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Going to Disney World

It has been four years since we've been on a Disney cruise and 7 years since I have been to Disney World and the coolest part about going this time is that I can tell everything that we did to all of my friends and family.

Last Friday morning my mom started packing for the flight to Florida. We probably should have packed the night before but it was late when my dad and I got home from power soccer practice and we had a very busy week. So my mom had to rush on the next day to get as much stuff packed in three hours. While she was packing my clothes, I was thinking about how much stuff I used to do because I knew that I could do it. At around 12pm my dad came home from work and helped my mom out. When we got to the airport we ate at Chick-fil-A before going through security. We had plenty of time to eat because the flight leaves at three forty-five and it’s a three hour flight. When we got to Orlando we had to get on a bus to go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge where we stayed for the week. We got there at 12am and we were starving by then. The only place there that was still open was a quick service food place called Mana, because it was so late, all they had was these flat bread pizzas. Here is where it begins...the food is outrageously priced! 4 flat bread pizzas for all of us was almost $70. Not even a decent meal. The next morning when mom ordered breakfast, it cost 75 bucks and all my mom ordered was a fruit/yogurt plate for me, a plate of eggs, bacon & toast for Caleryn, and French toast for my mom. They didn’t even give us the yogurt or the toast! What a rip-off! Here's the thing, when the guy brought up the food, he handed her the totaled receipt and waited for her to give a tip. When she saw the itemized receipt on the food tray, she saw that they had already given themselves an 18% tip automatically plus a delivery fee as well. So they got a double tip because they were being tricky. So we decided to go to the grocery store and get stuff for breakfast and lunch then have nice dinners in the hotel or parks. 

When my dad got back from work we rode in a bus to Hollywood Studios. When we got there, we saw that something was going on in the street. It was a bunch of stormtroopers marching. While we were watching them, a park guy came up to us and asked us if we were Star Wars fans and did we want to get to do something they don't let anyone else do? So, we of course said yes. He led us through the crowd that had gathered to watch the show around to the side of the stage and as soon as the show was done he told us to stand there and Captain Phasma came up behind us to take a picture with us! She was pretty intimidating! This is one of the reasons I love Disney and Disney Cruises so much, they pick kids out of the crowd like me and really make it a special experience that not all kids get to experience! Next, we went to see a Frozen show for Caleryn that was surprisingly really cool. It was a funny recreation of the movie but the cool part was at the end when when Elsa came out and started singing, they had this smoke machine with all this smoke coming over us as we were on the front row. Then they had snow coming down over everyone in the audience, which turned out to be foam and they started blowing really cold air on us to get the real snow effect. It was pretty neat. After we did that my dad and I went to the tower of terror and rode that. It was the funnest ride of all because it was like an elevator that goes up and down. We would float in midair for a couple of seconds when it ascended and then suddenly jerked back down. We ate then went to go see the Raiders of the Lost Arc movie stunt production. It's like watching how they direct and produce a movie. Once again, someone came up to us right before the show was over and asked if we wanted to meet the stunt actors playing Indiana Jones and his girlfriend (I forget her name) after the show. So of course we waited for the actors to get their breath and wipe the sweat off so they could come talk to us and take pictures, it was pretty cool. 

The next day, mom took Caleryn and I to go see the real African animals on the hotel premises so she isn’t cooped up in a hotel room all day liked a caged animal until dad gets back from work. We saw some giraffes and wildebeest. Caleryn was laughing at one giraffe because I guess to her it looked funny when she ate. When we were outside I could feel the humidity like we were back in Houston. We checked out the souvenir store and there was an African priest trading pins, right up my alley since I collect pins! I got a few extra ones that they gave me. That night we walked over to the other part of the hotel to another African restaurant where we had dinner reservations. It was nice but really different food. 

My favorite part of the whole trip was when we went to Magic Kingdom. Caleryn screamed when she saw the castle. The first thing that we did was the tea pot ride. My dad thought that we could all fit in one tea pot but, he doesn’t have a lot of common sense. So we were pretty cramped. My parents were laughing at me because my head flopped backward like a rag doll. After we all rode on a roller-coaster. Caleryn had the most fun on that ride. Of course mom, was screaming cause she's a scaredy cat. I got a little scared on that ride and don’t start judging me because after that me and my dad made a reservation for a much cooler roller coaster. As we were waiting, we looked for the place that Caleryn was going to go crazy at...Be Our Guest restaurant wich is actually the Beast's Castle. My mom got us some last minute reservations for her but we had to go during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the park at night, which worked out perfect for us. Meanwhile, Caleryn saw and pointed at a dumbo ride so my dad took her while my mom and I watched them. Every time they would go around and see us, he would stick his tongue at us. Soon after he did that my sister mimicked him. Once the ride was over and they got out of it, we headed back to the roller coaster. I had fun on that ride but the tower of terror is more thrilling. That evening we finally ate French food at the Beast castle. It was pretty cool and we got to see the Beast but not Belle! Caleryn was so scared to take a picture with the Beast and she wasn't having it. So I held her in my lap. After that, Caleryn took some pictures with the Little Mermaid and I guess Prince Charming, I don't know! I'm not a princess expert. Then we watched some awesome fireworks in the park. The weather was awesome and breezy that night and most everyone was dressed up in Halloween costumes and trick or treating. At the end of the firework parade, we were stunned because we were in the center of all of the action! 

The next night we just got an uber and went to our usual Chuy's for dinner. The next day we just packed up again and had a long day at the airport and traveled home. Since we've been home, Caleryn has been constantly asking when she can go back to the tea pots because she loved riding those some much. And I want to go to Universal Studios next time to see the Harry Potter exhibit, we couldn't do it this time because the park closes at 5 o'clock. We had a really great time considering it was an impromptu work trip and I can't wait to go back to Disney/Cruise for my 5th time...greatest place on earth!