National Lampoon's Disney Vacation

I've finally put together all our pics from last week at DisneyWorld. It was a fun vacation, but there were quite a few instances of bad luck...I kept thinking that it could have been a National Lampoon's flick. On the bright side, it was the perfect time to visit Disney...it was not crowded at all, and we rarely had to wait to ride anything. A few times, we were able to ride multiple times without getting off because there was no one else waiting to get on. The weather was great too...not hot and not cold, and no rain.
We did break our camera on one of the rides on our first full day there. Jon bought another camera that turned out to be awful, so a lot of our pics came out blurry. It has since been returned, and as of yesterday I have a new camera that I will be learning how to use (playing with) later today.

Jon flew out on Friday morning, and the girls, Mimi, Pappi, and I drove. We spent Friday night in Atlanta at Ron's house, then drove the rest of the way Saturday. Ron has a "party basement", and Savy absolutely loved the games.



Everything was going great on the drive, until Savy suddenly came down with a stomach bug. Our 6 hour drive turned into about 9 hours as we visited every rest-stop between Atanta and Orlando...there were even a couple of emergency "bushes" stops when no exit was in sight.
We finally made it to Disney and quickly learned to scope out all bathrooms immediately on entering any new area. Our first afternoon, we visited Downtown Disney and ate dinner at Raglan Road, where I had some of the best bread pudding I've ever tasted.

Second day: Our first full day there, we went to Hollywood Studios (previously MGM). We saw the stunt show which turned out to be pretty good. Here's a clip from the end of the show.



Jon took a picture of me taking a picture.



We were taking a quick rest break in a quiet corner by the Great Movie Ride when a whole bunch of characters walked by on their way into the building.





Savy really enjoyed the parades. The kids were invited to dancy along in most of them, and we all know Savy LOVES to dance. She was just all over the place during this one. When you see her running to the left, I think she was actually trying to get on that float. Our little Savy always does her own thing...she has fun no matter what.



Savy actually rode Tower of Terror...not once, but twice!


The christmas lights were already up at all the parks...it even snowed every night.


I think that was the night that our disney bus driver got lost on the way back to the resort...like, really lost. Everyone was a pretty good sport about it. When we were finally pulling up to the resort, she said "Please don't tell anybody"...I don't think she was kidding, either.

The next day was Savy's special birthday treat...breakfast with all the princesses at Cinderella's castle.








Photos of the castle dining room





When we left the castle, we ran into the Fairy Godmother. This was another great thing about our trip...virtually no waiting to see most of the characters, so there was plenty of time for Savy to talk to them.

Savy and F.G.




Scarlett even got to meet her...Scarlett got a lot of attention from everyone.




Another special treat just a few steps from the castle...the new princess, Princess Tiana was hiding out in this secluded spot.


Both girls were tuckered out by lunchtime...here they are napping while we had lunch at Pecos Bill's.


Dinner at the Crystal Palace with all the Winnie the Pooh characters. This is where I came down with the stomach bug. It is also where a young man actually PEED ON MY LEG in the women's restroom.






A couple of pics from the Christmas Party in Magic Kingdom. The Christmas parade was ok, but the Halloween Party parade from last year's visit was by far my favorite.




Fairy Godmother was on top of this float...the same one that we met earlier that day. She actually recognized us and waved her magic wand right at us.



Wishes fireworks show at the Christmas Party. Watch for Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the castle at the beginning. This is actually a real person...wouldn't want to have that job. I was curled up on the sidewalk next to one of those "mobility scooters" during this show. Jon was really missing our old camera and it's wide angle lense.



We went back to Magic Kingdom another day....here we all are when I was feeling much better.


On the Mad Tea Party...don't ever ride the teacups with Jon. You WILL get dizzy!


Meeting Mickey and Minnie in Toon Town.




Savy the Viking in World Showcase.


Savy saying the Pledge of Allegiance in World Showcase...we were so proud!



That night in World Showcase, we ate at Le Cellier in Canada. If ever in Epcot, you absolutely MUST get a reservation there. It was excellent! Their mushroom risotto that is served with the beef filet is incredible, and if you ask nicely, the chef will give you the recipe. I can't wait to try making this for myself!

This was probably our last Disney trip for a while, at least until Scarlett is old enough to really appreciate it. Savy had a blast in spite of being sick, and thank goodness our trip home was more pleasant than the trip there.