UPDATE
2021 took a while to come. I kept counting down the days and months. When covid came in March 2020, back when Dad and I were in Ireland. (You can read about my trip to Ireland by clicking this link right here -->
Ireland 2020 ) It was tough. The months were long, I got laid off at the bakery, I ended up being unemployed for a full year, It wasn't until February 2021 that I got a job working a Science Camp called NORY. Below is the video of my boss talking about how wonderful I am.
I knew next year, in 2021, that I would be going to Disney World with my mom. I was getting very excited and everyday I would tell my parents how many months, weeks and days were left. Those that know me, know that when I get excited about something or seeing someone, I tend to go crazy or as I like to say #Happyasahippo. Finally after waiting for what seemed like decades, April 23 2021, arrived. I was so excited the night before that I could sleep.
For three years, my mom and I have been planning my big birthday bash. At first I was thinking of weird ideas like have a big party. But then my mom reminded me that I'm not a big people person π
. I started looking into Connecticut and researching what there was to do there. But it didn't feel very speical or exciting. So I decided to think a little deeper. I gave myself a week to get my thoughts together. Finally, in 2017, I decided that I wanted to go back to Disney World. But this time, I wanted to stay at a Disney hotel on Disney's campus. From the help of my cousin Diane, we were able to put together what would be the perfect hotel. My mom, who is a bookkeeper, did the math and we decided that I would have to save up four thousand. It sounds like a lot of money and believe me, it isn't cheap. But in order for me to have the best birthday ever, and since you only turn 30 ONCE, I knew this was the best idea ever.
DISNEY WORLD
On Friday April 23rd, Mom and I went to the Moynihan Amtrak Station in Manhattan. Very close to where I work. We had lounge access that came with free unlimited food and drinks. I thought I was dreaming when the lady told me it was free. Finally, at eleven in the morning, we boarded our train. We had a viewliner roomlette. A small room that had a toilet, sink, bunk beds (the bottom bunk folded into a bed). Free food and drinks on the train. (I don't think beer was free)
On board our train, we had an attendant named Walter who took orders for lunch and dinner. He also made sure we were comfortable. I'm a picky eater so I didn't really like the food on the train. But mom enjoyed her meals.
We watched Grey's Anatomy, Manifest and the Last Man Standing. Then we played UNO and SET. We also took a nap. It was so much more relaxing than flying. I liked that you can get up and walk around without feeling like your in the way.
We had Disney Magic Bands that make it easier to purchase anything and get into the parks. I had a Frozen band and Mom had a Monster Inc band.
On Saturday April 24th, we woke up in Jacksonville, Florida. We went to the dining car to eat breakfast. I had rice Krispies. Mom had a breakfast burrito. We were four stops away from Orlando so we started packing and getting our stuff together. Finally we made it to Orlando.
When the two of us got off the train, we waited for our luggage to be taken off the train and handed to us. Then Mom got us an Uber so we could go to Disney's Pop Century Hotel. We checked in, the lady at the front desk gave me a "Happy Birthday" pin and my mom a "Celebrate" pin to wear at the parks. Then the two of us had to wait in a long and very slow line to check in our luggage. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we waited in another line, to catch the Disney Bus to Magic Kingdom. Since it's still covid, they give you seat numbers on the bus and you have to wear your mask ALL day at the park unless you are eating or drinking.
When we got to Magic Kingdom, Mom and I rode the following rides.
The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Its a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Barnstormer, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Under The Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid.
All the rides were very fun. I'll admit that I screamed and covered my face on the Barnstormer rollercoaster ππ. Astro Orbiter was really high but not as scary as it looked. My hat did fly off. But It was fun. My mom got really high up on that ride. She admitted she was a little scared. For lunch we had the most delicous pulled pork and a mickey pretzel at the Lunch Box Pad in Tomorrowland.
We had the Memory Maker, On our way out, we got our picture taken in front of Cinderella's castle. We got some ride photos too.
We went back to the hotel and took a shower because we were very sweaty. Then went hotel diner hall that was located in their litte Disney store. Drum roll folks. Hope you're sitting down. I had Chicken tenders and french fries for dinner. It was delicious though.
The first day we were exhausted. But it was a great day.
On Sunday April 25th, We took the Skyliner to Disney Hollywood Studios. We road the following rides. Mickey and Minnie's Railway, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, Alien Flying Saucers, Star Tours, Millennium Falcon, Walt Disney Presents. Let me just say that Slinky Dog Dash rollercoaster is SCARY! I never screamed so much in my life π.
For someone who doesn't like Star Wars, I must say I really enjoyed Star Tours. Since it was my birthday celebration, I got to drive the Falcon and I... well... kind of... crashed it. Sorry Star Wars Fans. I tried my best.
I also really enjoyed Toy Story Mania, Alien Flying Saucers and Mickey and Minnie's Railway. They were really fun.
Got to watch a history short film on how Walt Disney created Disney World and Disney Land.
We had lunch at the ABC Commissary. That was a nice indoor dining area.
I liked Disney Hollywood Studios It was nice and small. Plus the rides were close together.
We went back to the hotel and did some window shopping. Then had dinner at the hotel. Then later, we FaceTimed my dad. It was a great day.
On Monday April 26th, We took the bus to Animal Kingom. If you ever been to Animal Kingdom, or if you've never been, the rides are far away from each other. Every land with in the park, is a walk.
Our first ride was Kali River Rapids. My mom was funny on that ride. She couldn't believe we were going to get wet the minute we just arrived at the park. We ended up getting a little wet but we dried fast. That's the perks with Florida. The sun beems down on you and dries really fast.
We walked through this small area where they keep tigers, monkeys and birds. The birds were adorable. They fly and walk up to you. I love birds.
Then we walked to Dino Land. At Dino Land, I rode the TriceraTop Spin (Just like Dumbo only its a dinosaur). That was fun. We road the Dinosaur next. Now that was scary at first. Because it was dark but it ended up being my favorite ride.
While we waited for our lunch to be ready, we saw flamangos. I've never saw one before. They were adorable little pink birds.
Afterwards, we had lunch at The Flame Tree Barbecue. It wasn't good. It smelled better than it tasted. But the french fries were good.
We walked to Pandora in Animal Kingdom and rode the Avatar Flight of Passage. Despite the long line and long walk up to the ride, it ws alot of fun. The creativity and 3D effects made it quite the experience.
Afterwards we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. Got to see tons of animals. Giraffes, Rhinos, Hippos, Ostrich, Tigers and Elephants. That was really cool.
We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom, Mom got a steak and I had chicken and fries. Then they sang happy birthday to us and gave us a free cup cake with a lit candle. That was really nice.
After dinner, we walked back to Pandora and rode the Na'Vi River Journey. A peaceful boat ride through the land of Avatar. For our last ride, we went back to Dino Land and rode the Dinosaur.
It was such a great day. We did a lot of walking that day. Reached twenty thousand steps.
On Tuesday April 27th, my mom's birthday, we took the skyliner to Epcot. Made two transfers on the skyliner. It was my first time there. I've never been. But I heard they made some changes to make it more exciting. Because for years I heard nothing good about Epcot. But I was ready to experience my first time there and give it a rating for myself.
After taking a short walk through England and of course a picture in front of the phone box, we made our way to our next country which was Canada. We got to see a short film about their country. Canada is a big country and we all know their favorite sport is Hockey. Followed by baseball.
We walked through a butterfly garden to get to the Imagination ride. That ride was really fun. Again, very creative. Then we walked through to the ride SOAR'N. That was a really fun ride. I felt like I was really flying. Got to see lots of different countries. Even though the line was long and the process of getting on the ride was very slow, it was a well done and very creative and fun ride.
After lunch, we went this relaxing boat ride called Living With The Land and got to learn about the different produce and plants. Then we walked over to Nemo and Friends. That was a slow but fun ride.
We went on Mission Space. That was cool. Funny part of it all was when I tried to click on New York on the map on the screen of the ride but ended up clicking on a random island in the middle of nowhere.
Then we walked to the Test Track. Mom was scared in the line cause she heard the cars speeding above us. Let me tell you, this ride goes sixty-seven MILES PER HOUR! It was crazy fast. But I really enjoyed that ride.
Afterwards we walked to Mexico and rode this boat ride that was from the movie CoCo. I never saw it but the ride was creative. Then we waited on a long line for Frozen. That was like a small log flume. We got wet but it was super fun.
We ended our day with a snack. I had ice cream that was melting fast due to the heat and my mom had an ice.
On Wednesday April 28th, We went back to Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours. We wanted to do some last minute rides we didn't get to do the first day.
We went on Big Thunder Mountain, The Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, The People Mover and then repeated some of the rides we enjoyed like the Barnstormer and Tomorrowland Speedway.
Then we had lunch at Tony's Italian Resturant. At the Resturant we had a great view of the small parades. Got to see Winnie the Pooh, Tiger, Eyor, The princesses and Mickey and Minnie. I had Fettuccine with butter and garlic bread. It was delicious. When I came back from the bathroom, the waitor gave me vanilla ice cream for my birthday celebration. That was really nice. I wasn't expecting that.
After Magic Kingdom, we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool. Perfect day for swimming since it was so hot. Then we tried to get a tan while laying on the beach chairs.
After the pool, we ate our dinner and took the skyliner to Epcot and the boat to Disney's Swan hotel where we played mini golf. Mini Golf was a lot of fun.
It was quite the adventure and a great day.
On Thursday April 29th, We took the bus to Blizzard Beach. One of Disney's water parks. It was our first time there. Before we did anything we made sure we put lots of sun screen on and picked a chair to keep our towel and sandles on.
First, the two of us went in the wave pool first. A small mostly shallow pool. But the waves were great. Felt like I was at the beach.
Then we walked to the Lazy River or as they call it Cross Country Creek. We road that around to the Purple area. All the slides were in different colored areas. Purple, Green and Red.
I felt the urge to ride the Downhill Double Dipper. It looked really fun. I must say how mistaken I was. It was scary. I was screaming ππ°.
Then we hiked up the stairs to the Toboggan Racers. One of their mat rides. That was alot of fun. I really enjoyed that ride. Except that I got water up my nose which was awful π.
After a snack break (I had popcorn and a pretzel and mom had yogurt and strawberries),
we took the Ski lift up to the slides. Our feet needed a rest. That was a nice slow ski lift. Compared to the one in Camel Beach Water Park in PA.
Then we walked back up and road the Snow Stormers. The first time was fun. No problems.
The second time was bad. I fell off my mat and ended up going down the slide backwards head first. Then I flipped myself around and had to push myself down the slide with my hands. My purple mat never came down. But I was afraid someone was going to run into me. I could have broken my arm or something. Luckily I got down safe. But that was very scary.
We hiked back up the stairs and road Team Boat Springs. A family ride. Now that was really really fun. Minus the part where I went backwards the whole way. We ended up going on that ride twice.
We hiked up what seemed like forever, to the Run off Rapids. It was a fast tube slide but really relaxing. I loved that ride a lot. Just didn't like the hike up the stairs while holding my tube. That was mom's favorite ride.
After the water park, we went back to our hotel, changed and dropped our stuff off. Then we took the bus to Disney Springs. That's where we did all our shopping. We went to the BIG Disney Store. That's where I got most of my stuff.
For dinner we found an Irish resturant called Cookes of Dublin. The battered chicken and chips tasted just like it does in Dundalk, Ireland. I felt like I was in Ireland at the Europa Resturant.
Right next store was a gift shop called Ragland Road where they sold tons of Irish stuff.
After dinner, Mom and I walked to M&M World. I of course got M&Ms and a T Shirt. Since I spent over their limit, I got a M&M blanket for five bucks.
We took the bus back to our hotel and called it a night. But man was it a great day.
On Friday April 30th, we packed our bags, then checked in our suit case and went to Disney Hollywood Studios one last time. Unfortuantly Slinky Dog Dash broke down so we couldn't ride him again π.
But we did get to see the Muppets in 3D, Toy Story Mania, Aliens Flying Saucers, Mickey and Minnie Railway and Star Tours.
We were going to do the Frozen Sing Along but we didn't have time. But we defiantly had a great time.
Mom and I took Uber to the Orlando Train Station. Where we took Amtrak all the way back to New York City. A full twenty-four hours.
It was a great trip and very well planned. I had an awesome magical time. I am so thankful I got the opportunity to go to Disney World during the covid. I am very blessed and happy as a hippo.
Here are some pictures from my trip.
