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.)

Interview with Quinn

I love the way he says Disney World.

Rope Drop

A perfect Disney Day for me involves getting to the Magic Kingdom in time to see their rope drop ceremony. It brings tears to my eyes every time. Not only that, but then you're into the park before it gets crazy crowded and can ride so many rides in that first hour while other vacationers are sleeping in.

We were only able to make the rope drop once this trip (with three visits to the MK). Of course, one of those three visits we were in the park before it opened having breakfast with Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Minnie Mouse - so that's fun too.



Anyway - the ceremony is pretty neat and always involves a real live family. Like one they pick from people waiting around for the park to open. Could you imagine being that family? I think part of the reason the show brings tears to my eyes is because I am truly so happy for that family.

Of course - once the show is over they "drop the ropes" and let everyone into the Most Magical Place on Earth. And then, it's the walk up to the castle that gets me. And all the Cast Members standing outside their shops wishing everyone a "Good morning!" Oh! I just love it.


Oh - and all these pictures were taken with a disposable camera! I left the freshly charged camera battery at our hotel room. Could you imagine? A disposable camera? I think I did alright with it...

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Epcot!

We found some wonderful surprises on this trip! We spent much more time in Epcot and enjoyed every minute of it. The park always seems less crowded or maybe there is more space to wander around. As a kid, I enjoyed the Future World portion of Epcot, but not so much the World Showcase. It has always been a great place to find characters without the long lines, but other than that--you walk thru...boring.

I was pleasantly surprised this trip to enjoy the World Showcase and happy that it was one of Emily's favorite experiences. We did the Kim Possible mission, and it was one of best things we did! Here are some pictures from our mission...



We also did the Kidcot stops as we wandered around the country pavilions. Emily was really into this as well and the kids both got a fun mask to bring home as a souvenir.




Oh, and it so happened that Emily was reading something in school and was able to comment on the country because she saw it at Epcot...who says Disney isn't educational?!? All in all it was a great day and a great way to end our trip!

Princesses

Dining with the princesses for breakfast in Norway...
more pictures...

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Quinn's favorite seemed to be Cinderella. He could barely look at her while talking to her, but had a huge smile on his face while watching her talk to Liam.

Ariel was funny - wanted to make sure Quinn was a "Good pirate" and asked to borrow Emily's "thing-a-ma-jig" (pen). She kept asking Quinn to explain how he flew to Florida.

Snow White was sweet and spent a lot of time talking to Liam and trying to make him more comfortable. For some reason, Liam kept saying he didn't like the princesses.

Sleeping Beauty - she seemed sort of ditsy to me, but she is Amy's favorite!

Who's Got the Ketchup?

One of my favorite meals at Disney World was at the Wilderness Lodge - at their Whispering Canyon. The big "skit" of the evening involved ketchup. Ask your waiter for some ketchup - the guys yells across the restaurant, "Hey - who's got the ketchup?" And from across the room someone would yell, "Who needs the ketchup?" And you'd have to wave them over. Then, all of a sudden your table is filled with ketchup brought to you by various kids throughout the place. Quinn thought it was hysterical the first time. Liam had so much fun, that after getting rid of our ketchup, he decided he needed more ketchup - and so we asked for more. And Liam waved the people over to our table to bring us more ketchup.

Also? The waiter offered Quinn a milkshake as part of his drink choices! A milkshake!? As a drink?! He was in heaven.

The kids also got to ride some wooden horses around the place and dance the hokey pokey. Somehow - we did manage to eat and the food was pretty good!

Of course, we've got pictures...

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Our First Day

We were, thankfully, able to leave Chicago right at the start of a huge snowstorm. I was nervous - to say the least.

We landed in Orlando and it was raining.

That didn't stop us.

We checked into our hotel, left our winter coats with Bell Services and headed to the Magic Kingdom.

We arrived just in time to grab some hotdogs and see the 3:00 Parade.

We were all so excited. Standing in the rain. Waiting and watching for the parade to come...

and more pictures...

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Our Magical Moment

I've mentioned before about how great all the Cast Members were at Disney World. Well - the following story and pictures would not have been such a great memory had it not been for the Cast Member dressed as Woody and the Photopass Photographer who captured the entire event.

So - while Quinn and I were waiting in line to see Woody and Buzz Lightyear Quinn noticed that he only had Buzz on his shirt. "But Mommy, Woody will be sad, because I don't have him on my shirt." Do you want to draw Woody a picture? "Do you think that will make him feel better?" I do. "Okay."

And so Quinn drew Woody a picture - and even signed his name on it!

When we finally made it to the front of the line - Quinn went right up to Woody and gave him the picture. "Here Woody. I drew this for you and signed my name for you!"

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And Woody quickly gave Quinn a hug.

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And brought him in a little closer...

And just that would have been enough. That would have made me happy.
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But then, Woody made such a big deal out of that picture. He showed it off to Buzz. He pretended to hang it up on the wall. He danced around a little. And showed it off to Buzz again. It was perfect. And just that would have been enough.
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And so Quinn asked for Woody's autograph.
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And Woody called Quinn closer to watch what he was writing.

And Woody wrote, "Howdy Cowboy! Thanks a LOT! Your pal, Woody"
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And just that would have been enough. But no. Woody held up that picture for the picture. And then, yes then, is when the really magical part happened. The "character handler" asked Woody, "hey Woody, you want me to hold onto that for you?" And Woody shook his head NO and put that picture right into his holster belt and patted his 'pocket'!

When we got outside to meet up with Mike and Liam Quinn saw Mike and said, "Daddy! I gave Woody a picture and my autograph and he put it in his pocket and is going to keep it FOREVER Daddy! Woody's got my picture in his pocket!"
And then I almost burst into happy tears!

Pluto!

Our last morning we went to Animal Kingdom and on our way to Donald's Safari Breakfast I noticed a bunch of characters with almost nobody by them! Pluto was just standing around and so I said to Quinn, "Do you want to go say 'Hi!' to Pluto?" No thanks, I already saw him! And I said, "But, look, nobody's giving Pluto a hug - he needs one!" And Pluto got down on his knee and motioned for Quinn to come and hug him!

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I'm pretty sure this is my most favorite picture of Quinn with any character!

The Rides

Our first ride as a family at Disney World was the Haunted Mansion. After getting the boys hair cuts done we were sort of late getting on rides and everything had a long wait - except Haunted Mansion - we walked right on, right into the room where the lights go off and everyone screams, and right into our little "car". I loved it! I love that it was our first ride as a family and that we were able to squeeze into one car, with Liam on my lap. Quinn loved it and asked to ride it again every day of our trip. And Liam surprisingly didn't mind it that much - compared to other rides... Oh and Mike almost had a heart attack when something "jumped" up - seriously Mike jumped and Quinn laughed at him! We rode Haunted Mansion two more times on our trip - and always just walked right on!

Here's Quinn and I on the Magic Carpet Ride. The coolest thing was as we were walking off Aladdin and Jasmine were walking into the ride area! Jasmine made a big deal out of Quinn's hair and Aladdin said hello! How cool - BUT I didn't have a camera to grab a picture (plus they weren't really doing meet and greets - just going on the ride, I guess).

And well...here we are on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Ride. Liam did not enjoy this ride AT ALL. Seriously.

Quinn enjoyed looking at all the stuff!

I told you Liam HATED this ride. This was right after the bouncing that happens with Tigger during the ride. He HATED it. (In case you can't tell).




Next - our favorite ride - Toy Story Mania!

We had to go straight to this new ride at Hollywood right when the park opened. We waited about 20 minutes. When we got off the wait was up to 70 minutes - and fastpasses were almost gone. Quinn loved it - Liam hated it. Bascially, it's like a moving arcade game - only in 4D. You spin around in the car, stop in front of big screens, pull and shoot rings or things at stuff, and get points! All while wearing 3D glasses - and - the part that Liam hated the most - anytime you shot something you'd feel air coming at you! Truly an awesome experience, unless, you know, you're one and just don't get it!


Now of course you're thinking, man, you guys really tortured Liam. No. That's not true. He did enjoy this ride...

Any ideas what it is? I'll give you a hint. Or, rather, I'll just tell you. "It's a small world..." I know it's cheezy, but I like this ride. It totally makes me think of Disney world, way more than Dumbo.

Here's a quick break down of the rides and how the boys reacted to them (oh - and our wait times, just for fun!)
Dumbo - we waited 10 minutes, Quinn thought it was ok, Liam didn't like it.
Peter Pan's Flight - we didn't wait at all, Quinn liked it, Liam HATED it, I thought it was pretty cool.
Winnie the Pooh - we didn't wait at all, do I need to talk about what the boys thought? I thought it was OK.
Snow White's Scary Adventure - We didn't wait. We didn't take Liam on it, Quinn loved it, I thought it was OK
Mickey's Philharmagic - not really a ride, a show, we didn't wait - Quinn loved it. I loved it! (We didn't take Liam)

Goofy's Barnstormer - 5 minutes, Quinn loved it, I thought it was too short, but probably perfect for a kid's first rollercoaster ride (Liam wasn't tall enough - nor would we have tried)
Big Thunder Mountain - We used fastpasses (Didn't wait), Quinn said, "It went down too fast!" I thought it was fun and was surprised Quinn wasn't screaming. It's a real rollercoaster! (Liam wasn't tall enough - nor would we have tried)
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Not quite as cool as Toy Story, but Quinn enjoyed shooting at things. Liam did a little better, because he was playing with the gun. =) Still - didn't like it much.
Triceratop Spin - Just like Dumbo. We didn't wait. Liam didn't mind it as much as Dumbo. Quinn thought it was ok.
Finding Nemo - We walked right on. Liam liked most of it (except this one part where it appears you're spinning, but you're not). Quinn loved it so much he asked to go on again - and a CM let us cut into line by the handicap entrance and we hopped right back on!
Journey Into Imagination - We walked right on. I enjoyed it more because Quinn was into it. Liam kept saying "bye bye" to Figment.

For the most part, the only ride Liam enjoyed was "it's a small world". Everything else he would very clearly say, "All done." and "bye bye". Or, you know, just cry.

And here's a list or rides I WISH we would have done:
Pirates of the Caribbean (too long of a wait)
Splash Mountain (wanted to do it, but didn't want to get wet)
Tower of Terror (Quinn said he wanted to do it at home, but when he saw it - NOPE.)
Dinosaur (same as Tower of Terror)
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
Soarin' (We went to EPCOT late - fastpasses were gone and the wait was over an hour)

I suppose that's why I have to say, "next time we go!"

Caribbean Beach Resort

My feelings towards our resort are sort of that of a love/hate relationship. After it took us so long to check in and get to our rooms and after having pretty much none of our requests filled I really didn't like the place much. But then I woke up very early Thursday morning and saw this:

And on my way across the bridge to the main area (food court, store, information center, etc.) I saw this and took a quick picture.


This was the view from our hotel room. Can you see how one might fall in love with this place?


Quinn loved staying here and leading us to either a bus stop or over the bridge to the pool or lunch. We was insistent that we stay behind him and let him lead. Since that was one of the only places we could let Quinn walk on his own we took advantage of this.
Here Quinn's going to lead us over the bridge that leads to everything!


Here's a view of our "island" Aruba. Each "island" has it's own beach and we spent one morning letting the boys play on the beach. I wish we would have had more time to enjoy the resort. Boat rentals, bike rentals, pirate's cruise, swimming pool with slides, and I waited until the last day to find out the "Banana Cabana" (hotel bar) has the most awesome Orange Dream drinks ever. There was a ship holding a pirate's cruise the morning we let the boys play on the beach, so we saw all these boys on a ship chasing a pirate on another ship - and then the pirate ran right onto our beach and ran away. Quinn got into the action by grabbing a stick and yelling at the pirates, "Stay away from our island! Argh!" So he had fun and we didn't even pay the $30 to have him on the boat!

I know some people love this resort and stay there every time they go to Disney World. For us, there's plenty of other places to try and I can't wait to try something new next time! (I'm thinking either the Dolphin or the Swan - I heard teachers get discounts there?!? Or the boardwalk - if we happen to win the lotto or something.)

Cast Members

A few posts ago, Amy mentioned that one of the things she was looking forward to was, "The fact that being at Disney means that everyone working there treats my kids like they are the most special kids at the most special place on Earth." I really didn't understand what she was talking about, but after our vacation, oh my gosh, I totally get what she meant.

Every "Cast Member" (that's what Disney calls their employees) made me feel as though Quinn and Liam were a part of their family. From the smiles to the stickers - my kids received plenty of both from everyone who wore a Disney name tag. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left Quinn and Liam were constantly being waved at, smiled at, ooooohed over, talked to, or getting stickers. It didn't matter what job these people held - from table cleaners, cashiers, bellhops, bus drivers, security guards, ticket takers, crowd management, street cleaners, bathroom attendants, and everyone else - they all treated my kids as if they were the most special kids there!

We had a lot of "magical moments" on this vacation - and pretty much all of them were because one or two cast members went out of their way to be nice to the boys.

After spending a busy morning at Hollywood (where my most favorite magical moment happened, but you'll have to wait until those pictures are ready) we were heading out of the park. Quinn and I needed a bathroom break before waiting for the bus and heading back to the hotel for our afternoon naps. When we walked out of the bathroom, this is what we saw:

The street cleaner was talking with Liam - and Liam was SO engaged and happy to see him. I stood back for awhile and watched in awe as the two of them interacted together. The Cast Member even let Liam show him where to sweep - and would sweep up there. Liam loved it!

I can't even explain how much this reminded me of how much I love being at Disney World. After awhile Quinn and I went up to the stroller and the guy started talking to Quinn - did "the pound" with him, and wished us a "magical day".

Harmony Barber Shop

One of my only requirements for this trip (besides NO WHINING - which didn't work) was to have Liam's first hair cut at the Harmony Barber Shop on Main St., USA (Magic Kingdom). We waited quite a bit, after not getting to our hotel room until 2am - we didn't get an early start as planned - so we waited! But it was so worth it! As you can see, Quinn needed a trim as well! (The above picture is my favorite - notice Quinn is the one in the chair!)

Two boys - waiting for the bus to the Magic Kingdom. Both in need of a haircut!




Quinn's an old pro at this.

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Whenever a barber tells Quinn to close his eyes he makes such a funny face!

After Quinn's hair cut the barber put some Pixie Dust in his hair! (Yellow gel, spiked it, and threw some Mickey Mouse confetti on it!)

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Liam's not too sure about this...

Liam wanted nothing to do with this - until we gave him some bubbles to play with - he kept eating them!



Bye bye long hair!

He's screaming at this point! (Get that hat off of me!)

It was totally worth waiting for.

Live Update

Waiting for buses is no fun. Sitting on a crowded bus is no fun.

BUT - almost everything else - fun! Even getting drenched in the rain after dinner while waiting/running for a boat!

Want some pictures? Go here!