Rides without Kids!

Ahhh - so we're back from our anniversary trip - no kids at Disney World! It was awesome. I recommend everyone take a trip without their kids at least once. The only time I got a little teary eyed about them not being there was while we were watching the Pixar parade at Hollywood. It was our first day and we weren't planning on catching any daytime parades, but our dinner reservation was for 3:30 and the parade route was right in front of our restaurant at 3:00 - so we watched - and we sort of wished the kids were there with us to see all the characters.

Anyway - this trip to Disney world we were able to focus on some of the bigger rides that we couldn't do when the kids were with us. (We could have done them, but I we didn't want to take up the time of having each of us ride the big rides alone while the kids waited.)

So... here we go:

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: I still love this ride. The music, the speed, the lights - it is awesome. We tackled this at 8:15 in the morning and I'm not so sure that's the best time to have your body thrown around like that - but either way - we enjoyed this ride!

Toy Story Mania - Still love it. With and without the kids it's a great ride. It was fun to ride it without the kids because I could focus on the game at hand (of course, Mike still kicked my butt.)

Space Mountain - ugh. No thanks. It was very jerky. It actually doesn't go too fast (you can tell by the seats - there's nothing right behind your head) - the effects are pretty cool, but it was a very jerky ride.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - pretty fun. Quinn did this ride awhile ago, but he didn't love it.

Splash Mountain - LOVED IT. This ride must be done at night. We could see the stars during most of it. I thought the boys would like this ride, but there's quite a few drops before you finally get to the big drop. Oh - but the view from the top of that big drop is AMAZING. Especially at night.

Mission Space - I'm glad we tested this ride out - We choose the less intense line (no spinning) and we loved it. Mike got a little dizzy, but he didn't need the barf bags they provide, so that's good. I thought it was a great ride and I know Quinn will love it.

so - that's it - the rides we were able to do without the kids. We did get on plenty of other rides. (We rode Jungle Cruise 4 times - that ride cracks me up.)

Totally Normal

This morning during breakfast Quinn and Liam were talking about Mike and I's upcoming trip to Disney World. They are beyond excited to be staying with their Grandma for five nights and the conversation we had this morning made it seem as though it was perfectly normal for parents to leave their kids at home and go to Disney World.

Q - You should take your Mickey Mouse cup to Disney World to show Mickey Mouse. I'm sure he'll like it.

L - You guys are going to Disney World when we go to Grandma's house?

Me - Yup.

L - Disney World is in Florida?

Me - Yup.

L - I'm going to Grandma's house?

Me - Yup.

Q and L - WooHoo! Grandma's house!

I'm so thankful for this - the guilt of leaving my boys behind while Mike and I tackle the World is starting to creep up on me and knowing they're going to be having fun with their grandma is going to make it just a little bit easier.

Also - I do have a trip planned in June for the boys - so we are talking about that too. As a matter of fact, Quinn has instructed me to ride Tower of Terror with Mike as many times as I want, because he is NOT going on that ride in June.

The Guilt Trip

It's final. The flight is booked. The room reservations are made. The dining reservations are made.

We're going without the kids.

The flight - free with credit card miles!

The room - "free" thru our DVC point!

The dining - Not free at all, but I'm very excited about our choices!
Brown Derby for dinner before a Fantasmic Show
LeCellier for lunch
Marrakesh for dinner - something new for both of us!
Artist Point for dinner
Cape May - our only character meal for breakfast. We might skip this.

AND - I booked us a tour for Keys to the Kingdom with lunch at Columbia House.

It's different planning a trip without the kids.

And this guilt is wearing on me - I'm thinking of taking them in June...

So far...

The plan:

Leave March 10th - return March 14th.

Stay at the Beach Club - haven't been there yet, close walk to EPCOT, nightlife on the Boardwalk...

Things we can't do when the kids are there:

Go para-sailing - Mike says he'll just watch!
Have lunch with an imagineer - Mike's pick.
Ride all the rollar coasters - I haven't tried Mount Everest yet. Also - I haven't tried Splash Mountain - so those are two must dos.

Places we want to eat at:

Le Cellier
California Grill
Narcoossee's
Artist Point
'Ohana
Mama Melrose


Too many places to choose from... we definitely want to try Le Cellier. And either California Grill or Narcoossee's. I think we'll save 'Ohana for when the family is there. Mama Melrose offers priority seating for Fantasmic, but I don't think we'll need that since when we're going isn't too busy. I think lunch with an imagineer is at the Brown Derby.

The Early Planning Stages

I swear one of my favorite things to do is plan out a WDW trip.

Where to stay? Where to eat?

The next trip we take will be something special. Just Mike and I going to celebrate 10 years of "happily ever after!"

So... where are we going to stay? Where are we going to eat? Are we going to go para-sailing? Have lunch with an imagineer?

All things I'm in the midst of planning - and I'm enjoying every minute of it.