Disney Day 6 - Magic Kingdom

This was our last day in the parks, so we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We had breakfast with Pooh & Friends at the Crystal Palace. It was also a buffet with your basic breakfast foods.

Saying hi to Winnie the Pooh.

Hugs from Eeyore.

Timothy had started standing up in his high chair & trying to climb out. So I got to be in the picture with Piglet.

Joshua even bounced with Tigger!

After breakfast we went back to some of our favorite rides: Winnie the Pooh, Its a Small World, Tomorrowland Speedway, Buzz Lightyear, & the carousel...a couple of times :)

Timothy really took it all in on It's a Small World. He would point to things & say what they were.

Our last time on the carousel.

So happy!

I think he was ready for it to start.

Cece bought the boys their own sunglasses & Timothy really liked his!

We ate lunch at the Lunching Pad (hot dogs) & then went back to the room to rest. After Timothy took a long nap, we headed to the pool for the first time. Joshua loved it & Timothy hated it. He started crying as soon as he hit the water. Even with just his toes in, he was mad. He kept telling me he was all done. I ended up taking him to look for the ducks in the stream. John & I went to dinner that night at California Grill in the Contemporary Resort while John's mom stayed with the boys. It was so good! We both had steak & chocolate cake for dessert. If you want to splurge on a great meal, this is the place. We had read that it has the best food on the property & I think that might be right. It is no longer covered on the basic dining plan but is on the deluxe dining plan (though it takes 2 meal credits....totally worth it). After dinner John & I went back to the Magic Kingdom to do a little shopping. Timothy had been wanting a Mickey Mouse balloon all week so we had to get one for each of the boys.

Disney Day 5 - Epcot

 Our fifth day started with a luau themed breakfast at O'Hana in the Polynesian. There was a monkey bread type pastry, fruit, eggs, bacon, potatoes, biscuits, & Mickey shaped waffles. It was a buffet but they brought everything to your table on platters.

The boys with Lilo.

Stitch & the boys. I don't think they knew what to think of that!

Hugs from Mickey.

Loving Pluto!

Pluto being funny. John's mom said this should be our Christmas card this year...I will have to keep it in mind when the time comes :)

As we rode the monorail in, Timothy said "Ball!!!"

CeCe & the boys.

Our first stop in Epcot was Soarin'. We weren't sure if Joshua would like it or not but decided to try. We used the Fast Pass line & only had to wait maybe 10 minutes. Joshua fussed the whole time & started crying when we got in our seats. As soon as the ride started he got quiet & seemed to really take it all in. I had read that Soarin' was probably the best ride in the park for all ages & I think we would agree! It is definitely a must see! We saw signs that Test Track had run out of Fast Passes within an hour, I think. We weren't going to take Joshua on that one but I think John would have liked it. From there we went to The Seas with Nemo & Friends. I think the boys enjoyed it. They really liked all of the aquariums in the rest of the building.

 Joshua & Timothy looking in one of the aquariums. Please note that Joshua again is wearing his lei but this time he has it sash-style. I think he was trying to start a trend. Every time we fixed it, he moved it back like this!

We were visiting during the Flower & Garden Festival so everything was especially pretty! From Nemo, we went to Spaceship Earth. We had a special waiting area for people with Guest Assistance Cards. The ride wasn't super exciting but it was nice to sit for a bit.

From there we went to the World Showcase. We ate lunch at La Cantina in Mexico. John & I had tacos, chips & popsicles. We ate overlooking the water. We then went to Gran Fiesta Tour. It is an indoor boat ride so Joshua was content. I think it made Timothy sleepy. Then we went to Norway & rode Maelstrom, another indoor boat ride. It scared Timothy a little since it was dark. There was a waterfall that you went down backwards but that was no big deal. Then there was a forward drop that was much bigger & I don't think either boy was prepared for that. It still wasn't scary though...just the dark & loud noises made it slightly scary for Timothy. After that we decided to head back to the hotel.

Timothy decided on the monorail to start wearing my sunglasses. Ever since I can't wear them without him asking for them :)

That evening, John & I went back to Epcot while his mom watched the boys. We were able to see some of the Chinese acrobats' performance before our dinner reservations. We ate dinner at Tutto Italia & it was wonderful. I had fettuccine that was amazing! The servings were massive. After dinner we stopped back by the China pavilion to watch the "Reflections of China" movie. It was a great movie & captured the beauty of China. It was fun seeing that & the replica of the Temple of Heaven (which I visited while I was in China).

Disney Day 4 - Magic Kingdom

 Our fourth day started with breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian. It was not a buffet. We were still stuffed from dinner the night before so none of us ate too much. We ordered pancakes, which were good. Joshua's came out with 3 pancakes making a Mickey Mouse head. 

After breakfast, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We spent most of our time in Fantasy Land. Here is a rundown on what we rode & how the boys reacted:

Peter Pan's Flight - we were able to use the Fast Pass lane with the Guest Assistance Card so we didn't have much of a wait. It was pretty dark during the ride, so I think it may have been a little scary for Timothy. I think Joshua was ok with it but didn't love it.

It's a Small World - no wait...everyone was just walking right up. This was probably Timothy's favorite. He seemed to be mesmerized by all of the stuff to look at. Joshua was content since we were in a boat in water :)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - we were able to use the Fast Pass lane here as well so we didn't have too long of a wait. This ride was super popular. It was really cute & probably one of our favorites. I think both boys really liked it.

Mad Tea Party - not too long of a wait. I was afraid this one would be too much, but Joshua laughed through the whole thing & Timothy seemed ok with it too.

Carousel - never too long of a wait. Joshua's favorite I think...he kept asking to ride it again. 

Dumbo - there was a 40 minute wait the first time we tried & the lady working said we would just have to wait in the line even with the Guest Assistance Card (not the way it is supposed to work) so we waited & came back that night when there was only a 15 minute wait. The boys were ok with it but didn't love it. Thankfully there was water around it :)

The Barnstormer - we used the Fast Pass lane here & only had to wait a minute or two. I thought this was a bit rough (maybe because we were at the back?) & it was hard to tell what Joshua thought about it. He had no idea what we were getting in to. Timothy was just a couple of inches too short but I'm glad...he would have gotten jerked around too much. Joshua didn't ask to ride this one again.

Tomorrowland Speedway - John & Joshua were able to bypass the long line with the Guess Assistance Card. John said Joshua laughed the whole time. While Timothy was just tall enough to ride we thought it would be too rough so we just watched from the side.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - we used Fast Pass lane again & didn't have to wait long even though it was also very popular. It was really fun. Joshua didn't really know what to do but I think he liked going through it. I think this was John's favorite....he got really into getting a good score.

Magic Carpets of Aladdin - we had to wait about 15 minutes. This was like Dumbo. Again the boys didn't love or hate it. Well, there was a camel that spit water at you & when Timothy got a squirt in the ear, he decided he didn't like it!

Jungle Cruise - we used the Fast Pass lane & didn't have to wait. We had a great guide which made it entertaining. The jokes were corny but hilarious at the same time. Timothy liked the animals & Joshua liked the water.

John & Joshua at the Tomorrowland Speedway. The girl behind them kept ramming into their car (by girl, I mean teenager not little girl). But Joshua was laughing anyway.

 Timothy on the carousel.

The Polynesian gives out leis & Joshua decided he wanted to wear his all day...quite the fashion statement. He also bunched all of the flowers together which made it even cooler :)

John & the boys.

Me & the boys...not looking as usual.

The four of us in our tea cup.

We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe which was huge & had decent options. I had a turkey sandwich, apple slices & chocolate cake. I think John had a burger. Joshua had a PBJ sandwich, grapes & a cookie. We rode everything except the Barnstormer, Dumbo & the carousel by the early afternoon & headed back to the room to rest. Timothy fell asleep on the water taxi back to the resort. He managed to get a little nap in the room. We decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom to find a quick place for dinner & ride a few more things. We ended up eating at Pinocchio Village Haus which had pizza, pasta, & meatball subs. It was alright. After dinner we rode the Barnstormer, Dumbo & the carousel.

The boys & I on the train.

John & Joshua on Dumbo.

Timothy & I on Dumbo.

After we finished the rides, we found a spot to wait for the nightly parade. Joshua was unhappy about waiting & by the time the parade started he was done. He just sat on the stroller fussing wanting to go. Timothy however loved it all.

Minnie at the front & Mickey on top at the back.

Timothy was a huge fan of the parade.

Disney Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

Monday morning we headed to the Animal Kingdom. Thankfully, Timothy's fever was gone & he seemed to feel fine. Since the monorail doesn't go to that park, John decided to drive. Taking the bus would have been our other option but we didn't want to do that. We had a character breakfast at the Tusker House restaurant inside the park. It was a buffet with your standard breakfast foods....eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, fruits, granola, muffins. They did have cereal & doughnuts for the kids as well.

 As soon as we checked in, we stood in line to have our picture taken with Donald Duck. Timothy wasn't completely sure about that but he seemed ok since someone was holding him. You can see him checking Donald out here!

All of the other characters came around to the tables while you ate. They were all dressed in safari gear. Joshua wasn't happy about being in the restaurant so he didn't really care about the characters.

 

Timothy had cried when Mickey Mouse came by, so we skipped that picture with him! As you can see, he was still pretty unsure when Goofy stopped by our table.

By the time Daisy came by, Timothy was starting to get used to the characters. He was still keeping an eye on her though! 

After breakfast, we went to Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is the bus ride through the wildlife refuge. It was really fun to see all of the animals, though most of them weren't close enough to get great pictures. The lions were the only thing we couldn't really see since they were sleeping in the shadows. The Guest Assistance Card was great for this attraction since it was really popular. We were able to enter at the Fast Pass return line & didn't have to wait too long.

Joshua checking out the hippos under water...you can see one of them right beside his face.

Giraffes out in the field.

Timothy taking it all in. He loves animals! After we finished that ride, we did two self-guided walking tours, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail - where we saw gorillas, hippos & birds - and Maharajah Jungle Trek - where we saw tigers, birds & Komodo dragons. One of the best pieces of advice I got was to use a sit-n-stand stroller so that Joshua could have a place to sit if he got tired of walking. He used that a lot! I found one at a consignment sale this spring & it was a great investment! We also rode the Wildlife Express train to Rafiki's Planet Watch where we visited the petting farm area. 

We ate lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque (quick serve). It was great barbeque. It was busy but didn't take too long. If you eat there, it looks like there are only two areas to sit to eat. Both of those were packed but we got a table as soon as some people left. However, when we left, we walked further down & saw more places to sit to eat & there were only people at two tables. So, if you have a meal there, walk down further if you are having trouble finding a table!

Before we left, we rode Triceratop Spin. The boys were ok with it but they didn't love it or hate it. As you can see from the picture, it is basically like the Dumbo ride. Our Guest Assistance Card also came in handy here. That was all we did at Animal Kingdom. Some of the other rides looked to rough or scary for Joshua & Timothy was too small/young for them as well. We didn't think the boys would sit through the shows and it had gotten too hot to play in the Boneyard. It was also mid-afternoon & we wanted them to rest a bit in the room. Timothy fell asleep in the stroller as we walked out of the park. He slept in the car back to the hotel but as soon as we got to the room he was ready to get a snack & play!

John's mom went on the trip with us. Here she is enjoying the stream & waterfall with the boys. Did I mention how much they like water? I think they may have been watching the baby ducks swimming here too.

This was in the lobby of the Polynesian. So pretty! That night, we had dinner at O'Hana, which is the other restaurant at the Polynesian. They have a set menu that they bring to your table & serve family style. So, there is no ordering. They cook meat on skewers over a fire. We had bread, salad, wings, potstickers, chicken, pork, shrimp, steak, noodles, broccoli, & bread pudding with ice cream & caramel/banana sauce. It was also very good but we were all stuffed. If you eat dinner here, don't plan a big breakfast the next morning!

Every night at 9:00 there is a water parade on the lagoon. We went out the beach to watch. Boats float by & light up various scenes. Above is the sea serpent. Music plays during this & the boys seemed to really enjoy it.

This is the second half of the line of boats after the last one lit up.

After all of the boats are lit up, they change to this patriotic scene at the end before they float off. It was really pretty.

Disney Vacation Day 2 - Polynesian Resort & Fireworks

We are not morning people & being on Eastern time made that worse. So it was around 10:00 when we headed out from Tifton, GA. With 2 kids, we had to stop often for bathroom breaks, diaper changes, & to move around. We also had to stop for lunch & the kids are slow eaters so that was almost an hour. Timothy was also still running a fever so he wasn't feeling great.

Again, Timothy enjoyed all the new things that come with being in a hotel. We ended up arriving at our hotel at Disney around 4:00. We got there at the same time as a bus from the airport so it took a while to check in & get up to our room. We also got a brochure about doctors in the area since I was almost convinced Timothy had an ear infection. We could have gone to an urgent care center but that was going to take hours. We decided on the other option which was a doctor that would come to your hotel room. They actually had a pediatrician on duty that night so we scheduled her to come right after our dinner reservations.

We chose the Polynesian Resort. We had read that they got great reviews from families. It was a great choice! It is located in the Magic Kingdom & is on the monorail. It is set up as several longhouses so each building has 3 levels & is only one hallway long. It was beautiful & you really felt like you were on a tropical vacation. There were waterfalls, streams, & fountains everywhere so the boys loved it! There was even a family of ducks with little babies that you would see every now & then! There was a pool with a very shallow end & a volcano that had a waterfall. There was a slide that landed in the deep end. There was also another pool in a different part that we think was an adult only pool. There was also a beach along the lagoon. There was a good view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the lagoon & also a water parade every night on the lagoon. I really wish I had paid extra & booked a room with a theme park view so we could have enjoyed those things from our room since we didn't want to keep the boys out that late every night...and they were exhausted after a couple of days. We would definitely stay at the Polynesian again!

We did choose the Deluxe Dining plan, which is 3 meals per day (can be table service or quick service) & 2 snacks per day. Since our boys are super picky (I mean, won't even eat the normal kid stuff...hotdogs, chicken nuggets, etc), I thought breakfast would be the best option for them to eat the most & I thought we might need to use the snacks to get things Timothy would eat, like bananas, whole milk, smoothies, etc. We also wanted to do some things that are not included in regular dining plan this year (they were included in the past though) like Chef Mickey's and the California Grill. Anyway, the first night, we ate at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian. It was a really good meal for the adults. I had potstickers as my appetizer - yummy! I also had coconut & almond crusted chicken with a salad followed by a chocolate torte for dessert. The desserts looked especially yummy. Judging by what I saw at other tables, the Kona Cone was the most popular. It was a large waffle cone. John got that & really liked it. Timothy was still not feeling well, so he didn't eat much at all. Joshua didn't eat much either, so we had to fix some stuff for them when we got back to the room.

Right after dinner, the pediatrician came to see Timothy. She was very nice & was right on time. Timothy was still running a fever but he was acting pretty normal. Turns out his ears were fine & the doctor thought it was probably just a virus. So, we gave him more Motrin & headed to the Magic Kingdom to get a Guest Assistance Card for Joshua so that he wouldn't have to wait in line for rides as long. We had no problem getting the pass, though we did have a letter from the psychologist that we use for behavioral therapy.

Since it was almost 10:00 when we finished at Guest Services, we decided to stay for Wishes & the fireworks. Both boys seemed to really enjoy the fireworks.

Cinderella's castle right after the fireworks. We took the ferry boat back to our hotel, which was a huge hit with the boys. It was also faster than the monorail since the boat was already there & tons of people were leaving right after the fireworks.

Next....the Animal Kingdom!

Disney Vacation - Day 1

We spent the last week on our first Disney vacation! I am going to try to do a post for each day we were there. I am going to go into lots of details (because I had tons of questions when I was planning our trip). Disclaimer: this is not the budget version of a Disney vacation; it was the "keep mommy & daddy sane while traveling with a one year old & a child with special needs" version. If you just want the overview: we had a great time! I will put pictures from each day on each post, so if you don't want details you can just look at the pictures. 

We decided to drive since we weren't sure how Joshua would do on an airplane & we didn't want an hour & a half long tantrum :) So our first day consisted of driving to Tifton, GA to spend the night. 

 This is one of the shirts I made for the boys. There is one for Timothy too....you will see it in later pictures.

This is the other shirt I made for the boys. They wore them the first night we were at Disney :)

 

Where's Joshua?? Our hotel room in Tifton had a view of the swimming pool. One of the things Joshua is obsessed with is water, so he was thrilled. We couldn't keep him out of the window. Timothy joined him too & now asks for water (or waterfalls) all of the time. Luckily for them, Disney had lots of water to look at!

Hotels are not at all baby/kid proofed, so this one enjoyed getting in to everything. This is his innocent face. He actually started running a fever on the way to Tifton. Since he often gets ear infections (& will run a fever only when they get really bad) I was getting concerned that maybe it was an ear infection again.

 

This is what Timothy did to entertain himself before bedtime in Tifton. Thankfully there was no actual trash in the trash can....only the things Timothy found to put in there...like the cups & ice bucket.

More to come....

Happy Easter

For some reason, I thought that as my kids got older, pictures would be easier. The following Easter pictures prove me very wrong :)

This was right before we were leaving to go to Easter dinner. Both boys were ready to go. Joshua had already yelled "I'm done!!" at me.

Timothy sat still for a minute by himself.

Joshua is much happier running around the yard playing in the bubbles.

Again, he seems to do better by himself in pictures. These were taken after we got home from church Easter morning.

Our final attempt at a picture of both of them after church.

This is the first one we took of both of them & it ended up being the best.

Speaking of bad pictures, our church directory picture for this year is terrible! Timothy is the only one who looks cute in the group! John was sick & Joshua was unhappy about standing still & having his picture taken. I'm not sure what my excuse is....I guess I'll go with being tired from being sick the entire spring break & still taking care of 2 kids. So, if you go to church with us, try not to laugh at our picture too much!