Our Disney World Vacation

Day 6

Thursday morning Sarah and I got up and got going while Janet, Eric and Amanda slept in. Sarah was very excited to get over to the Animal Kingdom and ride the Expedition Everest roller coaster. I didn't want to risk my camera so I didn't take any pictures of that. Just before noon, or just after, I can't remember, Janet and the other kids joined up with us and we spent the afternoon together riding and having fun.

This was kinda cool. The characters are Goofy, Mickey and Pluto. The ride around in a boat on the lagoon and wave to the crowds. Then they dock and greet the visitors.

A stack of copper pots as part of the decorations while waiting for the Wild River ride. Notice the poncho sticking out from behind my back. The first day we rode this we had no protection. This time we were prepared.

I don't know. Maybe because we'd been to this park before, but we didn't take very many pictures this time around.

After spending the afternoon at the Animal Kingdom we headed back to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. Janet got us seats at the luau they have each night at the Polynesian Resort where we stayed. It was very "PCC" (Polynesian Cultural Center) like at Laie, Hawaii. Dinner and a show and very well done. We had a blast.

Mandy was so hungry she tried to eat her lei. Really, see the plate in front of her....she ate the whole thing.

Our cuties.

Eric ate the most....and was very proud of it.

Tongan dancer.

Maori dancers.

Maori dancers with poi balls. It's tough to get the balls going on one hand, but they had two in each hand. I used to be able to do one hand, now I can't even get them going at all. I'll have to make some and practice at home.

Tahitian Dancers.

Then they brought out a guy that is supposed to be the World Champion Fire Dancer. He performed for almost 15 minutes and only set the stage on fire once. HA. He really did, but he just stepped on it and put it out. At one time he had two batons going at the same time.

Sarah was invited up to participate in a dance. She had a great time. I'm very proud of all my kids. They're game to try anything and participate. I don't think there was ever a time on this trip they didn't just get in there and go for it. I was a little chicken growing up and I regret not trying some things.

After dinner Sarah and I decided to go to the pool and relax.

But I couldn't. The water was cold. You can't tell but Sarah was shivering too. We decided to go back to the hotel room and get dressed and do something else.

The something else was video games at the game room at the hotel. It was packed full of video games and other such entertainment. Sarah, Janet and I spent a while there entertaining ourselves while Eric slept and Amanda texted her friends and walked on the beach.

Near midnight the fireworks started at the Magic Kingdom. It was graduation night at the Magic Kingdom. Seniors from around the area spend the night at the park starting at 10 or 11pm. and stay until 6 or 7am. I remember doing the same sort of thing at Disneyland during my senior year in SoCal. Anyway, Amanda and a spent a while on the end of the pier and took photos of the fireworks at the park.

Well....I took pictures and Amanda did....guess!


On the way back to the hotel I tried to take a photo of the building our room was in. Ours was on the ground floor, just inside the door on the left.

Amanda and I went to the main building and picked up Sarah and Janet and we headed to bed. You can tell I was ready for bed.

Our Disney World Vacation

Day 5

Another long day. We started with "Ohana Breakfast" with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. We then headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios and then on to The Magic Kingdom for a night of Pirates and Princesses.

Lilo was a hit with the girls.

Stitch took a shine to Eric.

Mickey was a hit with us all and was a great host. The characters lead a parade of kids around the resturant with maracas. They turn up the music from the "Lilo and Stitch" movie and the kids and the characters dance along. It was quite fun.

Pluto made himself at home when he got to our table. I don't think Mandy makes a very good pillow. She's kinda lumpy in my opinion.

After he had his nap he got a kiss from Mandy.

Aren't my girls cute?

As we left the restaurant Sarah and I noticed a tiki by the door. I asked her if she could make that ugly of a face. What do you think? Can she?

After breakfast we caught the shuttle over to the Disney Hollywood Studios. There are a lot of shows as well as rides.

One of the first shows that we took in was the stunt driving show. I can't remember what it was called. But I remember seeing a Disney tv show based on this show. It was quite loud and fast and firey and a whole lot of fun. We also took in the Indiana Jones show. Just think of doing these shows every day two or three times a day all year long.

We had a late lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In. It's set up like a drive-in theater. Even the booths are built to look like cars and you face a screen that plays trailers to all the old horrer movies from the 50's, including the snack bar commercials with the dancing coke cups and candy. After lunch we headed to the end of the park that had the Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Rollercoaster and rode them until it was time to head to our next destination.

After a fun filled day in Hollywood at about 7pm the Magic Kingdom was opened to invited guests only to experience the night of "Pirates and Princesses."

And I mean invited guests only. No general admission. We had to get a speacial armband. When we first entered the park there was a parade going down mainstreet and the kids weren't really interested in that so we headed to Tomorrowland. We had missed riding Space Mountain the last time we were there so we went there first. Wow, no line. We went right to the front and hopped on. Woohoo. When we got off we noticed that there was still no line so we ran, and I mean ran, around and hopped right back on. We did this 5 times straight before the parade ended and other guests started lining up.

We then headed over and rode Pirates of the Carribean and started the clockwise tour of all the rides around the park.

At about 10pm there was one of the biggest fireworks displays that I've ever witnessed. The Stadium of Fire in Provo has lasted longer, but this display was better choreographed and the variety of fireworks were incredible. There were the voices of Cap'n Hook and Smitty as they tried to storm Cinderella's Castle. The three good witches helped to repel the assault. There were fireworks from horizon to horizon and some coming from the castle.

I know this video doesn't do the fireworks justice. Just imagine music and voices.

After the fireworks show it was back to riding rides and collecting treasure. There were designated places around the park where cast members gave out strings of beads when you asked. We really didn't catch on too quick, so we didn't get a whole lot. But when we did we took advantage.

On the way out of the park the kids started getting goofy... again!

Then it got catchy and we jumped up on the curb with the cast members and helped them say goodby to all the guests that night.

That night we took the ferry back to our hotel. This is what we saw as we got back.

WOW!!! What a day

Our Disney World Vacation

Day 4

We spent this whole day at EPCOT and we still didn't see it all.

We started off by riding some rides. The first was the General Motors Test Track. It's the fastest ride in the whole Disney Park system. It reaches 66 mph. You start indoors and run through some test systems. Then you test for speed and they send you outside around a banked oval. Wooohooo! Once you're through with the ride you have to pass through a showroom with all the new GM cars. Sarah has always been partial to the Hummer. She was soooo happy to sit in the drivers seat.

You can't see the whole car but this is the new Saturn Sky. But you can see the smile on her face.

The lines were kinda long that day and the kids were getting kinda goofy while waiting. We don't have any pictures from one the more popular rides from that morning/afternoon. It was the Mission To Mars. You can't take pictures because the ride is indoors and you're squeezed into a very tiny space. It is a centrifugal ride and your only reference is a small screen right in front of your face. You get the sensation of really blasting off from Cape Canaveral and slingshotting around the moon and landing on Mars. It was quite a good ride and passed the "Sarah's willing to do it again" test.
That night we ate a French restaurant. Boy was that good food. The waitress must have thought we were goofy tourists. We kept laughing and joking the whole time we were there. Alas, we took no pictures. But I put some of Sarah and Amanda in the Canada portion of the park.

Every evening at the EPCOT Center they put on a 20 minute fireworks display over the lake in the middle of the park. After we had dinner at the French restaurant we walked outside and enjoyed the fireworks.

After the fireworks we walked back under the giant sphere and down to the monorail and back to the hotel.

A nice couple took our picture as we waited for the monorail. This was the earliest we'd headed home this whole trip. Home by 10pm.

Our Disney World Vacation

Day 3

Well, since it was a late night the day before (3am, remember?) we slept in Monday. At least Eric and I did. Sarah, Mandy and Janet got up at around 10am and headed to the pool at our resort. Sarah had a blast playing on the slide in the volcano. Janet just lounged around in the pool and Amanda layed out on the beach by the lake. As you can tell from the photo it was a little cloudy.

Sarah landing in the pool.

After playing in the pool and relaxing we headed over to EPCOT for a late lunch or early dinner, whichever you prefer. Our reservations were for Tepan Edo. It's a Benihana-like set up. We were treated like royalty with our own private table. While we were in the Japan area we stopped and watched the taiko drummers at the Japanese temple.

Sarah watching the other diners while we waited for our table.

Amanda had a hard time with her chopsticks, which is kinda funny considering we go out to Chinese, Korean and Japanese restaurants back home on a regular basis.

After dinner we walked over to the boat ramp and took a boat ride over to the Hollywood Studios at Disney World Park. They had all sorts of rides and shows for us to go to. We watched the Muppets do a show and rode a Star Wars shuttle pod ride and took a Hollywood themed ride through the old days of the film industry.

Doesn't Eric look like he belongs in Hollywood?

Janet worked for 5 minutes to get this timed exposure. Isn't it great?

But one of the favorite rides in this park was the Holloywood Tower Hotel of Terror. It's the same as the one in the California Resort at Disneyland.

Sarah was soooo... excited to get on the rides. I think it was probably midnight by the time this picture was taken. I think we were running between the Hollywood Tower and the Rock-n-Rollin' Coaster for the last couple of hours we were in the park.

Janet and the kids in front of the Rock-n-Roller Coaster. It was an in-door roller coaster with a loop and two corkscrews. It has Aerosmith music pumped into the building and even speakers in the coaster itself. So you hear a lot of singing and screaming as you go on this ride.

We had another long day, as the park stayed open until 1am. The girls were getting kinda punchy by the time we started home and they danced right out of the gate.