We spent the last 5 days of our trip at Disney World. Holy Cow that place is so huge and overwhelming! Our kids had no idea we were going until the night before when we drove under the huge sign that said "Welcome to Disney World". The funniest part is that we had to get them to look out the window because they missed several signs due to obsessive DS playing and movie watching. Here they are the first day. I love this picture, they were so excited!
The best thing we did was use RideMax. I highly recommend it if you are planning on going to DisneyWorld or Disneyland. It is a program you buy online and you just put in the days you are going to be at what park and click on the rides or shows you want to do or see. Now that I've been I would have a better idea of what we want to do. It gives you a plan down to the minute. Your plan tells you when to do what, how long the lines will be, when to get fastpasses, etc. It was so great and never steered us wrong.
Our second day was spent at Hollywood Studios. Probably the least popular park with our family, but there was still lots of great stuff to do. The best part was that we got there first thing and while everyone else was running (Lewis included) to get fastpasses for the Toy Story ride we got to see lots of characters. Since we really weren't into standing in line for hours to meet our favorite characters (Ariel and Eric were a different story but that's getting its own post), this was perfect. We saw Minnie, Donald and Daisy, Piglet, and Stitch in about 20 minutes. It was great.
Cate LOVED Minnie and Daisy. Donald, no so much. Sorry Donald!
Cate and I watched the parade while Lewis took Aiden and Brooks on the Tower of Terror. HUGE mistake. Aiden is still traumatized by it. Interestingly enough she is more scared of the ghosts and spooky stuff than by the up and down of the ride. While we were taking this picture (we were waiting for the parade) a grown man came and stood right in front of Cate in her stroller completely blocking her view. When I said something to him he was so rude about it and continued to stand there. Which brings me to my first point: will someone tell me what this business about "Southern hospitality" is? I have yet to see any of it in 4 years of living in the south. This man was probably in his late 50's or 60's and was obviously a southerner. If his sunglasses with chums, tucked in polo shirt, and khaki shorts didn't give him away then his accent did. Also, the only people I met on this trip were from New England and very friendly. In fact, one time on the bus back to the hotel I was carrying the stroller and our bags up the stairns to the back while the whole bus just watched me. A woman with a thick Boston accent said "Someone PLEASE help the pregnant woman get the stroller up the stairs!" I was grateful. Rant over.
Can you guess what Cate's favorite was?
Good guess! She also loved the Disney Junior live show. Brooks loved the Indiana Jones action stunt show and Aiden's favorite was the American Idol experience.
Day 3 was spent at Epcot. The golfball was a hit.
The best part for me was that there was a flower festival thing going on. The topiaries and flowers were incredible. Oh, and I also loved how Lewis kept calling the ride Test Track something different.
I also loved visiting Das Vaterland but it was hot and we were all burnt out by the time we visited the different countries. At one stop Brooks even found a tiny piece of shade on the cement ground and curled up into a ball and just laid there. That was when we knew it was time to head back to the hotel. We had a really long 3 days and decided it was time for a rest and a swim.
Day 4 was Animal Kingdom.
The Lion King and Finding Nemo shows were truly amazing. It was like getting to see 2 broadway shows in one day. They were incredible.
I hear the safari was great too but they wouldn't let pregnant women on the ride. Hey, if I was in REAL Africa I'm sure they would have had no problem letting me on!
Brooks loved the rapids ride too and after the Tower of Terror (aka TOT) experience we decided not to push Aiden to ride Expedition Everest. Brooks is our little ride lover and was bummed that he couldn't do it. Next time!
Our last day was spent at Magic Kingdom again. We missed the 8:00 opening which is really key in getting lots of rides in, but we were still able to do everything we wanted to do. You'll never guess what was one of this thrill seekers favorites:
Brooks ROCKED Buzz Lightyear.
And I got sick just WATCHING them ride in the teacups. (not a joke)
Even though we didn't get there right at 8 we were still able to ride Dumbo with a minimal wait. I think it was still at least a half an hour. (we were at the ride at 8:45)
All in all it was a great trip!
And now I never have to go back again!
At least not 7 months pregnant, I am still wasted.
Luckily it wasn't anything a little splash in the fountain couldn't fix.
What about Harper? It's a good southern name, right? Harper Lee is from Alabama, after all.
I know! And guess what else? About a month ago she totally potty trained herself. As in-- she has had a grand total of 3 accidents since then. I'm serious. She is amazing. If you don't believe me, she will tell you herself.
Brooks had his first t-ball game this week and loved it. Cate didn't feel as excited about the whole thing:
Go Bucs!
I guess what they say is true, dreams do come true at DisneyWorld! We were all heading over to do the Jungle Cruise one more time when we heard a man ask if "this is where Ariel is going to be". After talking to the woman at the entrance to the line we found out that Ariel and Eric (from the Little Mermaid) would be coming in 30 minutes but if we wanted to see them we had to get in line right away. They only let the line get to a certain length before they close it off. Apparently (we are total rookies at the waiting in line to see characters thing) they close the line before the characters even arrive. Also, there seems to be some way of knowing what characters will be where and when but we never figured it out (or even tried to figure it out). Since Aiden wasn't at all interested in doing the Jungle Cruise again we decided that the girls would wait while the boys went and did the ride one more time. We waited for a half and hour and I found out how obsessed people can get with the character meetings and autographs. The little girl ahead of us was an only child with an autograph book FULL of signatures. They had a plan all worked out ahead of time. The dad would go to the character greeting spot, wait in line and then when the mom and daughter finished with one character they would run and meet the dad. As soon as they got there he was off to wait in the next line. YIKES! Anyway, Aiden and Cate were thrilled to get to meet Ariel and Eric. In fact, Cate ran right up to Eric and hugged him first. He said he was excited because he never gets the first hug.
Cate's love for Ariel and Eric has only grown since meeting them IN REAL LIFE and she still talks about it all the time.
The best thing we did was use RideMax. I highly recommend it if you are planning on going to DisneyWorld or Disneyland. It is a program you buy online and you just put in the days you are going to be at what park and click on the rides or shows you want to do or see. Now that I've been I would have a better idea of what we want to do. It gives you a plan down to the minute. Your plan tells you when to do what, how long the lines will be, when to get fastpasses, etc. It was so great and never steered us wrong.
Cate LOVED Minnie and Daisy. Donald, no so much. Sorry Donald!
Day 3 was spent at Epcot. The golfball was a hit.
The best part for me was that there was a flower festival thing going on. The topiaries and flowers were incredible. Oh, and I also loved how Lewis kept calling the ride Test Track something different. 
I also loved visiting Das Vaterland but it was hot and we were all burnt out by the time we visited the different countries. At one stop Brooks even found a tiny piece of shade on the cement ground and curled up into a ball and just laid there. That was when we knew it was time to head back to the hotel. We had a really long 3 days and decided it was time for a rest and a swim.
Day 4 was Animal Kingdom.
The Lion King and Finding Nemo shows were truly amazing. It was like getting to see 2 broadway shows in one day. They were incredible.
I hear the safari was great too but they wouldn't let pregnant women on the ride. Hey, if I was in REAL Africa I'm sure they would have had no problem letting me on!
Brooks loved the rapids ride too and after the Tower of Terror (aka TOT) experience we decided not to push Aiden to ride Expedition Everest. Brooks is our little ride lover and was bummed that he couldn't do it. Next time!
Our last day was spent at Magic Kingdom again. We missed the 8:00 opening which is really key in getting lots of rides in, but we were still able to do everything we wanted to do. You'll never guess what was one of this thrill seekers favorites: 
Brooks ROCKED Buzz Lightyear.
And I got sick just WATCHING them ride in the teacups. (not a joke)
Even though we didn't get there right at 8 we were still able to ride Dumbo with a minimal wait. I think it was still at least a half an hour. (we were at the ride at 8:45)
All in all it was a great trip!
