Disney in October

Yes .... Disney at the end of October. I'm just a little behind.

We have planned this trip for over a year ..... it seemed to take forever to get here and then flew by much too quickly. The best part of this trip was having the WHOLE family together. It was amazing. We stayed at Saratoga Springs in  2 condos -- Lisa and Aunt Nancy stayed in one and the rest of us in the other -- plenty of space, kitchens for breakfast and even a washer and dryer. The only way it would have been better was if they had been connected, but it worked great.

Amanda was the first to arrive with Hayden and Jackson, she gets special kudos for making the trip alone with the two little ones, she definitely had her hands full -- next Lisa and Jonathan and finally us. Have to say it's so nice to use the Magical Express, getting picked up at the airport, not worrying about our luggage because they pick it up and deliver to your room. We only had to worry about our carry-ons ... very NICE!!!

First day we headed to Epcot. Beautiful weather and lots of characters to meet. Gabi and Hayden were huge fans of the autograph books .....

Visa offered a special offer for card holders -- a free 5x7 of you and the characters.  You could do this once a day -- very nice offer.  The characters were located in a room alone -- our group was the only ones let in and you could visit with the characters for awhile before they took pictures.  Aunt Nancy stepped on Goofy's shoes and she took a lot of ribbing from him about it.

We also enjoyed the Halloween celebration at Magic Kingdom that evening.  So much fun dressing up -- Jonathan wanted everyone in costume and I think we did a pretty awesome job of doing that. Hailee was a Wisconsin devil -- Gabi a flapper in her dance costume.

Jack was some sort of evil monk guy and Aunt Nancy was a ladybug and then there's me.  Not comfortable actually being anything so I was just in my Halloween shirt .... We stood for this picture and the ghosts were not there -- was very surprised to see this picture when we picked them up.

Slightly out of order -- Lisa was a Mickey pirate....she didn't know that we were supposed to be dressing up but she did a pretty good job of putting an outfit together.

Amanda was a Goddess ..... as she always is.  ;-)

And Hayden was the cutest little Pirate .... Jackson was just Jackson, the costume they brought for him was too warm.  It was a beautiful night .....

We spent a day at Hollywood Studios .... the girls and Hayden LOVED the Tower of Terror and the Beauty and the Beast play (show).  Gabi was enthralled with the costumes and the beauty of everyone in the show.

Mater was another big hit .....

The whole group at Animal Kingdom ....

I love this picture .... Jackson loved every character he saw.  There was no crying or fussing ... he watched them intently.  Sometimes so much so that you couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Amanda's favorite was Goofy .... and she was so excited to meet him.

See who's standing by Goofy .... AGAIN.  And she's beaming isn't she?    (and yes, we went for another free picture -- wouldn't you?)

While the rest of the crew went to ride Test Track again, a couple of us took Jackson to see all the characters.  Epcot had a place where you met one after another.

Waiting for a show at Magic Kingdom Jonathan and Jack treated us to a little show of their own.  Can Jack catch popcorn tossed by Jonathan?     NO

And they tried it again .... up went the popcorn ..... Jack's got his eye on it ....

And .......... he got it ...... unbelievable  .... Aunt Nancy was impressed!  Not so sure about Amanda ... she's actually looking a little bored.  (teasing)

Aren't they adorable????  If you notice that Hayden looks a little wet it's because he found out that the camel right behind them shoots water at unsuspecting walkers.  He had the greatest time waiting for the next person to get wet.

Rainforest Cafe was a lot of fun.  Hearing the animals and seeing them move was something Gabi will remember forever.  We tried to explain what we were going to see, but there's nothing like experiencing it.  Hayden loved the cool cup!!!

Jackson was a trooper.  He got a cold early on and had some tough nights (poor Amanda had tough nights too) but he was a happy little guy most days.

Loved the little critters that were left on our beds.  Just like being on a cruise .....

We participated in the food plan at Disney, it was well worth it.  The girls were able to try things they had never eaten before.  Here's Gabi enjoying a prime rib dinner.

Even Hailee who's not the biggest meat eater enjoyed her meal.

Character breakfast at Chef Mickey.  Yummy buffet and great entertainment.  The characters came right to your table and spent time.  Plenty of great kodak moments.

Couldn't miss an opportunity to ride the tram ...

Or to meet "Chick" N Dale according to Hayden.

One of our favorite rides was Spaceship Earth.  I don't know why .... upon exiting the ride the girls found this game.  They had to move the colored circles (kind of like a hockey puck) to various cities that needed energy.  Sounds kind of odd, but they really had fun playing!

More eating ... we headed to the Hoop-De-Doo-Revue .... absolutely great time.  They served up a family style dinner of chicken, ribs and strawberry shortcake along with a very entertaining show.  Any question about how much Gabi enjoyed the show?

Swinging the napkins around during the show .... they even ended the show by giving the kids washboards to play.  Very loud end to a great show.

Our last day ... Jonathan, Amanda and the boys had to leave mid morning but our flight didn't take off until much later so we headed back to Epcot to see the countries.   Along the way we met Belle .....

Who doesn't try on the hats in Mexico?

And then we spotted Mulan ... Gabi was beyond excited because Mulan actually talked to her for a while.  See the joy on her face?

Just as Disney says ... it was a magical trip.  We were blessed that the whole family could be there.