Walt Disney World -Dec 2010

For each of our children we have taken them to Walt Disney World right before they turn 3. They really enjoy it at this age and we don't have to purchase them a ticket. We have decided to go to Disney World before Kayla turns 3 to keep up with this tradition. The question now is when do we go. Now that Michael has started school we can't go in September (the best time to go). That is a bad month to leave for a week of school. October and November are bad months as well to miss any school. Once January hits through April I am unable to go because of my busy season. May is a good month to go after school is out not before school is out. Since MTCS gets out of school a bit early maybe we can miss the rush with going right after school is out. We don't want to go over the summer (too hot and way too crowded).

The times go to the 1st week of December (low crowds, we get the benefit of Christmas time and nothing is happening at school).

Fall break (Michael is out of school but the crowds are higher since most schools are now taking fall break, but Kayla has just turned 2).

We decided to go the first week of December 2010.

We have decided to ask the Peters if they would like to join us. We asked them during Christmas of 2008 and they were excited about joining us. It will be fun!

It is December 10, 2010 and the time has finally arrived; time to go to Disney. We have been planning this for 2 years! The night before I had focused on getting the car packed. Heather had everything so organized. We had a Saturday bag, Sunday - Wednesday bag and a Thursday - Sunday bag. This way we don't have to carry everyhing in all at one time. We organized all the items in the car based on the when we would need them. The food and drinks for Disney went into the stow away part of the van, etc. It worked out great.

I have pulled together a plan for the entire trip. I really enjoy pulling it together. It is in the "book". We had planned on leaving around 9:00 from the house, but we were able to leave around 8:30 that morning.

We stopped by the Doughnut Store for breakfast. This was a special treat for us and our kids. We all love the doughnut store. The kids got a doughnut and I splurged a bit and got a huge cinnamon roll. It was good, but I sure paid the price for the roll sitting in the car all day. It made me fell bad in the stomach (not too terrible). Good that my body is not used to foods like that.

The kids ate their doughnuts and we hit the interstate. Gerry House is retiring next week so we wanted to listen to his last Friday until we were out of range. Our first stop was on top Mount Eagle for a potty stop. Our kids did great! I was so proud of the way they acted. It was chilly around 40 degress on top the mountain. I looked a bit crazy with my shorts on, but we were headed to Florida.

Our next stop was going to be lunch in Marrietta, GA. We were planning on letting the kids run crazy in the playground for Chick-a-fele. We got there and there was no playground. O well. Our kids did great once more. They had a live musician there playing soothing music. I wonder if that is what kept them a bit calmer than they normally would be.

After stopping by the ATM for cash we hit the road for our long stretch through Atlant onto Macon. Michael was playing the computer and Josh and Kayla was watching the movie.

We had a few stops in between Atlanta and Macon for rest stops, especially for Kayla to go potty. We brought Kayla's special potty. That was an adventure.

We finally got to the Florida line around 5:00. We wanted to stop at the welcome center for Florida so they could get out run around and look at all the Walt Disney stuff there. We got there about 5:15 and the welcome center closed at 5:00. O well. Back in the car and off to Lake City, FL for the night.

When we were planning for the trip we decided we were going to eat pizza for dinner. We wanted to call about 25-30 minutes before we got there so we could just pick the pizza up. It worked out perfectly. We called and made our order and picked it up on the way to the hotel.

Once we got to the hotel, I checked in and then we ate dinner in the lobby. We had Pizza Hut Pizza and bread sticks. Again, our kids did great! So proud of them.

Michael helped me carry in the Saturday luggage (only 1 small bag, the pack-and-play and a few other items). Did it in one load. Great organization Heather!

Then we watched a few Christmas movies in the room.

It was 8:00 eastern time and it was time to start hitting the sack. I knew getting them to bed would be tough. It is a new place, some lights coming in, and boy are we excited about Disney tomorrow.



WE ARE NOT TIRED (TOMORROW WE SEE MICKEY MOUSE!)


Heather and I decided to keep the Christmas movie on and we could lay there and watch the movie. We watched until around 8:30 or so. Now it was time to go to sleep.

No one wanted to go to sleep. Kayla would not lay down and Michael and Josh would not lay down. This was frustrating for Heather and I because we knew all the late nights that were coming up. We had to remember that they are 2, 4 and 7 and they are extremely excited. I think God tried to teach me a lesson on patience tonight. Finally, around 10:30 eastern time they all were asleep. What a tought night. I hope all the nights this week aren't like this. I have a feeling they'll be really tired and ready to go to sleep later in the week.

They are now fast asleep. It is 11:15 and think I am going to call it a day. Tomorrow Disney World!!!

Around 5:00 I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. We had been planning so long and today I was going to be able to take my kids to Disney once again. I layed there until 5:30 and decided to get up and go hang out in the kitchen area of the hotel and begin my Walt Disney Blog. It was raining outside. No better way to start things off then to see it raining. Some of the ones in the area talked about how it was supposed to rain all day. It was a cold front coming in.

The weather channel was on in the kitchen area. While I was blogging I watched the weather channel. There was a large storm heading down the mid-west with blizzard conditions in Iowa. My in-laws were flying down in the morning, but it looked like they would leave before the storm hit.

Around 7:00, Heather texted me that the kids are now up so I came up to help get things ready.

After everything was ready we headed down to the breakfast area for Breakfast. We had packed everything up and put it in the car so that after breakfast we would hit the road. There was a nice lady covering the breakfast area. She was very friendly. We enjoyed a casual conversation.

Now time to hit the road. It was still raining and we headed south on 75 towards Orlando.

After we had driven around 15 - 30 minutes the sun came out. The rain had stopped. I think in Lake City it was supposed to rain all day, but not in Orlando. Looked like the rain was going to stay north on Saturday.

Originally, we had planned to call ahead at Crackle Barrol and pick up a to-go-order for the courtyard area at the Caribean Beach Resort area, but we changed our mind and stopped at a subway instead. Thank goodness of my phone which had the capabilities to locate the Subway on the way.

We had a competition that Michael started that the one who saw Cinderalla's Castle First would win. Since we were not staying near the Magic Kingdom I didn't think we would see it till later that evening when we were eating dinner. We turned on the toll road to Disney and while going over the bridge Michael shouted that he saw the castle. Low and behold it was the castle. We were high enough that you could see the tall buildings at Walt Disney World. He was so proud that he had won.

After miles and miles of driving finally we get off the toll road on Western Way and enter into the back of Walt Disney World. We see the giant sign to Disney. Heather pulled out the video camera to tape the kids expressions. It was priceless. Kayla was shouting "You did it, Daddy! You did it!". Michael and Josh were all smiles.




"WE DID IT!  WE DID IT! " - Kayla Miller

 I followed the directions to the Caribean Beach Resort. We arrrived at the resort around noon. Right on schedule.

First thing we did when we got there was to check in at the hotel. Caribean Beach Resorts has a entirly separate building for checking in. The line was not long. The lady at the front was very helpful and got us all checked in.

THE ROOM IS NOT READY - NO ROOM IN THE INN (AT LEAST NOT TILL LATER)

She informed me that the resort was totally booked up. No rooms were available. That was crazy! The crowds were supposed to be down this week. This was a discount week with the expectation that the crowds would be down. In fact she told me that on Thursday Magic Kingdom was actually totally full. They could not allow any more people into the park. That is a lot of people. So we better get set for a large crowd. Good thing we had a plan in relation to the FAST PASSES to minimize the wait times. The plan should work.

THE BEACH RESORT - WE STAYED IN JAMAICA

The plan was to get checked in, eat lunch (the subway picked up earlier) and then have Kayla and Josh take a nap. We had a first change in plans. The room was not ready. Officially, check in isn't until 4:00. The let us know that we would be in Jamiaca.
They took our phone number down and told us they would text us our room number when the room was ready. We had our room key (the master card). Just a hicup from the plan. We assumed since they knew we were there they would try to hurry and get our room ready. We did know that we were in the Jamaica so we parked the car on that side of the resort. The resort is huge. It is one of the largest in the United States.

We went to the courtyard for lunch. We ate the subway sandwiches that we got earlier. Everyone was excited we were finally here. After lunch we hadn't received the text yet so we had some time to waste. Didn't look like Kayla and Josh were going to get that treasured nap. We went to the play ground on the island of the lake and played for a bit. Then we decided to head to the beach and play. The weather was perfect. It was sunny with the temperature around 78 degress. I actually was getting a bit hot. We did need to leave by 4:00 to make it to our first Dinner Reservation at the Grand Floridian Hotel (The Floridian Cafe).

We played on the beach for some time. The sand was good sand castle and tunnel digging sand. I showed Josh and Michael how to build tunnels in the sand. We could have spent hours out there building sand tunnels.

Heather was in the hamock and I decided to rock the hamock for a ride. Heather was a good sport. I had Heather pretty high. In fact she was directly sideways at one point. Then Josh, Kayla and I took turns riding the hamock. That was fun. Josh didn't like going high. O Josh you are in for a bit of a surprise with the rides at Disney.

We got a call from the Peters that they were about 10 minutes from the resort. I decided to meet them at the check in building to drive them to the Jamaica area instead of them having to take the internal shuttle.

They arrived around 3:00 or so and needed to check in. The line was now long. In fact the line was out the door and was not moving. After waiting in the line for a few minutes. I offered that maybe they could check in after dinner, later in the evening so they wouldn't have to wait in line. They decided to by pass the line till later. We got in the car and headed to the beach area the kids and Heather were at.

After uniting with the Peters we washed the kids off in the bathroom in the pool area and decided to begin heading over to the Grand Floridian. We had not received a text about our room yet. I got to the thinking that the Peters would need to check in before dinner. Now this was an issue. Our reservations were for 5:20 and they had to go sit in that line. We got back in the van and drove them over there. Josh was with us. The line was still not moving much. I spoke to Heather on the phone and told her to go on over to the Grand Floridian and we'll meet you there. That way she can tell the restraunt that we are on our way.

After waiting for some time. It was around 3:50 or so, the Peters told me to go join my family and go over to the Grand Floridian. They would catch up. I wasn't sure what to do. I felt rude leaving them there, but I wanted to leave and go with Heather over to the Grand Floridian and get the reservations moved, etc. I called Heather and got her opinion. She told me that I should give the Peters good directions on how to get there and then join them. The Peters were ok with that so I headed over to meet up with Heather and the kids.

We planned to use the Disney Transportation system all week. Especially since the Peters and Rachel was with us. We all wouldn't fit into our van safely. To get over to the Grand Floridian we were planning to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then get on the monarail to the Grand Floridian Hotel. That way the kids could see the castle and get to ride the monarail.

The bus to the Magic Kingdom showed up. It was packed to the gill. There was barely any room even to stand. We needed to get on the bus to make it to the hotel for the dinner reservations. I was determined to get on the bus, plus we were one of the first ones there of the ones getting on the bus. We folded up both strollers and when the door opened up I jumped on. Heather shortly joined me. We were on. After we were moving I saw the sign. We had entered in on the exit only door in the back of the bus. That was rude to get on there for sure. I felt like that guy that felt the rules didn't apply to me. That was not the case. I just didn't see the sign. I was too focused on getting on. The bus was so full. Was this a forshadowing of what was to come? I hope not, but with what the lady told me at the check in I believed we were in for some big crowds.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom stop and headed over to the Monarail. Another long line to get on the resort monarail (The monarail that stops at all the resorts on the Monarail track). Rachel was on her way on the Magical Express to the Grand Floridian Hotel. She was getting close the question was who would win. We actually thought we would be waiting on Rachel, but it looked like she could be there first.

It was 4:50 and were were waiting at the Monarail stop. I looked like we would make it there on time for the reservations. Would they let us wait on the Peters? We'll find out.

HUGE CHRISTMAS TREE IN THE FLORIDIAN HOTEL

We finally got on the monarail and guess what. It was packed full. We stopped at the Contemporary Hotel, Ticket and Transportation Center and the Polynesian Hotel. I received a text from Rachel when we were one stop from the Grand Floridian that she was there. Rachel was actually the first one there. We got off the Monarail and found Rachel on the 1st level. The lobby of the Grand Floridian Hotel was nicely decorated. Right in the center of the lobby was a huge Christmas Tree.
There was a large gingerbread house and a large tree. (Very festive). I asked a few cast members and we found our hotel. They were going to let us wait on the Peters before we could sit down. The catch was that we wouldn't be considered there until all members of the party were there. Not a big deal. We wanted to eat together for sure. We waited for the Peters. They were giving us updates on the phone on where they were. They were running into the same crowds.

We found out the reason for the long line at the check in was that the computer system had gone down. The Peters got a free FAST PASS for any ride for their wait.

They arrived at the Grand Floridian around 6:00 or so. I took the kids outside to run around. We walked down to the boat dock and looked at the castle all lit up. It was a bit chilly outside, but not too bad. We waited until about 6:30 for our table.

The Floridian Cafe was nice! Our first meal on the meal plan. The waiter was very helpful in describing what we could get. The food was great! Half the fun of Disney is where you eat. The restraunts are first class.

DADDY, WHAT IS OUR NEXT ACTIVITY ON THE PLAN?

LOOK AT THAT HUGE STEAK THAT DADDY ATE!  JOSH LOVED HIS PIZZA!  WHAT WE GET DESERT TOO!  WE LOVE DISNEY WORLD!

CAN I HAVE SOME MORE DESERT?

I AM HUNGRY!

I AM SOOO HAPPY!

During dinner around the desert time the kids seemed to be getting pretty tired. Kayla and Josh hadn't taken a nap. We had planned on me taking the kids to the hotel room to go to bed and Heather and her family heading over to Downtown Disney to shop. It was around 8:00 or so. I took the kids and they headed off.

For fun we had planned for me to take the kids on the boat from the Grand Floridian Hotel to the Magic Kingdom. The line of course was long. We waited past one boat and then got on the 2nd boat to arrive. There was a family that was behind us in line that was very helpful. Hard to take 3 kids and 2 stollers on the boat by yourself. At first Josh and Michael were not sitting with me. They actually were sitting on the other side of the boat. The boat was small enough I could see them, but it still made me nervous. At the first stop (Polanesian Village) the guys sitting next to them got off and I moved over to sit with them. They loved riding the boat! It was dark and the lights looked great.

I took the kids to the bus stop for our resort and we got on a very very crowded bus.

I had an issue. The resort had yet to text us our room number to tell us it was ready. My plan was to get off at Barbados and go to the custom house (check in building) and find out what room number was ours. I wasn't familiar with the order of stops yet and was worried that I was going to miss it. Plus it was extremely crowded. A lady I was sitting next to recommended that I just get off and use the phone at the bus stop and call the front desk. The front desk could then send a shuttle to pick us up since I had 3 small kids.

I got off at South Trinidad and made the call. I told them the scenrio and they put me on hold for what seemed forever. I am sure it was probably all of 3 minutes or so. The kids were starting to get tired. It was 9:00 now. I finally received our room number. It was as expected in Jamacia. At that same time I bus driver for the Hollywood Studios asked if I needed help since I was on the phone. I told her I needed a ride to Jamacia. She told me to get on her bus and she would take me there. She was very helpful!

Finally, we are at Jamacia in our room. I took Kayla down to the car and got the few things I needed (pack-and-play, diapers for Kayla and pull-ups for Josh). Once I got them settled in it was 10:00. So much for going to bed earlier on Saturday night before we start heading to the parks.

Heather and her family showed up around 11:00 or so and I finished carrying in what else we needed. Heather was very organized so it didn't take me very long to get what needed in.

We then crashed after a long hard day. We had a early morning coming.

Our first day was planned to be at Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom was openning an hour early for the Magic Hours. Those that stay on the Disney property get to enjoy the park before it officially opens. The Magic Hour started at 8:00. We had planned to leave at 8:00 and get there at 8:45 or so. I was hoping we would get to see the show before the park officially opens to get the kids hyped up.

I got up a bit early so I could head over to the gift shop and get milk for the week. I got there before it opened and waited a few minutes until time.

We ate breakfast in the room and got ready.

We had set up the computer so that we could see the hourly forecast for the day. Looked like a cold front was going to come through around noon with rain through 3:00 or so and then temperature was going to drop. Everyone was ready on time. We headed to the bus stop.

We got on the bus to Magic Kingdom. The bus was not as crowded as the day before. In fact there was plenty of room.

ON THE BUS TO MAGIC KINGDOM - I AM READY TO GO!

WHERE IS ALL THE PEOPLE LIKE LAST NIGHT?

I THINK I SEE THE CASTLE!

THE A-TEAM!

We were off for a Magical Day. We arrived at Magic Kingdom and the place was already hopping. We went to get the bags checked and then into the park. When we were going in I asked the ticket guy if the show was going to be held and he told me they did it for the 8:00 opening. We missed it. O well, after being out so late the night before probably better not to get up too early.

The front of the park was very festive. It was great to see Magic Kingdom all decked out for the holidays. When we walked in our first ride was Dumbo. I was worried that the line would already be a bit long since we didn't get there at the opening. We headed through Main Street and saw the huge Christmas Tree in the center. Also, we stopped and took a few pictures of main street decked out. It was wonderfully decorated. I couldn't wait to see it at night with the lights.

CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY

ON MAIN STREET

THE MILLER CREW ON MAIN STREET!

Once we got some pictures made we hurried to Dumbo. The plan was to try to get to Dumbo before the line got too long. Dumbo is known for having a long line later in the day. When we got there I was pleasantly surprised that the line was short. The plan was for me to run and get FAST PASSES for Thunder Mountain Railroad while we waited in line, but I didn't have time. I would have missed the ride.

This was Kayla's first Disney World ride. The plan was for Heather to ride with Kayla on her first ride, I would ride with Josh and Papa would ride with Michael. That left Mamaw and Rachel together on Dumbo.

BUCKLE MOMMY!

WHAT DOES THIS BUTTON DO?

HOLD ON PAPA, MICHAEL IS DRIVING

After Dumbo I headed over to Thunder Mountain to get FAST PASSES for everyone. I had my running shoes on so I walked quickly as everyone else got in line for Peter Pan. By the time I got to Peter Pan it they were near the front and I was able to hop in line with them. I got to ride Peter Pan with Kayla which was great! But, I had left my regular glasses in the stroller and had to wear my sunglasses on the ride. I still enjoyed it, just a bit dark.

NEXT TIME I'LL SWITCH THE GLASSES BEFORE AN INSIDE RIDE. 

After Peter Pan we headed over to Small World. There was not a line. We were able to go and get on the boat. Kayla and Josh loved the ride. They sat still the whole time. Many don't ride the ride because the song plays over and over, but the expression on the kids faces makes it well worth it.

I'M READY FOR THE SONG, RACHEL!

ITS A WORLD OF LAUGHTER AND WORLD OF CHEER....

"AND IT'S TIME WE'RE AWARE, ITS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL"...

LOOK MOMMY THERE ARE PRINCESSES

KAYLA AND DADDY ON SMALL WORLD.  MAKES THIS ONE OF MY FAVORITE RIDES.

I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T LIKE IT, BUT I ACTUALLY DID.

After Small World we headed to the Snow White Adventure Ride and Winnie the Pooh. Michael was starting to wonder when we were going to ride the thrill rides. He was ready for some adventure. The lines were not long for these rides as well. But, when we passed by Dumbo the line was long now. I love to see the plan working out to minimize the wait times. After the Snow White ride, Josh was starting to become a bit worried everytime we came to closed door on the ride. While we waited in the Winnie the Pooh line there were some things for the kids to play with. Our kids loved playing with the things they had set up. I was happy to be able to ride Winnie the Pooh with both boys.

I WONDER WHAT HAPPENS IF I TURN THIS FASTER AND FASTER

WE GOT THE FRONT ROW!

After riding Winnie Pooh and Snow White we headed over to the Carrosel to ride the horses. Michael is 7 years and was still looking for some thrill rides. He was not excited about riding the horse carrosel. I made him ride the ride anyways. Kayla and Josh were loving riding the horses. Everyone rode the ride except for Mamaw. She elected not to ride so she could take pictures.

"WE ARE RIDING WHAT?" - MICHAEL

I FEEL LIKE A PRINCESS

STAY ON THE HORSE

"I'LL MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T JUMP OFF" - RACHEL

Kayla needed to go to the bathroom when we finished the Carosel. Kayla is 2 years old and when she says she needs to go potty then it is time to go. So we decided to take a break and eat some snacks and use the restroom. Heather had brought some water bottles and single Chrystal Light packages. So we were able to make lemonaide for the snack along with some crackers. Worked out great! We all enjoyed our break.

After the well deserved break we headed over to Mickey's PhilharMagic which was a 3-D movie with most of the Disney Characters. The show was great! Everyone really enjoyed the movie. Seeing the kids in their 3-D glasses was very cute. There wasn't a line to the show. My plan was still working great!

EVERYTHING IS IN 3-D

After the show it was around 11:15 which is when we decided to eat lunch. We ate lunch at the Columbia Harbor House which was near the haunted mansion. Heather and I have a plan when we go to eat somewhere that is caferteria style; one of us goes with the kids to find table and the other orders the food. We both know what we like and what the kids like. Barely ever does Heather get something I don't like nor (as far as I know) I get something that Heather doesn't like. Michael got to pick where we would sit. We wanted to sit upstairs. Michael picked a spot where we could see some character scenes set up. The scene was of Wendy from Peter Pan.

LUNCH TIME - GO UPSTAIRS IT'S LESS CROWDED.

The food was pretty good for cafeteria style. Michael was having a hard time with the excitment and the new food. Last night Michael had thrown up the dinner from the Grand Floridian in the middle of the night. Was he sick? I really hoped he wasn't sick. Plus, if he felt bad I am not 100% sure he would tell us because he would be afraid we would make him go back to the room and rest. He decided he didn't want any lunch. Heather as prepared as she was pulled out the thermometer and we checked his temperature. Thank goodness, no fever! But, he sure was acting tired and worn out. He sat on Heather's lap and actually took a short nap while we ate lunch. Also, to add to things when I went out to the stroller to get the thermomter I noticed the cold front was about to arrive. The sky was very dark in the north and it was windy. You could tell it was about to rain hard. I had a decision to make. Do we head back to the room or keep following the plan. We were planning to head back to the hotel room around 2:00 anyways. We checked with Michael if wanted to go to the hotel and rest or keep riding. He originally decided to head back to the hotel. O No he does feel bad if he is deciding to go rest instead of Disney World. But, he changed his mind and wanted to go ahead and ride the Haunted Mansion. We decided we would ride the haunted mansion and then head back to the hotel and catch back up to the plan after the rest.

When we went outside again we noticed it had rained hard. But, it was while we were eating lunch! Thank goodness we were outside, but our strollers were outside in the rain during lunch. When we get back we can use the hair dryer and dry them off. We headed over to the Haunted Mansion. This is the ride that we didn't know if Josh would ride this or not. There was a very short line so Josh didn't have time to think about the haunted mansion. We had been talking about this ride for months. We had talked to Josh about the fact it wasn't real, etc. I was going to get to ride the ride with Josh. We went into the 1st room and Josh was holding on very tight. Josh did great! He didn't scream or cry. I really think he actually enjoyed riding the ride. When it was over I said "Hey Josh let's ride it again". Josh forcefully told me he did not want to ride it again. Of course, we didn't ride it again.

We took the buses back to the hotel room for rest time. On our way back the boys and I ran over the Jungle Cruise to get a FAST PASS for the ride after the nap/rest time. We got back to the room. Both Josh and Kayla went to sleep. Michael couldn't sleep. He seemed to be feeling a lot better. He did need to rest, but he was restless in our room and I was afraid he was going to wake up Kayla and Josh. So I took Josh over to the Peters room to lay in their bed and watch TV. He had to lay still. I was going to use the hair dryer and dry the strollers off. The hair dryer worked great! By the end of nap time the strollers were all dry.

The Peters had gone on to Magic Kingdom to shop while we were taking our rest time. At 3:00 we were up and ready to go back. We had a short rest. The rest time worked out great.

I WANT THIS TREEHOUSE IN OUR BACKYARD.

When we arrived at the park the 3:00 parade was still going on. So we watched the end of the parade and found the Peters on Main Street. Time to head to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Michael had seen this one earlier and really wanted to go see this.

Mamaw and Rachel decided to hold off on the tree house because of all the stairs.

After the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House we were able to use our first FAST PASS for the Jungle Cruise. This ride is an old ride that I have ridden a bunch of times which has not changed in all those years. The drivers still have the same corney jokes. This is not one of my favorite rides. I am glad we had a FAST PASS because I would hate to wait in a 30 minute line for the ride.

THE CRUISE THROUGH THE JUNGLE

Once we rode the Jungle Cruise it was time for one of Josh's favorite songs. I was able to find the songs from Disney on the internet and found the Tiki Room song. Josh laughed and laughed at the song. So we arrived at the Tiki Room for the show. Josh decided he had to the bathroom and couldn't wait. I had a challenge. Get Josh to the bathroom before the doors closed to the next show. We were able to make it! It was close but we made it. Kayla loved the show. She was dancing around during the songs. Josh with his personality just sat there and couldn't believe the song really was a show. He thought it was a joke.

THE TIKI BIRDS

After the Tiki room it was time for what I thought would be one of the boys favorite rides, the Parates of the Caribbean ride. By the way there was a short line. The boys liked it ok, but it wasn't their favorite.

Arrrr.....

After riding the Pirates ride it was getting close to our dinner reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Our reservations were for 5:30. We got there around 5:00 or so. It looked like more rain was coming in so we hoped they could get us seated before the rain hit. The wait for a table was inside so we didn't have to worry about getting wet if it rained, but the strollers were outside. I decided to move the strollers under something so they wouldn't get as wet as if they were sitting out in the weather.
Liberty Tree Tavern was one of my favorite resturants that we ate at. It was family style. The turkey, chicken and roast beef was very tender. They had put something into the mashed potatoes; these were great. We could tell it was getting cold outside.

THE COLD FRONT HAS ARRIVED...  (SOMEONE SHUT THE DOOR)

The temperature while we were in the resturant dramitically dropped. I was a bit chilly, but I believe Michael was the coldest. He was wrapped up in his coat a lot of the meal. It was good to see him eating some. Maybe he was getting over whatever it was that he had (if he had anything - could have been just excitment and new food). Josh then decided he was cold too. We knew it was going to get cold that night with the cold front so we brought our heavy winter coats with us. Josh put his on in the resturant and put the hood up. Not sure what he saw in that hood, but for the rest of the trip he kept that hood up continually (inside and out).

TIME TO RIDE THE THRILL RIDE I HAVE BEEN WAITING ON

WHAT?  THIS IS A ROLLERCOASTER? - JOSH

I had FAST PASSES to Thunder Mountain Railroad for everyone. Kayla was not tall enough to ride it, but Josh was. The plan was for Mamaw and Rachel to take Kayla on Aladin's ride and then we would switch and we all would ride Aladin's ride as Mamaw and Rachel rode the railroad ride. The park was closing for us at 7:00. They were starting the Christmas Party. We didn't get tickets to the Christmas Party. We didn't think we would have time for both groups to ride. So Mamaw took Kayla on the Aladin ride and then the rest of the us when on the train roller coaster. It was now dark. This was Josh's first rollercoaster type ride. I told him we were going to ride a train. We used our FAST PASSES. There was not a FAST PASS line. Josh and I rode together up at the very front. When we were getting on Josh didn't know about the ride. But, he sat down and we pulled the bar down. At the end of the ride, Josh loved it! (That could have back fired on me). Josh and I rode together in the very front, Michael rode with Heather and Rachel and Papa rode together.

It was fun at night, but I think it might have been more fun during the day light hours.
After riding the Thunder Mountain Railroad time to meet up with Mamaw and Kayla at the Aladin ride. The park was offically closing at 7:00 for the Mickey Christmas Party. It was 6:50 so it was time to head out. We got over to the Aladin ride and couldn't find Mamaw. Hmmm? Where did she go? Rachel and Heather tried to call Mamaw on her cell phone and she wasn't answering. I was a bit concerned that she didn't find the Aladin ride and was still tring to find it. We looked around for them for a little while. Rachel had an idea that maybe she went back to where we left her. I headed over to the spot we left them. Found them there. So we headed back to entrance to the park to head out. While we were leaving the lights to Cinderalla's Castle were on. What a sight! It was unbelieveable. Seemed like every inch of the castle was lit up. The lights on main street were awesome. We stopped and took some pictures of the castle.



CHRISTMAS AT MAGIC KINGDOM



SO BRIGHT.... - KAYLA

LOOK AT THAT CASTLE, MOMMY!

What a day at the Magic Kingdom! Quite a few people were leaving with us. We were planning to head to the Hollywood Studios for the Magic Hours and to mainly look at the Osborne Christmas Lights. We were planning to do a few things but really enjoy the lights. I figured we weren't the only one with this plan. To get on the bus to the Hollywood Studios we had to head over to the Ticket and Transportation Center which was on the other side of the lake. We decided to take the ferry boat accross the lake instead of waiting in the line for the monarail. There was a large crowd for the ferry, but the ferry could hold A LOT of people. We squeezed on the ferry at the back. We had the strollers so we couldn't go up to the top deck. After a few minutes we made it accross the lake. I anticipated that a lot of the people on the boat were following the same plan we were following and assumed that the bus was going to be full to the Hollywood Studios. After stopping for a long restroom break (nice little break). We headed over to the bus stops for Hollywood Studios. Good to see that there were very few people waiting on the bus! It was not crowded at all. We waited a few minutes and got on the bus to the Hollywood Studios. This was our first time on the trip to head to another park.

We arrived at the Holly Studios, it was now starting to getting a bit colder. We went through the bag check and getting through the gate. When we arrived we headed straight toward the Great Movie Ride. I didn't have this park as memorized as I had the Magic Kingdom. I pretty much knew where to go. They had added the big Mickey symbol in the middle of the Hollywood Studios which hid the entrance to the Great Movie Ride, but it was behind the ears.

"WILL JOSH EVER LOWER HIS HOOD?" - SCOTT

We got in line at the Great Movie Ride. We waited about 20 minutes for the ride.

MY FAVORITE COLOR IS PINK

We got in line at the Great Movie Ride. We waited about 20 minutes for the ride. We haven't waiting in a line much at all during the day. We were able to watch pieces of some movies while we were waiting. We made it to the ride and got on the ride. The ride was a slow ride. The ride focused on getting in the middle of a shoot out and the tour guide ran off as a bad guy took control of the ride. The ride was not very impressive to me. It was nice to be able to sit and relax a bit, though. In looking at the rest of the crew they didn't look to enjoy this ride as much.

After the ride we wanted to head over the Muppet 3-D vision to watch the show. In headed over to the Muppet 3-D vision we passed by New York Avenue and saw the Osborne Christmas Lights set up. It was incredible! So many lights! In fact it was snowing a bit. It was cold enough that possibly it could be a flurry, but the bits of snow were made by Disney. Michael noticed that was "snowing". He was very excited about the snow. It wasn't much, but enough to get us more in the Christmas mood. We didn't have a line to wait in at the Muppet 3-D Vision. We waited in the holding area for the show. It had been a long day.

WHO ARE THE MUPPETS?

"I THINK I AM GOING TAKE A MUPPET OUT" - JOSH

I DIDN'T KNOW A DAY WOULD BE THIS FUN!

Heather and I had seen the Muppet 3-D Vision multiple times but our kids or the Peters hadn't seen it yet. It was good; not great. The kids seemed to like it ok, but it was starting to get late for the kids and for us. After the 3-D vision it was time to go look at the lights! We headed out to the lights. Amazing lights. They had Christmas music playing and the lights were in sych with the music. I wanted to get a snack for the family with the meal plan, but the line for the snack in the lights was bit long. So we decided to get snack after looking at the lights on the way out of the park.

"SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT, ALL IS CALM ALL IS BRIGHT" - (whoever wrote this song didn't have 3 little children at home)

"UP ON A HOUSE TOP REINDEER PAW, OUT JUMP GOOD OLE SANTA CLAUSE"

WHAT A MAGNIFICANT SCENE

The lights were great. After taking some time to look at the lights and walk up the street it was time to head back to the hotel for the day. When we left the lights we wanted to stop and get some snacks for the trip back to the hotel. We let the kids pick what they wanted. Kayla and Josh picked a rice crispy trip shapped like Mickey Mouse. It was cute. It was too cold for ice cream. Michael choose a large rice crispy square. It was huge!

CAN I EAT THIS WHOLE THING, MYSELF

WOW THIS IS HUGE!

MMMM...  - NOTICE THE HOOD

Time to go get on the bus to the hotel and call it a day. This was one of the long days we had planned. The wind was really starting to kick in. The wait for the bus was a bit long. It was cold now. The wind was blowing and the temperature was in the high 30s. After waiting for about 15 minutes the bus arrived and we headed to the hotel. The bus was crowded, but not too crazy. We arrived at the hotel and got the kids to bed. We didn't have much trouble getting the kids to bed this time. They went straight to sleep. I laid down with the kids while Heather went over to her parents room for the nightly neck rub.

The first day is in the books. What a day! Can't wait till tomorrow.

20 DEGREES AT DISNEY WORLD!

ARE WE READY TO GO?

We ate breakfast in the room. Breakfast wasn't anything special. Around 8:00 or so we were ready to go. Time to head to the bus stop. We headed across the parking lot to the bus stop. Brr.  It sure was going to be a cold day. The bus arrive and off we were. We were at the Hollywood Studios last night so this was not a new park for us, but we were going to spend most the day there. The timing was great!

We arrived at the park about 10 minutes till 9:00. The park opened at 9:00. They started taking tickets right when we got in line. I thought they were opening the park a bit early. We went on in and then the crowd stopped. The park had not opened yet. We had only a few minutes to wait for the park to open.

I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS

Kayla was not a happy camper and kept pulling off your hat. It was cold with a cold wind. Kayla kept pulling it off and I kept putting it on. I felt that I needed to get out of the line because she was just crying. I moved over a bit to see I could help her out. I would cry too if I was in a big crowd sitting in a stroller, cold with a good wind, having to wear the heavy clothing as well as only being able to see the legs of the person in front of you. Josh wasn't helping things but egging her on, but I guess that's what brothers do.  Heather had set her phone to get up at 6:30.  We all slept really well. No issues at all. Once we got up and started getting ready our kids started waking up. Today was going to be a cold one. The high today was actually around 40 degrees. Heather and I knew this was coming so we packed accordingly. We had gloves, heavy coats, hats, long-underware for the kids. Heather was prepared. It took us a bit longer to get ready with the winter gear.

The plan was for me to take Kayla and Josh and go and get a FASS PASS for the Toy Story Ride. The Toy Story ride is almost always a very very long wait. The wait time normally is an hour or so. That is a long long wait. Continually waiting in those types of lines wouldn't be too much fun. I was geared up and ready to go. You could tell others in the line were doing the same thing we were doing. The rest of the group was planning to head over to the Tower of Terror while the line is short.

At 9:00 they had a quick show about movies and the producer showed up as the day was a movie. That was creative. He counted down to the opening as and opened the park with the words, "Action". Time to go. The crowd started to move. I didn't know how to get to the FAST PASS Toy Story, but I figured I could follow the crowd.

The crowd started moving. The park officials had lined up to make sure everyone followed the track to the Toy Story Ride. I made it to the FAST PASS line. I figured there would be a FAST PASS line. I waited a few minutes and then I saw Heather and the group walking in the line to the Toy Story ride. I was surprised to see them. We were planning for them to head to the Tower of Terror. Heather called me on my cell phone and told me they knew they were suppose to go to the Tower of Terror but the park officials wouldn't let them go. The officials had actually blocked off all courses to the Tower of Terror. So they had to walk with the crowd to the Toy Story ride and then turn around and had back to the Tower of Terror.

After waiting in the line for the FAST PASS for Toy Story I finally got to the FAST PASS machine. A cast manner was there to enter your cards into the FAST PASS machine. We ended up getting 11:10 for the FAST PASS. After getting the FAST PASS we were going to meet the rest of them at the Voyage of Little Mermaid. There was a princess story next to the Voyage to little Mermaid. Kayla loved looking at the princess items. She was so excited.

After a few minutes the rest of the group showed up and we were able to make the next show for the Voyage for the Little Mermaid. They seemed to have really enjoyed the ride. Michael was at the back of the elevator on the Tower of Terror. When they finished the ride, Heather asked Michael if he liked the ride. He said he loved the ride and then when the gates opened for them to get off the elevator he was the first one off even thought he was in the back. It was a rush to get off for sure.

The voyage for little mermaid was good. Kayla loved it, but held onto Heather tightly when Omorosa came out. Josh just likes all shows and rides. The song "Under the Sea" was great. The colors were so bright during the show! They had colors on these large puppets and had lights on the stage so that all you can is the puppets. Pretty impressive.

DO YOU SEE THE HIDDEN MICKEY? (NOTICE THE HOOD ON JOSH)

After a short break for bathroom we headed over to the Backlot Tour Ride. The Backlot Tour Ride was a tram ride looking at movie artifacts. The main thing for the Backlot Tour was the earthquake and the flooding of a movie set.  I remember when I was younger this was an impressive ride, but they haven't changed the ride much. They put our whole group up front with the guide.

Michael was interested in the hidden mickeys. I asked the tour guide if there were any hidden mickeys throughout the ride. He told us around what area they were in, but he never did point it out and show us the hidden mickey. There were 2 on the ride. I actually saw one of them the other I didn't see. I guess the cast members are allowed to point out the hidden mickey's. Some take the hidden Mickey's very seriously. We did not.

It sure was a cold ride.

WOW, DARTH VADOR!

Once the backlot tour ride were over we walked into an area that had some cool things from the movies. Including the darth vader suit and some other star wars items. The boys thought some of the items were really cool.

WE HAVE HEARD ALL ABOUT THIS RIDE, LET'S SEE WHAT THE HYPE IS ALL ABOUT.

Time to head to the long awaited Toys Story Ride. We had been looking forward to this ride for a long time. Also, we wanted to see what all the hype was. We arrived at the Toy Story ride and used our valuable FAST PASS to get to the front. The wait was 65 minutes when we used our FAST PASSES. That would have been a long wait. We got our 3-D glasses and were ready to go. All I knew about this ride was that it was a shot and score points type of ride. Michael and I rode together. Josh and Heather got to ride together.

LOOK JOSH DOESN'T HAVE HIS HOOD UP!

This was a fun ride. The ride kept swinging around with new games to shot and score points. The boys loved the ride. After riding the ride they asked if we could figure out how we could ride it again. We started planning when we would ride it again. Maybe we could plan on doing it Saturday morning before we headed out.

HIT THE TARGET

To keep in the Toy Story theme we headed to Pizza Planet for lunch. In line with our plan I headed up stairs with the kids to find a seat. Time to eat pizza! After eating my pizza I headed to the Rocking Roller Coaster to get FAST PASSES for the ride. I headed back to Pizza Planet to hook up with our group. In the process of taking the strollers back down from the 2nd floor one of my gloves disappeared. Now I have one glove to wear. It actually was cold enough that gloves were needed to keep your hands warm.

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We headed down to the Jedi Training Show to try to get the boys in the show to take on Darth Vader.

Unfortuately, they changed the rules of selecting Jedis to train. Originally, the directors of the show changed the rules on Saturday we arrived there. The kids were selected when the park opened and not right before the show. So Michael and Josh got to watch the other kids. They got to see Darth Vader! I think they enjoyed the show. I was a disappointed the boys didn't get on the stage. I took Kayla in the back and we played together in the back. Kayla didn't want to watch the Jedi Training Show. We had a blast playing in the back.

We hadn't planned to head back to the hotel room for rest time since we had a short day. Heather wanted to take Kayla and see if she would take a short nap during the stunt show. Heather and Kayla headed off for rest time and the rest of us headed to the Stunt Show.

The boys loved the stunt show. It was cool watching the expressions during the stunts and the fire.

MOMMY'S STUNT!  CAN'T BELIEVE THEY LET MOMMY DRIVE THE CAR.

After the stunt show we headed over to the PlayHouse Disney to meet up with Heather and go to PlayHouse Disney. Kayla and Josh will love this show. Mamaw and Rachel decided to go shopping.

Kayla and Josh danced all over during the PlayHouse Disney show. I am so glad we decided to make sure we went to PlayHouse Disney.

Time to head to the Rocking Roller Coaster. We have never ridden this ride. The earlier times we went to Disney this ride was closed plus none of kids were tall enough to ride.

When we got to the end of Sunset Strip Mamaw and Papa took Kayla and Josh off to look at some of the shops. The rest of us headed off to the Rocking Roller Coaster. Kayla and Josh were not tall enough to ride to the ride. We wanted to make sure Josh and Kayla had some things to do while we rode the ride.

We used our FAST PASSES to ride the Rocking Roller Coaster. The wait was 45 minutes and we got to go to the front of the line;

I love the FAST PASSES. This ride was probably my favorite. Michael was excited! The ride started with us going into a sound booth with Areosmith on the screen. It was very clever the way they made the ride a story. The story was that we were going to be able to ride with them to the show and go back stage.

After they set up the show we went out to get on the ride. We saw a few times the roller coaster shot out. The roller coaster shoots out hitting 60 miles per hour in a few seconds.

THIS IS GREAT!  I CAN'T WAIT TO RIDE!

I got to ride with Michael! We hoped on the coaster and was waiting to go. Michael looked a bit nervous while we were waiting. He knew the coaster would go upside down and be inside. The count down occured... three....two....one. The coaster shot off! It was great! In your seats they played an Aerosmith Song. It played "Walk this Way". What a great ride! The negative it was a short ride, but it was great! Michael and Heather loved it!

After we rode it, it was time to head to the dinner reservation. We had an early dinner so we could make it to the Fantasmic show. So instead of Mamaw and Papa riding it right after we did they would ride it after dinner. We had the FAST PASSES so they could ride right before the show.

One issue is that Kayla and Josh actually fell asleep while we were riding the ride.

WHAT A DAY!

It was great that they were taking a nap, but it was dinner reservation time.

I hurried off to make it to the Sci-Fi Dinner Theater so we could make it there on time. The rest took their time coming to the restruant because Kayla and Josh were sleeping. I wanted to see if possibly they could wait a while for dinner to give Josh and Kayla some time to rest. It wasn't a late night, but they still needed some rest. Also, I think the rest of us needed a quick sit down any ways.

While we were waiting Michael asked if I would take him to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Michael actually has been asking to go over all day! So I decided to take him to the play ground for a few minutes. He had a great time running around in the playground. He did great when it was time to leave. I promised him we were try to come back later that day.

Josh had just woke up when our reservations came up. We were taking into the drive-in movie theater. I loved the kids expression when the kids saw that we were going to eat in a car. I sat with Michael in the front. Rachel sat with Josh, Mamaw and Papa sat in the back of the car.

HALF THE FUN OF DISNEY IS WHERE YOU EAT.  EATING AT A DRIVE IN MOVIE IN A CAR AS A TABLE IS PRETTY COOL

Kayla was still asleep so Heather held her in the back of the car next to us. The food wasn't as good as the other places, but the atmosphere was great.

LOOK THEY ARE BRING OUR MILKSHAKES TO US!



WHERE ARE THE VEGETABLES!

 When we were done we headed to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground for kids. We walked down to the playground. We got there around 5:30. Yikes! The Playground closed at 5:00. I needed to plan out a way to get back down there before we headed home.

Since the play ground was closed we were heading down to the Fantasmic Show at the end of Sunset Blvd. We were walking through the Toy Story area and saw that Woody and Buzz were there. Josh wanted to see Woody and Buzz really bad. So Heather and the Peters decided to wait with Josh and Kayla to see Woody and Buzz. Michael really didn't want to stay to see them. So Michael and I headed down to the Tower of Terror to ride the ride. I didn't ride with them earlier.

WE ARE ENTERNALLY GREATFUL

When Michael and I got down to the Tower of Terror there was no line! I expected to wait in a line. The ride was great! I really enjoyed the ride. There were multiple drops which I wasn't expecting.

After riding the ride we headed back to Toy Story. I wanted to see if I could see Josh seeing Woody and Buzz. Our timing was great! We showed up and Josh and Kayla were next to get to see Woody and Buzz.

We were able to watch them see Woody and Buzz. Very cute!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!  BUZZ LIGHTYEAR AND WOODY!

Josh and Kayla were so excited about see Woody and Buzz.

We still had the fast passes for the Rocking Roller Coaster. When we got to the end of Sunset Blvd we were going to decide how we were going to divide the FAST PASSES. Plus, I wanted to take Josh on the Tower of Terror for his first time. So we decided that Mamaw, Papa, Rachel and Michael would ride the Rocking Roller Coaster. Mamaw and Papa hadn't ridden the Rockin Roller Coaster.

I again didn't tell Josh what we riding. The Tower of Terror was great! Josh did great! There was no line as well.

Heather stayed with Kayla and went to the shops to look at princess things. She was going to take Josh on the Tower of Terror once more. When Josh and I finished riding the ride, Josh decided he did want to ride it again. So we waited on the rest of them. They weren't too far behind. We had about 30 minutes to hang out and wait. So Heather, Michael, Papa, Rachel and me decided to ride the Tower of Terror once more since there wasn't much of a line. It was great again. The Tower of Terror didn't just have 1 drop but continual up and down. You could tell when you were getting close to the window because it got colder and colder. When the ride was over we waited a bit for the Fantasmic Show. The show was scheduled for 8:00. We were going to see the 6:30 show, but didn't because Josh and Kayla wanted to see Woody and Buzz.

I headed over the Rocking Roller Coaster and got 3 light swords for the kids. It is always fun to have a light sword from Disney in the dark. We arrived at the Fantasmic Theater before they even opened the theater. We waited for about 15 minutes for them to open the gates. Once the gates opened up a large crowd rushed into the theater. We were separated a bit with the crowd. I had to get over to the right for the stroller parking. We met up at the stroller parking. Once we got in the theater we found a good seat in the middle.

This was one of the coldest part of the day so far.

KEEP THOSE EARS COVERED!

THE MILLERS!  (33 DEGREES WITH A WINDCHILL OF 28) - Brrr!

I checked on my phone and it was officially 35 degrees with a windchill of 28 degrees. The wind was blowing a bit over the water.

The Fantasmic Show is all about Mickey Mouse fighting all the bad guys from Disney Movies. During the show there was fire. Heather and I held our hands up to get it warm from the fire.

It ended with the snake from Aladin being defeated by Mickey. After Mickey won a boat with all the princesses came by. Kayla loved the princesses coming by and waved saying all their names, "Hey Cinderalla, Belle,....". Josh was waving at the princesses, too.

 A LIFESAVER!

After the show it was time to head back to the hotel. Magic Kingdom was open late that night, but we all were tired so we decided to head back. In heading back I decided to jog slowly (the same speed as walking). The slow jog was to stay warm. I stopped and let them catch up every once in a while. When we got to the bus stop to the Caribbean Beach. The wait for the bus
was a cold one. A bus shortly arrived and we headed over to the restort to call it a day. After arriving at the hotel we quickly hit the sack. We arrived around 9:00 and were asleep by 9:30. What a great Hollywood Studios day.

Today was magic morning hours for Epcot.  We had planned to take advantage of the extra early hours.  Plus, with the cold in the morning I did not expect a big crowd at Epcot.  We planned for the guys to head over the parks first and then the girls to come over a little later.  We wanted to ride Test Track which Kayla wasn't tall enough to ride.  Instead of having Kayla wait for all of us to ride the ride.  We thought the boys could ride the ride and when we finish riding the ride then the girls will be arriving and I can take Kayla to the Innovations and play. 

The boys were ready to go.  Checked my phone and the official temperature was 28 degrees.  It was a bit chilly, but we were ready as with the other days. 

When we arrived at Epcot we headed straight for Test Track.  There was no line at all.  The test track ride takes you outside at 60 miles an hour around the outside of the building.  The ride has no top. 60 miles per hour in 28 degrees is a bit chilly, but it sure was fun.  After we rode it I called Heather to meet up with the girls.  The girls hadn't left the hotel yet.  The ride was one of Michael and Josh's favorite ride so far.  So we rode it over and over until the girls were about to ride.  I believe we rode it 4 times or so.  The girls made it over to Test Track.  We met and the plan was for me to take Kayla and head over to the Soaring and get a FAST PASS for later in the day and stop by Kim Possible for reservations for the boys.  We have never done the Kim Possible before and I wanted to learn more about it.  The rest of them rode test track once more.  By the end of the morning Josh, Michael and Papa had rode Test Track probably 6 times.

I gave Kayla a ride in her stroller over to the Land Pavilion to get Soaring FAST PASSES.  I was curving and she was giggling.  We had a great time.  When we got to the Land I parked the stroller and put Kayla on my shoulders and headed down to the Soaring.  I ended up getting the FAST PASSES with the time around lunch which was what we were looking for.   Kayla and I then headed over Kim Possible and made reservations for 3.  The boys were supposed to "report for duty" at Norway in the afternoon.  I had all the FAST PASSES and the reservations I needed.  We would then meet up with the rest of the group. 

I didn't know how much time we had so I took Kayla to the show room for GM.  They had trucks and cars that you can get in and look at.  The showroom is the exit for the Test Track ride.  I figured we see them when they finish the ride.  We were playing for little while.  Kayla loved getting in and out of the cars.  My cell phone didn't have any reception so after about 10 minutes I decided to head out in case I missed them and Heather was trying to call me.  I went out and they hadn't finished the ride.  They were about 5 minutes behind me.  Once we met up it was time for Mission Space.

Kayla wasn't tall enough to ride Mission Space so the plan was for the "spinning" group to ride Mission Space first and then the next group would ride the non-spinning part of the ride.  Mission Space orange spins so that you feel the gravity.  Due to the intensity of the ride, they created a green portion.  It is the same ride, but doesn't spin.  Heather and I wanted to ride the orange spinning portion and we wanted Michael to give it a try.  Papa, Mamaw and Rachel took Kayla to innovations which was next to Mission Space. 

I had heard so much about this ride.  I didn't know what to expect.  There was a lot of warnings about the spinning.  I wondered was the spinning really that bad?  The line was not long.  We were taking into the breifing room.  Disney always does a great job setting up the ride.  The ride was a mission set to Mars.  Each person in the ship was given a title (pilot, captain, navagator).  We got on the ride and they shut the door.   I focused on looking right at the screen and keeping my head back.  When the rocket took off the gravity that was put on you was so much fun.  I couldn't tell the ride was spinning, but sure did feel the gravity.   There is something about not knowing what is about to happen.  After the ride I could tell I had been spinning a bit.  Michael decided he did not like the ride that much.  I wnated him to ride it again later, but he wasn't interested.

After the ride we headed over to innovations to hook up with the other group.  We located them.  Josh and Kayla seemed to be having a great time in the innovations.  Lots of weather things to do and play with.

When the other group left to Mission Space.  I saw a "tornado room" to experience a tornado.  It was a 3-D show.  Josh and I decided we wanted to see the tornado room.  We went to find Michael and see if he wanted to see it with us.  Michael didn't want to go with us.  We got in line and I put Josh on my shoulders and bumped his head pretty good on a ledge above us.  Boy, he was growing up.  Just a few months ago he wouldn't have bumped his head.  The tornado room was about making sure you knew what to do in a tornado.  It wasn't scary or anything like that.  Josh seemed to enjoy it.  It was good that I got to do something just with Josh so I could spend some time with Josh.  I still have planned on riding a ride just with Josh later on today.  We found Michael and Heather in the recycling and garbage truck line.  I guess it was teaching about the importance of recylcing.  The Peters were back from Mission Space.  Michael decided he would rather go ride other rides then learn about recycling. 

It was time to go to the Universe of Energy with Ellen.  We went to the ride in past years.  It was ok, but the dinosaurs were cool.  Thought the kids would enjoy the dinosaurs.  The ride was all about energy and how it is used and created.  How coal is created, etc.  Josh and Kayla didn't know much about the dinosaurs.  The movie spoke of the "big bang" that the movie was saying created the earth and the universe.  I knew this was coming, so I intentially made sure I sat with one boy on each side of me to tell them that God created the World not what they are talking about.  This was a long ride.  It seemed to last forever.  They probably need to update this ride it is starting to get out dated and old.

After the ride it was time for lunch.  We had planned to head over to the Land and eat at Sunshine Seasons.  Plus, it was nice to relaz a bit. At first we found a table that we all could sit at.  Once we found it, Heather wanted me to get the lunch this time and she would stay with the kids.  I took Michael with me to help me carry some of the food over to the table.  The food choices were excellent.  I got two plates and all the kids plates.  I choose roast beef and some roasted chicken.  Heather and I would eat on the plate for a little while and then switch plates so we could try both meats and enjoy all the lunch.  I ended up finishing up the lunches for our kids as well.  I had plenty to eat.

After lunch the plan was to use our FAST PASS for the Soaring.  This was Heather's favorite ride last time we were at Disney.  Papa, Michael, Rachel and I rode Soaring first.  Fast passes are always nice.  The wait time was about 45 minutes for stand-by. 

Heather, Mamaw, Josh and Kayla rode the Land ride while we rode Soaring. 

As usual Soaring was great!  The ride is great every time. 

After riding Soaring, the other group was waiting for us after riding the Land.  We then switched.  Kayla, Rachel, Michael, Papa and I rode the Land ride and Heather, Josh, Mamaw rode soaring.

The Land boat ride is always relaxing.  Our goal is to see as many hidden mickeys as possible.  We found 3 while we were riding it.  One was the hose by the fish tank was in the mickey ears shape.  After the Land we met up with the other group after Soaring.  Heather loved it just as much as she did last time. 

After Soaring, I wanted to go back to Test Track and get some Fast Passes for later since Josh had asked about riding it again.  (Remember he had rode the ride 6 times earlier).

I wanted to take Josh with me so we could ride the seas together.  Everyone else headed over to the seas and I put Josh on my shoulders and went to get the FAST PASS for Test Track.

After getting the fast passes we headed over the Seas and got on the ride through the acquirium.  While we were riding they stopped it for what seemed to be 3 -4 minutes.  They were singing the song for the ride over and over again.  After about a few minutes both Josh and I were joining in on the song.  It was cute watching Josh sing the song in his deep voice. 

Once we got off the ride we hooked up with the rest of the group was looking at the shark that you could take a picture in the mouth. 

The pictures turned out really good.

We headed over to see Crush.  The Crush was an interactive show in which Crush talks to the kids.  The kids sit up front and the parents sit in the back.  Didn't know if Kayla would sit up with the boys.  She kept getting up and coming back with Heather and I.  Finally, we decided that I would take her in the back.  She ran up and down on the back row.  In the past the kids were allowed to go back to their parents before they leave, but this time they just let people leave.  Heather and I quickly went down there to get the boys and they had left.  The boys had gone over to Mamaw and Papa.  After the show, the kids wanted to see the aquirium and the fishes so we went upstairs and spent some time looking at the fish and there were some sharks in the acquirium.

We headed to Spaceship Earth for the next ride.  This was the ride in the huge ball known for Epcot.  I had rode this ride many many times in the past.  I expected the ride to be the same, but there were some new technology.  They took a picture of each riders face and then they put each face on a character in a movie later in the ride.  It was surprisingly enjoyable.

After riding Spaceship Earth we headed over to the Fountain View Ice Cream Shop for one of our snacks.

  We got the kids some ice cream.  The ice cream that we had was huge!  Great ice cream at a great location.  We used the ice cream as a little break.

After ice cream we went and got in line to see the most famous mouse in the World.  In my research the lines are shorter around snack time, but are longer earlier in the day.  The line to see Mickey was shorter than normal.  We did have some wait, but it was about 20 minutes or so.  We had just eaten ice cream so no one was bothered by the wait.  In fact Michael was still eating his ice cream.

We got up and was able to see Mickey Mouse.  Kayla and Josh loved seeing the characters.  Michael was getting to the age where he would rather not see the characters, but ride rides.  In the past few times we have gone we have made a picture of all of us with Mickey in his regular clothes.  Heather wanted to keep that tradition going.  She wanted to get a Disney picture frame to hold the picture as well so we could put them together in our bed room.

 

We were able to see Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy one after another.  It was great fun.

After seeing the characters I needed to take the boys over to Norway for their mission with Kim Possible.  Heather decided to take Kayla for a rest time.  We had about an hour before our dinner reseration in Norway for the princess meal.  The Peters decided to go shopping in the World Showcase.

We didn't have a lot of time for the Kim Possible mission, but we hadn't done it before.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  We showed up for our mission at Norway.  I decided to only get one cell phone for the mission.  I couldn't follow both Josh and Michael on separate missions.  After getting into it Josh wasn't really old enough to figure out the mission anyways.  They sent us to China for our first mission.  The Kim Possible mission was pretty neat.  Michael really did a great job at it.  You would follow clues to get to certain items within China.  Then you could have some things do some neat things.  Such as a statue move his head up and down, make water flow and some other things.  We didn't have enough time to finish before we needed to head to Norway for our dinner reservations.  Our reservations were set for 5:00.  It was busy there.  I think a lot of people wanted to eat there for the princess dinner.  We waited for about 30 minutes for them to get us a table.

Everytime they came out to say a families name everyone was hoping it was their family.  The kids were ready to sit and eat.  It was a bit crowded so I held Josh while we waited.  Finally, they announced our name!  Time to head on in.  When we went on in we got in line to see Belle.  We could get 2 pictures of us and Belle.  We decided one was going to be just Kayla and Belle and the other would be everyone with Belle.  Kayla walked right up and gave Belle a big hug. 

We were taking to our table.  The meal was a buffet meal.  Since we were in Norway they followed the Norway customs of ordering.  I was impressed with the way they took orders.  The ladies all ordered first then the boys were next, then me and then Papa.  Great custom for the ladies to order first instead of just going around the table.  It was buffet so all we ordered was drinks.

This was our first character dinner for the week.  We wanted to make sure we were all at the table when the characters came by.  Sleeping Beauty was the first one to stop by.  Kayla showed Sleeping Beauty her Cinderalla necklace.  Kayla was so cute dressed up as Cinderalla.  Josh enjoyed getting his pictures with the princesses.  Michael not so much. 

During the dinner they had a princess march.  That is where all the princesses and the little ones can march around the restraunt waving like a princesses.  Kayla was not nervous at all.  She got right in line and went with the princesses.  She loved it!  Very cute once more.

The food was pretty good.  A lot of choices that we could make.  I really liked the grilled salmon.

After dinner we were going to go and see the Candle Light Processional Christmas Show.  The line for the show was already long an hour before the show.  We decided to call it a day and head back to the room.

But, I wanted to stay a bit later and ride mission space - orange once more. No one really wanted to ride with me. Michael said he would ride Mission Space - Orange if we would ride Test Track as well. So Michael and I were going to stay a bit later and ride those rides. The rest of them headed back to the room. When Michael and I got to Mission Space - Orange. Michael "changed" his mind on riding Mission Space - Orange. I think he just said he would ride it so he could stay a bit later. So we used the fast pass and rode test track once more. Then we headed back to the hotel. We were only about 30 minutes behind the rest of the crew.

By the time we got back to the room, Kayla and Josh were sleeping.

This morning we decided to sleep until everyone woke up.  Heather and I did not plan on getting up early to get things ready.  We slept until around 8:00 this morning.  We got up and ate breakfast.  I had planned to head over to Animal Kingdom and get a FAST PASS for Expedition Everest so we could use the FAST PASSES when we get over to the Animal Kingdom.  Michael wanted to come with me, but we decided that he probably needed to stay and relax a bit.

The weather was a chilly, but it was suppose to finally start warming up a bit.  The high was going to be around 60 or so and sunny.

I hoped on the bus and headed over to the Animal Kingdom.  Once getting there I headed straight to Expedition Everest.  When arriving at the FAST PASSES I went over to the cast member working the FAST PASS booth and told her what I was doing.  Officially, the FAST PASS can be got if the person has entered the park.  I asked her if she could give me FAST PASSES for these guys.  She told me she would and I got FAST PASSES for everyone.  After getting the FAST PASSES I headed back to the hotel for the rest of the group.

When I got back it was about time to head over to the park it was time for the rest of the group to head over.   We hoped on the bus around 11:00 or so to head over to the Animal Kingdom.  When we arrived there, the first thing we saw was the Animal Kingdom Christmas tree.  I believe this was one of my favorite trees.  The tree had animal ornaments were the coolest thing. 

We headed straight to the Tree of Life to see its a bug life. Exciting watching our kids wear their bug eyes.

We got all our tickets in and got into the park.  When we got there it was time for lunch.  We headed to the Flame Tree Barbeque.  I had read a lot of good things about the Flame Tree Barbeque.  One thing I didn't count on is that it was an outside eatery.  It was around 60 degrees and sunny.  Heather went and ordered the food and I took the kids to find a table.  I found 2 tables in the sun.  It wasn't too bad at all.  After 30 degrees, 60 degrees actually feels pretty good.  We had ribs for lunch.  They actually were pretty good.  This lunch was one of the best lunches we have had all week. 

After lunch a group headed to Expedition Everest (Rachel, Papa, Michael and me) for the best roller coaster at Walt Disney World.  Mamaw took Josh and Kayla to the bone yard.  The boneyard is a really cool playground for kids.  In fact there is a part of the playground that has some sort of small pebble area when kids dig for bones.  In the past Michael loved this area.  I figured Josh and Kayla would love it as well. 

We headed to Expedition Everest with our FAST PASSES.

There was a long wait, but we got to pass in front.  Did I say I love FAST PASSES.  The roller coaster was great.  I love the backwards part of the coaster.  It was a surprise.

After the coaster we headed over the bone yard so that Mamaw could ride it.  We had 3 FAST PASSES left.  When we got there Mamaw decided that she really was not feeling like riding.  So Rachel and Papa rode Expedition Everest with the 3 FAST PASSES.  Michael decided he wanted to stay and play in the bone yard.

We wanted to see Finding Nemo - the Musical.  Last time we got at the theater when the show was about to start and sat in the back of the theater.  The show was not very exciting in the back.  So I wanted to get in line when the line opened so that we could get a good seat.  I went and got in line about 45 minutes before the show started.

Heather and Mamaw took Josh and Kayla back to the bone yard to play.  I told heather I would text her when it was time for them to come so that we can get in line.  Around 20 minutes before the show started they opened the theater.  I moved to a certain point in line and texted Heather and I saw Rachel and Papa.  I didn't get a response from Heather so I was hoping she got the text.  In a few minutes she showed up and we all were able to enter into the theater.

READY FOR THE SHOW...  THE FRONT IS WAY BETTER THAN THE BACK

We were able to get a great seat in one of the front sections.  The show was really good.  It is totally different up then in the back.

After the show a group headed over to the Dinosaur.

WHAT A CUTE BOY

Kayla wasn't tall enough for Dinosaur so I took her over to the Bone Yard.  Kayla loved hanging out at the bone yard.  I enjoyed playing with her on the bone yard.  After we played a little while the group finished up.  We were planning to head over to watch the parade.  This was going to be our first parade.  This was one of our favorite parades at the park the other years we came.  We wanted to watch the parade near the Tusker House.  We had dinner reservation at the Tusker House at 4:20. 

NO ONE TOLD ME THERE WAS GOING TO PRINCESSES IN THE PARADE

We made it to the bridge into Africa right next to the Tusker House.  We found a great spot with a great view of Everest.  I sat down with the boys and Heather held Kayla.

TIME TO REST AND WATCH A PARADE.  THIS IS OUR FIRST OF THE WEEK.

WILL CINDERALLA BE IN THE PARADE?



JUST SITTING THERE ON THE GROUND.



LOOK AT THAT BIG MOUNTAIN, JOSH - MICHAEL

WONDER WHAT THEY WOULD DO IF I CROSSED THE ROPE!

The parade was as usual really good.  The parade had a Christmas theme.

After the parade, we headed into the Tusker House.  We had not eaten here in the past and didn't know what to expect.  The Tusker House was not crowded so we didn't have too much of a wait.  The Tusker House was different.  It was a buffet.  I thought it was really good.  They had some traditional food and some Aftrican type of food.  I like trying new food.  I actually like the Aftrican food.

After dinner we headed over to the front of the park.  We could either take the bus to the Ticket Transportation Center and then ride the monarail or ferry to Magic Kingdom.  Or we could take the bus to the Contemporary, Floridian or the Polenesian and then take the monarail to the Magic Kingdom.  We decided to take the bus to the Floridian and then take the monrail to Magic Kingdom.

LOVE HANGING OUT WITH KAYLA

LOOK AT THOSE LIGHTS!

CINDERALLA!

JOSH'S FAVORITE - THE DRAGON

We were heading over to the Magic Kingdom to watch the Electric Parade.  I was real excited to watch our kids watch the Electrical Parade.  When we got there a lot of spots along the parade route.  We found a great spot near the corner.  It was a spot where I could take Kayla into the shop while we were waiting.  We had about 30 minutes or so to wait. Some went to go look in the shops.  Kayla sat on my shoulders during the parade.  The kids loved the parade.  Their eyes were fixed on the lights with huge smiles. 

After the parade we headed up to the castle for the fireworks in front of the castle.  Michael and Josh were picking at each other.  Michael got fed up with Josh and punched him again.  Michael had punched Josh a lot throughout the day.  I had had enough.  After he punched him I took Michael aside.  I was actually planning to take Michael back to the hotel.  So we turned and headed down Main Street.  After getting about half down Main Street I thought I really didn't want Michael to miss the fireworks and I didn't want to miss watching the fireworks with Josh and Kayla.  I had a big decision to make.  I talked to Michael for a little while.  My decision was to head back to the group and Michael would not get ice cream when our group got ice cream after the fireworks.  So we got back and got through the crowd to the group.

The fireworks were great.  I held Michael so he could see.  I enjoyed watching Kayla, Josh and Michael enjoy the fireworks.  It was a special night. 

The crowd was big.  We decided to use one of our snacks and get ice cream at the ice cream shop on main street.  The ice cream shop on main street is one of our favorite places to get ice cream.  I got ice cream for everyone except Michael.  That was tough for me, but after all the punching that was what we needed to do.  We found a table outside to eat our ice cream.  I checked my phone and it was 40 degrees outside.  It felt a lot warmer to me than 40, but we enjoyed out ice cream. 

MMMM.... ICE CREAM

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS CONE! 

After finishing our ice cream the park had dwindled down and we decided to head back to the hotel.  We got to the bus stop and had to wait for a few minutes for another bus to show up since the bus that was there was full.

When we got back to the hotel we hit the sack.  No problem getting the kids to bed.

What a day!  Starting with the Animal Kingdom and finishing with fireworks and ice cream in front of the castle!

Another breakfast at the hotel room.  We are eating less and less for breakfast in the morning.  Probably because we have eating so good during the week.  The kids ate some granola bars with some milk.  This was the magic hour morning at the Magic Kingdom.  We wanted to take advantage of the morning hours. Heather, me and the kids headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  The Peters weren't ready yet so they decided to catch up with us a while later.

This morning we planned to go to Tomorrow Land and ride some of the "thrill" rides.  I know the boys would love these rides.  We started out with Buzz Lightyear.  I got to ride with Josh.  Michael actually rode by himself.  He really wanted to.  It really made him feel big.  He was getting big on us.  I really wanted to score a lot of points.  I was shooting the high point targets and was doing great.  The points were rolling in.  Josh was shooting hapharzardly at random things.  After we went into the second room (about half way through the ride).  To my disbelief Josh's score was 999999.  He had maxed his points out half way through the ride.  He must have hit a very large point total.  He didn't even know his point total was so high, until I told him, "Hey Josh, you got the highest points allowed!"  He was so proud in his way.

After riding the ride we were put in jail with Zork for scoring so many points.

HELP US!  HELP US!

We headed over to Stiches Great Escape.  Kayla was not tall enough to ride to ride.  I took Kayla to the Tomorrow Transit and Heather took Josh and Michael.  Kayla really enjoyed the Tomorrow Transit.  She held her hands up with the little car sped up.  Once we were done we headed to the Stiches Great Escape to meet up with Heather and the boys.  A cast member was blowing bubbles and Kayla played popping the bubbles.  While we were waiting the Peters arrived.

Once the Heather and the boys arrived back they wanted to head over to Buzz Lightyear again.  Would Josh go block buster on his score again?   The line was still short so we didn't have to wait too long.  Josh did not score as many points as he did last time, but that was still crazy!  He couldn't stop talking about it.

I headed over to Space Mountain and pulled together some fast passes.  It is almost Space Mountain time!  Michael didn't know what to expect.  Josh and Kayla were not tall enough, but we had enough Fast passes that Michael could ride it twice.

I caught up with the group and we headed to Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  While we waited they asked if you had any jokes to send.  Michael had a joke he wanted to text over.  I went ahead and sent the joke by text. His joke wasn't selected.  The kids were laughing at all the jokes.  It was really funny.

It wasn't time to ride Space Mountain yet so we headed to the race cars.  Waited in line.  I rode with Josh, Michael rode with Papa and Kayla and Heather rode together.  Rachel rode by herself.  Mamaw decided to sit this one out and watched.

It was most definately a race.  Michael was focused on racing with the car next to us.

CAN I FIT IN THIS CAR?  I GOT SOME LONG LEGS.

KALYA DRIVING!

WHO WAS THAT BUMPED ME?

DRIVE CAREFULLY

THE RACE TEAM!

After the big race Heather, Michael and Rachel headed to Space Mountain.  They used the Fast Passes so we didn't have to wait too long.

While they were waiting I took Josh on the race cars once more.  Mamaw and Papa rested with Kayla while we were riding. 

After racing and Space Mountain we switched.  Michael, Papa, Mamaw and I rode Space Mountain.  Heather and Rachel took Josh and Kayla racing once more.  Part of the thrill of Space Mountain for Michael was seeing inside the Mountain. Michael was up front. The ride was great. We all loved the ride. Space Mountain is the same ride it was when I was a kid.

Time for the Mad Tea Party ride.  Josh and Michael were pumped.  They wanted to spin the bucket as fast as possible.  The Peters decided to sit this one out. 

I HOPE THIS THING DOES NOT TURN TOO FAST

THE MUSCLES THAT TURNED THE CUP

 Disney has set these buckets so that they won't spin crazy fast.  Josh and Michael worked hard to spin it fast.  They did a great job!  We did spin fast.

Time to visit the Toontown.  We stopped by and saw Mickey's House and Minnie's house as well.  I thought they were married.  Why do they have separate houses? 

NOTICE THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AT MICKEY'S HOUSE!

THANKS MICKEY FOR LETTING US HANG OUT AT YOUR HOUSE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We headed to the Goofy rollercoaster.  Would Kayla be tall enough?  A cast member was waiting to check Kayla's height.  She stood up there.  She was tall enough by a slim margin!  She was so exicited.  She jumped and jumped saying "I did it!  I did it!".  It was time for Kayla's first roller coaster.  I had the opportunity to ride with Kayla on her first rollercoaster.  She held up her arms.  She loved the ride.  It was so much fun!

I WAS TALL ENOUGH!  YEA!!

KAYLA'S FIRST ROLLER COASTER RIDE

HANDS UP!

Josh wanted to play in the Donald Boat for a little while.  They ran around and had a great time.  There was thing one kid at the Donald Boat that just wasn't very friendly at all.  The kid followed Josh around and grabbed the activity that Josh wanted to do each time.  It was driving Josh nuts.  He handled it very well.  We finally just gave up and headed out.

The weather was finally started to feel like Florida.  The sun was out.

Lunch time!  We were planning to eat at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.  The Cafe is a great place to eat.  It is large and loud.  So our guys being loud wasn't a big deal.  Heather and I did our deal and Heather took the kids to the seats.  Michael decided to come with me to help me carry the food.  The food was good.  Good for lunch for sure. 

After lunch we headed through Toon Town to the train station.  Time to ride the train to Main Street.

Michael didn't get a chance to do much on the Kim Possible.  He really wanted to spend a lot more time there.  Heather and I discussed it and we decided that Josh and Kayla would take the rest time and Michael would go with Rachel, Papa and I to ride Expedition Everest again in the Animal Kingdom and then I would take Michael over to Epcot to play with the Kim Possible for quite a while.

We took the bus over the Animal Kingdom and walked over to Expedition Everest.  This was one of the first main rides we didn't have a Fast Pass for.  The sign said 45 minutes.  That is a long wait, but we could handle it.  We ended up waiting about 50 minutes.  That was the longest 50 minutes of the week.  I am so glad we got all these fast passes for all the over rides.  That wait really drained all of us.

Took the bus over to Epcot.  Rachel and Papa headed over to shop and I took Michael to Kim Possible.  Kim Possible was so much fun!  We did France, Italy, Greece and China.  Michael really enjoyed the outside train layout.  It was really cool.  He did great!  I didn't help him with very many of the clues.  The coolest clue was standing at a certain spot and a camera on top the Effle tower took our picture and put it on the phone.  Once Kayla and Josh woke up and the rest of the them arrived at Epcot we ended the mission and met up with the rest of them. 

We had some time before our dinner reservations Heather really wanted to go on the Soaring once more.  Heather, Rachel and the Peters decided to ride the ride once more.  We gave Michael and Josh a choice, they could either ride Soaring once more or go with Kayla and I over to Innovations.  The wait for Soaring was around 60 minutes and we didn't have a FAST PASS.  Josh decided to go ride Soaring again and Michael wanted to go over with Kayla and I to the Innovations so he could play the game boys set up.  Our dinner reservations were at 7:45, but we were wanting to get there about 30 minutes early so we can make it to the fireworks.  Michael and Kayla had a blast.  Kayla just ran around and Michael played games.  At around 7:00 I decided that we would go over and get our name in. 

We got at Corral Reef and got our name in.  They really couldn't take our name until Heather and the rest of the crew arrived.  We didn't have to wait to long for them at Corral Reef.  After about 70 minutes waiting for Soaring and riding the ride they arrived.  They all looked tired.  Waiting for such a long time can really drain someone.  We didn't have to wait very long at all for our table.  I requested that we have a table near the aquirium.  Last time we ate there we had a table near the back the restraunt and couldn't see the aquirium as well. 

The food was great!  The views the aqurium were even better.  We were able to see Sea Turles, Sharks and many many fish.  The kids loved the view.

We were cutting it close for the fireworks.  So we kind of got a bit rushed there at the end of the dinner.  The Peters decided they were going to call it a day and head back to the hotel.  The kids, Heather, Rachel and myself headed up to the World Showcase to be able to watch the fireworks at Epcot.  It was fairly late.  The fireworks started at 9:30.  Around 9:15 we found a spot for the fireworks.  It wasn't the best spot but it would work.  We were going to have to hold the kids up so they could see. 

The fireworks were great!  Heather and I in all our visits to Disney as a family has not made it Epcot to see the fireworks.  What a show!  Once it was over it was time to head back and the kids were very very tired!

Once we got back we called it a day!  What a long day!  Got to ride with Kayla on her first roller coaster!

THAT WAS A LONG DAY!

The kids feel asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel.  I got my work out by carrying them up the stairs to the room. 

Today is the offical last day at Walt Disney World.  We had a great week!  This morning we were up and rolling to head to the Animal Kingdom.  We got at Animal Kingdom went the park opened.

CHRISTMAS TREE WHILE ENTERING THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (MY FAVORITE TREE WITH THE ANIMAL ORNAMENTS)

The goal was to get there so we wouldn't have to wait in the line at Kilimanjaro Safaris too long.  Once the park opened we headed to the Safaris.  The wait wasn't too long at all. 

ON THE SAFARI RIDE

 We were able to see some great animals.  Never more exciting to see your kids looking hard to see all the animals with the excitment.  This was one of my favorite things to do at the parks.  Love seeing the animals. 

LOOK AT THOSE HORNS!

THE BABY WAS FOLLOWING THE MOTHER.  THESE TWO GIRAFES STOOD IN FRONT OF OUR JEEP AND WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THEM TO MOVE BEFORE GOING FORWARD.

 We headed down the Pangani Forest Trail after the Safari.  The gorillas was the main focus on the trail.  The goriallas were playing when we got there. 

Time to head to one of the best shows in the park.  The Festival  of the Lion King.  This show is like a Broadway type show with those on stilts and the jungle animals.

PRACTICING OUR LION ROAR.

WE ARE STARTING TO GO CRAZY

At one point in the show the actors select kids to help them for the show.  The selected Michael!  But, he wouldn't go out there.  So they picked Kayla and she went straight out there and made herself at home.  I thought I would have to go with her, but she just went straight out there.  They gave her an instrument to play and lead the crew around.

KAYLA WAS CHOOSEN TO LEAD THE PARADE PLAYING HER INSTRUMENT.

 We were all so proud!

THE LION KING SHOW!

After the Show we headed out and Goofy was decked in holiday gear.  The kids wanted to stop and see Goofy dressed up like Santa.  Sure thing!

GOOFY DRESSED IN HIS HOLIDAY ATTIRE

Once the show was over we headed out of the park.  We were planning to eat lunch at the Wilderness Lodge.  Heather and choose the Wilderness Lodge so we could see what the lodge was like and see if we wanted to stay there next time we headed to Disney.  Also, we wanted to take the boat to the Magic Kingdom.  The boat would take us over the water bridge.  The boys wanted to go over the water bridge. 

We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge.  We found the caferteria and got our meals.  It was so nice we decided to eat outside.  Heather and I got the Wilderness Salad.  It was huge for lunch.  The boys and I took a quick tour of the pool area and the outside area.  It was really nice.  We might want to consider staying there next time we go (When Kalya is 5).  The resort was quiet and relaxed.

Time to get on the boat to the Magic Kingdom.  We headed down to the pier and waited just a few minutes.

MICHAEL ON THE BOAT OVER TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM FROM THE WILDERNESS LODGE

We went over the water bridge to find out this was one of the only water bridges in the world.

We arrived just in time to find a great spot to catch the afternoon parade.  We found a great spot to watch the parade.  Finally it was warm.  The sun was glarring.  While we were waiting they had a show on the steps of the Castle. Josh and Kayla was very interested so I took them over.  They loved it!

It was time to get some the very welcome ice cream.  I found a snack vendor near where we set to watch the parade. We got everyone a mickey mouse ears chocalate.  Believe it or not, Josh liked the ice cream, but didn't care much for the chocalate.  Kayla and Michael liked all of it.

FINALLY WARM ENOUGH FOR ICE CREAM!  THESE ARE GOOD!

WHAT'S THIS THING ON MY MICKEY ICE CREAM CONE?

SAVING SOME FOR LATER

The parade came around the corner.  All the characters were there especially Cinderalla for Kayla.

At our house we have photos of the family with Mickey in his normal clothes.  Earlier we took the pictures at Epcot.  Heather went through the pictures and wasn't really happy with any of them.  It is hard to have all 3 kids looking picture ready at one time.  So Rachel, Heather and the kids and I headed over to Mickey's Toon Town to visit Mickey.  We got some good shots.

Kayla really wanted to Tinker Bell and some of the other fairies and that was the last thing Michael and Josh wanted to do. The wait for Tinker Bell and the other fairies was 45 minutes, but Kayla really wanted to see Tinker Bell.  So Heather and Rachel took Kayla to see Tinker Bell and the fairies. 

Heather said it was well worth the wait.  Kayla enjoyed seeing Tinker Bell and the Fairies.

While they took Kayla over to see Tinker Bell and Fairies I took the boys to Buzz Lightyear.  We had a few FAST PASSES left.  After riding the ride we had more FAST PASSES left, but our time was short.  We needed to head over to the Contemporary Hotel for Chef Mickey's.  We decided to be a bit generous and found some guys that were in line and gave them our FAST PASSES.  They were excited!  The line was about 45 minutes long.  I told the boys that what goes around comes around.

We headed over to the Contemporary hotel for Chef Mickey's.  Friday night was the only evening that reservations were avialable.  It worked out good because Chef Mickey's works good for the last night.  

Once we got to the exit of the Magic Kingdom we decided to walk to the Contemporary Hotel instead of riding the monarail.  The monarail line looked fairly long.  So we headed off to the Contemporary Hotel.  We headed to the end of the bus station area, but the path to the Contemporary was on the other side of the buses.  So we had to walk back around the buses.  Mamaw, Papa and Rachel decided to jump over the fences and head through the bus lanes.  There were too many buses there.  We probably would have done the same if we didn't have 3 kids. 

Once we got to Chef Mickeys were turned our name in as having the reservations.  They had a waiting area with multiple stools.  The kids were playing around the stools.  We had to wait for almost 45 minutes or so for a table.

THE WAIT FOR OUR TABLE AT CHEF MICKEY

  It sure seemed like a long time, but Chef Mickey's was fairly crowded.  Chef Mickey's is an excellent buffet meal.  We didn't have anything planned for after Chef Mickey's so we wouldn't be any kind of rush.  We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.  They all came to our table. 

GOOFY CAME TO VISIT!

DONALD DUCK CAME TO VISIT!

THE MOUSE OF THE HOUR - MICKEY MOUSE - THANKS FOR COOKING OUR DINNER!

PLUTO CAME TO VISIT!

MINNIE MOUSE CAME TO VISIT - SO MANY CAME TO VISIT.  THIS IS WHY IT TOOK SO LONG TO EAT.

PARTY!! KAYLA WAVING HER NAPKIN

Also, they have the party where we you wave your napkins in the air.  The kids got into waving their napkins.

After the meal, the Peters decided to head back to the room since they had such an early morning.  Their plane was leaving early in the morning.  Heather and I took the kids over to Downtown Disney.  Michael had been saving for a long time for the lego world.  But, it sure was getting late quickly.  We hoped on the bus.  The bus was crowded.  Lots of people heading over to Downtown Disney from the Contemporary Hotel.

Once we got to downtown disney we went straight to the lego store. 

LEGO STORE WITH WOODY

 The lego store was packed, people everywhere.  It was now around 9:00.  Michael wanted to look around at all the choices he has.

It took Michael about 45 minutes for Michael to make his selections.  He actually had over $100 he had saved and wanted to spend.  He choose about 5 different sets.

Heather took the other guys to some other stores as Michael looked around.  It was getting late and we were tired.  It actually was almost 10:00 and it most definately was time to head back.  We got on the bus and headed back.  We didn't have any trouble getting the kids to bed.

The Peters and Rachel left early in the next morning back to Iowa and Arizona.  We were actually leaving today (Saturday).  We had decided that we would pay a few extra dollars (only about $15 for all 5 of us) and get another day in the parks.  We let the kids choose their favorite ride.  Plus, I wanted to let Heather ride the Rockin Roller Coaster again (plus I wanted to ride it one last time as well). 

The kids all choose the Toy Story Mania.  What a great choice.  Plus, Michael had been wanting to go to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play ground.  Everytime we tried to go there it was closed.  That was the main reason we went to Hollywood Studios.

We got up that morning and it was raining.  It hadn't rained much any other day.  This was a set in rain.  I got up early to get the car loaded in time for us to make it to the Hollywood Studios went it opened.  It was raining the entire time I was loading the van.  Heather had kept things organized enough that it really didn't take very long, but we weren't able to get there in time for the opening of the park.  We had told the kids that the long for Toy Story Mania might be really really long, we'll consider if we have time to ride the ride or not.  But, we won't be at WDW for some time. 

We headed to the bus station and took the bus to the Hollywood Studios.  We arrived at the Hollywood Studios and it was raining hard.  Once we walked in, a lady came to us and asked if we would use their FAST PASSES for Toy Store Mania.  Wow!  How great is that.  I was glad to be able to tell the kids that remember we gave the FAST PASSES to those at Buzz Lightyear.  What comes around goes around.   Our first stop was the play ground and ..... it was closed.  They were so upset.  Unless it stops raining we wouldn't be able to play on the playground I had told them we could (of course if it was open). 

Our FAST PASS was for 11:00.  So we had some time to kill.  We headed to the Chronicles of Narnia since it was inside and near Toy Story Mania.  I was really disappointed with this show/feature.  They had a simple movie about how they made the movie and then some memorbilia from the movie.  We had never watched the movie so the exhibit wasn't very interested to us.

It actually had stopped raining so we went and checked on the playground.  They had just opened it back up.  So we were able to finally play on the play ground.

After a little while, I watched the kids and Heather headed down to the Rocking Roller Coaster using a FAST PASS.  When she got back, we had one other FAST PASS that I used to ride the ride.  The ride is short, but sure is fun.

It was time for us to ride Toy Story Mania.  Our last ride of the trip.  We were so lucky to be able to ride it again.  The wait time was over 60 minutes at this time.  We probably would not have time to ride the ride if we hadn't received the FAST PASSES.

Time to take the bus back to the hotel to get in the van heading back.  It had been a long week and it was time to head home.  We wanted to stop by and see Mikel and Bronson some friends from Atlanta.  They lived in Gainesville.  It was nice to see them once more.  We stopped and ate dinner with Mikel and Bronson.  After a quick visit, we hit the road and drove to Tifton for the night on the way back home. 

 We stayed at the Hampton Inn.  We arrived late in the evening and all of the children were sleeping.  We had a plan that Heather would hang out in the car while I carried each one in and layed them down.  We all slept well.  Last night away from home for a little while.

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel.  We got ready and headed off to Church.  We visited Ridge Avenue Church of Christ.

 We showed up and the Church was very quiet.  We kind of went in and left when it was over.  Not too many said anything to us.  The lesson was interested.  Basically the sermon discussed that manger scenes was false teaching because Christ was probably not born in December.  I think some miss the point of things. 

After Church we hit the road back to Murfreesboro.   It was time to get home.  It was nice that I actually had the whole rest of the week off.  I actually have taken off the rest of the year through early January!  I had 3 full weeks out of the office.  Now that we are back from WDW it is time for Christmas to begin!  It is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

What a great time we had at Disney World! I will treasure these memories for years to come.