Mouse Ears and Thrills

We just got back from a perfectly relaxing and magically fun time in Orlando. Jeff had a business conference there and so we made a family trip out of it. He was able to play with us for the first half of the week and then worked while we played for the rest.


Grandpa and Grandma Payne met us and played with us all week too...letting us drag them all around and on many rides. Gramma Christie met us later in the week and it was fun to have the attention of so many grandparents. What a treat to have them together at the same time. We were also able to see the Westergardies, Char Char, Cody, Bethany, Michelle and Mike all friends from Boston who work in Jeff's company. I'll post pics when I steal some from their blogs :)


We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Disney and Epcot. We weren't very good about taking pictures because we were usually having too much fun to think about it but here are a few to prove that we were actually there and having a blast.

This is the kids favorite ride in Animal Kingdom...everyone that came off looked like they just stepped out of the shower fully clothed and sopping wet, so I was grateful they could go on their own! Sorry about the blurry action shot...

Our favorite rides/activities were:

Jeff-Rockin Rollercoaster (Aerosmith ride) in Hollywood Disney and golfing with Dad. Jeff was our master planner and was terrific about running around getting the fast passes for us. He was so good that we didn't have to wait in long lines or have much time standing around.

Delise-Rockin Rollercoaster and all the fun shows in every park (Nemo, Mickeys PhilharMagic, Bugs Life, Soarin) She did scream so freakin hard in Terror Tower that after 3 days still hasn't fully recovered her voice...still unsure whether she liked the ride or not. :) She also liked the Safari.

Kat-Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom--shown in picture) I have to say how proud of Kat I am. She was brave this whole trip beginning and ending with the airplane rides and everything in between. She rode on most roller coasters and was a terrific sport. It's hard to enjoy thrilling rides when you're so afraid of heights. Way to go Kat!

Carl-Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom) Carl has turned into a real thrill seeker. He loves to go fast and hard. He was fun to take on every ride except It's a Small World where he plugged his ears and closed his eyes against the "dumbest ride in the world".

Maglet-Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom) and Soarin' (Epcot) Mag loved all the fast rides, she could go on most of them and was sad to be left off of some roller coasters because she simply wasn't tall enough. Kat sacrificed going on those rides to stay with her :)

Kat, Grandma Payne, Carl, Gramma Christie, Maglet and Grandpa Del...after a fun morning of sun at the pool/lazy river before we left to go to Epcot.

One night as we were walking into a restaurant for dinner, Maglet spotted a snake. It had red, black and yellow bands. We scrambled trying to remember the verse:

Red touch black, venom lack

Red touch yellow, kill a fellow

It had red and yellow touching bands and was a venomous coral snake. Luckily for us we saw it (they are usually pretty shy) and lucky for us it quickly slithered away into the bushes.

When we first entered the park, Maglet (who had just been to Disney World in January with Gramma Christie for her 5 yr old trip) pointed out this white bird with a thin orangey/yellow arcing beak and long legs. She went on to explain how these birds are very rare and special. So away we went and proceeded to see them everywhere. I think they were as common as seagulls at the beach. Had to get a picture of the "rare birds" roosting in a tree at the end of a day, it cracked us up.

Good times!