Thursday August 21st too early to be coherent we got ourselves together and got to the airport before the sun rose to head off on our vacation to Florida. Our plane had a malfunction so we were about 45 minutes late taking off. The kids were excited to get the Disney activity bags I made for them with toys and books in it. This is the first flight we have taken with Pearl and the first flight Munchkin has been on in two years. This kid was pretty well traveled prior with over six flights under his belt by the age of four. In the air Pearl slept for over half of the way which was great. On landing Pearl decided to freak out and Munchkin vomited. Good thing we brought that change of clothes.
After grabbing some lunch at the airport in Orlando we were on a bus to our cruise.
When you get on the cruise they announce your family which was a little odd. We got to our room, checked it out then went to the pool.
Here is our first nights picture with Mickey.
We woke up early where the boat was still traveling to our first port of Nassau in the Bahamas. We hung out on the boat for a bit waiting for our excursion of a dolphin encounter.
The dolphin encounter was at the Atlantis resort. It was amazing to be so close to one of these awesome animals. Pearl and Nithin waited for us on the beach close by and took some of the pictures below. Munchkin wouldn’t kiss the dolphin on the mouth but preferred the cheek. He is saving his first kiss still. Our dolphin was named Noah and had been rescued after hurricane Katrina. As a result he has asthma and sounded kinda horse when he breathed. As a kid Munchkin was invited to go up and learn more about the dolphin including petting his tummy and learn all about his parts. This was a total highlight of Munchkin and mine of the trip.
When we got back onto the boat it was time to prepare for pirate night. We all dressed up. Even Pearl had a pirate girl I added to one of her dresses. Before dinner we went to see Minnie and have some professional pictures taken.
In the early evening there was a pirate show which Munchkin just loved.
The next day we ported at Castaway Cay an island in the Bahamas just for Disney. It was my 40th birthday and Pearl was up at 5am for some reason so we were up walking around for a while. We were all tired in the morning so we went to the island where Munchkin and Nithin went snorkeling off the beach and we did the water slides. We headed back to the boat before lunch because we all were done. We ate lunch and Munchkin went to the kids club while the rest of us rested up.
We tried to have Pearl wear a Belle princess dress to dinner but it was a no go. This was her only smile and then there was tears. So we returned the dress.
Before dinner we caught some characters.
This was our last night of the cruise. Too short. We will have to do it again.
Sunday we were off the boat at 7:30 am and on our way to Disneyworld. We got there, checked-in to our hotel and were on a boat to the Magic Kingdom before 11 am. It must have been the hottest day on the planet with it feeling like 116 with the humidity. First thing walking into the park Munchkin finds a fireman.
We hit the Teacup ride first and made it to a few others before our lunch at Belle’s castle in the Be Our Guest Restaurant.
We didn’t make it out long in the heat heading back to our hotel around 4 for the evening.
Monday morning our second day we were off to Animal Kingdom for the morning. We hit the safari first and then walked around to see the other animals. Last time we took the safari Munchkin was asleep. This time it was Pearl’s turn to sleep through the animals.
We headed to Dinoland for a few rides including a roller coaster which Munchkin didn’t like and refused to go on any more. After lunch we headed back to the hotel for a rest.
After our rest we headed to the Magic Kingdome for a few rides and then to dinner with the characters from Winnie the Pooh. Pearl liked to blow all the characters kisses. Munchkin wasn’t too into going to the dinner initially but loved it while we were there getting a hug from each character.
On Tuesday our third day at Disney we went to Epcot all day. In the morning we got the rides done, character visits, then lunch at a restaurant you sat next to a huge aquarium while you ate fish.
In the evening we went back to see the innovations section and the world showcase. We ate a little in France, Morocco and Germany. The kids weren’t too into the countries so we did them pretty quickly
On Wednesday our fourth day we spent it at the Magic Kingdom. Nithin and Munchkin went off to do rides while Pearl and I got her name on some mouse ears and saw Mary Poppins. She was practically perfect except that she was late which the real Mary would never do.
We went off to finish the rest of the rides we missed and to do others for the second time.
There was an attraction where you act out Belle’s story of falling in love with the beast. Munchkin volunteered to act as Belle’s father. He is in jail which is why he is holding the bars. It was super cute and Munchkin did a great job.
Of course we saw the fireman on our way out of the Magic Kingdom for our afternoon rest.
We went back later in the evening to see the show they project on the castle and to see the fireworks to make it a special last night. We actually were able to see the fireworks from our hotel room on previous night since our room was above the trees. Pearl slept through it all.
Thursday morning we relaxed, went to the pool and packed as we were on a bus again to go back to the airport and head home. The flight home was uneventful except that Pearl never slept making it tough. We made it home by 8pm to clean up and go to bed.