Well what more appropriate day to list why I love Walt Disney World then on  Valentine's Day?
10. Free transportation to and from my resort to all the parks and Disney Springs. We usually drive from NC but once we are on property we let Mickey do the driving.

9. Treats. Some of our favorite Disney treats are Dole Whips, Mickey pretzels, cotton candy, popcorn, milk chocolate caramels from Germany in Epcot as well as their caramel popcorn, Mickey rice crispy treats, ice cream from France in Epcot, and of course the good ol' Mickey ice cream bar!

8. Pools. Some of our favorite pools and water slides are at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village, Bay Lake Tower, Caribbean Beach Resort, Storm Along Bay at Beach Club, and my favorite the Volcano Pool at the Polynesian!

7. Dining. Who doesn't love a great meal? And there are plenty of great restaurants to choose from at Disney World. For breakfast my favorites are Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom, Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, and 1900 Park Faire at the Grand Floridian. For lunch I like Tusker House in Animal Kingdom, the Plaza or Be our Guest in Magic Kingdom. And for dinner my family loves Teppan Edo in Epcot or Saana at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but California Grill is my top pick.

6. Magic Bands. It's great to wear your room key, park tickets, and credit card all there on your wrist.

5. Fireworks. Disney does fireworks. Wishes at Magic Kingdom is spectacular! And special holiday fireworks shows for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Holiday Wishes at Christmas time will take your breath away.

4. Family time. My whole family gets into planning for our Disney trips. And when we are there we are riding our favorite rides and enjoying making family memories at the parks or chilling back at the resort.

3. Reminds my of my grandparents. They took me to Disney when I was 3 years old and almost every year after. I can feel my grandma's spirit every time I ride It's a Small World

2.Characters. Even as an adult I love the interactions with the characters. Seeing my son run up and hug Stich or Mickey puts tears in my eyes every single time.

And my number 1 reason why I love Walt Disney World is numbers 2 through 10 and more! 
I hope you will let me plan your next Walt Disney World trip and hope you will love it as much as I do! 

Now that the holidays are over and we are into 2016 it's time to write my trip report on our trip Dec.19 to the 23. It was back again to one of our favorite resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a Savannah view of course. Room was ready early so we unload then headed over to Hollywood Studios for some our our favorite attractions and a special dinner at Minnie's Hollywood and Dine and Hollywood and Vine. We were greeted by Santa Goofy and visited by Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Minnie herself all dressed up in their holiday best. A buffet dinner included some special holiday entrees and an amazing dessert bar. After dinner we checked out the new Star Wars Launch Bay where we traded with some Jawas and saw lots of cool Star Wars memorabilia. That is where you can also meet Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Then it was onto the Streets of America to the Osborne's Spectacle of Dancing Lights. A breath taking display of lights and music dancing together with a little bit of snow mixed in. I was so disappointed when it was announced that this would be the last year. So glad we got to see them again.

Next day it was an 7:00 AM opening at Magic Kingdom and I was so pleased with my family for making it. We were able to hit some of our favorite rides with very little wait and then enjoyed a late breakfast with Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace. Stuffed French Toast, Cheddar Bacon Scones, and cheesy potatoes filled us up. After breakfast we used our fast pass for the Jungle/Jingle cruise. Jungle Cruise is all decked out for the holidays! We caught the early Once Upon a Christmastime Parade which was now running for everyone since it was after all the Christmas parties were over. Then it was back to Animal Kingdom Lodge for some swimming and relaxation before dinner. That night we headed to Wilderness Lodge to check out the amazing decorations there and to eat at the Whispering Canyon Café; home of the All you Care to Enjoy Skillet as well as some fun time shanagins by the wait staff. My husband and kids headed back to the hotel and I took the boat over to Magic Kingdom for Holiday Wishes. So beautiful!

Epcot day was up next with again some Early Morning Extra Magic hours. Headed to Mission Space then used our Fast Pass for Soarin' and Spaceship Earth. We took the boat across the lagoon to World Showcase where my son did an Adventure with Agent P in Germany and we enjoyed lunch at Teppan Edo in Japan. They have the best steak! Later on we headed over to Fort Wilderness Campground to meet up with some friends and enjoyed a delicious buffet at Trails End. Fried Chicken, yum-yum! My friend, Kim, had arranged a private boat ride for our 2 families with the very knowledgeable and charming, Thomas from Australia. Thomas toured us around Bay Lake with some Disney hidden trivia then parked us in a great spot to view Holiday Wishes. The music was streamed in and we were just breath taken of the  whole experience. I will definitely do that again.

Check out and Animal Kingdom Day. So sad to leave Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were surprised two nights with special meet and greets in the lobby by Santa Stitch and Mickey and Minnie in their Holiday dress up. Animal Kingdom was also decked out for the holidays we some really exotic décor. I love the tree there. My daughter and husband did a couple rides on Expedition Everest and my son and I enjoyed the boneyard playground. After a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris we tried lunch at the Yak and Yeki for the first time. We did a little shopping and walked the trails. The gorillas were very active this trip. Then it was time to head out to spend the holidays with the rest of the family. Christmas time at Disney World is really special and a magical time. All the parks and resorts are draped in rich holiday decorations. Special treats and holiday merchandise are available. I highly recommend a trip during this special time and that you can create amazing memories like my family and I did.

October is a great month to visit the House of Mouse! Two of my most favorite events take place that time of year! Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party and Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. During this quick trip we had a chance to stay at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. What an amazing place! My kid's loved spending time in the recently renovated pool. I don't know how many times my son went down that volcano slide! It was also great being right on the monorail or take the boat to Magic Kingdom. The day of the party we started off the morning with a wonderful breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Always a great time seeing the Fab Five and boy are those cheesy potatoes good! Then we spent the time relaxing at the Resort and enjoying the pool until it was time to get dressed for the party. My husband and I wore t-shirts that looked like the ghost hosts at Haunted Mansion. My daughter was Malicifant and my son was a pirate. The party is an extra cost but worth every cent! Party guests can enter Magic Kingdom at 4:00 though the party doesn't start until 7:00. We rode a few rides and grabbed dinner at Cosmic Ray's. Then we found our place in front of the castle for the Hocus Pocus Villain Show. Unfortunately it was cut short due to rain. So we did some trick or treating then watched the Boo to You Parade. This is by far my favorite parade. Then the parade was followed by Hallowishes. This is in my opinion the most spectacular firework show by Disney! If you get a chance you must attend Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party.
The next morning we slept in and headed to breakfast at Ohana where we enjoyed breakfast served family style and visit from Lilo, Stich, Mickey, and Pluto. We got on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom to ride some of our favorites. Then some more pool time at the Polynesian.  That night it was some adult time at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. We dropped my son off at Lilo's Playhouse and my daughter enjoyed spending time with some local friends. At Epcot we eat and tasted our way around the world showcase. Some of our favorite booths were Scotland, Mexico, Africa, and Belgium. The weekends at Food and Wine are crowded. If you can go during the week you will have much lower crowds. We enjoyed our night out and the kids had a great evening. The next morning we had some time over at Hollywood Studios and enjoyed a great lunch at Mama Melrose. After a great lunch we headed back to the resort to wait for the Tragical Express back to the airport. It was a short but busy trip. Can't wait til next fall to do it again! 

First of all I have to stay what a beautiful ship all around! So many amazing details. I especially loved all the Disney artwork all over the ship. From original movie sketches to sculptures and my kids loved all the interactive paintings around the ship! We were in an inside stateroom with a magic porthole. The room was probably better for 2 people but it served us well. We loved seeing which characters would pop up on the screen. Our stateroom host, George, did a great job of keeping our room clean and getting our room ready for night time. We all enjoyed the rotational dining and all the choices on the menus. The kids mainly chose off the kids menu but my daughter did enjoy some of the adult appetizers. I think my favorite restaurant was Animator's Palate. We loved all the details in the restaurant and really enjoyed the interactions with the characters from Finding Nemo. We enjoyed the evening shows with the Golden Mickey's being my favorite. The kids loved the Aquaduck and we stayed on the ship when the ship docked at Nassau. We noticed quite a difference in the amount of people who left the ship and enjoyed shorter waits on the Aquaduck. I did take some adult time and visited the Rain Forest Spa and the kids really enjoyed all the activities in the kid's clubs. My son did Sloppy Science 3 times! We also enjoyed some mini golf on Goofy's Sports deck a couple times. We had 2 lovely days at Castaway Cay where we did the Stingray Adventure, Pelican Plunge, Crab races, and just enjoyed the beach. Lunch was served both days at Cookie's and Cookies Too. Both days we were back on the ship by 2 for some more Aquaduck time. Pirate night was lots of fun! We enjoyed dressing up and watching Peter Pan on the pool deck followed by the Pirate show and fireworks at sea! Wished the fireworks had been a little earlier. The kids were so tired but hung in there. One of our highlights was free soft serve on deck 11. And not just chocolate and vanilla, but banana, mango, and blueberry! We participated in a Fish Extender group and the kids loved going back to the room to see if they had goodies in their pockets. They also enjoyed deliver our gifts around the ship. Another adult activity I got to enjoy was Palo brunch. Delicious and relaxing and will defiantly repeat on my next cruise. All in all it was a great time and I look forward to a longer cruise that my husband can attend. Questions about my trip? Please post in the comments below. Thanks!