Disney World, Day 3

On Day 3, we divided and conquered. Connor and Pop went off to enjoy Magic Kingdom and Nani and I took Timmy to Epcot. While the boys went off to Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Barnstormer, etc, we had a blast wandering around the International area at Epcot.

The Garden Festival was going on, and there were amazing topiaries everywhere. Here's Nani and Timmy near the Fantasia ostriches.

Here's mommy in front of the Simba scene from Lion King.


We enjoyed a long leisurely lunch at Cafe Marrakesh with mimosas and a baklava sampler. Timmy was hungry too, so here's mommy and Timmy enjoying a Timmy apertif.


We really loved Asia the most...China and Japan were really very interesting, and we fell in love with the gardens.



We decided to rest in Mexico for a little while and let Timmy have a taste of Nani's all fruit popsicle. We LIKE pops. Mommy had to buy a new shirt though because strawberry and beet juice just do not look great smeared across my chest.


We came back to the hotel for some swimming and dinner, and then Pop and Connor headed out to fireworks while Nani and mommy stayed with comatose Timmy and enjoyed some petit fours from the concierge service upstairs. Connor had a blast at the fireworks but the first loud volley had him running across the park to get away...Pop had to convince him he was not a target on an artillery range.

Disney World Adventures, Day 1

The Crean/Freel clan went off on a magical Disney World vacation this Sunday...in fact, I'm writing this now from the DW Animal Kingdom Lodge as the kids slumber peacefully in their beds. It has been a real blast so far...I'll write day by day, but one or two days delayed so I can catch everyone up and not miss anything.

We got up early Sunday morning and flew out of Dulles...Connor was extremely excited about the airplane ride and told everyone within hearing distance about tails and flaps and cambered wings. We arrived before 9 am, and we were whisked off to our lodge to check in and get our tickets and info. Our rooms weren't ready yet -- we were upgraded gratis to concierge services and two adjoining deluxe rooms -- so while dad got things straightened out with all that, the kids and I roamed the hotel. The hotel is beautiful, decorated with an African theme, and has a "savannah" in the courtyard. From our balcony we can see this:


The animals roam all day in a big protected paddock and Connor is learning all kinds of new animals like amkole and ibex.

While we waited for our rooms, we decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom. It was very busy by the time we got there, but Connor did manage to get on the Flying Dumbo ride he's anticipated for weeks, and discovered the wonder of the spinning teacup ride (one of mommy's faves!). Here he is modeling his new hat (his old one didn't fit) and waiting patiently in line.


Here he is on the teacups...


If you're wondering why there hasn't been any pics of Timmy featured yet, that is because the world's mellowest baby chose to sleep through most of all this action. He finally woke when pop and Connor braved Connor's first roller coaster, the Barnstormer. Here's Pop and Connor heading up the track -- zoom!



And here's the cheering section on the ground!



The rooms were soon ready so we headed back to the hotel on the bus (Connor asks about 40 million times day to ride the bus...we probably could have bought him a $20 bus pass and he'd have been almost as happy!) and rested. We were all pretty tired from the day's travels so as soon as the kids ate, we all hit the sheets to get an early jump on the Animal Kingdom the next day. The park had early opening hours we wanted to take advantage of. Stay tuned for Animal Kingdom and Epcot adventures!