Orlando Adventure, Part Two

Hopefully you enjoyed hearing about Hollywood and Universal Studios, next up is the Magic Kingdom.

The classic pose with the castle is extra magical because of the crane in the background. We took Paul on several rides which he enjoyed or disliked to varying degrees. He was marginally indifferent to Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, and the Tea Cups. Paul was completely in awe of It's a Small World and the Haunted Mansion and he was utterly terrified of Pirates of the Caribbean. There was fog. The boat runs right under the fog and it freaked Paul out. He was fine until the fog incident, after that he clung to me for the rest of the ride.

Paul and Grandpa wait for us to get back from Splash Mountain.

Adventure Land! In his royal carriage Paul did a lot less walking than the rest of us.

The Phillips' boys put Emperor Zurg behind bars for good!

Paul might have liked the Royal Carousel if we hadn't ridden it at dinner time.

Paul was completely fascinated by the light parade and he enjoyed the fireworks until the grand finale, at which point he fell asleep.
Our 4th and final park destination was Island Adventure. We spent two days there which worked great for us. This park has some of the best rides, it was the least crowded, and it had the most playgrounds for Paul.

I do not know what mythical creature has bird head, lion claws, wings, and a snake tail but this statue is one of those.

One of the best parts of our whole trip was playing with Paul at Seuss' Landing. A couple rides, a playground, and practically no lines. This is also the only place we did character meets with Paul.

Paul sits on Horton's nest.

This is probably the most whimsical place on the planet.

Paul continues to be confused about the rides we take him on.

We also found a fantastic playground amongst the dinosaurs. Paul loved it! Contrary to what you might see in the following video, Paul actually loved playing on the splash pad.

 

 As you can see, Paul was shockingly nonchalant about being attacked by giant dinosaurs. Fog was too scary, but T-Rex is yawn worthy.

 

And, of course, there was Hogsmeade! We enjoyed the rides, the butterbeer, and the constant John Williams soundtrack.

 

All aboard! Except us. We didn't have the necessary park hopper pass to ride.

Delicious sweets and a sleeping baby!

Paul loved the whole trip, but not for the reasons you might think. He treated his stroller like a parade float, he rode along and waved with both hands to everyone who passed. He would walk up to complete strangers (always with a parent close by, of course) and stare at them and say "hi!" He made friends everywhere he went. He drew a crowd playing at this splash pad:

He got really close to one of the spouts, his face was less than a foot away from it, and about half a dozen people were gathered to watch and see what happened when water squirted his face. When it finally happened Paul was surprised, so he leaned over to check it out again. Then he got squirted again. That's when he got upset so we knew it was time for him to change into his dry clothes.

This castle might be better than the one in Disney.

We filled our week with as much magic as Paul could handle, as much walking as Grandpa could handle, and we are happy to be home. If you are headed to Orlando in the near future, give me a call and I'll give you all my brilliant travel tips. Till next time!