Disney Recommendation

In the last five years or so, we've have taken our fair share of Disney vacations. I mean, Hank and I consider ourselves more knowledgeable than most people about it. We've been in the summer, we've been in the fall, and we've been in the winter. We've been with one kid and we've been with all our kids. We've gone in the rain, we've gone in the sun. We've been for a marathon... we've eaten at character meals, food courts and really overpriced restaurants. We've stayed on the Disney grounds nearly every time and have figured out which way we prefer to get to the parks. We've ridden trains, monorails, buses, shuttles, and trams! We've waited in lines for tens of hours and we've spent more money on souvenirs than I'd care to admit... but we always have fun! Our kids believe in the magical and extraordinary and what better place to feed their imaginations than Disney?

Disney- The Finale!

So, I know you are all just DYING to know how we ended our Disney vacation! We got up on Monday morning and loaded our bags in the van. Then we went and had a family sit-down breakfast, consisting of Mickey shaped waffles and things of that nature...

Then we asked the boys which rides that just HAD to ride again. Bryant wanted to ride Soarin' again, and Tres wanted to ride Test Track. Thankfully they were both at the same park, so we headed back to Epcot.

This was by far my favorite day of the trip! It was very laid back and fun... full of memories and laughs. Hank went and fast passed Soarin' with Sophie, while the boys and I got in line for Test Track. Hank doesn't do too many fast rides or roller coasters... thankfully Mommy likes them! Hank had the camera, so he and Sophie found her latest obsession, Minnie! I don't have any pictures to share from Test Track, but it was fun. This was another first time ride for Bryant and he absolutely loved it!! He laughed and smiled the whole time. When we got done, we went into the gift shop (where almost every ride empties you out to), and they had a kid craft section set up for the kids. Well, both of the boys decided that they wanted to do that. That was fine with us! The lady at the table told us that they could go to any of the countries in Epcot and there would be a Kidcot section where they could make masks, decorate them, add things to them, etc. And they were all about that!We made a stop in Mexico so that the boys could add to their masks and the boys found some pretty cool hats! These are MY three cabenaros!While we were on our 'worldwide' tour, Sophie passed out... I mean jet setting makes me tired too! So I chilled out in Germany for a little while. I actually think that Germany is one of my favorite countries in Epcot. They have a quaint little cobblestone courtyard with a fountain. They have a toy store set up, a Christmas store, a sweets store, and more. I always check out the sweets store, and bought some fudge and ate it while I waited for the boys.

We also visited Norway, where I found the most divine perfume!!I loved the way it smelled on me! I almost asked if they would take ECB's for it, but decided I might need those later. Wink!

Then we headed through China and Japan (where I snapped a cool picture on my phone of their Koi pond), into Italy and France. Then we headed over the bridge into England, where Tres ate his lunch of fish 'n chips, and we end our tour by strolling through Canada. By then we were close to Soarin' and our fast pass time, so the boys went and rode while me and Soph (still sleeping) chilled outside.

When the boys got done, we went back to the Magic Kingdom one more time. We took the Monorail over and the boys got to ride up front with the driver! They thought it was super cool, and even got a co-pilots license.At Magic Kingdom, I got Tres to try his new ride for the trip. I had to do some special coercion to get him on it, but that's a story for another blog! Plus the video is on our video camera. At any rate, he rode Splash Mountain with me and liked all of it with the exception of the final drop. Then we road the carousel and played in a couple of more areas before hitting the road back to my in-laws house!

Disney- Day 3

My in-laws came down to Disney with us, but we pretty much did our own thing and they did too! We enjoyed a meal at the Sci-Fi theatre Drive-In in Hollywood Studios the day before with them, but I think they were enjoying their own time! We saw them in the mornings and at night though, cause the boys and Hank went and stayed in their camper with them at Fort Wilderness!

On the third day of our trip, we started out first thing at Epcot. Bryant wanted to try a new ride, Soarin'...

We encourage the boys to try a new ride every time we go, and Bryant had talked himself into not being scared of this one. Turns out, he was right! He loved it! He ended up riding it about three or more times before we left. Here we are waiting in line... Momma and her boys! Awwww!And I just couldn't resist snapping a pic of my boys taking care of each other. They didn't like not being able to find one another, so they just held on!
After that, we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom. Hank wanted to make sure that Sophie got to ride a lot of her kind of rides. So we started out with the Winnie the Pooh ride...She was slightly transfixed!

Then we let them play in the Winnie the Pooh playground. Sophie loved the freedom of not being held or strapped in a stroller! And her brothers loved playing with her too.We headed over to ToonTown again for another ride on the Barnstormer and to Mickey and Minnie's House, and decided to take a little ride on the train. It takes you around the perimeter of the park and is a nice break from walking and the sun!It was such a nice break, that Sophie decided to catch a little shut-eye!So then it was the boys heading to the rides and I chauffered... I mean strolled... around a while.Tres took pride in being able to ride anything by himself! He's getting to be such a big boy. It makes me happy and sad.

Tres and Bryant fought almost every time about who would ride what ride with Daddy. They took turns, but heaven help if they forgot, or someone got a back-to-back turn!
Bryant takes Dumbo for a spin.And of course, we had to take multiple trips on the Blue Line! And what would any vacation be without junk food and candy, right?

After a full day in the parks, we went back to the room where I bathed both boys, and then they headed back out to Hollywood Studios with their dad. Soph and I were too pooped and called it a night! The boys stayed out pretty darn late again, and then went and crashed!

Disney- Day 2

We got up early the next day and headed over to Hollywood Studio's. We didn't think we would spend almost the whole day there... but that's exactly what ended up happening!

We went and rode the newest ride, Toy Story Mania.
Sophie slept through Toy Story Mania, but had fun with some of the 3D glasses when she woke up!
We also went and caught a showing of the Playhouse Disney Show that features Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins and Handy Mannie! It was great!All my kids loved it! But Ava Sophia was transfixed!She wanted to get up and walk up on the stage. We had to get creative to keep her close to us without getting her diva attitude on!

We also hit the Star Tours ride, and Bryant wanted to see the Movie Car Stunt Show, but Tres didn't. So I took Soph and Tres over to a the nearby Bug's Life playground while Dad took Bry to see the cars.Tres is such a helper with his sister. So is Bryant for that matter... but Tres seems to take pride in helping her learn and try new things. Just like this slide! It was small, but a big accomplishment to our little sweet pea!We met a lot of our favorite characters at Hollywood Studios, too!Bryant actually waited in line for Buzz and Woody but at the last minute decided not to get a picture with them. And Sophie wasn't exactly thrilled to meet life sized Disney characters.Even Bryant liked Lightning McQueen, though!

We ended up our day over at Epcot. We did a few of the easier rides with minimal lines, like Nemo and the Three Cabineros. We also did Turtle Talk with Crush. But the lines for everything else were so long, we decided to go to Downtown Disney and let the boys play at the Lego Store.
They always love this store!! The last couple of times we've gone to Disney, we'vr told them that they are allowed to get one nice souvenir at the end of the trip from Downtown Disney (where you can find everything that would be in the parks). This helps us keep down spending in the parks and keeps them from asking for stuff! When we finally left there, it was after 10 and we were all pooped!

Disney- Day 1

We left Grammy and Pop Pop's house before the sun came up and made it to Disney around 10 am... after a breakfast and gas stop. It was kind of rainy weather, but not enough to stop us from having fun!Right away, we see that all the princesses are holding court in front of the castle and giving autographs! Since Sophie is much more animated and visually stimulated this trip, we knew she needed to meet another princess!Then we begin hitting some of the kids' favorite rides!Bry and I rode the Barnstormer in ToonTown. It's the shortest ride I've ever been on, but a great intro to roller coasters for kids and Bry just loves it!We watched a parade, and while it looks like Sophie didn't like it... she really did! She was enthralled the whole time! I can't say the same about Bryant. He watched from the safety of the stroller, and only came out to wave to Donald... from a distance. He was better about the characters this time, but still not brave enough to get pics and autographs!

Nevertheless, we all had a long and fun day! The boys took a spin the teacups...... and a ride on the Juggle Cruise... Then we introduced Sophie to the Buzz Lightyear Spin. We closed the park down, then went and checked into our room.

Mickey Can You Hear Us?

We will be in Disney tomorrow!

After we deposited both kids at school and Hank was at work, I spent the day literally running around our house packing, folding, checking things off our list for our trip. Then I got it all loaded in the van just in time to pick up Bry. Then I took care of finances and things.

We decided when we started planning this trip to make it a surprise for the kids.... and they are so excited and thrilled! We told them both when we picked up Tres from school.

So we'll be in the most magical place on Earth and not available to blog.

Car Riding Activities

Hank and I are about to head off with the family on what looks like might be our last trip to Disney this year. I know, you're all shocked. Here's my dilema. I usually ride in the back with the kids so I can change out DVD's, feed Miss Priss, and stretch out a little. Last time, I took bows to make.... I can do that again, but I' not sure I want to. I could take my coupon book and catch up on clipping... and I seriously need to, but who wants to do something you NEED to do on a vacation. So I thought about getting a couple of downloadable audio books in our MP-3 player. I really love reading, but usually don't have time for it. If it just involves my hearing I could still be hands free to help. THe more I think about it, the more I like the idea!

What I Did At Disney

I went to Disney for Star Wars Weekend and my Aunt Jackie had this Mickey delivered to my cabin for me, he is so cool, and so is Aunt Jackie

My cousin Donovan went with me and Daddy, We are a couple of wild animals!!!!!!

We decided that that the Emperial Officers weren't doing such a good job, so we decided to take over a Star Destroyer and go to Tattoine (Star Wars Stuff)


Then Daddy took Me, Fletcher, and Donovan to ride Toy Story Mania, It was a lot of fun.

Donovan and I love to get in any water we find, here we dipped our feet and hats into the Muppet's fountain, then put the hats on our heads, it was really cool!


We stayed in a cabin at Fort Wilderness, the only way to get to the Magic Kingdom was by boat, I got the Captain of one boat to sing the Indiana Jones theme song over the loud speaker on the boat for me, that was really fun.


Daddy says he will put up more pictures later and maybe some video.