Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 2

Oh dear. Life seems to have gotten away from me and I desperately need to get some of these vacation photos on here so I don't forget anything. So, I will try to be better in the next few days.

After spending a good part of our first full day at Hollywood Studios, we caught the bus to Epcot as we had dinner reservations at The Coral Reef. I wish I had some video of the kids' excitement over this restaurant. Our reservations were early enough that I we were able to request and receive a table smack dab in front of the giant aquarium.

These pictures certainly do not do it justice and if you notice, both Ian and Kyra were practically climbing on the table to get a closer look. Honestly, I don't think they would have cared if they had anything to eat because all they did was watch the the tank. Their favorites were the rays, the sharks and the sea turtles.


After dinner, we stayed in the Coral Reef area. The Disney people have really done a great job revamping the old "The Seas" exhibit. They turned it into a Nemo themed exhibit complete with a ride in a clam shell.


During Turtle Talk with Crush, Ian got to ask Crush what turtles eat. Crush then asked Ian what his favorite food was (answer: mac 'n' cheese) and then asked if it caused him to "get the bubbles"; yeah, that got him laughing. Nothing like a little potty humor from an animated turtle! They also played in this shark area except Kyra was a little frightened of the oversized sharks. She always had to be with someone for a picture.


Now, you would think that would be enough for our first day, but as you'll see in the next segment, there's always more . . .

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 1

We packed so much into our first "full" day at the World, that I am going to have to break it down into separate parts. Of course, with so much in front of you, it's definitely hard to decide where to start. After much debate, we picked "Hollywood" Studios (for all of you "old schol" folks, you can't really say that; Rich and I consistently still refer to it as "MGM"). There was a method to our madness. First off, it had a wide variety of attractions that suited both ages and, most importantly, the kids would get to eat at Pizza Planet!


We spent the first part of the morning riding "the big rides"; Ian immediately fell in love with Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and revisited an old favorite from his memories of Dinseyland - The Tower of Terror.


Even after her encounter with the royal family the night before, Kyra was still a little leery of the larger than life characters - even the ones that didn't move or talk. If you notice in this picture, here fingers are in her ears because Lightening McQueen's and Mater's motors were "too loud".

After much debate, Kyra decided she would go see Jo Jo and Goliath but only if Daddy came with her. She was very tentative when she approached them but the characters saw that and played peek-a-boo and extended hands (and paws) for high 5s to gain her trust. When Kyra discovered they couldn't hurt/maim/frighten her, she declared that she was "brave" and pushed Daddy to the side.

After that, there was no stopping this little girl when it came to securing character autographs. She was very proud of her princess "autograph" book and clung to it while waiting in lines.


Kyra with June from Little Einsteins practicing her dancing skills.


Handy Manny was a huge hit as well.


And so we wrap up the first part of the day. Stay tuned for more . . .

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 1

Well, eight days at Walt Disney World is apparently not enough to see it all, though we did give it our best shot. I'm currently weeding through over 800 pictures that I took throughout our trip and since I share photos on this blog for family to see, I'm going to try to break them down so you aren't all overloaded at once.

These pictures are from our first day in Florida. The day started rough - over a 3-hour delay due to mechanical problems on our flight. We were supposed to arrive in Orlando around 10:30 but didn't get in until around 1:30. Since the flight was supposed to leave originally around 7:00 a.m., we had been up for a long time and were tired. Luckily, our dinner reservations were early at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Kyra was selected by the manager to open the doors to the dining room with a "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo". When the doors swung open, there was Prince Charming waiting for Kyra.
He took her by the hand and escorted her to the table. It brought tears to this mommy's eyes!
Later, during the dinner, Kyra also had the first dance with Prince Charming (after Cinderella, of course). I don't think Kyra ate much during dinner because she was so enthralled with the characters in the dining room. Needless to say, she got over her most of her fear of characters rather quickly.

Not to be left out of the picture, while Kyra danced with Charming, Ian caught the eye of Anastasia and she pulled him out of his chair to dance. I believe Rich has some video, but Anastasia tagged Ian as her future husband and began grilling him with questions including how much money he had and if he thought she was beautiful. This made for great fodder the rest of our trip.
To add to his pre-teen embarrassment, Lady Tremaine - the wicked stepmother, also came into the picture and began grilling Ian about why he found Anastasia so attractive. Look how red his cheeks are!

As I said, Kyra got over her mortal fear of characters with Prince Charming and Cinderella, but it was a little different when it came to the wicked Stepmother and the stepsisters. In fact, she went under the table when Lady Tremaine arrived.
We coaxed her into pictures with the stepsisters though but only as long as someone else came with her!
I've been to quite a few character dinners at Disney, but this one, by far, was the most interactive. This was a most magical way to start our trip and we had one happy little princess!

We're Back!

WARNING: This is going to be a photo-heavy entry!

What can I say to describe the last week? Our journey started on the 19th as we drove to Milwaukee to spend the night before taking off early the next morning. We had my birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then promptly headed to the hotel to go to sleep. We woke up Saturday morning at an unuasually early hour and made it to the airport only to find there were "maintenance issues." So, instead of going by plane, we were put on a bus to O'Hare. Actually, it took just about the same amount of time as it would to fly and the bus was comfortable.

The kids were extremely well-behaved on the flight down to Mexico. The drive to the resort was eye-opening. There is such a huge contrast between the luxury resorts and the villages that surround them. I did my best to point this out to Ian and Kyra.




The resort itself couldn not have been more perfect for us. They had an "Explorer's Club" that we could check the kids into. Each day, they had a schedule of activities and Ian would choose what he wanted to do and we would check him in and out. We did have the kids in there for lunch and dinner so Rich and I could have a quiet dinner each night. By the end of the first day, Kyra was counting to ten in Spanish (Ian can get even higher). We have nothing but good things to say about the kids club. Kyra and Ian both enjoyed their time and their teachers. The pictures above are a couple of the various kids' activities. One night they had a "show" and another night, they took part in the Mexican fiesta. Kyra and Ian were "co-winners" in the "Viva Mexico" contest. When you had the sombrero on your head, you had to shout "Viva Mexico!". Ian was the most entusiastic and Kyra was just a ham!








Aside from the kids' activities, there was no shortage of things to do at the resort. Each day we started with a huge breakfast and then headed down to the beach/pool. We spent LOTS of time in the pool! Kyra was a little hesitant the first few days, but by the end of the week, she was "swimming" like a pro and jumping into the deep end (provided we were there to catch her). They both also enjoyed the ocean trampoline (which made Mommy seasick).




When the kids were busy with the kids club, we got to play too. Rich participated in Beach Olympics. Here he is after a game where they had to pass flour over their heads in a line. We also played quite a bit of beach and tequilla volleyball (and yes, the latter does involve beverage).






I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the food and drink available! It was actually overwhelming and we often didn't know what to choose (although I would have been just as happy munching on fresh guacamole and chips). Even my pickiest eater found new things to try! Ian discovered he loved pollenta and he found that everything (including bacon) tastes better with Nutella! In the evening, we went to several "adult" only restaurants including Asian, French and Italian. I discovered it is far too easy to drink a bottle of Merlot by one's lonesome when said bottle is left at the table (but oh was it good!). Kyra, in true princess fashion, has an affinity for being served by room service. In fact, I am surprised that she did not demand a fruit plate and tres leches cake (Miss M, I may need a recipe sometime)before nap time today! The kids also discovered rather quickly that the bars were not for adults only! Their favorite drink? "Happy Kids", of course!







On Wednesday, Ian got to go on an excursion with us to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The view was absolutely spectacular! It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! The boys also found a "virtual" geocache.




And here is the Mexican equivalant of the squirrel - the iguana. The first time one of these scurried across my path, I was a little freaked out. But then I soon realized they were EVERYWHERE and, much to Kyra's delight, they were really fun to chase! But you could sneak up on them (and with the help of an ultra zoom) get some decent shots of them!

In addition to everything else, Ian was able to go snailing, snorkeling and kayaking for the first time. He is extremely excited about snorkeling and even wants to keep practicing and is interested in looking into scuba lessons. I think we may have opened a(n expensive) can of worms here!

We got back late last night and the kids were exhausted though extremely good travelers. We're all a little sad to have left our slice of paradise, but at the same time, theer's no place like home! I look forward to catching nup with everyone soon!