Random Disney Thoughts

We're back!  Got home last night after 11:00pm and headed back to work and daycare today.  Needless to say I do not exactly feel "rested".  We had a terrific time - KK giggled from the time we got on the plane Friday morning until we landed last night.  She hardly napped and rarely slept past 7:00 am.  She had the time of her life, although if you asked her today about her favorite part of the trip she would most likely say "pizza".  To me the reason people go to Disney is to see the look on their kiddos faces at each turn - it is something that I cannot describe.  For me, however, I've had enough Disney for a few years.  My ideal vacation involves hot sunshine, oceans, sand, sparkling pools and frosty beverages.  It is not walking over 5 miles a day in 110 degree heat trying to find Belle or the Beast.  Over the course of the few days where we visited Disney Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom I came away with a few observations, tips, random thoughts, and stuff not blog appropriate!  I tried to hire this note taker so I wouldn't forget anything, but as you can imagine she became easily distracted.

1. Florida at the end of August is HOT!
2. The end of August, however, is a great time to go to Disney.  We rarely waited more than 10 minutes to ride a ride, see a show, or have a picture taken with a famous character.

3. They serve beer at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios - not at Magic Kingdom.
4. They serve turkey legs at each park and I laughed each time I saw someone eating one - why because I'm not the most mature person around.
5. Disney is one of the most organized and cleanest places I have ever been.
6. We took our own cooler in each day with snacks, waters, diet cokes & capri suns and it was nothing short of brilliant.  We saved a fortune and had drinks readily available at all times.
7. There are many articles of clothing that should not be made in the size I saw them in.  I did not understand some of the outfits I saw - clearly many hotel rooms do not have mirrors.
8. We got stuck on "It's a Small World" due to a technical difficulty - thankfully it was only for about 5 minutes - but it seemed like 45.
9. KK sang "London Bridges" every single time we crossed a bridge.
10. We enjoyed every show and parade that we saw - to me the best part of each park.
11. It is true that you have to make reservations for meals with characters up to 180 days in advance.  If you call Disney to ask them if you can be the exception 3 days before you leave, they will laugh at you. 
12. We really enjoyed Downtown Disney - great shops, live music & cool restaurants.
13. Rainforest Cafe serves a margarita with a corona served upside down in it - it was amazing!!

14. Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were sufficient at a 1/2 day.
15. We spent over 12 hours at Magic Kingdom.
16. We rode the carousel 4 times, it was the highlight for KK.

17. We stayed at the Omni at ChampionsGate which was a fantastic hotel (this is where Hubs conference was located), but if we were to do it just as a Disney trip I would stay at one of the Disney properties.  View from our room:

And this is how we felt about being back today:

Cheers!