Disney World 2023

Day One

Day one began with an early wake up call. Alarms sounding at 4:30 am for a 6:00am flight out of Milwaukee to Orlando Florida. After three hours we finally landed in the warm air of Orlando, a much welcomed change when compared to the bitter cold of Wisconsin. We didn’t have many plans after our arrival but since it was a Disney Trip we felt it was necessary that we go to Disney Springs and grab a bite of food!

We wandered around the area for a while, looking inside shops and checking out the long line at Gideons Bakery (we didn’t get cookies…). We bantered back and forth, “Where do you want to eat?”, “I don’t know. Where do you want to eat?” and finally settled on a restaurant called D-Luxe Burger. The burgers were delicious and our spot outside offered great lighting for photos.

Upon returning to our hotel we took a much needed nap for a while and woke up recharged and ready to explore the other Disney Hotels and Resorts. This was our first time traveling with the DJI camera so we spent a lot of time wandering around the hotels taking videos on it that were not so good. I acted as a big goof the mojority of the time ingnorant that Jerry was preparing himself for a tremendous task. That’s on day two though, for now it’s Beignet time! Jerry and I could have easily chowed down on three of these doughy, delicious, little guys each but we felt moderation was important even on vacation, so we just shared three instead.

Mickey shaped beignets

With our hearts and stomachs full and happy we went back to our hotel and slept like a couple of rocks.

Day Two

Today was all about Star Wars and exploring the trading outpost planet Batuu. If you don’t consider yourself a Star Wars fan no matter what you will be amazed at the forced perspective mountains and enormous size of the Millenium Falcon.

After taking a quick ride on Star Tours we landed in Batuu. Even though it was early still we were HUNGRY! So, we stopped at Ronto’s Roasters. Jerry got the breakfast Ronto wrap while I got the classic Ronto Wrap. It is a delicious Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, and Tangy Slaw wrapped in Pita Bread. This is my favorite thing to eat and I could have it all times of day.

Ronto Wrap

Of course to wash down the wrap we got some blue milk. The “Milk“ is a slushy plant based coconut and rice milk that tastes like a fruity yogurt. You can get it spiked with Bacardi Rum for an extra charge if you’d like. We opted out of the rum since it wasn’t even 9am yet (wait for the hypocracy).

After wandering the area for a while we went to find Oga’s Cantina so when we came back later for our reservation we weren’t going to be lost like last time we visited. We didn’t realize it was a trap. Oga’s Cantina was empty, the workers were outside trying to get people to come in. They were practically begging and we cave easy to pressure. Before we knew it we were seated at a table and drinking Jedi Mind Trick and Fuzzy Taun Taun.

Fuzzy Taun Taun

We enjoyed our morning drinks and then moved on to explore more of Hollywood Studios. We kept it in nerd fashion for a little bit and visited characters Chewbacca, BB-8, and the infamous Darth Vador.

Last time we were here we missed out on riding Tower of Terror but this trip we finally did.

Spot us in the back left corner. 

After we did Slinky Dog Dash, ate some food from Woody’s Lunch Box, and rode Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Rail.

After all the rides and excitement Jerry and I headed out of the park and got our picture taken in front of the 100th anniversary sign before heading back to the hotel and taking a nap (we’re old don’t judge).

Upon return we rode Toy Story Mania where I absolutely annihilated Jerry. Super proud moment for me since he beats me at all strategy games. We got some more blue milk and tried green milk, which was good it had a more limey flavor to it but we prefer the blue.

We rode Rise of The Resistance for the second time that day, explored the market area, got our photos taken any where we could before heading back to Oga’s Cantina for round two.

We got a couple more drinks, the Outer Rim was my favorite. The Exotic Fruit Puree on the top and black salt rim was the highlight of the drink. We enjoyed some of the music DJ Rex played.

I had no idea that during this time while I was enjoying the music and taking photos of Jerry that he was probably going crazy inside for what was to come.

After finishing our drinks and paying the steep price for them we walked out into the roads of Batuu. The area was dead as our reservation was past park close time. Highly recommend reserving a spot at Oga’s Cantina for park close so you can see the area empty.

The empty park was probably a relief for Jerry. I can clearly remember it. I was admiring Jerry in the low light and complimented him saying he looked cool in the light. His reply was “Wanna see something cool?” When I turned to him he had a circular puck object in his hands. I thought it was the holo puck in the fifth picture above but it was something completely different. Turning the bottom of the puck the center opened and revieled a ring.

Yes, it’s a bit cliche to propose at Disney but for us it was perfect. Of course I cried. We had to stop multiple times on our way out because I was crying so much I couldn’t see where I was walking.

Our night ended with phone calls to family and more tears from me.

Day Three

I woke up riding a high from the night before. A lot of the photos on my camera roll were of the ring. Luckily Jerry had bought the photo pass and been much more level than I was.

Our adventure for the day began in Animal Kingdom. We got lucky and met Minnie and Mickey on our way to Expedition Everest.

After Expedition Everest we rode the Safari Adventure met Daisy Duck in her cute christmas jungle outfit and the lovely Moana.

We road Dinosaur, my favorite childhood movie, before it’s unfortunate closure. I wish we had gotten to ride it one more time. It was a wild ride.

You can tell who has rode the ride before and who hasn't by the poses and reactions. 

With amazing luck Jerry had been able to snag us some seats on Flight of Passage. I was nervous this was going to be a ride I wouldn’t be able to enjoy because of my vertigo but it didn’t bother me at all.

I can not express how amazing this ride was. If you have the chance to ride it do it. You will not regret it! We aren’t the biggest fans of Animal Kingdom but they have some of the most enjoyable rides for teens and grown ups who love thrills.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

I figured this was deserving of it’s own title. This was the night of day three. Jerry and I decked out in our holiday gear and headed to Magic Kingdom.

We watched Olaf decorate the castle in Christmas gear before making our way around to the cookie stalls and visiting characters like Captain Jack Sparrow and Stitch.

This is Jerry's reaction after finding out Captain Jack had drank all the rum. 

You can tell I was real happy by how deep my dimples are. 😂

We felt it was only natural that we ride Captain Jack’s attraction.

We were so lucky that thanks to the party we were able to get on Tron. This ride was amazing and so much fun to go on. You literally sit on it like you would a motor bike and are held in by a hydrolic locked cushion pressing against your back and hips.

It was a quick ride and some may not find it worth the wait but we personally loved the high speed and unique seats enough that when we return we will try to snag a spot again.

We did watch the late parade but from where we were standing it seemed like the speakers were not working so the audio came out very faint for the music. We missed out on the snoap last year and now that we had it we were missing the audio. A series of funny events I guess.

With extremely sore feet from having walked all day we slept like logs that night.

Day Four

The day of food.

Our travels took us to our third favorite park, Epcot. We really enjoy being able to try as many foods as possible from around the world.

We started off our food tour in France where we got Crepes. We got two of the salmon potatoes from L'Chaim Kitchen and the chicken skewers from China, they were so tasty. We also got caramel from Karamell-Küche in Germany and a Tamale from Mexico’s booth. Not pictured is caramel popcorn and Starbucks coffee.

We rode some rides, Cosmic Rewind and Behind the Seeds (very good for relaxing our feet), took tons of photos and checked out Moanas Journey of Water. Journey of Water was a fun experience and we easily spent 30 minutes in there just wandering around and messing around with the interactive attractions.

As the sun began setting and the crowds began arriving for their drinking around the world, Jerry and I took it as our time to head back to the hotel. We spent the remainder of the night with our feet propped up on some pillows after getting our luggage ready for the return home the next day.

Originally this trip wasn’t supposed to be a Disney trip. We had planned on going to Vail Colorado, but if you’ve ever looked into the prices of Vail you’ll understand that it is an expensive place to visit. It would have cost more than this trip to Disney!

Though this wasn’t what were originally intended to visit we will both remember this trip for the rest of our lives.