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| two peas in a pod |
Last Christmas, we gave our children a two day trip to Disney parks, and a four night Disney cruise with the Bantas. To say they were excited was an understatement! The only tough part about the gift was the wait from Christmas to Thanksgiving of this year!
Planning was pretty easy, as we all wanted the same things. We decided to hit Magic Kingdom since this was Walker's first trip to Disney, and then Hollywood Studios for the second day. When it came down to it, we all decided to drive down due to the insane amount of luggage we were bringing for the parks and cruise. We met up at our hotel in Disney Springs on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Though it was a little a chilly, that didn't stop the kids from swimming for a couple of hours before we grabbed dinner.
We tried to get everyone to bed early, but the excitement was real. So much so that we started the trip with a cousin trade....Christian stayed with us, and Bennett stayed with the Bantas. The next morning, we got up early to eat breakfast and check-in at our Disney property hotel for the next two nights.
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| Wristbands on and ready to go! |
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| The 6 kids before entering Magic Kingdom |
Everything went smoothly, and we were at Magic Kingdom when they opened! Walker was in amazement much of the first day, taking it all in. He enjoyed every ride he did (as did the big kids), and even agreed to do every roller coaster (probably because Lucy loves roller coasters)! He was a little shorter than the required height for some rides, but we taught him to stretch his little body. He did Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder!
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| clearly below the requirement, but that didn't stop him! |
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| Absolutely LOVE this, and the other ride pics! SO MUCH FUN! |
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| Walker was the worst driver, but absolutely loved this ride. I laughed the whole time! |
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| Walker did all roller coasters, but wasn't wild about them all! |
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| Waiting for our table at dinner |
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| Boys ducked out early with Uncle Brian |
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| We stayed til close watching fireworks and celebrating Mickey's 90th Birthday! |
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| Before entering Hollywood Studios |
Day 2 at Hollywood Studios brought more fun for our crew! A new roller coaster opened there which we were unable to get a fast pass for, so we went there immediately to stand in line (like everyone else). Ninety minutes later, we were finally up front and ready to ride Slinky Dog! The roller coaster was awesome, and had the line not been so long, we definitely would've done it again.
About the time we finished, we began doing the rides that we had the fast passes for. There is nothing better than walking past the crowds and jumping to the front of the line. We did the Buzz Lightyear ride (which is one of my favorites), the Tower of Terror and finally Aerosmith! For the Aerosmith ride, we were able to get additional fast passes since Lucy and Walker couldn't ride, so several of us did that ride twice (which was awesome because it is by far the fastest roller coaster I have ever done).
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| Our crew on the Tower of Terror |
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| ice cream break! |
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| The boys "making it rain" with their money. |
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| Enjoying Buzz Lightyear |
Steve and the boys are all Star Wars fans, so we decided to sign up Pres and Walker for jedi training. They learned who jedis are, and what they do (Preston already knew all of this), and then they went to battle. The highlights were watching Walker lead the march across the park, and then watching them each fight Darth Vadar. Sadly I only got videos of both, so no photos to share.
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| Pres was striking a pose! |
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| The boys loved Aerosmith! |
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| Can you tell who is having fun? |
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| Such a fast start and awesome photo opportunity! |
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| Kids with Goofy, one of our few character sightings |
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| Boys created their own lightsabers after the jedi training. |
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| Getting ready for the Star Wars ride |
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| Leaving Hollywood Studios |
Seeing all six kids running around, holding hands, enjoying the rides, sharing stories and creating memories together was BY FAR the best part of the Disney parks! This whole vacation will definitely leave a memorable impression on them (as it did us too). We all agreed that Disney is MUCH more fun for all parties involved when you have a buddy!
Stay tuned for part two....
