Family Disney trip - late January.

So, I finally got around to blogging about the trip. It took me a bit because, as you can see, I have A LOT of pictures. Ooodles and oodles, to be technical.

The haul that we packed into the car. Now, I know this does not LOOK like much. Rest assured, the Freestyle was PACKED.
Day One was the magic kingdom... and it was really COLD our first morning at Disney...

Those of you who know Disney will appreciate how EMPTY it is right here. We got in before rope drop, as we had pre-park-opening dining reservations.

Looking at the castle:

Breakfast at Crystal Palace. Here comes POOH!



I have to say that Tigger was the BEST character the whole trip. He was so friendly and really interacted with the kids.
Now, on our first Disney trip, the kids never got to ride Dumbo. Long story short, we got caught in terrible lines and we just couldn't ever make it on. I was determined to make this trip different. So please, if you will, picture two adults pushing strollers at roughly the speed of sound. Janna asked, at one point, to get a good look at the castle. I yelled out over my shoulder: "no, no...no time for that now! Must get to Dumbo!"

Now, I am CERTAIN my family thought I was nuts. But Jeff was singing my praises an hour and a half later when we had FINISHED Fantasy Land. So, I win!

Waiting for Dumbo.

On our first ride at Disney.

Waiting for the teacups.



Waiting for Daddy and Janna to get off of Big Thunder Mountain. A nice young woman panned for gold with JR (little gold Mickey ears, to be exact).
Somewhere in here, we returned to the hotel where the kids caught a nap and Jeff and I drank beer outside the room. We went back for dinner and fireworks.


Day two: Epcot


Breakfast with princesses: we met Belle, Mary Poppins (Mommy's favorite), Jasmin (JR's favorite), Sleeping Beauty (Janna's favorite), and Snow White.








After breakfast we hit some rides, then back to the hotel for a nap, followed by an evening outing to the World Showcase at Epcot.



That is Janna and Jeff in front of the fountain.

Wating for fireworks.



Day Three: Animal Kingdom.

Breakfast at the Tusker House with the original gangsters.

I have NO idea what Janna is doing here.



Jeff might look a little tired her, because he IS. He was up half the night with an upset stomach. I was sure he'd caught the flu, and I completely disinfected the bathroom the next morning (I came prepared with Bleach wipes!) It turns out he just can't handle Moroccan food, which we had the night before at Epcot. Poor guy really toughed it out though - I was proud of him!

On the safari "ride."


Looking at the ride Everest.
The train that takes you to the petting zoo.

Jeff, quickly losing patience.







The tree of life:
Back at the pool that afternoon. We opted for no nap and early bedtime. It was BEAUTIFUL and warm, so we hopped in the pool for some fun. Can I just mention that we also sat and had margaritas, just because it was January, and we could.

Pools ROCK!




Day Four: Disney Hollywood Studios.

Breakfast with Playhouse Disney, which is basically characters from the children's programming on the Disney channel. We saw June, Leo, JoJo and Goliath. Those of you who are familiar with the channel and pre-school aged kids PROBABLY know that Little Einsteins prett much rock. So much so that June and Leo were the only characters JR would pose with.




Now, I must tell you that Janna was the star of that morning's breakfast. They do some singing and dancing - and Janna was right in the thick of it!


Kissing June on her second go round. Should we tell JR that she's a cartoon?


After the Einsteins, we rodes some rides and went to some shows...

At Beauty and the Beast..


At the Ariel show..
Meeting Mater and Lightening McQueen. Those of you with toddler boys, you can imagine how this was a dream come true for JR.


On the way back from the park, on their bus shuttle, Jeff was ranting about how tired of all things Disney he was. He was saying he could go without princess movies, and tinkerbell, and Mickey Mouse. Upon bringing us to the hotel, the busdriver kept everyone on the bus, and presented Jeff with the pirate award. The driver proclaimed that the only person who hated tinkerbell and Disney HAD to be a pirate. Thus, Jeff was a pirate. Complete with a do-rag.
Back at the hotel...another no nap day...




Day Five: Last day, Magic Kingdom

Breakfast at Cinderella's castle:

With the crankiest Belle ever. I was sort of glad JR almost knocked her out with his sword.
The boys all got swords, and the girls magic wands. All while eating in Cinderell's castle. How quintessential Disney can we get on our final day there?


The last thing we did? The tram. It was nice to get a chance to say goodbye to Disney.