~Vacation Posts to follow~
Disney World
Costa Rica
Grand Cayman
We surprised Brooks with his first trip to Disney World for his 5th Birthday. We left bright and early the morning after his party headed to the most magical place on earth!! He had no idea...Bryan & I went into his room about 5:00 am to share the news. When we woke him up, I said, "Brooks wake up, guess where we are going?". He said, "Disney World!!". I told him yes and he jumped up on the bed and did a happy dance. We quickly got him dressed and headed to the airport. I didn't take a picture with my camera, Bryan video taped his reaction.
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| He is beside himself with excitement. |
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| I love this shot of Brooksie with his wings. Last week, 5 months after our trip, he told me that he was the pilot of the airplane that took us to Disney World!! |
We spent 4 nights and it was the perfect time of year to go. Not to crowded and the weather was AWESOME. My friend, Carrie, has been to Disney many times, so she planned our trip. I was so thankful because she set up everything, gave so many great tips, and was available during our trip anytime I had a question. When Carrie set up the trip, she let them know we were celebrating Brooks' birthday. At the character meals and most dinners, they brought dessert and sang to him. We stayed at the Grand Floridian. It is really nice, but not the most kid-friendly. It is one of the monorail stops, so that was really convienent. I think next trip we will try the Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge.
The first day we went to Hollywood Studios. We didn't get to the park until a little after 2:00pm. We had to rush around and I don't feel like we really got to see everything. It took a little longer at the airport to get checked in/loaded onto the Magical Express, and then it's about a 30 minute drive to the parks. Brooks' favorite thing at Hollywood Studios was Toy Story Mania. It's new and always has a long wait. The first time we went to ride it, the wait was 1 1/2 hours. We decided to come back later. When we returned, it had dropped to 45 minutes...much better!! He also LOVED the Indiana Jones stunt show. I thought the Muppet Vision 3-D show was really cute. We went to see Fantasmic, a laser & lights show over water, and loved it. Then headed to dinner at 50's Primetime Cafe. It was so neat. Each table is set up like a kitchen from the 50's and you MUST have manners/abide by the rules or you will get in trouble with your waitress. I had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans...a great "home cooked" meal!!
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| Walking through the park |
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Riding the tram on the Studio Backlot Tour
I bought Disney t-shirts from Target before our trip and he was surprised each morning with a new shirt for the day. |
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| Part of the tour when the tanker truck explodes...Brooks thought it was really cool, but a little too loud. |
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| Waiting in line for the Toy Story ride |
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| Aren't the barrell of monkeys cute... |
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| Bryan and I had as much fun as he did on the ride. |
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| I remember the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular from my trips to Disney as a child. |
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| Posing in front of Indiana's tank |
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| Cutie pie in his Mickey ears ready to watch Fantasmic |
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| Perfect place to watch the show |
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| Dinner at 50's Primetime Cafe |
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| We watched black & white episodes of I Love Lucy during dinner. |
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| Birthday icecream sundae..the first of many celebrations during the trip. |
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| Waiting on us in the room after dinner. Mickey and the Happy Birthday rainbow are all white chocolate. I ordered the personalized Mickey ears, his autograph book, and a fat" pen for the characters to use when signing his book a few weeks before our trip. |
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| A fun surprise from housekeeping...Brooks needed to add his bouncy ball. |
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| A clean, sleepy boy ready for bed. Woody also had to come with us to Disney World. |
