Disney Diary

Well, we made it.  (And I finally finished writing this...only took me a month!) Our big Disney World trip has concluded and overall was a great success!  I'm not sure who is more tired from the whole thing, but it surely has to be a tie between Matt and I.  It was a week of serious family bonding (although we missed our little Zoe Ann terribly) and tons of memory making.

Day 1:
Arrived at our new home for the week (the kids called it "the palace") Port Orleans French Quarter!  Very cute theme of Mardi Gras and featured the highlight of Leila's week (no, not Anna and Elsa), the man she dubbed "coin man," who handed out fake coins every time we left and came back.  We got settled, checked out the pool, and headed out on the riverboat to Downtown Disney where the kids picked out stuffed animals (Leila: Marie from Aristocats, Natey: Pascal from Tangled), and had a very quick dinner due to meltdowns.  No naps, long day of travel, massive excitement and stimulation...equals total meltdown.

Day 2:
Head off to The Magic Kingdom!  Met Minnie and Pluto first thing in the gates!  Daddy got the kids autograph books and Leila's hunt for every character possible to sign her book began.  Went on several rides (Natey hated the rollercoaster), met Ariel and Belle, had lunch, and took a little break on Main Street so Natey could have a stroller nap.  Meanwhile, Leila and I found Marie the cat and Aurora!  After Natey's nap, we watched the afternoon parade and then headed back to "the palace" for a rest.  Ended up having dinner at our neighboring resort and watched Monster's Inc. outside in our resort courtyard.  Great first day!

Day 3:
Off to Hollywood Studios where we started off with the Toy Story Mania ride (Matt's favorite ride) and met Woody and Buzz!  Found the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground and spent lots of time playing (this turned out to be one of the kids' favorites from the whole trip!) and then hit up the Frozen playground where the kids played in real snow (not all that exciting for kids from the midwest...)  Lunch reservations with Sofia the First, Jake, Doc McStuffins, and Handy Manny were a hit...well sort of.  Natey was tired didn't want to eat or meet the characters...that is until Sofia showed up!  Then he was all smiles and gave her a big hug.  Leila had a great time meeting the characters and dancing with them.  Post lunch we headed back for a nap, some pool time for Leila, and headed out to Epcot for dinner in Morocco!  We had a great dinner and watched a belly dancing show (Leila went out and danced with the girl too!), then stayed (too late) for the fireworks show.

Day 4:
Animal Kindgom!  A great park we all loved.  Leila and Nathan signed up for this little explorer program received stickers for finding or completing certain things around the park.  We met Pocohantas, and some characters from Up.  Natey and I got soaked on the Kali Rapids ride (he laughed, but later said he was scared of how fast we went), and we went on a safari where we saw lots of "wild" animals.  Later that night we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner and the kids roasted marshmallows at their fire pit!

Day5:
Day off (sort of)  We started the day with breakfast at the Polynesian Resort with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.  The kids both loved seeing Stitch, and Leila joined in on a congo line around the restaurant with the characters (so cute!)  We took our time getting back to our hotel for a rest and some pool time.  Then hit up Downtown Disney again for dinner at a great Cuban restaurant with a live band and dancers.  Again Leila was game to get up and dance around the restaurant with one of the dancers!  She is awesome.  Natey was pumped because after dinner we stopped for cake pops at "The Witches Cauldron" (based on the evil witch from Snow White.)

Day 6:
Magic Kingdom again!  We started the day with a fancy breakfast inside Cinderella's Castle and met Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Snow White, and Aurora.  Have I mentioned what a great life our kids are living?!  After breakfast, we hit up some rides and then headed back to the hotel for a rest.  Post-nap we headed back to MK for our big appointment to meet Anna and Elsa and then Rapunzel.  Both kids were so excited!  Leila wore her Elsa dress to meet Elsa, and changed into her Rapunzel dress to meet Rapunzel...so sweet!  We had dinner and went on a few more rides...Leila tried Big Thunder Mountain with Daddy and "liked it, but it was a little fast."

Day 7:
Last day!  We went back to Hollywood Studios to see a Frozen sing-a-long and play at the kids' favorite attraction, "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" playground, had lunch, and headed back to "our palace" for a rest.  For our last night, we headed back to Epcot for dinner in Japan and gelato in Italy.

This is what this trip was all about for me.  My favorite picture of the week, hands down.

Day 8:
After a leisure morning, we headed off to the airport.  What a great trip! Now I need a vacation.