Vacation Day 9- Disney Day 2- Tuesday

Epcot


Tuesday was Epcot.  We hopped on our bus and were there in just a few minutes.  We got there early (before the Countries even opened for the day) so we had plenty of time to visit the park- Land and Sea and Future World were our favorites.  Soarin' was by far a family favorite.  Jared and I each went with a boy- twice.  It was so fun. We had watched lots of behind the scenes for Disney World showsand Soarin' was one we were really excited to see.

I think this was over in Germany (but not positive).

When the countries did open around 10 we spent most of the rest of the day there.  We had lunch at the most amazing little French patisserie called Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie.  I SO want to go there again.  And I had made dinner reservations for dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant where you dine in front of a huge aquarium.  It was really fun.  And of course the food was great too.

We stayed for the most amazing fireworks show ever.  It was awesome.  It was set perfectly to music and out over the lagoon, it was just out of this world- and I'm not usually all that crazy about fireworks. 

We shut the park down that night.  We were there from open to close and still left with smiling (though very tired) faces.  Actually we did that most days, now that I think about it- the smiling faces, the tired children, and the staying until close.

 

Vacation Day 8- Disney Day 1- Monday

We woke up bright and early Monday ready to GO!! But by the time we got everyone fed and really ready is was like 9. I was a little antsy to get there, but didn't want to ruin the good mood, so I just relaxed.
We loaded up our stroller and found the weather to be perfect for jackets and then later on in the day it was perfect for the short sleeves underneath.  Really the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  We also found how awesome it was to be able to use the Disney transportation system.  We walked to our nearby bus stop at the end of our circle of cabins which took us to the bus stop for buses going to different parks.  We hopped on one heading to the desired park and it would drop us off right at the front of the park.  No parking and walking and walking and walking and then boarding a tram only to get off and walk some more- all before even arriving at the park.  For the Magic Kingdom, there was a ferry boat that picked us up at the dock for the cabins and dropped us off at the front of the park.  So Disney transportation was awesome.

We stopped at all the great shops just inside the park at Main Street USA because we knew we wanted to find some Disney fudge to take back to Jared's dad.  Disney at Christmas time is really just so beautiful.  What a treat to get to see it all decorated up.

While we were there and the boys were trying on silly hats, our camera started tripping out.

 

 I was kinda freaking out because I don't really know much about troubleshooting my camera and hadn't brought the instruction manual.  It's really a pretty simple little camera so there aren't that many things to go wrong, but I really wanted it to work so I didn't miss anything.

This is me kinda freaking out.

This is Jared not too worried about it.

This is Hunter just looking handsome.

Thankfully a helpful staff member there helped us figure it out.  While we were there socializing they found out it was the kids' first time to the park and gave us all these fun pins to wear.

Once we were finally on our way, our first stop was Tomorrow Land and the first stop there was Buzz Lightyear.  Boy was Hunter excited!!

Next was riding cars. 

We went at really a pretty leisurely pace, seeing everything everyone wanted to see, because we had scheduled ourselves to have Thursday to see the rest of the Magic Kingdom (knowing it would be almost impossible to see it all in one day in a pleasant way with 4 young kids). We spent the more part of the day on the right side of the park- Tomorrow Land and Mickey's Toon Town.  Just after lunch, we found a pavilion that had ALL of the princesses- in one place!  We made it pretty close to the front of the line and only had to wait for 45 minutes. We aren't big "stand in line" kind of people, so that was really saying something.  There were people WAY behind us, out the door and around the building.  They were probably looking at a 3 hour wait.  Katie was SO excited to meet the princesses.  She kept gasping and smiling from ear to ear with her hand over her mouth.  She could hardly stand it.  It was pretty cute.  

 

Having seen Katie's life dream come true :), along with the fact that we had no major melt downs or tantrums, we considered the day to be a success.

I had made dinner reservations for 1900 Park Fare which is a nice dinner buffet at the Grand Floridian Resort.  It was a character meal where Cinderella and Prince Charming came around and met everyone (the evil step sisters were there too- but who cares about them). So I had brought along Katie's Cinderella dress for dinner and she couldn't have been happier.

 

It was a pretty perfect day.

Vacation Day 7- Sunday

Sunday morning we woke up to a broken room fridge. We had bought breakfast items at Wal-Mart the night before, knowing that this hotel didn't offer a free continental breakfast in the morning. They were very apologetic and offered us a complimentary breakfast. We could pick up the tickets at the front desk, and, since it was Sunday morning, they were having their Sunday brunch with the characters. They hoped we didn't mind. Heck NO!! The kids were thrilled, of course. So we pulled out their signature books and blue, red, and pink sharpies from my awesome box and headed for breakfast. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE really nice breakfast buffets. It is one of my favorite things. I'm not talking the local Golden Corral where they have a large quantity, but not a lot of quality. I'm talking, NICE food. Beautiful pastries, fresh (non-canned) fruit- especially pineapple- YUM!, and a chef or two making omelets by request. That's a nice breakfast buffet. I love it. They seem to be only at really nice hotels. Which we've only been to because of Priceline. I love you Priceline!
Anyway, this was one of those buffets and I was SO stink'n happy to be there- and for free. My fridge could break every day if this was my punishment.

We were just seated when we saw the first characters coming around the corner. We were quickly told about the golden rule with the Disney characters. DO NOT run up to them when they are with another child. They will come to you. They never miss anyone. But if you run up to them when another child is having their moment with them, they will not come to your table. Plus, it's just nice of you. Each character has an assistant that keeps track of which tables they've visited and haven't. Even if you're up getting food when they come by, they'll come back just for you. And they aren't rushed when they get to you. They stay and take all the time your child wants (within reason, of course). You can snap pictures and talk with them. It was really so so fun. Briar Bear came by first. Poor guy. I don't know if my kids even knew who he was.

 
But they thought he was fun anyway. Then came Pluto. Excitement rising.
 
 By the time Minnie finally got to us, I thought Katie was going to leap out of her chair. When she was on her way to our table, Katelyn met her halfway with a huge race-and fall-into-her-arms-hug.


 
 
Minnie was so sweet. Katie was so sweet. And since Hunter and Mickey are such tight buds, he was very excited to see Minnie. Mickey didn't actually make an appearance at this restaurant, but that was OK because I had a little something in store for Thursday to take care of that.

After breakfast we hit the most amazing, most wonderful pool I may have ever been to. Not that it was full of water slides or play equipment, but just the temperature of the water and the sparse people (who were all returning to work from the holidays) and the wonderful warm breeze outside. January in Orlando= HEAVEN. I sat on the edge of the pool and talked to my mom on the phone and told her what an amazing time we were having. We spent every minute we had until we had to quickly change and check out (which we really had down to a perfect science by then- the loading and unloading of a hotel room quickly and efficiently- we worked like a well oiled machine). It was a PERFECT morning. And the kids must've picked up on it too, because they even...behaved. *PERFECT*


It wasn't too sad as we were leaving though, because we were headed for something even better- if such a thing existed. Which it does. Because our cabin was awesome. I mean not all bling, blingy like nice hotels, but so incredibly peaceful and calming and quiet. And SO nice. When we got there to check in, our room wasn't quite ready yet. But we could get into the laundry and pool houses. So we pulled the van up and threw a week's worth of laundry into 6 machines and took to the pool. Now that's the way to do laundry, I'm telling you. By the time our laundry was done, our room was ready, our clothes were clean and our children were finished swimming and ready to settle in. So it worked out great.

As we drove along the cabin rows, we noticed that they all seemed the same. Exactly spec for spec. There were little parking spots in front for your vehicles. Once inside the resort we didn't need to touch that again for the rest of the week. Picnic tables and grills on everyone's porches. Lovely (un-snowed on) pine trees- excellent in January. Inside each cabin is set up the same, as well. A kitchen (they do the dishes for you) and living room with a pull down murphy bed. A wide hallway (great for storing strollers set up and ready to move). Large bathroom. And a back bedroom with a queen bed, bunk beds, and a curtained off closet that made a perfect Ethan bedroom. The whole thing had this rustic cabin decor that was so fun. Settling in was a cinch.



After getting everyone changed again, we took off for Downtown Disney and some dinner. Not wanting to shop much on Sunday, we just walked and looked. We already had Downtown on our agenda for Saturday at the end of the week. So we just walked and enjoyed the scenery. And made our way to our dinner reservation at Planet Hollywood. The kids absolutely loved the loud music and movie decor. Ethan's eyes nearly popped out of his head. We were seated not far from the DJ and Coleson couldn't resist going to request some MJ (Billy Jean). Funny kid! Everyone's food was DE-LIC-IOUS. Again, we hit that $150 mark, but by then it was becoming so common (and it was already included) that it was awesome to just shrug it off and enjoy the moment.


For another night, we returned to our room in total vacation bliss. Beautiful weather, yummy food, nice room, great family time. AWESOME!!

And tomorrow is...Magic Kingdom. Here we come!

Vacation Day 6- Saturday

Saturday morning we woke up again to our beautiful ocean view. The kids were immediately out on the patio seeming to try to get as close as they could to the water.
 

They all wanted to play on the beach for a while before we had to check out, but Jared isn't as much of a beach bum and decided we'd done plenty of that the day before and now we should head out. The kids convinced him to let them go down to the water and say "good-bye" (of course as soon as the boys touched the edge of the sand- they were instantly up to their thighs in water- how did that happen?). It was so funny. Jared kept saying, "Guys, we're leaving for Disney World, not home!", but they might have been just as happy staying right there on the beach for the week. A passer-by snapped a few pictures of us as a family near the water with our pant legs rolled up before we finally tore the kids away.

Good thing the drive to Orlando was only an hour away. We barely had everyone settled in, when we were there. We didn't check in for our official Disney vacation until Sunday afternoon, but we had booked an in-between hotel for Saturday night just on the edge of Disney property so we'd be nice and close for the next day. And we could start enjoying Disney before the actual start of our stay. Anyway, as we approached the Disney Main Gate, we excitedly (Jared and I) pointed it out to the children. Mickey and Minnie greet you over that Disney arch. Soooo exciting. Coleson and Hunter were busy playing on their electronics and literally wouldn't look up. Coleson was like "Uh-huh, ok". Jared nearly came out of his chair reprimanding him to at least look up and give it the full excitement such an event required. When we were kids and came to Disney for the first time, Jared and I both remember the tingles-up-our-backs excitement as we officially entered DISNEY WORLD. A child's mecca. And our kids couldn't be bothered to look up. (Of course, now you aren't allowed to stop and snap pictures like we did back then, but still). As we drove on, we of course delved into a conversation about how ungrateful our children are (and our children's generation in general is) and what we could do to curtail that. I'll let you know if we come up with something.  (Although I must say that I think sometimes I just have unnatural expectations of how our children should behave, because this probably seems to be of a cultural thing than just my kids.  And my kids are not really all that ungrateful really).

Anyway, we drove up and checked into our hotel. We got a great room, explored the hotel, and went into Orlando for some awesome seafood. Note to self: awesome seafood does not equal buffet to save money. Results are unpleasant. We thought we remembered going to this exact restaurant on our first trip together- Boston something or other. It was just down the sidewalk from our (notice the possessive tense) Wyndham resort from our amazing first trip to Disney together (we oooed and awwed as we drove by at our memories there). So we had to go to this restaurant again. But, either our memory failed us, or we had the wrong place. The concierge had tried to warn us- good seafood equals money, less money equals less quality. Point taken.

On our way back to our room, we found a Wal-Mart, because even Disney World knows you have to have a Wal-Mart. Actually, it was just a local Wal-Mart in Orlando, but you could tell they served a lot of tourists too. I had counted on finding just such a spot to finish buying our souvenirs. I had been stocking up for a while. The Disney Store online always has a huge after-Thanksgiving sale where I picked up a few things for the kids for Christmas. This year I stocked up even more and stashed it away in a box for Disney World. I snagged a few more things at the Wal-Mart there and the box was complete. A few tees for each person and a few stuffed dolls or characters and whatever else to make it all even. I probably had less than $75 in the whole box. If I'd waited to buy it in the parks, I would've bought it all for over $500. So, money well spent. Every morning I would either pull something out of the box for each person or stash it away in the stroller. Then when we got to the exhibit in the park that I knew that child would love the most, I pulled out the advance purchased souvenir and walked away with a happy child and WAY less money dropped than if I'd done it right there. Happy child, happy mom. We did have our daily allowance to use each day on anything park exclusive that we thought we had to have. But with our food, tickets, and souvenirs all prepaid we only took like $30/ day with us to the park. It actually made the purchasing way WAY more relaxing. I didn't have to stress about who wanted what and what I couldn't afford. I already had something to make them happy and it cost a fraction of what it could've. And anything they thought they HAD to have, we either agreed to buy or the boys bought with their Christmas/vacation money. Seriously, one of the best things I did for the trip. I must stress about money a lot, because I've mentioned it a lot. But prepaying for as much as possible really removed a ton of stress. It made the whole thing SO much more relaxing. I saw plenty of those poor moms doing the "talk-'em-down" speech with their wailing children. Not I. Did I mention it was a great idea?

Vacation Day 5- Friday

Beach Day- one of the best days EVER!! (hence the 3,001 pictures)

The beach day. It was finally here. Was I more excited or the kids?? I laid in our bed with the glass patio door slid over as far as it would possibly go. The ocean breeze and sunshine wafted into my room. The kids were wrestling on the bed in the adjoining room. So for a few minutes I felt like I was in heaven. We ate breakfast in our room and headed out.
 It was like 10 by the time we walked out on the sand. So it had gotten a little warmer and it was so so so very lovely. The kids played with their new giant shovels in the sand for a long time.

Ethan loved the rivers in the sand that led to the water. He splashed and played in the little tidal pools.

 

Katie was a step behind Coleson running for the water. Being smaller, it knocked her down more, but she didn't care. The water was by no means warm (it was January), but the air was warm and after a little while in the water your legs went numb so you couldn't tell how cold it was anyway. Kinda :) Coleson was in love with the waves. Hunter was in love with the sand. So fitting for their personalities. We had so much fun. After a while, Jared decided to rent some of these sand bikes that people had been riding up and down the beach. And they were cheap enough too. It was like $10 for an hour. So Hunter and daddy took the first 1/2 hour and rode so far down the beach we couldn't see them anymore. Then Coleson and I took the second 1/2 hour and raced each other and it was SO fun! Afterward we hopped back and forth between the ocean and the hotel pool and hot tub while Jared took Ethan to the room for a nap. He was right above the pool and we kept waving up to him.  Everyone was just so extremely happy all day long.  It was like the kids knew this was a once in a great while kind of opportunity, and there was no sense ruining it with temper tantrums or time outs.  Everyone was just happy the whole day.  And it was perfect.

Ethan found these puddles and had SO much fun splashing.

Katie & Coleson head for the waves.

The waves take Katie down, but she doesn't care.

Daddy will help her.

Hunter finally notices the water.

Hunter- "These waves won't knock ME down!"

While he was up there he made some phone calls and made a dinner reservation for us at a really nice 4 star restaurant at the hotel. So after Ethan got up we all got dressed up and went to dinner. We had a pep talk with the kids as we walked to dinner. The white table clothes should've been a red flag to us, but we went for it anyway. Right from the get-go they assigned 2 servers to us. Score! So we got awesome service. And the food was delicious. It was the first of many $150 meals on this vacation. Like I said, we'd been saving our money from the previous days and were thrilled to have some days we could splurge. And our Disney food was already paid for. After dinner we enjoyed another beach walk. 

We put Katie and Ethan to bed while Coleson and Hunter watched a movie on the iPad and Jared and I whisper talked. We were waiting for midnight. Our room looked out right over the pier that was doing the New Years' Eve fireworks for that strip of beach. I know, how lucky was that?!? It was one of the coolest things ever to be laying in our hotel room right across from the fireworks going off at midnight. And since our room was so far up, we were literally parallel to the fireworks. The boys lay in their sleeping bags (we were down to 1 room that night) with their faces against the glass. It was the best New Year's Eve ever.
 

Hilton Daytona Beach Resort/Ocean Walk Village

100 North Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States 32118