Disney World, day 2

Day two was a WILD day at Animal Kingdom. Our first ride was the Kilimanjaro Safari. It was like a real safari...we saw lots of African animals like giraffes, elephants, lions and rhinos. They made it look like the African grass lands even with upside down trees. After that we got fast passes for Everest and went to the Dinasour ride. It was just like Indiana Jones at Disneyland only based on the animated movie, Dinasour. Then we rode Expedition Everest. It was fantastic! Think Matterhorn only bigger, faster, scarrier Yetti, it goes forward and backwards and it has a 60 ft. drop. This was the biggest ride Jayden had ever been on, he loved it.

Here are some pics I took from the ride.

I love the way Disney designs their parks. The detail is so wonderful. This building was the bathrooms, but it looked like supply post for backpackers getting ready to climb the mountain. I tried to take in all the detail of the rides and buildings. I think I would love the job of the person who designs all the buildings and decorates them.

After Everest, we went to It's Tough to be a Bug. It was a 4D show inside the trunk of the big tree. This show was so great. Of course you wear 3D glasses and watch the Bug's Life characters teach people what it's like to be a bug. The audience gets sprayed w/ bug killer and you feel and smell it. You get stung in the back by a bee, that kinda hurts. All the women screamed when spiders dropped from the ceiling...I laughed so hard. Then when they were about to dismiss the crowd, it felt like cockroaches crawling across the floor and seats.

By that time is was getting very hot, so we went to Kali River Rapids. We got soaked! Then it was time to go to the Festival of the Lion King. It was a great show.

After Lion King, we realized we were in Camp Mickey...and the characters were all out. We got pictures w/ Donald and Minnie.

Did you know Donald was an Oregon Duck fan? Well...he is the mascot!

Go Ducks!

Minnie is so cute. She made Jayden give her a kiss on the nose. What a good sport.

We rode our favorite rides again and again. We made the mistake of riding Kali River again when it started getting dark. I was still wet when we went to dinner.

The big tree.

I love pictures with the characters...still soaked.

And the last ride before we left, Everest. I took a picture of the tv screen that displayed the photos taken on the drop. Notice Jayden is not holding on. Trinity was determined to get him to raise his hands in the air and each ride we got a bit braver.

And here is a picture I really liked. This building was so cute, I think it was a snack shop.

For dinner we went to Boma, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. What an amazing hotel. The food was great and it was all you can eat African buffet. My favorite was the Fu Fu. It was some kinda sweet potato dish. Jayden and Trinity couldn't get enough of the prime rib.

Disney World, day 1

After months and months of planning, we finally went to Disney World. We left Thursday evening and flew thru the night, arriving in Orlando very early Friday morning. I was trying to surprise Jayden with our resort, the Disney All-Star Sports Resort. I was hoping he wouldn't realize we were staying there until we pulled up. But...he saw our luggage tags at the Redmond airport and spoiled the surprise. He was very excited.

When we arrived in Orlando, we took the Disney's Magical Express (bus) to our resort, checked in, got some breakfast (Mickey shaped waffles) and jumped on a bus to the Magic Kingdom.

I signed us up for the Disney dinning plan, which included one snack, one quick service meal and one table service meal each per day. That was the best decision ever. We ate wonderfully everyday and never had to worry about how much it cost. Several of our meals totalled over $100. We usually bought breakfast at the resort, has a quick lunch and an afternoon snack at the park and dinners were all very special. I made reservations 5 months before the trip so we could eat at the best restaurants.

Trin and I found these really BIG pickles!

One of Jay's favorite rides (so far), Splash Mountain. This was his favorite when we went to Disneyland two years ago. Other favorites that we had to ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. They had a new attraction, Stitch's Great Escape. Hated it!

My little Jack Sparrow.

la cucaracha, la cucaracha...did you know that means the cockroach?

I'll be back

For dinner on day 1, we ate at Cinderella's Royal Table. We entered in the back of the castle and met Cinderella for pictures and climbed the very royal staircase to the dinning room. It had beautiful cathedral ceilings and stained glass windows. The food was was amazing and we were surprised by the mice and the Fairy God Mother who sang to us at dinner.

I love this picture of the Fairy God Mother singing to Trinity. We all sang along with her as she sang Bibbty Boppity Bo.

After dinner we saw a new 4D show, Mickey's Philharmagic. It was wonderful. Visually amazing and you feel the wind and even get sprayed w/ water. Then we went on It's a Small World, it was torture for Jayden. But Trin and I love it! Then is was time for fireworks! And I believe we squeezed in a few more rides on Splash Mnt.

Here are some pics of our hotel at night. It was a boy's dream come true.

Halloween

Jayden dressed up at a transportation maintenance specialist, aka road flagger, for Halloween. He told me he wasn't even embarrassed this year cause it was cool and manly. He is still scarred from his costume two years ago, Napoleon Dynamite. This costume was really easy to put together. He found Trinity's vest that she uses for work sometimes and we had our idea. He wore my work boots, his jeans, we got him a flannel shirt, borrowed the hard hat from a friend and purchased the stop/slow sign online. Done.

The kids get to dress up for a parade around the school and parents get to watch from the gym. He looked so cool and grown up.

Jayden spotted Pappa in the crowd and they were waiving to each other.

This is his class...check out Nikki, the Diva Devil.
After school, he came back to work with me. The office is so fun on halloween cause we get so many kids who trick or treat there. Jayden left with several bags of candy.

When we got home, Jayden and some other neighborhood kids were trying to see how many cars they could get to stop or slow down. It was pretty funny. Many drivers played along and possibly a few were fooled. It was really funny when he held up the slow sign and were waving people by.

In the evening we went trick or treating with friends. Anthony (Darth Vader), Carlos (a thingy with bones, as he called it), and Carmen (she's just cute). We went to the neighborhood around school and they got TONS of candy.

Drive by trick or treating

The next morning, Jayden sorted his candy into piles and then picked out a bowl full of his favorites. The rest he sold to a local dentist who purchased kids' halloween candy for $2 a pound and sent it all to the troops. Jayden earned $25.50!