Disney World: Not for the faint of heart

Our most recent adventure took us to the hot, sticky, and mildly smelly state of Florida. After spending 8 days in nearly unbearable humidity, I have come to appreciate the "mild" summers of Utah and I have gained deep respect for native Floridians--I don't know how you do it! Besides the fact that we were drenched with sweat the minute we step foot outside of our freakin' awesome Port Orleans themed hotel, Disney World was...well, it was a learning experience.

My two little sisters came with us and the whole vacation was so much better with them there. There's something magical (Disney's not lying when they say it the most magical place on earth) about being there with kids. They were excited about everything and it was contagious! Our first mission in the wonderful world of Mickey Mouse was to navigate our way through the hordes of sticky children and cranky parents and buy Andy a Mickey Mouse hat with ears.

We failed...horribly.

But we made up for it with lots of pictures and character greetings.



Andy, as it turns out, has some unnatural fascination with Donald Duck. We hunted him down at every park and waited in line to get them pictured together. It was quite refreshing to discover that the famous duck does have different outfits.

We found him in "Africa" at the Animal Kingdom


Then, we spotted him again in "Mexico" at Epcot!


Due to my unnatural and probably unhealthy fear of mascots, this was the only was I was able to be in...yikes. I mean you never really know who's under there...creepy. Anywho, Frontier Donald was at the Magic Kingdom.

Andy and BFF (Aka Andy's dream come true)

We trekked all over the Magic Kingdom going on Splash Mountain (numerous times), Pirates of the Caribbean (Arrr!), and desperately trying to break into Cinderella's castle. After I accepted the fact that my feet would never be the same after this trip due to my need to be fashionable at all costs--after all, beauty is pain-- and the constant walking, the day we spent there was AMAZING.

Our second day at the happiest place on earth led us to the Animal Kingdom. I was particularly thrilled to see real lions, tigers and giraffes--Oh my! The Safari ride took up through various environments that were created for these animals. We also saw huge hippos, Nile crocodiles, rhinos, gazelles and a whole myriad of unusual and unfamiliar African animals I can neither spell nor pronounce.

Yeah, they were that weird.

We rode Expedition Everest about a bazillion times because we loved the adrenaline rush and Andy and Celeste were drenched on the Kali River Rapids ride (see below). I was the first to get soaked and they laughed, but fate stepped in to teach them a lesson. The raft turned right as we went down a timed waterfall, Andy and Celeste getting every last drop, leaving Olivia and myself, relatively dry.

It was my turn to laugh. I also took numerous pictures to remind myself how awesome it is to have fate on your side. Sweet, sweet revenge.

The day was overcast too, so they never dried off :)

Our third day was filled at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was Andy's favorite. We got to see an Indiana Jones stunt show and a back lot tour of special effects, which I think, were the best things of the day. We also went on the Tower of Terror at least 5 times because, as we found out, every time is different from the last. It never drops the same way! There was a new roller coaster that went from 0-60mph in 2.68 seconds. It was intense.

And we went twice :)

Day 4 brought us to Typhoon Lagoon (a Disney waterpark that housed the world's largest wave pool) and Epcot. But before all that crazy fun happened, we surprised my sisters with a freakin' awesome, totally exclusive breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. Getting reservations there is no small feat and involved Andy and I calling exactly 90 days before our trip at 4am.

We were barely able to get in. Ridiculous.

We ate in the top tower of the castle and it was one of the coolest experiences ever! (Note our surprised faces above). Of course, there is a chance that they may be slightly exaggerated. Anyway, the castle is as wonderful on the inside as it is on the outside and meeting all the Disney princesses was a fairy tale.Our Royal Invitation to prove the validity of our story. Olivia was actually name the Honorary Princess for the day and Jasmine, Bella, Aurora and Snow White saw our table first.

Andy wanted to make sure everyone knew this was not just a "girl thing." In fact, while Celeste and Olivia got sparkly blue fairy godmother wands, he got a sword.

Cinderella was a gracious hostess.


Sleeping Beauty, of course.


Snow White missing five of her seven dwarfs. She is photographed with Sticky and Sweaty


From the left: Olivia, Jasmine, Celeste (in case you were wondering who's who)