Back to reality. It is amazing how Disneyworld can make you forget everything you have going on and make life and family time so sweet. What is it about that mouse? It’s also funny to me that vacation, is not vacation there. You walk yourself silly and stand in long lines, bear the heat and whining kids. BUT, it is totally worth every bit. We had a wonderful time together there and hopefully will go back in the future. We will wait a couple more years though, and hopefully we can go at Christmas. (Better start saving now!) It is hard to believe that so many folks go there a few times a year or make that their vacation every year. It is a wonderland and I love being there, but we do like the beach also and doing nothing. I am still recovering from going non stop!!

However, we had an awesome week together- hanging out with all the characters, riding some cool rides, walking a bunch, swimming, staying up late- shutting the parks down!!, eating snacks and dessert whenever we wanted, drinking a lot of coca-cola, breaking down on the monorail, and going to the huge Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom. We had pretty good weather, it would rain a little each day, most of the day on Monday- but we had ponchos and braved it- the kids were such troopers, WE were such troopers. No naps for Levi,  & Luke would pass out whenever he just couldn’t go anymore, and one night- we even stayed up until 2 AM! They did so well and just went along with whatever we did, but there was so much to see and do and we just didn’t want to miss a thing. We still didn’t see and do everything even though we were there for 5 days- it was a timing thing, and believe it not, the place was packed! We thought we were going during the down season, but it was not down at all. Talking with some other folks while we were down there, they thought the Halloween thing was catching on, not to mention that was a week where they offered the free dining plan, so that brought a large crowd as well.

Our hotel was beautiful, very large, convenient to the monorail, but we just weren’t there enough to enjoy it. We got to swim one day, and one night, but that was about it. The pools were always pretty empty because everyone was at the parks! If we had it to do over, would we stay there? Probably not, but it was lovely being there.

The kids both really enjoyed the rides, and meeting the characters was a highlight for both of them. They loved meeting them and getting them to sign their books. It was worth every minute we stood and waited to see their excitement when we met a new character. They were most excited to meet Mickey and Tigger.

The Halloween night was by far our favorite time throughout our trip. The park was totally decked Halloweenish, music playing, cast members greeting you everywhere, and lots of magic going on. Not every ride was open, but we were able to pretty much walk right on what we wanted to ride, and even rode some a few times in a row. They had areas where you would go through a section to trick or treat and the cast members would give you big handfulls of candy, so that was a treat! There were also characters everywhere that night- some were dressed up, some weren’t, the parade was AWESOME and featured the headless horseman at the beginning to start off the parade. The firework show was presented all around us where we stood, so that was kind of a trick- because fireworks are usually around the Magic Kingdom- so we parked it where we thought we would have primo seats, but didn’t. We still saw a great show though. I dressed up with the kids (Snow White), Levi was a pirate and Luke was Mickey. Josh was himself, my prince charming who doesn’t need a costume. It was so fun seeing all the costumes, and greeting others with fun costumes on, and the cast members all played along with the kids that were dressed up, and me! Disney should have paid me that night. I was a stand in for Snow White on several occasions, I signed books, posed for pictures and waved and smiled at all kinds of folks. They thought I was her if I was ever spotted by myself. It was hilarious! But so fun! The real characters even played with me, it was a hoot! Levi told us later, Mom, people really liked you tonight. It was cute. We also got our faces painted and just had a huge time. It was so much fun and we highly recommend it to anyone if you are ever there during the time they offer that party.

The magic was definitely seen in my boys’ eyes. They loved the parades and shows, and it all came to life for them- which gave us those warm and fuzzy feelings. They had a ball, and we did too. It was a magical trip and a lasting memory we hope to never forget. With two full video tapes, and 600+ photos, I don’t think we will soon forget...

Here’s my recommendations/tips for anyone going anytime soon:

1. 1.Magic Extra hours: If you stay on a Disney property, you are offered hours to stay late or go one hour before anyone else. We never were able to get up and going on the early end of things, but did take advantage of the night hours. We noticed though, everyone goes to that park all day, just as we were- it is crazy crowded those days. Either go later when everyone can’t be there, or go to another park. The days the extra hours weren’t going on at other parks, they were empty. The day we went to Epcot, it was dead, as was MK that day!
   

2. 2.Fast Pass as much as possible. ESPECIALLY for the new Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios- get one as soon as you get there. By noon, they are all gone for the day or for the last ride of the night. This ride has a minimum wait time of 60 minutes. We very rarely saw it go below that any time that we were there.
   

3. 3.Make sure you stay an extra day to enjoy your resort or hotel- we wish we would have had one more day to just hang out. We only had one day of rest then stayed at the park all night.
   

4. 4.Do at least one character meal. You get extra special time with the characters and it is so much fun for the kids. They are pricey though, so put that in your budget.
   

5. 5.Always have snacks on hand. You can take them in yourself, as well as beverages. The food is not outrageously priced, and cokes were about $2. Josh has a backpack that holds 2 liters of water and we drank on that all day and refilled when needed.
   

6. 6.Take along some breakfast bars & small boxed cereals in your suitcase. We ate breakfast in every day and saved at least $20-$30 by doing this. We bought milk cartons and some fruit, and were able to get some bowls and spoons from our grill restaurant there at the resort. (for free)
   

7. 7.Make sure you have a back up tape if you are videoing. We missed fun stuff by not having enough tapes. :(
   

8. 8.My friend Vickie told me Tinkerbell can visit the kids every night and bring them a treat. This cuts down on having to buy so much stuff at the parks... I went to the Disney Store at Opry Mills and loaded up on cheap little toys, washcloths, etc. I also found Mickey bubbles, stickers and temp. tattoos that I had as well. Each night Tink would leave them a surprise, and it was a fun time for them. A nice bribe too that Tink was watching and wanted them to be on their best behavior. It worked great.
   

9. 9.Websites I found handy: www.disboards.com, www.wdwinfo.com, www.mousesavers.com
   

10. 10.I bought them little scrapbooks for autograph books and bought a bunch of stickers that I let them decorate their own book before we went. That was fun for them to do and they were really proud of their books.
    

11. 11.Look for cast members with white gloves on. You supposedly get the special treatment if you see one of these around and go talk to them. One girl I had been talking to told me about it and her brother had just received fast passes for every ride that day.
    

12. 12.Wear comfy shoes! Kids & adults are great in crocs. I actually wore my croc flipflops. My feet were comfy! And it was worth having each of the kids in their own strollers. It is A LOT of walking, and Levi never complained about riding in it. The double stroller there to rent is $31 per day. I just couldn’t give up cash like that... It’s worth taking your own.
    

13. 13.Fly if you can- from here, it’s only an hour and 50 minute ride. It’s worth every penny, and you can go on and have almost a full day at a park if you leave early enough. If you stay on Disney property, the Disney Magical Express will take care of your luggage, so once you are dropped off at the airport, you don’t see your bags again until you get to your room later. It was fantastic!!!
    

14. 14.We loved the park hopper passes. We did take advantage of them and it was a nice option to have if you wanted to go from place to place in a day.
    

Guess that’s it for now- I am sure I have many more tips, but this is what I can think of now. Here’s some pictures of our fun time. Hope to see ya real soon!