Cinderella's Castle the best backdrop ever!!

So when we pulled into Hollywood Studios and didn't see the Castle on the first day I think I heard a sighing in the car.  When we said "We are going to Disney!" the castle is what they thought WAS Disney.  They did not get the four park thing. But finally after many months of anticipation we were there!!  Again just like the first day we planned to be in line before the park opened.  For those of us who have kids who don't sleep in, no not EVER, this was the perfect option.  The monorail was unfortunately not working so we took the ferry to Magic Kingdom from the parking lot.  I had never rode the ferry before, at least I don't remember, so this was a first for mommy.  I had been to Disney twice before this vacation.  I felt like the expert on this trip since Nate did not remember anything about being to Disney when he was younger.  He thought it was all roller coasters and didn't know if he would really like it at all.  I had done all the research and read all the advice from the Disney Moms panel on www.disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/.  So I felt very prepared for this vacation but I learned so much more by being there and actually doing the trip with kids.  I will be so much more prepared for the next visit.  (don't tell Nate, he doesn't know yet!)

 

It was another hot and humid day.  The kids were sweating before we got off the ferry.  This is when we noticed that mommy left the spray bottles on the counter beside the sink.  Oh MAN!  So first purchase was a spray bottle to cool our bodies down.  We walked through the ticket carousel not too soon before the Welcome Show started.  Mickey welcomed us into the park and the line started to stampede to the entrance.  We were lucky enough to stumble into the storybook princesses first and be the 6th family in line to get autographs by Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella.  We marked that off our to do list first thing!  Daddy was not wise to the princess world. 

Daddy:  Who's that?

Rosie:  Sleeping Beauty. 

Daddy:  What movie is she from?

Rosie:  Sleeping Beauty.  (said in a "my dad is so not cool" voice)

Her real name is Princess Aurora

Daddy:  Oh.  What is Snow White's real name?

Rosie:  pause.... Snow White.

Daddy:  No. What's her "real" name?

Rosie:  (using that same voice as before) Her name is Snow White, that's her name Dad.

 {I am in love with this picture.. and look Rosie let me take it with her smiling!!}

 {Me and My Big Sis  It was wonderful to share this experience with her}

 This magical moment is brought to you by Walt Disney the father of all things with ears!!! 

 Did I forget to tell you that the girls, Aunt Kathy and I had matching hair pieces?  Oh yes we did!!  Crazy mom me learned how to make some cute rosette hair pieces that I just had to share with the girls.  I got very self conscious though and it came off in the first hour. 

 {going through Cinderella's Castle}

 I think for the kids, Cinderella's Castle was a let down.  I imagine in their heads they thought that Cinderella would invite them in and they would shake hands with Prince Charming and sit down to a game of UNO.  I don't know but Bubba put it best  "that's it?"  We quickly got them excited by riding some rides.  Our first ride in Magic Kingdom was It's A Small World.  Not an adrenaline thrilled ride but a classic to say the least.  After that we headed over to Mickey's Philharmonic... a must see on Kathy's list.  It was really cool.  It's amazing how they incorporate all your senses in the 3D shows EVEN scent.  You want to know something really awesome.  Nate saw 3D for the first time in his life at Disney.  We discovered that when he wears contacts he can see 3D.  No more blurry images that give him headaches.  YEAH!! 

The rest of the morning was more rides and shows.  The fastpass seemed to be where it was at.  With the Disney FastPass you get a ticket and come back at the time on the ticket.  This gets you to bypass the looooong line and go right to the front.  At some of the rides you felt really bad to be walking past all those people who were in line waiting for 120 minutes, but it was the only way to travel.  We would get off one line and get in another.  It kept the day going really fast.  In no time it was the afternoon!!

 {I have to mention that Nate had an incredibly high score on the Buzz Lightyear Ride.  122,000 and some.  I actually thought his score was like the high score for the day since I got a measly 12,000 but all that video gaming paid off. 

 {taking in the magic of it all!!}

 {Bubba found some accessories to match his pirate ears and shirt at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride}

{I vaguely remember playing in the Swiss Family Treehouse when I was little}

 I know that Uncle Neil and Aunt Kathy did not get the wonder of getting the character's autographs but the kids loved it.  They would sit in line so nice to get to talk to a character and interact.  I am so impressed on how the characters really get into character.  They know them in and out.  Gigi gave Vidia the fairy a page to write on that said "sweet" and Vidia laughed and said that wasn't her.  (she plays the bad fairy)  So she wrote in "Sweet & Sour" and then signed her name.  How neat!  When they saw Rosie's shirt they talked about their fairy friend who has the same name and if she was afraid of dirt like their friend.  I don't think Rosie even talked through the whole visit to pixie hollow.  She just giggled and had a HUGE smile. 

{we rode Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride}

One of Mommy's favorite rides was Splash Mountain.  The best was the look on Aunt Kathy's face when she realized she would have to sit in the front of the boat.  She and Rosie got drenched.  This is where the kids learned about the wonder of putting your hands in the air to enjoy the ride.  Gigi caught on really quick.  She is in LOVE with thrill rides now.  In fact, when we boarded the monorail to go to the parking lot that night she had her hands in the air as it moved.  :-) 

 When we saw Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, even Daddy wanted their autograph.  LOL  They were so super and interacted with our kids so much.  They had a jumping contest and Prince Naveen taught Bubba how to look like a Prince.  It was too cute!!  Cross another thing off of mommy's must dos.

 

{look at the two handsome princes!! Bubba is trying to master the eyebrow thing Prince Naveen does}

Here are the kids watching Lady and the Tramp as we wait for our table at Tony's Restaurant for dinner.  Can it get much better than that?

 Our spot for the parade couldn't have been more perfect.  We sat right in front of the castle and watched the Dream Come True Show before the parade. 

 {Gigi had her first glimpse of her FAVORITE princess Snow White!}

 Rosie and Bubba had a fun time dancing in the streets during the show.  Picture Perfect!

 The kids were not so sure about the parade thing. We had told them there wasn't going to be any throwing of candy so they weren't that into it.  But once they had some cotton candy they were golden.  As soon as they saw the lights of the first float they forgot all about the candy they weren't scooping out of the streets and gazed adoringly at all the characters who were right before their eyes!

 {seriously awesome seats.  The floats went right in front of the castle and about 3' from us}

This isn't the most clear shot but I can't mention the parade without telling the most life altering event.  Alice in Wonderland blew Bubba a kiss.  And if you tell him she was blowing kisses to every little boy and girl, he will correct you.  The kiss was for him and him alone.  Daddy swears by it too!  She blew him a kiss and his eyes got as big as saucers.  He tuned to Daddy and said "DID YOU SEE THAT!"  It was the perfect ending to our day.  There was much more to see and do but we put a dent in it all.  We had to leave something for us to do the next time!!