GATORLAND

In between Disney and beach days, we made a trip to GATORLAND. This was probably the hottest and most humid day of them all, but we still really enjoyed the park. Max really likes alligators and crocodiles, since that is what Captain Hook is afraid of.

You can't really tell, but this is Max and I, in the jaws of a giant alligator.

Don't worry, it's not a real alligator. ;)


There was an enclosed area with birds flying all around. We were able to walk inside and feed the birds. As soon as Josh stepped foot inside, this cute little bird decided to find a comfy spot to hang out on Josh's head.

For $1.00 we were able to buy a popsicle stick with peanut butter and bird seed on it to feed to the birds. They were all over the place and we'd have multiple birds on our arms at once.


This is Josh's feeble attempt at making a pirate face. :)


Max wasn't sure what to do about this bird on his head.


We stopped to take some pictures while on a walk in the swamp.




Gator Jumping

Max had been begging us the entire time to hold an alligator so we decided to end our day letting him do just that. Josh was lucky enough to have a snake around his neck. Max didn't want to have anything to do with the snake, but was super excited to hold an alligator!

We had a great time at Gatorland.

Hollywood Studios - Disney Part 3

Our third Disney park that we went to was Hollywood Studios. This was a fun park because there was a lot of Toy Story stuff to see and do. We used our fast passes to ride the Toy Story Mania ride. I've really been wanting to ride this ever since they showed it as a new ride on Disney channel. Instead of the 70 minute wait, we decided to slide our park tickets in the fastpass machine and it gave us a period of time where we could come back and get on with little or no line. We actually used the fast passes at all three parks for a lot of the rides. We also got to watch the Playhouse Disney show which Max was thrilled to see Mickey and his friends. I really like the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
This is Max standing in front of Rocket from Little Einsteins. He also got to meet Quincey and June from the show.


We also got to meet Mater and Lightning McQueen.



Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground


Max was so excited to see that Buzz and Woody were at the park together so as soon as he saw them we had to get in line. We took some fun pictures while we were in line.


Is it just me or is does this kid look too happy to be strapped to a rocket?

Finally, the highlight of the trip for Max. He got to meet Buzz AND Woody!!!

It was such a fun day with light showers off and on throughout the day which felt really good in all that heat. We ended the night by going to the Fantasmic show which I must say was fantastic! I didn't get any pictures because it was dark and we were all asked not to take any flash photography during the show, but it was awesome! I would highly reccomend it.

Animal Kingdom - Disney Part 2

We were so excited to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom because we have never been before. Magic Kingdom is pretty comparable to the one in California so we knew what to expect with the first park. I have to admit that it was nice to have a more slow paced day at the Animal Kingdom compared to our first park day.



We went on the safari ride as soon as we got into the park. I had read that the best time to go on that ride is in the morning while the animals are awake and moving around. It was just like going to the zoo, only this was ten times better. We gave Max his own camera to take pictures of all of the animals and he loved being able to take his own.



We saw Giraffes, Rhinos, Ostriches, Lions, Hippos and so many others. I have never seen so many hippos before.



Max was able to meet some more Disney Characters at this park. He was pretty happy to see Jiminy Cricket.

He also got to meet Rafiki from Disney's The Lion King. He didn't really know what to make of Rafiki teasing him which you'll see in the second picture.


He also got to meet Donald and Goofy. Donald was afraid of his hook and kept hiding behind Goofy. Max thought that was pretty funny. While we were waiting in line to meet them, the lady who was there to take pictures asked Max was happened to his hand and he said "a crocodile ate it." The lady started laughing and said that he was so cute and asked his name. He just looked at her like, duh and then he said "Captain Hook" and his tone was hilarious.


There was also a petting zoo which was a hit amongst the young kids.

The picture below was taken while we were waiting to see the show, 'It's tough to be a bug.' We had special 3D glasses to watch the show which was pretty funny.

We ended the day with a safari parade.


It was so nice that night to get back to the hotel and go swimming after a long day of walking and standing. Max probably enjoyed the pool just as much as he enjoyed the park.

Magic Kingdom -Disney Part 1

Disney's Magic Kingdom was the first park we visited. This was by far, Max's favorite park because of all the rides. He really liked the rides in Fantasyland, but when we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, he was so excited! This kid absolutely loves pirates right now. While at the Magic Kingdom he got a hook and a pirate sword, and they are his prized possesions right now. Here is a picture of Josh and Max in front of Cinderella's castle with Max showing off his hook and sword.

This is a picture of Max and I waiting in line for the dumbo ride. This was probably the longest line we had to wait in. I was surprised how well he did waiting in lines. The longest wait was probably 30 minutes, but he really was pretty good all day long.

This picture was taken while waiting in line for the pirates of the caribbean ride. He was so happy to wait in line for this and all through the line he kept swinging his arm and singing "yo ho yo ho, a pirate's life for me."


Below is Josh and Max, riding Alladin's Flying Carpet ride. I only got the one picture because it started lightly raining during the ride. It had been a very hot and humid day so the rain was welcomed and only lasted a few minutes.


This is a horrible picture of me, but I figure that if I'm going to post about going to Disneyworld; I have to post the picture with Mickey and Minnie. Max was so shy about meeting them so he made his dad hold him the whole time.

When Max saw Buzz Lightyear, he was so excited that he forgot about being shy and we were able to get him to walk over to meet Buzz. He was pretty bummed that he didn't get to meet Woody too. We had seen Woody while we were on the train, but he was gone before we got to where he had been. It's okay though, because he did get to see Buzz again along with Woody at Hollywood Studios a few days later.

This picture of the castle was taken as we were waiting for the fireworks to start. Once the sun went down, the castle changed from blue to pink to green, etc..... It was really pretty. We had such a magical day and it was just what we needed to temporarily escape our problems.

Cocoa Beach

We just got back from a very fun and much needed vacation to florida. We stayed in Cocoa Beach in a 2 bedroom apartment style hotel. The beach was fantastic, the ocean was warm, and we all had a blast building sand castles and chasing crabs.

One night we actually went out to the beach with flashlights to search for ghost crabs. I wasn't too fond of it because with all those leggs, they remind me of very large spiders. Max thought it was funny when dad would chase the crab with his flashlight over to me and I would scream and run away! I'm glad they had fun with that, even if it was at my expense ;).

I'm not in any of the beach pictures because I take the best pictures ( I know Josh would disagree), but it's true.

Josh and I loved getting in the ocean and jumping the waves. Max tolerated it, but would much rather have stayed and played in the sand the entire time. Don't mind the woman and her cleavage in the background, it was pretty busy on the beach that day and it was practically impossible not to get some stranger in the background.