Wrapping it up - Disney 2010

It was an amazing trip. We have amazing parents that took us and I enjoyed it more this time with my girls than I ever did in the past. September is a great time to go because the lines were not bad, and we could still go to the water park. And I am really excited to see the expansion they are working on in Magic Kingdom for next time.

Our favorite thing about Disney this time would have to have been the characters (Princesses). A month later and it still comes up on a daily basis.

And the Carousel.



We can NOT wait to go back, and if you have a trip coming up with 3 year old girls - I can give you all our highlights! :)

And All I am going to say about the return trip home is that next time we will be breaking it up... or flying.

Hoop-De-Doo Revue

Matt and I love the Hoop-de-doo revue at the camp grounds in Disney, and given the girls' musical affinity, we thought they would love it as well.

The night started out with quite a few tantrums, but once the show started they were mesmerized. The pictures capture it all. And apparently, if you did not know this before, Ariel, Belle, and Tiana are in the show. I dont think the performers know this either, but to the girls, it was just a fact. They wouldnt listen otherwise.

They laughed, and cheered, and awed. Pure joy.

Mickey and Friends

Last time we went to Disney, the girls were terrified of Mickey and such masked characters. We did the Character breakfast and it was not so well received. This time the girls were still hesitant about seeing Mickey, and when they saw the White Rabbit with Alice, they were a bit skittish.

Mom, Dad, Jason, Katy, and the boys went to the character breakfast this year, but we opted on skipping this since we had the before mentioned princess breakfast the next day (and it was at the crack of dawn!).

We got to Epcot early the day of the Princess breakfast, and got out of the breakfast right before the park opened. Matt and Dad went to ride Fast Track, while Mom and I went over to the Character meet and greet area just to see what the girls thought of Mickey. Honestly, we expected a complete disaster.

When we got to the door, the workers ushered us in, and there stood Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. And we had them all to ourselves. Leah was in heaven, and surprised me by running up to Mickey and immediately giving him a hug. It continued down the line as I tried to snap pictures and organize both of them. It was great because they just skipped to who they wanted to see most, and reverted back to the others, returning to the same one if they wanted to.

Hannah was a little more hesitant, but warmed up once she got to Donald. Leah needed no introductions...

Once Hannah got to Donald, she started warming up. She did not warm up to goofy. Guess she is pretty big. When she finished the line up, she realized she really wanted to give Mickey a hug. But there was a line at this point and I was not going to wait after we had them all to ourselves for 10 minutes. Thankfully, the lady at the front understood my plight and Hannah's regrets and allowed Hannah to get her photo opportunity and hug from Mickey.

So That day was the best Disney day ever. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Belle, plus Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald.

We never did see Jasmine while we were in Disney, and saw Daisy only once but the girls were napping and waking them up was not an option. Not too bad though!








This is my favorite action sequence- it captures so much

Breakfast with the Princesses

The Princess Storybook Breakfast was amazing. I had read some reviews and knew beforehand that we would see 5 princesses. But most said that they saw a few of the main ones and Mulan and Pocahontas. Well we got the fab 5.
And because we went about 3 weeks before Beauty and the Beast came back out on DVD we were greeted by Belle, all done up in her ball gown she can never wear because it is too big to walk around in.
The girls hardly ate a bite as one by one Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White emerged and started walking through the room. could it get any better?!






Nevermind that the girls are groping the princesses a little bit...

But it was a fantastic breakfast! One we will definitely have to do every time we go until the girls don't care anymore - you know, when they are about 50.

Dinner with Cinderella

One of the highlights of our trip was the Cinderella dinner. Leah was especially excited and dressed up in her cinderellla dress and let me do her hair Up like Cinderella (ok in a ponytail). They were adorable.

I attempted to get the girls to eat but as soon as they saw Cinderella they were in awe. They were practically jumping out of the chairs to go give everyone a hug. Anastasia and Drizella were the best. They got down on the floor with them. Cinderella did not. I think characters should be told that if kids are knee High they need to kneel for pictures. The stepsisters got it!







When Prince Charming came around, the girls shied up and hid away from him. About 20 minutes after he had left, Leah whispered to me "I wanna take a picture with the prince. I won't be shy this time. I promise.". She had been dwelling over her missed opportunity. The waiter brought Charming back and though I had to be with her, leah was happy to take the picture.




they still talk about that dinner. I would call that a success

Mary Poppins And Alice

First day at animal kingdom we went straight to the dumbo ride and the carousel and the irks were suddenly in love with Disney world. And as we were thinking they couldn't have any more fun than riding on horses just like Mary Poppins rode, we turned around and there she was in person. Mary Poppins! Both girls love Mary Poppins. They even say "rum punch!" whenever they taste something yummy. They were in heaven. A little shy, but happy to give hugs and pose for a picture,


Leah said "I just can't believe it! She was so nice! I just can't believe it!!"

Success! And high hopes for the rest of the photo ops! And not 10 minutes later the girls spotted Alice. Another favorite of theirs,And this time they knew exactly what to do. They wanted to pet the bunny but when they got up to them they were a little scared. Alice and the white rabbit made it work though!



The morning was a success. The rest of the day not so much. It was a hot day and the girls got too tired. We had the kids laying in the middle of the path screaming that people had to step over. Yup. Totally us. They didn't want in the stroller and they didn't want to walk and we couldn't carry them. We of course were on the other side of the park. We could not leave fast enough. Matt walked out bleeding on his arm because of Leah. But the day started good, And thankfully after a nap they girls calmed down and were pretty much happy the rest of the trip.

Disney world 2010 - getting there.

We had the wonderful opportunity to tak ethe girls to Disney world this year. The girls had been talking about this trip since it was booked in January or so. But they didnt realize the car ride would take so long... We did split it up and for a lirttle bit they did great. Actually, Leah was an angel the entire time. Hannah kept screaming she wasnt comfortable and her back was hurting and that she didnt want to be stuck anymore. They were excited to just be out of the car when we finally arrived at the hotel. So were we.

There were 11 of us in our crew: five under 5 years old. Unlike our last disney trip, we had great (but hot) weather and little to no lines for pretty much anything. And we made the most of the trip.

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge which is a great resort. The girls loved the pool of course. First day there they jumped in the baby pool clothes and all. What the heck - its vacation! Here are some videos of the girls swimming.




The first night there we went to Downtown Disney and the the girls rode their favorite ride - the "sarocel". We call it a carousel. The one in Magic Kingdom won them over and that became their obsession.