I have mixed feelings about this vacation. The weather was NOT what I expected, but the trip served it’s purpose in distracting me from the birthday blues. I’m not a person who goes to Disney with the intention to celebrate, but with the goal of mentally escaping my birthday. I don’t know why I get the birthday blues. Maybe, I don’t like that time seems to be fleeting, and I haven’t done all I want to accomplish in my life.
I’m also an Aquarius. We’re antisocial weirdos who runaway from any type of emotions and attention. Attention: That’s a whole other issue in itself. I have imposter syndrome when it comes to being celebrated. Thus, I fucking hate the attention your birthday garners and I never feel like I deserve it. Just let me blend into the wall. I’m glad I could successfully run away from my birthday with my most favorite person in the world though. It was officially Danny’s first trip to Disney for my day. We’ve basically covered all the holiday bases now - Halloween, Christmas, and Birthday… well, my Birthday LOL. One year, I’ll give him a Disney Birthday if my job permits it.
Pop Century
I was very excited for the change of scenery this time around when I booked our stay at Pop Century. Pop Century is a colorful nostalgia-themed value resort with each section of the hotel representing a different decade of the 1950s through the 1990s. This Disney resort is right across the lake from Art of Animation, and shares a Skyliner station with its sister resort.
Pop Century has a nearly identical layout as AoA apart from its theming. There are various pools, a food court, arcade and a gift shop to enjoy. Furthermore, there are giant statues of pop culture relics from the past like the yo-yo, Play-Doh, and the Rubik’s Cube. I’m sure there are people who find this resort tacky, but I think it’s fun. The more expensive hotels are luxurious (this is probably an overstatement), but I find them to be more bland and devoid of any personality. I never spend much time at the hotel to enjoy what deluxe resorts have to offer anyway. I barely even have time to see all of the statues that decorate the grounds of the value resorts. I still haven’t seen the Finding Nemo or Cars sections of AoA after staying here at least five times.
We were staying in the 80’s section of Pop Century, which was fitting because it was my birthday and I’m an 80’s baby. Along a walking path parallel to the lake, there are facts for each year. The facts for my birth year make me feel super old. Apparently, a fax phone costed $1,295 and a Compaq 286 laptop was $5,399 in 1988. The buildings are adorned with Pac-Man chasing after snack pellets and ghosts. Our section was further embellished by 80’s nostalgia with a giant Walkman cassette player and an oversized Roger Rabbit. Ironically, Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out in 1988, although, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the film in its entirety.
It’s been about five years since my last visit at Pop Century, so I was excited to see the newly/renovated rooms. The refurbished rooms have a more clean and modern design to them. There is a queen-sized bed with two cubby nightstands on each side, along with a Murphy bed that doubles as a table. Above the bed is a cute Mickey Mouse pop art piece. It is a far cry from the dark and dreary design of outdated Disney rooms. The room has a more light and airy feel to it now. I love the Disney pop art design they incorporated into these rooms, which seems more fitting for Pop Century.
I appreciate that these rooms have a ton of storage space now. I love all the open compartments in the bathroom that allow you to organize, and store all your makeup, toiletries and hair styling tools in their own designated place. There is a nice closet cubby to hang your outfits and jackets, along with an area to hang your handbags and backpacks. Additionally, there is a dresser under the television, and room for luggage under the bed. The room also provides plenty of easily accessible USB charging ports and outlets in the room, especially near your bedside.
The bathroom has a tub with glass doors that gently slide close. There is also dual-shower heads, and controlled water pressure! This is a major upgrade, in comparison, to AoA. The shower head at AoA spritzes water all over you no matter where you stand in the tub. There’s no way to keep your hair from getting wet without a shower cap. It’s quite annoying. Moreover, there’s an actual sliding door separating the bathroom area from the main room instead of a thin curtain.
Other bonuses to the Pop Century upgrade are the removal of the carpets for laminated floors. Carpet just makes a resort room seem dirtier to me because you have no idea what bacteria and diseases are being retained in the floors. There is also a coffee machine, which Danny used to cure his caffeine withdrawal on one of our mornings. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coffee maker in a Disney room before.
Surprisingly, I think I prefer the significant upgrade to Pop Century’s rooms over Art of Animation now. In the future, you’ll probably see me across Hourglass lake betraying my favorite value resort. I’ve also noticed that All-Star Movie Resort has gotten the same upgrade to their rooms, which entices me to give this resort a shot. I adore the Toy Story area of the All-Star Movie Resort, and would love the chance to take photos in my Buzz and Woody Disneybounds. The only downside to All-Star resorts is that I’m restricted to bus service as there is no connection to the Skyliner. The bus transportation at Disney is always hit or miss
‘Ohana
Another exciting highlight of this trip was my reservation for dinner at ‘Ohana. This restaurant is located in Disney's Polynesian Village Resort in the Magic Kingdom area. I’ve dined at ‘Ohana a few times for breakfast, but it always seems rather impossible to get dinner reservations here, especially during the showtime of fireworks. ‘Ohana serves a family-style Polynesian-themed dinner with Hawalian-flavored specialties and music.
Dinner started off with a mixed greens salad with citrus vinaigrette and their signature ‘Ohana bread. Sadly, we weren’t served any POG juice, and I had completely forgotten to ask for it. Next up, was the 'Ohana dinner skillet with honey-coriander chicken wings, pork dumplings tossed in garlic-chili sauce, roasted broccolini and the infamous ‘Ohana noodles. Additionally, we were served wood-fire grilled Teriyaki beef, spicy peel-n-eat shrimp, and grilled chicken with Polynesian-inspired chimichurri sauce. Lastly, the infamous ‘Ohana bread pudding with homemade caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream was on the menu for dessert.
I don’t know how, but I managed to eat half of the bread pudding despite being stuffed to capacity. I got no help from Danny since he seems to be a bread pudding hater. Although, I know ‘Ohana dinner is not Danny’s preferred meal and it’s a ton of food for only two people, I still enjoyed my night here. I fancy the pork dumplings, noodles and bread pudding here the most. I also love the fact that I had the opportunity to watch Enchantment from the Polynesian. The fireworks aren’t always clear due to cloudy January nights, but it’s still a beautiful sight to behold.
The one downside of this night was my hair. I thought that since it was going to be a colder weekend in Florida that I could wear my hair down. Absolutely NOT. My frizzy hair is probably part genetics and part hair damage, but I don’t think there is anything I can do to withstand the humidity of Florida. I think it’s it’s forever ponytails, buns and pigtails for me in Disney World. I am envious of people who don’t have to deal with hair frizz.
Hollywood Studios
This day started off both cold and rainy. I didn’t realize 40 and 50 degree weather in Florida is VERY different from New York. In actuality, it feels more like 20 and 30 degrees. I’m used to playing with my life in New York, wearing light jackets even in low temperatures. I sleep in subarctic temperatures. I looked at the weather forecast, and thought I was going to be fine with my leather jacket and sweater. WRONG.
The moisture in the Floridian air makes it feel vastly colder than what the temperature reads on the thermostat. I was constantly wondering why my fingers were numb. I asked for cold weather in Orlando for my Birthday, and I sure froze my ass off. I’ll never make fun of Floridans again for saying it’s cold. I guess, I should be more careful of what I wish for, but the forecast was predicting weather would be clear and in the 60s. I didn’t prepare for anything colder. I just want to know Florida’s ideal temperature where I don’t melt in a puddle of sweat or turn into an ice cube. What a horrible place. I really couldn’t hate this state more LOL.
Luckily, we were able to escape our fate for a little while during our reservation at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I’ve been alternating between 50’s Prime Time Café and Sci-Fi since I never want to eat anywhere else in Hollywood Studios. For an appetizer, we got fried pickles since I’ve been craving them for months now. They were only for me though because Danny is a pickle hater. I’ll never understand. For our entrees, I always opt for the classic American burger, while Danny choose the BBQ pulled pork burger and a vanilla milkshake.
I made our reservation for 11am, and it turns out an early meal time wasn’t my smartest decision. I wanted to leave Hollywood Studios at a decent time to see Spaceship Earth transform into a Rainbow Connection for the Festival of Arts, thus I thought an early lunch would be a good idea. HOWEVER, I was still full from ‘Ohana. I have a small stomach, and I go into hunger suppression under all the Disney adrenaline. For future trips, I really need to alternate meals for breakfast and dinner along with sticking to only one reservation a day or avoid full meals for every day of the vacation. My body can’t take so much food. At home, I can handle like one heavy meal a week lol.
To kill time before our reservation at Oga’s Cantina, we went shopping. I found the Darth Vader Spirit Jerseys at Tatooine Traders, which I was excited about. I was also worried Danny was going to freeze to death because he was sleeveless. Ironically, he’s always trying to dress like it’s winter in Disney. The one time he could actually wear long sleeves, he’s got skin showing lol. To be fair, we were trying to be Siths that day.
I also ventured off to the most dangerous place in Disney… Pandora. I wanted to use the Pandora gift card that Chinh generously gifted me for my birthday. I choose the Han Solo and Leia charm along with the Yoda dangle charm to reach my goal of completing my Star Wars bracelet. Danny was also cute, and bought me the brand new Grogu & Crib charm, so I could have a piece on my bracelet that was from him. Once I decided on my new charms and got ready to pay, Pandora said I could only use Disney gift cards at the stores on property. Fun! Thankfully, my mom graciously sent me money for my birthday.
After making bad decisions, we trekked through the rain to Oga’s Cantina. During our visit, I decided to be more adventurous by trying something new at the bar. I settled on a Carbon Freeze because, like the Bespin Fizz, it is presented to you with dry ice to create a fun bubbling effect. The Carbon Freeze is a non-alcoholic drink consisting of Powerade lemon lime, wild strawberry, blueberry, and green apple popping pearls. The drink is quite tasty, but it’s rather difficult to get any of popping bobas as they all seem to settle at the bottom of the glass. I had to tilt the cup all the way up, and pray the popping pearls didn’t spill all over my face because I’d be damned if I didn’t consume every last one of them that was in that glass.
Danny went with the Yub Nub (I love that name), which includes a souvenir Endor mug. This concoction was made of Malibu pineapple rum, Sailor Jerry spiced rum, citrus juices, and passion fruit. Even though the Yub Nub was supposed to be his only drink of the day as the mug is rather tall and filled to the brim, he still went on to make bad choices like I do while I’m in a Pandora looking at Star Wars charms. Off the recommendation of our bartender, Danny reluctantly ordered a Dagobah Slug Slinger. The drink is a beautiful lime green color, but tastes rather disgusting LOL. This mixture consists of Herradura Reposado Tequila, Bols Blue Curaçao, citrus juices, ginger, herbs, and bitters. I’ll make the presumption that we won’t be ordering the Slug Slinger ever again. While Danny tortured himself, I went the safe route and ordered myself a Bespin Fizz, which is essentially a glittery cranberry cocktail.
After we were finished at the Cantina, we made our way over to Toy Story Land. I wanted to ride Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog Dash, and Alien Swirling Saucers. I feel like I’ve been neglecting these rides lately. My new goal for Disney now is to record each roller coaster ride in first person point of view. I don’t know why, but Slinky Dog seemed super scary when I was focusing on recording the ride instead of holding on for dear life.
Epcot
We hopped on the Skyliner to make our way back to the resort to change clothes, so we could hopefully survive a few hours at Epcot. We both wore our Darth Vader Spirit Jerseys because we like to be that couple that matches sometimes. It’s usually in more nerdy ways though. Funny enough, we met an older couple there who complimented us on our Vader jerseys. They too were wearing matching shirts, but of Animal from the Muppets. I imagine that will be us in the future lol.
Our first mission at Epcot was to locate the art of Danny’s friend, Chris Uminga. He asked Danny to grab prints of his artwork at the Festival of Arts, but some of his prints had already sold out. I was like damn, good for him. I love his Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh pieces, which are both super cute. I also discovered artists, Fenway Fan and Ann Shen, who both had beautifully done artworks of Alice in Wonderland on display.
We continued on to our second mission, but first, Spaceship Earth! I’ll never get tired of this ride, and I’m rather curious as to when it will get its intended facelift. For the Festival of the Arts, there was a special Beacon of Magic, in which, Spaceship Earth transformed into a colorful light show to The Muppet’s Rainbow Connection. It was the rainbow lights that made it worth paying for the extra park hopper fee for me. We decided not to stay for Harmonious because my fingers were frozen from filming the Beacon of Magic and I didn’t want to wait for the Skyliner after the fireworks were over.
Magic Kingdom
I started off the morning buying a puffy Donald Duck sweater and the Mandalorian Spirit Jersey featuring Grogu on Main Street to change into at night to survive fireworks. Before I went on my mini shopping spree, we were warmly welcomed into the park by Pooh bear and friends. We also stumbled upon a perfect view of the Princess calvacade traveling down Main Street as I was making my way to the shops.
We didn’t get on many rides throughout the day because there were SO MANY people here. I haven’t seen the queue for Space Mountain extend outside for a VERY long time. I mean, the line was shorter when I visited back in May of 2021. Mid-January is suppose to have lower crowds because it is after the holidays and Florida can get pretty cold as I found out the hard way. Where did all these people come from?! Why are they here in January ruining my birthday month?! There truly isn’t a busy season in Disney anymore.
At least, I managed to ride The Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Unfortunately, the time I actually wanted to get the front seat for Space Mountain so I could film the flashing lights, I was seated in the back. On our last few trips on Space Mountain, we kept getting the front seat and I would make Danny take it every time lol. My ponytail also came apart on this ride. I had to go into a stall in the women’s bathroom to re-secure my ponytail back on my head without people looking at me. One of the many symptoms of my social anxiety is worrying about people staring at me and silently judging me. I don’t think anyone really cares, but in my head, it’s crippling and I can’t function properly.
Next up, our reservation for Liberty Tree Tavern! This time I took notice of the historical figures’ room we were seated in. This time we were chilling with Thomas Jefferson. Liberty Tree Tavern is a delectable place that serves traditional family-style Thanksgiving dinner all year round. If you love Thanksgiving food as much as I do, then you’ll LOVE this place. I don’t love the setting because it looks like you went back in time to the days of Colonial Williamsburg, but who cares when you get to stuff your face with Thanksgiving food. They serve you a full meal of roast turkey breast, Pennsylvania pot roast, and over-roasted pork along with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, and house-made macaroni & cheese. This time Danny shared his mashed potatoes with me, while I had the pot roast, stuffing and cranberry sauce all to myself with a dash of Mac & cheese. For dessert, we got the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, which is a vanilla toffee cake with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Once we were done with our meal, I changed into warmer clothing to wait for Enchantment. We sat in front of the castle for an hour in order to get a good viewing of the fireworks. Somehow, I managed to watch the show front and center with no one in front of me. Despite my hands being frozen, it all worked out in the end. My only real wish for this weekend was to watch the fireworks with my favorite person on my actual birthday. Nothing is more magical than this to me.
It was a great Birthday weekend with Danny despite the fact that I have no photos of myself on this trip LOL. I just wasn’t having it between the cold and the rain. Sometimes, I really can’t fake how I feel in that moment when trying to take photos. I tried to take a few shots in Batuu of my Kylo Ren Disneybound, but I can’t pretend that I didn’t hate how I looked and felt. I was wet, cold and disheveled. Sometimes, it’s just not meant to be. I know I’ll be back in Disney soon enough, so it’s not a total loss. I imagine doing my Kaylo Ren bound will be easier in Cali as I can probably tolerate wearing a wig or my natural hair down without it getting frizzy. It’s hard wearing the hood for Kylo Ren when you have to put your hair in a ponytail. I have a ton of photos from my last three trips to Disney that I think I can live without pictures this time around. It’s not always the most important thing to me. Sometimes, I just want to live in the moment without having to worry about how I look.
I think I need a serious break from Disney World. Don’t get me wrong, it will always be home to me, but I’ve been going too much because there aren’t a ton of places I want to venture off to within the United States. I’d love to travel to Europe, and eventually explore Disneyland Paris, but I’m not sure how the future will be with Covid restrictions and the war that is currently taking place on the continent. I feel safer right now in U.S. terroitories. This year, my goal is to visit Disneyland out in Cali for Halloween festivities. I’m satisfied with the experiences I’ve gotten to explore in Disney World so far, and so I’d love for Danny to see a different Disney park. Cali here we come!
Dinner started off with a mixed greens salad with citrus vinaigrette and their signature ‘Ohana bread. Sadly, we weren’t served any POG juice, and I had completely forgotten to ask for it. Next up, was the 'Ohana dinner skillet with honey-coriander chicken wings, pork dumplings tossed in garlic-chili sauce, roasted broccolini and the infamous ‘Ohana noodles. Additionally, we were served wood-fire grilled Teriyaki beef, spicy peel-n-eat shrimp, and grilled chicken with Polynesian-inspired chimichurri sauce. Lastly, the infamous ‘Ohana bread pudding with homemade caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream was on the menu for dessert.
I don’t know how, but I managed to eat half of the bread pudding despite being stuffed to capacity. I got no help from Danny since he seems to be a bread pudding hater. Although, I know ‘Ohana dinner is not Danny’s preferred meal and it’s a ton of food for only two people, I still enjoyed my night here. I fancy the pork dumplings, noodles and bread pudding here the most. I also love the fact that I had the opportunity to watch Enchantment from the Polynesian. The fireworks aren’t always clear due to cloudy January nights, but it’s still a beautiful sight to behold.
The one downside of this night was my hair. I thought that since it was going to be a colder weekend in Florida that I could wear my hair down. Absolutely NOT. My frizzy hair is probably part genetics and part hair damage, but I don’t think there is anything I can do to withstand the humidity of Florida. I think it’s it’s forever ponytails, buns and pigtails for me in Disney World. I am envious of people who don’t have to deal with hair frizz.
Hollywood Studios
This day started off both cold and rainy. I didn’t realize 40 and 50 degree weather in Florida is VERY different from New York. In actuality, it feels more like 20 and 30 degrees. I’m used to playing with my life in New York, wearing light jackets even in low temperatures. I sleep in subarctic temperatures. I looked at the weather forecast, and thought I was going to be fine with my leather jacket and sweater. WRONG.
The moisture in the Floridian air makes it feel vastly colder than what the temperature reads on the thermostat. I was constantly wondering why my fingers were numb. I asked for cold weather in Orlando for my Birthday, and I sure froze my ass off. I’ll never make fun of Floridans again for saying it’s cold. I guess, I should be more careful of what I wish for, but the forecast was predicting weather would be clear and in the 60s. I didn’t prepare for anything colder. I just want to know Florida’s ideal temperature where I don’t melt in a puddle of sweat or turn into an ice cube. What a horrible place. I really couldn’t hate this state more LOL.
Luckily, we were able to escape our fate for a little while during our reservation at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I’ve been alternating between 50’s Prime Time Café and Sci-Fi since I never want to eat anywhere else in Hollywood Studios. For an appetizer, we got fried pickles since I’ve been craving them for months now. They were only for me though because Danny is a pickle hater. I’ll never understand. For our entrees, I always opt for the classic American burger, while Danny choose the BBQ pulled pork burger and a vanilla milkshake.
I made our reservation for 11am, and it turns out an early meal time wasn’t my smartest decision. I wanted to leave Hollywood Studios at a decent time to see Spaceship Earth transform into a Rainbow Connection for the Festival of Arts, thus I thought an early lunch would be a good idea. HOWEVER, I was still full from ‘Ohana. I have a small stomach, and I go into hunger suppression under all the Disney adrenaline. For future trips, I really need to alternate meals for breakfast and dinner along with sticking to only one reservation a day or avoid full meals for every day of the vacation. My body can’t take so much food. At home, I can handle like one heavy meal a week lol.
To kill time before our reservation at Oga’s Cantina, we went shopping. I found the Darth Vader Spirit Jerseys at Tatooine Traders, which I was excited about. I was also worried Danny was going to freeze to death because he was sleeveless. Ironically, he’s always trying to dress like it’s winter in Disney. The one time he could actually wear long sleeves, he’s got skin showing lol. To be fair, we were trying to be Siths that day.
I also ventured off to the most dangerous place in Disney… Pandora. I wanted to use the Pandora gift card that Chinh generously gifted me for my birthday. I choose the Han Solo and Leia charm along with the Yoda dangle charm to reach my goal of completing my Star Wars bracelet. Danny was also cute, and bought me the brand new Grogu & Crib charm, so I could have a piece on my bracelet that was from him. Once I decided on my new charms and got ready to pay, Pandora said I could only use Disney gift cards at the stores on property. Fun! Thankfully, my mom graciously sent me money for my birthday.
After making bad decisions, we trekked through the rain to Oga’s Cantina. During our visit, I decided to be more adventurous by trying something new at the bar. I settled on a Carbon Freeze because, like the Bespin Fizz, it is presented to you with dry ice to create a fun bubbling effect. The Carbon Freeze is a non-alcoholic drink consisting of Powerade lemon lime, wild strawberry, blueberry, and green apple popping pearls. The drink is quite tasty, but it’s rather difficult to get any of popping bobas as they all seem to settle at the bottom of the glass. I had to tilt the cup all the way up, and pray the popping pearls didn’t spill all over my face because I’d be damned if I didn’t consume every last one of them that was in that glass.
Danny went with the Yub Nub (I love that name), which includes a souvenir Endor mug. This concoction was made of Malibu pineapple rum, Sailor Jerry spiced rum, citrus juices, and passion fruit. Even though the Yub Nub was supposed to be his only drink of the day as the mug is rather tall and filled to the brim, he still went on to make bad choices like I do while I’m in a Pandora looking at Star Wars charms. Off the recommendation of our bartender, Danny reluctantly ordered a Dagobah Slug Slinger. The drink is a beautiful lime green color, but tastes rather disgusting LOL. This mixture consists of Herradura Reposado Tequila, Bols Blue Curaçao, citrus juices, ginger, herbs, and bitters. I’ll make the presumption that we won’t be ordering the Slug Slinger ever again. While Danny tortured himself, I went the safe route and ordered myself a Bespin Fizz, which is essentially a glittery cranberry cocktail.
After we were finished at the Cantina, we made our way over to Toy Story Land. I wanted to ride Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog Dash, and Alien Swirling Saucers. I feel like I’ve been neglecting these rides lately. My new goal for Disney now is to record each roller coaster ride in first person point of view. I don’t know why, but Slinky Dog seemed super scary when I was focusing on recording the ride instead of holding on for dear life.
Epcot
We hopped on the Skyliner to make our way back to the resort to change clothes, so we could hopefully survive a few hours at Epcot. We both wore our Darth Vader Spirit Jerseys because we like to be that couple that matches sometimes. It’s usually in more nerdy ways though. Funny enough, we met an older couple there who complimented us on our Vader jerseys. They too were wearing matching shirts, but of Animal from the Muppets. I imagine that will be us in the future lol.
Our first mission at Epcot was to locate the art of Danny’s friend, Chris Uminga. He asked Danny to grab prints of his artwork at the Festival of Arts, but some of his prints had already sold out. I was like damn, good for him. I love his Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh pieces, which are both super cute. I also discovered artists, Fenway Fan and Ann Shen, who both had beautifully done artworks of Alice in Wonderland on display.
We continued on to our second mission, but first, Spaceship Earth! I’ll never get tired of this ride, and I’m rather curious as to when it will get its intended facelift. For the Festival of the Arts, there was a special Beacon of Magic, in which, Spaceship Earth transformed into a colorful light show to The Muppet’s Rainbow Connection. It was the rainbow lights that made it worth paying for the extra park hopper fee for me. We decided not to stay for Harmonious because my fingers were frozen from filming the Beacon of Magic and I didn’t want to wait for the Skyliner after the fireworks were over.
Magic Kingdom
I started off the morning buying a puffy Donald Duck sweater and the Mandalorian Spirit Jersey featuring Grogu on Main Street to change into at night to survive fireworks. Before I went on my mini shopping spree, we were warmly welcomed into the park by Pooh bear and friends. We also stumbled upon a perfect view of the Princess calvacade traveling down Main Street as I was making my way to the shops.
We didn’t get on many rides throughout the day because there were SO MANY people here. I haven’t seen the queue for Space Mountain extend outside for a VERY long time. I mean, the line was shorter when I visited back in May of 2021. Mid-January is suppose to have lower crowds because it is after the holidays and Florida can get pretty cold as I found out the hard way. Where did all these people come from?! Why are they here in January ruining my birthday month?! There truly isn’t a busy season in Disney anymore.
At least, I managed to ride The Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Unfortunately, the time I actually wanted to get the front seat for Space Mountain so I could film the flashing lights, I was seated in the back. On our last few trips on Space Mountain, we kept getting the front seat and I would make Danny take it every time lol. My ponytail also came apart on this ride. I had to go into a stall in the women’s bathroom to re-secure my ponytail back on my head without people looking at me. One of the many symptoms of my social anxiety is worrying about people staring at me and silently judging me. I don’t think anyone really cares, but in my head, it’s crippling and I can’t function properly.
Next up, our reservation for Liberty Tree Tavern! This time I took notice of the historical figures’ room we were seated in. This time we were chilling with Thomas Jefferson. Liberty Tree Tavern is a delectable place that serves traditional family-style Thanksgiving dinner all year round. If you love Thanksgiving food as much as I do, then you’ll LOVE this place. I don’t love the setting because it looks like you went back in time to the days of Colonial Williamsburg, but who cares when you get to stuff your face with Thanksgiving food. They serve you a full meal of roast turkey breast, Pennsylvania pot roast, and over-roasted pork along with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, and house-made macaroni & cheese. This time Danny shared his mashed potatoes with me, while I had the pot roast, stuffing and cranberry sauce all to myself with a dash of Mac & cheese. For dessert, we got the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, which is a vanilla toffee cake with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Once we were done with our meal, I changed into warmer clothing to wait for Enchantment. We sat in front of the castle for an hour in order to get a good viewing of the fireworks. Somehow, I managed to watch the show front and center with no one in front of me. Despite my hands being frozen, it all worked out in the end. My only real wish for this weekend was to watch the fireworks with my favorite person on my actual birthday. Nothing is more magical than this to me.
It was a great Birthday weekend with Danny despite the fact that I have no photos of myself on this trip LOL. I just wasn’t having it between the cold and the rain. Sometimes, I really can’t fake how I feel in that moment when trying to take photos. I tried to take a few shots in Batuu of my Kylo Ren Disneybound, but I can’t pretend that I didn’t hate how I looked and felt. I was wet, cold and disheveled. Sometimes, it’s just not meant to be. I know I’ll be back in Disney soon enough, so it’s not a total loss. I imagine doing my Kaylo Ren bound will be easier in Cali as I can probably tolerate wearing a wig or my natural hair down without it getting frizzy. It’s hard wearing the hood for Kylo Ren when you have to put your hair in a ponytail. I have a ton of photos from my last three trips to Disney that I think I can live without pictures this time around. It’s not always the most important thing to me. Sometimes, I just want to live in the moment without having to worry about how I look.
I think I need a serious break from Disney World. Don’t get me wrong, it will always be home to me, but I’ve been going too much because there aren’t a ton of places I want to venture off to within the United States. I’d love to travel to Europe, and eventually explore Disneyland Paris, but I’m not sure how the future will be with Covid restrictions and the war that is currently taking place on the continent. I feel safer right now in U.S. terroitories. This year, my goal is to visit Disneyland out in Cali for Halloween festivities. I’m satisfied with the experiences I’ve gotten to explore in Disney World so far, and so I’d love for Danny to see a different Disney park. Cali here we come!
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