Disney

We took a four day vacation to Disney World this October. Very FUN! Disney was decorated in Halloween decor. The first day we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom. We were thinking since we were there in Disney's off season, we would have less crowds, (kind of true.) There were no lines for the Flying Carpets with Aladdin or the Pirates of the Caribbean, however, the lines for Its a Small World and Peter Pan were at least 40 minutes! (so we didn't get to do them on that first day.) My favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- a roller coaster for the whole family to ride. It was very fast, had cool Western scenery, had a couple of stomach dips, lasted at least 2 minutes long, and everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the ride.
We were able to see one of the parades and actually be in it. Bella wanted to dance in the street with the characters. We formed a long Congo line and danced around the float. We are about the forth or fifth people behind the man on stilts.
Victoria conquered her fear of meeting new characters by the end of the first day.

We went to Hollywood Studios later on that first day and played on the playground equipment of Honey I Shrunk the Kids- here's the kids jumping on the spiderweb.

We also went on the Star Wars ride and had dinner at the Brown Derby- it was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it for next time. I think we might have pushed it too hard on that first day- Bella was cranky toward the end and Victoria fell asleep at the dinner table.

That night we went to go see the Fantasmic, a firework and laser show about all the different Disney movies- pretty neat. Bella really enjoyed her Mickey Mouse Ice Cream.

The next day we went to Epcot- Jer's favorite theme park. The girl's really liked the Spaceship Earth ride (the one inside the giant silver ball- that transports you from the beginning of time to modern day) and the ride Soarin' (a ride that makes you feel like a bird flying past Redwood Trees that really smell.)

We also went to a character lunch at Epcot in the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall where we met all the princesses. The girls brought their dresses to wear.

Cinderella asked Victoria if she had a Prince Charming in her life. Her expression was priceless and we all cracked up.

In the afternoon, we went back to our hotel Saragotga and went swimming at one of their pools. It had a giant water slide that the girls were thrilled about. The water was freezing but the girls didn't mind.

My Little Mermaid in the hot tub.

On our walk home from the pool, Victoria started to have a major meltdown after seeing all the tiny lizards running across the Florida sidewalks. I didn't have the heart to tell here she had a giant lady bug in her hair.

That night we went back to Epcot and found a good seat to watch the firework show Illuminations.

About half an hour before the show was about to start it started to rain. I had brought ponchos for me and the kids to wear. Jer told me that he didn't want his poncho and that he knew it wouldn't rain, well... thankfully beer doesn't make you feel as cold.

It was a spectacular firework show- one I definitely recommend seeing.

The next day was awful. It rained the entire day. We were cold and wet the entire time. The lines at Magic Kingdom were insane still (crazy?) and the kids cried nonstop. We were not happy- this is the only picture I got with my camera because I didn't want to risk it getting wet. The one good thing that was I guess the highlight of the day was the German food, beer, and chicken dancing at Sommerfest.

On our last day we went to the Animal Kingdom. Jer is posing in front of the giant Tree of Life that has all the animals carved into it.

The rain finally stopped and the sun broke through the clouds just in time for our Kilimanjaro Safaris. ALL the animals came out! Here Victoria and Bella were amazed to see the ginormous hippos in the water. All the animals were 10 feet from our bus. We even got stopped for a couple of minutes when a giraffe refused to move from in front of our bus.

Later we went to Dinoland and rode the Dinosaur ride, a fast paced Time Rover that has you bouncing from dinosaur to frightful dinosaur in the dark. We also went to their playground called the Boneyard. We made dinosaurs roar to life by stepping on their foot prints and slid down the back of a dinosaur.

We had a magical time! (So corny, but true.) All in all, it was a wonderful trip, but we were a bit exhausted when we got home- I guess the mark of a good vacation.