Hollywood Studios

Poor Gavin decided to end the cruise with a bang. He caught the stomach flu in the middle of our last night on the ship and we spent the rest of the night up with him. The poor kid was extremely sick, to the point that Jason had to carry him, limp in his arms, through the entire disembarkation. I'll spare you from the finale, but let's just say it involved someone else's luggage while waiting in line for our ride to Orlando.

But as more proof of how smoothly this trip went (even with illness), our Orlando hotel let us in six hours early and no one else caught the flu. When we arrived in Orlando, I tucked Gavin in bed, curled up with HGTV and sent everyone else out to Downtown Disney for the afternoon. They shopped, ate, looked at the sites and came back exhausted. It was wonderful staying on Disney property at the Holiday Inn, just two blocks from Downtown Disney and shuttle rides away from the parks.

For our final day, we headed out to the parks. Dwain and Benita took in Epcot, while the rest of us visited Hollywood Studios. I'd never been to this park, themed on Disney's movies, and was pleasantly surprised. It's definitely my favorite over Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

We met up with my cousins Christy, Jill and Gina, with their kids Ella and Sylvia. The day flew by meeting characters, attending several shows, eating enormous sandwiches for lunch, taking in the parade and stopping for more photos. Getting the cousins together was wonderful too.

We flew home the next morning, bright and early - our memory cards stuffed with photos, our suitcases brimming with trinkets and a little glimmer of sun on our faces. This really was one of the best trips I've ever taken, with family I love and adore. It was a Dream Vacation.