Disney-mania!

We had some great days here in Orlando!
Day 1 Sunday
We met my Aunt Betty and David at their hotel for breakfast. I was tapped on the shoulder and looked to see it was my cousin Jenny, her kids, and my Uncle Brad standing there! My Aunt had arranged for them to fly down from Minnesota and surprise us. And boy what a surprise! I still don't know how she pulled it off since our schedule was so up in the air for a couple of weeks. We enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast with the families, and after, we went our separate ways. They went to Magic Kingdom, and my family went to Animal Kingdom. Among other things,we went on a fun safari ride, toured around and the last thing of the day was the Kali River Rapids. There was no one in line and we got to stay on and ride twice. Poor Mattias-- he got completely drenched by the falls, the girls not as much, I managed to escape somehow. It was cold after dark, and Mattias reminded me it was December after all!
breakfast-Hilton; lunch-food kiosk watching African drum players; dinner-pizza delivery.
Day 2 Monday
Mattias had some "business" to take care of with figuring out how to get the boat shipped to Sweden etc. I joined my extended family for a day trip to Sea World. It was a chillier day in Orlando, but we had fun looking at all the cool sea creatures including manatees which we've seen on signs to watch out for in the ICW, but haven't seen in person until today. We watched the dolphin show and saw the SHAMU! show. The great big whale. He left a big splash for all of those in the front sections. Liv and Hanna had a blast with Jenny's kids, Aleah and Jack. They got their fill of rides and fun.
breakfast-Hilton; lunch-Sea World kiosk; dinner-Mattias prepared filet and potato gratin.
Day 3 Tuesday
We were up early for our trip to Magic Kingdom. Couldn't believe the crowds at the park and especially since this was supposed to be a slower week! We were wowed by the attention to Disney details, including super friendly, over the top staff and those three "cast members" who surrounded us with help as Hanna spilled half her chocolate malt on the ground. No, she didn't need a replacement as the original was massive, but thanks for asking! We were slightly disappointed at two big deal rides we wanted to go on had broken down while we were either in line or ready to go--Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mtn. Railroad. The girls and I met Mickey Mouse. Have to say that I have not been into the characters much before, but got little goosebumps when we got to meet Mickey! Geek-- me! We stayed for the fireworks display and watched as Cinderella's castle was transformed into icicles. That was beautiful. That was just before the park closed for the day and we were swarmed by people, electric carts and strollers. Spent another 8 hours here and there is much, much more!
breakfast-at condo; lunch Tony's Italian Cafe' watching the Family Day Parade; dinner- warm sandwiches at condo.
Day 4-Wednesday
It was our day to sleep in and hang out at the condo. We took the girls to the nice playground on site here and they played for some time. After lunch, went swimming. The clouds came and it got a bit nippy for their mom but we swam for 1 1/2 hours.
breakfast-condo; lunch-pasta in condo; dinner at Raglan Road (Irish restaurant) at Disney's Pleasure Island. After dinner walked around Pleasure Island. We met by two giant, 12' tall, hopping reindeer. Quite funny.
Day 5 Thursday
It was our Epcot day. We spent the first few hours at the Future World and enjoyed a number of attractions and rides. In that area, we loved Soarin' (365 degree surround screen/us in hangglider type seats flying through California), Livin' with the Land (a nice greenhouse tour--saw how they grow those mickey ear squash), and finally, Turtle Talk with Crush. This was an interactive show and was very fun. Like, hey Dude! It was awesome! On the way through the World, we stopped in Canada and listened to Off Kilter, a unique Celtic band. Liv and I toured the shops of Japan and then we stopped in Italy to watch a street performer. When we got to Norway, Mattias and the girls went on the Maelstrom ride. I was feeling claustrophobic in the line and went outside to the cafe to buy some Norwegian treats. Mattias felt we should petition Disney for Sweden to replace Norway as Norway was kind of boring!
breakfast-condo; lunch at Sunshine Seasons (Disney's healthiest and quite tasty too faster food line); dinner- hamburgers at condo.
Day 6 Friday
Final day to rally and get to the last park--MGM studios. It was a beautiful day today and nice to visit the park but we were kind of tired this morning. We got our Fastpasses right away for the Tower of Terror ride later and after picking those up, ran into the High School Musical parade. Then to the Star Wars ride. After which, Hanna and I both prone to motion sickness, opted out of the Tower and went to see The Little Mermaid show instead. Mattias and Liv did the tower and ended up not using our other two Fastpasses. Seems like the 13 story elevator drop was more than they wanted to do again! We saw the Beauty and the Beast show too. It is nice with those 25 minute productions--no need to sit through a 2 hour show in real life! We had a shorter day today. All in all, was a super week. Great that both girls were tall enough to do the rides and attractions that we wanted to do. We discovered that Hanna doesn't get scared of potentially frightening things where as, Liv does. Hanna gets motion sick and Liv doesn't. They had such fun seeing the characters and getting into the fantasy spirit which is easy to do at Disney.
Breakfast-at condo; lunch-50's Prime Time Diner at MGM; dinner- not sure what we'll eat, but eat at condo.