Disney Wrap-Up

Ly & Alan had a fantastic time at DisneyWorld over the holidays. Disney at the holidays is the best time (in Ly's opinion) to visit. The decorations are breathtaking and the crowds were minimal (at least when we were there).

This trip, Ly and Alan learned the benefits of the midday nap. After spending a morning at Animal Kingdom, they then went back to the hotel for a nap and then were refreshed and able to go to the parks 'til they closed. This trip was much more relaxing than the last time, and even though it was super relaxing they managed to get more accomplished. As one would expect with a Disney trip, Ly & Alan rode tons of rides over and over again.

One of Alan's favorite part of the trip was the food. They ate at some delicious restaurants and the food was quite delicious. Ly was excited because with her allergy, the chefs came and chatted with her before ever meal, even offering to make her whatever food she wanted. She never felt like she missed out on anything - and was a big fan of the homemade fruit sorbets for desserts. Ly & Alan ate at a variety of places - from the beast's castle (which was super awesome), to an African restaurant where they dined with the animals, and even at another place while watching fireworks. Their favorite was Flying Fish Cafe which was so good, that they ate there twice.

They also toured all of the resorts on property and they were certainly beautifully decorated. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is gorgeous and Ly loved the fact that you can go outside and see animals. It is no surprise that it is her favorite resort. Alan, on the other hand, was a big fan of the Boardwalk which was designed exactly like a hotel on a boardwalk, complete with a beach. It also is in a perfect location - within walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Touring the resorts is a fun way to partake in the disney magic while allowing a break from the crowds.

Some of the other highlights included: going to all 4 parks in 1 day (twice!), watching fireworks & parades galore, playing mini golf, yummy food and simply enjoying being on vacation without having to worry about school.

All in all the trip was a success and they cannot wait 'til they get to go back to the most magical place on earth again.

Magic Kingdom!

Next to Animal Kingdom, Ly and Alan spent the most time on their vacation at Magic Kingdom. Nothing beats the feeling of walking down Main Street!

The many days spent at Magic Kingdom were a blur but Ly & Alan were excited to see the new fantasyland. They ate lunch (and dinner) at the Beast's Castle, which was beautiful and delicious. The imagineers certainly outdid themselves. They also experienced the new Enchanted Tales with Belle, which was cute - especially if you have children. As always, they experienced multiple rides on all of their favorites, including Big Thunder Railroad and Space Mountain. Additionally, they tried something new and went to an exclusive dessert party where they had unlimited desserts and a prime spot for viewing fireworks. It was certainly a fun experience despite the fact that they could never eat their weight in desserts.

Ly loved the nighttime castle projection show which transformed the castle into the castles from a variety of favorite disney movies. Ly's favorite was when the castle changed into the castle from Frozen and the Fix it Felix game from Wreck it Ralph. At the end they added a holiday twist where it was changed it into a gingerbread house. In addition to the castle projection show, the fireworks were wonderful and Ly as always loved the Main Street Electrical Parade. In fact, she watched it multiple times and the music for the Main Street Electrical Parade makes her giddy.

Ly & Alan began their trip at Magic Kingdom and ended it at 3 am being one of the last to leave (reluctantly, I might add). There is nothing like being able to ride Big Thunder six times in a row without getting off and walking down a near empty main street to end a magical trip.

Hollywood Studios

While Ly and Alan only spent one entire day at Hollywood Studios, they nevertheless had a blast. Thanks to the new FastPass Plus system, they were able to reserve fast pass times way in advance so they did not have to participate in the rope drop mad rush to ride Toy Story before the lines became crazy long. Thus, after a morning at Animal Kingdom, they meandered over to Hollywood Studios where they had a grand time. They rode the new star tours ride, which was fun but made Ly feel slightly motion sick and Alan beat Ly at the Toy Story ride by a million trillion points. The Osborne Lights were one of Ly's favorite parts of the park. This is only during the holiday season, but there is an area of the park that is filled with twinkle lights that even dance to music! Christmas songs, sparkling lights and fake snow just add to the magic of it all. Seriously one of the best parts of the holidays at Disney!

Highlights of Hollywood Studios include: eating grapefruit cake while sitting outside in the sunshine, learning to draw Grumpy at the Animation Academy, watching Fantasmic, riding Rock n' Rollercoaster multiple times, and wandering the Osborne Lights hand-in-hand.

Epcot

While Ly loved Animal Kingdom, Alan loved Epcot. The firework show at Epcot, illuminations, is by far one of the best shows in all of WDW. In fact, Ly & Alan went and saw it twice! The holiday message added at the end about world peace is certainly powerful and beautiful. Needless to say, Ly & Alan spent a lot of time in the evenings at Epcot - they even walked around the world showcase when there was hardly anyone left in the park. It is certainly a magical feeling to be one of a handful of people left in the park.

Some of the other highlights of Ly & Alan's Epcot adventures include: riding test track multiple times, buying a stuffed penguin in Japan, walking hand-in-hand around the world showcase, designing and riding our own roller coaster, lunch at the french bakery, and walking to the Boardwalk for an amazing dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe.

We highly recommend a trip to Epcot, especially at night.

Animal Kingdom

When Ly + Alan were at Disney, Ly fell in love with Animal Kingdom. Since Alan got super sick on their first day at Animal Kingdom (read: motion sickness), Ly & Alan spent some time exploring the park and avoiding the rides. They walked on all of the trails and saw tons of animals. Ly loved the fact that she could be a wilderness explorer and collect badges throughout the entire park. Alan also enjoyed this discovery because it distracted Ly & gave her something to do other than ride Expedition Everest a million times. They also took tons of photos of the animals (no surprise given Ly's affinity for animals). Animal Kingdom is so beautiful, the imagineers really out did themselves with the theming - from the lines themselves to the park in general, the entire place is plethora of beauty.

In fact, Ly loved Animal Kingdom so much that they decided to change their plans and went to Animal Kingdom every morning to ride Expedition Everest (her favorite ride...it goes fast, backwards in the dark, and even has a big drop) as many times as possible in a row before Alan puked (the limit was 4 times without a small break) and then to say hello to some of their favorite animals before going to visit the other parks.

Alan & Ly in front of the best ride ever!!