Monday - Magic Kingdom

On Monday, we awoke to heavy rain and wind as the northern bands of Tropical Storm Isaac hit us here in Orlando. Still, in the afternoon, we headed out to Magic Kingdom...

What a great decision! The rain had all but stopped by the time we arrived - and it stayed overcast, (relatively) cool, but very humid for the rest of the day... However, the park had very light crowds - apparently the rain overnight and into the mid morning kept people away. We arrived at around 1:00 and we were on Main Street heading out at ten as the fireworks were going off - having done everything we wanted to!

We started by riding the train. Then we got off at Fantasyland and rode the Dumbos twice. Next we headed to Tomorrowland where we road Buzz Lightyear and the People Mover. Then Geoff, Kate, and I rode Buzz two or three more times while Graham, Grant, Mom, and Bobby did Stitch's Great Escape. THen Graham, Grant, and I rode Space Mountain twice (walk on - no fast pass or child swap) whole Grandma, Grandpa, Geoff, and Kate rode the People Mover and the rockets (because Geoffrey spotted the elevator!) THen we all saw Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor.

We headed over to Liberty Square and had lunch at Harbor House, followed by a trip on the Haunted Mansion. I love the hitchhiking ghosts here - they do different tricks - like taking pictures of our faces and then "switching our heads...' Fun! They are digital projections and it is much cooler then home - good update!

Then we did Fantasyland - we rode Small World, which Kately LOVES - such a visual ride -  used our group fast pass (Graham's pass needed to be activated so we got a "sorry for the delay" fast pass for our whole party) on Peter Pan, then saw Mickey's Philharmagic and road the carousel. We used fast passes to ride WInnie the Pooh and then headed over to the train in Fantasy Land. Just before getting on the train, they took Geoff on Goofy's Barnstormer. He didn't like it much - but he tried!

We rode the Train to Frontierland and took turns riding Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. We finished the evening in Adventureland by riding Pirates of the Caribbean, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin - three times without getting off! - and The Jungle Cruise.

Bck on Main Street, Graham did some shopping and we watched the fireworks. Poor Geoffrey was so tired he fell asleep before they ended! We took the monorail back to the Polynesian and visited Captain Cooke's - where they have dole whip on tap! Yes! What a perfect treat to end the day!

Sunday - Fun Day

On Sunday, we headed out to the Outlet center. we were on a quest to find Geoffrey some Doc McStuffins characters - Particularly Stuffy, but Chilly and Lambie would be cool, too. No one seems to have them, so we may just end up getting them online. We did get Geoffrey some cool green sandal crocs, and we got some pillow pals from the character warehouse.

We also spent some time watching the weather channel - Tropical Storm isaac was expected to hit the tip of Florida tonight and into tomorrow so we spent time watching it form, as well as playing games like Scattegories and Mario Party.

Graham flew in late Sunday night!

Saturday - Animal Kingdom

Saturday was a great day at the Animal Kingdom! We arrived in the early afternoon and saw "It's Tough to be a Bug."

We enjoyed an awesome safari - the giraffes were SO CLOSE to the vehicles - in fact, we were stopped on the savannah for some time as the giraffes were blocking the jeep in front of ours! We saw the Legend of the Lion King and then had lunch at flame tree bbq (I actually met them there and got a roast beef pita with cucumber mint sauce from a small "snack" window at the edge of Africa - yum!). We saw Nemo, the musical, and then split up - Grandpa Bobby took Geoffrey to ride Triceratop Spin and play inthe bone yard while Grant, Mom, KAtelyn and I went to Expedition Everest. We had figured we would do child swap, but the line was a walk on - so swapping ride partners while one waited with Katelyn, we each rode four times!

We met up at Kilaminjaro Safari to do one more evening ride. As it was one of the last jeeps to leave our tour was a bit more leisurely. We had great luck with the animals - the white rhino was quite near the vehicle, we got to see the leopards running around, and we saw the female lion grooming and the male lion pacing!

What a perfect day! We came home and swam for a bit before having dinner and going to bed!

Thursday & Friday Animal Kingdom Lodge to Indian Creek

We decided to spend our last full day at Animal Kingdom Lodge enjoying the resort. We did the cookie decorating, and then spent the afternoon swimming - going down the slide, splashing, and having fun! We had skyline chili in our room, played Indiana Jones life and scatagories, and just hung out together.

We checked out on Friday. Grant and Bobby took all of our stuff to our new house while we hung out in the community hall playing and doing some art projects.

Then the boys picked us up and we all headed over to our rental house in the Indian Creek neighborhood. The house is very nice - a tract home. It was recently redone. It is four bedrooms on one floor. The garage has a pool table and a kinect set up in it. Geoffrey's room is decorated with Lightning McQueen and the other kids bedroom, is decorated with princesses. Grant and I have a room with a queen bed, and Katie is sleeping in our bathroom. The master bath, where mom and bobby are, has a nice big soaking tub. There is a pool in the back, and our house backs up to a nature reserve so it has a nicer view then, say, another house.

We had lunch at Cracker Barrel, and then we unpacked, swam, napped, and played at the park. We had dinner at Texas Road House, and then used a groupon to go mini golfing and feed alligators that they kept at the course. It was a late night but fun!

Wednesday- Disney's Hollywood Studios

On Wednesday we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was a nice, overcast day and never got too hot! Wwe saw a lot of the shows - Beauty and the Beast, Lights, Motors Action! Indiana Jones, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We also rode Star Tours, Thr Great Movie Ride, and TOwer of Terror. Geo even got some play time in the Honey I shrunk the audience play area!.

Geoff was so cute when we saw lights motors action - when Lightning McQueen came out he said, "but, but this is only a show for real cars!"

He was also very brave and went on Star Tours again!

Tuesday - EPCOT

The weather has been really unusual while we are here. For the most part not too hot. Lots of drizzly, overcast weather that really brings the temperature down. Last night at EPCOT was a good example. When we first arrived, it POURED for about 30 minutes. We went to innoventions and did our character meet (Mickey and Pluto today! Katelyn played with Pluto while Geoffrey got some Mickey time at the end. He is warming up to the characters - but he wants to play cat and mouse first and we don't always have time for that!) before heading out to Living with the Land. We got a child swap so Mom and Bobby and Grant could ride Soarin. WE all rode Living with the Land and then Geo, Kate, and I rode the land again, and the elevator and the escalators, while they did SOarin.

We met up at the Imagination Pavillion and rode Figment and then Captain EO (Geoffrey now "gets" 3-d glasses and he cringed whenever the empress came on with her creepy fingernails.

We headed over to the world showcase and did the Phineas and Ferb Adventure in Mexico and rode the Mexico boat ride. "This is like Small WOrld!" Geoffrey said. We ate dinner at the Mexico pavilion - yum!

WE headed to Norway and rode Maelstrom, and then to CHina to watch the Circle Vision. As we looked for a spot to watch Illuminations, Geoffrey fell asleep. As we waited for the show, I discovered Katelyn's little tooth had finally popped out! I had noticed earlier that it felt REALLY close - I mean it was pushing against that gum like no one's business. She was fussy - not horribly - but you could tell she wasn't feeling well - and now there her tooth is here! It is the bottom one on her right. I think the other one will be out soon, too.

After Illuminations, we went to see the American Adventure. THen we stopped at the Patisserie for some treats before heading out. Grnat and I decided to do a "quick" ride on Mission Space - but it turned out longer because the ride we were in line for broke down so we had to move to the other ready room and it ended up taking a LONG time. sigh.

I love EPCOT!

Monday - Typhoon Lagoon

On Monday, Mom and Bobby took a break while Grant, Geoff, Katelyn and I headed to Typhoon Lagoon. We had fun playing in the kid area - they had a little raft ride that Geoffrey did a few times. Then we rode in the Lazy River. Typhoon Lagoon is awesome because most of the slides don't have height limits and Geoffrey was able to go down them with his vest on. He went on one of the big tube rides (keelhaul falls?) with no problems!

Geoffrey's favorite - which surprised me - was when we spent time in the wave pool during the big huge waves. Along the side of the wave pool there are too body slides. I distinctly remember on our last visit saying that Geoffrey would probably enjoy these slides on his next visit, and he did! He rode them several times. THen the big waves started and we headed into the lagoon. Geoffrey LOVED getting bowled over by the big waves! Katelyn and I found a shady spot on the side of the wave pool. We would sit and splash and then stand up when the big wave came in. So fun!

Next, we rode the lazy river to the other side of the park and decided to check out the storm slides, which are the three body slides. With no height limit - we decided to give it a try and Geoffrey LOVED it. Grant and I took turns waiting with Katelyn and taking Geoffrey on the slides. SO FUN. Grant and I each got to go twice - and Geoffrey four times - before they closed the park due to a thunder storm - It was five and the park closed at 6. The storm moved in REALLY QUICKLY - and we ended up taking shelter rather far from our stuff. It moved out pretty quickly, too, but not fast enough for the park to reopen.

We headed back to our hotel where Grandpa Bobby had dinner ready. We ate, and then went down to look at the Savannah with night vision goggles. I checked out some board games from the community hall and played Yahtzee Jr. with Geoffrey and then Grant, Bobby, Mom, and I played Taboo.

Sunday - Pool and Magic Kingdom

Sunday Night is Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, so we decided we were going to stay for that, so we opted to take it easy during the day. We headed to the pool and had a lot of fun swimming, sliding, and splashing. Katelyn loved sitting in the shallow parts with the water squirting nearby, or in the base of the water fall. Geoffrey had fun running around the splash areas and sliding down the slides. The kids started to get tired so we got ready to head back - and then the rain came in - and it POURED! We waited it out in the jacuzzi...

Back in our room, the kids napped and we ate some lunch. Grant and Bobby ran out to the grocery store.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 6:30, just as another storm came in, essentially shutting down all of the outside rides. We were in line for Dumbo so we played for a little bit bit Geoffrey had to go to the bathroom. The rain came pouring down and we jumped in line for Winnie the Pooh to wait out the rain - well, the rain stopped, but the line went on - it ended up being like a 40 minute wait! FOrtunately, there were lots of things in the queue for Geoffrey to play with! That queue is very interactive.

We road the tea cups, and then the People Mover. Geoffrey was getting braver, plus we got him a glow stick, so he enjoyed it this time! (Thank goodness. I LOVE the people mover!) More rain came in, but we did Carousel of Progress next so that worked out well. The fireworks were going as we exited the ride so we watched the rest of them. Next we went to Adventureland and rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise, followed by DOle Whip.

Next, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids on the carousel while Grant and I rode Splash Mountain. Then Grandma, Grandpa, and Katelyn (who was asleep in the carrier on Grandpa)  rode the Haunted Mansion while Grant, Geoffrey and i rode small world. We closed out the evening jumping in line for Peter Pan!

Saturday - EPCOT

So we didn't back to the hotel until around 3:00 so we were pretty beat. The "morning" greeted us with a thunderstorm (In know, in the morning, weird, right?).  (We started waking up around 10… thanks, Geoffrey!) So we mosied, had a nice breakfast, and got into EPCOT around 3:00. We started out with a visit with Stitch, and then rode Mission Space.

Geoffrey, so far, has been quite the scardy cat. He bravely tries every ride, but we've had lots of tears about whether the ride will have "water falls" or "dark tunnels." Yesterday at Magic Kingdom he was scared of TTA (really - ? dark tunnels), so everytime we got on a new ride today he would ask if there were dark tunnels or waterfalls. However, he got on every ride, so that was good!

After Mission Space, we went over to Innoventions and did the Disney Visa character meet and greet  Minnie and Goofy were there! We went to Club Cool and had some soda, and then went over to The Seas pavilion and rode Finding Nemo. Geoffrey was so excited to see the dolphins and Katelyn was entranced by all of the fish!

We had lunch/dinner at the Land pavilion – Sunshine food court – yum! We rode Living With the Land boat ride next, followed by a trip with Figment in the Imagination Pavillion. Then we hurried over to Ellen's Energy Adventure and rode the last ride before Future World closed at 7:00. Next, Geoffrey went to play in the mission space playground while Grant, Bobby and I rode the green team, and then Grant and I rode the orange team.

With the park ready to close in about 15 minutes, Grant and Geoffrey decided to head out – they rode the monorail over to the Polynesian, had some dole whip, watched the fireworks and the monorails from the beach, and then headed back.

 

Friday

Today we headed for EPCOT - oops - I read the calendar wrong and thought EPCOT had extra magic hours tonight - it didn't - it had morning hours... so... we hopped on the monorail and headed to Magic Kingdom instead, which has evening extra magic hours until 2AM. A huge storm came in and it was quite rainy as we arrived. I got some Sorcerer cards on Main Street and then we headed for Tomorrowland.

We rode the TTA and then the Tomorrowland Speedway - which had no line because it was raining! Then we used fast passes to ride Buzz Lightyear.

Next, we checked out the new Flying DUmbos. So AWESOME - you walk into the queue which leads to the bigtop - a large indoor play area with plenty of seating - cool, air conditioned - fun. They give you a beeper, and when it is your turn to ride, you head up and only have a minimal wait. So cool the way that it works!

When we left Dumbos the sun had come out again and it was HOT! So.... we headed back to the hotel. We ate lunch and Geoffrey napped.

We arrived back at the Magic Kingdom around 9:00 PM.  It was pretty crowded when we first get back – Main Street was packed with people getting ready to watch the Electrical Parade. We headed back towards Frontierland. The Cast Member who had sold Grant and Bobby their tickets earlier today at the hotel had given them a fastpass to use for our whole party, so we decided to use it on Splash Mountain. Grant, Geoffrey, Mom, and Bobby went on first. Geoffrey didn't like it at all – and the waterfall at the end terrified him. Poor guy! But Daddy bought him a lollipop for being such a brave boy! Then mom and Grant and I rode It again, while Bobby waited. While we were on, the fireworks started, and Bobby found a neat spot to watch them with the kids – so Geoffrey was able to enjoy his lollipop while enjoying the show!

Next, we took turns riding Big Thunder Mountain – Geoffrey didn't want to ride it but he was happy with his lollipop so all was well.  

At 11, Extra Magic Hours began. We went over to Fantasy Land so Geoffrey could ride some rides. We did it's a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, and the Carousel. Then we ate dinner at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café. After dinner, we took another spin on the carousel and I played a round of Sorcerer's ??? – the interactive card game. This was pretty cool – you walk up to these "portals" which are like digital screens placed in various locations – they are very subtle and you almost don't even see them until you activate them. It was fun to do at night because there wasn't a line at each portal so you had to search them out a bit. In my story, Hades had asked Mallificent to help him collect a crystal shard that would help him do something… evil… don't quite remember what – so I had to go to four different fantasy land locations and cast various spells using my spell cards. (you get five spell cards each day you go to the Magic Kingdom).  It is super neat – you hold up your card and the camera sees it and that is how you cast the spell! That was fun for me!

Finaly, we headed to Haunted Mansion which Bobby had wanted to ride all evening. They had a cool new graveyard as part of the queue now which was neat. We got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean at 1:55 AM and finished our night!  

Thursday

Here we are again - doing what we always say we want to do - just enjoying WDW property without even going to the parks! We enjoyed a delicious breakfast in our unit - pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage, and enjoyed watching the animals come back out on to the Savannah after their morning health check.

THen, we headed over to Boma for the free cookie decorating! We decorated giraffe shaped cookies with colored frosting, mini m&ms, sprinkles, and gummie candies. Next, we let Geoffrey play out on the playground for awhile while Katelyn took a nap, and then cooled off in THe Mara with some cold water.

Geoffrey opted not to get his face painted, so we headed to the buses and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It was another Geoffrey dream come true as we rode the monorails! Katelyn happily played in our new citi-mini stroller as we rode the Magic Kingdom resort monorail one and half times, and then getting off at the TTA and transferring to the EPCOT monorail. As we waited for the EPCOT monorail, the rain moved in really fast - even under the monorail overhang, the strong win blew the heavy rain right into us and we got nice and cool and damp!

We took the monorail to EPCOT and then the bus back to Animal Kingdom. Geoffrey fell asleep just as we got back to the resort so he took a nap while Katelyn played with her toys.

For dinner, Bobby G made Cincinnati chili which we had with hot dogs and spaghetti! Yum!

After dinner, we went to swim at the Samawati Springs pool. SO MUCH FUN! There was a kid splash zone that Geoff ran around for a few minutes, but mostly we loved going down the slides! We had a great time cooling off and splashing around!

Blizzard Beach, and Stuff...

So when we last met I was telling you about our Animal Kingdom check in. Our room was located at the far end of Kidani Village, almost right next to Jambo House. It was quite a walk to the lobby, pool, etc. We had requested a closer room, and they said they would have one available on Wednesday (the next day) and we could move if we wanted to...

Meanwhile, everyone woke up from their naps and we headed out to... RIDE THE MONORAIL!!!! We drove over to the TTC and rode the EPCOT monorail, then the Magic Kingdom Express monorail, then the EPCOT monorail again! Geoffrey was one happy camper! (Incidentally, he is also thrilled that EVERY bathroom on Disney property (public bathroom) has a "Geoffrey sized" sink!

We drove over to Crossroads and had dinner at Fuddruckers, and then headed back to our hotel to sleep!

On Wednesday, we woke up and packed - again - so that we could move rooms. The bellman  stored our stuff and we headed out to Blizzard Beach for the day! Geoffrey had fun in the kiddie area going down the slides - and then we loved floating around the lazy river. Katelyn thought this was great fun, and Geoffrey loved the cave and the sneezing alligator. We tried a bigger slide but it was a little intense and and Geoffrey didn't like it. We spent a little time in the wave pool and then headed back to our hotel.

Our new room is on the 2nd floor, which is the lobby floor, in the 2nd building past the lobby. It is right next to the door to WDW transportation, and it is only a few doors down from the community hall. GREAT location. Also, being lower means we can see the animals more clearly because the tops of the trees don't get in the way...

Once settled in, Geoffrey and Katelyn napped and then played with grandma and grandpa while Grant and I went back to Blizzard Beach for another hour and half. We went to the purple hill and road the mat slides, and then went down the innertube slide on the red slope. WE spent a long time in the wave pool then I did the tobaggan slide two more times. We closed out the park on the downhill double dipper...

Dinner arrived just as we did - Giordano's pizza and pasta - so yummy!

It is so neat to just glance out our window and see animals all of the time. It is also really cool to sit and notice all of the unique, subtle details there are throughout the room. There is an awesome sunset mural along the master bathroom - red tiles with silhouettes of animals walking along... The kitchen table has claw marks so it looks like a scratching post. the drawers on the dresser have engravings of animals like an elephant, a zebra, a toucan, and a buffalo. It is just full of the cutest little details!

Orlando!

We arrived in Orlando last night (or shall I say early this morning - we arrived at 12:30!) Our flights were good - we had a quick flight to Vegas, where we spent our hour and a half layover eating lunch, and stretching (Katelyn played with toys on her blanket while Geoff loved watching the conveyer belt take luggage on and off planes!) The second flight was full - but we had a row of three to ourselves so it was fine. Geoffrey napped for the first 2 1/2 hours and Katelyn slept for the last hour and a half (how would I live with out the ergo baby carrier for her to sleep in? Wonderful!)

Mom and Bobby picked us up and we headed to Spring Hill Suites for a quick night of sleep.

After we checked out, we headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to check in. Our room was not ready, and we aren't thrilled with the location - it is pretty far away from the pool and lobby - so we may move rooms tomorrow. We loved looking at the animals our on the savannah - Geoffrey spotted some zebras right away!

    While we waited for our room to be ready, we stopped at the community hall and played games and do crafts. They have some free crafts (making necklaces, coloring) and then they have some really cool - and reasonably priced crafts that make good souvenirs. We got Geoffrey a treasure chest for $3 - they gave us a box of sharpies and a box with sparkles and foam pieces that he could use to decorate the chest. We were so excited when he opened the box and found treasure! A gold necklace and a bunch of gold coins! What an awesome surprise! 

We headed over to Jambo House (the main part of the hotel - we are staying at Kidani Village where most of the DVC units are.) We had lunch at The Mara, the fast food restaurant, and then played on the playground for a little bit.

Our room ready, we headed back to Kidani Village and up to our room. It is really nice - Plenty of room - we have a two bedroom unit - with three full baths. We have a kitchen and a living area as well (so obviously Geoffrey feels more at home - ha ha!)

We got here at a good time as a thunderstorm has just rolled in - Its been raining softly for about an hour with the occasional roll of thunder and lightening. Everyone is taking a nap right now - except for me - ha! I want to go go go! Surprising since I didn't get tp bed until 2:30 last night!

Hotel in orlando

Tonight we are staying in a spring hill suite.


Omg! Geoffrey is so spoiled! He walked in to the hotel room and said, "but where is the living room? This is just the bedroom!" 😳

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