jerry and I were obsessed with this place and could’ve spent the entire time there but for the sake of his mom we did venture off to different areas like Toy Story. We did have to leave her for a bit because Jerry had to go create his Lightsaber and go on a couple rides…
Later that night Jerry and I returned to the park after seeing his mom to the hotel and getting dinner. We returned because we had reservations for Oga’s Cantina.
Oga’s Cantina for anyone who may not be aware is a bar decked out in all sorts of Star Wars themed designs. Even the bartenders and servers were in tune with the atmosphere. It was very busy when we arrived and we were placed at the bar counter.
When drinking at Oga’s Cantina you are allowed two drinks per person, though I am sure it’s a laxed rule during slow times, so Jerry and I ordered two drinks each. We started with the Fuzzy Taun Taun and the Jedi Mind Trick since they were the most popular options. The Fuzzy Taun Taun is supposed to have a numbing affect on your mouth when you drink it but during the time we went they had just modified the drink and it didn’t have the same affect people before were claiming.
After downing those two drinks we moved onto the Outer Rim and the Bespin Fizz. All of the drinks were really good and iI feel like they are all worth a try at least once however, The Outer Rim and Jedi Mind Trick were my favorite. They were both sweet but still packed with enough alcohol that when Jerry and I left we were both acting a bit more silly than when we arrived.
Slightly intoxicated and hungry we stopped at the quick service area, which was dead quiet since it was nearly closing time. I ordered the Ronto Wrap and Jerry got some rib meal. Jerry’s choice was super flavorful and had a good amount of meat on the bones however as I will always say the Ronto Wrap is my favorite and is such a good quick bite to eat. If you enjoy coleslaw, turkey and sausage you will enjoy the ronto wrap as well.
Day Four
Waking up we all headed to the cafeteria at our resort and got some breakfast. After seeing enough people on social media bragging about how good the Mickey Waffels are we just had to get our hands on a batch of our own.
To me they were mid, I ate a lot of waffels as a kid I’m probably just waffeled out don’t come for me, but Jerry and Phian (his mom) liked them.
We headed back to Magic Kingdom to see the park in the day time and to go to Be Our Guest. I personally love french food especially the french onion soup. This was a fun experience but keep in mind the Disney sit down restaurants like these do not come cheap so if you are wanting to do one do your research for which seemslike the one you’ll most enjoy.
Since we had already seen most of the park we didn’t spend all day here. Also if you haven’t noticed by the pictures we were wearing our winter coats. I feel like you know it is truly cold in Florida when the people from Wisconsin are also bundled up.
To not waste the rest of the day we headed to Disney Springs. I had been raving over and over again to Jerry about these Mickey shaped Rice Krispy treats you could customize for weeks so of course we had to get some.
Jerrys: Milk chocolate with Orea crumbles. Mine: white chocolate with Butterfinger crumble.
We spent the remainder of the day browsing stores and buying M&M’s with our faces on them.
Our nicknames for each other are "boy" and "girl" and I unintentionally made it look like a pregnancy anouncement... We had some confused friends after we sent this to them.
Day Five
Today was our final full day in Florida and it was by far the coldest. Reaching only 48 degrees and extremely windy we were bundled up with all our warm gear and even then that wasn’t enough.
Once in Epcot I had to purchase a pair of gloves from a shop and Jerry a hat. It was just that cold.
Jerry and I, probably Phian as well, aren’t big drinkers but we are big foodies, so instead of drinking around the world we tried to eat around the world.
The wide varity of food and Jerry’s favorite ride are what keep us coming back to Epcot.
My two favorite photos from the trip altogether. Just look at Phian with her cute Mickey ears and Jerry being woo’d by Mulan. He was absolutely smitten. 😂
Jerry and I rode his favorite ride. It is a really cool ride and worth the experience however some of the screens and motion can cause dizziness, so just be careful. Phian was smart and opted out of this one as well.
At night after a short stop at the hotel Jerry and I returned to Epcot for a dinner at Space 220. A restaurant set to be 220 miles above earth with spectacular views and amazing food.
The blue drink was a non-alcoholic drink more catered towards children but Jerry really wanted those trading cards it came with. 🤓
With the night complete there was only one last thing for us to do. Get a photo in front of the Epcot ball.
We got a couple of “Aw’s” from the people around us. ☺️
Though we wished we could have stayed and acted as the kids at heart we are for a while longer it was time to go back to reality. Tomorrow we had a flight back to Wisconsin.
Day Six??
Hold on I thought that this trip was only five days not including the flight home? How do we have a sixth day?
I’ll tell you how. Does anyone remember the big stranding of Southwest during Christmas time 2022? Yeah, we were part of that. We arrived at the airport a few hours early and checked in our luggage only to find out our flight was cancelled.
It was pure chaos and confusion. We spent seven hours talking with the service agents, who kept telling us it was only a delay at first only to became a cancellation. We asked about other flight options and were told we would be unable to get home until January 1st. A full five and a half days away. The cherry on top for Jerry and I was that we checked our luggage, meaning even though our flight was cancelled we were not getting it back.
We did end up leaving the airport eventually and stayed at a hotel close to Disney Springs but we were stranded with no clue how we would survive another five days in florida with no luggage.
The only items Jerry and I had together.
Day Seven
Trying to make the best of a crappy situation the next day we set out to explore Disney Springs again. This time getting some of those massive cookies from Gideon’s Bakery. 🤤
Securing the bag of left over cookies (too surgary and massive to eat in one sitting) we headed to Disney’s French Quarter in search of more sugary food. This was a must do when we arrived and we had on a previous night but getting the chance to go again was a no brainer.
These are so friggin good. I'm drooling over the picture while writing this.
Forget a healthy dinner when you have been stranded in a different city you stress eat them feelings away with the most ungodly food ever.
For the rest of our day Jerry and I sat out by the pool of our hotel and enjoyed the complimentary drinks given to us.
What could have been an extra five days was luckily only an extra two, (technically). On December 28th we got on a flight home and practically cried upon seeing our bed and pets again. This trip started as a fun exciting get away which turned into a chaotic mess but luckily Jerry is amazing and we were stuck in the city with the most magical place on earth. So we can’t be too upset.
Update for anyone curious (also because I am pressed about it) we did recieve our luggage again on January 9th. I didn’t think I would see some of the items in that bag again so I was super excited when I seen it again.
