Our big family vacation to Disney is complete and as much as we enjoyed it I think it is definitely a one and done! We got home last night and we all crashed around 7 pm and slept for 12-13 hours. Even the dog was exhausted and he didn’t even leave the state.
We left on Sunday, Nov 3, and returned Saturday, Nov 9. On Sunday we were up at 3 am and headed to the airport for our 8 am flight. We had a smooth flight down and then took the Magical Express to our resort- Port Orleans Riverside. Our room was ready so we dropped our stuff and then took the ferry to Disney Springs. We did some shopping, had dinner and a few treats before heading back to the room for an early bedtime.
On Monday, we explored Hollywood Studios. Everyone loved the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and exploring Galaxy’s Edge, which had storm troopers wandering around. We met Darth Vader and Chewbacca and watched a Star Wars show complete with fire and explosions. Ajax participated in the Jedi training and fought Darth Vader, but Noomi refused to do it and was content watching her brother in the show. Everyone braved Tower of Terror, but then we all crashed right before the nighttime fireworks show and decided to bounce as it started raining.
On Tuesday, we again rope dropped and explored the Magic Kingdom. We did all the traditional rides and the kids loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We rode Space Mountain, Small World, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and of course, the tea cups. The kids had pirate makeovers, we went on a treasure hunt complete with a map, and then met Capt. Jack Sparrow (Noomi’s favorite character). We stayed for the fireworks and then headed back to the room.
On Wednesday, we slept in a bit and then headed to Epcot. We did the Frozen ride, explore a bit, had breakfast in a neat rotating restaurant, and then met Baymax (the one character Ajax wanted to meet). We snacked a bit around the world, did a few more rides and then left. Everyone was pretty tired so went back to the resort to swim and rest before dinner at Ohana.
On Thursday, we were up early and went to Animal Kingdom, which everyone loved. We rode the Everest roller coaster twice, Kali river rapids, and went on a safari. We explored nature trails with gorillas and loved Flight of Passage (the flying Avatar ride in Pandora). We ate at Yak and Yeti which was my favorite meal (Ramen with pork belly) before watching a Lion King show. Pandora at night was amazing to see and we truly enjoyed exploring this park. We headed back to the resort for a late night swim and then crashed.
On Friday, we slept in and then went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, which everyone loved. The food was good and the kids got a kick out of meeting the various characters. From there we went to Disney Springs for a last bit of shopping, then back to the resort to rest/pack. That evening we went to the Christmas Party (4 pm – 1 am, though we only made it until about 11:30). We rode Space Mountain again and the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride. We watched a parade and then after that we tossed my well scheduled evening and let the kids decide what to do. The kids were obsessed with the rides and found it entertaining that we could basically walk onto all the rides with little/no wait. We did Splash Mountain back-to-back. It was raining and after riding a roller coaster we were all drenched and cold. We snacked and ate, but eventually everyone asked to leave even though we had more time left. That was just fine with Dave and I though.
On Saturday, we were up early, finished packing, had breakfast and then left for the airport.
We rolled into Williamston around 4:30 pm. Picked up pizza for dinner and our groceries from D and W. Noomi and Dave fell asleep by 7:30 pm and Ajax and I were in bed by 8 pm. Everyone slept a solid 12 hours.
Overall, we had a great trip, but I’m sure glad were home!
