A World of Disney

So, for those two or three of you who may not have heard, last month we took a big trip to Florida to Disneyworld. Mr. Graham has done a very thorough trip summary on his blog, but, in the spirit of my first-time Disneyland post, I'm just going to list some of the highlights here.

Favorite ride(s): DINOSAUR. It's like Indiana Jones, except with dinosaurs! I wanted to go on it again and again and everytime I squealed with delight. Another winner was Expedition Everest, also in Animal Kingdom.

In general, I preferred the Disneyland version of the rides that the parks have in common (like Pirates, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain etc.), but the Disneyworld tweaks on Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion where were pretty good cool.

Least favorite ride: I actually have one this time! Journey to Imagination, at Epcot. Wow, what a snoozefest! I was a little bit insulted by its lameness. A runner up to this would be Maelstrom, also in Epcot. As soon as it matches the Maelstrom in At World's End, let me know.

Favorite show: As at Disneyland, it's a tossup between Captain EO and Bug's Life. I find this interesting because I'm not a huge fan (or even a medium fan) of Michael Jackson or a Bug's Life. But man, I could go to those shows over and over. Thank goodness they're in California too. I also really liked Mickey's PhilharMagic, the Indiana Jones stunt show and the live Lion King show.

Tastiest food: We ate so much food! The turkey leg is always a winner, but the pizza we had in Italy ('Italy') was SUPER good. I mean, I even ate the crust, that's how good it was. We usually got breakfast at our hotel in the morning, and they had this super delicious breakfast pizza. Basically everything we ate was delicious.

Favorite souvenir: I looked EVERYWHERE for the Nightmare bath toys, but they were not to be found. I consoled myself with some pink flip flops instead. We also got a magnet to match our Disneyland one, and a pin, like we do on each trip. Drewbles got me a shirt in England ('England') as well as a very expensive pack of Jammie Dodgers. He also got me a Claddagh ring which I, along with pretty much every other girl who ever watched the early years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, have always wanted. Well done, husband.

A few of my favorite things:
--The different countries at Epcot. We walked through them many times, and I think you could spend hours exploring all the nooks and crannies.
--Did I mention Dinosaur?
--A week with no work and time with my honeybuns! It's always a delight.
--Speaking of Mr. Graham, he auditioned for the American Idol Experience in Hollywood Studios, won his first show and placed second at the finale show for the day. He did so great, and I was so proud. You can see my contraband video of him in the second show here (you can also see his first performance too, but I like the second better).
--Drew's sister Cami and her Disney cruise-bound family were in Magic Kingdom for one day and it was fun to rendezvous with them. It also led to a really great picture on Splash Mountain (see below).
--I liked that in addition to the rides, shops, shows and Disney stuff there was also a lot of stuff was, like, educational and informative. There was a cool aquarium in Epcot, a safari and nature trails in Animal Kingdom and other things scattered throughout. I had fun and I also learned that a rhino's skin is an inch thick! It's the best of both worlds.

In the end, I will miss some of the things you can only find at Disneyworld, but I'm excited to go back to Disneyland and go on Indiana Jones and walk across the street to the hotel. Both of them have really cool, unique things. Props go to Mr. Graham for planning the whole thing!

Okay, picture time!

At the Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom. It is quite the impressive big, fake tree.

Oh England! Such a beautiful castle. Bonus: (almost) not a single other soul in the picture. Double bonus: Dumbo.

It is always kind of weird experience interacting with characters, especially ones who don't talk.

Those side-by-side seats on Splash Mountain are handy! Thanks, Cami, for making this picture extra special.

Oh hello there, girlhood crush of mine. You seem to be lacking a body.

The delicious pizza! We bought it from a lovely Italian boy named Alberto.
DINOSAUR! Need I say more?
(And apologies for the punk behind me.)
(Especially since you probably wouldn't have noticed him if I hadn't pointed him out.)
In France! Pretty much the same as the real thing, right?

A huge (flasher) fruit bat in Animal Kingdom! They were fascinating and had such cute little bat faces.
Farewell for now, Disneyworld! We'll see you again.

Stay tuned for the rundown on Harry Potter land. Pretty much everything will be filed under "Coolest thing ever."