Disney World Part 1

We spent the kids' spring break week in Florida.  My parents and brother joined us for the week.  We had a great time, but I have to admit, Disney is exhausting!!

Day 1 - Resort, Kennedy Space Center and Downtown Disney 

I found a really good deal on plane tickets, but the only catch was we had to fly out of St. Louis...at 6:20am.  It seemed like a good idea when I booked the tickets!  We were tired, but excited to get to Florida so the early morning went as well as could be hoped for.  My parents had flown to Florida a few days prior to stay with Mom's sister, Sharon and her husband, Arne.  We met my parents, Sharon and Arne at the resort - the Port Orleans Riverside.  Andy, Drew and my dad then left for the Kennedy Space Center.  Kayley, Ryan and I hung out with my mom, Sharon and Arne.  It was really nice catching up with them as I haven't seen them since they moved from Phoenix to Florida.  Kayley spent part of the afternoon swimming while Ryan played on the playground equipment.

We had a room with a Princess theme
and Kayley loved it.  :-)

When the boys got back and Matt arrived, we took the boat to Downtown Disney.  We walked around for a little while then had dinner.  Ryan was beyond overtired (he only slept a little on the plane ride and no nap in the afternoon) so Andy and I were busy trying to hold him and keep him happy.  When I handed him off to Andy so I could eat, Kayley came over and sat in my lap and then started to cry.  She didn't feel warm so I asked her if she felt sick and if she was going to throw up.  She said yes.  Ugh.  I ran her to the bathroom where she proceeded to get throw up.  Mom and I decided we should take her and Ryan home.  Too bad we had to ride a boat!  Luckily, both kids fell asleep on the way home so it ended up being fine.

View from the bridge of the "river"
and our building in the background

On the boat

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Kayley woke up feeling fine the next day so we are thinking she only had an upset stomach from swallowing water in the pool.  We headed to Magic Kingdom bright and early.  We had a great day even though the place was BUSY (spring break really isn't the best time to go)!  I was very excited when we took Drew and Kayley on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster and they loved it!  I still wasn't sure if we would get them on Space Mountain later in the week or Everest at Animal Kingdom, but was hopeful after they did so well on this one.

Dumbo

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Kayley finally got her ears in the afternoon!

I can ride roller coasters all day, but not the carousel!
Grandpa took him though! 

We had dinner reservations at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.  The kids enjoyed dining with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet.  Ryan LOVED them.  Oh my gosh, he went crazy when they came to our table because he was so excited!

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

We went to Animal Kingdom on Monday.  We got there early enough to get on a few of the rides without much of a wait.  We went to the Kali River Rapids first.  There is a sign that says something like, "You will get wet.  You may get soaked."  It was early in the morning and in the 50s so I was starting to get concerned when I read that.  Lucky for me, Andy and Matt were in the seats that got soaked!

Dad, me, Kayley, Drew, Andy and Matt

After the river rapids, we went to the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride and saw a lot of animals up close.  There aren't a lot of rides that Ryan was able to go on, but he loved this one.  "Elephant!  Animal!  Animal!  Rino!  Animal!" 

Then it was time for Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. 

Expedition Everest

This is a roller coaster with big drops and it also goes backwards during part of the ride.  I was a little nervous to see how Kayley and Drew would do.  Kayley barely cleared the height requirement, but she was so excited.  That girl has no fear!  Drew was excited too, but he was a little bit more aware of what the ride was about so he was a little quieter waiting for the ride.  I sat with Kayley and she looked scared at times, but then would burst out laughing.  They loved the ride!

Picture as we were going
down the big drop

We had lunch at the Tusker House with Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Minnie.  After lunch, we went on the Kali River Rapids one more time before heading back to the resort to go swimming.  Mom went with us while Dad sat with Ryan.  Drew and Andy were in the seats that got soaked this time.  Drew started laughing until he realized how completely soaked he was.  He didn't think it was quite as funny then.  It wouldn't have been so bad on a hot day, but low 60s and being drenched isn't so fun!

The girls were prepared!

Ryan fell asleep on the way home and was super crabby when we got back to the room.  I felt his head and he was burning up.  Wonderful.  We started him on motrin and he fell asleep.  Mom took the kids swimming while I sat with him.  That night we just stayed around the resort.  It was nice to have an early night.

Day 4 - Epcot

Tuesday was our day for Epcot.  Ryan woke up fever free, but Mom stayed back at the resort with him anyway.  We decided we'd keep him home and see how he did throughout the day.  We rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends and then spent a lot of time walking around the aquarium.  We also did Spaceship Earth, which is the ride inside the big ball.

 

Inside a shark's mouth in the aquarium

After lunch, we headed to Mission: Space.  I got concerned right away when I saw all the signs suggesting you skip the ride if you are prone to motion sickness.  I don't really know if Drew and Kayley are prone to motion sickness and we had just eaten so it wasn't the smartest time to ride it, but we were in our Fast Pass time so we didn't have much of a choice.  There was a green line and an orange line.  The orange line was for a more intense ride.  Matt and Dad opted for that, but Andy and I decided we should take our kids on the green ride.  I got really concerned when we sat down and there were airsick bags in front of us!  But, it was fun and we were all fine! 

Then we went to Test Track where we got to design our own car.  Andy, Drew and I designed a red sports car.  Dad, Matt and Kayley designed a pink one.  Then you get in a test car and "test" your car.  It was a lot of fun.  That was our favorite ride at Epcot.

 

Kayley, Grandpa and Drew in front
of the Epcot fountain

Next, we walked around the countries.  I knew that Anna and Elsa were in Norway and I knew the wait has been up to 6 hours so I wasn't about to tell Kayley about it, but I got curious when we got to Norway.  The woman that helped me plan our trip told me you could go into the gift store and they have a viewing area there so you could still see Anna and Elsa, you just couldn't get your picture taken with them.  I asked someone that was waiting in line how long they had been there.  6 1/2 hours.  Are you kidding me?!  What is wrong with these parents?!  I took Kayley in the store and that was enough for her.  She was so excited to see them and didn't seem to care at all that she couldn't get her picture taken with them.  Whew!

Our view of Anna and Elsa

Mom and Ryan met us at about 4pm and then we took the monorail to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey's with Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald.  This may have been their favorite meal.  Ryan went crazy again when the characters came to our table!

 

After dinner, Dad and I took Ryan back to the resort and Mom, Andy, Matt, Drew and Kayley went back to Epcot to ride Mission: Space again and get a few souvenirs.  They didn't make it until 9 for the fireworks though.  The kids were exhausted!