Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The House of the Mouse

We have now experienced taking 4 of the grandkids to Disney World. The oldest two, 6 and 7, went with us for four days (and one day of rest), the younger two were given 2 nights at a resort hotel plus one day at the Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately for both trips, weather was inclement and shortened the days. Our first trip took place during spring break and was a celebration of three birthdays, the kids' and mine. We actually went on my birthday! That first day ... it rained all day! We did as much as we could, but ended up calling it quits around 6. The next day it was beautiful! We spent a full day there, and the kids got to dance with some characters in Tomorrowland as a bonus. We stayed through the Electrical Night Parade. The kids (and we) were exhausted.

The third day we took a break from the Mouse, and stayed at the hotel to swim. We took a short trip to Disney's Boardwalk to have lunch, then headed back to the hotel and watched "Tangled" which had just come out, on my computer. It was a nice break.

Our fourth day was spent in a downpour, with lightning and thunder, at EPCOT. We managed to meet a lot of the characters and get pictures! Our trip around the world was fun, but shortened once we got to Japan. It was just TOO wet. We ate dinner at Mexico, then watched Ellumination before we left. Luckily the rain had let up.

Friday was another beautiful day. This time we went to Hollywood Studios, to which I'd never been. My favorite was our last real "ride" -- Toy Story. We waited in line almost an hour. The Fast Pass they offer was all gone by the time we even got there in the morning! The kids were thrilled with their little trinkets I bought ... clip on characters ... Stitch for the grandson and Princess Minnie for the granddaughter.

After a day at Hollywood Studios, we went by McDonalds and had dinner. Then headed home.

Late in the summer, we took the 4 and almost 5 year old to the Magic Kingdom. With the other two, we stayed at the All Star Movie resort; this time we stayed at the All Star Music resort. The pool was shaped like a piano. (And another like a guitar). After checking in, we swam for awhile. After dinner in their cafeteria, the boys played a little ping pong (if you want to call chasing the ball around the pool deck playing). I let them watch "Despicable Me" before bed time. Unfortunately the 4 year old is very stubborn ... he did NOT want to lay down, and even after I turned out the lights, he sat up in bed. I watched him as he fell asleep SITTING UP! Finally, I went over and laid him down, then held his shoulders for about 10 seconds until he gave up. Needless to say, he was the last one up the next morning.

The next day started off sunny. We ate breakfast, then caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. After getting a double stroller, we headed to Adventureland. First thing, we walked the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Since the Magic Carpet ride was right there, we decided to try it. While in line, the clouds started gathering! And shortly after we got off ...KABOOM ! Here came the rain! All day long ... from light sprinkles to downpours. Ponchos were awful as it was hot and sticky! We managed to do the train, the steam ship, Dumbo, Mickey's PhilHarMagic, and It's a Small World. Had lunch and ice cream. Saw a few characters, but all in all, it was miserable. We finally decided to leave around 3:30, but stopped at the Emporium to let the boys pick out a toy. One got a train, the other got a small Kermit the Frog. Caught the bus back to the resort and ate dinner.

Wednesday we had planned to swim and play ping pong before leaving, but it was raining again. The pools were closed and the ping pong table was flooded. A little TV, and we decided to go ahead and leave. Stopped at Downtown Disney and I let the boys pick out a couple more toys (another train and a Stitch pin). We ate sandwiches, then headed home.

I love Disney ... and I love the grandkids ... but I think next time Moms and Dads need to go with us! I'm getting too old for this!