Downtown Disney...or Bust

We are not big Disney fans.  It appears in this area of Florida that many, many people are HUGE fans of mouse...but we aren't.  I mean, we don't really have anything against Mickey Mouse or Disney World, except that you have to sell your first born in order to be able to afford a vacation.  Not literally of course...but it is quite an expense.  One that we have simply chosen not to make.  We know that we would not make the effort to go to the parks enough to pay for a season pass...and there is no way you can get everything done in only one day.

So, our poor, deprived children have never been to Disney World (except Nicole. She was 2 and does not remember).  Of course, I don't really think our children are poor or deprived (especially NOT in light of the recent persecution and horrors happening on the other side of the world.)

However, we did make an effort to go to Downtown Disney yesterday.  The main goal was to to right a wrong that was my fault.  Nicole and I sat down several weeks ago and picked out some really cool Lego pieces for a video she is working on.  Apparently, I never hit submit and the order never got processed.  I really felt like I owed her one (she even paid for the pieces).

So, off we went on a surprise trip to the Lego store.

The background is all made from Legos.

She was thrilled!

And in awe of the really cool Lego designs.

I believe it inspired her, which was a really cool thing.

She and her sister designed three Lego people.  Nicole made one to be Joan of Arc, and two knights.  She also bought a package of knightly looking Lego people.  Hannah made people for her "hotel."

After the Lego store, Hannah wanted some time to look around the princess store.

See Hannah...you DID see Cinderella!

It's kind of like going to Disney World, without really being there.

Mickey Mouse ears...check that off the list!

But, not really.  I know they would love Disney if they ever got the chance to go.

I have had lots, and lots...and well, lots of friends tell me how fun it is to spend a day at Downtown Disney (we were done in about an hour, haha....not really the shoppers, are we?) and then spent time riding buses and monorails to different resorts.  After so many people telling us how much fun it was...we decided to give it a shot.

Here is a picture of our first bus ride

I should have taken a picture of the last, it included a crying baby (thankfully...not ours though!)

So, we waited at least 20 minutes for our first bus.  It took us on a round about ride of 5 or 6 different stops before getting to The Boardwalk (almost an hour later) where we were told the ESPN store was.

Kind of...it was the ESPN Club- as in really cool sports bar with lots of TVs and over priced food...oh, and a little hole in the wall store.  Hmph.  Since it was now past 2, we decided to go ahead and eat.  It was a good decision because the clouds of Florida opened up while we were there, so we had a nice, cool dry place to weather out the Florida storms.  The food was good...but still overpriced.  The company was great as always (how could it not be with this handsome man...and the cutest children in the world!)

After another bus wait and ride, we ended up at  Epcot, where we had to switch buses and wait again, hahaha.  Are you catching what our day was like?

We finally made it to a resort, The Art of Animation.

Watch out Hannah!  Sebastian is going to pinch you!

To be fair...this one did not disappoint.  The kids had a blast as we strolled through the resort grounds.

There was a Finding Nemo Theme and pool

The Lion King

Yep, Jeremy's daughter is sniffing his armpit.

Hannah is paying honor to Mufasa (or is that grown up Simba) like the animals did int he movie, hehehe.

Hakuna Mata

And...best of all...Cars!

I think Luigi might run Nicole over....with Nathan's extra push?

After an hour or so, we got back in the bus line again.  One of our sweet children then told us they had to go to the bathroom (again, because we had just gone).  So, daddy jumped out of line and off they went.  Our bus pulled up, and they were not back yet.  Ugh...we were going to have to wait again!  Just as the driver was getting ready to pull off....we caught sight of daddy and flagged the bus down.  I was so thankful we made it...because it would have been at least another 30 minutes until that bus came back.

We ended up back in....where else...but Epcot!

Hey Look kids!  We DID go to Disney's Epcot...we have the picture to prove it!

From here, we caught a monorail and took it to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom.

1st monorail ride

Then, we hopped off, and took another monorail to The Grand Floridian.  I am convinced this hotel was designed to mimic the beautiful Tampa Hotel built by Henry Plant...but that's another story.  We enjoyed live music and looking off a balcony before meandering back down the bus line where we...yes....waited for another bus.

Silliness at Rainforest Cafe (where we did not eat)

In all honesty, I thought the day was a bust.  However, at dinner, Hannah piped up and said, "Thanks for bringing us here today.  It was really fun."  To which Nicole replied "Yes, this was fun.  Thank you!".

I am pretty sure shock was the look of choice that overtook Jeremy and I...but hey...riding a bus, monorail, and waiting in line all day can be quite exciting for homeschool kids who rarely do any of those things :)