Festival of the Arts

We took advantage of our annual passes to spend an evening at Epcot during the annual Festival of the Arts. We enjoyed snacking at the festival booths and looking at the art for sale before it started to rain and we headed home.

Animal Kingdom

Looking for some exercise, we headed up to Animal Kingdom. We managed to catch the last safari to see some animals, but all of the walks were already closed. So we rode Dinosaur and headed home at park close.

Magic Kingdom

Becca flew back from Alabama early on Friday morning for Spring Break and since it was the last day before the blackout dates on her annual pass, we drove straight to Magic Kingdom to get her one park day. Space Mountain and Splash Mountain were closed when we arrived so we went straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we headed to Thunder Mountain, which had a long line. We thought Splash was opening so we jumped over there but they closed it again. Space Mountain opened up so we were able to hit that before it got busy and then did some shopping on Main Street. We caught the parade as we were waiting for lunch at Crystal Palace. We enjoyed the buffet there and then the ladies rode Splash Mountain. Becca was tired so we decided to call it a day, but not before hopping the monorail to the Polynesian for some Dole Whips.

Drawn to Life

Janie and J. R. had bought tickets to the new Cirque du Soleil show "Drawn to Life" for Janie's birthday and when we learned Becca was coming home, we added a ticket for her. We did some shopping at Disney Springs and picked up our AP magnets. Then we had a great dinner at Jaleo with a delicious paella. The weather turned cold and we hid out in the M&Ms and Coke stores before the theatre opened.

The show was really good, except for the people behind us who would not stop talking.

Flower and Garden

We did one of our evening walks at Epcot to get some food at the Flower and Garden show at Epcot. We found a few things we liked and one we didn't which were the arepas. We didn't do any rides this time.

Easter

On the day before Easter, we drove to the Magic Kingdom for a little hotel hopping and park time. We parked in the main lot and took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian to view the chocolate Easter eggs on display. After that, we got back on the monorail to the Contemporary, where we viewed some more eggs and then had lunch at Steakhouse 1971. Then we took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We did the 65 minute wait for Space Mountain and then a tour around Tomorrowland on the People Mover before wandering the shops. We decided to drive to Epcot where we did the Easter egg hunt before going to the Beach Club for a couple of drinks.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

One morning, Becca texted from Alabama that she had gotten an email to signup for the Annual Passholder preview for the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at Epcot. Neither Janie nor J. R. had received an invite. But Becca couldn't get logged in to reserve a spot, so she texted the link to J. R. and he secured a preview spot for all three of us. When our day arrived, we headed to Epcot and walked around awhile before our preview time, then checked in and rode one of the best roller coasters we have ever experienced.

Kona Cafe and Winter Summerland

Rebecca wanted breakfast at Kona Cafe, so we indulged her desire for Tonga Toast and then took a putt-putt around Winter Summerland.

Mother's Day Dinner

For Mother's Day, the kids treated Janie to dinner at Toledo at the Coronado Springs and it was as tasty as the first time.

Enzo's Hideaway

Continuing the theme of visiting places Becca wanted to try, we went to Enzo's Hideaway for lunch before she left for England.

Magic Kingdom

It had been awhile since we shut down a theme park, so we went to the Magic Kingdom one night for dinner at Liberty Tree and fireworks.

Disney Studios

We made a quick trip to Disney Studios for some dinner in Galaxy's Edge and seeing the light show at the Tower of Terror.

Animal Kingdom

We continued to make use of our annual passes with a trip to the Animal Kingdom and a chance to dine at Tiffin's. The drinks, food and service were incredible.

California Grill

We booked the 50th anniversary dinner at California Grill for a night out so we made a quick trip to Epcot and then went over to the Contemporary Resort for a drink before dinner and watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks show.

Monorail Bar Crawl

J. R. heard about a monorail bar crawl where you visit a bar at each of the monorail resorts. We started off with a ferry ride to Magic Kingdom and walked to the Contemporary for a drink and chocolate cake at Steakhouse 71 bar. Then we rode the monorail to Polynesian for a drink at the pool bar and a Dole Whip. We walked through Magic Kingdom and rode Pirates and caught part of the parade and then took the monorail to Grand Floridian. We went to Enchanted Rose and had a couple of drinks and a cheese plate to finish off the day.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

"Boo To You, and Trick or Treat..." We got Halloween off to an early start by doing the after-hours Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom, something we had always wanted to do. Janie Disney-bounded as Minnie Mouse. J. R. went for Mickey but ended up closer to Rizzo the Rat from MuppetVision 3-D. We collected a lot of candy and rode most of the big rides. We especially liked the extra-dark Deep Space Mountain overlay.

Disney Springs Christmas

Rebecca came home for Thanksgiving so we took a visit to Epcot for the last days of the Food & Wine Festival as well as to Disney Springs for some shopping after a stop at Giordano's for pizza. Later in the month we visited Epcot for the Festival of the Arts and the Cookie Stroll.

Magic Kingdom & Steakhouse 71

Becca came home from Alabama and had one day left before the blackout dates on her Annual Pass, so we drove up to Magic Kingdom for a ride on Space Mountain and the PeopleMover before doing some shopping on Main Street. After that, we walked over to the Contemporary for our anniversary dinner at Steakhouse 71. Janie and J. R. had the steak while Becca enjoyed the fish and then we split a multi-layer chocolate cake for dessert. The waitress brought over some cupcakes which we took home as an anniversary present, which was unexpected.

Family Day at Disney Studios

For the first time in several years, we had the whole family for Christmas. Since it was their first Christmas in Orlando, we had to visit the theme parks. We chose Disney Studios since Alex, Bethany and Thomas had never seen Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. After a less-than-magic start at the ticket booths because our tickets weren't validated as the email said they were, we headed to Rise of the Resistance on a chilly Florida morning. We followed that up with Smuggler's Run and then over to Mickey's Runaway Railway.

J. R. had a dinner reservation at Hollywood & Vine that he changed to lunch so he could buy Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot. So we did some shopping and then headed to lunch where we met with the characters and had some good food at the buffet. After that, it was off to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster for some of the group while Alex, Rebecca and J. R. went to Alien Spinning Saucers and then Alex and Rebecca had to have Mickey bars.

Evening at Epcot

Late afternoon, we hopped in the cars and drove over to Epcot. We started with a ride through Spaceship Earth before going to The Land to see the Christmas overlay. But the ride had broken down, so Alex suggested we go see Figment, which we did. Then we went back to the Land to see the Christmas lights and then did a walk through the World Showcase. After that, it was time to take Thomas, Alex and Bethany on Guardians for the first time, which they loved. We split up after that with Janie and J. R. heading home while the kids went to Test Track to close down Epcot.