We’re back in LA and thought we would be returning to milder weather, but it was 107 degrees today!! Still this dry heat is better than humid heat.
We spent the evening at the Kha grandparents house to celebrate Father’s Day. Grandma made pho and all the kids had fun playing together. Auntie Diana and Uncle Barry got Nat an ice cream cake too to celebrate her birthday.
Meliya + Natalie = Melanie ❤️
We slept in this morning and kept the day low key since we were going back to the Magic Kingdom for a second time. There were a few rides we didn’t get to on our first day, so we wanted to get them in today.
It was really hot today! (What am I saying? It’s been hot everyday.) After speeding through our fast pass rides, we got some Dole whip. Yummy!
In the afternoon while waiting in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster (ETA 100 minutes!) they closed the ride down about 40 mins in due to thunder and lightning. We tried to wait it out but changed our minds and went to eat cinnamon rolls instead!
It rained for almost 3 hours. Lots of rides were closed so we passed time at the souvenir shops and waited for the next shuttle back to our hotel. Tyler had fun walking in the rain.
As soon as we got back, the kids fired up the hot tub to relax.
Favorite part of the day:
Nat: Dole whip
Tyler: Cinnamon rolls. We ordered two! (They were pretty good)
David: Walking around in the rain. It was a nice cool down from the heat.
Me: Splash Mountain. It was a nice ride to cool off for a bit.
It’s our last day in Orlando. We head home tomorrow morning! While we had a great family vacation, we’re going to put theme parks on hold for awhile 🙂
EPCOT showcases technological innovations and international culture. It stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.
The weather today was much better than the past few days. There was rain in the area so the cloud cover helped. (It was still 91 degrees though.)
We had fun visiting various countries around the world showcased at EPCOT. Here are some we visited.
China
Germany
Italy. We got gelato here!
Japan. This one was Natalie’s favorite because there was a store there with lots of cute stuff inside. She bought a shirt.
France
United Kingdom. The kids loved the phone booths. (A Harry Potter thing.)
Designing concept cars at Test Track
For dinner we went to Disney Springs. It’s similar to Downtown Disney but much nicer. We ate at a restaurant called The Boathouse which was right on the water. We sat outside and had an amazing view! And Tyler tried a raw oyster for the first time and liked it!
Favorite part of the day:
Nat: Japan
Tyler: Test Track. Racing a car through a simulated test track. It was high speed and fun!
David: Living with the Land. A boat ride sailing through the greenhouses of Disney and how they are being more environmentally conscious.
Me: Dinner. We splurged. David and I shared a porterhouse steak and a lobster and raw oysters. (Natalie really knows fine dining. She enjoyed eating our dinner too.)
This place is pretty much equivalent to Disneyland in Anaheim. The princess castle is much grander though.
Our first ride of the day was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The ride broke down while we were on it and we sat there for about 15 minutes before a technician came to get us out of the ride. Here we are on the ride waiting.
Here’s a picture of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Photo credit: Nat
In the afternoon around 5:30, we were waiting in line at Tomorrowland Speedway (Autopia) and a sudden downpour of rain came out of nowhere. Luckily we were under a canopy, but they let us on the ride anyway – even while it rained! So many people got soaked. Good thing we had rain ponchos. The whole thing was pretty funny and as soon as we got off the ride, the rain stopped.
Favorite part of the day:
Nat: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Me & Ty: Driving the Tomorrowland Speedway in the rain.
David: Getting a spa treatment from the kids in our in room hot tub. They even gave him a foot massage.
Universal’s Island of Adventures is a second park of Universal’s. There are more water rides in this park and a familiar ride that’s also in Hollywood is Jurassic Park. If you have a park hopper ticket, you can take the Hogwarts Express train between the two parks. It’s a pretty cool experience and both Nat and Tyler loved it.
For dinner, we ate at The Three Broomsticks, which is a pub in Harry Potter. We ordered The Great Feast! It was a meal that feeds four. And man, was it a feast! It came with salad, ribs, chicken, corn, steamed vegetables, and roasted potatoes. It was really good.
Favorite part of the day:
Tyler & David: Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges. It’s a water raft ride and we got soaked! Tyler and David rode this twice.
Me & Nat: The Great Feast. Did you see the picture? Enough said.
We spent the day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today. It’s kind of like Universal, but with Disney flare. Familiar rides here include Star Tours and Toy Story Mania, which is similar to the Buzz Light Year ride at Disneyland. We rode an Aerosmith themed roller coaster today that was intense! Very fast and twisty – turny – up side downy! Needless to say, this ride threw David off again.
Star Tours
Inside Toy Story Mania
Taking the ferry boat back to our shuttle stop
By the way, today was the hottest day so far. 95 degrees plus the humidity factor. It was tough walking around and we often stopped inside gift shops to soak in the A/C!
Favorite part of the day:
Nat & Ty: Toy Story Mania. It’s an interactive 3-D ride.
David: Shopping at Winn Dixie. A grocery store chain that he does their emails for.
Me: Eating sushi for dinner! We found a place close by called Sushiology and ordered take out hoping to eat pool side. But the pool was closed due to lightning.
Today’s Natalie’s 12th birthday! Happy Birthday Nat!
Nat chose to come here because she wanted to do all things Harry Potter today. And that’s pretty much what we did most of the day. We started the day at Diagon Alley and both kids were just in love with the place! The area was pretty packed with Harry Potter fans. I overheard one girl say “This is the best day of my life!”
The kids tried butter beer!
We got to meet Hello Kitty too! There’s a huge Hello Kitty store here.
Favorite part of the day
Nat & Ty: everything Harry Potter
David: Diagon Alley
Me: hearing Nat say to Tyler at the end of the day “Today was awesome!”
By the way, if you’re reading my posts live, check back in about a week or two. I’ll add more commentary and videos. It’s annoying blogging from my phone.
It’s really hot and humid here. I’ll just start with that.
We spent our first day at Animal Kingdom. It’s like Adventureland in Disneyland, but blown up. Lots of rides centered around animals from around the world and dinosaurs. There’s even a safari ride called Kilimanjaro Safaris that mimics an African Safari. We got to see lots of animals up close.
After about our third ride of the day, which was a roller coaster that went backwards at one point, David got sick and was pretty much done for the day. So I spent the rest of the day with the kids while David did this.
Favorite part of the day
Nat: Primeval Whirl. A spinning and sliding roller coaster. We rode this twice.
Tyler: Expedition Everest. This is the roller coaster David got sick from.
David: None. Being nauseous most of the day sucked.
Me: Kilimanjaro Safari. We saw a giraffe up close!
The kids love flying. I do not. As much as I love to travel, when it comes to packing and flying, anxiety kicks in. When I go through it, I tell myself no more traveling. And then after the travel, I think to myself, “let’s do it again!”
Nat’s becoming a pro at traveling. She packs light too! We’re on our way to Orlando, FL!
As soon as we got to Orlando, we went to Target to stock up on water, food, and snacks.
School ended on Friday and we immediately headed down to LA to start our summer vacation.
We stopped by Grandma and Grandpas house for a quick visit. I found Nat strangely glued to the TV.
The kids scored hong baos from both sets of grandparents for spending money on our upcoming trip to Orlando. They also got Disney gift cards from Auntie Kari, Uncle Tommy, and Melanie. Lucky kids!
