Post Cruise Playing

After our week at sea, it was nice to hop into a car and drive on solid ground to the fabulous resort Grandma and Grandpa McArthur booked for all of our post cruise playing.  Once we arrived, and we got all checked in, I don't think you could have found a happier group of cousins!

 

 

 

They watched movies, played games, and snacked on all sorts of treats.  And although their play time in their rooms would have been sufficient to entertain, the hotel also had much more to offer.  Consequently, the kids also took advantage of the hotel park, pool, outdoor movie theater, and activity center--complete with exotic wildlife.

 

 

 

The highlight of our post cruise playing however, was, of course, hitting the theme parks all together. 

 

Our first stop, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

 

We arrived early enough to see the program at the opening of the gates, and with Nick and I's previous Disney knowledge, we were afterwards able to cruise through the park.  About midday, the weather changed and became a little wetter than some of the adults would have liked, but the kids didn't seem to mind a bit, and were determined that the Disney magic wouldn't be washed off in the rain.  They danced, sang, and played, and we all continued to line up for ride after ride.

 

 

As the day wore on, however, and the drizzly weather persisted, there began to be some division in the troupes.  Our kids, being old Disney pros, were a little better prepared to manage the 14-hour day than some of the other cousins.  Consequently, we ended up pretty much on our own in the evening.  Since we had already been to the rest of the park a number of times, we spent the majority of this evening exploring the new phase of Fantasyland that just opened this year. 

First we hit Ariel's Grotto.

 

Then we went to story time in Belle's library.  This "ride" was quite different than anything else we had experienced at Disney World.  We took a tour of Belle's house, and then a magic mirror transported us into the castle library where we were all given parts in Belle's play.

 

Spencer and Maddi and Nick were given supporting roles,

 but Emma scored the biggest part of the show--the Beast.  This was supposed to be the prized role as she would get to dance with Belle at the end of the play; however, I don't think Emma caught the vision of that role.  All she could think about was that she was playing a boy in the play.  As you can see from the look on her face, that didn't make her too happy.

 

After the play at Belle's cottage, we spent the next hour and a half taking a huge gamble.  In addition to the new rides, the new phase of Fantasyland also has a new restaurant--The Be Our Guest Restaurant--slated to be one of the top Disney property eateries.  The only problem was,  reservations opened 180 days out, and at that point we hadn't secured our Orlando schedule yet.  So, we decided to forfeit an hour and a half of rides in the hopes that we might be able to get into the restaurant in a very long stand-by line.  For a while our chances were looking pretty bleak, but then the Disney magic kicked in and before we knew it we were being escorted into the great hall in Beast's castle and taken directly to a table in the center of the west wing.  The atmosphere was amazing, and the special effects kept us all on our toes.  Additionally, the food was the best we have eaten at a Disney restaurant, and not nearly as expensive as the character dining in the Cinderella's Castle.

The French onion soup was to die for, and their rendition of Ratatouille just couldn't be passed up.

After dinner, we met up with the Beast,

and then got the opportunity to watch the fireworks from a new point of view--from behind the castle.  It wasn't quite the same as being in the front of the castle, but at the same time, watching from right under the fireworks was pretty impressive in its own right.

It was the perfect end to another fabulous Disney Day.

The next day, several of the cousins who drove to Florida had to begin their long drives home, but Eric and Jenny and Grandma and Grandpa McArthur couldn't pass up the chance to join us for Round Two of none other than Harry Potter World in Universals Islands of Adventure theme park.

Our second visit didn't hold quite the same charm as our first visit, especially after a two hour wait to ride the 90 second Flight of the Hippogrith, but we cheered ourselves up with a feast at the Three Broomsticks and butterbeers all around. A trip to Honeydukes didn't do any harm either! Afterwards, Nick even gave in and let me splurge on my very own Griffindor robe! The kids were tickled that mommy could play dress up with them now too, and I think the purchase will definitely come to influence our chose of characters for Halloween this year!

 

 

All in all, it was a great weekend in Orlando, and after two years of park visiting and Disney cruising, I don't know how we are going to survive without taking a third, and fourth, and however many more similar trips we can get away with before the kids are too grown up!  And even then, it's not like grown-ups can't enjoy all the fun too--maybe even more than the kids!