January 2014
Where We Stayed: The Contemporary
To celebrate our halfway point of law school, Andrea and I went to Disney World! We both have strong childhood bonds to the Mouse — and still love the parks to this day. Starting back in July, we had a daily countdown going — “87 days until Disney!” The countdown number slowly got smaller and before we knew it finals were over and we were jumping on a plane to Florida. We left last Thursday, the 2nd. Here are some highlights from Day 1:
- I heart Southwest.
- I LOVE seeing all of the excited kids the airport – decked out in Disney gear – anxious to get to Orlando. So precious.
- Speaking of the word “precious” – it was my extremely overused word of the trip. Because really, pretty much everything about Disney World is precious.
- We took the Magical Express bus to our resort – the Contemporary.
- I loved the Contemporary. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. It’s clean, bright, and within walking distance of the Magic Kingdom.
- Upon arrival we were greeted by a small Asian woman outside of our hotel. She said she would take us inside to check-in. We followed her… and soon she was leading us into an elevator. Weird, given that the check-in desks were on the 1st floor. But whatever, it’s Disney, hiiiiighly unlikely that we were going to be kidnapped. ;-)
- Our Asian Fairy Godmother (as she soon became known to us) took us up to the top floor. The magical 14th floor. We were informed that we got upgraded to a room on the Club Level — with a view of the Magic Kingdom. OH MY FREAKING SWEET JESUS. We could not wipe the smiles off of our weary, travel-tired faces.
- The Club Level gets you a private concierge and 24/7 food – that’s right: complimentary breakfast… snacks throughout the day… wine and cheese in the early evening… and a dessert bar at night. Oh my goodness.
- We had no idea what we did to deserve such an amazing upgrade — but I like to think that the universe rewarded us for surviving another semester of law school and a gallbladder removal surgery.
- After we calmed down and stopped hyperventilating, we walked over to the Magic Kingdom. We didn’t do many rides because it was late-ish, we were tired, and the lines were lengthy — but we did go on the Haunted Mansion (a favorite!) and the new Ariel/Little Mermaid ride (which was so cute). Here are the photos.
The view from our room. Right? RIGHT?
The Christmas-ified Mickey ears on the hotel’s exterior.
The happiest entrance in the world.
The park was still decorated for Christmas.
Cinderella’s Castle
Part of the new Fantasyland, which is so well done and adorable.
The new line of magnets – inspired by classic Disney parks treats. Too bad each one was $12+
Andrea in a borrowed Goofy hat.
One of the new parts of Fantasyland is the circus area – themed to fit Dumbo.
Space Mountain!!
Cinderella’s Castle. Again.
A late-night snack. Even the sprinkles are Mickeys.