sharing the magic: part 1

Okay guys, this is going to be one huge, epic Disney post so please lower the safety bar and keep all arms and legs inside the tram.

 [Playing Angry Birds on the plane. So addicted!]

[Also - jacket - Forever 21/watch - Fossil]

We hopped on our flight from Boston to Orlando at the bright and shiny hour of 7am. We didn't want to waste any time since we were only going to be there for four days. We stayed at the Beach Club Villas right outside of Epcot. After a quick lunch at a restaurant along the boardwalk behind our hotel, we made the trek over to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) to start the first half of our day.

 [cardigan - Nordstrom/Mickey t-shirt - Forever 21/shorts - Express (sooo old!)/trusty red Keds/purse - Dooney & Bourke]

Everything was decorated for Christmas and it was awesome. This big tree was when we first walked into Hollywood Studios. We were all so excited to finally be at Disney!

 

Our first stop was the Tower of Terror. This is my all-time favorite ride anywhere, ever. When I came to Disney as a kid I rode it so many times. I wish I rode multiple times this time, but for some reason we didn't. Poor Jamie wanted nothing to do with this ride and my mom and I may have tricked her into going on. But if my mom will ride it, it really can't be that bad because she hates rides. Jamie ended up loving it and it was amazing. The ride picture that they take is my mom and Jamie clutching each other in fear and me trying to take a picture of the view of the park when the doors open, hehe.

I've always liked how the inside of the hotel looks when you're waiting in line. They have it all done up to look like it was abandoned. Everything is still in place - games and drinks on the table, luggage by the front desk. Abandoned buildings have always fascinated me, and even though this one was decorated to just look abandoned, I think it's cool. The last one is me right before we got on the ride! Yay!

 

Fact: I love Indian Jones. Except for the last one. That one was crap.

Not True At All: I am an Oscar winning actress. I had to cover the base with my hand because I do believe it said "World's Best Grandma" on the bottom.

We spent the first half of the day in Hollywood Studios, checking out the Pixar section and taking the Backlot Studio Tour. Then we hopped on a water ferry and cruised on over to Epcot, which is now my favorite park. I hated it when I was a kid since it's all shops and things and what kid wants to shop? But now that I'm older, I loved all the food, and the shopping and all the people with awesome accents working in the different countries. Plus, that's about as close to Europe as I will be for quite some time.

We stayed in Epcot for the rest of the night, had a delicious dinner in "Italy" and even hung around for the amazing fireworks display before the park closed and we walked back to our hotel. We were exhausted by the time we got back, but our first day was a huge success.

The next day was the most important day of all: Harry Potter Day! The trip had been planned so we could visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. We had to take a cab over there and then sprinted into the park ahead of about nine million field trip school buses, but we made it. And it was amazing. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:

 [Inside Zonko's - they actually sold Extendable Ears, Sneakoscopes and Remembralls!]

 [Inside Honeydukes - where they had Chocolate Frogs, a wall of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans and even Ton Tongue Toffee!]

 [We had to get some frozen butterbeer - it tasted like frozen cream soda with whipped cream mixed in.]
[Cardigan - Forever 21/t-shirt - H&M/sandals - Target. All in Gryffindor colors ;)]

 

[Of course, seeing Hogwarts in real life was enough to make me freak out like some teenager. But it was epic.]

While we were in Harry Potter world we bought t-shirts and souvenirs, of course, and we rode the ride that takes you through the castle on a journey with Harry and Hermione and Ron and everyone, which was a truly awesome ride. The line wasn't long at all, which was almost a shame because the decorations and things they had set up to keep those people waiting in line amused were really cool. Another ride we wished we'd rode again but didn't because we were too afraid we'd be wasting the little time we had. Note to us: Next time spend more time in Disney!

Okay, I'm going to end this post here and finish up with a second post next time. Stay tuned!!