Thursday 12/21/17
We left Holland around 6pm. We stopped at Arby’s on the way and ate in the car while we drove to Lansing. We stayed in a hotel and got up at 4am!
Friday 12/22/17
We took the hotel shuttle to the Lansing airport and were at our gate by 5:30am. We flew to Washington DC (Regan airport) and landed around 8am. It was cool to see the Washington monument and capitol building from the sky and the terminal. We walked around the airport and had some Dunkin’ Donuts and Smashburger for breakfast. We hung around until it was time to board the next flight at 11:30am. We flew from DC to Orlando in less than 2 hours. It was a smooth flight in a larger, more comfortable plane. Over all our travels went great. We got on the Magical Express bus to our resort – Saratoga Springs. We hurriedly unpacked and walked to supper in Disney Springs because everyone was hungry. Our family ate with Papa at Wolfgang Puck’s. This is the same quick service restaurant that we started with our first night 2 years ago. After supper, we headed back and settled in for bed.
We got up around 5:15am and ate breakfast in the room and were at the bus stop by 6:45am. We got to Magic Kingdom around 7:10am. We did the Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride a couple times and then the Barnstormer, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and others. We had Mickey pretzels for snack at 10am but we felt as thought it was past lunchtime because we were up so early. We did some more rides – Peter Pan and It’s a Small World, and then had lunch right next door in Pinocchio’s Tavern. This was Henry’s first Disney made meal. He only ate his fries and applesauce because he didn’t like his allergy free chicken nuggets. We had a fast pass for another ride with the whole family, but everyone was falling apart – including Dad. While we were waiting for everyone else to come, Leila stood on a big rock and it tipped over, scratching up the back of her leg and causing it to bleed. We decided to just go home because it was getting so crowded and busy. It turned out that the others had already gone back too. We sat in the room for 5 minutes and then went to the pool. It was good to be able to relax. Papa joined us at the room and we went back to Disney Springs for supper. Papa wanted to go back to Wolfgang Puck’s! We went back to Goofy’s Candy Co for the kids to pick out some dessert and then went back at the room to get ready for bed.
We got up around 6:15am and ate a small breakfast in the room. Then we got on the bus for Animal Kingdom with all 15 of us. We got there and got in line for the one of the new Avatar rides – Na’vi River Journey. It was more than an hour wait. It was cool, but not quite worth the wait! Then we went to the Safari ride. This was a lot of fun even though we did it 2 years ago. Then we had lunch at Yak & Yeti (also just like 2015). Then almost everyone rode the Everest ride. Dad stayed with Leila, Henry, and Greta. Then Dad, Leila, Stella, and Henry made our way out of the park. We only got lost once or twice trying to get to our bus stop. Mom, Papa, Aunt Kari, and Aunt Lindsey stayed together without the kids and husbands and rode some more rides and had a nice dinner to remember Nana on the anniversary of her passing. Dad and the kids watched some TV, then went back to Disney Springs and walked around looking for supper. We ended up eating at Cooke’s of Dublin. Dad got fish ‘n’ chips and Stella got a cheeseburger. Leila didn’t eat because she wasn’t feeling well and Henry ate his packed supper. After supper we walked on a Christmas Tree Trail and looked at the pretty Disney themed decorated trees. Then we went back to get ready for bed. It was another long Disney Day.
Rock 'N' Rollercoaster - great ride photos:
Dad got up to run and everyone else got up and ready. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom and then got on the monorail to go to the Polynesian resort. We ate breakfast at Kona Café just like 2 years ago. We had a nice big breakfast at 9:30am. By the time we were done and took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom and waited for the bus and got back to our room, it was after noon. We got on our bathing suits and went to the big pool for the day. It was only supposed to be a high of 70, but with the sun it felt hot. It was a nice day. Then we had a sit down meal at our hotel. We all went to the Turf Club Bar & Grill. It was fancier than most, Dad tried lamb for the first time. We enjoyed sitting outside and watching the sun go down. They put on some space heaters for us because it was cooling down. Henry ate another restaurant prepared meal. It is nice that we can do more of that this time around. Leila had a hard time yesterday and Stella had a hard time at supper with not feeling well. It’s hard to know if the girls are sick or just not used to the foods. We put the kids to bed and Mom and Dad planned the next day’s adventure to Epcot.
Tuesday 12/26/17
Leila has not been feeling great and today she had a fever and bad cough. Lindsey thinks it may be a virus so Leila and Dad stayed home at the room while everyone else went to Epcot. Dad quickly squeezed in a run before Mom and everyone left for the park. We are bummed to miss Epcot but trying to make the best of it. Dad walked to the store a couple times and picked up lunch there for himself. Dad and Leila played trash. Leila read and played on the ipad. After a long day at home, Dad was ready to get out of the room. Mom and Stella and Henry went on Soarin’ with Papa and Lindsey and Greta. We also saw a bunch of cool 3D Pixar shorts and went to Turtle Talk with Crush. We had lunch with Lindsey and Kari at Via Napoli – a two hour meal! Henry and Zoe and Greta each got a special birthday treat. We also went on the new Frozen Ever After ride and met Pluto and Sadness. Mom and Stella & Henry got home and Dad took Stella and Henry to the pool. Then we got ready and went to Disney Springs for supper. Leila felt well enough to ride along in the stroller. We planned to go to a burger place but the line was super long and it was getting late. We ended up eating at the Polite Pig. Dad had baby back ribs and they were good. We rode the ferry boat around the Springs this night instead of walking from our room. The kids enjoyed riding in the ferry and it was nice to have the option to do both.
We got up around 6:30am and got ready to head to Hollywood Studios. Leila is still slightly under the weather, but we decided it was ok for her to go. We were at the bus stop before 8am and made it to the park by 8:30am. Leila and Henry went with Aunt Kari to meet Olaf while Mom, Dad, and Stella went on the Rockin’ Roller Coaster – her favorite ride of the week! Then we went to the Toy Story Ride and and saw Disney Jr. Live on Stage. We ate lunch at the ABC Commissary and Henry got allergy free chicken nuggets and fries again. Then Dad & Henry went with the rest of the guys and Norah to the Indiana Jones stunt show. Before the show even started, Henry was getting scared. About 2 minutes into it, we had to walk out. We got Henry a frozen strawberry bar and sat on a bench to wait for everyone else to be done at the Frozen sing-along. We traded some pins and met some Donald and Daisy. We also tried to find souvenirs, but ended up going back to our resort and shopping there. Next we walked to Disney Springs and ate supper with everyone. We ate at the Frontera Cocina – Chef Rick Bayless’ restaurant – we watch Rick Bayless on PBS and I had previously said that I would eat anything he had made. When we were talking about the restaurant, Henry got confused and said “Dad! This is your restaurant!!??” It was so funny. That was a really good meal and it took quite a while so we returned home to put the kids to bed.
Thursday 12/28/17
Dad got up early and went for a run. Then he, Ryan, and Rich went to play golf. Mom and everyone else went to Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary resort for a breakfast buffet. Papa was not feeling well, so he stayed at the room. After that everyone went to the pool. It was cooler and cloudy today – so not great pool weather, but the kids had fun anyway. After the pool we went with Papa to the Rainforest Café at DS. It was CRAZY in there. We got some more candy and dessert and headed home. It was another tiring Disney day.
Our last full day at Disney! We got up around 5:30am again today to get to the bus early. We arrived at Magic Kingdom and met some Princesses first thing. Then we met Ariel and rode the Little Mermaid ride. We rode the people mover for the first time. It was much cooler today. It was about 55 and felt even colder. We weren’t used to this after having 70’s and 80’s for most of the week. We met up with everyone and most people did the Buzz Lightyear ride again. Mom, Ryan, Rich, and Reid did Space Mountain. Then we were going to try and have a family picture with everyone, but there was a parade on Main Street, so we postponed it. Dad and Henry went to Starbucks (Dad got two drinks!) while Mom and the girls went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. Everyone was cold and tired so we took the bus back to our room to rest a while. We were going to Epcot for supper so we went to wait for our bus. After waiting for almost an hour, we finally got picked up by the Epcot bus. We made our way through the park and ate supper at Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast at The Garden Grill. It was spinning the whole time and we could see a ride running below us. We all got a little bit nauseas! Next, we took the Monorail to MK to meet up with everyone to finally get the full family picture. Then Dad took Henry and Stella back to the room and got them to bed while Mom and Leila stayed at Magic Kingdom with Papa and rode a few more rides. We had a bunch of snacks left on our meal plan, so Mom, Leila, Papa, and others bought a whole bunch of candy and treats. The employees did not know how to handle it, they said we set a record!! We all had fun and were tired. It is going to be another long day of travel tomorrow. We need to get up by 5am again tomorrow to get picked up by the Magic Express to head back to the airport.
Saturday 12/30/17
We got picked up and rode the bus to some other resorts to pick up more people. Then we made it to the airport and everyone wanted to hang out and have a snack. Dad wanted to check our bags, get through security, and THEN have a snack but no one listened! Once we went up to check our bags it was a madhouse! There were so many people. The moms and kids left to go through security while the dads checked the luggage. After some tense moments, we made it to the gate and waited for our plane to DC. Then, when we were in DC, we took a bus to the tarmac to get on a small plane headed for Lansing. The bus was packed, standing room only, and the heat was cranked! We stopped next to a plane and just sat there for about 20 minutes. The bus driver did not tell us what was going on and everyone was hot and crabby. It was cold outside, but so hot on the bus that people started to bang on the windows. It was good that they did this because finally the driver opened the door and the windows were able to open a crack. We still could not get off because he told us that there was no flight attendant for our flight and that he was going to take us back to the terminal! This was very frustrating news to hear, but thankfully, after 5-10 more minutes of just sitting there, he told us that the flight attendant had been assigned and that we just had to wait for her. We finally boarded and were on our way back to Lansing. On this flight, Stella wanted to use the bathroom by herself and after a few minutes she did not come back so Mom checked on her and discovered that Stella had accidentally gotten locked in the bathroom. She could not get out. Mom got the flight attendant she was able to let Stella out. We made it to Lansing, gathered our suitcases, and took two vans back to the hotel where our cars were parked. It was SO cold and we had gotten SO much snow while we were gone! We let our van warm up and started driving home. The kids slept for some or most of the ride home. We were all tired and the nasty cold bug had spread to Mom and Dad. We were exhausted and just sent the kids to bed. We found that our washing machine had flooded the basement. How exciting. It was not how we wanted to end the trip, but it sure was a fun trip nonetheless.
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