Daytona 500 & Disney Re-cap

Dave and I just got back from a wonderful week in Florida! We started the week off with my parents and the Daytona 500. It was forecasted to be a rainy day and I was a bit nervous! Lucky for us - the rain stayed off for a while and we were able to see them run more than half the race before the bottom fell out and the rain came down. My dad got smart and thought that as soon as it started to sprinkle we should go to the car to beat the traffic. I am sure glad we did because as soon as we got to the bus to go to the parking lot they called the race and the fireworks went off to signal the end. Overall, it was a great time with GREAT seats, and even though we didn't see the full race it was a wonderful event to go to and we had a great time with my parents.

The next day we started our week at Disney World in Orlando. My parents went to brunch with us at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is a really neat hotel with animals that roam around the grounds. The rain had gone away and it was the start of a "magical" week! After my parents headed to the airport we went to our first park of the week - The Animal Kingdom! It wasn't too crowded and we got a few rides in before we stopped for drinks and snacks at the Rainforest Cafe.
The next day we went to the Magic Kingdom early for our "Keys To The Kingdom Tour." This was a really neat tour that gave a lot of history of Disney and showed some of the "backstage secrets." If you ever go to Disney I highly recommend this tour! The Magic Kingdom was packed! The wait for Space Mt. was 180 minutes. It was a little insane! We enjoyed oursleves by getting a "FastPass" for the ride, going back to the hotel pool for a while, and then going back later that night to ride some rides.
Wednesday was spent at Hollywood Studios and once again we got there early to beat the main rush. This was a great idea because we rode the main roller coasters in the first hour and were able to see shows for the remainder of the day. My favorite show of the day was The American Idol Experience. This is a show where park guests can audition and 3 are chosen for each show to perform in front of the live audience (us). The judges give their thoughts and then we vote for who our favorite is. Each favorite throughout the day goes to the night show and the best from the day gets a "golden ticket" to go to the front of the line at any audition for AI when they have them. It really does feel like a real AI show. Pretty neat! Another favorite part of this park for me were the street performers that they have randomly performing along the streets. They are supposed to be reminiscent of old Hollywood and they are really funny and entertaining!
We spent the rainy day of Thursday at Epcot. My favorite ride was Soarin' which is an IMAX type ride that really makes you feel like you are flying above different US landmarks. We didn't really experience the World Showcase section of Epoct as I would have liked because of the rain - but no worries, we went back on Friday to get the full effect of the different countries. Also on Friday we spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney shopping and enjoying the water. We also finished our week with a nice dinner at Fulton's Crab House - a seafood restaurant that is built as a boat on the water. It was a great way to end the week!

Overall, the week was a wonderful get-away from the hustle and bustle of life here. Disney is so well run and anything you need is right there for you. I enjoyed the warmish weather and the time spent with Dave and my family. I would recommend this vacation for "children" of all ages!