And we're back! What a trip! Its quite an experience traveling with toddlers!! Two weeks passed in a flash.
The first week was all about the kids getting over jet lag, CN Towers in Toronto (scary glass floor on the 114th floor.. or was it 147th?!), meeting cousins after ages, Toronto Zoo, Sightseeing with the whole family (the last time this happened was 17 years ago), Niagara falls and Maid of the Mist, and a lovely graduation ceremony in Buffalo.
Then the magic began. A week at Walt Disney World. They don't call it the happiest place in the world for nothing! (Wait, have they heard the tantrums of children threatening to reach unbelievable decibel levels if not immediately provided with the most insignificant and highly overpriced toy/tattoo/face paint/character suit/sweet stuff/you name it).
Anyway... we had a great place to stay at for the week, a lovely villa at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, 10 minutes away from WDW and all the food places on our list. Two thumbs-upskis for this place!! Our villa was in Fountains I - 1362. Our rental car from National came with one of the biggest boons of modern technology - a GPS. All we had to do was tell her where we wanted to go and she'd talk us through the whole route... (AM now loves to say "Keep left"). Here's who all we had in our party... there was us four GM, AM (Age:4), IM (Age:2), and me, and then there was them three SR, MR and their son RR (Age:5.5). The three boys went crazy!!!
Magic Kingdom was awe-inspiring. Its good that we had bought our tickets (5-day Magic Your Way with Park Hopper and Water Park fun and more) in advance (thanks to Undercovertourist.com). Its a long way from the parking lot, via monorail, to the entrance of Magic Kingdom. We had reserved a character breakfast at Crystal Palace. The kids loved meeting Eeyore, Piglet, Pooh and Tigger; and eat Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. Maybe I loved it more than the kids!! AM had his own kid-proof digital camera, so we got some fun midget-eye-view shots.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was a treat for AM and I was surprised how well IM sat throught it completely mesmerised. We met Buzz right outside this ride, and AM had to buy the Buzz costume to get into the whole spirit of things. He got pictures with Buzz, and many bewildered looks and comments from people who couldn't believe that he was wearing this full body suit in 100 degree weather.
AM and GM then went on the Indy Speedway ride, where AM "drove" the car, while IM and I sat under a tree and had a Mickey shaped ice-cream! (Man, the amount of money they make in the name of the mouse is just amazing).
AM got his face painted.. he was Tiger Lightyear for an hour before the paint made his face itch.
IM and I went on Goofy's Barnstormer, a beginner roller-coater. He was rather good throughout the ride. AM and GM spent time in Minnie's Townhouse and Donald's Boat. AM and IM both loved the kitchen in Minnie's house where there were all kinds of buttons to be pressed and dorrs to be pulled. It was a bit crowded though. It was too getting too hot for the kids and for us as well. We walked past Cinderella's castle and sat down under the blue and yellow umbrellas across the water from Crystal Palace. AM had his blue cotton candy, IM took a nap, and GM bought some divine funnel cake with strawberries and cream (to die for). We recongregated and decided to leave the park with hopes of coming back to "finish" it later. (Famous last words!) Disney Day 1 was done.
Animal Kingdom was on the itinerary for day 2. We had booked the Donald Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House Restaurant. We met Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Mickey in their safari costumes. Ate a lot of the Mickey Waffles and other yummy things... the Jungle Juice was exceptional. They kept refilling our glasses with that. With tummies full, we chilled out at the Kilimanjaro Safari... saw loads of animals. The kids had fun taking pictures. We walked around and took more pics in the park.. The Tree of Life was great. AM and IM cooled off in the Boneyard, where there were slides and things to climb on and a water area where AM had a lovely time getting wet. We went on the Triceratop Spin ride. Lunch was at Restaurantosaurus... I got a great veggie burger. Then we ran to catch the musical of Finding Nemo... great show! They did the whole fish and water effect really well on stage... the kids enjoyed the air conditioning and music and decided to take a nap. Meanwhile, there was a downpour of rain outside and our strollers got drenched :( We had to wait inside the theatre till the rain passed... then we ran to the Its tough to be a bug 3-D show... AM was petrified.. poor guy. He had his glasses off, ears closed and clung to me. All the rides were closing due to the rain... so we left.
Blizzard Beach proved to be great fun for the kids. It was a lovely hot sunny day, perfect for water park fun. The lazy river, Meltaway Bay, was where we started, then the wave pool and some nachos. GM and I each got to go on one slide. He went on the Tobbogan Racers and I went on the Double Dipper. Both were fun. Took the kids to Tike's Peak via the lazy river again. They had fun there in the little slides and fountains. Then it started to rain and they began closing all the rides... so it was time for us to leave... We had lunch and headed over to Downtown Disney.
Downtown Disney is full of shops and restaurants. Our destination was the Lego Imagination Center. Its the huge Lego shop where the kids went crazy! They couldn't decide what they wanted to buy. There is a wall full of little trays that have Lego peices, we get a cup to fill up with as many of the pieces as we can and buy that. We peeped into the huge World of Disney shop for a bit as well. But everyone was so tired that we went home..
Hollywood Studios was awesome. All of us were used to walking around in the sun by this time. And used to lines and rides and the general Disney parks routine. So we started with Playhouse Disney on Stage. Sat right up front... but the stage was too high up for the kids to actually see much. They had fun nevertheless. Then onto Toy Story Midway Mania. One of the BEST rides in Disney as of date. The line was long. almost an hour wait. But all worth it in the end. We put on 3-D glasses and had to shoot various targets in various games. AM and IM both seemd to love it. I totted up 48,200 points while GM got 63,200. Umm.. the highest of the day was around 222,000, so yeah, no match!! ;) Lunch was Pizza at Toy Story Pizza Planet. We saw Muppet Vision 3-D, that AM didn't really enjoy much. Strolled around a bit and then went to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground. They had a good time there with the huge Ant and Slides and stuff. Till it rained and they had to close the playground. So we had a snack, chips, juice and a brownie that had mickey shaped sprinkles! :) Luckily we just happened to come across the Monsters, Inc. Character Meet and Greet. Mike Wasowski (or Wa-house-key as IM insists on calling him) was there. AM posed with one eye closed for the picture with Mike. By the time RR and the rest sprinted to reach there, Mike had to leave BUT, it was time for Sully to show up... so we got the best of both. Had to leave then... but great memories captured.
Epcot was the longest time we spent in a park. Came in around 10:30am and left after the fireworks. The first thing we did is have the guys run ahead and get fast passes for Soarin'. Then started off with The Seas with Nemo and Friends: a nice ride through the aquarium, with special effects of Nemo and friends. They had fish tanks outside with real Nemo-like fish. It was cool. On to Turtle Talk with Crush. This was one of the coolest shows in Disney. There was Crush on a screen looking into the "Human Tank". He picked on RR to talk to!! "The dude in the front with the red shirt and dark noggin" It was sooooo coool!! He then spoke with the "parental unit" MR as well. Duuuuude, it was awwwwesome!! Then onto the Land, where we saw Living with the Land (slightly lame), ate at Sunshine Seasons, and then the company split. Us kiddies went to Innoventions West, made our versions of the Velcro froggies to take home. Sent GM to get fast passes for Mission Space. Looked around Innoventions West with the kids. Wanted to play the Piggy Bank Adventure, but two toddlers are a handful. GM took the Segway test drive just in time before we had to rush for Soarin'. There was still a 20 minute wait in the Fast Pass queue. MR and I stayed back with IM coz he's too short to ride. The others came out with such overjoyed faces and AM and RR were jumping around waiting to tell us what happened. It was the best ride they had sat in. So MR and I rushed in for our turn. Honestly, beautiful ride. They make you feel like you're flying in a hand glider over all these various places. They even simulate the smells. The orange orchards were amazing. Wow!! It was time for our Mission Space fast pass... so since IM was asleep, and AM agreed to stay with the Rs, GM and I ran all the way across to Mission Space for the Orange version of it (thats the more intense training program). They simulated shooting us into space and all the way to Mars. This was one awesome ride!!! Back to Innoventions West where the kids had made more frogs and played Piggy Bank Adventure. I got to ride the Segway this time!! Cool experience. One wonders who thinks of such gadgets! Then it was ice cream time at the Soda Fountain.... some yummy double scoops were had. :) MR and SR went for the Honey, I shrunk the Audience show which ended up having technical problems. In the meantime, I bought some pins to officially begin my Disney Pins collection. I have 6! Then The Journey into Imagination with Figment decided to shut the door on us as soon as we reached it. So we guessed it was time for dinner and the World Showcase. After aqcuiring some free masks at the Kidcot Fun Stop over in England, we reached Morocco's Tangarine Cafe and sat there with dinner till the IllumiNations began. Poor AM was petrified. We headed home, after a long, weary, yet the most fun day.
Typhoon Lagoon on our last day at Disney. It was sunny to start off with, but the clouds came on fast. The kids didn't show the same enthusiasm as in Blizzard Beach, as it was slightly cold for them. Castaway Creek, the lazy river, took us to Ketchakidee Creek, where there were small slides and fountains. AM and IM sat on little tubes and took a little ride, but only once. The Surf Pool with the 6-foot waves was a bit overwhelming for the kids. They refused to stay wet any longer. So we dried off, bought some hot mini donuts, met Stitch and we on our way out. Had lunch at Giordano's and headed to
Downtown Disney again. We walked around a bit this time. But eventually ended up spending almost 2 hours in the World of Disney store. It was huge. Bought our souvenirs, tried on hats, looked around a lot. Then we saw Ghirardeli's Soda Fountain and stopped for some ice cream. Massive sundaes and milkshakes were devoured. With this we bade goodbye to our short yet absolutely fantabulous trip to the magical world.
Places we ate at outside of Disney
UNO Chicago Grill
Panera Bread
Chevy's
Melting Pot
Cici's Pizza
IHOP
Chipotle
Olive Garden
Krispy Kreme
Giordano's
I think this post is already a lot longer than it should be.... and if you've gotten this far, you are brave. Thanks for listening.. :)
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