I have always wanted to take the kids to Disney, but my husband and I have trouble spending so much money on a vacation. Thankfully we lucked into a deal we could NOT pass up, and were able to take them for two days.
It was a complete surprise. The night before we left my parents' house (where we had been vacationing and making memories) my mom put together a cute Disney dinner. After dinner, the kids each opened up an envelope with the Mickey paper inside.
The kids were both shocked and excited. I don't think they thought this was ever in their realm of possibility.
We got up at 4 a.m. the next day (that was the hard part!) to arrive in Orlando by the time the park opened.
My favorite picture from the trip was with Tigger. If you can swing it, I highly recommend a character lunch in The Crystal Palace. The food was very good, and it gave us a chance to sit down and relax while the characters came to us.
Another highlight of our first day in The Magic Kingdom was my son's visit with Peter Pan. We didn't wait that long to talk with him, and once there GMan really enjoyed interacting with him.
The first day we spent the ENTIRE day in the Magic Kingdom - until the end of the fireworks show at 11 p.m. We were exhausted and got a bit of a slow start the next day, which we spent in Epcot. I think if I could go again I would spend one more day in Epcot, because there was SO MUCH learning taking place there.
2. A very happy girl at The Electric Light Parade
3. Our hotel, Disney's Pop Century Resort. It is one of their "budget" hotels. We thought it was great for the kids - the dining, pools, arcade, etc... could keep kids busy forever. (Do you see how the pool deck is a computer keyboard in the picture?) The rooms were a little small and the towels were the size of washcloths! I don't think kids would care one bit about this, though.
4. Miss B had just finished reading Swiss Family Robinson and was anxious to go in the treehouse at The Magic Kingdom. It was WONDERFUL!
5. Here we all are! The kids and my husband are all wearing "First Visit!" buttons.... our friend who works at Disney made sure they had them.
6. The kids could get a bear stamped and signed in each country they visited in Epcot. This was my favorite thing about our trip - GMan had his name written in Japanese, too. Epcot just has a more laid back atmosphere where you can stroll and learn. It was good to sit down at lunch and have a beer and hard cider, too! We ate at The Rose & Crown Pub in the UK Pavilion.
7. While we waited for our table we strolled over to watch a funny skit about King Arthur and The Holy Grail -- which had just been studying in history!
8. My happy daughter - she loved this "old fashioned" phone booth.
It was a whirlwind two days, that's for sure.
We came home and immediately jumped back into the swing of things for our LAST DAY OF CO OP for the semester. We're all sad, but look forward to starting again in the fall.
All of the classes the children take are so beneficial, but two in particular stood out this semester. Miss B's Presidents class will always be remembered.... she won the Patriotic Pal award for memorization of presidents and The Preamble. For 10 weeks the children learned all about presidents and our government. Her teacher inspired such a love of learning and patriotism. GMan's space class was a winner, too -- here he is with his model of the solar system.
That's our crazy week in a nutshell. Next week it's BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF FORMAL SCHOOL!! I must say I am looking forward to ROUTINE and STRUCTURE!
How was your week?
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Friday, March 30, 2012 at 7:36AM 
It was a complete surprise. The night before we left my parents' house (where we had been vacationing and making memories) my mom put together a cute Disney dinner. After dinner, the kids each opened up an envelope with the Mickey paper inside. 
Reader Comments (13)
What a wonderful vacation! So glad you go to experience it! Have a nice weekend and a great week of "school" next week!
Thank you for sharing!! We were thinking about you all week. And Bill and I are inspired to surprise the kids sometime...
What a wonderful surprise! I had never thought I would enjoy a trip to Disney, but a few years ago we were treated by my dad to a day at the magic kingdom during a "whole family" (aka me and all my half/step siblings and their families) trip to Orlando. Even as an adult it was so fun. My daughter was just not-quite-four when we went, and she still remembers it and talks about it. I hope we can go back again in a few years when everyone is old enough to remember!
What a fantastic surprise! I know it was a fun family vacation, but you are right...there was a lot of learning going on too (especially at Epcot...our favorite:) Glad you had fun but are home now to rest.
Oh, this brings back so many memories of our vacation there back in September! We ate at the Crystal Palace, too, and loved it. Our favorite restaurant, though, was Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, which was our favorite park. I LOVED Epcot, too; it was my 2nd favorite park. I was really sad that the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse was closed when we were there. :-( We have a family picture with Peter Pan! :-)
Wow! What a week!
It is so nice you have great classes for them to go to that inspire them!
I know the kids were over the moon. I have never been able to take Kei to Disney and I am sure she would love it, especially Epcot. Every picture they are just beaming with joy!
Congrats on Miss B's Patriotic Award and I love G-Man's Solar System!
What a fantastic surprise!! Brought back fun memories from our trip in January :) We loved Epcot as well, and are planning another trip in a few years when the girls are a bit older to take advantage of what Epcot has to offer!
We also had lunch at the Crystal Palace and it was one of my favorite memories from the trip!
Wow - the memory making! What a wonderful surprise. My eldest and I went to Disney for her 12yo trip (a tradition - each child gets to pick the destination). Seeing Peter Pan - those characters are the best! So much in character. We saw the ugly stepsisters and they were hilarious! And I agree about the Crystal Palace. So thrilled for you all that you got to do that - plus the time with your parents!
I absolutely LOVE Disney World! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I bet the kids will never forget this surprise :)
We don't like to spend a lot of money on anything!! We are so focused on the future right now...but sometimes I think we just need to cease the day every once in a while and enjoy a vacation!
We loved Crystal palace when we were there too! That and the Coral Reef in Epcot are our two favorite restaurants there!!
If we go back I would stay at one of the "Budget" hotels...we didn't last time and I regretted it because honestly we spent very little time in our room.
What an amazingly wonderful surprise for your kids! I am sure they will always remember it!
I'm impressed that you got back home and dived right into co-op...of course you had to in order to wrap things up, but I bet you're ready for some rest. Enjoy your weekend :)
Looks like you enjoyed the trip! Those fireworks at night, we hear up at my house (15 minutes away).