Disney Part II....possibly even longer than the first???

[Disclaimer: No judgement here if you don't read a thing and just skim through the pictures-its another biggun'...I would go back and cut out tons of stuff, but its dinnertime and we're already having pancakes because I have spent so much time blogging already.  The edits ain't gonna happen...its every man for himself!]

Its been too long.

Sorry guys.  Sorry.  Sorry guys.

(Almost every time we came back to the room after being gone all day, Newbie crawled up to his stuffed animals on the bed and said, "Sorry guys.  Sorry.  Sorry guys!" ...it was like he was apologizing for leaving them there all day while he went out and had all the fun.  His sorry's had the Hubs and I busting a gut laughing every time.)

Wow.  When I said I had a sister post in the works, betcha didn't think it'd take me a week to get it up here, huh?  .......me either.  I think it had something to do with how "in the works" meant that I had a trillion more pictures from our trip.  ...not necessarily that I had done a single thing with them yet. =)

I spent last week doing everything I could to avoid unpacking and this week actually unpacking, so its been busy.  Something about leaving some of the bits and pieces straggling in a suitcase at the foot of the bed felt like maybe a little sprinkle of the pixie dust would settle into our house before I had to shoo all the Disney magic away and get back to the laundry and the dishes and the making my own bed and cooking my own food.

I'd insert something here about how once I finally unpacked everything I realized "the happiest place on earth" isn't really Disney at all but is in fact home...where the everyday things- the sunscreen and sidewalk chalk and movie nights with the Hubs- prove better than a three minute ride on Dumbo...but that just felt a little too cheesy.  And only slightly lacking in truth because while home is my happiest place on earth, I'm telling you right now: Dumbo was freaking awesome. And Disney World could very well be the second happiest place on earth. 

So I'm skipping the insert and instead picking up where I left off last week:

Day Five: Hollywood Studios and Blizzard Beach

We hit Hollywood Studios on Wednesday morning bright and early.  This was the only day we utilized our get-into-the-parks-an-hour-before-the-rest-of-the-world perk for staying at a Disney resort.  After seeing Pluto and Goofy, we high-tailed it over to see "Yightning the Keen".  Newbie was a little freaked out by the sound of Lightening and Mater's engine, and I think he was severely disappointed that they didn't move...or blink.  He was happy to see them, but Duffy blew Lightening out of the water. 

(Sorry, Honey.  The thumbnail was too small to see that your eyes were closed...and I'm too lazy to dig out another one.)

I was majorly excited about the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground because I remembered it being awesome from when I went to Disney as a little girl and as a middleschooler.  Note to self: sometimes things experienced in childhood are not as awesome when you are 26.  Boo!  Newbie was a little too small to really enjoy the grass blade slides and we didn't last long.  I think he was a little confused about why all the grass was so big...and he had no appreciation for the larger-than-life super soaker or oatmeal round cake.  As a child of the 90's, I had to have a moment of silence as we left because I bet a good 99.435% of kids today haven't seen Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and that one was a winner!

It was a bit drizzly out, but we powered through with Newbie's Buzz Lightyear umbrella and a good 6 or 7 rain ponchos jimmy-rigged to keep the stroller dry. 

We opted to wait in line to see Buzz and Woody instead of waiting in line to ride any rides.  We finally came to the realization that Newbie enjoyed meeting characters far more than riding anything, and the 45 minute wait to meet some of his besties was bound to be better than a 45 minute wait to climb into a ride we'd only have to climb out of after Newbie decided it was a NO GO. (See "Carousel of Progress" anecdote in Disney Post I)

 Newbie loved Woody and Buzz, and despite a phantom dirty diaper that had me snaking backwards through the line with a wholelotta "excuse me's" and then back through the line with even more, it was a lot of fun.  Newbie tried to shoot the breeze with the guys again, telling Buzz that there were blocks on the wall behind him and asking Woody about his badge.  The characters are always good sports and spent a good little chunk of time "talking" with Newbie.  For the record, Buzz is the creepiest Disney character to date.  Wowza.  Check out the face on that guy. 

There was nothing to do after meeting Buzz and Woody but eat lunch at Pizza Planet, duh.

We checked out a few other attractions, but ended up taking off shortly after lunch because Newbie was crashed and there wasn't a ton of stuff we could do with a 2 year old there.  Mid morning Newbie bailed on Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and after the Hubs took on another quest for the exit sign, we just decided it wasn't worth waiting in line.  So we snatched up a few souvenirs, the Hubs did a headstand, and we were off for the water park!

Our Blizzard Beach experience was one for the ages.  We had to stop at the resort after Hollywood Studios to change into our suits, and as we walked into our room, the thunder rolled and a downpour started.  We called the *magical* front desk and found out Blizzard Beach was closed, but would reopen.  We ended up waiting for a bit, changing, and heading out for Blizzard Beach about 45 minutes later.  As we walked into the park, NO KIDDING, the downpour and thunder started again.  We dashed under an awning at the lodge, found a bench, and sat there for another 45 minutes while the park closed and waited for the storm to pass.  We watched billions of people leave, but were determined to put our hopes in the rumored reopening of the park because four Disney lifeguards standing near you, bummed that they don't get to leave work can't be wrong. And they weren't.  The pools reopened and we had the place to ourselves.  There were literally NO other kids in the kiddie area, and maybe three other people in the lazy river.  The Hubs rode a few rides and didn't have to wait in a single line.  It was so much fun.  Newbie had a ball.

(We suprised Newbie with a Nemo towel before we left for Blizzard Beach.  He wanted it on the floor and did this then yelled, "SAFE!"  ....home plate, beach towel- its all the same, right??)

After the water park, we went back to the resort for dinner. On our way back to our room, we spyed the Epcot fireworks through some palm trees.  Newbie is a big fan of fireworks from miles away.  We also spyed a snail.  I thought it was super gross and the Hubs and Newbie got a kick out of it.  Newbie still says, "eww!  Snail gross!" when he's looking to get a laugh out of us around here.

Highlight of the day:
Seeing Newbie meet Woody and Buzz...a dream come true for that little boy!  Watching Newbie ride down a tube water slide at Blizzard Beach was also a riot.  He was so tiny, but sat right down on a big boy tube, held onto the handles, and rode all the way down.  The funniest thing was his complete lack of emotion- he must have been concentrating on holding on or trying to figure out what he was doing sliding down on something instead of just his bum- because he didn't crack a smile until we set his feet on dry ground and he started trekking up the hill to do it again.

Day Six: Animal Kingdom and our last hurrah at Downtown Disney

We went back to Animal Kingdom on Thursday because we had made reservations for a character dinner at Tusker House.  Everyone had told me we had to make character dinner reservations for our trip, and this was the only place that had any openings left when we scheduled our trip three weeks before we would be leaving, so I made them. And everyone was right.  If you go to Disney, you have to do a character dinner! It was such a blast.  At a character dinner, the characters come right up to your table and "talk" with you and take pictures.  At Tusker House, Mickey, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy were all dressed up in their safari gear.  Newbie was in awe of seeing the characters waltz up to his table.  He kept talking to them and telling them about what he was eating and trying to talk to them after they had moved on to the tables next to us.  It was so much fun.

(Because you only live once and really should make elephant noises before walking through the gates to Animal Kingdom.)

We crammed a lot into this day before lunch. The Hubs rode Everest, the roller coaster.  I would have, but opted to stand in line to get good seats to Nemo the Musical instead.  The musical was cute, but Newbie was done after the first three minutes of the show starting.  The barracuda flashed across the stage and brother was D.O.N.E.  The Hubs was a champ and let me stay for the show while he took Newbie for some one on one time...and ice cream. =) We met some more characters before lunch, and I had to apologize to Pocahontas because she was sharing a hut with the chipmunks and Newbie had to see her before he saw them and he didn't give her the time of day. ("Sorry, Pocahontas...we just haven't seen your movie yet...") Its so funny to see Disney World through the eyes of a little boy, because I'm telling you right now, I was way more excited about meeting Pocahontas.  But when you're touring the world with two men, you have to pass up on the princesses and get pumped about the animals and action figures.  I'm hoping the Lord lets me keep a little girl here someday so Momma can get her some princess time on our next trip to Disney.  Don't even get me started on how we didn't get to meet the fairies at Magic Kingdom.  Boys are so totally not into fairies.

It started to rain buckets after lunch and Nemo, so we headed back to the resort where Newbie and I each crashed on a bed for a good hour and a half.  It was the best nap of my life.  The Hubs woke us up for pizza at the resort and then we hit up Downtown Disney for our last hurrah.  I went into a Disney frenzy, scooping up souvenirs and Mickey propaganda like it was going out of style.  Which it is.  What is it about going to Disney that makes you want to wear all kinds of Mickey Mouse stuff when you would not even consider buying something with a mouse on it when you're at home?  I don't know.  But it happened to me, and I have three Mickey t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants to prove it.

(Dessert at Ghiradelli?  Yes, please!  Newbie's kids' ice cream was bigger than my single scoop and covered in sprinkles....Disney knows what the children want.)

Highlight of the Day: Everything about our character lunch at Tusker House.  The food was amazing, the best we had all week, and it was so much fun to watch Newbie chow down.  He got a Mickey pancake AND a bowl full of mac and cheese. Homeboy was in heaven.  And watching him with the characters was priceless.  Hearing him ask, "I talk to dem a while?" each time he saw one coming had us in stitches.

Day Seven: Magic Kingdom and a moonlight swim finale

Friday we spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom.  We made it there early enough in the morning to catch another park opening celebration, which had Newbie even more excited than the first time he saw it.  We rode Dumbo again, made a first twirl around the teacups, and finally made it to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house.  Let me tell you something no one will tell you about that sucker: it. is. TALL.  You don't remember it as a kid because you're too short or small to care, but when you get up there with your bad self and you are a good five foot four and can see over every rope rail, you realize you can see way too much of the park, and you may just teeter on the edge of a nervous breakdown.  I'm not saying I did.  I'm just saying no one tells you how high that tree house is until you're up there and every adult is saying, "Gee, this thing is high."  "Whoa.  We're going up more?"  "Hold on a sec- I'm dizzy."  I was so happy to have two feet on the ground after that one.  The Hubs, on the other hand, was mourning the fact that he couldn't move in.  He's a big fan of the "forge your own home in the wilderness" deal.

We hiked miles through Magic Kingdom that day.  Space Mountain, lunch at Tony's Italian Restaurant (of Lady and the Tramp fame), Splash Mountain, Hall of Presidents while Newbie napped in the carrier, and funnel cakes for a snickety snack.

("I see it Goofy!  I talk to him a while?")

We caught the "A Dream Come True" show at the castle in the early afternoon.  That one was another doozy.  We had front row seats to the show at the castle, and Newbie was the world's biggest fan on his daddy's shoulders watching Mickey and Minnie and the gang sing and dance.  But everything hit the fan when the villain from Sleeping Beauty popped up on stage complete with a green face, mean voice, and a ball of fire.  Newbie's entire body shook all at once, and he almost leaped (is that a word?) from the Hubs' shoulders into my arms, and just looked into my eyes crying, nearly screaming: "Weady to GO!  Weady to GO!  Find it my bus!  Weady to GO!"  It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen, and you can bet after three seconds of trying to console him to no avail, I put it in reverse from the very front row of the castle and hauled my cookies straight through that crowd.  Over and out, people.  Trying to get through the crowd at the castle for that show was like trying to walk through a pile of sweaty, sticky, (sometimes cranky) boulders.  But a momma's gotta do what a momma's got to do, and homegirl got my boy out of there before fire balls and green faces stole sleep at our house forever.

(Clearly, this was a pre-vilain smile.)

Newbie recovered well from a distance and we re-upped on sunscreen and hit the streets for more fun.  I can't even remember all the rides and shows we hit, but I know for a fact there was a Dole pineapple ice cream float and at least two parades involved.  It was just such a special day.  We spent hours riding rides and just walking and looking and talking and soaking it all in.  We followed Newbie's lead, hit all the things on our "gotta do" list, and were finally ready to wrap it up about an hour before dinner time.  We debated staying longer, but we were all wiped out after such a packed day, and decided to head back to the resort, eat at the cafe, and then hit the sandcastle pool at our resort for one last moonlight swim.  Newbie was such a fan of the pool.  It was rainy under a dusky night sky, and we just had a blast with the water splashing us from top to bottom. Newbie's daddy hauled him from one cannon fountain to another for a good hour before we finally decided we'd be too tired to walk back to our room if we didn't leave then. 

(This is what 2 o'clock looked like just about every day: Newbie asleep in the Ergo and Momma and Daddy munching on a snack...and a poncho stuffed on the top of the stroller from early afternoon sprinkles.)

(My man is such a keeper...had so much fun with him on this trip!)

Highlight of the Day: Newbie pulling the sword out of the stone at Prince Phillip's (Phillip? Eric? Gregory? Fred?) carousel.  Oh yes. he. did.  The sword in the stone is directly through Cinderella's castle, and we stopped at it on our way to Dumbo first thing when we arrived that morning.  Newbie and I tugged and tugged and couldn't get it.  The Hubs tugged and couldn't get it.  I preface this story with that so you know how stinking stuck that thing was.  We left to ride Dumbo, then came back to ride the carousel. When we got off,  Newbie and I went back to the stone while the Hubs went to get our stroller. 

Three kids were ahead of us, and each pulled and pulled and couldn't get the sword to move.  One boy even stood on the stone, straddling the sword, and tugged.  Nothin'.  Then it was Newbie's turn again.  His little hands gripped the sword, he pulled and -I CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP- he pulled the sword out of the stone!  It rose a good foot or more out of the stone and I was freeeaking out. Freaking out too much, in fact, to keep pulling and see if the thing could be brought home as a souvenir. I looked up to holler at the Hubs, but he was no where in sight.  In fact, no one but one other mom was watching, and she was freaking out as much as I was.  In the midst of the sword hysteria, I thought Newbie was going to be the new king of Disney or at least get to ride on a float in a parade or something. None of the above, but we left with our knowledge that if all were right in the world, Newbie would most certainly be the new king of England...or whatever the haveth's and lo's explained on the front of the stone for he who removed the sword.  When the Hubs got back with the stroller, our explanations tumbled out of our enthusiasm:  "Honey! Honey!!! He did it!  I big kid who STOOD on the stone didn't get it and then it was his turn, and he got it!!!"  "Daddy, I pull it out the so-wed out!" I think the majesty of the moment was a little lost on him...kinda a "you had to be there" moment, but it was definitely the highlight of the day for me.  Newbie and I still talk about it. =)

Day Eight: Burning time at the resort and airport and flying home
We got up bright and early Saturday to try and cram everything back into our suitcases.  It was a humiliating affair because the Hubs got to witness firsthand all the excess clothes I had packed, evidenced by their untouched place in the dresser.  I'm the queen of over packing.  Not to mention we had a suitcase full of food and diapers that we brought down, only to fill again with souvenirs.  Our families gifted us several parts of our trip, and we were able to have a little fun in the Disney shopping department.  Hence the suitcase full of stuffed Nemos and Simbas and t-shirts and Christmas ornaments.  You're only at Disney World once, baby.  After we packed, each bag weighed in right at 49ish pounds, so we squeaked by extra fees at the airport by the hair of our chinny chin chins. 

Our morning was spent waiting in line at the resort to check our bags for the plane, riding the Magic Express back to the airport, and then eating CHICK FIL A (!!!!!) at the food court.  Newbie crashed in the baby carrier, so we were spared an hour of entertaining him while we waited to board at our gate, and security even let me keep him in the carrier while we passed through the detectors.  They just had to do a fancy swipey thing and run it through the machine.  Brilliant.  Newbie did fabulously on the flight home, again not a single tear and several compliments from the passengers around us.  I think everyone expects a flight next to a toddler to be miserable, and I'm so glad he did so well.  GiGi, Grandad, Uncle J, and Aunt Corndog were all there to pick us up from the airport back home.  Newbie saw them, screamed, "GIGI!" and took off running for the crew.  It was good to be home. =)

We had such a fabulous time on our trip.  I would recommend Disney World to anyone.  It is such a unique place to go, and they do such a wonderful job of making it a family friendly experience all the way around the block.  We're hoping to go back years from now with a quiver full of kiddos.  I have two more posts I'm hoping to get up soon- one with a few tips for visiting Disney with a toddler while its still fresh in my mind, and one featuring the Hubs' highlight of the day for each park we visited.  So this isn't the end of the Disney train, but we're getting there. =)  If you've hung in there for the entirety of this post, I feel like you should get a cookie or something...these posts have been so long...and so unrevised. Eep! You are a trooper!  Thanks for reading and putting up with a momma's need to write this stuff down somewhere!

...and have a magical day! 

Chlorinated Wonderlands

Today is a beach day.  Which inspired a Disney water park/pool post (not to be confused with the motherlode Part II post- ha!) in the early morning hours before coffee making time while my boys saw logs down the hall.

The Florida sun is a beautiful thing, and we were more than happy to enjoy her in a plethora of chlorinated wonderlands.  Newbie is a little fish and just loved all the time we spent at the pool...and surprised us with his love for a good water slide.  Our first day at Typhoon Lagoon, he mastered the simple slide.  Two days later he got for real on a tube slide.  I'm not kidding.  A two year old sitting on a tube, holding onto the handles, and cruising down a real life water slide.  I almost fell over laughing and racing to the bottom to take pictures- no need to worry though, he went back about a dozen times, so I got plenty of footage.  He is such a riot.

I wish I had taken more pictures, but alas, the water keeps you busy and the camera didn't come out often.  Here's what I've got:

Our resort had a fun sand castle themed pool that we visited a few times.

Typhoon Lagoon had an adorable kiddie play area.  Newbie was most interested in the water slide and the hose. We got a kick out of his obsession with the hose when he had an entire water park to explore. 

(That tongue was out 95% of the time at any pool...he's a big fan of drinking nasty water.)

Our day at Blizzard Beach was interesting...we went there on a whim despite thunderstorms and in between park closings.  We hit a good window, got into the park, and then had to sit for 45 minutes while they waited for the storms to pass through.  However, when they reopened the pools at 4 in the afternoon, we had the place to ourselves.  NO lines.  No waits.  No crazy people running around knocking down your toddler.  It was awesome.  There were seriously probably 20 people in the entire park.  It was crazy.  The Hubs got to ride all kinds of slides with no wait, and I tried a toboggan slide where you lie on a mat and go head first down a few hills.  I prefer my toboggans in snow, but it was fun to try a big girl ride after a week of toddler adventures. =)

(This was our view of the monsoon...well worth the wait!)

We are all about the moonlight swim and managed to squeeze a couple in before bedtime at the resort. Newbie was completely savvy to the fact that he was getting out of bedtime and getting to swim instead- he was a major fan!

I'm off to the grocery store to snag some beach food and recreate a little Disney magic in our own neck of the woods....sun and sand, here we come!

Happy weekending!

The Longest Disney Post Ever...and its only Part I.

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. 

We rode Disney's Magic Express shuttle from the airport to the Caribbean Beach Resort.  Disney does such a wonderful job making family friendly vacations, and we were so grateful they took care of our luggage and all we had to do was hitch a ride to our hotel.  After we checked into the resort, we hit up Downtown Disney for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and some perusing.

Newbie was so NOT a fan of the Rainforest.  Oh my goodness.  I was a little leery about the rest of the trip after this dinner because he FREAKED OUT over the simulated thunderstorm and the screaming monkeys.  Seeing that last sentence written out makes me look like a moron for not seeing that one coming, but I really thought he'd get into the jungle animals and all of the trees and flowers.  That one tanked.  We ate our nachos while I held Newbie and rocked him and promised that the monkeys were just pretend.  Which totally doesn't make a lick of sense to a two year old.  He warmed up enough to finish the meal, but we won't be heading back to the Rainforest Cafe any time soon!  I left holding my breath for the rest of the week because Disney is sort of all about the moving animals and simulated environments.  Later we found that he was a bit skittish of certain stuff, but he was always a trooper.  Happy to report there were no extreme meltdowns over the course of the week.

(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.=])

Back to business: Downtown Disney is such a riot.  Its just chuck full of all kinds of Mickey stuff and fun shops and live music.  We walked and walked and just enjoyed kicking off the trip!

Highlight of the day: Newbie being super excited about boarding "my air pane" and then sharing a lemon chill in downtown Disney while we listened to live music.  What a fun way to wrap up a day of travel!

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.)

We redeemed the event by finding a fabulous spot to watch the electric parade.  I scored major points for the glow sticks I bought before hand at the Dollar Store.  Newbie loved the glow sticks and the parade!  We intended to stay for fireworks, but after they showed a movie on the castle wall featuring lots of Disney characters, Newbie was cashed.  With the first firework boom, not even the M&M's could save us, and we took off for the buses and our resort. 

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. 

After Duffy, we hit up Mexico for some margaritas and tacos.  YUM.  It may have cost Newbie's college education, but it was delicious.  Disney food is so expensive.  Yowza.  We recovered from bill shock and then headed around the world.  Newbie was a good sport, and we spent lots of time in Germany grabbing a special something for my grandparents and celebrating my roots. Then we caught sight of an Epcot wedding, which had me totally rethinking where the Hubs and I got married.  Disney wedding= brilliant. 

(Arriba.)

We had a killer spot for fireworks, but once again, after the first boom, Newbie was DONE.  So we high-tailed it out of there and went back to the resort to watch some Duck Dynasty before going to bed.  It was such a fun day!

(Our prime firework watching and strawberry smoothie slurping spot)

Highlight of the day: Watching Newbie get the guts to go down the water slide on his own.  Watching him from the bottom while he scoots his swim trunks down the slide grinning from ear to ear and saying, "Mommy, I do it!  I did it all my by self! I doing it!" 

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. 

The way Newbie zoned in on Simba and waved and shouted, "Hi, Yion Ting!  HI!" during the Lion King musical every time he got a little scared made it to the top of the list somewhere too. The Hubs whipped out a stuffed Simba and handed it to Newbie at the beginning of the show, and Newbie squeezed it to pieces and said "Biiiiiiig hug!"- that moment was also up there.

*****
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...) =)

The Yion Ting

Hey Newbie?

("Yeah?")

What is it like to be awesome?

("Watch Yion Ting?"...Translation: Watch Lion King)

I thought so. 

Love this kid.  He rocks.

When he sings the "Yion Ting song" he just opens his mouth and screams a little.  We finally figured out its the "mah see wayne yah" from the beginning of the song (do you like that translation?!...that is what the dude says, right? ha).  Boy's got skill.

In other words, there is a lot of Disney happening around here.  We're kinda brainwashing him.  Don't judge.  Disney World is a big deal.  We haven't been on a family vacay just the three of us, and we're all about the "go hard or go home" philosophy. We like to do it up right. There may or may not have been a duet rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me" performed by yours truly and the Hubs in the bank parking lot today before we went grocery shopping.  With three heads bobbing.  And Newbie chiming in with a "fren in ME" every once in a while.  What can I say?  We know how to have a good time.

Back to the pep talks and hullabaloo that has ensued lately...

There's been a lot of this happening:

And a lot of this:

And this:

And psyching him out about airplanes...though he's convinced we're taking a helicopter when we go because helicopters are obviously cooler. 

We've been talking Mickey ears.  We want the man to be prepared.  He talks all the way through the "Free Walt Disney World Planning DVD" that came in the mail, and we didn't want him freaking out when he got his very own pair of those awesome Mickey ears every kid in the video is sporting.  Brother is psyched. We have big plans to get pink Mickey ears in honor of our girls too- because they are just as much a part of our upcoming trip as we are.  We're celebrating family.  And fun.  And making memories.  And I'm not sure there will ever be a day when I don't carry my girls with me wherever we go. So pink ears it is.

I'm off for a mini date night with the Hubs.  Love me some dinner with my man.  Looking forward to a fun weekend with my boys and more Disney brainwashing. =)

Happy Weekending!