Eighteen B: Oh to Be Young Again

I was born and raised in the Orlando area, and I can probably count the number of times I went to Disney while living there on my hands and feet. It's one of those situations- when you live in the area you kind of loath going- traffic's a nightmare and tourists are dreadful. I now live in the DC area and it's the same situation- I hardly ever go to the museums or monuments downtown. HOWEVER, the one exception is that I go when family and friends are in town. This is actually the best excuse to go. Here's the thing- Disney and DC museums are actually really fun and kind of cool, but often times the fear of being hit with a stroller outweighs that fun. When family or friends come to town you have no excuse, you're forced to go, and it ends up being a good time!

So, when PR visited my fam this past holiday break, I decided to take him to Disney. Not just Magic Kingdom though- we went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as well (sorry Epcot, no time for you). Disney offers a one-day park hopper pass which means in one day you can "hop" from park to park. Because I wanted to be a great host and tour guide, I convinced PR to wake up at 6:30 a.m. so that we could head out at 7:00 a.m., get to the parks by 8:00 a.m. and "beat the crowds" (FYI if you're looking to "beat the crowds" I advise you to NOT go during the holiday season).

We arrived to Magic Kingdom first and started on our journey. We only had to wait about 15-20 minutes for both Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain which is great because they are really popular rides. After walking around MK for a little while longer, we made the executive decision to move along to Animal Kingdom. At Animal Kingdom we decided to get our Safari on. If you haven't been on actual safari yet, have no fear because the one at Animal Kingdom is actually pretty similar (minus the fact that the trucks are completely different and in Africa you can spend hours in the jungle and never actually see a cool animal...oh and in Africa the animals are actually wild). We walked about the Kingdom for a bit, did a few other amusement things, and then decided to head to Hollywood Studios. I was SO pumped for this because at HS they have the Christmas Lights show which is my ALL TIME FAV!! It's seriously so amazing- you have to Google it. The Osbourne family (not the singer) are the masterminds behind all of the nights and their story is actually pretty cool.

Obvi the lights don't start until it's dark out which was about 6:30, so we had some time to kill. I didn't think this would be a problem since we have to take a bus from park to park and then once we get to Hollywood Studios we can eat lunch and go on a few rides while there. Well, we ate lunch and then.... We didn't actually make it on any of the rides because the shortest wait time in the park was 90 minutes. Yes, we had time to kill but no we didnt want to stand in line for over an hour. The place was ridiculously packed. So, PR and I decided to enjoy a beer, hit up a comedy show, and patiently wait for the lights to come on. The lights did not disappoint. They were absolutely beautiful- so pretty that I started to tear up a little (I'm a sucker for Christmas, what can I say).

Please do not let this post deter you away from Disney World. When they say it's one of the most magical places, it's so true. I'm almost 27 years old and I was blown away by some of the things Disney has to offer. Just mentally prepare yourself for crowded parks, long waits, and overpriced food and drinks and you'll be good to go!