Overall
The weather was clear and HOT all week. The house we rented was awesome and the family we shared the house with made it all the more fun for Joe and me and for the kids. It was 2 miles away from Disney. We had our own pool and lots of space to unwind and relax when not at the parks. I'm so glad we rented a house and didn't stay on property this time. If we go back when Kelly is old enough to appreciate it maybe it would be cool to stay there and get back and forth from the parks more easily, but for young kids, it was best to get completely away from the mayhem. Air travel worked out well and despite arriving home at 11pm last night, the kids did beautifully, especially considering we were running to and through the airport to make the plane and have time to buy dinner before boarding. Imagine being on a 7pm flight with kids without time for dinner and having no food on board. Nightmare potential.
Kelly
I was nervous about having Kelly being toted around in that heat, but she was ok. In fact, I pretty much freaked out the day before we left. I mostly had her in the Baby Bjorn and a bit in her car seat snapped into the stroller. She was a trooper and just slept and smiled the whole time. The heat didn't seem to bother her too much and she managed to stay comfortable and protected from the sun. Here is Kelly in a typical shot mid-day hanging out and just being an accessory.
At the end of the day when we were back at the house and I could finally give her some attention, her smiles were huge and appreciative.
Shelagh
We lucked out and got to meet all the princesses and 3 of the fairies and Shelagh was thrilled! We also met Little Einsteins and regular Disney characters. We waited on line for 3 of the princesses and fairies and then we had lunch at Cinderellas Castle and met some others. Lunch was a fortune, but seemed to be worth doing for the excitement factor. Poor Rory hid under the table when the princesses came by - I think he was princessed out.
We saw a lot of shows and parades including the Welcome to Disney show, the Nemo musical, Disney Philharmagic in 3D, Country Bear Jamboree, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid show and the parades at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Here is Shelagh mesmerized and waiting for Malificent to appear (evil Fairy from Sleeping Beauty) and then eating an awesome rainbow popsicle watching Woody and Jessie the Cowgirl dancing.
She also learned to swim without a bubble for the first time! She did it here and there last year with Joe or I, but not ongoing swimming on her own. She kicked ass and we're so excited! She jumped in the deep end and swam to the other side all by herself. She is so pumped to tell her swim teacher.
Rory
He could not have been more patient. We didn't get to Hollywood Studios until Day 4. Unfortunately, Disney does crap for CARS movie, which is shocking to me based on the volume and availability of all that merchandise. I don't know how they don't have rides or shows or inclusion in the parades. I guess boys can appreciate Toy Story and Monsters Inc and Power Rangers, but seriously there is so much Princess stuff, you'd think they'd focus on Cars more. That's okay though b/c Rory, as he did with Mickey, kind of freaked when he was finally in front of Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. We waited in line again and he was a little better the 2nd time, but the poor kid, after all that build up, was just overwhelmed I think.
Afterwards, I got him a new Leak Less car toy and he was thrilled.
He loved swimming in the pool and is liking pirates lately so we got him a cool eye patch after the Pirates of the Caribbean ride we went on yesterday. He makes a mean pirate sound - 'ARRRR'
Disney Parks
All in all, we liked the 3 parks we visited.
- Day 1 - Magic Kingdom
- Day 2 - Animal Kingdom
- Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
- Day 4 - Hollywood Studios
- Day 5 - Magic Kingdom
If I had to do it again, I'd do maybe 1 less day at MK and have a rest day in the middle. I'd do the nighttime visit for parade and fireworks on a non-weekend and on the night before the rest day b/c it's late and the kids were a MESS before, during, and after the night visit. And, the fireworks didn't start until 10pm and we ended up aborting mission right before they started.
Magic Kingdom was the best for the kids ages. We did all the lands and repeating a few rides the kids liked. I thought we balanced well between rides, shows, and character greetings. We chose a good time of year for crowds and didn't have to wait more than 0-20 minutes for almost all rides and twice had to wait 45 minutes. The dads did a nice job of waiting on line for us and then letting us jump in towards the end which worked out well. Animal Kingdom was really nice and the kids enjoyed seeing all the animals. Hollywood Studios had a few cool things, a neat parade and was just really cool set-up wise. I'd like to hang there with older kids or just adults I think.
Anyway, here are some last shots from the trip. To family, the albums will be coming soon after I spend a million hours going through the hundreds of pics we took.
1 comment:
Looks like a great time. We're going in October for Halloween. Kelly is a trooper, and you're really brave (bringing her). Hope you guys a re doing well.
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