Sunny Fun in Orlando

Our family spent this past week in sunny Orlando. Corey had a conference for work, so Asher and I thought maybe we'd tag along! We had our doubts as to whether or not Asher would care for the M.K. (Magic Kingdom lingo), but were glad we went after all. It was fun to see him run up to all the characters, and to sway back and forth, staring in awe at all those singing, moving little people at "Its a Small World." Although our last visit to Orlando was about 5 years ago, I was quickly reminded of what a remarkable place it was. I mean, really, where else can you see adults in hats shaped like huge birthday cakes walking around like its totally normal? Where else can you spend $20 bucks a day on bottled water without even trying?

We met up with Corey's parents for the first two days of our trip, which was fun. It gave us a chance to check out a few rides we might not have bothered with had they not been there. Disney does, however have a great hook-up for parents with kids under the height limit... the Baby Swap Pass! I almost felt guilty whizzing past all those people in line for Splash Mountain and the Thunder Mountain Railroad...almost.

Asher was totally unafraid of all the characters roaming the parks, and I think we met most of them. He totally posed for his pictures, and hugged them all. It was pretty cute to watch. He even met Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) at Epcot, and the little flirt kissed her on the cheek! Asher's favorite ride was: (drum roll please...) the elevator. Seriously, he couldn't stop talking about needing to ride the "bell-vader." Nothing could top the excitement of that thrilling ride. I think the Nemo ride was a close second, and he seemed to think Dumbo wasn't bad either though.
The worst part of the trip, without a doubt was the heat. At 93 degrees plus humidity, we were roasting out there. My body is much too acclimated to the desert air to not complain in the form of pure exhaustion by the end of each day. Seriously, I never want to go Walt Disney World in the summer ever again, so somebody remind me next time I am tempted.

Torturing heat aside, we did have a really great time. We watched amazing shows (loved Philharmagic, and the Finding Nemo the musical), ate some great food, were entertained by fun rides, and spent lots of quality time together! Now, for some of the highlights:

Going in for the kiss...

Digging for bones at Animal Kingdom. I'm still getting pieces of sand out of my shoes from this place. Asher had a blast...ever tried making snow angels in the sand?

Posing near the castle. Note the cowboy hat. We almost didn't recognize him in it at Epcot Center when we met up with them! Not only did it help him beat the heat, it also helped when we were trying to find him in a crowd.

Animal Kingdom helped Corey get in touch with his roots.

Asher drumming it up at Animal Kingdom. This guy was really great with him, they had a good time.

The safari at Animal Kingdom. This rhino was so close to the vehicle, I swear I could've touched it!

Getting ready for the Bug's Life 3-D show.

This is a favorite memory. Corey saw a street show coming through into Italy at Epcot and thought we should watch it. So, of course he was chosen to be a part of it. Can you see how it pains him?? He was so obviously uncomfortable doing this, I couldn't help but laugh. Hehehe.

Drenched after the drop on Splash Mountain.

Classic...the Dumbo ride.

Asher did a lot of this too.

Who knew that Johnny Depp worked for Disney on the weekends? This guy was a dead ringer!

Oh, yeah. Did I mention we did a day at Sea World? We were total suckers for the character breakfast with Elmo and Friends. Asher was in awe. Funny thing though, Corey bought him a stuffed Cookie Monster, and Asher wants nothing to do with it...go figure.


Reaching in to pet a stingray.

Lots of pictures, but I couldn't help myself!