Easter week at Disney World — sometimes I have the strangest idea of a good time…

Seriously though, Easter week is not for the faint of heart when talking about a visit to the Mouse.  This is the second busiest time of the year, only falling behind the period between Christmas and New Year’s.  If you’re not into two hour plus waits on the popular rides and nightmarish crowds when leaving the parks in the evening, pick another travel time.  Me though, I laugh at the challenge!  (Not really, I just wanted to keep the peanut from missing any more school this year.)

The first part of the trip featured a stay at the Grand Floridian resort with the bonus of being in a ‘dormer’ room.  These are the rooms on the top floors of the buildings off of the main lobby building.  They are the windows that you see peeking out from under the eaves of the roof, thus being called ‘dormers’, imagine that!  They are like the regular rooms inside except they have tall ceilings and a private balcony.

 

The first order of business was getting ourselves to Hollywood Studios to check out the Star Wars Launch Bay.  We just missed the opening of this new area on our last trip and couldn’t wait to see what all the buzz was about.  Was it great?  Yep!  Meeting Chewbacca and Kylo Ren (super into his character!), seeing all the movie props (lightsabers, Rey’s speeder, costumes), trading with Jawas…  Excitement all around!  That evening, we enjoyed the Symphony in the Stars dessert party, a separate event that featured Star Wars themed food and drink with a reserved viewing area for that night’s Symphony in the Stars fireworks show.  That show was hands down the best fireworks experience (and dessert party too for that matter) that we’ve seen at Disney so far.

 

The next order of business was Typhoon Lagoon.  If the weather suits, on go the suits!  Typhoon Lagoon never disappoints.  Shoot, on this trip, we even got hailed on during a storm while we huddled under our umbrella!  Free ice falling from the sky, thanks Disney! The storm did clear out the wave pool, a rare sight.  We tried out Blizzard Beach later in the week for the first time.  Favorite?  Typhoon Lagoon, hands down.  The wave pool at Blizzard Beach doesn’t even compare and that’s our favorite part of the day.

 

Let’s see, what next?  Ah, Disney Springs.  So Downtown Disney is officially Disney Springs and the construction is really coming along.  We stopped by for some Starbucks, another run through DisneyQuest since it hasn’t closed yet (score!), and to take a few pictures of the construction.  The new bus area and second parking garage are taking shape.  It will be so much easier when the new bus area is up and running and we’re back to two bus stops there instead of just one.  Disney Springs is a sprawling area and that second stop will be so much more convenient.

 

The Grand Floridian stay ended and we moved over to the Polynesian Villas for the rest of the trip.  I love the Poly.  I would say it is my favorite resort now that the construction on the villas is complete and both pools are fully open again.  You can’t beat the location and the vibe of this resort.  It reminds me so much of Aulani.

 

Epcot in the spring means the return of my favorite festival, Flower and Garden.  I love flowers and trees so I love to visit during the festival period.  Disney’s parks and resorts are always impeccable but the work that the horticulture team does at Epcot for this festival is truly breathtaking year after year.  The only negative — ahchoo!  Darn allergies!

 

On our last day, we zipped back over to Magic Kingdom for more fun before we hit the road and stopped by the new Jungle Navigation Co Skipper Canteen restaurant for lunch.  This restaurant has funky decor and the great comedy routine that everyone loves from the Jungle Cruise ride.  I think a shorter name would’ve been a smarter move as would taking reservations more than a day in advance but the food was good and the specialty drinks were delish.  The one with the green apple boba balls on top was mine and that straw was gigantic!  I’m happy to report that I did not choke on any of the bobas, despite apparently trying my best.

Last stop, because you know we can’t ever come straight home, was Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort in South Carolina.  This place truly rocks.  It has the Disney feel but at the beach so you really can relax.  Relax at Disney?  I know, no way!  The resort’s ‘mascot’ is Shadow, a beautiful dog who comes by the resort from time to time to visit with the guests and pose for photos.  She loves belly rubs and pats on the head.  Definitely worth stopping for some snoodling.  Her human even gives autographed pictures out!  Woof!

 

It’s a wrap!  Was it super crowded?  For sure.  Would we do it again?  You bet.