I'll just start with a quick post about my OOTD... it's a shirt I think of as my "dressy zookeeper" or "safari" type shirt, because of the color and front pockets. The fabric is silky, so it's dressier than a real zookeeper would wear (and I ought'a know, since I work at a zoo).
My jeans and the shirt are both from
Old Navy, my favorite place to shop. Shoes are animal-print flats from
Payless.
Now, on to more fun stuff-- THREE DAYS OF
DISNEY WORLD!!! My husband and I took advantage of the Florida Resident Special Offer of three different theme parks for $129 each. So worth it!
We did the Magic Kingdom first, on Thursday.
It was amazing! I love riding Space Mountain. My favorite part was visiting the new
FantasyLand expansion. We rode "Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid," and visited Maurice' Cottage in "Enchanted Tales with Belle."
The grand ballroom in Beast's Castle, and the stained glass window from the movie's ending
Beast's ripped portrait
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
The character "Gaston" had huge biceps, and the "swagger" to match :)
Belle and Lumiere... the character sounded just like Belle from the movie!
I also loved the evening electric parade and the night shows, "Celebrate the Magic" and "Wishes Nighttime Spectacular" when they put all the animated stuff on the castle and do fireworks to music. DISNEY DOES IT BIG!!
The only downside to the day-- it was super-hard to eat healthfully. I know it was a vacation... but someone needs to alert Disney dining officials that this is 2014, and people want nutritious food, even on trips. I gave up after the first day... plus I had been looking forward to chowing down in Epcot. :)
So Friday, yes, we did Epcot. I was most looking forward to the World Showcase! We had done DisneyWorld with a park hopper pass in 2012, so we had already hit up a bunch of rides then. This was taking our time, being leisurely, and enjoying the day doing the quality things that we wanted to do on the last trip... plus eating and drinking our way around the world, ya heard?!
Here are some photos from Epcot, where I only took video of the IllumiNations nighttime fireworks show (which was amazing):
Chevrolet's Test Track, and the fun green screen at the end of the ride
Mexico
Norway, where characters Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" stay... did you know the movie was based on the museum in Epcot's Norway?!
China (with my new peacock umbrella that has my name written on it in Chinese)
The Jeweled Dragons acrobatic troupe, and Mulan!! (love that movie)
Germany! Spot the hidden Mickey :)
Werther's caramel place (Karamell-Küche shop), with chocolate-covered pineapple spears and a candied apple
Morocco... rub that lamp, Aladdin
Italy
America
Japan, where I wanted to buy a bunch of Hello Kitty stuff... but didn't, 'cuz I'm an adult, albeit one that goes to Disney without any kids.
France (where we had a yummy, non-nutritious and pastry-filled dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day)
England, Mary Poppins, Pooh and Tigger
Canada
On Saturday, we visited the Animal Kingdom for the first time ever. It was like Zoo Disney.
Giraffes on the safari ride
Mount Everest. I hated that coaster! Steep drops are bad, mm-kay?
I'm not ashamed to say this musical made me cry. Three times.
The last day, we had lunch with my bestie, Rikki. It was also awesome to watch her live shots on tv in realtime. :) She is an Orlando reporter.
All in all, a very successful, fun-filled trip! I am SO GLAD we went. I felt like I earned that vacation, after two solid months of late nights working from home, stress-filled days, etc. It was exactly what I needed! :) :) :)