Part One: Disney World Trip Report

So if you don't know, Ben and I were lucky enough to be able to take a trip to Walt Disney World a couple weeks ago. My parents were so generous and offered to send us there as a graduation gift! Seeing as Ben and I are HUGE Disney fans, and usually make several trips to Disneyland every year, it just seemed wrong that neither of us has ever been to "the world" before! We found out we were going last Thanksgiving, and then started doing all the planning this February. And believe me, there is A LOT of planning that goes into a vacation like this! My mom has been hounding me to tell her all about the trip, so I decided to do a little trip report. I'll also be reporting on our opinions of Disney World versus Disneyland. They are so so so very different and there is a lot to compare.  I've got a bunch of pictures and stories to tell, so it might take more than one post, but we'll see.

First off, we went from May 10-16. I had heard May was a pretty good time to go both weather and crowds-wise. I'd have to agree with that, though there was one day that was unbearably hot and one that poured rain like I had never seen before.

Our room was just 3 doors down from that arrow! It was a perfect spot!

We stayed on property at Disney's Pop Century Resort. It's theme is the 1950's-1990's. It was kind of cheesy, and definitely geared towards families with small children, but we actually REALLY loved it. It just felt so fun!

We flew in on the 10th and got into Orlando around 1:30pm. It's really nice when you stay in an on-property because you can set it up for a Disney shuttle to pick you up and for your luggage to just be delivered to your hotel room. It made is so much less stressful. Once we got to the resort, we walked through the gift shop, and then relaxed in our room. I'm pretty sure we fell asleep for a little while. After waking up at 3am that morning it was sooo nice to have a nap. Plus, we needed to be rested for our dinner at Ohana that night!

Ohana is located at Disney's Polynesian resort and it's so so so delicious. It's an all-you-can-eat family style meal. The first course was pork dumplings and chicken wings. Then we got a HUGE platter of broccoli and noodles. Then came the meat! It's done on skewers (like Tucanos or Rodizio Grill, is you've ever been there) and it is was good. There was chicken, beef, shrimp, and..something else I can't remember now. Ben said the chicken was some of the best he has ever had!

Can you tell how excited I am for this bread pudding?!?!

Then came one of the best things I have ever eaten. It was a Pineapple bread pudding with a banana caramel sauce and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Holy mother this was good! We were so full from dinner, but couldn't help ourselves from eating almost the whole thing!

We left feeling fat and happy, and headed back to our resort. It had been a really long day, but so good so far! We were really excited for our first full day at Disney World, and we would be spending it at Disney's Hollywood Studios. 

Wow! I really thought I was going to get more than one day done on this post, but I don't want to overload you! Keep watching for the rest of the trip report...if you want to that is. 

Planning a trip to The World? Let me know if you have any questions...who knows, maybe our experience can help you out!

As we go on..we remember..

Well I can finally say it! I am a college graduate! I sometimes feel like that doesn't mean all that much anymore, but we're not thinking about that right now! Right now, we are thinking about how after 3 majors declared, 3 different schools, and 6 years of classes..I am finally a college graduate!

I was lucky enough to have my parents and sister come up for the ceremony, and it was really great to see them. Ben's parents came, and Ben of course too..and it was so great to have all their support! One of the most memorable moments of the day was the poem read by UVU's Artist In Residence during the convocation ceremony. This was by far the most ridiculous poem and reading I had ever heard. The speaker just made random noises with his mouth for a good 2 minutes of it. I was trying not to laugh too hard because it seemed like every one else was taking it so seriously!! My whole family couldn't stop imitating him the rest of the weekend. The ceremony was a little long, so we totes skipped out about ten minutes after I walked across the stage. We took pictures and then headed home!

The next day we had a graduation barbecue and Ben planned some really great surprises for me! There were Mickey Mouse balloons, a special cake, and a PINATA! It was so fun! I wailed on it and spilled all the candy out with 2 swings, but we patched it all together and the kids took turns taking some hits. It was a really great day eating food and spending time with friends and family!

Here are some of the pictures!

This is me at our BBQ with my trashed pinata!