But first let me introduce you to Cap who served as our vacation mascot. He’s seen here on our flight from LAX to JFK on Virgin America. We took him along in honor of the opening weekend of his movie, The Avengers. Hehe.

It’s been over 20 years since I visited NYC and Rob’s never been so we did almost everything touristy imaginable. And I absolutely fell in love with the city. It’s just so vibrant and alive. Rob and I both agree that we’d love to go back to explore the other neighborhoods we didn’t get a chance to see. The only question is when!

Anyway, in our first couple of days, we managed to knock off quite a few items from our NYC bucket lists.

Visited Grand Central Terminal.

It’s SO beautiful inside. Even more amazing than I imagined. But as soon as I walked in, the first thing I thought of was… “Spotted at Grand Central. Bags in hand. Serena Van Der Woodsen.” LOL.

Please tell me someone else knows what TV show I’m referring to.

Ok ok, it’s a Gossip Girl reference. I kept quoting the show and all Rob could do was roll his eyes at my nerdiness.

Walked all around Midtown and saw iconic NYC buildings like…

The Flatiron Building

The Chrysler Building

New York Public Library – and of course, the famous marble Lions guarding the Fifth Avenue building. We went inside briefly to see the catalog room on the 3rd floor but I didn’t realize the Main Reading Room was open as well. I would have loved to see it in person. Next time!

Headed Uptown to Museum Mile where we saw the Guggenheim…

Stunning! We didn’t go inside because we were saving our museum time for…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art! Here I am sitting on The Met steps just like the girls from Gossip Girl. HAHAHAHAHA. We’re not huge museum people (we have short attention spans, what can I say?) and The Met is enormous so we only hit specific galleries.

I HAD to see their collection of Edgar Degas pieces.

One of my favorite things about NYC is that amidst the “concrete jungle,” there are so many great parks to enjoy. Since we were on our feet so much, we took full advantage of the parks to sit, catch our breath, and relax.

In Madison Square Park, we saw the Shake Shack that started it all.

Look at the crazy line! We waited until the DC leg of our trip to indulge.

Taking a break in Bryant Park.

And of course, Central Park – the most famous NYC park of them all. We spent a few hours traipsing around and ended up getting lost. The paths are rambling and it’s easy to lose your way if you don’t know where you’re going. The weather was phenomenal, though, so it was great to be outside.

We started our Central Park walk at the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and headed south. The reservoir looked just like the movies! Breathtaking.

The Great Lawn where locals were enjoying the sun.

Turtle Pond

Cap checking out Belvedere Castle.

The view of Turtle Pond from Belvedere Castle.

The Lake. SO GORGEOUS. We thought about renting gondolas but we were lost by this time and couldn’t figure out where the heck the Boathouse rental stand was located.

We stumbled upon the Bow Bridge…

… and Bethesda Terrace (another Gossip Girl filming location ). So many parts of Central Park seemed so familiar and yet so new all at the same time.

So long Central Park! It’s truly an amazing space and I’m so glad we got to see as much as we did.

Up next – we conquer even more tourist attractions!

For more pics from our first few days, check our Flickr –
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Back in February, Rob & I took a quick 2 night trip to Las Vegas where we spent the entire time eating and shopping. Really. Oh, and gambling for Rob. We scored a great deal at the Wynn by going Sunday through Tuesday. Our trip was right around the time that I was SUPER busy with work and was working late nights and weekends. So even though I ended up working for a few hours while we were there, it was wonderful to get away from “real life.”

Growing up in Southern California, I’ve been to Las Vegas many times. MANY. At LEAST once a year for as long as I can remember. So aside from checking out whatever new hotel has popped up on the Strip, there’s rarely anything I ever have to do while there. Not this time! I wanted to check out a few tourist-y things.

Like the Welcome to Las Vegas sign! Woohoo. In all my trips, I’ve never seen the sign up close before.

Elvis was there. LOL. He kinda reeked of alcohol. But he was really nice.

He even took our picture.

We also went to the Neon Museum for a tour. They collect and restore iconic Las Vegas neon signs and they offer tours of their Boneyard. Loved this place! It was SO COOL. Some of my favorite signs…

They’re opening a Visitor Center later this year that will include more exhibits and access to Boneyard tours. Next time I want to check out the neon signs at the Fremont Street Gallery.

And of course, we stopped to watch the Bellagio water show one night when walking back to the hotel. It always reminds me of Ocean’s Eleven. The George Clooney version. Hee.

But a Robokel trip wouldn’t be complete without lots of NOMMY food.

Brunch at Mesa Grill in Caesars Palace upon arrival. Bobby Flay’s southwestern-inspired restaurant has been around for awhile but I haven’t had the opportunity to try it. I made sure to check this off my Las Vegas bucket list. It was worth it. Their free bread basket was AMAZING.

Dinner at Estiatorio Milos in the Cosmopolitan. The most amazing seafood. My brother-in-law somehow knows people here so we had a super yummy comped dessert. It’s pretty pricey but we thought of it as a belated Valentine’s Day dinner to ourselves.

Lunch off the strip at Lotus of Siam. Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines and this meal didn’t disappoint.

Couldn’t resist stopping at Serendipity 3 for their Frozen Hot Chocolate.

Our last meal was brunch at Bouchon in the Venetian. Tried and true. This is a must-stop. Along with a trip downstairs to their bakery to pick up a package of macarons.

We also had a tapas dinner at Jaleo in the Cosmopolitan but I didn’t take any pictures. Trust me, it was GOOD.

There’s still LOTS of food to conquer in Las Vegas. We barely made a dent.

The Wynn was FABULOUS to us. Can’t wait until next time!

To see more pics, check out our Flickr here.

The holidays were the perfect time to visit. All the parks and resorts were decorated and everything was so festive. LOVED IT.

We had a total of 9 full days in the parks which, I know, is A LOT of time at WDW. But seriously, we could have used a few extra days. In hindsight, I think we would have been much happier skipping Miami and staying at WDW the full 2 weeks. There’s just SO MUCH to do! While we visited each of the 4 main theme parks and played mini golf (not to mention took a day to leave Disney property and visit Harry Potter at Hogwarts), we didn’t have the chance to rent bikes and ride around the grounds of our hotel or take the segway tour around Epcot or even visit one of the water parks. I guess there’s always next time!

Since it was Rob’s first visit to WDW, I figured we might as well go all out and book a deluxe hotel (the other hotel categories are moderates and values). We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and I absolutely fell in love with it. It was a fantastic home base for our stay. Just look!

The entrance gate… seeing it for the first time got me SO excited.

First look!

The gorgeous lobby.

The grounds are so beautiful. I miss it SO MUCH.

Another great feature of the Wilderness Lodge is the boat transportation to the Magic Kingdom (in addition to buses to all parks and destinations). So even though we rented a car, we took advantage of the boat system a few times. So fun!

We also booked a dining plan for our stay. It sounds really strange, right? Like why would you want to have a dining plan for meals that would probably consist of burgers and fries? At least that’s what I thought at first. But I discovered that dining is an experience all its own at WDW. Each park and all the resorts have a variety of options that aren’t the typical theme park food you might expect.

I also learned that WDW periodically offers free dining promotions to the public for package reservations booked for specific dates. I normally like to do all the planning for our trips but tracking these promotions is a full time job in itself. So THE BEST decision I made was to work with a travel agent, Mouseketrips. They did all the legwork and when free dining was released, they applied it to my reservation and I used the savings to upgrade to DELUXE dining. It’s a RIDICULOUS amount of food but we were going to take FULL ADVANTAGE. Food is an important part of our vacation experience, after all.

We had 20 (!!!) table service reservations over the course of 10 days plus the 3 snacks we were allotted each day (we used these a lot for fruit, croissants and orange juice in the morning). There were definitely a few meals that were forgettable, some that were average but many were spectacular so I’d like to share some favorites. Beware lots of pics (I can’t help it – I take pics of food – it’s a thing)…

Best Overall Experience

Le Cellier in EPCOT. We had the most amazing service here. AND the food was fantastic too. Pretzel bread, the most amazing lobster salad, filet with mushroom risotto — all capped off with pina colada rooibos tea. YUMMERS.

Favorite Meals (From Start to Finish)

Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Bold & unique flavors. My braised beef short ribs were to die for.

Yak & Yeti at the Animal Kingdom. Asian fusion. Yummy rice!

Favorite Breakfasts

Buffet at Boma. Offerings from all over Africa. They had a delicious frunch juice, which was a mix of lemonade and orange, pineapple, mango juices. SO GOOD.

Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. Hawaiian-inspired. How can you go wrong?

Kouzzina by Cat Cora at the Boardwalk. Truly a hidden gem. Plus they had amazing iced coffee.

Favorite Appetizers

Lobster chopped salad from Le Cellier at EPCOT.

Smoky Portobello Mushroom Soup from Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. Scrumptious.

Best Comfort Food

Fried Chicken from 50′s Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios. NOMMY.

Favorite Seafood Entree

Cedar Plank-Roasted Wild King Salmon from Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge.

Favorite Snacks

Caramel corn, caramel & chocolate-covered strawberries, caramel rolls with marshmallow cream… Mmm Mmm Good.

Favorite Desserts

Caramelized Banana Napoleon from Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk.

Creme Brulee from Les Chefs de France at EPCOT. SOLID.

Bread pudding from Ohana at the Polynesian. OH. EM. GEE.

Best Ambiance

California Grill at the Contemporary. We had an amazing table right by the window with this view!

Annnnndddd… that’s all folks! Thanks for indulging me.

We had an unbelievably magical vacation. Until next time WDW!

Work is still a nightmare but what else is new.

Let’s talk Happy Things!

1. Rob & I are heading to WonderCon this Saturday. WHEEE! It’s local this year (in Anaheim) so we figured why not. I just want to check out the exhibition floor and maybe go see a panel or two. It’ll be interesting to see how different the experience is compared to Comic-Con. If it’s a bust, there’s always Disneyland right across the street.

2. Discovering amazing local restaurants. We live in a part of Orange County where chains and big box stores are the norm (not knocking these establishments — I LOVE Target and have a weakness for Chipotle) but every once in awhile, we stumble upon a real find. This past weekend we had brunch at Break of Dawn in Laguna Hills and I cannot wait to go back!

I had the Sausage and Rice (DAMN GOOD) and Rob had the Creme Brulee French Toast (F*ING GOOD). We want to try everything else on the menu. Hehe.

3. I’m going to be a godmother to my niece (my cousin’s daughter!). Damn, I’m getting old. OK OK. I *am* old.

4. Getting back to the swing of things and working on the house. When we moved in back in 2010, we went a little crazy painting and buying furniture that we burned out pretty quickly. We haven’t done anything major since then. This year, we have plans to paint the guest room (leaning towards gray), move Rob’s office upstairs, look for a buffet to reside near the kitchen, and possibly invest in a new sofa/sectional. Rob even managed to install the ceiling fan we got for Christmas. So pretty. YAY.

5. I have constant wanderlust. CONSTANT. So I’m excited that we have our next vacation lined up! We’ll be spending 9 nights between NYC & Washington, DC in early May. I haven’t been to either city since I was around 10 (possibly younger) and Rob’s never been to either one so they’re pretty much new destinations for us. If anyone has recs for attractions or dining, I’d love to hear them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Revisiting my Florida vacation takes my mind to happier places so onward with my Walt Disney World trip report…

The last of the theme parks we visited was the Magic Kingdom. We spent 2 days touring the park, 11/29 and 12/6, and 1 night attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on 11/30.

If you’ve been to Disneyland, then the Magic Kingdom will be familiar to you. It’s just that nothing is in the “right” place (I kept wanting to go in specific directions because “that’s where it is at Disneyland”) and everything is bigger (just look at how HUGE Cinderella’s Castle is compared to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland). It’s like the most bizarre feeling of “déjà vu.”

SQUEE. The main entrance.

On our first Magic Kingdom day, I made reservations for breakfast so we could get into the park earlier than the general public. I wanted to get photos of the park without the crowds! This was before they installed the enormous Christmas tree in Town Square. So empty!

For the record, here’s the Christmas tree a few days later.

Back to the empty park. And the first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle!

Getting closer to the castle. I love it!

GORGEOUS. I absolutely loved the gardens surrounding the castle.

For the most part, all the rides and attractions are similar to those at Disneyland with just a few exceptions –

Space Mountain never had more than a 5-10 minute wait. UNHEARD OF AT DISNEYLAND.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is normally a favorite but OMG, it was such a disappointment at WDW. The guns are attached to the ride vehicle and you can’t move them around. GAH.

There’s no Indiana Jones ride but there is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover!

Fantasyland is one of the areas that looks completely different. I didn’t care for the exterior facades. I mean, It’s A Small World is indoors (on the right side of the picture above)! It kinda loses its grandeur.

And there’s a Liberty Square (so patriotic) instead of New Orleans Square.

But Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are the same.

One of the things I really wanted to do was dine at Cinderella’s Royal Table inside the castle. It’s a character meal but I dragged Rob to it anyway. Hehe.

We were seated at a great table by the window overlooking Fantasyland. The meal was nothing special and it can be awkward meeting the princesses as an adult (LOL) but I enjoyed the novelty of the experience. They even gave us toys that you’ll see in an upcoming picture.

I wanted to make sure to get LOTS of pictures of Cinderella’s Castle…

The photographer wanted us to make Mickey Mouse ears. Can you even tell that’s what we’re doing?!

Here are those toys we got at Cinderella’s Royal Table — a sword for Rob and a wand for me. No, we weren’t carrying them around the park (I’m not THAT silly) but we thought it would be funny to bust them out for a quick shot. BWAHAHAHA.

Right around sunset during the holidays, the castle is lit up in a cute stage show called Cinderella’s Holiday Wish.

Waiting for the show to start…

Love how the castle changes colors.

And here it is after Cinderella’s wish comes true!

SO PRETTY!

Despite having 2 days dedicated to the Magic Kingdom, I also wanted to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party one night. This is a hard-ticketed event and features special holiday entertainment…

Like Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.

They’re looking right at me!

The toy soldiers are my absolute favorite.

There’s also no shortage of characters to meet…

The Seven Dwarfs!!!

They only appear together at the Christmas party so I didn’t want to miss the chance to get a picture with them. And yes, that meant waiting in line for an hour.

I think Duffy is adorable.

And of course we had to meet our hosts for the evening — Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

We had a magical time!

Magic Kingdom Rides/Attractions Count:
Jungle Cruise – 1
Pirates of the Caribbean – 1
Big Thunder Mountain – 3
Liberty Square Riverboat – 1
Haunted Mansion – 1
It’s a Small World – 1
Peter Pan’s Flight – 1
Mickey’s Philharmagic – 1
Snow White’s Scary Adventures – 1
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 1
Space Mountain – 3
Tomorrowland Transit Authority – 1
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 1
Stitch’s Great Escape – 1
Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor – 1

For more pics from our time at the Magic Kingdom, check our Flickr –
Day 1
Day 2
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

I’m more than ready to get back to normal, though, and I’m going to continue on with my Walt Disney World trip reports. I have about 3 or 4 more entries planned. Bear with me.

Today I’m revisiting the 2 days we spent at EPCOT on Mon, 11/28 and Sat, 12/3.

You know you’ve arrived at EPCOT when you see the park’s icon, Spaceship Earth.

The first area of the park that you come across is Future World. I have to admit that a lot of the rides & attractions in Future World are either boring or SUPER outdated. But we gave (almost) everything a chance and found a few that were particularly memorable…

Like Test Track. My favorite EPCOT ride. It’s a vehicle simulation ride that ends in a high-speed drive around the exterior track. SO AWESOME.

Living with the Land is a boat ride through the Land pavilion’s greenhouse where you can see the various crops grown on site. Look at that 9 pound lemon! I have really distinct memories of going on this ride when I was 10 with my parents so I love this ride for the nostalgia factor.

Over at the Innoventions pavilion, we went to Club Cool to sample Coca-Cola products from around the world. Free of charge!

Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique (much stronger ginger taste than I’ve found here in the US) and Lift Apple from Mexico were the stand-outs to me. Stay away from the Beverly (Italy). Trust me. It is TERRIBLE.

Innoventions also features various interactive exhibits and rides, one of which is a video game playground where we created a game starring… ourselves.

Here we are on screen. LOL. We had to perform a series of actions (running, jumping, dancing) that were then inserted into the game. HILARITY. We got such a kick out of this.

Spaceship Earth (aka the ride inside the giant golf ball) was a pleasant surprise. The ride itself is ok at best (it takes you back in time to track advancements in human communication) but the end is pretty entertaining. The ride is equipped with interactive touch screens where you answer various questions and somewhere along the way your image is captured. Then your future is revealed to you in a series of images. Ours were HIGHLY AMUSING. Well, technically, it was Rob’s future because my picture didn’t get taken for some reason. It ended up being MUCH better this way.

OH MAN. This was THE BEST. We could NOT stop laughing.

After we had our fill of Future World, we made our way to the World Showcase, which is my favorite part of EPCOT. I LOVE to travel so this part of the park is right up my alley. Plus, there’s such a wealth of dining options. There’s only 2 rides in the World Showcase (in Mexico and Norway) so we did lots of exploring. Just taking in the sights, checking out the food & drink offerings, and browsing in the shops (that actually sell non-Disney merchandise!). Some of my favorite pics…

The Canada pavilion is so beautiful.

We had dinner at the signature restaurant in Canada, Le Cellier Steakhouse, where we had the BEST service. From start to finish, it was a great experience — all our courses were timed perfectly and everything we needed was anticipated. I wish I could remember our server’s name because he was outstanding. I also discovered pina colada rooibos tea here and I’ve been looking for some ever since.

Hopping over to the UK!

I’m a sucker for France. The view on the bridge as you approach the pavilion is so gorgeous.

On our first day at EPCOT, we had lunch at Les Chefs de France where we had yummy onion soup and we also got to see…

Remy! He goes by really fast so I only got this blurry shot of him. Grrr.

Making silly faces in Morocco.

My favorite pavilion — Japan! It’s so peaceful. It also doesn’t hurt that there’s a sizable Mituskoshi store where you can find all kinds of Japanese items — from toys (Domo and Hello Kitty!) to candy to kitchen accessories (chopsticks, delicate plates and teapot sets, etc).

From the World Showcase looking across the lagoon to Spaceship earth.

Ciao!

Germany is easily my second favorite pavilion. It’s so picturesque. And I just love the energy here. Because of the lack of rides in the World Showcase, many adult guests participate in drinking around the world where you have to consume an alcoholic beverage in each country before moving to the next one. That means 10 different drinks! As you can imagine, Germany has a variety of beers to choose from so the crowd is really spirited and happy. LOL. Because I don’t drink, I was drawn instead to…

Karamell Kuche! It’s a Werther’s store that’s packed with not only packaged treats but FRESHLY MADE goodies. It’s like heaven. Seriously. We went a little crazy in there and bought fresh caramel corn (sinful), a caramel & chocolate-covered strawberry, caramel roll with marshmallow cream (AH-MAY-ZING), and a chocolate with sea salt. It was all FANTASTIC. I want to go baaaaack.

Couldn’t resist taking a picture in front of the Christmas tree!

And of course another picture in front of Spaceship Earth for good measure.

Even though we had almost 2 full days in EPCOT, there’s still so much we could have done. I would have loved to check out other restaurants in the World Showcase (Via Napoli in Italy, Biergarten in Germany). And I wish we had time to sign up for the segway tour around the park. I guess these are things that will go on my list for “next time” (whenever that will be).

EPCOT Rides/Attractions Count:
Spaceship Earth – 1
Ellen’s Energy Adventure – 1
Mission: SPACE – 1 (green/mild version)
Test Track – 3
The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 1
Turtle Talk with Crush – 1
Living with the Land – 1
Journey Into Imagination with Figment – 1
Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros – 1
Maelstrom – 1
O Canada! – 1
Impressions de France – 1

For more pics from our time at EPCOT, check our Flickr here and here.

Early Thursday morning I was woken up by a phone call from my aunt letting me know that my grandma (on my mom’s side) passed away just a few hours before. I guess it’s because I was still half asleep but I lay in bed in a total daze. I was stunned. It wasn’t until I woke Rob up to tell him that it really hit me. It’s like it wasn’t real until I shared the news.

My grandma lived with my parents and me growing up and she practically raised me. She introduced me to the Lakers (I know, can you believe it — that wasn’t Rob’s influence), soap operas (the ABC soaps were our favorites – One Life to Live, General Hospital), and books — all still some of my very favorite things. I’m not very good with words and it’s even harder for me now to express how much she means to me. I will miss her very, very much.

I’d still like to share my original Happy Things post — I write so infrequently nowadays that I can’t let it go to waste…

1. Dinner with Friends. Last Saturday night, we had a few friends over to watch the Lakers/Clippers game — Rob made gumbo, I made rice krispies treats, and our friends’ brought over alcohol and 50 McDonald’s chicken mcnuggets for appetizers. There were only 5 of us and we managed to eat ALL of the nuggets before dinner. LOL. For the record, I only had 2. Possibly 3.

2. The aforementioned rice krispies treats. Even this non-cook can’t mess them up. Nommy.

3. Belated Christmas celebration with BFFs. Lunch, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and the Golden Globes. Super low key and easy. And I can’t forget the presents! I am so spoiled…

4. Going to a basketball game at the Staples Center for the first time. Thank goodness for job perks because we had AMAZING lower level seats. Too bad it was a Clippers game, LOL (hopefully someday I’ll get to see the Lakers!). It ended up being a pretty boring game (they were playing the Dallas Mavericks and both teams seemed a little low energy) but it was a lot of fun to watch a game live.

5. My blog turned 10! TEN!!! I’ve been blogging at this domain since 2002. WOW. Happy Blog-iversary to me.

Hope all of you are well! *HUGS*

I LOVED Animal Kingdom.

There will be a ridiculous amount of photos in this entry.

Like Hollywood Studios, this park doesn’t have a huge number of rides or attractions but there is such an INCREDIBLE level of theming and detail that it more than makes up for that deficit.

I pretty much walked around in a constant state of awe. Like with my jaw to the floor. It’s AH-MAY-ZING.

We made a beeline to Asia to hit Expedition Everest first thing in the morning.

I had a feeling I would LOVE this ride…

And I did! It’s a roller coaster but it doesn’t throw you around like some older coasters do. It’s a very smooth ride. The ride vehicles even go forward AND backward! So exhilarating. It catapulted to my Top 3 rides EVER (for the record – Space Mountain at Disneyland, Forbidden Journey at Wizarding World of Harry Potter and now Expedition Everest).

GAWD. THIS PARK. It’s just gorgeous.

We made our way to Dinoland to ride DINOSAUR.

Hated it. It uses the same ride vehicle and track layout as Indiana Jones at Disneyland but it is NOT nearly as fun or exciting. Not to mention that the “storyline” is also pretty lame. Oh well.

Each of the Disney parks has its own “icon” — and at Animal Kingdom, it’s the Tree of Life.

Again, so much detail. Look at the animal carvings on the bark!

We even found Simba as we were admiring the tree.

Over in Africa, we experienced the Kilimanjaro Safaris where we toured the savanna to see various African animals.

The trip through the safari is aided by a guide who points out the animals as you approach them. And in between scouting for animals, they’re also keeping up with the ride’s storyline that has you trying to save a baby elephant from poachers. It’s pretty cheesy, I have to admit. But luckily, we had a really great guide who embraced the “cheese.” Heh.

I was amazed at how close we were to the animals.

The next land we visited was Camp Minnie Mickey (kind of a lazy name, or is it just me?) to watch The Festival of the Lion King, which is a 30-minute stage show featuring singing and dancing (it’s more of a variety show versus a retelling of the story).

It was entertaining but sadly, none of my pictures turned out. Too much movement!

Another reason for visiting Camp Minnie Mickey was that I wanted to see all the character Christmas trees. They’re sprinkled throughout the land — and they’re so cute! A few of my favorites included Minnie, Pluto and Chip & Dale…

Stitch, Pocahontas, Meeko, Mickey, Donald Duck, Goofy and a few other characters had trees as well.

While there, we also got to see…

Thumper and Chip & Dale! Love these guys. I REALLY wanted to get a picture taken with Thumper but I was feeling really awkward and self-conscious that day so I passed. UGH. I regret it.

After the fuzzy animals, we went to see real animals along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and Maharajah Jungle Trek.

By this point in the trip we’d been at WDW for 5 days and had gone the entire time without having some sort of Asian food or rice. Hey, we’re Filipino, rice is a thing! So luckily I had the foresight to book our lunch at Yak and Yeti, which serves Asian-inspired cuisine.

OH MAN. THE FOOD TOTALLY HIT THE SPOT.

We had rice with our meals! SO NOMMY. AND THE DESSERT! Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons drizzled with a honey vanilla glaze. INSANELY GOOD.

We walked off our lunch by exploring Asia. Seriously, this land is like candy for the eyes — it’s so visually interesting.

I mean, the detail on that truck! It’s just an ice cream stand!

I wanted to get another ride in on Expedition Everest so we headed in that direction. Like the rest of Asia, this ride is so gorgeous…

I can’t remember why we were posing like that. I think we were supposed to be scared. We just look crazy. LOL.

To cap off our time at the Animal Kingdom, we decided to take in a couple of shows. Flights of Wonder was an amazing show featuring exotic birds but sadly, Finding Nemo – The Musical was SUPER disappointing. And I’m pretty easy to please! The singing was fine but the acting made me cringe. It was so bad that I was actually happy when my boss started sending me text messages during the show. We took that opportunity to leave early so I could take care of some work. CRAZY, I KNOW.

We missed Rafiki’s Planet Watch (an area of the park with a petting zoo and a peek behind the scenes) and Kali River Rapids (no interest in getting drenched) but otherwise we covered the park pretty well. Looking back I would have loved to have another half day here. Hindsight and all that.

After leaving the park, we headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at their signature restaurant Jiko.

It was pretty dark in the restaurant but it was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of the park.

From start to finish, this was probably one of the best meals we had at WDW. The menu is inspired by African, Indian & Mediterranean cuisine so flavors are bold and unique. Everything was scrumptious.

Sharing a pic of our dessert because it’s my favorite part of any meal. Here we had coconut bread pudding (front) and chocolate/coffee mousse (back).

And a parting shot of the lobby of the Lodge. I loved that all the parks and resorts were dressed up for the holidays. It was such a great time to visit!

AK Rides/Attractions Count:
Expedition Everest – 2
DINOSAUR – 1
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail – 1
Festival of the Lion King – 1
Kilimanjaro Safaris – 1
Maharajah Jungle Trek – 1
Flights of Wonder – 1
Primeval Whirl – 1
Finding Nemo: The Musical – left early

For more pics from our day at Animal Kingdom, check our Flickr here.

I’m good at making New Year’s resolutions buuuut not so good at keeping them so I’m not going to bother this year. Instead, my “theme” for 2012 will be to use what I have and try to rein in any extraneous purchases (unless I have a gift card ). The goal is to save more money that we can use on the house, to travel or to keep for a “rainy day.”

So that’s the plan for 2012.

Now let’s go back to 2011 again to continue on with my Florida trip report — this time I’ll get started with our time (10 nights!) at Walt Disney World. Specifically Disney’s Hollywood Studios which we visited on Mon, 12/5.

Again, this will be a pic heavy entry. I think all of my planned WDW entries are going to be.

I’m starting with DHS because it’s my least favorite of the 4 main Disney theme parks. While it’s nicely themed (come on, it’s Disney), it doesn’t have the same charm and depth that the other 3 do. At least to me. The park is supposed to evoke Hollywood in the 1930s/1940s and while it may look the part, it also feels a little thrown together. Like all the pieces make sense individually but not so much together. I DON’T KNOW. AM I EVEN MAKING SENSE?! There’s also significantly less rides and attractions in this park so it feels lacking in that way too. But we still managed to have a great time.

The main entrance…

Instead of Main Street, we walked down Hollywood Boulevard and saw the park’s icon…

Mickey’s Sorceror Hat! YAY.

We arrived right before the official park opening in order to join the HORDES of people heading to Toy Story Mania in Pixar Place. This was INSANE. I think 99% of people in the park were headed there too. I wish I had a picture of the crowd because it was RIDICULOUS. But once it hit 9am, the Disney cast members led the entire mass of humanity over to the ride in a (fairly) orderly line. I knew that Rob & I wanted to get on the ride at least twice that day but I wavered over riding first and then getting a Fastpass or vice versa. If you get there at park opening, my recommendation is to RIDE FIRST. The Fastpass line gets long immediately because people are cramming multiple tickets into the machine. The standby line is still walk-on at this point.

We were in such a rush to get on the ride that I didn’t even get a chance to really admire Pixar Place until later in the day. It’s amazing how much it resembles Pixar’s headquarters in Emeryville, CA (I used to live right by it!).

Next we headed to Sunset Boulevard and…

Tower of Terror!

Of all the rides that are duplicated in Disneyland & Walt Disney World, I FAR preferred Tower of Terror at WDW (all the other rides are the same or are better at Disneyland, in my opinion). Tower of Terror had an amazing “pre-show” before the drop sequence where the doors open and the entire ride vehicle moves forward into the hallway. SO COOL. I’m pretty sure there are more drops too. LOVED IT.

Other rides/attractions we checked off our list that morning…

Star Tours (after which Rob found this Boba Fett hat to try on, hehe)…

The Great Movie Ride (this was kinda lame, I’ll be honest)…

The Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream exhibit (awe-inspiring — really enjoyed seeing memorabilia from Disney’s life and models/artifacts from the parks)…

Rock n Roller Coaster (AWESOME dark coaster with 3 inversions — so fun)…

And before breaking for lunch, we managed to catch the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (sufficiently entertaining and surprisingly funny).

I LOVE FOOD. And believe it or not, the dining options at WDW are far better than traditional theme park food. I mean, WDW definitely has its fair share of burgers and hot dogs but they also have a lot of varied selections in both their quick service and table service restaurants. So I did a lot of planning when it came to the dining throughout our trip. And I found that 50′s Prime Time Cafe at DHS serves comfort food, specifically fried chicken. So OF COURSE I made a reservation.

AND OMG IT WAS SO NOMMY AND FANTASTIC AND SERIOUSLY SOME OF THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN EVEEERRRRR. A++++

I’m drooling just thinking about it right now.

No, really.

After that amazing lunch, we set out to conquer the rest of the park.

You’d think that a park with a Hollywood theme would have a solid Studio Backlot Tour. But aside from the water and pyrotechnic demonstrations, there just wasn’t much else to see. I guess it’s because the park is no longer a full time television and motion picture production facility so there’s really no “behind the scenes” areas or cool props/artifacts to showcase.

We wandered over to the Animation Courtyard (love this Sorceror Mickey topiary)…

But by this point in the day, our energy level was low (it didn’t help that it was HOT) so we didn’t even feel like participating in the Animation Academy, which is one of our favorite attractions here in CA! We decided to catch the last showing of the Beauty and the Beast musical to sit and recharge. It was excellent!

Sadly we missed a few of the other stage shows (the Lights Motors Action stunt show, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and the American Idol Experience). They’re scheduled very close together making it difficult to run around the park to see all of them. That just means we have to make another trip to WDW. Hehe.

Before we left the park, though, there was one very important attraction we needed to see. The Osborne Lights!

PHENOMENAL.

The lights are a seasonal display on the Streets of America and they dance along to holiday music. It’s SO beautiful.

Dinner was at Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort…

Where Rob & I both had the New York Strip Steak. Yummers.

Exploring the Yacht Club before calling it a day. Even Disney’s resorts are attractions to themselves.

I MISS WDW SO SO MUCH.

DHS Rides/Attractions Count:
Toy Story Midway Mania – 2
Tower of Terror – 1
Star Tours – 1
The Great Movie Ride – 1
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – 1
Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream – 1
Studio Backlot Tour – 1
Rock n Roller Coaster – 1
Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage – 1

For more pics from our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, check our Flickr here.

Now to FINALLY get started on my Florida trip report! YAY.

I’m going to start with our visit to Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. Where we visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Thurs, 12/1. !!!

WARNING: PIC HEAVY ENTRY! (Feel free to click each pic for bigger).

Walking up to the entrance…

I PRETTY MUCH STOPPED IN MY TRACKS.

The Hogwarts Express! SQUEE!

Then Hogsmeade. It’s so detailed! STUNNING.

And finally…

HOGWARTS. As we were walking up to the castle, I suddenly felt so overwhelmed. Everything looked absolutely perfect and I couldn’t believe we were actually there!

We went on all 3 rides in the Wizarding World, the best of which was Forbidden Journey. It’s not a roller coaster but it’s definitely a thrill ride — the ride spins, twists, and drops you every which way as you soar through Hogwarts with the trio. It’s AH-MAY-ZING. Probably in my Top 3 rides EVER.

It even features a fan-freaking-tastic queue where you see…

The Mirror of Erised…

Professor Sprout’s greenhouse…

the House Points…

the Sorting Hat…

Dumbledore’s office…

And finally the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom with the trio!

After the rides, we explored Hogsmeade and came across…

Ollivander’s (there’s a “show” where you can see a muggle select a wand but because of the store’s looooow capacity, the line is ridiculously long)…

Dervish and Banges…

Zonko’s…

Honeydukes! All the stores are themed impeccably but they’re not designed to hold many people at all (I believe this was something that J.K. Rowling insisted on to be realistic to her vision). We visited during an off-peak time and it was STILL crowded inside the stores (the rides were all walk-ons, though). I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like in the summer.

For lunch, we ate at the Three Broomsticks so we could try butterbeer! YUM. I got frozen and Rob got regular… I made the better choice. Hehe. The frozen butterbeer is FAR better. But it’s VERY sweet so I couldn’t finish it. This is the best picture I have of the butterbeer (frozen is in front in the souvenir cup)…

Eventually we made our way around the park to visit the other “islands” — Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park, Marvel Super Hero Island (The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a MUST-DO ride), etc.

Islands of Adventure is such a picturesque park.

I can’t wait until the Wizarding World makes its way to Hollywood! I LOVED it. There were so many times where I’d stop, look around and find myself absolutely stunned and speechless. The Harry Potter series means a lot to me and it was incredible to have such an immersive experience. I can’t explain it. If you’re a fan, I highly recommend a visit. It won’t be one you’ll soon forget.

Ride count (for my reference):
Forbidden Journey (WWoHP) – 2
Dragon Challenge (WWoHP)- 1
Flight of the Hippogriff (WWoHP) – 1
The Cat in the Hat (Seuss Landing) – 1
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley (Seuss Landing) – 1
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Marvel) – 1

For more pics from Islands of Adventure & WWoHP, check our Flickr here.