Disney World, Florida
12/23/2012 -- 1/1/2013
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Disney World, Florida12/23/2012 -- 1/1/2013 |
The Walt Disney World Resort (commonly known as Disney World), is
the world's most-visited entertainment resort. Covering 30,080 acres
(12,173 ha; 47 sq mi), it is home to four theme parks, two water parks,
twenty-four themed resorts (excluding eight more that are on-site but not
owned by The Walt Disney Company), two spas and fitness centers, five golf
courses, and other recreational and entertainment venues. The resort
opened on October 1, 1971 with the Magic Kingdom as its only theme park,
and has since added Epcot (1982), Hollywood Studios (1989), and Animal
Kingdom (1998). Today, with ~ 50 million annual visitors (combined),
Disney World has become the largest entertainment theme parks and dream
vacation destination for all ages.
[Miami,
12/24--12/25] [Everglades, 12/26--12/28] [Disney
World, 12/29--1/1]
Visiting Disney was not on my top of to-do list in the past.
However, now that Linus and Iris have grown and become teens, I figure it
will be too late if we don't have a family Disney vacation soon.
Combining a Disney trip with Everglades
National Park in southern Florida was a fine idea for our winter vacation this
year. I booked a 4-night package (one day per theme park) at
Disney's Coronado
Springs Resort, which provided us a comfortable and convenient stay in
Disney World.
7:10AM Space Mountain Peter Pan's Flight Winnie the Pooh 8:00AM Big Thunder Mountain Splash Mountain [Video] Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin Big Thunder Mountain (Fast Pass) Haunted Mansion Space Mountain (Fast Pass) Lunch Cosmic Rays Under the Sea (Fast Pass) ~ 11:20AM Parade Walt Disney World Railroad Emporium 12:30PM Parade Tom Saywer Island Space Mountain (Fast Pass) People Mover Mad Tea Party (Iris & Yenwen only) [Video] ~ 3:00PM Big Thunder Mountain (Fast Pass) ~ 4:00PM Jungle Cruise (Fast Pass) Pirates of the Caribbean Town Square Theater (Mickey Mouse) Dinner Tony's Emporium Walt Disney World Railroad ~ 7:30PM Big Thunder Mountain (Fast Pass) 9:00PM Electrical Parade 9:45PM Celebrate the Magic [Video] 10PM Fireworks [Video]
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| 8:00AM | Test Track |
| Mission: Space (Orange) | |
| Ellen's Energy Adventure | |
| 10:30AM | |
| Lunch | World: America (with turkey leg) |
| Living with the Land (Fast Pass) | |
| Spaceship Earth | |
| ~ 3:30PM | Test Track (Fast Pass) [Video] |
| Snack | World: Norway |
| Maelstrom (Fast Pass) | |
| 5:00PM | World: China, Dragon Acrobats |
| Dinner | World: Morocco |
| The Seas with Nemo & Friends |
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| 8:00AM | Rock 'n' Roller Coaster | |
| Twilight Zone Tower of Terror | ||
| 10:00AM | Lights, Motors, Action! [Video] | |
| Toy Story Midway Mania (Fast Pass) | ||
| Star Tours | ||
| Lunch | Pizza Planet | |
| Indiana Jones | ||
| Yenwen & Woanyu | Linus & Iris | |
| ~ 1:00PM | Beauty and the Beast | Tower of Terror (Fast Pass) |
| Great Movie Ride | Great Movie Ride | |
| Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Fast Pass) | ||
| 3:00PM | Parade | |
| Studio Backlot Tour | ||
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | ||
| 5:15PM | Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Fast Pass) | |
| 6:30PM | Fantasmic [Video] | |
| Dinner | Sunset Boulevard | |
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| 8:00AM | Expedition Everest | |
| Kilimanjaro Safaris | ||
| Pangani Forest Trail | ||
| 9:30AM | Expedition Everest (Fast Pass) | |
| Primeval Whirl (2x for Linus & Iris) | ||
| Yenwen & Woanyu | Linus & Iris | |
| It's tough to be a bug | Expedition Everest (Fast Pass 2x) | |
| Lunch | Yak & Yeti | |
| 11:30AM | Flights of Wonder [Video] | |
| It's tough to be a bug | ||
| 12:30PM | Festival of the Lion King | |
We only stayed in the Animal Kingdom for half a day and went back to Coronado Springs Resort to catch Disney's Magic Express back to Orlando airport for the late afternoon flight. With the combination of luxury theme parks and resorts, and nature beauty of Everglades, our winter vacation in Florida this year was full of wonders and excitement (and my screams in the rides...).
[Miami, 12/24--12/25] [Everglades, 12/26--12/28] [Disney World, 12/29--1/1]
