We all stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. Each of our rooms looked out onto the Urusha Savannah. Every morning before going to the park and every evening when we returned, we got the most amazing views right out of our hotel room. You can see how close they get to the hotel in the photo in the upper left! In addition to the well known giraffes and zebras we saw some lesser known species like: Red river hogs, Okapi, Roan antelope, Impala, and White Bearded Wildebeest.
On Saturday afternoon, Eden, Josh, Atticus and Drake arrived in Florida shortly before I did and we all met at the Magic Kingdom Park. With fast passes loaded on our magic bands we hit the Tomorrowland speedway. Even 2 year old Drake could drive these gas powered cars! On the second time around Atticus chauffeured his grandma. It was, without a doubt, the best ride of my life!
The next day, Sunday, we spent the full day at the Magic Kingdom as well. So many rides!! Atticus, Avery and Chase loved Space Mountain! We all rode on the newest roller coaster - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The girls rode on every coaster in all four parks plus Tower of Terror and they rode most of them many times - thank heaven for the amazing Disney fast pass system! Sunday night we all met at the pool and enjoyed a family poolside dinner.
Monday was Epcot Center. Highlight for me at Epcot Center was when I was watching Drake while Eden went on" Soarin'" and Josh and Atticus went to "Test Track." While Drake and I were sauntering around Epcot I asked which of the Disney attractions Drake wanted to do next. He told me he wanted to go to Grandma Nene's house!! I ranked over Disney - made my day!
As much as I love Epcot and my favorite ride, Soarin, we had a fantastic experience on a Monday evening trip to Downtown Disney. After the longest wait for a dinner reservation, Molly, Avery, Chase and I made it into the T-REX restaurant. While we were waiting, Avery and Chase took advantage of the on site "Build a Dino." You can also see Molly on her i-phone taking the same photo.
Once we were inside we understood why the wait was so long. We were seated in the "ice cave" and every so often there is a "meteor shower" and the blue ice walls change color.
The food was as delicious as it looks. But, Molly and I will attest to how fabulous the home made donut holes (bottom right corner) were. We knew just how many calories there were in each one (especially when you take advantage of the side dips of chocolate or caramel!!) But they were so good we ate every single one!
Tuesday was a fun day at Animal Kingdom. Appropriately, in front of the huge Animal Kingdom tree of life, I have a photo of me with all four of my grandchildren!
While Eden, Josh and Atticus took the wet ride on Kali River Rapids, Drake and I went exploring. I found a display of drums and after a little trepidation, Drake really got into it. In fact, I had to pry him away so we could meet the family when they got off the ride.
Atticus loved the explorer book at Animal Kingdom. He had to find explorer stations scattered throughout the park and fill out information in his explorer book. We were all on the lookout for the next station because Atticus just loved it!
Tuesday night I took Molly, Avery and Chase on a night safari. Armed with night vision monoculars we took off in an open air truck to take in all of the animals that freely roam the Animal Kingdom grounds. This was one amazing experience!
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| Top row: Ankole Cattle, Giraffe Bottom row: Zebra, White bearded Wildebeest, Roan Antelope |
It's Wednesday and we are all off to Disney's Hollywood Studios Park. I tagged along with Eden and her family to see the 3-D Muppet Show and couldn't resist the 3D glasses selfie.
Molly, Avery and Chase were dropping on Tower of Terror so I chose to take the safer route and see The Stunt Show with Eden and the boys. You can tell from the total focus on their faces just how much they were into watching cars chase, crash and jump over each other!
Atticus truly enjoyed his opportunity to be part of the action in front of this huge poster.
How can you visit Hollywood Studio and not take advantage of the meeting the toy soldier from "Toy Story" or posing with Lightening McQueen and Mater from "Cars?"
But my youngest grandchild, Drake has truly enjoyed the 3D arcade game on the Toy story ride. He showed us the best way to shoot the targets. He loved it so much he kept shooting even after the targets were gone!!
We all met for dinner that evening at Hollywood and Vine Restaurant. Leave it to Disney, they even had a buffet of kids food that was at the prefect level for kids. Eden, Josh and the boys stayed at the park and enjoyed rides until late in the evening as they were leaving Florida the next morning. I went back to the hotel with Molly and the girls and returned to the park that evening for the Fantasmic show. We got wet and it was a lot scarier than I remembered. Eden, Josh ,Atticus and Drake head home but Molly and the girls and I are staying in Orlando for two more adventures.
It's Thursday and Molly, Avery and Chase and I grabbed a taxi to Universal Studios to take in the World of Harry Potter. We rode both of the 3D Harry Potter rides. Who can resist hoping on the Hogwarts express at 9 3/4!! We took the train between Hogsmead and London, both ways. You need to ride both ways as the scenery differs. Gringott's bank truly feels like you stepped into the movie set!
You can't visit the World of Harry Potter and not enjoy a frothy Butterbeer!
How can you visit the World of Harry Potter without a visit to Olivander's to purchase a wand or rather have the wand chose you. My granddaughter, Chase, is now the proud owner of a wand purchased at Olivander's. There are sites throughout the World of Harry Potter where you can use the wand to do things like levitate a feather or dump a bucket of water. Also had to capture the "self knitting needles" for all my friends who knit!!! I knew Mark would love the Elf Placement Service to find a "dobby". He loved the Bertie Bott's every flavor beans I bought at Honeydukes. Isn't it amazing that the tall men are in the front row to watch the performance of Fleur Delacour and others from the Beaubatons Academy of Magic!!!
Its not all Harry Potter - we had to take in Minon Mayhem and get a 3D glasses selfie with Molly and the girls.
For our last day the girls chose a visit to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium home of Winter from "Dolphin Tales" and Hope who joined Winter in "Dolphin Tales 2." Thank goodness we got there early because when we left there were huge lines waiting to get in. In the upper right underwater photo you can see Hope on the left with a full tail and Winter on the right. We were surprised to learn that Winter swims well without her prosthetic tail but the prosthetic helps to keep her tail from curling up.
We enjoyed seeing all of the different types of animals that are rehabilitated at the aquarium. Avery really liked the otter who could not use his back legs as one of her pet rats suffers from a similar problem. The pelicans played the role of Rusty in the Dolphin Tales movies - true movie stars!
Its our last day in Florida so we returned the car and headed back to the Magic Kingdom. But after a few rides its time to head to Contemporary Hotel for our dinner reservation at Chef Mickey.
This trip was set because Nate and Molly have a wonderful tradition: Avery and Chase go to Disneyland every time one of them hits an increment of "5" birthday. Chase turns 10 this year so the entire trip was an offshoot of celebrating Chase's 10th birthday and Avery turned 12 in April as well. Imagine Chase's surprise when the monorail operator handed her his phone because she got a special Happy Birthday phone call from Goofy!
Molly and the girls had an early morning flight but I didn't fly out until 5pm so I had a 2 pm reservation on the Magical Express (the Disney bus that takes me to the airport.) The magical express also took my luggage at the hotel and I didn't see it again until the baggage claim in Phoenix! My Tampa girlfriend, Dawn (whom I met in Houston, lived with during my early days in Venezuela and vacationed with Eden and me in too many cities to count) drove down to join me for lunch. We had lunch at one of the Animal Kingdom lodges that also looks out at one of the savannahs. We didn't stop talking and laughing from the moment she arrived until the bus pulled up to take me to the airport. What a perfect ending to one fantastic week!
Loads of memories - sipping pina colvadas by the pool after a long day in the park. Atticus and Drake showing just how much two boys can devour at every meal. Chase getting munchies for poolside "happy hour." Early mornings at the playground with Atticus and Drake. Avery leading the way around the park showing us how much more she knows about I- phone capabilities than Molly (who works for Apple) or I do. Fresh groceries delivered to the room so we could enjoy coffee and bagels while watching the animals from the deck of our hotel rooms. But the memories that I will hold in my heart were all the times I watched the joy on the faces of my four amazing grandchildren!
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