one more trip to disney!

we are back from a magical week at disney world! i am at a loss of where to start and what to share, so let's start at the very beginning....a very good place to start!

we arrived at disney world on the saturday after thanksgiving. yes, this was our third trip to disney this year... those season passes were burning a mickey-shaped hole in our pocket, and we just had to go one more time. and what better time to go than while everything is decorated for christmas? we did things a little differently this time by staying at a disney resort and using the disney dining plan. i will write more about that later, but in a nutshell, we loved the dining plan. we will probably never go back without it. our first stop after quickly checking in on saturday evening was to eat dinner at boma, a wonderful buffet at the animal kingdom lodge.


what a way to start out our week! the food was deeee-licious, the atmosphere was unique, and the service was awesome. here we are after this super buffet. we were so blessed to have brian's mom and dad join us for the week!


i was that annoying tourist who walked through the buffet with my camera, but for the record, i waited till there was no line. :)

there was salmon.


beef striploin.


ribs.


fresh fruit. really fresh.


the most delicious cornbread: mealie bread or something like that.


i tried some things with more of an "african flair", and i was so glad i did!

cous-cous with dried fruit and nuts


pearl cous-cous seafood soup (note the cous-cous theme!)


i had to snap a picture of my plate... it all looked so good. i'm getting hungry just looking at it again.


i was determined to save room for dessert because i'd read about these... zebra domes.


don't they look scrumptious?! and those little guys were in good company. i was so glad that the desserts were bite-sized because i wanted to try all of them. so i did.


and here's the aftermath. i just took a bite of most of them. even the zebra dome. it was good, but definitely not one of my favorites for the week.


the boma dessert award was an easy one... it most definitely went to this little treat:


do not let its monocromatic look fool you. there was nothing boring about this goodie. you are looking at crisp peanut brittle topped with creamy peanut buttery goodness... and i can't remember what was on the top, but it was good. yum. i went back for another one. or maybe two.

this trip was a sort of birthday celebration for caroline and brian's dad, and with their birthday pins, they received more birthday attention during the week than is necessary for 5 years! here are the birthday boy and girl with the first of several birthday treats!


amelia was pretty impossible during this meal (we'd been in the car all day), but i happened to snap this picture of her totally happy and charming. :) do not be deceived!!


after dinner, we explored the animal kingdom lodge a little. i'd heard it was amazing, and yep, it was.


we went out back to see if any animals were sneaking around in the dark... we saw zebras and giraffes enjoying the peace and quiet (well.... till we got there!).


the kids loved banging on these drums in the lobby.


amelia wasn't so sure what to do when this nice cast member gave her a shaky toy to dance around with!


after some dancing and some singing and some running and some melting down, it was time to head back to our resort! we had a great non-park day on sunday! be back soon with more.