We finally took our yearly vacation last week. Three guesses as to where we went?
This year we went to WDW with Robbie's sister (Christy), BIL (Brent) and our 2 nieces (Bryn and Reese). Nonnie joined us as well, but a day after we all arrived. We had a BLAST! Andrew and Zachary were so excited to have friends to play with and enjoy the fun. We arrived on Monday afternoon to beautiful, warm weather (think 80s). This year we stayed at Saratoga Springs, which is within walking distance to Downtown Disney. Sadly, we only walked to Dtwn Disney once.
Tuesday was designated for the Magic Kingdom. Our plan was to stay there until closing time. Friends, we wore that park OUT. This year Andrew was finally tall enough to ride some of the roller coasters (YAY! YAY! YAY!). I'm here to tell you my child is fearless. He rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad over and over and over. He couldn't get enough of them. I lost count of how many times we rode the roller coasters. We also got to catch the 3:00 parade and lo, what did our eyes see? We saw Mickey, Minnie and rounding out the parade was Tiana and Prince Naveen! Andrew loves him some Tiana. She was rather pretty, too! We retired to our hotel room pretty late and really weary, but...
Wednesday came and we headed to Hollywood Studios (AKA MGM Studios). Nonnie was now a part of the crew, which brought much delight to my children. The main attractions at HS are Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Andrew, unfortunately wasn't tall enough for Rockin' Roller Coaster, but he was for Tower of Terror. I thought for sure we'd have a major melt down after getting on TT, but surprise of all surprises he loved it and wanted to go again. He even put his hands in the air the next time we went on it.
*I should also add that at the MK and HS we did not have to wait at all for rides. There were no crowds at all! YAY!
Hollywood Studios is where Zachary got his fill for the week. Sully and crew are a big part of the 3:00 Block Party parade. All I can say is his eyes were WIDE open the whole 30 minutes we saw this parade. Again, we did not leave HS until closing time and the dogs were barkin' and the crew was gettin' cranky, but we had to press on because...
Thursday was Animal Kingdom and we had Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party to attend. Sadly, poor Reese notified us early in the morning that she didn't feel well. Shortly after we got to AK she showed us and all parties passing by. She spent the day at the hotel room resting up for the party. Meanwhile we hauled all over AK to ride rides (Expedition Mt. Everest is my new fav ride), watch a few animals and play a few kiddie games. Andrew didn't win anything at the kiddie games, so of course I had to buy a $12.00 stuffed toy to get the tear level to a minimum. After we exhausted our time at AK, we headed home to change clothes for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. I will say this party was well worth the admission we paid. We've done Mickey's Christmas party and it was fun the first time, but got old after the first visit. I can honestly say I'd take the kids back to the Halloween party. When you walk in you receive a trick-or-treat bag. They have stations set up all over the MK where you can trick or treat and we're not talking chintzy candy, we're talking the real deal candy. We had free reign over most of the popular rides and the parade ran twice during the party. Andrew got his fill of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that night. I think we got off and got on at least 5 or 6 times AND we got to pick our cart for Splash Mountain. There was no one, not one soul in line. That never happens. Never.
We feasted on our best meal that night as well. It's a tradition to eat at Tony's Restaurant when we're in FL. The spaghetti and meatballs are on the money plus we had a view of the parade as we ate. If you go to WDW and you have time to eat a nice dinner while visiting the MK, go to Tony's. It's so delicious!
Friday was a free day for the Perry family. Our nieces and BIL and SIL went to Universal/Harry Potter park. Andrew isn't quite tall enough to ride most of the rides there, so we weren't going to pay part of our mortgage for nothing. Andrew decided for some reason that Epcot is where he wanted to go. Why? I have no idea. Epcot isn't my favorite park. There really isn't much to do, but we went anyway. It was boring as expected. Wasted park pass, wasted day. We did relax a little more, which was nice. We ended our trip with dinner at Rainforest Cafe. The boys love it there. The thunder storm and animals going nuts remind me of a night at our house on a normal day. We felt right at home.
Saturday was going home day. I love vacation and I love WDW, but there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Dorothy had it right. There is no place like home.
I have pictures to load, but the drive we have them all loaded to is broken and possibly beyond repair. Pray that we don't lose every last picture we have. If and when Robbie gets it fixed I'll post pics. Most of them are on facebook, though.
