Disney World - Beach Club, Mini Golf and Hoop Dee Doo

On Friday morning, we packed up our suitcase and rolled it across the Boardwalk to the Beach Club Villas for our final stop of the trip.   I was happy to finally unpack!  (Reminder to self, try to avoid split stays.   This is easier to do if your plans can be made 7 months in advance instead of requiring edits in the months (and weeks?) in advance of the trip! Although Disney will move and store your luggage for you, it's more fun to unpack and get settled in.)  We had a non-park day planned:  character breakfast Cape May with Minnie and friends, miniature golf, pool and dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue!

William LOVES a Disney brunch, and Cape May is one of his favorite.  The food was tasty, and our server was very outgoing and took pictures for us so we could both be in them.  We had a lot of fun talking fashion with Daisy and being silly with Donald and Goofy.  Minnie liked my Minnie BoldBandz!

 

After breakfast we walked over to Fantasia Mini Golf to play the Garden Course.   It was fun to see some big birds along the Boardwalk on our way over.  And when we got to Fantasia, it was super hot and not much shade!  But it was fun.  William has been asking to do mini golf at Disney for a long time, so it was great that we finally made time to do it!

To cool off, we hit Stormalong Bay, which is hands down the best Disney resort pool!  We had a great time at the pool every day of our stay.   And with the pool and location, I definitely think the that Beach Club and Yacht Club are the best resort on property!   Apparently I didn't take any photos that day.   I spent the time in the water or buried in sand, so that makes sense!

We did make a very quick pass through Epcot on Friday afternoon to ride Frozen with a FastPass.   It was so crazy hot that we rode that ride, ate an ice cream bar, and left to catch our bus to Camp Wilderness for the Hoop Dee Doo.   After waiting several years to ride Frozen, I have to say it was marginal at best.  No need to worry about that one on future trips.

Oh my goodness, the Hoop Dee Doo did not disappoint.  I thought it was going to be a little over the top folksy and it was. . . .but in a good way!   Our table was in the front row - by the stage and the piano - so we were part of the "act" a few times, including the welcome song where they rhymed "Illinois" with "Don't trust that boy!"   I was also concerned about William liking the food (fried chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, beans and salad) but they brought him nuggets and fries, and he also tried the ribs and potatoes.   A super fun date night with my little guy!

 

Afterwards we took the boat to Magic Kingdom to do souvenir shopping and caught the fireworks!  Another full day with my favorite kid!  We retired back to Beach Club for a sleep in.   Our Fast Passes for Saturday were for afternoon so John could join us. 

Disney World - Boardwalk and Animal Kingdom

Thursday morning our goal was rope drop at the Animal Kingdom.  Since we weren't interested in being with the mass of humanity that wanted to do Pandora rides, we headed over to Asia to be first in line for Expedition Everest.   And we were!  Well, we were #3 and 4 in line!   After a few rides in stand-by, we stopped for breakfast and to enjoy the animals.   The monkeys outside Asia were SO LOUD!  I've never heard them chattering and playing like that; it was really fun!  I don't know if it's because we slowed down a little more this trip or if it's because it wasn't that busy in the parks, but we had a lot of fun, special adventures and magical moments on this trip.   Really made my heart full.

 

One new to us stop was Conservation Station out at Rafiki's Planet Watch where I met Doc McStuffins and he found his new best stuffed animal, Paws, the African Painted Dog.   And thanks to that train ride and adventure, William was finally able to finish his Wilderness Explorer book by collecting all the badges out there plus one final badge in DinoLand where he was awarded his Senior Wilderness Explorer Badge in a "Grand Ceremony!" 

There was a new bird show that opened a few weeks prior with Russell and Dug from UP!  It wasn't as good as the old show but William (and everyone else sitting along the aisle) got to be part of the show by making a bridge for a bird to fly through.  He said it touched his arm, which he was very excited about!   Of course we couldn't leave Animal Kingdom without visiting Pandora and riding Flight of Passage.  We got to ride it twice on this trip with Fast Passes.  It's probably my favorite ride at Disney World now.  And Pandora is my favorite land.   I can't remember what we had for breakfast or lunch this day, but I know I wasn't hungry/thirsty enough to get my Moara margarita, a favorite from last trip, but William let me share his slushy.

Our reservation the second night was a studio at Boardwalk Villas, so the Pop Century bell services moved our suitcase over while we went to the parks.   After the big day we'd had at the parks, we checked in at Boardwalk and hit the pool.  We were so tired by dinner time that we just got pizza at the Boardwalk pizza window to eat on our balcony and Ample Hills ice cream for dessert to eat on the Boardwalk.   I was so happy to be able to see pieces of  Epcot's Illuminations fireworks from the balcony, as well!  William has apparently developed an aversion to fireworks because he wouldn't sit out with me to watch them but he loved Boardwalk because it's one of the villas that has a fold down bed under the TV.  It's a pretty fun set up for a kiddo!

I really liked the Boardwalk.  John and I stayed there one year for Food and Wine but our room was a little dated.  The room we had this trip was updated and very fresh and nice.   The pool was fun but smaller than the other pools we swam at during the week.  The best part is the location: the fun restaurants along the Boardwalk, easy access to Epcot and Studios, and what pretty views!

Disney World - Pop Century and Hollywood Studios

We took our own version of spring break to Disney World!  Luckily school had another Friday off at the end of April, so we took a Wednesday and Thursday, too, and made our own post-tax season Spring Break!   Since I just kept adding additional days to the trip, we ended up splitting our four nights across three resorts.  Due to John's business travel, it was just me and William for the first few days so we tried out a lot of places we thought John may not appreciate!  Our first stop was our first stay at Pop Century!   I loved all the over-sized sculptures and decorations spread throughout the resort.  Our room was in the 80s section which had been recently renovated.  It was a small but very comfortable room for the two of us, including a Murphy bed that we unfolded for William.   My only complaint was the large number of school groups and their noise.

After an afternoon in the sunshine at the Hippy Dippy pool, we went to Hollywood Studios for a few of our favorite rides and dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In, a spot I've avoided with the three of us since the seating is better for two-somes.   William absolutely loved the theme, and our burgers and Oreo shake were tasty!  My original plan was to stay for the Star Wars fireworks at the Studios after dinner.  But William was worn out and wanted to hit the arcade at the resort before a relatively early bedtime.