Day 5, Magic Kingdom, take 2

Sam shared the beauty of the savannah with Wilbur.  Wilbur approved!

Luckily we had planned a second stop at the Magic Kingdom and we were treated to a magically perfect weather day!

It was a little more crowded today than on Wednesday!

We rode rides, saw a few shows, took in the parade, explored Tom Sawyer's island, ate lots of yummy food, and even saw a few princesses today!

When you're the one making dinner reservations, you are allowed to choose where you want to go.  Like, having dinner in the castle with the princesses! 

I won a bet to get here.  The family had a pool for the NCAA tournament in 2016, I beat out all of the boys in our household and won the award of planning a night out for our family.  I waited for this night to cash in my award!  No complaining from any family members was part of the deal, and the boys followed the rules quite well!  Dare I say they might have enjoyed the night a little, too!

We were greeted by Cinderella first, then seated upstairs in the Castle for dinner.  Once we are seated the princess' all came out and made their rounds greeting all of the guests.  The boys all got swords and wishing stars.  The fireworks also were let off while we had dinner, it was really neat to see them through the windows.  The music was piped in for the show.  The food was really delicious and the desserts were quite fancy!  Eric and I enjoyed a special champagne made just for Disney and the castle.  

It was a magical night and fun way to end our Disney vacation for sure!

 Ben enjoyed his unicorn sucker he had been saving for the flight home!

Day 4 Hollywood Studios

We spent the morning swimming in the resort pool before heading to Hollywood Studios.  

So much of the park was Star Wars themed and unfortunately the boys aren't that interested in Star Wars right now, much to Eric and I's dismay.  We did enjoy the Pixar area of the park and a yummy dinner at the Brown Derby.  

We ended the night at the arcade, always a favorite for the boys!

Day 3 The Magic Kingdom

 The good thing about today was it wasn't too crowded.  The bad thing, it rained.  All day!

The boys didn't seem to mind the rain too awfully much and, after purchasing the proper rain gear, we were ready to take on the day!

Gotta ride the Dumbo ride.

The boys all loved the Barnstormer roller coaster. We must have rode that thing a dozen times!

The Beast's Castle, where we had lunch.  It was so beautiful inside and served delicious food with a French twist.  Our first time dining in a castle, but not our last on this trip!

We had a great place to stand for the afternoon parade, right in front of the castle.

Ben was happy perched up on Daddy's shoulders to see it all!

Ben's favorite part of the parade, for obvious reasons!

I always enjoy the carousel and the rest of the family goes along with me!

Day 2, Animal Kingdom

 The next day we went to Animal Kingdom, a family favorite!

The Tree of Life.

Riding on the Kilimanjaro safari we were treated to many different animals.

Can you spy the lion resting on the top of this boulder?

Digging in the Boneyard.

Meerkats.

These creatures were pretty entertaining to watch!

Gorillas!

I could have stayed watching these guys all day!

This guy was checking us out, checking him out!  Can you see Ben's smiling reflection in the glass on the gorilla?

It's Baloo the Bear!

And King Louie!

We all loved this raft ride and got throughly soaked!

Yummy Mickey ice cream bars!

We explored Disney Springs after Animal Kingdom where we did a little souvenir shopping and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  

My friend Sherry lives in the Orlando area and was kind enough to meet us our for dinner.  It was so fun to see her and catch up!  Sherry and I have been friends for over 20 years!

Sherry treated the boys to candy after dinner.  Ben wasted no time in eating his sugary treat!

Disney tired.  Most nights ended like this!