Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Animal Kingdom

Early start today. We arrived at animal Kingdom around 8 AM. 

Immediately we met up with the Aylsworth family and made our way to the dinosaur ride over in Dino land.


We walked right on the ride. Everyone enjoyed it including little Georgia and Charlotte. It’s quite a bumpy ride and scary parts but the two of them came off the ride with smiles on their faces. We had fast pass for flight of passage so we made our way over to Pandora. We split with the Aylsworth team as they had fast passes of their own

So thankful we scored this fast pass. The standby line was 290 minutes which would never happen for my family. 

It was a beautiful day with a great breeze. One of our better days weather wise we’ve spent in the Animal kingdom. We decided to adopt a banshee. It is the character the Navee fly on from the Pandora movie and the animal you take flight on on the flight passage attraction. 

Ill Post a picture below but basically it’s just a little puppet that sits on your shoulder and moves its head and flaps its wings. 

The kids love it. With a price tag of $60 we decided to buy one and not three. So far it’s working out OK and they’re not fighting over it constantly.:)

We did the usual Festival of the Lion King and Kali River Rapids along with Kimimijaro Safari rides. 

A late day lunch at the Tuskar house African style buffet located in the African area at AK and it was enjoyed by all. 

Wyatt decided he wanted to adopt a banshee as well so we made our way back to Pandora to pick out his new friend.


Christopher and I decided to also pick up a pin pack. We recently started to collect Disney pins. We’re really early in our collection but we will share them as we collect more.


Another great day wrapping up as I sit here and write this outside by the quiet pool at the Polynesian Village resort. Man I love this place.


Monday, February 19, 2018

Epcot 

We started our day bright and early.

Today was Epcot day. One of our favourite parks. We had a dining reservation for 8:40 AM at the Garden Grill. Just like the last time we had breakfast at this restaurant they didn’t disappoint. A delicious spread served family style. All you can eat bacon, sausage, eggs, Mickey waffles, hazelnut sauce, warm syrup and of course my favourite, skillet style cinnamon buns.

We left the restaurant shortly after 9 AM and made our way to the Seas pavilion where we met up with the Aylsworth family. We all jumped on the Nemo ride and everyone enjoyed it. For some reason I always get weepy on this ride. I think it’s because it’s my favourite Disney movie. After we went to turtle talk with Crush. Sophia got called out again to ask a question during the interactive show from the movie finding Nemo and finding Dory. She asked what turtles ate. The hilariously funny turtle had a smart and educational reply as always.


We Headed over to test track to use our 9:30 AM fast pass.


Today was Epcot’s last day of the international festival of the arts. Nice display of different art from around the world. 


After a couple of Mickey pretzels with plastic cheese we decided to check out colour Topia at the innovations pavilion. The kids really enjoyed this interactive display of colour and the emotions associated with color.

We then met up with the Aylsworth family and road test track together.


It was getting late in the afternoon and the sun was hot. We decided to head back to our resort for a little poolside relaxation. I enjoyed a watermelon lemonade and all the kids enjoyed their soda poolside.


Anxious to see Epcot’s evening show Illumination of Earth. We decided to go back to Epcot via the boardwalk entrance. We noticed that Soarin had a short wait time so we made our way back to the land and waited in line for about an hour and enjoyed the ride.


Cross that one of Sophia’s ride list for this trip.

We made our way back over to the world showcase to watch the night show. It was spectacular. Except Charlotte fell asleep in my arms. Making a very difficult walk back to the boardwalk to the vehicle. However I did get to scope out some of the resort hotels in that area. And from the outside and the lobbies they were beautiful and we can’t wait to stay here during one of our future trips.

Another day of memories in the vault. 


Sunday, February 18, 2018

Disney Day 1

We started the day early. Checking out of the holiday inn waterpark resort over in the world Center. We made our way over to the Polynesian to check in. We were a little bit too early and our room wasn’t ready.

Perfect opportunity to head over to Captain Cook’s and grab some breakfast. Actually all I wanted was Tonga toast but I had to feed the rest of my family too. We enjoyed a nice breakfast together.

 After breakfast we decided to make our way over to Disney Springs to get our pre trip Minnie Ears.

We stopped in to the Lego store and the kids picked out Small souvenirs. 


I wanted to see what the sprinkles ATM was all about so we made our way over to the newer area of Disney springs. The ATM was down but we popped into the store to see what the big deal was. Super neat. So many options we couldn’t choose. We plan on going back before we leave to pick up a few cupcakes for the ride home. 


We made our way back to the Polynesian. Changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the oasis pool to cool off. It was about 29° this afternoon. Shortly after we got the message to say our room was ready. The Aylesworth family joined us for an afternoon poolside.


We had dining reservations at 1900 Park Fare.

We jumped on the monorail around 4 PM and headed over. A great meal all around. Seafood and prime rib buffet. Everyone was happy with their meal. Plenty of great sides.

Cinderella and her stepsisters joined us for lots of picture opportunities. Lady Tremaine made us all laugh with her sour twist. One of the stepsisters left Wyatt blushing after she commented on her hair. Super cute.


We walked back to the Poly from the Floridian along the seven seas lagoon. A quick stop to see the wedding pavilion. What a beautiful evening the kids laughed and ran and joked and played. The Aylesworth family soon left for the evening. The Kerr family decided to make our way back over to the oasis pool and spend some time in the hot tub. We ended our evening sitting on the beach watching happily ever after fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Looking forward to the rest of the week.

Holiday Inn - Orlando Waterpark

We couldn’t narrow down what time we would arrive in Orlando on Saturday.  So many variables.


Pit stops, traffic etc.  


Last night we checked into this hotel for one night.  A bridge really, until today’s check in at our home resort inside the bubble.

Really nice hotel - newly refurbished.  I booked with air miles but the cash rate is around $175/night. 


Apparently it’s the old Nickelodeon hotel.  Big water park, restaurants and some shopping.


Superior Customer Service and very close to the parks.

I get asked weekly about planning WDW vacations.  I’ve never been able to recommend a hotel off site but would hands down suggest this one.