Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

In June of this year, as a celebration of my daughter's graduation, and for my work convention, we all packed out bags and headed down to sunny Orlando, Florida. There we drove to Walt Disney World and had the experience of the life time. 

We were able to stay in the Art of Animation hotel in a Finding Nemo suite. The room was amazingly themed and had a great view of a lagoon on the property. At this value resort, there were four different themed areas to choose from: Cars, Lion King, Little Mermaid, and Finding Nemo. We chose Finding Nemo for room design, its central location at the resort, and the amazing salt water pool it had to offer. 

Using the park hopper pass, we were able to hit every single park, and most of them more than once.

Graduation Celebration!

At Magic Kingdom (which we visited on more than one occasion) we explored the mines with the seven dwarfs, a ride we had never ridden before. We also went on the Keys to the Kingdom tour. This tour took us on a lot of the behind the scenes spots at the Magic Kingdom, and we learned the design and purpose for some of the different features we had never really noticed before. Although the tour was for only those 18 and older, we recommend it for any adult to try because it definitely enhanced the way we see Disney. Of course, while in this park, we concurred Space, Splash, and Big Thunder Mountains. Each one was just as much fun as we remember. One night, we even stayed to watch the Happily Ever After Fireworks. This fantastic show continued to inspire our imagination and our sense of why we love Disney. 

Our time at Epcot was also a blast. We took a tour of the countries at the World Showcase, and journeyed into our imagination with Figment. We even got a chance to ride the new Soarin' Around the World. We had ridden this ride previously, but the new video made it even better. Any chance we found to FastPass that ride during our time at Epcot, we took it. We also had the chance to ride the Frozen Ever After ride in Norway at the World Showcase. What we enjoyed was that we could remember parts of this that had once been the old Norway ride, and how they transformed it was amazing. 

At Hollywood Studios we continued to have thrill after thrill. We made sure to FastPass the Hollywood Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller-coaster, which made us scream just as much as they always have. But the highlight of our time at Hollywood Studios was the Star Wars Galactic Dessert Party. Extravagant and unique desserts, bubbling drinks, and classic hors d'oeuvres filled the Launch Bay as we enjoyed a private party.  We even got to encounter Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, and BB8. Then our special seating area for the Star Wars Spectacular show allowed us to see this amazing new night show at this park. It was definitely a great event, especially for Star Wars fans like us. 

Finally, we also visited Disney's Animal Kingdom. Our favorite part was definitely Pandora. This amazing land was just jaw-dropping to look at. It perfectly captures the magic and wonder given by the film. By booking FastPasses on the first day we were able to, we managed to get FastPasses for both the Na'vi River Journey and the Flight of Passage. The Na'vi River Journey was a beautiful tour of the night at Pandora. Full of illuminating plants and animals, it was a beautiful and calming ride. The Flight of Passage, however, is much more thrilling and has become our favorite ride at Walt Disney World. The full sensory immersion makes the ride feel so real that it cannot be put into words. 

The whole trip was one we will never forget, and we cannot wait to go back to the happiest place on Earth, whenever we get the chance.  

(June 2018)