Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, & More!

On Day three of our vacation, we went to Hollywood Studios.

The first thing the boys wanted to do was Ride the Tower of Terror!

Since Lily is too short & I'm a scaredy cat, we went to watch Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage! It was so good!!

Next up was going through the backstage area where we got to see how movies are made and how they do some of the special effects. It was really interesting.

And the boys loved the explosions.....

Near the end of our tour, it started pouring and there was thunder & lightening. So, they got us in a building fast. While we waited for the storm to pass, we looked at some of the cool movie costumes. Zach saw the Pirates of the Caribbean costumes and ran straight for them. He loves those movies. 

When the rain let up enough for us to go outside, Lily & I headed to the Disney Jr. Live show since Jeff & the boys had fast passes for the Rockin' Roller Coaster.

The show had all of her favorite characters from TV. She really got into the show and was dancing and singing along and even pretended to be a crocodile to scare away Captain Hook!

After that, we met back up with Jeff & the boys to eat lunch and then went to see:

The boys were ecstatic! ;0)

It really was a cool show though, and Lily loved it.

After the show, we were able to watch the parade they have in Hollywood Studios.

Then since we forced, I mean asked, the boys watch The Little Mermaid, we took them to a show they would really like. Indian Jones!

They loved all of the cool stunts and explosions.

After all of that fun, we decided to call it a day and head back to the condo. The kids got some fun relaxing time in at the pool. Lily even swam by herself in the kiddie pool...

Zach relaxed in the hot tub.....it's tough being a nine year old.....

and Riley enjoyed the big pool:

The next morning, we got up bright and early to go to Animal Kingdom!

The first ride the boys wanted to go on was Expedition Everest.

While the boys were off conquering Mount Everest, Lily & I went to the kiddie rides section. We were disappointed by this section. All they had were two rides and then a bunch of carnival games that were super expensive to play (3 tickets for $10.00!!) Boo! =(

But Lily did like riding this ride: 

Which happened to be the only ride she could ride because she was too short for the other one:

She's trying to give her saddest face here....

The boys met us here & they got to ride it, and loved it. Then being good big brothers, they rode the dinosaur ride with her too. =)

Then it started pouring. We were prepared this day though!

The good thing about Disney in the rain, is that they have a lot of shows and rides that are either indoors or at least under a cover. The boys did ride the roller coaster in the pelting rain though. Zach & Riley loved it, Jeff not so much. =)

To escape the rain, we went to see Finding Nemo the musical. It was really cool, and by the time it was over, the rain had stopped.

Little Miss Lily decided to take advantage of her brother and had him carry her throughout the park. What a nice big brother!

Since this was Animal Kingdom, we wanted to see some animals! So, we headed to the safari, where you ride in jeeps to see all kinds of animals.

The animals came close to the jeep a few times!

We decided to end our day at Animal Kingdom with a late lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. Yum!

We had gone back to the condo since it was raining, again, but then it cleared up, so we headed to Magic Kingdom.

While Jeff & the boy rode Space Mountain, Lily & I rode the tea cup ride.

It did start pouring again though, and after a few more rides, we almost left. But I'm glad we didn't, because it completely cleared out this time and it was a cool, beautiful evening. Perfect for watching the night parade and fireworks! We found a good spot in front of the castle, and waited for it to get dark. I love how they make the castle change colors!

While we waited, we had a dinner of funnel cakes. Yes, I know, we are awesome parents. ;0)

Then the parade started!!

It was really cool. I think I prefer this parade to the regular day one.

Then the fireworks started!

So pretty! What a great way to end our day! =) 

Disney World!

Sunday was our first full day in Florida, we got our Mickey shirts on, and headed to Walt Disney World!

We had park hopper passes, so we could go to all of the parks, but we decided to start out at Magic Kingdom. Once you get to the parking lot, you still have to either ride the monorail or the ferry boat to get to the actual park. The kids decided that the ferry boat was the way to go.

We made it!

Lily's first stop was the princesses. We put on her Rapunzel dress that she picked out to wear when she saw them, and got in line for what was supposed to be a (relatively) short wait of 25 minutes. Since it was so short, Jeff & the boys decided to wait with us.

Here is Lily ready to meet princesses!

It was a little longer than 25 minutes....

I asked the boys to show me how they felt about still being in line for the princesses, and this is what they did:

Ha ha! I love Zach's look, but I think I like Riley's better. He is just too happy about Zach's misery. Hee hee! =)

We finally made it in & the very first princess we saw was one of Lily's favorites! Aurora, or Sleeping Beauty.

She was SO excited!!! She was practically floating, she was so happy. =) 

Belle was next:

All of the princesses were so nice. They took time to talk to Lily and hug her and really make her feel special.

The last princess she saw was Cinderella. She even got to dance with her!

If you ask Lily what her favorite part of Disney was, she will say, "The Princesses!!" every time. =)

Next up was Mickey & Minnie!! Jeff had gotten fast passes for them while we waited for the Princesses. It worked out perfectly. We had about 5 minutes between seeing the princesses and then getting to see Mickey & Minnie, so we took a quick picture of all three of the kids while waiting.

Mickey & Minnie!!!

After making the boys wait in line for so long, we decided we should go do something they really wanted to do. One of their favorite rides from Disneyland was Pirates of the Caribbean, so that's where we went.

Their favorite part this time was seeing how many Jack Sparrows they could find.

After a few more rides, it was time for a treat; ice cream with Mickey ears!

Then we watched the "Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Street Parade!"

When you are at Magic Kingdom, you just have to have your picture taken in front of the castle. I think it's a rule. ;0)

Then it was time for Lily's favorite ride from Disneyland; It's a Small World. 

She still loved it.......and the boys still weren't impressed.

After that, we went on the carousel!

While heading to more rides, Lily saw that the new Disney princess, Merida from the movie Brave, was there, she just had to get in line to see her too. She even had to change back into her princess dress. The boys quickly went off with Jeff to ride things Lily can't ride before they were stuck in line again.

While waiting in line, the kids could color pictures of Merida. Lily gave her picture to Merida. =) 

After getting her picture taken, she was able to practice shooting a bow & arrow!

After more rides, we went to go pick out the kids' mouse hats. This time, the boys picked out pirate hats:

Lily picked out a princess hat, of course.

After that, we went back to the condo to have dinner & just rest for a little bit. Then we headed over to Epcot to ride some rides, including this Finding Nemo ride:

When it started to get dark, we found a spot to watch the fireworks. Lily was very tired by this time:

The fireworks at Disney are always good!

After the fireworks, we headed back to the condo with three very tired kids (and two tired adults) so we could rest up for another fun day!

Vacation!!

Two days after the boys got out of school, we got up very early in the morning to go to the airport for our 6:00 am flight to Orlando, Florida. The kids all hopped out of bed and talked excitedly the whole way there! It made me feel like they didn't want to go.... ;0)
Once in Florida, we headed to the condo we were going to stay at for a week. It was very nice & I was excited that it had 2 bedrooms plus a kitchen & living room, so we didn't feel like we were tripping over each other all week long.

Once we got settled, we headed over to Medieval Times! This is a dinner theatre where they have jousting and sword fights. The boys were excited!! (So was Lily, but the boys were more excited.) =)

There were price tags on the suits of armour. The boys wanted to buy one. Ummmm, no. Especially not at the bargain price of $3,000!

The king & Queen:

Zach wanted to be king by himself:

When it was time to be seated, we were trumpeted into the arena.

The kids liked their flags. We were in the black & white knight's area, so that's who we were cheering for. The kids got to wave these flags when he came out.

It was so fun to watch! Zach & Riley got really into it too. When the black & white knight was fighting, they were yelling & screaming for him to beat the other knight. It was funny to watch them!

It was a really fun way to start our vacation!