#Gates50States

The Gates Family vacation to Disney World in 2014 was a whole lot of fun and a whole bunch of memory-making. We needed to do Disney while the kids were young enough to really grasp the magic, but old enough for them to have the stamina to really do Disney.  This didn’t count as Florida, though in our 50 State quest.  Too touristy.  Our friends from Florida cringe when they hear people say that they visited Florida when all they did was hit Disney.  We’re saving Florida, specifically the Everglades and the Keys, for later.

Lots of planning went into our week, from what parks to visit & when to visit them to what restaurants we should take in. As the week unfolded, we thought of a few items here and there that we’d wished we’d done differently, but the truth is, there’s no way to predict everything and plan a Disney vacation perfectly w/ a 6-year-old and a pair of near-4-year-olds.  Get as close as you can, and enjoy the fun.

We took off on Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Orlando in about enough time to get unpacked before our dinner reservation at Boma. This really good buffet style restaurant gave us all an opportunity to try a lot of different food options and not be in too stuffy of an environment after a big trip.

Traveling w/ Kids Tip: Get up early.  The wildlife is more active, the lines are shorter, the roads are more open.

As we would on each of our park days, Thursday morning started bright and early with us arriving at Epcot prior to the opening. The kids were up anyway, and by moving quickly to the more high-demand rides/attractions, we’d avoid a huge line or two before the big crowds arrived. Epcot proved to be LG’s favorite place, mostly because he loved Test Track & Mission Space & Soarin’. The design feature at Test Track was really cool, and Lincoln’s car, er, Monster Truck, ended up winning!

The little ones did a few of the little kids things, but honestly, they weren’t too into Epcot. They enjoyed Turtle Talk With Crush, and after lunch in the park, Grandma Laura & Grandpa Dave took the kids back to the room for naps while we stayed to visit the various countries and sample the offerings at the Food and Wine Festival.

We stayed in Kidani Village after identifying a Vacation Club member w/ enough points to sell. It turned out great! We had enough rooms for Grandma & Grandpa, the two of us, and the kids slept on pull-out couches and chairs. The view of the savannah from the room was really neat, and the kids enjoyed seeing the animals come around at random times, such as when the zebras slept below our balcony over our last night of the trip! We also had access to night-vision glasses in the evenings to see what might be going on across the savannah.

Friday was LGG’s birthday… and a Magic Kingdom day that began with Dumbo, The Barnstormer, Big Thunder Mountain, It’s A Small World, and a lot of sights and sounds in between.

We took Friday afternoon to visit Hollywood Studios, mostly because HG’s big wish was to see Mater. As it turned out, LG enjoyed Star Tours with Grandpa Dave, Lydia enjoyed the Frozen Sing-along. Lincoln didn’t like the Tower of Terror, but I think as time passes, he’ll understand that he was pretty brave to do it. The best family experience we had at Hollywood Studios was Toy Story Mania. Whoever designed that ride is a genius and we had a blast on it. The evening capped off with LG building his own Light Saber in the Star Wars sector!

Saturday morning found us at Animal Kingdom and the adults & LG went on Expedition Everest right away with no wait. Amazing roller coaster. Honestly, it’s the best coaster I’ve been on outside of Cedar Point.

We also took in the Kilimanjaro Safaris; the incredible bird show, Flights of Wonder; and after the kids went back for naps with the Grandparents, we visited Dinsoaur and a return trip to Everest before heading back to the Magic Kingdom with the kids for Under the Sea, Dumbo, Space Mountain (LG), Tomorrowland Speedway (HG), and an attempted visit with Rapunzel (LGG; the FastPass thing as well as communication w/ those waiting in the FastPass lines when there is a break in the action could be a lot better). Things rounded up when we met up with friends from home in front of Casey’s Corner for the Electric Light Parade and Fireworks.

The entertainment and dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo was first-class. We all thought LG was going to wet his pants, he was laughing so hard, and LGG was so into the production, with her waving at the cast and trying to dance like the ladies on stage. Without question, we’ll return for another visit at any of our future Disney trips.

After the previous late night, we got up early, waited 40 minutes for a bus, and made it to the Crystal Palace just in time for breakfast with Winnie the Poo, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. (The Breakfast Lasagna was amazing!)

After breakfast, the kids got to meet Belle at Enchanted Tales. Then there was a Jungle Cruise, a Magic Carpet Ride, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tom Sawyer Island before we ate a good lunch at the Columbia Harbour House.

‘Ohana was our dinner destination on Monday evening, and for all the hype that it receives on the reviews, we were simply disappointed in the service. There were aspects of the meal that were very tasty, but overall, we just can’t recommend ‘Ohana. It’s a shame, because Disney’s customer service is so good in so many areas. ‘Ohana, though, seemed to be mailing it in, knowing that they’re booked with reservations for the next six months; as if they know they don’t really have to perform. One specific example: I, Jenn, ordered a Lemon Drop Martini. It tasted like lemon water. We pointed this out to the waitress, she took it, returned with the same glass (with my lipstick on the glass, and all) and it (of course) tasted awful. Did they think they were going to fool me? And it wasn’t about the money. We were disappointed with the service before we even knew what we were spending (honestly, we blocked dollars and cents from our minds a long time ago with regard to this vacation). Thankfully, this was our only dining disappointment. Knowing what we know now, we’ll eat all of our dinners at Hoop-Dee-Do and the Animal Kingdom restaurants.

Tuesday was our last day in the park, and we made it worthwhile. The boys ran to the Seven Dwarves Mine Train while the ladies visited Elsa… and Anna! We thought we’d only be able to visit one of the Frozen princesses, so what a surprise that LGG got to meet two! Following that, Lydia got to meet Merida while the boys rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin a few times. (This is a very cool ride where we got to shoot Zorg with laser.) The kids finished on the Speedway, the Astro Orbiter, the Barnstormer & Big Thunder Mountain. Afternoon time took us back to the pool.

Waking up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday wasn’t our first choice, but it allowed us to get back home shortly after noon and have an afternoon of recovery before getting back to work and school. All in all, it was a very cool trip, and one which the kids ought to recall with fond memories for months and years to come.

Upon our return, we made a Shutterfly photo book for the kids to review and cement the memories in their minds.  They enjoy it to this day.