Disney World

It only took a few weeks, but think we have recovered!

First of all, we realize now even more than before how fortunate we were to stay in the resort we were upgraded to by Disney. Being at the Boardwalk was the perfect location. Our first day there, we took a walk and came around a bend in a river and saw a lovely ornate building. Asked a worker what it was and he smiled and said, "France". Turns out we were at the back entrance of Epcot! We also had a lovely lake in front of us that faced two other resorts. There was a landing in front of the resort and you could take a boat to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. They also made the boardwalk look like a 1920-30's boardwalk, complete with magicians and other acts in the evening. Our room looked right down on the festivities.

The resort was very lovely and our friends Leeanne, Ron and Ellie were right next door. We were able to enjoy outings both with them and then do outings as just our family of four. We had a few bad nights and I am sure they wished they were a few doors down from us!

We enjoyed an incredible brunch at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a safari at the park. Staying there had been an option, but it is so far from everything that I am glad of the decision we made, as lovely as it was.

Confession time. I was a total geek at the princess lunch. The castle was beautiful. The waiter was a hoot. Our lunches were surprisingly good. Yes, I was waving my pen for the girls to get their autograph books to be signed. Maisy, of course, was the coolest and pretty much just fixed every princess with the "stink eye", which shocked a few of them. Part of Magic Kingdom was closed, but we did get to ride in the teacups, my childhood dream, and It's a Small World (hmmm, how did Eric miss that one?).

Our favorite park was Hollywood Studios. It was a 10 minute walk from our resort and had so many fun things that both girls enjoyed. We loved watching a performance of Beauty and the Beast, having lunch with Jake of Jake and the Neverland Pirate, and Special Agent Oso, a saw a cute little Muppet performance and so much more.

There were some downsides to this trip that I will be very honest about. Our girls are both homebodies and being away from home for a whole week was just too long. As much as they loved the character lunches, rides and fun food, they also longed for home more often than not. If they could have spent the day at a park and teleported home, they would have been in heaven. No matter how much you try to relax, it is just a busy place filled with stimulation. If there is a next time, we would do a shorter stay and off site where we could make our own meals and escape from the magic as needed.

That said, there were no bigger smiles than Libby's when she saw her favorite characters and got a hug. Maisy gave everyone fron Belle to Donald Duck the stink eye if they dared to approach and then would laugh about it. As it was my first time there, it was pretty darn special and I wish I could have seen more of Epcot, if anything.

Looking through the 100's pictures, I realize there are others I would like to share, so will do a smaller Part 2 in the next few weeks.