Date Night at Disney's Animal Kingdom

A few weeks ago, John and I had the chance to get away for a quick date night to Disney's Animal Kingdom park.

We didn't really have a set plan, save for enjoying the cool evening and grabbing a drink at Nomad Lounge. 

We arrived three hours before park closing, and everyone was streaming out. I love the Oasis at the entrance to the park- the air plants and foliage are breathtaking. 

At the Tree of Life, we debated whether to head right into Asia or left to Africa. We knew we wanted to get a 'walking beer' and meander through either the Maharaja Jungle Trek or Pangani Forest. We usually choose Asia, so tonight we switched it up and headed to Africa. 

A stop at the Dawa Bar is always necessary. We each had a Tusker Lager and headed toward the walking path next to Kilamanjaro Safari.

Sadly, it was closed for the evening. We walked through Harambe Village a bit; while doing so, John booked us an 8:10 reservation for Tiffin's. It was already after 7:00, and I wanted to hang at Nomad Lounge without feeling rushed to leave. 

We headed that way and decided to check in at Tiffin's to tell them our plan. We said we'd like to enjoy cocktails before dinner; they said to take our time and come in whenever we were ready. 

We scored a comfy padded nook at Nomad (we were one of only three or four tables occupied) and enjoyed a cocktail. I'm sure this spot will get busier once Pandora opens, but for now, it's a nice quiet spot to enjoy a good drink. Around 8:30, we headed inside for dinner.

The park closed at 9:00 that night, so we were pretty much the last table sat. They initially put us at a four top table smack dab in the middle of the dining room. I was wanting something a bit more romantic so I asked if they could possible put us in a booth or somewhere in a corner of the room; they came back and moved us to a nice, spacious booth with a view of the dining area. It was really sweet. 

We ordered a bottle of wine and the bread service, which I'll admit didn't look like much on the menu, but was just the right amount of food to start the meal. It's no Sanaa bread service, mind you, but worked perfectly for an appetizer. The pomegranate olive oil was crazy good!

John ordered the Wagyu strip loin and braised short rib and I had the swordfish; we split the Brussels sprouts. Everything was really tasty, albeit a tad salty (and I love salt). 

Even though the park was technically closed, we never felt rushed, and our server was very nice and knowledgeable. We told him about Will and how we were on a date night. He talked about his family. 

At the end of our meal, he brought us out a small bag of chocolate bark. It was incredible and we snacked on it for a few days after. 

We left Tiffin's at 10:00 and walked out to a completely empty park. We maybe saw one cast member on our way out- it was quiet, dark, beautiful. 

Our following date night didn't end so peacefully (think: a phone call from Nana telling us Will had vomited all over, which ended up being a stomach virus that my mom and I also picked up), but that's a story for another day.

Thanks for reading! Kwaherini! 

Weekend Wear-Abouts + Life Lately

Hey hey! Stopping by to catch y'all up on what's been happening on this side of the screen lately-- we've been busy busy BUSY and lovin' life. 

Let me start by saying GO TIGERS! How awesome that the Clemson Tigers are the 2016-17 College Football National Champs! I'm a Gator fan but married a Clemson man, so I've adopted the team. Plus, I can wear orange to support both, so win-win! 

We headed to Tampa to see the game on Saturday. We stayed in St. Pete for three nights, visiting with John's dad and having a mini-vaca at the Bilmar Beach Resort. Will and I tailgated at the game for a bit, where we got to see some SportsCenter taping, before leaving John and his dad to attend. What a game! SO GLAD Clemson brought home the W-- it was due time that someone beat 'Bama. I was so happy that John was there in person to experience it. 

Lilly Pulitzer Michelle Tee // J.Crew Cardigan (old) // J.Crew Necklace // Charleston Rice Beads (worn as bracelet) // Tory Burch Miller Sandals 

Later in the week Will and I made a visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom to ride Kilamanjaro Safari and see the new baby elephant! I also took photos of the baby center there- I've photographed them in each park and plan to do a post about each one. I've had some readers ask about tips for taking a baby to the theme parks, so that will be fun!

On Thursday, we hit up Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to prep for our Whole 30 journey (we started today!!) My mom came to visit and we all went to IKEA on Friday. We also went to Sweet Tomatoes where Will tasted several new foods, including pickles and lemons, which he loved! That made for a fun InstaStory (@Disneyfied_Ash on Instagram). 

This weekend we ran errands, took down Christmas decorations and went to Epcot to check out the new International Festival of the Arts. It runs every weekend (Friday-Monday) through the end of February, and is really fantastic! Food and drink specialties at various booths (a la Food & Wine Festival), artists creating live art in the park, specialty merchandise, a Figment art scavenger hunt, special Photopass photo spots, and more!

A few things that made my Disnerd heart SO HAPPY: The Odyssey building is used as the Festival Center, and for the first time in a long, long time, the windows are open, offering a view out into the park. These have been covered over for years and years with decals; I remember going to events in this building 15 years ago, and I haven't seen the view from inside out since then. 

Also in that building are two art exhibits featuring Mary Blair and Herb Ryman (click each name to learn more about them-- do it!!). Both fantastic! And speaking of Herb Ryman-- I also picked up a poster featuring his concept art for Epcot. It's beautiful, and I can't wait to get it framed and hung in the house. 

Oh, and most of my purchases from the Lilly Pulitzer After Party SALE have arrived, including the Callahans I'm wearing below. I can't fit into any of my others (yet!), so I'm happy as a clam to have a pair that fits. 

Lilly Pulitzer Michele Tee // Callahan Short // Fitbit Charge2 // Rainbow Sandals // We've Got Ears Retro Epcot Ears

That about sums up our past week. Like I said before, we're starting Whole 30 today. I'll be posting our meals and progress on my Instagram Stories, so follow along if you're interested. 

Thanks for reading! XO, Ashley 

Weekend Wear-abouts: Part 2- All Four Parks + Monorail Bar Crawl + More!

Thanks for coming back around to check out Part 2 of last weekend's Weekend Wear-abouts. You can find Part 1 here. 

When I left off, John and I had an early morning rope drop of Magic Kingdom planned for Sunday morning. We've since referred to this day as our 'VIP Day in the MK.'

This is particularly special, and I'll tell you why. John likes Disney, mostly tolerates it for me, but likes it. He does not, however, like the Magic Kingdom. I think he appreciates it for nostalgia's sake, but the crowds, kids, parades that block the streets, and effort it takes just to get there really turns him off. 

However, about a year ago, he and I went one cool, sunny day at park opening. We took lots of photos and had pockets of the park to ourselves for the first hour or so. He really, really enjoyed himself. Here's some photos from that day. 

Aww, while looking back at those, I realized that it must have been in early January of last year, as the Christmas decorations are still up. Awww! And the hanging garland was still up across Main Street! (RIP). AND we rode the Omnibus. AND the trees were still along the walkway from Sleepy Hollow to Fantasyland along the castle- I miss them! I wish the Hub still had trees. They just give it such a warm fuzzy feeling. That's probably one reason why Disneyland feels so good to me. But I digress. 

So I've been waiting for a cool, sunny day to roll around again in order to convince him to take one of his precious, well-deserved weekend days and get up early to visit his least favorite park.

Sunday was the day! It was pleasantly cool enough but warm enough to wear shorts, hooray! I'd been waiting to wear my new Calahans since getting them from the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale in January. 

We arrived just after the welcome show. Upon entering Town Square, the surrey was sitting in front of the train station. We jumped on, and to our pleasant surprise, the driver got in and started on our way. Our own private surrey ride up Main Street!

Here's a snippet of video from our trip up Main Street. 

It was so awesome. People were looking at us, saying things like, "VIP, eh?!" "Wow, you must be special!" I waved as we passed. We made it to the castle and our driver (trying to remember his name, Edgar maybe? He was fantastic.) jumped out and had us sit in the drivers seat for a photo op. He then had us get out and stand in front of the castle for photos. He used our camera, and Photopass was there. It was really neat.

And it was perfect because our first FastPass was for Space Mountain! We headed there and walked right on. Pro tip: you rarely need a FastPass for most attractions the first 30 minutes of the day. Frozen stuff, Peter Pan, Mine Train, yes. But most others, no.

The cool thing here was that we had our own space shuttle on Space Mountain! We asked for the back seats, and had no one in front of us. VIP for the second time!

Exiting that, we sauntered over toward Liberty Square, sharing a banana on the way. As we entered Liberty Square, I suggested Haunted Mansion. Right then, the Liberty Belle pulled up to the dock. John had never done that, so our decision was made. I grabbed a pickle from the Liberty Square Market, and we hopped on. We found a bench on the second level. And then, the ropes were closed behind us. No one else was on the boat. VIP part three! I was SO EXCITED! Who gets the entire Liberty Belle to themselves? Like, when does that happen?! It was perfect.

 Lilly Pulitzer Callahan Shorts (old print; wait and stock up on these during the Sales, or at your local Lilly store where they're usually in the sale section) // Lilly Pulitzer Janelle Top (a great basic to pair with everything. The sleeves can be rolled up or worn down.)

After a lovely trip around the Rivers of America, we headed toward Adventureland to do yet another first for John-- the Enchanted Tiki Room. First, we split a Citrus Swirl. What's better than sharing an iconic treat with your love in the Magic Kingdom?? Not too much.

One reason I wanted to do this particular attraction was because of John's Instagram name. He created it based on Sacha Baron Cohen's character, Bruno. But *I* like to pretend he did is as a subtle Disney nod to Fritz in the Tiki Room. 

It was great, as always. By then, it was pushing noon o'clock and we had plans to meet my brother and family at Animal Kingdom. 

On the way in, I saw two interesting things. The first was a survey marker. 

Rainbow Flip Flops

The second was a really comfortable looking pair of sneakers.

Arriving at DAK, I was happy to see Governor Ratcliff and Meeko out front for a meet and greet. Here goes this 'not really a character gal,' meeting characters. John was sweet enough to join in the photo so I don't always look like a loser all alone in my pictures. 

We joined up with the crew in Dinoland and John and I split a bag of Lays and each had a beer while my brother and niece played the carnival games. 

Then we went to Dawa Bar to celebrate National Margarita Day, while my brother and co. did the Safari. The Dawa Bar was bumping, as always, but bartenders Sam and Bob from Boston were keeping up and taking care of business. I happened to score a seat at the bar, and struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to me. Ends up they're from California, and the guy is the photographer for the Walt Disney Family Museum! Hi Frank!

Two margaritas later, it was time for lunch. We had ADR's at Yak & Yeti. Yummy as always. 

John and I headed out after that, so he could have some of his Sunday left to relax at home. I love my little homebody. 

On Monday, I got up early and picked up niece Amelia to rope drop MGM, her favorite park. We headed straight to Tower of Terror, only to be met with a bellhop telling us it was down. So, it was back to Trolley Car Cafe for Starbucks. Coffee and tea in hands, we walked back down to Tower to sit and wait for it to open. After splitting a breakfast sandwich and finishing our drinks, it still wasn't operating. Amelia really wanted to see the new ToT merch, so we asked if we could at least go back to the gift shop. Now, mind you, the CM's were stopping people out by the wait time sign, not up by the actual queue entrance gates. So we had the entire ToT courtyard area and gift shop to ourselves.

Amelia spend a good thirty minutes perusing the merchandise. About then, a few people started to trickle into the gift shop. I heard a rumbling in the building, and Amelia and I looked at each other with a knowing look in our eyes. The ride had opened! 

We paid for our goods and rushed out to the queue. Only one side of the ride was running, so the wait was 45 minutes, but it was no question that we were doing it because it's Amelia's favorite. 

After that, we did Rock n' Rollercoaster. Then we grabbed some lunch and headed out to meet by brother and sis-in-law to drop off Amelia. 

Thus ended the extended weekend. As always, it was busy and fun. 

Thanks for reading!