Perfect Happy Normal Family!

Our Disney Anthem!  Earlier this year, Karson and friends Sydney, Elizabeth and Abby decided to participate in the school Jr. BETA competition for advertising design and won.  The win took them to the state competition in Lexington at Rupp to compete.  The girls received a 2nd place recognition in their division.  They were super excited because the top three winners at state were able to compete at a National Level.  AND, this year's National Jr. BETA Competition was held in Orlando at Disney (pssstt....which is why the girls wanted to compete in the first place - smart, right?!?).  Is there anything more exciting than a trip to Disney world with your best friends?  Nope!  Matt and I talked about it and decided it would be simpler (and easier on the pocketbook) if Karson and I went.  The boys didn't seem bothered by it.  In fact,  Miles is not a fan of theme parks at all - he's passed a trip to both Beech Bend and Holiday World this summer already.  Rides aren't his thing.  I know Isaac would've had fun, but we decided to split the cost of the 2-queen bed room (at the Swan and Dolphin Resort) with our friends the Warder's (and it turned into a girls trip for us).  It made it simple if that's possible for Disney. We knew it would be a quick trip too and didn't have plans to stay for the entire week.  We booked an early flight (6:05 AM) for Saturday so we would have the entire day and flew out on Wednesday (10:35 AM).  Karson was in 5th grade the last time we went to Disney.  We'd debated on which park(s) to do - Disney or Universal Studios?  We settled on Disney for the sake of convenience, and National Jr. BETA had a really nice group deal where you could get two parks and a fun pass fairly affordably.  Since we hadn't planned to do anything on Monday - the day of the competition - it made sense for us to get the group deal.

Since we arrived early on Saturday, we took a taxi to the resort, changed in the bathroom, checked our bags at the bellhop, met up with our buddies the Clayton's and headed over to Typhoon Lagoon (using our fun pass), and spent the day/afternoon at the water park.  It was perfect because we were pooped and not in any shape to walk around a theme park (and heat) all day. 

I'm not sure how anyone can do Disney without the Photopass.  It's about the neatest thing they offer, and although it costs an arm and a leg, it's totally worth it not having to carry your phone/camera on you at all times.  The photogs captured some fun shots throughout the day.

We rode a couple of raft rides, braved the wave pool and floated around the lazy river.  All Karson was focused on was a Sand Bucket she'd seen earlier filled with ice cream.  She's definitely Matt's child.  They can smell and see soft serve miles away.

 We finished up at the water park a little after 5 PM.  Our bus transfer stopped at Disney Springs, and we decided to make a pit stop for dinner eating at Blaze pizza.  I hated cheating on Azzip but was hungry and didn't see an Azzip anywhere.  I'm not sure what happened after that - it was a blurrrr because I was so tired. I do remember that Karson had eyeballed a Monster's University hat in the hotel gift shop earlier that she wanted so we purchased that.  We retrieved our bags from bell services and got checked into our room.

Hope she gets accepted into MU!!!

 Hollywood Studios was the plan for Sunday.  We took a boat taxi straight from the resort which was awesome and quick.  Amanda had matching shirts made for the day which makes for super cute pictures.  Because we were staying on Disney property, we were able to get in the park early with the extra Magic hours.  I'm not sure it helped because we kept getting side-tracked taking pictures.

Us and stud-muffin Daffy Donald Duck!

We went straight over to Toy Story and only had about a 10 minute wait to get on the ride.  Afterwards, we stood in line to try and get a picture with Woody and Buzz, but the wait was entirely too long so we headed over to Star Wars and met Chewbacca instead.

From there, we went to the Frozen Sing-Along and belted out tunes with Anna and Elsa.  I sadly admit that I've never seen this movie.  I know it seems blasphemous to go to the sing along, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the music, sang off key and pretended well.

We even met Olaf afterwards...absolutely loved his "In Summer" song!

 

We dropped by the Sci Fi cafe in route to the other side of the park to see if we could get reservations, but they were full.  However, the Mickey and Minnie photo-op was right across from it, so we jumped in line for that. 

 Tower of Terror and the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster are the two main attractions at Hollywood Studios and the entire reason our girls chose this park.  I don't blame them - they are my favorite too.

 Sweet Emotions landing on our favorite coaster! 

We even got backstage passes from Aerosmith =).

There's nothing more thrilling than the Tower of Terror.  We decided to wait in line and ride it twice.

 Which way to Bowling Green???

Karson and I took a mini-break back at the hotel to rest.  It was a blistering hot day, and we needed to get out of the sun for a little while.  We did a quick meet-n-greet with Kylo Ren (who wasn't a fan of mine - hah).  In fact, when we posed for our picture, I put my arm around him and the phot-og asked me not to touch him.  We also rode the Great Movie Ride and went to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

 Karson and I made it back to the park a little before it closed and did a couple more rides before ending the night with Fantasmic.

Monday was competition day which meant we got to relax a little.  We went to the hotel restaurant for Mickey Waffles and a buffet breakfast and met up with the Tower of Power crew who had arrived a little earlier.  Afterwards we headed over to the pool for a little while and did some swimming.  I don't know who designs all the Disney pools, but they are fabulous!  It was refreshing to lay around and do nothing for a little while.

The girls competed that afternoon.  They were given the choice of a handful of choices for their posters and ended up selecting Recycling.  I thought they did a really nice job but didn't end up making the top 10.  Our companions - the Tower of Power - ended up winning Nationals with their tower.  It was neat watching them all work together to build their structure.  They did an awesome job!

Karson and her buddy Colby make me laugh!  They must be related somehow!

Tuesday was our big MAGIC KINGDOM day.  There's no place more magical than Disney.   We arrived bright and early and had game plan which began with the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid.

Me and my grotto buddy singing Part of Your World!

From there we headed over to Space Mountain with our first fast pass.  

We rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the People Mover afterwards and headed over to the other side of the park to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

We got meet Aladdin and Princess Jasmine after lunch in the sweltering sun.

We waited in a long line to ride The Haunted Mansion, but it's a Disney must and after that headed over to Splash Mountain where we did a thumbs up, nose holding pose for the camera =).

A thunderstorm spoiled our plans for the afternoon, but we did manage to see the Mickey Magic Show, meet some princesses, dance in the rain, ride Stitch Fix and Space Mountain one more time before the fireworks spectacular at the end of the evening.

 

We had a posing contest while on Space Mountain the second go around.

 We were pooped by the end of the day and ended up having to take Amanda by (stranded) wheelchair and luggage carrier to the hotel.  Her feet were killing her.

I'm thankful for Karson's sweet friends and their families.

Our whirlwind trip ended on Wednesday, and we headed back to Bowling Green broke, exhausted but with unforgettable memories with the best of friends.  We already miss you Mickey!  Until next time....