The Garner Family: May 2013

RV Road Trip

This was our first major road trip in our RV, traveling from Texas to Florida and back. Thankfully, all went remarkable well. It was a really great way to travel with kids. They could spread out and relax, they played games, read books, drew and colored, played with various toy figures, built Lego creations, and watched some movies. We could also get snacks, prepare and eat lunch, and go to the bathroom without stopping. Randy drove the entire way there, and most of the way back, but I did put in a few hours behind the wheel (my fingers ached from gripping the wheel so hard and I was especially nervous during a section of construction with huge cement barriers on one side and cars on the other side - yikes). We had good times driving in our RV and look forward to many more cross-country road trips and family memories in this fun mode of vacation travelling.

Randy ready to begin the long drive.

Co-captain ready!

The excitable Brady excited to get going.

Having a snack and reading some books.

Reading to Brady (thankfully reading in an RV doesn't make me carsick).

Watching a movie.

Playing a Mario game on the DS.

The chair was Dawson's favorite spot.

Playing Legos at the table.

Making sticker creations.

Watching a movie before bed on the final night.

Yea, We Made It!!!

So happy that we made it to our hotel at Disney World!!!

Pop Century Hotel

We stayed at the Pop Century Hotel for a portion of our visit to Disney World (the other portion was spent at the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds in our RV). This was our 3rd stay at Pop Century. We like it because it is a value resort (the least expensive category of Disney hotels) and we don't want to spend a ton of money for a room that we are rarely in (because we're at the awesome Disney theme parks all day). The rooms are small, but clean with Disney themed decorations. The best part is the scenery throughout the hotel - lots of giant replicas of popular things from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. There are also 3 pools, a playground, a running/walking path around the lake, food court, gift shop, and arcade. It's a great place to stay with kids.

Mrs. & Mr. Potato Head.

Jungle Book characters.

Lady from Lady and the Tramp.

A giant Play-Doh.

Jukebox. I told Brady that they played music so he was pushing the buttons with all his might in an attempt to play a song. ;-)

Squished by a Big Wheel.

Running around the foosball Court pretending to be the ball.

Posing with Goofy. This used to be a splashpad, but is no longer (boo).

Cute little bunnies hopping around the foosball field in the early morning.

Brady relaxing at the tree while Dawson goes to get a closer look at the rabbits.

Mother duck and her ducklings leaving the food court area.

Laughing uproariously at old Mickey cartoons that were playing on the television in the food court.

Yummy! A giant sundae from the food court (it's only 1 snack credit from the meal plan - what a delicious deal).

Pool Time

Our hotel had 3 pools - a big central pool with flower sprinklers and such, a bowling pin shaped pool, and a computer shaped pool. We swam in the big pool and the computer pool (which was right outside our hotel room). There were various pool games and activities throughout the day and we did some of those, but mostly just enjoyed swimming and playing together.

R2D2 Mickey Ears

Big Legos

Just a couple of the awesome Lego creations at the Lego Store in Downtown Disney.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is the best Disney park for kids - it's a classic and there are just rides galore. Dawson's favorites were the thrill rides of course - Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. Brady's favorite was Goofy's Barnstormer kid sized rollercoaster. There were a couple of really funny shows there - Donald's Philharmagic 3D Spectacular and the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. We also enjoyed the Peter Pan ride, Winnie the Pooh ride, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland Spedway, Tomorrowland People Mover, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Prince Charming's Carousel, and the Walt Disney Railroad - like I said, rides galore. We spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom and rode all of our favorite rides multiple times. We also ate the Crystal Palace, a character dining experience with Winnie the Pooh and friends. Magical times!