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Hello Everyone!

Last week was filled with SO many magical Disney adventures!!! One of which was my first time to D23! For those who have never heard of D23 or just assumed it was a cult event for Disney crazies, then you're right! KIDDING....sorta. With that said, this 3 day event is the Official Disney Fan Club convention held in Anaheim, CA. This is where Disney announces huge park news, new upcoming Disney films, tons of exclusive merch, and it's an excuse to dress like a Disney princess. Also, if you really want a history lesson, the name D23 refers to D for Disney and 23 for 1923—the year Walt Disney founded the company. (Yes, I looked this up)

My ears are 3D printed Cogsworth and Lumiere by Aloha Ears Design (@alohaearsdesign)

The convention was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday but I only went on Friday because I had a flight that afternoon. :( Also, Mark and I had just come off of 2 huge days at Disneyland and we were exhausted. The doors to D23 opened at 10am and we got there around 8:30am which was considered late because the line looped around about 60 times and it took us about 10 mins to walk to the end of the line. Because we bought our tickets in advance, we split up and Mark went to will call while I stayed in line. Luckily, after 1.5 hrs of waiting in line the doors opened and the line started moving quickly.

Once we were through security, we received adorable reusable D23 bags and the madness began! Mark is all about the exclusive merch so we rushed straight for the MOG (Mickeys of Glendale store), which was over a 2 hr wait. I feel if you only have one day (or in my case, half a day) at D23 and you really want to shop, you're not really going to have time to do anything else because the lines are just so long! Because of the never ending line, we jumped out and went walking around the convention instead, which was way more enjoyable!

When it comes to Disney Parks news, we got an ear full! So many exciting announcements were made about upcoming rides, restaurants, transportation, and hotels. And of course the not so exciting news of operation "marvel takes over everything" and ride closings such as The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios (Which we say goodbye to August 13th so make sure you go ride it before then!)

However, we must keep our spirits high because Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is coming in 2019! One of the things I was looking forward to most at D23 was seeing the first look at this awesome new land! This diorama represents the new 14 acre experience that is coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I definitely got chills and I'm pretty sure Mark had to pry me away.

Below is a grid of some highlights from D23. Feel free to click on the pictures to make them bigger. There were so many amazing costumes and awesome booths to look at! I must say I fangirl-ed so hard at the live action princess/villain dresses. I'm also forever loving how much Disney is bringing vinyls back! There were so many exclusive vinyls I had never seen before!

If I had my time to go over I would have not booked a flight for the middle of D23! There was so much to do and see that it was impossible to complete everything in half a day!

A huge thank you to Mark ( @markevn) for all the photos of me and for letting me use the fisheye photos. (a true boyfriend) haha

Hope you all enjoyed my review/ramblings of D23! Sorry I crammed everything into one post.

Make sure to follow me on insta (@disneywithabi).

Hope you all have a Magical Day!

-Abigail <3

Hello Everyone!

HAPPY SUNDAY AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL! <3

This weekend Mark and I thought it would be fun to take a break from our never ending school work and go resort hopping for Easter (no pun intended)! This turned out to be one of my favorite trips to Disney and we didn't even step foot into the parks! There are so many free ways to have fun at Disney (however, you are probably going to wind up buying something!) but this is definitely one of them! It was so nice not having an agenda and just taking our time through the resorts. No fast passes, crowds, blazing sun, or 4 parks in one day nonsense.

We started at the Polynesian (which is Mark's favorite, because of the theming). We've been here a few times already so we skipped the sight seeing and went straight for the Dole Whip.

If you're craving Dole Whip and you don't want to hop into the parks, the Polynesian resort is the place to go! Also, I feel that the Dole Whip tastes much better here than in the parks. Another perk of touring the hotels is the merchandise. There is so much cute merch in the resorts that you normally wouldn't see at Disney Springs and and the parks too.

Next was the Grand Floridian. As crazy as this is, Mark and I have never been there and needless to say we were in AWE. If you are visiting the Grand Floridian for the first time, you are not prepared for the grandiose and magical feel of this hotel! From the moment we walked in, I felt like a princess. I love the live jazz band and adorable posh shops! Everything has such a cozy feel too and there is literally a dreamy seating area every few feet.

SIDE NOTE, .....we noticed the new security check points now located at the resorts. It is probably one of the smartest things Disney has done. Although if you plan to resort hop, security can become a bit of a hassle as your bag is checked 1000x but all in all, everything feels safer.

My ears are 3D printed Beauty and The Beast ears made by the lovely Aloha Ears Design!

We were lucky to be there in time for Easter because of the amazing chocolate decorated eggs! These eggs are perfect and the fact that they are edible makes them 10x more awesome. Of course, I had to take a picture of every single one. *face palm*

The resort's grounds are gorgeous, it feels like you could see Mary Poppins out for a stroll at anytime. I could honestly talk all day about how in love I am with the Grand Floridan and I haven't even stayed there yet but its for sure on my bucket list!

Because our trip was so spontaneous, we didn't get a chance to dine at the Polynesian or Grand Floridan, so to end the night we headed to Disney Springs for a delicious dinner at Raglan Road, dessert at Sprinkles, and did some shopping.

In the next post, I'm going to be doing a mini haul from the damage I did at Disney Springs, so be on the look out for that next week!

Have a lovely week everyone!

Abigail

D23: The Mega Post

Happy Easter! {Disney World Resort Hopping}

Abigail Nilsson