Cake Fest 2012

Matt had another birthday and we celebrated with another Cake Fest (per tradition).  We kept it simple this year and only invited 3 other families over.  We ate croissant sandwiches and two large and delicious cakes. Even with only 2 cakes, we still had leftovers!

Matt's childhood favorite: Vienna Torte

A new one this year: Oreo ice cream cake with fudgy layers.

This year marks the 100 year birthday of Oreo cookies so I felt the need to incorporate this classic cookie into our repertoire.  It tasted amazing and was simple and quick to make (no baking!) 

Harry Potter World

The highlight of our trip was visiting the Harry Potter world inside Universal's Islands of Adventure.  It had the best rides, shopping, and food... of course, we are big fans.

Hogsmeade

Hogwarts Castle

Hagrid's Hut

The Hogwarts Express

Shopping at Flourish and Blotts, Ollivander's Wand Shop, and the Owl Post Office

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks

 The ride inside Hogwarts Castle is the newest and most impressive we've experienced.  It's a combination of ride and simulator (like Star Tours) that makes you feel as though you are actually flying on a broomstick through and around Hogwarts Castle - with a Hungarian Horntail (dragon) chasing you down.  Complete with dementors and the Womping Willow tree - it's quite an adventure!  Another neat part of this ride was waiting in line because you actually get to tour the castle and visit with the characters from the books.

Mandrakes in the Herbology Room

the portraits on the wall move and talk

the Sorting Hat

We did leave the Wizarding World for long enough to get soaked on the Rip Saw Falls (Emily loved it and insisted on sitting up front).

We were glad for the 85 degree days.  It made the water rides well worth it.

We also hit a few of the Dr. Seuss rides.

The Harry Potter area is by far the most popular portion of Islands of Adventure.  It was packed from opening time till about 5 pm.  Then everyone disbursed.  So we headed back about that time and enjoyed some frozen butterbeer (like a slushy cream soda) and walked right onto the rides over and over (no lines!).  Amy took Matt on the Dueling Dragons roller coasters (I went once and about lost my head).  Emily and I did Flight of the Hippogryphs - a more moderate roller coaster.  We kept playing till late in the evening then finally decided we would have to say goodbye.

A Little Rest

We decided to break things up a bit and take a day off from park hopping. We enjoyed some Pirate-themed mini golf and some shopping in Downtown Disney. 

We decided to see if the Ghirardelli Shop - with its famous fudge sundaes - was as good at Disney as it was in San Francisco.

Yep, it was.

A little swimming in the hotel pool and we were refreshed for a few more days of theme parks.

Magic Kingdom

We actually did 2 days at Magic Kingdom (and skipped EPCOT).  Who needs to see fake countries round a giant golfball when we've seen the real ones?

We simply had a lot of fun - shooting aliens, driving cars (how come Disney hasn't updated Tomorrow-Land to have electric vehicles???), flying through outer space, down Splash Mountain, watching Bears sing... and hanging out with real princesses.

 

iphone games while waiting in line

Sea World

Sea World had a few crazy roller coasters: the Manta Ray (where you ride facing the ground, suspended from your back) and the Kraken - which was simply a seriously wild roller coaster.

There is no in-between at Sea World.  It's either all-out crazy wild or little kiddie. Though we did all enjoy the Atlantis water chute.

Of course, the highlight here is to see the sea animals and we were not disappointed.

 

Hollywood Studios

Amy's favorite ride (since trying it at Disney Paris a couple years ago...) is the Tower of Terror.  This was the first time Emily was tall enough to ride too.  So we got to be terrorized as a family.

There we are - in the back row.  (Click on photo to see it enlarged)

The Rockin' Rollercoaster was another family favorite, just next door to the Tower. 

Otherwise, there are just some interesting shows - like the car stunt show featuring Lightning McQueen.

Then back to the hotel for treats and swimming.

Animal Kingdom

We spent just over a week playing in Florida last month.  Our first theme park destination was Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The safari was very cool.  We hadn't ever been that close to real jungle animals.

bats

tiger

Of course we went on a few rides too.  The Kali River Rapids was wild and wet... so we felt the need to dry out our socks/shoes during a show.  Aren't we resourceful? 

Our favorite ride at Animal Kingdom (and perhaps overall) was the Expedition Everest roller coaster.  Just when you think you're going to plummet, the tracks stop (broken by the Yeti) and then you are plummeted backwards.  In the dark.  It took some convincing to get the little girls to ride it a second time, but they did!