Late July, I drove the fam down to #Disney. My 5yo daughter had been wanting to go, and we had a good window so went for it! Here's some pics, notes and we chat it up in a #podcast! I used to live in Tampa, FL for a few years, and would end up heading to Orlando once or twice a month. I love the Universal Studios and Disney World theme parks, and am always looking for an excuse to go back and visit now that I'm about 1000 miles away. We decided to drive, just because we could easily pack more stuff for the kiddos and it's less hassle IMO than dealing with airports and rental cars. We stayed a modest little AirBnB about a 30 minute drive from Disney. We have friends in the area, but personally, I like being away from all the hotels and crowded streets and stuff when we are in down time. It's a catch22, you save on money by staying a little farther away, but takes a bit longer to get to the parks.
Food and Wine Festival at Epcot wasn't fully up and running, but about half of the kitchens were open around World Showcase. Food from Greece, China, Mexico, and Germany are usually my favorites at these events, and they were all serving when we were there.
Our good friends that live in the area were kind enough to invite us up to their Animal Kingdom Resort room, and hang out at the pool. Their room overlooked an open space for a few animals to roam and graze. The kids loved it and every time they went out on the balcony would see something different.