The rest of Saturday at Disney was a ton of fun! New Balance gave everyone a ticket to enjoy one of the parks, so a group of us went to the Animal Kingdom.
After running through the Animal Kingdom earlier that morning, it was fun to see it at a slower pace and enjoy what it had to offer. It was Saturday afternoon, so it was really busy, but we didn’t have to wait all that long for rides or attractions.
Monkeys!
There were a few animals that you could see from the main park, but the majority of animals were housed in a wildlife reserve that you could explore via safari. I was especially excited about this because I love all animals and enjoy learning fun facts. We waited in line for about an hour, but we had plenty to talk about, and it was well worth the wait!
The 110-acre Harambe Wildlife Reserve is dedicated to the protection of African animals, and it’s filled with open plains, forest, and wetlands.
We saw all sorts of animals!
And we even got pretty close to them!
This ostrich walked right next to our safari vehicle. The person sitting closest to the outside could have easily touched it!
After our adventures at the Animal Kingdom, I headed back to my hotel room, took an awesome and much-needed nap, and then rallied for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. I was only spectating, but as soon as I saw everyone all dressed up and excited about the race, I really wish I had done it.
How awesome do these ladies look?! They had so much fun!
Spectators!
Since we had a couple of hours to kill before our friends finished the half marathon, we headed to the Food & Wine Festival (aka Finish Line Party).
The event featured all sorts of great music and other entertainment, but the primary focus was the food!
More than 25 international kiosks were set up all over Epcot, each one serving tapas-sized portions of their regional specialties. It was so cool!
I had the most amazing cheddar cheese soup from Canada. It was almost like a cup of fondue! Yum!
We eventually found our way to the New Balance party where we snacked on some appetizers.
And checked out the printed photos from our Instagram accounts. (We got to take them home too!) New Balance worked with a company that printed out all of the photos on Instgram with the hashtag #NBatDisney. Cool, right?
After spending some time at the New Balance party, we headed to the finish line to cheer on our friends.
I am an old lady (apparently, Julie is too), so we took the early shuttle back to the hotel a little after midnight.
All in all, it was a fabulous few days in Disney. A huge THANK YOU to New Balance for sponsoring me. I am so, so, so happy that I had a chance to attend such a wonderful weekend at Disney!
Question of the Day
If you could chose to run any of the seven Disney races, which one would you pick?
P.S. Be sure to enter my giveaway to win a set of headbands from BIC Bands! I will pick a winner tomorrow!