This year’s vacation was an (extended) family affair: we spent a week in Disney World with Bryant’s parents and his brother’s family (Kevin, Templa, Micah and Rylan). Kevin and Templa are Disney World aficionados, and they planned our itinerary for us. And what an itinerary it was! Four character breakfasts, dinner each night in the parks, a pirate dress-up session for Henry, a Halloween party in the Magic Kingdom, and a special pirate room at our resort hotel. We were racing to keep up with the Morris clan all week, but we had a great time and got to experience a tremendous amount. We were especially grateful to Uncle Kevin for making all the arrangements and Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill for helping out with the kids during the week.
Below is a brief outline of our week. As you can see, we made the most of every magical minute:
Day Three: We spent the day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, starting with a character breakfast with Handy Manny and other Disney Playhouse characters. We then took in some shows, including Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and rode the ridiculously popular Toy Story Midway Mania ride (the wait in the regular line was over 90 minutes, but we were able to get Fast Passes). We had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, an indoor restaurant in the style of a 1950s drive-in. This was probably our favorite dining spot of the whole trip. In the afternoon, we checked out the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set playground and took the Studio Backlot Tour. Along the way, we met Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Mike Wazowski (the one-eyed monster from Monsters, Inc.)
Day Four: We took the morning off to catch our breath but headed to Epcot for the afternoon where we visited The Seas pavilion and rode the Nemo and Friends ride. At The Land pavilion, Bryant and Elise tried out Soarin!, a simulated flight over the California landscape. A little rain slowed our afternoon activities, but we finished the day with an excellent meal at Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canadian Pavilion. To cap off the evening, we all rode Spaceship Earth, the giant geodesic sphere at the entrance to Epcot (or the “moon ride,” as Henry called it)
Day Five: Our next stop was the Animal Kingdom park. In the morning, we met Mickey, Minnie and other friends, took in the Festival of the Lion King show (Vivi really enjoyed this; she was dancing in the aisles while the music played), watched the It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D movie, and (for Elise and the other thrill seekers) rode the Expedition Everest rollercoaster. In the afternoon, we explored some of the animal trails (and saw some amazing giant bats) and played in the water fountains in Asia.
Day Six: Today it was back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We started the day in Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise (where our boat stalled and had to be towed back to the dock), Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. Before lunch, Henry and Paw Paw Bill got a pirate makeover at the Pirates League. Paw Paw went for the Jack Sparrow look while Henry chose to be a spooky skeleton pirate (see below). We were amazed that Henry sat perfectly still while his makeup was applied. If only he could do the same thing in restaurants and church! After an early dinner with Winnie the Pooh and friends, it was time for the Halloween Party. We had special tickets that allowed us to go trick-or-treating throughout the park and ride many attractions with virtually no wait. Once again, Henry insisted on riding Winnie the Pooh multiple times.
Day Seven: We returned to Animal Kingdom for breakfast with Donald Duck and got up close with various critters on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and at the Conservation Station petting zoo. We then headed over to DinoLand USA where Henry, Vivian and Rylan played in The Boneyard playground while Bryant and Elise experienced the thrilling Dinosaur ride. After an afternoon rest, it was time for more dinosaurs, this time at T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney. Operated by the same folks who run the Rainforest Cafe chain, this was an elaborately decorated restaurant with life-size animatronic dinosaurs and a half-hourly meteor shower show. Henry loved it!
Day Eight: For our last day, we returned to the Magic Kingdom, had breakfast with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and rode our favorite rides a few more times. In the afternoon, we watched a parade on Main Street. Vivi really enjoyed this: she was clapping and bopping to the music as the floats rolled past. For our final meal, we had dinner under the stars at the San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion. We were seated next to the river where you can take a slow boat ride through the Mexico exhibit. Vivi enjoyed watching the boats and waving to the other visitors.
Day Nine: Exhausted, we headed to the airport, in need of a vacation to recover from our vacation!
Below are some additional pictures of our trip:
Day One: We arrived in Orlando and checked-in at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, where Uncle Kevin had booked special pirate-themed rooms for us. After settling in, we headed to Epcot Center for visits to the Mexico, China and Norway pavilions before having dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany. Inside, we celebrated Oktoberfest with some hearty German food and polka dancing. Henry really enjoyed twirling around the dance floor with his cousins while the Oompah band played. 
Day Three: We spent the day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, starting with a character breakfast with Handy Manny and other Disney Playhouse characters. We then took in some shows, including Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and rode the ridiculously popular Toy Story Midway Mania ride (the wait in the regular line was over 90 minutes, but we were able to get Fast Passes). We had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, an indoor restaurant in the style of a 1950s drive-in. This was probably our favorite dining spot of the whole trip. In the afternoon, we checked out the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set playground and took the Studio Backlot Tour. Along the way, we met Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Mike Wazowski (the one-eyed monster from Monsters, Inc.) 
Day Four: We took the morning off to catch our breath but headed to Epcot for the afternoon where we visited The Seas pavilion and rode the Nemo and Friends ride. At The Land pavilion, Bryant and Elise tried out Soarin!, a simulated flight over the California landscape. A little rain slowed our afternoon activities, but we finished the day with an excellent meal at Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canadian Pavilion. To cap off the evening, we all rode Spaceship Earth, the giant geodesic sphere at the entrance to Epcot (or the “moon ride,” as Henry called it)
