Confession - I always thought people were crazy when they took their young kids to Disneyworld. I always said our kids would be big enough to understand it was expensive and they were not allowed to have any meltdowns before we would ever consider going....but....this opportunity literally fell into our laps. When we found out we were going to Orlando with Great Grandma to visit Karl and Meg, I contacted my cousin, Michelle, who also lives near Orlando, to see if we could see her, too. She asked if we were going to Disney, to which I responded, "No." And then, she did the unthinkable. She offered to get us in for FREE! Of course I said yes =) I am SO incredibly thankful for her generosity, or we never would've considered going.
We were originally going to go on Thursday but it was supposed to rain, so we switched to Monday - which just to happened to be the nicest day of our entire vacation. 65 & sunny!! Yay!!
In the weeks leading up to Disney, I was reading blogs, memorizing the map of Magic Kingdom, and doing everything I could to plan out a super efficient day. I think it really paid off.
We woke the kids up at 6:45 and left by 7:15. They were singing "Let It Go," and "It's Disney Day," all the way there.
We were probably one of the first 50 cars in the parking lot, and we rode the first ferry of the day over to the park. Nailed it!
There we met up with Michelle and watched the Welcome Show at 8:40. It was great! We walked in and there was the castle! So magical =)
We walked through the castle and then Adley and I went to "Enchanted Tales with Belle," while the boys went to "7 Dwarfs Mine Train." Both of these typically have really long lines, so we wanted to book it there right away.
Enchanted Tales with Belle was a great way for my heart to overflow right off the bat. Each kid gets a part to play - Adley was the salt shaker ;) Then they act out the story and take their picture with Belle.
Parker and Ryan were already done when we we finished up. They rode in the front car of the roller coaster!! What a great start to the day.
Next we went over to check out the Beast's castle.
Then we went on Ariel's ride.
Next was Dumbo. For some reason Adley was SO excited about this ride, and she loved it.
Then we went to see Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie.
Adley loved Minnie - she didn't want to leave!
Next we went on the roller coaster, "Barnstormer." Adley was tall enough, but we had a slight feeling it was going to be a little scary. Ryan held her tight and she was laughing all the way up the hill...but she cried all the way down and for the rest of the ride =( Sorry, honey. She got over it quickly though! I don't think she's scarred for life.
Then we went on "Tomorrowland's Speedway," where Parker got to drive his own car. He loved that! Adley and I were in the car behind him and Ryan, and might've bumped them once or twice ;)
Next was the tea cups. It was already nearing lunch time, so we decided to save time by drinking a Nutrimeal in line. Genius!
Then we got in the tea cups and remembered it was a spinning ride...and we literally just drank our lunch in line. We decided to lay off on the spinning, and luckily we made it out through just fine!
We walked to the front of the castle to see Mickey's Magical Show. It had snipits of all the best movies, the singing and dancing was awesome, and the kids LOVED it! They were dancing along the whole time.
Then we got a coffee, had a snack, and sat down for a little while at a rest spot.
Next it was time to see Cinderella and Rapunzel! We were so excited for Adley, and she was pretty excited, too.
Cinderella took her by the hand and walked her over to take a picture. Adley knelt right next to her at first. So cute.
Adley blew her kisses and then walked over to Rapunzel, who ended up telling her a whole story about how her friend Vladimir likes unicorns ;)
They have the same smirk and same hair. They're pretty much BFF's.
So stinking cute!!! What a fun experience.
Next was the carousel.
Time for the Festival of Fantasy Parade! All the best characters were in it. Both kids were waving the entire time.
Next was the bathroom break at Rapunzel's tower.
A lot of blogs said to go back to your hotel for a rest time in the afternoon...but we decided to keep pressing on! We were getting a little tired of walking so we took a ferry ride for probably 20 minutes.
Then we walked over the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House.
We both look awesome in this one...hah!
Then we all drank some Rev 3 so we could make it through the fireworks.
The kids were pretty excited about that considering we've never let them have a sip before.
Next it was time for Parker and Ryan to go on Big Thunder Mountain! Adley and I went to the look out bridge and had another little snack. (I feel like 90% of these pictures have food in them, haha).
The boys got in the front car again!!
They did it!
We grabbed all of our stuff from the stroller and hopped on the Steam Engine that goes around the whole park.
Parker was getting a little tired, too ;)
We grabbed another stroller at the front of the park and went to find something to eat. Then I double-checked to see if the fireworks really were at 10pm. They sure were! I guess we have time for more rides!
We went the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. It's like a live comedy show almost. They pick people from the audience to be the characters from the movie. They said, "We need the cutest little girl to play, Boo." And they chose Adley! The light was really bright every time they shined it on us so she always had a funny look on her face. It was awesome.
We had pretty much accomplished everything we came to do and more. The other rides we were considering had really long waits, so we just sat down and waited for the Electric Parade to start.
Adley fell asleep almost immediately.
We got some popcorn and cotton candy to pass the time, and then we tried waking her up with some cotton candy for the Fireworks. No-go. She woke up and had it in her hand for a sec and then fell right back asleep.
We watched the parade, followed by the show on the castle, followed by the fireworks. She did wake up for bits and pieces during the fireworks, but my arms were burning holding her for that long! The fireworks were absolutely incredible!!! Everything about Disney World is done EXTREMELY well. I was really impressed.
We put the kids in the stroller to head back to the ferry. It really was the best day ever. I was getting really tired but Ryan was on a high. He was like, "I'll carry all the bags, I'll carry both kids, Let's do this again, This was the best!" =)
I think the kids had a great time.
The next morning we went to Disney Springs and let the kids pick out a souvenier. And we had to take one last picture with Mickey and Minnie.
It's been real, Disney World! Hope to be back again some day!!
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