Thursday 2.12.09 - Left at 8:30 pm
Friday 2.13.09 - Friday we drove all day long. In the morning for breakfast we stopped at Cracker Barrel and lunch was just in the car. We even made a pit stop at Walmart to get Greg some sunglasses to go on his regular glasses. With a total of 2 stops for gas, the cracker barrel, Walmart and one other leg stretching break we arrived in Ocala, Florida at around 4pm. The kids were beyond perfect in the car... a few times I had to check to make sure they were there! The hardest part was Jacob had a bit of an issue with sleeping in the car. He kept moaning and crying in his sleep saying "my back" or "my knee". Not Grace... she was out and slept for a very long time! Jacob was hilarious when we stopped for breakfast he went to get out and said "Mom, I can't feel my butt!"
Once we arrived in Ocala we checked in to the Fairfield Inn and took the kids to the pool for a bit. They loved it! For dinner we went to Ruby Tuesdays... everyone was starving! After dinner Doe had special cookies for the kids for Valentine's day!
We had our first experience of all of us in one room (Me, Greg, Doe, Jacob & Grace) and we all fell asleep by 8:30 we were so tired. I thought I may get back up after everyone was asleep and that never happened!
Saturday 2.14.09 (Valentine's Day!) - We woke up on this gorgeous day (80 degrees) and after breakfast at the hotel we headed from Ocala to the All-Star Sports Resort on Disney property. After we checked in, got our mini-fridge and bedrail for Jacob and UNPACKED the car we had lunch and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We took the Disney Transport buses (this continues to be a highlight of our trip... both kids play bus stop now quite frequently). On the bus Grace & Jacob always wanted their own seats and Grace would say "Mommy, no touch me" if I tried to hold onto her! Little stinker! Jacob was so excited... he saw Mickey & Minnie in a parade they had going through when we arrived. His little precious face was priceless! While at the Magic Kingdom we rode the Carousel of Progress, the Walk Disney World Railroad, Tomorrowland Transit (Jacob & Greg only). We even stopped at Mickey's toon town and saw Mickey's house, Minnie's house, and Pete's Garage. Jacob was so exhausted he fell asleep in the stroller afterwards! That night we headed back to All-Star and Doe and the kids went swimming in the dark... we had pizza by the pool for dinner. Jacob & Doe didn't climb out of the pool until 8:30. Jacob loved it. He circled around the pool in his life jacket reading the numbers along the pool (the numbers that tell you the depth).
We are so pleased with our hotel... it is very family/child friendly. 2 pools, clean rooms and a wonderful staff... it is perfect! Our room location is so optimum... we are on the ground level so there is no stairs or elevators involved... we are also very close to the pool and the parking lot.
We also made our reservations for Chef Mickey's today... we will go tomorrow at 6:50 pm for dinner with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald!
Sunday 2.15.09 - From here on out our vacation time was in the mid-70's with the exception of Friday. After we got up around 8/8:30 am, and dressed, Greg took the kids for a walk around the hotel property (this became a standard for them while Doe & I made lunches... they really enjoyed finding the different characters around there). Today we went to Hollywood Studios (former MGM). We saw the High School Musical Parade... Grace liked the cheerleaders! We also happened upon Goofy & Pluto. Doe actually walked in an area where they were waiting for them so she asked someone and they told us who would be there so we jumped in line! Goofy was even able to sign Jacob's stuffed Goofy doll. We took lots of pictures... even though Grace was screaming her head off and wanted nothing to do with them! (very similar to the Santa experience this year!) We saw a Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage production (very cute... both kids liked this. It had bits from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Pooh and Handy Manny). Then we had our picnic lunch and walked around for a bit before we saw the Muppet Vision 3D show. We then headed back and Greg & I took Jacob to the "Goofy" pool (a pool at our hotel with Goofy in the middle) while Grace & Doe took naps!
That night we took the monorail for the first time to get to Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald all took pictures with Jacob and signed both his & Grace's shirts. Jacob was enamoured with this... his face was priceless as were Grace's shrills when the characters approached her! The dinner was a buffet and there was even an ice cream buffet and dessert bar... although I was so worked up with pictures and autographs I could barely eat with all the excitement going on! On the way out Grace said "Bye _____" to EVERY character she saw!
**On a side note both of the kids developed a rash today. We believe it is from the sunscreen. You can see it in most of the pictures, it was especially bad for Grace and continued through the entire week!
Monday 2.16.09 - After waking around 8:30 am again we did our usual morning ritual of getting everyone ready and then Greg took the kids out while we made lunches. Today we headed to The Animal Kingdom. We took tours of many animal habitats/trails, rode the Wildlife Express Train, and then Doe, Jacob & Greg went on Kilimanjaro Safari's (I couldn't ride due to pregnancy so Grace & I hung back). We also had a picnic lunch here and explored many different areas and took lots of pictures! Then Greg & I took the kids on the TriceraTop Spin.
Later we headed back to our hotel and of course... the pool! Jacob couldn't get enough of that! Doe, the kids & I swam while Greg took pictures! He whined that it was too cold!!
We had dinner at Pei Wei (off Disney), Doe & I ran into Walmart for Cheetos (Greg thinks they are gross but I was having a craving) and different sunscreen for Grace & Jacob (it helped Jacob but Grace only a little but not too much) and the kids got a much needed bath! (not much time to squeeze stuff like that in, good thing we have been swimming alot!) The kids were put to bed early because the bachelor was on... lol.
Tuesday 2.17.09 - Today after our "usual" morning routine we headed to Epcot. We went to The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Jacob did not enjoy the shark in that but Grace loved it all. We also toured the aquariums... Jacob loved the yellow fish! Go figure! We stumbled upon "Innoventions" which they both LOVED! They participated in a frog craft (they both picked Mickey ears to decorate their frogs). Jacob's frog was... YELLOW. There was a fire engine that really intrigued Jacob. It was so hands-on and a very neat place. We then settled down for our picnic lunch... after lunch the kids went to get back in the stroller only to find a squirrel in our stroller! Greg said it really startled him... and apparently it was stroller hopping and eating crumbs! We headed to the other part of Innoventions for more hands-on fun. The kids really like the smash lab, especially the part where you could jump on mats and slam doors. Grace really got into that! We decided to head back for a nap since we were going to be back later for the night life at Epcot. We had a nice nap and then a quick dinner (quesadilla's) at the food court (actually I didn't eat because of the stomach pains I was having). On our way back from the food court a little boy asked if Jacob wanted his Mickey Mouse balloon (he was leaving the next day and couldn't bring it on the plane). We said sure... couldn't pass up the $10 balloon we had wanted to buy but was afraid it would deflate. Yeah... it is still a float a week later!
The kids had another treat... Mickey Mouse Rice Crispy treats from Doe. Yum!!
After dinner we headed back to Epcot. Greg went on Spaceship Earth while Doe, the kids & I looked for a spot for "Illuminations" their nighttime laser light show/fireworks. Greg came back and then Doe watched our spot while we took the kids on Spaceship Earth. Jacob loved the end of it when they show a video similar to the elf video we had on here at Christmas (our heads doing funny things). It was very cute! Jacob and Grace found some ducks near our spot while we waited for Illuminations to start... they loved talking to them. When Illuminations started one of the ducks bit Grace (she is still saying Duck Bite when you ask her about hand) so that caused a little commotion on top of the commotion of Jacob HATING the fireworks. He said they were too noisy (we never had a problem with this before but we were really close so I don't know if that made a difference or not). After our late arrival back to our hotel as Greg went to open up the stroller somehow Grace's finger got pinched and it took a huge piece of skin off (since it was late and she was tired we had alot of screams and people stop to see if we needed anything). We took her back to the room and made sure she didn't need stitches (it was a close call). We put a bandaid on, gave her tylenol and she went right to bed. If you ask her about her hand she will tell you "duck bite"... we think she blocked the stroller incident out. Now days later we even noticed she has a blood blister under her nail on that same finger. Surprisingly we took pictures after the incident...
Jacob LOVES his Mickey Mouse Jammies he & Grace got. He won't take them off... that's ok... it is his vacation!
Wednesday 2.18.09 - This morning we decided to hang out around our hotel. We took the kids to the playground (at our hotel) and the pool. I got a little sunburned! We had lunch, took naps, and just relaxed. For dinner we had pizza (at our hotel again... it was actually very good, although this time I didnt' have any again, yup those darn stomach pains). Then we headed to the Magic Kingdom at night. (This seemed to be the time to go... it was so busy during the day with 130 minute wait for rides, at night we walked right on). We rode It's a Small World (everyone loved that!) and then Doe, the kids and I watched "Spectromagic" a nighttime parade and Greg rode on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Space Mountain (since we couldn't go on them anyways). Then Greg came back to get Jacob ("Wishes" fireworks were about to begin... so we got Jacob out of there!) the two of them went on Pirates of the Caribbean (Jacob didn't care for... go figure! Greg told him it was like Captain Feathersword from the wiggles, NOT!) & It's a Small World. Doe, Grace and I met up with them and then Doe took the kids for a walk while Greg & I rode Pirates of the Caribbean (yeah didn't do much for me either!). From there we rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin about 3 times! Jacob loved the "spitting camel" especially because it was mainly Doe & I that got wet! On our way home we had an awesome bus driver "Jeff". They were all nice but he was like a tour guide, telling us about everything!! Did you know...
Disney World has approximately 75,000 employees
Disney World has 300 buses on property
If you did one load of laundry every day for 44 years that would be the amount they do in one day at Disney World.
There was so much more he told us and showed us, it was awesome! Everyone was thanking him on the way off the bus.
Grace must have gotten bored because she fell asleep on the bus! :)
Thursday 2.19.09 - We went to Downtown Disney in the morning. There we shopped a bit and looked around (it was kind of dead during the day). Then we headed to Rainforest Cafe for lunch. The kids really liked it until the Thunder started in there, then they got a little scared. Grace our little eater decided to sample the hot salsa on my plate... her poor mouth was so hot. Luckily some milk took care of it! We then headed back for... NAPS! :) Although Greg didn't get his because he ran to best buy (for another memory stick, since ours was getting full) and subway. I hate to say it... stomach pains again!
We got to Magic Kingdom and watched their "Celebrate It" Parade. We had subway for dinner at the park (brought it in) and then rode: It's a Small World, Tomorrowland Transit, The Magic Carpet of Aladdin, Cinderella's Carousel, and went on the Tommorowland Indy Speedway. The first time Jacob went in the cars (the speedway) Doe & I had an ice cream treat me: a frozen chocolate dipped banana *yum* and Doe had an Mickey ice cream bar. Grace was fine with not going until she saw her brother in a car then she was saying "Me Go!" So since I couldn't ride the four of them went on. We headed out prior to the fireworks starting (or so we thought) since Jacob really didn't like them and asked about them when it got dark. We were waiting for our bus ride back when they started. When the bus finally came there wasn't enough room for all of us so just Jacob & Doe went back while the rest of us waited for the next bus. Since it was a tight squeeze on that bus, Jacob got to stand. He was so excited and stopped crying the minute the bus pulled away. Poor boy, he just doesn't like those noisy things!
Friday 2.20.09 - Our last day of the parks... we again headed to the Magic Kingdom (our favorite place!). When we got there we decided to have Grace's finger checked at the first aide station we stumbled upon. The nurse gave her some ointment, a new bandaid and the "ok". From there we met up with a family from my school (I had there daughter last year). We met up for a picnic lunch and some playtime at the playground "Pooh's Playful Spot". They had alot of fast passes and they were so generous to share them with us so we hung out with them for most of the day. We went with them to Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, Tommorowland Transit (Greg took Jacob to the "cars" since he really wanted to do that instead and during this little excursion Jacob got a big, bloody fat lip when Greg hit the gas too fast). Then we decided to go our separate ways for a bit and meet back up at 3 for the "Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade". We then went to Peter Pan's Flight and then raced back for the parade with the Kirsch's. After the parade we went with them on the Walt Disney World Railroad and on the Jungle Cruise. It was getting late so we said our goodbyes and we took the kids to the ferry's (we had been saying we wanted to ride them all vacation long!) we rode it over to the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. We got out at the Polynesian to see if we could get into O'Hana (a restaurant a parent had told me about) but it was up to a 2 hour wait and the kids were hungry so we left. We then went on our last monorail trip/bus trip! We scrubbed the kids in the hotel bath on last time, packed up, visited the hotel gift shop, ate dinner (kids had leftovers/we had taco bell). After the kids were in bed we grabbed some ice cream (Greg & I sundae's and Doe had an ice cream bar) from the food court. So good!
Saturday 2.21.09 - We left Disney/Florida at 5:40 am. We got up at 4:30 to finish packing the car and getting everyone loaded up. We had a long ride home only stopping for lunch at Atlanta Bread (like Panera) and then dinner at Big Boy in Kentucky. (yeah that was an experience). I did get sick twice on the way home...
We were home at 2 am on Sunday.... it was such a long day. The kids were good, but it was just hard for all of us to be in the car that long. Not to mention our butts were all sore! Oh and I should mention Greg drove all of the 40 hours there and back except about 2 hours Doe drove. I offered but I don't think he wanted my seat in the back with the kids! He said it was because we don't drive fast enough!!
Those that stuck through this LONG post, thanks for listening about our trip. It was such a wonderful memory that we can't wait to experience again! I remember thinking on Monday... gee it is only MONDAY! Then before I knew it I woke up and it was FRIDAY! We did alot, but not everything. I'm ok with that. I wanted my kids to enjoy it, not sleep through it. So many people have said they can't believe we went back to the hotel for naps... and that is my reason. I wanted this trip to be for them and for them to enjoy it, not be crabby and sleepy through it! :) It was so magical to experience it through Jacob, especially. Every parade, character, and experience was so real to him. He thought each character was waving at HIM... his belief in all of it was so special and worth every penny to us.
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1 comment:
don't let anyone get to you, your attention to detail amazes me. :) you are an awesome mother, and this detail will be appreciated by your children someday!
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