Did I Mention We Went To Disney World?

Back in December (yeah, I'm that behind) we took a trip to Disney World.  It was our first week with our new camper and we decided it would be fun to take it down to Orlando for a few days.  We headed out late on a Friday night and 4 stops for gas and 1 stop for food later we arrived in Orlando.  Around 2 a.m.  Who knew pulling a camper would make a trip so much longer?  By the time we got everything hooked up and set up it was 4 a.m. and we were more than exhausted.  The next morning we woke up early for a day at the parks.  And when I say we woke up early, I mean we woke up at 7 a.m.  In case you can't do the math, that's 3 hours of sleep.  I guess Disney World can even make adults excited!

If you've never been to Orlando at the beginning of December, you should go.  All of the Christmas decorations are up, but the crowds aren't around yet.  It was nice.  The weather was in the mid 70s, which was perfect to us.  Not too hot, but warm enough for shorts.  There were no lines to wait in, no hot weather to deal with, and lots of Christmas themed activities to participate in.  Seriously, it was perfect.

First stop, Islands of Adventures.  It's not part of Disney World, but we pretended it was.  We rode every ride atleast once, and some twice.  Gavin's favorite was Harry Potter.

.

.

.

It made me feel a bit barfy and dizzy.  After all this time, I have to say my favorite ride is still The Hulk rollercoaster.   I scream like a little girl everytime I ride it.  It's fun, people!  We spend a lot of time in the Harry Potter area since it's the newest attraction.  Gavin had to try a butter bear and we had to check out all of the shops.

.

Everything looked like it was straight out of the movies, which was pretty cool.  I also liked Suessville.

.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the main theme and there were Whos all over the place getting their Christmas shopping done.

.

We also met the Grinch, who I have to say was a bit of a jerk.  But I'm sure that was an act.

.

We ended the night with dinner at Pat O'Brians at City Walk, which was delicious as always.  Then we headed back to the camper for some much needed sleep!

Sunday we were back at it early and headed to Disney World.  I was very excited because I haven't been to Disney World in a long time.  Like so long that Gavin and I have never been there together (and we've been together almost 13 years people).  We'd been to Universal's theme parks together before when we were down for a cheer competition.  But not Disney.  We were a little slow getting ready that morning and didn't end up getting to Disney World until after lunch.  After talking to the ticket lady (I'm not sure of her exact title), she told us that we'd be better off to buy tickets to Mickey's Christmas Party and come back at 4. 

You see, the only bad thing about Disney in the winter is that they close at 7.  So unless you get there early, I don't think you get your money's worth.  However, during Christmas they have Mickey's Christmas Party which starts at 4 and goes til midnight.  The whole park is open as usual, plus you get to see the Christmas parade, fireworks, and there's free hot chocolate and cookies all over the park.  And the tickets are cheaper than a normal park pass.  SOLD!  And I'm sure you know by now that Gavin was more than excited about the free hot cocoa and cookies!

So we headed to Downtown Disney (which is free and fun) for the afternoon to kill some time before 4.  We did some shopping at Downtown Disney and got a bite to eat.  Before we knew it, it was almost 4 and time to head back to Disney World.
.

As soon as we got in the park we headed for our favorite ride- Space Mountain.  The line was short.  We rode it two times.  It was just as awesome as I remember.  Best ride there.  Oh, and the picture of my husband the second time around?  Priceless!

.

I'm pretty sure we rode all of the rides that night atleast once.  The lighting of Cinderella's Castle was very cute.  I took a lot of pictures of that because let's face it, it's pretty cool...
.

After riding most of the rides, we headed to Main Street to watch the Christmas parade.
.

I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for parades.  This one was no different.  I'm sure it would be any kid's dream come true to see all the characters from their favorite movies.

.

.

.

.

  .

The cookies and hot chocolate were yummy.  And the fireworks were awesome.  The coolest thing to me?  The fake snow they blow in the shop area.  It's just magical to be in 75 degree weather watching it snow.  A good time was had by all.  We stayed til the very last minute and arrived back at the camper a little after midnight.  We were exhausted, but had big plans for the next day.

The next two days we bought a park hopper pass.  First, we visited Epcot, which I remember being a lot cooler as a kid.

.

It was pretty lame and I wouldn't think a child would enjoy it.  Gavin did grab a beer in Germany at 10 a.m.

.

It's the breakfast of champions.  We saw some sights, rode some rides,

.

and went back to the camper for a nap.  To me Epcot was yawn-worthy at best.  But, to each his own.  Try it for yourself.

We spent the next two days hopping between parks.  We headed to Hollywood Studios next.  Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster are the best rides there, and had the longer waits of the whole 4 days.  But they were worth it.
.

Other favorite rides- Toy Story (which was super cute) and anything that required 3D glasses.  We rocked 'em.

.

We rode every ride there as well and had a good time.  At night the streets of Hollywood Studios were decorated from top to bottom with Christmas lights that dance to music that's played through the streets.  And once again, there's fake snow all over the place.  It's a good time.
.

The next day we packed it up and headed home to less than desirable weather and work.  Boo!  We both agreed that the trip was a lot of fun, but would be a lot more fun with kids.  Maybe next time...

..

If you're planning on visiting Disney during December, here's a few suggestions:

- Go in early December.  Kids aren't out for Christmas break yet, so it's not that crowded.

- Spend a day relaxing at the pool and napping and go to Mickey's Christmas Party that night.  It's way cheaper and just as fun.  Probably more fun considering the parade, fireworks, and free cocoa and cookies.  If you have kids, make sure they take a good nap that day so they're ready to marathon it til midnight.

- If you get there later than expected and they try to park you in the back tell a little white lie so that you can park closer.  We told the people we were picking someone up at the front by their car.  The let us go on up and we found a closer parking spot.  It makes for a little less walking or not as much time wasted waiting on the trolley.

- Buy a park hopper pass if you plan on going to multiple parks.  It'll save you some money.

- Visit Downtown Disney.  There's lots of fun stuff to do and see for free.  Legoland was cool.  Even grown people (like Gavin) enjoy playing with Legos.

.

- Don't forget about Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures.  They're just as fun and are decorated quite cute for Christmas.