DISNEYWORLD!

We just came back today from our trip to Disneyworld. Thankfully we were able to pick up our new (well, 2004, but new to us) Honda Odyssey to carry all of our stuff to the airport. BTW, we LOVE the minivan and are hoping that it will last us all through residency and fellowship. We were originally going to drive to Orlando, but when we found out we were expecting we decided to make the driving as short as possible. We flew out of Richmond on Sunday and arrived in Florida that evening. Our flight was delayed and the boys were restless, but Wayne was awesome and chased them around the airport while I was able to read a magazine. When we arrived I had waited too long to eat and was feeling a little sick to my stomach. We stopped to get me some food (at the airport) and went to the Disney Magic Express shuttle. The line was LONG, but moved fairly quickly. I was thankful that we had the boys strapped in the stroller. The ride to the hotel took about 30 minutes. We stayed at the Disney All Star Music resort. We were actually surprised at how nice the room was. We took our air mattress because Trevor sleeps better on the air mattress than the bed. As we were leaving to get some dinner I was feeling really sick. I told Wayne that I couldn't make it and he took the boys. I was thinking, You've got to be kidding me! I can't be sick on this vacation. I said a big prayer and hoped for the best.

We woke up bright and early on Monday morning to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We knew that we would hit Tomorrowland first. Jacob has been talking about the Buzz Lightyear ride for months now. We walked right on. As soon as we sat down both of the boys were so nervous. Jacob was fine, but Trevor screamed for most of the ride. The music and the dark scared him. Wayne took Jacob on Stitch's great adventure (I think that's what it's called) after that . . . which again was dark and intense. Jacob was telling Wayne through the entire ride, "Dad, I'm scared." We caught the little tram next that takes you on a tour of Tomorrowland. That was great. It was open and right up the kids alley. Jacob also went on the speedway with Wayne. As soon as they got to the front of the line Jacob had to go to the bathroom, so they left and waited in line again to go. I told Wayne he would always talk about NOT being able to drive the car at Disneyworld and would talk about nothing that we did do. Trevor was napping during the whole thing. It wasn't a big deal for me to sit in the shade. We really spent most of our time in Tomorrowland, Toontown, and Fantasyland. Surprisingly, we were able to go on a lot of rides and only used a fast pass once. Jacob loved the roller coaster in Toontown. He really wanted to meet the characters, so we went to Mickey's house and met Mickey. We waited about 20 minutes to see Mickey and as soon as it was our turn both of the boys were hanging onto me and didn't want ANYTHING to do with Mickey. We were finally able to coax Jacob into at least standing by Mickey, Trevor still was not hearing it. We also rode the train from Toontown and I let Trevor play while Jacob was riding the kiddie roller coaster.

We caught the afternoon parade. The kids loved seeing all of the characters and hearing the music. Everytime Trevor saw Mickey he said (quasy sang), "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." He also LOVES Donald Duck.

We went to Cinderella's Castle for dinner. The dinner was really yummy, but the boys were restless. When we walked in they gave the boys swords since they were princes. That was interesting. They were having a sword fight over the table. Needless to say, we had to take away the swords. It made me feel better that we were at Disneyworld, but of course, this was the nicest place to eat dinner in the Magic Kingdom. After dinner the Fairy Godmother and mice came our for a little show. As you can see, Trevor still didn't know what to think about the whole thing.

After dinner, we caught the Peter Pan ride, Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Safari, Mickey's Philharmagic show and It's a Small World. I wanted to stay for the electric parade and fireworks, but the kids were tired and I knew my limits, so we went back to our room and hit the sack.

We had a breakfast with Lilo and Stitch on Tuesday. It wasn't scheduled until 8:00 am, but we had to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom and the monorail to the Polynesian resort for the breakfast. It took about 40 minutes to get there. Trevor was a grump (probably because of the way he slept . . . see picture), but Jacob loved it. They gave us a huge skillet full of bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, and mickey waffles. At the end of the breakfast Jacob joined in the parade. All of the kids shook moraccas and followed Lilo, Stitch, and Mickey through the restaurant. It was really cute.

After breakfast we caught the bus to Downtown Disney. It looked like the boys were going to have fun. They played in the water spouts as soon as we arrived. It was so funny to watch them giggle and laugh when the water came up to the music.

As soon as we put the boys back in the stroller Trevor wigged out. We thought it would be fun to take the boys to the Rain Forest Cafe for lunch. WRONG! It was dark, overpriced, and it freaked Trevor out even more. We will never eat there again. The bus ride felt like an eternity going back to the hotel. Wayne took Jacob swimming while I tried to get Trevor down for a nap. After they left Trevor was beside himself. He screamed and cried for around 20 minutes. I received a phone call from the front desk saying that they had received a noise complaint from our room. What the . . . .?!? I told them that I had a tired child that I was trying to get down for a nap. She said, "Oh that must be it." Must be? I wasn't playing music, watching tv, jumping up and down on the beds, pounding the ceiling. I thought, dude, you've come to a family resort get over it. The people in the room next to me turned up the volume on their tv all of the way and I thought you immature, pathetic people. I wanted to go knock on their door and hand you know what to them. Not long after "the call" Trevor gave it up and fell asleep for 2 1/2 hours. We hung out at the hotel for the rest of the day and took the kids swimming again.

Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready for the Animal Kingdom. We caught the bus and got there right when it opened at 9:00 a.m. It was much more crowded than the Magic Kingdom. We headed straight back for the Safari. The wait was already 40 minutes. We decided to wait. An hour later we were still waiting. The kids were restless and I was wondering why we didn't do a fast pass in the first place . . . but then again, 40 minutes would have been fine. Well, the wait was worth it. It was amazing and the kids loved every minute of it. It was overcast and all of the animals were out and moving. After the safari we caught the Lion King show . . . which again, the kids loved. It was really good. At the end Jacob said that he wanted to watch the rest of the show. We told him that it was over. He was really bummed. I think he would love the Broadway show. Wayne and Jacob went on the rapids ride and I took Trevor to Dinoland where he could get down and play. I was so hot. I felt like I had been in a steam room for six hours. When they came back I was done. It was just so crowded, hot and humid. We took the bus to the Grand Floridian because we wanted to see what it looked like. Next time we go we'd love to stay there. Next we took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort for our Chef Mickey's dinner. It was the only "true" buffet. It was so good! Let me add that the dining plan is the way to go when booking a Disney vacation. It saved us a ton of money. This meal alone would have been over $80. The kids loved all of the characters. Jacob finally warmed up to all of them by the end of the first day, but Trevor stopped dead in his tracks when they came to the table. He looked like a deer in the headlights. When they talked to him he held his stance and lowered his eyes to the floor. It was pretty funny to watch and then as soon as they left he was talking all about them. When Donald Duck left he looked at me and said, "Donald Duck silly."

We had a great time, but were ready to come home. We're packing, packing, packing for our next trip semi-permanent trip to New York. We move on Monday.