The dream that you wish will come true...

Picture this. A 22 year old girl who just finished paying off every single cent of her student loans and books an unforgettable 2 week trip to Disney World... yes that does say 2 weeks.

I spent three years struggling to make ends meet in college. Not eating, overworked and refusing to accept I had severe depression and anxiety. Fast forward to spring of 2018 I finally graduated from college, landed my first real job, left behind a home I no longer wanted to be in and my life finally began.

After working so hard for such a long period of time I knew that this was my moment to be happy and start to travel the world.

This blog is for the little girl who dreamed of seeing Cinderella's castle.

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Disney Springs

We spent our first full day in Disney Springs and did some shopping and exploring. I remember feeling so happy being in a new place. Today in Florida it felt like the perfect day, the air was crisp and cool. Many people were in sweaters and mittens, my boyfriend (now husband) Josh and I were asked several times where we were from and many guessed Canada.

If you love Christmas I recommend going to Disney World in November like we did. The crowds weren't super crazy but we were able to feel the magic of Christmas during our trip. Disney Springs had a huge set up of Disney themed Christmas trees which was so amazing to see and walk through.

I also recommend to do your shopping in Disney Springs. We found that there were many more options to choose from. Mickey ears, Christmas ornaments and other little souvenirs. It was a great start to our trip especially for a cloudy day. Make sure to grab an autograph booklet, you're never too old to meet Mickey Mouse and his pals.

Day One

📍World of Disney (The best variety of Mickey ears!)

📍Goofy's Candy Company

📍The Polite Pig (Dinner)

If you have a rest day I highly recommend going to the AMC theatre. We were lucky enough to see Frozen 2 on opening night and it is something I will always remember as we are huge movie fans.

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Magic Kingdom

This was the park we spent the most days at because there was just so much to do and to be quite honest was just the most magical. We were able to ride every ride and see every inch of the park which I am so glad we took the time to do. Considering we didn't have any little ones with us we were really able to plan our days accordingly. Since there is so much to cover I am going to share my favourite things from each day that you must do when visiting Magic Kingdom.

Day Two

📍The Castle (Day & Night) and of course stay for the fireworks

📍Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (We were on the ride at night but 10/10 was the best ride)

📍Peace's Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe (The BEST comfort food)

Day Three

📍Be Our Guest (Although I thought the food was okay you have to see the inside)

📍Tomorrowland - The Lunching Pad (Some very yummy snacks here including pretzels)

📍Haunted Mansion & Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid

📍LeFou's Brew

📍Tangled Inspired washrooms

Yes I know what you're thinking.. but I promise this was one of the nicest areas of the park and I loved seeing how they represented the movie in this area. You could see Rapunzel's castle, wanted signs for Flynn Ryder and other cool elements throughout the area.

Day Seven & Last Day

📍Main Street Parade

📍Casey's Corner (Biggest Hot Dogs you will ever eat)

📍Columbia Harbour House (Fish & Chips)

📍Storybook Treats and Cheshire Cafe

📍Spend sometime meeting characters (Faves include Stitch, Pooh and Tigger)

📍The Fireworks (The most magical show)

*TIP - If you can wake up early and get to the parks for what they call "Rope Drop" you beat so many crowds and are able to ride so many rides before the park gets crazy.

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Hollywood Studios

Next up we are onto Hollywood Studios! Out of all the parks I felt that this one had something for everyone, kids, teens, adults and even grandma and grandpa. This park had a lot of nostalgic rides, restaurants and shows. I grew up loving the classic renaissance period of movies including The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. There were so many shows we couldn't decide and just had to do them all.

The night time show Fantasmic! was also very beautiful to watch and was nice to have a seated area to enjoy after a long day of walking. To make the most out of Hollywood studios I would recommend splitting up the sections of the park if you can. We focused on the main part of HS for one day and then did Star Wars and Toy Story land on a different day.

Day Four

📍Lunch at PizzaRizzo

📍ABC Commissary (Dinner here was INCREDIBLE. We had the ribs, fries with some cocktails)

📍Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith & Tower of Terror (Both are a MUST)

Honorary Mention

📍Voyage of the Little Mermaid was such a cool show for The Little Mermaid fans *Closed as of 2020

Day Five

📍Star Wars Land & Toy Story Land (Slinky Dog Dash was our favourite and worth the wait)

📍Oga's Cantina

📍Savi's Workshop (This was pricey but go build a lightsaber or droid - incredible experience)

📍Dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

📍Grab Ice Cream at Hollywood Scoops

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Epcot

For someone who had never travelled before, Epcot at Disney World allowed me to take a journey through several different countries and cultures. The park's World Showcase is a captivating tableau of pavilions representing different countries, each crafted to transport guests to distant lands.

We started in Mexico and worked our way around the park eating several different foods we have never eaten before. We attempted to have one thing from each country and thankfully walked off all the tacos by the end of that day, 26,356 steps to be exact.

Day Seven & Ten

📍Turtle Talk with Crush (We went twice and laughed our heads off)

📍Favourite Countries include (Norway, Germany, France & United Kingdom)

📍Soarin' Around the World

📍Mission Space (Josh loved this... I did not and needed a barf bag lol)

📍Characters (Baymax, Snow White & Belle were the best)

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Animal Kingdom

Stepping into Disney's Animal Kingdom was like crossing a threshold into a world where nature and imagination become one. Seeing the tree of life was breathtaking and something I never thought I would enjoy so much. I loved being able to experience all my favourite Disney movies that featured animals like The Lion King and Up. The rides and shows were incredible and of course focused on animals. We loved the bird show that featured Russel from Up and It's tough to be a bug.

Although I am not a big Avatar fan I thought Pandora was one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. It truly felt like we had entered into a new world. I also recommend seeing it at night as the paths and greenery glow in the dark.

Day Eight & Ten

📍Expedition Everest

📍Avatar Flight of Passage & Na'vi River Journey (Both worth the long wait times)

📍Shows: The Festival of the Lion King & Finding Nemo.. The Big Blue... and Beyond!

📍Kilimanjaro Safaris

📍Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue

📍Dinner at Pizzafari

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Where to stay.

We stayed at Pop Century and it was such a lovely resort. It was recently renovated when we visited in November of 2019. The rooms were a great size and the overall feel of the resort was very nostalgic with several sculptures of iconic kids toys throughout the centuries.

The food at our resort was also very delicious with several options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The one reason we loved this resort was how easy it was to get to each park. We were able to travel to Hollywood studios and Epcot by the newly built skyline which gave us great views of other resorts and the parks. We also had several buses to take us to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom as well.

Overall I would stay at this resort again or stay at the Art of Animation resort next door which was also very beautiful with several sculptures and art of so many animated characters from Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. We spent a rest day (Day 6) exploring some other resorts which I would also recommend doing.

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