Travelin' Tuesday: Disney Part 1

You just got engaged, now what are you going to do?

"....I'm going to Disney World!"

OK, so it wasn't exactly like winning the Superbowl, but what great timing!  A couple weeks after Chris proposed we had a big trip planned for Disney and a cruise.  Neither of us had ever ventured to the Disney mecca down in Florida and decided to take a couple of extra days prior to our cruise to explore and feel like a kid again.

In order to get the biggest bang for our buck, and cut back on external transportation and dining we booked a Disney package.  We stayed at one of the less expensive hotels (most of our time was spent in the parks so we were ok with the economical room), added a dining package and enjoyed the included transportation between the parks and our hotel.

Having never been, I was all about researching for this trip.  I purchased books and read numerous sites online to plot out what days we should go to which parks (thanks to magic hours some parks are open earlier or stay open later for guests staying at a Disney hotel), which restaurants we should book for our included meals and which rides to hit up first.

Even though it was vacation time, we were up bright an early each morning to make the most of our short 3 day trip.  Funny story - before the trip I had this crazy dream that I was taking pictures of animals and my battery died.  Feeling like this dream was so real I decided to buy a second battery...you know, just in case. Well sure enough on our first day in Animal Kingdom while on the Kilimanjaro Safari my battery died and wouldn't you know that I left the extra battery back in the hotel?  I made it through the safari by turning on and off the camera to snap pictures. I was so upset that we had to break up the day with a trip to the hotel and back but I would have been more upset not to have the pictures from that day.

 I highly suggest using the Fastpass option when in the parks.  It's a great way to come back to a ride at a later time and go through a shorter line.

After hitting up all of the main attractions in Animal Kingdom we headed over to Epcot to explore the spring time flower and garden festival as well as a mini tour of the world showcase.

Walking the world showcase was a great work out!  It's more informative than attractions but we really enjoyed getting a little taste of different cultures.

Next week I'll do a rundown of our time in Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Have you ever been to Disneyland or World?