Day 1377: No Lost Time

In the face of a hurricane and the parks at Walt Disney World closed for the day, one might think there would be some lost time. Luckily, we're annual passholders, which means that it doesn't really matter what days we go to the park, and while I absolutely felt for those that missed out on a day at the most magical place on Earth, there was still plenty to see and do! 

Fortunately, we were staying at The Boardwalk for this particular trip, which was especially lucky since we were on the waiting list for months and it went through only weeks before our flight to Florida. This meant a couple of things. First, that we'd have the surrounding resorts to explore once the curfew was lifted, and second, that we had a few special extras offered at the resort while the parks were in lockdown, like Goofy and Pluto, who walked around The Boardwalk for hours keeping guests entertained! 

Plus, there's definitely something to be said about basically having forced time to spend at your resort. The resorts that make up Walt Disney World are all spectacular, unique in their own ways, and definitely worth exploring in their own, but even I must admit that they sort of get the short stick most of the time I spend in Florida. After all, there's usually so much to do in the parks that I don't spend much time at the resort, with the exception of frequently spending time around Old Key West. I spent extra time at Coronado Springs when I stayed there in July as well and between these two trips, I've really found a new enjoyment in exploring the places we stay.

So maybe next time spend a morning or afternoon looking around your resort, even if there's not a hurricane to force you to stay. Try out some of the restaurants, relax by the pool, or, if you're like me, get some work done in a little nook or cranny that most people don't recognize. It's a great way to spend an afternoon where you don't really want to mix and mingle with park goers and will open your eyes to a whole other side of Disney! I know I'm excited to explore a new resort in January - All Star Music! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1376: Hello Hurricane

In the weeks leading up to my October 2016 trip to Walt Disney World, the thought of a hurricane never really crossed my mind. In fact, I was so busy with school that I didn't even really realize that there was a hurricane heading our way until we were already on our way to Florida (my dad brought it up on the drive to the airport). Anyone who knows me knows that I hate storms too, so I'm pretty sure I lived in denial of an actual hurricane for the first couple of days of our trip. 

Once the rain really started though, it got harder to deny the seriousness of the situation. 

Hurricanes, like other natural disasters, are not something to be messed with, and everyone in Florida was blessed with Matthew's shift to the East late the night before landfall. If not for that shift, much of the state would have been dealing with a direct hit, and while it was definitely still close, things could have been a lot worse. 

I guess I didn't really know what to expect though. In Wisconsin we have snowstorms and blizzards, which are probably the closest we come to a hurricane, and Matthew didn't prove me wrong. The stores, as far as I could tell, were cleaned out and the roads were filled with people evacuating. At Disney, the announcement that the parks would be closing didn't seem all that odd, despite the fact that it's only happened a handful of times in history. The winds didn't really throw me for a loop either, and neither did the rain, because that was exactly what I expected from a hurricane based on prior knowledge. 

The most surprising part, I suppose, was the attitude toward the storm. On one hand you had government officials insisting that "this storm will kill you," and on the other hand you had the cast members at Disney keeping everyone calm and reassuring everyone that everything would be fine. After a few hours of watching the news in our wonderful room at the Boardwalk, it got sort of confusing as to what to believe, but I know for a fact that that was just a part of being a Disney Resort guest during the storm. 

When the curfew was lifted, we did venture out to various locations around Walt Disney World, specifically the nearby resorts and, in the evening, a brief trip to Disney Springs, which was crowded with resort guests wanting out of their rooms. Aside from some down branches and bark from the trees and the lingering wind and dark skies, everything seemed, once again, normal, and that was a trend that only continued over the following days. 

Overall, living through a hurricane wasn't anything what I expected it to me. I spent a good portion of the night, when the worst of the storm passed by, up terrified by the wind, but that's more due to my extreme fear of tornadoes and storms than anything else. I know for a fact that outside the limits of Walt Disney World, the story could have been and was entirely different, but I'm thankful that the damage from Hurricane Matthew, at least in Florida, was less than expected. 

Have a magical day!

Day 679: Colors of Disney

Since I have one less class than any of my three roommates (or four if you include Katie!), and I'm only just training for my job here on campus, I take it upon myself to do things around the dorm room. Some days that means cleaning, and sometimes I do nothing more than update Melvin's adorable little outfit. Regardless, the past couple of days I've been hard at work deciding how to decorate the room for Christmas, and while you'll see that in a future blog post for sure, the important part for right now is that I was working with lots and lots of color.

Which got me thinking. As I picked out colors of paper for one of the projects, I'd come across a color that simply reminded me of something at Disney. Generally, it was a lot of Old Key West thinking, because the color palette at OKW is absolutely one of my favorites in the entire world. I wouldn't be surprised if my house is themed to the Gingerbread Architecture and soft pastel colors that make up the resort someday.

Either way, once I thought about color palettes, I figured maybe it would be fun to search out some Disney ones. The thing was, I couldn't find too many, so I decided to make a few of my own instead! I picked out some of my favorite Disney Instagram pictures and used an online generator to pull out the colors and then created the color palette picture myself.

It took me a while to figure out how to make these, and I'm sure it's not exactly how the color palettes work, but they were a lot of fun to make, that's for sure! I think that it's safe to say that there will be more color palettes in the future. Also, I figured I would share this. On the last one, of Spaceship Earth, the main color it supplied me with is the color featured on the plaque (although it's not actually on the palette itself), and the name of it is Matterhorn. Seems even color names are Disney-like! 

Have a magical day!