We flew to Orlando the first weekend of May for a week-long visit to Walt Disney World Resort and the surrounding area. This was Elizabeth's first flight and even after three hours of delays with the airline, she was still very excited to see "Mickey's Castle". Tiffany was attending a conference later in the week, but we spent several days exploring various Disney theme parks before her conference started. Walt Disney World Resort was celebrating its 50th anniversary year during our visit.

In Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, we rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris where we were able to view elephants, rhinoceros, flamingos, zebra, ostrich, hippopotamus, giraffes, and many other animals. We also rode the Wildlife Express Train and Tiffany and Elizabeth took a spin on the TriceraTop ride. We hiked the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail to see birds, fish, gorillas, meerkats, water buffalo, and other animals. In addition to viewing all the animals, we also watched the KiteTails show and spent some time admiring the Tree of Life.

In Magic Kingdom Park, we visited the Cinderella Castle (which had been re-painted for the 50th anniversary celebration), rode the "it's a small world" ride, took a cruise on the Liberty Square Riverboat, toured the park on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, and Tiffany and Elizabeth enjoyed a ride on the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. We also had the opportunity to meet and take pictures with Mickey Mouse and watch the special 50th anniversary parade featuring Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and other Disney characters. Before leaving the park we also encountered Winnie the Pooh and friends. Elizabeth enjoyed riding the monorail and ferry boats to and from the park, and we all had a great time at the evening Disney Enchantment fireworks show.

One evening was spent at Disney Springs where Elizabeth was able to meet the Coca-Cola Polar Bear, we saw the impressive sculptures at the LEGO Store, had a nice meal at the Planet Hollywood restaurant, and enjoyed some ice cream from the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain. Before leaving Disney Springs we also took some portraits at the Disney PhotoPass Studio.

We did not spend every day at Disney parks, but instead broke up our time with a day trip to the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater area on the Gulf Coast. We toured the Florida Botanical Gardens, hiked the trail at De Soto National Memorial, and visited Gamble Plantation Historic State Park (the only surviving plantation house in South Florida). We also drove the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay and spent part of the day at John’s Pass where we played on the beach, watched dolphins and a manatee, had a nice meal at the Friendly Fisherman restaurant, and Elizabeth was able to walk in the ocean for the first time.

For the second half of our visit, Elizabeth’s grandparents joined us while Tiffany attended her conference at the Swan and Dolphin Resort. We visited Disney's Hollywood Studios where Benjamin and Elizabeth watched a short film called Vacation Fun (while the others rode a roller coaster), then they walked through the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge area to see all the impressive recreations from the world of Star Wars. Everyone met up in Toy Story Land, but unfortunately Elizabeth was too young for any of the rides or attractions in this park. Everyone then took photos with Minnie and Mickey Mouse and before leaving the park, we caught the end of the Pixar Pals Motorcade featuring characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Sulley, the Green Army Drum Crops, and Jessie. In the evening, we visited Pandora – The World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and rode the Na’vi River Journey ride. We then walked through the rest of the park and Benjamin and his mother rode the Kali River Rapids whitewater ride where they got soaked.

The next day, while Tiffany attended her conference, the rest of us visited EPCOT where we rode "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" ride and toured the aquarium. Elizabeth and Benjamin rode the Living with the Land boat ride while the other rode the Soarin' Around the World ride. The International Flower and Garden Festival was happening during our visit, so the park was decorated with many colorful topiaries and flowers. In the Mexico Pavilion we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride, then met and took pictures with Donald Duck. Finally, we walked through the rest of the counties in the World Showcase before picking Tiffany up from her conference and enjoying a nice meal at El Jefe Tequilas Taco Cantina.

We spent our final day (after Tiffany's conference had ended) at Magic Kingdom Park where everyone did several rides including the Mad Tea Party, Tomorrowland Speedway, Journey of the Little Mermaid, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and a final ride on the carrousel. Benjamin and Tiffany rode Splash Mountain while the others took a ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat and watched the Country Bear Jamboree. As we were leaving the park, we watched the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade featuring Moana, Merida, the Incredibles, Baloo and King Louie, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, and other Disney princesses and characters. We also spent an evening at ICON Park in Orlando where we rode "The Wheel" and Elizabeth enjoyed making a teddy bear at the Build-A-Bear store. Elizabeth also experienced swimming in a pool for the first time on this trip.

Benjamin and Tiffany spent several days in Miami Beach where they stayed at the Hotel Victor on Ocean Drive, in the heart of the Art Deco Historic District, just a few feet from South Beach. While in Miami Beach, they attended a Veteran’s Day Parade, walked the boardwalk to South Pointe Park to see the lighthouse and beach, had a great dinner at Gianni’s inside the former Versace Mansion, toured the Art Deco Museum, saw the Holocaust Memorial, and admired the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.

One afternoon, they took a private three-hour tour around Miami in a 1960 Buick Electra 225 with American Dream Tours. The tour took them through many Miami neighborhoods including the Design District, Wynwood, Downtown, Bayside, Brickell, Little Havana, and finally back to the Art Deco Historic District in Miami Beach.

Of course, no visit to Miami Beach would be complete without spending some time on the famous South Beach. Benjamin and Tiffany especially enjoyed seeing all the colorful art-deco inspired lifeguard stations strung out along the beach. In addition to some good Cuban food, they also had a nice meal at the Pink Taco, and some great seafood at CJ’s Crab Shack.

We flew to Orlando where Tiffany attended a conference at the Dolphin and Swan Convention Center at Walt Disney World. While there, we visited Epcot Park for the International Flower and Garden Festival. We also drove to Kennedy Space Center, where we took a bus tour through the facility and saw the Saturn V rocket and space shuttle Atlantis.

After visiting NASA, we drove through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge where we saw several manatee and many different types of birds before heading to the Atlantic coast. At Canaveral National Seashore we stumbled upon a nude beach, saw several turtles, and enjoyed a seafood dinner at Boston's Fish House.

We flew overnight to Orlando, rented a car, and drove north through Daytona Beach along the Atlantic coast to St. Augustine. Along the way, we saw the Daytona International Speedway, Fort Matanzas National Monument, and Castillo De San Marcos National Monument where we did a tour of the fort.

Leaving St. Augustine, we continued north to Jacksonville where we stopped at Fort Caroline National Memorial which is part of the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve. After a brief hike, we continued driving north to the Georgia state line.

A few days later we returned to Florida and visited Pensacola Beach where we had a nice meal at Crabs before visiting the Gulf Islands National Seashore to watch the sunset. Finally, we drove north through the Florida panhandle towards Alabama.

We flew to Fort Lauderdale, rented a car, and drove south through Miami to Homestead. While staying in the Homestead area we visited Everglades National Park where we did some short hikes, saw alligators, and drove through the park to the Flamingo area to see the ocean. We also visited the Convoy Point area of Biscayne National Park.

Leaving Homestead, we drove south on the Overseas Highway (US-1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. In Key West we stayed at the Eden House hotel and spent several days parasailing, biking around town, and watching the nightly Sunset Celebrations on Mallory Square. We also toured the Ernest Hemingway Home, took a sunset Catamaran Cruise, toured a US Coast Guard Cutter ship, visited the Southernmost Point Marker, and ate at several great Duval Street restaurants.

We took a day excursion from Key West to Dry Tortugas National Park on the Yankee Freedom ferry. After touring Fort Jefferson, we did some snorkeling, walked the moat around the fort, and did some bird watching on the beaches.