Once upon a time, we decided to plan and surprise the 5 Kids w/ a go-big-or-go-home trip to Walt Disney World. There is so much planning for a trip like this - I take credit for none, Heidi gets credit for all, and my parents get credit for sponsoring this trip.
I don't even know how long ago we met w/ our travel agent to choose a hotel, meal plan, and book flights. Heidi made our dinner reservations 6 months ago and we booked our Fast Passes 60 days out. So much planning ahead of time, BUT, so worth it. All of the adults agreed...We will do every Disney-thing the kids want to do because we will not be going back anytime soon.
The actual surprise was a little different for each family. My kids knew we were going somewhere, but not where. And Heidi's kids knew nothing until they got to the airport. I'm too OCD not to have our suitcases out for weeks prior to any trip and slowly pack.
Grandma & Grandpa gave each kid a bag w/ a clue of our destination. My dad makes me laugh, throughout the eight days, there were many times each adult covered their eyes for one reason or another.
The 5 Kids didn't disappoint.
The cheering and smiles already made the planning worth it.
Our seasoned travelers have no idea how lucky they are.
And we were off before the sun came up!
We stayed on-property at Disney's Polynesian Resort. It was a great location w/ access to both the monorail and buses to get us wherever we wanted.
Tired and "hangry" we took the bus to Disney Springs for lunch until we could check-in.
I think Finley would've been happy to spend the week in the Lego store.
PLEASE notice the 5 Kids' clothing - all outfits were planned to match each other and each park/event. I've never done so much ordering/running around searching for Disney attire, thank goodness for Etsy, Target, & Amazon Prime.
Our first evening, we went to Epcot for dinner, dessert, and the IllumiNations fireworks show. I wish I could report that we ate really unique cuisine from various countries, but nope. My kids made Patrick & I race across the entire park to find...AMERICA (total eyeroll). On a positive, there was no line, because who eats a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets at Epcot?!?!
We made it back to our dessert/fireworks reservation and learned that Nolan had been lost (for 10 scary minutes) and found - thank God.
The desserts were good and the fireworks were pretty, by the end of the night I'd been awake 20 hours and was feeling it. We crashed.
Our first full day brought us to Animal Kingdom. This was a new park for all of us, it didn't even exist the last time we there.
On the shuttle bus to Animal Kingdom, Spencer & I were snapping w/ beards. There's a lot of waiting in Disney, so we attempted to keep everyone happy/busy, which sometimes worked better than others.
We walked through the gates and saw Rafiki from the Lion King!
And a few more characters 😉
The weather was absolutely perfect our entire trip - upper 70's, low 80's, low humidity, no rain, cool in the mornings and evenings. So the ONE sweatshirt I brought for each kid is in pretty much every picture, they were so dirty by the end of the week, but thankfully we had them.
At the center of Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life from The Lion King.
We headed into Africa and the kids did some street dancing.
We went on an African Safari...
...there were tons of animals and Finley took pictures of each one - three times. I did a lot of deleting.
There was a great playground that was perfect for burning energy after waiting in lines. Finley wanted his picture taken everywhere in it and I obliged.
We met Pluto & Goofy!
Heidi, Easton, Spencer & I braved the Expedition Everest roller coaster...
....while the shorties and chickens ate ice cream and saw a show.
A few rides, a Nemo show, and another snack break.
We went to a neat bird show, Finley took a zillion (blurry) pictures, here are two. The Bald Eagle was easily his favorite.
Star Wars Jedi-somethings.
We met Movie Star Minnie....
...and Sorcerer Mickey.
We ate dinner at a Drive-In...
...our tables were built into cars.
And back to the hotel, most nights ended like this.
Early the next morning we were back at Hollywood Studios, a must-do was Star Wars Jedi Training. Thanks to Magic Hour, we were allowed into the park one hour before opening, so 9 people cruised in to get the kids signed up (Ryan & I missed the bus, can't remember why - getting coffee maybe?!). The Jedis marched in...
...and training began.
They learned how to use Light Sabers and Force Fields to fend off the evil forces (or something like that).
After their training, the walls opened, smoke came out...
...the kids got their "force fields" ready...
...and out came Darth Vadar!
Each Jedi had the opportunity to fight Darth Vadar in a light saber battle. Finley...
...Hadley...
...Spencer...
...Easton...
It was time to check out the rides at Hollywood Studios - first up, Toy Story in 3D.
We saw the Indiana Jones show, it was exactly as it was 22 years ago. Even though my kids don't know Indiana Jones, they did like the show. Finley took about 100 pictures, here is one.
We bumped into a few characters, actually you don't bump into any of them walking around. There's a line and sometimes the wait is 60+ minutes, and for some characters they even offer the elusive "fast pass" just to meet them. It's all kind of crazy, I swear they used to walk around the parks and you could snap quick pictures w/ them. We picked those w/ the shortest waits.
The thrill seekers went on Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (my favorite).
And then it was back to Star Wars - definitely the highlight of Hollywood Studios for our group. Poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into.
Chewbaca is SO big.
Kylo Ren came out and got them into line (the kids got wide-eyed, it was pretty funny to watch).
We finished our evening at the Fantasmic show, which is a lot of fireworks and fireworks don't do well in pictures - so here's Finley waiting for it to start ;)
Bright and early the next morning, we were ready for our first full day at Magic Kingdom - or so we thought. We got to the monorail and learned it was closed, so we went to get in line for the ferry (it would be interesting to see just how many minutes a family spends in line during a week at Disney World).
Don't let the early smiles fool you.
Finley did a street dance...
...and then some of us went on a Buzz Lightyear ride while we waited for our Space Mountain Fast Pass to come up.
Apparently I took the game very seriously.
And it was right here that the sh!t started to hit the fan. Finley & Spencer argued the entire ride (stuck in a car together) over who would control the vehicle.
We all walked up to Space Mountain, Finley saw people getting into their roller coaster cars, and him/I walked right back out. Not his thing.
While we didn't go on Space Mountain, the others went on Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and It's a Small World.
We found a photobooth...
...and the Krusemarks. We chatted for a few minutes, then decided our crabby-pants had had enough, we called it quits.
We headed back to the hotel and my kids got a much-needed nap. Finley woke up w/ a little time to swim w/ the boys.
After the downtime and a Mickey Mouse ice cream treat, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. This time the monorail was working (already a step in the right direction).
We went Under the Sea w/ Ariel, love Ryan's "arms up" he's not a big roller coaster person.
Even w/ the on/off fighting, we'd see things like this too.
We met Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
And Cinderella 😍
We also met Meg. One night we were getting onto the monorail along w/ 100's of other people and we had to squeeze so that all of us could make it on. There was a girl sitting w/ friends and she had a GB Packers shirt on. As I more/less pushed Spencer onto her lap, I told him it was OK because she was a Packer fan. Well, she was nice and it was our lucky day - she was from WI, she worked at Disney, she gave us Fast Passes, and told us to come find her the next night. She then walked us to the front of the line for Peter Pan and gave us more Fast Passes - score for us!
Selfies on It's a Small World.
We went on It's a Small World a few times over the week, not always happily 😋
If you ask either Finley or Hadley what their favorite ride was, hands down it was the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train roller coaster.
Exhausted, we headed home for the night.
I think we're to Tuesday now, you should see my notes just trying to organize this post. Since Heidi had planned/made all of our reservations, about every 20 minutes someone would ask her where we were going or what was up next. Hopping between parks for day/evening, it all started to blend together.
Tuesday brought a pool day because our best plans would take place that evening. The kids didn't mind the downtime at all and our hotel had a really nice pool area.
No lives would be saved under his not-so-watchful eye.
It was time to get ready for our Halloween evening! We were going separate ways for a girls/boys dinner/evening.
A little Cinderella headed to the big castle!
Hadley had an appointment at the Bippity Bobbity Boutique right IN the castle!
The boutique was hopping w/ many girls getting princess makeovers
Her name was called and she took her seat, she looks so little and I could tell she was feeling a little unsure w/ all of it.
There were four hairstyles for Hadley to choose from. As she sat dressed as Cinderella, I desperately wanted her to pick the "Cinderella Bun"...
...but of course my non girly-girl chose the "Rocker Princess" with the colorful stripes. I cringed, but it was HER day...
...and she was insanely pumped to have colorful extensions put into her hair.
She also chose colors for her makeup and nail polish.
Hadley wasn't allowed to see herself during the makeover.
And they made a big deal of turning her around for the first glimpse, her reaction was quiet and she smiled in a little (sweet) way.
Her crown went on...
...she learned a "princess pose"...
...and there she was, Princess Hadley. She seemed a little out of her comfort zone, but I knew she liked it, especially the colorful hair.
We had a little time to burn before our dinner reservations, so we went on It's a Small World (again). She sat very still w/ her hands folded, and right before this picture she whispered, This is the best day ever.
Next up was dinner IN Cinderella's castle! She was ready!
Upon arrival, Cinderella greets you.
Cinderella didn't know what to think of Hadley's colorful hair 😉...
...but she adjusted her crown just-so.
Big Cinderella & Little (Rockstar) Cinderella.
This was so sweet.
We walked upstairs to the formal dining room, the food was fancy and surprisingly good.
While we ate, other princesses walked around the room for pictures, hugs, and autographs. Jasmine, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, & Ariel.
Hadley continued to be quiet throughout dinner - quiet enough I wondered if she was even having fun. I think she was just taking it all in, because eventually we saw a glimpse of the real Hadley.
While the girls were doing the princess-thing, the boys were across the park doing the pirate-thing.
I don't really have a clue what all they did...
...but they got makeovers too!
They looked GREAT!
We met back up for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party & Parade!
And then it was time to Trick or Treat at the Magic Kingdom - they gave out candy by the handfuls!
We went on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups...
...and I felt the way Nolan looked - kinda rough. It was time to call it a night.
💗
We had a delicious lunch in Japan.
There is more to Epcot than eating/drinking in the countries, there are some fun rides, none of which I took any pictures of.
We painfully waited an hour to meet Joy & Sadness from Inside Out.
And because we like to punish ourselves (?!), we got in another in line and this is what it looked like.
But it was worth it to meet Hadley's most familiar princesses - Elsa & Anna!
Our hotel hosted a Polynesian Luau.
We enjoyed traditional food, dancing and a show.
Each evening there was a caricaturist set up in our hotel's lobby, Finley SO wanted his picture drawn.
Princess Hadley & Jedi Finley hang in his bedroom.
Thursday came, we headed back to Magic Kingdom. I think we were all tired and I took just a few pictures, but anytime we see a sign w/ Market, it's a given.
Finley is into Presidents, so the Hall of Presidents was right up his alley.
More waiting = random pictures taken by kids.
We went on a paddle-boat cruise and through the Pirates of the Caribbean before splitting up to take kids in different directions. Nolan shoved his face w/ cotton candy...
...Easton went w/ Grandma on some rides and to the castle...
...Finley & Patrick went on Thunder Canyon...
On our last full day, Magic Kingdom had Magic Hour before the park opened to the public. Finley & Patrick got up at 6:00 to enjoy the line-free rides. Finley was desperate to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again - they were first in line and rode it three times!
This might've been Finley's favorite 60 minutes of the trip - they went on 6ish rides in 90 minutes, soooo better than waiting 90 minutes for one two-minute ride.
The rest of us chose to sleep in and headed back to Animal Kingdom for the morning.
The parks offer so much fun stuff, but the hotel pool was a definite highlight too - everyone
On the way to our final dinner, we stopped by the Magic Kingdom for a few more pictures in front of the castle.
W/ scrapbooking in mind, Grandma wanted one picture w/ each kid.
And we were off to dinner by boat.
Mickey's Backyard BBQ was an outdoor buffet-style dinner w/ line dancing and a few favorite characters.
Chip & Dale.
Mickey & Minnie.
Goofy.
Easton & Ryan 😉
Sassy-pants earning her name...this string of pictures makes me think she was sipping the spiked punch.
And it was time to go home. This is the last picture taken on our trip and it's a fairly accurate display of how most of us were feeling inside 😝
Nolan cracks me up always, but his innocence in this video displays the strength of the magic of their ages. And how Kylo Ren didn't burst out laughing, well that's magical too.
I don't think our kids understand that this was a trip of a lifetime. Hadley is already talking about when we go back next year - ha, nope. We went into the trip knowing we'd do absolutely everything/anything the kids wanted, because our next trip(s) will include a beach and the only waiting we'll do is for the waiter to deliver our daiquiris.
Grandpa & Grandma gave this trip to all of us - how huge is that? Lucky kids. Lucky parents to take their kids to Walt Disney World. Lucky grandparents to witness the excitement and know you made it possible.
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