We went to Disney! My mom and I had Veteran's Day off and we have many discounted or free things to use for this trip so we went!
We learned from the last times we traveled. Instead of lugging all our crap around, Andrew dropped the kiddos and me off at curbside check in. Why haven't we been doing this the whole time??? It was amazing. Everything was going great! Until Tommy dumped his entire bag of snacks on the floor. Argh. But it was okay, we were right by Chick-fil-a. (Poet and didn't know it...)
While we were eating at Chick-fil-a, there were some Muslim men and women walking by. Charlotte stood up on her chair and pointed at the woman wearing a burka and yelled, "BAD GUY! Mama! BAD GUY!" I was mortified. I believe she was far enough away that she didn't hear us but OMG. I'm not really sure why she thought the woman was a bad guy but she did kind of look like one of Tommy's lego bad guys, I guess. Note to self: get Charlotte a little more cultured. ;-)
Everything else went according to plan. We boarded the plane and cheesed it up.
Partial Family selfie!
The flight was fairly smooth. Charlotte was a great traveler and an awesome artist.
The flight attendants handed out little paper planes you could build (or dada could build). That entertained her for awhile too.
Charlotte did great and apparently so did Tommy. We could tell he was talking Grandma and Grandpa's ears off the entire flight but he was very well-behaved. He worked on his homework most of the flight! What a studious little preschooler.
We arrived in super hot (nearly 90 degrees) Orlando and rented our souped up mini van thanks to my credit card rewards.
This van was awesome. It was our first experience with being able to watch DVDs throughout the vehicle. Grandma brought a Mickey's Christmas DVD not even knowing we would have this. It was a HUGE help while waiting to check into the condo.
The condo was awesome too. We played on the playground a lot. The kids loved it.
We also did a lot of swimming at the volcano pool. Super fun!!
The pool also had a fountain you could play in which the kids adored.
We traveled on Saturday and swam on Sunday until it was time to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. While waiting on the kids to wake up, this husband and wife realized they've been married long enough to start dressing alike. Haha!! 10 years in May!
It was finally time to head to the Magic Kingdom!! Christmas Party Time!
The kids were READY! Their future's so bright, they gotta wear shades.
We walked in and decided the first thing we needed to do was Enchanted Tales will Belle. Best Kept Secret at Disney. You wait in line in Maurice and Belle's house. Charlotte was Belle's height at age 3. Tommy measured her. :-)
I have been to Disney several times and we have never done this. Basically they bring all the kids up to act out the story of Belle and the Beast falling in love.
Tommy got to play Chip!
After everyone plays out the story, all the kids get a chance to get their picture taken with Belle. Charlotte was kind of terrified. First character experience at Disney!
As Tommy's first character's experience at Disney, this was his reaction. He is familiar with the story of Beauty and the Beast. He LOVES the Beast. I thought he would be excited. Turns out, he was... well, not. Hahahaaa!!! His face made the entire room of parents laugh. It was so funny. Belle played it off very well giving him a big smooch.
He acted excited about it later but he certainly didn't show it at the time. So funny.
After Belle, we rode the little mermaid ride which is always entertaining.
While Tommy and Dada went on the barnstormer, Charlotte and I stood in line to meet Minnie and Daisy.
We were next in line to meet the characters when all the sudden, both Minnie and Daisy took off!! I thought Charlotte was going to freak out but she was totally chill. She was mostly worried about having to meet Daisy BEFORE Minnie. She was not too excited about that. But Minnie and Daisy came back within two minutes and Charlotte ran up toe Daisy and gave her a hug. Adorable.
I think Daisy liked her too.
Then it was time to meet Minnie. Charlotte was so excited!
Yay Meemee!!!
The gals!
Charlotte and I rode Prince Charming's Carousel. By far, her favorite ride. HORSIES!! Not sure what the hand thing was all about.
We had to ride Dumbo!!
We stood in line to meet Anna and Elsa. I thought it was going to take forever but it wasn't too bad. Took a quick selfie before it was time to meet them. The kids were so excited!
They were actually nervous to meet her. They stood next to her without getting too close for quite a while. She talked to them about Marshmallow the monster. She finally pulled them in closer for the picture and they still didn't know what to do, especially with their hands. Too funny.
You could tell it was near the end of Anna's shift. She was straining to smile and keep her eyes open. But she was super nice and the kids liked her. Just not as much as Elsa. Charlotte was still looking at Elsa the whole time. Haha!
When you leave the room where you meet Anna and Elsa, you immediately head into a straight up Anna and Elsa gift shop where they play songs from Frozen. Charlotte stood up on the little ridge and sang her heart out to the First Time in Forever. I wish I had a video. It was an amazing performance.
We headed over to Frontierland to ride the "mountain" rides. Big Thunder Mountain was first!
Then we rode Splash Mountain. We tried to be funny. See no evil, etc. Except Andrew was holding onto Tommy and couldn't cover his eyes so he just closed them. Tommy was there, I promise. You just can't see him. Still a funny picture.
After all this, it was getting pretty late and Charlotte was getting pretty tired. But we pushed on and went to Mickey's Philharmagic. Tommy is a showing off his magic wand and 3D shades while inside the metal gates for the show. Great picture.
Charlotte was not a fan of this show. It was dark and could be loud and plus 3D shows can be scary and in your face for a 2 year old. She managed but not too well. She was definitely ready to go home after that. Tommy was a huge fan of the show. He loved everything about it and was grabbed at the 3D effects.
We headed home shortly after this. We also saw the Christmas show and the Christmas parade that night too. We got a lot done for only being at the park a half day. Great start to the vacay!
