Dragon's Head Great Wall of China

This is back to my June 2012 Trip to Beijing, I realized I didn't do any posting on that trip. This post will be specifically about visiting The Dragon's Head part of The Great Wall of China.

Dragon's Head part of the wall is in a city called Shanhaiguan.Now vising Dragon's Head is similar to other parts of the wall except that this is a very small portion of the wall that goes into the Bohai Sea. It takes about 3 hours to drive there from Beijing. Unlike some portions of the wall military was based here so much of your visit is not on the wall but checking out the military structures. This was a not tourist filled area of the wall, while there were people not anywhere near the amount you experience at tourist parts of the wall. If you can this probably one of the best parts of the wall. I went here because I've been to the classic parts of the wall, this is really for the traveler that's had a wall experience since you don't really feel like you've been on the Great Wall like you do when you go to tourist parts of the wall. However this location was super relaxing, and much less strenuous than usual parts of the wall. 

Here are some fun pictures from my trip. 

Walking the wall into the water, they make you walk on a bridge so your not touching the actual historical wall. 

This is Part of the real wall and it is lucky to put money where you can

Overview from the wall to the military base

An older part of the courtyards that hasn't been redone

In one of the courtyards, there is a Jade Dragon in the box on the right

Under one of the entrances, to the base

Beautiful Labyrinth 

Guard Tower, I'm standing on part of the wall.

This was their Jail, we saw people fitting through the bars to take pictures, I wonder how they kept the prisoners inside

I would like to talk about the accommodations, since that's the beginning of the trip. Shanhaiguan is closer to Dragon's head and some places are walkable. I am a HUGE TripAdvisor.com user especially when I travel to locations that I haven't been too but I was very unhappy staying in Shanhaiguan. Please read my Trip Advisor Review:

WHERE YOU SHOULDN'T STAY

“Best of Shanhaiguan...Stay in Qinhuangdao” June 20, 2012

Last night literally we stayed at Hai Sheng Garden Hotel ...I am a foreigner from the United States and we wanted to see Dragons Head (part of the great wall of China). On the plus this hotel is the closest to Dragons Head (2km) and it has a nice garden, pool, lobby and although I'm not a fan they had a good Chinese restaurant. However this hotel wreaked of cigarette smoke...I have Asthma and I was having a hard time breathing in Beijing so I thought I would get out of the city however this hotel just made the asthma worse...we stayed in a junior suite at the end of the hotel and the room defiantly showed signs of wear. 

We paid about $100 usd 

Problems: 

#1 Not one person spoke English not even the manager. Like seriously how do you not have any English speaking receptionists...It was a pain to check in and check out...the person I traveled with had about intermediate Chinese speaking ability I would not advise if you are not familiar with Chinese

#2 The air conditioning did NOT work when we came into the room we put both AC units on they were at 25 degree's Celsius and even though we had the AC running for hours it never got any cooler when we left in the morning the AC read 26.5. Now we did open the windows around midnight because the room was so stuffy and the cigarette smoke was keeping us up. When we asked them to come and fix the AC no one ever came...then they asked us in the morning if the AC was good...OF COURSE NOT!

#3 is the cigarette smell although in the lobby there is a no smoking sign there were ashtrays everywhere for people to use and like I said with Asthma this was the worse we even considered leaving around midnight in search of another hotel because this one was so smelly. 

#4 was the bed and OMG the floor probably would have been softer it was like sleeping on a board now some people are into FIRM mattresses I am not. 

#5 There was not one English channel...occasionally a channel would put an English show on and we could watch it.

#6 Although breakfast was free there was nothing Western about this breakfast I only ate toast and a slice of watermelon but again people were SMOKING in the dining room and I really didn't want to stay I just wanted to get the heck out of this hotel at this point.

#7 I am a rather picky eater I had to check ever single dish on the menu in order to find one thing I would eat. It was steak with onions and rice now it was very good but if you want western food DO NOT eat here they had a fridge in my room which was a junior suite so if you were willing to go the grocery store it would be fine. 

#8 They supposedly have Internet for you to use...I couldn't figure it out at all...maybe if you can read Chinese then you would be able to figure it out but we could not.

#9 The wallpaper was starting to peel and it was a little moldy on in the hallway...

#10 Besides the wall nothing else is in walking distance so make sure you bring snacks...

I think this hotel is okay if you want to be within walking distance of the Great Wall at Dragons Head and you are not affected by cigarette smoke because there is no smoke free rooms here but overall it was a good deal we paid $100 but we had a jr. suite so the value was good.

WHERE YOU SHOULD STAY

After our night at this hotel we moved to a Holiday Inn in Qinhuangdao  this hotel is VERY western it would be similar to a Hilton in my opinion and they have SMOKE FREE floors and it really wasn't any more money than the other hotel, the downside is if you are visiting the Dragon's Head part of the wall you have about a 20minute drive so if you don't have a car its not very helpful. EVERYTHING else about this location is AMAZING, its right on the beach they have western food, a spa, and walkable to anywhere you need to go. 

Travel Plans Confirmed January 2013 Trip - Beijing

Hello again everyone its time to travel again! My aunt has decided she would like to visit Beijing! So Beijing it will be I have decided my definite dates but I'm looking at December 31st - January 20. Now since its been less than a year my visa is still valid. When visiting China you must get a Visa, they have 2 real tourist options single entry visa and multiple entry visa both are only valid for one year. All Visa's cost the same amount of money so I recommend getting the one year multiple entry visa, you may decide to jet over to Japan for a couple days during your Vacation and if you only have single entry into China you will not be allowed back into China. 

If you are like me and just a tourist here is the Tourist Visa Webpage http://us.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84246.htm

For your visa you are going to need the Following items:

• Passport to be given to them for Visa (must have 6+ months left on passport)
• 2 x 2 color picture for the application, a passport picture 
• You will need your hotel or residence addresses & Phone #'s while in China
• Your employer or school address and phone number
• List of countries visited in last 12 months
• And lastly your filled out Visa Application (Tourist L) 

Important things to note about application process

• Cost is $130 - Pay on pickup
• You Need to bring this in you CANNOT mail this here is the list of the locations in the USA http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/t84229.htm
• There is a 4 business day waiting period but they have a express for $20 more.
• They can do a same day rush for $30 more but it still takes a full day so you must go as soon as they open and plan to wait till they close that day. It is used for Emergencies ONLY.

More soon from Tanya Neshat

Twitter @TanyaNeshat

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My upcoming trips

It's been a couple weeks since I posted about anything but as my next trip plans are coming together I wanted to talk about what I am going to do my next travel planning post's on. 

For January 2013 I am planning on going to Beijing AGAIN...I dont nessisarily want to go back to Beijing even though its a great city but with my mom living there my aunt's have fininally decided they want to visit my mom there since she will be leaving her post in April 2013 this is there last chance...

In the off chance they do not go I am looking into a European Cruise, or visiting Tokyo! But...most likely I will be heading back to Beijing so you'll have to wait for those entries! :)

In about June 2013 I shall be going to either Alaska or Hawaii with my mom as well as re-visiting california... My family lives in California so it wont be super touristy information but I shall probibly throw a post about Disneyland/California Adventure as well as maybe some beaches! <3

Hope your looking forward to my travels as I am! :)

Please follow me on Twitter @TanyaNeshat

Long Haul Flight Tips

Long Haul Flight Tips

So...Recently I made an Informative Powerpoint on for a class on what you should do when you fly on LONG flights in Economy and these are some of the tips that I put together for the powerpoint. I hope you ENJOY and that this is helpful for you on your next flight :) 

Pre-Flight Preparation

• Play with the dates and airport codes and locations
• I live in the Washington DC area and that means I can fly out of IAD (Dulles International Airport), BWI (Baltimore-Washington International Airport), & DCA (Ronald Reagan Airport)...BUT Since I live in Washington there is also a WAS airport code that covers all of the airpots but all of those code will bring up different flight prices even tho WAS covers all it can even have different flights especially when doing award travel. 
• If you have the flexibility try different dates, as well as try to book to fly in the middle of the week for cheapest prices 
• Don’t always pick the cheapest …its better to pay a hundred more than have to spend 12 more hours commuting. When I was going to Beijing, last trip they wanted me to fly from IAD to London Gatwick and have a 5 hour layover and get to London Heathrow…that would have just been a huge headache. Thats over an hr in commuting and and at least another hour going through customs. 
• Watch your Layover times
• You have to watch layover times if you are coming back or going to a foreign country. When I came home from Beijing I was in line to go through customs for an hour, if I had a connecting flight it would have been impossible to catch it if the layover was shorter than 2 hours
• Pick a good seat
• Picking a good seat is different for everyone
  …since I usually fly united I can tell you at least purchase Economy Plus…on a flight to Beijing that’s about $150 each way but those 5 extra inches are soooo valuable they are the difference between being able to open your laptop or not.
• Also this is more personal but pick an Aisle seat…I am always hydrating myself on long flights so I get up to go the restroom…often…especially because I’ll think about it, so that forces me to try even if I don’t need to. I remember being stuck in a window seat one time…OMG I think my seat mates hated me because of how often I got up and after that I vowed never to sit in the window again unless it was a super short flight…but maybe you are the type of person who never gets up during a flight and really wants to see the view for the 30minutes that there is view, more Aisle seats for me

• SeatGuru is great for picking out seats and more specifically seeing which seats are awful, SeatGuru is also good for telling you where the outlets are on the plane, as well as if there are any movie players in your area, and where the bathrooms and galleys are. 

•  If you are pro Aisle like me try and get seated in the middle set of seats because if your asleep the people in the middle can always exit the other side and leave you alone. It is also good because sometimes some airlines like United will only have movie players through the plane and the middle set of seats is the only group with the big screen 
• FOOD
• For long flights you can request a meal this is a must if you have special dietary request such as Vegan, Kosher, or even children's. You must do this before the flight like at least a week before you can usually do it online but if not make sure you make a call to the airline to make sure you get your requested food.
•  It is nice because you do get your food before everyone else and you don't have to worry about them running out of an option. I personally order the Children's meal because I am a picky eater, but that doesn't always mean the food is good, just that its generally plainer than the meal everyone else gets on the plane. I usually ALWAYS hate the breakfast for kids, even the adult breakfast is usually foul...the eggs are just yuck...Sometimes for the kids breakfast they give me these apple cinnamon filled pancakes and they aren't horrible..but I can never stomach more than 1 and the potatoes are bleh...I wouldn't count on enjoying your breakfast in Economy...The Lunch/Dinner and Snack are usually pretty okay tho.
• I have also generally found the food is somewhat based on where you are coming and going to on international flights...for example on my last flight home from beijing they had a chinese dinner and an american dinner...although you could get either americans usually got the chicken and potatos I cant remember the Chinese dinner but, many Chinese on the plane did get it. The snack was Cup of Noodles, I guess they felt both guests would like it. 
• Check your Passport and for Visa's 
• Make sure your passport is valid most countries will not allow you to enter a country if your passport is expiring in the next 6 months, since most passports are for 10years this usually isnt a problem 
• If you do not have a passport you will need to apply according to the Department of State who issues passports the routine process time is 4-6 weeks with expidited of 2-3 weeks, however they do have ways to get them faster but it will take a lot of your time and money. For more information go to travel.state.gov. 
• The state department website also lists what visa’s you need to go to certain countries. When I got to Beijing I need to pay $130 and wait about a week to get my visa but if you lived out of DC it would take substantially longer, I am lucky to live in DC since all of the embassys are here and I can just visit embassy to get a visa but for those who live far from embassies must make sure you give yourself ample time to acquire a visa.
• When should you head to the airport
• Most of the time nothing is going to go wrong but if it does most people generally stick to the 2 hour rule of thumb
• You have to be careful though because airlines have baggage cutoffs for United its 45mins before takeoff, but if there is a long line to get to the counter that could take 30mins then another 30 at least going through security you really need to pad your schedule. 
• For Example: Right after the attempted bombing on the flights in the UK, I flew the next morning and the airport was cautious and you couldn't’t get anywhere they ended up having to hold the plane because so many people were trying to get through. 
• Also, I’ve also been to LAX and have it take the 2 hours to go through security you just never know. But now that security procedures are very streamline and most pople know what to do you can usually cut it closer. The question is are you willing to risk missing your flight? 
• Here is a fun youtube video to get you through security



What to bring on your flight

• Pack as light as Possible & Lock Compartments
• Pack as light as possible I recommend just bringing a backpack, I have a hurly backpack that has compartments for everything and this is important on long flights and don’t forget to get LOCKS I get regular travel locks with a key…all the same key then I usually attach the key to something on my body this makes you feel more secure when you decide to sleep on the plane, don’t want your passport to go missing, and if it’s a key its easier to open in the dark then trying to put in a combination and trust me you will be in the dark, even if its light outside they want people to have the ability to sleep, and watch movies.
• If you must bring a carry-on piece of luggage make sure that you are within the airline regulations, as well as any other airlines that you are flying on in other countries. For example United.com  states that your carry on baggage cannot be bigger than 14 inches x 9 inches x 22 inches but the weight is generally unrestricted on US Carriers so best to pack books there. However when I was flying on Quantas airlines within australia they also added the restriction that it could not weight over 10lbs and when I was in Uluru, Australia I got a horrible customer service agent who made me repack my luggage multiple times…it literally made me want to cry she was such a stickler. So to save your piece of mind, prepare ahead of time. 
• Pack Medications in Carry-ON
• Always make sure you bring all necessary medications, I usually bring one Ziploc with toiletries such as moisturizer, Chapstick, contact lens solution, and my necessary meds to go through security but make sure you have you medical labels if you are bringing pills, My inhaler and EPI-Pen don't need to have med labels but my Ambian has to be labeled to me in my name with a description of the pill in order to get through security. 
• WATER! 
• Water is a must on long flights, occasionally you cannot bring water on a plane for example when I was flying to DC from Beijing, I was not allowed to being any beverages on the plane, they had an additional security check when boarding the airplane for liquids, but in most cases especially when leaving the US you can grab a beverage and bring it on the plane. Staying hydrated is important for your blood flow while on these long flights. 
• SNACKS!
• The TSA no longer screens food, you can bring a sandwich but I recommend granola bars, or some other snack just incase the inflight food is so foul that you wont be starving on your flight. 
• Neck Roll Pillow
• Neck Rolls save your neck on these long flight, on long flights they will have enough blankets and super flat pillows for everyone on these long flights since most people will try and sleep, so NEVER bring a blanket...If you are in economy it is imperative to have a neck roll because you don't usually sleep sitting you can get neck aches leaning your neck from side to side...I leave mine on even when Im watching movies to give myself neck support on long flights. 
• ENTERTAINMENT!!!!!!!!!!
• Entertainment in very valubable on long flights you should bring you ipad, or laptop loaded up with blockbuster movies and noise cancelling headphones. 
• I personally think you should bring many different platforms of entertainment on the plane. You will need something to entertain you while you are taking off and landing and when they are long flights these times are also longer….a magazine wont be enough…I recommend a book or at least 2+ Magazines.
• On my 13+ Hour flights I bring my laptop, iPad, 2 iPods, and Nintendo DS, I make sure all are charged well. 
• I also bring many different sets of headphones along with my noise cancelling ones I bring my apple in ear headphones because regular headphones don’t usually block out enough sound, the ones the airlines provide in economy as worthless, and if 1 pair of headphones breaks I have backup.
•  If you are lucky enough to be on a plane with movie players, it will make you so much happier, I recommend trying to make sure when booking to choose a flight with personal movie players…with United that’s picking a Boeing 777 over a Boeing 747.  USE SeatGuru when booking to see what each plane has...movie players are worth their weight in gold on long haul flights especially if you have young children...they can watch disney and you can watch the newest movie...not having to share...

What to wear to fly

• I usually wear a sweatsuit such as a Juicy Sweatsuit or an Adidas Sweatsuit if your a male.... Your body expands when you fly, as well as you generally want to sleep on a flight so comfort is key! 
• LAYER UP 
• Just because its warm where you are doesn't mean it will be on the plane
• Layering up is great because 
• #1 you dont have to pack the jacket in your luggage space
• #2 it gets really really cold on planes and 
• #3 you can always use some layers as a pillow. 
• Shoes 
• You should wear tennis shoes on a plane somthing with rubber treading just in case there is an emergancy Rubber soled shoes are key...while you are on the plane 
• I reccomend some cheap slippers you can throw away when your done because your not going to want to wear your tennis shoes for 13+ hours and your going to need to walk around and use the bathroom but your not going to want to put those shoes back in your backpack after they have touch the ground of an airplane restroom. 
• DO NOT wear perfume
• ...that is just disrespectful of everyone in your area it would be especially harmful for those who are allergic to the smell and have to sneeze for 13+ hours 
• This also applies to scented lotions

When to board the plane 

• There is one question key to knowing when to board a plane...
• HOW MUCH LUGGAGE!!!
• If you are flying on a 6+ hour flight you will most likeley be boarding a plan with anywhere from 400-500 seats depending on how they are arranged on that plane. Thats 
• Thats 499 possible other passengers!
• I usually bring a backpack, but people bring more on board especially since they have imposed high luggage costs
• If you do have roller luggage...get on the plane AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, this should allow you to get your luggage in an overhead compartment because there is NEVER enough room anymore...they will check your roller for free if they run out of room BUT if you have valuables, and breakables in your roller luggage checking wont be an option for you
• If you just have a backpack and don't mind sharing your floorspace get on the plane as late as possible loading can take around 45mins if everyone has to board the plane...thats 45mins of sitting on the plane longer than you need to!

Thanks for the time you spent reading this and be sure to send me a message if you have any questions or comments and I will respond promptly! HAPPY FLYING!

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat

Sydney Bridge Climb

On one of my last days in Australia I was in the city of Sydney and I decided to do the Sydney Bridge Climb which is a must for anyone who visits Sydney. You literally walk on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney. There is one company who doesn't the Bridge Climb the website can be found here. I decided to do the night regular bridge climb but signed up so that I could see sunset from the bridge it cost $188AUD per person. I am afraid of heights, they tell you to inform your guide so I was placed near the front. Almost halfway up the bridge we were having stunning views the steps are easy and you stop a lot, mostly to take pictures. 

I am getting ahead of myself, first you go upstairs and wait for your group to be called, when they are you move to another room where you have to sign a waiver, as well as they make sure you have any medical problems...I have asthma so I gave them my inhaler for the guide to carry just in case. We then moved to the changing area and they handed us our outfits to wear they are essentially jump suits. They tell us not to wear anything but our undergarments after we are dressed we take our stuff and put it into lockers. Then our instructor comes and gets us we are a group of about 10-15. They bring us to these U-Shaped coral where we get our equipment....the belt that tethers you to the bridge we also get attached with jackets attached to our belts near our bums. It was amusing. Then once we are geared we do a practice run so we can learn how to climb up and down the latter to get to different levels as well as learn how to move while we are attached to something. 

Then we head out get the last pee break and drink break and we are off it is a 2.5-3hour climb. About half-way up the bridge it started pouring rain and it was windy and if I was scared before I defiantly was when it was raining sideways...finally we get to the top and take a group picture and we start heading down when it stopped raining...we start slowly walking down since we are on metal and it was just raining. 

I know it sounds a little traumatic cause it was raining but it fine and really worthwhile I would do it again I just hope it wouldn't rain again... :)

-Tanya

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat

Day Trip to New York, NY

I live in the Washington, DC area and if you are from this area you know there are many ways to get to NY but the newest and most popular is the $50 roundtrip bus. My aunt and uncle who are from Los Angeles were visiting New York however they really only had one day free and I needed to be back to classes but I decided to go up for the day to visit them and tourist around with them a little. We have metro here but, LA doesn't really have a metro so I was able to help them learn to navigate the Metro System.

The Bus ride I took was at 5am leaving from Bethesda, MD luckily the bus wasn't full so I got the whole back row to myself and passed out for the 5 hour Journey. I woke up right when we were driving into NY as shown in the picture below.

When I got to NY I visited for a big but then we headed to the metro for our day our First stop was of course The Empire State Building. We got tickets that cost $22 each and took some great pictures which you can see below. 

After we hit the Empire State Building we are total nerds so we really wanted to go to the Nintendo Store and we also needed to eat so we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and then hit the Nintendo Store.

Since we were right by it we walked to the Rockefeller Center where NBC Studios. However it was under construction as they were putting the Ice Rink in I beleive. 

After this we were very tired but we decided we really needed to hit Centeral Park however no one really wanted to walk it. We decided to hire a peddle car driver for 3 of us it was $70 and it was like 30-45min ride so that was a great price for all 3 of us and he peddled us around to all the major spots in central park even let us stop and took our pictures. 

After this we decided to head back to their hotel the Marriott Marquis and after visiting for a little more I needed to head back to the 6pm bus, so I walked to the bus area and grabbed Starbucks food for the bus ride. The bus back was full but I had pre downloaded a  movie I wanted to see which was good because the bus internet was horrible. I got back around 11pm and that my friends was my day trip to New York, NY

If you have any questions please feel free to message me or put up a comment!

-Tanya 

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat

Mutianyu - The Great Wall of China

When I was last in Beijing I was visiting my mom who lives there at the moment and we decided to visit the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu now I have to say this was a great visit for me and I highly recommend a place to stay called the Brickyard Inn it was originally a glazed Brickyard but now its a small boutique hotel where every room faces the Great wall. All of the rooms are the same and they are open concept, literally everything including the toilet. When we arrived in the early morning they didn't have our room ready but they locked our bags away and let us have some of the delicious breakfast buffet. Now Brickyard also owns a restaurant called The Schoolhouse which used to actually be the Mutianyu Schoolhouse. It is a western style restaurant and they also own a shuttle service that takes you from the hotel to the wall to the restaurant. 

On our first day we went to the wall you have to buy tickets to take a sky rail up.

Once we were on the wall there was a lot of walking involved and I don't know if I thought it was flat but I didn't bring my tennis shoes from Beijing only my FitFlops which was a mistake because the soonest down point is from Tower 14 to tower six its is a LONG Walk this is a map with the trails and we are not hikers so no trails for us we took the sky rail up and the Toboggan down.

Here is a map of the area from The Schoolhouse you can see the trails. 

Here are some pictures from our walk on the wall...my legs were shaking tword the end. 

After this we decided to walk down to the Schoolhouse you will pass many pushy vendors just remember this the only way they make money you can find some cool cheap things here as well as really nice expensive things. When we got to the SchoolHouse we had a lovely lunch and headed back to our hotel...we stayed a few days at Mutianyu but its really up to you we decided to go back because when we first arrived it was cloudy and on our second trip is was sunny which made for better pictures :) I hope you visits Mutianyu it is only about an hour outside of Beijing!

Also on a side note they have a beautiful glass working shop at The Schoolhouse I got an amazing Vase their but they also have these wineglasses that make music notes you can view demonstrations twice a day when they make the pieces. I got to watch my vase being made so I have pictures of it being made which is really cool. I would recommend seeing the free show.

If you have any questions please feel free to message me or leave a comment. 

-Tanya

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat

Day 4 Disney World - Animal Kingdom

This is Day 4 of my 4day/3night trip to Walt Disney World Orlando

Today we went to the Animal Kingdom which is open 9a-8p with extra magic from 8a-9a

Again we were up really earlier in the morning however what I recommend is to pack the night before so you can go straight to the Resort Airline Checkin Center they say up to 3 hours before but we defiantly checked in way before that because the checkin counter is only open until 1pm. If you can't you should put your bags into the bag holding area and any valuables can be left at the front desk they will give you your own personal safety deposit box which my Macbook air could fit into it as well as everything else I didn't want to leave in my bags. I was able to leave everything and head back into the park. 

So now we were headed to the Animal Kingdom for our final day and I was so tired I really recommend a break I wasn't able to do a ton of time at Animal Kingdom. However we went in and went straight to Dinosaur for Fast passes and then to the Expedition Everest by far my Favorite ride...I personally dislike Dinosaur it is VERY SCARY I kept my eyes closed like the whole time...We then headed to the Safari and we are lucky we went when we did because when we were on the ride it got stopped for 20 minutes because there was a rhino in the track area so it was nice because we got to watch the giraffes run around.

After that I really couldn't do too much more so we slowly bummed around the park until we needed to head back to the hotel for our scheduled pickup time for Magical Express Back to MCO to head home.

Now thats the end of my 4day/3night trip to Disney World in Orlando I truly recommend at least a week...there is so much to do...but it all depends on who you are and what your priorities are we are 24 year old Females and we just wanted to hit the rides. 

If you have any questions please leave comments or send me a message and I will answer to the best of my abilities.

-Tanya

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat

Day 3 Disney World - Epcot

This is day 3 of my 4day/3night trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando

Today we went to Epcot which is open 9a-9p with extra magic from 8a-9a

Now these extra magic hours are kind of a pain you only get an hour before the park is open to non-Disney resort guests...the hardest rides to get on are Soarin', test track, and Mission:Space. The Sea's with Nemo and Friends also usually takes some time...so first we walked to Soarin' got passes...went to Test Track and since Soarin' time was on we also got Fast Passes for Test Track...then we went on Spaceship Earth which probably wasn't that smart since we were both hungry and made us really dizzy. We then went on Soarin' then back over to Test Track...I really don't think Test Track is worth the long 2hr wait it gets...After those rides we decided to hit the Epcot ball which has the ride which is always fast and relaxing and fun, we went to see Captain EO which was awesome! Living with the Land was next, along with Ellens Energy Adventure. After that we decided to go to head over to the World Showcase since we hit all the rides in Future World however if you have kids they have an awesome Character Meet and Greet that is a must! 

On our way into the World Showcase there were many different showings of the Epcot International Flower Show which is held there between March and May. 

Now we had a lot of fun going around the parks and hitting the different rides and shows in each of the pavilions however the park closes at 9pm so we had to use our time efficiantly. Here are some of our picks around the park.

After a certain point in time we decided to head to dinner which we had reservations for but we decided to head there earlier expecting to wait but after 10 minutes our table was ready and we got really lucky because we got to be put in a semi private room with only two tables. We went to Tappan Edo the Japanese Steak House it was amazing and it was only 1 dining point and it was as good as any 2 dining point places. They even gave us some Fun hats just like our chef because it was our birthdays! 

When were done with dinner we walked around the world until we were able to find a good view of the water where we could sit down so we could see the Illuminations light show on the water...we were somewhere near the Africa station its not official but there is a Africa area...We had to sit and wait a while to be in a good wait zone but we were pretty much done and tired from our last 3 days...if we had more time today would have been a good day off :) 

After the show we were completely pooped and headed back to our hotel...

This was not a detailed schedule of our day just a general idea you really have to be instinctual but its always smart to hit the long wait rides during extra magic hours when there aren't as many guests in the park. If you have any questions please leave a comment or send me a message.

-Tanya

I know your wondering does she have twitter? Of Course I do please follow me! @TanyaNeshat