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| Disney Days! |
With Ben in upstate New York, Sarah, Joey, James and Emma in California and Beth and I wandering around, the logistics of getting us all together are pretty challenging. Thankfully Beth is an expert at both planning and executing a plan, and she figured out a way to not only make it happen, but to turn it into a Christmas gift at the same time.
When we celebrated Christmas in California, our gifts to everyone were Disney themed and culminated with the announcement that "we're going to Disney World"! Of course, for planning purposes Ben, Sarah and Joey were in on it, but James and Emma seemed both surprised and super excited about their first visit to the Kingdom of the Mouse.
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| We're going to Disney World! We wore our matching shirts on Day 1 of our Disney Adventure. They were actually pretty useful in helping us keep track of one another. |
Thanks to some vacation days for the adults and school holidays for James and Emma, the dates were set and plans were in place for an early February visit to Disney. We'd be together for eight fun filled days and nights, split evenly between Disney and Anna Maria Island.
Having grown up in central Florida, Beth and I were certainly no strangers to Disney World. We've been numerous times, dating all the way back to just shortly after the Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971. A lot has changed over the years as Disney has expanded, grown and developed the roughly 47 miles of what was once Central Florida swamp and cow pastures.
Ben, who was still working remotely at the time, was able to fly in a week early so we could celebrate his birthday together before meeting Sarah, Joey, James and Emma in Orlando. Flying cross country with a seven and a four-year-old isn't easy, but they survived the flights and after a good nights rest we were ready to start the first of our three consecutive days at Disney World.
Day 1-The Magic Kingdom
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Lake Beuna Vista, which was conveniently located about 10-15 minutes away from the theme park entrances. We've become big fans of the IHG hotel group in recent years because of their points programs, as well as the options of properties located both in the US and abroad. This hotel certainly met our needs and would be one we would recommend or use again if we find ourselves back in the area.
Beth and Sarah had meticulously and strategically mapped out a game plan for us (if you go to Disney without a game plan, you've messed up already). There are so many ticketing and "add on options" you can get a headache trying to decipher them. Without going into a lot of detail, we purchased tickets that would give us admission to one park per day for three days. The only "add on" we purchased for everyone was the "Lightening Lane" passes for the Magic Kingdom. These "Lightening Lane" passes shorten the line on select attractions but have very specific terms as to how you can use them. Again, Beth had a good plan on how to use them. It's way too complicated to explain in the blog but email me if you're interested (my email address is in the bio) and we can attempt to explain what worked for us.
About 20-30 minutes before we were scheduled to leave the hotel Emma came bursting through the door. She had a huge smile on her face and loudly proclaimed "today is the day", and what a day it was! Although the hotel provided scheduled transportation to and from the various parks, we decided that would limit our times and options too much, so we drove.
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| A first timer and an old timer enjoying the opening ceremony in front of Cinderella's Castle. |
A word about Disney World.........."it ain't cheap"! Tickets are expensive, the "add ons" can "add up" quickly, souvenir prices are through the roof, and parking is $30 per day! There are a multitude of "add on's" that for a "small fee" will let you stay late, skip the line (at least shorten the line), etc. But wait, there is a bit of good news! You can bring your own food into the park and food prices are for the most part reasonable (similar to sports events and concerts).
If you stay on a "Disney Property", you can get in early, but our hotel was offsite. So, when the gates opened, we joined the huddled mass of people making their way up Main Street USA to Cinderella's Castle where we were welcomed by none other than Mickey, Minnie and a host of other Disney characters.
In addition to Beth and Sarah's research and planning, Ben had been to Disney World a couple of weeks prior to our trip and was helpful in both the planning and execution of our strategy. The park was already busy as Mouseketeers of all ages made their way towards various rides and attractions. First up for us was Big Thunder Mountain Railway. Although the park had only been opened a few minutes, and it wasn't listed as an exceptionally busy day, the line was already close to an hour long. If you go to Disney World you will stand in line............it's just something you'll have to deal with as best as you can...........snacks help!
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| Hanging with Chip and Dale........... |
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| meeting a real princess.......... |
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| flying around with Peter Pan and Uncle Ben |
We made the most out of our first day of the Disney Theme Park Trifecta (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT). We came, we saw, we conquered! Still smiling and talking to each other, we didn't make our way back to the car until around 10:00 PM. It was a fantastic day. James and Emma fell asleep in the car on the short drive back to the hotel and none of us had to be rocked to sleep that night!
Day 2-Hollywood Studios
Just like day one at the Magic Kingdom, we were up and out of the hotel early. We joined the huddled mass of Mouseketeers and quickly made our way down Hollywood Boulevard once the ropes dropped. Our first destination was the Star War's Galaxy's Edge attraction. Although there was a line already in place, the wait wasn't terrible and even if you're not a huge Star War's fan, it's really well done, and worth checking out.
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| Like Father, Like Son........both are big Star Wars fans! |
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| James trying to figure out the secret code so he could get to the stash of Star Wars goodies |
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| Chilling with Olaf |
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| Enjoying the Disney Magic at Hollywood Studios |
Size wise, Hollywood Studio's is slightly larger than the Magic Kingdom, although to me it seems smaller and more compact. There are plenty of shows and attractions for kids of all ages, including the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Tower of Terror, Beauty and the Beast and so much more. My favorite moment of the day was seeing Emma's face light up at the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration when her hero's, Anna and Elsa appeared live and in person on the stage! It was a magical moment in a day filled with magical moments for all of us.
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| Emma loves Anna and Elsa! |
Satisfied with a great time at Hollywood Studios, we made our way back to the hotel for a little swimming and hot tub time! Worn, weary but happy for another magical day.
Day 3-EPCOT
They did it! The weather folks got it right..........rain, wind and chilly conditions, just as predicted. But thankfully you can't judge the day by the weather! In spite of the elements, and the fact that we had spent close to 24 of the past 48 hours at the parks, we had another funtastic day.
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| That raingear sure came in handy! |
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| Group hug with Elsa! |
Our third and final Disney day was made up of many rides including Test Track, Frozen Ever After (located in the Norway section of World Showcase) and Guardians of the Galaxy (a reverse launch roller coaster that Beth, Ben, Emma and I opted out of, but James, Joey and Sarah loved it). Our EPCOT visit created many more magical memories.
We didn't get an opportunity to visit Animal Kingdom on this particular adventure. Three parks in three consecutive days was about all we could handle on this visit. Our legs were a little worn out, but our brains were filled with incredible memories from our Disney adventure.
We had four more memory making days of adventure ahead of us on Anna Maria Island before Sarah, Joey, James and Emma made their way back to California and Ben made his way back to New York, by way of a few days of meetings and visiting friends in Texas.
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| Emma, James, Joey and Sarah learning about Manatees at the TECO Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach |
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| Cooler temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico had brought Manatees into the warm water of the TECO Power Plant. It was estimated that there were around 800 manatees there on the day of our visit. |
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| Emma and James got to meet and play with their cousin Layla at Rossi Park on the Bradenton Riverwalk.......... |
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| They love their Funcle Ben........... |
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| Californians enjoying Anna Maria Island |
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| Emma and James with NaNa! |
It was a fabulous Christmas in February!
