Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Do You Know How Loved You Are

Six months of marital bliss has flown by, and the husband and I celebrated the only way we know how to, by resort hopping at Disney World!

First stop was Disney's Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter for some New Orlean's style jazz atmosphere music, and Mickey beignets. 


 These guys were warm, and freshly made, and most importantly, MESSY (but so tasty)! Note the flurry of powdered sugar in the photo below:

Of course if you don't always have access to Mickey Beignets, you can always order these guys to make your own!

Thinking we were heading to the Riverside Resort, we hopped on the boat to ferry us over, but instead, we ended up at Disney Springs (oops). We decided instead of taking the ferry back to Riverside, to hop off at Disney Springs and take the bus to our next resort.







Although I am not one for nature, this resort is still incredible, and has something for almost everyone to experience.

me in nature....

Mike in nature...

Also located at the back of Fort Wilderness is yet another boat (yay!) to ferry you over to Magic Kingdom, where there is yet another bus lot to take you onto your next resort, but of course we had to peek by and say hello to the park.
Our final resort stop for the day was Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge to visit the Jambo House. After a rowdy game of Mancala, we headed to the back, outside area to visit with the animals, and were just in time for s'mores!

look at this man in his element

We are getting pretty good at finding little adventures here in Orlando, and we both had such a magical day resort hopping and celebrating love together. Some other notable Orlando adventures we have had recently were visiting the Windermere Food Truck Family Night, where we snacked on some yummy things like....
 Hushpuppies from TJ's Seafood Shack!

And some delicious bbq from Up N Smoke BBQ!



I also took Mike to experience Culver's, for the first time (for those of you unfamiliar with it, it's a Midwest fast food joint), and he was not disappointed.

I am not able to keep this man out of nature for long, so a visit to Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve was just the thing to keep him happy.




One of my favorite mini-Orlando adventures involved catching up with some of my spooky sisters from Hong Kong at Player 1 Video Game Bar.



 


Another Orlando highlight involved taking advantage of some of Mike's Seaworld perks by visiting Discovery Cove. 

Although it is a bit more expensive, the price includes all you eat food and drink for the whole day (breakfast, snacks, and lunch). 

didn't realize they had character breakfast here (;

One of the best parts of the day-all you can eat soft pretzels and slushies!
Another favorite moment of the day was watching the dolphins splash around in the early morning hours (squint in the background of the photos below and you'll see them).
 Everyone is required to wear a wet suit (or life vest) while at Discovery Cove, and since it was kind of chilly and the sun only making brief appearances here and there, I appreciated the extra warmth. 



The park is limited to a small number of guests per day, so the whole vibe there is very chill. You are never waiting in a line for anything, you aren't fighting to find a chair at the beach, instead, you simply listen to the steel drums play, and enjoy feeling like you are on a Hawaiian island.

There are a few different types of pools and experiences at Discovery Cove. One of these is the opportunity to snorkel with the stingrays, which I absolutely loved!







Adjacent to the snorkeling pool is the shark tank (for an additional price you can snorkel here as well). In the snorkeling pool, there is a glass wall to view them in, making it feel like you are getting up close and personal with them. 

AH! Sharks!

Another featured attraction at Discovery Cove is the lazy river, which leads you through waterfalls, an underwater garden, and some animal experience ilke the aviary, and a visit to see the otters and marmoset (or tiny monkeys). 

Cannonball!

You can also walk through the aviary instead of lazily floating. There are three sections of birds, but inside all three sections you can get food to feed them, and they are not shy. They were really enjoying my hair in a bun, and kept landing on my head when I was not paying attention. 
 

this one is my personal favorite.

Also, let me clarify something... you WILL get pooped on; probably more than once, so wear the proper attire.

Once you get past the terror of birds flying everywhere, and landing on you when you are not paying attention, it is actually a pretty cool experience.








Of course, the reason everyone comes to Discovery Cove is the chance to swim with the dolphins. I was not aware this was going to be a group experience, and there was no opportunity to take any sort of photos, with the exception of the photopass person there to take them for you, so this was slightly disappointing.  

Our dolphin, Luna, was super playful and patient. Our experience began with individual rides from the center of the water up to the coast, which was so cool. We also had Luna perform some tricks for us, then got to each give her a hug and kiss. Thanks for letting us play with you, Luna!



With one final snack (ice cream and hot chocolate), we were ready to head back to reality.



Discovery Cove was great, and Orlando adventures in general are also great, but do you know what is even greater?! Christmas presents. And this year for Christmas, we got a secret present we were not able to share until now....

We are so incredibly excited to be an aunt (and uncle!) again, and to our first nephew on my family's side! Huge congratulations to my sister, Hilary, and her husband Bridge, who are expecting their first little one at the end of June.We cannot wait to snuggle this little muggle so soon!!!