Disney World!

My company's annual retreat was in Disney World this year and they completely spoiled us. Not only did the company invite spouses, but also all of our kids!  Here is a group shot of everyone :)

We extended our stay by 3 days and ended up spending an entire week at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was really fun...and exhausting. But we would do it all over again in a heart beat! 

We started our trip by being picked up in Santa Barbara at 5:30 in the morning and I have to admit that it was not the most successful ride down to LAX. Our driver was a bit shady - I kept on catching him fall asleep!  Zoe got car sick and threw up (successfully in a bag, thank goodness) when we were 5 minutes away from the airport.

Tired faces

The plane ride was pretty easy. We didn't even have to drug our kids this time. Zoe kept herself occupied with playdoh and DVDs.  Maddox was pretty happy with on the flight as well.  The flight back was another story.

Once we got there, our bags were taken care of and "magically" whisked away to our resort while we boarded Disney's Magic Express bus. Between the planes, buses and boats (more on that later), Maddox was in little boy transportation heaven.

 

We made it!!

The Disney Magic Bands - these things were awesome!  They tied back to your room, had your information and credit card on file so you didn't have to worry about having your park tickets, credits cards or ID.  And if your kid got lost they knew how to find you.

We stayed at the Yacht Club Resort which was walking distance to Epcot and the Boardwalk. They had boats that could take you to and from the park which was an all time favorite for Maddox.  He kept on yelling, "bateau!!!" every single time he saw a boat - which was at least a thousand times. Our balcony was located right off the quiet pool.  I found that pretty funny since our kids do not exactly have inside voices.

Our view from hotel pool area - they had outdoor movies and s'mores on this beach at night.

We're on a boat!

At Epcot

Epcot's Food and Wine Festival was happening the week we were there which was pretty fun.  We definitely had a ton of options for food/drinks.

With Z on "Soaring"

Magic Kingdom was very similar to Disneyland. The biggest difference was the castle and an expanded Fantasyland. My company also took the employees on an Underground/Behind The Scenes tour.  A couple of years ago, I had watched a documentary on how Disney World was built and I remember watching how they built Magic Kingdom on the second story. The first story is actually underground. There is a whole mini-city down there. The music is different, there are tunnels and pathways all under the Magic Kingdom. It was suuuuuper cool to see it in person. We weren't allowed to take any pictures, unfortunately.

I love the clouds in Florida

Meltdown..??  Just give 'em a popsicle and all will be good in the world again ;)

The castle is different here!

Zoe in heaven. I think she could have gone on the Carousel a hundred times.

A trip to the Magic Kingdom would not be complete without a spin on the teacups!

FINALLY asleep after taking this tram around two times.

One of Zoe's favorites - Thunder Mountain

Pirates of the Caribbean

The sign of a successful day :)  Please note the one shoe  - Maddox would not keep his right shoe one. Drove us crazy!

We ended up going to Animal Kingdom twice. The Safari was the best ride - by far.  It was almost a half hour and we were able to get super close to the animals  :)

I love this...under water hippo shot.

Of course I was the only one that ended up getting completely soaked on this ride.

Animal Kingdom even had a stinky petting zoo for the kids. I think Zoe brushed half of the hair off this poor goat's back. I still think these animals were drugged.

The train ride from one side of the park to the other.

3D show for Bugs Life

And there were plenty of photo ops with Mickey and Minnie throughout the week.  Maddox was scared of the first time he met Mickey ... but quickly warmed up with Goofy...and eventually was running to meet them.

 

Love their feet

 

We spent a day at Hurricane Harbor as well. There was a 120 foot vertical slide that was bruising the back of everyone's legs. Francis the only one brave enough to try it :)  My favorite part of the park was the 22 min long lazy river.  And the wave pool.  It was a nice break from the heat and all the walking around we had been doing at the other parks.  

The company continued to spoil us and planned an "adult evening" for everyone. Babysitters were hired for us, we got dressed up and a bus whisked us away to the California Grill. The room had a private balcony overlooking the Magic Kingdom and fireworks show.  The food was amazing and the wine just as good. We had so much fun - the fact that everyone gets along so well is an added bonus in working for this company.

Look!  It's a picture of just the 2 of us, no kids. This never happens anymore!

 

We got the dreaded babysitter call while in the middle of dinner. Turns out they could not calm Maddox down...until they gave him a popsicle.  I told them to give him as many as he wanted as long as we didn't have to leave the party early.  Looks like my strategy worked and the kids ended up also have a fun night out :)

 Not sure how Schaaf can top this retreat!