The Best Vacation Ever

[Suzie Zoo]

Planning Stages
My brother and his wife decided last October (2007) to go to DisneyWorld and wanted the whole family to go. I hadn't been since 2001, so I decided right away that I was going. My dad immediately said he'd go, too.

My sister and her husband had been planning on taking a cruise with their little girl who would be turning a year old in January. They weren't sure what to do.

My other brother thought it would be too expensive for him and his daughter to go.

My mom doesn't travel... she was actually happy to stay home alone

Eventually my sister and my brother decided that they'd all go.

My brother's sister-in-law was also going and planned to stay in a rental home about a mile outside of Disney. We planned to go from Tuesday to Tuesday, which worked really well for me.

My sister decided to go Sunday - Saturday to accomodate her and her husband's work schedules. They stayed at Pop Century and did the whole Dining Plan and used the Magical Express, etc. My brother came for a long weekend.

I was absolutely giddy for several reasons:

• I hadn't been to Disney World in over six years
• I hadn't seen my younger brother, my nephew, and my oldest niece in two years
• I hadn't seen my older brother and his daughter in almost a year
• My younger brother had gotten remarried several months prior, and I hadn't met his new wife or her two girls yet
• I hadn't gone on a "real" vacation in two years

I counted down the days at work and made everyone crazy!!!

Day One - April 1st
My Dad and I flew on JetBlue, which I loved. TVs in the seats!! Very cool... it was a direct flight (Buffalo to Orlando) and it was dirt cheap!

We arrived in Orlando around 6:30 pm and my brother picked us up at the airport. While we were waiting for our luggage I got some Chick-Fil-A. We don't have that here, and it's my absolute favorite fast food. So I was kinda giddy before ever setting foot in a park.

We hung out at the house and chatted... I was really excited to be going to Disney World the next day!! I knew my sister was going to Animal Kingdom, so I planned to go there, too.

to be continued...

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Glad to hear that about Jetblue. We will be using them for the first time in August.

Can't wait to hear how AK went.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Wow, a big family trip! This should be fun! I love Chick-Fil-A, too--there's one almost within walking distance here, mmmm.

 

[Suzie Zoo]

Diamondintheruff ---> JetBlue rocks... you'll love it

Day Two, Part I - April 2nd - Animal Kingdom
We planned to get to the park as early as possible, but getting an entire houseful of people up and out the door is exactly as difficult as expected! But we were there before 10:00am, so it wasn't too bad. My sister had a later start too, so we planned to meet up with them.

Before we even made it through the gate, there were some characters standing outside greeting their fans. The girls had their pictures taken with Chip, Dale, and Flick.

My brother decided that we should get a FastPass for Kilimanjaro Safaris. I was {{really}} looking forward to this! I enjoy watching the TV show Life Is Wild and pictured how exciting the safari would be. ('Course, I've since found out that LIW has been canceled... waaaaah!)

We spent some time walking through the Oasis Exhibits. I took a great picture of a macaw and just enjoyed strolling in the shade.

While we waited for the safari, we headed over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We walked around through the different exhibits and the kids loved the Affection Section... I got some really cute pictures! My sister called to let us know that they had arrived, so we planned to meet up after the safari.

I loved LOVED L*O*V*E*D the safari! The only problem I had was that I wasn't quite used to my new digital camera, so I didn't get any pictures My favorite thing was seeing the elephants roaming around. They've always been my favorite zoo animal and seeing them in this environment was really exciting.

We decided to meet my sister at the Kali River Rapids to get a FastPass. On our way there, we stopped to let the kids play on the bongo drums (I think that's what they were!) As they were playing, my sister literally ran right into us. While my brother took our tickets to get FastPasses, Baloo from The Jungle Book posed for pictures with everyone.

We decided to get something to eat, so we munched on chicken nuggets and apple slices. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but after checking my guidebook I'm inclined to say that it was Mr. Kamal's.

By this time, the girls were really anxious to go back to the house and swim. We decided to go on KRR and then decide what to do. My sister wasn't interested in the ride, so they went off on the safari. We decided that it might be easier the next day if we met early in the morning so we could plan our day.

Half of us got soaked on the ride, the other half barely got wet... I was one who didn't get wet but really would have liked to, since I was really warm. It was a lot of fun, but I wished it was a longer ride. We have something really similar here at an amusement park.

My brother wandered off to buy autograph books for the kids and to get a FastPass for Dinosaur. We met over at DinoLand... the girls and their mom rode Tricera Top Spin while my nephew and I went to get something to drink.

We had some time to kill, so we watched a little skit-type thing with some daredevils. They juggled and balanced on ridiculously high moving items.

It was time for Dinosaur and my brother warned me ahead of time that the younger girls would be terrified. That was a total understatement... I don't think I'll ever forget hearing the youngest one scream, "Mommy!" over and over again until the ride ended. I thought it was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to go on it again!

We headed over to the Tree of Life to see It's Tough to Be a Bug. The Tree was beyond words... and apparently beyond pictures, because I didn't take any. UGH! Luckily, my sister did. I loved the Bug show.

Camp Minnie Mickey was a great place for the kids to get autographs and I took some awesome pictures! The kids enjoyed an ice cream. Everyone decided they were ready to go back home to the pool, so my dad said he'd pick me up at Downtown Disney. I was really looking forward to going shopping.

It was hard planning what to do with so many people... there are a ton of things I missed and I can't wait to go back to do everything:

• Finding Nemo musical
• Expedition Everest (even though I don't like roller coasters... LOL!)
• Flights of Wonder (we actually had time for this, but my brother doesn't like birds!)
• Festival of The Lion King

And I'm just dying to do the safari again!!!! But I wouldn't trade this trip for anything... I was amazing and something I'm going to remember forever!

to be continued... Downtown Disney

 

[Suzie Zoo]

Day 2, Part II - April 2nd - Downtown Disney
I hopped on a bus and headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Since we were staying offsite, I was a little worried about getting back to the house. My brother had rented a van, so my dad said he'd come pick me up when I was ready. I'll be staying onsite for next trip!!

I stopped at Disney's Wonderful World of Memories and browsed for a long time. I bought some postcards and some scrapbook stickers and drooled over all the fun picture frames.

I really was starting to get hungry so I popped into Earl of Sandwich. I had an ultimate grilled cheese sandwich, which was delicious!!

Next up on the list was the ESPN store... I don't remember what the true name is. I'm a crazy sports fan, so I had a blast in this store. I finally decided on a tshirt that said "Da Da Da Da Da Da - Sportscenter" on it... *giggle* I later found out that my sister bought my niece a shirt that says, "You can't spell Princess without E-S-P-N!"

I wandered into a bunch of different stores, but I was a good girl and didn't buy anything

I topped off the night with a drink at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain... yummy!!!

It was a great day!
Next up... Magic Kingdom!!!

to be continued...