2nd Family Visit

A large part of the reason I was so behind in my posting was that just last week I received my second visit from my mom and dad! It was awesome to see my parents, and this time, they stayed for an entire week, so I had plenty of mom and dad time to myself!

For this visit, we stayed at Bay Lake at the Contemporary Resort. I love staying here because it's within walking distance to Magic Kingdom AND has a monorail run right through the Contemporary, so it's easy to get to Epcot as well! Also, the resort is just really nice and has an all around great feel to it.

I did a lot of fun things during their visit! The first day included a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, which was so much cooler than I expected! I was expecting a museum type thing, but it was actually its own park! We got to see a lot of cool exhibits, including the Atlantis Space Shuttle and the Space Shuttle Launch Center. If you're ever in the Orlando area and have some time to spend away from Disney World, I highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center!

During their visit, we also had a trip to Gatorland. I have to say, Gatorland was not my favorite place, but please keep in mind that these thoughts are coming from me, a conservation biology major who wants to go into the animal training and care field. I personally thought that the conditions in Gatorland were not up to the standards that they should be. I was really against the use of gators for certain forms of entertainment (like paying $8 to sit on a gator... is that even humane???). However, while Gatorland was extremely cheesy and not my personal cup of tea, I have to admit that they did try their best to spread conservation messages to the public. And hey, my dad loved it!

I also had the chance to cross something off my bucket list during the visit - scuba diving in The Seas! The experience was AMAZING. If you're ever going to scuba dive, I highly recommend The Seas! It is like luxury diving; you don't have to clean or put away your equipment, you get a towel handed to you as you get out, and you have a warm shower waiting for you immediately! In addition to the great Guest service that Disney provided for the experience, actually getting into the tank and diving was awesome. I felt like a celebrity because I got to go up to the windows and wave to all of the Guests! I even had some people take pictures of me! Aside from all of the people watching and waving, I got to swim alongside sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles. Honestly, this was one of the best things I've done on my program. If you are scuba certified YOU MUST GO DIVING IN THE SEAS!!!! Take my word for it, it's well worth it!

Your local celebrity Megan scuba diving in The Seas

Finally, my parents were amazing and scheduled a fireworks cruise for us and some of my friends! We got to meet at the dock at the Contemporary Resort and take our own private boat out into Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Afterwards, we all got to hang out at the top of Bay Lake Resort at the Top of the World bar and lounge. It's reserved exclusively for vacation club members staying at Bay Lake Tower, so we felt really special that we even got to go up there! Plus, the views of the Magic Kingdom were amazing. The whole thing was awesome, and I was so glad to get to spend some time with both my friends and family. It was a beautiful night with great people!

My friends and I on the boat

Wishes from the Seven Seas Lagoon

In addition to all of our fun activities, I also had the opportunity to eat in some great restaurants with my parents, including Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian), California Grill (Contemporary), Tutto Ristorante (Italy - Epcot), Fifty's Prime Time Cafe (Hollywood Studios) and Le Cellier (Canada - Epcot). All of these restaurants are great and I most definitely recommend them. Plus, they are all excellent dining experiences in the Walt Disney World Resort, and it's always nice to get spoiled a little bit while on vacation!

So, to summarize, I had a great time with my family when they came to visit me. Thanks once again, Mom and Dad, for a great visit and for all of the fun things we did! You guys are both the best!

Love you guys!

And to the rest of you, thanks for sticking with me and reading this whole post! If you have any questions or need recommendations for activities from me, please let me know! I love to help other people plan their fun vacations/visits/etc. 

Until next time... keep on dreaming