A Magical Honeymoon
Walt Disney World Resorts
Animal Kingdom Lodge
June 5th-10th 2018
(The purple text indicates an experience we enjoyed thanks to your amazing gifts to our registry!!)
(The purple text indicates an experience we enjoyed thanks to your amazing gifts to our registry!!)
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Tuesday was check-in day, and we figured we would need a little R&R after the previous week. We took the Magical Express from the airport, and rode in-style to our resort. Our room was upgraded(!) to Club Level, which gave us access to additional perks including luxury snacks and drinks at the Kilimanjaro Club, and fancy in-room ad-ons!
We explored the hotel, played a bit of Guitar Hero in the arcade, checked out the pool, had an Africa-inspired dinner at the Mara, and toasted to a Happily Ever After on our private balcony. We could even see the fireworks from a near-by park through the treeline from our room. It was a magical (and relaxing) first day.
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June 6th - Animal Kingdom
Wednesday, we rose early so we could get to Animal Kingdom during their 'Extra Magic Hours.' The park opens an hour early for resort guests, and this was pretty much our only chance to ride the attractions at Pandora. We made it on both Flight of Avatar and the Na'vi River Journey before the official park opening!!
Then, we booked it over to Africa and took a safari through the 800 acre reserve, followed by a walking trail through the Maharajah jungle section.
The Kali River Rapids did not get the best of us, as were were able to stay mostly dry. Can't say the same for some of our raft mates though. We continued our day taking in the sights and visiting additional attractions throughout the park. Expedition Everest is hands-down our favorite.
Dinner at Artist's Point
That evening we traveled to Wilderness Lodge via boat, which was a ride in itself, to have a signature dining experience at Artist's Point. 32oz. rib-eye, cheese plate, and dessert?!?
Yeah, we were pretty much comatose afterwards, and decided to use some of our fantasy funds to take a private Minnie-Van back to our resort. We got back to our room in time to receive a gift basket of monogrammed towels and Disney plushes!!
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What is a trip to Magic Kingdom without riding the carousel? Also, We go a bit wacky with pin-trading at MK, because you can find some of the best pins there. Catherine has been on a mission to collect as many Cheshire Cat pins as possible, and our souvenir funds helped her snag a few new ones. We also splurged on Cheshire-themed snacks!
We jumped on as many attractions as we could as soon as the park opened, including the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain. Plus some of our favorites like Haunted Mansion, and the Philharmagic. The Magic Your Way tickets are the only way to go, since once we used our initial 3 fast-passes, we could use FP+ for the rest of the morning, one ride at a time.
We then took the bus to Hollywood Studios (ask me about transportation card collecting!) and had lunch at Mama Melrose. They gave us tickets to Fantasmic thanks to the dinner package deal!
We enjoyed Hollywood Studios for the afternoon, riding the Tower of Terror, and watching the storm troopers at the Star Wars Launch Bay. We only caught the end of Jedi training, but it was super-cute.
Rain threatened to cancel Fantasmic, and while many people left the venue, we stuck it out! The weather subsided after a short delay, and the show was on!! Fantasmic was an amazing experience!!
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We decided to have breakfast at the Club on Friday, and took a leisurely trip over to Epcot.
This park is spread out! And full of snack and souvenir places. We rode the Space: Mission to Mars ride (intense!), and built our own cars at the Test Track. Then we saw the aquarium, including sea turtles and manatees at The Seas.
We watched the 4-D Pixar shorts, and attempted the World Showcase. We didn't make it through all the way through before exhaustion started to set in and it was time to head to The Coral Reef for another dining experience. We were seated right next to the aquarium, and were routinely visited by Lucy, the 400+ lb. Manta Ray. Fantastic experience!
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A trip back to Magic Kingdom (it really is the best park for Disney Magic) to enjoy rides, food, games, and more.
We got adventurous and took the train around the park, then monorail back to Epcot, before our carriage ride through the French Quarter at the New Orleans Riverside Resort.
That evening we traded our Ohana reservations (we couldn't get in for dinner) for the Dessert Party at the Tomorrowland Terrace - and it turned out to be spectacular!!!
A private terrace with wonderful view of the fireworks shows, and amazing desserts, drinks and snacks! It was a perfect end to the trip.
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We were sad to leave, but we played it right. Check-out was at 11am, so we had time to sleep late, relax, enjoy the resort some before finally packing it up. We hit the arcade again, and ate lunch at the Mara. The club lounge was our final perk before boarding the Magical Express back to the real world.
