Welcome back to reality

Warning...long post!
Well the family has officially landed back to reality...actually we arrived back late Tuesday...what a long week, yet enjoyable. I so love Disney World! I am currently in the middle of downloading my 500 + pictures even as we speak (hey I'm a multitasker after all)...I'll try to give an overview of our trip for those family members that I know want to know ;-)

First thing I have to share is when we were leaving for Pittsburgh daddy told Colton about us flying to Florida...Colton in his innocent voice says, "How are we flying, we don't have any feathers?" So anyway, we arrived on Thursday...no sickness on the plane from anyone (even me!!...which believe me is a miracle in an of itself.) Beautiful weather...loved using the Disney Express...no worries about luggage. Staying on campus is definitely the way to go! Thursday we pretty much went to Downtown Disney and hung out at the hotel until dinner time at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. Chef Mickey's was OK...not as impressed as last time, but still good.

Friday was of course MGM Studios. We got there later than we wanted to...just so tired from the day before and the jet lag. We got there after 9 a.m. and there was this huge line as soon as we walked into the gate...we asked what the line was for...it was the autograph line for Kenny Baker (The guy who pplayed R2D2 in Star Wars)...actually it was the line to get a ticket to actually have a chance to get an autograph with Kenny Baker and the line literally went half way around the park...needless to say we didn't do that. Austin wanted to do the Jedi Mind Trick show, but by the time we got there all 3 shows were already booked up. Austin was dissapointed until the guy gave the boys green wristbands and told them that they were going to be in the Star Wars parade that went through the park...so my boys got to participate in the parade which they thought was pretty cool! MGM was VERY crowded...one of the workers there estimated that there was nearlly 35,000 people there (compared to their average of 20,000 - 25,000)...very busy...very hard to get to do much...and then it sprinkled half way through the day. We actually got cold. We ate at Hollywood and Vine which was good. Even though it rained the boys still enjoyed the day, we got to see the things we failed to see the last time we were there, so overall a good day.

Saturday was our free day...we thought of doing MGM 2 days, but since it was so busy the day before and we had seen most everything we wanted to see, we decided to take it easy, go back to Downtown Disney and get souvenirs. The then let the boys play in the fountain at Downtown Disney since it was so hot. They LOVED that! Tons o' fun! We then went back to the room to regroup, change clothes and go tool around Magic Kingdom a little bit...we only had about 3 hours, but we thought we could get a little in before Sunday since Sunday was Magic Kingdom day. Well needless to say for whatever reason Saturday was "Gay Pride Day" at the Kingdom...made for an interesting experience to say the least...Disney made them wear red t-shirts so it seemed like everywhere we saw red. Hubby was none to happy about it, I though felt uncomfortable just ignored it...after all they were just wanting attention...why give it to them. Luckily the boys didn't understand what was going on and no one did anything in front of the boys that made them ask questions so all was OK in the end. Oh, also Colton got scared on the Stitch's Great Escape ride because some loo-loo decided to scream at the top of their lungs while we were in the dark...he wouldn't ride it again (of course it made for great leverage to use to get him to behave the rest of the trip...behave or you're going on the screaming ride). Also we did the Monster's Inc. show...hilarious...a must see! The day ended on a much better note because we got to eat at Boma's, an african restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Best food in the whole resort...delicious! So much good food I can't even begin to describe. All I can say is YUM!

Sunday was Magic Kingdom Day...my favorite...I love Magic Kingdom!! We went and rode the Pirates of the Caribeans first...they changed it a little, adding some Jack Sparrow in the props to go along with the movies...hear that Wendy?!?! We then tooled around Adventureland riding the Jungle Cruise ride (which we missed doing the last time), Aladdin's Carpet ride, among a few others. The highlight of my day of course was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...by far the best ride in the park! Rode it three times. The first time we went to ride it was closed because they needed to fix something....luckily we got the fast pass and by the time it was our turn they had it up and running again. Boys also got me on Splash Mountain...A little much for me, cute ride though...though the boys were hoping to get more wet. Also rode the Peter Pan & Snow White rides...missed those on the last trip too. We ate at Tony's Italian Restaurant...yum...for dessert I had the Pistachio Creme Brulee...oh my...delicious! Because we were staying at the resort we got to stay at the park until 1 a.m. and we did too! We watched the fireworks...which Disney puts on the best fireworks by far...the magical moment was when Kevin had Colton on his shoudlers and he bent down and said..."Daddy...am I dreaming??" Priceless! Oh and during the wee hours Kevin ended up taking Colton while the other two boys rode the Stitch ride and saw the Monster's Inc. show again and then all the boys went to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride while I went to ride Space Mountain. I was so bummed the last time since I didnt' get a chance to ride this but I finally had a chance...well let me tell ya, I felt how old I really am after riding that ride. Don't remember it being quite so rough, of course the last time I rode that I was 16 or 17...just a few years ago. Needless to say we all went back to the room happy, yet totally exhausted.

Monday was Epcot...and the first thing we went for was Test Track...another great ride...boys loved it again! Unfortunately it was the only time we rode it because the line started getting to long after we got done riding it. We did a few things in the Future World area, then went off to the Wrold Showcase...we rode the Norway ride which we missed the last time (which the boys thought was lame after riding Splash Mountain...they wanted to get wet). We then went to Beirgarten for dinner in Germany. Still good food...yum-yum...yet the boys didn't like the food selection much. After dinner we split up, Kevin took the boys to do Soaring while I tooled around the World Showcase a little more. Totally enjoyed that. Got lots of pics. We ddin't stay too late, and unfortunately we missed the fireworks Illuminations show because we had to be up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning to get ready to head home.

Surprisingly the trip home went relatively well. The boys did well getting up early and were real troopers...the flight home was good, yet it was a bit chilly when we got back. We tooled around Pittsburgh...went to IKEA...never been to an IKEA before...spent way too much money. If I was more into comtemporary decorating like I used to be I could have spent WAY more. I guessthat's a blessing huh? Then we went to Quaker Steak and Lube for lunch...yummy chicken wings and barvarian pretzels. YUM!

We got home...glad to be home. Well I pretty much crashed. I wasn't much help putting things away (Thanks honey!) I just could not fuction. I slept from 8 p.m. until 9 a.m...though I woke up a few times in the middle of that sleep but it was nice to sleep. Of course the next day was getting caught up on laundry and cleaning up the house.

So that's pretty much the jist of it. Had a nice time, yet glad to be home. Boys had fun. Not sure when we'll go back next...hubby and I both agreed that though we enjoyed this trip, it just wasn't as magical as our last trip. Not sure if it's because we hadn't been there for so long, the fact that we went with the whole family, the year and a half of anticipation, the length of the trip, that we went at Christmas time, or maybe just the fact that it was our $$ paying for it (grin)...don't get me wrong, we had fun and a great time, just a bit of the magic was gone. We may wait a few more years before we go back just so it won't be quite as fresh in our minds...and we'll have a few extra years to pay for it!

Well I hope I didn't bore you...I am now going to try and go through the pics and I will post some in the next post....until then...it's great to be back!