The Gates Family vacation to Disney World was a whole lot of fun and a whole bunch of memory-making. Much of this is thanks to the hard work Jenn put into planning the week we were there, from what parks to visit & when to visit them to what restaurants we should take in. As the week unfolded, we thought of a few items here and there that we'd wished we'd done differently, but the truth is, there's no way to predict everything and plan a Disney vacation perfectly w/ a 6-year-old and a pair of near-4-year-olds. Jenn got pretty close.
We took off on Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Orlando in about enough time to get unpacked before our dinner reservation at
Boma. This
really good buffet style restaurant gave us all an opportunity to try a lot of different food options and not be in too stuffy of an enviornment after a big trip.
As we would on each of our park days, Thursday morning started bright and early with us arriving at
Epcot prior to the opening. The kids were up anyway, and by moving quickly to the more high-demand rides/attractions, we'd avoid a
huge line or two before the big crowds arrived. Epcot proved to be Lincoln's favorite place, mostly because he
loved Test Track &
Mission Space &
Soarin'. The design feature at Test Track was really cool, and Lincoln's car, er, Monster Truck, ended up winning!
The little ones did a few of the little kids things, but honestly, they weren't too into Epcot. They enjoyed
Turtle Talk With Crush, and after lunch in the park, Grandma Laura & Grandpa Dave took the kids back to the room for naps while Jenn and I stayed to visit the various countries and sample the offerings at the Food and Wine Festival.
We stayed in Kidani Village after Jenn was able to find a Vacation Club member w/ enough points to sell. It turned out
great! We had enough rooms for Grandma & Grandpa, Jenn & me, and the kids slept on pull-out couches and chairs. The view of the savannah from the room was really neat, and the kids enjoyed seeing the animals come around at random times, such as when the zebras slept below our balcony over our last night of the trip! We also had access to night-vision glasses in the evenings to see what might be going on across the savannah.
Friday was
LYDIA'S BIRTHDAY!!!...
...and a
Magic Kingdom day that began with
Dumbo,
The Barnstormer,
Big Thunder Mountain,
It's A Small World, and a lot of sights and sounds in between.
We took Friday afternoon to visit
Hollywood Studios, mostly because Henry's big wish was to see Mater. As it turned out, Lincoln enjoyed
Star Tours with Grandpa Dave, Lydia enjoyed the
Frozen Sing-along. Lincoln didn't like the
Tower of Terror, but I think as time passes, he'll understand that he was pretty brave to do it. The
best family experience we had at HS was
Toy Story Mania. Whoever designed that ride is a genius and we had a blast on it. The evening capped off with Lincoln building his own Light Saber!
Saturday morning found us at
Animal Kingdom and the adults & Lincoln went on
Expedition Everest right away with no wait. Amazing rollercoaster. Honestly, it's the best coaster I've been on outside of
Cedar Point.
We also took in the Kilimanjaro Safaris; the incredible bird show, Flights of Wonder; and after the kids went back for naps with the Grandparents, Jenn and I visited Dinsoaur and a return trip to Everest before heading back to the Magic Kingdom with the kids for
Under the Sea, Dumbo, Space Mountain (Lincoln), Tomorrowland Speedway (Henry), and an attempted visit with Rapunzel (Lydia; the FastPass thing as well as communication w/ those waiting in the FastPass lines when there is a break in the action could be a lot better). Things rounded up when we met up with Annie & Grace in front of Casey's Corner for the
Electric Light Parade and Fireworks.
Sunday was a slow day, and it turned out to be one of the kids' favorites. We spent a
bunch of time at the
pool, and went to dinner at the
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. I'll start with the pool. Lincoln is now a fish, and the little ones couldn't get enough of the little slide, of jumping from the side, and just buzzing all around the pool. The surprise of the day came when, independently and without
any adult prodding, Henry first then Lydia went down the big, twisty, turny, must-go-by-yourself water slide. Bravery was on disiplay.
And the entertainment and dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo was first-class. We all thought Lincoln was going to wet his pants, he was laughing so hard, and Lydia was so into the production, with her waving at the cast and trying to dance like the ladies on stage. Without question, we'll return for another visit at any of our future Disney trips.
After the previous late night, we got up early, waited 40 minutes for a bus, and made it to the
Crystal Palace just in time for breakfast with Winnie the Poo, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. (The Breakfast Lasagna was
amazing!)
After breakfast, the kids got to meet
Belle at Enchanted Tales. Then there was a
Jungle Cruise, a
Magic Carpet Ride,
Pirates of the Caribbean and
Tom Sawyer Island before we ate a good lunch at the
Columbia Harbour House.
'Ohana was our dinner destination on Monday evening, and for all the hype that it receives on the reviews, we were simply disappointed in the service. There were aspects of the meal that were very tasty, but overall, I just can't recommend 'Ohana. It's a shame, because Disney's customer service is so good in so many areas. 'Ohana, though, seemed to be mailing it in, knowing that they're booked with reservations for the next six months; as if they know they don't really have to perform. One specific example: Jenn ordered a Lemon Drop Martini. It tasted like lemon water. We pointed this out to the waitress, she took it,
returned with the same glass (with Jenn's lipstick on the glass, and all) and it (of course) tasted awful. Did they think they were going to fool her? And it wasn't about the money. I was disappointed with the service before I even knew what we were spending (honestly, I blocked dollars and cents from my mind a long time ago with regard to this vacation). Thankfully, this was our only dining disappointment. Knowing what we know now, we'll eat all of our dinners at Hoop-Dee-Do and the Animal Kingdom restaurants.
Tuesday was our last day in the park, and we made it worthwhile. The boys ran to the
Seven Dwarves Mine Train while the ladies visited Elsa... and Anna!. We thought we'd only be able to visit one of the Frozen princesses, so what a surprise that Lydia got to meet two! Following that, Lydia got to meet Merida while the boys rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin a few times. (This is a very cool ride where we got to shoot Zorg with laser.) The kids finished on the Speedway, the
Asto Orbiter, the Barnstormer & Big Thunder Mountain. Afternoon time took us back to the pool.
Elise & Paul were visiting Disney with their oldest daughter and we were able to meet up for dinner at
Sanaa. We would have done well to eat at Sanaa all week!
Waking up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday wasn't our first choice, but it allowed us to get back home shortly after noon and have an afternoon of recovery before getting back to work and school. All in all, it was a very cool trip, and one which the kids ought to recall with fond memories for months and years to come.
