Do you like photos of Disney World with happy, peppy people? Tune in now for our massive Winter Recap Photo Album. We were all set to have a great spring visiting Walt Disney World, but then the Resort closed due to the Coronavirus. So it seemed like a good time to reminisce about our busy winter. Adjusting to our new life in Florida had been made much easier by our frequent trips to Walt Disney World. We were blessed to have a great winter filled with several visits down to Orlando. The Christmas season started the day after we attended the November 1st Halloween Party. Our winter exploits pretty much lasted through Presidents Day.
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| Holidays at Walt Disney World are wonderful, the decorations are lovely and the festive atmosphere is enchanting. Right now the railroad is still down while construction continues on the Tron Lightcycle ride. |
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| Few experiences are as quintessentially “Disney” as a ride on Dumbo. The Magic Kingdom Dumbo is remarkable; not only are there two Dumbo spinners but there is a circus tent with an elaborate kiddie play area. The area adjacent is the Dumbo themed mini-land “Storybook Circus” area of Fantasyland. |
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| El Pato Donald is a favorite of ours, and Teenage Son loves to interact with him in the guise of his “ #1 fan” |
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| The EPCOT Character Spot had been relocated across the breezeway with new backdrops on this visit. |
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| Dad loves anything Monorail. |
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| EPCOT’s Mexico Pavilion is always a favorite of ours. Here Mom & Dad enjoy some of their favorite treats. |
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| The new Tomorrowland entry arch. Elements of the land are being remodeled/restored in a mid century style allegedly in preparation for WDW’s upcoming 50th Anniversary. |
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| Cinderella Castle seen in the distance through the Storybook Circus arch. |
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We had been to a Halloween Party the night before and now it was Christmas on Main Street. This picture really captures the joy we have during a visit to Walt Disney World. Our love for Disney and the parks is more than just a hobby, for one it is an activity we all love equally
and something we enjoy together. But more than that and especially for Mom, Dad, & Teenage Son it reminds us and connects us with our former life in California, it really feels like a piece of home. For Toddler Son it’s a way for us to give him his fair share of early childhood Disney memories that Teenage Son got at Disneyland. |
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| Teenage Son is a serious EPCOT fan, it is his favorite Walt Disney World park. |
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| At EPCOT for the International Food & Wine Festival. |
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| In front of the Main Street Christmas Tree, Dad insisted on this curious pose so we could still see the replica of Walt Disney’s train in the background. Dad is a bit of a Disney Train buff. |
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| Trying to take a selfie with the Dapper Dans in the background. |
Our Thanksgiving streak continued as we have managed to spend every one at Walt Disney World since 2015. The timing did not work out for partaking of any of the Christmas Parties this year, they would sell out by the time we could commit to a specific date! But we made up for it by enjoying the Minnie Christmas themed character meal at Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios was particularly festive with its retro 40’s/50’s decorations and awesome background music. Rise of the Resistance opened at Hollywood Studios during the holiday season and we have managed to ride it 3 times and it is spectacular! It is so realistic and without any sort of visible sign that it is a ride...it really is like being in a Star Wars movie.
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| Having moved from Charlotte to Pensacola we had not found a local barber so we decided to take the boys for their second haircuts at the Magic Kingdom. |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner at EPCOT’s Coral Reef Restaurant. It is located in “The Seas” Pavilion and has dramatic views into the enormous aquarium tank. |
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| Pandora’s Satuli Canteen is one of our favorite places to eat in all of Walt Disney World. It is themed to the James Cameron Avatar film. They serve “alien” cuisine that is basically “bowl” type food with a protein, carbs, vegetables and a sauce; think Chipotle or Panda Express. But somehow it all works without feeling like fast food and the portion sizes are better than similar menu items at “Star Wars Land”. |
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| Waiting to be seated for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant. Toddler Son was taking a nap but Piglet was still up. |
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| Toddler Son had his very first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop in Town Square a few years ago. This was the second time we had brought the boys to get their hair cut at the Main Street U.S.A. Barber Shop. We asked for scissor cuts (which Teenage Son received) but somehow Toddler Son’s barber did not hear us and had the clippers on and through his hair before we could stop her. Thankfully it came out great if a bit too “Big Boy” for our (and his) tastes. Still a couple of great haircuts and we love the experience there. |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner, Turkey and the trimmings for the family while Dad had the Seafood Boil. Everything was delicious! |
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| Toddler Son’s haircut was shorter than usual but still turned out great, he looked like a “big boy”, too big for us! As our youngest we like to think of him as “our baby”. Haha! |
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| Up close with the Walt Disney World Railroad! The engines are on display while the trains are down to accommodate Tron Lightcycle construction. |
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| Piglet and friend from the platform of the Main Street Station, one of the best views in all of the Magic Kingdom. |
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| Chip and Dale with our Chipmunks at the Animal Kingdom Christmas Tree. |
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| Beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby of the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. On this trip we stayed in “The Mansions” which we really enjoyed! It was a cross between the New Orleans style of The Princess and the Frog and The Haunted Mansion. |
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| Christmas was only 27 days away. |
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| Armed with a map and a pig...an afternoon of adventure awaited! Town Square all decked out in its Christmas finery. |
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| Dapper Dans and the citizens of Main Street singing in front of the Main Street Cinema. |
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| Toddler Son takes Piglet very seriously, he also pretty much takes him everywhere. Here he is showing off his new haircut. |
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| Is it “Pirate Treasure” or “Pixie Dust”? Either way it’s the end to a Main Street Harmony Barber Shop haircut! |
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| The winter themed animal marionettes were a fun addition. The puppeteers some how managed to make it seem as if the animals were truly alive. Enchanting little experience. |
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Fireworks over Main Street on a cool winter night. Dad’s vintage 100 years of Magic sweater came in handy to keep
Mom warm. |
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| We are one of those Disney families that love coordinated shirts, here we are at EPCOT in our Christmas Mickeys! |
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| Laser and light show with “snow” over Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. |
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| Dreamlights on Cinderella Castle for the holidays. |
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| Gingerbread Castle at the Contemporary Resort. |
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| Test Track with the have a nice day guy. |
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| Mickey mousekadance party! |
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| Mixing it up by taking a picture looking down Main Street toward the Christmas tree. |
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| More Fireworks over Main Street. |
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| Now it was 25 days until Christmas. |
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| Metal Christmas trees and monorails are right up our alley. Toddler Son playing with the Monorail at the toy store in the Contemporary Resort concourse. |
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| We took the raft to Tom Sawyer’s Island and had to take a picture with the Haunted Mansion in the background. |
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| Gingerbread fun at the Boardwalk Resort. |
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| Thanksgiving night at EPCOT. |
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| Purple wall posing at Tomorrowland |
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| The big cheese welcomes us to Minnies Holiday Dine at Hollywood Studios. |
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| Whosoever pulls this Sword from the Stone will be the one true king of the realm! |
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| Dad is trying to mimic Woodys hat tipping in this picture at Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios. |
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| Hollywood Studios is beautiful at Christmas time, it captures the spirit of Los Angeles architecture very well and cures a bit of our homesickness while somehow being built at the scale of the original Disneyland. |
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| There are countless Christmas Trees all over the Walt Disney World Resort. |
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| With Santa Claus at Hollywood Studios. We did not attend a Christmas party this year but still had a great time at Hollywood Studios. The decor was especially festive and we had a great character meal at Minnies Holiday Dine. |
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| Everyone loves a hug from Mickey |
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| The Art Deco old Hollywood style really seems to go well with Christmas decorations. |
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| We had a wonderful dinner at Minnies Holiday Dine at Hollywood & Vine. We had been to the Disney Junior Breakfast in the past but this was our first time for dinner. Even with a reservation there was a bit of a wait. |
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| Christmas on Hollywood Boulevard |
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| Rise of the Resistance is a remarkable attraction, it is like being in a Star Wars movie, it does not feel like a conventional theme park ride. It’s a collection of experiences where even the lines are somehow made part of the show. |
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| Entry gate to Hollywood Studios based on the Pan Pacific Auditorium that was .in Los Angeles. It was an early design by Welton Becket who would later be Walt Disney’s friend and neighbor and whose firm designed the Contemporary Hotel. |
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| With the little kitty from the Toy Story That Time Forgot short film. |
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| With Goofy’s son Max at EPCOT. |
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| About to board the shuttle on Rise of the Resistance at “Star Wars Land”. |
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| Hollywood Studios |
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| Minnies Holiday Dine has a great character line up, we met all the biggies...Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy and the buffet was good. |
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| Dressed up in our Holiday Clothes at EPCOT for a picture with Spaceship Earth. |
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| Jessie in a holiday vest for Christmas at Hollywood Studios. |
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| Felix Navidad, with “El Pato Donald” at EPCOT |
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| Meeting Stitch at EPCOT |
We had a wonderful January visit to Walt Disney World to support Mom’s sister as she ran in the Walt Disney World Marathon, we were blessed with Mom’s Mom...so we had an Aunt and a Grandmother with us! It was their first trip to Walt Disney World and we did our best to give them a taste of the most magical place on Earth! They have been to Disneyland many times but we don’t think that can truly prepare you for the scale of the Walt Disney World Resort! Dad & Teenage Son managed a solo trip in February to attend a D23 screening of the classic film “The Three Caballeros” and also managed for the first time to visit all 4 Disney World Parks on the same day! President’s Day weekend was so crowded at Disney World...the weekdays of Marathon Week were lightly attended and we were able to do a lot, otherwise the crowds have been out in force during our visits this winter.
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| Mom’s sister (referred to from here on as “Aunty”) was a participant in the 2020 Walt Disney World Marathon. She was accompanied by their mother (We will refer to her as “Grandma”). It doesn’t take much to get us to Disney World but we were especially thrilled to take Aunty and Grandma on their first trip to Walt Disney World! |
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| Teenage Son has Dad’s jacket to keep him warm on a cool night. Florida does have some cool temps in the winter months! |
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| Taking a spin on the Carousel of Progress for the 45th Anniversary of it’s opening at Walt Disney World. |
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| With Aunty and Grandma at Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life. This was their first trip to Walt Disney World and we did our best to show them around. They live in California and have been to Disneyland many times (Aunty is a Disneyland Passholder), but I think they were blown away by the size of Walt Disney World compared to Disneyland. Grandma especially liked the feeling of escape from the outside world that you have at Disney World. |
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| Ringing a bell in support of our Run Disney runner at the finish line. |
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| Blue Milk in the shadow of the Tie Fighter at “Star Wars Land”- Hollywood Studios. |
Run Disney expo at the ESPN Wild World of Sports
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| For Presidents Day Weekend Dad & Teenage Son went down to Orlando to see a D23 screening of the Three Caballeros at Disney Springs. While there we decided to tackle a 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge, something we had never done before. Our rules were very simple, enter each park at least once. We put no restrictions on time in each park or number or type of activities. Magic Kingdom was the last park we visited on our 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge. |
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| Teenage Son rarely passes up the opportunity to pose in front of an interesting wall. And the many construction walls of EPCOT provide lots of opportunities. |
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| WDW Marathon Finish line |
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| We fit in a visit to the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, our favorite EPCOT festival. |
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| Skylining |
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| We had never been to the ESPN wide world of sports until we took Aunty to register for her race. |
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| There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day! |
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| Seems like a dopey place to leave a key! Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. |
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| Taking Aunty and Grandma on a tour of EPCOT. |
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| Four guys on the town fitting in some Magic Kingdom time. |
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| Testing out the Tron Lightcycle vehicles in Tomorrowland. |
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| We had a nice spot in the ChEAR SQUAD area near the finish line of the marathon. |
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| This is a cool piece of mid century design for something as mundane as a taxi stand, so Teenage Son was happy to take a picture with it. At the Magic Kingdom TTC. |
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| Commemorative pin for the anniversary of the opening of The Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World. The show was originally presented at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair, relocated to California where it opened at Disneyland in 1967, and ultimately was moved back to the East Coast opening at the Magic Kingdom in 1975 where it has been to this day. |
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| They’ve got no strings to hold them down! |
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| Toddler Son roots for his Aunty during and shows off his homemade sign for the WDW Marathon. |
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| With a commemorative pin for the anniversary of the opening of Space Mountain. |
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| Rooting on our very own Marathoner near the TTC at Magic Kingdom. |
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| See ya’ real soon! |
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| Walt Disney World Marathon home stretch at EPCOT. |
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| Peoplemoving |
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| Practicing our Mickey feet at Spaceship Earth. EPCOT was park 3 of our 4 Parks 1 day challenge. |
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| EPCOT is a maze of construction walls that make decent backdrops for photos. |
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| “Pinocchio...can we have your autograph?” At EPCOT Center. |
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| Hollywood Studios fun without Mom and Toddler Son, but we sure wished they were there! Hollywood Studios was the first park we went to on our 4 parks 1 day challenge. We arrived pre dawn and got into line to score our pass for Rise of the Resistance. After riding the Millennium Falcon we headed over to Disney Springs for the Three Caballeros screening. |
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| A happy chappie sans his serape! At the Disney Springs D23 screening of The Three Caballeros. |
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| With the fireworks about to begin from the rocks of Tomorrowland. |
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| Piglet is the fifth member of our family and he goes on most adventures with us, meeting another Piglet at the Animal Kingdom Christmas Tree. |
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| Walt Disney World Marathon 2020 |
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| We love Passholder life... |
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| On the Tommowland Transportation Authority Peoplemover |
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| Dusk light on Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom |
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| Not quite ready to ride Space Mountain...maybe if they had side by side seating like at Disneyland... |
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| Practicing our 2 fingered pointing on a Banshee on Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was our 2nd park for our 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge. We pretty much just had time for lunch at Pandora’s Satuli Canteen, one our favorite places to eat at Disney World and then a picture. |
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| After a long day at Walt Disney World get some rest in where ever you can, tomorrow we rope drop! |
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