Summer Bucket List

We have so much stuff planned for this summer! Last summer I was working full-time and while I enjoyed having the extra money, it felt like I didn't get to spend very much time with my son. So since I'm going to be home full-time this summer, I decided to make it a summer he'll never forget! Together, we came up with a list of things we want to do! I made a PDF that we've printed up so that we can check each thing off as we do them. I thought I would share our list with you to help give you some ideas for your summer plans. Hopefully, we can inspire you to get out there and try new things. We definitely don't want to be couch potatoes this summer! Let me know if you have any extra ideas we can add to our list for next summer!

Click here for a downloadable PDF version of our list!

Recipe: Seasoned Crackers

My grandma used to make these all the time and I absolutely love the taste. Now that she has passed, it is up to me to keep up the tradition. We make seasoned crackers for holidays and vacations. I'm not sure why those are the big cracker times for us, but it's tradition!

Ingredients:
2 bags of oyster crackers
1 cup oil (I use vegetable)
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 ranch packet

Step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put foil over 2 baking sheets.
Step 2: Mix all ingredients except crackers together in a small bowl. Put crackers in a paper bag and pour oil mixture over top. Shake until crackers are coated with mixture.
Step 3: Pour crackers onto baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Keep a good eye on them though. In my oven, this is an accurate time, but I noticed when baking them in my MIL's oven that they browned very fast. You don't want the crackers to brown very much. Baking them is more just to dry out the oil.
Let cool. Serve! They're delicious...and very addicting.

Vacation: Eating our way around the World in Epcot

Then we started our journey to eat ourselves around the world.

Our first stop was New Zealand where we had a lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney and Nobilo Icon Pinot Noir. The meatball was moist but there was too much chutney and it wasn't very spicy.

Then we went to Mexico where we ate a barbacoa enchilada (corn tortilla filled with beef barbacoa and covered with oaxaca mole). The mole was very spicy. The enchilada was well seasoned.

Then we went to China where we ate chicken pot stickers. The sauce was a little sweet for my taste, but overall, it was good.

Then we went to South Korea where we ate Korean-style BBQ beef with steamed rice and cucumber kimchi. The cucumber kimchi had a very mild taste so even I, who does not like kimchi, enjoyed it. The acid from the kimchi complimented the meat well. The meat was tender and flavorful.

Then we went to Africa where we ate berbere-style beef tenderloin tips with onions, jalapenos, tomato and pap. I don't really like pap. It's bland. The jalapenos made the dish very spicy. It seemed like there wasn't a lot of meat compared to the number of other things in the dish.

Then we went to Germany where we ate an apple strudel with vanilla sauce. It was great. It is exactly what I would expect from any German bakery. It wasn't too sweet like some desserts tend to be.

Then we went to Poland where we ate kielbasa and a potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream. Everything was very flavorful. The kielbasa had good caramelization. The pierogi tasted great. There were just too many onions for the size of dish.

Then we went to Italy where we ate cannolis al cioccolata (chocolate-covered cannoli filled with sweet ricotta). I absolutely adore cannolis. They were so good. We ended up buying 2 because there was no way I splitting one of those small cannolis amongst 4 people.

Then we went to Japan where we ate a spicy sushi roll (tuna and salmon with kazan volcano sauce). I personally did not eat any of it because I don't like sushi, but my mom and husband really seamed to enjoy it. My husband said the sauce wasn't as spicy as he was expecting it to be.

Then we went to Morocco where we ate chocolate baklava (rolled phyllo dough with toasted almonds and dark chocolate sauce). This is one of my husband's favorite dishes. We were not disappointed. It wasn't too sweet. There was good spice to it. I would eat it again.

Then we went to Belgium where we ate beer-braised beef served with smoked gouda mashed potatoes. I love a good mashed potato and these were seriously good. The beef was pretty good too, but I will rant and rave about these potatoes.

Then we went to France where we ate crème brulee caramel chocolat (caramel and chocolate crème brulee topped with caramelized sugar). The chocolate in this dish was a little on the bitter side for me, but I enjoyed it.

Then we went to Scotland where we ate a traditional Scottish lamb stew with neeps and tatties. I don't really like neeps, but the tatties were good. The lamb was tender. We enjoyed it.

Then we went to Canada where we ate a wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle-butter sauce and Neige premiere 'apple ice wine'. My husband had a really large complaint with this one and I have to agree with him. It was too small. The steak was so good. If you go to Le Cellier, order the full-sized portion of this dish. It was that good. The apple ice wine was really good as well. Again, the only complaint was the size. The cup we got was easily 1/3 the size of the glass of wine mom got earlier in the day.

And finally, we went to the Refreshment Port where we ate a croissant doughnut with cinnamon sugar and a pineapple Dole whip soft-serve ice cream. The croissant doughnut was seriously flaky, covered in cinnamon sugar, and amazing to eat. I think my son ate like half of it. I have a major complaint with all the people that write blog posts. I tried the Dole whip and it wasn't good. I didn't love it. I only ate it because I felt like I had to. I don't care how much of a staple it is, don't get it. It was just bad (but that's just my opinion).

Vacation: Epcot

We got to Epcot about 8:15am and they started letting everyone in at 8:45am.

The first thing we did was The Seas with Nemo & Friends over in Future World. You will board your shell and go through the story of Finding Nemo. It was alright. It's a little boring, but still fun.

While we were there, we checked out Bruce's Shark World. My son enjoyed taking the little touch screen quiz and playing in the shark, maze-like area. It's a great photo op with your child inside Bruce's mouth.

Then, to finish this area, we went to Turtle Talk with Crush. That was pretty cool. Owen was the first kid he talked to. Crush taught him how to talk like a turtle. It was great and I'm so glad he wasn't too shy to talk to him. Crush was very entertaining. The kids get to sit up front while the parents sit on benches. The room is really small so clearly you can't fit a ton of people in there. There was no wait when we went, but I can see how it could take a while.

We had a FP+ to Soarin'. It was a very cool ride. I would say the part I liked the least was going through The Land to get to it. That was horrible. There are way too many people there. I love how you're suspended in the air above a huge dome-like screen, sailing through the air all over the world. This experience is so submerssive that they even pump in amazing smells to really take you to all of these locations. When it was all over, my son asked if we went through that screen to get there when we were leaving. It felt so real to him. I say this is a must-ride. We all felt like we were way in the air and it was a little freaky to feel like we could fall out at any moment.

We met Baymax. That was pretty cool. He is an inflatable character and they do such a good job about making him feel like he's the real deal. When he needs to go on a break, he starts to deflate a little and stumble around like he has a low battery just like in the movie.

Our next FP+ was for Spaceship Earth. Even the FP+ line was very long. That was kind of annoying. And to be entirely honest, the ride was boring. I think the big selling point for this ride was that it was inside the ball. That's probably the only thing that made it super cool. You go around in circles hearing about technology throughout history until you reach the top of the ball. Then, you go down backwards back to the bottom of the ball while you create your own possible future.

We had a free FP+ to use on anything except Frozen Ever After, so we chose to use it on Test Track. Designing your own car beforehand is a pretty cool way to get you involved in something while waiting to actually ride the ride. Then, since there are so many people in one car, you go through all these tests and they show you how your car stacked up against everyone else in your car. Clearly, the highlight is when you get to go fast around the track. That was fun.

We had a FP+ for Mission: Space. My husband, son, and I decided to go on the more intense ride rather than the less intense ride that my mom decided to go on. I can tell you for sure that the more intense ride has a longer wait time. It was so much fun though. Everyone gets a job (Navigator, Pilot, Commander, and Engineer). We were only 3 people and my son was very concerned that we would crash if we didn't have an engineer so I ended up hitting the buttons for that job as well as the ones for Commander. My son clearly wanted to be the Pilot. We actually switched places after the jobs were handed out so that he would get this spot. The G-forces are pretty intense so be aware of that when choosing the more intense ride. They're not kidding when they say you may feel disoriented and there is even a barf bag, but we still had a lot of fun.

We made our way over to the World Showcase for our lunch reservation at Akershus Royal Dining Hall. Your reservation time is a joke though. There was a huge line just to check in so it took forever to get through it. Then you stand in another line to be called for your table. Then you stand in another line to get your picture taken with Belle before you are finally escorted to your table. Our server took our order for our main entree course. The first course is an appetizer buffet bar with salads, meats, cheeses, and seafood. There is something for most people. While we were eating our first course, the princesses came out to parade around the dining rooms. The kids were invited to go too. Our son started to go, but then got a little upset. While my husband was trying to get him to get in the parade, their handler asked what was wrong (he thought maybe my son missed his favorite princess). Apparently, my son only saw girls in the parade with the princesses so he thought it was only for girls and he wasn't supposed to be there. Well, the guy took pity on him and let him help collect the baskets at the end of the parade that the princesses carry. It made him feel special and he still got to be a part of something. After my son and husband got back to the table to continue eating, the guy came to check on him and ask if he felt better. He said yes. Then, he came back with a viking helmet for my son from the gift shop in Norway. It was so sweet. They did a great job to make him feel special. He just loved it. And while he didn't want to wear it during the whole lunch, he did insist on putting it on every time a princess came to our table. To eat, I had the Fylt Pasta (house-made potato-cheese and herb ravioli with wild mushrooms, leek cream sauce, tomato jam, and balsamic-onion reduction). It was very tasty. I definitely recommend it. My husband and mom both had the Svinekotelett (char-grilled center cut pork chop with jarlsberg potato gratin and port jus). I tasted it and it was also quite delicious. I know most people go to this restaurant for the princesses, but the food was surprisingly amazing! For dessert, there was a plate to share of rice cream with strawberry sauce, apple cake, and chocolate mousse. All were good. The rice cream was just a little weird for me. It was definitely the texture. I didn't love it. The apple cake was super good. I would love the recipe for this one! Please! And of course you can never go wrong with a good chocolate mousse. Now, for the princesses. We saw Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora. They came around one at a time to each table and spent lots of time talking to each child. They were absolutely fantastic. I just love all the characters that they have. They're always so friendly. I mean, I know you have to be a special kind of person to work at Disney World and I am just so thankful that those special people exist to be kind to my sweet little boy.

The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros is located at the back of the Mexican Temple. When you enter, go down the left ramp. We made the mistake of going down the right ramp and ended up walking in a large circle. The ride is on a boat and it was pretty entertaining. There is a great atmosphere in the temple. If you're short on time, I say skip it. But if you have the time, it's a cute little ride.
We made a FP+ reservation for the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival even though it was completely unnecessary. There was no line for it. It was cute though. It was nice to sit and watch the 4D shorts. It lasts about 18 minutes. I'm not sure if the ones they show ever change, but there is a sign out front telling you which shorts are being featured. While we were there, we saw 'Get A Horse!', 'La Luna', and 'For The Birds'.

We then waited in a very long line to meet Joy & Sadness. The one biggest problem while we were there was the woman in charge of the line. She really needed to take some pointers from Joy. Seriously. I mean, mostly everyone we encountered at Disney was more than pleasant except for this woman. She seemed very sour. She spent her entire time yelling at everyone. 'Move forward' 'Fill in all available space' (we were told this a lot during lines that got full a lot, but this one was not) 'Don't touch the chains with your hands, mouth, and bodies. They will pinch' 'Don't sit on the ground' I mean seriously? Have you ever met a child? Calm down. Oh well. We had a great time with Joy and Sadness. They were great. They can't talk because they're not face characters, but they really communicated. They made gestures toward my husband's shirt (it had Anger on it). Joy was always dancing around. We just loved it.

We noticed that Frozen Ever After was temporarily closed and there was a line standing outside the doors waiting to re-enter. We decided to go ahead and get in that line. The employees suggested that we not wait, but we of course didn't listen. Our game plan was to have someone stand in line while other parts of our party were elsewhere. At first, I went to the Norway gift shop and then brought Owen with me to take a picture and let him color Duffy. We did that for about 10 minutes. Then, we went back to the line and about 2 minutes later, they opened the doors. It had been closed for about an hour before that so we actually got very lucky. The most annoying part was when we were in the first 100 people in line, but they let so many FP+ people through (most likely the ones that missed their reservation while the ride was closed) that we ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes. Altogether, we waited about an hour which compared to the 2-3 hour waits that were more likely, we were still very lucky. The line was very well themed and you even get to go through Oaken's Trading Post where you see him in the sauna. The ride itself was adorable. I really enjoyed it. There were scenes from the movie and the short. It was great. Even though we sat in the front, it was only a slight misting that we received so while it might be possible that you'll get wet, it's very unlikely. We really enjoyed the ride.

We also ate our way around the world, but that's a whole different post.
We finally got back to the resort pretty late and pretty much went straight to bed.

Vacation: Magic Kingdom Day 2

Our reservations for the Be Our Guest Breakfast were at 8:30am. When we got to Magic Kingdom, there was a special line off to the far left for people with early morning reservations. We were let in around 7:45am. They didn't care what time our reservation was for as long as it was before the park opened. We were able to take some pictures with not too many people in them. That was great. Just a tip though. To get to Be Our Guest, you will have to go through Cinderella's castle to get to that side of the park. We were not expecting this so we were a little lost for a couple minutes when all the ways to that side of the park were blocked off. We got to our reservation early, but we were let right in. That was nice. We had pre-ordered our food so we got to skip that step. You're allowed to pick your own seat so we chose to go to the west wing. It's definitely the most dramatic room of them all. There is the rose in the corner, the fireplace with the torn portrait over it, and there's even thunder and lightning throughout your meal. The west wing was a little dark (but I think that's the point). Just know that if you plan on taking pictures of your food, you will have a little trouble in this room without using your flash. You get your own drinks (coffee and fountain drinks) and silverware once you choose your table. If you got milk, they bring that with your food. Now to the food. My son got eggs and bacon. The scrambled eggs were very creamy. My husband got the Feast A La Gaston (scrambled eggs, herb-roasted potatoes, apple smoked bacon, chicken sausage, and fruit). The chicken sausage was sweet which was unexpected, but nice. The potatoes were amazing. I got the Croqhe Madame (open-faced ham sandwich topped with a fried egg, gruyere cheese, and bechamel served with fresh fruit). The bechamel was amazing. I wanted to just spread it on everything. The fried egg was over hard which was fine. Overall, everything everyone ordered was really good. Everything is served with a pastry plate for the table. They were amazing. I think we got a croissant, an apple pastry, a chocolate pastry, a mini blueberry muffin, a mini banana nut golden raisin muffin, and a cinnamon roll. Everything that we ate was super good. We definitely didn't leave hungry. That's for sure.

We immediately headed to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train after we left breakfast. That was the best decision we made because we saw the wait time for Standby go up to 210 minutes the day before. We were actually the first people in line by mere seconds! It was amazing. We were walked through the line by an employee to the front (I believe to ensure that everyone actually walked through the line instead of taking shortcuts or running) where we were in the very front of the first car of the day. That ride was fun! I can't say that I would wait 3 hours to ride it, but I am so excited that we did get to enjoy it.

We followed that up with Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. Due to the early morning, there was no line. This is a constant loading ride. It was very cute. It felt like a 5-minute Little Mermaid's greatest hits. I really enjoyed it. We didn't really stop in the line because there wasn't one, but had we needed to stop, the line was pretty cool. There were a lot of things to look at.

Right next door, we met Ariel at Her Grotto. This was so cool. I just love that she was in her fins. I mean, I guess Ariel with her legs is okay, but it's so much better to meet her in her fins. She was so nice.

The line at Peter Pan's Flight was interesting. This is definitely one of those instances where Disney really fools you with all the rooms. Every time you think you're at the end of the line, you're wrong. But they do a great job of keeping you entertained with things to look at in these rooms. The ride itself was pretty good. You fly around in a boat looking at all the different scenes you would see in Peter Pan. It was great. It was very dark though.

The Barnstormer was a very very fast ride. And by that, I mean that it felt like it lasted no more than 30 seconds. It was definitely fun while we were on it though. It's a great starter coaster for small kids. We really enjoyed it.

We happened upon the Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party by accident. It just so happened to start while we were walking in front of the castle on our way to the other side of the park. I highly recommend it though. We saw Chip n' Dale, Mickey, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, Phineas and Ferb, Baloo and King Louie, and Woody and Jessie. Once they surround the circle in front of the castle, they stop and the characters get down to dance. Then, they invite everyone to come dance with them. I totally suggest going by the Zootopia characters because this is probably the only time you will ever see them. It was a fun little dance break. Keep an eye on your child though because there are a lot of people there and it's easy to get lost in all the chaos.

We had a FP+ for Jungle Cruise so we headed over to it. It was pretty good. Don't try to compare this to Kilimanjaro Safaris in Animal Kingdom. It won't even come close to adding up to it. But for me, that's not the point of this ride. First of all, you're on a boat ride so it's a completely different feel. But second of all, the whole ride is filled with your guide telling horrible, terrible jokes filled with the worst puns I've ever heard. It was great. We loved it. The fake animals looked very cool. Had they been moving, I would have expected them to be real. We enjoyed our time aboard the Amazon Annie visiting jungles all over the world.

Our next FP+ was at the Haunted Mansion. It was a fun little ride with ghosts. Disney does a great job of making these ghosts feel real. I think that's the whole point of this ride. With that being said, don't think that it's scary. It's not funny or silly like I've heard others say, but it's definitely not scary. We really enjoyed the end of the ride when it showed our faces in the 'mirror' as ghosts with our names under them. That was super cool.

We met Anastasia and Drizella in Fantasyland. They were hilarious. They definitely weren't mean. But they were ridiculous. It was great. We really enjoyed them.

We decided to get a snack at Gaston's Tavern. We got a ham and cheese-stuffed pretzel and a chocolate croissant to eat and LeFou's Brew (frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam) served in a souvenir stein to drink. It was all really tasty and it definitely hit the spot.

We had to stand in line for a while to meet Gaston, but that's okay because his handler, Michael, was very entertaining. Gaston himself was great. He and Owen showed off their muscles for a picture. He was very entertaining.

We went to Mickey's Philharmagic because we had some time to kill and I'm so glad we did. I actually really enjoyed it! I definitely recommend you go to this show. It wasn't all that busy so you should easily find a seat. We didn't have very high hopes for it. I really thought it would be boring, but it turned out to be great. It's about Donald stealing Mickey's magic hat and he ends up going through a bunch of Disney movies trying to get it back. We loved it!

We decided to go shopping at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe where we bought some ornaments. They had a great selection.

Then we decided to get another snack. My husband and I got a turkey leg to share and my mom and son got some Mickey ice cream sandwiches. We all really enjoyed our food and we sat until it was time to go to our last FP+ of the day.

I'm so glad we had a FP+ to Enchanted Tales with Belle. We ended up waiting for 5 minutes before our show. We really ended our day on a high note with this one. There weren't a lot of boys, especially ones that wanted to participate so my son was the lucky one chosen to be the beast and he was absolutely adorable! I'm telling you right now, if you have a son, you want him to be the beast. It's the best role in the whole show. It was so cute, I almost got teary-eyed. If you're child was in the show (if you're child wants to be in it, they can be), you'll get a PhotoPass card to look at the pictures taken during the show.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to go swimming at the pirate pool one last time. It was fun swimming in the dark with just the pool lights to light our way. Mom and I decided to try out the slide. It was fun! Then we got Dominoes for dinner.

Vacation: Magic Kingdom Day 1

We started our day off with a bit of confusion. My recommendation is to check the hours of the park you're visiting the night before you go! They are always subject to change. I had checked the hours a while before we visited to make our schedule and it had said the hours were 9am-10pm. However, what we didn't realize until after we got there was that the hours had changed to 8am-12am. When we arrived at 8:15am, the park was already open. Luckily, it wasn't too busy so we were able to go to a couple of rides before the lines got super long. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed for refurbishment so I have no comments on this ride. Also, Stitch's Great Escape was down while we were there so I have no comments on this ride either.

We started off with Astro Orbiter. I will tell you this. Owen and I sat very comfortably in this ride. My husband and Mom did not. It was definitely a tight fit for the two of them. It was pretty fun though. This ride is your typical up and down, round and round ride.

We saw that the Tomorrowland Speedway had a short line so we jumped over there. The cars don't go very fast and you can't actually drive them too much because there is a bar in the middle to keep you on the track. However, this means that our little 6yo son was able to drive the car. It seemed like it was nearly impossible to control the car. Even as a decent adult driver, it felt like I was bouncing all over the place. And while little kids may be able to drive, they may not be able to reach the pedal. Luckily, the pedal is in the middle of the car so an adult can easily press the pedal while the little one drives. It was a fun little way to waste time.

We had a FP+ for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and it was so much fun. It was similar to Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios, but it's also different and has it's own little story. This one actually has a gun that you shoot and you're able to control which way the car spins to choose what you're shooting at. However, it is a little difficult to tell what you're shooting at. There are all these little red dots to show where you're shooting, but it's hard to tell which one is yours. We had so much fun though.

Then we headed over to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. My tip is, if you're horribly afraid of being singled out in front of a crowd, don't go to this. Seriously! Most people are great sports, but my husband wasn't expecting this and was completely extatic at the end when he wasn't chosen. If you embarrass easily, beware! Despite all of this, I will tell you that I actually laughed quite a bit. Normally, I'm pretty hard to make laugh. A lot of things that kids find funny, I'm not impressed by. This was funny!

We decided to ride the teacups at Mad Tea Party next. We loved spinning. It's just like all your usual spinning rides. You sit in a teacup and spin the circle in the middle to make yourself go. This means you can spin as fast or as slow as you would like.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was fun. It felt like we waited in line forever for this one though. Luckily, the line was pretty entertaining. The kids are free to play in one part of it while the adults stand in line. The ride is fine. While sitting in your honey pot, you go along on a story with Winnie the Pooh and all his friends. It's definitely a great ride for little kids. Our 6yo enjoyed it, but I think in a year or 2, it will be a little young for him.

We ate lunch at The Friar's Nook where we got pot roast mac and cheese and BBQ chicken mac and cheese. It was really good and really filling. Personally, I liked the pot roast better. I think it was because the BBQ chicken was a little sweet for me and had cole slaw on top (which would have been nice to know beforehand).

We got to meet Merida. When we first got there, kids got to try archery after they met her. However, a couple groups before us, one of the kids broke the bow so we didn't get to do it. That was pretty disappointing for our son. But that's not why we were there. Merida was so nice! She told Owen he reminded her of her brothers and she taught Owen the correct stance for archery. He really enjoyed meeting her.

We had a FP+ for Space Mountain so we went there. I was a little concerned that my son wouldn't like it because the whole ride is in the dark, but he loved it! It goes fast around in circles in the dark. That's pretty much the whole ride. You feel like you're going a lot faster than you actually are because it's so dark. That being said, it's a lot more fun than it sounds.

We decided to take a little break on the Walt Disney World Railroad around the park. There are 3 stops and you could seriously ride that thing all day because they never make you get off. That being said, we boarded in Fantasyland, went to Main Street U.S.A., then to Fantasyland, and finally got off when we got back to Fantasyland. There is a nice breeze while the train is moving. If you have your own stroller, you can take it with you if you fold it up.

My mom convinced us to go on “it's a small world” and that line was quite the pain. Part of that was because the outside part was all in the sun. Part of that was because the line was long. But I think the biggest reason that line was a pain was because the family behind us just refused to watch their daughter (2-3 years old) and she was out of control. She kept bumping into us, touching us, swinging the chains, going ahead of us, yelling, and pretty much just all around being annoying. Now, I work with kids so I'm not just sour toward them. However, I do believe in watching your children and correcting inappropriate behavior. Now, after we got on the boat (thankfully, not even the same one as the other people) we realized one thing. There is absolutely no leg room! Or at least, there isn't any in the front row. I mean, it's great to be in front and it looked like there may have been more room in other rows, but we definitely were uncomfortable. Oh, and have you heard the joke about getting stuck on this ride? Well, it may have only been for 10 minutes, but we were definitely stuck and the song just kept playing!

We watched the Princess Elena Royal Welcome by accident! We got to the castle early to watch the Friendship Faire and it turned out that they were welcoming Elena of Avalor right before that. It was pretty cool. She sang a song. I got a picture of Cinderella and Prince Charming in front of the castle so that was nice.

While we were waiting, we ate some Mickey bars, which are basically just dilly bars in the shape of Mickey.

So then, we stuck around and watched Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire. What a cute little show on the castle stage. There are SO many characters involved in this. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Tiana, Prince Naveen, Rapunzel, Flynn, Olaf, Elsa, and Anna are all involved. There are 4 songs and we all thoroughly enjoyed watching. We were really close to the stage so I was concerned at first that we wouldn't be able to see that well, but that wasn't the case at all. Plus, there were fireworks at the end of the performance. It was great! It seemed like they were lip-syncing to the original voices which we really enjoyed because the songs sounded really authentic.

We had a FP+ for Splash Mountain and I'm glad we did. That line was long. It was really fun! There are 4 rows and our party was in the last 2. It seemed like the front row got the most wet and sitting in the back, we just got a light mist to the face. That was actually kind of nice because it cooled us down a bit, but we didn't get soaked so it was still fine to walk around for a while after that. Usually, Splash Mountain is all about that 50 foot drop, but there is a nice little story that goes along with the ride involving Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox going after Br'er Rabbit.

Pirates of the Caribbean didn't have a very long line so we went on that. It was ok. You ride a boat through scenes from the movies. It was kind of fun looking for Jack Sparrow. In some of the scenes he's kind of hidden so you have to pay attention.

My family was not interested in going to The Hall of President's, but my mom was so she went by herself.

We went to meet Pooh and Tigger. That line was deceptively long. Pooh and Tigger kept having to take a break every 20 minutes so we were there for about an hour. They were great though.

We just had to ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant. It's an iconic ride after all. This is the ride that everyone thinks of when thinking of all the ABC shows in the 90s when the families would go to Disney World and there was always that clip of them riding the Dumbo elephants. We used a FP+ for it after we used our original 3. It was just like the ride we rode first. You know, your typical up and down ride that goes round and round.

We then booked another FP+ for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It was the same as Dumbo and Astro Orbiter with one small difference. It had a spitting camel. If you want to get wet, you need to gauge the height of the spit and aim for that and hope that he spits right when you're going by. If you don't want to get wet, you need to go either high or low when he spits to avoid the water.

We decided to call it quits after this ride and make our way back to the resort. After all, we had to get up super early for our breakfast reservations.

Vacation: Hollywood Studios

We arrived around 8:15am. They started letting people in around 8:45am. We immediately speed walked (not ran because that's frowned upon – although I did see people doing it) to sign up for Jedi training. Your child does have to be with you in order to sign up, but if one person in your party is particularly quick, it is okay to have them get in line and have your children jump in when the rest of you catch up to the line. The line can be a little confusing to people that don't understand it. You need to park your stroller before you get into it. Then, once the line gets long enough, the entrance to it is actually through the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular area. Just ask the man at the entrance to it and he will point you in the right direction. Now, I'm just estimating here, but I believe there are over 300 spots available for this at different times during the day. You do need to sign up first thing in the morning, but as long as you go straight there, you should get a spot. The earlier time slots do fill up faster so keep that in mind.

Our first ride of the day was Tower of Terror which we had a FP+ for. I'm so glad we did because by the time we got out of there, the wait time was over 90 minutes. It was so much fun. I just love the unexpected drops and the whole storyline behind the whole ride. I especially love the whole video you get with the ride photo.

Then we made our way over to our next FP+ at Star Tours. It was very cool and I hear that you hardly ever get the same ride twice because they have so many options on what can come next. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy those simulated rides. They even involve someone in your car to be the 'rebel' that the bad guys are looking for. Plus, they have updated it to include characters from the Force Awakens.

We then met Chewbacca and got our picture with him. He and Owen showed off their muscles. On our way out, we danced with some Jawas.

For our Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, we got to the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost a half hour before our scheduled training (which is what they say to do). There, our son was given a water and told to sit on a circle with his ticket. Now, the way that it was done with our son was that there were 2 lines and they just put them in order of when they get there. We were smack dab in the middle for his group so he actually ended up being the first in the second line. This actually turned out great for us because the second line was the line that got to battle Darth Vader. So if that's what you want, I would say there's no reason to show up way before they tell you to. There's no advantage to it. Also, after they have their 2 lines, they sort the children shortest to tallest anyway so the lines get moved around a little. They are fitted with their robes and after each child has one, they're led out to where the parents are standing. Now, it is suggested at this point that only one person stay with the child while the rest of your party goes to find a place to stand to watch the show. The children are then paraded through the park to the stage where they will do their training. It's very cool and very special. The parents receive a photopass card to see the pictures that are taken during training afterwards. The 2 lines are placed (one on a higher stage and one on a lower stage) and the kids are presented with a lightsaber to use during training. They are taught a series of moves (ready stance, left shoulder, right shoulder, block, duck, cut to the head) and repeat those moves a number of times. There is a story about how the temple brings out your worst fears and out come Darth Vader and Seventh Sister. Each child gets to try out the series of moves they were taught to defeat their bad guy. In the end, all of the participants stand together to use the force to push them back into the temple. It is so amazing to watch and I seriously almost teared up watching how serious my little man took the whole experience. It was probably one of the greatest things from our whole trip and I greatly suggest it to any parent of a child between 4 and 12. And just to throw this out there, there were quite a few girls in the group my son was in. After they return their robes and lightsabers, the kids then are given a pin to commemorate their training and are returned to their parents.

We went to our FP+ at Toy Story Mania and it was so much fun. Instead of a gun like some shooting games, you actually pull a ball on a rope to make your 'cannon' shoot. My husband says to beware of forearm fatigue. We had a great time seeing who could get the highest score. It was a pretty close match between my husband and myself, but he ended up getting the edge on me and beating me in the end.
On our way out, we saw some cool Army Men walking around so we got a picture with one of them.

We stood in line for a very long time to meet Buzz and Woody. While the wait may have been an hour long, the line was at least more fun than just standing there. There were photo ops all the way around the twists and turns of the line. I thought it was a great way to keep people entertained while waiting. Not everyone took part in taking these pictures, but we sure did. While it may seem frustrating at times to get the pictures because people will inevidably stand in your way, just be patient and wait until the line has moved forward enough to take the picture you want. And if all else fails, just ask people to move. Most of them will do it.

We went to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid because it had a short wait time. It was okay. I wouldn't say it was great by any means though. It was nice to sit down in an air conditioned room for a little while, but I probably won't go see it again if when we go back. It's definitely skip-able. However, if you do go to watch it, try to sit more toward the middle. We were at the end of the line and ended up with seats way off to the side. It felt like we were missing parts of the show.

We met Kylo Ren who was just a little creepy, but still very cool for the little one.

Since we had used our three FP+ already, I was able to make another one for Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage and it was great! It followed the story that we all know with a lot of the great musical numbers. I could watch that show again and again.

After the show, we stopped to get Mickey pretzels. They were good and how can you pass up anything that's shaped like Mickey? Then, we got one of the souvenir popcorn things that was shaped like a Tie Fighter. That was pretty cool.

And at the end of the day, we met Olaf. He definitely liked warm hugs and Owen was more than happy to give them to him. That was nice. Just know that generally, Olaf does not do signatures. They tell you this and give you a little circle where he has drawn his face and they've printed enough off for everyone, which was fine for us. However, he will do these drawings for some people as we saw the family in front of us that had all the characters signing a pillow case and we watched Olaf draw his face on it for them. We loved how even the characters that can't talk try to make meeting them a very pleasant experience.

Vacation: Animal Kingdom

A couple months ago, I took a trip with my husband, son, and mom. We decided to go big and go to Disney World! One word: EPIC! Seriously. When we got back, my son told me 'it was the best week of my life'. And I felt the same way. On our first day, we went to Animal Kingdom.

We woke up, got ready, and got to our first park of the trip around 8:15am. They started letting people in around 8:30am. We got part of the way into the park, around the Tree of Life area where we waited for the opening bird show and the rope drop. The birds fly around and it's pretty cool to watch. Dinosaur was closed for refurbishment while we were there so unfortunately, I don't have anything to report about that ride.

We started off our day with Kilimanjaro Safaris. We went straight there so our wait wasn't very long despite not having a FP+ (still around 20-30 minutes though). Our entire party found it very entertaining. There were so many animals out! It was great. It does have the feel that they walk around freely (even though we know they don't). There were lots of twists and turns so if you missed an animal, you might see it again after you turn the corner. Our guide did a great job of pointing things out. The ride is very bumpy though. It's almost like you're really riding on a safari on a dirt road. It was great!

We had a FP+ for Expedition Everest and it was so much fun. It was about a Yeti. I would say that is wasn't very scary. We all enjoyed it. There were a couple of moments in the dark and at one point, you go backwards.

It's Tough to be a Bug! Was pretty good. The wait was very short and it is inside the Tree of Life and air conditioned so it's a nice little break to sit down. There are some 4D elements about it and there is a warning before the show about it being scary for little ones. It amazes me how many people don't pay attention to these warnings. I heard so many little kids (2 and under, probably) crying during the show. Overall, we really enjoyed it though!

At this point, we needed to sit down and have a snack so we chose Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes. It was delicious. We got a side of pork egg rolls and the special that they were having, which was Korean BBQ rib tips with french fries plus a chicken strip kids meal (that came with carrot sticks, fruit, and a drink). We shared this among the 4 of us and it made a great snack.

We met Meeko and Pocahontas. They were so much fun. And honestly, their location was slightly hidden and had we not known where to look, we would have completely walked right past it without ever knowing it was there so use that Disney app and look at the character section to find them if you want to get pictures with your favorite Disney characters.

We had a FP+ to Finding Nemo – The Musical and boy am I glad we did. In order to get a great seat, you need to have a FP+. It's a show so they let all the FP+ people in first to select a seat and then they let everyone else in. If you desperately want to be close to the stage, by all means, sit up front, but my suggestion is to sit next to the runway in the middle. Sometimes the cast will interact with you if you're sitting there. Otherwise, my suggestion is to sit where we did. We sat pretty close to the middle right behind the first break in seating. There were plenty of times that characters were right in front of us. It was very cool. As far as the show goes, the music was absolutely fantastic! And the storyline follows the movie pretty well with just a much shorter show. It was about half an hour and I thought is was seriously amazing. The characters are done in a way that I wasn't expecting and it was very interesting. There were people that were all dressed up and everything and they were holding puppets that depicted the character they were portraying. They didn't necessarily try to hide themselves as the person. It was strange and cool at the same time. My whole family loved it.

We had a reservation at Tusker House for my husband's birthday. We all were able to find food that we enjoyed while trying some new things with the buffet-style eating. We stuffed ourselves silly. It was also very cool to have Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy come around to every table to sign autographs and say hello and take pictures with every guest. They come one at a time. You will probably see all of the characters in the dining hall at one time, but they come individually to each table. That was a great experience. My husband even got a birthday kiss from Daisy. Plus, they do a parade where one character will go to each section and the kids can march around the room with them during a song. At the end of our meal, my husband (because he was wearing his birthday pin) received a birthday card signed by all the characters at our meal and a small cupcake. Overall, our dining experience was great.

We saw the Festival of the Lion King and it was mind-blowing. There were so many cool elements of the show with a fire juggler to acrobatic monkeys to giant floats with Simba and Pumba. There is singing and dancing and a few select lucky kids get to be a part of the show. You really need to be up front for this to happen so I would suggest FP+ or being the first in line. We were definitely not that lucky this time. I would definitely put this down as a must see though.

We had a FP+ for Kali River Rapids towards the end of the day. I generally don't find it enjoyable to walk around while wet so I made these reservations for 5:10pm-6:10pm. We ended up leaving after that ride. It's a circle raft ride so there is always a good possibility you're going to leave pretty wet.

When we got back to the resort, we ate dinner that we had picked up on the way from Wendy's. Then, for dessert, we had cupcakes and ice cream for Tom's birthday.