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by Shelly on May 29, 2014 4 Comments

Top Disney Attractions for Adults: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is the newest and largest park addition to Disney World. It is also the park that I am least familiar with. I have been on every attraction, watched every parade and went on each safari but I still feel I could know the park better. Walt’s dream was to have a park like Animal Kingdom to help people learn about how animals live in their habitats as well as animal conservation. I wish he could, above all else, see Animal Kingdom. He would be proud.

Although Animal Kingdom is the largest of the parks, it’s the only park that I think you can easily see in one day. Typically when we go, we go at opening and are able to spend a half day at the park and finish the day at another park. When we decide which days we’re visiting each park, we check to see which parks have morning or evening extra magic hours to maximize the time available in each park. We always choose Animal Kingdom for the morning extra magic hours to make sure we get some good action with the animals during the Kilimanjaro Safari. We arrive at the park early to make sure we’re at the front of the lines so we can get a Fastpass at Expedition Everest before heading over to the safari.

After watching the gazelles smooch, we head over to the Kali River Rapids to get soaked! We go on this ride at the beginning of the day to make sure we have time to dry off during the day. The lines are also shorter because it’s not as hot in the mornings. The next thing we do is my very favorite attraction in Animal Kingdom as well as my favorite roller coaster in Disney! EVEREST! I was able to test it before it was open to the public because I worked there during that time. I remember the first time I rode it and I still get butterflies thinking about how awesome it was!

After the thrills of Everest we go test our limits by going to Dinoland to ride DINOSAUR! I have to close my eyes at one part so beware! Now that we’ve jump started our tickers, we skip over to see the amazing Tree of Life and It’s Tough to be a Bug 4D inside! The tree is SUCH an amazing sight and I love the Bugs Life show.

Those are the main attractions we enjoy seeing. Depending on how long those took, we’ll watch the parade or go on some of the trails to see the animals. There are REALLY cool exhibits showcasing the animals that shouldn’t be passed up. I’ve been to some wonderful zoos and the Animal Kingdom has them all beat! They started building a Avatar land earlier this year and they’re in the works of putting together a firework show for the park (which would mean longer park hours!) I know they’ve done a lot of testing with the fireworks to see how it would affect the animals and will only go through with it if it’s completely safe and does not bother any of the animals.

Were there any attractions I missed that your family loves seeing?! Who’s been on Everest? Doesn’t it ROCK?! (See what I did there?) 😉 Next week will wrap up my Top Disney Attractions series with attractions for kids at Animal Kingdom. Stay tuned though because I’ll be starting a new series on Top Disney Eats next!

by Shelly on May 22, 2014 4 Comments

Top Disney Attractions for Kids: Hollywood Studios

Today we’re at the third park of this series, talking about the top attractions for kids at Hollywood Studios! Hollywood Studios is a great park for both adults and kids. There’s a lot of action and adventure to be had for kids of all ages. You can easily spend a full day at HS and not see everything so I’ll be talking about my favorites if you’re visiting during busy season.

As a kid, I hated roller coasters, even once I was tall enough. If you have young children or children who are afraid of coasters, skip Rockin’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. When I was in kindergarten we went and I was being SO BRAVE by going on Tower of Terror. Back in the early 90’s the ride did not have safety belts but rather a lap bar that came down across the entire row. When we dropped, I flew up in the air (at least 10 feet..in my mind) and my dad had to hold me down for the remainder of the ride. I said I’d never go on that ride again. I’ve since ridden it at least 30 times. 🙂 They’re awesome rides, but they can be scary for the little ones. If they are brave enough to go on the rides, be sure to get Fastpasses because they always have a long wait time.

The first thing I would definitely see with your kids is the Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage Show. It’s so fun and colorful with lots of singing and dancing. The other attraction that has specific show times is Lights, Motors, Action-Extreme Stunt Show. You’ll want to check a map or get the Disney Mobile App to check out the show times and wait times for rides throughout the day. You’ll also see where to meet characters on this app, unfortunately, they no longer have the Pixar parade at Hollywood Studios. I’m hoping their planning another parade but haven’t seen anything about it yet.

If your kids love to be the star of the stage or watch American Idol, you’ll want to check out The American Idol Experience! It’s just like the show! The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is a definite must see! If your kids love Indiana Jones, make sure they volunteer when the time comes. 😉 Star Tours is really fun for your little Jedi masters but it may cause motion sickness. If you have any big time Star Wars followers in your family, plan your trip around a Star Wars Weekend (be warned, it will be busy.)

The next stop is another classic from your childhood, Muppet Vision 3D. It’s timeless and gets laughs from all ages. After watching the Muppets you can let your kids run around at Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure. While you’re over in that area, if the Lights Motor Action show has a while, go check out The Studio Backlot Tour. It’s extremely exciting for kids!

Toy Story Midway Mania is another must! It will have a long wait time so I suggest grabbing a Fastpass, seeing a few attractions and coming back. Now would be a good time to get some pictures of the family with the giant Sorcerer’s Apprentice hat! After your photo shoot, if there’s still time, you can hop over to The Magic of Disney Animation to check out the behind the scenes of some of your kid’s favorite Pixar movies. Voyage of the Little Mermaid is super cute and I’ve never been (yet), but I’ve heard great things about Disney Junior-Live on Stage!

As always, I suggest going bright and early at opening, leaving around lunch time for cheaper food and a nap and heading back in the late afternoon to stay until closing. It is worth missing a couple of attractions to make sure everyone is happy during the time you’re at the park! You also don’t want you kids to be too sleepy to see the firework show at the end of the night! Hollywood Studio’s show is called Fantasmic and it is amazing! Fantasmic is a mixture of characters, fireworks, water, lasers and a great soundtrack from the movies we love. You should get there at least a half hour early if you want to sit together with your family because it fills up super quick. Be forewarned that they sell light up toys that your ~~children~~ spouse will beg you to buy.

Did I miss any of your kid’s favorite attractions? Any new ones you hadn’t seen yet? Some people skip Hollywood Studios because they don’t think it’s as kid friendly but it is perfect for adults and kids! Next week we’ll be at our final park of the series talking about the best attractions for adults at the Animal Kingdom!

by Shelly on May 14, 2014 6 Comments

Top Disney Attractions: Adults: Hollywood Studios

Today we’ve gone back in time to Hollywood Studios where it’s 1940 everyday! My favorite memory of Hollywood Studios was from when my sister and BiL came to visit while I worked in the CP. We got to the park at opening and SPRINTED once we were through the gates to go to Rockin’ Roller Coaster! We ran everywhere for the first half of the day and I loved it!

I always suggest getting the Disney Mobile App to keep up to date with wait times as well as closing of rides while at the park. When we visit Hollywood Studios, we head right and check on the longest line for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster. We get a Fastpass for whichever has the longer wait time and ride the other. Again, whenever we go, there’s usually not more than a 20 minute wait, but it’s helpful in the instances of the park being busy. Both Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster are ‘scary’ rides to people who don’t enjoy roller coasters. I will admit that if you ride any ride enough times, you will start to like it and eventually love it. 😉 While we wait for the Fastpass call time, we head over to watch the Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage show. I LOVE this show! It’s the perfect mixture of singing, sparkly dresses and live performance. Also, no, I have no idea why my BBF and I stood like that for our picture, but I had to use it for this post because I think it’s hilarious.

Our next stop is to try to be a volunteer at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! I’m completely engrossed and entertained every single time I see this show, even though I’ve seen it at least 20 times in my life. We’re Star Wars fans but skip Star Tours because it’s a bit jostly and makes me a bit motion sick. Start Tours is worth going if you’re there during slow season. If you are a Star Wars fan, I recommend going during Star Wars Weekends for some awesome entertainment! After the thrills of Indiana Jones, we head over to Muppet Vision 3D for laughs with Kermy. At this time we’re near Lights Motor Action: Extreme Stunt Show which is a MUST SEE! Check for showtimes and try to time it so you’re there 20ish minutes before the show. If there’s still a bit before the show starts, head over to the Studio Backlot Tour (35 min.) Definitely worth it if you have enough time.

Our next stop is to get a Fastpass for Toy Story Mania. It’s a really fun ride but always has an enormous wait time. Beware if you get motion sickness though. My favorite attraction in all of Hollywood Studios is Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream. If you’re bringing small children, this might be boring because it’s a gallery style walk through of Walt’s story followed by a movie. The Magic of Disney Animation is also fun to see to learn the behind the scenes of our favorite movie’s animation. We usually hit up Voyage of the Little Mermaid because Ariel’s my favorite princess. It’s a puppet show of the story of The Little Mermaid but is extremely entertaining if puppets make you laugh!

Like the other parks I’ve mentioned, we have to end the night with the fireworks show. Hollywood Studio’s show is called Fantasmic and it is amazing! Fantasmic is a mixture of characters, fireworks, water, lasers and a great soundtrack from the movies we love. You should get there at least a half hour early if you want to sit together with your family because it fills up super quick. Be forewarned that they sell light up toys that your ~~children~~ spouse will beg you to buy.

Don’t you guys love Hollywood Studios? Were there any attractions you loved that I missed? Who else rides Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster while Fantasmic is going on so you get massive headaches from all the screaming?

by Shelly on May 8, 2014 6 Comments

Top Disney Attractions for Kids-EPCOT

We’re back again in EPCOT to go over our favorite attractions for kids!! EPCOT is pretty awesome because everything that’s awesome for adults is also awesome for kids (unless there’s a height requirement like Test Track or Soarin’…probably wouldn’t want to take your 6mo old on those anyways.)

First thing you ALWAYS do once you enter a park is take a picture. ALWAYS take a picture at the very entrance of the park with it’s icon (castle, hat, tree, ball) in the background…otherwise you’ll forget and they’re hard to photograph at night…especially if your kids are sleeping! By the second click of your camera, your kids will be sprinting to the giant geodesic sphere (new word for the day.) Why not start there first?! Spaceship Earth is a bit long for kids with short attention spans but it’s air conditioned and there’s an interactive screen that they’ll want to play with.

First Fastpass you’ll want to get is Soarin’. If you ever have one kid who’s wanting to go on a ride but the other doesn’t, you can do a Rider Switch. Living with the Land is also in The Land and is really cool for kids learning about growing plants. An area that ALL kids go bonkers over is Living with the Seas with Nemo and Friends! There’s opportunities to feed a manatee, learn about sharks, swim with Nemo, and talk to Crush at Turtle Talk!

We stop at Soarin’ before we head over to Test Track. Test Track is the only other ride that you’d really need to get a Fastpass for in EPCOT if you wanted to plan ahead. At this point I’d recommend to go to Mission: SPACE but I got motion sickness from it so I don’t go on it anymore. I know a lot of people that like it though! If your kids know what the moon walk is, you should probably take them to see Captain EO! Figment is also over by Captain EO but it’s right up there with Stitch’s Great Escape for me…terrible (which is sad because I liked it as a kid before it changed!) A TON of time can be spent at Innovations East and West. They’re designed for kids to learn more about technology, recycling, storm safety, fire safety, saving money and going green! There are also TONS of the newest Disney video games set up for play!

The second half of EPCOT is the World Showcase where they feature culture and cuisine from 11 countries. If your kids know Perry from Phineas & Ferb or just LOVE tasks and treasure hunts, you must get in on the Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure! Super cute and always changing! Really great activity to keep the kids interested throughout the entire showcase. There are also Kidcot Fun Stops in all of the countries which have little activities for the kids.

Every country has either a ride, gallery or act that you can watch. You will have to ask your kids what sounds most interesting to them because I think all of them are worth checking out. Especially the acts! If you don’t have a full day for the World Showcase, you won’t be able to get through every movie, gallery and act with children. Some of the acts kids enjoy most are the Jeweled Dragons in China,, Sergio the juggler in Italy, the Taiko drummers in Japan, Mo’Rockin and the belly dancer in Morocco, Brittish Revolution in the UK and OffKilter in Canada. Along the way if you want to ride the Maelstrom in Norway or eat at the Biergarten in Germany to watch the Oktoberfest Musikantan those are both very kid (and adult) worthy!

In addition to ALLLL of that, there are characters in the World Showcase that aren’t seen in some of the other parks. You can get showtimes for the acts and characters at your resort (or entrance to the park) to plan out who/what you want to see ahead of time..which I STRONGLY suggest. I always suggest to people (with or without kids) to go at the park’s opening, got to the hotel for a nap at lunch time and stay until closing. You will get a lot more accomplished with happy kids (and adults!) You also don’t want to miss the fireworks show at the end of the night. At EPCOT it’s called Illuminations: Reflections of earth and has fireworks, lasers and fire! Every kid’s dream! If they don’t like the loud noises of fireworks you could try bringing headphones or earplugs.

See anything I missed?? Did I not mention one of your kid’s all-time favorite attractions of EPCOT? Let me know because I don’t want to be missing out (or missing out on telling others!) Next week we’re headed to Hollywood Studios to check out the top attractions for adults! I hope everyone has a great Mother’s Day weekend! Mother’s day in Disney would be quite the gift (although it’s super busy right now…so maybe not!)

by Shelly on May 1, 2014 8 Comments

Disney Attractions for Adults-EPCOT

EPCOT is my second favorite place to hang out when we go to Disney. It’s the first place I recommend other people to go if they don’t have small children. It’s AMAZING and you can easily spend open to close there and still not see everything (especially if it’s busy season.) The main reason I recommend EPCOT is for the World Showcase but I’m going to go over my favorite attractions in all of EPCOT.

If you need some music to get you in the mood, here ya go! 47 minutes of the wonderful sounds of EPCOT! Just a warning…it gets pretty…interesting at minute 20.

Now I’m ready to sprint through the gates! I don’t know about you, but I always feel like running once I get through the gates of the parks. No? Ok, just me then. First stop, once we get to EPCOT, is Spaceship Earth! I like it more since they did the update a few years back. It’s a classic that sets the tone and gets us excited to be in this park!

Next, we head to The Land to get a Fastpass for Soarin’. They can sell out and we don’t want to be forced into waiting in that line but it’s so worth it to smell those orange groves! I always have to go on Living with the Land. It’s different every time we go because they’re always growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. I’d love to go on the behind the scenes tour of their facility someday. After getting inspired to grow a garden, we head to chat it up with Crush at Turtle Talk in The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We also always stop there to learn about sharks with Bruce and feed the manatees. Now is a good time to remind you that I never go with kids. This is fun as an adult!

We stop at Soarin’ before we head over to Test Track. Test Track is the only other ride that you’d really need to get a Fastpass for in EPCOT if you wanted to plan ahead. At this point I’d recommend to go to Mission: SPACE but I got motion sickness from it so I don’t go on it anymore. I know a lot of people that like it though! We usually walk through one of the Innovations buildings just to see if anything is new but it’s mostly for kids. Every few years we’ll go to the Smart Home that they have to show the latest technology for your home. If you’re a Michael Jackson fan or had gone to Disney growing up, you have to stop at Captain EO!

NOW for my second favorite part of Disney World (after the Castle). World Showcase!!! I can, and do, spend an entire day just at the showcase. Every single country has something interesting to do, see or eat and it’s nice to take it slow to take it all in. We usually start in Mexico and work our way around the world watching shows and eating…everything. 😉 I’ll save the food suggestions for another post. This area is also where you can meet some of the Prince and Princesses who aren’t in Magic Kingdom.

The Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico is pretty cute but I’d recommend just going into the pyramid. It’s set up like a bazaar and they often have a mariachi band playing inside. Norway is next where you HAVE to go on the Maelstrom. It still scares me and I don’t think it’s supposed to be scary. China is next where we always watch the Jeweled Dragon Acrobats.

The Biergarten restaurant in Germany has a very fun Oktoberfest Musikantan but you have to eat in the restaurant to see the show (which we do every time we go). Italy has a super awesome juggler named Sergio who is super talented and funny! Italy also has some great shopping. If you like a cappella singing, you should definitely stop in America to see Voices of Liberty. The acoustics in the room they sing in are amazing.

Japan has super huge, loud Taiko drummers that are a must see! They also have a fun store where you can choose a clam and buy the pearl to be put into jewelry! My favorite part of Japan is Miyuki who molds liquid candy into animals. We dance into Morocco to see MoRockin and the belly dancer. She actually encouraged me to take two belly dancing courses in town because I loved watching her dance and I wanted to get a skirt like hers (as well as her stomach). 😉 We head over to France for some fragrance and jewelry shopping.

I really enjoy the UK and Canada, which is why I leave them for last. I’ve always loved the bands in the UK. Brittish Invasion first and now Brittish Revolution. The music is always so happy and I usually know all the songs. They encourage singing and dancing and it’s always a good time. This last time we were there it started pouring so we stepped into the Rose & Crown for a drink. The Hat Lady was performing and was hilarious. Unfortunately, she stopped performing there last year and I’m not sure what is there now. Off Kilter is in Canada and they’re my very favorite thing to see in the World Showcase. I even have their CDs. They’ve been performing there since I worked there in 06′ and are super nice guys and great performers.

Last, but certainly not least, you must stay for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. It’s an awesome nighttime show with fireworks, great music and lasers! You can see it from any country but will want to get a spot against the lake early if you’ve never seen it. Everything at EPCOT is worth seeing if you have enough time. The things I’ve mentioned are my favorite things to see and do! What’s your favorite attraction at EPCOT? Anything you love that I left out? Have you seen the show that’s replaced The Hat Lady? I’m going to go watch Illuminations on YouTube now… who’s with me?!

Top Disney Attractions for Adults: Animal Kingdom

Top Disney Attractions for Kids: Hollywood Studios

Top Disney Attractions: Adults: Hollywood Studios

Top Disney Attractions for Kids-EPCOT

Disney Attractions for Adults-EPCOT

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