Disney World!!!

Our trip to Disney World was very much anticipated. It had been booked and planned back in the fall. By planned, I mean I had daily itineraries of all the things we wanted to do and see even down to what characters would be where at various days and times. It got to a point in our house that Carter only associated his Mickey plush with an airplane! Finally the big day came....and pretty much everything went off without a hitch. Here is rough sketch of what we experienced everyday!

Day One: Our flight was at 10 am, and we were out the door at 7 am. Everything was packed the night before.  Gabrielle and Carter were both enthralled with the lights and the view of the planes. Checking in was easy. Before we knew it, we were on the plane. It wasn't full and Adam had an entire row directly behind me and the kids. The plane was full of little kids traveling to Disney World, so even though 2 hours seemed like a lot of time, we were in similar company. I can't even believe I was relieved to see other little kids and families on a plane. There was a time in my life where I would have avoided that completely!! Carter was all over the place, but luckily he had a few options. We weren't so lucky on the way home....

As we arrived in Florida, we disembarked and made our way to the exit to look for the Disney Magical Express. All we had to do was hop on and head to our hotel. Yes, it was that easy. Now need I mention that it was a fairly long walk? Not really. We were all eager to exercise our legs! Need I mention that we had to wait in line to get on the bus? Not especially. It was pretty short. The bus ride was about 35 minutes or so, but it delivered us to our hotel. We didn't have to deal with our luggage at all. It showed up in our room a few hours later. (Note: The luggage delivery is awesome, but it does require extra planning so that your carry-on bag has the things you will need for Disney World like shorts and flip-flops!) I also had a stroller delivered to our hotel from a stroller rental company. I really was going for convenience on this trip.

The hotel we chose was the Polynesian. It was a very good choice. (It is one of three hotels that are directly on the monorail line. When taking the monorail, one doesn't have to collapse any strollers, so with a slight pop up onto the monorail, you are good to go. Super convenient! I did not want to have to unload and collapse a stroller every time. The Magic Kingdom (which is the only park we visited) was only a 5 minute ride.)  We pretty much headed right to the park shortly after arriving at our hotel. It was probably 3:30ish by that time. We went straight to Fantasyland, which is largely new. It is the largest of the 4 "lands" and probably the most popular. Our very first ride was the Teacup ride followed by Dumbo. We hung out in Fantasyland for the remainder of the day. Some of our favorite ride in Fantasyland, in addition to the first two, were It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, and Ariel's Grotto. The kids loved It's a Small World. It's a Disney Classic. With the catchy tune and the ride through the different regions of the world seeing the animatronic children dancing, there is nothing scary about this boat ride! Peter Pan's ride was also very fun--dark at times--but with the happy Peter Pan music, it is a very  magical ride. We had dinner at a Pinocchio-themed fast casual restaurant. We had a meal plan that was very convenient. We stayed in the park until 8pm when the fireworks display started literally right over our heads. It was incredible really. It was long and quite amazing. It was loud for the kids, but they handled it.

Day Two: We headed to the park with the intention of having brunch at the new Be Our Guest Cafe, but the line was ridiculous long, so we had to pass on that. Definitely on my list for our next trip. We spent a little more time in Fantasyland at Mickey's Philharmagic 4D show and the The Adventure's of Winnie the Pooh. Mickey's Philharmagic was too loud and intense for Carter so I snuck our early with him. I thought the Winnie the Pooh ride would be a highlight of the day, however, it was actually kind of scary for the kids, especially Carter. There was a lot of focus on Heffalump's, and with some scary music and the some dark parts, it was too much for Carter. Gabrielle liked it. It wasn't as cool as I thought it would be, but hey, they all can't be my favorite. We were pretty hungry at this point, having only snacks for breakfast, so we headed out of Fantasyland to Liberty Square, where Adam and Gabrielle went on The Haunted Mansion ride. It is one of the best at the park, but Cartie was fast asleep in the stroller, and I have been on it many times, so the two of them had their own adventure. Gabrielle said it was kinda spooky. Adam thought it was cool. It is tastefully spooky in my opinion.  We headed into Frontierland, and had lunch at Pistol Pete's restaurant.  For the most part, the food is pretty good at the park. I never had a bad meal.

After lunch, Gabrielle and I went on Big Thunder Canyon. Another classic Disney ride!! Carter had fallen asleep again after having a full tummy. (While we didn't take Disney up on the offer, Adam and Gabrielle could have ridden the ride without waiting in line. Seeing as how Carter was too little to ride, there is a parent switch-a-roo option, all you have to do it see the ride attendant. Pretty cool!) Big Thunder Canyon is one of my favorites, and Gabrielle was so brave! However, it was a little too fast for her 4 1/2 year old taste... I was proud of her just for trying! Carter was awake and we visited with Woody and Jesse. Carter loves "Woogie"!!! The train station was right there, and Carter was especially delighted to ride on a real steam engine. We took a 20 minute ride around the entire park.  After the train, we headed into Adventureland. While there we went to the Enchanted Tiki Bird Room, and rode on Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride and the classic ride, The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Monday was a special day for Gabrielle as we had reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table located inside Cinderella's castle. It was a big, exciting event. Gabrielle was dressed just like her favorite princess, Aurora. Santa gave Gabrielle her dress, and she got a real Aurora tiara at Castle Couture the day before. She looked so adorable. She got to meet Cinderella when we first came in and got a professional photo with her. Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, and Jasmine all spent some time with Gabrielle at the table. Aurora gave her a lot of extra attention. The dinner was pretty fancy--even the kid's menu--Gabrielle had beef tips! The girls got wands and the boys got swords. (Oh yeah- 20 month old little boys and swords don't mix...or wands for that matter. Carter clocked me on the head with it, and I got a huge bump...and a headache!) Carter was too little for this event, but Gabrielle was at a perfect age. Luckily, I don't think the princesses noticed Carter chucking grapes at them when they were at other tables. Overall, a lovely experience for Gabrielle.

After our royal meal, we waited in a ridiculously long line to meet Tinkerbell and Periwinkle. (Periwinkle is Tinkerbell's long lost sister and a frost fairy.) Gabrielle loved meeting them, but we were not used to the long line, so unless they are a favorite character, I would pass on this attraction. We had just enough time afterward to head over to Main Street USA to get a seat (or stand rather) for the Electrical Parade. We should have arrived earlier, but no such luck. The electrical parade is not every night, so make sure not to miss it! We were about 3 rows back, but we were still able to see the parade, and it truly is a magical, must-see event!! We headed out of the park after the parade. Everyone was deliriously tired. It was a long, long day!

Day Three: It just happened to be my birthday. Celebrating birthdays at Disney World is really fun. Adam had balloons and a flower lei delivered to our room right after we checked in and that was a thoughtful touch and early bday surprise. Carter, Gabrielle, and Adam had "1st Time Visitor" buttons that they were given upon check-in, and I was given a birthday button with my name on it. Pretty much every Disney employee wished me a happy birthday, which was fun, seeing as how I have never traveled on my birthday, and for the first time ever was not in the cold! We learned from  our previous day's mistake about not have a proper breakfast, so we had a great breakfast at our hotel restaurant.

We had already seen a lot of what we wanted to see. The plan today was to revisit the favorites and see the things we had missed. We went back to Fantasyland and rode on the carousel again as well as It's a Small World. We also went on The Great Goofini which is a little roller coaster with a big top theme next to the Dumbo ride. We decided to take the train over to Adventureland again, so we had to collapse our stroller (OMG!!), and we hopped on the train. We headed back to the Agrabazaar and went on the Magic Carpet ride again. We also spent some time in Tomorrowland. There is a Buzz Lightyear ride that was fun. Overall, however, Tomorrowland was our least favorite. There are a lot of shows that are geared for kids that are a little bit older. Also, Gabrielle had no interest in Space Mountain, and I don't think she was tall enough anyway. Carter was too little to even be a passenger on the car ride, so we didn't spend very much time there! We found that our day was much more leisurely. We were able to catch the afternoon parade in which we had a great curb-side seat. The parade was awesome! A definite highlight for all. After that, we spent some time shopping on Main Street USA.

"It's a Small World After all"

We had dinner reservations for my birthday at Chef Mickey's which was located at the Contemporary hotel, and conveniently on the monorail line. This dinner was another highlight of the trip. It was a  much more laid back atmosphere as opposed to Cindy's Royal Table. All of the classic Disney characters came to the table and signed Gabrielle's autograph cook. Carter was in love. He thinks all the classic characters are so cool--Mick Mouse, Dondald, and Go-foo are his favorites. It was a nice buffet and they served alcohol with was a plus seeing as how Adam hadn't had a beer in several days! Awww, poor guy! All the characters and wait staff did a great song and dance in honor of all of those who were celebrating birthdays--there was lots of us! After dinner we moseyed back to our hotel. Another cool thing about the Polynesian was that you could see the fireworks from across the lake. It was a great view. Much better than over our heads! It was a great way to end the day and our last night at Disney World.

Day Four: I was pretty bummed that we had to leave today. We knew it was a quick trip, but I would have loved a day to lounge around. We had been pretty busy! We had a leisurely breakfast again, and Adam took Gabrielle to the pool. Check out was at 11, and it was going to take me every minute left to get us all packed up. We never had a chance to really explore the hotel, so sadly, on our last day we took a little time to look around. We found another less expensive restaurant (darn!) that had some interesting options. We also walked around and admired all the cool things at the hotel. It really felt like Hawaii with the flowers and the architecture, so that was a fun bonus, because who doesn't like Hawaii??!

The Magical Express came to get us, however, it wasn't very magical on the way home. We didn't have much time to spare at the airport, and before we knew it, we were headed back to DTW. The flight home was rough!! It was a packed flight and not a kid in sight other than my own. Gabrielle was a gem, but Carter was raring to go after is nap on the Magical Express:( He was a little pogo stick on the plane. He acted how a 20-month old should act! At one point he got his little hand stuck in the window shade. That was fun. Adam was several rows back, and he's a gem, so I'm sure he would have switched seats with me half way through, but honestly, I didn't want to put him through it. I figure the next time we fly, it can only be easier. Right?

Overall, our fun was great and our problems were few. I sold Adam on the trip and so we are already planning our return visit. Next time we'll add another park or two. We'll be traveling at a busier time, but hopefully we will have more time to spend there. It was a great "appetizer" trip as Adam likes to call it. The whole Disney experience is all very quality as many of you already know. We're planning on heading back in April 2015. Only two years from now. Spring break will hopefully be the week after Easter which also happens to be the week of Adam's and Gabrielle's birthdays. How fun would that be??!

Thanks for reading!
Colleen