The Troftgrubens: Disney Vacation Part 1!

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in a different place this year. We opted for FL instead of MN. It was the best week we could find that did not have Troy and I missing much work and the kids not missing much school. On the down side, we knew it would be very busy at Disney. On the plus side, we would get to see the parks decorated for Christmas. We decided to go for it, and it was wonderful as always.

Hanging out for 4 hours in the airport.

Our start was a little rough. We were up early to head to the airport for an 8:30 flight. Upon arriving we learned our flight was delayed due to a bird strike. The plane flying to Iowa got hit by birds. To play it safe they had to turn the plane around and get a new plane. We ended up waiting at the airport for 4 hours. But we did make it to Disney arriving around 6pm. Not quite what we planned, but we were happy the flight was not cancelled.

Pop Century Tree.

My first worry at Disney is my grocery order. There is always something a little off. The first trip, they couldn't locate the order. The second trip there were a bunch of odd substitutions. On this trip almost everything was in stock, but we were given a dozen eggs and breakfast sausages that I did not order. But we had our food and it fed us well for the week!

We were in the 90's section by the computer pool again--on the fourth floor. We had hoped to go to Disney Springs, but our late arrival kept us at Pop Century for the night. We unpacked a little and then got some dinner. We went for a walk after dinner but opted not to swim.

The Computer pool.

Our first day was at Animal Kingdom. We were up and at the buses at a good hour we thought, but we missed rope drop and Avatar was a long line by the time we got there. We skipped that and went to Everest and the Safari instead. It was drizzly after the safari and a bit chilly. We donned our ponchos and tried to warm up in the gift shops. Troy treated Timothy to a Starbucks to help warm him after lunch--the boys were in shorts! by afternoon it was a steady rain. Troy and Timothy decided to go on Kali River Rapids, while Teresa and I headed back to the room. I spent a good while trying to dry out shoes that afternoon!

Trying to stay warm at lunch!

Posing with Everest in the background. A favorite ride!

In the evening we ventured out to Disney Springs. It was fun to see the decorations and stop in some of the shops. Teresa bought a dog at the Happy Hound and Timothy saw a sweatshirt he would later buy. I was afraid it was going to rain, but it never did. Troy and the kids swam for a short time.

Taking pictures of one of the many Disney Springs trees.

A cute bunch making a first visit to Disney Springs!

Checking out the Coke Store.

On day two we went to Magic Kingdom. Again we thought we were up early, but there was a long line for the bus and we missed rope drop. I got to do Small World instead of Seven Dwarfs! We got on some favorite rides with short lines and used our lightning lanes for others like Big Thunder and haunted Mansion. I also got to see the Monster's Inc. show for the first time and ride the People Mover!

Riding the People Mover.

Magic Kingdom!

We had lunch in a similar area as two years ago. This spot had the hungry birds which were entertaining! We also caught a little bit of the parade. by late afternoon we had gone on a lot of favorites, so we went back to Pop to rest.

Watching the Ibis birds eat french fries and not green beans!

After dinner we returned to Magic kingdom for the fireworks. The boys also went on Space Mountain. The fireworks were fun to see. And since they were at 8:15, we made it back to our room by 9pm.

The castle at night.

Our third day was a Holly wood Studios. We finally got the rope drop down and made our way to Mikey and Minnie's Railway. We had a short wait and were on the ride. Troy and Timothy tried to do Tower of Terror while Teresa and I shopped. Unfortunately the ride broke just as the were seated on it. Huge bummer, but they did get a free LL which they used on Rockin Roller Coaster--which became Timothy's new favorite. This became the running joke that anything Troy and Timothy were on would break! We enjoyed some favorites like the Muppets, Indiana Jones, Toy Story mania and Slinky Dog. We skipped a lot of the Star Wars rides, but did do Star Tours. Troy and Timothy waited a really long time for a second Rockin Roller Coaster ride. Teresa and I waited around. We should have returned to Pop. After dinner we returned to Disney Springs again. Timothy bought his coke sweatshirt and Teresa got a water bottle.