Mouseketeers

Our trip to Disney World last month was magical!

Graham had a rough time on the flight, but thankfully we'll never see those people again ;)

We hadn't told the boys about our trip ahead of time, so waking up on Sunday morning and seeing their suitcases was a HUGE surprise! It was so much fun to see their expressions and excitement!

Chef Mickey's! In a word? Overrated. But still fun.

Graham was fascinated by the characters.

On Monday we went to Hollywood Studios where I raced to sign the boys up for Jedi Knight Training - this was a true highlight of the trip for both Harrison & Sawyer who got to fight Darth Vader on stage!

Graham was ever the captive audience.

A favorite ride for the entire family! We rode this 5 times during the week.

On Tuesday it was off to Epcot.

So much good food to be had...I so love the orange chicken in China! The bigger highlight for the boys was riding Soarin' and Fast Track.

On Wednesday we started the day with breakfast at Ohana's - our favorite from two years ago, and it did not disappoint.

Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom

Our weather was literally perfect all week long! We stayed at the Polynesian and the boys were able to swim twice at the awesome pool.

I reserved spots for both boys to join the Pirate League, but Harrison wasn't interested in having his face painted. Sawyer on the other hand, went all out! It took a lot of elbow grease to get the mascara off that night - but he was thrilled with his transformation.

Harrison's favorite ride - Rockin' Roller Coaster
Sawyer's favorite ride - Tower of Terror
Graham's favorite ride - none. He was all about meeting the characters. He did LOVE the Philharmagic show though, he squealed and shrieked with delight the entire movie.

Thursday we had a yummy breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and then headed back to Hollywood Studios (probably our favorite of all the parks!)

On Friday we went to Animal Kingdom, and we were prepared for the Kali River Rapids this time!

Sawyer actually got a bloody nose the first time he rode Expedition Everest and tried to bury his face in the saftey bar. But that was at night, in the daytime he excitedly rode it twice more.

We spent our last day riding Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios and then getting some final pictures at the Magic Kingdom.

So much fun, and so many memories!

cue summer vacation

We decided to kick-off Harrison's summer break with a family adventure. We packed our suitcase and didn't tell the boys what we had planned for the next couple of days. Our first stop was breakfast at Cracker Barrel (I think every road trip should include this step!) There, we revealed that we were headed for Crystal Cave and assured Sawyer that there wouldn't be any bears ;)

It was pouring rain when we arrived - so we were the only ones there! We got a private tour of the cave and saw a sleeping bat on the way out!

From there it was off to The Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. Our experience wasn't as positive as when we stayed at the one in Williamsburg, Virginia, but overall, it was a fun stay! I don't think you need more then one night there, especially when you are almost 6 months pregnant!

I wish I could use these magic wands to make my boys stop fighting and whining!

On Friday afternoon we went to see UP! I wasn't sure it would live up to all the hype, but it was FANTASTIC!

Finally, this morning it was off to Camp-Men-O-Lan for some fishing. Some of you may remember our experience last year, where we won the award for catching the most pond grass (and ZERO fish). This year in less then an hour, Harrison caught 8 fish, Sawyer caught 2, and I caught 1! It was a "first catch" for all three of us! Jonathan graciously spent his time baiting our hooks.

We have more fun planned for Monday, fingers crossed that the rain will stay away!

days six & seven

Whew! Wrapping up here!
On day six we found out that Hollywood Studios was opening early, so we were there at 8am and ready to ride Toy Story Mania twice more! I was disappointed to learn that Lightening McQueen wasn't there on Saturday, but we did enjoy the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show and Backlot Express. Harrison rode and loved Rockin' Roller Coaster.

That night we had dinner at Epcot's Garden Grille, luckily, I had already stuffed myself with the delicious orange chicken in China because the food was almost inedible for me. The atmosphere also felt dingy - our least favorite meal of the week, by a lot! But, on the bright side, it was nice for the boys to see the characters one last time.

Sunday was our last day at Disney. So we capped off the trip with a final stop at the Magic Kingdom. We rode some of our favorites one last time, as well as hitting some rides we hadn't gotten to before
Snow White's Scary Adventure & The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - I love these both!
Swiss Family Treehouse - Harrison is a big fan of the movie, so this was fun for him to explore!
Indy Speedway - a favorite for Sawyer

Who knew our flight home would turn into a ride, too?

It was a great vacation!

day five

I apologize if your eyes are glazing over at this point, but I want to document all of these details before I forget - it's already jumbling together in my mind...
So, day 5 we headed to Animal Kingdom, bright and early for our safari breakfast at the Tuskar House. We had great food and great character interaction, plus another fun parade through the restaurant.

We were first in line for Kilimanjaro Safari, and as you can see the giraffe got VERY close to our jeep - amazing!

Harrison was a thrill seeker and rode Expedition Everest twice - I didn't think it lived up to all the hype, personally. On the other hand, I don't recall anyone mentioning the ride Dinosaur, so I had no expectations and I thought it was fantastic! Harrison squeezed his eyes shut at a couple of spots, but still rode it again with Jonathan - I consider it the real sleeper ride of Disney!

We also were blown away by the Lion King show, in my opinion it was Broadway worthy! The new Finding Nemo Musical was also very good, but not as mesmerizing, and a bit on the long side - Sawyer fell asleep. Our biggest mistake of the entire trip was riding Kali River Rapids, we were ring your shirts out, soaking, sopping wet and I didn't even think the ride was that fun! Definitely not worth it for me or Sawyer - we complained A LOT about our uncomfortable wet clothes, while Harrison figured since he was already wet, why not ride it again with dad?!

To get us back into good spirits we decide to go shopping at Downtown Disney that night. Nothing like some retail therapy and a yummy dinner from Earl of a Sandwich to cheer you up! The boys were so excited to play at the Lego store and stuff a Mr. Potato Head box at Once Upon a Toy - we spent a ton on souvenirs and I would have bought Christmas presents too, if I'd had room in our suitcases.

days three & four

I really didn't expect to enjoy Hollywood Studios as much as we did, but it was an absolute hit with Harrison and Sawyer.

We made a beeline for Toy Story Mania as soon as the park opened, and it did not disappoint. This was our favorite attraction of the entire trip! We immediately grabbed fast passes so we could go again. Good thing, since all the fast passes were gone before it was even lunch time!

Another thrill for Harrison was watching the Indiana Jones show

Other rides we checked out:
The Great Movie Ride - Harrison loved the shoot outs.
Muppet Vision 3D and Honey I Shrunk the Kids - which don't compare to Philarmagic for me, but the boys enjoyed both.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid - Harrison initially protested that this was for girls, but the villain and water effect had him loving it!
Tower of Terror - Harrison loved this and rode it twice, he did however get a little apprehensive at bedtime and decided to sleep in the bottom bunk, next to us, for the rest of our trip- lol.
Playhouse Disney- Sawyer loved dancing along at this live show, but Jonathan and I (along with all the parents in our section) thought the teeny tiny size of the characters was pretty lame (and hard to see!) Here is Sawyer trying to blow out the birthday candles on Minnie Mouse's cake - so cute!

We tried to sneak our 38" Sawyer onto Star Tours which had a 40" minimum to ride, but no dice. Jonathan hopped out of line with him and I rode with Harrison, I did not enjoy this one at all - I think along with spinning in circles, I don't tolerate the flight simulator rides well, either. Harrison liked it, but didn't ask to ride again.

Since it was a warm day, we took the boys back to the hotel in the afternoon so they could swim. Harrison had been begging to use the pool from the moment he saw it (we had a great view from our balcony) The water was heated, and the water slide was a highlight for both boys. That night we had our best meal of the week at The Kona Cafe (DELICIOUS!) After dinner, we were exhausted, but Harrison really wanted to head back to Hollywood Studios and see Fantasmic, so we decided to press on. The show was truly magical, and breathtaking - we all loved it! This will be a MUST see for me in the future.

On Thursday before heading to Epcot for the day, we took some photos at the hotel. I didn't see another hotel all week that would tempt me not to stay at The Wilderness Lodge, again (well, except for the Grand Floridian - which I think my boys would feel out of place in with all it's foufyness)

At Epcot we checked out the rest of the rides
Lving with the Land
Test Track - I thought it was so cool to be taken outdoors on the track, Harrison rode twice
Soarin - Harrison loved it, I skipped it when I found out it was another simulator
The Circle of Life - short film that I took Sawyer to while Harrison was on Soarin - so BORING, Sawyer fell asleep again.
Journey into Imagination - cute! I've always liked this one!
Turtle Talk with Crush - adorable!
Maelstrom - Harrison loved the vikings!
Gran Fiesta Tour - Sawyer was excited when we told him he'd be meeting Donald Duck the next day!



As much as we loved our hotel, Jonathan and I agreed that The Whispering Canyon Cafe, where we ate for dinner, was just mediocre. Expcept for the milkshakes...those were YUM!

day two

The day kicked off with breakfast at Ohana's (located in the Polynesian hotel). My boys were especially excited to meet Lilo & Stitch and Mickey Mouse. Our pals Goofy, and Pluto were there too! After autographs and photos, they passed out maracas and did a parade through the restaurant. Our food was excellent!

Then it was back to Magic Kingdom for more rides

Space Mountain (Harrison) - he loved it, and rode it twice
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Harrison) - loved it!
Peter Pan's Flight - we were very lucky to meet Pan himself!

Mickey's PhilarMagic - a favorite for all of us! Sawyer trying to reach out and grab the 3-D images was just priceless.
Golden Carousel - Sawyer wanted to ride this over and over

Dumbo - I still remember riding these when I was five years old!

Mad Tea Party - many thanks to Jonathan for riding this with the boys, as it makes me sick to even look at!
Astro Orbiter - I decided at the top that I couldn't stomach this one either, I just can't handle rides that go around in circles. Blech. The boys (especially Sawyer) loved this! You are supposed to be 7 to ride alone, but no one questioned Harrison when I wimped out of my rocket ride.
Stitch's Great Escape - didn't scare Harrison
Barnstormer - another favorite of Harrison's from our last time at Disney, and a favorite for both boys this time!

It's a Small World - I got a little teary thinking about my grandmother and how this ride was her favorite!

That night we went to Epcot for just a couple of hours, the boys enjoyed Spaceship Earth (the new ending is so fun!) and The Seas with Nemo they were also thrilled to discover McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner! Aah, all the comforts of home!