Disney World

Along with all the other craziness in March we packed up and took the kids to Disneyworld.  It started out as a trip to Florida to see a friend from Honduras get married.  We decided to combine the wedding trip with a trip to Disney World and surprised our kids at Christmas.  So, we gave them their surprise, got all excited, and then the wedding was postponed... Uh oh!  Well, we couldn't take back "the best Christmas gift ever!" so, we went anyway!  And boy are we glad we did!  It was a great time filled with fun memories that the kids are still talking about months later.
We stayed about a week and packed in all of the major theme parks.  The kids were at a great age to be able to enjoy most everything without having to stop for naps and such.  My pregnant body and I were still able to ride most of the rides Beckham could so it worked out pretty well.  Ronnie convinced Madison to do a few "big kid" rides with him and there were plenty of shows and family rides we could all enjoy together.  We stayed at a Disney Resort and took full advantage of all the perks.
It was one of those vacations that when you get home, you feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation but I guess that is expected when you want to pack in all the fun that Disney has to offer.  Planning for this trip was more involved than buying our house.  Thankfully I have a very focused and organized husband who loves to plan because if the planning were left up to me, I think I would have just shown up and jumped in line with the rest of the million people.  Lucky for me I have Ronnie, who along with our buddy Tour Guide Mike, planned and executed a most efficient and fun week!  And a big thanks goes out to the Schoenfeld ladies planning committee, you gals should start charging for your useful tips!

Here are our highlights, sit back and relax, there were lots!

Hollywood Studios
maybe it was because it was our first day and we were all really excited or maybe it was because we didn't have high expectations for HS but we really loved it.  I felt like it had a lot of fun rides and shows for all ages and we were able to do pretty much everything we wanted here at least once.  The day parade and night shows were also amazing here.

-Toy Story Mania- Best ride ever!  We went multiple times and never got tired of it.  We totally rocked the fast passes here and never waited more than a few minutes.  Oh yeah, and I kicked Ronnie's trash every. single. time!

-Meeting Lightning and Mater, The ONLY characters that Beckham wanted to meet.  Fine with us, who wants to wait in an hour long line just to get a pic with a big furry dude?  But these guys, he couldn't take his eyes off of them.

-Sci-Fi Diner- a pretty cool place to eat.  You get to sit in an old car, watch hilarious old movies, and eat pretty decent food.  (Luckily this trip was just before I found out I had Gestational Diabetes so, I enjoyed my fries!)

-The Block party parade was pretty sweet.  Madison danced along and we all had a great time.

-And one for our Star Wars lovin' friends, the Winders... we thought/talked about you often on this trip.  I am pretty sure your family is the ONLY exposure to Star Wars that our kids have ever had but somehow we came home with plenty of Star Wars gear!  "Mom, Christian will LOVE playing with me and my new star wars guys!"

Animal Kingdom

-Kali  River Rapids- we geared up in our dollar store ponchos (thanks Linda) and hit the rapids.  It was a great ride but even more fun because there was no line and we got to sit on the ride and keep going around 5 or 6 times!  The kids thought it was great since they ALWAYS asked to "go again" after each ride and this was one of the few that we said yes each time they asked.  The best part was trying to guess who was going to end up at the bottom of the free fall and get soaked!

-Safari- after you get over the cheesy safari guide and the bumpy ride, it's pretty fun to see the animals.

-Everest- Ronnie convinced Madison to ride it with him, let's just say she didn't ask to go again!

-Animal Kingdom also had some great shows and 3D movies.  The kids really got into the 3D and even 4D movies this trip.

Typhoon Lagoon

We wish we would have spent a little more time here.  It was a great park and we didn't even scratch the surface of it.  It had rides for all ages and abilities and a great sandy beach to play on.  We are a water lovin' family so we soaked it all in.  I think we were having so much fun that we only got one picture out of the whole day!

Magic Kingdom

-The Buzz Lightyear ride was our family favorite here.  Madison remembered it from her many trips to Disneyland when we lived in California and now we got to introduce Bex.  Buzz is a pretty cool guy in Beckham's world so he loved helping him out and defeating Zerg every time!  Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that I could only beat Ronnie on this once, he pretty much schooled me all the other times.

-Character lunch with Winnie the Pooh.  

I don't think this would actually hit the highlights list for the kids since Bex hates big furry characters and Madison was pretty much over them.  But I know it was at the top of Ronnie's list since we sat just a mere few tables from Larry Fitzgerald and his family.  Ronnie tried to snap a few pics without disturbing him.  After he left I think Ronnie was tempted to run over and steal a few napkins or straws from the table before it was bused.

(can you see him sitting behind Tigger?)

-Classic Rides like Dumbo and the Tea Cups- I am always happy to sit that one out!

-And Beckham's favorite- Goofy's Barnstormer.  He loved the fast roller coaster, especially sitting up front with daddy!

-And of course, watching Tinker Bell fly from the castle during the nightly fireworks.

Down Town Disney

We didn't plan to spend much time here.  We got a few souvenirs for the kids but didn't think DD would be much more than restaurants and shops.  We were wrong!  We had a blast playing at the stores, making our own light sabers

-Eating at T-Rex where Beckham was in awe of the life size dinosaurs that moved and made noises.  Think Rain forest Cafe but better!  He even got to make his very own build-a-dinosaur to take home.  He named him Tyrannosaurus Beckham.  

-Playing games at Disney Quest where you can play as many times as you want with no coins, tokens, or tickets involved!  

Ronnie and the kids geared up and trained with virtual light sabers.  It was pretty hilarious to watch!

And of course, Madison was able to get dressed up and made over like a princess at the Bibity Bobity Boutique.  It really was a neat place for her.  Make-up, hair, nails, and a bit of fairy dust made the morning perfect.  Then she spent the day being bowed to and royally greeted by all of the Disney staff.  Even our bus driver couldn't resist giving her a special jewel ring to adorn her outfit.  He also felt for Bex and outfitted him with some pirate gear.  We made sure to hit the BBB in the morning so she could spend all day looking fabulous and have her full ensemble when she met the princesses at Epcot!

already signing autographs

Epcot

After getting geared up as a princess we headed to Epcot for the day.  Soarin, Test Track, and Finding Nemo were all big hits.  Especially Turtle Talk with Crush where our kids stole the show and Crush even talked to Ronnie and I.  By the end of the show everyone knew our names and congratulated me on being pregnant.  

Madison was thrilled to have dinner with her favorite princesses.  She was a little shy but loved every moment of it.

Madison loves Ariel so much and was thrilled that she got to meet her in person.

However, I think Ariel had a little crush on our Beckham because she couldn't stop trying to convince him to take a picture with her.  Once she found there was no budging him from his seat and his new star wars guys, she walked over and planted a big kiss on his cheek.  He acted like he didn't like it, but I think he did!

It was a great trip and I was happy to do it before the baby was here. The plane rides went smoothly and it made me think about how my kids have really grown up and are getting so much easier to travel with.  Then I looked down at my huge belly and remembered I am starting all over soon!

The kids (and Ronnie) want to go back already but I think I need a vacation like Hawaii before we hit any type of theme park again!  Let us know if you are planning a trip to DW, we have Ronnie has done his research!