How Disney World Orlando is a great trip for couples

Disney World? It must be for kids and families, right? Well, we had it all wrong. We were invited to join and discover the Disney experience in the USA at their headquarters in Orlando and it has changed completely our vision of Disney and how it was the perfect couple’s trip to put us back on track. We were scheduled to see the theme parks and then spend the last 3 days of the trip on a Disney Cruise. We were so excited to go there and felt like big kids again.

Day 1 – Arrival and Show at the Animal Kingdom

We were tingling with excitement as we arrived at the airport to board our 16 hour Emirates flight. We wanted to get as much sleep as we can on the flight to beat jet lag and be ready for our Disney journey. We arrived at Orlando airport at 10:30 AM and went straight to the Disney arrival section at the terminal. They have their own area just for all the people coming from anywhere in the world to Disney, so just follow all the signs and you will know how to proceed. As we had our transfers booked, we hopped on the Disney Express bus to our home for the first Disney experience: the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

It was at the hotel that we met the incredible Disney Corporate Team. Our designated room was facing outwards to look over the park, so we could see a variety of animals from all over the world. In the first 10 minutes, we had already spotted an Ostrich, Antelope and Zebra! After settling in, we hopped on a bus to the Animal Kingdom.

Dining at the Disney Animal Kingdom Park: Tiffins

We were given a tour of the facilities and got to experience the joy that Disney brings to people. We were treated to dinner at Tiffins to meet and greet all others on the trip. We had seafood starters, and short rib main with deconstructed cheesecake as a dessert. That is a winner. Note that halal food can be arranged upon request at all time during your Disney experience.

The Disney Animal Kingdom Light Show

After our long day, we were absolutely exhausted as the body clock is at 6 AM. We then tried to save some energy to head towards the famous light show of the Animal Kingdom was at 7 PM. We then went straight to bed and crashed for a big following day.

Day 2 – Animal Kingdom & Epcot

After a small gym session in the morning to refresh, we met everyone in the lobby and caught the bus to have breakfast in the Animal Kingdom Park. After breakfast, we went straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris. We couldn’t believe how incredible this experience was. It was as good as a real safari! We saw more animals than when we were in Kenya! We saw Lions Rhinos, Giraffes, Crocs, Flamingos and a host of other animals.

After our Safari we had a tour of the park and reached the Pandora – The World of Avatar. There, we went on two rides; the Navi river journey which is a chilled out and relaxed experience. The other ride was the Avatar flight of passage. It was a 3D experience and totally blew our minds how real it was. The whole Avatar section of the park is created in such a way it totally plays with your senses. There are so many details if you take the time to notice them. The climate and smells totally interact with each other. The Avatar ride had a 3-hour wait but we used our FastPass to skip the line. If you are coming to Disney, make sure you have your FastPass rides organized.

We ate lunch at the Avatar restaurant which comprised of very healthy salads which totally surprised me, in a good way. Went then headed to the Asia part of the theme park and we embarked on the Everest expedition ride. We had to give it a go and it was wilder than we thought but in a good way.

Epcot

We hopped back in our bus and went to Epcot, the golf ball designed building that is the original Disney building. It is older but is iconic to visiting Disney World in Orlando. We first went to the ride “Soarin”, an interactive 4D ride where you are like inside a drone and it goes around the world. It showed us the wonders of the world and it was very enjoyable.

As a group, we visited “Trad tracks” where you can make your own car. This was more educational and less full on but ultra-competitive. Then we got to “test drive“ the car and it was so fast and lots of fun.

Within Epcot there are many countries themed areas. We went to Frozen ride in Norway. It was very chilled and we got a little bit wet at the front of the boat. We had two hours of free time so we walked to the international village and see the other different countries and enjoyed the sun setting. Afterwards, we met the group outside the France pavilion for a private riverside buffet to watch the Epcot fireworks.

Day 3 – Characters breakfast and Hollywood Studios

After an early morning gym session and barely any good sleep, we hopped on the bus at 7:30 AM and went to the Grand Floridian Resort for breakfast. The perk of staying in their premium properties is that breakfast welcomes Disney characters. It was also one of the tastiest breakfasts we have had during the trip.

Disney Hollywood Studios

We then headed to the famous Hollywood Studios. We went straight to the Toy Story Mania ride and then followed by the Slinky ride roller coaster.  We also jumped in the Toy Cup ride, which was less thrilling but still tons of fun. One ride we could not miss was the Star Wars 3D ride. It was so full on and it made me a bit dizzy but worth it. For our last ride of the day, we went on the Rock and Roll Rollercoaster. It is unique as it plays loud Aerosmith music whilst riding in pitch black nothing. We finished off the day with an outside dinner and a chance to watch another Disney show. It was a huge performance with fireworks and it’s easy to see why thousands of people are waiting to see it.

Day 4 – Disney Springs & Magic Kingdom Park

After another gym session in the morning to burn off the thousands of calories we have been consuming, we headed off to Disney Springs, the shopping and food hub of the Disney complex. We also got the chance to ride in the Minnie Mouse van towards the Magic Kingdom Park. You can book the Minnie Van from the Airport to the park or in between Disney resorts and theme parks. At the Magical Kingdom, we ran around to seek out nice photography spots. We enjoyed the parade before heading to eat lunch at the Italian restaurant Tony’s and spend the rest of the day enjoying rides. The highlight of the day was the fireworks as it is the iconic evening Disney show at the Magic Kingdom. Make sure you find your spot early as thousands of people cram in to see the spectacular spectacle.

Day 5 – Embarking the Disney cruise

After the incredible theme park experience at Disney World Orlando, that morning we were up quite early and headed down to the Disney Ferry Terminal to jump into our next adventure with Disney onboard their cruise line. You can read more about here.

Our Disney experience

We came to Disney World thinking that it would’ve been a better experience if we had kids to share the experience with. We were so wrong. Disney is not only entertainment for a whole family, it really was magical and a great environment to be in as a couple. Daring to say that you could go alone and come out of there meeting other great people during the same journey. Being at Disney with the other half was an amazing setting for both of us to turn into kids again and experience how would it be for us to enjoy such a place. There was a good amount of competition in a few rides like the Toy Story Mania, where we had tons of fun competing with each other for the highest score shooting onto the screen. If it wasn’t for being with the group and a line up (even in the fast lane), we would do this ride over and over again at least 5 times! Disney is a once a lifetime experience you must try once and you will definitely get hooked like we are. We wanted to stay longer and are already looking forward to not only go back but see Disney parks All around the world. This includes in Shanghai (China), Paris (France), Hong Kong, LA, Tokyo (Japan)!

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