Five days till’ Christmas! Can ya even wrap your noggin’ around it?! We leave this evening to go back to OH, and I have two more posts to whip up before then. Thankfully I am all packed, so now is devoted to time to write! My favorite 🙂
After Epcot, we walked back to our hotel (only about a half-mile away) and soaked up the gorgeous golden sunset on our way.
We passed through the boardwalk on our way back. This boardwalk had a fun, relaxing, carnival inspired vibe. And it’s way cleaner and nicer than typical touristy boardwalks.
Since DJ and I arrived to Disney later than everyone else, we didn’t have the chance to ride the Tower of Terror with them earlier in the week. Luckily, we had a bit of time before dinner, so we decided to go to Hollywood Studios to ride the legendary ride!
I LOVED Tower of Terror. That and Avatar were my two favorites. Now I finally understand what the hype is all about!
We decided to eat on the Boardwalk at Big River Grille. My picture didn’t come out great since it was dimly lit, but I had a salmon salad. I was craving some greens after all the sugar and carbs that day, and that hit the spot. We ate outside, and although it was a chilly evening, the space heaters definitely helped keep us toasty.
We even witnessed a beautiful fireworks display.
We all went back to the hotel and watched The Office for a bit. I couldn’t keep my eyes open; insomnia didn’t have a chance to set in that night! On Saturday December 8th I woke up feeling refreshed & ready to go. I woke up early to run and study, and then we all met up to go to Magic Kingdom.
I know I keep saying it, but I just loved all the Christmas decor.
Cinderella’s castle!!
First ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This was a fun little coaster for sure!
And now… for another favorite- Splash Mountain!!!
This picture below cracks me up every. single. time.
After this we headed over to the Haunted Mansion ride.
On the way we saw the big parade!
*cue the spooky sounds- ooooOOoooOoooOOOooo*
It was, again, a very immersive ride. I cannot get over the design & creativity of everything in Disney.
For lunch we went to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. Below pictured is the loaded fries- they had flaming hot cheetos on top! YUM!
They even had a vegan sloppy joe. Score.
We tried to ride Space Mountain, but it was shut down for the day. Always need an excuse to go back 😉
We perused the park a bit more before heading back.
Here are more shots we grabbed from around the resort on our way back…
There is an endless amount of activities for all ages.
DJ and I decided to squeeze in a game of mini golf across the street before dinner. We hadn’t been in ages!
SO much fun. I forgot how much I loved this game. DJ only won by only a hair!
For one last hurrah, we had dinner at the spectacular restaurant, Il Mulino located in the Swan hotel (sister of the Dolphin where we stayed). OH.my.goodness. Easily the best Italian restaurant I’ve ever been to!
They started us with a little complimentary appetizer that had salami on one side and eggplant antipasto on the other. The eggplant- sooo tasty.
The bread had several options, and I opted for the pizza bread. I could have ate five slices for my meal alone. I savored every little nibble.
Two orders of meatballs for the table!
The caprese almost looked like mouse ears! I don’t know if they did that on purpose, but an excellent presentation nonetheless. It sure was refreshing!
I have been wanting to try truffle oil pasta for a while now. Sometimes I will go down truffle pasta rabbit holes on Instagram. I found a few places in SF that have it, so I said for my birthday I would like to go to one of the to try it. However, when I saw Rigatoni con Funghi with truffle oil on the menu, I didn’t hesitate in deciding what to order! And it lived up to, if not surpassed, my expectations! Now I have to find a new food to stalk 😉
The Deej ordered the tortellini alla panna with meat tortellini and peas in a cream sauce. So good! I definitely had a bite (or two).
Dessert though… WOW was this ever next level tastebud explosions. We split the cheesecake, tiramisu, and flourless chocolate cake. I don’t think I could choose a favorite…. it was all actual perfection.
Final group photo for the trip <3 This was truly an unforgettably magical week.
Question for you:
- What is an item on your food bucket list?
xo <3
