Our trip to Disney World in November was so much fun! Two and a half weeks later, I am finally starting to get caught back up with life and am sitting down to write about it! I really, really love Disney and can't imagine a more fun place to get away with your family. I am just amazed at the detail and complexity of all of the Disney parks. I can't even imagine the planning and creativity it took to pull it all off-and it's ever growing and changing! It really is an amazing, magical place. Before our trip, I asked my friend (who has taken her kids to Disney for years) what she thought the best age was to take your kids. I really liked her answer. She said whatever age your kids are is the best age! I think that is so true because the trip can look so differently each time you go. She said age 3 is a magical time because the kids are so enamored with the characters. I definitely found that to be true for Hannah. I had no idea how excited she would be to see all of the characters! That was a very fun part of our trip that we didn't experience the last time we were there! And as kids get older, there are rides and restaurants that would be more enjoyable than with babies and toddlers. So, I would say whenever your family goes is the perfect time to go! And if you go several times, it will be a different experience each time!
The first day we got there, we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom. It just seems right to start there. You have to walk in and see Cinderella's castle right off the bat. It gives me goose bumps every time! It is a beautiful piece of architecture! After stopping for a quick, first picture, we ate dinner at Cosmic Ray's, rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (Hannah was scared of it?!), the Mad Tea Party (one of Hannah's new favorites!), It's a Small World (still Hannah's favorite!), and Prince Charming's Regal Carousel. Then, we got to see the castle lit up with Christmas lights. One word-AMAZING! I mean, I thought the castle could not get any more beautiful, but cover it with thousands of white Christmas lights... and it is breathtaking! It looked like it was covered with diamonds. I never got tired of looking at it. It was indescribable, really. Just simply, breathtakingly beautiful!
Magic Kingdom was closing early that night, so we headed over to Hollywood Studios just to see The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, which is their Christmas light display. Again, AMAZING!!! It was so beautiful. There were several "blocks" at the back of the park covered with literally 5 million Christmas lights, and they all danced to Christmas music that was playing throughout the park. It was awesome. We just stood there in awe, for quite a long time. We took pictures and just enjoyed it. Definitely a sight to see! Hannah eventually fell asleep in the stroller, so we walked around, got some yummy snacks and headed back to the room. It had been a LONG day of traveling... from our house, to the airport, to Orlando, to our hotel room, to Magic Kingdom, to Hollywood Studios... that's a big day! We went back to the room and crashed!
The next morning, we headed to Epcot. We spotted a place where we could meet several of the Disney characters, so we stopped for some pictures. Hannah was SO EXCITED about this! She hugged all of them and cheesed for her pictures!
We then rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin' (my favorite ride at Epcot!!), and Spaceship Earth. We went to a shop where you can try pops from all over the world. Finally, we rode The Grand Fiesta Tour and ate lunch at The Cantina de San Angel.
We went back to our room just for Hannah to get dressed up in her Rapunzel dress for our first princess dinner at 1900 Park Fare, which is in The Grand Floridian, one of Disney's fancy resorts! It was fun just to get to go see the hotel itself! It was beautiful and a very nice place to stay, I'm sure. The main lobby was decorated for Christmas with a HUGE gingerbread house, about 15 feet tall, I would say. It was really cool! It was a fun dinner, but I will say it was just about the least relaxing dinner of my life! The characters came around to the tables, one by one, and they were nearing our table when we got there, so I waited to get food to meet all of them with Hannah. We talked with each one and took pictures. Then, Hannah got to dance with Prince Charming and Cinderella! After that, Hannah wanted to change clothes, so I took her to the bathroom. Also, Jacob needed a diaper change, so I took him to the bathroom. It was a buffet dinner, so I had to go through the line and get their food and then go back and get mine. I felt like I was up more than I was down. By the end of dinner, I was exhausted!
After dinner, we headed back to The Magic Kingdom, and I took Hannah on the Tomorrowland Speedway while Josh hung out with Jacob. Then we all had a rootbeer float and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. We got to see some of the Main Street Parade, and we got a great spot for the Wishes Fireworks. I have to say, the firework show at The Magic Kingdom is probably one of my favorite parts of Disney World. It's not that the fireworks are the most spectacular I've ever seen; it's just the feeling in the park when the show is going on. Everyone freezes and watches in awe as the castle lights up, Tinker Bell makes her famous flight down from the castle, and the "Wishes" music plays over the speakers for everyone in the park to hear. I just stood there, holding both of my babies, loving every second of it. That is a moment in time I will never forget. It just about makes me cry. I really could have sobbed like a baby if I would have allowed myself. It is just a magical moment.
The next morning, we hit Hollywood Studios. We did most of the things we knew Hannah would like-Disney Playhouse Live! (great show!), met Winnie the Pooh, saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, and our FAVORITE-rode Toy Story Midway Mania (the best ride in all the parks, in my opinion!). We had lunch at The Pizza Planet which is a fun little place mocked off of Toy Story!
Then, we skipped going back to our room and headed over to The Animal Kingdom because we were having dinner over there. Before dinner, we rode The Triceratop Spin, saw (part of) the Finding Nemo show, went on the Kilimanjaro Safari (the best thing at Animal Kingdom in my opinion), and watched the Jingle Jungle Parade. It was a fun afternoon, but I have to admit that The Animal Kingdom is our least favorite park, and I'm not even sure that we will go there the next time we go to Disney. Don't get me wrong... it's worth going to if you've never been there, but I wouldn't go over and over again. That night, we had dinner at Boma, which is at The Animal Kingdom Lodge, another one of the upscale resorts. It was a fun, African inspired restaurant with lots of different foods. We really enjoyed it, especially the "jungle juice!"
After dinner, we went to Downtown Disney, which is something we didn't do last time. They have lots of neat shops and restaurants there. We bought a bunch of Disney Mr. Potato head pieces. We had a lot of fun picking them out. You get a box and fit as many pieces in as you can for $20. I was really excited about the Tinker Bell pieces, and Josh picked some Buzz Lightyear and Star Wars pieces, as well as some classic Disney pieces!
On Wednesday morning, we went to The Magic Kingdom again. Our first stop was at the princess meet and greet. Hannah got to talk and have pictures with Belle and Sleeping Beauty. She LOVED it. She was absolutely giddy and just beaming! Shortly after that, we headed to the Harmony Barber Shop so Hannah and Jacob could BOTH get their FIRST haircuts ever! We had been planning this for awhile and were excited! Both kids really were due for a haircut! Jacob went first. I was constantly sweeping his bangs out of his eyes and tucking his hair behind his ears, so she gave him a nice, clean cut. It seemed pretty short at first, but it was definitely needed and I think he looks really cute! For Hannah, I told her to cut 4" or whatever she thought. She decided to go with 7" because that's where her tangles got bad. I was ok with that. Even after getting 7" off, her hair is still past her shoulder blades, so it was pretty long (past her waistline)! It's easier to brush now too! Both kids did great with their haircuts and really didn't even seem to notice that anything was happening. They gave them certificates and Mickey ears that said "First Haircut!"
(Yes, that's after getting 7" off!!)
We spent the rest of the day riding all kinds of things-Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Teacups, Winnie the Pooh, and Jungle Cruise. Also, Josh wanted to go on a few things that would have been scary to Hannah, so he took Jacob to the Haunted Mansion while I took Hannah on It's a Small World again, and he went to Pirates of the Caribbean while I took Hannah on Aladdin twice (there was no line!). We had lunch at Pecos Bill's, caught some shows on the main stage, watched a little parade, and met Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. It's just fun sometimes to see what you run into!
That night, we had dinner in The Magic Kingdom at The Crystal Palace. It was a really fun dinner with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Hannah was over-the-top excited about this too! I was surprised and excited that she loved it so much!
The next day, we went back to Epcot. We decided to have a leisurely morning and walk around all of the countries at the back of the park. We didn't take the time to do that on our last trip, so it was enjoyable. We stopped for lunch in Japan which was good, but I kind of wished we had eaten in France! Their sandwiches looked amazing. We did have dessert there, and it was incredible! Also, we met Snow White in Germany and Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco. Hannah was beaming! We also did Journey into Imagination which has some fun things for little ones.
For the first time that week, we went back to our room for a rest time, but no one slept... even though we were all exhausted! We went to dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian that night, another fancy hotel. It was a delicious dinner, and they had a few fun activities for the kids. We headed back to the hotel early that night. We had been running like crazy! I think I fell asleep by 8 or so!
The next morning, we got going to Hollywood Studios. We did all the rides Josh and I really wanted to do-Rock n Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Josh did Tower of Terror, we rode Toy Story Mania again (LOVE!), and I took the kids to The Beauty and the Beast show, while Josh went to Indiana Jones. We had lunch at the Backlot Express, which was a nice place to go because it had free refills (most places there don't!).
Our last dinner was at Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle at Disney World. It is SO COOL to be able to go IN the castle. It is so beautiful inside! The dinner had changed (for the better!) since we were there last. Instead of just Cinderella, there was also Belle, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White! That was SO FUN for Hannah; she really loved meeting the princesses! After dinner, we rode It's a Small World again for Hannah (she just LOVES that ride!).
Then, we got really crazy and decided since it was our last night, we HAD to see the lights at Hollywood Studios again, so we jetted off. It took A LONG time to get there, and we made it just in the nick of time! We got there 5 minutes before the park closed. But, the good thing (which we were not aware of) was that they keep the lights going for another hour after closing! So our family got to hang out in the middle of the Christmas lights and music for an hour. It was a special final evening of our trip! That is another moment I just won't ever forget. We danced in the streets and took pictures and got some fun Christmas treats. Definitely a night to remember. I'm really glad we went back!
The next day was our last day. We got all packed up and headed to The Magic Kingdom one last time. We rode the teacups and It's a Small World again (4th time, if you're counting). We told Hannah she could pick a souveneir. She wanted a Buzz Lightyear more than anything (any princess, Mickey, etc.!). I thought that was funny because the only thing she didn't like all week was the Buzz Lightyear ride. She kept talking about how scary it was! But, we bought her the Buzz that she wanted! The crowds were coming in for the holidays and we couldn't believe the change in lines, etc. Luckily, we had already done most of what we wanted to do! It was so hard to walk out of the park that day. It just made me really sad. I was trying so hard not to cry, but I did once we got to the bus stop. Josh gave me a hug, kissed me on the cheek, and whispered, "It's ok, we'll be back." And that made it ok. I really just love Disney World and look forward to going again someday....!
