02.07.17
KISSIMMEE
Kissimmee is a city in central Florida's Osceola County, just south of Orlando. It’s defined by its proximity to the region’s multitude of amusement parks, including the massive Walt Disney World Resort complex. The city lies along the northwest shore of Lake Tohopekaliga (nicknamed Lake Toho), and its verdant Kissimmee Waterfront Park encompasses walking paths, playgrounds and a fishing pier.
We arrived in Kissimmee late last night after a thrilling day at Daytona. After being on the road for two weeks and sharing hotel rooms we have an amazing apartment for the next two weeks which we have been allowed to use from some awesome friends that we made in Bermuda. The children have their own bedrooms .... and better still we do as well and our own separate bathroom! We have a kitchen and a lounge - such luxury after being cooped up in adjoining hotel rooms for 7 and a half months!
So today is a REST DAY .... we did absolutely nothing. In fact we watched Back to the Future back to back 1-3 and just ate snacks and chilled. The children had a swim in the pool and then we cooked a proper dinner - that wasn't deep fried, or burgers, or fries .... it was just chicken and vegetables and the most delicious corn on the cob.
03.07.17
KENNEDY SPACE STATION
Neil's birthday and his choice is a visit today to the Kennedy Space Station. It took about an hour to drive from Kissimmee but was a good journey and once we approached Cape Canaveral you could see that we were in the middle of no where and the Space Station was a safe distance away from civilisation.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers. Since December 1968, Kennedy Space Center has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight.
Cape Canaveral is a cape in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River. It was discovered by the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in 1513.
It is part of a region known as the Space Coast, and is the site of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Since many U.S. spacecraft have been launched from both the station and the Kennedy Space Center on adjacent Merritt Island, the two are sometimes conflated with each other. In homage to its spacefaring heritage, the Florida Public Service Commission allocated area code 321 (as in a launch countdown) to the Cape Canaveral area.
This photo has been taken from space of Cape Canaveral
We are about to go in to watch a film in 3D!
This is a replica of one of the control rooms
The Hall of Fame
So the Space Center is a couple of miles away from the actual NASA buildings. We caught a bus and took a tour around past the NASA building and also where they launch the rockets.
The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is a building designed to assemble large space vehicles, such as the massive Saturn V and the Space Shuttle. The future Space Launch System will also be assembled there. At 3,664,883 cubic meters (129,428,000 cubic feet) it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. The VAB is the largest single-story building in the world, was the tallest building (160.3 metres (526 ft)) in Florida until 1974, and is still the tallest building in the United States outside an urban area.
The Mobile Launch Pad for NASA's newest rocket
Loading up for the simulator ride
So Patrick and I took the stairs but Neil and Eleanor insisted on queuing up for the little slide ....
So this evening the Space Center had scheduled a rocket launch at 7.30pm so we hung back to watch it going up in to space .....
Stunning sunset kept us occupied whilst we waited ....
Then the countdown started ....
It was all scheduled to happen and the rocket was there ready and waiting ....
You could see that the rocket was all fired up ....
Then the crown started counting down ..... 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 ....
It stopped at 9 ... it was cancelled with 9 seconds to go 🚀 ... no rocket launch today 😕 nobody really knew the reason but the staff said that it was probably something in space that got in the direct path the rocket was supposed to be taking .... apparently it happens a lot .... hey ho 😢 at least the sunset was amazing ....
Trouble is .... it's now really late and we still have an hours drive home .... which means dinner is going to be late as there is nothing much between the Space Center and home!!
04.07.17
DISNEY SPRINGS
After a lie in because of our late night last night we had a lazy morning and then decided to go to Disney Springs to have a mooch around the shops ....
The Lego Store
The heavens opened .... so after a very long mooch in the Lego Store we made a run for it in to the T-Rex restaurant .....
T-Rex Cafe is a prehistoric themed restaurant with animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar. T-Rex Cafe has differently-themed restaurant sections, such as prehistoric insects, ice age, and under the sea.
This has to be the wackiest restaurant that I have ever eaten in!!
Time for more shops and it all gets a bit silly ... Toy Story ....
Star Wars ....
.... even Daddy joined in!
05.07.17
DISNEY ANIMAL KINGDOM
This is the first day of one of the four days we will be doing the Parks. Disney's Animal Kingdom. Just to say we are a tad excited ..... and boy is it hot!!
.... and off we go to catch the tram ....
..... Ooooh we are on our way ....
... eek this is the crowd at 8.30am with still half an hour to go before Rope Drop
We are in ... first stop was PANDORA - this was all created to resemble Avatar and I have to say it was AMAZING. Definitely worth a visit to even just wander around.
Just slightly amazed and excited ....
We are on our first ride .... Na'bi River Journey
Next stop we dived in to the Finding Nemo Show ....
The cast were amazing .... it was so well put together
The Magic Tree
The Parrots flew across the park to come and say hi
The boys were booked on a Fast Track for the Expedition Everest Roller coaster ... as Eleanor and I aren't in to thrill seeking rides we decided to hang around the Dinosaur area and do the little ride .... the TriceraTop Spin
Before they left Patrick got to look in the wonky mirrors .....
TriceraTop Spin
It was a nice and gentle ride and it only went very slowly up in the air and gently flew around in circles ....
.... then Eleanor had her photo with Goofy and Pluto .... 🐕🐕
... by the time we'd finished with Goofy the boys were back, just in time for a photo with Donald Duck 🦆
... aaaahhh one of my favourite films 'UP' and the little boy who was the funniest character 👦
The best show apparently in Animal Kingdom is The Lion King ....
... it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G
We caught the train to Rahiki's Island....
.... and yeah .... we got to meet Rahiki
So there was a petting zoo up on this little quiet bit of Animal Kingdom ....
Eleanor was in her element .... she loves petting the animals...
... Patrick on the other hand absolutely hates it!
Catching the train back to the main part of Animal Kingdom
We are in Africa now ....
Now for the a walk through the African Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail .... we spotted the Zebras first ....
Meerkats
The Meerkats look like they are guarding the Zebras
The Gorillas 🦍
Crocodile 🐊
Mickey 🐭
The Tree of Life
Now we are off to catch our Bus to go on the Kilimanjaro Safari in the African savanna ....
Hippopotamus'
Flamingos
The Upside Down Tree - There are nine species. Six species live in the drier parts of Madagascar, two in mainland Africa, and one in Australia. The baobab is the national tree of Madagascar. Other common names include 'boab', 'boaboa', 'bottle tree', 'the tree of life', 'upside-down tree', and 'monkey bread tree'..... and also in Animal Kingdom!
Giraffe's
Rhinoceros' 🦏
These rocks are stacked up so that the animals have a natural vantage point
I think they enjoyed the Safari ....
Early evening and we are now in the throws of the entertainment .... this is the Discovery Island Carnival - it's a party in the streets alongside musicians and dancers at this sunset celebration inspired by Carnivals around the world
Eleanor was very tired and hiding behind the pillar as she didn't want to be pulled up to dance 💃
Looks like they are getting ready for the evening show
The photos just don't do this justice but the River of Light illumination Show on the lake was stunning .... hence the photo below from the Disney website!!
Exhibition Everest all lit up
The Tree of Life Awakenings Night time expierience
After the evening show we decided to go and check out how long the queue was for the Avatar Flight of Passage - eeek 2 hours and it was already 10pm .... Eleanor was exhausted at 6pm so I have no idea how we are going to encourage her to stand in a queue for 2 hours ... but Patrick was so excited at the thought of it we just decided to go for it and see how long our little Eleanor would last.
At least there was an interesting view as we queued ....
... and we're still queuing .....
I think Eleanor is loosing the will to live now ....
Patrick is very excited though, so we will carry on shuffling .....
There doesn't seem to be an end to this queue .....
So we are now in the laboratory .....
They even have an Avatar floating in a tank ....
Eleanor seems to have found a second wind and woken up a bit ....
I've just told Eleanor that if she doesn't like the 3D simulation to take off her glasses .... unfortunately this has now put her in to a panic and she doesn't want to do the ride - oops!
So we queued for and hour and a half in the end and got out of Animal Kingdom by midnight. Patrick and Neil absolutely loved the Avatar Flight of Passage :-) Eleanor on the other hand screamed all the way through it and I had to talk to her all the way through and keep her eyes looking at mine. It didn't help that there were two girls screaming their heads of which freaked little Eleanor out even more. Personally, I didn't like the ride either - every time I looked forward and the motorbike simulation breathed between your legs so it made you feel like you were sitting on a Mountain Banshee and it threw you back and forward and the screen made you feel like you were flying through the sky. It freaked me out too so I was very happy to keep Eleanor's eye contact!!
Animal Kingdom's Professional Photos of the day
07.07.17
Kissimmee Old Town
This little town of gift shops on an old street in the middle of Kissimmee was so quaint. It had 1950's music playing and had a really deserted feel to it as it wasn't very busy. Being a Friday apparently it gets busier in the evening because they have an Old Town Classic Car Cruise. We had a wander around the shops for a bit but it was so hot we headed back to the apartment for a dip in the pool 🏊🏊🏊🏊
Eleanor being silly
Kids enjoying some down time in the arcade ....
Eleanor came 1st ...
Yeah .... Emma and Matt have arrived for the weekend and we are enjoying a meal at Bahama Breeze
# nice meal
Er .... Eleanor being silly again
Finally a sensible photo ....
08.07.17
Trip to Disney Springs for a mooch and lunch ....
Harley Davison Shop
T-Rex Restaurant ... been there, done that and worn the t-shirt
After a lovely afternoon it was back to the apartment for wine and snacks .... oh and a game of Quirkle
10.07.17
Yesterday we just chilled in the morning with Matt and Emma and after they left at lunchtime we had a quiet afternoon in readiness for our next park tomorrow .... Hollywood Studios.
So up bright and early and to the park in readiness for the doors opening at 9am. On arriving we got parked up, caught the tram and got the entrance in plenty of time. On arriving we had these lovely ladies singing to everyone ....
Hollywood Studios here we come ....
Loving the fact that the buildings are 1950's ....
First Fast Pass was for the Muppet Vision 3D Show ....
Oh my word it was soooooo cool - absolutely love the Muppets
Beauty and the Beast Show
The Little Mermaid Show
Next stop, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular ....
That was pretty cool ....
The boys have gone off to do their Rock and Roller-coaster so we are queuing up for Frozen Sing-a-long
A photo of Patrick looking terrified on the Rockin Roller-Coaster
Thrill seekers - I think they enjoyed the ride
Toy Story Mania - this was our favourite ride
Meeting Minnie Mouse
Meeting Mickey Mouse
Meeting Olaf
Eleanor wanted to go and watch the Disney Junior - Live on Stage
... you can't see them very well but the blurred bodies sitting to the left of the wheelchairs are Neil and Patrick - they are not impressed that they are being made to watch Disney Junior! I did tell them to go and do something else. Instead Patrick played on his iPod and Neil fell asleep!
The show was really sweet and Eleanor loved all the bubbles, foam and coins falling from the ceiling
Meeting BB-8
Star Troopers - making sure everyone is behaving
Meeting Chewbacca
Even I got a hug
Storm Troopers telling someone off!
Time to go and meet Woody and Buzz Lightyear
High Five
Fist Pump
Photo
The Tower of Terror .... Patrick didn't want to do this, Neil was gutted! The queue was huge!!
The Terminator
Power Rangers
Oh hello Mr Dinosaur
The Great Movie Ride
The gold chest from Raiders of the Lost Ark
I'm Singin' in the Rain ....
Chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky, As lucky can be
A sweep is as lucky, As lucky can be
Philharmonic Orchestra presents Pixar Live Music
(The conductor was the gentleman who wrote the music for a lot the films)
Fantasmic Show
The High Street and everyone trying to get out
Hollywood Studio's Professional Photos
11.07.17
Magic Kingdom
Here we go again ... the kids aren't too tired from yesterday so we are ready and here early for another fun packed day .....
Tram first ....
Boat next ..... Oooooh I see the Castle
It is Hot Hot Hot today 😎🌞
Cinderella's Castle is beautiful
Our first ride was in Adventureland .....
Pirates of the Caribbean ride
It's one of the Country Bears
Whilst the boys went on to their roller coaster ride Eleanor and I popped in to watch the Country Bear Jamboree ... it was very sweet but Eleanor really wasn't liking the life size bears outside!
Pit stop
Frontierland - Tom Sawyer's Island
Back to Adventureland to go and explore Swiss Family Robsinson's Treehouse
Cooling down with a little squirt and the fan
They have really thought about this Treehouse and the attention to detail was brilliant
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room where colourful birds and flowers came to life
Next up is the Jungle Cruise and even with our Fast Pass we had to queue for a while
Our guide was hilarious - he had such a wicked sense of humour that we just giggled our way around the cruise. I'm not sure the Americans really got his sense of humour but even the children found him really funny
Tomorrowland
Patrick and Neil went off to go on Space Mountain and Eleanor and I ducked in to Monster Inc Laugh Floor in this section. We then went on Tomorrowland Speedway
Fantasyland
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
Eleanor meeting Ariel
Inside the Castle - the mosaic's were beautiful
Now we're on the It's a Small World ride
It was full of little people from each country
Then we went in to the Enchanted Tales with Belle where both Neil and Eleanor got picked to be a part of the story .....
Magic Kingdom's Festival of Fantasy Parade
The Muppets giving a brief history on some of their Presidents
Rapunzel's Tower
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
The Mad Hatters Tea Party
Now to Meet Merida from the film Brave
Meeting Jasmine from Aladdin
Patrick was a little reluctant to meet Cinderalla ..... he and Neil came in because the heavens have opened outside and we were all drenched!
Fantasyland - Kingdom of Corona
Magic Kingdom's Fantastic Evening Show - Happily Ever After
Main Street all lit up
City Hall
Oh my, it's going to take a while to get out of here
Magic Kingdom's Professional Photos
Eleanor meeting Cinderella .... Patrick wasn't keen but was persuaded to meet her ....
"Well .... I'm not really comfortable about meeting a princess ...."
"..... So I'm not going to give you a hug"
"No .... I'm really not going to give you a hug"
13.07.17
EPCOT
After two days and two parks yesterday was a rest day .... we did absolutely nothing!!
Today though is our last park and we are at Epcot ....
As soon as the rope had dropped we raced our way across the park to the Frozen Ever After ride as we couldn't get Fast Passes for it .... Yes, the queue wasn't too bad and we were on the ride in no time at all :-)
These fountains were really cool. The water jumped from one blue circle to the next ... one of them jumped from one bit to the next over the top of Eleanor and the other children ....
This is looking across the lake at the World Showcase
Whilst the boys went on Soarin Eleanor and I went on The Seas with Nemo and Friends. When we came out we went in to an aquarium area where there were Manatees ....
.... and Dolpphins
.... and Stingrays and lots of other fish
.... oh and there's a shark
.... and a turtle
The kids get to meet Baymax
Hi Five's and Fist Pump's
Patrick took a selfie
So I stood in the queue on the other side so that the children could then meet Joy and Sadness. Joy made Patrick skip in and then she spotted Neil so pulled him in too.
Sadness kept Eleanor near her though
Well as predicted the heavens opened and once again we have a delay in our day. Luckily Eleanor and I were already undercover watching the Circle of Life Show.
Now to travel around the World .... first stop Mexico
Gran Fiesta Tour with the Three Callaberos
Eleanor even got to meet Donald Duck .... again! This time dressed in a Mexican outfit
Perry the Platipus
Inside there was a whole area of Mexican stalls and restuarants
After Mexico we visited Norway and queued up to Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Summerhus in Arendelle
Panda, Panda, Panda 🐼🐼🐼
Eleanor got to meet Mulan whilst the boys went in to watch Reflections of China
We were too late to meet Sleeping Beauty so we sneaked a photo instead ... the boys are a bit fed up now with all the 'Meeting of Princesses'!!
Time for the night time show - IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth
The World Showcase all lit up across the lake
The photos are really bad - sorry - but this was a world that appeared out of the water and then opened up
Epcot's Professional Photos
14.07.17
The kids found an alligator ....
As it's our last day in Kissimmee we decided to take a trip to a tacky shop before heading to Old Town for the Car Cruise .... Just a little Shop Sign!!
Old Town, Kissimmee and we are here for the evening to see some of the old cars and the Muscle Car Cruise
... and sadly this is the list of Cruisers that have passed away, nice way to remember them though
There was no way that we were going on that roller coaster .... Neil was desperate but Patrick chickened out ....
The cars get to drive up and down the street in the Old Town and the crowds just congregate on the sidewalk and in the middle
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