And now, it was time for some rides! We went to some of the kiddie rides. The boys enjoyed them, and Eric took them on the kiddie coaster which they all loved.
After these rides, we went to a Fire Safety Show. This was a lot of fun! Jonathan didn't want to get wet but Philip did, so I sat with Philip in the front row (splash zone!) and Eric sat with Jonathan a few rows back. The show was very cute and it felt good to get wet! Philip and I were laughing the whole time. Jonathan was laughing at us from where he was sitting...we all had a great time at the show!
Then, it was time for the Ford Driving School in the back of the park. They have 2 different ones: the Junior one, for ages 3-5, where they simply drive laps around a few times; and the regular one, for ages 6+ (I think up to age 12), where they learn stop signs, traffic lights, intersections, and get to drive on a 2-way street. First we brought Jonathan to the Junior one, where he had a good time and was very happy to receive his own Driver's License:
We took Philip to the regular Ford Driving School. He enjoyed learning about driving, and he paid attention to all the stop signs, traffic lights, turned very well, and stayed on the correct side of the "street"! He also was happy to get his own Driver's License!
Right near the Ford Driving School is the Flight School Roller Coaster. This is a bigger coaster, and Jonathan was not tall enough for it. Philip and Eric went on together. Jonathan was a little upset but I calmed him down. It's a coaster where your feet dangle and it is supposed to feel like you are flying. Philip and Eric both loved it!
Afterwards, we went to a boat ride where you steer the boat yourself. They allow the kids to do this, so I went with Philip and Eric went with Jonathan. It was so much fun! We went around in circles a couple of times but we made it to the end. While in line, the boys said they were hungry. After the boat ride, we stopped for lunch. Philip and Jonathan wanted to see one of the 4D shows, so we stopped at a sandwich shop on the way. It was not crowded at all, it was indoor seating and a very nice break. They had pre-packaged sandwiches but they were very good. The boys each had turkey and cheese, I had an avocado wrap, and Eric had a roast beef wrap. We got a table right away and ate our lunch. Then, we headed to the 4D show.
They have different 4D shows in the same theater throughout the day. The boys wanted to see the one that involved some wizards, so we took them to that one. Philip loved it and so did Jonathan at first, but he got scared a little while into it and closed his eyes. Afterwards he said he liked it though.
After the show, there were a few things left to do: Miniland USA, the Factory Tour at the front of the park, and the section where you get to build things with Legos (but you can't keep them, it's just for fun). We stopped at Miniland USA, where they have different parts of the country replicated in Legos. This was amazing! They had NYC, Florida, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona, San Francisco, Hollywood, Washington DC, and Las Vegas. Here's some of NYC:
After Miniland USA, Eric and I wanted to try Granny's Fries. This is a snack stand that serves a snack unique to Legoland. They are granny smith apple fries. They take a granny smith apple, and make it into fries (just like a potato), toss them in cinnamon sugar and serve them with vanilla dip. The boys had no interest in trying them, so we got one order to share. These were delicious! The only tiny disappointment was that the vanilla dip was just whipped cream, which melted as soon as you dipped the fry into it. I was expecting more of an icing. But the fries were delicious without any dip and we really enjoyed them!
The next thing we did was head to the area where kids can build their own creations with legos. The boys wanted to go into the super hero section, where they get to create their own unique super hero. The employee explains to the kids before going in, that they don't get to keep them. It's good they do this, to prevent any major meltdowns and disappointment for kids who expect to keep them. The boys understood. On the way, there was a beautiful fountain and there was an employee taking professional photos there. I asked her to take a pic of the 4 of us with our own camera, and she kindly did just that.
Then, we headed to the super hero section with the boys, and they had a lot of fun building, and so did Eric!!
After building their super heroes, the last thing to do was the factory Tour, which was right by the front of the park, not too crowded and so we decided to save it for last. We got to briefly see how they make Legos and the boys thought it was pretty cool. Once we got into the gift shop, it started pouring outside. We waited until it let up a bit, then we stepped outside under the awning. I went into the bag to break out the ponchos, but there were only 3 of them. Eric realized that he left his in the hotel by accident. We put the boys' ponchos on, I put mine on, and we waited it out a few minutes, since it started pouring again. When it let up a little, we made a beeline for the next covered area, not too far away, and right by the exit. Then it started coming down hard again, for just a few minutes though. Once it let up a bit, we made a beeline for the exit and walked fast but carefully to the car.
We got back to the hotel, and I was very pleased to see that the room had been cleaned, and there were enough towels for everyone to shower. We all showered a relaxed for a little bit. Eric had originally suggested that we go to the Sweet Tomatoes right by the hotel for dinner, so it would be quick and more relaxing. For those of you who are not familiar with it, Sweet Tomatoes is a salad buffet that also have soups, breads and desserts. Lots of healthy food, and a very reasonable price. We go there every time we go to Florida.
We had a nice relaxing dinner, and then we went to the complimentary happy hour at the hotel. Embassy Suites all do this every evening. They have certain drinks you can get from the bar for free from, if I recall correctly, 5:30 to 7:30pm. They also have light snacks but we didn't need this after dinner. We got there about 20 minutes before it ended. The drink choices were 2 types of draft beer, 3 kinds of wine, a few different liquors and you could get one mixer with the liquor. Eric had rum and diet coke and I had a glass of white zinfandel. The boys each got a glass of juice. We went into the main lobby area and sat on the comfy chairs. It was very nice.
After the happy hour, we went back to the room, and got the kids ready for bed. Then, Eric and I got everything in order for WDW the following day!!
We were glad it would only be a little over an hour drive to get to WDW the next day. We decided we would go to breakfast fairly early and get to WDW early so we could enjoy the day there.
Next up: our first day at WDW! Stay tuned...
although usually we drive to my parents' house in The Villages, near Ocala, and then travel from there.
Are you saving the food porn for you dining report or did you only do it at Disney?keep it coming..
Good morning everyone! 
