COCOA BEACH

After 2 long days at the park we decided to drive up to the beach the next day. Cocoa Beach is only a 40 minute drive from Orlando so we packed up and headed out first thing. We all wore shorts and tees, and I took our swimsuits "just in case". Ha!

When we got to the town of Cocoa Beach we hit our favorite place that we had been when we had come 10 years earlier- Ron Jon Surf Shop. Sissy and I bought some new Reef sandals, we picked up some beach toys, and a couple t-shirts. They moved into a new building, the picture I took below, since we last came and it was pretty cool!


When we got over to the beach I soon realized we needed our suits on asap! It was 80 some degrees out w/beautiful blue sunny skies.


The kids have been to the ocean before, Sissy a few times while we lived in New York and Studs while we were visiting up there when he was a baby. We used to go to a beach in Rhode Island. But obviously the kids couldn't remember that so they were super excited for their first time really swimming in the ocean.












Studs wasn't quite as brave as Sis and didn't spend as much time in the water. The waves were crashing pretty hard and he got knocked over several times, even right near the shore. There were several surfers out, though, so he thought it was fun to watch them.
















I don't have a whole lot of pictures of us actually swimming in the ocean, but trust me- we spent hours in it! I had my camera out when we first got there and put it away to enjoy the water. The kids had a great time swimming in the ocean and they took turns coming out far with us. All 4 of us walked up and down the beach for quite awhile collecting neat shells and lots of snails.








We miss the ocean a lot! We had so much fun that day. Disney was wonderful and so fun but there is nothing like the beauty and awesomeness of the water.

A Magical Kingdom

We were ready for Day 2 at the parks. We ended up spending 3 of our 5 Disney park days at Magic Kingdom. It was, of course, our favorite so we ended up changing our Animal Kingdom day to an extra MK. Sissy is so well-versed in Magic Kingdom she could be a tour guide there. She memorized the map!

This first day at Magic Kingdom was our "go early day/parade day". We arrived early at the park, went on rides all morning, ate a late lunch, and got great spots to watch the Main St Parade, and left when it got dark to go eat a good dinner and swim.

Here are the kids at the condo ready to go!


There is nothing like the anticipation of arriving at a Disney Park!!



It was a beautiful morning and it was, surprisingly, not crowded at all!


Here are the 4 cousins, wearing fashions designed and handmade by DULU DESIGNS. The kids looked adorable in them! (and the yellow made it easy to spot them)



After taking our pictures in front of the castle, we went to the building that housed the princesses for Sissy. She was over the moon excited. Her brother, not so much. He did not care to look at or go near a princess. It was too "girly". Sissy, on the other hand, could barely walk she was so in awe.






















It was difficult for everyone to pick a favorite ride at MK, except for me. I love It's A Small World. Adore it. Rode it 4 times.

The kids had a blast on everything. We looooved Pirates, Peter Pan, and the teacups. Fantasyland is getting a new makeover set to open in 2012 and we could see the construction taking place and it looked AMAZING!!

It was then time for the parade. We had a nice bench for the adults to sit on w/the kids right in front of us so it was perfect. I videotaped the entire parade and the kids love watching it. And it was pretty fun, we saw a ton of characters.



















The kids loved The Jungle Cruise, which consists of riding on a boat w/an incredibly cheesy tour guide looking at fake animals. They thought it was awesome.



It was starting to get dark and we were ready to leave and eat. It was hard to go with the castle lights starting to shine, but we knew we had another day set aside for coming back and watching the fireworks. We said goodbye and headed back to the condo- next day was COCOA BEACH!

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

We decided to hit Hollywood Studios our first day there. It was a good choice because we were able to meet a ton of characters with very small lines, lessening the pressure of needing to find characters later.
Hollywood Studios had a building for only character meets so we got to see Mickey, Minnie, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, Handy Manny, Jake from Neverland Pirates, the Incredibles, and several more. We didn't stop at all of them, though, after meeting characters for an hour or so we were ready to go explore!



















Lightening McQueen and Mator had their own area outside and Studs thought it was awesome. They were really "on" and were making all the vroom, vroom sounds that they really would make.





For lunch we ate at the Pizza Planet Arcade, which Studs was in love with. The meals were really nice for families and the pizza came w/salads for the adults and the kids' pizza came w/grapes and carrots. I was relieved, feeling like I was giving them something healthy! The setting was a lot like Pizza Planet from Toy Story and the arcade was pretty fun.


One thing they don't lack at any Disney Park is food choices! I was astounded at all the stuff you could get. We got some delicious ice cream later on. Yes, it was $4/piece but the serving size was so big it was easy to share!


My kids get super excited about rides that are "spooky"- especially if they don't have any idea what happens inside of it. They were pumped about riding The Tower of Terror.



I did not ride it. I do not appreciate rides that make my stomach drop. But the kids had fun. Or so we thought! T's favorite ride so far had been STAR TOURS and we did that at the beginning of the day. At the end of the day, we decided to go back and do it again. We were loading into the "spacecraft" picking our seats when Studs jumps up and starts to run out and says "I don't want to do this one that drops again!" We had to physically put him back into his seat and assure him this was not the ride that DROPS. He was scared to do it again!


When we got to THE VOYAGE OF THE LITTLE MERMAID we were approached by one of the Disney members who wanted to know if Sissy would like to have a special Disney moment. Sissy was shy and refused, but Studs volunteered. It was pretty fun, before the show began he got to go up to the front and she introduced him to the crowd, and every said "hi T from Wichita, Kansas". Then he got to have the microphone and shout "Welcome to the show!" And for doing that he got a special card saying "First Mate Studs got to have a special Moment at Disney World". And he got to have Ariel and Prince Eric's signatures.


Amazingly enough, a couple hours later we were waiting outside to see the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST LIVE show Sissy was approached again about having a special Disney moment! This time she happily accepted (was jealous after seeing Studs do the last one). They took us to the front of the line and escorted us inside the auditorium to the front!


They gave Sissy a Disney pin and practiced her "job" with her...




The show was amazing. Just amazing. The cast, the singing, the costumes. We loved every second of it!












Now came Sissy's part. After they bowed she got to go up to the stage and the Prince and Belle shook her hard and gave her the rose from the show.




Sissy was totally enamored of Belle and declared Belle her new favorite princess. She also got their autographs after the show and a Special Disney Moment certificate for Princess Sissy, too!




Then Studs was up, what he had been waiting all day for. Meeting some Toy Story characters!


The line to do this was not short by any means. However, it was in a building that looked like every scene from the movie so we walked through Sid's room, Pizza Planet, the backyard, etc... and on into Andy's room.









Studs was in heaven. He wouldn't even get too close at first because he was so in awe of them.




And could hardly take his eyes off Buzz!



The kids loved the Buzz ride, too!

We were there at such a great time (week before Thanksgiving) because it wasn't crowded and everyone had their Christmas stuff up! The lights at Hollywood Studios were amazing. Breathtaking. Lights everywhere you looked, lights set to music. My pictures do not do them justice! And yes, some of them are blurry.










Hollywood Studios was a total blast. We went back to our rooms afterwards and put the kids to bed, had a couple drinks and hit the hot tubs! :)

And did I mention why some of my photos might be blurry? Because not only was this to be our first day at Disney but it was also the "day I broke my camera two hours into the day". I was having so much fun, I dropped my camera twice that morning. Then the third time I dropped it, waiting in line for STAR TOURS, it shattered the lens. This was a nightmare for me, and yes, I bawled like a baby. LUCKILY my sister-in-law had just gotten a new IPHONE that took great pictures and she wasn't planning on using her camera. Crisis averted, I had a camera to use. And boy did I use it. :)