After this trip, I am actually glad that we did not take Alexandra and Joshua when they were younger. There were so many families with little ones. From infants to toddlers to pre-teens. So. Many. Kids. I wish we actually would have waited a few more months, until after Joshua turned 21. Then we could have shared drinks around the world.
I think the kids (Yes, I still call them kids) enjoyed it. Although, I think they do agree with me... Disneyland is way better. Nothing can be better than the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH. The OG. The one that Walt actually visited. He walked down Main Street. He rode the rides.
I digress. This is about WDW. As of May, 2024, WDW is comprised of four theme parks: The Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. There are a couple of water parks, a sports complex, mini golf, and a shopping area, Disney Springs (formerly known as Pleasure Island).
We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Our room was in the last section of the resort (Bermuda). We picked this resort for one reason, the Skyliner. The Skyliner took us directly to Hollywood Studios and most importantly, EPCOT. We were able to visit EPCOT every night and get back to our resort with a quick trip on the Skyliner. We took the bus from the resort to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
We had so much fun at all the parks. We visited the Magic Kingdom first. It's the one park that looks like Disneyland, but in a different universe. LOL We went on all the usual rides, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Small World, Space Mountain, the Jungle Cruise and the Tiki Room. The newest ride (new to us) was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was kinda like Thunder Mountain, but different. It was a smoother track and a few more ups and downs. It was so fun. The best part is that on many of the rides, including this one, pictures and video are automatically tied to your Park Ticket. It's like magic. (you know, magic band! ha ha ha!) My favorite part of Magic Kingdom is the Hall of Presidents. I feel so American after watching the show. It's a precursor the American Adventure show at EPCOT. And finally, we rode TRON. This was our second time (as we visited back in November for our 25th wedding anniversary) but it was still good. Feels like you're really riding a bike. No magic this time, I forgot to take my phone on the ride, so they could not match the photo to my park ticket.
The second park we visited was EPCOT. The kids really enjoyed this one. That's why we went back every night. We spent a lot of the day in Future World, enjoying rides like The Land, Test Track, Soaring Over the World, The Seas and Spaceship Earth. I love EPCOT because it's fun and educational. Experienced two new rides (new to me). First was Journey into Imagination with Figment. It was cute and fun; and a great way to cool down. The other was Journey of Water, inspired by Moana. It was cool to go through the water cycle.
We finally made it the World Showcase side and our first stop was Mexico. We worked our way around the world. We tried to drink but only made it to China. I may be too old for this 'ish. Ha, ha, ha! We were hoping to ride the new (to us) Frozen ride, but the wait was way too long. We moved on. We made our way around then went back to Future World to ride THE BEST RIDE EVER . . . Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. This ride is like Space Mountain, but so much better. Each pod is on its own track so you go up, down, backwards and forward with awesome graphics. This ride is worth the wait.
Our third park was Animal Kingdom. We started with taking photos in front of the Tree of Life. Then it was on to the safari ride. It was pretty cool to see the animals, well those that decided to be up and about. We also did a walking tour and were able to see more of the animals close up. The kids and Anthony rode the Everest ride. And this time, we rode the Avitar ride. It was a 3D ride and it was beautiful. I've never watched the movie, but it did not matter. It was beautiful. Makes we wonder if there is really a place on earth that pretty.
We stayed at Animal Kingdom until about 3 PM, then headed back to the resort. Alexandra and I went swimming while Anthony and Joshua took a nap. It was so nice to swim, shower and then go to EPCOT for the night. We watched the American Adventure, then headed over to Mexico for dinner and to stay and watch the fireworks and light show, Luminous: A symphony of us. Impressive! Most impressive.
Our last park day was spent at Hollywood Studios. We enjoyed a nice not too crowded park. It was less busy than Animal Kingdom, which surprised me. Anthony and the kids rode Tower of Terror, while I checked out the shops and had breakfast. No way am I every getting on that ride ever again. Pretty much all the rides at this park are at Disneyland or California Adventure. The best parts were the Muppets 4D, because it's still a ride, unlike its California version and Toy Story Land. When you walk into the land, you're seeing everything from the perspective of a toy. We rode Toy Story Mania and the kids rode the Alien ride. It was good quiet day.
We took the boat to EPCOT to spend our last night at the best park. We listened to band playing 80s and 90s music. Then watched the Candian Circlevision movie. Joshua event bought a glass bottle of real Canadian maple syrup. It's been a month and I'm not sure he'd has even opened it up.
I'm so happy we were able to go. After this trip, I will gladly go to Disneyland for my Disney fix. Maybe one day I will visit Shanghai Disney or Disneyland Paris. But for now, I'm happy with Disneyland. Disneyland will always be my happy place.
Disneyland visit. Kids are about 11 and 8. (I'm guessing)
