And so we were off. Three hours to our hotel, the Contemporary, with a balcony overlooking Magic Kingdown. "Are we there yet?" reminded us of another reason to keep this a secret for so long- it is agony for kids to have to wait to get a big prize, and this was the biggest!
We get to Disney World and there they were, Mickey ears everywhere! And trains! And boats! And Cinderella's castle! We weren't even in a park yet and the kids were satisfied. We spent the first day exploring our hotel with Aunt Taylor and Mark as well as Bon Bon and Grandpa and Lucy found the gift shops, which she was very happy to acquaint Bon Bon and Grandpa with. Graham and Harper loved watching the Mickey, Goofy and Donald characters working the crowds below our room and Graham greeted each and every train that came through the hotel throughout our stay. Lucy went down to the pool with her adult posse during naptime and won a trivia contest, then we all headed to dinner and then enjoyed the glowing water parade and fireworks from our balcony. The real fun was going to start the next day.
On Friday we headed to the Magic Kingdom. We were immediately greeted by Pinochio, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. When we rounded the corner and saw Cinderella's castle straight ahead, Harper gasped and Graham began yelling, "Cinderella's castle!" over and over again. Lucy was just taking it all in and exclaiming at random things from time to time. We headed to our first ride, the teacups, and we all spun ourselves into smiles and giggles. Then it was Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's A Small World and Fantasmic! The kids love each and every ride in Fantasyland. Graham rode the carousel a handful of times, all the kids ate ice cream to stave off lunch and Graham turned into Cinderella's pumpkin and had to be escorted to naptime.
The girls and I stayed back with Bon Bon and Grandpa to watch the afternoon parade and they were delighted to see all their favorite characters up close. And it was a good thing, they were obsessed with seeing Mary Poppins at Disney and this is the only place we saw her. Cotton candy to give them an energy boost and they were happy as little larks during the parade. Naps, and back to Magic Kingdom for a character meet and greet and Tomorrowland where they rode some of their favorite rides of the entire trip, Buzz Lightyear and the Speedway. The character meet and greet was one of the best times of our Disney trip. Graham has been a bit Mickey obsessed as of late and we just knew he was going to love meeting Mickey and Minnie in person. We were right, sort of. More like, the girls were thrilled and he was tentative. He liked seeing them from afar, but when it was time to see them up close, he wasn't so sure. Photos and smiles and we were off to meet the princesses. We stood in line and watched other little kids, primarily girls, gush over Aurora, Belle and Cinderella and then it was our turn. Harper and Lucy were the sweetest, they smiled and complimented the first two and Harper took turns telling each and every princess "You're my favorite!" She even ended up with a big lipstick kiss mark on her cheek from Belle. Graham was having none of it. Then it was time for Cinderella. The girls gushed. Harper told her, "You're my favorite" and just as they were getting ready for photos, Graham wriggled free from Ian and Bon Bon and ran up to Ciderella, tugged on her skirt and yelled, "I see your castle!" They chatted. He told her he was "4!" and then "9!" and told her a few more times that he sees her castle. They all take photos where Lucy and Graham hug and smile their way through several photos. Afterwards, Graham turns away and swipes his face as if to say, "I can't believe I just talked to Cinderella!"
Off to Tomorrowland. We all blasted our way through Buzz and Lucy and Graham were the designated drivers on speedway, which Harper chose to sit out since she didn't like the loud noise. Electric light parade and a quick trip home so we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. Not a bad way to end everyday- fireworks and a lightshow on the castle? Uh huh, they were lovin' it! (Friday was Magic Hours until 1am. Ian and I headed back to Magic Kindom for Haunten Mansion, roller coasters and splash mountain- one of the best parts of my trip!)
The next day we headed to Animal Kingdom. We all LOVED the Lion King show and then we did a few other things and then a monsoon arrived. No, not just a storm, it was raining buckets. We headed to Rainforest Cafe where we ate lunch and the kids enjoyed the storm show and the fish tanks. Two highlights from this lunch: a family of ponchos were bought and we all left the restaurant in tan ponchos that had hoods on them with safari-like brims- very chic. And Volcano!!!! What's that? Yep, the best grown-up moment of the trip. Bon Bon told the wait staff that it was Ian's birthday celebration and they agreed that the best way to celebrate this was with a giant cake shaped like a volcano in which the staff serve on a platter, held above their heads as they walk though the restaurant yelling, "Volcano!! Volcano!!! Volcano!!!!" Only hitch was that Ian wasn't at the table when they got there so they quickly stopped their yelling, backed up into each other, bumping and pushing each other away from our table while he coolly walked by. Hilarious. Then, once he was seated, they did the whole thing over again. Maybe you had to be there, but believe me, you wish you were!
We braved the elements back to the hotel where Lucy headed to Magic Kingdom to ride some rides like Pirates of the Caribbean while the little ones napped. We all met up again for dinner and more Magic Kingdom where the kids found anothr favorite ride, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It was during this trip to Magic Kingdom that Lucy learned she loved thrill rides. She discovered Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain and yelled, "get ready!" and "get ready to scream!" before every drop. For the entire rest of the trip she begged to ride these rides over and over again. The evening ended with Lucy and her grandparents staying in Magic Kingdom for fireworks and more rides while we watched the shows in our pajamas from the balcony so that the little guys could get to bed as early as possible.
Sunday we went to Hollywood Studios. The kids loved the Disney Junior show where they saw Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Mickey and Friends, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Then we headed to see the Beauty and the Beast show. On the way there Lucy, Ian and Bon Bon went to ride Tower of Terror since Lucy was so big in her britches and looking for a thrill. Well, not thrilling, apparently, but just Terror. She hated it and cried and swears she'll never ride it again. Note, I did not ride Tower of Terror. And I warned her- just sayin'.
So, back to Beauty and the Beast. This was one of my favorite moments of all of Disney. It is why you go when your kids are still able to believe that these are the actual characters that they have fallen in love with from movies and shows. When Beast is killed in the show I look over and Harper is sobbing. I mean tears streaming down her face and so sad. After some comforting she was jubilent when the Beast transforms into the Prince. So all is good. Second favorite moment from this show was when Rob leaned over to me and said, "what's his name?" "His name is Beast, Rob." It's really pretty simple.
Bon Bon and Grandpa said good bye from Hollywood Studios. We thank them for an amazing trip and know that the kids will remember it for years to come and are already looking ahead to when we can return. THANK YOU!!!!!
From our good-byes to more popsicles, rides and characters. Star Tours for Ian and Lucy, Muppets for me and the little ones. Lightning McQueen and Mater, Honey I shrunk the Kids and then a mad dash out of Hollywood Studios before another parade and another storm. We shuttle back, naps, pool time for Lucy and then back to Magic Kingdom. It was our last chance to ride our favorite rides. For Lucy that meant Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. For the little ones that meant It's A Small World, and we all met up for Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear, the light show and fireworks.
We had the most amazing time in Disney. Totally worth the total 35 hours of driving over 10 days, the stress of packing and unpacking multiple times. How many families get a beach trip and a Disney trip in one summer, much less in one trip? We saw two sets of grandparents, enjoyed Aunt Taylor at Disney and everyone overdosed on sweets, rides, smiles and Oh my gosh moments! Very magical indeed.
