Disney World, 2018, Days 4-6

We left off on day three, where we were at Magic Kingdom.  We have been going hard every single day, and today was no different.  Day four has us going to Epcot.  We weren't as excited to visit this park as the others, because we hadn't heard much about it that was good.  We were pleasantly surprised, and this ended up being Brad's favorite park.  We rode rides, walked around and went to many shows.  Our favorite show that we saw, was the Gaurdian's of the Galaxy show.  We got the most adorable Groot cup.  The kids danced and sang to all of the songs, and it was adorable. Something that was on my bucket list for Epcot, was to get a Starbucks drink and to try out some of the drinks of the world.  We had heard that the Starbucks inside Epcot was the absolute best. To be honest, it wasn't any different than ours back home, except it was in the best possible location!  We loved trying the different drinks around the world.  Our personal favorite was the Beverly.  Another bucket list item was the rose gold cupcake that we had heard so much about.  Rose gold was definitely the thing while we were there.  People had rose gold EVERYTHING!  We walked through about half of the different countries.  We enjoyed learning about different cultures and we loved watching the kids interact in them.  Our meal that we had planned was an evening dinner at Akershush.  This was a Princess character meal.  My son was annoyed and the only thing he enjoyed was the meal itself. Typical boy!  Just like every other restaurant, the kids were treated like royalty because it was their birthday week.  When we left, we were amazed with how gorgeous Spaceship Earth was!  We took numerous pictures. 

Groot cup!

Rose Gold Cupcake

Sophie's Belle Cupcake

                               
                                             Belle and Sophie               Happy Birthday!

Spaceship Earth...We loved how it changed colors constantly!

Brad stayed back at the resort to do laundry, which I didn't mind. I think he was burnt out on the park for a bit and just wanted to chill.  He planned on meeting up with us for our meal reservations.  We were excited to start our 5th day, because we were headed back to Magic Kingdom.  We wanted to get more castle pictures and we were excited to ride some of the rides we missed.  We met so many characters on this day.  Sophie bought an autograph book and a penny book for the pressed pennies.  We found many places to flatten them, so her book was filled by the end of the trip.    Remember the bucket list items?  Well, we finally got to meet Gaston!  It was so much fun!  Some of the food items on our list was a churro and a Cheshire Cat Tail.  They were both amazing. We got to try and muscle the Sword in the Stone from its perch. We had heard that sometimes, the sword gets pulled out.  A tip that we had heard, was that if you ask a staff member in the shops for some magic, they will quote the Tinkerbelle ditty, and sprinkle some pixie dust on your head.  Well, Sophie and I tried it out, and we both got a dose of magic sprinkled on us for the day.  Today was the day that we get to eat at the CASTLE!!!  We were stoked about this and were all looking forward to it.  We had a late afternoon reservation.  The kids got swords and wands, and yet again, the waitress made sure if was very special for their birthdays.  The food was decent and the view was spectacular. Towards the end of the day, we started to make our way to the front of the park for the nightly show.  We got the kids some glow in the dark cotton candy and found some pretty decent spots to wait.  It touched me more than I thought it would.  When a group of hundreds of people join in and sing songs from Frozen, it is certainly touching.  Brad and I were quite impressed with how much work had to have gone into the show.  After the fireworks were over, we got a few pictures in front of the castle.  I was glad that I paid extra for the picture plan.  We got some pretty sweet shots.  We only had our cell phones in the park so it was nice to get decent shots with all of us together. One thing that we were upset about today, was the fact that the carousel was  shut down for maintenance, but that stuff has to get done.   Overall, it was a fantastic day, but we were sad to leave, since this was our last day at Magic Kingdom.

                    
                     Cheshire Cat Tail and some street art after we had a good rain blow through.

              
                     Castle Picture                                                          Gaston
 

Birthday Dessert from Cinderella's Royal Table

Cinderella

                        
                                              These pictures don't do the castle justice

Animal Kingdom was on the docket for day six!  We weren't interested in the animals, because we have been to zoos, so we didn't want to waste our time with that.  Our favorite part of the park was Pandora, Expedition Everest and the Rivers of Light show.  Expedition Everest was ridden by the kids at least three times. They would have done it more if we would have let them. We were NOT impressed with the Dinosaur land.  It felt like cheap carnival rides to us and we spent very little time there.  There were some African street shows  going on that were fun and interactive.  Sophie enjoyed being taught some dances.  The one area that was truly spectacular, was the world of Pandora.  The details that went into the planning was insane.  At night, when it was all lit up, it was magical.  Pandora was fairly new when we were there, so it was extremely long waiting for the two rides.  Luckily, it got fast passes for both of them.  I got one for each day. There were shops in Pandora that were selling the Avatar ears and knives.  Sophie got one of each, and Braden only wanted the knife.  They were super cute on the kids.  Our dinner for the day was lunch at Tusker House, which was a character meal.  We met Mickey and friends dressed for the safari.  This was a dinner and a show package.  We got special fast pass tickets for seating at the Rivers of Light show for that evening.  This meal was a buffet and the characters came around to our tables.  It was very interactive and fun.  Again, Braden, being a bit older and being a boy, wasn't into it as much as Sophie.  We had another busy day, and as soon as the nightly show was over, a torrential down pour happened.  We basically ran through the rain to the busses.  We had quite an ending to another wonderful day.

XOXO...Becky

P.S.  Picture overload again!



My little Avatar

Finally got him in a picture with a Character

This picture does not to the Tree of Life justice

                                

In front of Everest 

Enjoying some Mickey ice cream sandwiches! 

Rivers of Life 

Pandora’s Na’Vi River Journey

They were posing for me before we rode Expedition
Everest 

Disney World 2018, Days 1-3

Disney has been on my bucket list for a long time.  We have saved for two years to get there!  Like I said, in the Florida post, I should have booked the beach AFTER Disney, because we ran for 9 days straight, and would have benefited from relaxing on a beach.  When I say we ran, I mean we walked 10 plus miles each and every day and were up from sunrise to well after sunset! I have always said that once we do Disney, I will not do it again.  One and done, I said.  Well, after spending over a week at Disney, we have definitely changed our minds! We will be heading back at least every four years or so. I wanted to get the best picture of the Disney sign while driving in.  We were heading into the park around 0630 in the morning, so it was a bit dark, yet.  I also had thought in my mind that there was a spot to get out for pictures, but I was wrong.  No matter, we felt super excited just by driving underneath it!

We booked our vacation directly through the Disney website.  This was a whole process that I was only slightly prepared for.  Once I had our dates, room and tickets booked, there were other dates I needed to keep in mind. At 90 days prior to leaving, since I booked on their site, we were able to make reservations to the restaurants on property.  We did the moderate dining plan.  I knew we would do a lot of eating and I didn't want any of it to be out of pocket.  I wanted everything to be prepaid.  Right at the time I was able to make the reservations at the 90 day mark, I got up and made sure that we got every single one that we wanted.  There was nothing that I didn't get, and I was glad to have this option.  At 60 days out, we were able to make our fast pass selections.  I was unfamiliar with Fast Pass, but I had thankfully done some research on the rides that I needed to get ASAP.  We ended up getting everything we wanted for that, as well.  I missed out on getting the new Slinky Dog ride, but I had heard some tips on how to basically walk onto it.  It is definitely a process, getting the reservations, fast passes and good deals on the trip!  Another convenient part, was that our tickets were mailed to us a few weeks before we left.  Our tickets were the magic bands that we would wear while at the parks.  Our magic band is also used as a room key and like a debit card.

For our first day, we had Hollywood Studios planned.  We parked in the parking lot on the first day, because we hadn't checked in to our room yet. As soon as we got into the park, we went to guest relations so we could pick up some birthday buttons for both kids, since their birthdays are that week and one the next week.  We also got our first visit buttons. The Very first ride that we rode was Star Tours.  We had a blast!  Next, we ventured to the brand new Toy Story Land.  We met some toy soldiers and rode the Buzz Lightyear cars.  We did not get a fast pass for the new roller coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, but we planned to ride it in the evening when the lines got smaller.  I had read that we would basically be able to walk onto it when everyone leaves to watch the nightly shows.  The March of the First Order went through, and it was spectacular!  We are Star Wars fans, so it was definitely something to see.  We got to meet a lot of characters that day and we didn't mind standing indoors for them, as it was nice and cool.  July in Orlando is quite hot!  We had lunch at Backlot Express and used one of our meal credits. The kids got some yummy cupcakes.  Sophie got a BB8 one and Braden got a chocolate sith.  We watched the Beauty and the Beast show and rode many more rides.  I don't recall standing in line more than 30 minutes for any rides we didn't have fast passes for.  If we did, we didn't notice because like Universal, most of the queues are interactive. The Indiana Jones show was probably our favorite! We wouldn't have minded watching it again!  Our reservation for the evening was at Scifi.  The theme was Scifi, of course, but inside, there were lots of old cars lined up like we were at a drive in movie theater.  On the big screen, were old Scifi film clips.  The food was decent, but the ambiance was out of this world.  See what I did there??  After dinner, we rode a few rides than we made our way to the front, where there would be a nighttime show.  Slinky Dog would have to wait until the second day we visit the park.  My kids were exhausted, and where we sat to wait on the show, one of them fell asleep on my legs.  The show was loud and caught our attention.  It was a Star Wars theme. It was an exhausting first day, but well worth it.
 
         

 

                            

SciFi Restaurant

Waiting on the Nighttime fireworks

 
On day two, we were able to explore our resort for a short bit in the morning.  We booked the Caribbean Beach Resort. We decided to have breakfast there and we used a quick service meals.  We had the iconic mickey waffles, of course.  There was some construction going on at the resort, so they had a huge meal tent set up, which was fine with us.  No matter what type of vacation we are on, as long as the room is clean, we don't care, because we don't plan on being in the room long enough! When we got to the park, we basically rode the rides that we didn't have the chance to ride the day before.  Brad and I enjoy rollercoasters, but we did sit out during the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  Sophie said that was her favorite ride in that park.  Our dinner that we had planned for the day was at Mama Melrose's Italian Restaurant.  It had basic Italian food and we didn't feel like it was anything special.  Our waitress saw that it was the kids' birthdays, and she brought out a special meatball cupcake and sang to them.  This reservation was dinner with a show included. It was the same cost from out dining plan as a regular reservation, so it was a no brainer for me. The show included was Fantasmic, but it wasn't until much later in the evening.  Our waitress gave us special tickets.  While we were eating, there was a storm that rolled through.  It was over in a matter of minutes and cooled everything down. It also thinned the crowd and we were able to run over and ride the Slinky Dog Dash.  It was so much fun!  Fantasmic was a show about Sorcerer Mickey and him defeating the dragon.  I looked at the kids at one point, and they were totally focused on watching the show.  It was bright, flashy, loud, and had fireworks, fire and water. At the end, a boat with all of the Disney princesses  and some other characters floated through. It was a wonderful end to a jam packed day.  Unfortunately, there are no more days at Hollywood Studios.  We spaced it so that we would get one day at a water park and two days at each of the Disney parks. 


Meatball Cupcake from Mama Melrose's



Entering into Hollywood Studios





Snowman in July

Caribbean Beach Resort

Iconic Mickey Waffles!!!

Entering Hollywood Studios

  

I know, it's picture overload!  Day three took us to a new park and we were soooooo excited!  We would finally lay our eyes on Cinderella's Castle!  We couldn't wait!  We had matching shirts laid out and we had booked a photographer for a few hours that day. We used the resort buses to get to the park.  They were surprisingly fast.  We had reservations for the Crystal Palace for breakfast, and they had Winnie the Pooh characters.  The kids could have cared less about this, but me on the other hand...bring it on!  I was super stoked!!!  It was a buffet and they had the usual lay out for breakfast.  Of course, we ate entirely too much. 



Our VERY FIRST view of Cinderella's Castle!





After breakfast, we rode rides until mid morning and then we met the photographer.  They did an amazing job.  They put us in areas where there was less foot traffic.  We even took some pictures on the 7 Dwarves Mine train and Dumbo.  I will post some pictures below.  We had a few things on our bucket list for this park.  Sophie and I wanted to try some macaroons, LeFou's Brew and we wanted to meet Gaston.  We got to accomplish two tasks.  Gaston will have to wait until our next Magic Kingdom day.  The reservations were for Be Our Guest.  This was a very coveted reservation.  We got seated in the main ballroom, but were able to get up and check out the other areas, though.  We went into the west wing to check out the rose.  We were told that it would continuously lose a petal, and it did not disappoint! Just like with every other place we had eaten so far, the waitress made a big deal out of the kids' birthdays.  They sang to them and brought them out a special treat.  For dessert, we had "The Grey Stuff" and it was delicious just as the dishes foretold!  Once dinner was done, we got to meet Beast.  Another thing on our bucket list for today was a picture with the lanterns from Tangled.  After we got our pictures, we were exhausted from rides, shows, character meet and greets, and eating all day.  We have one more day at Magic Kingdom, so we figured we would watch the nightly show then. 

XOXO...Becky

More pictures below!!! 

LeFou's Brew

Cinderella's Castle

                            

Macaroons

The Beast

                                             


The Grey stuff

Our Lantern picture!  We stood in line for about 40 minutes to get this shot!
It was well worth the wait!  Braden and Brad went to do other stuff while we waited
and I think they missed out on a great shot!   

                                        The pictures below were taken by our photographer. It was $300 and included al pictures digitally and a few hours with them. They are on Facebook and Instagram. It was worth it! These are just a few of the pictures we have.



Florida, 2018

We have never been to the East Coast of Florida before.  We have always gone to the Panhandle, which we love, but we needed a change.  Since we were going to Orlando for a Disney Vacation, it sounded like the best move.  We should have went to the beach after Disney so we could relax.  I'm not quite sure what I was thinking!  We left on Sophia's birthday, so I made sure that I had some cupcakes for us to enjoy on the road.  We made it pretty far driving the first day, and stayed in Jacksonville, Florida. The next morning, we got up early and headed to the beach.  We had never been to this side of Florida.  I was not impressed with the water clarity, but the beaches were nice.  One of the things we love to do is find beach glass and shells.  We found lots of glass to bring home for the beach jar.  Many people were searching the beach for shark teeth. Some of the beach glass is pictured below.
 
             
 
After spending most of the afternoon on the beach, we ventured to St. Augustine.  We absolutely fell in love with the town.  It had such a good vibe to it.  We would definitely like to visit again.  While in St. Augustine, we decided to check out the Fountain of Youth.  It was fairly cheap to get into the park.  We were starving, so I was glad that they had a grill there.  They served up some tasty burgers and fries.  There was ample seating for everyone and it was covered with umbrellas to keep you out of the sun.  We walked around the park by doing the self tour.  When we got to the fountain, everyone was handed a glass to get a drink.  This was the most awful tasting water I have ever had.  It tasted like I took a drink from a garbage can.  It was awful.  I don't know that it made more youthful or not, but it definitely made my stomach turn! They had a lot of peacocks and wildlife running around the park.  The kids got a huge kick out of feeding the birds and the squirrels.  They spent probably an  hour doing this.  We got to watch a worker, who was dressed as a Spanish conquistador shoot a cannon over the bay, which was surprisingly neat and interesting to watch.  It made us jump, even though we knew the sound was coming.  Another worker was showing people how to make nails and other metals from a blacksmith barn.  The kids each got a nail. 

The drive to The Fountain of Youth.
We loved this street and thought it was so beautiful!

Below is the entrance to The Fountain of Youth Park and us getting a sip of the water (blech)
I also included some pictures of the kids feeding the birds and the cannon, because honestly, they enjoyed this part of the park more than anything!
                                                                                 
                           FYI:  Brad thought the water tasted like Satan's butthole as well!

                             
They had the best time with these birds!  It was so funny to see the birds interacting with them!

Braden feeding
a peacock!

We enjoyed the trees.  I know it sounds silly, but we are from the Midwest, and there are definitely not trees like this in Illinois!  


 

After visiting the Fountain of Youth, it was finally time to check into our beach house! We couldn't check in until 3pm, since this was our first day.  Our beach house had a nice ocean view and there were tortoises hanging out in the yard, which was so neat for the kids to see.  While walking on our beach near the beach house, was also ran across some protected turtle nests.           
                           





On the second day, we headed into town and found the Lighthouse.  It was stunning.  We had never been into a lighthouse before.  It was fairly cheap to get in.  The only issue was finding a place to park.  It was extremely packed and seemed to be a pretty popular tourist attraction.  While we were walking around the courtyard, Sophie found a rock that someone had painted!  We made sure to post it to the Facebook page as we were instructed to on the back of the rock. 

We generally ALWAYS rehide rocks, because we paint them to hide as well, but this one was too good to let go.  We kept it and it's sitting in my daughter's room with her other souvenirs.

The lighthouse had a fantastic view of the ocean and the town.  On the way up, there were cases with artifacts, pictures and games for the kids to play.  The games were learning games, such as how much a bucket of coal weighed that the keeper would have to carry up the stairs every day.  It was neat for them to get hands on. 

My honey and I at the top

Braden loved to be up top.  Sophie was a bit more skeptical, like me. The view from the outside, was just as spectacular.

After the lighthouse, we went to Castillo de san Marcos, the Bridge of Lions, and many other historical sites.  The Bridge of Lions is the type of bridge that opens up for large boats to pass underneath.  We saw it go up once to let a large yacht pass underneath. We made an early night of it, because were were heading down the coast to a different beach the following day.   

                          

                

                         

On our third day, we spent our entire day at Melbourne beach, which is were our next condo was located.  The view from our balcony was to die for.  Our condo was huge.  Our room was huge, the bathtub was huge, the shower was huge, literally EVERYTHING was nice and spacious! We didn't leave the condo all day, we just spent the entire time on the beach.  They had a pool, a snack bar, and some games such as shuffle board for the kids.  That night, Brad did some night fishing and we hunted crabs.  The kids love doing this any time we are on the beach.  We collected them all in buckets, then of course release them not too long after. 

The view from our balcony

 Our last day before we headed to Orlando to visit Disney, we laid on the beach the entire day.  The only time we left, was late in the evening for some Chinese food and ice cream!  Overall, I think we would definitely stay on this side of Florida again.  The water clarity wasn't our favorite, but the beaches were nice and not too crowed. We enjoyed it! 

XOXO...Becky