Have I Told You I Heart Fall?

I do.  So much.

 This guy doesn't get a whole lotta face time, but he sure is yummy.

 

The Happiest Place on Earth

We arrived home yesterday morning after 6 days of jam packed action, magic, sweat, walking, waiting, oohing and aahing, sweat, waiting some more, walking some more, spending, a little more magic, swimming, laughing, screaming, cursing....it was the vacation that covered the gamut of experiences. We like to summarize our week at Disney World as lots of moments of magic with some not-so-magic moments in between.

I've been eagerly anticipating this vaca for months. Planning out every millisecond, making lists of all the attractions we needed to see, the rides Squirt was allowed to partake in, the rides Dude might freak out over, where we could eat, how we'd fit naps in etc etc. It was going to be legendary, to say the very least. Magical. The kids would have perma-smiles for 6 straight days, never fuss and be forever grateful to their amazingly awesome parents for giving them this coveted vacation experience. Never once did I think about the reality of weather, crowds, lines or claustrophobia. Which is good. It kept me giddy like the little girl who adored her times at Disney World growing up.

We arrived on a Saturday evening and were picked up by Grandpa Marc. He lives in Mobile and drove down in his Pilot, which he so generously shared with our troop. We stayed at a beautiful Marriott 3 bedroom condo just 5 miles outside the park entrance which Mom V arranged through her time share. We couldn't have asked for better accommodations. Tons of space, big kitchen, outdoor patio overlooking a pond with views of nightly fireworks...we're so grateful to Mom and Marc for sharing this place with us. It had multiple pools, which we frequented and thoroughly enjoyed. Our children just might coin the pool time as the highlight of their week, which sounds silly, but they laughed and frolicked and jumped and screamed and were catapulted and soaked in the sun all while not sweating their hynies off. Pool time was a very good thing. For all of us.

 

Back to business.  We started the week off at Sea World.  Both kids got a real kick out of the attractions there - lots of shows that Squirt could enjoy, which she did.  She clapped when appropriate, said "Wooooow" when appropriate, danced when appropriate and laughed when appropriate.  We loved watching her soak in the magic of the sea creatures.  Dude went on his very first roller coaster (Shamu) that day and decided that speed and twists and turns were where it was at for him.  We had no idea what his take would be, so this made me a very happy Mama.  We ended the day at a watery roller coaster, which Tim and I got a real kick out of.  Dude came with us and decided that while he was brave enough for these flights of adrenalin, he wasn't necessarily in love with the concept.  But he laughed and screamed along with us and put on his very bravest 5 year old face.  After that day we decided a stroller for Dude and a squirt bottle to soak our overheating selves with would be necessary moving forward. It was hot. So very hot.  Which, paired with thousands of bodies fighting for the same square foot of ground you're inhabiting, makes for some crabby humans. Crabby, sweaty humans.     

Monday was our day of magic.  We drove to the Epcot parking lot, which isn't as crowded, and hopped aboard the classic Disney monorail.  We arrived at the Magic Kingdom lot to find out that we had to board yet another monorail, this one containing a massive line of anxious, pushy and sweaty families just like us waiting to the do the same thing.  That monorail took us to the pearly gates we've been eagerly waiting for.  We walked Main Street, taking in all the sights and sounds and snapping photos with the castle so elegantly displayed behind us.  This was all part of the magic for me.  Wasn't so magical for the kids as they were sweating profusely by that point and could see nothing but people's legs around them, but that's okay.  There was more magic to come.

 Do you get a sense of the magic happenin' in this shot above?  Between the nose picking and the scowl, I don't know who's having a better walk down Main Street.

 That's a little better kids.

 In his 5.5 years, Dude had never sat on a carousal, so this was his lucky day.

 The new and improved Dumbo ride - that's Tim, Squirt and me on the bottom and Mom and Dude on the upper right. 

 The line for It's a Small World - still makes my heart go pitter patter. 

 The hottest parade on planet earth.  Didn't bother Dude, but Tim and I did look at each other at one point, each holding a child on our shoulders and said, "We might actually die of heat.  Right here.  Right now." 

 Squirt didn't see a whole lotta' magic at the parade.  She was just hot and wet.

Insider's tip - rather than paying $32 for your roller coaster photo, simply take a picture of the screen with your phone.  Magic.

 Mom took both kids on the Aladdin ride which was perfect for both ages.

 Squirt clapped multiple times during the Jungle Cruise.  Always right on cue. 

We fit in quite a few must-do's that day and had a great time sharing the rides we grew up idolizing with the kids.  We planned on going back to the condo for lunch and naps - not so realistic.  It would have taken over an hour just to get to our car, so we forced Squirt to sweat/sleep in her stroller while we forged on with Dude.  Marc was kind enough to hang with Squirt while Mom, Tim and I took Duder on more rides.  We shot at aliens with Buzz Light Year, laughed with the crew of Monsters Inc., zoomed through Space Mountain (which I still can't believe Dude did without peeing himself), watched a character filled parade, soared through the sunny sky in Dumbo, played in the Swiss Family Robinson tree, braved the Jungle Cruise, rode the magic carpets of Aladdin, sang our way through It's a Small World, bobbed our way around the carasoul, hung out with Winnie the Pooh for his 20 second bumpy ride....it was a great day all around.  We just had to come to the realization that there would be moments of magic in the midst of lots of waiting, walking and sweating.  The kids didn't wear perma-smiles, but they certainly did smile a lot.

Tuesday we hung low to conserve energy for our night at the Magic Kingdom.  We took the kids Downtown Disney where Dude was privileged enough to ride in the very hot air balloon we could see from our condo balcony.  That was magic for him.  We also spent an hour at the cooler than cool Lego Store.  Wish we could bottle that place up and put it in our basement.  That night, Tim and I took Dude back to Magic Kingdom for "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" from 7pm-midnight.  This, my friends, was our very best investment.  It was 100% magical.  No sun, no sweat, no lines, no crabby people...it was like having the Magic Kingdom right at your fingertips with nothing standing in your way.  We let Dude pick out whatever he wanted to do and ran around the park like we owned it.  We fit in Thunder Mountain Railroad, Peter Pan (twice), Dumbo (twice), Small World (twice), Pirates of the Caribbean, race cars, the awesomest 3-D movie ever, starring all your favorite Disney pals, another parade, the most impressive firework display known to man and finally, the creme de la creme, our one on one meetings with Mickey, Minnie and the Disney princesses. 

 Dude's hot air balloon friend.  Squirt hung out on the ground with me.

 See me?  Doing what else...taking pictures.

 Part of Disney's domain.  It's quite something.

 

 Lego store baby!

 This magically appeared in the sky that morning.  Yes, yes he does.

 

 

The "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" photos below...

 

 His favorite, Peter Pan.  It is a rather endearing little ride.

 

Characters used to roam around the parks freely.  They don't do that anymore.  You have to wait in massive lines in order to even get a glance at them.  So we took advantage that night and waited for 20 minutes to meet these famous icons.  And it was worth every second.  See below for photos of our little man meeting his dream girl, Rapunzel, with her long long hair.  It came his turn and we couldn't find him.  He was hiding behind Tim's legs.  If you know our son, you know that "Bashful" is NOT the dwarf he most closely resembles.  Unless Rapunzel is involved.

 Why are Rapunzel, Fynn Ryder and Dude looking at the wall?  Dude was so nervous that he couldn't bring himself to even look at his true love.  So he played with his glowing necklace in the corner.  And they were sweet enough to sit down with him, which brought him out of his bashful hole.

 He's holding her hand.  How freakin' sweet is that?  Coulda cared less about the dashing Fynn Ryder.

 These characters can act.  Look at her thrill over Dude's glowing necklace, the security blanket in which he used as a discussion piece for each princess.

 The.  Best.  Moment. Of.  Dude's.  Week (Life.)

 He didnt seem super impressed with Snow White, so he chatted it up with her.  No prob.

 Where is Dude?  In the corner hiding behind Cinderella of course, showing his glowing necklace to her and Prince Charming.  They all ended up behind that purple curtain to get a better viewing.  I thanked them for their kindness .  She called Dude "handsome" twice. Which made him blush. 

 

Then on to meet Mickey and Minnie, which was also exhilerating.  Tim and I even got in on the magic.

Wednesday we took on Hollywood Studios and I'll admit, Hollywood Studios won.  We were no match.  We did see an impressive Little Mermaid show, a car stunt show and the Disney Playhouse show, but that was about the extent of 5 hours of walking and listening to Squirt scream her little heart out every time we attempted to force her into her stroller.  Again.  And again.  The poor thing just wanted to be free and there's no such thing as freedom at Disney World.  The crowds will swallow you whole in a heartbeat.  We ended that day with a lovely dinner at an adult restaurant downtown Disney (no other kids in site, which was heavenly).  Mom treated the kids to souveniers and us to good food and wine, which was just what the doctor ordered.

 

Thursday Mom graciously volunteered to stay at the condo with Squirt, given her obvious feelings of bittnerness toward park life.  That made a significant difference in our day at Animal Kingdom.  It was my favorite of the parks with the lush landscape, plenty of shade and interesting attractions.  We completed 4 rides that day after waiting in lines, but our fourth and final experience was a soaker raft ride, leaving us refreshed and ready to head out. 

 The Tree of Life is a highlight at Animal Kingdom.  It's a structural masterpiece to say the least.  Animals are carved into the trunk. 

 This is the general feel of the park.  Lush and shaded.

 The Lion King show was a highight for me of the entire trip.  Super impressive.

 We went on a jungle safari that brings you face to face with African animals.  Dude loved it.

We ended our trip with a lovely steak dinner with Mom and Marc and one last hooray at the pool with the kids.  Marc had to leave us for a couple days after a good friend suddenly passed away.  It was a horribly sad situation and we missed having him around, but were so glad he was close enough to head back and be a part of the services. 

Mom and Marc truly know how to spoil us and our kids and we felt nothing but love and generosity from them the entire trip.  The kids adore both of them, as do we.  THANKS for joining us and spoiling us on this awesome trip - next time we'll lower our "magical" expectations and be a bit more realistic about the ins and outs of the happiest place on earth:)