Vacation Part 2

Our time in Disney World was great and at times not great. As much as I love Disney, it was HOT and very humid, which can make it miserable. It was also VERY crowded. We knew we were going to have to struggle with both of these unfortunate aspects, but it still doesn't make it fun to deal with. We decided that we couldn't go to Florida and be that close to the "World" and not visit, even though we knew it would be hot and crowded. The other unfortunate piece to the puzzle was the rain. It rained nearly every day. It always waited until the afternoon, but it was certainly something that had to be dealt with. We dealt with it the same way we did last time we were there......buy rain ponchos and stay in the parks. Our theory was that when it started to rain, wait let me clarify that, when it started to pour. In Florida, it pours. It literally comes down in sheets, no drizzling or sprinkling. So, when it pours people begin to leave the park, leaving short wait lines for the brave souls who stay, i.e., us. Plus, Disney is way too expensive to sit in your hotel room while it rains. Here are the kids in their ponchos ready to hit the parks.




We had alot of fun experiencing all of the attractions. We also took in several shows, which were fabulous, and a couple of parades.

Jessi really loved the new Toy Story 3D ride at Hollywood Studios. It was an incredibly long wait. Thank goodness for FastPass.

We all loved the smoked turkey legs. Yum! We would buy two of them and it would be lunch for all five of us.

It's always good to see Dave being himself and hamming it up. This was part of the new Nemo and friends attraction in Epcot.

The kids got a chance to chit-chat with Alice in the Magic Kingdom. The lines to visit a character were always long, so this was rare. We caught her quickly as she was exiting the tea cups at the same time with us.

The best way to see characters is at a character meal. Admittedly, this is expensive, but alot of fun. There are many to choose from. We chose to do the Ohana breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto.

I love the Mickey picture the best. So fun!

We all had our favorite attraction. As I mentioned before, Jessi's was the Toy Story 3D ride. Hannah's was Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom. Joey and Hannah rode it at least 6 times. FastPass and rainy afternoons helped them have the opportunity to make those six rides happen, otherwise the typical wait time was over an hour.

Dave's fave has always been Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom. They re-fashioned the ride to include Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones from the hugely popular Disney pirate movies.

My favorite was a new attraction at Epcot called Soarin'. This was a flight simulator ride that had the very real illusion of hang gliding over breathtaking scenes, complete with the wind blowing through your hair and the smells of pine trees, oranges and ocean air. If I was a billionaire, I would build one for myself. It was truly a fabulous ride and I rode it 3 times. The wait lines were the longest for any attraction at any of the four parks, so I had to really be creative to get my 3 glorious rides and not wait 2 hours each time, but I did it.

Last, but not least was Joey's favorite, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. Admittedly, this is a great ride and my second fave. This is not for the faint of heart. I am talking 80 foot drops and hurtling backwards through the dark with unexpected twists and turns, and ending with a 20 foot tall Yeti swiping at your train as he yells at the top of his lungs. Now that is a great ride.

We all love the "World", and are already talking about our next visit. No idea when that will be, but it's fun to talk about.