getting excited for some happiness

this school year has kept me on my toes.  and unfortunately, blogging has fallen to the bottom of my list, which I hate, because I love it.  hopefully, I will be able to pick things back up.  hopefully. 

I'm heading out of town for another work conference, and we will get to squeeze in some time at our happiest place on earth.  while gearing up for the weekend, I decided take a quick little break to share a few of these smiles from our time in Disney World last July.

I still feel beyond lucky for the time we were able to spend in the parks - it really was a dream come true for me!

here's a look at our day in the Magic Kingdom

disney's animal kingdom [mini film]

when getting the chance to visit disney world, something I never thought would happen, I quickly realized I needed to do a lot of research before getting off the plane.  I knew that we were going to have an extremely limited time in the parks, so we decided on a two day, single park ticket.  deciding on magic kingdom was a no brainer for me, but the second park was a little tricky.  so after spending some time on the disney world app, looking at the attraction listings, I decided on animal kingdom for the shear differences.  I knew that a day in this park would be unlike anything we have here in disneyland. 

we did enjoy our time in this park, and had one of the best meals I've had at a quick service at any disney park, however, I'm pretty sure that I'm having this be a one and done type of trip.  [that best meal was at the flame tree bbq by the way] animal kingdom just didn't have enough disney for me.  I guess I wanted more ears so to say.  it really was an animal park, and I guess I should have gotten that from the name, right?!?  but I just wanted a little more magic, something that would have got me dreaming of how in the world I was getting back to florida.


highlights really included the safari ride and the moment I got to sneak away and ride expedition everest in ten minutes through the single rider line.  that roller coaster would be the one attraction I would love to have back here in california, even though no one in my family would ride it with me!!! everly had a great time, and it was nice to have a pretty relaxed day.  even so, I really could have done with more rides.


this is her flamingo pose by the way, there's a glimpse of it in the mini-film too!


before going, ev and I spent time looking through different photos and videos of rides, especially 40" attractions.  we decided that 'dinosaur' sounded like a good idea, and I knew that it was going to be a little intense, but she was all in for the experience.  when getting into the vehicle, I quickly realized the ride had the same platform as indiana jones in disneyland.  however, unlike indiana jones where there are some dark and scary scenes, there are also some pretty amazing ride moments and views. however, on dinosaur, it is just dark and scary.  I couldn't see any real scenes, just blackness, and then a dinosaur head lurching out at you.  even if I wasn't having to be the concerned parent, I would not have enjoyed this attraction, it just didn't have the finished feel of indiana jones.


thankfully, one scary ride didn't stop everly from trying many other new experiences the next day in magic kingdom, including two big roller coasters!!!  so that was a relief, I was afraid I had possibly limited her experience in these new parks, but she was a trooper.  apparently, the covering of her eyes was enough to save the day!

here's our day...
Animal Kingdom from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music from epidemic sound

our day in the magic kingdom [mini film]

there is always that moment.  that moment that just makes your heart feel happy.  one of those moments was while riding 'it's a small world' and everly kept asking me to make sure I got a picture of this or that, because she wanted to remember it just like that when she got home.

this trip was special in many ways, and I am so grateful for all the people who allowed this once in a lifetime experience to happen, especially my husband who held down the fort while I worked and played in florida.

everly tried so many new things this past week.  I think my favorite was when she was really trying hard to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  you should have seen her face trying to process peanut butter.  but she tried it.

she also tried roller coasters she's never attempted before.  riding thunder mountain railroad isn't featured because I was too worried she was going to be upset.  and sure enough, the entire ride it seemed like she was completely freaked out.  however, as soon as the train stopped, she was hysterically laughing and said how much fun it was.  so she's going to be 'that' kind of ride kid.  I think she gets it from her dad, not me.  however, the seven dwarfs mine train was another highlight.  one, because it is something unique to disney world, and isn't found in disneyland, but also, she loved it.  and even though she has the best ride face ever, she clearly loved it too!

Magic Kingdom from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

shot on our sony a6000
music -
Cinderella: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
Princess and the Frog: Down in New Orleans (Prologue)
Tangled: I See the Light

our day touring the Magic Kingdom Hotels [mini film]

Our first day in Florida we took some time to explore the hotels of Magic Kingdom.  Having ever only visiting Disneyland Resort, I knew that I knew nothing about Disney World.  All I knew was it was huge, and that I had been memorizing my Disney World app since I found out I was getting the opportunity to attend the IB Global Conference in Orlando.  Our hotel had a shuttle that dropped us off right in front of the security checkpoint for Magic Kingdom.  I always see those friendly cast members at different information stands and booths, but I never actually talk to them.  This trip has been very different.  If I see you are a cast member, I will surely be asking you a slew of new questions that just popped into my head.  After speaking to the nice man at the bus and transportation window, he let us know we were just a five minute walk from the Polynesian Resort.  Perfection, just hearing that really set my day in the right trajectory.  I had a semi-plan, and it seemed like it was semi-working.  After exploring the Polynesian Resort, we ended up taking a boat around the lagoon, stopping at Magic Kingdom, and getting off at the Grand Floridian.  After walking the grounds, we hopped on the monorail and took a ride to the Contemporary Resort.  Oh holy Mary Blair mosaic!!!  I marveled at this beauty for a bit, and Ev found her way through yet another gift store.  I must say, my four year old handled this hotel tour very well, considering she really thought the plane was going to land in the middle of Disney World, she's tolerated the wait until we officially visit the parks tomorrow!

Here's a look at our day exploring the hotels in the Magic Kingdom Resort area.  The Polynesian was clearly my favorite!  Scroll all the way down to find the mini film at the bottom!

and here's our mini film from the day...
Magic Kingdom Hotel Tour from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

shot on our Sony a6000
music from Epidemic Sound - Hawaiian Conquistador by Martin Gauffin