DISNEY

We just got back from the most amazing trip imaginable - Daddy and Mama took you to a week at Disney. This was a trip that has been planned for almost a year - Mama researched and researched and researched to make sure that we were prepared and everything had been thought of - (I think I needed a vacation after planning a vacation! Ha!)

Mama made a Mickey countdown poster where you would remove a Mickey every single day so you knew how many days were left until you got to see Mickey  Mouse. Nancy at daycare said you would update her everyday how many days were left. Saturday November 12th you removed the LAST Mickey Mouse which meant we were out of there! You had helped pack your little big - You grabbed your shampoo, your underwear and your socks - Mama got the rest ready ;) You pulled your bag down the hallway and helped Daddy load the car. Poppy drove with us so he could take our car home so it wasn't left there - You were so excited! We loaded the plane and you sat by the window - You were all set to go....until the airplane started to take off. Airplanes are loud and it can be a little bit scary as the plane starts down the runway and gains speed to get in the air - your eyes got really teary and you started to panic but as soon as the plane started to lift off the runway....you were fine! You loved watching us get higher and higher until we were above the clouds.

Once we landed and got situated in Orlando, Florida - it was about 7:30 and already dark. However, because we were in Florida and the weather was gorgeous....we checked into the resort and then walked around to explore. We stayed at Disney All Star Movie Resorts which was adorable - It had themed areas (Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, Mighty Ducks, Love Bug, and your favorite...Toy Story!) The resort had HUGE toy statues that you really enjoyed. We ate pizza and then got ready for bed - You had a big day planned for the next day!

Sunday
The first day of the trip was Disney Hollywood Studios! Even though you are a big boy that does not need a stroller anymore, we had bought a stroller specifically for the trip. Everything that Mama had read in her research said to definitely plan on having any younger children ride in a stroller as the parks are so huge and require a great deal of walking. It just so happened that the only lightweight stroller that was available at Walmart was MICKEY MOUSE! (worked out perfect!) So we packed our water bottles, the stroller, and took off for the Disney shuttle in our Mickey Mouse shirts. Disney Parks are massive and the intricate fine details all over the park is just amazing. We really were overwhelmed when we walked into the park - Mama had went to DisneyLand in California many many many years a go but never to Disney World... It is gigantic!

We utilized a service called "FastPass" which meant that six months prior to your trip, you are able to choose three rides to "skip the lines" at certain times throughout the day. Once you use those three passes, you may add another, then another, etc. etc. The very first ride we went on was called "The Great Movie Ride," it took us a "tour" of old movies that "came to life" The only one that you really knew was The Wizard of Oz but you still enjoyed it. After that we rode ride after ride after ride - Thank goodness for the stroller because you sat in it the entire time.

The highlight of your day was dinner at Hollywood and Vine. Little did you know that this was a character dinner...as soon as we entered the restaurant...there stood Goofy. Your eyes just lit up. It was a buffet style dinner (of course you took two bites of your food) but that was just fine because the way you looked when you saw Mickey Mouse was absolutely priceless. The characters all came up to our table and you got to hug them and then pose for a picture - Mama and Daddy had to hold you for all of the pictures EXCEPT Mickey Mouse. You ran as fast as you could and wrapped both of your arms around him for the biggest hug... I felt that my heart was going to burst.

Monday
Monday was MAGIC KINGDOM! The biggest and the most amazing Disney park of all. I could not even tell you how many rides we went on that day but we were there until it was way past dark...one ride after another. We utilized the Fast-passes again which really are lifesavers - I believe the longest we ever had to stand in line was 45 minutes and that was because we were in between our scheduled rides and had the time to waste. On our way to one of our scheduled rides we happened to see a crowd gathering near the street - turns out, there was a parade that was scheduled to start in about 20 minutes. We were almost the front row for it! Daddy put you on his shoulders and you oooohed and ahhhed at all of the Disney characters and the gigantic floats. Mickey and Minnie were the last ones in the parade and Mickey waved at you - You could not believe it! You said after meeting him the night before, you two were best friends! :)

You rode on your first rollercoaster and had a BLAST! In fact, we had to ride it two more times. I was so scared for you but I should have known better....you are all about speed! :)  Of course it was a very small rollercoaster that was designated for small children...but it was definitely fast enough for you!

The Disney Castle was completely decorated in Christmas lights - We stood and stared at it for the longest time because it was probably the most beautiful and amazing thing we had ever seen. We tried to take pictures of it but they just didn't do it justice.

Tuesday 
After all of the fun of the past two days, we had a scheduled rest day planned. We just hung out at our resort and relaxed for most of the day. We had a big evening planned but even we didn't know how BIG it would be! We boarded one of the shuttles that took us to our scheduled dinner at one of the surrounding resorts. Mama had signed us up for Mickey's Backyard BBQ but of course did not tell you anything more than we had a surprise coming. When we checked in, we found out that we were VIP's. You heard a band playing and immediately told us that you figured out your surprise - you said we were bringing you to listen to a band. Of course we went along with it and told you Yep! That's your surprise. You were excited. HOWEVER, once we got inside the restaurant you saw the truth... In walked Mickey and all of his friends (Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale, & Donald Duck!) We had thought dinner at Hollywood was fun but it turns out that we got to hang out and dance with Mickey and the gang! Seriously, this was the greatest night ever!!!!

We had a lot of food to eat, there was a band that was playing, and all of the kids got to have a dance party with Mickey and his friends. The whole dinner lasted about three hours... I had no idea what I was signing up for when I chose that dinner but it turned out to be the most magnificent and spectacular evening EVER!

Wednesday
Today we went to Animal Kingdom! This park is not nearly as large but it was still very neat. We started off by going on an animal safari - We go to drive through and see man different animals up close. Giraffes were right beside us! The best part of this park were the shows - specifically the Lion King Musical. It was something right out of Broadway! You loved it - You danced and sang along as you sat on my lap. At one point, one of the "monkeys" came off stage and tried to give you a high-five but you panicked and refused to. Ha! Mama gave him one for you. The show consisted of acrobats, fire dancing, music, huge animal floats, and overall...one heck of a performance! We also went to "Finding Nemo" the musical, which you really enjoyed. I'll tell you what you did NOT enjoy...the Bugs Life show. It was supposed to be a child-friendly 3D show...however, it became pretty intense and we quickly realized that it was probably a little too scary for you. We realized this when you started bawling and we had to run out of the theater.... :( Sorry baby. We had no idea. A grasshopper decided to come out and pretend to spray pesticide over all of the humans so we would know how it felt....then pretend spiders dropped from the ceiling and we were "stung" by bees. (The stinging was just a little painless poke that came out of our chair but just was supposed to make people jump and laugh.) However, for a 4 year old...all of that is very traumatic. So we ran out of there and did not look back!

Thursday
We finished the three Disney parks that we were scheduled to visit and spent today at Sea World. It was a very nice change of pace after the hectic crowd-packed Disney parks...Sea World was not very busy at all. We got to see the most amazing shows with sea lions, walruses, dolphins, and killer whales. Each show you wanted to sit in the "SOAKZONE" however we were lucky and never got wet at all. There were definitely people that left completely soaked though so we were lucky. Depending on what show we were watching, the whales would soak the audience, the dolphins would splash, or just the arena itself shot water out at certain areas. The shows were all so funny and you really enjoyed them.

Sea World also had several rides including another small rollercoaster that we rode over and over and over. Since there were no lines, there was one time we rode it 4 times in a row without ever having to get off! Ha!

Friday we had to say goodbye to our Disney Dream vacation and fly home. I will never be able to put into words how fantastic of a week it was...everything went perfect and went just as planned. The way you laughed and smiled non-stop was just priceless.