Walt Disney World Day 1

(Just a warning - the next few days I'm planning on posting lots of details and pictures of our Disney vacation - I have a terrible memory and I want to remember all that we did. I'm also attempting to not develop so many pictures so I will be posting a ton. I hope it doesn't get too boring for anyone! :)

We woke up Saturday morning at 3 am (yes - 3am) to drive from DFW to Orlando. It took us 18 hours - and that was only stopping for the bathroom and food - and all food was eaten in the car (that made for a very pretty car when we got home!) We got to Orlando around 9pm and pretty much went straight to sleep. The next morning we woke up and met my parents at the hotel where we all stayed for the week, the Grand Floridian. It's a Disney property so we were staying right across the lake from Magic Kingdom.

We were greeted in our room by our first Mickey Mouse. We were always on the lookout for the "hidden" Mickeys around the property. They were everywhere - the tile, carpet, wallpaper etc...
We are so excited we're here!!!

With Grandma B

A view of our gorgeous hotel from the balcony.

After a difficult time getting to the park (the monorail was broken, then the boat was taking forever to come) we got our first picture at the entrance to Magic Kingdom.

Our first view of Cinderella's castle.

Right after we entered we saw this happening in the street! It was the street party with lots of different characters.

This was Ben, he was a little unsure about the whole thing.

There is Mickey!

And our favorite, Woody!

We headed over to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo when we saw Pinocchio outside! Our first of many character meet and greets.

My dad with a tower of hats! :)

There was a Dumbo outside of the ride and Ben was getting comfy on his ears.

I still remember riding this with my dad and Jessica when I was 5!

We were headed to another when we saw Mary Poppins! She actually took Elizabeth by the hand and led her on a little parade over to the signing area - it was so special!

She signed Elizabeth's book,

and posed for a picture.

(all of the characters were so good at posing like their character would pose - you'll have to watch my kids throughout the week - they learned to pose, too!)

We heard that Cooper and Jackson were at the park (they had flown in on Sunday) so we headed towards the front to find them.

We got a few pictures by the castle

and waited to see the big parade! We got a front row spot (at least the kids did) so they were able to mingle with some of the characters. Woody was loving Cooper, patting his head and everything.

Geppetto came by,

the Genie from Aladdin,

and I had to get a picture of them since Tom and I were so cute on Halloween dressed up as them! (ha ha)
Can you recognize them? It's the wicked stepmother and ugly stepsisters from Cinderella. They sure looked just like I pictured them!

Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Fairy Godmother

Belle waved right at me - yipee!! (she's my favorite!)

After the parade we headed to Swiss Family Robinson's tree house to explore.

Next we headed to Aladdin's magic carpet ride - Jackson doesn't look like he's enjoying it much, but I think he does!

Grandma and Grandpa got each of the kids a fun balloon that we had a really fun time
trying to get home in the car on the way back to Texas!

In the evening we watched the gorgeous fireworks. Sorry about the terrible pictures but this is Tinkerbell (a real person) that flies through the sky on a rope with a lighted outfit. It was a fabulous way to start the fireworks show.

Here's how Elizabeth and her daddy watched the show - I thought it was so precious. (Elizabeth has her daddy wrapped around her finger.)

The second we left the fireworks I looked down and saw Ben was asleep! This is what he did the rest of the evening while we rode some more rides.

The boys favorite Toy Story "bad guy shooter" ride. (Ryan's very dedicated at the game - he was in it to win it! :) You rode around in the cars and shot at the targets with the laser gun. A very popular ride - this always had one of the longest lines.

My cute partner.

And daddy sat on a bench like this!

Last one of my very favorite rides - the tea cup!!

The kids just yelled faster - faster!!

It was a great way to end our night!

Up next - Hollywood Studios and breakfast with Cinderella - yipee!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Ben!!

It's been a really long time since I posted, and for good reason! We were in Disney World!! Ben was lucky enough to celebrate his birthday in Disney World (his actual birthday was on our drive home - not so fun - but the day before we celebrated it at Magic Kingdom).

Ben got a birthday cake in a pirates treasure chest! (lucky boy!) The Winnie the Pooh characters even signed a card for him. (a little bit of a forced smile there :)

Here is Ben on his actual birthday (at 3am waiting for dad to get the car!) More on that story later.

They look pretty good for 3 am! :)

The entire drive home (18 hours!) Ben couldn't quit asking when he got to open his presents so bright and early the next morning Ben opened his presents! This ecstatic expression is from opening a shaving kit - he really wanted it! :)

There it is - the shaving kit.

A candy toy thing he picks up every single time we are in the check out line at Target.

And he got a pogo stick!! That kid loves adventurous stuff! This one is made for younger kids to start because it's on a base that stands up by itself - so he is bouncing up and down but the base never actually leaves the ground. Once he's more stable on it we'll take off the base. We also went to Ci Ci's for lunch with all of our family. This year we are doing Ben's birthday a little differently - we're sharing a party with Cooper. So the party won't be for a few weeks and will be a smaller crowd than normal, mostly just our mutual friends and family. It will be a good time!!

Disney World is next!