Our Disney World was by far my favorite family vacation to date! It truly is the Happiest Place on Earth and so so magical to experience, especially through the eyes of your little ones. Addie was at the absolute perfect age for all of the fun. She loved the rides, shows, all things princess, and has a new fascination with Tinker Bell. Bella wasn't far behind her but had her own personal Disney agenda. She is Lightning McQueen obsessed, has a sweet tooth perfect for all those Disney goodies, and had her own diva style at the boutique that makes me laugh to this day. Noah may not remember this trip in the future, but I will never forget it. I will remember how he jumped out of my arms any time he spotted Mickey or Donald, how he couldn't help but dance at every Disney tune, and how he smiled from ear to ear any time we said the word snack. Disney isn't just about the characters you meet and parks you visit, it's about the memories you create while you are there. It's those moments that make it so magical and here are some of my favorite moments from our trip:
- Waking up when it was still dark to catch our flight
- Counting down the days to our Disney trip was like counting down the days to Christmas morning. We had a paper chain and every time we ripped one off we were one day closer! We had a 7am departure flight, which meant it was still dark when we woke up and left our house. The girls thought it was so fun to be awake that early to catch a plane - and our end destination was the icing on the cake!
- Bella seeing Lightning McQueen
- We stayed at the Art of Animation resort in the Finding Nemo suites, but it was the Radiator Springs wing that was a hit with my crew! Bella was star struck as we walked through the resort and found Lightning McQueen. It was only a statue, which in all things Disney may not be that exciting, but it made Bella's day. It was a life size representation of the same race car she sleeps with every night, which was so, so cool in the eyes of a 3 year old!
- Seeing the castle for the first time
- There's something so amazing about going to Magic Kingdom and turning that corner on Main Street to see the castle for the very first time. Grandma and Addie sprinted ahead of us and the sight of it had Addie screaming at the top of her lungs and pointing! She was in awe!
- Princess makeovers at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique
- Our princesses were given the royal treatment as we kicked off our first day at Magic Kingdom. Addie's face was priceless as they transformed her into Cinderella, complete with fairy dust and make up. Bella was a little hesitant at first, as she is with most things, but she came through and shined with a style of her very own, which brings me to my next thing...
- Bella's pink hair
- Bella isn't as much of a girly girl as her big sister, she usually prefers a super hero cape to a princess gown. Even though she wore her pink princess dress for her make over, she topped it off with long, crazy pink hair. It was definitely a unique style, not one that I would have picked out for her, but it made it super easy to pick her out of a crowd from a distance when she was on Daddy's shoulders.
- Enchanted Tales with Belle
- The Enchanted Tales with Belle is one of my favorite experiences. It's an interactive play that tells the story of Beauty and the Beast. Addie played a horse and let out a confident "neighh" right on cue, Eric was the dad and Bella was the cutest little Chip that I ever did see. Grandma, Pap, Noah, and I watched proudly from the audience as they performed and paraded around the room. It ended with a special meet and greet with Belle, who has always been one of our favorites (although Bella would have preferred to meet the beast!)
- Hugs for Mickey & friends from Noah
- Every time Noah spotted Mickey and friends, he literally tried to jump out of my arms. He is obsessed with them! He ran right up and gave them a hug and if he really liked them he turned and posed for a picture. It was so sweet.
- Happily Ever After fireworks
- The kids LOVED the firework show. Addie sang along with the music, Bella covered her ears for most of it, but got very excited when she saw red fireworks, and Noah's jaw was to the floor the entire time. It's such a magical show and by far one of the highlights of our trip. We were lucky enough to catch the show 3 times during our stay and it got better and better each time!
- The obsession with Tink
- On our first day, Eric and my mom told the girls that Tinker Bell was flying around the park watching to see if they were being good. The girls would "spot" her when we were in line and then were amazed when she magically appeared in our pictures. (Thank you Disney magic shots) Grandma even topped it off by leaving the girls little treats under their pillows each night for good behavior. Each morning, their fascination with "Tink" grew. Then, we saw her in the parades, watched her fly from the castle during the firework display, and finally got to meet her on our last day in the park. The girls still talk about going back to Disney World just to see their best bud, Tink.
- Our little dancing machine
- Noah was a dancing machine the entire trip! The second he heard the music during a show he was up on his feet, moving to the beat. He's pretty cute too so he always attracted attention from the characters :)
- Bella's never ending naps
- Bella was a trooper during our trip. She did her best to keep up with our crew, but each day she gave in for a stroller nap and she gave in hard! When she passed out, there was no waking her up! It's kind of funny too because she slept through most of the things we decided to do for her. She picked to meet the carnival characters back by Dumbo, but then fell asleep in line and slept through every single one of them. She loves superheroes, but slept through the whole Incredibles dance party. She wanted to take the boat to see the animals on the Jungle Cruise, but slept through our entire fast pass window. That girl can sleep, through anything!
- The red balloon
- Sometimes it's the little things and life and to a one year old boy, it's a red balloon. He was SO happy marching up and down Hollywood Boulevard with his red balloon and it was the cutest thing ever.
- Roaring for Lion King - moments in line
- Luckily we didn't wait in many long lines, but when we did we made the best of it. In preparation for the Lion King show (which was by far one of our favorites!) our little lions took turns practicing their ROARSSS and it resulted in a lot of little giggles at the same time :)
- Food and drinks - spiked dole whip, sushi donut
- Disney really hits it out of the park when it comes to food and drinks and since we were on the Disney meal plan we made sure to try as many things as possible. The spiked dole whip in Animal Kingdom was hands down my favorite snack, with the unique sushi donut as a quick second. The kids loved the Mickey ears, oversized soft pretzels that were as big as their heads, and any type of ice cream.
- Princess meetings with our princesses (and the books)
- The Hendry's got the girls the cutest little princess passport books for Christmas for them to bring along on our trip and collect their autographs. I loved them because it's a book that we continue to read and it shares a little bit about each princess and what makes them unique. It's interactive and asks questions as you read through it about what makes you strong or brave, which also doubled as entertainment while we were waiting in line or at a restaurant. The girls were so excited when we collected our last signature and completed our book and I was so excited that they had such a special souvenir from our trip.
- The buzz light year ride
- This was such a fun ride for our whole crew. I loved how Addie and Eric had the same look of determination as they were shooting the aliens and Bella, Noah, and I were just trying to hit at least one during the ride :)
- Our little tink & red superhero face painting
- The girls were so excited to get their faces painted since it's something they ask for all the time at Busch Gardens, but we've never done it. Grandma to the rescue, she always says yes because that's just what Grandmas do. Addie went with a Tink inspired fairy look and in true Bella fashion she picked a red superhero.
- The girls dancing at the Grand Floridian
- On our day off from the parks we went to the Grand Floridian for an evening of fun. The hotel was absolutely beautiful from the pretty chandeliers to the furniture to the grand piano that was in the middle of the lobby. The girls had a blast twirling and dancing to the music in the middle of the lobby and it was the cutest little sight to see. Then we went to 1900 Park Fare for dinner to celebrate Addie's birthday, followed by a movie in the park, and a view of the Happily Ever After fireworks from across the lake. We made so many fun memories even on our day off from the parks.
- Our stroller tag
- You've got to stand out in the never ending sea of strollers - and we had the perfect stroller tag to do it - Lightning McQueen to the rescue :)
- Frozen ride at Epcot
- Our Frozen obsessed crew LOVED this ride! It was probably one of the favorites of the whole trip. "Wow" and "That was so cool" was all the girls said the whole time, all while Noah was too busy dancing to his jam, "Let it go."
- Walking through France with Belle
- We had one of the coolest experiences ever when we were in Epcot visiting Belle in France. We were the very last in line before her scheduled break so in full character she asked if the girls could walk her to the tavern to meet the Beast for lunch. The girls happily agreed and hand by hand they walked through France talking her ear off the whole time. Addie proudly told her all of the French words she learned in preschool and Bella was quietly just taking it all in. Their stroll ended with lots of hugs and goodbyes and two very star-struck little girls. It was absolutely magical :)
- The chocolate ice cream Mickey ears
- There is nothing cuter than little ones eating ice cream - but put some Mickey ears on top of it and it just adds to that cuteness factor. Bella and Noah couldn't get enough of the chocolate covered Mickey ears and our picky eater Addie loved the plain vanilla ice cream.
- Matching shirts
- You can't go to Disney without some Disney themed matching shirts and all the Disney gear. We sported our "Vacay Mode" and mismatched graphic tees proudly - with the rest of the Disney-goers!
- The sweetest Minnie at Chef Mickeys
- When we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner we had some sad little kids because Grandma and Pap had to leave us to go back home. Minnie spotted Bella sitting quietly in her chair and spent extra time cheering her up with a quick game of peek-a-boo. It was so sweet and quickly turned her frown upside down. We left Chef Mickeys still missing Grandma and Pap but in much better spirits.
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Eric and I took the girls on their first real roller coaster and it was hands down one of my favorite Disney memories that I still laugh about to this day. Eric and Addie went first. She loved it at times, she hated it at times, but in true Addie fashion the video Eric took during the ride is awesome entertainment. Bella and I were next, but she wasn't a fan at all. "This is not fun!" Bella said as we went up and down and round and round. She did like the mining part with the seven dwarfs, but that was it and she does not want to do it again. Their first roller coaster ride might not have been what we thought it would be, but it sure gave us some funny memories and lots of laughs.
- The princess figurines
- I always like to be over prepared for everything versus under prepared. I packed extra clothes, snacks, glow sticks, bubbles, etc. for our days at the parks especially since we never went back for breaks. I had restaurant entertainment, things to do while waiting in line, and anything else you could think of. Nothing got as much use as these little princess figures we carried around in a plastic bag. The girls and Noah both played with them constantly. Most of the time they made friends with other little kids in line who played along as well. The princess figurines still get played with almost daily and are a huge hit in our house!
- Bubbles
- Noah absolutely loves bubbles and even though I stocked up before our trip, Grandma and Pap still spoiled them and bought them each a hugely overpriced bubble/glow wand from Disney. The girls each picked a Frozen one and Noah went with Mickey. They were a huge hit!
- Move it shake it dance party
- We were able to catch the Move It! Shake It! street party parade on our last day there and it was so much fun. I loved that it was interactive and that the characters invite all the little ones to join in on the dancing at the end of it. It was high energy and a huge hit with my crew, even Noah was dancing his little heart out in the street.
- The parade
- The mid-day parade was full of characters, performers, music, and our favorite - Tink! The girls were star struck when they saw her and Noah loved all of the Mickey characters. Disney goes over the top for just about everything and this parade did not disappoint.
- The ears
- You can't go to Disney without the ears and we wore them and wore them proudly!
Our Disney trip was hands down my favorite family vacation to date. We spent a whole week in Disney and 5 days in the parks. We rode rides, met all the characters, and created priceless memories. Disney really is magical and we cannot wait to go back...
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