Disney Trip 2013

Disney really is one of the most magical places!  This past weekend we headed down to Orlando with 5 other friends for a weekend full of fun and Disney magic.  One of my best friends has been working part time with Disney as a second job since college and she wanted to use her benefits in style and spend the weekend playing in the parks with us.  I've been to Disney as an adult but hadn't been with a group of people since the capital one bowl trip in college which was spent primarily performing in parades and at pep rallies.  Due to our grown up jobs we only had two days at the parks but we were determined to make the most of it.  For the first two nights we stayed at the Disney Coronado Springs resort, it was a beautiful Spanish inspired hotel.  They had a man-made lake on the property with a running trail around it which I took full advantage of to stay on track for the Diva Dash which is right around the corner.

On Saturday we went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot.  Animal Kingdom is my favorite parks.  This is probably because of my love of animals but also because I love how much attention to detail was paid to the entire park.  It truly feels like you have left the continent and are roaming around in the jungle.  The safari ride and the Finding Nemo show were my absolutely favorites.  Anytime giraffes are involved I am a happy camper.  Afterwards we headed over to Epcot to finish the day.  We got there at about 2 PM and shortly afterwards embarked on the task of drinking around the world.  As the evening wore on it became increasingly clear that this task has become very popular!  I did not take on the full quest of a drink in every country but instead picked select libations from the countries with the best menus.  I ended up partaking in Mexico, China, and France.  To be a good sport I did at least try the items Kyle got from each country so I’m telling myself that counts.  The only shortfall to my plan was that at the end of the night I ended up escorting the less coordinated members of our entourage back through the park.  It was fun telling everyone about the stories the next day though and to wake up feeling great the next day!

Day 2 was jam packed!  In order to get into the parks we met one of Larissa’s coworkers at Epcot so we began the day there.  After riding Spaceship Earth and eating lunch we headed over to Hollywood Studios.  Due to my claustrophobia I spent the afternoon walking around the park, shopping, watching the shows, and taking silly pictures around the park.  Since Megan didn't like Tower of Terror she kept me company for part of the day.  I met Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope and immensely enjoyed walking around the park.  After Hollywood Studios we headed back to Animal Kingdom for another chance to ride Everest.  We got to watch the sunset over the park and it was truly beautiful.  We ended the night at Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours.  We stayed in the park until 1 AM and acted like kids again.  My favorites were the teacups and the new Little Mermaid ride in Fantasyland.  We were all incredibly tired at the end of the night but we all had so much fun!

We stayed at the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge for the last night.  It is one of my favorite hotels I have ever stayed at.  The inside is incredibly beautiful and rustic.  They paid attention to every little detail and it made for, excuse the cliche, a very magical experience.  We spent the morning before driving home in the hot tub, watching animals from the Savannah Overlook (including giraffes, zebras, pelicans, flamingos, and gazelles), and soaking up the last of the Florida sunshine.  The drive back consisted of reminiscing about the trip, laughing about inside jokes, and of course dancing in the car.  I am incredibly thankful for such a fun break and for such wonderful friends!  Kyle and I were already scheming about when we will be able to come back to Orlando and we are definitely staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge again.