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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Florida Trip, Universal Studios Florida...

On our quick trip to Florida 5 years ago, we didn't make it to Universal Studios, so we knew this time we wanted to try REALLY hard to squeeze in at least one day. Well, we did better: 2 days! By Friday, December 20, the weather had cleared up and it was HOT!

Not excited to be tall enough to meet the height requirements!

Hoping she makes the height! Our little daredevil!

The tour guides: they always wanted to have a map and would try to point to the right direction. Let's hope they get my navigation skills, and not Daddy's.

Garrett's only request was TRANSFORMERS!!!

BUMBLEBEE!

The line was short so Garrett rode it once with me and the kids...

Then Garrett was able to convince Lisa and Mom that it was a MUST!

OPTIMUS PRIME!

It was fun to meet Shrek and Donkey because he could hear what you were talking about, so he would respond back to your answers.

The Shrek attraction was fun- you sit in a theater with 3-D glasses.

Lisa and I agreed that we would switch off riding the roller coasters with Garrett. However...we both chickened out on this one! He ended up going on it by himself!

The Cat in the Hat balloon from the Macy's parade

JAWS!

They had this cool Coke drink station- for $10 we could get unlimited refills! Oh we made good use of this on the hot day!

Men In Black was a lot of fun- sort of like the Buzz Light Year shooting rides at Disney, except geared for adults

This ride in the Simpson's area was like the Triceratops and Dumbo ride at Disney, so Cade loved it!

He convinced Aunty Lisa to take him on over... and over... and over again!

Garrett's FAVORITE dessert from the entire trip! A donut sunday!

The Minion ride was over an hour wait, so we conceded to just browsing the gift shop

Revenge of the Mummy had a short line by the afternoon so we took advantage. So fun!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Florida Trip, Walt Disney World: Day 4, Epcot...

For some reason, we made it to Epcot really early... I guess we were getting used to the Disney roads and parking process!

The kids posing.

There are two versions to this ride; five years ago, Garrett FORCED me to ride the version with all the warnings about motion sickness. It was THE WORSE RIDE EVER! It spins you around and I felt so dizzy and mad! I was adamant that we rode the mild version this time.

You pretend to fly a space shuttle. If you're claustrophobic, skip this ride! Even in the mild version, you placed in a small "capsule". I'm not claustrophobic, but it felt very confined!

I think this pic is from the Journey into Imagination ride. They put you on the big screen after- Cade thought it was funny to see himself!

Playing with the dancing water

How's the random photo bomb- thanks lady!

Checking out the eels with Aunty Lisa

They renamed and changed this ride since we were there last.

You get to fully design your own car!

We were SO BUMMED because Kendyll is 40" and made the height requirement on ALL the other 40" rides, but they wouldn't allow her on this one! No one even checked til we got all the way to boarding. She was so sad! Cade would've gladly changed spots with her- he cried the entire ride!

After the rides, we checked out all the countries! Five years ago we walked through them so quickly that this time, it was so nice to leisurely enjoy the surroundings!

Norway

Kenny in Italy!

To keep the kids entertained, the offer passport stamps on a bear in each of the countries.

After Kenny met Jasmine, she said "I saw her piko (bellybutton)!"

They talked Sleeping Beauty's ear off! Kenny was telling her how Cade was 5 and had a loose tooth! SO RANDOM!

The Coke testing area! Free samples from around the world

I love my mom's reaction in the back! Obviously she didn't like it! Ha ha ha!

We were so fortunate to have 4 long days at Disney! Good weather and mostly good attitudes also made the visit memorable. We can't wait for our return... in 5 years hopefully!

Florida Trip, Walt Disney World: Day 3, Magic Kingdom...

Since we had stayed out til almost 1 am at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, we let the kids sleep in a bit before heading back to Magic Kingdom. Our plan was to explore the rest of the "lands" that we didn't do the night before.

But... we first had a surprise for the kids! Pirate and Mermaid dress up! I'd read about a Princess dress up, but when I called for reservations 2 months before... they were booked. Instead, I checked on the reservations for pirates and mermaids and they had two at the same time! It was meant to be!