The Happiest Place on Earth!

Chris had another implant conference in Orlando.  It coincided with Cooper's Spring Break, so we decided to go with him this time.  I was able to take advantage of Disneyworld's Military Salute program and get 4-day passes for $99 (highly recommended to any of my military friends!).  Jasper, just a week shy of his 3rd birthday, was still free so the timing couldn't have been better.

Friday night dinner with Uncle Curtis and Aunt Cathi.  We realized when planning this that we hadn't seen them since our trip through Florida back in 2002 -- 8 years ago!  In that time we have had two kids, Curtis and Cathi have married off all four of their kids and now have two grandkids, we have moved three times, and Chris and Curtis have both earned their doctorates.  I guess a lot can happen in 8 years!
Day 1: Animal Kingdom

First stop: Festival of The Lion King, full of all the favorite Lion King songs, awesome dancing, costumes, firedancing, dancers flying around like birds, and acrobatics, as well as the Disney-famous animatronics.

Jasper kept his ears covered the WHOLE time ("It's too loud!").  Cooper could not contain his enthusiasm.  He was very excited by everything that happened.

After some exploring we made our way to see Nemo, the musical.  It was very creative and innovative in the way the characters were represented.  I was unimpressed by the music, but they made up for it in the costuming.  The jellyfish were my favorite.  The materials they were made from really looked like they were floating through water.  The boys were mesmerized.

On the Maharajah Jungle Trek we saw the Rodrigues Fruit bats.  Instead of being nocturnal these bats are crepuscular, which means they are most active at sunset or sunrise when it is easiest for them to catch insects.  Unlike most bats, their ears are too small to use echolocation for navigation.  Instead, they have enormous eyes and are one of few bat species to have incredible vision, ideally suited for locating their prey in dim lighting.  Because of their 4-foot wing span and lack of ankle bones, we were reassured that they had no way of crossing through the 18-inch-wide openings between us and then -- they can't sweep in like a bird would because there would be no way to land.  It was amazing to see these awesome animals up close! 

We also saw a Komodo Dragon, Malayan Tapir, Elds Deer and Asain tigers.  The tigers were incredible to watch -- almost as good as Cooper and Jasper's tiger impressions. :-)

Then we went on the Kali River Rapids.  Jasper just met the height requirement (he's a whopping 40" tall already!).  Everyone got a little wet, but there was one spot on the boat that got totally drenched -- right where Jasper and I were sitting!  It took him by surprise and he didn't like it much.  He cheered up at the end when we were getting squirted by the animatronic baby elephants.

On the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail we continued to be amazed.  We saw the okapi (above).  It looks like it would be related to the horse or the zebra, but it is most closely related to the giraffe.  It's blue tongue is so long it can clean it's face, eyelids, and ears (inside and out) with it.  They are able to recognize each other by their stipes.  Their large ears help them hear sounds up to a mile away.

Along this trail we also saw hungry, hungry hippos (they sure are big!!), mole rats in their underground burrows, meerkats, and dik-diks (above -- so cute!). 

But the most impressive were the gorillas.  There was a mother gorilla with her 4-week old baby.  She would feed it, rock it, groom it, and then when it was time to move she would position the baby facing her so it could hang on to her, dangling beneath her while she'd walk on all fours.  I've never seen anything like it.  It seemed notable to the guide and observer as well, because they began consulting in hushed tones while the observer furiously wrote notes.  I couldn't get a picture because of the crowd.  The guide was very cautious because Jasper wanted to get too close to the glass.  He explained how over-protective the mother had been since the birth of the baby. 

Next we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari.  It was very cool to see the animals wandering around.  Here we are in our safari truck.

The non-violent animals like giraffes, white rhinos, ostriches, zebras, flamingos, wildebeests, warthogs, etc. were just roaming freely and could get very close to the safari trucks.  The lions, black rhinos, cheetas, and other potentially dangerous animals were separated from us by natural-seeming barriers like cliffs or rivers.  We saw several "termite mountains" -- tall towers of dried mud made from colonies of termites using their saliva to hold the dirt together.  Yuck.   We also saw ostrich eggs.  They looked about the size of footballs.

At the end of our almost-perfect day we saw some very bright macaws.  Cooper saw this picture and said, "It looks like I'm about to commit a crime!" :-)  I was so worried about taking the boys alone this day, but we had so much fun.  It really is a magical place. :-)

Day 2: Hollywood Studios

We waited until after lunch when Chris was done with his convention to hit the park.  By the time we got there the drizzle had started.  A couple of hours later it was in full downpour.  Many productions and attractions closed because of the rain. 

What?  No Jedi training???  Oh my, what were my young Padawans going to do?  We forked out the $30 to buy four rain ponchos and still managed to enjoy Star Tours and the Toy Story ride. 

I was able to sneak away with my friend Celestra to ride the Tower of Terror while the guys took the kids to the Indiana Jones stunt show.  Then the boys went to the Muppet 3D movie. 

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

For being the happiest place on earth, it sure was hard to convince the boys to let us take this money shot in front of the castle! 

Now hurry!  Off to Splash Mountain before Cooper realizes what he's getting himself into. :-)

He really like it until the big drop.  He said he needs a "medium" roller coaster.  But, he did it!  And I think it was a bonding moment for us -- he rode with me for the rest of the day without any argument. 

Jasper *really* wanted a picture with Woody and Jessie, so we waited in line for a while.  Then he puts his hands in his face for the pictures -- nice. 

Here we are on the Magic Carpets -- exact same ride as Dumbo without the long lines!

Chris and I both chose the 3D Philharmagic movie as our favorite experience of the day. 

Jasper and Cooper both loved driving the cars.  Put, put, put.  We also had fun on the Monsters' Laugh Floor (an interactive comedy show with the Monsters hosting).  The boys got scared silly going on Stitch, and we did a 4D shoot 'em up Buzz Light Year ride.

On the way to Toon Town with my wild animals!  We saw Mickey's house and garden, Donald's boat, and rode the "medium" roller coaster.  They loved it!

We ended the day watching a production in front of the castle.  It had Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, all the princesses and pirates, fireworks, dancing, and had everyone chanting "We believe in Dreams" and other such fluffy feel-good stuff.  It was a fun way to end the day!

Our sweet little angels, all tuckered out.

Day 4: Epcot Center

If I had to choose my favorite park, it would be a toss-up between Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  I'm guessing it's because these two parks are a little more educational in nature.  There are few rides that are just for fun or thrills.  Almost everything teaches you something new.  We saved Epcot for our last day because we knew we had to leave by 2:00 to catch our flight home and thought we'd see it all by then.  As it was we didn't even make it to any of the World Showcase, and there still would have been plenty to do in the Future World. 

We started off the day doing Spaceship Earth (inside the iconic Epcot ball).  Cooper gets soooo intense and I have to keep reminding him that the animatronics we are seeing are not real.  It took us through the history of mankind and ends in an area with some pretty cool educational 3D games. 

C&J are placing the body parts onto a skeleton -- kind of like the game Operation, but without the buzzing.

Jasper and dad ride in a big shell on Seas of Nemo.  After that we went to Turtle Talk with Crush -- a favorite of ours.  It's an interactive session with an animated Crush who answers all kinds of questions on the spot -- very creative.  We also had fun in the Seas building watching the dolphins from down below.  I love dolphins.

Next we went to the Earth building and went on a ride called Living With the Land.  A boat takes you through their experimental greenhouses where they use innovative technology to grow a lot of the food they serve at the parks and an aqua environment with baby alligators and fish.  Most of the plants they were growing were not in soil.  Their roots were exposed and were spritzed intermittently with a water/nutrient blend.  It was fascinating.

Our last ride of the day was the test track.  I knew it would be fast, so I worried that Cooper and Jasper (and Chris!) would be scared.  As it was, we all loved it.  But you can see by this photo that the end of Day 4 had us all pretty tuckered out. 

Cooper tries out a real car in the show room at the end of Test Drive. 

Wow, what a fun-packed few days.  We are so glad we went.  We definitely made some memories.  I'm not sure when we'll go back, but having never been to Disneyworld I can now see what all the hype is about.