Day 10- Last day at the Beach

We spent our last day in Florida back on Siesta Key Beach. Since we had heard the weather back home had been cool, we wanted to soak up the sun before we flew home. Aidan, of course, wanted to boogie board again. Since it was a little windy, the waves were perfect! This was Jason's favorite part of Florida. Stella in a can!
The boys headed out to catch some waves.

I can't tell if they are posing nicely for a picture here or if they are fighting over the boogie board.

Jason and the boys for one last beach shot.

Most of the trip had the weather in the mid-90's and sunny. Most days there was a nice breeze too. We had some rain on Friday night and Saturday, but it didn't hold us back. We threw on the ponchos and kept moving.

All four of us had a great time. I think we did a little something for each person. Jason and I liked the relaxation at the beach but we also loved watching the kids experience Disney World. Both boys were at good ages. I think if we would have tried to do this trip last summer when Carson was still 3, it would have been a completely different trip. This time, we didn't need a stroller and our food options were greater since Carson has come a long way in his eating. He shocked us how much he ate at times, including new foods. Maybe it was the atmosphere that let him be adventurous in his eating!

Aidan is still talking about the Sci-Fi Drive in Theater as his favorite part of the trip. Carson loved meeting the characters.

We had a great vacation and now it is time to get back to the "real world". Monday morning we head back to Rockford.

Day 9- Epcot

We started off our last day at Disney at Epcot. We found the Character Spot location right away to try and get a few more character pictures and autographs. Lucky for us, we found the "real" Mickey, according to Carson. Pluto!
Minnie gave Aidan a kiss and Carson couldn't stop laughing. Aidan was so embarrassed!

Donald Duck

Goofy. We had yet to find Goofy on our adventures, so we were pretty happy to find him at Epcot on our last day.

We went to see Talking with Crush (the turtle from Finding Nemo). The kids sat in the front and all the parents had to sit in the back. Aidan and Carson were right in the front row for this interactive show. Aidan was picked to talk with Crush and when asked where he was from, he couldn't remember, so Crush found "Aidan's parents" and we got to talk with Crush too. This is a picture of the boys after the first downfall of rain. They were totally soaked, but having fun!

They thought they were clever to turn their hats upside down and look like chefs.

Aidan in front of "the big golf ball"

A bit of a storm rolling in at Epcot.

Aidan hanging out Germany at Epcot

Duffy the Bear

The boys in front of Lightning McQueen.

Our time at Disney has come to an end, but we had a great time! It was a crazy 4 days but we conquered Disney in a way we never expected with a 4 and 7 year old! We are already planning another trip to Disney!

Things we will definitely do next time:

1. Stay on Disney property again (the advantages between the extra park hours and bus transportation are well worth any additional cost)
   


2. Purchase the Dining Plan again (we definitely got our money's worth and it was nice not having to pay for each meal individually)



3. Go to Magic Kingdom on a Thursday. The last 2 times we have gone to Disney, we have gone to Magic Kingdom on a Thursday and have not had large crowds.



4. We will condense Animal Kingdom to half a day.


5. We will spend more time (another half day to a full day) at Magic Kingdom


6. We will order "surprises" for the boys again from Disney.com ahead of time and give them a little something each day. It saved money on souvenirs and was fun to give them something each day. This year I ordered autograph books, clothes and pjs for each of the boys.
   

We can't wait to go again!

Day 8- Hollywood Studios

Well our day at Magic Kingdom was definitely a "ride" day and our day at Hollywood Studios was definitely a "character" day. We saw so many characters! As soon as we came into the park, we saw Tigger and Eeyore. Since we call Carson Tigger sometimes, since he is always jumping around, it was a perfect way to start the day. Carson even jumped around for Tigger a little. But Carson asked why Tigger wasn't jumping around on his tail. We decided that it was only done on tv. Outside the Star Tours ride, Darth Vader and several other characters were hanging out. They also had a Jedi training class, but unfortunately all of the spots for the day were taken already. That is something we added to do next time.

Phineas and Ferb!

The whole family had to pose for a picture with Phineas and Ferb! In true Toy Story fashion, we stopped for lunch at Pizza Planet! But my picky eater Carson didn't want pizza. Oh well, it was the atmosphere, right?

Handy Manny

Winnie the Pooh

Fantasia Mickey. According to Carson, this wasn't the real Mickey. (Fortunately, we did see the real Mickey the next day at Epcot)

Leo from Little Einsteins Carson loved the Disney Live on stage show. Last time when it was just Aidan with us, he loved this show too. Aidan thought he was too cool for the show, but he enjoyed it a little, but only for Carson's sake. :-)

Mickey and Minnie! The show included Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Little Einsteins.

Mr Incredible and Frozone. They were trying to get the boys to pose and Aidan just kept cracking up.

Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. It was their first day at the Park in honor of the new movie Cars 2 opening today. Carson wasn't being very cooperative, so mommy got to join in the photo too.

Aidan loved all of the Star Wars stuff on the Hollywood Backlot tour

Sully and Mike from Monsters Inc. Carson informed us that Mike was plastic and therefore not real like the other characters!

Aidan and Carson in Buzz Lightyear's box while waiting in line to see Buzz and Woody

Carson was so excited to meet Buzz and Woody! Woody liked Carson shirt! Worn just for chance in meeting Woody that day! We were nearly late for our dinner reservation since we waited in line so long, but it was worth it when we got to see Carson's face when he got to hug Woody.

We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Drive in theater located in the Hollywood Studios Park. It looked just like a drive-in theater. They had old movies playing on the big screen and the tables were inside a car.

It started raining while we were having dinner, so we were able to break out the ponchos and justify the fact that we were carrying them around with us all week!

Another great day at Disney. We have one more day at Disney before we head back to the beach for a couple more days.

Day 7-Magic Kingdom!!

Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom. Since we were staying at one of the Disney Resort Hotels, we were able to enter the Magic Kingdom for the early Magic Hours at 8AM while all others had to wait until 9AM when the park officially opened. So we were able to ride many rides with little to no wait. We rode Buzz Lightyear Laser Spin, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Pooh Bear before the park officially opened. It was great! Below is a picture of Jason and Carson watching Mickey open the park. Carson was so excited to see Mickey Mouse!

Coming down Main Street.

This is where the boys had the most fun, Tomorrow Land. We rode many rides in this section of the park. This is where Buzz's ride was, along with Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, People Mover, Stitch's Great Escape and a few others I can't remember.

Carson rode his first roller coaster at Magic Kingdom. We weren't sure how he would do but he ended up doing great! He rode with Jason on Big Thunder Mountain. He had his arms up the whole time and was laughing and smiling! Aidan rode with Mommy and wasn't as sure of the ride. But he survived! Next we headed to Splash Mountain. Both boys loved it and thought it was so funny that they got wet.

Both boys got Donald's Autograph.

The boys outside the Haunted Mansion.

Aidan in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

The boys met Martian Chip and Dale in Tomorrow Land.

Even though we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride in the morning, the boys wanted to ride it again at night. It was a longer wait this time but we were able to see all of the extras while waiting in line. We also went to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor a second time at night. The boys loved it. This picture was also taken to remind the boys that they DO love each other!

Cinderella's castle at night.

It changed to many colors. Green, pink/purple and blue.

Fireworks at night.

To say our day at Magic Kingdom was productive would a huge understatement! We opened the park during Magic Hours at 8AM and we didn't leave until 10:30 after the fireworks. We did stop for lunch and dinner. Dinner was at the Wave in the Contemporary Resort. It was good food, but I don't think we will bring the kids with us if we were to go again. The boys saw just about every ride they wanted to, some twice! Aidan's favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear Laser Spin and Carson's favorite rides were Splash Mountain and the Jungle Cruise.