I copied this from an e-mail I sent to our family & friends in case you are wondering why I was explaining some things that we all know on here!
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Were home from our fabulous Disney vacation and boy are we EXHAUSTED! LOL We got home Thursday and our parents stopped by yesterday (and I spent quite a while getting our pics uploaded) so I havent really had a chance to get online until now. I have most of our pics uploaded online so I can share the links with you. Im warning you, there are A LOT!!! We took about 875 from our camera and those can be found on Clark at http://disneytrip.Clarkcolor.com/clark. Here's the link to our Photopass pics, which will be available until 12/1 to see. We traveled with friends so youll see their pics as well as ours. Im warning you, we had over 200 just from ours, and their pics are on there now as well!! Once I'm done typing up the Trip Report for our cruise part of the trip, I'll post a few of my fav pics.
We had so much fun, it was amazing! The 5 days in the parks were fantastic, but tiring. Jackie never napped once and Seth napped in the stroller, but not for anywhere near as long as he needed. We really only encountered rain once in the parks (the second time it rained we were already back at the hotel) and even though we didnt get to do half of what we wanted, our days were quite full and busy! The kids are still talking about it all!!
We landed a bit early on Tuesday and got to our hotel in time for check in. We LOVED the hotel (Animal Kingdom Lodge) and it was exciting seeing so many animals right outside our verandah (youll see those in the pics!). After we changed (it was HOT), we went straight to Down Town Disney (DTD) for some light shopping and to meet our friends and have dinner. The kids were excited just to be there and we kept thinking, Wait until they get to the parks!! We saw our friends and had dinner at the Rainforest Café. The kids were pooped when we got back to the room after a day of traveling (we left the house at 6:30 am!!) and walking around DTD.
Wednesday we got up bright an early to head over to the Magic Kingdom (MK). They had something called Magical Beginnings which was for families with toddlers and preschoolers only. Jackie got to open the park by throwing Pixie Dust in the air and still talks about that! They opened the park an hour early (just Fantasy Land) so the kids could go and ride the rides and actually interact with the characters. Usually (for those of who youve never been before) the characters just stand in one place and you wait in line to meet them. They sign your autograph book, you get your pics, and you leave. For this hour, they were riding the rides and having dances and other stuff with the kids. Our first ride was Dumbo and Stitch was there. Jackie was chosen out of all the kids to ride with him but she didnt want to. Seth wanted to but we didnt think he was old enough to go w/o one of us. Goofy (or Foofy as Seth calls him) was on the Carousel with us and Seth saw Peter Pan, Wendy & Captain Hook (and showed them all his Mickey shirt!) Jackie also danced with Mickey & Pluto! After that hour, we headed to ToonTown and got in line to meet 3 princesses. We got to spend a lot of time with each one and the kids had a ball chatting with them! I dont remember everything we did in the exact order, but we did pretty much all the rides we wanted to take the kids on (Jackie went on the Goofy Barnstormer roller coaster with Scott and LOVED it!) and they loved every single one! They still talk about the Snow White ride, Haunted Mansion and Pirate of the Caribbean. My doc had said I could go on anything the kids can so the only ride I skipped was the roller coaster.
Lunch was at Cosmic Rays and we were a bit upset. They were supposed to have had a meal prepared for Seth but hadnt heard of our coming. Poor Sethy had to wait to get his allergy free meal and we were all done eating by the time his came, but they did make him a yummy lunch so he was happy then! Seth fell asleep shortly after in his stroller and we waited on the curb for the parade. Of course it started raining then and he got soaked, but it didnt wake him up! LOL About 20 mins after parade time, they announced it was canceled because of the rain, but they had a rainy day parade, which the kids loved. Dinner that night was at Cinderellas Castle and the kids were THRILLED to meet Cinderella (again) and eat at the castle. The meal they had for Seth was fit for a king!! Jackie wore her Cinderella gown for this meal and looked like a true princess!
Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom (AK) bright and early for Donalds Breakfastasaurous. This is the character breakfast with Donald and his friends (Scott has us do this one every time we go to Disney! LOL). Once again, the kids loved seeing the characters and getting their pics taken (we have A LOT of character pics! LOL). We met Tigger and Pooh and friends on our way to the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was a lot of fun! The kids loved seeing the animals and were thrilled they were real! Our lunch that day was at Flame Tree BBQ and they had Seths lunch all ready for him, but he was sleeping in his stroller! Jackie enjoyed feeding the birds that came up to our table. Scott rode on Everest Expedition while the kids and I waited, and we got back to our hotel around 3ish that day. Dinner was at Jiko at our hotel and we needed time to rest and relax. Dinner was different but YUMMY (for Seth as well) and afterwards we went right back to our room for an early night.
Friday we went to MGM Studios. We got there when the park opened since our kids were waking up at 6/6:15 every day (Yes, EVERY day!) so there was no reason to get there later. We saw some characters first thing and then went to the Great Movie Ride. Our timing was PERFECT since we won Dream Fast Passes which was exciting!!! For those of you who dont know about the Year of a Million Dreams, its this thing Disney is doing where people randomly get different prizes from special Mickey Ears hats and Dream Fast Passes (you get to go on the rides with little to no wait) all the way up to $500 shopping sprees and a night staying at Cinderellas castle! A member of the Dream Team was there while we were on line for the ride and I got excited to see her as I usually do when I see them, but not too excited. There have been too many times when I saw one and they just walked past us! Anyway, she asks Jackie if shes excited for the Great Movie Ride and then she says this ride will be more special than most people who get to go on it! Now they arent supposed to tell you when they are told to give out prizes, but Scott & I knew wed be winning SOMETHING. The doors opened, and we walked in and there were several more Dream Team members handing out the Fast Passes and congratulating everyone! We were sooo excited, but I think Scott & I were the only ones on the ride who knew what it was! LOL
We had lunch at Hollywood & Vine at the Little Einsteins character lunch. This character meal the kids get to go up and dance and sing with the characters once in a while, which they loved. Seth got chocolate (soy) ice cream and DEVOURED it!! We also saw the Playhouse Disney show, the Beauty and the Beast show, and Voyage to The Little Mermaid. Jackies favorite seemed to be The Little Mermaid and the Muppets 3D. Seth liked everything! We also got fabulous seats for the parade, which the kids liked, but Jafar scared poor Seth! We bumped into some cruise pals at the Beauty and the Beast show and Jackie really got along well with their 3 year old daughter. Scott (& one of our friends) went on Tower of Terror and Rocking Roller Coaster while us gals stayed with the kids to see Beauty and the Beast and they got to use our Fast Passes. Dinner was at Pizza Planet, and lie Cosmic Rays, they didnt know we were coming (all this was planned in advance) so Seth didnt get to eat until we were about done.
Saturday we went to EPCOT for our last day in the parks. We had yet another character meal planned for that day, the Princess Breakfast. We took our time walking there and got to see our Leave a Legacy pic that we had done on our Disneymoon 5 years ago. The breakfast was so much fun and Seth got lipstick kisses from 3 of the 4 princesses! Hes now totally in love with Mary Poppins who was one of them! Jackie was VERY tired and my feet and back were hurting, so we decided to make this a fairly short day. We did get to walk towards France after we went on the Land Ride, Nemo and Soarin (Jackie missed the height requirement by ¼ inch). After we said goodbye to our friends and started walking out, we also went to Journey to the Imagination and the kids fell in love with Figment! We did have lunch with our friends at Sunshine Seasons and they had a great meal all ready for Seth as well. It started to rain as we walked into the gift shop so we finished our shopping for the land portion of the trip and then went back to our hotel afterwards.
It stared POURING after we got back inside so our timing was perfect! We missed our dinner reservations with our friends in Japan, but it was just getting to be too much for tired Jackie and my back and feet. Scott got dinner from the hotel counter service (we had leftovers from Seths lunch) and brought it back to our room where we put on Disney movies for the kids and everyone relaxed while Scott & I (ok mostly Scott) packed our bags.
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Were home from our fabulous Disney vacation and boy are we EXHAUSTED! LOL We got home Thursday and our parents stopped by yesterday (and I spent quite a while getting our pics uploaded) so I havent really had a chance to get online until now. I have most of our pics uploaded online so I can share the links with you. Im warning you, there are A LOT!!! We took about 875 from our camera and those can be found on Clark at http://disneytrip.Clarkcolor.com/clark. Here's the link to our Photopass pics, which will be available until 12/1 to see. We traveled with friends so youll see their pics as well as ours. Im warning you, we had over 200 just from ours, and their pics are on there now as well!! Once I'm done typing up the Trip Report for our cruise part of the trip, I'll post a few of my fav pics.
We had so much fun, it was amazing! The 5 days in the parks were fantastic, but tiring. Jackie never napped once and Seth napped in the stroller, but not for anywhere near as long as he needed. We really only encountered rain once in the parks (the second time it rained we were already back at the hotel) and even though we didnt get to do half of what we wanted, our days were quite full and busy! The kids are still talking about it all!!
We landed a bit early on Tuesday and got to our hotel in time for check in. We LOVED the hotel (Animal Kingdom Lodge) and it was exciting seeing so many animals right outside our verandah (youll see those in the pics!). After we changed (it was HOT), we went straight to Down Town Disney (DTD) for some light shopping and to meet our friends and have dinner. The kids were excited just to be there and we kept thinking, Wait until they get to the parks!! We saw our friends and had dinner at the Rainforest Café. The kids were pooped when we got back to the room after a day of traveling (we left the house at 6:30 am!!) and walking around DTD.
Wednesday we got up bright an early to head over to the Magic Kingdom (MK). They had something called Magical Beginnings which was for families with toddlers and preschoolers only. Jackie got to open the park by throwing Pixie Dust in the air and still talks about that! They opened the park an hour early (just Fantasy Land) so the kids could go and ride the rides and actually interact with the characters. Usually (for those of who youve never been before) the characters just stand in one place and you wait in line to meet them. They sign your autograph book, you get your pics, and you leave. For this hour, they were riding the rides and having dances and other stuff with the kids. Our first ride was Dumbo and Stitch was there. Jackie was chosen out of all the kids to ride with him but she didnt want to. Seth wanted to but we didnt think he was old enough to go w/o one of us. Goofy (or Foofy as Seth calls him) was on the Carousel with us and Seth saw Peter Pan, Wendy & Captain Hook (and showed them all his Mickey shirt!) Jackie also danced with Mickey & Pluto! After that hour, we headed to ToonTown and got in line to meet 3 princesses. We got to spend a lot of time with each one and the kids had a ball chatting with them! I dont remember everything we did in the exact order, but we did pretty much all the rides we wanted to take the kids on (Jackie went on the Goofy Barnstormer roller coaster with Scott and LOVED it!) and they loved every single one! They still talk about the Snow White ride, Haunted Mansion and Pirate of the Caribbean. My doc had said I could go on anything the kids can so the only ride I skipped was the roller coaster.
Lunch was at Cosmic Rays and we were a bit upset. They were supposed to have had a meal prepared for Seth but hadnt heard of our coming. Poor Sethy had to wait to get his allergy free meal and we were all done eating by the time his came, but they did make him a yummy lunch so he was happy then! Seth fell asleep shortly after in his stroller and we waited on the curb for the parade. Of course it started raining then and he got soaked, but it didnt wake him up! LOL About 20 mins after parade time, they announced it was canceled because of the rain, but they had a rainy day parade, which the kids loved. Dinner that night was at Cinderellas Castle and the kids were THRILLED to meet Cinderella (again) and eat at the castle. The meal they had for Seth was fit for a king!! Jackie wore her Cinderella gown for this meal and looked like a true princess!
Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom (AK) bright and early for Donalds Breakfastasaurous. This is the character breakfast with Donald and his friends (Scott has us do this one every time we go to Disney! LOL). Once again, the kids loved seeing the characters and getting their pics taken (we have A LOT of character pics! LOL). We met Tigger and Pooh and friends on our way to the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was a lot of fun! The kids loved seeing the animals and were thrilled they were real! Our lunch that day was at Flame Tree BBQ and they had Seths lunch all ready for him, but he was sleeping in his stroller! Jackie enjoyed feeding the birds that came up to our table. Scott rode on Everest Expedition while the kids and I waited, and we got back to our hotel around 3ish that day. Dinner was at Jiko at our hotel and we needed time to rest and relax. Dinner was different but YUMMY (for Seth as well) and afterwards we went right back to our room for an early night.
Friday we went to MGM Studios. We got there when the park opened since our kids were waking up at 6/6:15 every day (Yes, EVERY day!) so there was no reason to get there later. We saw some characters first thing and then went to the Great Movie Ride. Our timing was PERFECT since we won Dream Fast Passes which was exciting!!! For those of you who dont know about the Year of a Million Dreams, its this thing Disney is doing where people randomly get different prizes from special Mickey Ears hats and Dream Fast Passes (you get to go on the rides with little to no wait) all the way up to $500 shopping sprees and a night staying at Cinderellas castle! A member of the Dream Team was there while we were on line for the ride and I got excited to see her as I usually do when I see them, but not too excited. There have been too many times when I saw one and they just walked past us! Anyway, she asks Jackie if shes excited for the Great Movie Ride and then she says this ride will be more special than most people who get to go on it! Now they arent supposed to tell you when they are told to give out prizes, but Scott & I knew wed be winning SOMETHING. The doors opened, and we walked in and there were several more Dream Team members handing out the Fast Passes and congratulating everyone! We were sooo excited, but I think Scott & I were the only ones on the ride who knew what it was! LOL
We had lunch at Hollywood & Vine at the Little Einsteins character lunch. This character meal the kids get to go up and dance and sing with the characters once in a while, which they loved. Seth got chocolate (soy) ice cream and DEVOURED it!! We also saw the Playhouse Disney show, the Beauty and the Beast show, and Voyage to The Little Mermaid. Jackies favorite seemed to be The Little Mermaid and the Muppets 3D. Seth liked everything! We also got fabulous seats for the parade, which the kids liked, but Jafar scared poor Seth! We bumped into some cruise pals at the Beauty and the Beast show and Jackie really got along well with their 3 year old daughter. Scott (& one of our friends) went on Tower of Terror and Rocking Roller Coaster while us gals stayed with the kids to see Beauty and the Beast and they got to use our Fast Passes. Dinner was at Pizza Planet, and lie Cosmic Rays, they didnt know we were coming (all this was planned in advance) so Seth didnt get to eat until we were about done.
Saturday we went to EPCOT for our last day in the parks. We had yet another character meal planned for that day, the Princess Breakfast. We took our time walking there and got to see our Leave a Legacy pic that we had done on our Disneymoon 5 years ago. The breakfast was so much fun and Seth got lipstick kisses from 3 of the 4 princesses! Hes now totally in love with Mary Poppins who was one of them! Jackie was VERY tired and my feet and back were hurting, so we decided to make this a fairly short day. We did get to walk towards France after we went on the Land Ride, Nemo and Soarin (Jackie missed the height requirement by ¼ inch). After we said goodbye to our friends and started walking out, we also went to Journey to the Imagination and the kids fell in love with Figment! We did have lunch with our friends at Sunshine Seasons and they had a great meal all ready for Seth as well. It started to rain as we walked into the gift shop so we finished our shopping for the land portion of the trip and then went back to our hotel afterwards.
It stared POURING after we got back inside so our timing was perfect! We missed our dinner reservations with our friends in Japan, but it was just getting to be too much for tired Jackie and my back and feet. Scott got dinner from the hotel counter service (we had leftovers from Seths lunch) and brought it back to our room where we put on Disney movies for the kids and everyone relaxed while Scott & I (ok mostly Scott) packed our bags.
Thank you for sharing!
My DD her first trip was like that at 9 am
yes a mickey bar for breakfast
