They boys are STILL talking about it 2 weeks later, so I'm taking that as a good sign that it was a successful vacation!
We were avid park-goers while we were there. We arrived on Tuesday, and it was kind of cool & VERY windy. So cool & windy in fact, we didn't bring enough warm clothes! We braved it thinking the wind would die down. We got to Animal Kingdom & eyed up the $35 sweatshirts, but decided to pass. We're tough, right? Right! After the first day being chilly, the next day was cool, but after that, we were in shorts!! Yippee!!
Brandon got to ride the much-anticipated "Dinosaur" ride at Animal Kingdom. He was like a little sponge all throughout the trip. He could tell you every detail about everything... if you've got several hours to listen. (He's very precise when describing things!)
Ryan held true to his promise of riding roller coasters... and that made mommy VERY happy! She finally had someone to ride with! We rode on every rollercoaster in every park, with the exception to the Aerosmith's Rock'n Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios. That one goes upside down at some point, and Ryan wasn't sure he was ready for that. We set that for our goal next trip! Ryan also was brave & went on the "Tower of Terror" ride at Hollywood Studios. He's decided that while yes, it was a grown-up ride, he'd like to be a little more grown-up the next time he rides it! ;) I told him that was fine. I was so proud of him for trying new things!!
We thoroughly enjoyed each & every park, and got to do just about everything we set out to do. We had painstakingly planned each day, and well, that sort of went out the window once we were there. I mean, we ended up using our plans, but weren't so rigid... and that was just fine!
Disney was having records set on the amounts of people in the parks. There were so many people there that they were actually closing parks because they were at maximum capacity! We remembered to bring our patience with us... oh, and our iPods too! The iPods were our best decision ever. We had lots of longing looks from other kids; as well as other parents. We had several parents comment that they were going to do the same thing the next day! I had downloaded not only music, but also videos for them to watch. This really helped pass the time while we were waiting in some pretty long lines.
After a friend had given us a tip of staying at the parks until pretty late at night, we were able to ride on so many more rides, and multiple times. Disney allows their hotel guests to stay 3 hours past park closing on certain nights. We took full advantage of this at the Magic Kingdom several nights we were there. I know it sounds crazy, but we were at the park until almost 2 a.m.! However, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted, and if there was a wait, it was only like 5-10 minutes! Can't beat that!
We opted to take a day off from the parks & just hang by the pool one day. That was our best decision. Not only were our "dogs barking", but we all just needed the down-time and relaxation. We decided to skip out on Sea World this trip, but maybe next time we go we'll catch it. On this day, we decided that we'd like to hear about the Disney Timeshare opportunity. We have a few friends that have done this & thought we'd check into it, seeing as how the kids were having so much fun & were already planning their next trip! While it sounds wonderful, and IS wonderful, we decided it just wasn't for us right now. However, for listening to the opportunity, they rewarded our children with FAST PASSES. 24 of them, to be exact! And these weren't any ordinary Fast Passes. These were INSTANT Fast Passes!! WOW!!! We were so grateful that we had chosen to listen. And again folks, the Disney Vacation Club IS a really wonderful thing!
Our last day at Disney, we hit all 4 parks in one day. Yes, 4 parks in one day. F-O-U-R parks in O-N-E day. The more I say it, I still can't believe it. It makes me tired to remember it! I have to say though, everyone was a trooper. With the 24 Fast Passes, we made a plan. We chose our most favorite rides we wanted to do again; those we hadn't done; and those we just couldn't live without riding again! We were on a mission.
Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur & Expedition Everest
Epcot: Soarin' & Test Track
Hollywood Studios: Tower of Terror & Toy Story Mania
Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin & Space Mountain.
Now, we didn't ALL ride all of these rides, but just about! We split up... it was usually Brandon & Mike; and Ryan & I together.
After hitting all 4 parks, we left the next morning. We were all so tired. The plane ride home was pretty quiet. The car ride home was very quiet. Getting ready for bed - meltdown city. The fatigue had finally caught up with everyone. Mike & I were walking zombies. The boys were crying hysterically. At the same time. Apparently, they thought we were going to take up residence at Disney. Hmmmm. We heard how awful we were that they had to come home. How much they hated school. How they missed Disney. Brandon coined a new phrase that night. He said he was "Park Sick". I asked him what that meant. He said, "Y'know, it's like I'm homesick, only I'm Parksick". So there you have it. My boys are parksick. Parksick & so incredibly tired that Mike & I haven't had to console both kids at once since they were babies!! It was worth it though. They played hard, and were such troopers.
The entire vacation was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! Like I said, we're all still talking about it... so that must be a good sign, right? I think the boys would go back tomorrow if given the chance.
P.S. I'm having some technical difficulties with uploading my pictures, so I guess they'll come later!
Love,
Jenni
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