We just returned from our summer family vacation to Disney, and I cannot begin to express what a magical experience we had all week (including the fact that all three babies did not complain once about the hot Orlando heat!)
We started our first day at the Magic Kingdom VERY early, so we could watch the Welcome Show with the characters before the gates opened. Despite this only being our second trip to Disney with the kids, we have learned that it is vital to be there early to knock out a ton of rides with no lines before the crowds pour in around 11am. Maggie requested to ride the teacups first, so we walked straight back to that classic ride.
We enjoyed Dumbo, "It's a Small World," the Little Mermaid ride, and Winnie the Pooh with little to no wait time right away. The temperature was even pretty comfortable in the morning. After the jungle cruise and the Peter Pan ride, we finally ate lunch at the new Be Our Guest restaurant. Everyone was exhausted and ready for food at that point, so it was perfect to spend a few minutes in air conditioning and sitting down. I am not sure if I was just starving, but I absolutely loved the food at the Beauty and the Beast themed location, especially the French onion soup!
We separated for a little while for Maggie to meet her favorite princess, Rapunzel, and for Tuttle to ride the race cars with Daddy.
At that point we were all pretty hot and tired, but a parade in front of Cinderella's castle put everyone back into the magical spirit. The sweetest family let Tuttle and Maggie stand in front of them, so our babies got front row spots for the action. Tuttle made it a mission to try to get the characters to wave at him. :)
We finished the first day with a visit to the Haunted Mansion and buying some huge balloons.
I cannot believe we lasted almost eight hours at the park, and the award for the "Best Little Baby" goes to Jacob! He never cried, slept off and on in my arms, and ended the day with his signature smile.
We all slept in the next day until 9:30 and took our time getting ready to attend our first character meal at Chef Mickey. I was not sure what to expect, but Disney exceeded my expectations with this experience! We fixed our plates from a yummy buffet and waited for all the classic characters to make their rounds to visit us at our table. We had special time with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy. Each character interacted with us, signed autograph books, and took photos. We did not feel rushed, there was no line, and we were inside out of the June heat! Complete success.
Next we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for another full day. We hit the Buzz Lightyear ride, the Carousel of Progress, Pirates of the Caribbean, and climbed the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Maggie's highlight was watching a musical show at the Magic Kingdom starring Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa. It was HOT but worth it to watch Tuttle and Maggie soak in the performance.
Maggie had special reservations, so the boys headed back to the race cars and even fit in a roller coaster. Maggie and I walked over to the Bippity Boppity Boutique for the royal treatment. Maggie was pampered with a princess up-do, makeup, and sparkly nails. I have been waiting months for this surprise, and Maggie LOVED it!
We showed off Maggie's new look to Aerial in her grotto. :)
Our goal was to make it to the lights parade at 9pm. We ate dinner and rode on the carousel for one last ride at Disney. (Plus a quick detour to attempt to pull the sword out of the stone. No luck!)
We parked the Thorne family on Main Street USA and waited for the parade to start. We had a great spot, and Jacob even fell asleep right before the action started. We were BLOWN AWAY with the parade. The lights and floats were so over the top and magical. I put my camera away since it was so dark, and sadly missed capturing the most magical moment of all in my opinion.
As Snow White was walking by our family, I told Maggie to stand up, so Snow White might see her dressed up. Much to everyone's surprise, Snow White stopped walking with the parade and came directly to Maggie! She told her how beautiful she was and asked for a hug. I was so mesmerized by the attention that Maggie was getting that I did not realize everyone else must be watching, too! As Snow White hugged Maggie, I heard a clear cheer from the rest of the audience. Maggie definitely felt like the star of the show. Snow White then continued on with the parade. It was such a special moment!
We spent the rest of our Orlando vacation at our hotel pool which also included a 3 hour nap in the room for Jacob (and Mommy!) We later ventured to Disney Springs for dinner at Bongos and a little shopping.
Disney provided us with the best family vacation this year. We cannot wait to go back!
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