Disney World...and a contest

July started out with a bang. On the 1st, Ryan and I woke up...in Disney World! It was pretty awesome. As a graduation gift, his parents sent the two of us back to the East coast to spend four days exploring all things Disney. 

I'll admit, I went in as a skeptic. I never imagined Disney World as a destination for two adults. But now I see the light. Wandering around the parks without worrying about naps or strollers or eating at certain times or a laundry list of other things was pretty incredible.

We rode the classic rides, ate the traditional park foods, and got caught in the rain every afternoon. Ryan makes fun of my rain jacket relentlessly, but I think he was wishing he had a cool floral one like me after he caved and purchased a flattering poncho. 

We walked and walked and walked until our feet were ready to fall off and we enjoyed every moment of it. 

Disney has vacations down to a science. The convenience when staying at one of their hotels is out of this world. We hit Epcot three times, The Magic Kingdom twice, and Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios once. We took full advantage of magic hours staying until well after midnight one night. And we were there for the enormous Fourth of July fireworks show (that was nearly cancelled after a torrential rain storm, but the rain subsided just in time).  

It has been a stressful and busy few months for us and a carefree vacation just the two of us was quite the treat. We loved the the exhilaration of the thrill rides just as much as the relaxation of the slow ones. Though we could have done without being stuck on Splash Mountain for an hour. I wasn't sure I would ever get zip a dee doo dah out of my head. 

As a bonus, I got to see my good friend Bethany and her husband Jake who live in Orlando! Thanks for making the trip to the park, Bethany. And for the ride home!

A big thanks to Ryan's parents for gifting the trip AND watching the girls. And an enormous thanks to Ryan for graduating! 

My welcome to the park. I had to do a little dance at the hotel.

 Magic Kingdom

 Epcot

 Norway

 Lookin' good, Mr. Layton

 China

 Mexico

 More Epcot

 Hollywood Studios (oh San Francisco, sigh...)

 Animal Kingdom

 Our hotel was filled with reminders of Mickey

Farewell!

 Headed home

Happy to hug these two (in their matching 4th of July outfits). 

Leah loves her Jessie hat. 

Have we mentioned Kate hates things on her head!?

Favorite park: Epcot (both)

Favorite ride(s): Tower of Terror (Ryan), Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roll Rollercoaster (Maren)

Most disappointing ride: Test Track/The Sum of all Thrills (Ryan), StarTours (Maren)

Favorite food: French cuisine (both)

Favorite treat: pastries (both)

Favorite Epcot country: Norway/China (Ryan), America/France (Maren)

Worst line: Space Mountain (Ryan), Mission to Mars (Maren)

Favorite moment: Visiting all the countries in Epcot (Ryan), a stranger handing us a fast pass to a ride we really wanted to go on (Maren)

Worst moment: Wet feet (Ryan), Wanting to throw up in Hollywood Studios, thankyouverymuch StarTours (Maren)

Favorite souvenir: Finding perfect gifts for the girls (Ryan), Poster Art of the Disney Parks book (Maren)

Wish we had more time at: Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom (Ryan), Hollywood Studios (Maren)

And, just because I had so much fun playing a foot guessing game a few years ago, I'm going to do it again. Send me an email or comment on this post with answers to where I'm standing in each picture. All pictures were taken in one of the four Disney World parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom). Twelve of the photos were taken at various countries in Epcot. List the correct country in addition to getting "Epcot" correct to receive double points. A total of 32 points is available. Ready? Go!