Saturday, May 3
5:30 am--Wake up, get ready to head out the door, last minute packing
6:00 am--Wake up kids (Madelyn had been awake since 5:00- too excited to go back to sleep.)
6:15 am--Pack up the cab
7:10--Arrive at airport
8:00--board plane
8:15--We're off into the wild blue yonder! Madelyn is a little nervous at this point but recovers quickly.
10:15--arrive in Orlando
12:00--arrive at our rental house
1:00--kids down for nap
4:00--kids up from nap and Madelyn swims in the pool
6:00--dinner/birthday cake--Happy Birthday, JD!
7:30--kids in bed
Sunday May 4
We spent Sunday at the Magic Kingdom. We rode It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, the Winnie the Pooh ride, the Dumbo ride and the kids roller coaster in Mickey's Toon Town. Madelyn was very excited to see Mickey and Minnie's houses (separate houses since they are not married). We stood in line to meet some of the princesses (Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty). I'm glad this was a short line because Madelyn became very nervous at the sight of the princesses and was barely willing to let us get pictures of her with them.
A rare Mickey sighting--at the show right before the park opened.
The fam in front of Cinderella's castle--notice that everyone is looking at the direction of the camera. Very impressive!
Madelyn, very timidly, standing with Cinderella
Pierce having no problem flirting with the pretty lady.
We took a siesta back at the house before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for the evening. When we went back, we rode "The Jungle Cruise", "Pirates of the Caribbean", and the Aladdin ride that is eerily similar to the Dumbo ride. It was a good day. Madelyn discovered her love for rides and Pierce sailed through without his morning nap.
Monday, May 5
We didn't go to Disney on Monday. The kids needed to rest from the busy days before, and I wanted to see one of my best friends in the world. She and her family moved to Orlando last summer, and it was so much fun to see them! Sarah and her son, Aiden, came for the whole day and Blair, Sarah's husband, came for dinner. The kids played really well together, and during naptime, JD, Sarah, and I hit the outlets. Mom and Dad held down the fort while we were gone.
Monday, May 5
We didn't go to Disney on Monday. The kids needed to rest from the busy days before, and I wanted to see one of my best friends in the world. She and her family moved to Orlando last summer, and it was so much fun to see them! Sarah and her son, Aiden, came for the whole day and Blair, Sarah's husband, came for dinner. The kids played really well together, and during naptime, JD, Sarah, and I hit the outlets. Mom and Dad held down the fort while we were gone.
Hangin' out in the hot tub with Sarah and Aiden
Tuesday, May 6
On Tuesday, we went to the Animal Kingdom. I think this is my favorite park, but there is a lot of walking and not a lot of riding. Madelyn kept saying, "What are we going to ride next?" We did the safari first, and we got to see so many animals. Both of the kids really got into this. We walked around a couple of trails to see more animals, and the adults took turns watching the kids and riding the coaster Expedition Everest. Pretty good roller coaster! Pierce and Madelyn did get to ride a dinosaur ride that was a carbon copy of the Aladdin and Dumbo rides.
Pictures of some of the animals from the safari:
We left Animal Kingdom for lunch and siesta and then headed back to the Magic Kingdom during the evening. JD and I rode Space Mountain and Madelyn got to pick what she wanted to ride.
Wednesday, May 7
We took another off day. We spent the morning lying by the pool and swimming. That evening, we went to Downtown Disney and played at the Lego play area and huge Disney store.
Thursday, May 8
On Thursday, we went to Hollywood Studios first. I think Madelyn was disappointed that there weren't more rides. However, I did not want to skip Hollywood Studios because I wanted to ride Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Roller Coaster. So, the adults rode these rides and we also rode the Great Movie Ride. We saw the kid's show "Playhouse Disney", which is a somewhat interactive show with characters from Playhouse Disney. The characters are puppets, though, and not people dressed as the characters. Madelyn really liked it. We also saw the Beauty and the Beast show. It had lots of dancing and music that the kids really liked. Madelyn and Pierce got to meet Tow Mater from Cars. Interestingly, she wasn't at all nervous about meeting a rusty, old tow truck. We left a little earlier than we wanted because Pierce was crashing fast. This was the onset of his cold.
Madelyn with Tow Mater
So, we headed back to the house and we all napped. That evening, we went to Epcot and rode Space Ship Earth. That's the ride in the big ball that kinda looks like a golf ball. As soon as we got out of the car, Pierce started pointing and yelling, "Ball, ball!" We also rode the Seas with Nemo and Friends, Journey to Imagination, and Gran Fiesta Tour. There was also a really neat playground in the theme of Peter Pan where the kids enjoyed playing.
Madelyn in Bruce's mouth
Friday, May 9
Pierce was quite under the weather, so we laid low. We packed up our things, swam a bit, and tried to recuperate from a busy trip.
Saturday, May 10
4:20--Wake up, try to keep eyes open, pull on some clothes and pack up the van
4:55--Try to get the kids out of bed without disturbing them too much--didn't work
5:00--Start driving to the airport
5:25--Turn in rental car, head to the terminal
5:35--Wait and wait and wait for an elevator. Glad we had a little extra time
6:15--Clear security and get a bite for breakfast
6:45--board plane
7:10--Into the wild, blue yonder
7:15--Pierce crashes from shear exhaustion
8:15--Pierce wakes up thanks to the pilot's booming voice informing us that we have cleared the turbulence and are free to move about the cabin.
9:15--land at Dulles with very gloomy weather...quite a shock going from 85 degrees to 55 degrees
10:05--in the cab heading home
10:30--home and put Pierce to bed
1:00--Put Madelyn to bed
2:00--Pierce wakes up
3:30--Pierce goes back to bed
4:15--Madelyn wakes up
5:20--Pierce still sleeping--should probably wake him up
We had a great time, but I wouldn't attempt Disney with two small children unless I had help. It was very nice to have 4 adults to manage the two kids, as it allowed us all to ride the "big" rides as well as the ones the kids could enjoy. Disney's Fast Pass is a brilliant idea. If I could go back, I would spend more time at Epcot. While older kids might think Epcot is a little boring, I think it's great for the little ones because they can ride almost everything, and there are quite a few rides. Also, we didn't have to wait for any of the rides there. I'm glad we took every other day to rest. I think that was really beneficial to Pierce, who ended up crashing by the end anyway. I think the ideal age to start visiting is 4 or 5 because they are young enough to still be amazed by everything but old enough to be able to ride almost everything. I'm still very glad we went. It was a great family vacation, and if we go back in the near future, I'll have a better strategy for touring all the parks.
No comments:
Post a Comment