Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Florida Trip: Day 6 & 7: Downtown Disney and our Drive Home

Day six of our trip was supposed to be the day we packed up and headed home.  I woke up first, like I had all week, shortly followed by Drea.  Drea and I sat around talking and playing UNO over breakfast.  We were just relaxing before getting ready to pack up and leave.

Then at some point Drea mentioned not wanting to leave.  And you know what, I thought the same thing.  Which got me to thinking, why not stay another day.  This got the ball rolling, I had to check with Stacey to see if she cared whether or not we stayed another day.  Which she didn't.  Next, I had to see if we could keep our campsite.  Which we could.  Then, I had to think about driving home the entire way on Sunday.  Which I did.  Finally, we stayed another day.

I would like to say the girls were super excited when I finally told them, but they were just like, "Okay, can we go swimming?"

Day 6 selfie
After swimming for a couple hours in the morning and making new friends at the pool, which we seemed to do every time we went to the pool, we decided to trek over to Downtown Disney.

Lego Woody

It always amazes me seeing these made completely from Legos

Inside the Lego store with Woody, Buzz, and some random kid







After spending several hours at Downtown Disney, complete with buying more souvenirs and riding a carousel, we headed to Chick-fil-a for dinner.  Every night when returning from an adventure, the girls noticed a miniature golf course, and every night they wanted to play.  We took advantage of our extra night and hit the links.

Charlotte kept hitting the ball in the water
on purpose, just because she could

I love the look of pure joy on Drea's face


Time out, to pose for a picture

Nothing says safe, like miniature golf and alligator holding
That last picture is my favorite one from the entire trip.  It cracks me up.  The entire time we golfed, Charlotte said she wanted to hold the alligator, she obviously didn't chicken out.  We then headed home for night swimming, a campfire, smores, and more UNO.

Playing UNO while sitting around the fire


Day 7 selfie: The Drive Home

10 minutes later


I will conclude with this, there were so many things I was concerned about as it got closer to trip time.  Many of which were completely out of my hands, but were concerns none the same.  However, everything from the beginning to the end of the trip was perfect.  We had the most amazing adventure and when I think about how things could have gone and how they actually went, I could not be happier.  Of course, we wish would could have seen and did more, but we have limits.  And besides, we have a Disney jar and we already have begun saving again.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Florida Trip: Day 5: Animal Kingdom

Originally, I was not going to visit Animal Kingdom.  The plan was to go two days to the Magic Kingdom, but as I was planning our trip and discussing it with the girls, they said they would like to go there.  I knew we weren't going to do everything that they wanted, but I tried to plan and do things that they suggested.  To be honest, I think it made our day at the Magic Kingdom better and our overall trip better.  My three favorite things from Animal Kingdom were the safari, the Lion King show, and the small lines to meet the Disney Characters.  Overall, our visit was fun and made for an enjoyable day.

Day 5 selfie


Mickey & Minne

Daisy Duck

Drea's favorite...Pocahontas
 


Hippo

Giraffe


Elephants

Flamingoes

Can you spot the lion?

Taking a time-out to pose for a picture

We were at Animal Kingdom on Good Friday...this was written in the
sky, and I thought it was pretty cool.

We ate lunch at the Rain Forest Café...this was a fountain right outside of the restaurant

Hanging with the Elephants

This was the only Character the girls let me pose with

Chip and Dale

Donald Duck

Pluto and Goofy


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Florida Trip: Day 4: Magic Kingdom

If you told me before the day started that we would spend 15 and a half hours at the Magic Kingdom, I would have told you, that is crazy.  I would have also told you, No, thanks!

Well that being said, we did and it was awesome!  The girls were great.  I really feel like we had an enjoyable day and experienced a lot that the Magic Kingdom offers.  I know we could have done so much more and I realized we didn't come close to seeing it all.  However, there were certain things the girls really wanted to do and we accomplished most of those.  The day wasn't without some disappointment and sad or upset girls at times, but as I look back on the day I can't complain.

The day started out great.  We got up early again and made it to the park by 8am.  Then we got a parking spot right by the pick up point.  This is was running theme throughout the trip.  Things just seemed to fall into place.  I know this really wasn't a coincidence, someone was looking out for us for sure. One of the best inventions for a day at the Magic Kingdom is the Disney Destination app.  This was very helpful as we navigated though the park.  We were able to change fastpass times and find things with the simplest of ease.  Overall, we had a great day and a wonderful experience at the Magic Kingdom.  We can't wait to go back!

Day 4 Selfie
One of the must do items on the girls list, pose with Anna...


...and of course Elsa

Princess Minnie

I love the look on Ariel's face...

...to be fair, now she is looking

King Triton

Our first experience with the girls driving


Right outside Cinderella's castle during a parade

Cinderella's glass slipper

Of course, now Cinderella

Rapunzel

Leaving the Magic Kingdom