Journal of Disney World trip from April 30th- May 7th 2008- Madeline’s first trip to Disney World and Kennedy’s first flight and trip to Disney
Thursday, May 1, 2008 (written this morning of yesterday’s events)
Yesterday morning, April 30, 2008 (Kennedy’s six month birthday ), we rose very early (about 5am) to get ready to go to the airport. We had gone to bed the night before very late (myself around 3am and Danny around 2am) and then had to get up to feed Kennedy around 4am. So, needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep. We got ready and left our house about 7:15. We went over to Grandma Judy’s house, and she took us to the airport. We arrived at the airport around 8am and our flight departed about 9:00. It was our first flight on Southwest Airlines and fortunately we were in the “A” group for boarding purposes (meaning we were allowed to board in the first group). I had gone to Popeye’s at the airport to get some breakfast for us and it was a longer walk from our gate than I initially thought. When I got back, Danny was in line with the girls ready to board. With 2 strollers, 2 children 2 & under and all our carry on stuff, we had our hands pretty full. Danny took Madeline ahead to get a seat for all of us together on the plane while I got Kennedy out of her stroller and the remaining bags. The plane had three seats on each side, and Danny was able to get three seats together on the left side. Madeline was so excited to get on the airplane and immediately started singing the Barney song “Flying on an Airplane, looking out the window, watching the clouds go by” Its so fun to see her so happy and excited about our trip. I sat in the inside seat with Kennedy, Madeline was in the middle and Danny had an aisle seat. The girls did really well. Kennedy was wet and hungry by the time we boarded the plane. We changed her in our seats (Danny held her in his lap) and then I put my nursing cover on and nursed her, and she was fine after that. She got a little fussy but fell asleep not too long afterwards. Madeline colored some in her Princess sticker/coloring book that Grandma Judy gave her just for our trip. She then watched her “Ariel movie” (The Little Mermaid) on Daddy’s laptop. She was very excited and would smile really big when we asked her where we were going. Kennedy earned her wings for having her first flight ever. Southwest gave both her and Madeline a little set of wings, and Kennedy received a certificate for her first flight. At the end of the flight, they announced over the system that it was Kennedy Barnes’ first flight and thanked her for flying with Southwest hoping she will fly again with them. We had a good flight, arriving in Orlando as scheduled about 10:30am. We got off the plane and went to terminal B and took the elevator to level 1 where we located the Disney Magical Express desk. We got in line to sign in at the Disney desk and about 30 minutes later departed for our resort via a Disney bus. Madeline was excited to ride the bus with Mickey on it. She looked out the window, and saw the palm trees and said, “Coconut trees”. She knew we were somewhere different and liked it. We arrived at our resort, Port Orleans Riverside, about 30 minutes later. Mommy got in line and checked us in (our room was ready ) while Daddy took Madeline for a diaper change (no not potty trained yet- hopefully after this trip). We then went to get lunch at the Riverside Mill food court in our resort. Since we purchased the Disney dining plan, our lunch was part of that which was very nice. Most of the restaurants throughout Disney participate with the dining plan so you can save some money on your meals by purchasing the plan. Both Danny and I ate a “Create Your Own” customized pasta dish. Our dining plan comes with an entrée, dessert and drink and so we both got desserts (I got a yogurt parfait, he got a brownie- this really isn’t good for our waistlines). After lunch, we found our room which is located in one of the mansions in Magnolia Bend. It is a beautiful resort with pretty gardens, lots of trees and the river of course. We were SO tired that we were determined to try to get a nap if we could get the girls to sleep. After exploring the room and unloading some basic things (we LOVE Magical Express!!!), Kennedy woke up (she’d been asleep for a while and through lunch) and I fed her. She stayed awake for a while and finally fell asleep. Madeline had gotten into the Pack & Play earlier to take her nap (wherever she wanted to nap was fine with us- we just want sleep). After we all had a decent nap, we got up and I started unpacking our bags. Daddy worked on getting an Internet connection and did some stuff for work while I unpacked, Madeline watched “Ariel” on her new portable DVD player (she kept wanting to pick it up and hold it and we had to tell her numerous times to leave it on the table or it would break), and Kennedy laid on the bed and was content to play with her toys. After finishing getting most of our bags unpacked and Madeline had a snack, we headed out to board the bus for Magic Kingdom- WOOHOO!!!!! Madeline wanted to be there right then and was not happy that we had to wait for the bus. We waited about 10-15 minutes and when we finally boarded the bus and we told Madeline we were going to see Mickey, the big smile flashed across her face. The ride to Magic Kingdom took about 15 minutes. Kennedy fell asleep on the way over. About 7:15, we walked into the park and Madeline was very excited to be there FINALLY- after months of asking, “Can we go to Disney World today?”. Especially the past week she’s been very frustrated about why we weren’t there yet. We took some pics at the entrance and proceeded down Main Street where we could see Cinderella’s Castle. When she saw it, she looked wide-eyed at it and simply said, “ WOOOOW”. We then headed to the back of the park to Fantasyland where we were planning to eat at Pinocchio Village Haus where we had pizzas, salad and strawberry shortcake. Madeline was so upset that we had to go eat first as she wanted to ride something, especially after seeing Cinderella’s carousel. After eating about 8pm, we went to ride “It’s a Small World” since there was virtually no line. Madeline and Mommy rode while Daddy stayed with Kennedy outside since she was in carrier in the stroller still asleep. When we got on the boat, Madeline asked for Daddy and got a little scared since it was a little dark in there. She finally relaxed after a few minutes of realizing there really was nothing scary about the ride. Then, we hurried on over to ride “Dumbo” since the park was closing at 9pm. Again, Daddy waited with Kennedy since she was still asleep while Mommy & Madeline rode. Madeline was so excited to ride and chose a purple Dumbo. We waited about 15 minutes in line and then about the time we got in the ride, the Magic Kingdom’s infamous “Wishes” fireworks display started.
Madeline hadn’t seen fireworks since the 4th of July, and she wasn’t particularly fond of them then. Evidently, nothing has changed because she really didn’t like the fireworks. She was okay while we finished riding Dumbo but after we got off, I carried her off the ride and she put her head down on my shoulder and didn’t want to lift it up to look at the fireworks. The beginning of the fireworks were REALLY loud and not as pretty as the end of the fireworks. By the end, she wouldn’t even look although they were so beautiful as they lit up the entire park, especially Cinderella’s castle. She didn’t cry- she was just very quiet as she was afraid of them. We started walking towards the exit while the fireworks finished and left the park around 9:30 with a multitude of people. Kennedy slept through everything- we can’t believe the very loud fireworks didn’t startle and wake her- she was probably just so tired from the whole ordeal of waking early in the morning and not getting good, uninterrupted sleep on the plane etc. We waited in a very long line to board a bus and arrived back at the Riverside around 10:15 or so. We went into Fulton’s General Store and looked at some souvenirs and of course, Madeline wanted several things but we told her we weren’t gonna buy anything then b/c we had to look at other places first. Amazingly, she didn’t throw a tantrum or cry about not getting anything then- maybe b/c Daddy told her she’d have to make a list of what she wanted and then we’d decide. We then went back to room and crashed shortly after. It had been a wonderful day and we are glad, despite all the packing and unloading and loading strollers on the buses, that we decided to make this trip with our 2 girls. What an awesome adventure this week will be!!!
Friday, May 2, 2008 (written this morning of what we did yesterday, May 1st)
We didn’t get an early start yesterday morning b/c we were very tired from the night before and because I wanted to spend some time journaling for the trip- knowing if I waited, I would forget or details would be blended together from the different days. We caught the 11:00 bus over to the Magic Kingdom and arrived in time to see the 11:40 “Dream Along with Mickey” show on the castle forecourt stage. It featured Mickey, Minnie, as well as the Princesses and some other Disney characters. It was a very entertaining show and lasted about 20 minutes. Then, we headed over to Adventureland to have a Mexican lunch at “El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante. After lunch, Madeline and Daddy rode “The Magic Carpets of Aladdin” ride (very similar to Dumbo except they were riding carpets) while I found a shady spot and sat with Kennedy while she slept in her carrier in the stroller. We then headed back over towards Fantasyland walking through Cinderella’s castle and checking out the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where Madeline has an appointment on Saturday. It looked very cute and girly of course with all the little princesses getting their hair done and dressed up in the princess gowns. Madeline says she wants a Belle dress but she may change her mind before Saturday. She has been asking for one for a long time though so maybe not. We then walked into a couple of little shops, one of which was called Tinkerbell’s Treaures, that had all princess stuff. Madeline wanted a set of four cups with the princesses on them but we were able to hold her off until later telling her we were going to a show. I obtained a Fast Pass for Peter Pan (where you get a ticket to come back later and ride the ride without waiting in line) and our assigned time was 4:45-5:45. We had planned to stay for the parade so we decided we could maybe hold off a while and ride Peter Pan before leaving since we had the Fast Pass and the lines to ride it are usually very long. Next, we headed to the Fairytale garden for Storytime with Belle. Kennedy had been asleep for a while but finally woke up so while waiting for storytime to start at 2:10, Mommy took the girls to a nearby restroom to change diapers while Daddy saved us a seat. Madeline loved storytime with Belle as Belle recalled the story of Beauty and the Beast and selected members of the audience (a very small group of people are allowed for storytime b/c it’s a small garden with benches so it wasn’t a huge crowd). When Belle said, “Okay come right on up” talking to a little girl who was chosen for one of the characters in the story, Madeline got right up and started walking. We had to tell her to sit down and she had a mini meltdown right there thinking Belle was talking to her and she was supposed to go up there. She loves Belle so much and just wanted to be close to her. She finally settled down and really enjoyed the story- she was taking it all in and in awe that the real Belle was here telling us a story. I fed Kennedy during the story (thank goodness for Bebe Au Lait and the wonderful nursing covers they make.) Afterwards, I finished feeding Kennedy while Dad took Madeline up to meet Belle and take a picture. While I was taking Madeline’s picture, Belle saw me holding Kennedy and waved and said, “Hello princess in training”. So, I took Kennedy up to get her picture with Belle, her first picture with a princess. She smiled really big at Belle and Belle held her for a minute- very sweet baby princess. Then, we headed to Frontierland to try to secure a good spot to watch the “Disney Dreams Come True” parade. The parade probably lasted 30 minutes or so and was awesome. It featured most all of the Disney characters from the more popular Disney movies. Madeline sat on Daddy’s shoulders so she could see everything while Kennedy slept in the stroller and Mommy took some video. Madeline will love watching this later. She started squealing when she saw Ariel- her first time seeing her although some of the other princesses were in the show we saw this morning at the castle. She really loved the parade and didn’t want it to be over. We then headed back to Fantasyland where she and Dad rode Cinderella’s carousel while I obtained a FastPass for “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (our time was 5:15-6:15). After they finished riding the carousel, we opted to go inside for some air conditioning and watched “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” 3-D show. We couldn’t convince Madeline to keep the special glasses on so she could see better. She didn’t like the show as she said it was too loud and dark. There were parts of the show where a fan blowed air right on us and water was splashed on us, and I think that was a little too much for her too. Then, we left there and went over to get a snack in Tomorrowland since we had a late dinner reservation at Epcot and needed something to hold us until then. We got some water, a smoothie and a sundae to share at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies. Madeline fell asleep in her stroller within 2 minutes of leaving- it was about about 5:00 and she was so tired. We went back to ride Peter Pan with our Fast Pass and she slept through it- probably a good thing b/c she probably wouldn’t have liked the fact that it was so dark. Kennedy just looked around with wide eyes while we rode in the dark. Then, we put her back in the stroller, and we walked around some to kill some time and let Madeline sleep while we waited to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride. About 6:15 (our fast pass was good through 6:15), we got on the Pooh ride and Madeline woke up to enjoy it. Then, we exited Magic Kingdom (after making a couple of brief stops 1) to obtain 1st Time visitor buttons at Guest Services at the entrance to the park- we’d seen others with these buttons and they said the kids wearing them often got some special attention if they had their button on 2) Madeline was throwing a tantrum for a spray bottle with a fan on it but I convinced her to get a princess book for autographs and pictures and pen instead- of course she wanted to scribble all over her book rather than leave space for the princesses to sign- oh well an expensive notepad huh). We then boarded the monorail to go to Epcot. Our dinner reservation was at 8:40 so we had plenty of time to get over there and maybe look around a bit before dinner. We enjoyed riding the monorail as we didn’t have to fold up our strollers like we do with the buses but rather just roll them on with kids in tow. We arrived at Epcot probably around 7pm and I fed Kennedy while Madeline met a friend named Brooke to chase around and play with. We then went to ride “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” as there was no wait. Madeline liked the ride and enjoying exploring the surrounding aquariums afterwards. She kept asking to see the shark and was not happy until we found one. We saw dolphins, a sting ray, a manatee along with numerous other beautiful fish. She didn’t want to leave the aquarium but, we told her we had to go eat dinner and we’d come back later (that usually works well and then later she forgets- I guess that tactic won’t work much longer). We headed over to Le Cellier, a steakhouse in Canada for a wonderful dinner. The only reservation we could get over two months ago was for 8:40 but we’d heard I was good so we decided to take it. We had salads, filet mignon with risotto, asparagus and a double chocolate cake and smores for dessert. It was muy delicioso and the entrée, dessert and drinks were included in our dining plan to boot. Our server was fabulous and super kid friendly (this restaurant had a nice ambience but yet not too stuffy for little ones). Despite not having her usual long afternoon nap, Madeline did really well and Kennedy was awake but happy during dinner. Our server gave Madeline a little Tinkerbell pin at the end of the meal- her first Disney trading pin. We left Epcot around 10pm and caught a bus back to our resort, arriving around 10:30 or so. We were totally wiped out from being gone almost 12 hours. They were troopers to have been gone all day and still be pretty happy. We gave them baths and Madeline fell asleep super fast while Kennedy held out a bit longer. I planned to stay up and journal but was too exhausted to think so my head hit the pillow a little after midnight.
Friday, May 2nd- written this afternoon of today’s events so far
We all slept in until about 8:30 am since we were so tired from such a long and busy day yesterday. We decided to go over to Hollywood Studios today and so as soon as we got there, we headed to Animation Courtyard to obtain a Fast Pass ticket for the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” and then we spotted JoJo and Goliath from JoJo’s Circus and Annie and Leo from “Little Einsteins” across the street so we stopped to see them and get Madeline’s picture with them since she is such a Playhouse Disney fan (especially likes the Little Einsteins over the past couple of months). Next, we walked down Hollywood Boulevard to find some lunch and ate at Rosie’s All American Café. They served typical burgers, fries, chicken nuggets etc. I was impressed that the kids meals come with two choices of grapes, carrots or apple sauce so at least Madeline got some grapes in (she won’t eat raw carrots yet). By this time, it was time to go check in with our Fast Pass at the Voyage of the Little Mermaid which was a live musical theater show. So, we went back to Animation Courtyard and saw the Voyage which lasted 17 minutes, just enough time to feed Kennedy while watching it. Madeline seemed to really like all of the show except for the part with Ursula and lots of lightning. It was a great show with awesome music and sea life puppets, and she really liked seeing the real Ariel. She was waving at her which was very cute. After the show, we headed outside to catch the Block Party bash which is a small parade which is very interactive featuring some of the most popular Disney Pixar characters such as Woody and Buzz from The Toy Story. It was a very fun and vibrant parade with lots of music and dancing. After observing the parade, we headed back down Hollywood Blvd. to see the live, broadway style production of Beauty and the Beast. I had remembered seeing it when we visited about 11 years ago and it was wonderful. Of course, since Madeline is so into Belle, she really liked it- that and the fact that it wasn’t in a dark theater with very loud noises at times (like many of the other shows we’d seen). After this, we decided to return to the resort so the girls could get naps before heading back to Magic Kingdom tonight for Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party.
Saturday, May 3rd
Last night, we went to Mickey’s Pirate and Princess parade at Magic Kingdom. When we arrived around 8:30, “Disney’s Enchanted Adventures Parade” was about to begin. We watched the parade and then headed to Comic Ray’s Starlight Café for a late dinner. The fireworks started while we were there but that was okay since Madeline isn’t a big fan of them. After eating and while I fed Kennedy, Danny & Madeline went over to dance with Chip and Dale as they had a dance party in one section at the café. Afterwards, we headed to Fantastyland and obtained some “treasure” (mardi gras beads). Then, we went to Ariel’s Grotto where Madeline enjoyed dancing at Sebastian’s “Under the Sea Dance Party”. Then, we walked around Fantasyland and Frontierland and obtained some more treasures. We waited in line at Ariel’s Grotto and Madeline met Ariel and got her autograph for the first time. She loves Ariel and was very excited although she was very tired as it was about 11:40pm. Madeline and I then rode Cinderella’s carousel as there was no wait which is rare. This is the first time (since we’ve been here and she rode on Thursday with Daddy) that she has ridden on a horse by herself (what a big girl- Mommy’s baby is growing up). Then, Madeline had a complete meltdown from mere exhaustion and it was about midnight, so we headed for the buses to go back to the resort. Mom & Bill should have been here about 11pm last night but their flight was delayed and didn’t leave until around 12:15 am (supposed to leave at 8:30pm) so they didn’t arrive at the resort until around 3am. They got in late and we didn’t go to bed until after 2 am. We’re glad they are finally here and looking forward to spending the day with them.
May 5th (12:51am- noted time in case I’m not making sense b/c I’m so tired)
On Saturday morning, we didn’t get out too late due to Mom & Bill getting in so late the night before, and we were all tired. We headed out to Hollywood Studios probably around 11:30am or so. We ate lunch at ABC Commissary which had a variety of menu items (I got the Asian salad which was really good and Mom & Danny got the Cuban sandwich with plantain chips while Bill got a cheeseburger and Madeline got a ham & cheese wrap kids meal with applesauce and grapes- it was all good). We had planned to go to Playhouse Disney but didn’t make the 1:30 show so we decided to go see Beauty and the Beast again since Madeline really enjoyed that the day before, and we knew Mom and Bill would enjoy seeing it also. After seeing this, we headed back to the resort to get Madeline a nap since we had a busy evening planned. We all took naps (not too long b/c we didn’t get back until probably around 3pm and had to leave again around 4:30 to make her 5:00 appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella’s castle. We arrived for her “princess makeover” on time, and she has been wanting a “Belle” dress for quite some time so that’s what we told them she wanted. They called her back into the dressing room and had a Belle dress, shoes, magic wand and crown all waiting for her. She was very excited to put the dress on and afterwards we had to go back into the waiting area until her “fairy godmother” called her back to start working on her makeover. A few minutes later, her fairy godmother called her back and starting working her magic. She first put Madeline’s hair up like a fairy tale princess. She put a small sequin crown in her hair (in addition to the Belle one that she had) and also a Mickey Mouse shiny pin in the back of her hair. Danny took some video while I was taking pictures. We were both amazed at how still Madeline was and how she didn’t complain the first time about it hurting her hair or head. She has a fairly sensitive head too, and her fairy godmother had to pull her hair very tight to get it up like she did. When she first sat down in the chair, she was watching all of the other little girls get their hair done like princesses so I think this really helped her. Next, she painted her nails before putting some shimmer makeup on her and a shiny sticker on her face. Then, she put a pink sash on her that said “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique” and gave her a pretty pink foil shopping bag with her beauty products (makeup and nail polish) to take home with her. She turned her around to see herself in the mirror and Madeline just smiled really big. It was very apparent that she truly felt like a princess. Nana and Papa Bill were watching Kennedy while we were in the boutique with Madeline so after we finished, we went to get Kennedy. Mom and I took Madeline (and Kennedy was with us) over to Exposition Hall (near the Magic Kingdom entrance) to have her pictures made as they were included in her Castle package. Next, I fed Kennedy in Exposition Hall while Mom and Madeline watched some old Walt Disney movies in a theater there. Then, we walked over to Tomorrowland and rode on the “Tomorrowland Transit Authority” which had a very short wait. After this, we walked over to Fantasyland and rode “It’s a Small World” which we rode the first night we were here, and Madeline seemed to really like it and had been singing the song ever since. It was about 8pm by this time so we headed on over to Cinderella’s Castle for our dinner reservation at 8:25. Danny & Bill met us over there as they had done some things on their own for a couple of hours while we took care of the girls. Once checked in for our dinner reservations, we got in line to get some photos taken with Cinderella. We got one picture with the six of us with Cinderella and then one with just Madeline and Cinderella. We then were taken into the dining room and entertained by the mice and the fairy godmother while we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Danny got prime rib while I got salmon and it was all so delicious. Included with the dinner were two packages of the photos taken with Cinderella which turned out so nice. I know Madeline will cherish having these pictures someday. Danny and I were so glad that we decided to let her do the whole “princess makeover” thing as it was truly magical for her. She got lots of attention for being so dressed up the entire evening. Kennedy did great through dinner. She was awake for most of it but very content in her carrier. Then, Papa Bill walked her around while we finished our very yummy chocolate cream cheese dessert. After we finished, we went to the restroom and changed the girls’ diapers. When we came out, Cinderella was standing there and wanted to see the baby. We took her picture with Cinderella, and it was very neat. Cinderella was so friendly and sweet to both Madeline and Kennedy. Then, we left and had to exit the front entrance of the castle b/c the rear entrance was blocked off due to the fireworks that were to start any minute around 10pm. We made our way through the crowd and found a place to watch the fireworks. Madeline didn’t want to watch them or hear them so she put her head down on the bench beside where I was sitting feeding Kennedy. She kept her head down the entire time. She was okay when they were over but she does not like fireworks. We left the park probably around 10:30pm or after and didn’t get back to the room until after 11pm. We were SO tired but knew we had to be up before too late the next morning to go to the princess breakfast at Epcot. Madeline would not let us take her hair down so we put her pajamas on and she went to bed with her hair up like a princess. Oh well- I guess we can catch up on our lost sleep when we get home- maybe.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Well, I’m finally getting back to finishing my journal of our Disney trip as we returned over a week ago on Wednesday, May 7th. From Sunday, May 4th until we left to come home on the 7th, it was so busy that I didn’t have time to keep up my journal. So, Sunday morning, May 5th, when Madeline woke up, Daddy told her to go look in the mirror b/c she was still a princess. She went to the mirror and seeing her hair still up, she flashed a great big smile. She insisted on wearing her Belle dress again even though I told her she would be more comfortable in her other clothes. We agreed to let her wear it (we were gonna get our money’s worth right) and headed over to Epcot to go to the Princess Storybook breakfast at Akershus in Norway at 9:50am. While the rest of the gang headed over to the breakfast, I ran over to “The Land” in Epcot to obtain fast passes for myself, Danny, Mom & Bill for “ Soarin” which is a simulated type of free flying, hang gliding adventure. Then, I met them at the breakfast. We were ushered into the Akershus Royal Banqet Hall and they were taking pictures close to the entrance with none other than Belle herself. So, Madeline, in her Belle dress with her hair done up like a princess, got her picture taken with Belle. She was so excited to see Belle and posed so gracefully like a princess. We then were seated, and our server showed us to the wonderful buffet spread which featured breads, assorted pastries and fruits while she brought out juice, coffee and a platter of sausage, bacon, eggs and breakfast potatoes. It was a delicious breakfast and the princesses came around while we ate so Madeline could meet and have her picture taken with them as well as get their autographs. The princesses that were there were Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Snow White, and Mulan. Madeline was so excited to see each of them and smiled so big when we were taking her pictures with them. Lately, when she knows we want to take her picture, she turns her head away from the camera and makes it really hard but this day she posed for the camera like she was a real princess along with them. The princesses were very sweet as some of them offered to let us take their picture with Kennedy as well. Kennedy was awake for most of the breakfast but content to stay in her carrier so we let her do just that so we could eat and take pictures and enjoy seeing the princesses. Kennedy grabbed Snow White’s hair and smiled really big at her. I think the reason she was so content with just sitting in her carrier was that she was just looking around and taking it all in, and there was a lot of activity going on around to keep her entertained. At the end of the meal, our server came over and brought us two portfolios of pictures of Madeline with Belle. I didn’t realize these came with the breakfast so that was a nice surprise. After the breakfast, we headed back over to “The Land” in the “Future World” section of Epcot so that the adults could take turns riding “Soarin” while the others watched the kids. I found a nice air conditioned spot to feed Kennedy while Mom & Bill rode the ride. Then, Danny & I rode while they took Madeline & Kennedy over to “The Seas” to ride “The Seas with Nemo & Friends” which she had asked to ride again. We all enjoyed “Soarin”- we’d never been hang gliding but Danny has done skydiving once but it was VERY cool. My friend Kathy had told me to be sure to do that so we did and I think it was the only adult ride I rode (I think Danny rode a couple at Magic Kingdom while mom and I had the girls on Saturday). After we rode that and caught back up with Mom and Bill to get the girls, we headed back to the room to get the girls a nap while they stayed there a while longer. The girls took a pretty good nap and surprisingly, Madeline, allowed us to take her hair down and take her dress off so she could be more comfortable for her nap. After all of us took a nap (Madeline took the longest as usual and I don’t think I got more than 15 minutes), Mom & Bill came over and we took a boat from our resort to Downtown Disney. It probably took about 20-30 minutes to get there as the boat stops at Port Orleans- French Quarter as well. We ate dinner at the Planet Hollywood there and then walked around some and went down to the “World of Disney” store to do some shopping. The only thing we’d bought at this point was a princess autograph book and pen for Madeline on Thursday. She hadn’t really thrown a tantrum for anything as Danny had explained she had to make a list (with our help of course) and then we’d narrow it down and decide what she could have. We went into the store and of course to start with, she wanted everything but soon found some princess heart candy (kind of like the Valentine’s day conversation hearts) and after she found that, she didn’t care if that was all she got. So, I walked around and found a few things for her (some of which included potential potty training rewards since we are getting ready to do that after the trip and I figured some princess stuff would really motivate her). After we left there, it was about 9pm so we caught the boat back to the resort.
The next morning, Monday, May 5th, we headed to Animal Kingdom. The day started out a little rocky as we’d planned to leave around 8:30 am (our earliest departure yet) but Madeline got sick and threw up a little after 8am. So, we didn’t want to rush out before we made sure she was okay and didn’t have a virus or something. We prayed for her that she would be okay and that this was just an isolated occurrence. After we waited a while and she seemed to be fine, we boarded the bus for the Animal Kingdom. Since our resort was so large that it had four bus stops, it was a very good thing that we brought our strollers to get the girls from our room to the bus stop safely. I was reminded of the importance of strollers when as soon as we arrived at Animal Kingdom and Madeline got off the bus and was running, she fell and skinned both knees within just a couple of minutes. Thank goodness I had Band Aids in my purse and so we nursed her up and got her in the stroller and started again. By this time, Kennedy was screaming with hunger so I went to the Rainforest Café (near the entrance to the park)to feed her while Danny ran to Africa to obtain Fast Passes for us for the Kilimanjaro Safari. Mom & Bill went in a different direction to Camp Minnie-Mickey to save some seats for us for the “Festival of the Lion King” show. We met there and watched the Lion King show which was a very high-energy tribal celebration with fun music and dance. Madeline really enjoyed it even though she really hasn’t watched “The Lion King” movie. Then, also in Camp Minnie Mickey, we saw a show with Pocahontas and some live animals (raccoons, ducks and a snake) where the young kids were allowed to sit up front without their parents. Madeline went right on up and enjoyed seeing Pocahontas and the animals up so close. After this, it was lunch time so we headed to Africa where we ate lunch at the Tamu Tamu which was a counter service type place with sandwiches, burgers and milkshakes. Then, we went to use our Fast Passes for the safari and only waited maybe 10-15 minutes before boarding an open air safari vehicle. We were taken on an exciting expedition across an African savannah and saw lots of animals including giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants, crocodiles
and rhinos. The journey started off a little bumpy and Madeline was laughing and excited to be on this type of mobile. We all really enjoyed this adventure even Kennedy who sat between Nana and Papa Bill during the ride. Then, we trekked over to Dinoland to see “Finding Nemo-The Musical”. This was a very entertaining stage show, and Madeline really enjoyed it a lot although she’s never seen the movie. Between this show and the Nemo exhibit at Epcot, she talked about Nemo several times during our trip. Also, she used to have a fish named Nemo so that’s probably why she related so well to it too. After the show, we headed towards the exit to board the bus to go back to our resort to try to get a nap for the girls because we had to be back at Magic Kingdom by 5:50 for a Storytelling Session with a character. They got a short nap, and we arrived at the Storytelling session a few minutes early and the featured character telling the story was Aladdin. Madeline sat up front with the other kids and although to begin with she didn’t really know who he was, she seemed to enjoy listening to him tell the story. While telling the story, he asked them to raise their hands if they had something they wished for. She was one of the first to raise her hand but when he asked her what it was, she wouldn’t talk. Afterwards, we took pictures with he and Madeline and Kennedy. Then, we headed to our 6:45 reservation for a character dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore. The food was pretty good for a buffet type restaurant, but it was extremely loud. The characters came around and greeted Madeline, and she loved that. Kennedy enjoyed looking at them as well. Kennedy has started reaching out and grabbing everything and she knocked Mom’s drink off the table and broke the glass. She is so fast at grabbing and pulling things. After dinner, we walked over to Fantasyland and Mom, Danny, Madeline and I rode the “Mad Tea Party” teacups while Papa Bill had Kennedy. Madeline liked it a lot but didn’t like it when Daddy started spinning our cup. Next, we walked over to Toontown to take another look at Minnie and Mickey’s houses. It was getting close to closing time by then so we decided to go ahead and leave to get ahead of the fireworks crowd and crowded bus lines that result afterwards.
The following morning, Tuesday, May 6th, just the four of us went to a character breakfast at 10:35 at Chef Mickey’s, a restaurant in the Contemporary Resort. We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and just walked over since it’s a pretty short walk. We tried several times to get a reservation for six so Mom & Bill could join us but apparently it’s a very popular place and they had no cancellations b/c we had no luck. This character breakfast was all buffet and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto were there. They all made their rounds, and Madeline was very excited as she probably knows them best of all b/c of her faithfully watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for about the past year and a half. She was very happy to get pics with them all. Kennedy enjoyed it too and when Minnie came around, she was talking to Kennedy and Kennedy started sucking on Minnie’s nose- it was very cute. I think the big features of the characters really made Kennedy pay close attention to them. She seemed very happy to be in the midst of all of this activity. The food was very good as they had so much variety including Mickey shaped waffles and almost any type of breakfast food you could think of. Madeline ate hardly anything as you can imagine due to her being so excited about the characters. We ordered her drink with this little cup that had a clip on Tinkerbell green light so at least she’d have a keepsake from the breakfast. We also had our picture made there and decided to purchase one since everyone was looking and smiling which is very rare with two little ones. After breakfast, we caught a bus from the Contemporary over to Hollywood Studios where we had planned to meet Mom and Bill. They had gone there earlier that morning and done a few things before we arrived since this was there last day at Disney. We met them around 12:15 and decided to catch the 1:30 Playhouse Disney show since that was the main thing we hadn’t done there that we really wanted Madeline to see. Since we had to wait a little while, Bill, Danny, Madeline and I saw “The Magic of Disney Animation” which was a neat little show that described Disney’s process of coming up with new characters for movies, etc. It was pretty cool and they mentioned a new Disney character named Wall-e that would featured in a movie with the same title in June of this year. Mom stayed with Kennedy outside while she slept in the stroller. Then, we went to wait in line to see Playhouse Disney which featured four very popular childrens’ shows from Playhouse Disney- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (of course), My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins. They had puppets for each of the characters. Mom and Bill went with us and everyone had to sit on the floor. They had some time where the kids got up and jumped up and down and bubbles filled the large room. It was very fun for Madeline as she has watched all of those shows for quite some time now. After this, we headed to have lunch at Studio Catering Company in the Streets of America section. Then, we came back and caught most of the Block Party parade which we had seen part of on Friday. We got to see Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jesse from the Toy Story much closer this time and we all enjoyed it as it is a very high energy, interactive parade with lots of fun music. We then left the park as Mom and Bill had to get back to catch their 5:00pm bus to the airport for their 8:30 flight. We needed to leave anyways so the girls could take a nap so that worked out fine. We were very sad that they had to leave, but we were leaving the next day. We were just so glad they could come and stay as long as they did. We had a lot of fun with them and were very glad to have the opportunity to spend this quality time together as back home we don’t get to spend much time with them. I am so glad that Madeline and Kennedy had this special time with Nana and Papa Bill, and I know Madeline will remember this trip and their being there. That evening, we had dinner at 7:25 at Tony’s Towne Square, an Italian restaurant close to the main entrance at the Magic Kingdom. Then, we walked around Main Street a few minutes before the fireworks started. I went into the Emporium ( a shop with tons of Disney stuff on Main Street) as I hadn’t even been in there. Danny and Madeline watched the fireworks (she had gotten a little better about watching them especially since they were further away from where the fireworks were being set off and thus not so loud) while I walked around pushing Kennedy in the stroller. By the time we got to the bus, Kennedy was screaming b/c she was hungry. We made it on the bus and I fed her on the way back to the resort (thank goodness for the Bebe Au Lait nursing cover- it has been a lifesaver on this trip as it covers so well and makes nursing so discrete- totally worth the $35 I paid for it many times over). We went back to the room and stayed up pretty late trying to pack b/c we were leaving the next day to come home .
The next morning, Wednesday, May 7th, we got up, got ready and all packed up although we didn’t have to be out of our room until 1:00pm. We had decided to go to Magic Kingdom one last time just to get our picture taken in front of Cinderella’s castle (we had a Photopass coupon for a free 5x7 that we hadn’t used yet). I also picked up a couple of last minute souvenirs. We probably didn’t stay more than 45 minutes but we got a good picture in front of the castle and said our goodbyes so it was worth all the effort to go back one last time. We got back to the resort and had a few more snacks left on our meal plan so I went by to get some snacks to take with us since we wouldn’t have much time for lunch. We got packed up and called the bellman to come help us with our luggage. They came a little late and we must have missed our 1pm bus by only a minute or two b/c we were out there by just a few minutes after 1pm. So, we caught the next bus to the airport which arrived about 1:30. We got to the airport and all the lines were SO long. We had someone assisting us with our luggage who helped us get in a quicker line (and also helped Danny shift some stuff so our bags wouldn’t be overweight). He was a huge help b/c had it not been for him, we would have missed our 4 pm flight. Due to several factors at the airport including long lines and having to stop to change a dirty diaper, we only made our flight by a few minutes. When we got to the plane, there were no two seats together so finally, someone gave up their seat so Danny could sit with Madeline and I sat with Kennedy a few rows behind them. I was thankful to get an aisle seat with Kennedy as she wiggles a lot, and it would have been very hard for me to sit holding her between two people. She was trying to get the magazine and peanuts of the lady sitting beside me who wasn’t very baby friendly. I was trying to keep her from touching the lady but it was almost impossible as she is so strong and determined already. She stayed awake for most of the flight but finally went to sleep towards the end so I could relax a bit. We arrived back in RDU as scheduled around 5:40pm and Grandma Judy picked us up there. Madeline was very happy to see her and excited to tell her about our trip. On the way home from the airport, Kennedy probably cried harder and longer than she had cried our entire trip combined b/c she was playing with one of her little teethers and the hard part hit her in the face and apparently it hurt pretty bad. She was so upset that finally I had to get her out of her carseat to soothe her for a few minutes. Then, Madeline got upset that we were going in Grandma Judy’s house when we dropped her off. Finally, we arrived home and it was really good to be back home.
Our trip was wonderful, and we are so glad we didn’t wait any longer to take them although some would say we were crazy for taking 2 kids under 3. With Madeline being so young, it was truly a magical experience for her to meet all the princesses and visit Cinderella’s castle (amongst the many other magical experiences she had). She really did well considering not having her normal 3 hour daily naps in her bed- she did have occasional meltdowns but they weren’t really major tantrums. Kennedy was the easiest baby the entire time we were there, so we were very thankful for that. Danny & I had both experienced Disney before kids and had lots of fun, but we had so much more fun watching Madeline enjoy it so much. This trip was totally for her, and we hope by watching the video and looking at the pictures (especially from her Bibbidi Bobbidi session) that she will remember this trip. Just a few years ago, we didn’t know whether we’d ever have kids of our own so we feel SO incredibly blessed to be able to have a family and go on a trip like this. God has been so good to us to give us two beautiful, healthy daughters, and we are so grateful for this and all the other blessings he has bestowed upon us.
