Our Disney Vacation Part II

Nick and I headed down to Florida and Disney World (the happiest place on earth) in mid-April. Check out Part I!

Our third day in Disney meant our second day at the parks. We started the morning with Epcot! We took the gondola system right from our resort to Epcot and were released right at the entrance of the World Showcase. 

I went in thinking I was going to be underwhelmed by the World Showcase because Nick and I have been able to travel internationally. I was very happily proved wrong. We enjoyed walking from country to county checking out the architecture and food offerings!

After eating lunch in Mexico and enjoying a drink in France we hit some rides!

My biggest gripe about Epcot is the rides. We enjoyed  Test Track and Soarin', but overall the rides felt really outdated. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a Marvel themed roller coaster, was under construction while we were there. It's supposed to open in Summer 2022 and I'm sure will a big draw once it does. 

Around 2pm we headed over to Magic Kingdom (taking a bus from Epcot) using our Park Hopper passes. I was giddy and excited for Magic Kingdom! It was my favorite as a I kid and I was anticipating experiencing it as an adult. 

There is just something about walking down Main Street USA and seeing the castle. It makes you bubble with exhilaration and nostalgia! Plus it was a sunny 80 degree day with no humidity!

We went on Space Mountain, Dumbo, and the Little Mermaid. We saw a 'cavalcade' which consisted of one float with characters and a few performers in front of and behind the float. The large schedule parades one would usually see at Disney were still halted due to COVID.

After a few hours at Magic Kingdom we bussed back over to Epcot for some dessert(amazing crepes from France). If you haven't experienced Epcot after dark, I highly recommended it. It was breathtaking (and semi-romantic).

We happened to be visiting during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival and were able to view some delightful topiaries pruned into the shape of Disney characters such as those from Winnie the Pooh and Belle and the Beast!

On the third and final day of parks we had to start of Animal Kingdom.

[At the time of our visit all Disney theme parks where at 35% capacity and require a reservation. Because we planned our trip on such short notice we were only able to get reservations for Animal Kingdom and Epcot because Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were all ready at capacity. In order to visit Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios we purchased Park Hopper passes and were able to visit those parks after 2pm.]

Nick and I knew there wasn't much else we wanted to see or do there so we decided to sleep in and got breakfast at our resort's food court. I very much enjoyed the simplicity of my Mickey shaped waffles, sausage, and bacon. It was a delicious breakfast!

We rode the bus from Pop Century to Animal Kingdom around 12pm. We ended up literally just walking a loop and leaving. We ended up going back to the resort to change out of my jeans in to shorts because ended up super hot. When it was all said and done it ended up being a good way to kill time and we grabbed a bus to Magic Kingdom so that we could enter at exactly 2!

Immediately upon entering we were greeted with a princess cavalcade which I was probably too outwardly excited about based on age. But Merida was riding a horse! How could I not be stoked about that?!

We went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first which has always been my favorite ride, then did It's a Small World, and ate a quick service lunch at The Pinnochio Haus Restaurant. 

We spent the rest of the day hitting every possible ride including the tea cups (Nick did great for someone who gets motion sick), The Seven Dwarf's Mine Train (so fun!), and ended the day with Nick's favorite, Splash Mountain.

We stayed a the park until it closed, but not before I introduced Nick to Dole Whip! We both had the original pineapple. Nick's was swirled with coconut and mine was swirled with vanilla. I think it was a hit! 

We headed home super, super early on our fifth day in Florida. The Magic Express picked us up at Pop Century at 3:30 am for our 7am flight back to Michigan from Orlando. Being up that early had it perks. We were able to see the launch of the NASA's Crew-2 from Cape Kennedy. And when I say 'the launch' I mean this huge ball of very, very bright light in the early morning sky, but it was still very exciting and historical! 

I arrived home to a temperature reading of 43 degrees and with some gnarly blisters, but more importantly - memories with my husband.