We stayed on Disney property to take advantage of the transportation and dining plan (the sale that was offered earlier in the year for buy four days, get three free sealed the deal). We opted for a value resort - you're only going to be sleeping there anyway - right?! The Pop Century Resort was just fine. The boys enjoyed the "Hippy Dippy" pool there before we hit the parks and I was glad that life vests were provided since Marly was unable to touch in the pool. When they say towels are provided, they mean bring the towels from your room - no thanks, I'd rather save them for my shower - so take your own! My favorite thing at the "resort" was the Mediterranean flat bread! I ate it at least three different times!
I really wish the dining plan allowed more flexibility with the desserts - we certainly didn't need (or even want) dessert with every meal! Sometimes a fruit cup to go was an option. I wish the "desserts" and "snacks" could be used inter-changeably! We took advantage of the dining plan and stretched our meals most days by sharing counter services - two adult meals for breakfast and two adult meals for lunch. Tips are not included in the dining plan so be sure to budget for that with your table service meals.
We did not opt for the park hopper as we were at Disney for a week. That's seriously a long time, but really we still didn't see everything!
I would recommend straps for the kids' sunglasses as both boys lost theirs while at Disney!
If you want pictures with characters I would recommend character dining - waiting in line to see a character seems too much to our family!
MAGIC KINGDOM - We chose to visit this park just once. We enjoyed Mickey's PhilharMagic and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was our favorite ride at the Park, but we preferred the Toy Story Midway Mania! at Hollywood Studios. We did not get a chance to try Peter Pan's Flight. SpectroMagic was cool - Marly said it was his favorite of the day (and a long day it was)!
EPCOT - We all loved Test Track and Soarin'! We enjoyed The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Journey Into Imagination With Figment and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Crush talked to Marly during Turtle Talk With Crush - very cute. The boys enjoyed adding themselves to a video game at Innoventions. Walking through all of the countries was extremely tiring and we found the Mission: Kim Possible very frustrating and quickly turned in our communicator! Emery and I enjoyed Maelstrom in Norway. Our absolute favorite meal during the whole trip was in Morocco at Restaurant Marrakesh! The Goat Cheese with Crispy Bread was amazing, as was the Couscous M'Rouzia Fassi! IllumiNations was nice - not sure I'd call it breathtaking! We made two trips to Epcot.
ANIMAL KINGDOM - We spent one day here. We enjoyed the Kilimanjaro Safari, the Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo - The Musical. This is where I found MY ears - a leopard print headband!
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - This is the park the boys were waiting for and we ended up visiting this park FOUR different times!!! Emery and I enjoyed watching the American Idol Experience. Had I not lost my voice with a head and chest cold, I would have auditioned! The boys loved the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, Studio Backlot Tour and Indian Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! The boys also loved Star Tours (I on the other hand got a bit nauseous). We enjoyed Muppet Vision 3D and The Great Movie Ride. The Magic of Disney Animation was fun - we got to draw Goofy (although Marly was rather frustrated with how his turned out). Toy Story Midway Mania! was fun. I had to drag the boys to Beauty and the Beast - eww a princess! We missed Block Party Bash (yes I know - we were there four times - what is our excuse)! We ate at the 50's Prime Time Cafe - luckily there was a salmon caesar salad on the menu because it was too hot for all of the comfort food on the menu! Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano was good. Fantasmic was awesome! The real draw here for us was Jedi Training Academy and Star Wars Weekends!
While it was extremely hot in Florida and it rained in the afternoon, I am so happy that we were there for Star Wars Weekends! If your kids want to get picked for the Jedi Training Academy, get there early, have them wear their Star Wars gear, make a sign for them to hold and have them jump up and down and make lots of noise! Be prepared for broken hearts and to come back for the next show and try again! Jay and Marly spent a whole day trying to get him picked and we ended up buying another day(very cheap) so he could try two more times before FINALLY getting picked - we had also missed the Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade so we were glad that we returned for that!
I know that some people enjoy the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review at Disney, but for us it was a "hoop-dee-don't"! The entertainment didn't strike our funny bone and the food was just OK - not worth two table service meals in our opinion. I did however love the cornbread and was glad that I had a large ziploc in my bag to save the leftovers for breakfast!
DOWNTOWN DISNEY - We already visited the T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City for Marly's fourth birthday and really enjoyed going back to this restaurant. The boys loved the Lego store and look forward to the grand opening at Easton soon! We didn't do Disney Quest, but it sounds fun.
If you've traveled to Florida, you have to hit the beach! A week was too long for the boys - they were wiped out from Disney so Jay and I often had to take times on the beach, but this was probably a good thing for my skin!
SEA WORLD - This is a must do when in Orlando! Shamu is the best! We sat in the "soak zone" for Believe and yes, we got soaked! We also enjoyed petting the stingrays and trying to pet a dolphin. The Wild Artic Ride was a lot like Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, but made me even more nauseous! I'm not much of a roller coaster fan, but I thought Manta looked fun and smooth. I was so sick when we got off I can't believe I didn't throw up! Face down, extremely fast, cork screws, upside down... Not at all smooth flying like you see the stingrays do! I couldn't even watch Jay and Kendra ride Kraken because that made me nauseous again!
AQUATICA - we had a good time here - despite getting separated from both boys at separate times! I am much more of a water slide fan! Roa's Rapids was lots of fun for all of us! While the Dolphin Plunge was cool, you couldn't see the dolphins beside you as you are flying through the tube! The food here was extremely expensive - the four of us spent $50 for lunch and the food was awful! I would save your skin from the Florida sun and go to a water park back home!
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - another must do in Florida! I don't however recommend purchasing tickets for a launch while you are there - after two separate occasions of arriving late a night and dosing in the van until after 1:00 am, the launch was scrubbed both times due to a fuel leak.
I think that's about it! I can't wait to start the scrapbook of our vacation!
Ready to plan your Disney vacation? I suggest you call my friend, Julie Hoffman - she is a Disney vacation planner!
I almost forgot - make sure you take advantage of the Fast Pass option that is included with all Disney tickets (Sea World charges extra for this perk). If there is a ride at a park that has the Fast Pass option, go immediately to that ride, get your Fast Pass and then look around! If you snooze, you loose!
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