Driving North

Driving North . . . Why are we doing this?  Living in Orlando, or better yet, Disney World, might not be too bad!  Guess going home makes the most sense.  Sadly, it's time to go back to Virginia.  2 driving hours down, 12 to go.  What a great time we had!  We went to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  In addition, we scheduled 2 break days where we hung out at our resort for the day--swimming, riding the water slides, playing putt-putt and relaxing. 

The weather was sunny everyday and in the lower 90's everyday.  Fantastic weather!  Kick back, let the shuttle take you to and from the park each day--great!!  The next few posts will show the fantastic time we had at each of the parks!  I will try to not bore you too much :).

2nd break day

We spent our last day in Florida riding the 2 water slides at our resort and playing in the "water park" area. Swimming, swimming and more swimming! The kids participated in the pool-side craft where they painted their own cloth bag. We dragged ourselves inside at 7:00.

FANTASTIC VACATION!

Epcot

Originally we had decided not to go to Epcot, but decided not to do the Magic Kingdom again and hit Epcot instead. Soarin was our first stop. Very cool ride! Hanggliding simulator ride. Long wait, but worth it! We ventured over to the cool fountains and got wet. That kept the kids cool, and sometimes cold, the rest of the day. This made the complaining about walking a little less :).
We checked out Captain EO, rode Journey into Imagination with Figmant, Rode the Seas with Nemo and Friends and did Turtle Talk with Crush. This was so cute! And Lydia had her 5 minutes of fame! Her 1st 5 minutes I imagine :).

The kids wanted to go "in the ball" so we rode Spaceship Earth. We ate at the Electric Umbrella with our 20% off coupon :) and checked out Club Cool to get free sodas from all over the world. Mike and Ryan rode Test Track while I took Lydia and Emily to the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden where they also did a Kidcot Fun Stop.

Mike wanted to stay for the laser show and fireworks, but the kids didn't. Long days :). Instead, we went back to our resort and watched the Fireworks from the Presidential Suite. Not the same as being in the park, but nice. Our last Disney Park day. Awesome again!

Ryan at the Epcot fountains

Mike and Ryan riding the Imagination Station ride

The one where Ryan actually smiled

Getting wet at the fountains made the hot day much easier to take

Cool Club--we tried different sodas from different countries

The landscaping is so amazing!

Hollywood Studios

This park was more for Mike and me than for the kids. Unfortunately, we found out when we arrived, that Star Tours (that all three kids had been looking forward to) was closed for refurbishing. Ryan was so looking forward to training with a Jedi :(.

We rode Toy Story Mania--very cool, and watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Disney Jr. Live on Stage. The lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show was too cool! We met Mr. Incrediable and Frozone and ate at Pizza Planet!! We hit the Star Wars gift shop and saw the Studio Backlot Tour where we watched a tanker truck blow up. I remembered, seeing that, from my last visit all those years ago. We grabbed our light sabers and Goofy Darth Vader and it was time to go.

Lydia on a Speeder

Emily on a speeder

Ryan on a Speeder

Waiting to ride Toy Story Mania

Ate at Pizza Planet

Emily with Yoda on her back, holding her Lightsaber

Lydia, ready for Toy Story Mania ride

Ryan at Honey I Shrunk the Kids playgroun

We met the Incrediables!

Stunt show--sooo awesome!!

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

Our first break day

Dragon, in the water, made totally out of Legos

Our first break day.  We hung out at the resort all day and spent the evening at Downtown Disney.

At Downtown Disney we went to the LEGO store.  They had large tables with Legos in it to build your own Lego people and purchase them.  Each kid made one.

Emily and the Lego man she made

Ryan and his Lego man he made.

Live statue.  Tried to get the kids to walk up to him.  He kept putting his hand on kids heads when they would walk up to him.  Our kids would not get close enough.

Lydia swimming

Woody, made completely of Legos

Ryan playing at the "Water Park" at our resort.