Life on a Plate: Disney.

I think everyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessed with Disney, what 20 something female isn't right? I mean, I grew up on all the classics and I can appreciate the newer movies, but I still stand by saying kids these days will never know what it's like to grow up on the real Disney! I have a few trips to Disneyworld and one to Disneyland under my belt, but my most recent trip to Florida with three of my oldest nieces topped them all! Two nieces were seasoned veterans and one had never been before- it's the best of both worlds!(see what I did there) And of course, it's December and that means Christmas at Disney! I've never been during this time of year and it's everything I'd hoped for! Lights everywhere, fake snow, Christmas music blasting... you get the picture.

It all started a few months ago when we booked the trip, I had booked with two of my nieces as well as an extra ticket as a surprise for another one of my nieces- we planned it so that she wouldn't find out until the morning we were leaving. Keeping this secret for 3 months was brutal, but we did it! Naturally I had a list of things to do and eat while at Disney- topping the list was of course seeking out pickles and devouring them all, to eat at the Be Our Guest, get Dole Whip, and to find myself a prince charming, duh.

This isn't a very food specific post, but it's always fun to share experiences : )

Our Magic Bands.

Disney isn't a typical "vacation". It's something you need a vacation from when you get home! Days start at 6am and end around midnight and on it goes. I wanted to chop my feet off and throw them away by the time the week was done, but hey, it's Disney. Last time we made the trip down to the happiest place on earth it was March... in a snow storm. Not a good idea. Long story short, got a call from the airline the night before departure letting me know that that our flight was cancelled, a trip to Portland the next day to see if we could book something else, a speeding trip to Manchester we got on a flight, missing our connection in Philadelphia, finally catching a flight the next morning, then we barely made it to Florida, but we made it! So obviously, this time flying from Maine in December made me kind of kind of nervous, but our flights went off without a hitch! Plus this time our connection was in Washington DC and so naturally we hob knobbed with local politicians and sipped imaginary cocktails.

Being patient.

I needed Five Guys.

Onward to Florida.

Arriving quite late at night we were off to our hotel- we stayed on Disney property- seriously the best thing you can do. The Art of Animation was our home for the next several days and it was cute as a button. The themes of the hotel were The Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid- we were in a Little Mermaid room. Only downside to these rooms? It's a hike across the grounds, but they made it fun with things along the way... like a dinglehopper, a big Ursula showing us the body language, and quite a nice statue of Prince Eric- very exciting!

Drawings all along the wall at the hotel. This was my favorite.

Swoon.

Little drawing classes are offered at the hotel- I drew this one.

Here's that dinglehopper I was talking about.

So now the trip kind of gets consolidated into one blob because we then hit Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. Here are just some pictures of the rest of the trip, enjoy : )

The chocolate croissant I ate every day for breakfast. It was delishhhhh.

This will have to do until I get to Africa.

Hogwarts.

Epcot ball on the way in to see IllumiNations. There is a ride in that ball and it's one of the best ones! No it's not a fast roller coaster or even fast at all. However, it brings you through the history of civilization! I know it's weird to get excited about this, but I love it!

The Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop in Downtown Disney is a must- this is a salted caramel sundae. It was amazing. I got a couple of these on this trip. Walked it off. No big deal.

YES. PICKLES. These are seriously the best pickles in the world and you can't get them anywhere by Disney! I admit, I mayyyy have looked into trying to get these shipped to me... no luck. They are huge and cold and crunchy and perfect. Just perfect.

Christmas at Disney? Better bring my sweater!

My vacation home at sunset. Be jealous.

My vacation home at night. Be very jealous.

Because it was Christmas time, Disney made this Queen Elsa's castle and went all out with the lights and fireworks.

While in the land of Harry Potter my nieces stopped and got their Butterbeer on. I opted out, but it looked pretty!

*Confession: I've never read the books or seen any of the movies, I may have to indulge because this place was seriously awesome.*

This was an exciting moment. I never thought I'd see my name spelt correctly on a Starbucks cup. Yes, they had to ask me, but I still count this as a win.

I used to have to watch Jurassic Park on mute, so obviously this scared the daylights out of me. Petrified that something was lurking in the bushes waiting to jump out at me, I made it through unharmed. Take that you terrifying dinosaurs. Quick update, I can now watch this movie normally because I have it memorized. Go me!

Quite possibly my favorite part of the trip- eating at Be Our Guest. It's apparently quite difficult to get a reservation, but we got in on this trial run of a FastPass system. I felt like I was in the movie and it was so amazing. We had some quick service fast food including, but not limited to, French onion soup, croquet monsieur, and...

...the grey stuff! We asked the dishes, and it was delicious.

Feeling sneaky, we went off to the West Wing and caught a glimpse of the rose. Just kidding, it was in a room off to the side, but it was still exciting! The entire place was right out of the movie, I felt like a kid again.

No shortage of Mickey snacks. They all taste like magic, sugar, and screaming kids. It's amazingggg. I'm still waiting for Mickey shaped churros. Get on it Disney!

Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom is my favorite park because it has everything, including this statue that is just the best ever. When I was at Disney earlier in the year(yes I went to Disney twice in one year, don't judge), I took this shot of my niece and it's one of my favorite pictures:

We're all just kids when we get to Disney.

Sadly the trip had to come to an end, I was ready though. I needed a nap, some home cooked meals, and a foot bath pronto. All in all though, the trip was successful- we hit all the parks and then some and we pretty much did all we wanted to do! We saw someone get engaged in front of the castle. Amazing. I got Rapunzel to sign a frying pan. Amazing. My niece got her sparkly shoes in a picture with Cinderella. Amazing. Another Disney trip in the books and I can't wait for the next one because it seriously never gets old. I definitely suggest going with a child who is old enough to enjoy and remember the experience, but in my mind, you have to go at least once as an adult. I think it's ten times better and you can then go on all the fun rides! And you don't have your parents in your ear the whole time telling you can't eat all the junk food, I gave myself the guilt trip all on my own thank you.