January 2015 Walt Disney World Trip Highlights : Part 1 of 4

By Nick

I thought rather than doing a daily trip report, I'd share highlights for each day of our most recent vacation.

We spent quite a bit of the trip with our friends Kandi and John, and their kids Jazzlyn and Grayson, and met several Disney friends throughout the week, which were certainly highlights, but I'm going to share daily high points as well.

Kandi, Grayson, John, Barbie, Jazzlyn, and me

Saturday - 1/10 

To start things off, we checked into the Boardwalk Villas, and within minutes, before even leaving the lobby, we were sent a text that our room was ready. And better yet, the room's view was fantastic!
I'm going to share the room number with you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone! 4007.

We could see Wishes, and we watched Illuminations each evening we were there, sometimes from bed!

 Wishes

Illuminations

At Disney's Hollywood Studios, we met Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero Six at The Magic of Disney Animation.

Also at DHS, we had lunch at Hollywood & Vine for the first time. This is character meal with Disney Junior pals. I'm not very familiar with the characters, but the food was terrific, and I'll feature a more in depth article in the future.

Me and Jake

To cap off the evening, I got to meet Dave Hodges one of my co-hosts on The Disney Exchange Podcast for the first time. We had a really good time hanging out, enjoying entertainment on the Boardwalk as well as grabbing a beer over in Epcot's France Pavilion.

Sunday - 1/11

I was awoken by the sound of loud music and fireworks (this isn't a highlight, just an observation) which was the start of the Walt Disney World Marathon, which our friend Kandi ran, and watching people run the marathon and cheering them on WAS a highlight! Congratulations to all our friends, and, well, everyone that participated.

Before our cheering our friend and other runners on, we had breakfast at the new Trattoria al Forno located on the Boardwalk, and it was really, really good. Barbie and I both had the same thing, the Waffle, with Espresso-Mascarpone Cream and Bacon.

And since I'm on the subject of food, (and, really, it isn't often that I'm NOT) I'm going to put dinner at Trail's End at Fort Wilderness on my highlights list as well. It's never disappointing!

Finally, we have Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Yes, I rode it for the first time back in October, but this was the first time I rode it at night, and it was so much more fun in the dark, when you don't see the twists and drops coming!

Oh, and my favorite seat is in the back!

Have you ridden Seven Dwarfs and what's your favorite seat?