Y'all. This post is going to be so long. I apologize in advance for the length of this puppy and its sister post which is in the works, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and trip to Disney calls for some serious documentation!
(Favorite picture of the hundreds I took. Hands down.)
We were at Disney on vacation all week last week, and I wanted to post as we went, but the days were so packed full of fun that I didn't have the time. We were up at 6:30 or 7 each day and didn't crash until 10 or 11- and that's all three of us- Newbie included. Brother partied hard! So today we're playing catch up. Hold on to your hats...there will be more pictures today than you've seen in....ever? =)We were so excited to take a trip as a little family and just get away for a while after the crazy past year we've had. Before we left, I felt really frazzled and was having a rough time transitioning from losing Jubilee to getting back into a routine. My mind was just fuzzy and muffled all the time, and now that we've had a week away, I feel like I've gained a fresh perspective and can think a little more clearly. Hey, I'm even doing laundry and making dinner since we got home, so clearly things are looking up! ha.
Our Disney trip was fabulous. Busy, like we expected, but we had an absolute blast! The following is a run-down of what we did each day and all the Newbie-isms that popped up as he met his favorite characters and experienced a lot of his Disney firsts. The Hubs and I spent the week smiling at each other as we soaked in all of the fun that is bringing a toddler to Mickey's House. It. was. awesome.
Day One: Airplane ride and Downtown Disney
Newbie was totally into the "air pane". We psyched him out the day before we left on vacation and told him all about taking off and landing and flying in the clouds. He was thrilled to drag his little Toy Story suitcase through the airport and talked constantly, "I take off! I ride in da air pane! a up in da sky!" At one point I saw a lady who was waiting to get on our plane with a cat in a bag, and I remember really hoping her cat ended up being louder than my toddler on the plane. Eish.
Turns out I had no need to worry because he did fabulously on the flight. We were so nervous about how he would do, but he didn't whine or cry once. He talked constantly and watched his movies and played with maybe a tenth of the airplane toys bag I packed for him. He was a champ.
(Those are Newbie's Rainforest Cafe eyes. Those are my "I'm really excited about these nachos, can we please just finish them before we throw in the towel?" eyes. Note the saturated t-shirt...that's teething drool, not tears. In case you were worried.=])
Day Two: Magic Kingdom
This was my favorite day of the whole trip. It was full of fun and firsts, and I loved being at Cinderella's Castle knowing we had the whole week of vacation ahead of us. There really is no where better to start a trip to Disney than visiting Cinderella's Castle. We arrived at the park just in time for the opening ceremony where Mickey drove in on the train and there was lots of singing and dancing and princesses and I may or may not have cried while watching Newbie wave to Mickey and shout, "My Mickey! My Mickey is wight der! Hi, Mickey!" All the hoopla and happy just seemed fitting for a kick off to our week long vacation. And my boy was totally into it. It was the best.
The Line-Up:
Peter Pan ride: Newbie spent the ride with his head in my shoulder..."its a yiddle too dark".
Dumbo ride: Love. "I see it! I see it Mickey's castle!" Something about remembering riding Dumbo as a kid and then having my little guy in my lap while sitting next to my man brought out more than a little Disney Magic. A favorite of the day for sure.
Philharmagic show: Whoa. Major strike out. 3D show plus surround sound plus wind blowing in your face= Newbie's worst nightmare.
Winnie the Pooh ride: Newbie was iffy through this whole thing, and it really went south with (yet another) simulated thunderstorm. Seriously, Disney? What's up with all the lightening and thunder on a POOH ride?!?
Its a Small World: the Hubs after about 15 minutes of the ride and the 3,000th its a small world after all: "This must be the definition of torture." Newbie was a little leery of the singing kids, and we had to give him that- they are a little creepy looking. Though a classic, we weren't sad when this ride was over!
Lunch in Frontierland: Hello, best chicken nuggets ever and crazy ibis birds hijacking my french fries.
Jungle Cruise: Newbie slept through the entire thing in the baby carrier...but the Hubs and I had a good time. =)
(You might be wondering why we strapped our two year old to my chest. That there is an Ergo baby carrier and I cannot emphasize enough what a life saver it was. SUPER comfy and helpful. Newbie is a rocker and a roller, and he would never stay in one spot. He was desperate to get down and walk, but he took off like a maniac when we let him. When we waited in lines or rode on some rides, we just popped him in that puppy. It gave him enough independence to where he didn't feel like I was holding him, but it kept Brother in one spot and we didn't lose him. Ever. Better than putting your kid on a leash? Maybe not. But homeboy is an active 2 year old, and I would argue it was the most brilliant idea EVER.)
After lunch we went back to the resort for a catnap and to regroup before returning to Magic Kingdom for the Hubs' turkey leg then dinner at Pinoccio's Haus and the Carousel of Progress. This was a doozy. They shut us in a room with 15 other people and turned off the lights. Newbie FREAKS out. Then a voice announces that the show will be 22 minutes long. Whaaaat?!?! I pull out a glowstick in hopes of calming Newbie's fears that surfaced with it being a "yiddle too dark". Didn't work. So I elbow the Hubs and tell him to get us the heck outta there. To his credit, he doesn't argue with the crazed momma. He leads the way, and I KID YOU NOT, opens the door, steps over the threshold, and as I follow him, I realize the stinking carousel has already started to move!!! I have Newbie in the baby carrier strapped to my chest, and my ears are ringing with the alarm that sounds when dorks like us try and leave the ride after its already begun. Extreme sensory overload. In a desperate attempt to save us from a nightmarish 22 minutes, I jumped over the threshold into the Hubs' arms and kept my head down to avoid eye contact with the people waiting in line just outside the ride who must have been hearing the same alarm we were. We dodged underneath a few chains blocking off different parts of the line and hauled out of there like nobodys business. It was nuts. I never found out if they had to stop the ride on account of us because we didn't look back on Tomorrowland until we made it to Main Street. Whew. 
(Hello, Dole pineapple ice cream in Adventureland. We love you.)
(Turkey. Leg.)
Highlight of the Day: Newbie seeing Mickey for the first time at the park opening celebration and smiling and waving and making his momma cry happy tears. =)
Day Three: Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot
We had beautiful weather on Monday, so we hit up the water park. Newbie had SUCH a blast! Their kiddie park is the best, and Newbie just wandered from fountain to fountain and had a ball. He blew me out of the water when he wandered up to a water slide, sat his little hiney down, and slid right down it. I raced down the steps to meet him at the bottom, and he was happy as a clam. The rest of the morning was spent making treks up the stairs and then down the slide. It was his favorite. The Hubs rode some rides while I hung with Newbie, and we met up for lunch and had some delicious pulled pork and fought off another army of ibis and seagulls. "I see it an E-gull!"
(Newbie helping Daddy put in his sunscreen before the water park.)
After lunch we hit the resort to change before heading to Epcot. We met Mickey and his friends at the Character Spot, where Newbie got to "talk to dem a while" and Momma got to take lots of pictures. Then we headed out to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. My LANDS did Newbie ever love the Nemo exhibit. We spent forever in there riding the Nemo ride ("I see it! I find Nemo!") and letting him run through the big aquarium. He was a big fan and scored himself some Nemo bath toys before we left for the World showcase. 
(This is the position he assumed before he met almost every character- he was too excited to stand up!)
At the beginning of the World Showcase, he got to meet Duffy Bear, Disney's newest friend. The book that goes with Duffy is darling, and Newbie was given a stuffed Duffy before our trip by a friend. He adores his Duffy bear and was stoked to meet the big Duffy. When it was his turn, he squatted down, hit the ground, and said to Duffy, "Come see me! Come see me! Come talk to me a while!" PRECIOUS. He was all about meeting the characters and just shooting the breeze with them. It was so much fun to watch.
(Arriba.)
(Our prime firework watching and strawberry smoothie slurping spot)
Day Four: Animal Kingdom
Aka: our first of three rain days. We were really excited about Animal Kingdom, but wearing a plastic bag when its 90 something outside just gets to be a little rough. We didn't last long, but we got a chance to see the Lion King show and go on the Kilamanjaro Safari. Newbie was the safari's biggest fan, and we are still hearing about all the animals! We had flame tree BBQ for lunch, and it was a dream. After lunch we explored a trail full of tiger exhibits that Newbie was all over, then he found the highlight of his trip: two fountains. He stopped traffic with his squeals of delight and his soppy wet clothes. People literally stopped in their tracks to watch him run through the fountains. He was in heaven and could not have been happier. It was such fun to see him have a great time! We went back to the resort after Animal Kingdom and hit up Downtown Disney for what we thought would be a dry night. Wrong. Super soppy evening, but we had a good time splashing through puddles and doing some shopping. I think this was the evening we ate at Raglan Road and watched the cloggers strut their stuff in the middle of the restaurant. Very fun!`
(Newbie is totally zooming in on some wildlife in this one...)
Highlight of the day: Watching Newbie run back and forth through that fountain. I think it was the best time he had the whole trip, and it brought the Hubs and I such joy to watch him have such a ball.
*****
I have three more days of Disney fun to share, but I'm going to put the kabosh on this before the three of you that have read all the way through it decide to never come back. =) Its just tough to condense all the fun into a reasonable length for a blog post! I'll be back with Take Two once I get a few more pictures organized.
One of my favorite things about the Disney experience was anytime we got off the phone with the front desk at our resort, they would say: "Have a magical day!" I told the Hubs I was going to call that number when we got home just to hear someone tell me to have a magical day. So in the spirit of the happiest place on earth...
Thanks for reading, and have a *magical* day! (Or evening since I started this post two days ago and its now 10 o'clock on Thursday night...) =)
Wow!! What a Magical time you had. I loved everything you wrote and especially Newbie's precious comments! I hope he will tell us about it in July! Good memories made at a good time!!
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