We took off on Saturday morning. Our flight left at 8 am, meaning we got up about 5 to leave our house at 5:30 since the forecast was for snow and we didn't know how the roads would be. We got to Orlando about noon, got to our hotel about 1:30 and the kids were in the pool shortly after.
Sunday we did Animal Kingdom. We rode Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, TriceraTop Spin and DINOSAUR. We saw the Finding Nemo musical and the kids played in the Boneyard for a while.
Monday we did Magic Kingdom. It was way crowded and every time we wanted to go across the park, there was a parade going on or it had just ended. We got on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin before heading back to the hotel for a nap. We headed back to the park for the parade and fireworks that evening. We were too late to get a spot for the 9PM parade, so we went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter before catching the fireworks and some of the 11PM parade.
Tuesday we did Epcot, it did not seem too crowded, but we were informed that it had about 3 times as many visitors than average. We hit the Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth (Fred got to ride with Gavin who selected Spanish as their language before he knew it and my mom got to ride with Isaac who selected German) before the Middendorfs needed a nap break. We went back to the hotel to cool down, nap and swim. Fred, Jacob and I returned to the park later in the evening to go on Soarin', Mission: Space, and Test Track. We did not attempt to venture into the "countries" during our Epcot visits.
We completed our parks tour on Wednesday at Hollywood Studios. There we hit rides such as Rock'N'Roller Coaster, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Midway Mania. We also saw shows that included Muppet Vision 3D, Voyage of The Little Mermaid, and Magic of Disney Animation. Jacob stayed with the gang while Fred and I took the little boys back to the hotel for a break and he got to see the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show and experience the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure area.
On Thursday we caught a bus to the Disney Dream cruiseship in Port Canaveral. The kids did a little swimming/splashing around, before we got ready for our dinner at Animators Palate (wild mushroom risotto, squash soup, shrimp pasta, lemon mousse). Fred, Jacob and Gavin went to the Golden Mickey's show that evening while I took Wyatt back to the room. Gavin didn't last too long at the show and came to the room with a sleepy Adrea.
We ported in Nassau, Bahamas the next morning (Friday). We hung out on the boat in the morning, the kids enjoyed some time in the Oceaneers club (Disney's child care, which the kids LOVED), before trekking to a boat ferry for our Dolphin Excursion. The kids (Jacob, Gavin, Maddie and Isaac) and Auntie Drea got to get in the water by dolphins. They got a kiss from, gave high-5s to, danced with, and hugged the dolphins. Gavin was a little timid of the experience, but the rest of them loved it. The only downside to this excursion was that we lost our camera along the way. Maybe at the docks, maybe on the boat, maybe on the long trek back to the cruise ship. It's a bummer, but luckily we were with Alyssa who has a bunch of pictures of the vacation, some even including me - a rarity. We returned to the boat and got ready for supper at the Enchanted Garden (beet carpaccio, Curried Carrot & Apple Soup, Pork Tenderloin on polenta cakes with roasted carrots and parsnips, and Sweet Temptations dessert trio). The show that night was "Villains Tonight", we all went to the show, but once again it was a little too scary for Gavin's taste and I headed back to the room with Gavin and Wyatt. After the show Fred came back to the room, so I could take Jacob and Gavin to the top deck and watch the fireworks which were shot off from the boat. The firework show was followed by a short pirate show too.
Saturday morning we ported at Disney's island, Castaway Cay. We unloaded from the ship and headed over to the beach. Fred and Jacob did a little snorkeling with Joe and Maddie. Alyssa and I took Isaac and Gavin over to the water slides. The slides were a little much for Gavin who came down sideways and did not enjoy the 2-3 foot drop into the chilly ocean at the end. After more beach time and a BBQ lunch, the Middendorfs headed back to the boat with Grandma. Fred and Jacob took a couple rides on the Aqua Duck (the big see through slide on top of the boat). Jacob wasn't impressed with the first ride, but claimed the second one was awesome. That slide was either not running or the lines were long the entire trip, but since we left the beach early they had a chance to ride without wait.
The boys were wore out by the point in the vacation and were asleep when I left for our final supper on the ship. It was our "formal" meal at the Royal Palace (spinach souffle, cauliflower soup and green salad with goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette, Wild Boar Tenderloin on an onion and carrot potato cake, Sweet Temptations trio of desserts). These meals were fun for the adults, especially my mom, but I don't think the boys cared if they missed it. After they woke up we took them to the Tow-Mater's Grill and watched the movie playing on the big screen above the pool deck. Jacob and Gavin went to the Oceaneers club for a little while that night too while we packed up our bags and got ready to deboard in the morning. At some point during the day Patches (Gavin's beloved stuffed puppy) went missing. I think he got caught up in the laundry and got taken away, because we hadn't taken him anywhere - we are smarter than that (or we try to be). Our attempts to turn the cabin inside out and make our cabin host (housekeeping) comb through laundry for it were futile.
Easter morning we attended church service on the open air deck. It was fine, but didn't really feel like Easter. It was pretty being outside, but when the Disney "Happy Easter" came on the big screen (replacing the serene nature scenes that had been showing) it kind of ruined the ambiance. We had to be off the boat by 8 AM to catch a bus to the airport and get on our 12:45 flight. We were at the airport plenty early and had to hang out for over an hour waiting for the Sun Country gate to open. The flight home was good and Wyatt was pretty quiet/easy. The descent was a little bumpy and Maddie's stomach didn't handle that well, while Jacob and Isaac were hooting and giggling about the "ride".
We got home and the boys eventually went downstairs to find their Easter eggs - or the bunny poop as Gavin called them (he's seen "Hop" and the bunny poops jelly beans and so Gavin just called all eggs "bunny poop" - what did the Easter bunny bring you? "Bunny poop". Nice.) It took about a week for Fred's head to quit sloshing around, but the rest of us recovered much better from the trip. Although, Wyatt is still messed up with his sleep - sleeping in a room full of people, he got attended too and fed in the night more than usual and he's going to take some retraining that I haven't quite readied myself for yet.
It was a great trip. Not relaxing, but mostly fun. The family got along really well, everyone was very understanding and accommodating of everyone. I wouldn't recommend Disney parks to families with kids as young as ours, but it was great to be able to do the trip with the whole family and it'll be great to look back and Alyssa's pictures and remember it:)
Walking on Air
5 years ago
