Nearly two weeks ago, we went to Disney World for a long weekend. It was amazing. We went with the Slatens, some dear friends of ours, and had a fabulous time. The weather was great, the food and service exceptional. Disney, my friends, knows how to do a good time.
So, without further ado, here are a few photos from our trip, and some Disney recommendations.
Sadly, I somehow managed to not take any pictures at our hotel. We stayed at one of Disney's value resorts, and it was great. The rooms aren't much to write home about (just your very standard hotel room), but the pools were great, the cafeteria was handy, and the atmosphere was just really fun. Most importantly, you get the outstanding Disney customer service, and free transportation to each and every park all day long. We would hop a bus to a park in the morning, hop another in the afternoon to go back to the hotel or to another park, and hop a bus back to the park in the evening. It's really worth whatever the price difference is.
The first park we went to (tired and exausted after getting into Orlando at 3 a.m. the night before) was Animal Kingdom. Lee quickly found a bike, but much to his dismay it was just for decoration, and was bolted down.
Animal Kingdom is really fun, but if you're trying to cram 4 parks in 3 days like we were, you probably don't have to spend a whole day there unless animals are really your forte. They have a really neat safari ride where you actually drive through a wildlife preserve of sorts.
There's a quite-large-but-not-nearly-to-scale reproduction of Mount Everest in the background. It looks really cool, and houses Disney's most intense roller coaster.
One of my favorite Animal Kingdom attractions is the Bug's Life interactive show. Disney has lots of really cool "4D" shows, where in addition to the 3D animation you are sprayed with water or squirted with air or scents. Lee's favorite part was the glasses.
We grabbed some tasty stir fry at Animal Kingdom (Disney has so many tasty food options, albeit expensive), and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the second half of the day. I quickly made friends with a life-sized monkey from a barrel as we were standing in line for the Toy Story ride. Best. Ride. Ever. Seriously, the lines were like 3 hours long if you didn't get in early. Definitely fast-pass this one early in the day.
Hollywood Studios is also super fun. Lee couldn't stop talking about the Tower of Terror (I refuse to go on that one), but my favorites were the Star Wars ride, the Muppets 3D film, and the Indiana Jones stunt show. And, of course, the previously lauded Toy Story ride. The evening lights/fireworks/video/character show is really good, too, but get there early and bring a sweater - it gets chilly in the evenings.
The next day we went to Epcot (much better rested). I was trying to get into the spirit of things, but Lee wasn't so sure. I really can't decide whether Epcot or Magic Kingdom is my favorite Disney park. Epcot's newest fabulous ride was called Soarin', and you're basically "hang gliding" in from of a big, half-sphere screen. SO cool. The best part of Epcot, though, is the world showcase. Basically, there are a dozen (or more?) countries recreated (well, tiny little condensed villages of those countries) around the paremeter of a giant lake. There are shops, restaurants, and attractions in each country, and the "cast members" (the term for anyone who works at Disney) are all from those countries.
Here's Lee lounging in Morocco. We ate our fanciest dinner (it was Valentine's day) at the Marakesh restaurant in the Morocco section of Epcot. The food was tops. Here's my salmon and hummus (I'm salivating just thinking about it):
After dinner, we bought some chopsticks in Japan, had crepes for dessert in France, and the boys got margaritas in Mexico while we were watching the fireworks show. It was a good, good day.
More recaps to come!
