We made it!

We arrived at Walt Disney World on the Tuesday (before Easter weekend) at 3:00 pm after driving for 24 hours straight. We were exhausted but SO excited. We had dinner at the hotel and then headed for the Magic Kingdom. The photos below are from three different days. This is probably where we spent the most time. I hate to use this word, but it truly is MAGICAL. 

As soon as we entered the park (our first night there) we were greeted with a parade. It seems that there are parades at least three times a day and some other kinds of singing and dancing going on! You just can't help but be deliriously happy here! The kids and Heinrich are looking a little pale and somewhat exhausted here!

We're waiting.....who's coming??
The floats were incredible and dancers engaging. 






The first attraction we went on was Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse. We then stood in line for Pirates of the Caribbean. This line was perhaps 30 minutes long but worth the wait. They do such a magnificent job of keeping their guests entered and using space wisely. You don't feel like you've been standing in line for as long as you have. Fun ride and not at all scary.

The jungle cruise...an oldie but a goodie!
Aladdin's carpet ride. Mason didn't realize that because he was in front that he was responsible for the height controls. I made the mistake of showing him what to do. He freaked and panicked mid air. Not sure what this was all about. This is a kid that goes on big roller coasters. Maybe he doesn't like the spiny things. 
So, I'm going to bare my soul. I hate roller coasters and have only ever been on one once before. It was it high school when some horrible friends (yes Casey I'm talking about you) dragged me on the Ghoster Coaster. I've been scared for life. So as a mom I feel it's necessary to step out of my comfort zone to show the kids that it's good to try new things. This was mine. Goofy's Barnstormer. A roller coaster in Toontown. Mickey and I sat together and holey hell it was awful. The poor child...I squeezed the life out of her. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it without having a heart attack. I did it, and I'm proud of myself but I probably won't do it again and I think I almost broke Mikhaila's hand during the ride. It was her first coaster and she didn't bat an eye, just complained about Mommy!
This train (below) travels the perimeter of the Magic Kingdom. It's a good way to make your way someplace fast without battling crowds. It's also a good place to go to rest your feet. 
Another parade - mid day.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Mason and Daddy are on this time. Mickey went on with Daddy in the dark. 
Tom Sawyer's Island. We could have spent half the day here. So much to explore. 




Favourite attractions:

• Peter Pan's Flight
• Big Thunder Mountain
• The Railway
• Splash Mountain
• The Race Track
• Buzz Lightyear's Ride
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Tom Sawyer's Island
• Best of all - The Haunted House!!

Our Hotel

Our drive down to Orlando, Florida was memorable. We thought we were leaving the snow behind but as it turned out we drove through it for 12 hours out of the 24 hour drive. Much of this was through the mountains in the dark. We didn't mind driving none stop but next time we'll do it in a bigger vehicle. A Toyota Matrix was a little tight! Thank goodness for portable DVD players!

Here's our hotel. We chose to stay at one of the moderate Disney hotels, Port Orleans French Quarter. We've both stayed on site a few times before (once for our honeymoon) and highly recommend it. The small amount saved to stay off sight isn't worth the aggravation and honestly Disney just does everything right. We really had no complaints about the hotel. We were there at the busiest time of year and I can honestly say that we did not feel it at the hotel. The nice thing about this property is that it has a sister property called Riverside within a short walk. Therefore, more restaurants, another pool and play area, etc...

Here's the back of the hotel. From here you can take a riverboat to Downtown Disney which was great. 

Our pool at French Quarter. Every moderate hotel has a slide with their pool.

A drawing area for the kids in the cafeteria.

Riverside Hotel.

We were in Disney over Easter and were wondering if they'd have anything planned. They told us to show up at the hotel's courtyard at 9 am on Easter morning.  This is what we saw - a cordoned off courtyard filled with candy and toys.
When they did the countdown, the kids all ran out (different areas for different ages) with their given bags and filled them to the brim. They had so much fun. Afterwards they were able to line up for a photo with Minnie and Mickey. 

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My dancing girl

No matter where she is, if music comes on, she MUST dance. I presume ALL girls are like this. I try to take photos, but there is no predicting the direction she will take. It is 100% freestyle! 

Building co-op - Building a 3D community

For the last building co-op I asked the kids to bring found objects from home (boxes, toilet paper rolls, feathers, toothpicks, etc...) I cut up 10 pieces of cardboard and painted a road plan on them. On the day of the co-op I gave each child one piece. On it they had to create their piece of the community. They could have buildings, parks, vehicles, people - whatever they liked. 

When they were done they were able to put the pieces together to create a community and then play with them as they pleased. My guys put their pieces together and added cars and animals and played with them over the next few days. 

Our junior navigators

To help the kids understand the distance we are traveling and where we are traveling Heinrich made each of them a small laminated map book.

On the first page is a map of the whole route with a star for the starting point.

On each additional page is a section of the route. Every time we reach a significant landmark or destination they will add a sticker to mark our progress.

Our vacation countdown chart

This is our countdown chart for Disney. Actually we're further along than what this picture shows. It may not be pretty but it was effective. We made a collage of Disney park photos and then I placed stickers in a spiral leading to Cinderella's castle. Every day I added a strip of glue from yesterday's date to today's date and we cover it in glitter. It really kept things in perspective. The kids really haven't gone too crazy with excitement. Even knowing today that they still have one more day to get through, they're not driving us nuts yet. I think the 21 hour car ride will probably be a good time for that.