Disney!

Our Ferry to the Magic Kingdom

Mickey's Philharmagic!

Woody and Jessie!

Minnie's House

We decided – kind of last minute for us – to go to Disney after the new year! We had been dreaming about doing it for over a year, and we finally decided the time had come. The price and crowds were right, so we did it!

It was a fabulous family trip. We left on New Year’s Day and drove to Gainesville. It was really fun to take the kids to see the UF Stadium and let them sit on the alligator outside. Now when they watch “Go Gators,” they’ll know where it is!

We spent the night on Thomas’ Marriott points and then got up and drove the rest of the way to Orlando on Sunday. The kids had a blast playing “elevator” with our room’s sliding closet door and loved being in an “apartment,” as Turner called it.

Sunday was the nicest day! We did not have any plans to go to the parks until Monday, so we were able to swim at the hotel (Wilderness Lodge) and walk around Downtown Disney that afternoon and evening. We ate supper at the Rainforest Café, which was such a fun experience for us all!

Turner loved the resort games – the hotel was a big part of her fun! Parker loved everything. He kept saying, “Mama, where we goin’?” When I would answer with our next thing, he’d say, “OHHHH… Yay!”

Monday, we hit the Magic Kingdom. We had a boat that went from our hotel straight to the entrance of the park. It was both fun and convenient! We were there for the park opening, which is really neat and sets the tone for the day! Both kids LOVED it! The whole day was magical and fun, and we had planned out our “route” the night before, which really paid off…we barely waited in one line all day!

The super highlights for the kids were: Peter Pan (Turner), Thunder Mountain roller coaster (Turner went FOUR times!), Aladdin’s magical carpet, Dumbo (Parker’s all-time favorite! He kept saying, “Ride elephant???”), the railroad (Again, Parker LOVED this! He would explain to me every time the whistle blew and bell rang and what the “conductor” was doing!).

We were able to do all these things and more several times over Monday and Tuesday. We ate at the House of Blues on Monday night and went back to the park for the night parade. We had a great spot on Main Street, and the kids loved every minute of it! Turner got sneezed on by Sneezy (the dwarf), which she thought was pretty funny!

Tuesday, we started our morning on a few rides and then were scheduled to have breakfast at Cinderella’s castle with Cinderella and several other princesses! This was really cool. Turner dressed up for it, and Thomas and I got a kick out of the fact that she chose a “Princess and the Pauper” dress and a non-matching shawl from a snowflake dress she has. She thought she was beautiful (and she really was!) and that was all that mattered! Several of the princesses remarked that her dress was “unique!” It was just as unique as its wearer!

The breakfast was neat, and Ariel, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty came up to our table and met Turner and Parker and took pictures. We thought of a question to ask each princess, and we had fun with that! (We asked Belle if she was scared to dance with a beast, Ariel which she liked best: her legs or her fins, Snow White how it felt to sleep so long, etc.)

We spent the rest of Tuesday on the “Turner plan,” re-riding the things she and Parker liked best. Our whole family took a two hour nap Tuesday afternoon, so we could return to the park… and THEN hit the hot tub in the dark, PAST bedtime (a HUGE novelty!).

Wednesday morning, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was a good morning, but it was much more crowded. Other than a couple shows and the African safari, we were honestly underwhelmed.

All in all, it was a very fun, very magical and very memorable trip. I am so thankful we were able to go, and I will treasure our time there forever!