Walt Disney World

My niece Sam graduated from 8th grade this year and wanted to celebrate in Disney World.  I joined Kitty, Ed, Mare, Harry, Sam and Dana for a fun week-long vacation at the Shades of Green military resort.  Kevin had to work and would rather cut off his arms and legs than go to Disney, so I went solo and still had a great time.  The rest of them had been to Disney many times and knew all the great places to go.  I was a Disney virgin and enjoyed everything we did.

 

Animal Kingdom



 The first day was spent in Animal Kingdom.  We rode a crazy topsy turvy roller coaster in the dark and saw a cool 4-D movie where you got wet and poked.  It was based on A Bugs Life.  We also took a fun safari ride.  Even though we saw animals typically seen in a zoo, it was cool the way it was laid out and animals are always fun to see.  I loved the mama and baby giraffe eating together.  Mama lion was unfazed sleeping in the sun.

During the evening we went to Hollywood Studios.  I haven't been on fast rides in a long time.  It's amazing how I can't do the things I used to be able to do.  I had to ask what each ride was about before going on it so I wouldn't get sick.  When Sam said "It's fun, it goes around, you'll be fine", I knew I was in trouble.  I think they were having fun at my expense!

This roller coaster played Aerosmith tunes the whole time.  I was nervous about all the twists and turns in the dark, but decided to do it anyway.  Sam, Dana and I waited 45 minutes for this ride.  We got on, it took off really fast, they snapped our picture, and it stopped.  We broke the ride!  This picture is of the ride that never was.  They left us harnessed in for at least 10 minutes with the lights on in the middle of the enclosed ride while they played bogus emergency messages and emptied out the waiting line.  By the time they let us out, the ride was deserted.  Thanks a lot!  The weird girl next to me was freaking out.  I was trying to not have a panic attack since I couldn't move from my harness.  I never went back on.  That was it.  It gave me the courage to do the Tower of Terror ride while dropping to what seemed like certain death.  I'm much better at scrapbooking!

 

Magic Kingdom



I loved Magic Kingdom.  It was very happy, fun and festive.  The entrance was set up like a quaint Main Street with shops and restaurants.  Who wouldn't love it?  One of my favorite rides was Splash Mountain.  Once again, the family said you only get a little wet.  Well, I got soaked down to my undies going up the ride from the splashing off another group going down the mountain.  Can you say wet hairspray and mascara?  The topper was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  It's a water ride, but not a fast one.  "There are no drops" they said.  "You don't get wet on this one" they swore.  So I felt pretty confident sitting up front.  Guess what?  There was a big enough drop in the dark that once again I got wet.  I think I was the only one this time.  Now I'm sure they were lying.



The ice cream made me feel better about being soaked!

 I think my favorite park was Epcot.  There were tons of food vendors there for the Food and Wine Festival.  The World Showcase representing a variety of countries was the best.  Below is the United States lit up at night.  It was beautiful.  It reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg.  We had dinner in Mexico, dessert in France and shopped in Japan and Italy.  What more could you want?  I couldn't leave Disney without shopping!  There was a beautiful fireworks and light show over the water before the park closed.  Everything was first rate.

Our last night in Disney was spent in Magic Kingdom.  We ate at an Italian restaurant and watched the light parade go by.  My dessert was delicious!  Can you see Lady and the Tramp stenciled in chocolate next to my tiramisu?  Classic!

The night ended with a beautiful fireworks display over Cindarella's Castle.  I later found out that many people I knew were also in Disney at the same time.  It's a small world after all........  Sorry, it was fitting.