After taking my band to perform at the FL State High School Football Championship Game in Orlando on Friday Dec. 19th, I got in the car with my family on the morning of Dec. 20th to head to WDW for our family vacation.
Needless to say, after spending about 8 hours on the road the day before, I was not excited about being in the car for another 4, but the excitement displayed by my 4-year-old made *most* of those feelings melt away. We were going to Disney World! We were going to meet the Power Rangers and see fireworks!
Day 1---
We arrived at our resort (Pop Century) around 1:00pm and checked in. While my hubby did the check-in, my son & I played with hula hoops. We went to our room, but it was not what I requested. I requested a king and they definitely gave us a double. We could not do a double with 2 kids sleeping in the bed with us. I knew I should have done the check-in, but oh well. I called the front desk and they promptly switched us to a king and sent a bellhop to help move our luggage. The new room was much better and had plenty of room to set up our pack-n-play. It also had a pool view and was much closer to the lobby area, which is a good thing when you consider late night Icee runs are a necessity at Pop.
After getting all of our stuff (and with 2 kids and unpredictable weather we brought a lot of stuff) the boys changed into their swim suits and headed to the pool. Who can resist swimming in December? After about 20 minutes I headed down with my 6-month-old daughter in the stroller and we watched and took pictures of the boys swimming in the pool. My son soon tired of going back and forth in the flower pool, so we headed to the Goofy fountain thing. He loved trying to sit on the water. After lots of fun in the water, we headed back to the room to change for dinner.
Just as we got to the bus area we noticed a DTD bus was already there. Awesome! No waiting! We headed to DTD to meet up with my best friend from college and her new fiance. We met them at the new T-Rex restaurant. I tried to make a reservation when I was making our other dining plans, but they are not starting reservations until January. We waited in line to be seated, but surprisingly didn't have to wait very long. The place is huge and has awesome theming. Our waiter was a bit too talkative for my taste, but I think it was because I mainly wanted to catch up with my BFF. I ordered the mushroom ravioli in lobster sauce. It was FANTASTIC. My son had the dino chicken nuggets with fries. He loved it and had way too much food (the kids servings are huge). Hubby ordered a burger that he also really enjoyed.
After dinner we headed to shop. Legoland, Once Upon A Toy, and the Christmas store were our only stops. The boys also rode the $2 carousel.
Day 2---Studios!
Of course my kids woke up super early, so we got dressed and headed to the bus. Again...NO WAIT. Awesome!
First thing we did was grab a times guide. My son was ready to meet the Power Rangers. We saw that they were making their first appearance at 9:30am, so we changed my son into his Red Ranger costume and waited. The Rangers location was no longer near LMA due to the (in my opinion very stupid) High School Musical show that is at the same time. They instead came our near the giant Coke bottle. We took pictures and got autographs from all 5 Rangers. Next we decided to do Star Tours. The boys rode while the girls shopped and took pictures for my photo blog. After the ride we got a family picture taken as Anakin, Amidala, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker. A little pricy, but well worth the money. The picture is hilarious!
We rode the new Toy Story Mania ride which was SO awesome, the boys rode it again later. We ate lunch at the Prime Time Cafe. I ordered meat loaf and it was delicious, but the serving size was very small. I though they normally gave you 2 slices of meat loaf. My hubby had the fried chicken and his serving size was over abundant. They brought him 4 pieces of chicken. I also had a peanut butter & jelly shake---SO good! We went to see LMA, which my son of course loved! The boys went to the Playhouse Disney show and had a blast dancing around. We stood in a short line to meet Sorcerer Mickey and got a really cool Power Ranger watch in the animation gift shop. After dinner at the ABC Commissary, we met up with some other friends later and together took turns riding the Rock n Roller Coaster on baby swap and walked around looking at the Osborne Lights. My son really loved them. The kids fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the resort.
Day 3---Animal Kingdom!
First thing we did was Everest. My 4-year-old begged to ride it and met the height requirement, so we let him ride. I got to ride with him and it was pretty fun. Once the ride started going backwards though he really got scared. He didn't cry or get sick. He said it was really fun, but he didn't want to ride it again. (At the end of our trip, he said this and Pirates were his favorite rides.) Next we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. Saw lots of animals and had tons of fun. We walked the Pagnani Trail next and saw even more animals. My son particularly like seeing the hippo booty
My daughter slept through the entire walk. After this we decided to go back to the resort for lunch and a nap. Big mistake. Kiddos took forever to fall asleep, so by the time we got back to AK, the regular crowds were leaving and it was time for EMH. We rushed over to Nemo (45 minutes early) and were told the show was already full. At this point we knew we had missed the last Lion King show as well. 2 things we really wanted to do. Next time I guess we'll be smarter. So we went to Dinoland for a ride on Tric. Spin and discovered that my son isn't quite tall enough for the Primeval Whirl. What's up with that? He can ride Everest, but not this lame ride? Whatever. We ate dinner at the Flametree (well actually we took our food over to Pizzafari b/c it was freezing!) and headed over to Camp for characters. On the way to dinner we did meet Tigger, Pooh, & Eeyore. At Camp we found Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, & Donald. Earlier in the day we found Lilo & Stitch. This was a big day for characters. On a sad note, we lost our camera case. It was a limited edition Vera Bradley that I've had for a couple of years. They didn't have it up front, but we will call lost & found.
Day 4---Magic Kingdom!
We got up really early today. Again, there was not a wait for the bus! So lucky! First thing we did was get mouse ears for both kids and take pictures in front of the Castle. Next we headed to Tomorrowland for the speedway. My son got to drive and my hubby got very jostled! We stood near Toontown and took pictures. Next stop, Fantasyland. We hit Peter Pan, Dumbo, & the Carousel before heading to breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We saw Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, & Piglet and left with very full bellies. This was a busy day, but we didn't get to do everything we wanted. This is the first time we've been to Disney with 2 kids, but now we know to schedule 2 days at MK!!! Here's what else we did that day:
Haircut (son) at the barber shop, Santa Claus, Steam Train around the park, Big Thunder Mountain (too scary & bumpy for my son), Magic Carpets, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, and characters (Princesses Aurora, Cinderella, & Belle). We also got Dole Whips (duh!) and popcorn for afternoon snacks. We ate dinner at Cosmic Rays and met up with friends to ride Space Mountain. We stayed for fireworks which my 6-month-old daughter managed to sleep through and headed back to the hotel. Both kids were asleep before we even got out of the MK gate.
Day 5---Shopping & Home
This was Christmas Eve, so we had to travel home. Our goal was to make it home by 3 so we could change and be at church by 5pm. We made it home at 4 and rushed around, but still made it to church on time.
Before we left Orlando we made a stop at the Premium Outlets. This is the BEST place to buy WDW stuff. The have huge discounts at the Disney Character Premier Shop. Of course we bought tons of stuff at the parks, but this always tops us off. T-shirts at the park & resorts were 40% off throughout our trip, so we bought a bunch, but they were also 40% here (on top of already being 50%) so we got more! We also got stuff at the Coach store...that is my weakness.
We got home in time for Christmas and had a blast on our trip.
Thanks for reading!
Needless to say, after spending about 8 hours on the road the day before, I was not excited about being in the car for another 4, but the excitement displayed by my 4-year-old made *most* of those feelings melt away. We were going to Disney World! We were going to meet the Power Rangers and see fireworks!
Day 1---
We arrived at our resort (Pop Century) around 1:00pm and checked in. While my hubby did the check-in, my son & I played with hula hoops. We went to our room, but it was not what I requested. I requested a king and they definitely gave us a double. We could not do a double with 2 kids sleeping in the bed with us. I knew I should have done the check-in, but oh well. I called the front desk and they promptly switched us to a king and sent a bellhop to help move our luggage. The new room was much better and had plenty of room to set up our pack-n-play. It also had a pool view and was much closer to the lobby area, which is a good thing when you consider late night Icee runs are a necessity at Pop.
After getting all of our stuff (and with 2 kids and unpredictable weather we brought a lot of stuff) the boys changed into their swim suits and headed to the pool. Who can resist swimming in December? After about 20 minutes I headed down with my 6-month-old daughter in the stroller and we watched and took pictures of the boys swimming in the pool. My son soon tired of going back and forth in the flower pool, so we headed to the Goofy fountain thing. He loved trying to sit on the water. After lots of fun in the water, we headed back to the room to change for dinner.
Just as we got to the bus area we noticed a DTD bus was already there. Awesome! No waiting! We headed to DTD to meet up with my best friend from college and her new fiance. We met them at the new T-Rex restaurant. I tried to make a reservation when I was making our other dining plans, but they are not starting reservations until January. We waited in line to be seated, but surprisingly didn't have to wait very long. The place is huge and has awesome theming. Our waiter was a bit too talkative for my taste, but I think it was because I mainly wanted to catch up with my BFF. I ordered the mushroom ravioli in lobster sauce. It was FANTASTIC. My son had the dino chicken nuggets with fries. He loved it and had way too much food (the kids servings are huge). Hubby ordered a burger that he also really enjoyed.
After dinner we headed to shop. Legoland, Once Upon A Toy, and the Christmas store were our only stops. The boys also rode the $2 carousel.
Day 2---Studios!
Of course my kids woke up super early, so we got dressed and headed to the bus. Again...NO WAIT. Awesome!
First thing we did was grab a times guide. My son was ready to meet the Power Rangers. We saw that they were making their first appearance at 9:30am, so we changed my son into his Red Ranger costume and waited. The Rangers location was no longer near LMA due to the (in my opinion very stupid) High School Musical show that is at the same time. They instead came our near the giant Coke bottle. We took pictures and got autographs from all 5 Rangers. Next we decided to do Star Tours. The boys rode while the girls shopped and took pictures for my photo blog. After the ride we got a family picture taken as Anakin, Amidala, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker. A little pricy, but well worth the money. The picture is hilarious!
We rode the new Toy Story Mania ride which was SO awesome, the boys rode it again later. We ate lunch at the Prime Time Cafe. I ordered meat loaf and it was delicious, but the serving size was very small. I though they normally gave you 2 slices of meat loaf. My hubby had the fried chicken and his serving size was over abundant. They brought him 4 pieces of chicken. I also had a peanut butter & jelly shake---SO good! We went to see LMA, which my son of course loved! The boys went to the Playhouse Disney show and had a blast dancing around. We stood in a short line to meet Sorcerer Mickey and got a really cool Power Ranger watch in the animation gift shop. After dinner at the ABC Commissary, we met up with some other friends later and together took turns riding the Rock n Roller Coaster on baby swap and walked around looking at the Osborne Lights. My son really loved them. The kids fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the resort.
Day 3---Animal Kingdom!
First thing we did was Everest. My 4-year-old begged to ride it and met the height requirement, so we let him ride. I got to ride with him and it was pretty fun. Once the ride started going backwards though he really got scared. He didn't cry or get sick. He said it was really fun, but he didn't want to ride it again. (At the end of our trip, he said this and Pirates were his favorite rides.) Next we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. Saw lots of animals and had tons of fun. We walked the Pagnani Trail next and saw even more animals. My son particularly like seeing the hippo booty
My daughter slept through the entire walk. After this we decided to go back to the resort for lunch and a nap. Big mistake. Kiddos took forever to fall asleep, so by the time we got back to AK, the regular crowds were leaving and it was time for EMH. We rushed over to Nemo (45 minutes early) and were told the show was already full. At this point we knew we had missed the last Lion King show as well. 2 things we really wanted to do. Next time I guess we'll be smarter. So we went to Dinoland for a ride on Tric. Spin and discovered that my son isn't quite tall enough for the Primeval Whirl. What's up with that? He can ride Everest, but not this lame ride? Whatever. We ate dinner at the Flametree (well actually we took our food over to Pizzafari b/c it was freezing!) and headed over to Camp for characters. On the way to dinner we did meet Tigger, Pooh, & Eeyore. At Camp we found Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, & Donald. Earlier in the day we found Lilo & Stitch. This was a big day for characters. On a sad note, we lost our camera case. It was a limited edition Vera Bradley that I've had for a couple of years. They didn't have it up front, but we will call lost & found. Day 4---Magic Kingdom!
We got up really early today. Again, there was not a wait for the bus! So lucky! First thing we did was get mouse ears for both kids and take pictures in front of the Castle. Next we headed to Tomorrowland for the speedway. My son got to drive and my hubby got very jostled! We stood near Toontown and took pictures. Next stop, Fantasyland. We hit Peter Pan, Dumbo, & the Carousel before heading to breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We saw Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, & Piglet and left with very full bellies. This was a busy day, but we didn't get to do everything we wanted. This is the first time we've been to Disney with 2 kids, but now we know to schedule 2 days at MK!!! Here's what else we did that day:
Haircut (son) at the barber shop, Santa Claus, Steam Train around the park, Big Thunder Mountain (too scary & bumpy for my son), Magic Carpets, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, and characters (Princesses Aurora, Cinderella, & Belle). We also got Dole Whips (duh!) and popcorn for afternoon snacks. We ate dinner at Cosmic Rays and met up with friends to ride Space Mountain. We stayed for fireworks which my 6-month-old daughter managed to sleep through and headed back to the hotel. Both kids were asleep before we even got out of the MK gate.
Day 5---Shopping & Home
This was Christmas Eve, so we had to travel home. Our goal was to make it home by 3 so we could change and be at church by 5pm. We made it home at 4 and rushed around, but still made it to church on time.
Before we left Orlando we made a stop at the Premium Outlets. This is the BEST place to buy WDW stuff. The have huge discounts at the Disney Character Premier Shop. Of course we bought tons of stuff at the parks, but this always tops us off. T-shirts at the park & resorts were 40% off throughout our trip, so we bought a bunch, but they were also 40% here (on top of already being 50%) so we got more! We also got stuff at the Coach store...that is my weakness.
We got home in time for Christmas and had a blast on our trip.
Thanks for reading!
