around the "world" in eight days: gotta fill you in on a few days...

Well, hello again faithful readers!

Sorry I haven't written in the last few days-- we've been pulling 8 am to midnight days. Phwew! We've experienced so much in the past week. Let's start with:

SUNDAY:

We hit up Disney's Hollywood Studios. OBVIOUSLY, we rode the Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania several times. Shortly after, we met up with Jim Korkis, a Disney Historian, for a guided tour of a good chunk of the park. Jim was overflowing with knowledge-- he even gave us "First Visit" pins to wear throughout the park, to signify that we were really seeing the park for the first time, with educated eyes. It was mind-boggling to go in to the park, experience it for an hour or two, and then go back through with Jim. He really transformed what was a sort of boring park into one that was packed to the brim with in-jokes, homages, and details.

MONDAY:

Back to the Magic Kingdom for a "Keys to the Kingdom" tour with Scott, the best tour guide in the "World." He gave us a guided tour through the park, including a few attractions, and then took us all over backstage. We even went spelunking in the famed Utilidors--the tunnels below the park. Scott was hilarious as well as knowledgable. His point of view was also very interesting, as he is a current;y employed Cast Member, as opposed to a former Cast Member--so the way he communicated information to us was markedly different. This tour was also special because it was a "Keys" tour that sparked Lord Zanolla's interest in Disney several years ago.

TUESDAY:

We visited Animal Kingdom on Tuesday. Jeff Kober joined us again, and he gave us a guided tour throughout the park. Today we got quite a bit more interaction with him, and yet again, soaked in an insane amount of knowledge--not only about the Animal Kingdom or even Disney World, but the entire company.

And today was our last day in the parks. Le sigh...

As always, a few photo highlights: