Disney!

We surprised the kids on Easter morning with a surprise announcement: "Pack your bags! We're heading to Disney!" Here is Jack enjoying the view. He thought we were flying over the North Pole because the cloud cover looked like snow.

Speaking of Jack, I allowed each of the kids to pack his or her own carry-on bag....Maddie and Ben packed the usual: stuffed animals, blankies, etc. Jack's included: a black magic marker, 3 beanie babies in a sealed Tupperware container, a snorkel, a matchbox car, a swimsuit, and a picture of his mama.

Thanks to Dave, our vacation was practically free. Hotel? Thank you, Dave, for all those Marriott visits. Our rental car? Thanks for all those Hertz points. Our airline tickets? Thank you USAir for sending Daddy cross-country so often. Even our Disney tickets were on the house, thanks to Dave's Marriott reward points, which we used as we paid for our Disney tickets through our hotel with all of Dave's hotel points. We miss Dave when he travels, but wow, does he rack up the rewards!

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom. It used to be our favorite, thanks to the Everest ride. Ben was old enough to ride it this year, and he loved it! We enjoyed breakfast at the Tusker House and had a jump-start on the crowds. Here is a picture with Donald Duck (who appears to be eyeing up the bacon on Ben's plate):


Magic Kingdom was next, and we hit our favorites first: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. See if you can find Ben, Dave, and Maddie on the Big Thunder Mt. RR.:

Disney has redone Spaceship Earth, and it is terrific! I tried getting a picture of all three kids in front of it, but, as is usually the case, two out of 3 kids cooperate for a picture at any one give time. In this picture, Jack has decided to do a dance.


This year our favorite park was Disney's Hollywood Studios. We were all entertained by the shows, the rides (we sneaked Ben on the Rock'N' Roller Coaster by sticking napkins in his shoes)--very -un-Davelike to allow broken rules, but we could all see how Benji wanted to ride this one sooooo badly!), and the food...we ate at the Prime Time 50's Cafe (where the restaurant theme is a home in the 50's--tacky decor and all-- and your waitress is your mom). The kids were delighted that our waitress admonished Daddy for wearing his hat at the dinner table! Maddie and Dave also got stickers from our "Mom" for cleaning their plates. Here are Maddie and Ben in the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids!" playground.

Our hotel was lovely and included a water splash area, a huge water slide and a pirate ship themed play area.

I usually spend the plane ride home sighing with relief that our Disney trip is over, (and by the way-Dave was upgraded because of his elite flying status, and he gave me the upgrade: I sat in first class for the longer leg of each flight while Dave enjoyed the children's company in coach--what a guy) and we can get back to normal ( I am, if nothing else, a creature of habit...) but I'm already thinking about our next trip, thinking, planning, hoping, dreaming... For all of its hype and commercialism, its craziness and expense...Disney really is the greatest place on earth!