The Atlantic Ocean

After the Space Center, we headed over to the beach.  I’ve been to the Pacific Ocean tons and I put my feet in the Indian Ocean when I was in India, but I’d never been to the .Atlantic Ocean.  I have even been to the Caribbean on our honeymoon!

The water was warm and it was strange how there was grass growing right on the beach.  There were also a lot of things that looked like jellyfish pieces floating in the water, so that was creepy.  We didn’t stay long, but the kids had fun in the water and it was slightly cooler there.  It was also the beach they used in the old tv show I Dream of Jeannie, so that was cool.

And on our way back to the hotel, I got a good picture of the entrance to Wal Disney World.

The Kennedy Space Center

We took a break from Disney and headed to the Kennedy Space Center.  We didn’t know it until that day, but there was a rocket launch planned and it was packed!  We were able to get inside, but it was hard to see the exhibits due to the crowds.  After looking around some, we went out and waited for the rocket launch.  We were all excited for it.  Then, it launched and we realized that we were actually very far away from it and we just ended up watching it on the the big screens they had set up.  So, as soon as that was done, we rushed back inside for Donald and the kids to do a space simulator.  I knew I couldn’t handle it and I was still struggling with the heat, so I sat and waited.  They seemed to enjoy it and overall, it was a neat experience to go to the Space Center.

They crawled into the Apollo style pod.  It was pretty hot in there!

Here is the screens that we watched the rocket launch on.

The speck is the rocket.

Animal Kingdom

The next day we headed to Disney’s  Animal Kingdom.  Sarah and Joshua were really excited because a new land had just opened there, Pandora, based on the movie.  I didn’t watch the movie and wasn’t very interested and the ride they wanted to go on had about a 2 1/2 hour wait.  We tried going there right when the park opened, but the line was already crazy.  So we went on the other ride there and took some pictures before exploring the rest of the park.  

All of the landscaping they built there was really cool though.

They had this really cool tree that has animals carved all over it and had a neat light show at night.

After Pandora land, we headed over to the animal safari ride.  It was already getting hot, so we were worried about how many animals we would see.  The kids were excited and taking pictures of everything they could see.  

They had this great scavenger hunt for the kids along a trail with a lot more animals.  Lizzie was really excited about completing it and the other kids went along with her.  In the end, she was the only one to finish the whole thing.  

Donald had secured us Fastpasses for Exedition Everest.  I didn’t think anything of it, it sounded cool.  It was super scary!  I was terrified and kind of mad when we got off.  The kids loved it and went on it again later.

Here is the mountain that the roller coaster is inside.  

The big kids went off on their own and we explored the dinosaur land with Lizzie.  It was getting hotter and hotter as the day went on and I was getting ready for a break!

We really took advantage of the photopass here and got a lot of cute pictures.  The whole time Lizzie was busy doing the Jr Ranger Hunt.  It said you got a badge when you finished and I think she thought it was a real badge like the employees were wearing, but it was just a sticker in her book!

It was getting hotter and we decided to leave.  Donald and Sarah went back to buy me a souvenir and I took the other two to the car.  On the tram on the way out, they ran into Brenda and Ash.  We knew they were there, but we were having trouble getting schedules to match up.  Sarah decided to stay with them while the rest of us went back to the hotel to rest.  We returned a few hours later to spend the evening with them.  

Hollywood Studios

It was fun to go to Florida and then pretend like we were in Southern California!

Hollywood Studios was fun, and hot!  The first ride we went on was The Great Movie Ride which was like boat ride timeline through the history of early Hollywood movies.  It was fun and even a little scary when the bad guy boarded the boat and “hijacked” the ride!  I just kept thinking how much my dad would like it.  They closed the ride soon after we were there.  

The Ark of the Covenant from the Indiana Jones Movies.

One of my all time favorite actors, Dick Van Dyke!

Does it look like we are In Hollywood?

Next we went over to the Star Wars area and Joshua go to meet BB8.  We were so excited for him!  I had the photo pass on my MagicBand, so I wasn’t taking pictures, and when we left, I forgot to have them scan it!  Joshua was so upset, he had to go back over for more pictures.  We found out later we could still access the pictures at guest services, so we got both sets.  

Lizzie got to meet one of the sand people.

The family got to meet Chewbacca and he was impressed by Donald’s height.

After that we went to use our fast passes at the Tower of Terror.  I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to because it was awful!  Can you see the real fear on my face?

The rest of the day was fun.  We saw a great shows, including Frozen and Beauty and the Beast and a Stunt Show.  

I think this was on the Rockin Roller Coaster.

Elizabeth met Olaf.  We found out he can’t do autographs with his stick hands!

I almost forgot.  At one point the Storm Troopers took Joshua and “arrested him” for being a Rebel Spy.  He was wearing his BB8 shirt.  They started walking away with him  and when Sarah started to follow, they told her to “Stay back”.  They released him but he was thrilled with the story to tell!