Saturday 16 May 2015

Weekly Wrap-Up: My Holiday Haul and Pics!



I’m linking up to both Stacking the Shelves and The Sunday Post memes this weekend.


Re-Cap

Things are slowly getting back to normal since coming home. No matter what I tried last week, I couldn’t get back into my old blogging routine. This week has been a lot better, and I’ve started getting a few extra posts written and starting visiting blogs again. I’ve let things slide since the beginning of the year, so I hope to get back to normal as soon as I can!

I finally have my holiday pics ready to post! I had hoped to have them ready last weekend, but I think I was suffering from post-holiday blues (Is that a thing?? If it isn’t, it should totally be a thing) and looking at the all the pictures made me want to go back!



My Book and Disney Haul

Every time I go to the States, I end up in a shopping mall with a bookshop. Some might say this is advanced planning… I call it a bookworm’s instinct! The bookshops in the States are usually at least triple the size of my local shops in Dublin, so I could easily spend an hour in one section alone! I tried my best to stay within both budget and baggage weight limits, and I just about managed it. (Yep, I’m a little proud of myself for my restraint!)

Cruel Beauty, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Shadow Study, Snow Like Ashes, Deep Blue, Fairest, Shutter, Red Queen

Sadly, we didn’t get to Universal Studios. I’d have loved to visit Hogwarts, but the ticket prices for one day in both parks were just too expensive. I kept an eye out to see if I could find some official Universal merchandise, and once I spotted this Griffindor scarf, I knew it should be mine! Show a little House Pride and all!


I got lots of the usual touristy things in Disney – pens, notebooks, keyrings and all that, but I was looking for one thing that I usually wouldn’t buy. We visited Downtown Disney on our last day, and when I spotted this Alice in Wonderland picture frame, it was exactly what I was looking for. I love it, and it looks awesome on my bookshelves at home! :D




My Disney Trip

It’s been almost five years since I’ve been to Walt Disney World, and I missed the vibe so much! I have been to Florida since then, but between one thing and another, we didn’t make it to Disney. We’d been thinking about going to Florida since Christmas past, but it was only the beginning of February when we began to seriously considering going for real. That left less than two months to plan and book flights from Ireland, accommodation, car hire and everything else that needed to be done – not a lot of time! To make it a little trickier, I got a brainwave after I’d booked our flights: what if we actually stayed on Disney property?! We’ve never done this before, so we decided to try a value resort for a few nights, and then move on to our more usual haunts. I don’t think I’ve ever done as much research for a holiday in my life before, and I haunted every Disney website I could find! My biggest surprise was the change in the Fast Pass system… but that’s an argument for another day!

We had a bad start to our trip – from our flight leaving Dublin being delayed, ridiculous queues doing through Emigration and security, some of our checked baggage going missing when we arrived in Orlando (and giving us a heart-attack) but turned out they were rerouted on the next flight from Atlanta, and a problem with our Magic Bands once we arrived at our hotel – we began to expect the worst for the rest of our stay! Thankfully, I think we got everything bad out of the way that first day, as all our other plans went off without a hitch.

Disney's All-Star Music Resort Country Fair

We were staying at Disney’s All-Star Music resort, and true to Disney, the theming was so well done. Each block is themed around a different music style: Calypso, Jazz, Broadway, Country and Rock. I was secretly hoping we’d be staying in Rock … but we were put in Country Fair.

Disney's All-Star Music Resort Country Fair

I read a lot of warnings that the guest rooms are very small, but they weren’t nearly as tiny as I was expecting. My only slight issue was a lack of proper storage space, but considering we were there for a short stay we could make do. The in-room safes are a quite small, and the depth of the safe could pose an issue if you bring a lot of electronics. An iPad or two would fit, but a laptop would take up every bit of space (and don’t even consider bringing a widescreen laptop – it ain’t gonna happen!)

The food court was nice, and I loved the updated décor. The breakfasts were pretty good, and I’d highly recommend getting a Mickey Waffle! They are delicious! Or, if you’d prefer more variety, get a Bounty Platter – a mini-Mickey Waffle comes with it. Since we had breakfast at 6am most mornings, and my brain doesn’t wake up until 10am at the earliest, (I am NOT a morning person!) I completely forgot to take pictures in the food court!


As you can guess, we got up early to take full advantage of Extra-Magic hours. Before we left home, I managed to get reservations for lunch at Be Our Guest restaurant in Magic Kingdom on a day with morning Extra-Magic hours, so we were up at 5am, (I might have resembled a zombie), eating breakfast at 6am, and on the resort bus to the Magic Kingdom at 7am. (And I was under the impression this trip was a holiday?!) Magic Kingdom opens at 8am, and we were there at what felt like the crack of dawn for rope drop and the welcome show.

No matter how many times you visit the Magic Kingdom, the first time you see Cinderella's Castle will make you feel like a kid again. And emotional! I got all choked up this time!

Sacrificing a few extra hours in bed is so worth it when you’re in Disney. We managed to get all the rides we wanted done by 10:45 am. Conveniently, our lunch reservations were at 11am! I was afraid it would be too early for lunch, but I was starving by this point and the prospect of food was glorious. I LOVE Beauty and the Beast, so to eat in Beast’s castle… *cough* I might have turned into an eight year old fangirl…

Be Our Guest Restaurant Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World
Be Our Guest Restaurant Grand Ballroom Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World

It was every bit as awesome as I expected it to be! The décor was AMAZING! The restaurant is split into three areas: the Grand Ballroom (which is EXACTLY like the ballroom in the movie!), and two smaller areas, the West Wing and the Gallery. I could have spent ages taking in all the little details in each room! We chose a table in the Ballroom, and the atmosphere was awesome. To make things even better, the food was excellent!

Carved Turkey Sandwich Be Our Guest Restaurant Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World
I had the Carved Turkey Sandwich with fries, and it was YUM! I’m usually not a huge fan of turkey (it’s usually very dry), but this was absolutely delish! The rest had Roast Beef Sandwiches, Croque Monsieur’s, and the Braised Pork, and each plate went back clean – a bit of an understatement, but everyone loved the food.

The Masters Cupcake, Lemon Meringue Cupcake and Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake Be Our Guest Restaurant Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World

We also tried three types of cupcakes for dessert – from left to right: The Masters Cupcake (with Lumiere’s Grey Stuff as the icing!), Lemon Meringue Cupcake and Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake.

We got doubles of some of the cupcakes, so everyone could try them all. I had assumed I’d love the Masters Cupcake the most (CHOCOLATE!) but… it was my least favourite. The grey stuff, while nice, was a lot blander than I was expecting. In contrast, I absolutely LOVED both the strawberry and lemon cupcakes – I can’t pick a favourite out of the two. If I ever go back, I'd be very tempted to order BOTH so I wouldn't have to choose!

On one of our non-park days, we visited some of the other resort hotels on Disney property, and we ended up in the Grand Floridian. I’ve seen the outside of the Grand about a zillion times, but I’ve never actually visited it before. And HOLY, erm… it’s quite posh. So, naturally, I waltzed in wearing shorts and a t-shirt while everyone else was in semi-formal wear.

Grand Floridian Lobby Walt Disney World

With all the construction happening in Animal Kingdom, and virtually nothing we wanted to do in MGM- *cough*… Hollywood Studios, we decided we’d skip those parks, and enjoy Epcot. The Flower and Garden Festival was on while we were there, and I’ve never seen the park look so pretty! Topiaries and flowers are everywhere, and I took loads of pictures… but I think I’ve flooded this post with too many images as it is! These are just a few of the pics I took:

I LOVED staying in Disney, and I wish we’d taken a chance and stayed a little longer. But, all good things come to an end, and we had to say goodbye and move on further south. I’ll admit I missed the vibe and the Disney bubble so much! But… daydreaming by this lake for a week helped quite a bit!


Thanks for reading this far, I know this is one heck of a long post!

Hope you have a fab week, and happy reading!




20 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a beautiful holiday! :-) I love how many books you picked up too! I definitely think post holiday blues are a thing. My haul

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    1. Thanks Chrissi! I loved it, and I wish I could go back ASAP =) Have a fab week!

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  2. Beautiful holiday photos! I've always wanted to go to Disney but it's far too expensive for my budget. I'd need 6 suitcases just for Harry Potter and Disney merchandise! I love that photo frame that you bought as well. And my jealousy is overflowing for those cupcakes...*slurp*

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    1. Disney can get out of hand really quickly, especially with ticket prices. We were lucky, we have non-expiration tickets, and they're still valid now, so it cuts down on a HUGE expense! We'll be in serious trouble when they run out :/ And the cupcakes really were yummy! :D

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  3. Awesome! Thanks for sharing your pics. Although I've visited Disneyland Anaheim many times, I have yet to venture into Disney World Florida. Nice haul with the books. Definitely want to read Shutter during the Fall season.

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    1. I'd love to visit California, I've never been! And to visit the original Disney would be so amazing :D And I hope you love Shutter when you read it! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Snow Like Ashes and Red Queen are two that I've been meaning to check out for a while. It looks like you had fun in Disney! I love the Harry Potter stuff you got. I'm personally a Slytherin. :b
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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    1. I can't wait to dive into those books! Hopefully I'll get some time over the summer and read them all. Thanks for stopping by Kristianna!

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  5. What a fantastic holiday! No wonder you had the post holiday blues! I haven't been to Disney yet but I will go someday and having read what you said, I think a Disney hotel is the way to go. Great photos and thanks for sharing :)

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    1. I loved staying in Disney! There were so many benefits with the transport system and extra hours in the parks for resort guests... I'd love to do it again, but it'll depend on what hotel deals are available at the time :D Thanks for stopping by, Trish!

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  6. So jealous of your trip. I haven't been to Disney World in years. Love the AIWL frame! Not to mention you got a nice haul. Snow Like Ashes, yes! I loved it, hope you do too! Happy reading!

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    1. Ooh I can't wait to read Snow Like Ashes now! I've been looking forward to reading it since I bought it, but I have a few ARC's I need to get through first. Thanks for stopping by, Jazmen!

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  7. IT LOOKS SO AMAZING!! I love your pictures! AND I WANT TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD NOW. And eat all the food, who are we kidding?! I basically want to go for the food. lol But that castle too...omg. And I think you were very controlled with those books. ;-) I LOVE The Coldest Girl and Fairest and Snow Like Ashes. Sooooo much awesome (and hardcover! PRETTIFUL) in that stack!!
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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    1. Thanks Cait! The food was so yummy! Actually, in general, all the food we had while we were in Disney was really good =) I was SO TEMPTED to get a couple more books, but I had to put three back *sobs!* Eight is still really good (I've been repeating this quite a lot ever since, lol!) I can't wait to start reading them all :D

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  8. Hi Alma - your Disney trip looks great! I'm in Australia and my niece (who's almost 19) has been over to Disney half a dozen times and I think her parents are taking her again at Christmas. In fact they love it so much (her influence I'm sure) they bought a time-share unit at one of the Disneys so stay there whenever they visit!

    I can appreciate it, but have no desire to visit. Glad you enjoyed yours!

    Deb

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    1. Ooohh! Disney Vacation Club?! Oh wow, that's awesome! We'd never in a million years be able to commit to that, (plus, I'm far to commitment-phobic!) but WOW, that'd be AMAZING! Once you get the Disney bug, it's impossible to shake off :) I was eight when we went on our first trip, and the bug never left! I think it's only grown stronger now that I can appreciate everything else Disney has to offer. Thanks for stopping by, Deborah!

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  9. Aww this is AMAZING! You are so, so lucky to have been able to have such a wonderful trip! I haven't been to Disney in... 22 years! Whoa, that is a long time, especially since I live not that far away. We went twice, once when I was 7 and once when I was 10. When I was 7 we actually stayed at the Grand Floridian! It was, from what I remember, amazing. I wish I had more memories from it! I do hope to go back to Disney one day, your lovely pictures have me wishing it could be right now!

    And, very nice book haul, AND extra goodies haul :) Hopefully they will be of comfort as you adjust to the "real world"- I think post-vacation depression is a VERY real thing! Hope you have a good week!

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Oh wow! Staying in the Grand would be PHENOMENAL! I'd love to go back and explore it properly! So much has changed since the last time I was in Disney, I'd love to know what you'd think of it now - 22 years is a long time! I was 8 the first time we went, then I've gone off an on during my teen years and now through my twenties. So much changes so quickly though! It's impossible to see everything (unfortunately!) Thanks for stopping by Shannon, have a fab week!

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  10. I LOVE DISNEY WORLD. I LOVE IT. And what do you mean they changed the FastPass system? Do you not get a ticket anymore and wait? DO YOU HAVE TO PAY??? Anyways, sucks that Universal was too expensive. BUT GLAD YOU GOT THE SCARF! I have that scarf! I am also Gryffindor hahah.

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    1. I was so surprised when I found out! Paper Fast Passes don't exist anymore, and it sort of sucks. I loved just walking up to the ride, and getting a FP, first come first served and the like. BUT, now they've set up My Disney Experience, which is both on the Disney website and an App, and you can pre-book FP's (which is kinda cool) but, up to 60 DAYS IN ADVANCE (if your staying on Disney property) and 30 day's if your off site. It sounds good... but all the good times are gone well in advance so we were stuck with crappy times. Who the hell plans what they'll be doing on vacation 60 DAYS IN ADVANCE!! Heck, I haven't a clue what I'll be doing TOMORROW, let alone in two months time!! (And nope, you don't have to pay extra. It's included with the ticket price ;))

      AND! YAY GRYFFINDOR!! :D Best house evah, hahaha!

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