It's something Mario and I have wanted to do since we had kids and decided 2012 would be the year...we brought the kids to DisneyWorld!!! It was actually Mario's first time there too. I must say, we couldn't have had a better time!! We left Sunday, Feb 26 and arrived in Orlando around 2:00pm. Weather was overcast and little chilly - ~60 degrees. But it didn't matter...we were in DisneyWorld!!! We took the Magical Express bus to our resort, the Port Orleans-Riverside. Nice resort with apparently a lot of amenities but we actually didn't spend a lot of time there. Had about an hour to unpack and relax before our first dinner at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian resort. The kids got to see the first characters that night. Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia and Druscilla were all on hand. Seeing Rafi blush at Cinderella was priceless. And towards the end of dinner, he looked around and said, "What world is this Mama?" Monday morning we had breakfast at Cape May at the Beach Resort. Met Minnie, Donald and Goofy. And then it was off to the Magic Kingdom! Was overcast all day but the rain held off till we were literally walking to the bus to go back to Riverside. Lines were short at most rides so we made it through most of the Magic Kingdom that day. Didn't realize that till we had already left though. If I had known, I would've stayed a little longer to make sure we hit all the rides we wanted. But then again, it started pouring rain as we were leaving so probably best that we left when we did.
Tuesday we went to Hollywood Studios. Weather was gorgeous - 80s and sunny! This was an unexpected trip since we were expecting to spend 2 whole days at the Magic Kingdom. I'm so glad we went because the kids LOVED this park. Sofia got to ride 2 of her first "real" rides - Tower of Terror and the Aerosmith Roller Coaster. She loved it but Rafi was upset that he was too small to ride them. Great shows at Hollywood Studios - Beauty and the Beast, Ariel, The 3D Muppet Movie were some of the highlights. So funny watching Sofia trying to touch the 3D characters. At one point, I thought she was going to smack the guy's head that was sitting in front of her!
We spent Wednesday at Animal Kingdom. Another gorgeous day in the high 80s and sunny. The safari was a must of course. But I think Mario and I enjoyed that more than the kids! Highlight was probably the water raft ride. Rafi, of course, had to get measured to make sure he was tall enough. Having gotten tired of getting rejected at so many rides, he wanted to make sure he got on this one and so he stood on his tip toes - LOL!! Of course the woman noticed but thank goodness, he was tall enough!! When the woman told him he made it, he said, "Finally!" So not only did we all get to go on it but we all got soaked which the kids loved. That was our last ride since we had dinner reservations at Yak & Yeti. By the time we finished eating, the park was closed. That was the only disappointment - that Animal Kingdom closed so early (5pm!).
Thursday we had breakfast at O'hana at the Polynesian Resort. Probably our favorite character meal being able to meet Stitch, Lilo, Mickey and Goofy. Mario even got his pic taken with Mickey! Then we went to Downtown Disney to shop and then spent the afternoon at the Riverside pool. Perfect day again - high 80s and sunny. It was a really nice, relaxing day! Headed back to Downtown Disney for dinner at Fulton's Crab House and did a little more shopping.
Friday was our day to travel back home. Had no issues with the travel and got home around 3:10pm. Kind of a shock to the system coming home to rain and kind of cold weather (50s). But really couldn't complain since we had such wonderful weather in Orlando. It was really nice vacationing with just the 4 of us. It's been a long time since we've done that. The kids had a blast and can't wait to go back to see more! Lots of wonderful memories that we'll treasure forever.
