Star Wars Breakfast

For our last day in the parks, we scheduled a special Star Wars Galactic Breakfast at Hollywood Studios. This breakfast was so much fun! Even Mom and Dad got into it. We saw Darth Vader and Boba Fett. I tried to pose with the choke hold, but Vader was not impressed.

Mom and Dad had a blast. They were interacting with all of the characters and taking pictures with them too.

How cute are the breakfast pastries? I love how Disney gets totally into the theming. It makes the experience that much more fun.

Greedo was a little flirt! He tried to steal me away from Christopher.

Christopher brought a special Buffalo pin to trade with the Jawas. Christopher received a red gem from them - too cute.

We were nervous if Mom and Dad would enjoy the experience and they had a blast. They posed with all of the characters and enjoyed breakfast too.

Got to look out for those little Jawas - they love shiny things like silverware and blue milk.

When the stormtroopers came by, I told them that Christopher was a rebel spy. So they "arrested" him. It was so much fun.

Even Mom and Dad got into trouble with the Stormtroopers.

Breakfast was delicious. I had the Tatooine Sunrise and Christopher had the Imperial Delight. The service was wonderful and the ambiance was great. They showed Star Wars clips including two trailers for the upcoming new movie.

Our 4 Park Challenge Day!

During this trip we did a 4 Park Challenge. Our goal/rules of the challenge: go to each park in one day, enjoy at least 3 attractions per park, and eat at least a snack at each park. And....we did it! It is definitely exhausting, but added a different element to our trip

Our first park was Animal Kingdom to capitalize on the extra magic hours in the morning. We were able to ride Expedition Everest TWICE, walked on Kilimanjaro safaris and walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration uninterrupted. We grabbed breakfast at a kiosk and enjoyed some espresso and a croissant.

Next park: Magic Kingdom! We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and the WDW Railroad. We had lunch at Friars Nook (Christopher wanted the pot roast macaroni and cheese) and I shared a pepperoni pizza from Pinocchio's Village Haus. 

Next park: Hollywood Studios. This is our least favorite park, so finding things to do that we both liked was hard. We rode Star Tours, walked through One Man's Dream and then did the Star Wars Lego Experience since it was Star Wars weekend. For our snack, we had a Mickey Ear Ice Cream to help us cool off. 

Since we were making excellent time, we decided to walk back to our resort and take a little nap. It felt so awesome to put our feet up and relax. We probably would have made it through Epcot, but we would have been a little grumpy.

After our nap it was off to our final park - EPCOT! We rode Test Track (thanks to our free fast pass from the ride breaking down), The 3 Caballeros and Mission: SPACE. 

We then relaxed until our dinner reservation at Spice Road Table. We had some celebratory drinks - Christopher picked up a beer from England and I had my favorite martini - no surprises there.

Dinner was delicious but the service was awful. We ordered our favorite pitcher of sparkling sangria, baked brie, calamari and mixed skewers. And of course we finished with coffee and dessert. We caught Illuminations from our table and had a great view of it. We also ran into my co-worker Titi! It was her first trip to WDW and she was having a great time.

And because we are crazies, we ran back to the resort, dropped all of our stuff and ran over to Hollywood Studios to catch Symphony in the Stars. It was so much more huge from outside of the park. We definitely have a new appreciation for the fireworks show.

So...WE DID IT! The 4 park challenge was fun yet exhausting. Definitely not to do with young children, but I would say pre-teen, teens could handle it.

Saturday Breakfast & Epcot

Saturday morning we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe to catch up with Mom and Dad on their date night and to share with them ours. They had a lovely time at the California Grill. Our breakfast was delicious as usual. Christopher got his fill of steak and eggs and I got the breakfast platter (I like a little bit of everything).

We then made our way to Epcot via the monorail. We went on Imagination with Figment, walked through Innoventions plaza, did Ellen's Energy Adventure and waited in line for Test Track only to have it break down right when we designed our car. Bummer! But we did get a free fast pass to use whenever we would like.

We checked out some of the gardens during the festival. We then walked around World Showcase Lagoon catching the last weekend of the Flower & Garden Festival and all of the fun treats.

We ate a spicy pineapple hot dog, blueberry pomegranate margarita, the lucky combo in China, a beer flight in Germany, Maple Bacon stout from the Smokehouse (while catching the new acappella act perform too - they were AWESOME!) and of course a trip around the world would not be complete without a Grey Goose Grand Marnier martini!

We had a very nice afternoon walking around. We then refreshed ourselves and walked over to the Beach Club for dinner at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. I had a burger and Christopher had a turkey sandwich. Mom and Dad both had burgers and of course we all indulged in a sundae. It was so cute inside and we had fun selecting tunes from the juke box.

After dinner, Christopher and I walked over to Hollywood Studios to catch Symphony in the Stars. We had some time to kill so we waited and rode Star Tours and had a flight sequence we have not seen before! It was our favorite yet. We then staked our spot on Hollywood Boulevard for the show and fireworks. It did not disappoint. So incredible to have the fireworks go off to the Star Wars score. Christopher videoed it so we can watch it again and again. 

Star Wars Weekend

We were lucky to be on vacation during the first weekend of Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios. Therefore we had to be there for opening day!

We got to the park at 9 am and all of the edge of the street seating was taken for the parade! So we picked a spot behind a nice family and waited. Within 30 minutes all of the shaded sidewalk area was taken and people were starting to get feisty. Mom and Dad made it a little after 10 am.

The parade was awesome. The costumes and characters were incredible. The celebrities for this weekend were James Arnold Taylor (host of Star Wars Weekends), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Ashley Eckstein, Amy Allen and some other star from the cartoon series.

So - I have a story about Amy Allen. She is related to Aunt Marie and Uncle Paul Chodkowski. Uncle Paul is also her Godfather, in addition to Christopher. So Mom and Dad wanted to see her again (they have met her before) and have her sign some of the toy figurines, including a special one to send to Paul and Marie. So first we tried asking the front desk if they could arrange the meeting because Aunt Marie told Amy to expect us, but front desk/concierge couldn't help us. So Mom contacted Aunt Marie again to see if we could set this directly up with Amy. Aunt Marie gave Mom and Dad her number and Dad called. Amy was very nice and set up a meeting.

She was so sweet and remembered Mom and Dad. She signed all of the stuff Mom and Dad brought and took a picture with us (the picture is on Dad's camera). We did feel like VIPs because we got to go through this back entrance to one of the buildings in Hollywood Studios and skipped some of the other fans who waited in line.

For lunch we ate at Mama Melrose's. It was pretty good, but not as good as some other Italian places in Walt Disney World, but it is one of Mom and Dad's favorites, so we made sure to make it.

Since we did a lot of waiting for the parade we did not really get a chance to do other attractions. We did ride Star Tours and Toy Story Midway Mania. Christopher beat me AGAIN, but the ride is so much fun!

We ended up waiting one hour in line to get into the Darth Mall, a special merchandise location only open during Star Wars Weekend. Christopher was so excited to see the merchandise and get the commemorative name tag. It was worth the wait for sure. Plus we got fun Star Wars themed drinks with Death Star and Millennium Falcon light up cubes in the drinks.

We went back to the resort and relaxed by the pool in the afternoon. It felt really good to lay low and relax for a bit. Friday was our special date nights. Mom and Dad headed to California Grill inside the Contemporary and Christopher and I had our special night at Victoria and Albert's inside the Grand Floridian. But I will save that for another blog post!

Our Upcoming Trips FastPass+ Plan

So excited that our trip is about two months away!!! For all the Disney veterans out there - you know what this means - FastPass+ time, pre-arrival check in, etc. I am sure you will not be surprised when I tell you that we have a FP+ plan before we hit our 60 day mark. I thought I would share it with you all and to cheer us on that we get close to what our wishes are!

Day 1 - we will be in Epcot as it is just a short walk from our villa at the Boardwalk. Although our goal is to try as many different tastings during the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, we do want to fit in some ride breaks. We are hoping for: Soarin', Mission: SPACE and Spaceship Earth. Mom and I will probably pass on Mission: SPACE, but our parents love Soarin'. And of course we have to hit Spaceship Earth too.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom Day! FP #1 - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Our parents have not been on this attraction yet and the lines are usually long. The coaster is cool, but we don't think it is worth the 2 hour wait. Definitely FastPass+ it. Other two rides are Space Mountain and Peter Pan's Flight. Peter Pan's Flight is a slower transfer for guests getting on and off the ride, that is why the wait times soar in the afternoon.

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios Day & Star Wars Weekend! Our FastPass+ plan is to hit Toy Story Midway Mania (a must unless you want to wait in really long lines), Star Tours (because it is Star Wars Weekend) and Tower of Terror - Christopher's favorite.

Day 4 - this is kind of a flex day, but Christopher and I are planning on going back to Epcot to eat at some more marketplaces. So we are planning for Test Track and the Epcot Character Spot - to get our pictures taken with the Fab 5. But this may change - we shall see how the vacation takes us.

Day 5 - Christopher and I's 4-Park Challenge Day. Goodness wish us luck! It was tough trying to pick which park we should use our FastPass+ selections at. Animal Kingdom has early extra magic hours, so we feel we should have no problem hitting three attractions in the early morning. Next we are heading to Magic Kingdom and since there are so many attractions available, we don't think we will have an issue here either. The next park is Hollywood Studios - and this is where we are thinking we should use our FP+ selections because the park doesn't have that many attractions and we will be getting here later in the day. Our plan is Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D. It may not work out with the times, but if we could at least get Toy Story Midway Mania, we should not have to wait too long for Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D. Then of course we are heading to Epcot for the last three attractions and our celebratory dinner. We are planning on hitting Captain EO, Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Spaceship Earth.

Day 6 - Since our parents haven't really been to Animal Kingdom, we figured this was a must on this trip. So we are planning to use our FP+ selections on Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris and possibly Mickey & Minnie at the Adventureers Outpost to get some cute family pictures.

Days 7 - 12 we will not have passes, so no need to worry about FP+ selections. We are going to spend the second half of our trip relaxing by the pools, enjoying the fabulous resort fare and shopping.

Updated Walt Disney World Vacation Planners

With all of this cold weather, I most certainly have vacation on the brain. Our next Disney trip is less than 75 days away! With that said, I have been busy completing our Disney Vacation planner with all of our dining reservations, special Star Wars weekend events and of course the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival (which starts this week!).

I also updated all of the Ellegant Decor Disney Collection Vacation Planners! I want all of my customers to have the most up to date information for their Walt Disney World Vacation.

Updates include:
- Disney Parks Character Guide
- Disney PhotoPass Locations
- FastPass+ Kiosk Locations
- Penny Press locations throughout all of the Walt Disney property

and NEW - Locations of Charging Stations at the parks!

There are various types of planners to fit all of your vacation needs. Included in each are:

Value Planner
- Travel Information Page
- Payment Timetable & Budget
- Advanced Dining Reservations Organizer
- Disney Day Planner
- Notes Page

Moderate Planner
- Everything in the Value Planner PLUS
- Important Numbers Page
- Ultimate Disney Packing List

Deluxe Planner
- Everything in the Moderate Planner PLUS
- Extra Spending Money & Souvenir Page
- Parks Character Guide

Castle Planner
- Everything in the Deluxe Planner PLUS
- Average Attraction Wait Time Listing
- Disney PhotoPass Locations
- FastPass+ Kiosk Locations
- Charging Station Locations

The WALT Planner
- Everything in the Castle Planner PLUS
- Locations to view fireworks
- Penny Press Locations throughout the WDW Property

Head on over to Ellegant Decor's Disney Collection to pick out your planner today!

Day 6 - 2014 Disney World Trip

Christopher in his Star Wars t-shirt of the day

Yep - Christopher surprised me with a special shirt of my own.

Hard to believe how long this vacation was because it seemed to fly right by us while we were there! Day 6 brought us to Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekend! I am so glad that I consulted with family, friends and some other blogs because I am not sure I would have been prepared for what Star Wars Weekend was going to be like!

Waiting for the parade!

We walked to the park (huge perk for staying at Boardwalk Villas) and arrived around 9 am. The Stormtroopers were standing guard just past the entrance. It was pretty cool. As we were walking down the main boulevard, we noticed a lot of people were already staking out their spots for the parade. At 9:15 am, we found a nice shady spot and staked out until parade time. 

The parade is about to start. All three lovely children and their light sabers are also captured in this picture.

Hey Mickey!

We ended up sitting next to a really nice family and talked to them about Disney, living in the Northeast and the festival. This definitely made the time pass quickly until...this really annoying family sat on top of us. This family had three of the brattiest children I have ever witnessed. I could re-tell the story of how the next 45 minutes went but you would think I was making it up. The kids crying, kicking us, fighting around us. The little girl even pushed her brother into me and knocked me over! No apologies from the parents. They instead rewarded their horrible behavior with dessert and presents. And by presents I mean light sabers that we then were whacked with. It was truly disgusting. 

The parade was amazing!!! Worth waiting for 2 hours in the heat for and the bratty children. The parade had so many characters in it, it was hard to keep track of who we saw. The celebrity motorcade was really cool. One of the celebrities was Wicket the Ewok. 

Christopher's special name tag

After the parade we headed over to Darth Mall - the Star Wars weekend merchandise store. I couldn't believe there was a line to get into the store! Crazy! There was a lot of cool stuff. CHristopher probably could have spent all day in there and it would have cost us a fortune. Instead, we walked out with some custom name badges and Star Wars legos. 

How sad is it that the Ewok is almost my height! 

We rode a couple rides, including Star Tours and also waited in line for some of the Star Wars Weekend character meet and greets. We met Darth Vader Goofy, Stormtrooper Donald, Chewbacca and an Ewok. It was so cool and the meet and greets were awesome. I have no idea how they can be dressed in these heavy costumes and be out in the heat. I was in a tank top and shorts and was sweating like crazy. No idea how Chewy does it! Christopher rode Tower of Terror and I chickened out. So instead I waited in the shade and then we had ice cream for lunch :)

Before dinner we relaxed a bit and had special Star Wars Weekend drinks while we waited for our reservation time at Mama Melrose's. The cute drinks had little light sabers in them. Mama Melrose's was pretty good, but the service was slow probably because of the volume of tables they were serving with it being Star Wars Weekend. I would definitely go back! 

After dinner we had our fast pass for Toy Story Midway Mania - our favorite ride at the park and then headed back to the resort. It was so nice to be able to just walk back and not have to take a bus. We will definitely be staying at the Boardwalk again! We relaxed at the resort for a bit to try and save up some energy to go to the 24-hour event at the Magic Kingdom. 

We left for MK around 10:30 and arrived to the park at 11 pm. It was CRAZY packed but quite good for people watching. Guests were encouraged to come in costume and some of the costumes were ridiculous and surprisingly slutty for Disney World. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was open but the line to get in was so long...like over two hours! We ended up walking around and taking it all in. We ended the night by watching the Main Street Electrical parade. They had a special float for Memorial Day too. It was a huge American flag and a bald eagle.  We also saw a special 24-hour event parade that included a lot of the Disney Villains. It was cool.