After our 12-hour day Wednesday, we planned to take it easy on Thursday. We started the day with donuts, and then let the kids go swimming. Jennifer volunteered to watch the kids for the afternoon/evening if Thomas and I wanted to do something. We decided that we would all go out to lunch and then Thomas and I would go to Hollywood Studios. After a couple of hours of swimming, we got in the car to go to Downtown Disney for lunch.
We had lunch at a Dinosaur restaurant. The atmosphere was pretty impressive, the food was not. It was also really expensive. Thomas and I split something (and drank water), Jennifer just ordered an appetizer and the kids had kids' meals. The bill was still over $70. So, we would not recommend that place. Maybe go in and walk around and then go somewhere else.
After that, it was nap time. We dropped Jennifer and the kids off and headed to the park. We decided to first go to Animal Kingdom and ride Everest and Dinosaur again. It was much less crowded and we easily did the two rides. Then, we went to Hollywood studios. Since we were planning on going back with the kids Friday, we didn't feel like we needed to do too much. We caught a parade, but only because we were boxed in and had no choice. Then, we went to Star Wars. That was Thomas' most anticipated ride. He liked it, but said the "story" made no sense. The ride jumped from movie to movie, which obviously took place at different times, with no rhyme or reason. This didn't bother me, but I am not a fan(atic) like he is. We rode the Toy Story ride, which was neat and then Tower or Terror (twice, well, kind of 3 times--the first time we were on it, someone in the front did something that got our ride stopped and them kicked off. Everyone else then got taken on a real elevator and back to the ride loading area to try again. I have no idea what he did, but my guess is something obscene for the camera). We also did Rockin Roller Coaster, which was fun. Since that covered the things we couldn't do with the kids, we decided to leave the park for dinner, then opted to just go back to Downtown Disney to get some treats at Ghiaradelli. Delicious!
After that we headed to the rental house. I went to Super Target with Jennifer, we came back and Thomas and I put the kids to bed and had an early night.
On Friday, we gave the kids the choice of Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. After we told them that Hollywood Studios was more shows than rides, they unanimously agreed on Magic Kingdom. The park was not at all crowded, and again, we were able to go on all the rides we wanted by early afternoon. We even rode some where the lines had been too long earlier in the week (Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets). We all went on Splash Mountain again, but this time Kara hated it. She liked it the first time, didn't like it much the second (but, I thought maybe that was because it was dark out) and hated it the third. She whined/cried for most of the ride, saying she was worried about the "big hill."
When we finished all the rides we wanted to revisit, we gave the kids another choice: Go home rest, then go to Hollywood Studios, or go home, rest, swim in the pool. Again, the decision was unanimous--they all chose the pool option. So, the 5 of us went swimming and had a grand time. I did laundry, we packed and cleaned and decided to start our drive back at 0300 again. It wasn't nearly as much fun packing to depart as it was to arrive, and the kids were much harder to wake up. Jack actually climbed back into his bed and then tried to climb into ours. But, we were out the door right on time and since we were departing from Kissimmee and not Winter Haven, the drive home only took us 13 hours. Unfortunately, the drive was not quite as enjoyable going back as it was arriving; I was exhausted and not very good company. The kids seemed to fight a bit more, and Thomas was left with the majority of the driving. It still went fine and we still made it back with just 2 stops, which I find pretty impressive.
Overall, it was a great trip. I definitely recommend renting a house to anyone with children. It was nice to have our own space. It was easy to do laundry, we could eat at home when we wanted to, and the private pool was fantastic. It was only slightly more than the resort we were going to stay at and was well worth the money. And, it was only 15 minutes from all the parks. We did have to pay for parking, but that was a small price for all the added conveniences the house offered.
Now, it is back to the grind. We are a week away from Thomas' departure, which is weighing heavily on my mind. More on that later.
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