Walt Disney World in 15 photos

We've been back from Walt Disney World for two weeks and it already feels like a distant memory. Time goes much slower in the real world than it does in Disney World!

As always, we had an amazing time. We managed to fit lots of new things into this trip as well as all our old favourites, including these ten new things I identified in my last blog post. I can't even begin to describe how much I love going back and how much I miss it when I'm not there.

Don't be alarmed by the title of this blog post... I obviously took more than 15 photos during our time away. In fact, it's probably not much of an exaggeration to suggest that I took ten times that amount.

However, I decided that summarising our two weeks with one of my favourite photos from each day would be a good post to ease myself back in to the blogging routine.

Day 1 - The welcome view from our balcony when we finally got to Saratoga Springs

Day 2 - We spent our first full day at the Magic Kingdom. It's one of our traditions!

Day 3 - We love the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

Day 4 - View from California Grill's observation deck. Our first signature meal of the holiday!

Day 5 - A beautifully sunny day at Animal Kingdom

Day 6 - My love for the Move it! Shake it! Street Party knows no bounds

Day 7 - Our first experience of Pandora - The World of Avatar at night

Day 8 - A sunny morning at Hollywood Studios

Day 9 - Breakfast at Be Our Guest to start off a scorching day 

Day 10 - Cocktails and a beautiful sunset in Disney Springs

Day 11 - Another trip to Epcot to admire the Flower and Garden topiaries

Day 12 - A stroll along the Boardwalk followed by a meal at the Yachtsman Steakhouse 

Day 13 - The day with the crazy tropical weather, starting with a boiling hot morning at Typhoon Lagoon

Day 14 - Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom on our last night

Day 15 - One last wander around Disney Springs before catching the Magical Express to the airport

So there you have it... Walt Disney World in 15 photos. It took me a shameful amount of time and three different stints on the laptop to decide on these 15 photos, by the way.

Keep a look out for more holiday blog posts over the next few weeks!

Fastpass+ Day!

There are so many exciting milestones to look forward to after you've booked a holiday to Walt Disney World. Firstly, there's ADR day 180 days in advance when you can start booking your restaurants (read more about the ADRs for our last holiday here). Then, 60 days in advance, you have Fastpass+ Day which marks the date when you can start booking your rides and/or experiences.

We don't book restaurants and fastpasses for every single day in advance as even I don't like to plan our trip THAT rigidly. It's nice to have some flexibility factored in if there's a bit of bad weather or you just fancy having a slower day outside of the parks on a particular day. However, when it comes to fastpass reservations, we always make sure we book our favourite rides for our first visit to each of the four parks at the 60-day mark.

I thought I'd blog about the eight fastpasses we absolutely can't do without... I'M SO EXCITED!

Magic Kingdom 

Space Mountain is one of my favourite rides in all of Walt Disney World. Although it isn't a huge thrill ride, it's got lots of dips and bumps and it runs in the dark and I love it! 

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a fairly new ride which means it's almost impossible to get on it quickly without a fastpass.  It's not a particularly long ride but it's visually spectacular with some very impressive technology behind it. 

Epcot 

Frozen Ever After isn't one of my favourite rides in Epcot, let along in Walt Disney World, but it's impossible to get on this ride without a fastpass unless you want to queue for two hours. It also breaks down quite regularly in our experience, so it's safest to book at least two fastpasses if you want a guaranteed spot. It's visually and audibly impressive so it's well worth using a fastpass for it.

Soarin' Around the World is another hugely popular ride in Epcot, and I do absolutely love this one. You can't book a fastpass for Frozen and Soarin' on the same day which means we usually plan our days in Epcot well in advance to make sure we secure all the fastpasses we need. I have no idea why I haven't got a photo of the Soarin' entrance... here's a nice photo of Epcot itself instead! 

Animal Kingdom 

Expedition Everest might be my favourite ride in the whole of Walt Disney World. It makes me SO HAPPY. We've prioritised fastpasses for rides at the recently-opened World of Avatar for our upcoming trip, but we've also planned an extra visit to Animal Kingdom to make sure we've got a fastpass for Expedition Everest. 

Kilimanjaro Safaris is the perfect early morning attraction, and we've always had our best safaris when we've made this our very first fastpass of the day.

Hollywood Studios 

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is probably one of the shortest rides on this list, but it's still the one I find most scary yet exhilarating. 

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is such a fun ride! I end up doing exactly the same pose for the ride photo every single time, even though I know exactly when it's coming. The beginning of this ride literally takes my breath away... you'll know what I mean if you've ever been on it. 

Which fastpasses do you rush to book on Fastpass+ Day? Let me know if you've got any more recommendations! 

A-Z of Walt Disney World

It's safe to say that I've never been this excited about publishing a blog post. I read Kayleigh's 'A to Z of Disney World in photos' post a few weeks ago and immediately (and obsessively) started compiling my own list for a copycat post.

I've been to Florida's Walt Disney World three times and this post involved going back through all my photo albums to find the very best snaps after I'd studiously compiled my A-Z list. This meant trawling through almost 3,000 photos and I loved it! However, I'm very grateful that I was organised enough after all three holidays to categorise my photos into separate folders for each park. This post would have taken a lot longer to write if I hadn't done that, believe me.

Without any further excitable waffling, here's my A to Z of Walt Disney World in photos!

 A - Animal Kingdom

Photo taken in April 2012

B - Big Thunder Mountain

Photo taken in September 2015

C - Coronado Springs

Photo taken in April 2012

D - Duffy the Disney Bear

Photo taken in September 2013

E - Expedition Everest

Photo taken in September 2013

F - Fantasmic

Photo taken in September 2013

G - Great Movie Ride

Photo taken in September 2015

H - Hat (sadly no longer with us!)

Photo taken in September 2013

I - Italy

Photo taken in April 2012

J - Journey into Imagination with Figment

Photo taken in September 2013

K - Kilimanjaro Safari

Photo taken in September 2015

L - Little Miss Matched

Photo taken in September 2013

M - Main Street USA

Photo taken in September 2015

N - Narcoossee's

Photo taken in September 2015

O - Old Key West

Photo taken in September 2013

P - Pluto

Photo taken in April 2012

Q - (French) Quarter (yes, I know that's cheating)

Photo taken in September 2015

R - Rainforest Cafe

Photo taken in April 2012

S - Spaceship Earth

Photo taken in September 2015

T - Tower of Terror

Photo taken in September 2013

U - Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid

Photo taken in September 2013

V - Via Napoli

Photo taken in September 2013

W - Walt Disney

Photo taken in September 2015

X - Xmas

Photo taken in September 2013

Y - Yacht and Beach Club

Photo taken in September 2013

Z - Zurg 

Photo taken in September 2013

I'm currently working on an A-Z of Disney Food post which I'm just as excited about as it combines my love of Disney with my love of food... look out for it in a few weeks! 

Hollywood Studios

I had no idea what to expect from Hollywood Studios when I went to Walt Disney World for the first time 18 months ago, so it wasn't on my list of top 5 things I was most excited about. I wasn't particularly interested in how films are made back then, and I thought that would be the main focus of the park. However, this year I knew exactly what to expect so I was very excited about going back. You can never fully grasp the scale of Hollywood Studios (or any of the Disney parks) until you've experienced it in person!

Hollywood Studios is home to two of my favourite rides in Walt Disney World - Rock'n'Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Both these rides usually have a substantial queue, but they're totally worth the wait. Rock'n'Roller Coaster isn't a very long ride, but it's brilliant while it lasts. It also has the bonus of blaring Aerosmith music the whole way around. The Tower of Terror is just a whole different sensation... I scream with genuine terror on this ride, but I absolutely love it. It also gives you a great view of the park...!

Pixar Place is one of my favourite areas in Hollywood Studios. The design of this area is phenomenal, but then I wouldn't expect anything less from the geniuses at Pixar. Toy Story Midway Mania is (obviously) situated in Pixar Place. Midway Mania is an interactive 3D ride based on classic carnival games. I'm not actually very good at these games, but the ride is great fun whether you get a high score or not. And everyone loves to wear 3D glasses once in a while! You can also meet Buzz and Woody in Pixar Place if you're prepared to queue for a very very long time...

I also love the landmarks at Hollywood Studios. I did think the Sorcerer's Apprentice hat could have done with a bit of a spring clean this year but it's still an impressive sight as you walk in to the park.

I went to see the Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage show in Sunset Boulevard for the first time this year. I was expecting great things, but I was genuinely blown away by the half hour production. Everything was spectacular, from the set to the costumes to the very enthusiastic singing and dancing. Belle and Gaston sing live throughout every show, and the Beast's characterisation is fantastic. I was humming my favourite songs from Beauty and the Beast all day after watching this show!

Fantasmic also takes place in Sunset Boulevard, in the open-air amphitheatre. Fantasmic is Hollywood Studios' night show and, although it's my least favourite of the three night shows at Walt Disney World, it's still pretty amazing. The show features fireworks, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music and projections on to large mist screens featuring scenes from the Sorcerer's Apprentice and other classic Disney films. Fantasmic is actually quite scary at times as it depicts a battle between good and evil taking place in Mickey's dreams/nightmares, but Mickey Mouse obviously triumphs over evil in the end. You get to see loads of your favourite characters in this show and there's always a great atmosphere in and around the amphitheatre, so it's definitely worth a look.

Hollywood Studios went all out to promote Monsters University this year, and I especially loved the Monsters University display outside the main entrance. Just like everything else in Disney World, it was massively intricate and totally flawless!

Although I didn't get to meet Sulley and Mike Wazowski from Monsters University at Hollywood Studios as the queue was too long, I did get a hug from Pluto. Pluto is one of my favourite Disney characters so I was extremely excited about this. He's so cute!

Just like the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I can't write about everything I love about Hollywood Studios or the blog post would take four days to write. So again, this has just been a flavour of the main things I love about Hollywood Studios.

What do other people think of Hollywood Studios? Is it your favourite Disney park?