Disney World

I absolutely love Disney. It brings back such great memories from my childhood and has continued to create such amazing movies and memories into my adulthood. This was my first time being in Disney World during the holiday season, so it was especially exciting. I didn't even think about it until we walked in and I saw Main Street, U.S.A. decorated with wreathes and lights. Everything was so festive and pretty!

We stopped at Animal Kingdom first, but we weren't there very long. We rode the three really good rides, then took the trolley and monorail to Magic Kingdom. We spent the majority of our day there and stayed for the Electrical Parade and the fireworks show at night.

Dress: Friday On My Mind via Modcloth//Shoes: H&M//Sunglasses: Modcloth

The first thing we did was meet Mickey! I don't care how old you are, it's still fun to meet the characters. I was a little disappointed that Minnie wasn't with him. He was flying solo that day. Trouble in paradise maybe? I'm just kidding... After meeting Mickey, we ventured to Tomorrowland. We rode Space Mountain, which is probably my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom.

They are working on a new part of Fantasyland, which will all be open by the end of the year, but they had part of it already open as a sort of "dress rehearsal". I was super excited because the new additions that we got to see were Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid attractions. These are two of my favorites from when I was a kid.

The first attraction was a walk-through show. You get to walk through Belle's cottage and see some of her father's inventions, along with some animatronic characters from the film. It was neat because they look pretty life-like and they talk too! The workers pick kids from the crowd to participate in a little reenactment of how Belle and the Beast fell in love, which they perform for Belle herself as a "surprise". It was really cute, and Belle really is there watching and participating with the crowd. One of the little boys got to be the Beast and he was so shy when he had to dance with Belle. It was so adorable.

Gaston's Tavern was part of the new restaurants they're adding. We didn't eat there, but we did take a look around. They had his chair set up, along with his portrait. And yes, they used antlers in the decorating.

The second attraction was the Journey of The Little Mermaid ride. It was a basic slow-moving ride that takes you through the story of the movie. It was fun to singalong to the songs from the movie as we rode along. Afterwards, we waited in line at Ariel's Grotto to meet her!

After going on some more rides and watching one of the shows that the characters perform in front of the castle, we waited around for the castle to be lit up and for the Electrical Parade to start. When they lit the castle, I got tears in my eyes. The combination of the prettiness and the nostalgic value of the castle and Disney in general just got me. Most of the time, I get teary-eyed at the beginning of any Disney movie when they show the castle and play When You Wish Upon A Star. It's definitely not hard to make me cry...lol.

I was kind of disappointed with the Electrical Parade. I thought it was going to be longer and have more up-to-date movies included, but it was mostly the older Disney movies such as Snow White, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland. I was hoping to see Aladdin and Lion King floats.

What came after the Electrical Parade definitely made up for it, though. Before the fireworks, they had a show where they project images and decorations onto Cinderella's castle. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. They project scenes from tons of Disney movies onto the castle, as well as Christmas-themed projections such as candy canes and a gingerbread house. There was one point where they made it look like the castle was pixelated and crumbling down, which was really cool to watch.

[Lion King!]

Of course, they end the night with fireworks. And yet again, I got all teary-eyed. Seeing Cinderella's castle all lit up in lights with fireworks illuminating the sky is just so magical. I started thinking about how so many people wish and dream to experience that. Disney World really is such a magical place, no matter what age you are. I'll never stop loving it and I can't wait to share it with my kids someday.