DISCLAIMER: What follows is a detailed account of our family trip to Disney World. Please do not feel obligated to read it all, it is mostly for my children to read in the future because we all forget details to quickly:)Day 1: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Phoenix woke up around 4:15am, Daddy and I couldn't get back to sleep so we stayed awake and watched "The Biggest Loser" on DVR. We got dressed and woke Violet up around 6:45am. We were in the car ready to go at 7am. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast then went to get Veronika from school. When she got in the car she asked where we were going. I said, "Guess." She said "Playtime Pizza?" "No, better!" "Chuckie Cheese?" "No, better!" "Dodi's house?" "No, Disney World!" She was SO excited! We headed to the airport and since Dodi had checked us in all online we went straight through security. Poppa and Josh had left the day before with all of our luggage so we only had our carry-ons. We met up with Dodi, Aunt Amanda, Evie, Uncle Brad, Aunt Paula, Jackson and Tucker. We loaded the plan and got as close to the front as we could. Mommy, Daddy, Phoenix, and Veronika sat together. Violet sat with Aunt Paula, Tucker and Uncle Brad. Dodi, Evie, Amanda and Jackson sat next to us. Our flight to Orlando was long but smooth and uneventful! We had a quick layover in Dallas where we had to switch planes. Then we touched down for a few minutes in New Orleans then straight to Orlando! We ate a late lunch in the airport at Au Bon Pain then headed down to The Disney "Magical Express!" We arrived at the Contemporary Resort where we were staying in the Bay Lake Villa. Our villa was AMAZING!! It was two stories with 3 bedrooms and 4 baths! We had floor to ceiling windows with a beautiful view of the lake. We all got freshened up and headed to Epcot. We went straight to "Nemo and Friends" and then "Turtle Talk with Crush" Jackson and Veronika both got to ask questions, Jackson asked if Crush had a girlfriend and Veronika asked how he swam so fast. It was getting close to our dinner appointment in "Italy" so we headed to the World Showcase. We took our time and stopped in England for some shopping. We had a yummy dinner in Italy then headed back to our room...we were EXHAUSTED!
Day 2: Thursday, January 14, 2010 The day started out with breakfast at Chef Mickey's. It is one of our favorite places to eat, I have lots of good memories eating there as a teenager. It is a character breakfast where Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck all come around to greet you while you eat. It is a yummy buffet with lots of good things but my favorite is the miniature Mickey Mouse shaped waffles! Phoenix slept through most of the breakfast, Violet was terrified of all of the characters, and Veronika was great. After breakfast we loaded up on the bus to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios. When we arrived we headed towards the Hollywood Tower of Terror. Me, Dodi, Brad and Paula got in line to ride while all 6 of you kids stayed with Daddy, Poppa, Amanda and Josh. The ride took longer than we thought, but ya'll were very patient and Poppa bought you all ice cream to keep you happy. After that we headed to Toy Story Mania but got side tracked by The Chronicles of Narnia attraction which was a HUGE waste of time and was basically a preview of the Prince Caspian movie. All of the fast-passes for Toy Story were distributed for the day so we had to wait in the hour long line! Amanda, Josh and Evie went to eat but the rest of us waited it out! Phoenix pooped when we got close to the front and this started his terrible diaper rash! Mommy should have gotten out of the line, changed you and skipped the ride! After that we headed to lunch which was very yummy! We had the Disney Deluxe Dining plan so we each got an appetizer, entree, dessert and drink at EACH meal...needless to say we NEVER went hungry! After lunch Dodi and Poppa took Veronika and Violet to play in the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" Playground so mommy and daddy could ride the Studio Backlot tour. Daddy enjoyed getting to see all the movie props but the best part of the ride malfunctioned so he didn't get to see it! Dodi and Poppa took the girls to see "The Little Mermaid" and we met up with them to watch the Pixar Parade. We were pretty exhausted at the point so us 5 took it easy and did some shopping and took some pictures. That night we ate dinner at Chef Mickey's and the Prime Rib Buffet! YUMMY! Veronika really liked it because they had a miniature buffet where she could serve herself.
Day 3: Friday, January 15, 2010 I am a getting a little vague on all of the details but hopefully I can remember the highlights for you guys. Friday morning we ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's and headed to the Magic Kingdom. When we got there we got you girls balloons...Violet had been wanting one since we got to Disney. You both got Mickey shaped balloons in a bigger, clear balloon. Veronika's was pink and Violet's was purple. We headed to Fantasyland because that is where we thought you girls would have the most fun. Phoenix fell asleep in the stroller so Poppa and Dodi kept him while Daddy, me, Veronika and Violet rode the teacups. We got Fast Passes to "Winnie the Pooh" and went to play in ToonTown. We did a little bit of shopping and went and played in the playground and had a quick snack. It was time for our Fast Pass so we all went and rode that and Dumbo. By that time we needed a little break so we went to see "Mickey's Philharmagic" 3D show. We all enjoyed it, Violet just watched it without the 3D glasses but both of you girls thought it was funny! We went and ate lunch at the "Harbor House," I wanted to eat there because I remember eating there when I was a little girl. We did a little bit of shopping and headed to the room. We left at 2pm to go get a little nap, well the monorail was down so we thought we would take the Ferry to the transportation depot and get a monorail from there. When we got to the depot we found out the entire monorail system was down so we had to catch a bus back to the Contemporary. By the time we got back to the room it was 4pm! We did have time for a quick nap before heading to Epcot for dinner. We ate in Germany which was SO delicious and had a really fun atmosphere with music and dancing. After dinner I went shopping and bought two Christmas ornaments, that is my collection now, someday when Daddy and I are gone you will all have lots of Christmas ornaments documenting our lives together. After dinner we went to "The Land" where Dodi, Poppa, Aunt Amanda, Uncle Josh, and Daddy rode Soarin', we also rode a boat ride called "Living with the Land." It was pretty late by that point so we all headed back and went to bed.
Day 4: Saturday, January 16, 2010 We woke up a little late and met Josh, Amanda and Evie at the bus stop to ride to Animal Kingdom. We quickly found a place to eat a quick breakfast and then went and rode the Kilimangaro Safari, it is a bus tour through a wildlife refuge. Phoenix slept, Violet enjoyed looking, and Veronika took lots of pictures! By that time, Poppa, Dodi, Brad, Paula and the boys had arrived from their early morning at Hollywood Studios so we met up in DinoLand. Daddy took you girls to play in the playground while I sat with Phoenix. After awhile Dodi took all three of you to a bird show while Daddy and I rode "Dinosaur." We met ya'll at the Nemo show; it was SO good! Phoenix and Violet both got a nap. Then we headed to "Yak and Yeti", an Asian restaurant for lunch. Violet was constipated and trying to poop during the whole meal. Near the end of the meal Uncle Josh went to pick Evie up and there was poop EVERYWHERE!!!! I was SO glad it wasn't one of you! :) Poppa and Dodi took you three and headed towards the front while me and Daddy made a quick run to Mt. Everest. We were all just in time to catch the parade before we left, we had a great spot right at the front. The whole vacation Violet was so scared of all of the characters but when Terk walked by you gave him "5"! We arrived back at the hotel and Daddy took you girls swimming while Phoenix and I watched from the side. Veronika had fun running around with Jackson and Tucker, there was a big slide and a baby slide and ya'll had so much fun! Violet loved to play in the fountain...it really hit me while you were running around that you are definitely a toddler, you looked like such a big girl!
We went to our room and got you all bathed then Daddy headed to Downtown Disney with Poppa, Brad and Josh to watch a football game...it was a big fiasco and they ended up not getting to watch the game. Aunt Paula, Jackson and I ran down to "The Market" to get dinner; we got you all fed and then called it an early night!
Day 5: Sunday, January 17, 2010 We took it easy this morning because the Magic Kingdom was open until 2am for Resort guests! We woke up and ate our final breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Phoenix was very fussy so as soon as I finished eating I took him up to the room and took a nap with him while Daddy took you girls to the pool. Around noon ya'll came back with snacks but by the time we got you all dressed it was time for lunch. We went to the Contemporary Cafe, picked up lunch and took it to our room. After lunch we laid you all down for a nap so we would have energy for that evening. Around 4pm we headed to The Magic Kingdom via Monorail. We went to Toontown and mommy bought souvenirs while daddy took you all to the Princess meet and greet. Veronika had an appointment at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique so daddy took Violet and Phoenix to the Toontown playground while I took Veronika to her makeover. After Veronika was finished we met up with you all and rode "It's A Small World" and then went for our dinner at "Cinderella's Royal Table" where we ate dinner in Cinderella's castle. After dinner Daddy and I took the babies back to the room for bed and I got us all packed up. Veronika stayed with Dodi, Poppa, Brad, Paula and the boys and stayed out until 2am riding Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Carribean and Space Mountain! I hope that is a night you (Veronika) will never forget...I loved watching how excited you were during your makeover and I beautiful you looked! You glowed! Then you got some special time with Aunt Paula when you stayed out and rode Space Mountain with just her!
Day 6: Monday, January 18, 2010 Poppa and Uncle Josh left around 9am with all of our luggage and we just hung around the room. We went and ate breakfast at "The Wave" one of the restaurants in our hotel; all of you kids were pretty worn out and we ended up getting our food to go. We headed back up to the room, got everything together, then gathered to figure out what we were going to do. We did some shopping to finish up our Meal Plan Snacks and you kids just ran around and played in the lobby for awhile. At 2 we got the Disney bus to the airport and we all ate lunch in the terminal. Evie threw up right before we got on but we got on anyway! It was an ok flight, thank goodness we didn't have to change planes! Evie got sick again and Phoenix was very fussy with his diaper rash but other than that you kids did really well. We flew from Orlando to St. Louis, then from St. Louis to Little Rock. We went to Walgreens to get some Triple Paste Diaper cream for Phoenix, grabbed a Little Caesar's Pizza and went home. You all were SO tired! Veronika ate half of her pizza and asked to go to bed! We all slept GREAT!
Sweet Phoenix was so good! He napped well and just went with the flow. Towards the end of the vacation he got a bad diaper rash which made him fussy and quite uncomfortable, poor thing!
