Animal Kingdom

I think Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney Park.  There is something really fantastic about the vibe.  It's super laid back.  There are not a gazillion things to do, so you don't feel quite as rushed.  There is so much beautiful greenery and a flavor of Africa and Asia that really transports you to a different place.  All of us really enjoyed the different shows they had and we had a delicious lunch with ribs and curry and kabobs.  Yummy!

As we first walked into the park, we were kind of in awe of this walking tree:

Fun and thrills on Expedition Everest Roller Coaster:

Sophi LOVED browsing the gift shops!

One of our favorite parts of the day here was the couple of hours we spent in the Africa section.  We had a fantastic meal, listened and danced to a beautiful and fascinating performance on a unique musical instrument and were entertained by some phenomenal acrobats.  We hung out with the musician for a long time, and he interacted very sweetly with our kids.  I love Sophi's moves as she dances.  It's also endearing to me to watch Lexi and Conner come up with their ideas of what dancing is like.  So cute!

With the acrobats:

The kids loved the animals we saw on the safari.  So much different than seeing them in a zoo!

Perhaps our favorite ride of the day was the Kali River Rapids.  We went on it at least three times.  The first time through, we just took the kids who really wanted to go, but we had so much fun that Christi and I insisted that we go as a whole family.  Lots of water and lots of squeals!

We wound up the day with a dance party.  The performers were full of energy and dressed in brightly colored clothing that glowed in the black lights.  Conner was picked out of the crowd by a beautiful girl and spent the next ten minutes or so in heaven as she danced with him.  We all had a great time.  It was a perfect way to end the day.

After the dance was over, we checked our watches and saw that we had a few more minutes in the Park.  Taylor, Parker, Cali and Xander rushed back to Expedition Everest and rode it twice more.  Christi took a few of the kids on a dinosaur ride and Sophi and I caught a couple rides in the dinosaur-themed kiddie land.

Each night we caught two Ubers back to the hotel, where the staff was kind enough to load up the lobby with extra hot chocolate just for our family.  Yay Hampton Inn!  We had three hotel rooms, the boys in one, Jesi, Cali, and Graci in the second, and Sophi and Lexi with Christi and me.  It really was an amazing trip!

Universal Studios

Day three in the parks we went to Universal Studios.  They really know how to hook you!  The only reason we added a day at this theme park to the trip was for Harry Potter world.  This one day was especially for our sweet Lexi, the world's biggest Harry Potter fan.  Going to this park was her birthday present.  Universal has two parks.  Half of the Harry Potter attractions are in one park.  The other half are in the other park.  They are connected by the Hogwarts express.  So if you want to ride the Express and see both sections of Harry Potter world, you have to purchase a (much more expensive) park hopper ticket.  Which we did.  But the park was truly amazing.  We really felt like we were in Diagon Alley and at Howarts/Hogsmeade.  The buildings were fantastic.  The rides were completely immersive.  And the butter beer was...well, it was ok.  To be honest, the butter beer that Christi brewed for Sophi and Lexi's Harry Potter party blew it away:)  Overall, it was a fantastic day that was truly magical for this Harry Potter loving family!

So excited!

Patiently waiting for the long line at disability assistance :)

One particularly special experience was the incredible wizard at Ollivander's.  He was completely convincing as he helped the kids select the correct wand for them.  You felt like Harry Potter was real!  It was particularly touching when Lexi had her turn.  (Sadly we didn't get any video).  She was SOOOO excited and got a bit emotional.  Several of the workers also shed some tears.  What a magical, wonderful experience!

While Conner's wand was choosing him, most of the time it was too dark for video, but you can get a feel for how fantastic it was from the audio in this clip:

Two cuties loving their wands!

Gringotts in the background.

A nice witch trains Lexi on the use of her wand:

Enjoying our frozen butter beer:

Excited to be at platform 9 3/4:

All aboard!

We made it to Hogwarts!

Ready for the tri-wizard tournament!

Universal also had some less themed, more thrilling rides outside of Harry Potter.  Xander really learned to enjoy roller coasters here.  All in all, another fantastic day!!!

Epcot

On day two in the parks we went to Epcot.  This was the only day of the trip where the heat was almost unbearable.  It was mid-afternoon on the second day of our five in the parks, and I seriously thought there was no way I was going to make it.  My body was so exhausted that while the family went on Mission: Space, I laid down on a cement bench and took a nap.  It was late afternoon.  I dozed for about 30 minutes and the temperature dropped substantially during that timeframe.  When I woke up, I felt much better and was able to really enjoy the rest of the trip.

Epcot had fewer rides than the other parks, but it was tremendously beautiful.  It has food from around the world.  Some of us had Italian, others had French, and others (gasp!) had Chinese:).   The flower gardens were amazing.  And Epcot has one of our very favorite rides: Soarin'.  It recently changed from Soarin' over California to Soarin' over the World, so we were able to go back and visit the great wall of China.

Our younger kids can't wait to drive:

Posing with the floral sculptures was a must.  They were incredible!  (If you can't tell, Sophi LOVES to be photographed!!!)

That's Lady and the Tramp behind us.

In the Mexico area we enjoyed the music of a Mariachi band.  Conner and Lexi wanted to dance.  I also love Sophi's little wiggles at the end of this. (The devices that Conner and Lex have around their necks are descriptive services.  They tell visually impaired people what some of the sights are as they walk through the park.)

For Lexi and Conner the sounds were very important.  They liked this waterfall:

Cutest Stitch EVER!

Cutest BB8 EVER!!!

In front of the iconic Epcot ball

With my Honey!

Good Night, Epcot!