The big news is that for the first time in 7 trips to Disneyland/world, we did not have to use a stroller! Jack was quite the trooper and walked all over three parks for three days with absolutely no whining. There were times when I wanted to whine about my feet, but he just kept going and going. And what freedom it is to have no stroller to have to worry about it all the time. Loved it.
The other big news is that Jack rode all the big rides that he could. He rode Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Expedition Everest, which there were many adults who looked at that and said no way. I was very proud of him for getting on despite his fears. And of course, after he got off each ride, he would exclaim "That was totally awesome!". There was one ride that he did not say that however, and it was the Dinosaur ride in the Animal Kingdom. The poor child was terrified of dinosaurs to begin with, but after that ride, he will never even utter the dinosaur word ever again.
We stayed at Shades of Green again and I just have to say that I LOVE that place. We had poolside room where all we had to open up our sliding glass door and walk 30 feet to the pool. It was so nice and the kids took advantage of the pool every single night. I took advantage of the wonderful hot tub next to the pool. Ahhh. Pure Bliss after a long day in the parks.
We had planned to take a couple of years off before going back to Disney, however, just last week, Disney came out with an amazing promotion for retired military that we just can not pass up. Jim gets a free five-day park hopper and we can purchase five 5-day tickets for only $99 each. That is like a savings of over $1000! So just tonight, I made reservations to go back to Shades of Green in June after Laura gets here for the summer. Couldn't pass that deal up at all.
Below are a few of the many pictures I took while there.
Jack and Laura with the Mickey statue in the Shades of Green hotel.
One of the nights in the pool.
On the bus to Hollywood Studios.
The first day was at Hollywood Studios. This show was simply amazing.
Waiting for the parade to start. You should of seen the gooey mess from the melting popsicle that poor Jim had to endure.
We saw the show, Fantasmic, for the first time. I have to say that this was my favorite part in all of Disney. The show is stunning.
The second day we went to the Magic Kingdom. Here is Jack and Laura in the car. Jack was quite a crazy driver.
Jack studying the map figuring out our next move.
We had lunch at the Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. That is a very nice restaurant, a place we had never been before.
A really pretty picture of the castle. Notice the blue skies. We had absolutely perfect weather everyday with the temp in the high 70's. Perfect.
Another really pretty picture of the castle at night. I do not believe that I have ever seen the castle lit up all diamondy like this before. It was absolutely beautiful. I am still a kid when I see the castle. It is pure magic.
The third day we went to the Animal Kingdom, which was a more laid-back day compared to the Magic Kingdom. That is if you can call waiting in line for 30 minutes to ride Expedition Everest where you plunge down a mountain and go backwards super fast as laid back. But it was all fun. Here we are all dressed in our ponchos about to ride the river rapids ride. Dontcha just love the fashion statement. Cute.
Our last hurrah was the Lion King show, which is spectacular. At the end, they pulled a few kids out of the audience to join them in the grande finale number and Jack was among them. He got quite a kick out of being in the show.
4 comments:
Wow!! Pics were great and sounded like lots of Fun!! =) Boy is Laura growing up too!! Happy New Year to all of you too!! =) Naomi and I had a great Holiday in Michigan!! =) Love, Evelyn
Okay, so I am SO jealous. Ben doesn't even meet the 40" height requirement for flippin' Star Tours yet! (though we are still going to try... making him stand up really tall.. LOL)
Also incredibly jealous of your ticket savings. I just laid out $1,100 for six day, no expiration parkhoppers. (cry!!!)
I did not know that Star Tours even had a height requirement. Just have him stand real tall. Actually Jack is just barely 44" and we just told him to stand up real tall and he was right at the line. Tower of Terror is only 40" maybe he can get on that.
And yes Disney is far from cheap. But the way I look at it is that we are creating good family memories for the kids and as the Visa commercial says, it is priceless.
Hope you guyes have a great time Erin! Can't wait to see the pics.
Dawn, What great pictures at Disney World. I always save each of them in Jack's folder. We had such a great time there over Christmas. Love, grammy a and papa
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