Thursday, November 14, 2013

Disney: The Highlights

We took our very first family vacation to Disney World in October. We decided to drive, pull our camper and stay in the Disney campground, Fort Wilderness. It. Was. Awesome. Also, tiring. Mostly awesome though. These pictures were taken by at least 3 cell phones and one camera, so they are all jumbled up. I am not going to reorder them in the proper order, but will caption them as close as I can get to the right day/park.

We decided to stay two nights in Myrtle Beach on the way down. This was a great idea. We had perfect weather and it really broke up the drive. Our campground was also on the beach. We literally walked about 100 yards to the ocean.

We got into Fort Wilderness late at night and got uploaded. Day one was spent at Epcot, which neither of the boys loved. Day two was at Animal Kingdom, which was a big success. On Day 3, Ry's mom and step dad joined us and we just hung out at the campground and Downtown Disney. Day 4 was Disney Studios and our final day was at Magic Kingdom. Overall, I think the kids liked Disney Studios the best, but that was as least partially due to the fact that it was over 90 degrees and many of the attractions at the studios have air conditioning.

Takeaways for me:
1. Staying at the Disney resorts is awesome. They are beautifully maintained and I loved the ease of the resort buses.
2. Orlando in October is still really hot.
3. Next time I will plan one more "down" day. The day spent in the pool really recharged us for the rest of the week.
4. Almost 4 and 6 are great ages for Disney.
5. The drive home sucked, but was far outweighed by the ability to cook in our camper, not pay for expensive flights and car rentals, and have the ability to pack more than would fit on an airplane.
6. Definitely bring reinforcements. Doing Disney with my in-laws was both fun and easier than doing it with just Ry and the kids. I always forget how much I love vacationing with our extended family until we do it, and then I remember that it rocks.

OK, here are the pictures, in no order whatsoever.
Hollywood Studios - blazing hot. Cheeky Monkey just couldn't walk any more.

Also Hollywood Studios. Just after the big EAR purchase.

End of Hollywood Studios day. To be fair, many of our days ended like this. Monkey didn't even move as we transferred buses and walked back to the campground. Big shout out to Papa Mike who carried him from the bus to the campsite.

At Myrtle Beach. Gorgeous. Also, the beach was ours and ours alone.

Napping is key. I should add that to my takeaways.

Setting out for Disney, day one. Off to Epcot!

I'm so bored! Epcot. That didn't take long.

Animal Kingdom. Our one character lunch. It was fun. I recommend only doing one though, unless your kids are total character freaks. Mine are not.

Mickey!

Daisy!

Watching the hippos at Animal Kingdom. Our safari was great, almost all the animals were out.

Another end-of-day shot. I think this was Animal Kingdom.

How we amused ourselves waiting for the bus.

Meeting Chip and Dale at the campfire singalong.

Creepiest dress ever. This is a skirt made entirely of Aurora dolls. Just. Ew. Downtown Disney.

Papa Mike helps Cheeky Monkey build a lego car in Downtown Disney.

Gummy Bear and the Army Man. He was strangely shy with this guy.

Cheeky Monkey and his idol, Jake.

One of our lines was actually for the Be Our Guest cafe in Magic Kingdom. It was so cool. Your food "magically" appeared at your table and was pretty delicious. The rooms were also gorgeously appointed.

We decided not to stay for the "not so scary Halloween party", but I got in some good gawking before we left. There were some seriously impressive costumes.

Hanging at the campground pool. Water slides and splash park. Win!

Also at Downtown Disney. They had a giant potato-head bar.

Ice Cream!

I think this was Hollywood Studios with his Mummu.

Many minutes were spent looking at maps and planning our attack strategy. It was also an excuse for icy beverages and snacks.

So excited to be at Magic Kingdom!!!!!

Log Flume at Magic Kingdom.

4 comments:

Becky said...

Yay Disney pictures!

melydia said...

Looks like a great vacation. At first I was wondering who Papa Mike was and then I remembered that your kids have four sets of grandparents. Twice the spoilage! :D

Jube said...

Kate - indeed. My kids are beyond spoiled. They were, until recently, the ONLY grandkids too.

Cathy said...

Yeah, sorry Annalise stole some thunder, they're still my favorite boys!!! I love all the photos, I'm sure it was a magical trip they will always remember

 
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