Orlando, Florida - Part 2

This is the second post from our family reunion in Orlando, Florida.  You can see the previous post here:

One thing that you need to know - we had 17 people in the group, so keeping track of everyone inside the parks was going to be an issue...especially with that many children.  The solution was family shirts - all red, with logos and nicknames on the back of each shirt.  We were numbered according to age:

You'll see those shirts all day in the pictures ; )

Today, we find ourselves at the "traditional" Disney experience - the Magic Kingdom. We started the day at the Polynesian Resort - one of the hotels inside the Disney property.  It was my sister-in-laws birthday, and this was the perfect way to celebrate.  She's a HUGE Disney fan, and even worked there a few years ago.  We totally rely on her expert knowledge when planning our visits ; )

At the breakfast, the kids were treated to a visit from several Disney characters. We had a fun time trying to organize 17 people for various pictures with characters.

It was a great experience and the food was pretty decent, as well.  We finished and made our way into the Magic Kingdom.  Our first stop was right in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle:

Grandparents and all the grandkids - G-Man is in the shadow ; )

We then headed to our first ride.  My sister-in-laws family have a tradition of going to the Dumbo ride first, so that's where we went.  At DisneyWorld, they have updated Fantasyland, and Dumbo received a make-over.  There's now two duplicate rides, and a play area right in the middle of the line.  We let the little kids play in this area and it was a nice move by Disney.

L was really excited, as she approached the ride.  I loved watching her bob up-and-down, cruising through the line:

This video clip is funny - it shows L on the actual ride.  She has no idea what's about to happen - the mixture of excitement and terror on her face is priceless:


We also hit the Prince Charming Regal Carousel, another ride that everyone in the family could enjoy at the same time:

Throughout the day, we tried on various Disney hats.  There were so many options...I don't remember so many variations on the "Mickey Ears" theme ever before.

One of my favorite "classic" Disney attractions has to be the Enchanted Tiki Room.  I love the music and it's easy for the kids:

Another reason that makes the Tiki Room so special? My wife alerted me to this one.  Near the entrance, the Dole company has a refreshment stand where they sell the celestial Dole Whip:

In the simplest terms, this would be described as a pineapple frozen yogurt.  However, you'd be selling it short.  It's a delicious serving of pineappley goodness.  Worth the 15-20 min. wait that is usually required.

Had some fun on Splash Mountain...

One of the last attractions we went on was It's A Small World.  Another classic Disney ride, we had fun talking to the kids about all the places around the world that they would see.  It was fun to think of how many of these places that I've been lucky enough to travel to:

Photobomb! ; )

To end the day, we lined-up for one of the Disney parades.  We weren't going to stay late for the big parades, but this was fun.  We had "curbside" seats and enjoyed the view:

Another great day had come to a close...we went back to our rental house and collapsed to prepare for yet another day at DisneyWorld ; )