Trip Summary

We had a good (tiring) trip. This was our third time to Disney, so we have in down to an extent. Over four days, we hit Magic Kingdom three times with half days at each of Hollywood Studios, Blizzard Beach (water park), and Epcot. The kids were interested in getting autographs and pictures from all characters - EXCEPT princesses.

The kids are old enough that we were able to tackle some of the more daring rides. Katie started off timid. Although Space Mountain was her favorite ride last trip (in 2007), she was reluctant to ride it at the beginning. However, it turned around by the end. The last day, we rode Space Mountain three times. Other favorites included Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mickey's Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear's [something], Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.

Hollywood Studios was a bit of a disappointment. We felt that with the kids older, they would have more stuff to do. There was, in fact, very little to do. Emily and I LOVED the Aerosmith Rock and Roller Coaster (Katie wouldn't go). And neither one of them would do the Tower of Terror. The nightime show Fantasmic was the only real family highlight.

Epcot is... well, Epcot. Odd place. Lots of walking around. We had a nice lunch in France (only after finding the English pub had an hour and a half wait). There are a few fun rides there. Soarin - a virtual hand glider over a virtual California - is really cool. GM's Test Track was also fun with your open air car hitting 65 miles an hour. Finally Mission Space - a simulated rocket ship - was also an enjoyable experience (again - Katie passed). We ate dinner at Corral Reef - a seafood restaurant inside Epcot's aquarium. Something seemed wrong about that.

We have now been to Disney at three different times of year - April, August and now October. Although more crowded than we expected (lots of New Englanders with Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots gear), October was the best timing of the three. August and October had similar crowds, but it was 20-30 degrees cooler. April was a zoo.