You may or may not know this, but 2017 has been less than kind to me. My husband dealt with some pretty major health issues, which in turn was a hit to our finances, which in turn had me more than a little stressed out for a while there.
I’m very happy to say that things are going much better all around for us, but this past spring was really challenging. So, when Erin, one of my best friends let me know that she was heading down to Florida for a quick trip, I promptly invited myself to tag along.
Sometimes a couple of great friends and one crazy day at Walt Disney World are really all you need to turn that frown upside-down!
Because we just can’t help ourselves, of course there were matching t-shirts involved. And my friend Liz is so supremely crafty that she also handmade us some ears – one for each Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Clarabelle Cow (see gif at the end).
We made it our mission to hunt down and take pictures with the three ladies, but we also had a lot of ground to cover in just one day.
So, we began our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Having been to Walt Disney World as much as I have, my top priorities with every visit are to see the things I’ve never seen before. To that end, we kicked things off with a spin (pun intended) on Toy Story Mania.
From there, we whizzed past The Great Movie Ride (if only we had known it would be our last chance to enjoy “The Ultimate Celebration of Classic Movies”…) and headed down Sunset Boulevard for a couple of my favorite attractions: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
And off to our next park we went.
We really had two main objectives for Epcot: Frozen Ever After and food.
Again, having never been on Frozen Ever After, it was something I knew we had to check off my list. I was torn initially (RIP Maestrom), but quite frankly it was the most amazing use of animatronics I have ever seen. I basically thought Olaf was going to walk right over to our boat and give me a nice, warm hug.
We continued on our walk “around the world,” only stopping for food and drinks (we enjoyed goodies from Mexico, China, and France) and to watch a band of cute German boys do their thing. #Swoon – weird socks/legwarmers and all!
We hit Soarin’ (amazing since the refurbishment!) on our way out, and it was on to the Magic Kingdom.
Considering how quick all of our wait times had been thus far, is was pretty disappointing to see several of the lines at the OG park topping out well over an hour each. Luckily, our main objective for visiting was the new nighttime shows. Mostly we ended up walking around quite a bit and finally stopping for a meal at Columbia Harbour House, honestly a hidden jewel when it comes to Quick Service dining options at the Magic Kingdom.
A few other classics later (“it’s a small world” and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) and we settled into our spot for the night.
Happily Ever After and Once Upon a Time were both incredible! Besides the already-amazing fireworks and soundtrack, both of these nighttime spectaculars take advantage of the prime real estate that is Cinderella Castle with some of the most breathtaking projections I have ever seen. I must have taken a hundred pictures and not one does them justice.
We couldn’t end the night without just one more treat, so ICE CREAM!
Oh, and also…
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
So, if you’re feeling down, phone a friend (or two) and head to the happiest place on earth. They don’t call it that for nothing!
Okay, okay, I know that jet-setting across the country at a moment’s notice isn’t always plausible. Heck, it’s not usually plausible for me either! But I think the more important part of the equation is friends.
Until our next Ladies Weekend in the spring (or our next we’re-stressed-and-need-a-quick-spontaneous-weekend-away trip, whichever comes first)…
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