Disney Adventures Part III

Magic Kingdom is home to the iconic Disney castle (well one of the castles as they feature at every Disney theme park, but this is by far my favourite). This theme park is where everyone's inner child comes out to play. It's all about the fairy tales and princes/princesses.

The catchphrase at Disney World is "Celebrate Today" at that's exactly what you feel like doing in this particular park. It's hard not to get caught up in all the excitement. The parade and fireworks are the main attraction and here are just a few (well, my favourites) of the characters that we got to "celebrate" the day with.

The costumes and floats were amazing with all their detail (but that's Disney for you, they never do anything by halves!). Though I must admit that during the parade I was distracted...the ever critical me was thinking about how creepy it is to "meet" the Disney characters - ultimately it's just a person inside a costume hugging random people, and for me that was just a tad unsettling.

On our final day at Disney we went on safari and, in all honesty, I love Disney's version of Africa so much so that I can't see myself wanting to go to Africa. It was incredible and once again proved that Disney World isn't just for children and full of rides, there is so much to see, do and experience. I think I'll sum up the safari experience through some of the amazing pics we were able to take (the animals were so close!)

(I am not kidding when I say this rhino nearly charged out safari van because of the camera's flash)

That brings me to the end of the tale about my Disney adventures, so I thought I'd finish with a final pic and a fun fact.

This is the 'Tree of Life'. It is the crowning jewel of the Animal Kingdom theme park and, of course, like much of Disney World is man-made. But strangely enough the interior structure is actually a modified oil rig.

Disney Adventures Part II

So, on day two of our great Disney adventure we ventured off to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Once again, all my assumptions of Disney being mainly for children were wrong. Hollywood Studios is a theme park dedicated to the behind-the-scenes and making of Disney movies -cartoons and feature films alike.

The main attraction is the tour of the Disney backlot, which takes you through the costume and prop warehouses (both storage and manufacturing).

This is the sewing room, where the majority of Disney movie costumes are made.

With my love of all things fashion, this was by far the most exciting part of the tour, we were fortunate enough to see costumes from some of my favourite films, including Confessions of a Shopaholic, Enchanted and Pirates of the Caribbean.

(The evil queen costume from Enchanted)

(Captain Barbossa costume from Pirates of the Caribbean)

In addition to the costumes and props, you get to see the stunt areas and even "experience" what it's like to be part of a stunt. This particular stunt involved an earthquake, flood and explosion.

While Hollywood Studios is undoubtedly all about the Disney movies, my love of food meant that the top of my favourites list for this theme park is not a ride or park "experience" but in fact a restuarant. We dined at Mama Melrose's Ristorante, and my gosh was it good. Admittedly, we were starved from all the walking but this place had some great Italian, in large American-sized portions (which you definitely appreciate when you're absolutely famished).

Oh, and did I mention the desserts were divine!

All in all, with great attractions and great food Hollywood Studios is a must see.

The Happiest Place on Earth...

Well, so Walt Disney World claims to be.

When the planning for our trip first began my sister was adamant that we go to Disney World (this being the one in Orlando, FL - not to be confused with Disney Land in California). I, however, was skeptical. As a child I most certainly would have loved to visit a Disney theme park, but as an adult I couldn't help but wonder whether it would have anything of interest to me. As I eventually discovered when we stepped off the Disney Magical Express, I was wrong (and I owe my sister an apology for doubting her. Sorry F!)

The first thing you notice when entering the Disney property aboard the Disney Magical Express bus is how incredibly big this place is. In fact my assumptions of all the individual theme parks being within walking distance of one another could not have been more wrong! Each park is a good 10 or so minute drive from each other, and have their own attached resort areas. We quickly realised a hire car was needed ASAP!

We had the great pleasure of staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. F had spent months raving about how great this place was going to be, all African themed with native African wildlife roaming around on the trails behind the hotel. I, of course being a skeptic, did not believe her and was not remotely looking forward to our stay. But I was so wrong...

From the beautiful African wood carvings and the cosy, warm fire pit in the hotel lobby, to the wonderful staff - many of whom are originally from Africa and so well equipped to explain and introduce their wonderful culture to guests - this place is absolutely incredible!

This is how incredible the staff are, housekeeping make little animals out of wash cloths!

In case I needed any further proof that Disney World can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike, we spent our first day at Epcot.

This theme park brings together cultures from around the world, and has little "tastes" of different countries. There was Canada:

And the United Kingdom:

As well as Italy, France, Japan, Germany, Morocco, China, Norway and Mexico. Unfortunately our pictures of these areas didn't quite turn out due to human error.

Epcot is a park that not only has a world showcase but brings to life Walt Disney's vision of a "future world". The greatest thing about this theme park is that it is all about the food and experiencing the different cultures (even the immigration officer that processed us at LAX agrees). As such it is very much a theme park for adults (with hardly any "kiddie" rides in sight!). I only wish there had been more hours in the day... you can truly get lost in this place.