I'll just start with Disney today. There's so much to say about it, there's no way I could cover the entire vacation in one blog. First, let me say thank God for the military promotional tickets. We only used two of the 4 tickets but we still saved $60 bucks buying 4 tickets instead of 2 military priced tickets/person. Disney is INSANELY expensive. I'm also thanking my amazing in-laws for covering the rooms and so much of the food. There is no way we could have afforded this trip without them, at least not for the 7 days we stayed in Florida.
The Good:
I really thought my favorite ride would be the Kilimanjaro Safaris (Animal Kingdom) but The Land (Epcot Future World) definitely stole the show. If you've never been to Disney, The Land is a boat ride that takes you behind the scenes to see agricultural development over the last century (or maybe longer) along with the progress and technology Disney, themselves, are working on and taking to further our agricultural advancement. I loved going behind the scenes into the Disney garden, if it can even be described that way, to see the produce and fish Disney grows to use at the park restaurants. The reason I have a hard time calling it a garden is because of all of the experimental growing techniques (nothing crazy, calm down people) that Disney uses. They have towers of herbs, trees of tomatoes (yes, TREES), tables of lettuce, the list of crazy awesomeness goes on. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of the things they use to grow produce so I can have a full garden on my 112 sq ft patio. Then again, plants tremble at my sight and wither at my touch so maybe it's best that I leave the farming to the professionals. (BTW, I can see why there are pregnancy restrictions on the Safari ride but, if you're healthy and don't mind taking a few minutes post safari to stretch your back to relieve the aches and pains, there is really no reason not to ride it. You're missing out on all of the awesome African animals and how close they will actually come to you.)
I loved watching my niece and nephew run around Epcot on our first park day, gathering all of the signatures and pictures they could get with the characters. J was hilarious, insisting he'd never wanted the "stinking princess" signatures only to turn around and whip out his book and best smile whenever one was in sight. Watching L at the Princess Dinner and her excitement brought on by being close enough to touch a princess was priceless. Disney is definitely something I want to do with my own children but not until the youngest is at least 6. J was the perfect age to show extreme joy and anticipation while being old enough to walk on his own, know to stay close and barely complain, despite the muggy heat. Disney is magical for the youngsters and I can't wait to bring mine.
Epcot World Showcase was spectacular. We met people literally from around the world. Disney sends representatives to the different countries represented in World Showcase to recruit young adults to work at the various countries. These people leave their homes to comes spend a year at Disney to make the attraction more realistic for park visitors while being able to do a bit of traveling and site-seeing of their own. Each person we spoke with was so friendly and warm, always smiling and eager to talk about their home country. It definitely added to the attraction and made it so much more amazing than I'd expected.
Downtown Disney Shopping Center had so many amazing shops, to include a Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique where girls can have hair and make-up done to dress like their favorite princess. It's right inside a Disney store, convenient if your princess wants a dress to match her hair and make-up. Ghirardelli has a store AND an ice cream shop in the shopping center. I became addicted to their ice cream shop while living in California. It was SO hard to avoid that temptation even though I was stuffed with Cuban food from lunch. Little princes will love the Lego store, as will the Moms and Dads. There were multiple HUGE displays made out of Legos depicting various scenes from Disney movies. Overall, the Shopping Center had the perfect mesh of stores and sites for kids and parents alike.
The Bad:
The crowds! August is HOT. Why are people so insane to travel to a humid state to wander around in this heat?!?! It's not so much the crowds as it was the caliber of people walking in the parks. There is a reason I refuse to bring a child that is old enough to want to walk but not old enough to know to stay close or keep an eye on. We watched (multiple times) as little kiddos, as young as two years old, were run over without second thought. Even J and L got away a few times and disappeared into the crowds and they made attempts to stay close. I'm not joking when I tell you I saw a lady on an Amigo run into a 3 year old, sending her flying only to take a sidelong glance and keep driving away. The poor little girl was sobbing as her Mom scooped her up and the culprit of the hit and run was gone before anyone was able to recover from the shock of the situation and respond in any way more than yelling at the lady. There was more than one occasion when someone would take a look at my belly, realize I was incapable of doing much more than waddling, literally shove me out of their way and rush on. I do not at all recommend taking a small child. I was entirely shocked at how rude people were. I thought the locals in this area were bad but I've never seen anything like the callousness I saw at Disney. That aside, the trip was amazing and the parks were so much more than I expected. The employees are amazing, friendly and so accommodating, they definitely made up for the lack of respect from the park visitors.
Epcot Future World from World Showcase
A view in France
Of course, you need the welcome sign!
Who doesn't love Rafiki?
Just a few feet away on the Safari
The hippo on the walking safari tour
I loved these guys!
There were multiple of these huge Lego displays in Downtown Disney. AMAZING!
In Italy. It smelled SO good!
