Florida / Spring Break 2017 - Part 1

For Parker's first official Spring Break, we decided to go to Florida.  The trip encompassed not only Easter but Graham's 3rd birthday as well.  When we were planning it, the most cost effective flights ended up giving us a 10 day trip.  We flew into Orlando on a Saturday evening and spent three nights at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.

On Thursday, Parker spiked a fever and said her throat was sore.  I took her to the Dr. and they tested for strep and the flu and both came back negative.  They guessed it was some sort of virus.  I just packed lots of ibuprofen and tylonel and hoped she would get better soon.  As you can see from the pictures, having a fever did not dampen her mood during our travels!

Don't they look like experienced little travelers with their backpacks?!  They did really great on the direct flight and even through some trouble with the rental car (public service announcement: don't ever reserve a vehicle with Fox Rent-a-Car!).  Due to the rental car debacle, we did not arrive to the hotel until 10pm.  We had our Magic Bands already and had checked into the hotel online, so we went straight to the room, dropped off our stuff, and grabbed a quick dinner at the food court.  The Caribbean Beach Resort is huge.  I had requested a room near the main pool/restaurant/food court and we got a room in the Trinidad North area.  The rooms had all been remodeled in the last year and they were starting a major renovation on the lobby/restaurant/food court area.  The pool has a pirate theme with a fun kiddie pool right next to it.  The grounds were gorgeous, partly because it is an older resort and has mature trees and shrubs.

The next day was Easter and our Magic Kingdom day!  My plan had involved utilizing the Extra Magic Hours that morning, but due to our late night that did not happen.  Our first ride was Peter Pan and we did not have a FastPass for it, so it was the only ride the entire day that we waited in line for more than a few minutes.  We worked our way through the other Fantasyland rides until lunchtime.

In line for Peter Pan

Teacups

Waiting for Enchanted Tales with Belle

We grabbed lunch at Gaston's Tavern (ham & cheese stuffed soft pretzels!) and then made our way over to Advenatureland for our FastPass reservations on The Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Of course, we needed a Mickey ice cream treat after lunch!

Jungle Cruise

After those two afternoon rides, we took the shuttle back to the hotel for a little rest and all four of us managed to get a little snooze.  We had dinner reservations at the Skipper Canteen.  The food was interesting and delish! After dinner, we headed over towards Tomorrowland and got to see the Move it, Shake it Dance Party.  Then, more rides until our FastPass to meet Mickey!

Getting ready for Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 3D show, highly recommend!

Meeting Mickey was very important because Graham accomplished a big milestone before our trip.  He got a letter in the mail from Mickey, see below:

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So, we mailed all of Graham's "pacis" to Mickey!  Graham had a couple rough nights, but then never looked back.  His naps aren't quite the same after.  He always naps at school, but rarely at home on the weekends now.  This boy was in awe of meeting Mickey (the one that talks to you!)

 Then a few more rides until the fireworks started.

Winnie the Pooh ride, the kids were excited to sit by themselves

This is how they rode around a lot of the day, who needs a double stroller when you have a B.O.B.

It was another late night, but we all crashed and got up in the morning to hit up the Animal Kingdom.  Unfortunately, the incessant fever (yes, she still had one) had finally gotten to Parker and she was beat.  She slept through the entire line for the Safari and then even fell asleep on the ride!

We took the train ride out to Rafiki Watch, where Parker perked up a bit to feed the goats.

But then as we stopped for lunch, she fell asleep again and stay like this in the stroller for the rest of our Animal Kingdom afternoon.  We had only planned on spending the day there and heading to Epcot for the evening, but we did cut it short. 

Graham had fun in the DinoLand

 

We headed back to the hotel.  By the time we got back, Parker was awake and ready to go.  We had some relaxing time by the pool until it was time to head to Epcot and our dinner reservations at La Hacienda de San Angel.

 Looking for lizards

 Soaking up the sun

We had a FastPass for the Frozen ride at Epcot, which was super cute.  Then had our mexican dinner.  It was very good....avocado margaritas anyone?  Then we went on a couple rides, including the Nemo ride and adjoining aquarium.

We snuck in one more ride before we needed to walk back to the World Showcase for the fireworks.  It was Spaceship Earth, the slow moving ride up inside of the silver golf ball.  Graham fell alseep 2 minutes in and was out for the rest of the evening.  Thank goodness we brought the big stroller! 

 

 The next day we spent a little more time at the pool before packing up and heading to lunch at Disney Springs.

We ate at The Boathouse, which featured boat rides that looked like cars.  It was a really cool, themed restaurant, but toasty sitting outside.

Then the drive down to Rotonda West for Part 2 of our adventure....