DisneyWorld!

Grammy and Buppa have been wanting to take the boys (and us!) to Disney World since they took TJ and Jojo a few years ago.  

The boys were pumped up for every part of it - starting with the plane ride! 

The kids did great on the plane and even got to met the pilot and go in the cockpit. 

Cutest co-pilots! 

We stayed in a camping cabin at Fort Wilderness. It was perfect - the boys had bunk beds! 

Our first day was at the Magic Kingdom. We took the boat over and arrived at the front gates in time to see the train pull into the station with all of the characters. It was super cool to see the kids enjoy this - especially knowing what was still to come! 

The park was pretty empty so after some castle photos we raced to my go-to first rides -- SMALL WORLD and Peter Pan's Flight. 

After discovering that the kids were loving this and (contrary to pre-trip concerns) were not jumping out of the ride cars - we raced off to Jungle cruise, pirates and the haunted mansion.

James was tall enough for just about everything and rocked Splash mountain! 

We drove the indy cars... 

Which the boys loved ---- I totally remember feeling so cool sitting in the drivers seat and getting to drive with mom or dad as a kid, 

We rode just about everything there was and for the most part lines were quick and easy (gotta love Florida in the fall!) --- one of our favorites - the Buzz Lightyear ride! 

In true Swenson form - we stayed all day -- attempting to rest on the train and monorail - but no luck --- these are cool trains - why would we sleep?!? 

Many of the staff at Disney have rolls of stickers - handing them out to kids any chance they get. Isaac was a big fan and wanted to wear them all! 

We were fortunate enough to see the Electrical Parade one more time --- it was the last week of it ever! (secretly I think they are taking it away to bring it back again down the road - but supposedly - last week ever) 

This is one of Grammy's favorites so we were so glad to be there! 

Tuesday we went to Universal Studios. 

Patrick and I took an uber and went early to do so big kid stuff on our own. 

It was awesome! There is nothing better than racing your hubby through row after row of empty ride railings at a theme park - it felt like we won the lottery!
I have been pumped to see the Harry Potter world since it opened and it was so fantastic! 

I got a butterbeer while Patrick rode a roller coaster (sadly my equilibrium does not allow for these anymore ) and we were able to do a bunch of other great rides too. Grammy and Buppa and the kids came later and we enjoyed an awesome day. 

The Jurassic world area had huge climbing areas and you can see the mountains fro KONG in the background. 

It was a great day capped of with our first group selfie and an awesome dinner at Bubba Gumps! 

We are excited to go back again when the boys are bigger - it is a pretty great park! 

Wednesday was Epcot and the Movie Studios. 

The boys were rockstars --- this was our 3 day of parks in a row and they were loving it and still no Disney meltdowns :) 

We were unable to go on the Frozen ride --- it was over a 2 hour wait within the first 15 minutes of the park being open :( But we did get to a Frozen sing along and got to meet the princesses (video on a future post) 

Our meal plan was great but included a service sit down meal. As you can guess, those aren't that fun at this stage regardless -  but this one was one of the best! 

We ate in the Living Seas so had huge aquariums all around us. Plus they were testing out a new quick service and we had a 3 course meal in about 20 minutes --- I hope this catches on at more places! 

EPCOT seflie on our way to the Movie Studios. 

Isaac finally got a short nap in on day 3 - James was enjoying making faces at him! 

We shifted our plans with the pending hurricane forecast and packed up and moved hotels (per Disney's request) Thursday morning and then headed off to Animal Kingdom.
We were all sad to see the golf cart go - it was fun to scoot around on it at the campground!

Animal Kingdom was great - lots of fun things include the Bugs Life show! 

We hunkered down in our new hotel for Hurricane Matthew but were so thankful it was really a non-issue when the storm took a turn in the ocean. 

Definitely didn't expect to spend a day in a hotel room - but we truly did everything we wanted to - just a little faster than expected! 

Once the storm watch was lifted we got to enjoy one more dinner at Fort Wilderness. 

They boys were thrilled to have some space to run around again! 

It was a delicious meal - family style! 

We capped off the night at the HUGE Disney store at Disney Springs 

That place has sure changed - but the Disney store is still awesome! 

Love all the goofy hats - make for great photos! 

 

As you know - our trip home was a little different than planned due to Hurricane Matthew - but given the family mini van was how I was used to getting to and from Florida as a kid - it was a fun experience! The kids did great (especially considering the longest they had ever been in a car prior to this was MAYBE 4 hours :) 

We had a blast and the boys are enjoying reliving every minute of the trip through the pictures! 

Until next time Mickey!