It is true what they say....Disney is truly a magical place! We just recently returned from our 6 day trip to Disney with the kids and Nana & Grandpa. The weather was in the 80's everyday, with only a few short periods of rainfall a couple days, and the kids were completely saturated in Disney events.
Mackenzie has honestly been asking "when are we going to Disney?" for 3 1/2 years....no joke! I knew she would love it, but had no that it could live up to her memory the second time around. It was every bit as magical as she remembered it to be as a 2 year old. Caleb was the exact same age on this trip that Mackenzie was, and it is still hard to believe that she has such vivid memories of our trip, and that hopefully he will too! She of course loved all the character dinners involving the princesses, and would have been completely content riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Expedition Everest and every other rollercoaster ride available to her height. She was completely fearless and would beg to get back in line before the ride even came to a complete stop!
Caleb had a blast at all the parades and nightly firework shows, loved the princesses, and was eager to ride any ride that he could. He was not always a fan of the big, oversized characters; in fact, Donald Duck was the 1st Character we ran into and he was a bit apprehensive handling Donald his autograph book. So, of course, why not chuck it right into Donald Duck's face? Yep, that's my boy. Not going to miss getting his autograph, but not going to hand it to a giant oversized duck either!
Nana and Grandpa enjoyed it just as much as the little ones. I love that both sets of Grandparents have now gotten to watch the joy through their grandchildren's eyes. Nana got herself a scooter so she could buzz around the parks and give her troubling hips a break. That was entertainment in itself. By the end of the trip, she had mastered that scooter and it's speed settings, and could be seen whizzing around tooting her little horn. :) She was an amazing help with Caleb, so we could ride rides he was too small for, and as usual, they were best buddies. Nana loved the Disney shows and even rode several rides herself, Small World being her favorite! Grandpa was a little kid at heart....just as I remember him from my trips to Disney as a little girl. He rode every ride, and was up for anything and everything. I loved hearing him laughing his way through Space Mountain with Kenzie and watching the two of them ride rides together.
Jeremy was of course the "Director of Disney Fun" and mapped out where we would go and planned an amazing adventure for all of us. It didn't matter how early we had to wake up for a character meal, or if a rain shower came through, or a parade was delayed...he was excited and ready for whatever lie ahead of us. He was a little kid at heart, and I loved seeing him enjoy every aspect, after all the hard work he put into planning this trip. It was truly a trip that we will never forget and one that will be engraved in all of our memories for years to come!
And now...photos from the trip. Get ready for picture overload!
Day 1: Departing to Disney:
We were up before 5 a.m., out the door at 6:00 and on the plane by 7:30 a.m. Forget the 4 hrs of sleep we got after packing and prepping the night before, we were full of adrenaline and ready to begin our much awaited trip!
wait a minute, how did I get stuck in the row with 2 kids? :) I have to say, they were perfect little travelers, so they made it a breeze!
These sweeties did fabulous. They were champion travelers. I couldn't have been more proud! We barely made a dent in their backpacks...which were stocked with activities, snacks and books.
Touchdown...and our 1st "character" sighting, in the airport!
...from the airport we were shuttled to our new home. Thanksfully, we squeezed in a quick nap to prepare for our full day of fun!
Our Home Away from Home....Fort Wilderness Lodge
it's like living in a log cabin. Breath-takingly beautiful!
...and this pool wasn't too shabby either!
One of my favorite parts of staying here was taking the boat ride over to Magic Kingdom. It was such a
peaceful ride and I loved walking down the pathway through the canopy of trees.
on our way to Magic Kingdom!
But....my FAVORITE place....is below....
....and the sign says it all..."Let the Memories Begin!"
Getting ready for our first Parade
...and then on to get our first upclose glance of the Princess Castle!
...and this little guy thought he was hot stuff in this Mickey hat....and I agree!
...and what better way to end the day than with Space Mountain with our little girl. If memory serves, we rode it twice in a row as it was quite the thrill-seeking hit!
...and while she looks terrified, she actually is NOT. I asked her about it after viewing this picture with Grandpa and me, but she said, she didn't like the loud noises so she covered her ears. :)
Onto Day 2: We slept in til 9 and then got ready and headed over to Epcot to do Lunch with the Princesses at Akershus. It was a-maz-ing! One of my all time favorite memories from the trip! My sweet girl FINALLY got to see her beloved princesses, talk to them and take pictures of a lifetime. After this lunch, I could've loaded back up on the plane and headed home. Mission accomplished.
After a picture at the entrance, we were off to find the princesses!
The kids adored having their autograph book filled out by each princess!
could my sweet girl look any happier?
...and then we headed out to find more characters and get some more autographs!
I did not anticipate how much my kids would enjoy this!
Then we hit the Finding Nemo "Turtle Talk" show. Caleb made himself comfortable in the front row and even raised his hand to ask a ?....thankfully they didn't call on him. Who knows what would've come flying out of his little mouth. :) We were sitting in the front row behind the kids and you could hear his little laugh throughout the whole show.
That night, we surprised the kids with trick-or-treating at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, back at Magic Kingdom. It was an exclusive party closed off to the public. The kids dressed in Halloween costumes and the adults had Disney Halloween glow-in-the-dark shirts (thanks to Nana). It started downpouring as soon as we entered Magic Kingdom, but we didn't even begin to let it dampen our excitement. We bought $40 woth of ponchos and splashed around waiting for the parade to begin. We told the kids that Disney probably ordered the rain to make it even more spooky. :)
The above pictures were taken on another day, but shows how adorable the fall decor was.
Waiting on the dock for our boatride to Magic Kingdom to trick-or-treat!
Waiting in the rain for the parade!
an amazing fireworks presentation!
...and of course, we HAD to ride some rides. The rain and the parks closing to the public made little to no lines. In fact, on one ride they let us stay on and ride again. Mackenzie thought that was beyond cool!
....oh, and did I neglect to mention that while on Splash Mountain it broke down when we were near the top of the hill for several minutes, in complete darkness, on a track, and I did mention we were at the top, right?....
Not sure which was freakier, that or the above picture. :)-
...and if I had to be stranded with anyone, I wouldn't pick anyone other than this sweet man...
After a big day, it was time for our nightly boat ride home for a good nights sleep, and then on to another fun character breakfast.
Day 3: Hollywood Studios:
We started the day at Hollywood and Vine for a character breakfast with the Handy Manny, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Special Agent Oso, and the Little Einsteins! This one was more geared for Caleb, but Mackenzie enjoyed it just as much! We did this same character dinner on our trip years ago with the Buzzard's and I couldn't help but think of them during this meal!
Handy Manny
Special Agent Oso
June
After a yummy breakfast and collecting a lot more autographs for the autograph books, we split up and conquered Hollywood Studios. Jeremy took Mackenzie to ride The Tower of Terror, which she of course LOVED, and then onto the Beauty and the Beast Show. 
(notice, there are NO other small children on this ride. Look for the shortest person in this picture and you have found my little dare devil).
...and then for something a little sweet...
Caleb, Nana, Grandpa and I hit the Backlot Tour and saw all the behind the scenes animation sequences they use in movies. It was really neat to learn about. I know it was right up Grandpa's alley. Then we checked out some of the movie memorabilia and props indoors.
Backlot Studios Tour
Checking out the Star Wars Memorabilia
The Boys with Darth Vader
...and Caleb found true love with Ms. Piggy!
After that, we met up to watch The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was spectacular. It actually started raining inside the auditorium. Mackenzie loved it as Ariel is her favorite princess.
After a half day away, the majority of us took a little snooze, while Jeremy and Mackenzie hit the pool party!
That night, we hit the Polynesian for dinner. Aside from the cauliflower soup that was was surprisingly delicious at the Princess lunch earlier in the week, this dinner was my favorite. Not only did we eat delicious steak, but creme brule. My absolute fav!
Day 4: Animal Kingdom: We took the bus in the morning to Animal Kingdom and hit Dinoland. It was a big hit. The kids could've stayed there all day. After some playtime, we headed over to do the Animal Safari. It was unbelievable. We rode on a big truck through acres of land to see amazing animals up close and personal. Of course, Kenzie spoted the Mt. Everest rollercoaster right away and we had to get a few rides in before heading back to the hotel for a bit of rest time.
Dinoland!
Mt. Everest
Mt Everest Roller Coaster ride
Riding some rides before heading to the animal safari
Off to see some animals up close
We also caught an amazing Lion King Show. It was a mix between Cirque du Soleil and a musical. The vocalists were amazing, by far my favorite show.
Later that day, we hit Magic Kingdom for some more rides, snacks and fireworks!
Day 5: Our last and final day. :( We enjoyed a full day at Magic Kingdom enjoying all our favorite rides. It was an overcast day and there were a few pop up showers so we got good use out of our rain ponchos one last time. At one point, late afternoon, we tucked into a Tavern to grab an early dinner.
and in theme with Splash mountain, we hit the safari ride!
...and then squeezed in as many rides as we could before the rain hit!
Nana and Grandpa headed back and we enjoyed a little one-on-one time with our girl!
...and after our last night riding rides, we were off for the parade and fireworks show.
watching our last parade with my sweetie
It was a trip of a lifetime and one that will be part of our famlies memories for years to come. Thank you to my wonderful husband who worked hard to plan this magical trip, to my parents who took time off of work and their busy schedules to be a part of this adventure, and to my children who gave us a reason to go and who loved and appreciated every magical moment.
