WOOHOO!! We went to Disney World!!! Man alive, we have been waiting for this moment for a long time coming. If you recall, we had our fancy "Minnie Mouse" countdown and boy were we excited to get down to that last little ring! It was Saturday night, we all got our baths, put our cute minnie pjs on, and cut that last ring!!! Tomorrow morning, we are off to the most magical place on Earth!
We're going to Disney World! We're going to Disney World! We're going to Disney World!!!
Words nor pictures will truly explain the excitement, but to say the least, this house was hard to settle down on Saturday night. But, alas, we did. We got you two kiddos in bed as early as we could because we had a VERY early morning. Our flight left at 7:00 a.m., so we were out the door by 5! The plan was to pick both you and Sister straight out of bed into the car and head to the airport, which is why you wore your cutesy minnie pjs :) We were able to pick you up (not your crazy excited sister!) and put you in the car, but, again, there was way too much excitement to go back to sleep!
We got to the airport, made it through security and to our gate, and had a few minutes to play.
You didn't really understand that you were about to be on your first plane ride ever, but you were still excited nonetheless. Because you were under 2, you did not have to have an actual ticket, and, instead got to sit in Mommy's lap. Of course, that was only during take off and landing, because, otherwise, you were sitting right beside Sister. With that said, taking off and landing were quite the hassle. You did NOT want to sit in Mom's lap and were very upset that you didn't get to have your own seatbelt. Thankfully, the seatbelt sign went off fairly quickly, so you were happy sooner than later. You and Sister got to even eat breakfast on the plane!
It wasn't too bad of a plane ride thanks to Mimi and the bazillion things she packed for you to play with, oh and, of course, the phones.
Once we landed, we did some stretching at the airport and Sister taught you to call the policeman to tell on Mimi (a little inside joke!).
We did a little waiting, too, but both of you handled it very well, considering how early of a morning we had!
Finally we headed to the Magical Express and on the way to our resort!
This was Daddy's attempt to capture the moment of us entering the official Disney World gate. We learned quickly that 'perfect pictures' are overrated!!!
We arrived at our resort, The Wilderness Lodge, and were immediately impressed. You were thrilled with the number of stickers that were being passed out, and Daddy and Mommy were thrilled with the whole place!
Check in was easy breezy, and then there we were, in DisneyWorld, twiddling our thumbs, wondering what to do. We had planned to stay at the resort that day, not go to any park, but that was about the extent of our plans. So, we decided to try out the fancy pool!
I'd say you enjoyed it...
We swam for a bit and then decided to grab some food. Our schedule was a little off due to the early morning, but we eventually found it, which included a short nap for you :) We also decided to explore the resort which included a stop at the arcade. Daddy and Sister tried their hardest at the claw while you 'bowled'.
We continued on our exploration and walked upon a little sandy beach thing. Really just sand that led to water, but not like a beach. And actually those waters had alligators in them, which I did not know until after I dipped your toes in it a couple times and the resort people came up and told me that probably wasn't a great idea. Disney World Lesson #2 learned... Thankfully not the hard way.
While playing at said 'beach' we noticed these really cool bikes where our whole family could ride. You were so excited to try it out, Daddy, though, was a little hesitant. The guy assured us we'd be fine, so we took the plunge and went cycling as a family!
It was really neat. You and Sister rode up front while Mommy and Daddy did the peddling in the back. The guy told us a path to take down through some woods and low and behold, look what we came across...
It was awesome. Yes, we see deer a lot in Tennessee, but never while riding our bikes and never this close. This pretty little deer just stood there munching on some grass while we zoomed on by on our bikes! Just when we got over our excitement from the nature trail, we stumbled upon some horses!! Well, I say stumbled, but really we knew they were coming up, but you were just as thrilled!
Horseback riding!!! You were so excited about riding the horse, but I have to say, I was a bit nervous. I had to keep both hands on the reins, and not on you, and I was constantly worried you'd fall over. You did fantastic though! And loved saying "NEIGH" to the horse!
Eventually we hopped back on our bike and headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. We were eating at the resort that night, which was (shocker) a western themed restaurant. So, we saddled up and got prepared for dinner. Soon enough we got our table and boy was Mommy excited to sit down :)
Dinner was really fun. The waitress was very funny and threw straws at us and even made Mommy a really long straw so I could drink straight from the wine bottle (mainly because I spilt my glass all over the floor, but whatever). Also, if anyone wanted ketchup you had to scream 'BRING ME SOME KETCHUP' and like 30 bottles would come to your table. Another highlight of dinner was every so often, you'd have to go get your 'horse' and ride it around the restaurant. While Sister enjoyed this, you preferred to tease Daddy with the bread...
But probably the most exciting was the surprise we received after dinner. Somehow (we now know the travel agent put a note in our reservation) they knew it was your birthday and Sister's birthday (or at least we were there celebrating it!) and BAM! a huge cupcake appeared and everyone sang Happy Birthday to you both!
I think you enjoyed it, to say the least. Another lesson learned, after a few more meals - they give you a birthday cupcake at EVERY SINGLE MEAL! Even breakfast (if at a restaurant, that is)! We were cupcaked out by the end of this vacay. Ha, who am I kidding - you loved every last one of them!
By the end of the meal, I think the early morning/travel day/first day of vacation all caught up with us. You were on your 3rd or 4th wind and were being VERY silly!
Now, speaking of bed, let me just go ahead and say this. Of ALL the things to be stressed about when planning a trip to Disney, the one thing that was keeping me up at night was being kept up at night. I was so worried about the sleeping arrangements for us. We were staying in a hotel room with 2 queen beds. For most folks this probably isn't much of anything, but A) You sleeps in a pak n play and never has slept with us, B) Sister sleeps in her bed and C) you both go to be MUCH earlier than Mommy and Daddy. So I didn't know how I was going to get you asleep, then Sister asleep, then what Daddy and I would do for the couple hours after. Well, let me just say, I wasted much needed energy worrying about that! We ALL were so exhausted every single night that we'd come in, put you down in her area (the bathroom area in the pak n play) then Sister would crawl in her bed, I'd be in mine (Daddy would be at the bar downstairs) and the lights would go out and BAM, you two would be asleep before I could count to 10! Then I'd turn the TV, and BAM, I would be asleep in 10 seconds! Ha! It made me laugh after it was all said and done because it was so easy, sleeping that is!
SO, we made it through our first day and we still loved each other! It was an incredibly long day, so I do give us props for that.
Monday morning came around a little too early for us, but hey, we're on vacation. That's what you do, set alarms on vacations, right?! On a side note, we do not set alarms at home so it was a bit of a shocker to not wake up naturally on vacation! Anyway, we're in Disney World - we'll do whatever we have to do! So we did - awake and fixing hair, bright and early!!
The place we stayed was very close to Magic Kingdom, so close, it only took a 5 minute ferry ride to get there! You both loved the boat ride and I have to say, Mommy liked it too!
We made it to Magic Kingdom before the doors even opened, which was exactly what we wanted and we got to see the opening 'parade' with all the dancers and Mickey and Minnie and all kinds of other characters. It was SOOOO exciting. I think I had a few tears come down I was so excited. They played this 'welcome to Disney' song, or something that just made my heart swell with joy and then they opened the gates!!!
HOORAY!! WE MADE IT TO DISNEYWORLD!!!!!
Let the adventures begin and may the odds be ever in our favor! And, so they were, sort of...
So off we went. Now, our lovely travel agent gave us this wonderful hint - go left, not right, like everyone else. So we did and guess who ran into with no line, why Chip and Dale. Mommy was a little nervous about how you and your sister would react to them, but surprisingly, you were happy to see them and wanted to say hello. So we got out our fancy picture frame mats (yep, who needs autograph books when you got fancy mats for them to frame!) and you immediately went to give Chip a hug, mainly because Sister did. I was THRILLED. Let me repeat that - I was THRILLED!!! I could not believe both of you were giving a costume headed character a hug. But then something clicked with you, and you climbed right up in Dad's arms...
And then the photographer asked you to turn around to get a picture. And then you cried. That was it... That's all it took. You refused to step anywhere near them, or any other costume headed character after that. So, Mommy took the picture.
No biggie, it was only the early morning of the first day. Well, except I knew where this would end. Here's a little glimpse into the future - we went to Disney World and did not get a single picture (or autograph) from Mickey, Minnie, Donald, or any other character with a costume head!!! Oh well, we still had so much fun!
So we quickly went away from Chip and Dale and happened upon the Magic Carpet Ride ride. We hopped right on and were thrilled to finally be riding. All four of us rode and had so much fun. You got to ride with Daddy right behind us!
When we got off, we walked right up to someone standing in line. We asked what they were waiting for and the Disney staff person said Aladdin and Jasmine were about to walk out for a meet and greet. This was VERY exciting news for us all because A) not costume heads and B) it was Aladdin and Jasmine - Mommy's fave! (Side note: Both you and Sister were wearing your "It's My Birthday" buttons). We waited in line maybe 2 minutes (we were second in line) and all of a sudden we heard 2 people saying "Where is Abby? Where is Kate? We want to wish them a Happy Birthday." IT WAS ALADDIN AND JASMINE! They knew it was your birthday and were looking for you!! At first we were all shocked! Then, Aladdin asked Sister if she wanted to go ride on the Magic Carpet ride with him and you with Jasmine. Let me repeat that so it will sink in - Aladdin and Jasmine asked you to ride with them on the Magic Carpet ride. This, my sweet darling, precious, daughter, was a once in a lifetime kind of gig. Sister, however, did not recognize it as that and just ran. She gets scared like that. Or at least she did this time! But you stood in line and waited patiently while Aladdin went to the ride and found some other friends to ride. Finally Jasmine and Aladdin came back to meet us and you were thrilled to meet Jasmine.
And he did! And convinced her to come back and get a picture with all of you!
Group hug!!!
AHHHH!! Perfect picture!!! This made Mommy's heart swell with happiness!
Off we went to explore more of Magic Kingdom! We continued around the 'opposite' way and it seemed to work. We came upon a roller coaster that you couldn't ride but were nice enough to watch for Sister as she rode by. Of course, it helped there were fences to climb on :)
Let's see, we rode It's a Small World, oh, I'd say 200 times. You and Sister both loved this one and every time it was like you'd never ridden it before!
Let's see, Peter Pan was pretty awesome (we loved flying over London and saying "Do you see Uncle Martin?", and the Carousel, oh and Mermaid, where we sang every single song along the way, and Winnie the Pooh! All of them, awesome! We rode and rode and rode and rode!
"Waiting" for Pooh!
Daddy even bought us a fan because it was so hot! Lesson #whatever, always buy 2 of everything...
We got plenty of riding in and loved every minute of it. There was the Goofy roller coaster, which you loved, and Dumbo and the Tea Cups. We rode lots of them multiple times and really didn't have too many we had to wait on, which was perfect. Eventually we had to end our day at Magic Kingdom and head to dinner. We had a special "princess" dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. Sister decided for both of you to dress up like her favorite, Arial. I think you loved the idea! Mimi surprised both of you dresses and, of course, all the fixings including tiaras and wands! We hopped on our boat and headed over to dinner!
Here we are looking all dapper for our special "Happily Ever After" dinner...
And then here we are, looking for Sister...
Yes, your sister was a bit concerned about Cinderella's evil step sisters and mom, so much she hid under the table. The whole time. We tried to tell her that all was good, especially when Cinderla-la strolled over. She didn't want any part of it, but you absolutely wanted your picture with her! You LOVED Cinderla-la and were thrilled to see her!
We missed the picture with Prince Charming (Mommy's fault), but we did grab pictures with those silly step sisters. They weren't mean at all, just really silly!!
You were a little skeptical on the step-mom, but she, too, wasn't that bad! Just was very conceited, thought she looked prettier than any of us! Ha!!
Dinner was a little bit stressful between keeping up with Sister under the table, grabbing food for everyone (it was buffet style) and taking pictures, but it was fun for most of us and worth doing again (when Sister feels more comfortable with the mean people ;)
Afterwards, though, we were all wound up again!!
Afterwards, though, we were all wound up again!!
What a crazy evening, for sure! I did NOT expect that at all. Lesson #320, expect the unexpected, or well, don't have expectations, or well, just go with the flow.
What a fabulous first day at the parks. You were such a trooper with waiting while Sister rode rides, or riding all the rides, and you loved loved loved riding all the rides. The roller coaster was probably your favorite but at first you screamed "HELP DADDY!" but by the end of it you were smiling and saying "again! again!" You are a thrill seeker, which is great in this family! I loved our first day of Magic Kingdom and know we will have many, many more magical days ahead of us!!!
What a fabulous first day at the parks. You were such a trooper with waiting while Sister rode rides, or riding all the rides, and you loved loved loved riding all the rides. The roller coaster was probably your favorite but at first you screamed "HELP DADDY!" but by the end of it you were smiling and saying "again! again!" You are a thrill seeker, which is great in this family! I loved our first day of Magic Kingdom and know we will have many, many more magical days ahead of us!!!
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