Disney World 2014 Recap - Hollywood Studios (Sunday - February 2, 2014)

On day 2 of our 2014 Disney World vacation we went to Hollywood Studios. It was a beautiful sunny 80+ degree day. We took the bus from our resort (The Wilderness Lodge) and got to Hollywood Studios around 9:30am. 

We had a FastPass+ for Toy Story Mania so that's what we headed to first. The regular wait was over an hour, but we didn't have to wait very long at all. Daddy rode with Kylie and I rode with Alexis. It was a really cute ride!

After Toy Story Mania we headed over to Disney Jr Live on Stage. The girls enjoyed watching their favorite Disney Jr characters on stage and dancing to the music!

Next we headed over to the Tower of Terror were we had another FastPass+ to use. Kylie and I rode it first. When the ride was over Kylie quickly announced that she did NOT want to ride that again! So poor Daddy had to ride all alone. He had his beard to keep him company. 

Now it was getting close to our lunch reservation so we started heading in that direction. On the way Daddy stopped for some photo opportunities.

We had lunch reservations at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano. It was pretty good. It was not my favorite meal of our trip, but I would consider eating there again. Especially if I was wanting to get the Fantasmic Dining Package. We didn't watch Fantasmic on this trip, but I am hoping to see it next time. 

We were celebrating Kylie's 5th birthday while we were at Disney. Her birthday wasn't until the next week, but we just celebrated it the entire week at Disney. At Mama's Melrose's she got a birthday hat to wear!

After lunch we walked around for a bit. We went by the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, but it was a little crowded so we headed over to ride Star Tours. Daddy and Kylie rode it together. Kylie loved it! It was her favorite ride at Hollywood Studios. 

Next we watched The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Then we went over to the animation building and met Wreck it Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz!

It was nearing 4pm by this time so we decided we were about done for the day. We took one last picture heading out of Hollywood Studios. 

We took the bus back to the resort and rested in the room for a bit. I gave the girls their bath and then we decided to head down to The Roaring Fork for some dinner. While we were having dinner Alexis fell asleep in the stroller. 

That was the end of our fun day at Hollywood Studios! I can't wait to go there again to re-do our favorites and to experience some of the things we didn't do on this trip. Next up is our first day at Magic Kingdom!

Disney World 2014 Recap - Travel Day and Day at Resort (January 31 - February 1, 2014)

I can't believe it's almost been one year since we had our first family vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. To remember the trip I wanted to write about our experience and share pictures and videos for anyone who may be interested and really just for me to relive all the fun we had!

So on Friday, January 31st around 9:15pm we had the car all packed up and headed out on our long drive to Disney. Now when I say long drive, I mean a LONG drive. We live in Virginia and it is about a 12 hour drive to get to Disney. It really takes 13 to 14 hours when you include stops which you have to on a ride that long. We just figured, with 2 little ones and all the things we wanted to bring along with us, driving was our best and cheaper option. We also thought driving through the night would make it easier since we figured the girls would just sleep most of the way there anyway. It was a good thought. 

Our 5 year old (Kylie) did amazing! She was asleep 30 minutes after we left our house and slept for a majority of the trip. We made two stops for gas and we got her up both times for a bathroom break. She stayed awake for a little bit after each stop, but then went back to sleep. She didn't stay up for good until we stopped for breakfast about an hour away from Disney. 

Our 2 and half year old (Alexis) did not do quite as well. She just could not get comfortable and really wanted her bed to sleep in. So she whined for most of the trip. She did get little cat naps here and there for about 30 minutes at a time, but was awake for a majority of the ride. At around 5am she finally fell asleep and slept until we stopped for breakfast around 8:30am. 

We had breakfast at Chick-fil-a and then finished our last hour or so to our resort. We arrived at Disney's Wilderness Lodge around 10:30am!

 

After we checked in, we went to our room and settled in. We had a woods view bunk bed room. I originally wanted a room with two queen beds, but at the time I booked the trip there were only bunk bed rooms available with the offer I wanted to use. It worked out okay though. I slept on the one queen bed with Kylie. My husband (Joe) slept on the bottom bunk and we took the mattress off of the top bunk and put in on the floor for Alexis. 

I love all the details Disney puts into their resorts. There were cute little Disney animal pictures in the bathroom shower area.

The coat hanger was decorated Disney style as well.

Then there was the amazing detail on the head board of the bed too!

We didn't have any plans for our first day since we figured we would be really tired from being up all night. So we just stayed in our room for most of the day. The girls watched Mulan and we unpacked everything. Then around 4:30pm we headed out to get some dinner and explore the resort. 

The lobby area of The Wilderness Lodge is really amazing. I love how grand it all looks!

We ate dinner at the quick service restaurant located in our resort called The Roaring Fork. Then we headed over to the arcade to use our free tokens we received with our room stay. 

After playing in the arcade for a bit, we headed over to watch the geyser that goes off every hour!

It was a really nice evening with amazing 70 degree weather which we were loving after leaving snow and ice at home the night before. The Wilderness Lodge really is a beautiful resort. 

It was getting dark at this time so we headed back to our room to get ready for bed. Next up is Hollywood Studios!

Introduction

My name is April and I am a stay at home Mom to two little girls. Kylie is the oldest. She will turn 6 in a few weeks. She loves video games, stuffed animals and princesses. She is very outgoing and loves to paint and draw. Alexis is 3 and a half. She loves anything with wheels, fish and movies. Some of her favorite movies are Finding Nemo, Monsters University and Wreck it Ralph. She also really likes Mickey Mouse.

My husband and I have been married for almost 13 years now. We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom town home. When we first moved into our current home it was just my husband, myself and our one dog named Dusty. Now, seven years later, we have two children and two dogs. We got our other dog, Sassy, shortly after we moved in. So now our home is completely full. We hope to move into a larger home sometime in the next few years.

I love to organize our home although I feel like I have tried and tried to organize our current home and it just will not stay that way! I am constantly reorganizing different areas trying to make them work better for us. It is always a work in progress. One day I will have it like I want it. Then we will move.

I also love shopping and finding good deals. Consignment sales and yard sales are the best. Especially for finding kids clothes and toys. I also get rid of the girls outgrown clothes and no longer played with toys at these sales too which helps clear some clutter and makes us some money.

I like to coupon too, but I am not an extreme couponer. I just like using coupons as much as I can to help save some money. The same goes for shopping online too. I always search for a coupon code before I check out to see if I can save.

I also have a love for handbags, backpacks, travel bags....any kind of bags. I am always getting new bags to use. Some of my top brands are Vera Bradley and Thirty One. I also really like the Ebags brand for travel.

My last big love is Disney! I love all things Disney! We went on our first Walt Disney World family vacation in early 2014 and it was so much fun! I am currently planning our next trip for early 2016.

So that's pretty much me. This blog will have posts on most of my loves and whatever else comes to mind I feel like writing about these days. Enjoy!