A Georgia Girl in Germany

When we went to Disney World, we stayed at the All Star Movie Resort. We really liked the movie theme of our building -- 101 Dalmatians. MacKenzie cuddled with one of the pups to watch Zachary and Benjamin goofing off on TV.

Purdy kept a watchful eye over the kids while other pups ran along the railings.

Pongo was ready to play. I think he was probably also trying to figure out how to get the bones out of the sidewalk in front of him.

MacKenzie loves puppies!

There was even a large fire hydrant covering the staircase at the end of one building.

This popcorn box was actually one of the lights in our room -- very creative!



Isn’t this a cute washcloth bunny!?!!

MacKenzie and Nana paused a moment while walking toward the main building for breakfast.

Papa and the boys kept walking -- they had food on their minds!

We all enjoyed an evening swim in this pool. It doesn’t look extravagant here, but it was awesome when lit up at night -- complete with a water spray shooting from below the red stage into the pool.

Labels: Benjamin, Disney World, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Travel, Zachary

I know my kids can act strange at times, but I now have proof that each one of them is a little “Goofy!” I think Zachary’s expression tops the “Goofiness meter” (no surprise there), and MacKenzie can look gorgeous no matter how goofy her apparel is.

I couldn’t convince Nana to go the Goofy route -- she opted instead for the classic Minnie Mouse ears.

Of course, Benjamin has to do everything in his own time. He decided to try on a Goofy hat our last day at Disney World. He still managed to have a goofy expression on his face though.

Labels: Benjamin, Disney World, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Travel, Zachary

As much as I wanted to visit Epcot again (the last time I went was in 1984, shortly after the park opened), I knew the kids would enjoy Hollywood Studios more. So, the third and final park of our Magic Kingdom experience was movie-themed.

Of course, since my kids love roller coasters, we had to ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I’m so glad that Benjamin is tall enough to ride most of the rides. There were only one or two rides that he wanted to go on that he couldn’t, so we managed to avoid them -- out of sight, out of mind. This ride was partially in the dark, and had lots of quick up and down drops -- enough that we were airborne in our seats several times. I was concerend about how Benjamin would do, but he did great, and we all loved it!

I liked the landscaping here -- Fantasia!

After a short demonstration on the magic of Disney animation, we were allowed to create our own Disney characters. Zachary made a psychedelic Thumper!

Benjamin had fun creating Timon -- and did very well making him look like he did in the Lion King movie.

We stepped into another world and saw the rock slab where Aslan died in Narnia.

We even met Prince Caspian himself. Benjamin wasn’t too sure about being in Narnia, so didn’t want his photo taken.

We enjoyed watching the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. The kids were all intrigued with watching the stunts -- the fast-moving boulder, the sword fights, the airplane almost catching on fire. It was all very edge-of-your seat thrilling, and straight out of the movies. Unfortunately, a few weeks after our visit, one of the cast members in this show died while performing one of the stunts.

There’s no better way to rest than cuddled with Papa.

We were all excited about riding the Star Tours flight animator. We were even more excited when the line was virtually nonexistent. We breezed right through, and were able to see R5D4 and other droids at work.

We really enjoyed the ride, and spent a good bit of time drooling through the gift shop. Can you guess what Benjamin wanted to bring home with us?

Zachary enjoyed posing for a moment and being transformed into Darth Maul. Doesn’t he look evil?

Benjamin also enjoyed posing, and became young Anakin Skywalker -- he definitely looks older than 6! MacKenzie also posed (and became Padmé Amidala), but I was getting the evil eye for taking photos of them without purchasing the gift shop-created versions. Sigh, no photo of MacKenzie as Padmé.

The outside of the gift shop really looks like we stepped onto the planet Tatooine ... well, other than the silo behind the sand building.

The kids each enjoyed riding on the speeders, trying to escape the Stormtroopers through the Endor forest.



Benjamin loves water fountains, and this one outside the Muppet Vision 3D show was no exception.

We enjoyed traveling through the Great Movie Ride and being immersed into several movie scenes, including the Wizard of Oz.

When Benjamin saw the monkeys hanging across the walkway behind the Pixar sign, he commented that he needed to be up there with them since he was a monkey, but that we wouldn’t let him. How true!

We had fun riding the Toy Story Midway Mania! ride. It was very similar to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom, just where we shot at old-fashioned saloon-type bandits while wearing 3D glasses.

At the end of the ride, Zachary and I compared scores. We each had scores well over 120,000, and within only 600 points of each other. Don’t try to tell me that neither of us is competitive! {smile} I’ll be kind and not boast about who had the ultimate high score though.

We wandered through several stage backdrops and came across two of the main characters from the movie Cars -- Lighting McQueen and Mater, who graciously agreed to pose with Nana and MacKenzie.

Benjamin wasn’t interested in smiling for a photo with Lightning McQueen, so this is the best shot we got with him.

However, he loved climbing on the back of Mater and holding onto his hook. Yup, let’s add him to that strand of monkeys!

Evidence of a delicious ice cream treat!

We slowed down in the afternoon and watched a performance of Beauty and the Beast -- Live on Stage. It was very well-done, and we all enjoyed it. Plus, it was a nice afternoon break from walking in the Florida heat.

We tried to get a photo in front of Mickey’s Fantasia hat, but Benjamin was being stubborn and flatly refusing to smile.

However, once he was appeased, he did a 180-degree turnaround and had the cheesiest smile for the camera.

We finally got one good shot, however Zachary and MacKenzie were tired of holding their smiles by this point.

Before we left the park, Zachary and MacKenzie went to work cleaning the windows of this tow truck with their fan water bottles.

Benjamin was content spraying the air with his. I think we could have spent an entire day outside on a patch of grass letting the kids play with their water bottles and they would have been content!

Labels: Benjamin, Disney World, Kid Quotes, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Travel, Zachary

I really enjoy visiting Animal Kingdom -- it’s so much fun! We started off by seeing the “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” performance. My boys really enjoyed being bugs.

Benjamin had to be a unique (upside-down-eyed) bug. The performance is in 4-D -- meaning 3-D glasses as well as special effects in the theater. Benjamin didn’t care for the bee that flew toward him, enough so that he was standing up when it tried biting him (through the seat). He also didn’t care for the critters that crawled under his seat as they made a mad dash toward the exit.

Even Papa got a little buggy.

We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride through the Harambe Wildlife Preserve. The line was a little long, but not horrendous. Fortunately, we saw quite a few animals since we went early in the morning before the sun made it too warm.

Benjamin and Papa enjoyed seeing the hippos relaxing in the pond.

There were quite a few rhinos resting in the shade.

Zachary and MacKenzie kept a watchful eye out for animals on our trek.

We saw several ostriches, and even saw a nest with several ostrich eggs in it.

What fun to play the drums!

Benjamin had to play every drum to compare the sounds.

Yes, every drum -- several times each.

A friend of mine from high school works at Animal Kingdom, and was able to get us a FastPass for the Dinosaur ride. Benjamin didn’t care for it the first time we rode it (too jerky), so opted to ride the TriceraTop Spin with Papa while I went back to ride Dinosaur with Zachary and MacKenzie again. Love his smile!

Isn’t this what Disney World is all about -- being a kid (no matter your age) and enjoying the magic? Benjamin really liked DinoLand -- and having Papa to himself for a little while. I think Papa enjoyed it too!

Papa let Benjamin pick out a lollipop while Zachary, MacKenzie and I were on our ride, and he was kind enough to pick out a three-pack so he could share with his brother and sister. How considerate!

Eating a lollipop while walking next to Nana -- not much could be better than that!

Here’s the obligatory photo of the Tree of Life. I love checking out all the animal carvings that make up the tree -- simply amazing!

It started to rain just before we decided to leave, so Nana used a Target bag as a rain poncho. It didn’t work very well.

Fortunately, the Cook Clan brought our rain jackets with us.

The kids had fun playing with their spray bottles while we waited for the bus back to the hotel. Fortunately, we didn’t stay terribly late at the park this day, and the rain helped cool things off, so we weren’t dog-tired at the end of the day.

Labels: Benjamin, Disney World, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Travel, Zachary