Tag: Disney

I didn’t expect to enjoy Animak Kingdom as much as I did, but it ended up being one of my favorite days of our vacation! Especially since my cousin Marian joined us 🙂

We started with It’s Tough to be a Bug! An unassuming but fun show. It’s 3D and had tons of cool effects. Midway through, Hopper came out and scared the living crap out of me. He “attacked” the humans with these huge spiders that fell down from the ceiling. And yes, Marian and I might have screamed in terror. Just a little. It’s also really neat how the park stimulated the bugs leaving the theatre by shaking our seats like bumping movements.

We then went on our first Kilimanjaro Safari to beat the crowds and the heat. I was so excited to see the flamingos and the elephants, especially the baby elephant who tried to hide their face behind their trunk. I pretty melted on the spot.

We also rode the Wildlife Express Train to the Affection Station (the petting zoo), where Marian went crazy and wanted to poke the animals’ booties…. What was really nice about Rafiki’s Planet Watch was The Animation Experience, where an animator teaches the audience how to draw a cartoon animal like Zazu. It’s fool-proof and they have a live model too. The hornbill flew right above and almost hit my head.

After having a delicious lunch at Yak & Yeti, we had a MAGIC MOMENT. Marian’s friends and coworkers bestwoed upon us three free fast passes we could use for most of the rides in the park that day!!!

Flight of Passage is probably the best ride we went on the entire vacation.

It’s one of Disney’s most popular rides for a reason: amazing effects, full-on storytelling, 3D motion, etc. The simulation fully preps you for your “mind link” in order to become your Avatar and ride a Banshee. It was the most thrilling and beautiful ride that made my heart soar! It was amazing to pretend for a while that I was flying across Pandora and witnessing this gorgeous world as a Na’vi.

After that amazing adventure, we went on another one called Dinosaur. It takes you back in time on a mission to find a specific dinosaur and bring it to present day. This, of course, goes horribly wrong with an impending meteor and the biggest t-rex ever about to have us for lunch.

I don’t know why but I yelped a lot. I was so shook by almost being eaten and not making it out in time to our world. It’s cool how into it you can be.

We also went on Mount Everest, the ride so awesome that we went on it twice in a row.

The first time we used our fast pass, with Marian and I at the very front holding onto each other tightly. I literally spent the entire ride both screaming and laughing in terror. My heart continued to race even after the ride was over. The adrenaline was pumping and I suggested that we do it again!

The second time around we queued like “muggles” as Momma Bear said. It took a looooong time, and the family behind us was getting super cranky and scary, but it well worth it. This time Marian and I were in the very back with our arms up in the air. It made it much more exhilarating, especially when it starts going backwards. It’s hard to keep them up thought because of how forceful the ride is. It was also cool how you can see the shadow of the Yeti ripping off the tracks and thus sending us down a new set of crazy tracks. It’s probably the second best ride we went on ever.

The squad then got drenched while on the Kali River Rapids.

Although the ride itself isn’t that bad, it’s a nice way to have fun with the family. Especially when literally everyone gets drenched! We even wore our rain jackets just to protect our bags! We looked like fools, but happy fools.

We then used our last free fast pass on another Kilimanjaro Safari because you never see the same animals twice! This time around we saw lions on Pride Rock, watching us humans (or snacks) fawning over them.

Our night ended with the Tree of Life Awakenings, a light show that’s projected on the massive and gorgeous tree.

It’s a series of short stories that are centered and set in nature. The one we saw was about a blue bird trying to win the affections of a pink one against a mean, green bird. The blue bird is victorious, using his powers to create beautiful flowers with rich colors. I believe the next one was Simba and Zazu singing “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.”

The tree is a combination between Grandmther Willow from Pocahontas and Hometree from Avatar. Tree of Life Awakenings is the most charming light show that Disney World has to offer.

It was a great way to end the evening.

A massive thank you to Marian and all my fellow Singaporeans who worked at Disney World and made our first visit such a wonderful one!

The Magic Kingdom is so large we had to have another day exploring the rest of it!

After Amanda let us in, and generously offered a backstage look into Tomorrowland, we started off easy at the Monsters Inc., Laugh Floor. It was truly hilarious. The interactive show can put a smile on even the grumpiest face!

Afterwards we went to the Carousel of Progress. It’s an actual moving carousel with a super catchy song that was stuck in my head for the rest of the day! It’s cool to see how the world changes over time, especially the families.

Haunted Mansion, one of our fast pass rides, was cool too. The ride itself isn’t that scary, but the anticipation leading up to it was pretty creepy. You’re literally left in darkness for a good few moments. But what was really impressive was how Disney managed to create dancing ghosts that visitors could interact with. The air conditioning is also welcome on a hot day in Orlando.

After visiting the store Fantasy Faire, we went to have lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table, where I basically died and went to heaven several times. The castle is, of course, a dream itself. But the entrance to the restaurant has gorgeous walls of art depicting Cinderella’s story, with columns decorated with blue birds and her trusty mice, Gus and Jaq. There was even a glass slipper on display!

Upon entering the castle, visitors are immediately welcomed in by Cinderella herself! Once you’ve taken pictures and talked with her for a bit, you head upstairs to dine. You’re offered either a sword or a wand. I chose the wand while everyone got swords. The food is decent, but it’s the princesses that you go there for! Aside from Cinderella, four others walk around the room to talk with the people. They even refer to things from their films and it’s so cool!

Snow White was the first one to arrive and talked about Dopey and all the other dwarves. Then Aurora came, gave me a huge hug, and said she liked my hair. Apparently her eye color can change depending on her mood, just like how her dress changes color! Afterwards, Ariel came by nd asked how far we swam to Disney World. She even adds bubbles when she signs something. Jasmine was the last princess to join us, and by then I was exhausted from my constant smiling.

Once we finished lunch, we headed to Space Mountain. Now that’s a ride that’ll give you serious whiplash. Even though I personally thought it was a little too long, it was still a pretty awesome ride. The great thing about fast rides is this sense of comradery amongst the people. It’s like a mix of “oh-my-god-we’re-all-gonna-die” and “let’s-do-this-thing-squad!” Once we were done we went on  the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

We then had some time to kill before the fireworks show. So we went to Mickey’s Philharmagic show which is 3D. It’s a really cute show that centers around Donald Duck being a fool with special appearances from other Disney characters.

We also explored Main Street U.S.A. and got our Mouse Ears from The Chapeau. I got a The Little Mermaid inspired ears with purple conch shells for the ears, Momma got one covered in pale pink sequins, and Michael got a cool sap that’s personally engraved.

Happily Ever After fireworks are truly spectacular!

After a nice dinner at Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd Skipper Canteen (super delicious), we braved the intense rain and headed to Cinderella’s Castle for the show. Despite the cold rain, the amazing show put a smile on everyone’s faces. From the medley of songs, to the clips of movies like Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the gorgeous lights illuminating the castle itself, and of course the fireworks blazing across the night sky. The uplifting song by Jordan Fisher and Angie Keilhauer was also a beautiful addition. The fireworks show is truly as amazing as people make it out to be.

Once it ended we fled to the Starbucks, yes there’s one is Disney World too, and got ourselves some hot chocolate. Even the cups are adorable!

But then we saw that another show was playing and made sure to stay for that too. Thankfully it seems that we only missed the first few minutes. It was Mrs. Potts telling stories to Chip, such as Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen. But of course they ended with Beauty and the Beast 😀

By the time we returned to our hotel room, we were drenched and exhausted. Despite how late it was, the day was incredible. Staying out late in the rain to watch the fireworks was definitely worth it!

A massive thank you to Amanda who took time out of their day to get us into the park.

EPCOT is a much larger park that I had anticipated, and therefore required a more extensive exploration than originally planned. We actually ended up spending two days at this park.

The first day began with China.

Yes, a weird thing to say about being in Florida.

The Reflections of China, a 360 degree show, was a nice way to begin our day. It made me realize just how interesting China is. Especially given how large the country is, I remembered that there is much more variety within it than I had previously given it credit for. But my favorite part about visiting this country was meeting Mulan. I of course had to meet the only Asian Disney princess.

Who happens to also be incredibly badass.

Afterwards we visited France (more like ran to) in order to meet my favorite Disney character of them all: Belle. It was honestly kind of like an out-of-body experience for me. I left feeling as though I were on cloud nine. I mean, who wouldn’t after being told by Belle that she thinks you have a beautiful heart?

Now that I had met the best princess (I know, I’m biased), I happily and almost deliriously led us to Coral Reef Restaurant, where we had an excellent meal for lunch. Although one of the more expensive places we went to, the food was really good. Even though some may say it was too salty (looking at you, Momma). It’s a really nice place that’s at a small corner right next to the The Seas with Nemo and Friends. It has a nice inside view of one of the aquariums, so while you eat seafood you can also see them.

Pretty macabre now that I think about it.

Nevertheless we went on to look at the sea life EPCOT had to offer. Such as a dolphin and some dugongs (super adorable). Afterwards we proceeded to Soarin’ Around the World, the best ride of our day. It’s a cool 3D ride that sits you in a glider and makes it as though you are truly flying across the globe. They even add smells to enhance your experience, like the scent of fresh grass and sand. The wait time was not as long as I had expected, but it’s still a pretty popular ride.

And for good reason 🙂

After meeting some characters at EPCOT Character Spot, we had dinner back at China in the Nine Dragons restaurant. What’s unique about this park is that all the workers are from the particular country that work at. In China we met people from Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc. It helps make you pretend as though you are actually visiting the country.

Our second day at EPCOT was mostly focused on the rest of the EPCOT world. If you start counter clockwise, you begin with Canada, then the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and ends with Mexico. We had lunch that day at the Rose & Crown Pub in the U.K., where the fish and chips are delicious. The bangers and mash, however, is really salty. So beware!

The most aesthetic country in opinion is definitely Morocco. The buildings are really cool and the area is built in such a way that it truly seems as though you are in one of the marketplaces. Another country that was interesting to visit was Japan. Mostly because of the snacks they sold that I hadn’t had since I was super young, but also because the area is really pretty too.

The biggest surprise, however, was Mexico. Although it seems really small from the outside, once you enter the pyramid-like structure it’s like a whole other world in there! With its Dia de los Muertos theme, it gives the appearance of constant nighttime. It’s set up like a marketplace with a cool and almost eerie backdrop. There’s even a ride within the building that seats visitors super quickly. It’s about Donald Duck running away from his duties to the band The Three Caballeros. It’s really impressive considering how small it looked from the outside.

It was definitely a “don’t judge a book by its cover” moment.

A really nice surprise, however, was the Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival. Although to most it may seem unimpressive compared to the other attractions and rides, it was honestly one of my favorites. Not only because it was air conditioned and in 3D, but it was also just a lovely way to see some of the best short films that the companies have released. Three of their most successful and popular short films are shown. The ones I watched were Get a Horse!, Piper, and Feast. And honestly, some of Disney and Pixar’s best works are short films. They’re just so sweet and lovely, with actual meaningful messages imbedded in them, that it’s impossible not to enjoy them. I would definitely recommend this as well as just generally watching the short films released.

They always put a smile on my face 😊

A massive thank you to MJ who took time out of their day to get us into the park.