Family Vacation 2008

Day 1, Friday evening:
We decided to leave Friday evening to get a start on our travels south. We loaded the car and left home around 6 pm. After driving from store to store looking for a splitter for the car "plug", we finally found one at Radio Shack. An hour later at 7:10 we are on I-85 headed to exit 62 for Columbus, GA. The kids had a movie on (thanks to the P's loaning us their video player), bathroom break done, we were on our way. We made it through Tifton, GA just fine. This is where the roads get tricky between Auburn and Orlando. So, once through there we were on the straight path south. The more we drove, the more we leaned to going straight through on Friday evening. We had originally planned to drive until we could go no further and needed sleep. We called Pop Century to see if they had any rooms available for Friday evening and they did. So, we drove on. We arrived at Pop Century Resort at 2 am CST. Of course, the kids were asleep but woke up once they realized we were there. An hour after arriving, we were all in bed asleep. So, 3 am we went to sleep.

Day 2, Saturday:
7:00 AM!!! The kids are awake! Since they had enjoyed their sleep on the way down there, they were ready to go bright and early Saturday morning. We took our time getting dressed to scope out our home for the next 3 days. The swimming pool had a magnetic pull on B, especially. We got the kids in their swim suits and enjoyed the sun for an hour or so. After convincing them that there were other things to do in Orlando, we got them out of the pool.

Downtown Disney was our next stop. Just walking around. The kids enjoyed the LegoLand store which is really why we went there at all. Mark and I were ready to crash due to our lack of sleep. We headed back to the hotel after a couple of hours. We convinced B & E to watch a movie while we took a nap. They did great, no one got hurt or escaped the room. We got our much needed rest and we were ready for more fun. Where did the kids want to go?? The POOL!! So, off we went to let them swim more. We knew this would be the only day they would get to swim the most, so why not? After once again convincing them to get out of the pool, we set off to find dinner somewhere. Guess what we found?! A panera bread!!! My favorite place by far. The traffic was unreal, it looked like summer in Orlando. Very few people were trading at Panera, so it as a nice quiet (if that is possible with a 5 & 3 year old) dinner. Mmmmmm.....
After dinner, we returned to the hotel to turn in for the night. We all knew there was a big exciting day ahead of us!

Day 3, Sunday (E's birthday):
7:30 AM - rise and shine!! Happy Birthday!!!!
After breakfast, we were all ready to head to Magic Kingdom!!! Off to work....will finish later...

I am back...so we get to MK and it is COLD! We hop on the monorail and are so excited to see Cinderella's castle, space mountain, etc. B could hardly contain himself. Pictures made in front of the gate and we are on our way. First ride, Buzz Lightyear! No waiting, right in. Next Astro Orbiter and E rode it too and she loved it. Next B and Mark road Space Mountain. B said it was fun, but he had to keep his eyes closed the entire time and he didn't want to ride it a second time. Mark and B went to the Stitch show which B said was scary and that he never wanted to go to again. Let's see from there we moved to the Mad Hatters Tea Party. E had asked about this from the time we left Auburn, so needless to say, she was thrilled to ride this one. After this we headed to the Winnie the Pooh ride which had a very long line. Other rides of the day were, Dumbo, the carousel, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Carribean, Swiss Robinson Tree House (not really a ride), Buzz again, Astro Orbiter again....We also watched the 3 pm parade where the kids got a lot of kisses blown at them and a high 5 from Tigger.

As darkness fell, we found a place in the middle of madness around the castle to watcht the spectromagic light parade. The kids were on our shoulders so that they could see, but Mark and I only saw other peoples backs. An hour after this, we watched Tinkerbell make her way from the castle and the fireworks began. I thought it was a fun way to end a birthday! Since Sunday was Extra Magic hours, we could have stayed at the park until 2 am, but we only made it to 12:30. E was freezing and asleep. As we approached our van in the parking lot, it was the only vehicle in the Pluto parking area. We definitely got our time in at Magic Kingdom.

When we arrived back at room 1204, E had a birthday card signed by Donald with balloons attached. Even with this added excitement, it didn't take long for all of us to fall asleep!

Day 4, Monday:

EPCOT

I had no idea that a family could spend 5 or 6 hours in the front part of EPCOT. The big ball was closed for refurbishment. However, the Test Track was open. B wanted to go there first, so Mark rode with him then I went with him on a parent swap pass. Next was the EPCOT Character Spot. Here we saw Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Chip & Dale, and Goofy. That was a lot of fun! From here we heard the Nemo and Friends ride calling our names, so we headed there next and followed that with Turtle Talk with Crush. Let's see....from there, we made our way to lunch in "The Land". Disney has great lunches for kids by the way. And they are 4.98 each, not much different from a McDonald's happy meal. I digress....once our tummies were full we rode the Living Seas boat ride which we all really enjoyed, even B & E. Once we left the boat, we decided on a 3D movie of Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Neither B nor E enjoyed this at all! We went back to The Land so that B and I could ride Soarin'. Then Mark rode it with him, a great ride by the way.

There were several fun and learning activities in Innoventions so we hung out there for some time. Mark and B tried the Mission to Mars ride, but that didn't work out again. B decided it wasn't for him. Finally we make our way over to the World Showcase. After the Viking Ride and dinner in Mexico Mark and the kids found a perfect spot to watch the fireworks show at EPCOT. E was not happy to see/hear fireworks again! She cried most of the time and fell asleep on the way to the car.

Day 5, Tuesday:

Time to go home. Mark took the kids swimming so that I could gather the last of our belongings and get the van loaded. Once that was done and dry clothes were on, we were on our way out of Orlando. First stop, Panera for breakfast. The initial leg of the journey home was somewhat stressful with the kids awake. That being said, we only stopped once for gas and bathroom breaks and made it home safe and sound at 5 pm. By 6:00 two loads of laundry were done, suitcases packed away, and any evidence of Disney was ony in our minds.