Disney World Vacation 2013 - Part 1

Two weeks ago on Friday morning we surprised the kids by taking them to Disney World.  We had told Mamie that she could sleep in a little later because she had a doctor's appointment.  She was getting suspicious and asking too many questions, so we had to come up with something to throw her off.  Richie woke them up and had them come to the kitchen for breakfast.  When they got there, I had made some Mickey Mouse heads out of waffles, and we told them that we were leaving that morning to go to Disney World.  They were shocked, and Margaret even teared up after making some really bizarre faces.  I couldn't believe that no one had caught on.  The video of us surprising them is linked below.



We flew to Orlando a couple of hours after that.  They were still in complete shock that we were there and that they were getting to miss a day of school.  We stayed at Disney's Art of Animation resort in a Finding Nemo themed suite.  It was really cute, and the kids loved the pool.







On our first night there we ate at O'hana which is in the Polynesian resort.  It was a Hawaiian themed meal that was definitely one of our family's favorite meals during all of our stay at Disney.  The kids loved the pot stickers, chicken wings and the lo-mein, and the bread pudding was delicious too!  Margaret and I learned how to do a hula dance, and then she got to dance with Richie at the end of the night.







On Saturday morning, we headed to the Animal Kingdom.  We got there a short time before the park opened and while we were waiting in line one of the girls, Anna, who works there started talking to Margaret about the flamingo on her shirt.  She asked her if she would like to see a gray flamingo.  Margaret said yes, and Anna led our entire family through the entrance before park opening, and took our family on a private safari on the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride.  She answered all of the our questions, and we were able to see a ton of animals since it was early in the day.  It was a special memory that we will never forget!  After that we continued touring the rest of the park and had lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue.





























Our family's must-do attractions at Animal Kingdom:
1. Kilimanjaro Safaris
2. Festival of the Lion King
3. Expedition Everest (only Mamie and I rode it)
4. Finding Nemo - The Musical
5. Flights of Wonder
6. Primeval Whirl
7. Kali River Rapids
8. walking the trails to see all of the animals
9. Margaret liked Triceratop Spin
(The kids HATED Dinosaur.)

For dinner that night we went to Boma (an African themed buffet) at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It was fun to try out some unusual foods and to see all of the animals at the beautiful resort.



Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5