We enjoyed a trip to Disney World at the beginning of December. We were lucky to have Nana, Papa, and Grammy along this time.
DAY ONE-Wednesday, December 5
We flew out of St. Louis super early in the morning, so we could enjoy most of the afternoon at Disney World. We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge around lunchtime, snacked, checked out our awesome suite, and then headed off to explore Animal Kingdom. After spending the afternoon at Animal Kingdom, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Boma, one of the restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
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| The boys watched Disney cartoons and refueled with gummy bears and cookies while Curt checked in. Cole was the only one to make the healthy choice of a banana. |
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| Arriving at Animal Kingdom |
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| Kieran finally gave into exhaustion while everyone else rode Expedition Everest. |
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| Waking up to Mickey Mouse ice cream |
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| TriceraTop Spin was supposed to be Kieran's first ride of the trip, but we had to exit shortly after this photo because it wasn't working. |
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| Papa, Curt, Cole, and Caden braved the Kali River Rapids and got soaked. |
DAY TWO-Thursday, December 6
Our first full day started off at Epcot and included lunch at Marrakesh, and then we stopped back by the resort before our late night at Magic Kingdom with the Very Merry Christmas Party. The Very Merry Christmas party was enjoyed by all of us...fun parade, hot chocolate and cookies, and amazing fireworks. Riding Space Mountain several times was a highlight for Caden and Cole, while Kieran loved seeing all his favorite characters in the parade.
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| Sunny day at Epcot |
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| Before riding Finding Nemo |
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| Super Kieran walking into the Finding Nemo ride |
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| Kieran watching the belly dancer over lunch at Marrakesh |
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| Cole |
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| Of course, Kieran wanted a photo too. |
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| Failed attempt to get a photo of three distracted boys in the bright sunshine |
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| Watching the animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge before heading off to Magic Kingdom |
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| Kieran caught a quick nap on the way to Magic Kingdom. |
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| Nana, Curt, Caden, Papa, Cole, and Grammy finishing Splash Mountain |
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Riding Aladdin's Magic Carpet
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| We really enjoyed Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. |
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| Kieran was so excited to see all the characters during the parade. |
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| LOTS of pointing and waving from Kieran |
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| Santa was the end of a great parade. Watching Kieran's reactions was priceless and definitely worth the extra cost for the Very Merry Christmas Party. |
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| Traditional photo with Zurg after riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin |
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| Very happy family with the beautiful castle |
DAY THREE-Friday, December 7
We started the day back at Magic Kingdom. It is definitely our favorite park right now. After riding some of our favorite rides, we hit Hollywood Studios. After another full day of fun, we enjoyed the Christmas light show and dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.
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| Papa, Nana, and Kieran riding the carrousel while Curt, Grammy, and the big boys were on Space Mountain (again!) |
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| Sweet smile from Kieran in the new Dumbo area |
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Kieran and cheesy-smile Cole riding the train
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| Kieran was absolutely thrilled to meet Jake when we arrived at Hollywood Studios. |
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| Kieran and Handy Manny |
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| Big hug for Wreck-It Ralph |
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| Meeting Wreck-It Ralph and Venellope |
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| BIG smile upon meeting Mickey |
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| Kieran giving Mickey lots of love |
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| NOT riding Tower of Terror like everyone else! |
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| Awesome Christmas light show |
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| Taking in the Christmas light show |
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| Caden showing off his new pins while waiting to go to dinner |
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| Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is one of our favorite restaurants. The milkshakes are sooo good! |
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| Before heading back to our suite |
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| Kieran passed out after a very long day of fun |
DAY FOUR-Saturday, December 8
We returned to Hollywood Studios the next morning to meet more characters and ride more rides. After getting our fill of Hollywood Studios, we decided to return to Magic Kingdom. It was a very crowded Saturday at Magic Kingdom, so we had some long waits and not as much riding, but we were able to fit in some favorites and eat dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern next to our dear friends, The Wynn Family who had just arrived that day. Shortly after dinner, we rode the monorail around to check out the Christmas decorations at the monorail resorts. We got off at The Grand Floridian to check out their nearly life-size gingerbread house (photos in separate blog entry).
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| Kieran was full of hugs for the characters while the big boys usually just gave fives or maybe quick hugs. |
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| Kieran and Stitch |
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| Traditional speeder bike photos in the Star Wars area |
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| Lightning McQueen and Mater |
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| Kieran loving on Minnie |
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| Kieran waking up to a parade at Magic Kingdom |
DAY FIVE-Sunday, December 9
We started our last day off bright and early with a sunrise safari (fantastic!!!--photos in separate blog entry) that is offered to the suite guests. We had to skip out on the breakfast buffet after the safari in order to grab a quick breakfast in the concierge lounge and catch our Magical Express to the airport.
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| Our boys in front of the Christmas tree in Animal Kingdom Lodge |
It is always so hard to say good-bye to Disney World. We had another wonderful visit. We're so thankful that Nana, Papa, and Grammy were able to enjoy the magic with us this time. We cannot wait to go back again!
