Our Disney Experience

I know its the same thing everyone else says, but it was the BEST trip. We had the most amazing time. The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't too bad, the kids did very well considering the long drive and looooong days. It was magical. Truly. These recaps are going to be long, because I don't want to forget anything. So get ready.

Arrival Day

We arrived in Orlando Thursday, February 7. Since I forgot to tell Mindy to book an extra hotel only day, we had to stay off property that evening. We found a nice 1 bedroom suite in Old Town. We hit up Downtown Disney, well the World of Disney store and the Ghiraradelli Ice Cream shop, anyway. The store was huge, and the ice cream sundaes were delicious. We just hung out there for a bit and headed home for bed so we could be well rested for our first park day. 

Day 1, Magic Kingdom

Oh, man. Walking through the gates, seeing Main Street and all the people and hustle and bustle, wow. Then, that moment when you first see the castle- amazing. We took it easy and let the kids set the tone for the day, which meant we spent a lot of time just dancing around and playing in front of the castle before we really did anything.

We wandered around to Fantasyland, and decided to hop in line for an early lunch at Be Our Guest, or "Beast's Castle" as the kids referred to it. The line was long, but moved quickly. Inside was just beautiful. We ate in the elusive "West Wing" per Kadence's request. The attention to detail in this place was just amazing. They had ripped up curtains on the wall, the famed photo of the prince that Beast scratches up, and of course, the enchanted rose. I feel like one of the people on those infomercials, but you really do feel as though you stepped right into the movie! The food was very good as well, and it really set the "we are in Disney" tone.

After lunch, we rode Under The Sea- twice. Then we hopped right over to meet the star of the ride, Ariel herself. She was so cute and sweet with the kids.

On our way back through, we literally ran into Gaston. He was on his way to his break, and he stopped to give Kadence a kiss on the hand and tell her, "I'll be back so you can see me again", in his full on arrogant but funny Gaston-likeness. 

We then hopped on It's A Small World, with barely a 15 minute wait. The kids, especially Dylan, loved it. He kept waving to all the kids. 

We left shortly after to go check into our hotel and get a little break. We returned just in time for our Dessert Party, which was a blast. The kids loved picking out desserts and it was a chilled out atmosphere. We had a great view of the fireworks, and Tinkerbell flew right over our heads!

When the fireworks ended, I met up with my long time e-friend Caroline and her adorable family. The kids had a great time just running around together. Kadence loved their family so much, she thought it was totally appropriate to take a family picture with them. Caroline is one of my mommy board friends whom I have been wanting to meet since forever, so I was super happy to have been able to. :)

When they left, we decided to check out a couple more rides. Dumbo? Sure. Earlier in the day, there was a 30 minute wait just to get into the play area to wait for the ride. Tonight? Walked right on. Goofy's new rollercoaster, the Barnstormer, walked right on- and Kadence and Gavin sat together in their own seat. And oh my, did they LOVE it. We had to do it again right then.

Next up, Teacups. Again, we walked right on, twice. Sadly, they closed the park we had to leave, but it was that moment I realized that we are not "rope drop" people. We are a "close the place down" family. I decided right then I would not try to wake anyone up super early, and we would just stay at the parks until they closed if the kids were up for it. And they were! To be continued...