A Tale of Two Disneys, take 1

Better late than never, right?  Well, here goes.  We took the kids to Disney in January for a week of warmth (70-80 every day), sun (every day) and loads of fun.  We stayed in a family suite at the Art of Animination Resort in a Nemo room.  We spent the first day getting settled in and playing in the pool.  This was definitely a family resort.  There were 3 pools, the main pool being next to the Nemo wings and decorated in Nemo style, including huge (3 stories!) statutes, a smaler kids fountain pool, a daily dance party on the pool deck and tons of fun!

There were also entire buildings (with adjacent themed outdoor areas) for Cars, The Lion King and Little Mermaid.  Seriously impressive resort--no doubt Disney knows how to entertain!

We spent the first full day at Animal Kingdom.  Thanks for a tip from a friend, we reserved a character breakfast at the Tusker House before the park even opened.  We were treated to visits by Donald, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and some great food.

 

The park itself was a big hit, once the kids understood that Animal Kindgdom was the "park" and that we were not going to a "park" with slides, swings, etc.

 

Ida had no interest in meeting Pocahontas, but Henrik "the brave warrior" had no hesitation when she asked him to show her "his muscles."

The day ended with a wonderful parade and two very tired children (and a couple of tired adults too!).

After a day of relaxtion, and then a busy morning (more to come in take 2) we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch and some fun.  

And then, on our last day in Orlando, we headed to Magic Kingdom for 13 hours of non-stop Disney overload!  Suzanne, Grandma L & the kids headed to the park about an hour before it opened for  breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table (a/k/a "breakfast in the castle with the princesses").  As you can see, Main Street is quite pleasant if you can manage to get into the park before it opens.

 

We started with a group picture with Cinderella (which we have the old-fashioned way, but no digital), and Henrik receiving a big smooch on the forehead from Cinderella.

 

Then rides, rides, rides and other similar fun.

 

This is a picture of Henrik & Chad on Henrik's second Barnstormer ride of the day.  Ida tried it once, after talking for weeks about how excited she was to go on the rollercoster, and immediately declared "I don't like rollercoasters."  Henrik, who was barely tall enough to get on, quickly declared that he wanted to ride it again (which he did).

 

Later in the day, we headed to Tinker's Nook to meet a few fairies . . . 

 

. . . where Henrik received his second smooch of the day!

 

The electric lights parade was a hit, and ended shortly before the fireworks (which were a hit once we got the earplugs in the kids' ears and got our hands firmly over their ears to block the sound).  All in all it was a great day!