All I am going to say about how this trip came about is that when you get a smoking good deal to go to Disneyworld you don't pass it up, even if you had just been to Disneyland in December.
We spent our first day at Magic Kingdom, riding most of the same rides that are at Disneyland. Some are a little bit different, but it is pretty much the same concept. We each had our own favorites, but a few of the highlights were Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear ride, the People Mover, and Pirates of the Caribbean. The worst ride is Stitches Great Escape, unless you enjoy spit in your face, uncomfortable shoulder harnesses, and having a stinky burp blown in your face stay away from this terrible ride. After a really long day we ate dinner inside Cinderella's castle and got to meet all the princesses. The girls loved it.
The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, it has some rides but it also has many shows. We went to a smaller version of the Broadway Beauty and the Beast that Marti loved. We watched the Pixar parade and got to see some of the characters that are not as common, like The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and the Up cast.
With all the fun stuff we did that day we also managed to scar our poor kids for life. Neither Kory or I had ever been on The Tower of Terror so we didn't really know what to expect. I told the girls it was like the Ladybug Drop at Lagoon that they have been on a million times. I was totally wrong, it is not like that at all. They did pretty well until we shot up to the top of the building and doors opened. Marti just hid her face and held on tight,
Emersyn completely lost her marbles. I felt so terrible. She was screaming and crying and making the most heartbreaking sounds you have ever heard. By the time the ride was over I was sure that the other people on the ride thought we were the worst parents in the world. Needless to say they will never be going on that ride again.
After the trauma, we called it a day early and headed back to our hotel for a swim. We stayed at a Disney hotel so there were always fun activities to do. They had games going all the time by the pool, in the food court they had board games and a Wii you could play while you ate and at night they played Disney movies outside on a big screen. It can definitely get expensive to visit Disney parks but I really am amazed at the level of service they provide, their employees really try to give the kids a wonderful experience.
Our 3rd stop was Epcot, by far Kory's favorite. We were there during their Flower and Garden Festival and it was just beautiful. We rode Soarin' and talked to Crush the turtle, but most of our day was spent walking through the different countries. We ate a delicious lunch in Germany, Emy discovered a new favorite dessert, Bavarian Cheesecake. We got sprinkled on a little in the afternoon but the storm clouds didn't stick around long.
Just before we left Epcot I came real close to having my own Emersyn style freak out on the Mission Space ride. They put you in what is basically a metal tube, put a harness over your head and then the control panel comes about 6 inches from your face and you are completely closed in. I was trying to stay at least somewhat calm so I didn't freak out the girls, but I'm don't think I did very well. I learned to believe the sign that tells you not to ride if you have a problem with claustrophobia, I won't be doing that
ever again.
The next day we went to Animal Kingdom, the girls got their faces painted like Tigers, we rode the Safari, the girls cried when we rode Dinosaur, and then at about 3:30 the clouds opened and we got whacked by a huge rain storm. Luckily we had our rain ponchos but even with them we still got completely soaked. We grabbed the bus back to our hotel and then when the rain slowed we hopped on another bus to Downtown Disney. The girls had been saving their money for their own souvenirs so we spent about 2 hours in the Disney store while they decided what to get.
Included in our Disneyworld package was a dining plan for the entire week that included 2 meals and 1 snack per person per day. It doesn't sound like a lot of food, but it is. Every meal included enough food for at least 2 people. By the end of the week we were trying to figure out how to use all of our remaining credits and still fit in the airplane seats. We had a bunch of unused snack credits so we went to the candy store and got a bunch of stuff we could bring home with us. I think we ended up not using 2 meal credits. We would have used them all if the food court was open when we left for the airport at 3:30 in the morning, but apparently no sane person likes to be up that early.
Wow this post is long....I really am almost done. I just have to say thank you to my amazing family for a wonderful trip. I know I have said it before but it is true, there is nothing in the world I like to do more than share experiences with my family.
Adventure is out there!
