For me, growing up in Florida and going to the theme parks there many, many times over the years, I can't imagine childhood without them. My dear husband Bronius has been a tough sell all these years on the topic of Disney World...but when I practically explained my logic to him 3 weeks ago, together we decided the prices and crowds were "low," the weather was good, and the kids were at a great stage as travelers - we acted quickly and booked our first family trip! :)
Bronius was not able to take many days off work, and we didn't want to pull the kids out of school for too long....so we did Disney in 2 days....4 parks, in 2 days. Yes. Crazy, crazy and crazy!
Here we are at the airport, ready to go!
First morning in the hotel room. We stayed at Port Orleans Disney resort, where transportation was a breeze! Wake up brother, we need to get to Magic Kingdom!
Our first ride at Magic Kingdom was Snow White's Mine Train roller coaster in Fantasyland. It was a fun line to wait in, very interactive for the kids!
The spinning barrels of jewels.
We hopped across next to the Winnie the Pooh ride, which Jonas loved so much that he rode it later in the evening again with Daddy! We took a picture of Milo in front of the ground hogs popping up from the ground :)
We then headed down to Big Thunder Railroad in Frontierland, where Bronius and I took turns riding with Dominic and Milo since Jonas was not tall enough yet. ;) See what a gorgeous day it was????
On our way through Liberty Square, I spied that the line for Haunted Mansion was only 5 mins long. So I grabbed Dominic by the hand and we went. This was one of my favorites when I was younger. Just spooky and fun!
We then went back to Fantasy Land and rode Peter Pan's flight, probably my all time favorite ride. Classic Disney, and the whole family can ride together. I just love it. I loved getting to relive memories with my boys and watch them enjoy it all for the first time. I didn't snap any pictures of Peter Pan's flight :(
We hopped across to It's a Small World because the line was minimal, and the kids really enjoyed this one too. Jonas asked me to take a picture of the hippo :)
We stopped for a picture of the Sword in the Stone for my once and future kings :)
We headed down to Adventureland and had our lunch at a shady outdoor table, and then enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we crossed over a parade around the castle for a family picture.
We were reaching the afternoon sleepies so we headed over to the Carousel of Progress, another ALL time, old classic. I have many memories of catching a break from the heat and enjoying a little dozing off at the Carousel of Progress. There are always some kids sleeping by the end of it! ;) For the older ones, it is a fun lesson in history!
The boys rode Space Mountain with Daddy in Tomorrow land while Jonas took a nap on a shady bench with me.
Then we decided we needed a few more Castle pictures before we park hopped over to Animal Kingdom.
At around 2, we headed over to Animal Kingdom where the boys rode Expedition Everest and then we attended a beautiful Nemo musical production. Then we had dinner at the Yak and Yeti and it was time to head over to Magic Kingdom again. The boys loved hopping on the buses, boats and trams to get everywhere!
Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.
We made a mad scramble back to Magic Kingdom to enjoy a few last minute rides. We did the Toy Story ride in Tomorrowland and then while Daddy rode Winnie the Pooh with Jonas, I took the boys on the Tea Cups (while eating Mickey Bars - oh my!) We closed out the night in Liberty Square enjoying the Fireworks show, Wishes.
On our second day we went to Hollywood Studios and met our friends the Caraway family there. Daddy took Dominic to Tower of Terror while I took the younger boys to a Little Mermaid puppet show. Here we are waiting in the line at Star Tours, a fun Star Wars flight simulator ride.
A blurry picture of Dominic with C3PO in the background.
We then played at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground for awhile, and then met the Caraways again for the Indiana Jones Stunt show and the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show.
The boys in front of Lights, Motor, Action!
Leaving Hollywood Studios around 2pm and boarding the ferry to Epcot. A welcomed time off our feet!
My first stop at the World Showcase in Epcot, a London photo booth of course!
Here we are in front of the iconic Epcot globe, before riding Spaceship Earth.
We ran back to World Showcase for our dinner reservation at the Biergarten, where we had an all you can eat German buffet with a live performance! We enjoyed visiting with the families we met there.
B in front of St. George and the Dragon :)
We headed back over in the direction of the Globe to "The Seas" to ride the Nemo ride, and see the Aquarium, and then we did Turtle Talk with Crush. After that we headed over to "The Land" to ride Soarin', my favorite Epcot ride, and then we road Living with the Land.
Ready to fly over California on Soarin'!
After that, we went to enjoy the Fireworks Show, Illuminations, at 9pm, and headed back towards the globe to ride Figment's ride, Test Track and Mission to Mars. And we were wiped out!!!!!
The next morning we boarded the ferry to Downtown Disney where we enjoyed the Lego store there, where the boys enjoyed the various creator stations and then we met the Caraway's for lunch. We bought our souvenirs and it was time to say goodbye to Disney World.
Here we are hulla-hooping waiting for the bus to the airport at our hotel. What a wonderful, fun time we had together. Even though we stayed busy with a packed itinerary, the many times we had to sit for a show, ride a boat or bus allowed us time to have breaks to rest and have snacks and water. All 4 parks can be done in 2 days, as long as you make peace with not being able to "do it all," which was fine by us! :) I am so thankful for this opportunity, I loved seeing the joy in my children's eyes, and my husband's. I'm so glad Disney magic is alive and well, even for adults! :) I hope we can go one day again.
