As you may know from my Instagram @MyGoldenBeauty I was in Orlando, Florida the last few days with my family where we went to Disney and Universal (if you aren't following me already go on over and do so!).  This trip was with my parents, brother and husband, our experience this time around was much different than from the last time my parents took us when I was in 6th grade. I was interested to see how Disney would be as an adult and it did not disappoint. In fact, I wish we had more time there!

WHERE TO STAY IN ORLANDO

We did not stay at a Disney Resort because we wanted a suite with multiple bedrooms and a kitchen since our family wanted to stay together. I have Marriott gold status so we stayed at the Marriott Sabal Palms resort as we had a large two bedroom, two bathroom suite complete with a living room, dining area, kitchen and balcony.  You also have access to the facilities at the Marriott Orlando World Center (basically it’s three resorts on the property).  There are restaurants, a Sports Bar, multiple pools, and daily resort activities. We did not get to enjoy much of the amenities since we went to the parks each day from morning until evening. The drive from the resort to Disney was only about 10-15 minutes.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

• Once we arrived at the park we took a right over to DinoLand to ride Dinosaur.
• Grabbed ice cream from the stand at the entrance/exit of DinoLand.
• Walked over to Discovery Island to watch It’s Tough to be a Bug which is a 3D show based on the movie "Bug's Life."
• Walked over to Africa to watch the Festival of the Lion King which I would say is a “must see” and it approximately 30 minutes. It’s also a good way to get out of the heat as it’s in a giant air conditioned theater.
• Grabbed an ice coffee from Starbucks.
• Walked over to Kilimanjaro Safari which is an approximately 20 minute Safari ride. I would recommend doing this in the morning or in the afternoon.
• Walk over to Asia to ride Kali River Rapids. Plan on getting really wet and pack a poncho so you are not walking around in wet clothes! There are lockers nearby if you want to store your items away.  Also make sure to ride roller coaster Expedition Everest while in Asia. 
• Grabbed a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel near Kali River Rapids.
• Walked back to Discovery Island to see the Tree of Life.

FastPass – Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest

Pictured above my brother and husband on the Splash Mountain ride.

MAGIC KINGDOM

• Park at the TTC (Transportation and Ticket Center) which is essentially a hub between Magic Kingdom and Epcot via monorail.
• Picked up “Birthday Pin” and “We’re Celebrating” pins for my brother’s birthday at the TTC.
• Caught monorail to Magic Kingdom.
• Walked through MainStreet USA and caught the morning parade.
• Took photos at Cinderella’s Castle (a “must” do!).
• Walked through Adventureland to Frontierland to get to Splash Mountain (pack a poncho) and Big Thunder Mountain.
• Walked back through Frontierland to Liberty Square behind Cinderella's Caste to Fantasyland to the indoor slower paced rides such as It’s a Small World, Little Mermaid, etc. I would not waste a FastPass on these rides as they are for young children and the wait times were anywhere from 60-80 minutes.
• Walked to Tomorrowland to Space Mountain and also went on the PeopleMover which was a nice little break.
• Got ice cream cones from Tomorrowland.
• Walked back through Main Street to catch the monorail to TTC to head to Epcot.

 FastPass - Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain

EPCOT

• We were starving by the time we reached Epcot so we headed to Future World West for a late lunch.
• After we ate we had a FastPass reservation at Soarin’ which was probably my favorite ride of the whole trip. Make sure you do a FastPass for this ride since it is one of the most popular rides at Epcot.
• Walked to the building nearby for The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride.
• Afterwards, we walked over to Future World East to Spaceship Earth which is inside of the Epcot globe which is pretty cool. We did not do a FastPass since the wait was only 15 minutes and moves quickly.  Mission Space and Test Track are also nearby which we did not do but I do highly recommend these rides from what I have heard.
• Walked over to the World Showcase and went straight to Mexico since we had a dinner reservation at La Hacidenda de San Angel at 7:00PM which was really good!
• After dinner we walked the World Showcase. I wish we had more time to go into each country and I would definitely return one day and do an entire day at Epcot.
• At 9:00PM we caught the Illuminations show which is a light and fireworks show. The show can be seen anywhere around the World Showcase so don’t worry about finding a good spot (although we did hear that the best spot was near Italy).  We stopped and found a spot 5 minutes before the show started and we had a great view.
• Caught the monorail back to the TTC. This took about an hour since everyone was leaving Epcot at the same exact time.

FastPass – Soaring’, Test Track, Mission Space

WHAT TO WEAR TO DISNEY WORLD

There was A LOT of walking each day and it was HOT (90+ degree weather). My everyday uniform consisted of a tank top and capris. Sunglasses and a hat were also key items I kept with me at all times to keep protected from the sun. Lastly, a good pair of walking shoes were also necessary – I brought two pairs with me for the parks: Sperry Sneakers (SO COMFORTABLE and highly recommended!!) and Nike Sneakers.

ITEMS IN MY CROSSBODY BAG AT DISNEY WORLD

I wore my roomy Marc Jacobs Crossbody Bag (similar here) every day at the parks. I kept my license (form of ID), credit card, magic card, chapstick, park map, granola bars, portable charger for my phone, poncho (from the dollar store) and floss in my bag. I didn’t worry too much about bringing a water bottle since you can ask for water from the cafes and there are water fountains everywhere.

I hope you all found this post useful and I honestly can’t wait to go back!