Florida: Day 3

We enjoyed a slow start the next morning after such a late night. We eventually made it out the door and headed to Animal Kingdom. This was perfect to follow up with our late night. It felt much more relaxed than Magic Kingdom. We took advantage of their "rider switch" program since we had Myles with us this day. Twice the rides for the kids in half the time. Myles was a very useful baby. He also deserved a gold medal for sleeping on the go and doing very well to just "roll with it." We went to the Lion King Show, but Luke and Emma weren't as captivated by it. They couldn't get enough of the rides and "roller toasters."

Luke excited for the ride. He took great care to protect his "Wilderness Explorer" book.

Was it work taking our double bob stroller?? I have no clue how we would have done it without it.

Emma, Myles and I hung out in "The Boneyard" while Luke and Bryan went on the Dinosaur ride. Turns out, we traumatized our child by taking him on that ride! I was forewarned that it was a scary ride, but I had no idea just how intense it was. Bryan covered Luke's eyes for more than half of it.  Chalk another one up for parent of the year award. Call me for any additional tips on making your Disney trip memorable. :)

The Mickey ice cream lived up to its hype. I shared mine with Myles. I should have recorded his reaction. This boy of mine inherited my love of chocolate. He couldn't get enough. 

Luke said his favorite parts were the roller coaster going backwards (Mt Everest Expedition ride) and the river ride (Kali River Rapids).

Emma liked the bumpy jeep ride (Kilimanjaro Safari) and the river ride.

We left the park in time to catch dinner with McCrackens at one of their favorite BBQ restaurants. It was delicious. McCrackens also introduced us to boiled peanuts. They have a soft texture. One kind had quite a bit of kick to it-Emma wasn't too sure about her taste buds approving. I really enjoyed them.  

We put the kids to bed early (ish) --sometime before 9. We visited for awhile with Cody and Krista and then decided to call it a night so we could be "rested" for Legoland the following day.

Florida: Day 2

We stayed with Krista and her family while on our vacation-that was one of the highlights! She even had the cutest welcoming presents complete with Disney apparel and snacks for the park. We lounged around that morning, the kids ran free and we visited and laughed about nothing and everything. I have missed this friend dearly. After lunch, the kids took naps to save up energy for 'Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party' that night. Krista graciously offered to watch Myles night so we could party as late as we wanted with Luke and Emma. We arrived at the park around 4:00. From the moment we saw Mickey and Minnie at the gates, the kids were beyond excited. I couldn't believe how much fun Emma and Luke made this experience. We decided to take the ferry over from where we parked. Luke couldn't stop smiling on the way over and Emma posed lots of questions about the castle and princesses that we could see from our view on the boat.

(The first night driving into the park for the T-Rex restaurant, there was a rainbow over the entrance. Both Bryan and I just started laughing. Bryan exclaimed, "This place really is magical!")

Just a "tad" excited.

Right as we walked through the gates, the parade started. Luke and Emma both found the beat of the music and had a little dance party. Emma was a little unsure at first, but followed Luke's lead. 

Tomorrowland's Speedway was a HUGE hit with both of the kids. We did this ride several times that night.

Riding off into the sunset.

Bryan and the kids spun it up on the tea cups. I wanted to enjoy the rest of the night and not have an upset stomach. For that reason, I stayed on the sidelines and captured a few pictures. 

Another favorite of the kids, was "The Barnstormer." They called it, "The Goofy Roller Toaster." Bryan and I loved that they called it a Roller Toaster, we didn't correct them once. "Let's go on another ROLLER TOASTER!!"

Emma felt it was very unjustified that we made her get off the ride each time. We found it comical, 90% of the time. There was only one ride we held up. :)

For anyone familiar with Jim Gaffigan, "I'm the Dumbo."

We knocked off a ton of rides this night. The most we waited was maybe 25 minutes. The kids really didn't care for "It's a Small World." I have to admit, it did feel a little strange and by the end Bryan and I thought we were good for a lifetime on the catchy tune.

How Emma felt about "It's a Small World."

Emma said here favorite rides were Speedway, Barnstormer and Snow White.

Luke said his favorite were "Water Splash Mountain,"Snow White and Speedway

Another highlight of the night was when Olaf, Elsa and Anna came out of the castle. At the end of their program, the crowd chanted, "Ice and Snow" and the castle transformed into this. 

It was truly stunning. Well done, Disney, well done.

The kids liked seeing the Disney characters. When given the option of waiting in line to see a character or to go on a roller toaster, they picked the ride. Every time.

We enjoyed hot cocoa, cookies, Christmas music that played throughout the park, Christmas lights and decorations.

Killer fireworks show.

Emma was starting to fade and enjoyed the show from her "cozy stroller."

The holiday parade started at 11PM (9 PM Colorado time). Emma fell asleep two minutes before the parade began. For this trip, she'll enjoy the pictures instead of the experience. :)

*I missed a picture of the Gingerbread float. It was very impressive-it even smelled like Gingerbread. Luke was so surprised. He looked at me and said, "Mom, this is a magical parade." I agree!

After the parade, we hit up a few more rides that only Luke was tall enough to go on. Since Emma was sleeping we knew she wouldn't feel left out. :) We didn't take any chances on Splash Mountain at 11pm at night and wore our rain jackets!

We stayed until closing time. I love this picture because you can see the "snow" falling down looking at the sky. (I thought the guy behind us and to the right looked so much like one of my brothers that I did a double take--nope, not him.)

I tried to snap a quick photo on our way out and this was the best I captured. 

OH MY, it was wonderful, magical, amazing, etc night. One that deserves its own book.