Focht Family Blog

We slept in on Thursday because of the after hours party that goes until midnight. Around lunchtime we decided to rent a pontoon boat from the marina for 30 minutes. The kids all have to wear life jackets. Adults just have to have them on board. Here is a picture of the boys in front of the pontoon and Nathan, Samantha and my mom in the back.

Timmy decided he wanted to be extra safe and he put grandma’s life jacket over his own.

After our 30 minutes were over we went back to the RV for a good lunch. It was really difficult to get reservations at any of the table service restaurants so I knew we wouldn’t be having anything good for dinner. We went over to the Magic Kingdom at about 2:00. Samantha had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique to become a princess. This is what she wanted for her Christmas present from mom and dad. They took her in and she got to decide what princess she wanted to dress up as. I really liked the Jasmine costume but we figured Nathan wouldn’t like it because it shows the belly. She decided on Belle’s yellow dress. There was also a Christmas Belle dress. They took Samantha back to a dressing room and her dress, shoes, wand, and crown were waiting for her. After getting dressed you wait for your turn with a fairy godmother in training. We got a wonderful girl named Angela who had a lot in common with Samantha. She did Samantha’s hair, painted her nails and then put some makeup on her. The first picture is of Samantha after she had her hair and nails done and she was getting her makeup on. The second picture is of her big reveal moment when Samantha first sees herself after the makeover.

After we met up with Nathan and the boys again we attempted and failed to find a reservation at one of the restaurants, so we went to one of the quickie places and watched the fireworks while we ate. After dinner, the Christmas party was starting so we went to one of the holiday shows that was special for the event. Then we went on a couple of rides and started looking for hot chocolate and cookies. One of the perks of the event was free cookies, hot chocolate, apple juice and apple slices throughout the park. We had lots of cookies and juice by the time we left. At the first cookie stop they were having a dance party. Here is Samantha dancing with Josh.

After the kids danced for awhile we left so we could watch the Christmas parade. Samantha was sad and crying because Belle was wearing her Christmas dress and not the yellow dress like Samantha had on. She brightened up when she saw the Beast because he blew her a kiss. The Fairy Godmother also bopped her wand at Samantha so she was all smiles by the time the parade was over. Here is a picture of the Beast right after he blew the kiss and a picture of the toy soldiers. They were Nathan’s favorites. You heard them coming because of the huge blocks on their feet.

After the parade we went on a couple more rides and watched the special Christmas fireworks. Then we started walking towards the exit. Nathan was starting to worry about Misty and wanted to get back to walk her. The kids still wanted to see Santa so Nathan went ahead to the campground and mom and I took the kids to see Santa and managed to get them all back to the campground. Here is a picture of the kids with Santa. Samantha was a bit wet because she decided to sit in the front seat of the log at Splash Mountain. Josh was wet because he spilled juice down the front of his shirt.

Wednesday was our first day full day at Magic Kingdom. We tried to make the day more for Joshua because he can’t go on a lot of the rides at Animal Kingdom and MGM (he isn’t tall enough). We started out on the carousel.

Next we took Joshua to his first rollercoaster ride. There is one rollercoaster that is designed for the younger children. It is called the Barnstormer. Here is a picture of Joshua waiting in line and one of him riding on the rollercoaster with Nathan.

We didn’t stay for a late day because we were planning on being at Magic Kingdom the next day very late for the after hours Christmas party. We decided that this trip we were going to try to take about every kind of transportation that is available. We had been taking a boat from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom but there was a smaller open air boat that went to the Wilderness Lodge that Nathan had been wanting to take so when we left the Magic Kingdom we took the regular boat to the Wilderness Lodge.

From the Wilderness Lodge we waited for the smaller boat to come in and take us back to Fort Wilderness. Here is the boat docking and a picture of everyone in the back of the boat.

Once we got back to Fort Wilderness my mom decided that since we would not be going back out to a park that night that she wanted to go to the Hoop-Dee-Doo show. She bought herself a ticket and then found out that they were going to seat her at a table all by herself. Since I have always wanted to go to the show but didn’t want to buy tickets for the whole family because they wouldn’t eat the food that is served, Nathan said he would watch the kids if I wanted to sit with her. Mom bought me a ticket and we went out for the night. Here is a picture of mom sitting at our table for 6!

The show was very slap stick and funny. It had a bit of audience participation. Here is a picture of mom playing the washboard at the end.

Tuesday we went to MGM Studios. One of our first stops was to the Playhouse Disney show. It has characters from the kid’s cartoons. While waiting in line, Joshua had one of his 2-year old meltdowns. Nathan figured out a new way of holding him so he can’t get his way.

The kids all enjoyed the show. They got to get up and dance and sing along with the characters. Here is a picture of Nathan and the kids watching the show.

After Playhouse Disney we managed to get a same day reservation for one of the kid’s favorite restaurants. It is called the Sci-Fi Diner and they seat you in cars and make it look like you are at a drive-in movie theater. They show clips from old movies and cartoons while you eat. Next we went to see Nathan’s favorite show… Lights, Motors, Action. Here is Nathan getting his weight lifting in for the day.

We decided to stay until dusk because we wanted to see the Osbourne Family lights that are displayed for the holidays. It is over 5 million lights that have been donated by a family from Arkansas. Joshua was a little worn out while waiting for the lights to come on.

The lights were amazing when they came on. They danced to Christmas music and they had soap sud snow coming down on the street. It was beautiful. Here are a few of the pictures that came out okay. The first is actually a three tiered tree that had three different colors that lit up. The second was of angels flying and the third is a picture of the manger scene which I was surprised to see displayed at Disney.

After seeing the lights we left and took a bus to the Grand Floridian hotel. I had seen a show on Food Network about the gingerbread house they do every year and I wanted to see it since we were there. It was really cool to buy cookies out of a gingerbread house. Here is a picture of the kids by the house and a picture of the list of ingredients used to make it.

Well.. we didn’t check-in until 1:00! I forgot that we needed to stop and get groceries. We woke up bright and early. I figured the children would want to go to the Magic Kingdom but they decided they wanted to go to Animal Kingdom. We caught the bus and made it to Animal Kingdom by 10:00 in the morning. This is the first time we have been to Disney when it has been decorated for Christmas. I was enjoying looking at all the Christmas trees that were at the front of all of the parks. Here is a picture of the kids by the tree in front of Animal Kingdom.

We went on a few rides and then found a playground area that had ropes you could climb up. Nathan and I climbed up with the kids and mom took a couple of pictures from the ground.

While in the play area, the kids found a Jeep in worse shape than Nathan’s….

Next, Samantha talked grandma into going on Expedition Everest with her. Samantha loves rollercoasters but she doesn’t like the Yeti that you see on this one, although the coaster is one of the best at Disney!

We decided to try some new things on this trip so each day we did something that we have never done. On Monday we went to the Flights of Wonder show. Here is a picture of Nathan and Timmy in front of an owl that they had out front of the show before the show started.

The show was full of well-trained birds that showcased what they do in the wild with an emphasis on conservation of their environments. Timmy’s favorites were the Scarlet Macaws which he was thrilled that he knew what they were before the lady said their name. He learned about them from watching Diego.

Before we left Animal Kingdom we went on the Safari ride that takes you through the animal reserve and shows you up close some of the animals. It is Nathan’s favorite part of this park. Eventually I would like to take him on the tour that goes closer to the animals but you have to stay in a concierge level suite at the Wilderness Lodge and pay for the tour above and beyond that cost. I don’t think he will get to do it anytime soon! :) Here is a picture of a giraffe that was close to our vehicle.

After the safari we went back to the RV for a late lunch – early dinner. One of the wonderful things that we got to do this year was hop from park to park because we have annual passes this year. Mom and I decided after dinner to rent a golf cart for a couple of hours so we took a tour of all of the decorated RVs. Some of these people spend their whole winters here and keep decorations in storage units nearby. Here is one of my favorites.

After our tour of the campground we went back out to Magic Kingdom. Because we were staying on property we can take advantage of extra hours in the mornings and evenings. Monday Magic Kingdom had extra hours until midnight so we took the kids out for their first time getting to see the nighttime parade and the fireworks. Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t work very well in the dark so I got one good shot from the parade and one picture of the castle while it was lit up. The lights made the castle look like it was frosted with lights.

Catching up…

Last week we had the pleasure of having some friends we met in Indiana at Newmar stay a night at the campground in Statesboro to visit with us. Their names are Scott and Nancy and we really have enjoyed the times we have been able to spend chatting with them.

Friday we drove to Magnolia Springs and spent the weekend camping out with Nathan’s company for a Winter Weekend. We had a great time and ate a LOT of food! The whole weekend was pretty much eating and campfires! Everyone did a 5 mile hike on Saturday but I stayed at the RV because I knew the kids wouldn’t be able to walk that far. However, on Friday we went out to the local Aquarium and saw an alligator on the banks where we were crossing. Then my mom took Samantha and Timmy on a 1.2 mile hike with Aunt Chris (she works for Nathan) and Bridgette (Joshua was napping) and while on the walk they saw 2 alligators! The funny thing was that Chris had let her dog go swimming that morning because she thought the alligators would be hibernating. Thankfully her dog is okay.

We left Magnolia Springs at 12:00. We stopped in Statesboro to drop off some things from the weekend and had lunch with Nathan’s parents. we then stopped in Brunswick and visited with Scott and Nancy at a parking lot on our way through. They winter in Jekyll Island and happened to be in town as we were passing by. We have a lively discussion on religious differences between denominations. Scott and Nancy are Mennonite and we are Catholic.

We left Brunswick at 7:00 and we are expecting to be at Fort Wilderness at 11:30 to check-in and then we will hit one of the parks tomorrow after breakfast. I will take the camera and get some pictures tomorrow of wherever we are. :)