Spring Break at Disney!

As if Mardi Gras wasn't enough excitement for the kids, we spent this past week at Disney. Since Jeff had to go back to work after our trip to New Orleans, my mom joined us on the Disney trip. We had four full days of jam packed fun and managed to visit all four Disney parks - we even went to Epcot twice. I never thought I would be able to master such a feat, but somehow we did. I'm very proud of my mom as well - she's a trooper! Here are some pictures from our trip:

Day 1: Animal Kingdom

Daniel during the "rainstorm" at Rainforest Cafe

Day 2: Epcot
Apparently I only took 1 picture this day. We did most of the rides at Epcot and then went back to the hotel to hang out at the pool. The only picture I took was at Epcot where the Flower and Garden Show was taking place.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom
One of my favorite pictures from the tip is from Daniel on the teacups. You can just sense the excitement in his face!
And Allison seemed to be having just as much fun:

Daniel also had a blast driving on the Speedway. It wasn't until the end of the ride that I noticed one side of this sunglasses was missing it's lens. Maybe that's why his driving was so atrocious. Or it could be the fact that he's only 3:
As we were getting out of the car, we saw our friends Thursa and Ian. Disney is a big place - what are the chances we run into each other on the same ride??
Daniel was so excited to meet Pinocchio!
And even more excited to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride

This trip was extra special because we went on a ride that we had never done before: the Astro Orbiter. The kids loved it (as did grandma)!

Then we went on the people mover and usually Daniel sits next to an adult but this time I let him ride next to Allison. I took some pictures when we were in complete darkness. It was so sweet to see that the kids were holding hands. Allison made sure her little brother wasn't scared.
Later in the day we visited another attraction that I hadn't done in years: the hall of the presidents. We figured Allison was old enough to enjoy this attraction, especially since she had learned about many of them in school recently. Inside the attraction, we found a special someone:
Then it was time for a snack:
Since we had arrived at the park soon after it opened at 8am we had done most of what we wanted to do by 3pm. So we decided to head over to Epcot. We took the monorail, which was a fun little ride. This time at Epcot, we spent time walking around the countries and checking out all the neat topiaries that were part of the Flower and Garden Show. But first we ran into Donald:
Allison's favorite part of the Flower and Garden Show was the tower from Tangled (and the music that was playing along next to it):
Then I caught Allison making a wish after she tossed a coin into the fountain:

I also managed to run into my friend Shanna and her family. Again, what are the chances? (apparently pretty great). That night we stayed and watched the fireworks and then finally got back to the hotel around 10pm. It was a long,, exhausting but fun-filled day. We weren't sure how much energy we would have the next day but when we woke up we all felt great so we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios and once again managed to get there as it opened. This was important because we really wanted to ride Toy Story Mania and without a fastPass you have to wait in line for two hours. So we ran and got a fastpass, along with the thousands of other people who has just entered the park. Yes, I felt like I was in a heard of sheep. But it was so worth it to only have to wait about 15 minutes to get on the ride! Allison also wanted to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular so we went to that and the the new Disney Junior show which Daniel loved since it included all his favorite characters. Then we left the park, grabbed some lunch and headed home! It was a jammed packed four days but I wouldn't change a minute of it. We had a blast! I think we all got our Disney fill...for a month or two at least...