Our Walt Disney World traditions

There's still a little while to go until our holiday to Walt Disney World in September, and it's sadly been exactly a year since our 2018 trip.

I like to keep the magic alive between trips so I thought I'd blog about our Walt Disney World traditions. I tried to include lots of traditions that aren't centered around food to provide some variety, but it was obviously impossible to compile a whole list without some edible essentials sneaking in.



Staying in a Disney resort

We've been to Walt Disney World six times and we've always stayed in a Disney resort. So far I've stayed in Coronado Springs, Old Key West, Port Orleans French Quarter and Saratoga Springs (three times). I'm super excited that we're adding the Yacht Club Resort to this list in September!

Going to Disney Springs on our first evening

As soon as we've arrived at our resort and freshened up, we always head to Disney Springs for a wander around the shops, dinner at Earl of Sandwich and a cocktail at Dockside Margaritas. Park tickets are valid for 14 days from first use which means we need to choose whether we want to use them on our first evening or on our last morning before leaving for the airport. We prefer to use them on our last morning, so Disney Springs is the perfect relaxing alternative for our first evening.

Making use of our refillable mugs

We've had a free refillable mug on our last few trips to Walt Disney World as we've been on the Disney Dining Plan, but we still buy them when we're not on the plan. They're really good value for money as you can top them up with soft drinks or hot drinks at your resort as many times as you want. And, as an added bonus, they're beautifully designed like everything else in the Disney bubble.

Mickey waffles for my first (and last) breakfast

We always have a sit-down breakfast in the resort's food court on our first and last morning, and I absolutely have to order the Mickey waffles. Once I've got my three Mickey waffles in front of me, I feel as if my Disney holiday has truly begun!

Space Mountain is always our first ride of the holiday 

We always head to Magic Kingdom on our first day and, without fail, Space Mountain is the first ride we queue for. There are lots of rides I love at the Magic Kingdom, but Space Mountain is my absolute favourite because it's in the dark and IT'S SO MUCH FUN.

Lunch in the Magic Kingdom on our first day

We always book a table service lunch at the Magic Kingdom on our first full day, and we usually choose the Plaza. We did go to Tony's Town Square Restaurant instead a few years ago which was pretty good, but I think the Plaza will always be my favourite restaurant in the Magic Kingdom.

Ice cream at Beaches & Cream, Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and Ghirardelli 

You can buy ice cream in about a hundred different places in Walt Disney World. However, we always gravitate towards three places when we need an ice cream fix - Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club Resort, Plaza Ice Cream Parlor at the Magic Kingdom, and Ghirardelli in Disney Springs.

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Meeting Pluto

Character meets aren't a huge priority for me when we go to Walt Disney World, but I always make sure I meet Pluto. We usually meet him on our second full day when we're in Epcot, and I love seeing his happy little face.

Fitting in as many boat rides as we can 

We always make sure we have a few boat rides during our trip. We try to get the boat from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian a few times, and we also catch the Friendship boat to Hollywood Studios from Epcot (and/or the other way around). They help us to rest our feet, they provide nicer views than the buses, and they obviously get us to where we want to go.

Beauty and the Beast and Festival of the Lion King shows

As you'd imagine, there are lots of different shows to see when you go to Walt Disney World. We tend to alternate between most of them on our different trips, but I absolutely have to see the Beauty and the Beast show in Hollywood Studios and the Festival of the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom every time we go.

What are your Walt Disney World traditions?

My Easter weekend

I've been looking forward to the Easter weekend ever since we got back from Venice last month. Who doesn't love having four days off with no need to use annual leave?

The weather was beautiful for the whole four days which made the long weekend all the more enjoyable. Here's a summary of what we got up to, along with a photo of Jessie looking EXTREMELY excited about the whole thing.

Good Friday 

I've had a busy few weeks and have been feeling pretty exhausted and stressed out for a while, so I promised myself that I'd have a relaxing day on Good Friday. Neil was working so I had the house to myself. I had a lie in, took Jessie for a lovely walk in the sunshine, caught up on Neighbours and read an entire book. I usually use my days off to blitz all the tasks and chores I don't have time to do during the week, but I felt well-rested and much calmer at the end of the day so I definitely needed the break.

Saturday 

Neil was working again on Saturday, so I took Jessie for a walk in the morning then drove to McArthur Glen to meet Nicola for a long awaited catch up. We had lunch in Frankie and Benny's then wandered around the shops for an hour. I popped to Morrisons on my way home to pick up some (more) Easter chocolate, then we had an evening in with Jessie and Netflix.

Easter Sunday 

Neil took Jessie for an early morning walk before it got too hot for her, then we had Easter bunny crumpets for breakfast before going to the cinema to see the live-action Dumbo film. I cried sad tears and happy tears and I absolutely loved it. We stopped in Five Guys for a burger and chips, then we went home to eat some chocolate and to give Jessie her Easter treats. The three of us went for a lovely walk once the weather was a bit cooler, then we watched the first Avengers film on DVD. We're aiming to watch the first three films before we see Endgame in a couple of weeks!

Easter Monday 

We took Jessie for a morning walk then continued to eat all the stereotypical Easter food by having hot cross buns for lunch. We then went to Cardiff Bay to do our food shopping for the week and to wander around Wilko without buying anything (does anyone else do that?). We popped in to Costa for a coffee and a hot chocolate while we were there, then started on all the household chores when we got back. My house to-do list was massive as a result of my relaxing few days, but it was well worth it. Once I'd finished, I sat down to eat some well-deserved chocolate and to write this blog post!

We had a really lovely weekend where we spent lots of quality time with each other and with Jessie, and it felt like a decent break. I'm also very proud of all the Easter food we consumed, but slightly relieved that I'll be going back to the gym in a couple of days. 

Do you want to know something exciting? Only 4 days to go until next weekend! 

Hobbies of an early-30-something

During that hazy twenty minutes between my alarm going off and eventually forcing myself out of bed, I always have a quick scroll through the day's Timehop memories. I joined Facebook about 11 years ago which means that Timehop now shows me updates from as far back as 2007. I was in my third year of university for the first half of 2007 and worked in Tesco for the last half, so life was very different back then.

My daily trip down memory lane has made me realise that my hobbies and interests have changed quite a bit over the last ten years as I've got older and my lifestyle and priorities have changed. I enthusiastically decided a few weeks ago that this would make an excellent topic for a blog post.

So, here's a bit of an audit on how my hobbies have changed from my early 20s to my early 30s...

New hobbies

Blogging
I set up my blog in 2011 and have been blogging pretty regularly since, particularly over the last five years. Blogging is a great creative outlet for me and I do genuinely enjoy updating my own little corner of the internet.

Walking
Although I used to walk everywhere when I was a student, that was more out of necessity rather than because I enjoyed it. I couldn't afford to pay for taxis and I didn't pass my driving test until I was 21, so walking felt like a bit of a chore. Nowadays, I love going out for walks around our beautiful local areas.

Eating Believe it or not, I used to be quite a fussy eater when I was younger. While I was at university and for a couple of years afterwards, I didn't really appreciate the joy of food like I do now. I'm not a very good cook and I couldn't afford to eat out much, so I used to live on pasta and beans on toast. These days, it won't surprise you to hear that I LOVE eating. 

Walt Disney World
I went to Walt Disney World for the first time when I was 25 and I well and truly caught the bug. I've been six times since then and fully intend to go back next year.

Pyjamas
I've always worn pyjamas (obviously), but I've only started getting really excited about them during the last few years. I think I prefer shopping for new pyjamas than shopping for actual clothes.

Dogs
I was absolutely terrified of dogs in my early 20s. Now, I think I actually prefer dogs to people most of the time and I've even got my own amazing dog.

Old hobbies

Rugby
In my early 20s and for many years before that, I used to spend an absolute fortune on rugby tickets. I went to watch Swansea playing regularly when I was still in school, and I bought tickets to watch both Cardiff and Wales on a regular basis throughout my time at university. These days, I'm not bothered about watching the games on TV let alone in real life. I'm not sure when I fell out of love with it, but at some point it just stopped being a priority for me.

Collecting newspaper cuttings

Anyone who has ever lived with me will know that my bedroom walls and furniture used to be completely covered in newspaper cuttings featuring my favourite rugby memories, my favourite rugby players and my favourite celebrities. I also had separate folders full of cuttings which I couldn't fit on the walls. About six years ago, I decided that my bedroom walls looked much nicer without all that clutter and I haven't looked back since! 

Going out on a Friday and/or Saturday night
I used to go out quite regularly at the weekends in my early 20s, but these days I love nothing more than to curl up in my aforementioned pyjamas on a Saturday night with a film and a hot chocolate (and perhaps a glass of wine if I'm feeling adventurous).

Hobbies that have lasted the distance

Reading
I've loved reading since I was about four years old when I used to devour new Enid Blyton books every day. My love for reading has never wavered, and I hope it never will.

Gym
I started going to the gym during my second year at university. I've been a member of a few different gyms over the years and have experimented with exercise classes, cardio and weight training. This is definitely a hobby that's remained very constant over the last ten years or so.

Disney
My love for Disney has grown since I started visiting Walt Disney World (and so has my collection of Mickey ears), but it's always been there since I was a little girl who was obsessed with 101 Dalmatians, Bambi and the Jungle Book.

Music
Listening to music became a hobby in my mid teens, and it's still up there as one of my favourites. My music taste hasn't really changed since then... I'm currently listening to S Club 7's Greatest Hits.

Neighbours
I did have quite a big gap where I didn't watch Neighbours for a few years during my mid 20s, but it's well and truly back in my life now and brightening up my evenings.

Buying pink things 
This isn't really a hobby as such, but pink has been my favourite colour for as long as I can remember and that remains the case to this day!

How have your hobbies changed over the last ten years? 

Pink, grey and white with a touch of Disney

We started a colossal re-decorating project a few months ago which all started with us deciding we needed to spruce up our bedroom.

Our room is pretty small and we weren't making the best use of the space available to us. Also, some of our bedroom furniture was looking a bit worse for wear as we'd spent as little on it as possible when we moved in to the house four years ago. If anyone ever tells you that buying a house and planning a wedding at the same time is a great idea, please don't believe them for a second.

We decided a fitted wardrobe on one end of the room was the best way to maximise the space. Of course, if we wanted a fitted wardrobe, that would mean replacing the carpet as it was looking a bit worn. And if we were replacing the carpet in our room, it made sense to replace it everywhere else too. And everyone knows that you might as well re-paint all the walls before you get a new carpet fitted. Can you see why this suddenly became a much bigger project than 'we need to sort out our bedroom'?

Anyway, to cut a long and boring story short, we re-carpeted all the carpeted rooms in the house and painted all the walls. You can see the results from our guest room in one of my recent blog posts. Our bedroom was the most time-consuming room of all and was the last to get finished, but it's been well worth the wait.

We opted for two single fitted wardrobes with a dressing table and two top boxes. I've got my own fitted wardrobe in the opposite corner of the bedroom, so these wardrobes are for Neil's clothes. However, the dressing table area is definitely my domain! I bought a grey stool with in-built storage and a little white drawer unit to make the most of the space underneath, and I was all set. 

The dressing table itself took a little longer and a lot of re-arranging before I was completely satisfied with it. I'd had my white jewellery box for a few years and it was the perfect match, so that was always going to be my centrepiece. I fell in love with the baby pink vase in Next so that went straight in my shopping basket, as did the white flowers from Wilko. I bought the little white pots from Ikea for all my make up brushes and tubes, then Minnie Mouse and Marie were given the honour of sitting on the dressing table and looking pretty. I just needed a nice white mirror to finish it all off and found one in Argos for £7. Bargain! 

The walls and the carpet are slightly different shades of grey, so we went for a grey bed from Dreams to continue the theme. It's an ottoman type which means the bed frame can easily be lifted up with ample storage underneath. We chose baby pink accessories to complement the grey and the white, and it all works together really well. I also loved having the excuse to buy new colour-coordinated bedding to go with the theme! I haven't photographed the bed in its entirety as I can never manage to make the bedding look all tidy and crease-free, but it's a big improvement on what we had before and looks so cosy. 

We put a floating shelf above the bed to house some of my many Disney teddies and Disney Traditions figurines, and my Dumbo print from Florida has been put up in pride of place. All the teddies on the shelf are pink, grey and white... I feel as if I've spent a LOT of time contemplating which Disney teddies fit in with various colour schemes over the last few weeks. 

No room is complete without some nice meaningful photos, so I wanted to make sure we had plenty of nice photographs in our room. We've got 7 small white and grey photo frames along our windowsill which are filled with a mix of Disney postcards and photos, and I also bought this larger white frame to hold some of our holiday memories. Jessie also has a whole row to herself which is just the way it should be. 

So, after a few months of hard work, I think we've finally finished re-decorating and re-arranging our entire house. What do you think of our pink, grey and white bedroom? Do you think there are enough Disney touches or should I try to sneak some more in...? 

My 2018 Disney character meets

After writing a more personal post last week, I'm back to posting about a combination of two of my favourite things... holidays and Disney!

I'm not massively in to character meets which means they're not my biggest priority when we go to Walt Disney World, but I do try to fit a few in around our other plans.

I absolutely have to meet Pluto every year because he's my favourite, and I also pledged to meet Goofy on this year's trip before we left. I didn't have any others in mind at the beginning of the holiday so just decided to wing it whenever I saw a short queue.

It's become a standard tradition for me to meet Pluto in Epcot on our second full day. He's always got a short queue at his Epcot spot and the cast members there are always so lovely and enthusiastic. I wore my custom-made Pluto ears from Closet Geek for this meet, of course!

A few days later, we were leaving Hollywood Studios after a flying visit and happened to see Daisy and Donald Duck at the entrance. Donald had a massive queue but Daisy's was much shorter, so I quickly got in line as I'd never met Daisy before. We happened to be very colour coordinated which was a happy coincidence.

Towards the end of the holiday, we'd booked fastpasses for the Character Spot in Epcot as the attraction fastpasses were thin on the ground for that day. Neil didn't use his fastpass as he hates meeting characters, so I braved it on my own. I assumed I'd only meet one character and was trying to figure out how to choose, but I actually got to meet Goofy, Mickey and Minnie which was a lovely surprise. I would definitely recommend getting a fastpass for this experience as the standard queue length was around 50 minutes. The meets were slightly rushed as there were lots of people behind me chomping at the bit, but I still had a decent amount of time with each character.

I did go on a hunt for Donald in our last couple of days as I was on a mission to complete my Sensational Six collection, but I unfortunately didn't come across him for the rest of our trip. He'll have to go on the list for 2019.

Who's on top of your character meet list?

Walt Disney World shopping haul

There are only two things that provide a quick fix for those unrelenting Disney holiday blues. One is booking your next trip, and the other is making the most of everything you bought while you were there.

I blogged about my holiday shopping wishlist a couple of weeks before we left and I managed to pick up most of the things I wanted to buy. It's also quite fair to say that I bought a few extras. We received a $200 gift card with our holiday booking which was a great bonus, so lots of the items in this post were bought using that. Free money!

We also had some productive trips to the many shopping outlets outside of Walt Disney World, but I'm just focusing on my Disney haul for this post.

Two of my favourite purchases! A little Dooney and Bourke bag and a Mickey Mouse topiary charm for my Disney Pandora bracelet. 

I bought some lovely clothes this year, including a baby pink spirit jersey which was even prettier than the rose gold one I'd coveted beforehand. I also bought a pin for my office lanyard, and I couldn't say no to these two pairs of amazing Disney Parks ears. 

I bought some practical items for the house including fridge magnets, a new mug and bowl, and several pens (which I definitely didn't need but just had to have). I also bought a beautiful Dumbo necklace, just to go with the continuing Dumbo theme. 

As per my wishlist, I bought the special edition Flower and Garden Festival Minnie Mouse. Look how pretty she is! I also bought Figment, Dug, and a Tramp costume for Duffy. I wasn't supposed to buy any more costumes for Duffy but it was $10 in an outlet store so I couldn't resist.

We spent a long time over several evenings in the fascinating Art of Disney store and eventually decided on this beautiful Dumbo sketch and a Mickey, Minnie and Pluto postcard for our newly redecorated bedroom. 

We bought a new Minnie Mouse collar and tag for Jessie along with some Disney toys. The pictured toy only lasted a day before she broke it, but her squeaky Mickey waffle is thankfully still going strong. 

Have you blogged about your Disney hauls recently? Send me your links, I'd love to read them! 

It's cocktail o'clock at Walt Disney World

This post isn't entirely about cocktails, but I love to alliterate.

I've already blogged about my favourite snacks, quick-service restaurants and table-service restaurants from this year's trip. As those posts were obviously very food focused, I decided to write a separate post all about the drinkilicious beverages we tried at Walt Disney World this year.

Most non-alcoholic drinks at your resort and at the parks are included on the Disney Dining Plan as a snack. Each person gets two snack credits per day on the regular Dining Plan, so these drinks are a great way to use up your credits as well as quenching that humidity-induced thirst. 

You also receive a free refillable mug as part of the Dining Plan which means unlimited soft drink refills at your resort for the duration of your stay. 

As well as all the free non-alcoholic drinks, the Disney Dining Plan recently announced an exciting upgrade.  Your table-service credits now include one alcoholic drink along with your main meal and dessert. We like to have an alcoholic drink with our evening meals and have previously just paid the extra for them, so this was a welcome addition for us. 

Here are my top ten non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks from this year's holiday. Enjoy! 

We had two LeFou's Brews from Gaston's Tavern this year. They're absolutely massive and great value as a snack credit on the Dining Plan. 

We visited Dockside Margaritas in Disney Springs many many times. The cocktails are really tasty (I always order the Rum Runner) and the outdoor seating area boasts this amazing view. 

I ordered the 'It's Showtime Mojito' at Planet Hollywood. I was expecting it to be a bit watered down but it was actually very potent! 

South Sea Breeze cocktail at Nine Dragons in Epcot's China pavilion. Always a winner.

I don't even like tequila as a general rule, but this Frontera Margarita from Frontera Cocina was pretty spectacular. 

Night Blossom from Pandora: The World of Avatar. Basically a huge tumbler of colourful slushy sugar with edible beads on top, so obviously I loved it. 

No visit to the Flower and Garden Festival is complete without a Violet Lemonade. 

We love wandering around Epcot in the evening with either a Prosecco from Italy or a glass of wine from France. 

My standard cocktail order whenever we go to Shula's Steakhouse. Blueberry Martini! 

Glow-tini at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. You'd have thought the lure of this cocktail was all in the souvenir glowcube (some of it definitely is), but it does taste really good too. 

What are your favourite drinks at Walt Disney World? I'm forever on the hunt for tasty (and instagrammable) beverages!