Cheap Orlando Fun

We try to make the drive to Orlando every month to attend the temple, but since it's a 4 hour drive, and schedules are usually pretty full, our trips end up being really quick. We found out that the last minute that the temple was about to close for the rest of the month, so we figured we needed to head down last weekend. Dan's schedule wasn't too bad, so we decided to Priceline a hotel and go for a full 2 days - kind of a luxury. We drove down on Thursday morning and I took the kids to a nearby park while Dan attended the temple, then we switched and he took them back to the park while I went. We then had the rest of the evening to hang out at the hotel, go get dinner, and swim at the hotel pool.

Jeffrey and Caitlyn do surprisingly well sleeping in the same bed (once they fall asleep). Dan and I don't do so well with arms or other appendages falling in our faces. They don't seem to mind!

Andrew does better when he can't see what's going on around him. Cover the pack and play and he's out in no time!

Friday morning we took our time getting ready, ate breakfast and did Disney the really cheap way...Downtown Disney. Of course, since we've never been to the 'real' Disney World, the kids thought Downtown Disney was great! They thought the dinosaur in the water was the coolest thing ever!

At the Lego store they were working on a life-sized building of Buzz Lightyear, so the kids got to build a small piece for the "Master Builder" to add to the project. They were excited to get certificates saying that they had participated.

The kids getting their certificates and standing in front of where the Buzz will be built (the project was just getting going, so not much to see yet...)

With Jeffrey as the photographer, you never know what you'll get. He didn't do too bad of a job!

They thought the "Pooh Bear Bush" dumping water out of the honeypots was great. Grumpy Caitlyn didn't want to be in the picture.

So we decided to try for a family photo - which we rarely attempt, and this is what we get! We've known for awhile that we needed a new camera - I think this picture will speed up the camera-buying-process.

So it was a great way to experience a little bit of Disney - totally free and the kids can handle a couple of hours. After carrying Caitlyn half of the way and hearing Jeffrey talk about having to walk so far, we were really glad we hadn't spent $200+ taking them to the real Disney World. Jeffrey keeps talking about going back to Downtown Disney. Ignorance is bliss, and if they don't know that there are better things out there, we'll keep going the cheap way for a few more years!