We woke the kids REALLY early (sometimes I say really early but I don't really mean it; this time I mean REALLY early - shortly after 5 am) to surprise them with a trip to Disney World! I had visions of screams and giggles, but honestly? They were too tired and groggy for it to register. Once they got on the plane, that's about when it registered.
We gave them each Mickey/Minnie shirts as a clue, and Christian guessed right away. Here they are watching the plane. They were really excited about their first flight! Christian said on the plane "I feel like I'm in a dream." So sweet!
Avery was a bit fussy towards the end of the flight. Of course, strangers are always super sympathetic and kind when you have a screaming child. (Or not.)
After we landed, the kids begged and begged to go to Disney, like I figured they would. So after grabbing some breakfast (okay, second breakfast, you get hungry when you eat your first breakfast at 5:30) at the Chick, we headed to Magic Kingdom.
Ooooooohhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
Magic Kingdom is really......well, magical. There is so much to see and do, there are people singing and dancing along the streets, and then there's this huge castle that greets you. It's just amazing. I seriously got teary-eyed just watching my children experience it all.
There is, of course, the theme park feel, which I am just not a fan of. I hate crowds. I hate heat. I hate germs. Theme parks combine all of these elements for the ultimate in torture for me. But, given all the other magical stuff, I could overlook most of those things. Disney World really does out-do itself with the "another world" element. It's almost surreal.
I did not bring my Nikon, because I didn't want to carry around a big ol heavy camera all day. So I took all my pictures with my iPhone or Ansley's little point and shoot.
I told Ansley about the Haunted Mansion, because I remember it when I went to Disney (I was younger than Ansley). She was really excited about that, so we rode that first. It's dark in there, though, so it was too hard to take a picture, but this ended up being one of Ansley's favorite rides - we rode it many times! It's so cute and fun, and even Avery loved it the whole time.
Ansley and Christian on Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.
Avery and (part of) John on the carpet ride. It was very bright, can you tell? This was Avery's very first ride, and after this, she would point to everything and say "Ride? Ride?" SO cute.
The kids thought the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse you could walk through was really cool!
As we are walking by, a show breaks out at the castle. We had to stop - the kids were mesmerized and Avery was dancing away!
The Jungle Cruise - so cute!
The Mad Hatter tea cups!
Then we headed to our condo, and since we met Granna and Papa Joe here as well, she had dinner waiting for us. And a big bonus: we were able to leave Avery with them after dinner, and we took the older two back for more Magic Kingdom nighttime fun!
We all rode Space Mountain, which I have to say is pretty scary, and I was super impressed that the kids (especially Christian) rode it and enjoyed it! I also remember Space Mountain from when I was a kid, and I cried the whole time! (I didn't tell my kids that part until afterwards.)
John and Ansley on Thunder Mountain Railroad. We all liked this one so much, we rode it again! It's just a fun but not super scary roller coaster!
We got to watch the really cool Electrical Parade. The kids really loved that!
Then back to rides! We rode the space things....hmmm, I can't remember the name, but you go way up just to get to the ride, and then the ride takes you up, too. It was a cool view, round and round!
We tried to ride Splash Mountain, but it had some "technical difficulties" right as it was our turn, so we left and did Thunder Mountain again instead.
Then we headed home after a super long day, considering how early we got up, but loads of fun and memories!
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