Disney 2023 Disney Springs

On the first day while Chris, the boys, and I were having fun at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, Ashleigh and Sam were driving. The traffic was horrible, but we were  so thankful they arrived safely. We all were able to sleep in, exchange gifts , and we all enjoyed Disney Springs and other fun activities around Disney. Ashleigh also brought yummy goodies and homemade goodies. We visited Gideon’s Bakehouse. It was a cool place! We got some cookies and cake! 

We also went to The Grand Floridian Hotel and saw the full size gingerbread house and the Christmas tree featuring the Twelve Days of Christmas. We had planned to go to other hotels and see Christmas decorations, but the day slipped away mostly because we wanted Ash and Sam to ride the Skyliner. We got on the Monorail at the hotel and were riding to Epcot. We got to the transportation center where all the buses go to Monorail and that is when we realized that you had to be in Epcot to get on the Skyliner.  We also realized we were at the Transportation Center and not Epcot so we got back on and then rode back to the Polynesian hotel. We decided we wanted a decent dinner so we went back to our car at Disney Springs on the bus. We were hopeful to have a gingerbread contest, but the restaurant time took longer. We were all tired and ready to call it a day before our first big day together at a park. 

Disney 2023 Day Epcot and Magic Kingdom

Drove to Disney area on Christmas Day 

Day one was Epcot and hop to Magic Kingdom. We were able to get the virtual queue to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy ride too. We visited each country and were able to do all the rides while at Epcot. We all rode the Disney skylines from Epcot. It went to Hollywood Studios or resorts we ride it to Hollywood and then rode a bus to Magic Kingdom. It was a cool experience. Austin and I created a fun version of a car at Test Track. he “cheated” , but I think some of the cheats he and I altered. At Mag Kingdom, we were not able to get the virtual queue to ride Tron, but we were able to ride the other idea. We are so thankful for the DAS pass. 

Christmas Eve/Christmas

 As I was taking the ornaments off the tree today, I was reminded of Christmas’s in the past and hopeful about Christmas in the future. Most of all I was looking at the drooping tree and realizing how dry the tree was although it was 3/4 filled with water. I was doing this before church this morning so I was making connections to Christ and how His Love is never dry. I had the lights on the tree also: the connection was for me to be a light is a world of dry. Today’s sermon was from Nehemiah 1. The overarching message was God’s love is steadfast; mourn, pray, and fast in Christ, do not rely on self- reliance, despair, and apathy to overcome 

This year for Christmas we also decided to have a family trip to Disney World. On Christmas Eve, our church joined with other churches in our neighborhood to have a quaint Christmas Eve service. On Christmas morning after  getting a few gifts from Santa, we drove to Disney area where we had rented an Airbnb. 

Dylan and his class had done some shopping at Five Below so we unwrapped those gifts too on Christmas Eve. We also finished up the Oreo balls by filing in chocolate and had our traditional Christmas dinner with prime rib, baked potato, sweet potatoes, and rolls. 

Of course, we stopped at Buccee’s on the drive down, and surprisingly this was the least we had ever spent there. We also knew that I had packed sausage balls, Oreo balls, ice box fruit cake, drinks, and several other snacks. 

When we arrived in Kissimmee, we were ready for dinner. Since it was Christmas we were aware that dinner would be limited. We had pizza at Cici’s Pizza. It filled us for the evening and we were ready for our Disney adventures.