We Love Disney!

It doesn't matter how young or old you are, Disney is sure to brighten anyone's day! Living on the West Coast, Justin and I leave our heart in Disneyland, but since we are in Florida for a year - we decided to take advantage of Disney World. As you know, we went to Disney World a month and a half ago for my marathon. That trip was fun, but truly focused on the run itself. We did play in the park for one day, but it wasn't 

as relaxed....given the 26.2 grueling run I was to endure the following day. 

When I originally bought the tickets, I bought us each a 5-day/no-expiration/park hopper pass. 

This gave us the freedom to make two more trips after the marathon on any free weekends. This past weekend was one of those trips. 

The trip to Orlando takes 6-hours to drive, but including stops and dinner - about 6.5 hours. Each time we go I always hope that perhaps I exaggerated that length of time in my head, however each trip it proves to be true. Oh well, it is worth it and thankfully I have a husband who enjoys driving and letting me sleep. :)

On this trip, Justin and I got the full Disney World experience. On Saturday we went to MGM Studios in the morning/early afternoon, Epcot for dinner and the evening, and the Magic Kingdom at night to watch a parade and fireworks...and of course the required trip down Splash Mountain! :) 

  On Sunday, we went to the Animal Kingdom. This park was very interesting as it was the only truly different aspect from Disneyland (MGM Studios and Epcot are similar to California Adventure). The Animal Kingdom is kind of like a glorified zoo with the Disney touch and some rides. The neatest part of this park was the African Safari that we went on. On the safari, Justin and I watched animals such as hippos, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and even lions roam "freely". It was really awesome and a completely different experience than a zoo (even though some of the animals were sleeping).  At a different part of the park, we also went on a walking tour where we got to see GIANT gorillas. Holy cow, they were huge and strong! We had never seen them in person before, especially not behind a giant cage. That was really cool. To see pictures, clink on the "Disney World in February" link on the side of my blog. 

We had such a wonderful weekend in Disney World and look forward to our final trip over Memorial Day weekend. Disney World three times in one year...not bad! :) It was also really fun for me to recognize where I ran the marathon in each park. I am sure Justin got tired of hearing me say, "Oh! I remember this, we ran here too!" That run has given me a special connection to the park and a memory I will never forget.