One thing (among many) that I love to do at Disney is hunt for Hidden Mickeys. This flamingo island, seen on the safari is a great example of how these little tricksters hide in plain sight.
The island itself is a Mickey!
Here is another example, I didn't even notice them until I glued this photo of Orleans Riverside hotel into my journal. See them lurking on the fence railing? About knee cap height.
Sometimes they are right there in in your face, like the citrus in the water jar at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Or under your feet, like the carpet in the halls of Jambo House.
Sometimes they are subtle like the grates outside Animal Kingdom.
Or very prominent, like this pumpkin.
Our room at Orleans was full of them! On the lamp…
The shower curtain…
The tile in the shower…
I'm sure there were more that I missed. It was a great room. And an upgrade. When I saw where our reserved room was on the map and realized that it was very, very far from the parking lot, plus upstairs. I knew it might be hard on my sisses to get to it after a long day at Disney Springs.
I asked if there was anywhere that we could change to, hoping we might have easier access from our car and was offered a free upgrade to this Princess suite. And it was really cool. The headboard scene has embedded lights that mimic the swamp scene with the fireflies in Tiana's movie. The portrait is 3-D.
This wasn't our only upgrade. Back in April when I was planning the trip, the room we wanted at Jambo House wasn't available for two nights, so we were given a suite instead of a double queen room for the same price.
It was wonderful to be overlooking the animals beneath our balcony, plus having a nice, big room to spread out in.
Every room I've stayed in on Disney World grounds has been comfy, clean, and well kept. The themed rooms are extra wonderful, and not really that much more expensive, but I rarely splurge on them, since not that much time is usually spent in the room itself. But after staying in these two, beautifully themed, specialty spaces, as free upgrades from the lower priced rooms I'd booked, I'm thinking that next time, I will certainly spring for the nicer rooms, they were so fun.
Where else can you ride a magic carpet in your hotel room? This one was printed into the flooring.
And the whirlpool bubble bath was much appreciated for tired feet after tramping through the parks.
We were very lucky to be given not one, but two upgrades on our trip. There were other moments of Disney Magic, including being directed to the front of a line at one point, and many other kindnesses. I've heard that each "castmember" (employee) at Disney is supposed to gift someone with an extra each day. It seems to me like there are more than that, because I've seen so many instances of these extras over the years.
Lucky me!
Thank you, Disney World!!
Speaking of luck, how unusual is it to run into family members at Animal Kingdom Park??? Yes, we were all at Gorilla Falls Trails taking some quiet time to birdwatch, and surprise! There was Carol and Jim with Carrie and her kids.
Wow!