Magic Kingdom and last day

Part 1 and Part 2 of our trip to Orlando

Part 3 - Magic Kingdom and last day

On Friday we headed to Magic Kingdom for the day.  David went to a few morning seminars while the boys and I ate breakfast and got ready and then we headed to the park.  We started in Tomorrowland because we had fast pass tickets to Buzz Lightyear early on.  The day before Austin had wanted to ride a few rides that Miller couldn't ride because of height restrictions and I couldn't take Austin because I didn't have anyone to watch Miller so I promised him I would take him on a bigger kid ride on Friday when daddy was there.  Right when we got to Tomorrowland we saw a ride that was for 40 inches and over so I quickly snatched Austin and we went to it while David and Miller went to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.  We jumped in line and right away the guy sent us in because everyone was already in waiting for it to start.  I unfortunately didn't have time to read anything about it so I had no idea it was going to be scary.  We got locked inside and I started to worry a little that this wasn't going to go well but I thought surely it couldn't be that bad but was I ever wrong.  It was called Stitch's Great Escape and on the Magic Kingdom map, its the only ride that says "May be scary for kids".  If you know my oldest than you know that he hates anything scary or with bad guys, etc.  Once they buckled us in he flipped out...started crying, screaming that he hated this, please get me out.  I called over to the attendant and she said there was nothing she could do, we just had to finish it.  I held both of his hands and tried to calm him down but it didn't work...he was flipping out.  I felt terrible.  I think I traumatized him from ever riding a scary ride again.  We high tailed it out of there as soon as the ride was over and I proceeded to apologize to him for the rest of the morning.  Tip: read what it says about the ride before you do it with your 5 year old.

We then rode the peoplemover and saw all of Tomorrowland from up high.  We then headed towards the race track because Austin remembers that from 2 years ago.  They LOVED this 2 years ago and loved it again this trip.

We then went to Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spins. They also loved this one.
If you know me than you know I am very competitive so I wasn't thrilled that my 3 year old scored higher than me.

I also LOVE any and all roller coasters so while my boys were eating lunch I got a fast pass and rode Space Mountain by myself. I loved it!

We then headed over to Fantasy Land where we rode Dumbo, Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, and the Barnstormer. The boys very favorite ride was barnstormer even though Miller was a little scared during the ride.

We then headed to Adventureland to do Swiss Family Treehouse, Alladin's Magic Carpet Ride, and the Jungle Cruise. At the very top of Swiss Family Treehouse Miller told us that he needed to go potty and if you remember the story from the Animal Kingdom I quickly said we needed to move out of the treehouse to find a potty. He thankfully made it that day.
We ended the day with a ride on the railroad while enjoying some gummy bear snacks.
We came, we played, we conquered.

Miller laid down in my lap on the bus back to the resort.  I too would have liked to lay down...it was a great day but man was I tired.  
On Saturday morning the boys and I had breakfast in our resort with Goofy and Pluto.  We did this 2 years ago but they didn't really remember.  Both boys loved it.  Austin did better with the characters in this setting.



We then headed to the pool to get in a couple hours of swim time before we had to head home. The weather was perfect and the boys were ready to try the slide. Miller rode down it one time and decided that was enough for him. Austin could have done it a million times.



Miller was content swimming back and forth under the bridge.


My dad and Sheryl came that day to see us and spend a little time with us. They took the boys for the last hour to play so David and I could pack up and take showers before leaving.

We then headed home to see our littlest pumpkin and reenter reality.

It was such a great trip and memories that the boys and David and I will keep forever.

Animal Kingdom

Part 1 of our Florida/Disney trip

On Thursday I took the boys to Animal Kingdom while David went to his conference.  The boys are at a pretty good age where I can trust that they will stay with me and not run off.  I also had the Bob stroller so they both rode on that throughout most of the park.  We started the morning at the Lion King show.  Austin is not a fan of the movie so he was not excited about going to this show.  I truly thought I was going to lose it with him.  He was complaining about everything and telling me he would rather be back at the hotel playing legos...are you kidding me?!?  I just paid a small fortune to take him to the happiest place on earth and he would rather be playing legos like he does every day of his life.  We had a few choice words with each other and then he started to scream as loudly as possible that I was hurting him when I was holding on to his arm.  Everyone in our entire section turned around to look at us.  Definitely not one of my best "mom moments" but just keeping it real here.  Once the show started he bounced back and decided that he really did like it and would stay a little longer.

The Lion King show was AMAZING!!!  Truly awesome!  All 3 of us loved it!  A definite must see if you go to Animal Kingdom.
We stopped for some photo ops.  Austin refused to be in the first picture but when he saw that Miller was having fun he jumped in.

We then headed to the Safari ride.  It was also very good.  You were up close and personal with the animals which both of my boys really enjoyed.  I highly recommend this as well.

Austin's very favorite animal is the cheetah. We hear lots of facts throughout the day about the cheetah so it was very exciting to see a live one. Both boys wanted to know since he runs so fast if he was going to get us.  I reassured them that he wouldn't but really I wasn't so sure...not sure how they keep the animals from getting to close to you on the safari.

Afterwards we rode the train for a while to take a little rest.
We met a few characters along the way too. Austin wasn't a huge fan of the characters. Miller loved them though.

I went to take a picture and realized that Austin was punching Tigger. Not our best moment either.
We also met Minnie and Mickey. Miller was so excited about meeting them but once we were there he wanted nothing to do with them so I had to hold him while we met them.
This is where Austin stayed the entire time.

Minnie tried to coax him out but he wouldn't have anything to do with her.
The last section we went to was Dinosaur Land.  This was definitely a favorite for my boys.  They loved all of it.

While we were at Dinosaur Land we went down a slide one after another. Austin went first, then Miller, then me. I noticed when I got to the bottom that my shorts had gotten wet on the way down and that Miller had gotten a little wet too. Dumb me thought it was just water. We left Dinosaur Land to head towards the parade and as I placed Miller on my shoulders to see the parade I realized that it wasn't water on his shorts and now on my head and shoulders. Definitely not how I wanted to end our day at Animal Kingdom. I was smart and packed an extra change of clothes for Magic Kingdom the next day.

I can look back now and smile about this day but there were some tough moments with the boys...especially Austin but overall we had a good day.

Part 3...Magic Kingdom coming soon.