Our Magical Vacation

*Bear with me as I document our trip for my memory in this long post!
After two years of planning, and an unseemly amount of research and prep on my part, we finally executed our family's trip to Disney.  I use the term executed intentionally since anyone who has ever been to Disney knows that it takes a highly sophisticated plan in order to navigate the crowds, lines, fatigue and fun that is Disney.  Thankfully, I was the right girl for the job.

With my plans clenched in my fist we tackled as much of Orlando Disney's offerings as we could reasonably fit in and we had a fantastic time!  It was crazy.  And crowded.  And unbelievably fun.  My parents were able to be with us which added to our fun since my dad joined in on all the rides and my mom preferred to peel off to more tame rides with Marcus.  Our favorite park was Animal Kingdom followed very closely by Magic Kingdom and we spent the majority of our time at these two.

Day 1-Magic Kingdom
Our first day there we met up with the Nelsons who were finishing their week in the area.  It was not a great 'catch-up' visit but it was fun to see them and they helped us get our bearings on how to navigate the parks.  Then that night we had tickets for Hoop Dee Doo a dinner and show which was perfect for our family's humor and palate.

First (and last for Zach and Marcus) roller coaster, Barnstormer!

Not sure you will able to see this dark video, but I secretly captured Marcus moving to the music-which is so much a part of his personality! (For those that receive this via email you will have to go to the blog site to view.)

Hoop Dee Doo dancing from Marcia Miller on Vimeo.

Day 2 we spent at Epcot where we enjoyed Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space (My dad even ventured for a solo trip to Mars on the orange level which was the full g-force experience-the rest of us were too chicken.)  At Epcot we got to meet some Disney characters and we enjoyed a German feast at Biergarten.  Everything Disney does is in such detail and it is one of my favorite parts of the Disney experience.  The restaurant is indoors but is intricately set up to look like you are dining in a German village square-complete with singing, dancing and yodeling.  The World Showcase portion of Epcot was so crowded and we had such limited time that we did not really get to enjoy very many of the countries.

Day 3 was back to Magic Kingdom.  Where the boys got to drive at the Speedway, take a Jungle Cruise, ride the Carousel, meet Buzz and defeat Zurg on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Finally got to the Carousel!

4-D movie Philharmagic

Day 4 (we're starting to feel the fatigue) Animal Kingdom!  This park was a definite hit for us.  A slower pace to the park combined with attractions that are focused on animals and dinosaurs is a perfect fit for us-what's not to love?!?  The adults were amazed by the creativity and beauty of Finding Nemo the musical.  It had such an interesting mix of theater and puppetry.  The boys loved The Festival of the Lion King, another show, and they even got to participate at the end (Marcus did not like this part, even though he was the only one to receive a hug from Timon.)

Primeval Whirl-think tea cup on a roller coaster...

Day 5 was an 'off' day for us.  No rushing out the door early to beat the crowds!  Instead we stayed at the resort and played miniature golf and swam in the pool.  It was a very relaxing and low-key day.  After dinner we had tickets to see La Nouba which is a Cirque de Soleil show that was gravity defying and amazing and gave the boys many new career options they would like to pursue.

Day 6 was a repeat-favorite rides at Magic Kingdom day, plus the new experience of Space Mountain (for Steve, dad, Eli and myself).  Then we had dinner at the T-Rex cafe (another hit) which was a very elaborately decorated jurassic period restaurant with moving prehistoric creatures.  We ended our day at Hollywood Studios to see Fantasmic, their firework, laser and light show, and encountered major-stress with crowd volumes-wow!

'Tea Pots' (according to Marcus)

A million of our closest friends for Fantasmic....

And finally, Day 7 we spent another half day at Animal Kingdom.  We got to see more animals on the trails that we hadn't fit in on our previous day.  We rode the Kilimanjaro Safari again with a vastly different and better experience early in the morning. And, we had to see the Festival of Lion King again!

Truly our trip was one of the best vacations ever!  Everyone felt the infectious positive and happy feelings that are evident in every single Disney employee, from the parking attendants to the performers-- they were all enthusiastic about their jobs and about our being there.  That 'magic' makes all the difference and was especially felt by certain members of our family: