Thursday, January 27, 2011

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Our Magical Adventure: Day 1

Grammie and Grandad generously gave us a very exciting Christmas present that we all enjoyed together this past weekend- our first family trip to Disney! We spent two days and one night having a truly magical time and making some great memories. I, of course, took a TON of pictures... well, actually just over 400, but I'll try to narrow it down to share here! And we confirmed that the gates to the Magic Kingdom are only about an hour from our house, so when these pictures (hopefully) make you want to have your own Magical Adventure, we have a room ready for you!! :)
The kids did amazingly well during our two full days. They both survived with NO naps, and staying up well past bedtime, with no major breakdowns or fits. A huge feat for Lincoln especially, who loves his sleep! I was surprised and relieved! Of course the ice cream every afternoon helped! ;) I was also surprised at how much we could actually D with a 2 & 3- year old. We had two full days at Magic Kingdom with plenty for even little ones to enjoy.
Starting Day 1: Georgia and Lincoln map out our day.
We made it- Cinderella's castle! Thankfully it was only chilly in the morning, and we could shed our coats for most of the day. Though it was hard to get Georgia to take off her princess hat and gloves, despite the beautiful sunshine!

Magic Kingdom does a great job having parades all throughout the day- this was in high gear as we walked in so the kids got the see Mickey, Minnie & friends right off!



And right after the parade was a show featuring all the Princesses with Mickey & Minnie- I think the kids were a bit starstruck!


Georgia loved visiting Mickey & Minnie's houses...
Tea for two, please!
Family pic in Minnie's pretty gazebo.
We even got to meet Mickey & Minnie in person! They both ran up and gave them hugs, then Lincoln started backing away... I guess that mouse looks a lot bigger in person!
He wasn't scared, just wary... better to stay close to sister!

We did all the classics, like It's a small world. I rode when little Hippo and I were allowed and was happy to sit with the stroller and document the moment at other times!
An afternoon parade- Lincoln literally almost jumped OFF Larry's shoulders when Mickey came into view this time! Larry caught him by a foot!

Ice cream- just what we need to chase away any no-nap blues!
Dumbo ride! Thank goodness Grammie likes to go up and down and round and round- mommy was happy to sit these out with baby hippo!


We watched a neat 3D movie- the kids both loved and were terrified by it! Lincoln was the smart one- he realized things wouldn't fly at you if you take the glasses off and refused to wear them anymore!

We saw Pooh and all his friends. (This one's for you Logan! :)
My kids LOVED the teacups!! Definitely get that from their daddy. Larry was taking it easy when they first got on and Georgia said, "your supposed to spin fast, daddy!" It was the only ride she asked to do again- they ended up doing it 3 times while we were there!


We bunked at the Fort Wilderness Lodge cabins, which was very neat, and then were ready for Day 2 to begin...

Our Magical Adventure: Day 2

Day 2 was just as Magical and fun-FILLED!

We had a special lunch at the Crystal Palace, "A Buffet with Character"- Pooh and friend characters, to be exact! First to our table was Tigger...
Who Lincoln immediately decided he did NOT like. He wouldn't even look at him! We tried to tell him Tigger is just like a big Auburn Tiger, but he was not buying it. (Logan Phelps- I hope Lincoln can still be your friend! ;)
From then on, whenever we saw Tigger around the room, Lincoln would hide his head in Grammie's lap.
He even tried closing his eyes! I guess Tigger was a strange shade of bright orange!
He was feeling slightly more welcoming when Pooh came to our table.
And had really warmed up to Piglet!
And who wouldn't want to love on Eyore!
After lunch we went in search of adventure. Of course, there was lots of time together waiting in line for our adventures!
On a magic carpet ride...
The kids weren't too sure about the Jungle Safari, even though we told them the animals weren't real!
At least these animals were non-threatning. Everyone loves the Country Bear Jamboree!
Riding the train was a highlight- funny the simple things kids love!
We saw Mickey's house again and Lincoln loved his Big Toolbench. Mickey's tools were "Craftsmouse" brand- instead of Craftsman! haha
But instead of hugging those famous mice again, this time we went to meet the Princesses!! Georgia was SO excited, especially about meeting Cinderella. Later she told me, "Mommy, Cinderella was my favorite. She was so beautiful!"
It was great to meet Belle too, since we recently watched our new Beauty and the Beast movie!
The Princesses were all so sweet to talk to the kids (Georgia) a bit. Arora had asked Georgia how she slept (since she had to be kissed by a Prince to wake up, being Sleeping Beauty and all) and here Georgia was telling her ALL about how she slept in a TALL (bottom) bunk bed last night (at the Ft Wilderness cabin). So cute!
Riding the People Mover was neat b/c it was like a little train ride- up high!
This wasn't the best picture, but the castle was so pretty as it changed colors at night.
We ended our fun time with the famous Disney Electrical Parade- very neat! And they mean it when they tell you to get a seat early- we got our spots at 6:10 for the 7pm parade and by 6:15 we were being jostled for our little space. But it was worth the wait!
Thank you, Grammie & Grandad, for a wonderful, Magical trip! We enjoyed making such fun memories with you and love you very much!