Even though Disney World was on my bucket list, I was not impressed at all. It was way too crowded and costs too much money. Most of the rides are indoor boat rides. Woop-dee-doo Please don't hate me if you disagree. This is just my opinion. I was also disappointed in the lack of characters that were visible. The only one we got to see and interact with was Stitch. I think Disney is way over-rated.
If you want to take your kids to a place that they will truly remember, you should try Legoland! My 5 year old could ride almost every ride in the park and the longest we ever had to wait in line was about 15 minutes; most lines were only about 5 minutes long. We had so much fun riding the rollercoasters over and over. There was also a double-decker merry-go-round. I had never seen that before and thought it was really cool. There were so many cool things to look at. There was an entire town that you could walk through and look at neat scenes made out of Legos. I really loved the Statue of Liberty and scenes that had functional boats made out of Legos that were in the water. We also watched a couple of 4d shows and a pirate show at the lake. We enjoyed Legoland so much that we took advantage of a promotion they have where you only have to pay $15 per person if you come back within 9 days. My advice: skip Disney and take your kids to Legoland!
The beach was an amazing experience for us. Besides my husband, this was the first time any of us had seen the ocean. Seeing it for the first time is something I don't think I'll ever forget. We first visited the Atlantic Ocean. I loved watching my sons filled with excitement as they played in the water and in the sand. We found so many neat seashells which was the highlight for us. My husband found some large, neat shells. When I thought I had found something cool, he would dive down and get it for me. My cool shells turned out to be a broken beer bottle and a brick. It's a good thing I didn't slice my foot open on the broken bottle! Our second trip was to the Siesta Keys. It was a beautiful, white sand beach. Although it was really pretty, it was less fun for the boys. They waves weren't that great and there weren't as many shells.
We had fun riding the golf-cart around the neighborhood (everyone there has a golf-cart). We loved seeing palm trees, alligators, and all kinds of different bird species. The weather was awesome. It mostly stayed in the 80's and we had very little rain. Another really cool place we visited was called Gatorama. We learned a lot about alligators and crocidiles. My husband and the boys got to hold a baby alligator: so cool! We did a lot of shopping and site seeing. We toured a state park where we saw more alligators and wildlife. I'm very thankful for being able to spend so much time with my parents (another great homeschool perk), but I don't plan on doing it again. I missed my hubby and my home too much!
Be blessed my friends!