Holiday Vacation 2012

On the Thursday after Thanksgiving our family packed up our suitcases and boarded the plane to Orlando for a Holiday Vacation.  Earlier in the fall, Derek and I decided to take one last vacation before baby #3 arrived.  We knew that we wouldn't go anywhere with the new little one this summer and we had one week in December where our schedules were open, so we decided to go for it.  Our plan was to drive to the Gulf Coast for a few days to enjoy the beautiful beach and then head to Orlando for the end of the trip to experience Christmas at Disney.  I have ALWAYS wanted to see Disney at Christmas and we realized that this may be our last opportunity to do so because Addy will be in Kindergarten next year and I'm not a big fan of taking her out of school for vacation.  So I was super excited about being able to experience the holidays there. 

We flew into Sanford International on Thursday evening and loaded up our rental van for the two hour drive to the gulf coast near Tampa.  We actually stayed at the Treasure Island beach area and rented a two bedroom condo on the beach.  The kids had a blast playing on the beach during the day.  Before we left for vacation, I was convinced that the kids would spend most of their time playing in the sand and wouldn't brave the chilly water.  Well, Adalyn certainly proved me wrong.  We barely had our toes in the sand and Addy was soaked to the bone in her clothes wading in the ocean water.  We were blessed with beautiful weather and 80 degree temperatures.  While at the beach we got to see boat light parade on the harbor where boat owners decorated their boats with Christmas lights.  We also drove to St. Pete Beach to see a home owner's light display that has received awards as one of the best of the nation.  The kids loved it, but it was a bit on the cheesy side for me. 

Jingle followed us to Florida!!

Beach Babes

One crazy light display at St. Pete Beach

The Sea World/Disney portion of the trip was a surprise for the kids.  We told them on Saturday at the beach condo that we were heading there the next day.  We wrapped up Christmas Disney shirts, light sticks, and a few brochures to tell them that the next portion of the trip was actually their Christmas gift from Mom and Dad.  They were super excited to learn that we were going to Disney!

Sunday morning we packed up the mini van again and drove back to the Orlando area to go to Sea World.  The kids and I had never been to Sea World and we had a wonderful time.  They were having a Christmas Celebration as well and had many great Christmas shows.  The kids loved watching the Shamu show and got sit with their Dad in the splash zone.  Grandma Freihaut and I elected to sit in the upper deck; someone had to keep all of the electronics dry!  We also saw a wonderful show about the the birth of Jesus that used real animals on stage, including several camels.  It is a very popular show at Sea World, so we went to the later show to avoid having to stand in line for a seat.  There was a lot of wonderful singing and was really fun to watch.  Unfortunately, Addy zonked out towards the end of the show and missed the ending number where all  of the animals and actors appeared on stage together.  We finished our evening at Sea World by watching the fireworks at closing.

Posing with Shamu

Pretty penguins

Riding the Sea life carousel

On Monday we headed to Hollywood Studios.  We took in many of the kids' favorite shows and Addy and Derek rode the Tower of Terror, which is Addy's all time favorite ride.  I was bummed that I had to sit out of the thrill rides with my pregnant belly, but it was still fin watching Addy and Derek enjoy the rides.  Addy and Carter also got to meet Wreck It Ralph and Venelope, who started meeting at the park shortly before the movie was released.  We fast passed Toy Story Mania and rode it in the afternoon. Once again,  it was a favorite ride of our family.  Even Grandma loved it!  Later that evening, we watched Fantasmic and then headed to the part of the park where the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights is located.  It is an amazing display of lights that seemingly covers every inch of every building in the city area.  I had been looking forward to seeing it and it was amazing!!  The kids were mesmerized by all of the glowing lights and I found myself taking pictures like a crazy woman (go figure!). 

Addy was very excited to meet these guys.  Carter wasn't as thrilled.

No trip to Disney is complete without eating one of these!

Everything was covered with lights!

Beautiful!

Family Pic

On Tuesday, we had a morning of rest because we were headed to the Magic Kingdom to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening.  That day we headed to downtown Disney for a bit of shopping, sightseeing, and lunch and then headed back to the condo for an afternoon nap before gearing up for the night's festivities.  I was just as excited to be attending the party as the kids (OK, maybe even a little more excited).  The party was as awesome as I had hoped.  The Magic Kingdom closes to daily guests so that only guests with a ticket to the party may be in attendance.  They limit the number of tickets sold for the party, so the crowds are lighter than a normal day.  Throughout the park are stations serving unlimited cookies, apple slices, cocoa, and apple juice.  Derek took full advantage of the free cocoa by drinking six cups throughout the night.  We were able to ride many rides with little or no wait.   Addy had her first ride on Space Mountain and loved it!   At the end of the evening we had the Dumbo ride to ourselves and rode it several times.  It was so much fun watching the kids smiling from ear to ear while soaring through the air in their elephant with Christmas music playing.  We also got the rare opportunity of getting our picture taken with the seven dwarfs.  The dwarfs only come out for picture opportunities a few times a year and I had read that the wait could be an hour or more.  So, I was thrilled when we walked by the cue line after the parade and the wait was only 15 minutes!  We jumped in line and the kids had a blast interacting with the dwarfs.  Happy tickled Carter during the pictures and Addy sat on Dopey's lap.  Addy and Carter also got to meet Merida, who was on their short list of characters they wanted to meet this time.  The party lasted until midnight and we stayed for the entire time.  Addy and Carter are Disney troopers and didn't fall asleep until the monorail ride back to the parking lot.

Addy and Ariel

The kids loved the dance parties with the characters!

The Freihauts and the Seven Dwarfs

Special Hugs!

So excited to meet Merida

It even snowed on Main Street!!  Addy was a little disappointed to find out it was suds:)

Wednesday was our last park day and we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for a day of fun.  We focused on doing many of the kids' favorite rides and trying out a few new experiences.  We got to experience the new Belle attraction which was great.  People from the audience are chosen to perform the story of Beauty and the Beast with Belle.  Addy was selected to be silverware and got to have a part in the play.  Afterwards she got to have her picture taken with Belle.  Carter loved riding the Buzz Lightyear ride and we rode It's a Small World several times.  They kids also really loved the electric parade so much that we watched it twice.  We ended up closing the park for the fourth night in a row.    Although we didn't go as hard or pack as many things in on this trip, we still got to see and experience a ton of things!

Loving Dumbo!

Three dizzy Freihauts

Posing in front of the Grand Floridian Tree

This sight never gets old!

On Thursday we took our time packing and heading to the airport to head back to chilly Illinois.  We were sad to say goodbye to the beautiful Florida weather where we wore shorts most days.  It was a wonderful vacation.  I was very hesitant to pull the trigger and book things in the Fall, but Derek was the one to push me to plan it and I am so glad we did!  It was definitely a trip we will always remember!