This year, we gave Jack & Kate a little...okay, a BIG surprise for Spring Break! After talking about taking a road trip thru DFW metroplex and on to east Texas and down south for the week, the evening we headed out we stopped on the side if I-20 to stretch and said... your gonna need those!
A little history: Terry and I started dating when Kate was 4 years old. In "breaking the ice" with her they used to talk about Disney World because she, like most little girls, really wanted to go to Disney World. During those times, Terry promised he would take her some day! That day arrived...
The next morning, we flew out of Dallas for Orlando.
We arrived at our resort and got settled...
...and immediately checked out Downtown Disney for the evening.
Lego store
Much to our surprise, Downtown Disney was a lot bigger than we initially thought at this point. We would not discover this until we returned later on in the week. None the less, the whole "we are here" was enough to sustain us through dinner and a HUGE ice cream from Ghirardelli's Ice Cream Shoppe. Our first park-day would be spent at Animal Kingdom.
Besides Chip & Dale, we saw lots of live animals on the Safari tour.
Say HI to Pluto!
We had 3 fast passes at each park, each day. We mostly looked forward to Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. It's a pretty good size, fast roller coaster, which all of us loved! It is in the background above.
There was only ONE princess Kate was truly interested in seeing on this trip...Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I made reservations weeks in advance to eat with Belle, and some other princesses, on our first full day.
Beside some great food, Kate was tickled to visit with and take pictures with Belle that evening. Daddy & Jack were a little too big for their britches and discovered that Cinderella was not easily discouraged.
They found themselves in a picture, with a princess...and still managed to have smiles!
Although Kate has never really been into the "princess" thing, she had a blast and could have hung out with them longer, I do believe.
The next day took us to Hollywood Studios.
From Indiana Jones stunt show to Toy Story to Beauty & the Beast show to Tower of Terror, this was our favorite park of all.
Not because of those things, although we enjoyed them all, but mainly because of ONE GREAT ROLLER COASTER...Aerosmith's Rockin Roller Coaster!
If you don't like fast, dark, fast, loud, fast rides, this may not be for you! The take off does something that pulls your tongue into your stomach and gives you the feeling of tingle's all over. Did I mention it is FAST? Super exciting and fun for this entire crew!
After day 2, we realized we were all kind of tired! Day 3 was Epcot and we cherished the fact that rides were minimal, shopping was lots...
In honor of Jack's favorite Disney movie when he was younger, we had to snap a picture with Bambi and Thumper.
...therefore we retired to the resort mid afternoon to refresh for days 4 & 5.
Even there, we had great fun!
The pool had a perfect temperature.
That night, we ate dinner by the pool while watching an outdoor movie...Disney, of course!
In all of his years, Jack has always been a true boy. Not surprisingly, catching lizards and frogs is still one of his favorite things to do. He loved the fact that they were everywhere he turned. I did not love the fact that he still thinks it is funny to put them in my bed!
Day 4 was spent entirely at the Magic Kingdom!
We rode mostly the BIG rides and a few smaller ones...Peter Pan & It's a Small World to Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain & Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We also climbed the Swiss Family Treehouse!
Of course, we ate some sweet treats too...
And rode the train...
...twice...
And Kate got a little something to take home...
Good thing because on the bus rides to the next park or back to the resort, it made for a good pillow for napping.
Day 5 was split up between Magic Kingdom and then back to Hollywood Studios where we squeezed in as many rides on the Rockin Roller Coaster as we could. The trip would not have been complete with seeing the night parade and fireworks surrounding the castle.
The trip would not have been complete without seeing the night parade and fireworks surrounding the castle. If you ask Kate, no doubt she will tell you: BEST VACATION EVER!!
