One Last Disney Post!

Am I crazy?

I'm already thinking about another trip to Disney!

On our last full day, Maddy and I left the guys sleeping

and headed out early!

Perfect plan!

Even though we were in line 10 minutes after the line started for Elsa and Anna,
 there was a 

wait of 2+ hours!  We'll catch them next time!
There were

plenty of rides to go on and people to see!

The beautiful Merida had a long line

even though it's been years since Brave came out!

She was so pretty and sweet with that

gorgeous hair!

We were able to jump on the teacups (my fave),

Dumbo, the Goofy Rollercoaster, Philharmagic

and It's a Small World without any waits at all.

Yes, that song was with me all day and is now running through my mind again!

Our favorite characters this visit

ended up being Cinderella's stepmother

and her stepsisters!

Oh my word -- they were a hoot!

A toddler was crying in line and

they yelled at the kid (loudly and not in the nicest voice) --

 "STOP CRYING!!"

And yes, he did stop crying!

It was really one of the best trips ever

and we all hated to see it come to an end!

My silly Disney-loving girl

wore her sweet ears all the way home on the plane!

See you next time Mickey!

S'mores Anyone?

Lately Miss Maddy 

has been making s'mores for an after-school snack!

That is, when those small Hershey bars bought just for that purpose are

still around.  

Hershey bars go great with coffee 

in the morning, you know! 

This was a super fun idea and event

we attended at our Disney hotel  -

(do you think I will ever finish the Disney posts??)

S'mores on the Beach!

Mama and little ducklings wanted to be part of the festivities too!

And then, 

we headed back to the parks!

It was time for some fireworks! 

What a Character(s)!

Back to the Disney wrap-up!

Oh yes, there is  a bit more! :)

On to Magic Kingdom!

We love this place

and one of our favorite things to do

is have brunch at the Crystal Palace! 

Sounds glamorous, doesn't it??

If you call eating with Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore glamorous,

you are right!

This place has a great location right across from the castle.

One of the nicest things about it is that the food is plentiful and

yummy and, even more important,

you never feel rushed and have plenty

of time to visit the characters!

We've done other character meals over the years,

but this one is really the best!

Honestly, I don't know who likes Tigger and Pooh more,

Maddy or Mr. Tennis!!

It's A Jungle Out There!

Animal Kingdom-- it's  a jungle!

Guess who we saw on the way in . . .

the wisest mandrill ever -- Rafikii!!

When we've visited Animal Kingdom

other years, the place has been a zoo and 

super crowded!

My planning evidently paid off as it wasn't so crowded 

and,

 in fact, we were the first in line to see a couple of our

favorite characters!  

We saw Dug and Russell (remember them from the movie Up?)

And, honestly, I don't know who was more thrilled to

see Pocahontas . . . Maddy or Connor? :)

Oh my word, 

she was stunningly beautiful!

Connor may or may not have asked for her number!

Oh yes, rides -- we did go on a few rides too!

The safari ride was wonderful -- elephants

and giraffes were so close to our jeep!

The Kali River Rapids is a fun ride -- 

someone in our group took the brunt of the water -- totally by accident 

as there is no way to predict who will get soaked!

Thanks Connor -- 

glad it was you and not me!  :)

Mr. Tennis, Connor and Maddy opted to search for the Yeti and ride

Expedition Everest!

Yes, I chickened out of that one and based on the

 screams I heard, I'm so glad I did!

Connor was such a good sport

getting in character photos with Maddy!

What a blast!

Hooray for Hollywood a/k/a Disney Part 2

Before we left home, 

I organized our trip by Disney park

and had the new fastpass+ stuff all ready 

to go.  As long as I had

secured rides on some scary, fast rollercoasters,

everyone was agreeable with my planning!

I told them what time and what we were doing

and everyone seemed happy -- go figure!

We headed to Hollywood Studios on our 

first full day!

It was the first of many humid days with a bit of

rain -- my hair resembled Monica's from the Friend's

episode when her hair got really, really big (remember that one?), 

so I am calling the trip 

"The Frizzy Hair/Hat Trip of 2014."

We saw lots of fun characters -- always a blast

went on Tower of Terror (help me)

Aerosmith Rock'n Roller Coaster

and Star Tours!

Maddy and Connor (yes, he was in Orlando too) on a Star Wars rocket!

All the rides were really fun (and a little scary) and with the

fastpasses, we walked right by the people

waiting in line for 2 hours (or more)!

It was a fabulous first morning at the park!

We headed back to the hotel and dropped Mr. Tennis and Connor off for naps 

while we headed to Epcot and Magic Kingdom.  

No time for napping for Maddy and me!

Disney -- Part 1 of ???? (Many!)

We really had a magical time at Disney!

We love it there and feel

totally transported to another world and, 

while it is very busy,  it is still relaxing (somehow) for us!

So, let's get this Disney vacation recap going, shall we?

We had an early flight out of town at 6 AM! 

I usually don't schedule those early flights, but

we wanted to get out of the chaos at home,

so headed to a hotel next to the airport the night before.

It was perfect -- no getting up at 3 AM to drive an hour and half to the airport,
no early, early morning scrambling

and rushing to get to the airport on time.

Brilliant decision!

This is one of my fave Disney hotels -- we didn't stay there, but very close in the same area.

It's a bit off the beaten path and close to both Epcot (a fave)

and Hollywood Studios too!

You can take these fun boats to both Epcot and

Hollywood Studios.

Buses are available to Magic Kingdom and

Animal Kingdom.

Since we arrived around 1 PM, we hit some shops and

some rides later.

And, if you know Maddy, you know she loves

seeing characters and getting autographs!

And Mickey is her most favorite of all!

To be continued . . .