DeeDee and Poppi kept Braxton in Greensboro while we were gone, which was extremely hard for me, but I knew it was the best arrangement since having a one year old at disney world would definitely take away some of the fun!!
Shawn, Reilly and I headed out on Friday afternoon and drove all the way to Jacksonville, FL where we got a hotel room for the night. Reilly was great in the car, as long as their was a mickey Mouse Clubhouse showing on the ipod that daddy had connected to the tv in the car :) Saturday, we got up and set out for our 2 hour drive into Orlando.
DAY ONE
We arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge just before noon and headed straight for the pool!! Reilly was so excited to go swimming in the gigantic pool. We spent some time checking out the animals on the property, including flamingos, giraffes, and several other savannah animals. It was so super cool to see the giraffes just walking freely around the resort property (of course they were in a contained area, but it appeared as though they were just roaming the land!). After a quick nap, we headed to catch the bus to meet the Dreschers at the Rain Forest Cafe for a fabulous dinner! We were all beat after a long day, so we got to bed early to prepare for Magic Kingdom on day 2!!
These are the best barstools ever.....
DAY TWOWe woke up super early and caught the bus over to Magic Kingdom. We were walking up to the gates a 7:55am! We were definitely among the first 30 people there...it was cool. After getting our tickets, we hung out in the "holding area" until 8:50 when they started the morning show. IT was so neat to be there first thing and the production they do every single day to open the park. After a song and dance by some random people, Mickey and the gang come up on the big tain and do a fun countdown to open the day!!! "10....9...8....7...." and I strapped Reilly into the stroller so we could take off as soon as the ropes were dropped!! We quickly walked down mainstreet, but couldn't pass up a photo opp in front of the castle before it ws flooded with crowds of people. Our first stop....straight to DUMBO! This was Reilly's first ever "ride" (other than the carousel at Concord Mills). she loved it! It started drizzling during the ride, but we didn't let it affect us one bit! (even though I HATE being wet by rain!). We checked out the Winnie the Pooh ride before shooing over to Toon Town for the opening there at 10:00. We were first in line to meet the princesses! Reilly has no clue who they are, other than being told, since they are on everything you buy for little girls this age! It was still fun for her to meet such "celebrities", and a good warm-up for meeting her true heroes. After chatting with Belle, Cinderlla, and Ariel for a bit, we went straight over to Mickey's house to meet the Big Cheese himself! When we got there, I was super surprised to see Minnie there as well!!! Reilly could hardly contain herself. I was a bit anxious to see her reaction to the characters. I thought for sure she would be a little hesitant and maybe even scared at first. NOT ONE BIT! She was so excited to meet them!! While we were waiting (less than 10 mins) to meet Mickey and Minnie, she was so precious just standing in line, staring at them in complete awe, and jumping up and down every few seconds with excitement. Shawn and I agree that her expressions when meeting the characters were EXACTLY what we'd hoped for.....SO priceless. We toured Minnie's house, which Reilly loved!,
Minnie's kicthen table and her sofa...
and then met up with the Dreschers to ride her first ever roller coaster...Goofy's Barnstormer (which quickly became her absolute favorite ride of all). She rode one time with Daddy and then was ready to jump right on with Ellie...all by herself! She probably ended up riding it about 10 times in all. I taught her to scream the whole way through and she never let me down :)
Even though it was pouring rain by this point, we didn't let it get us down! Our Magic Kingdom ponchos were just perfect and Reilly couldn't have cared less about the rain. All of us headed on over to the Tomorrowland Speedway so the kids could "drive" and then we ate some lunch. Buzz Lightyear also became a favorite ride for all the girls, and we rode it several times. We also hopped on the famous "Tea Cups" (spinning cups!), which Reilly laughed the whole way through...that's my girl!! Shawn and I took Reilly to go meet her other most favorite character, Daisy Duck. We got to meet Daisy and Pluto and then we took off to Frontierland, via the train, to try to catch Goofy and Donald before the afternoon parade. We were the 2 people back from meeting them and they were quickly swept inside due to the rain. Bummer. We decided to miss the afternoon parade since it was pouring rain at this point, and head back for a nap to prepare for the late night ahead. Reilly did so well going straight to sleep once we put her down for naps, which was so great since we were way off her normal schedule! We had an awesome dinenr at an italian style (Lady and the Tramp) restaraunt with the Dreschers and then headed out for more Buzz Lightyear action. James, Shawn and I rode Space Mountain, a super intense roller coaster, INSIDE, in the pitch black. One of the best things about the rides was the use of FAST PASSES. Wow, this is the best way to go! We never waited in ANY line for more than 10-12 minutes. Amazing. We caught some of the nighttime, lights parade, in the rain, and then headed back to Toontown for more Barnstormer rides. Reilly was getting super tired by this point, and even though the fireworks show is one that everyone talks about, we literally watched it while walking to the bus stop. We had high hopes of staying at the park until midnight, but we barely made it past 10:00!! She was cooked!!
DAY THREE
We were SUPER lucky to get a breakfast reservation for Chef Mickey's on Monday morning. And honestly, this may have been the best money we spent the whole time we were there!! First of all, the food was awesome!, and secondly, the character interactions were priceless!! We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy. They all took turns coming to our table one by one, signing Reilly's autograph book, hugging her, taking pictures, and hanging out for a few minutes before heading to the next table. So fun. Reilly's friend let her borrow her Minnie Mouse dress, and I was SO glad! It ended up being super cute for Reilly to be dressed like Minnie during breakfast.
After breakfast, we hung out by the pool with the Dreschers while the girls played, ate lunch, and played some more.
We had an awesome dinner at an off-property restaraunt that Shawn and I LOVE...Sweet Tomatoes, and then headed back to the resort for some arcade fun before bed.
After breakfast, we hung out by the pool with the Dreschers while the girls played, ate lunch, and played some more.
We had an awesome dinner at an off-property restaraunt that Shawn and I LOVE...Sweet Tomatoes, and then headed back to the resort for some arcade fun before bed.
DAY FOUR
I couldn't get ready and packed fast enough to head home to my BOY! We pulled out of the resort by 7:15, ran through a close-by Chick Fil A for some breakfast, and were on the rode by 7:30 headed home!
It was so sad leaving. ALL the planning, ALL the anticipation, ALL the waiting and traveling, and then it's over SO FAST! We simply cannot wait to go back, do more, and soak up all that Disney has to offer! It truly is a magical place. Reilly had some birthday money that she got to spend, and she purchased a small Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto to go with her Minnie doll. She literally has been walking around the house with all four of them since we got home. They are her new friends and she keeps saying "When we go back to Disney World...." as if there's already a trip being planned in her mind!!! Can't wait til next time :)
It was so sad leaving. ALL the planning, ALL the anticipation, ALL the waiting and traveling, and then it's over SO FAST! We simply cannot wait to go back, do more, and soak up all that Disney has to offer! It truly is a magical place. Reilly had some birthday money that she got to spend, and she purchased a small Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto to go with her Minnie doll. She literally has been walking around the house with all four of them since we got home. They are her new friends and she keeps saying "When we go back to Disney World...." as if there's already a trip being planned in her mind!!! Can't wait til next time :)
For a FULL LENGTH (10 minutes!!!) video with tons more pictures and video clips, CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
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