Florida Fun

No, we were not eaten by alligators (just being swallowed by life), but we very well could have been...

These big guys were living in a pond in front of the resort and were a great source of entertainment for the children. I must admit, I had my face pressed against the glass for a fair amount of time too. Maybe it is because my mother made me watch Crocodile Dundee 48 times as a girl, but I just don't think I could live peacefully around those guys.

Anyway, I can't believe I am saying this, but we had a nice time at Disney World. I knew the overall trip would be special because of the added company of my mom, John and my grandparents, but vacationing at the Magic Kingdom? I imagined I would be as eager to leave as these guys were to get off this ride.

The idea of battling crowds, waiting in lines and a lot of mediocre food in is not an ideal vacation in my mind, but the crowds were very manageable, we did not wait in many lines and we only had one so-so meal before we got the whole thing figured out. Thanks to the lack of lines, Spencer was able to ride the the Magic Carpet ride at least 8 times.

The only disappointing thing about the trip was the weather - we had one typical Florida day and the rest were 50's, wet and cold - but, even with the less than perfect weather we had a great time and the kids are already planning their return visit. It's A Small World was a favorite and the level of distractibility to take a photo shows how it ranked with each of the children. Laney could not stop smiling and requested a second ride - she wouldn't even look at me, Owen was entertained and very thankful he was no longer on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride - I got the face, but the eyes were still on the ride, and Spencer thought it was a catchy tune, but was dreaming about the Indy Cars and a few more Magic Carpet rides - the courtesy smile.

If there is anyone out there planning a trip, the place to eat in the Magic Kingdom is the Main Street Bakery. They have good sandwiches and tasty treats. We stayed at the Mike Ditka Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa and it was great for our large group and close (about 10 - 15 minutes) to the park - we stayed in the 4 bedroom suite and it had 3 bathrooms, plasma screen TVs in each room, a big common area/ dining room, a full kitchen and a laundry room. There is a grocery store just down the road, so we ate breakfast and dinners in the suite - I am all for a meal at home when the alternative is bland, boring or just plain bad. The best part, the rates were very reasonable.