Our big surprise for this vacation was a quick trip to Disneyworld. My parents live about 2 hours away so we thought spending a few days there would be a fun experience for the kids. We really wanted to focus on family time during this vacation and knew we could always go back to DisneyWorld or DisneyLand in the few years so 2 days seemed to be just right this time. We started the day at Downtown Disney to let the kids slowly get introduced to the Disney experience and buy all the souvenir's they wanted before going to the park the next day. Usually when we go shopping the kids know they can look but we won't buy any new toys. So, it took over an hour of us reminding them they could get a few new things before they finally realized it was okay to start asking for things.
Lucy loved the princess stuff! She quickly grabbed a Cinderella doll, which ended up coming home with us.
Listening to the kids get so excited seeing their favorite characters made me so excited for the next day when they would meet the "real" characters instead of just pretend ones!
We spent easily over an hour in the Lego store and then came back later in the day. Carter meticulously looked at every.single.set. in the store before deciding on 6 new sets (thank you Grandpa and Grandma - instant Christmas/birthday presents!). It was really fun watching him think over his decisions, knowing how much each one cost and finding ones appropriate for his age. Love that kid.
It was hot and we were hungry so naturally we had to stop for some ice cream. And pay an extra $3 for sprinkles. Why must Disney be so expensive?!?
My very generous parents. They loved watching the kids experience everything Disney had to offer.
After a few hours of shopping we headed back to the hotel. We had hoped to go swimming for a bit but knew the kids needed to rest before our Disney Character Dinner. Lucy just passed out in the bed while playing with her new Cinderella figurines. Ha!
The Character dinner was so fun. Probably the highlight of my time there. We got to meet 5 characters, "talk" with them, have them autograph our books and take pictures. And the food wasn't too bad either! It was spend but definitely worth it to have a little one-on-one time with the characters.
Happy parents, happy kids.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the shuttle to DisneyWorld. When the gates opened it was like herding cattle we were so smashed in there. But the moment the kids first saw the castle with their very own eyes...well, it was magical. Their faces beamed with joy and excitement, just like they should and Matt and I knew every hour spent planning this vacation was now very worth it. By far our favorite moment of the day. It was simple but perfect.
We headed right over to the Buzz Lightyear ride. There was no line so we got to ride twice in a row. One of Carter's favorite rides!
The Astro Orbiter was another favorite!
We then rode the car ride (totally forgetting the name of this one!). Carter didn't want to drive so I ended up doing it. And it's not as easy as it looks! I was all over the place.
Poor little Lucy couldn't see over the steering wheel. Oops.
We researched for a very long time when we could meet Peter Pan....aka Carter's childhood hero. We waited in line and Carter knew exactly what he wanted to ask him and tell him. It started off so well, but quickly went downhill when he got so nervous seeing Peter Pan he just froze and refused to talk/look at/smile/anything at the guy.
This was the best we could get. A little boy hiding in the corner.
Peter Pan was so nice. He spent over 5 minutes trying to talk to Carter, while the line grew longer. Oh well, maybe next time.
It was about 93 degrees that day, plus humidity and I was lucky enough to carry a 56 lb. child on my back. :)
We headed back to Buzz Lightyear for a third time before the end of the day. I think Matt liked it more than Carter did!
Riding a classic...Dumbo!
Poor girl was SO tired. She just passed out in Matt's arms and refused to wake up.
Until.....we entered Cinderella's castle to meet the princesses. When she heard Cinderella's voice her head popped up and screamed her name! haha..such a priceless moment.
Our final ride was Peter Pan's Flight (naturally). We had hoped to spend a few more hours at the park but we were all exhausted, sweaty and hungry. It was the perfect way to end the day before meltdowns happened to all of us.
As we were walking by the castle one last time we got to watch the Peter Pan show as he battled Captain Hook. It was a great end to the day. Of course, taking a family picture proved a little more challenging. Tired kids starting into the hot sun....pretty unsuccessful. Oh well.
So many amazing memories made!
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