Walt Disney World Resort: Fun Outside the Parks

It's a surprise snow day here in NC. Last night there was no reports of ice or snow in the forecast.  Then this morning I woke up to 6 different phone calls from the school system. It changed from 2 hour delay to closed for school and staff all just hours before school starts. I am happy that I decided to stay in bed and wait on the final decision. 

I finally got the chance this morning to upload the hundreds of pictures from our conference trip to Walt Disney World. The reason behind the trip was attending the National Association of School Psychologist conference which was held at the Swan and Dolphin Resort in Walt Disney World. I made plans with friends from my grad school cohort to attend the conference and squeeze in time at the parks in between sessions. The conference was held Tuesday- Friday. We arrived Sunday around lunch and took time to explore resorts on Disney property. There truly is a lot to do just exploring the different resorts and restaurants. 

First, Anna and I checked into Pop Century Resort and grabbed lunch at the nearby Art of Animation Resort. The weather was beautiful that afternoon so we took the time to walk around and explore the campus while catching a few rays before meeting up with Megan and Robbie. Then we used the complementary buses to head to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The complementary buses are great for heading from your resort to the parks. However, they are a bit of a pain when traveling from resort to resort. Think a 45 minute trip when it may have only taken a 20 minute drive. 

We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge with perfect timing- it was dinner time for the animals!! From the overlook at the resort, we could see the giraffes and zebras feeding. 

Check out that baby trying to pick up food off the ground! So precarious with such long limbs.  We also took advantage of the activities being held outside while there. The resort was hosting marshmallow roasting by a fire pit. 

After enjoying roasted marshmallows we headed to the monorail to check out a few other resorts. Our last stop was the Polynesian resort where we met up with June and enjoyed tropical drinks as well as a delicious dinner!

We ended our night watching the Electrical Water  Pageant  from the beach at the Polynesian Resort. It's a 5 minute light show set to music on the lagoon. It hasn't changed a bit since my family visited over 10 years ago. 

After the light show, we took the ferry back to the Magic Kingdom where we took a bus home. It was a cold boat ride but we could see the fireworks and the castle lit up from the water.

I could have spent a week just exploring the resorts and taking in all the amazing Disney magic. Can't wait to share more on our time in the parks and highlighting how much fun you can have in Disney as an adult!

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