Day 4-Animal Kingdom

We got up early to hit this park when it opened in hopes of beating the crowds. Some of us followed through while others (me) turned the alarm off and went back to sleep!! We still made it there in time to beat the crowds. We walked right up on all the rides in Dino-land. Dino-land had several rides and many, many carnival type games that we somehow got out of doing!!

Mason and Mom on Triceratops

We wanted to make sure we did the Rapids ride before the crowds rolled in because we knew that would be one that would consistently have a wait time during the day. We put our ponchos on and boarded our raft. Thank goodness for the ponchos...that is not a ride where you get just a little wet, you get SOAKED! We went ahead and rode it again while we were all ponchoed up and got that out of the way. This ride reminded me a lot of Thunder River at six flags.

TIP: If you would like to keep yourself somewhat dry for the rest of the day you will absolutely need a poncho on this ride. We used the .89 disposable ponchos and they were fine.

This is the Expedition Everest...a super fun roller coaster. We got a fast pass for this one and as soon as we got off of it we got another one. This was one of the best roller coasters I have ever been on. It went frontwards, backwards, upside down and sideways. The kids loved to see how long they could keep their hands up!

Mason putting his hand in the tiger's paw.

We saw lots of animals, some were on our African Safari ride and some were in various areas of the park. Tigers, elephants, chimpanzees, lizards, giraffes, hippos, and lions to name a few.

Picture break in front of the chimps.

The animals on the safari ride were so close...this giraffe was right beside our wagon.

silly pic

Even the snacks were Mickey shaped!

What a fun park! Lots to do and see. We also did a cute little 3-d show about bugs. We saw a fabulous   broadway type musical called the Festival of the Lion King. A definite must see. We ended this day early evening because...well we were all exhausted and the kids were begging to go swimming. We headed back to the resort for a relaxing evening and SWIMMING!

Favorites at Animal Kingdom:

Expedition Everest 

Rapids

Dinosaur ride 

Festival of the Lion King

Disney Day 3-Hollywood Studios

Here we go day 3! We headed to Hollywood Studios with lots on the agenda! We let the kids sleep late again because we had Disney Magic hours and we knew the crowds would be better at night.

We grabbed a fast pass for Tower of Terror and then went to see some shows and stunt shows.

The boys loved meeting Lightning McQueen and Mater

At the stunt show, Lightning Mcqueen showed up...so cool!

Mason was all into watching the fast cars

Braxton loved the Motorcycle stunts

How sweet is this??

We let the kids play at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground and we were going to come back to it again but time just didn't allow. Thank goodness the kids forgot!

Mason and Davis enjoyed every opportunity to get squirted

Hollywood Studios has their own parade, so we got to see lots of fun characters.

Cooling off on the streets of New York :)

We all loved the star wars ride. Again more 3-D glasses.  

We rested our feet awhile and enjoyed watching  Beauty and the Beast

Indiana Jones show

Toy Story Mania...what a fun ride for the kids! You got to rack up points by hitting targets with your laser gun.  Similar to the the Toy Story ride at Magic Kingdom but I thought this one was a little more fun. 

The dad's took Mackenzie and Braxton to ride the Rockin Roller Coaster and Shea and I took Davis and Mason to the Little Mermaid and then to a dance party with Mickey, Minnie and friends. The little ones werent quite tall enough for the roller coaster. They didn't mind a bit because they got to get down with Pluto!!

Yay! Finally meeting Mickey!

dancing a jig with Pluto

It was so fun to watch them intereacting with the characters.
Shea and I played tag with the dad's and off we went to the Rockin Roller Coaster with Mackenzie and Braxton. We used the parent swap which allows both parents the opportunity to ride when you have other children that cannot ride. The best part is that we did not have to stand in line. You get to walk through the fast pass line. Nice!!
We closed down yet another park and headed back to the resort for a quick rest.

This was what our ride back to the hotel looked like every night!!  They were DEAD TIRED!

Disney Day 2-Magic Kingdom

 We let the kids sleep a little later because they were exhausted from our first day. When we all got ready we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to do our most favorite things from the day before.  We got there just in time for another parade. The kids loved all the parades and it was about the only time we got to see all the characters in one spot!

Tip: Allow at least 2 days for Magic Kingdom...so much to do and see.



Waving to the characters...so cute!

 We walked through the castle, something that we did not do the first day. I wish that you got to see more of it! It would be cool to see some of the rooms in there.

Picture at Cinderella's castle

We headed to the carousel, because we noticed when we passed by there wasn't a long wait and we had a little time to kill before our next fast pass.



Tea Cups...one of the favorites.



Meeting Tigger and Pooh...Tigger was playing around with Mason's hair, running his paws all through it.

Pirates of the Caribbean was closed while we were there but we got to meet Pirate Goofy! Mason was all about meeting the characters! Something I thought he wouldn't be into.

Magic Carpet Ride

We rested our feet awhile and watched the Dream Along with Mickey show. Another opportunity to see all the characters together.

This face says it all...my favorite picture! Riding on Dumbo.



Late night picture with Mickey



Beautiful castle at night. It changed colors every few minutes



We ate dinner here at Casey's Corner. Yummy Hot dogs. It was a "take me out to the ballgame" theme. Perfect for the boys.

Tip: Dining Plan is a must. Our plan consisted of 2 meals and 1 snack a day. We would have spent so much money on food had we not had this plan.



After dinner we took advantage of the short wait times and less crowd.

Tip: During the electrical parade and firework show the crowds are slim and there is little to no wait times. Another reason to do this park more than one day.

We did Splash Mountain about 6 times in a row...that was such a fun ride. I wish I had taken all the pics of us on the ride. We all had a chance of riding that front row seat and getting wet!



This night offered the Disney Magic hours until 3 a.m.  We had every intention of sticking it out but one ride on the People Mover and we were DONE! That was a nice relaxing ride around Tomorrowland and much better than we expected. The kids were starting to fizzle. We had done all the rides several times and were fine with heading out a little early or late however you want to look at it. (2 a.m.) Shea and I discussed several mornings about how we felt like we had been partying all night. Our eyes were all red and swollen in the mornings. It was all worth it considering the difference in the park late at night. It was so peaceful and calm, no crowds to drag the kids through, and the weather was nice and cool. 
All the kids passed out on the bus for the ride back to the resort. We rested for a few hours (it felt like only a few) and we were back up and ready for our new adventure.

Tip: Stay on Disney properties...they have many resorts of all different price ranges to choose from. This way you get to use the park at special hours that others do not. Well worth it!! There are also other perks that come with it as well. We stayed at one of the value resorts and it was everything we needed. We were only there for a short time at night so it was perfect.

Favorites of day 2

Parade

Dream along with Mickey

Splash Mountain



DISNEY-DAY 1

 I can hardly believe our trip has come and gone so quickly. We have looked forward to this vacation for so long and it was truly the most amazing time we have ever had. I would go back again next week if I could. Well I might need a little more time to recover, this was the most exhausting trip as well. We were on the go as soon as our feet hit the floor and did not stop until 1 or 2 in the morning. I never dreamed my kids would have done so well. They were troopers for sure because I know their little legs were so tired.

Tip: Have a day of rest to just catch up on sleep and relax.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and I wish I could box up that excitement of turning the corner to see Cinderella's castle for the first time with the kids. I was even excited and I had seen it several times before. It was so cute how Mason would just randomly ask during the day/night, "what is she doing in there now mama?" He really thought that she lived there. As well as all the other characters...he was in aw of everything. So fun to watch it through their eyes. 

 

Our first ride was Buzz Lightyear. The kids enjoyed getting to shoot the targets, and spin their own car. (Bad phone pic but it is the only one I had on that ride.)

 We ventured on and did many,  many more rides. I was so thankful that we did not have to stand in long lines  and wait for an hour or two. The longest we waited was about 20 minutes and it went by super fast!

Tip: Fast passes are a must!The rides that did have long waits offered fast passes so we would send the hubbies to grab those and we would hit some other rides and go back and we wouldn't have to wait at all. 

Tom Sawyers island. We asked about the magic paint brushes in hopes of getting a  free fast pass but they were not doing that anymore. 

Daddy and Mason on the Magic Carpet Ride

The kids loved watching the people come down the hill on Splash Mountain. 



The train ride...a.k.a. resting our feet :)



Ready to go in the Haunted Mansion

Waiting for the Camel to squirt them.

 At the end of the first night we  headed toward Main Street to get ready for the parade. We brought our own  glow necklaces, bracelets, and lanyards.

Tip: Bring your own glow things...they sell them there but they are outrageous



The parade was beautiful and the kids loved it, especially when the characters waved to them. They thought that was super cool! After the parade we were off to ride more rides and close the park down!

Tip: If you stay late you can ride whatever you want as many times as you want. 

First day favorites:

Tea Cups

Splash Mountain 

Buzz Lightyear spin

Mickey's PhilharMagic (3D show-so good)