For the past week (10-24 to 10-31) our family has been on vacation in Orlando. Vycci and the kids were on fall break and Danny managed to take time off of work and school to make the vacation happen. We were fortunate to spend time with Chad and Stacie the first couple of days we were in Florida. The rest of the time we stayed at the Disney Resort in Orlando with Danny’s parents and brother who stayed a few doors down from us. During our stay we were able to do the following things:
Friday 10-24 – We waited all day in the Denver airport trying to get to Florida as we flew on buddy passes (stand by) courtesy of Vycci’s mom. We were able to get the last four seats on a flight into Tampa that evening.
Saturday 10-25 – After spending the night in a not so comfortable La Quinta we drove to Orlando where we met up with Vycci’s brother Chad, his wife Stacie and their three kids Kenny, Tylar and Caitlyn. We had a big lunch together, took the kids to see a movie and went swimming and ordered pizza that night.
Sunday 10-26 – We spent the day with Chad and Stacie again, this time walking around Downtown Disney. With so many shops and restaurants it’s hard to say what the highlight of the day was but we were able to eat a nice late lunch at the T-Rex café where we witnessed a meteor shower and several other dinosaurs roaming throughout the eatery. After saying goodbye to the Martin clan we checked into the resort where we met up with Danny’s family and got some rest before starting a week of theme parks.
Monday 10-27 - Isaac was able to go on his first big roller coaster ever today, he was brave enough to go on the Mt. Everest roller coaster in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We also were able to go on a real safari type ride, saw many Disney characters and watched Marina get soaked on Kali river rapids. Despite being in Florida the weather was quite mild and Marina did not enjoy being soaked. One of the more intriguing aspects of Disney parks are the different shows they have. At Animal Kingdom we enjoyed a 4-D bug show that was very fun. We also saw Finding Nemo the musical which was a slightly scaled down version of a Broadway show. We ended the day riding a dinosaur ride and then ate dinner at the Rain Forest Café.
Tuesday 10-28 – This was Disney’s Hollywood Studios day. Vycci and I took charge of planning out the order in which we wanted to do things and it worked out well on this day. The kids started the day by seeing the High School Musical show and absolutely loved it. We then saw so many different things it’s hard to keep track. Some of the highlights include the Jedi Training Academy, Stunt Show, Narnia and Playhouse Disney puppet show. Isaac’s favorite ride of the day was Star Tours, Danny’s favorite ride was the Aerosmith roller coaster and we all loved the evening Fantasmic Show. We were really wore out after this day but really enjoyed it at the same time. My brother Ben loves the Tower of Terror at this park and Isaac thought it was a great ride as well.
Wednesday 10-29 – After two days of Disney we visited Sea World with my Mom. Despite our late start and low energy we were able to get to the Shamu (Killer Whale) show and also the Dolphin Show which incorporated Cirque De So lei type stunts into the show. Once again the weather was cool and it was different being in Florida and feeling chilled. I thing our favorite show at Sea World is the Pets Ahoy show which features, birds, cats, dogs and pigs who have been rescued from animal shelters and then find parts in this show at Sea World. Sea World is one of our family’s favorite places and we did enjoy the quieter and mellow ambience of this park.
Thursday 10-30 – When Isaac was 18 moths old Vycci and I visited Orlando for a short time and while we were there we went to a farm called Green Meadows which we loved. We decided to re-visit the farm this time as well and enjoyed watching Isaac catch three chickens, both kids riding ponies, taking a hay ride and seeing some of the same animals we saw on our previous visit. Marina was even so brave as to milk a cow. Because we had a Halloween party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom later that night we cut our trip to Green Meadows a bit short and headed back to our room to get the kids changed into costumes and ready Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. This was by far our favorite part of the whole trip as we enjoyed Tomorrow Land, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land, Frontier Land and Disney Toon Town. The party included different trick or treating locations in the park, a dance party, the Villain mix and mingle and a spectacular spooky fireworks show. Marina’s favorite ride was Small World and we all enjoyed visiting with Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. Marina even rode her first big roller coaster on Big Thunder Mountain. Danny, Isaac and Ben capped off the night by riding Splash Mountain at 11pm. We would highly recommend a Disney Halloween to anyone, it was very enjoyable and very spirited.
Friday 10-31 – After spending the whole night at the Magic Kingdom we got home after midnight and Vycci felt prompted to check the flight we were scheduled to get back to Denver on. We found out that the flight did not look promising but were able to find a better flight that left Tampa at 9am. After some prayers and careful thought Vycci and I got 3 hours of sleep, woke up and packed all our things, got the kids in car and drove to Tampa. Once we got to the Airport and through security we made it to our flight and were able to fly home. Our Halloween was spent taking naps, watching movies and going to bed early. While we really enjoyed our trip it is also nice to be home.
Friday 10-24 – We waited all day in the Denver airport trying to get to Florida as we flew on buddy passes (stand by) courtesy of Vycci’s mom. We were able to get the last four seats on a flight into Tampa that evening.
Saturday 10-25 – After spending the night in a not so comfortable La Quinta we drove to Orlando where we met up with Vycci’s brother Chad, his wife Stacie and their three kids Kenny, Tylar and Caitlyn. We had a big lunch together, took the kids to see a movie and went swimming and ordered pizza that night.
Sunday 10-26 – We spent the day with Chad and Stacie again, this time walking around Downtown Disney. With so many shops and restaurants it’s hard to say what the highlight of the day was but we were able to eat a nice late lunch at the T-Rex café where we witnessed a meteor shower and several other dinosaurs roaming throughout the eatery. After saying goodbye to the Martin clan we checked into the resort where we met up with Danny’s family and got some rest before starting a week of theme parks.
Monday 10-27 - Isaac was able to go on his first big roller coaster ever today, he was brave enough to go on the Mt. Everest roller coaster in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We also were able to go on a real safari type ride, saw many Disney characters and watched Marina get soaked on Kali river rapids. Despite being in Florida the weather was quite mild and Marina did not enjoy being soaked. One of the more intriguing aspects of Disney parks are the different shows they have. At Animal Kingdom we enjoyed a 4-D bug show that was very fun. We also saw Finding Nemo the musical which was a slightly scaled down version of a Broadway show. We ended the day riding a dinosaur ride and then ate dinner at the Rain Forest Café.
Tuesday 10-28 – This was Disney’s Hollywood Studios day. Vycci and I took charge of planning out the order in which we wanted to do things and it worked out well on this day. The kids started the day by seeing the High School Musical show and absolutely loved it. We then saw so many different things it’s hard to keep track. Some of the highlights include the Jedi Training Academy, Stunt Show, Narnia and Playhouse Disney puppet show. Isaac’s favorite ride of the day was Star Tours, Danny’s favorite ride was the Aerosmith roller coaster and we all loved the evening Fantasmic Show. We were really wore out after this day but really enjoyed it at the same time. My brother Ben loves the Tower of Terror at this park and Isaac thought it was a great ride as well.
Wednesday 10-29 – After two days of Disney we visited Sea World with my Mom. Despite our late start and low energy we were able to get to the Shamu (Killer Whale) show and also the Dolphin Show which incorporated Cirque De So lei type stunts into the show. Once again the weather was cool and it was different being in Florida and feeling chilled. I thing our favorite show at Sea World is the Pets Ahoy show which features, birds, cats, dogs and pigs who have been rescued from animal shelters and then find parts in this show at Sea World. Sea World is one of our family’s favorite places and we did enjoy the quieter and mellow ambience of this park.
Thursday 10-30 – When Isaac was 18 moths old Vycci and I visited Orlando for a short time and while we were there we went to a farm called Green Meadows which we loved. We decided to re-visit the farm this time as well and enjoyed watching Isaac catch three chickens, both kids riding ponies, taking a hay ride and seeing some of the same animals we saw on our previous visit. Marina was even so brave as to milk a cow. Because we had a Halloween party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom later that night we cut our trip to Green Meadows a bit short and headed back to our room to get the kids changed into costumes and ready Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. This was by far our favorite part of the whole trip as we enjoyed Tomorrow Land, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land, Frontier Land and Disney Toon Town. The party included different trick or treating locations in the park, a dance party, the Villain mix and mingle and a spectacular spooky fireworks show. Marina’s favorite ride was Small World and we all enjoyed visiting with Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. Marina even rode her first big roller coaster on Big Thunder Mountain. Danny, Isaac and Ben capped off the night by riding Splash Mountain at 11pm. We would highly recommend a Disney Halloween to anyone, it was very enjoyable and very spirited.
Friday 10-31 – After spending the whole night at the Magic Kingdom we got home after midnight and Vycci felt prompted to check the flight we were scheduled to get back to Denver on. We found out that the flight did not look promising but were able to find a better flight that left Tampa at 9am. After some prayers and careful thought Vycci and I got 3 hours of sleep, woke up and packed all our things, got the kids in car and drove to Tampa. Once we got to the Airport and through security we made it to our flight and were able to fly home. Our Halloween was spent taking naps, watching movies and going to bed early. While we really enjoyed our trip it is also nice to be home.
5 comments:
I've missed ya! Looks like a great trip, glad things went well and everyone had a good time. Your kids are so cute! We need to catch up soon...
What a fun trip! I love Disney parks, they really are magical! Those will be fun memories for you all :)
What a fun vacation! I love Mina's face painting!
Looks like a fantastic trip... love the tats! :) And don't worry, I know we're still friends, life has been crazy for us, too! When is the Christmas party? We are having a "Happy Birthday Evan/Thanks for all the moving help" on December 12 (friday) and don't want to do it the same night as you guys... Saturday breakfast WILL happen...someday! :)
Sounds like a fun trip. i am glad the flights worked out!
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