Mike and I just got back (by just got back, I mean we started this blog post the day we got back from Disney and are just now finishing it....therefore please enjoy how we started off strong in the details and then gave up about halfway through....) from a weeklong adventure in Disney World and know many of you are eager to hear about the trip. I know those of you who read both blogs appreciate our differing perspectives (Mike's witty and minimalist style and my tendency to err on the side of verbosity;)...), but because we did SO MUCH and wanted to divide the workload if a monstrous blog, we decided to write our first collaborative post. Don't worry, it won't become a habit;)
Day 0 (The Day Before Disney):
We left from the Eastern Market metro on Saturday to go spend the night at Abigail and Zan's place since the plane left at too-early-o'-clock. We proceeded to watch the "It's a Good Life" episode of The Twilight Zone so that Kelsey would know what to look for on the Tower of Terror and also so that she could see the best scariest (<edit: Kelsey) Twilight Zone episode ever.
Day 1 (Magic Kingdom and Epcot):
Well before the sun came up we were at the airport. Brian and Kay met us there, having hopped on an even earlier flight from Philly.
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| We were all very tired but also very excited for Disney. Brian and Kay were also excited because they were randomly upgraded to first class seats. |
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| Magic band status. (The bands were our ticket to everything at Disney and you can even use them to pay for stuff.) |
Upon landing, we hopped on a magical express bus and went straight to our place at the Beach Club Resort. This is the same place that we stayed when Absi took a group of us to Disney back in 2009, which was five years ago.
At Epcot......
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| Love at first view of Epcot. |
England Eats:
We were starving, so the first thing that we did was run into the Epcot World Showcase and grab some fish 'n chips from England. Having never had the real thing, I will assume that these were the real deal. After all, the person who handed it to me had a british accent. Kelsey also got a sausage roll and Mike got a cocktail made with rose-flavored syrup.
We were starving, so the first thing that we did was run into the Epcot World Showcase and grab some fish 'n chips from England. Having never had the real thing, I will assume that these were the real deal. After all, the person who handed it to me had a british accent. Kelsey also got a sausage roll and Mike got a cocktail made with rose-flavored syrup.
Spaceship Earth:
We ate our snack on the run, since we only had twenty minutes to get to Spaceship Earth in order to use our skip-to-the-head-of-the-line passes (you get three per day that you can preselect. Absi handled all of that). Dame Judi Dench narrated our way through the giant golfball and helped us explore the history of communication from cave paintings to the internet.
We ate our snack on the run, since we only had twenty minutes to get to Spaceship Earth in order to use our skip-to-the-head-of-the-line passes (you get three per day that you can preselect. Absi handled all of that). Dame Judi Dench narrated our way through the giant golfball and helped us explore the history of communication from cave paintings to the internet.
Captain EO:
Our next fastpass was entirely unnecessary since there was no line, but that doesn't matter because Captain EO is an experience that justifies redundancy. Captain EO is a 3D movie ride that was originally produced in the 1980's as part of the first (and only) collaboration between George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Michael Jackson as a plucky space captain leading an inept crew of aliens on an undefined mission to deliver the a gift to a dystopian planet's evil overlord queen, played by Anjelica Huston. The gift, naturally, is an epic song and dance number. Here it is on youtube, but it pales in comparison to the 3D version with additional in-theater lighting effects. The experience is delightful. It makes absolutely no sense, but in the very best way.
Our next fastpass was entirely unnecessary since there was no line, but that doesn't matter because Captain EO is an experience that justifies redundancy. Captain EO is a 3D movie ride that was originally produced in the 1980's as part of the first (and only) collaboration between George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Michael Jackson as a plucky space captain leading an inept crew of aliens on an undefined mission to deliver the a gift to a dystopian planet's evil overlord queen, played by Anjelica Huston. The gift, naturally, is an epic song and dance number. Here it is on youtube, but it pales in comparison to the 3D version with additional in-theater lighting effects. The experience is delightful. It makes absolutely no sense, but in the very best way.
Club Cool:
Club Cool is my (Mike's) favorite place at Epcot. You get to try sodas from around the world. Most of them are pretty good.
Club Cool is my (Mike's) favorite place at Epcot. You get to try sodas from around the world. Most of them are pretty good.
Pineapple Whips:
Grabbing another snack at an Epcot Flower & Garden Festival booth, Absi insisted we had to try the Pineapple Whips. They are essentially pineapple soft serve with rum and you could choose between dark rum or coconut rum. I (Kelsey) had the brilliant idea of mixing the two together so that is was less strong and a better balanced flavor;)
Soarin:
This was one of my favorite Disney ride sensory experiences. You basically just get in a roller coaster type thing in front of an IMAX screen of land and scenery and feel like you're flying over top. The sounds, scents, and sights incorporated during the ride made it feel real and now I really want to travel some more!
Afternoon Nap:
Mike is not a napper, but I (Kelsey) am and thought it was important to add that I took a nap every day at Disney and it was glorious!
At Magic Kingdom...
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| First view of the castle. (Brian and Kay are on the left, looking cute.) |
Philharmagic:
After scrounging up some dinner in the Magic Kingdom, we decided to fit in the Philharmagic ride before fireworks. This was one of my (Kelsey) favorite 3-D 'rides', mostly because you got to hear all of your favorite Disney songs and that is what really gets me in the spirit.
Wishes:
There are really no words to describe the lights, music, and fireworks shows that take place in the theme parks each night. "Wishes" is the one for the Magic Kingdom and it is very sentimental and beautiful. I was told I was going to cry (do I look like an emotional person or something;)?), but I did not. I think I was more in awe of the production quality of the show to be honest. It is at such a high level with such an incredible attention to detail. This was definitely one of my highlights of the entire trip....being able to watch the fireworks surrounding by friends and warm weather on our first night at Disney.
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| Right before the fireworks show. |
Haunted Mansion:
After "Wishes", the group decided to do the haunted mansion. It looked dark in the mansion, but it was also dark outside, so after people convinced me (Kelsey) it was funny and not scary, I decided to ride. The ride was super cool! I also did think it was funny. There weren't too many things which popped out....something I appreciated. The ghosts also looked real at one part and I made the mistake of asking Mike why. He spent the next 15 minutes teaching me about some illusions trick using mirrors. Mike teaching me things is one of my least favorite activities, only because sometimes I just want the quick answer and not to actually have to learn things. Here's a secret, though. Sometimes I do actually learn things (and like learning them) and they are useful to me later on! (Don't tell him that, though, or he'll get excited.)
Pirates of the Caribbean:
Oh, I loved this one! Pirates make me laugh and the animation (imagineering?) behind animatronic pirates was both impressive and hilarious.
After "Wishes", the group decided to do the haunted mansion. It looked dark in the mansion, but it was also dark outside, so after people convinced me (Kelsey) it was funny and not scary, I decided to ride. The ride was super cool! I also did think it was funny. There weren't too many things which popped out....something I appreciated. The ghosts also looked real at one part and I made the mistake of asking Mike why. He spent the next 15 minutes teaching me about some illusions trick using mirrors. Mike teaching me things is one of my least favorite activities, only because sometimes I just want the quick answer and not to actually have to learn things. Here's a secret, though. Sometimes I do actually learn things (and like learning them) and they are useful to me later on! (Don't tell him that, though, or he'll get excited.)
Pirates of the Caribbean:
Oh, I loved this one! Pirates make me laugh and the animation (imagineering?) behind animatronic pirates was both impressive and hilarious.
Day 2 (MGM and Epcot):
At MGM...
Star Tours:
This is an AWESOME Star Wars ride! You actually feel like you are moving through space (hello, acceleration or warp speed or whatever you call it in Star Wars) and I've (Kelsey) heard there are different versions of the ride. I've heard because, while I only went on the ride once, others went on it twice. It was so life-like that I got a little 'spaceship-sick' after the ride. I still think it was awesome, though!
The Great Movie Ride
If you want to feel inspired to go back and watch classic movies, The Great Movie Ride will do that! We all felt Jurassic Park should have made the end montage of great movie clips, but of course, that movie was produced by Universal Studios;)
If you want to feel inspired to go back and watch classic movies, The Great Movie Ride will do that! We all felt Jurassic Park should have made the end montage of great movie clips, but of course, that movie was produced by Universal Studios;)
Toy Story
I (Kelsey) just got really nostalgic for Disney remembering the Toy Story ride. This is an incredibly popular ride, but we had fast passes. You swirl with a partner through several different carnival-style games and try to earn points by 'shooting' pellets with your gun. It seems very simple, but as one who does not always appreciate the 'fun' of video games, I found this really fun!
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
I wish we had more pictures of what it actually looked like to be inside this restaurant. It looked just like what I would have imagined going to a drive-in movie might look like. The food was so-so (but we had awesome recommendations from out waitress to customize our orders), but the experience was a must.
Beauty and the Beast
We saw the Tale as Old as Time performed in about 15 minutes on stage. Naturally, some of the story was left out, but if you get all of the singing and dancing, who cares?!!? Not me (Kelsey)!
Tower of Terror
(Kelsey-) I'll save this section for Mike.
(Mike-)
Muppet Vision
I think this was the kid's ride that got the best response from children in the audience. My favorite muppet (by far) is Bean Bunny so I was glad he played a huge role in this show:)
Pool
After an morning and early afternoon at MGM, we decided to retire back to the hotel to relax. Since I (Kelsey) had already done the Tower of Terror, I figured I was on a roll with the facing my fears thing and decided to water slide it up. No, water slides aren't really scary by themselves, but I think they are super scary if you haven't been in the water yet and don't know what temperature it is yet! Thankfully, the pool was warm, the hot tubs were hot, and the lazy river was oh-so wonderfully lazy.
After an morning and early afternoon at MGM, we decided to retire back to the hotel to relax. Since I (Kelsey) had already done the Tower of Terror, I figured I was on a roll with the facing my fears thing and decided to water slide it up. No, water slides aren't really scary by themselves, but I think they are super scary if you haven't been in the water yet and don't know what temperature it is yet! Thankfully, the pool was warm, the hot tubs were hot, and the lazy river was oh-so wonderfully lazy.
Later at Epcot...
Food and Drink
We ate and drank A LOT. Highlights include....we also walked around and took cute pictures....
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| Our first stop in France: gnocchi, sparkling wine cocktail, frozen cocktail. |
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| Frushi (Fruit Sushi), sushi, and mango-sake smoothie. |
Illuminations
This is Epcot's fireworks show and it's spectacular! Mike and I shared a hot chocolate and cookie while watching (because apparently I had not eaten enough) and then we all went back to the hotel for more hot tub and pool before passing out from end-of-the-day exhaustion!
Day 3 (Magic Kingdom and Epcot):
The Magic Kingdom...
Rides included: Teacups (Mad Hatter Tea Party), Winnie the Pooh, the carousel, Peter Pan, Lunch at Beast Castle, Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Little Mermaid.
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| Happy for an easy ride! Photo credit: Mike. |
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| Waiting in line to get into Beast Castle for lunch, Brian and Kay had the brilliant idea to supply us with ice cream snacks right around the time we started to get a little hangry (hungry/angry). |
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| Chandelier in Beast's castle when we ate lunch. |
Later at Epcot....
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| Sunset. |
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| I love the look Lady is giving Tramp. |
The boys were clearly having no problem relaxing.
Day 4 (Animal Kingdom and Boardwalk):
Rides included: Dinosaur, Safari, A Bug's Life, Everest, and Rapids.
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| Safari! |
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| Crocks! |
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| Giraffe! |
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| Giraffe! |
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| Rhinos! |
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| Zebes! |
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| Flamingos! |
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| Mike and Zan won mustaches from our hotel's arcade and made us stick them on. |
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| It's vacation. You're allowed to have cookies AND ice cream. |
Day 5 (MGM, Epcot, Boardwalk):
Rides: Indiana Jones, Ariel (Brian and Kelsey), Rock and Roller Coaster, Finding Nemo, Test Track, Club Cool, Beaches N' Cream, Margaritas, Corn Dogs.
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| Darth. |
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| Brave young female jedi. #girl power |
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| #love |
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| Wendy! |
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| Green. |
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| Eeyore! |
