Disney 2012

This is only 2 months late....

Where do I even start???
Our trip to Disney was absolutely "Magical"!!! It was without a doubt the best vacation we have ever had as a family!!

Our trip was a Christmas gift to our kids (and to ourselves!!) We counted down 18 days until it was time to head to the airport. The kids and my dad had never flown before so that in itself was exciting. There were several other families on our flight who were taking their kids to Disney for the first time. One family was keeping it a secret where they were going. They had 2 boys 7 and 4. Their Mom kept telling them they were going to the "Socks and Underwear Factory". LOL They still had no idea where they were going as we exited the plane in Orlando. (I LOVED HER IDEA)
We flew out of Charlotte so we drove down to my parents house(they went with us) on Wed, Jan 11, spent the night and then headed to the airport. Our kids loved the flight and my Dad liked it to but he will never admit it. LOL
When we arrived in Orlando (only 1hr 17mins later) we were directed to go to the bottom floor to be picked up by the Magical Express. We didn't have to claim our bags, we just went straight to the bus. Our driver was a little over the top but what else would you expect from a "Disney" cast member? The drive from the airport took about 30 minutes. We made stops at several different resorts before finally arriving at ours, Port Orleans-French Quarter!!
The resort was GORGEOUS!!! Check in went smoothly once we figured out which person to go to. We were given our Disney cards (for room,parks and dining) and made our way to our room(s). We were plesantly surprised with how beautiful, clean and spacious our rooms were. The kids were so excited!!!
After freshening up we decided we should head to Magic Kingdom for some rides and supper. During our visit we relied solely on  the Disney Bus System and it was GREAT!!! Thankfully our resort was one of the smaller ones so we never really had to wait for a bus. Anyway, on to Magic Kingdom. After about a 10-15 minute bus ride we were dropped off at the gate.

We went through security and FINALLY we were there!!! Walking down Main Street with the Castle in view is such a magical feeling. As we got closer we could see Mickey and Minnie and several other characters dancing on stage in front of the castle. OH MY!!! It was perfect!!! Emily was so excited!!
After the performance was over we made our way to Pirates of the Carribean. This was our first ride and the kids loved it!! Then we went to eat at Pecos Bill's which is a burger place. It was okay but doubt we will eat their again. After we finished eating Eric and Caleb headed to ride Space Mountain. My Mom,Dad, Emily and I found us a good spot to watch the Magical Light Parade. It was beautiful!! We LOVED it!! If you ever go, this is a MUST do!!  After the parade finished we headed over to find Caleb and Eric but first made a stop at "It's a Small World". Emily thought it was "adorable". By the time we met up, the fireworks were getting ready to start. NO ONE DOES FIREWORKS LIKE DISNEY!!!! It was breathtaking!
After the fireworks we rode a few more rides then headed to the front to make our way back to our resort. However, we timed it just right for the Castle light show (another MUST do). It blew our minds and we were so thankful that we were able to see all of these awesome things on our very first day at Disney.
We made our way to the bus stop and headed back to our resort. We headed to the restaurant for a snack. By the time we got back to our room, our bags had been delivered to our room (we didn't have to claim our bags at the airport, Disney did that for us.)  First class is all I can say about a Disney Vacation. To say we were exhausted was a huge understatement but we couldn't wait for our first full day at Disney.

Day Two(first full day): Epcot
Epcot was our favorite park!! We liked Soarin, Mission Space and Test Track the best! We had lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse and OH.MY.WORD!!!! It will be a must on our next trip.

Day Three: Animal Kingdom: This was our least favorite park. The safari was EXCELLENT but other than that my kids didn't really enjoy it. We did however enjoy our lunch/dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Another must on our next trip!

Day Four: Hollywood Studios: Caleb really enjoyed this park. He loved the Tower of Terror and the Rockin Roller Coaster. Emily doesn't like the roller coasters so she was a little bored. We enjoyed the Indiana Jones show and got to meet most all of the characters at Hollywood Studios will a minimal line for each. Our favorite part though was the American Idol Experience!! It was sooooo much fun.
I can't remember what the name of the place that we had dinner but it was NOT GOOD!!! Next time we will probably get reservations at Downtown Disney this night.

Day Five: Magic Kingdom: It was really crowded this day (Martin Luther King Holiday) because schools were out. However, we had a great day and had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern, it was pretty good too.

Day Six(our last day in a park): Downtown Disney and Back to Epcot: The kids really loved it and that 's where they wanted to go on the last day. We headed over to Downtown Disney first to look around and then took the bus to Epcot. We managed to ride all of our favorites at least one more time and it was great.

Day Seven: Flying Home

I can't say enough about Disney Vacations!! They are awesome and Disney transportation is excellent. We Cannot Wait To Go Back....in a few years!!