Visit to Disney Area

As we arrived in the Orlando area Nancy was excited to see the name of the
 turn to our campground.

 This is the road to our campground in Kissemmee. Fl. It was a nice KOA with full hook ups and cable TV.  It was 5 miles from the Stay Bridge Suites where Aaron & Amy were staying for the week.

The KOA was accross the street from Sam's Club, Wendy's and a Waffle House.  It was a few blocks from Target and JoAnns Fabrics.  A nice shopping area with beautiful condos just down the road.

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Amy & Aaron flew to Orlando on Sunday evening.  They were in Orlando to run the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon which was on Saturday Nov. 9th starting at 10 pm. It was a night time run thru 3 of the Disney Parks.  They ran thru Epcot, Animal Kingdom , & Magic Kingdom.  

On Monday we went to Epcot.  They were featuring the Wine & Dine foods.  Each country was offering a menu of favorite traditional  foods & drinks from their country.

We went on Spaceship earth at Epcot.  At the end of the ride you choose your own future.  They transpose your picture into whatever future you choose and you can send send an email of yourself in your future world to anyone.  

Amy had to try the Polish Foods to see if they were as good as the ones she makes.  She uses her family recipes that have been handed down.  Her & Aaron agreed that the Epcot Polish food was good but maybe their's is a bit better!

After getting off the tram from Epcot we decided to go at a more scenic and leisure pace.  We took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom.  The weather was perfect for riding on top.  A beautiful breeze was just right in the warm 80 plus day.

 The Welcoming sight of Cinderella's Castle greeted us as we arrived at The Magic Kingdom.  Aaron & Amy couldn't wait to compare The Magic Kingdom in Florida to Disneyland in California where they had been several times before. 

 After we got into the park the first thing we did was find a place to watch the parade.  There were lots of people watching the parade but we found a place where we could see.

 There were lots of Disney characters in the parade.  There were several from Pinocchio.  Geppetto was waving to the crowd..

 One of our favorite things at Disney Parks are the topiaries.  The sea serpent greeted us as we walked by the lake in Tomorrowland.. 

 One of our favorite rides was Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.  It was a fun show where they used photography to place some of the audience in the show.  As the name of the ride says it was full of Laughs!

 The Electrical Parade was the perfect way to end the night.  The lights were magical.  There lots of lit floats & dancers & Disney characters with costumes adorned with lights.  The parade lasted for about 30 min.

We went on the Safari ride and saw lots of animal at Animal Kingdom.  The new baby giraffe was hiding in the bushes as we came around the corner on the safari ride.

Besides seeing the elephants, lions, tigers, & monkeys we saw other more unusual animals. We saw this Ostrich with her eggs.  She had several eggs in her nest.

The Tree of Life is always a place not to be missed. We are standing in front of The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.  The carving of animals on the tree is to perfection.

 Another animal we encountered was a tiger in the wild.  He was having his mid-day meal & was use to people watching him eat.

Amy & Aaron were our trip planners. They picked where we would go in the parks.  Here Aaron was looking for the birds listed on the bird identification card at Animal Kingdom.

 Animal Kingdom had lots of animals of all kinds.  The fast paced ride had dinosaurs trying to attack you as you raced back from the past..

 Ok!  What is it?  Never know what you will find at a Disney park!
 Just hanging around with a new dino friend.  

 The Tower of Terror was Aaron & Amy's favorite ride.  Nothing like going up & being dropped several floors over & over again.  Not a ride for us but the kids really enjoyed it.

 Disney was decked out for the Christmas Season on Friday.  The Magic Kingdom became a Christmas Wonderland.  Trees & Christmas decorations were everywhere.  No mistake on what time of the year it was.  There were even snowflakes flying from the sky.

 The Hulk at the Lego store in Downtown Disney has a new friend.  He was one of several life size Lego sculptures there. Looks like it would be fun to build any of the sculptures!

 Amy & Aaron at Wide World of Sports getting ready to pick up their race packets.  There were over 14,000 runners in the half marathon.

 Cinderella's Castle lit for the Christmas season.  All the magic of Disney's Magic Kingdom came to life as the Christmas lights were lit for the season on Friday November 8 at dark.

 Mini & Mickey Mouse (Amy & Aaron) dressed to run the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  The race started at 10 pm.  They ran the whole 13.5 miles in their costumes.  They said they were even asked to pose with people who liked their outfits. 

To finish the trip to Disney area we all played 36 holes of mini golf.  Here Dennis was ready to make a hole at Congo Mini Golf Course.  Of course he won both games of golf.  Both course had holes where you spin the dial & do what it says.  Even with having to switch places with other players or play the hole by kicking the ball he still managed to get the low score each game.