Disney World Weekend...

The last time we went to Disney World it was so hot, humid, and crowded, that we vowed never to go back in the summer again. Well, we got our wish--it wasn't crowded, and it definitely wasn't hot. In fact, it was a little on the chilly side. We left on an early flight to Orlando Friday morning. We were checked into the hotel and at Epcot by 1:30...not too bad. The only problem was that it was raining, a lot. It sure wasn't the best way to start out our long weekend, but we tried to make the most of it. The first thing we did at Epcot (same thing we always do) was get our Fastpasses to Soarin'. Obviously it was a lot less crowded because usually they would have all been distributed by noon. Then we headed over to the World Showcase for our lunch reservations at the restaurant in Norway. The girls were so excited to have a character meal, and get to see all the princesses. They were most happy to see Ariel in a beautiful aqua gown that they'd never seen her in before. After our late lunch, we walked around all the countries before going on our favorite ride at Epcot: Soarin'. Unfortunately, Maren is still not tall enough to ride. She was so disappointed. Hopefully, next time. We also spent some time in the Waters area, riding the Nemo ride and seeing the Turtle Talk with Crush show--so funny!

Waiting for the bus...

Rainy day at Epcot...

Lunch with Belle...

Awww...Marie from the Aristocats...

The girls with Santa and Mrs. Claus...

The next morning we went to the food court for breakfast, and then went to the girls' favorite park--Magic Kingdom. It rained a little that morning, but stopped shortly after breakfast. The girls just love every ride at the Magic Kingdom, so it's always hard to decide what to do first. We ended up starting on It's A Small World--always a favorite! We were able to ride almost everything because the lines weren't too long. Maren even got to ride her first "roller coaster!" It was the little Goofy one over in Toontown. She was so excited until she saw what the ride actually did. By then it was too late, there was no turning back. She said, "I was just kidding." But, we convinced her to give it a try and she liked it! The girls were also very excited to get to see Disney's newest princess from the Princess and the Frog. At the end of the evening we ate dinner at Tony's on Main Street while watching the electrical parade go by.

The girls at our hotel: the Caribbean Beach Resort...

Cinderella's Castle...

Who doesn't love the carousel?

Our girls do...

Princess Tiana and her Prince...

Maren's first roller coaster ride...

Sunday we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. There aren't that many rides for little kids at that park, so we took the girls to the Beauty and the Beast stage show. Apparently Carsyn had forgotten that she'd seen it before because she fell in love with it. In fact, she begged to go a second time. Which actually worked out--Nana took the girls to see it again while Mommy and Daddy got to go on the Rockin' Roller coaster. We couldn't get Logan or Carsyn to ride the Tower of Terror with us this time. However, we all had a great time on the Toy Story ride...still trying to beat Daddy's high score. But perhaps the highlight of the day (at least for Daddy) was eating at the Sci-Fi Drive-In. Every time we've gone to Disney he always wants to eat there, but we'd never made reservations. This time Mommy planned ahead, and we were not disappointed. It was a lot of fun, and super-yummy.

The girls at Hollywood Studios...

Our Sci-Fi Drive-In car...

Monday was our last day and we spent it at the Animal Kingdom. The girls had a blast over at the petting zoo area at Rafiki's Planet Watch--we'd never been there before. We could hardly get them to leave. The goats were so entertaining, fighting with each other. The girls also like Dinoland. We took Logan and Carsyn on a new ride that none of us had ever been on: Dinosaur. Actually, we'd heard that it was super-scary and probably not good for young kids (thanks for the advice Ron and Michelle--maybe we should have listened.) But, we thought 'yeah right. how scary can it be?' Well, it was pretty darn scary. Logan buried her face in her Daddy's chest, while Carsyn cried for most of the ride. Even Daddy admitted that he was a little scared. Mommy, on the other hand, thought it was super-fun! Come on guys, live a little ; )! After a late lunch it was time to get on board the Magical Express back to the airport--back to the real world. Well, we certainly packed a whole lot of fun into four days. What a fun trip!

Logan's goat...

Carsyn's...

Maren's...

We don't want to go home....