Orlando Fun...Day 4

Saturday, May 9, 2009
Blizzard Beach
Today we took our time waking up and hit Blizzard Beach again. We were there right as the park opened so we got a primo spot in the "Tykes Peak" area of the water park. We started off in Melt Away Bay, did the wave pool for a little bit, then rode on Teamboat Springs. Then we let the kids run the gamut of the Ski Patrol Training camp area. And finally ended the morning with Taylor sliding in Tykes Peak. After 2 and half hours time, we left since we had done everything we wanted to do. Then we came back to the timeshare and showered up and decided to use our extra day in the Magic Kingdom again.

Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom was opened from 9am to 11pm today. We got there around 2pm and left at 9:30pm.

Immediately we walked over to Adventureland. We got the kids autographs with Rafiki from "The Lion King" and with Meeko from "Pocahontas".
Taylor wanted NOTHING to do with Rafiki. I had asked her if she wanted to be in the picture and her response was a hair raising "NOOOOOOOO". Poor Rafiki!
The kids also met Meeko. At first Taylor was shy but realized which movie he was from and was just content watching him talk to her brothers from afar. Anthony is asking Meeko for directions or something...who knows!
The kids and Meeko. Taylor was perfectly content posing for a picture with Meeko. I guess being Pocahotas' friend has it's benefits.

Ride Time!
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Pirates of the Caribbean (the boys did it 2 times)

Dinner
We ate a DELICIOUS supper at Liberty Tree Tavern in Libertytown Square.
-- (All you can eat salad, bread, turkey, flank steak, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing, the most delicious green beans EVER, macaroni and cheese, and for dessert apple cobbler a la mode).

This wasn't a character meal but it was a nice sit down restaurant. We have never eaten there and Tony thought this would be a nice change of pace. We are DEFINITELY going back the next time we invade Disney!
Disney.com website description: Check in at the Liberty Tree Tavern restaurant podium and rest until the town crier summons your party. Be escorted through this authentic recreation of an 18th-century American inn, then sit and enjoy a New England-inspired meal. Comprised of six comfortable rooms, Liberty Tree Tavern is furnished with colonial artifacts and provides a pleasant respite from the bustle outside.

Big Ride Time!
As crazy as we are, we decided to go and check out the lines for the 2 big rides that were open. We weren't sure how the boys were going to do and after eating a big meal...how their stomachs were going to hold up but they both did great! Jackson was tall enough to ride on Splash Mountain (the boys rode 2x thanks to the rider switch program) and Big Thunder Mountain (Jackson rode 2x using rider switch, AJ didn't want to go a second time). Jackson's favorite ride now is Splash Mountain.

Then we took the back way out of Frontierland and headed towards Tomorrowland where we rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Then it was time for some rides for Taylor.

Fantasyland
On our way over to Fantasyland we stopped to take some pictures. It was becoming night time and Cinderella's castle is lit up right as dusk begins. Every 30 minutes it changes color too.
One of the best picture spots in The Magic Kingdom. You can see the rose gardens in the background and a fairly unobstructed view of Cinderella's castle.
Cinderella's castle is so pretty lit up at night time! Every year I stop to get a picture because it's so beautiful! It's redundant and touristy but oh well!

While in Fantasyland we saw Mickey's Phillharmagic. Rode on It's A Small World and ended the day with a spin on Cinderella's Carousel.
We made Taylor sit on the inside with Anthony very close by. He's the oldest he has to look out for the younger ones!
I trusted Jackson enough to sit on the outside on the other side of Anthony.
Yay! Daddy saves mommy's sanity and is right there next to Taylor during the whole ride!

The kids are SACKED OUT! As soon as they got in the car and we buckled them up so we could head to the airport they were zonked. We brought them home and made them shower up because they were sweaty and sticky from the hot humid no breeze day. No homework for the kids on this night.

Orlando Fun...Day 3

Friday, May 8, 2009
Today we checked out of our hotel and went to eat at The Contemporary Resort at Chef Mickey's (7:00 am reservations). It's a character breakfast buffet that has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. The Contemporary Resort is the pyramid shaped resort where the Monorail travels through the inside. It's the only Disney Resort like this. We got some great shots and autographs with the characters and ate some yummy food!

A nice lady sitting next to us offered to take our picture as a family.

Chef Donald Duck and the Kids. This is one of the rare times you ever get to see Donald Duck.

Chef Mickey Mouse and the kids. They are all so lovable! Yes, even Chef Mickey!

Chef Goofy was trained VERY well in knowing where to stand for pictures because he's so tall. You can BARELY tell that he and the boys are about 3 steps BEHIND where Taylor is sitting!!! I even got in on some Character Breakfast picture action. Tony took our picture with Minnie Mouse. Hee hee, I guess I can't always hide behind the camera.

The kids have full bellies and they are getting anxious to go to the park. Fortunately Pluto came around just in time before we started some meltdown/crazy kid mode.

Jackson decided to use the back of his chair as a picture frame! What can I say...CLASSIC Jackson...my goofball!

Anthony reluctantly followed suit. He's sometimes so reserved, it amazes me.

Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Picture Universal Studios, California but Disney themed. There are shows and rides that are completely movie based. It was another warm and very humid day. The kids did great though! Tony and I were a bit tired but the excitement of the morning kept us going. We got to the park right at the opening. What they do is have a small stage show, pick a family from the crowd and use them to help "open" the park to all guests. Once the park is "opened" you see 2 massive crowds of people. The first set headed towards the right to the newest ride in the park Toy Story Mania. The second set headed to the left towards The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Staring Aerosmith.

We followed to the right towards Toy Story Mania. It amazed me that the line to the Fast Pass stations and onto the actual ride were equally long. Toy Story Mania is the newest ride in this park so of course everyone wants to ride it first and get their Fast Passes as soon as they can. Some locals told us that when the ride first opened a few months prior, all the Fast Passes would be gone for the day by 9:30am. What we did was split up. Me and the kids stood in the ride queue line while Tony stood in the Fast Pass line. Believe it or not, we made it at the same time to enter the building where the ride is housed.

The inside of this ride is very colorful and decorated up like a big toy store...Actually it's supposed to be Andy's room. Everything is big and it makes you feel like a kid again. You have the Barrel of Monkeys, a Scrabble board decorates the ceiling and so do Blocks.

Jackson loves sharks and ocean life so naturally I had to get him posing by the Shark card from the "Go Fish" game.

Candyland anyone? Me and the boys love playing this game! In fact all of our favorite games are set up inside this ride.

One of the great things is this giant animatronic Mr. Potato Head. He'll tell jokes and call out to people waiting in line and talk to them.

The second attraction we did was Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage. The Disney shows that were incorporated in the attraction were Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Handy Manny. I hate to say it but I wasn't impressed. I liked the original one much better with Bear in the Big Blue House, The Adventures of Winnie The Pooh and Rollie Pollie Ollie. I was let down by this attraction this time around. I felt as though the second Playhouse Disney wasn't as energetic as the original one. The one with Bear had the right amount of energy. It got the kids excited, it calmed them down and then got them excited again. You left feeling really upbeat! The second one got the kids really excited at the beginning but didn't retain the momentum. I walked out of the auditorium lacking a bit of energy than when I walked in.

Fast Pass Time! We went back to ride Toy Story Mania and afterwards I took Taylor to see Voyage of The Little Mermaid while Tony took the boys to ride on Star Tours. There was a very low wait time for Star Tours so he had the boys try to do the Jedi Training Academy but they didn't get picked from the crowd immediately so they left. We then met up for lunch at the Sci-Fi Diner. This restaurant is themed like a huge drive-in movie theater. You sit and eat in booths that are made up like a car and can watch movies on the big screen. Anthony had on his "Happy Birthday" button and she offered him up an ice cream sundae. We sang to him and she was kind enough to bring all three kids a glow in the dark water bottle filled with caramel corn.

Taylor and I sat in the "front seat" of our dining car. She LOVED watching the movies they showed on the big screen.

Hi Boys! Anthony and Jackson were supposed to sit in the middle row and Tony took the 3rd row but after a period of time Jackson got cold and snuggled up with Tony. I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant but it was so dark you could barely tell what you were eating and couldn't see if you dropped any food on the floor.

Afterwards, I took Taylor to see Beauty and The Beast - Live on Stage show while Tony took the boys to see the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Taylor was really excited for it to begin but fell asleep in my arms about 8 minutes before show time and she was so tired that I couldn't wake her up so she missed the whole thing. Fortunately, I captured most of it on video for her. But of course in her mind, it never even happened.

We left the park early and checked into our timeshare at the Westgate Vacation Villas. We are actually staying at the Westgate Towne Center. It's AWESOME! It's a 3 bedroom lock off which means that there's a 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom units that share a common entrance hallway. We are staying in the 1 bedroom side while my aunts and my mom will stay on the 2 bedroom side when they arrive. I'm so glad we were able to get the 3 bedroom because the 1 bedroom side doesn't have laundry facilities inside the property so we have to continually jump into the 2 bedroom side to do our laundry. We come in, lock the front hallway door and then leave the A and B sides open and just let the kids run between the 2 rooms until it's time for them to go to bed. While Tony checked us into the timeshare, this is what the kids did in the car...

Socializing
For dinner we met up with my co-worker Manuel and his family, wife Wanda and son Jean-Luc at Houlihan's for dinner. We had great conversation and a good meal. We don't have a Houlihan's in Tucson so that was a nice change of pace. I believe they are owned by the same parent company that owns Bennigan's because the interior looks similar. The kids really took a liking to Jean-Luc.

Then we came back to the timeshare, Anthony did more homework and we went to bed. Jackson had finished all of his homework so he got to watch some T.V. with Taylor before it was bedtime.

Orlando Fun...Day 2

Thursday, May 7, 2009
We purchased 4 day tickets that came with 3 days free and 7 days for water parks and Disney Quest. Not a bad deal considering how expensive everything Disney is! We decided against the park hopper option because our previous experience in Orlando taught us that with little ones, a park hopper is unnecessary. When the kids are older and they can move faster, then we'll start to consider the park hopper option again.

Blizzard Beach
Today was our day to go to Blizzard Beach. It is a huge water park that was perfect for us and the kids. We stayed there about 4 hours. Handy tip: You must get there early (a little before opening) or else you can't find a place to "park" your belongings and grab a seat in the park.

The kids had so much fun sliding and enjoying the water. This park had something for every member of the family to do. We all rode the lazy river tubes in "Melt Away Bay"...my ONLY time "tubing". For the Arizonans you know about tubing down the Salt River Canyon...I'm one of the FEW natives who has never been. Hee hee, tubing in Orlando is MUCH better and probably cleaner anyway!

Anthony rode a zipline ride and got catapolted into a pool of water. Jackson conquered walking across the ice glaciers in the Ski Patrol Training Camp area and Taylor tubed by herself down the water slides in the Tykes Peak area. The whole family rode a chair lift up to the top of a Mount Gushmore and conquered Teamboat Springs. It is a water slide where 4-6 people fit in a huge family raft and coast down a winding river slide. Very fun and very fast!

Of course we didn't bring our camera and I didn't think it was necessary to purchase a water proof camera. To our surprise Disney had their photographers out and about around the park snapping pictures of everyone. We got a great shot of Anthony coming down on the zipline. Disney sure KNOWS how to market and "trap" you into their magic!

Downtown Disney
After we had our fill of water and sliding, we came back to the hotel and showered up and then went to Downtown Disney where we shopped and got dessert at Goofy's Candy Company! It was WONDERFUL! Of course we hit the Lego store for the boys and World of Disney for Taylor. Team Mickey Athletic Club for Tony and yes for mom...Goofy's Candy Co. It's at Goofy's that mom has the most fun. No where else can you order a custom dessert made right in front of your eyes. I always go for the custom caramel apple but this trip I decided to try the Mickey Rice Krispie Treat. Tony went for the pretzel sticks, Anthony had the marshmallows, Taylor had the fudge filled oreo cookie and Jackson decided on the apple.
Here's how you order:
1. Decide which treat you want
Caramel Apple
Oreo Cookie
Rice Krispie Treat
Pretzel Rods
Marshmallows
Gingerbread Cookie

2. Choose your Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
Dark Chocolate

3. Choose your Toppings
Crushed oreo crumbs
M&Ms
Reeces Pieces
Sprinkles
Gummy Bears
Peanuts
Pecans
Milk Chocolate Drizzle
Dark Chocolate Drizzle
White Chocolate Drizzle
Caramel Drizzle

Sit back and watch the magic and sugar shock begin!

Then it was back to the hotel for the boy's homework time and sleeping. There's not that many pictures from this day just due to the nature of our activities. It was relaxing and so nice to have a change of pace than doing a theme park all the time.