Back in February, we decided to join Keith's family in Florida for a graduation trip. We had mixed feelings about it because we knew it would cost a lot of money and take a lot of planning. We also had been promising Kenzie a trip to Disney for about 3 years so we felt like going with cousins was a good reason to finally take the plunge. It ended up being so much crazier to plan than I could have imagined and I was pretty much consumed by it until about a month before the trip when all the reservations were made and everything was in order. The girls had a great time but I will definitely be taking a Disney Cruise before I feel up to planning a Disney World trip again.
We flew into Florida around noon so we decided to spend our first day at Epcot knowing it probably wouldn't be very fun for the kids. We started out meeting Katie and Brandon just in time for our reservations at Akershus. It was a buffet with the princess's and a definite highlight for all of us. The girls got lots of Princess time in and the food was expensive good.
We had 3 fast passes and not a lot of rides so we used one to meet Minnie, Goofy and Mickey. The most memorable part of this was Emmett blowing out of his diaper. In half our pictures and for most of the day he was pantless:)
The shrub characters (what do you call these?) were fun to see throughout the park.
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Best part of the day for the adults was the ride Soarin'. The firework show was over-hyped and not worth staying late for.
The next two days were spent at Magic Kingdom with the rest of the family. I think I would have taken a couple more days there if I did it again. It was so fun to watch our kids experience the rides and magic.
Enchanted tales with Belle did not disappoint
We stayed at the All-Star Music Resort. Rooms were tiny but accommodated our family and we enjoyed the pool. It was really nice to take the shuttle back and forth every day.
Keith took a trip to Disneyland in High School but I had only been once when I was 8 and totally chicken to go on most of the rides. This was my first time experiencing all the coasters (and I am not a big fan of coasters) so I basically screamed as loud as the kids. Splash Mountain and Big Thunder were my personal favs. You can tell Kenzie was not a fan. Kirk's kids were game for anything.
Our favorite meal here was Crystal Palace. We booked a later breakfast and got to see the characters numerous times. The food was great and the morning break was nice.
We didn't end up with a great family photo. I love the one above due to the hair pulling.
Photo pass was awesome. The photographers aren't great or anything but it was so nice to get ride photos, and random shots throughout the park.
I'm so glad we fast passed Anna and Elsa meet and greet. Those princess's were all in demand. One thing that bothered me was how little interaction you could have with characters unless you booked meet and greets or character meals. I expected more to be wandering around the parks.BTW both Elsa and Cinderella were super lame. Anna and Rapunzel were adorable though.
Seven Dwarfs train ride was fun but absolutely not worth the hype. The best part was actually waiting in line. It was really interactive and nice and cool. Clara looks scared to death but she rode with both me and Keith and said she loved it.
We spent a full day at Animal Kingdom. This park was not our kid's favorite and if I were to go back, I'm not sure I would bother with it. We watched a bird show, went on the safari, went on the raft ride and rode the one roller coaster.
I thought I was going to die on Everest. Proof that pictures lie.
Highlight of Animal Kingdom was the character meal at Tusker House. The best food of all the parks and when we finished, we had the park to ourselves for our kids to run in. Kenzie had this awesome attitude the whole day. And we were as hot and sweaty as we look here all. day. long.
The last park day was spent at Seaworld. I was beyond done at this point and my stomach was not happy with me. The dolphin show was good, the others were not worth the time. The adults all loved the rides.
The highlight was the end of the day. We ended up in the kid's area and it was dead so our kids rode all the rides multiple times. There was also a splash area for the kids to cool off.
That night, we celebrated Randy's birthday and the next day we relaxed all day at the beach. It was glorious. If I go back to Florida with kids, most of my time is going to be spent at the beach.
And this is how Keith and I felt at the end. I needed a vacation from this vacation but it was fun to be together with Keith's family.
