Last night of vacation - some final thoughts

As we sit here in our hotel room, almost everything stuffed into the 4 bags we brought, I can easily say that for once, after a vacation or weekend away, I'm actually happy to be going home. Usually I hate to go back to reality, but this time, I'm ready. It's been a long 10 days with grumpy and moody testing every piece of patience we have. Thanks to Pat, I wasn't the mom who was making a scene in the middle of Downtown Disney today. I've been able to sit back and let him deal with the kids for almost the entire trip and have been able to enjoy things.

A quick rant - people on cell phones everywhere in the parks and on the shuttle busses. Why do you go the parks to have fun with your family, and sit on the cell phone to talk business or whatever. Years ago when Pat and I were on our hoenymoon, people talked to each other in lines while waiting for rides. 3 years ago when we were in California with the kids, people still talked to each other in lines. Now parents and kids are on cell phones and texting while in line. Not much conversation.

And one more - people who just let their kids scream and run around disturbing other people.

What we enjoyed about this trip - the good was good and for the most part, healthy. Our room was always clean when we got back from our day at the parks. The staff is very friendly here as well and quite helpful. The shuttle busses definitely make it an easy way to get around and I think the longest ride was 20 minutes each way (DD).

You have to be willing to stand in line...a lot! But usually the rides are worth it. Just have to remember that the line will almost always be longer than the ride itself. Same with stores - there will always be another line up at the checkout and to see everything in the store, you have to be willing to change course a few times, or push and prod your way in to see what is on the shelves throughout the store.

With there being only one bathroom, it's easier for one person to wake up first, get their shower and get ready before the others are awake. That's what I did each day. It helped so that I was ready to get everyone else organized and get us out the door.

So as we sit here packing up the last few things and getting other things ready for tomorrow, overall it's been a great trip full of wonderful memories, and not so wonderful memories. I have uploaded my pictures to Costco so all I have to do is pick the ones I want to print on Monday, as well as upload the ones from the disk we purchased so I can pick those.

Then it's back to reality, preparing for Christmas, maybe writing some Christmas cards and getting a real live tree to decorate with the ornaments we bought.

We'll see you all soon. Signing out from Florida.

Love and hugs until then!

Day 9 - Downtown Disney and Magic Kingdom?

It's still lightly raining here and looks cold and dreary outside. We plan to go down to Downtown Disney this morning after breakfast to finish off our shopping and then will come back here for lunch.

We hear they are filming the Christmas Day Parade today at the Magic Kingdom and are expecting 90,000 people for it so not sure we'll get over there or not. They were filming spots for the parade (musical guests) the other day when we were there. We didn't see any real close up. See...and we all assumed it was live but it's actually filmed a couple weeks prior. Who knew?

Had a better sleep last night thanks to Nyquil (gotta love our gift shop). Didn't cough all night, until this morning while washing my hair so I consider that a success sleeping through the night from 10pm last night.

Relooked at our flight information this morning. We actually fly out around 625 our time so we'll be leaving the hotel a little earlier than we had thought tomorrow but that's okay.

I think we are all ready to come home. If the weather had continued the way it was, I know we'd be around the pool today but for the most part, our vacation has been beautifully sunny and we have no complaints.

I was saying this morning I miss being able to go downstairs to make coffee. We're waiting for Pat in the shower at the moment so we can go get some breakfast and head off to the shuttle busses.

Day 8 - Animal Kingdom in the rain

Yep, it was sprinkling when we left for Animal Kingdom this morning and torrential downpours by the time we were ready to leave.

We all rode Expedition Everest right away and then Pat rode again on his own. We also saw the Nemo Show and It's Tough to Be A Bug! By this time, it was a torrential downpour. There wasn't anything else we REALLY wanted to see and do, so we stopped at the stores along the way and then went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. MMMMM Meat!! Pat had ribs, steak and shrimp so he had his fill of meat that he's been craving. Kamrynne had mini hot dogs and Symanthah and I both had burgers. There was a volcano chocolate ice cream type desert that we had hoped to share but we had no room at all for it.

The packing has begun and we did laundry a day or so again, so possibly a little more laundry to go tomorrow night and then hopefully that will be it and not much to wash when we get back home.

Tomorrow we hope to go to Downtown Disney once more before the trek home for any last minute purchases that we want to make. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. Sunday is supposed to be nice again with some sun so once we check out, we'll probably just lay around the pool, the kids and Pat will swim and then we'll put our stuff in the dryer and pack up to leave for the airport by about 5pm our time.

I've come down with a cold, stuffy nose and scratchy throat so I'm coughing once again but we picked up some Nyquil so we'll see how I do with that tonight as I don't feel like coughing all night. Everyone here pretty much sleeps through it anyways but I would rather be sleeping.

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom

Our 2nd day visit to Magic Kingdom to see all the rides and things we hadn't seen yet. Today we got on Space Mountain (yay, Fast Pass). While we were waiting for our Fast Pass, we went over to Toon Town to see the Princesses and Fairies. The Fairies line was 75 minutes vs the Princesses 30 so Pat stood in the Fairies line up and I took the girls to see Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Then we found Pat in the other line up and saw Rosetta, Tinkerbell and Terrance. We went through Minnie's house but she wasn't there. I sent Pat in to Mickey's house with the girls and picked up a couple of small Christmas gifts for the girls and then joined them to find Minnie and Mickey together for some family shots.

Back to Space Mountain - Kamrynne made it - and then back to Toon Town for the Goofy Coaster. Haunted Mansion was next along with Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean. Another visit to Stitch's Great Escape and we were about done for the day. It goes fast when we you are in line more than on rides.

Now we are tired and back at the hotel after grabbing some dinner. Pat's working on some laundry and I'm bagged.

Off to bed, and back to Animal Kingdom tomorrow to ride Expedition Everest.

Day 6 - Epcot

Today we chose to sleep in because of our late night last night with the Christmas party. Pat slept til about 10 and then when all got up and going and headed off for some brunch (mmmm...quesadillas) and then to the shuttles for a fun day at Epcot.

We started off on the rides with Soarin over California and Figment of Imagination. We also hit the Nemo ride as well as Turtle Talk with Crush (totally fun for the kids, dude!!) We stopped in at the Canada pavillion where all of the cast members were commenting on Symanthah's shirt. She had a checked red and black shirt and so did all of them...I took a picture of her with one of them. It was great because we told them she'd fit in well since we were Canadian as well.

We walked through all of the World Showcase pavillions and went looking for characters but we seemed to hit them all at the wrong time and didn't find anyone except for Daisy and Stitch (a big favorite) at the front of the park when we came in.

We stopped in China for some dinner and watched some young kids do an acrobatic show that was really amazing - totally flexible kids there. Quite a good show of flips, balancing and use of hula hoops and stuff.

We finished the night off on the Test Track (really cool) and hit a couple of stores on the way out but didn't find much new to buy.

Pat and the kids went for a quick dip in the pool to cool off after the humidity of the day and we are now relaxing and getting ready for bed. There is a tornado watch so the kids are on edge (well, Symanthah's freaking out) but the wind has currently died down so hopefully it won't hit here. We'll keep an ear out for the night though.

Day 5 - Trip to the doc, pool and a Surprise

Symanthah got an infected toe that we tried to manage but it just got too ugly so we phoned front desk and they had a shuttle right to a walk in clinic for us to use. Unfortunately the wait was quite long but she did get in, get some antibiotics and got back within about 3-4 hours, kinda like our clinics some days.

While Pat and Symanthah were gone, Kamrynne and I went and had breakfast together. She had eggs and bacon and I had strawberry pancakes. We came back to the room for a bit to color and stuff but before long, we felt like swimming so off we went to the pool. I think we had 2 hours in there before the rest of the family came home. They grabbed some food and headed to the room to get changed and come swim with us.

We got out by about 3:30-4 and came back to the room for showers and to get ready for our Surprise evening. We weren't too hungry but stopped in the dining hall for a snack of fruit (and chicken nuggets of course for Miss K) and we were off with the rest of the crowd for the Magic Kingdom. Oh, and we were all dressed in our Disney Santa hats...Pat in Goofy, Symanthah in Tinkerbell and Kamrynne and I in matching Minnie.

All I can say is WOW!!! Main Street was so beautiful. They had added more lights and decorations since the first time we had been there. It was absolutely gorgeous. The Cast Members were all dressed in festive attire and so helpful. We all got special passes in the mail before we went - Kamrynne chose Pluto, Pat had Goofy, Symanthah had Mickey and I had Pluto. We got wristbands once we got into the park as there were still others who were leaving the park while we were filing in. We stopped in the stores as there were sales on a few items but most of the things we had already purchased (wouldn't you know it). So back onto Main Street we went. We had a map and itinerary so we were off to Tomorrowland when they opened up the park. There was a stage show there featuring Buzz, Mike Wazowski and the girls favorite, Stitch. It was a great musical show and we got seats fairly close so Pat was able to video the show. The girls loved it, especially when Stitch came out dressed as Santa. I was able to get some pics from where I was as well so will post those soon.

After the show, we went over towards where we could get our free hot chocolate and cookies and we found The Queen of Hearts and got pics with her. We checked out Toon Town as we hadn't been there yet and we did see Minnie all dressed in her Christmas best but the line was long, as was the line to see Tinkerbell so we left those for another day and went back into the center by the castle to wait for fireworks and the parade. We had a great spot for the fireworks (right on the curb - our best spot so far this trip) so we stayed there for both events. Neither disappointed and again, Pat filmed both so we'll have those memories to bring home with us.

All over were photographers for Disney Photo Pass so we were able to get family shots with the castle lit up behind us. It was absolutely gorgeous. Pat took photos on his camcorder as well so we should have lots to post when we get a chance.

All in all, it was so worth the price of admission ($200 for all of us) and we really enjoyed ourselves. The girls had a better day and a pretty good night so we bought them light up sticks and I bought them a couple of Stitch things while waiting for the parade.

We got on Pirates of the Caribean without any line before heading to the busses (we knew they'd be busy) and we got on Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride and Aladdin and Jasmine were on it with us just 2 carpets behind. Kamrynne thought that was great and they waved to her - big smiles for that one.

It took just over an hour to get back home from the park having to wait for 3 busses and we all crashed pretty quickly.

Tomorrow (well today) we are sleeping in (Pat's still sleeping and snoring as I write this) and we are off to see Epcot on a bit of a late start.

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios

Another day, another park!!

Hollywood Studios definitely looks like a Hollywood Backlot. The stores and buildings all have that look to them, and I loved seeing that. It was really neat looking.

We were able to go on almost everything that we had hoped to go on together. We dragged the girls on Tower of Terror and they made it through quite well. We then headed over to the Aerosmith Rock N Roller Coaster but Kamrynne was too short to ride. Pat and Symanthah went to get in line. Symanthah was nervous the whole way, even to the point of making herself close to puking but when she got off, she loved it and her and I went on it together later. Quite the ride that one. Takes off even faster than California Screamin. It's pretty dark but good music and a neat ride. I wish we could have gone on it again.

We made our way through the entire park, caught some of the High School Musical stage show. We saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid (I wasn't too impressed with this). It was more showing parts of the movie than live action stuff. Beauty and The Beast was much better as it was all live action - beautiful music. Pat got it all on video.

We caught up with some of the characters from Up as well as Cars. And we got to see Mickey Mouse and have a picture with him.

The only ride we really wanted to go on but didn't get to, was Toy Story Mania. Each time we passed by it, it was such a huge wait and we didn't get a chance to get a Fast Pass for that one.

We ended our day with the 6:15 show of Fantasmic which we felt was better than the Disneyland version. Pat filmed the whole thing as well.

If it weren't for all the moping and grumpiness of the day, I think it would have been a great day. It was one of the roughest days we've had.

Day 5 will consist of sleeping in, spending time at the pool, and then a surprise for the evening in the Magic Kingdom.

Day 3 - Downtown Disney, Swimming and some R&R

Today, we took our time getting ready and out the door. I think breakfast was about 9:30 and we chose to have Mickey Waffles as Kamrynne has been asking for them. They came with strawberries and bacon and were quite good. We got 1 big one and Kamrynne got 2 little ones. Very yummy! Then it was off to Downtown Disney for some shopping - yes we actually did spend some money today. We really haven't spent much on anything other than essentials up til now. Today Pat got a new hoodie, the girls bought things with the money that Grandma & Papa gave them and Great Grandma & Great Grandpa gave them. We bought a few Christmas presents and I got a new watch - much needed since my last one gave up the ghost many months ago.

We walked all the way down to the end of the the West Side and back. We also stopped at McDonalds on the way back for some lunch, again a suggestion from Kamrynne. The grumpies showed their hand again today but not as bad as yesterday.

We managed to get in the pool for a short while this afternoon but unfortunately the sun had already started going down and it was a bit chilly but the girls had fun.

Pat has just come back from putting in some laundry and we will head out for a bite to eat in a bit. Tonight on the Disney Channel, they are playing the new Tinkerbell movie at 8pm so we plan to be in our rooms to watch the movie together.

Tomorrow, we will be off to Hollywood Studios for day and are hoping to catch Fantasmic's 6:15pm fireworks show before coming back for the night. Should be fun!!

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom

Another long but a good day.

Today started out much like yesterday where we were up early (but not as early as yesterday) and got our breakfast (the kids just took dry cereal with them and a couple of banana's) on the shuttle bus and we headed off the Animal Kingdom, which is only about a 5 minute shuttle bus ride away.

One thing we have found so far is that we are good at catching shuttle buses at the right time so we have minimal waits - this without a watch, we just seem to be catching them. We have also found that Disney World Resort has great smelling soap - this was announced by Kamrynne. We are also finding that the food is really good. A must with all of these people.

We took advantage of the many photo opportunities today and used our Photo Pass lots. We were able to find lots of characters and got a chance to meet them and get pictures done - today we saw Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pooh Bear, Goofy, Daisy, Tigger and Eeyore. We also saw Lilo and Stitch - 2 favorites of both our girls.

We got the girls faces painted as we entered the park. I've attached a picture of them - they were beautifully done and they lasted the entire day and the colors stayed true along with the sparkles.

We started off with the Kilimanjaro Safari and we were able to see Lions, Giraffe's, Hippos, African Nile Crocodiles, a bunch of beautiful Silverback Gorillas, some sleeping cheetahs, ostrich's to name a few of what we saw. We took a walk through the trails and saw some other monkeys, birds and fish.

Then we went to Camp Mickey and Minnie where we saw Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, DOnald and Daisy, each in their own areas for pictures and hugs. Then we went to the Lion King show which was absolutely amazing. Beautiful colors and music...we were so amazed at how big the arena was and how many people they had filling it. Pat got the entire show on video and we're going to watch it again tonight.

At this point, we were getting tired and there was definite low blood sugar grumpiness popping up so we went to Pizzafari and had some lunch. Symanthah and I had cheese and pepperoni pizza which came with caesar salad. Pat and Kamrynne shared a hot italian sandwich and some mac and cheese.

Now refueled, we trekked to Dinoland and found that one of the rides I wanted to go on Kamrynne wasn't tall enough for (Primevil Whirl). Disappointed we went and lined up for Dinosaur which was a ride where we got on safari type vehicles and travelled back through time in seach of an Iguanadon to bring back with us. Instead we were almost attacked by a Carnosauras - the biggest of all dinosaurs. We made it out safe and alive and Kamrynne and Symanthah both said they didn't want to on that ride again.

Kamrynne wanted to go on the Triceratop Spin before leaving Dinoland so we all hoped on a little dinosaur and went soaring above Dinoland and took in the sights (just like the Dumbo ride but with Dinosaurs).

Next up was the Mickey's Jingle Jungle parade. We found it hard to believe that some parents would stand right at the rope beside their children when there were other children wanting to see. Especially those who would stand right in front of our children blocking their view. Daddy saved the day and found some nice people that would let our girls sit beside their kids and watch the parade with them. Pat videod the parade as well and I got down by the kids and was able to get some pictures.

Tired as we were, we wandered over to Expedition Everest as this was the last ride we were hoping to go before leaving the park. We stopped to get some photos done with EE in the background and noticed a train stuck at the top of the mountain. After pictures were taken, and we got closer to the ride, we noticed that the same train was still stuck at the top of the mountian. The ride was broken and we had to walk away without going on the ride but we hope to go back again before we leave and take this ride.

The grumpies were continuing to make appearances so we called it a day and have come back to the hotel. We had supper again once we got back as the dining hall was empty. Pat and I shared grilled salmon platter and grilled salmon salad (it's cool - you build your own salad with whatever you want to add to it - eggs, cranberries, raisins, etc). Kamrynne surprised us by ordering a turkey sandwich and Symanthah had a hot dog.

We have decided since we are all tired and sore to get a little extra sleep tomorrow, then have some Mickey waffles for breakfast, then spend a few hours at Downtown Disney before coming back for the afternoon and having a swim and soaking up some sun.