March 1 – 4, 2010
Disney Photo Gallery
Here’s a brief summary of our 4 day Disney World trip. My wife and I, her parents, and our 3 kids, ages 11, 7, and 6, all went to Disney World the first week of March, 2010. 
We left at 3:30am on Sunday, February 28th, drove straight through and made it in exactly 12 hours. It was a long trip, but at least the kids got to rest some. 
It worked out well. We got there just in time for check-in at the Caribbean Beach Resort and were able to spend some time that afternoon and evening checking the place out.
Tips and Lessons Learned:
– We made good use of the “Extra Magic Hours” that Disney Resort patrons get on specific days.
– Fast pass is nice. You can use it past the expiration time on the pass, but not before. One person can’t slip into the park early and get fast passes for everyone. Every person has to have entered the park that day in order to get a fast pass.
– Early March, during the week, was a great time to go. The weather was a little chilly but not bad. The crowds were extremely light. No waits.
– The Shades of Green is the place to buy grocery type items. If you have a contractor or military ID, head over there and get normal prices on milk, etc.
– Buffet lunches are the best deal for food. Each park has one buffet style restaurant which is around $20 for lunch. We reserved late lunches around 1:30 and didn’t eat the rest of the day at the park.
Favorite Attractions:
Taking all 7 of us into consideration, from grandparents down to kids, here are our favorite shows/attractions. These are the ones that ALL of us really enjoyed:
– Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in Hollywood Studios
– Toy Story Mania! in Hollywood Studios
– It’s Tough to Be a Bug in the Animal Kingdom
– Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in the Magic Kingdom
Other notable attractions:
– Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios. Kids were trained in the force and got to fight Darth Vader.
– Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. My youngest son’s favorite ride of the trip.
– Rock n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. The best coaster at Disney.
– Mission: Space at Epcot. The kids loved it. One of the few rides that has ever made me just a slight bit queasy.
– Soarin’ at Epcot. A neat experience flying over various scenes in California.
– Living With the Land at Epcot. This included a tour of Epcot’s experimental and hydroponic gardens.
– Festival of the Lion King at the Animal Kingdom. This was a fun show, lots of singing and acrobatics.
– It’s a Small World at the Magic Kingdom. The classic is still great.
– Mickey’s PhilharMagic 3D Show at the Magic Kingdom. A fun show highlighting classic Disney hits.
– Parade and Fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. A great way to wrap up a fun day.
Final Thoughts:
We all had an awesome time, except for the one day that Ava was sick and Lianne had to stay at the hotel with her. We’re planning to make up for that in the Fall. Our kids are almost too old for a lot of the stuff at Disney World, but I think we were still able to reach that kid inside of us and see everything with that childlike wonder. Thanks to the short lines and some brisk walking, we were able to see nearly everything at every park, but I’ll have to leave the details for another post. To wrap it up, here are a couple of videos. The first is at the Hollywood & Vine buffet in Hollywood Studios. June decides to snatch Jaron’s hat and make a run for it. The second is Jaron and Davin in the Epcot Innoventions trying to power their cities with electricity.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J63vJSuOCE
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cphG2zHc3Sg