Disney World, Day 2: Magic Kingdom

 To say you are exhausted is an understatement. Usually Walker is one to perk up and ready to go, but that was not the case. It took coaxing and lots of Daddy time.

 The second day started off pretty well, until we lost Walker at the resort. R thought I had him, I thought R had, Sadie thought he went back to us. So there was an argument, but let's face it. Show me one family that is not having the same fight as everyone around them. We headed to get on the bus and some woman and man were like, "Where is ____?". And then their argument played out for visitors. Seriously, it happens every where you look. Or some spouse getting on to the other about not taking of the kids.

Once that was all out of the way, we went to the park and Sadie's family and mine and Mother separated. (She was mad at R). Mother and I took Walker on the spinning teacups because the line was short and, WHOA! Those things really spin and make your stomach flip flop.

 The second thing we did was ride the cars. Now this is where my boy livened up! He LOVES cars!

 R and I made up and rode together and let Mother and Walker ride together. Now you see them getting in...

 We turn around and, hey, where short stuff go?!

 There he is! Taking lessons from Ace Ventura, I see!

 I LOVE Buzz's Space Ranger ride! That's something that I do remember from my high school trip and coaxed everyone to get on.

 R of course took the shooting game very seriously and I think my meter was broken because my score was severely lower than R's and I'm a good shot!

 We rode the People Mover to kill some time.

 Walker was crying for a snack and we needed to use up some of "snack" count because that is way too many snacks for three of us!

My Mother met back up with Sadie and Isabella as they were at Bippitty Boppity Boo, getting all fancied up! A rainstorm came and luckily we were in Frontier Land, which is the best place to be when rain hits. They have a lot of covered spaces. We brought our ponchos but I didn't want the bottom half of us to get wet before Cinderella's Royal Table.

We took refuge under the Disney Vacation Club spot and they gave Walker stickers. I'm not sure where he learned to put them all over his face but he did it more than once this vacation. He was entertained which made it easier to wait for the rain to let up.

 We made it to CRT just in time. They had saved our reservations since BBB was behind in customers. When you enter you are greet by Cinderella and you take a professional picture, that is included with your experience. CRT is two sit down meals.

 You head up the stairs and are seated at your table. You will see  most princesses circling around, signing autographs, and taking pictures.

I ordered the chicken, macaroni, and greens. The chicken has this sweet sauce on it that I wished I had more of. The macaroni and cheese is in a fried bowl. The greens were too earthy for me, but mixed with the sauce they were okay. I tried R's short rib and I didn't like it too much. Walker on the other hand, ate R's serving! The spinach that is served with the short rib is delicious!

 That's my dessert. I forgot the name. I like the cookie clock hand and the white chocolate floral thing. I didn't like CRT. It would be really hard for me to use two meals for it again. The bathrooms were disgusting and if you want to play up the whole royalty thing, clean the bathrooms, Cinderella should walk around the dining room because it's her castle, and maybe Prince Charming should be there too. Heck, I think the mice and Fairy Godmother should be there also. Just food for thought.

 Okay, yes, that picture is blurring, but there's a story. We were riding Peter Pan Takes Flight. It starts off and you enter a part that prepares you for darkness. Well, our seat stopped. So we're basically hanging there. Walker is terrified and honestly, I got scared for a minute also. But I remember seeing a handicapped group so they had to stop the ride to properly secure those individuals.

Mother, Isabella, R, and me rode Space Mountain. It was so much fun! R had such a good time on that ride.

After riding Space Mountain it was time for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party. Now, I'm not sure if I just picked a horrible day to do this or what, but it was crowded. They give out free hot chocolate and cookies but the lines were so dang long, there was no point. It was supposed to snow and I only saw a flakes blow on to Mickey and Minnie as they passed on their float. Disappointment, but you live and learn at Disney!

My Itinerary:
Fastpass+:
Peter Pan Flight
Jungle Cruise: Our cast mate was HILARIOUS!
Space Mountain

Table Service: 2
Cinderella's Royal Table

Disney World Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Earlier in the year, my mother had this idea to take us all to Disney World during Christmas time. I still remember telling my sister I was unsure that we would be able to go and then calling her and telling her that R and I discussed it and that we would be going. She said, "Good! Because I booked it yesterday!". I asked her how she knew we would change our minds and she said she didn't but that we would have time to think about it. Surprisingly, time sped up and when Walker started school December was here before we knew it. 

Before I had started working, Sadie and I had already been shopping for the boys shirts to wear during Disney. I had picked up a few for R and of course, I was set! (Also, earlier in the year Disney Cruise Line had released their sail dates for December 2015 and we had booked another cruise. So the shirts for R and myself would hold us over this year and next year)

Getting ready for Disney is a process. There is so much planning. I don't understand how anyone says, "Hey! Let's go to Disney" and doesn't plan a single thing. R would make fun of me for staying up late or waking up at 5a.m. to make sure that we got exactly what we wanted. Once we were there, though, his mind changed. He now understands and appreciates all the planning that we did for the vacation. 

Don't forget the ponchos!

 I started packing the weekend school let out for Thanksgiving break. I knew it was going to be a hectic with Thanksgiving and then R taking me out for my early birthday. Sadie and I had to do some planning before then to make sure that the boys matched the boys. Once I arranged all of those outfits, it was time to pack. I made sure that Walker had two outfits a day. Side note: Walker was still taking his 6th antibiotic for pneumonia/ear ache, and his diarrhea was really bad. He needed a lot of extra clothes). I separated outfits by what we were doing or the parks that we were at. I put each outfit, all the way down to the socks, in a Ziplock bag.

 This made packing super easy! Walker and I were able to share a suitcase. I didn't want to bring too much and I didn't want to have to worry about suitcases. So, we took two. Isn't that awesome!

Sleeping in his Mickey the night before. 

We decided to take the earliest flight out which meant waking up at 3 a.m. Some may think it is a little ridiculous but we wanted to utilize the day at the park. We arrived at the airport around 4:45, checked in, went through security, had breakfast, and we're filled with excitement when boarding came at 6:15.

 Thankfully, Walker passed out on the flight. He didn't like the whole, "wear a seat belt until the sign goes off". He's not a sit still kind of guy.

 R is terrified of flying. He had so much anxiety just being at the airport. It was humorous making fun of him!

 The Orlando airport is Disney-fied. Although Walker had a nap, he still was pretty cranky in most of his photos. Isn't this supposed to be the happiest place on earth? Kid needed to get with it!

 We stayed in a Little Mermaid room at the Art of Animation. It was great! The grounds were super nice and the pool was fantastic! We want to plan another trip during a warmer than December month, to utilize the pool.

 We checked in, looked around the grounds a bit, got our bearings and headed for the park. Our first day we decided to head to Magic Kingdom.

 The weather was beautiful and thank goodness we all wore shorts. It was hot!

See those clouds! Uh oh! 

 R lived in Florida for a short time while working construction after the hurricanes, so we knew that it rains almost every day. We were prepared with our ponchos but I thought our backpacks were too stuffed with essentials that I packed them in our suitcase! BIG MISTAKE! Carry them at all times. We got soaked! And poor Walkie. He was shivering.

 So what do you do when you're at Disney and wet? Buy a $20 Olaf towel, DUH! The rain didn't stop us and we hid in Cosmic Ray's for some time, just standing around with others taking shelter from the downpour.

Our first Fastpass was to Enchanted Tales with Belle. I love Belle! I love Beauty and the Beast! R was immediately appointed a knight and I somehow was the loudest to nay like a horse and was Belle's trusty sidekick. We were just two kids having a good time!

 R gets motion sickness when things go round and round, so my mother and I took turns going with Walker on rides. He was super excited about rides and loved the ones that went fast! Lord, help us! He loves speed.

 It started to rain again and we hopped on the train. Walker loved the train and we began to think it was his favorite "ride"!

 He loved it so much he passed out almost immediately.

 We didn't have any meals planned for that day. That night we ate at Columbia Harbour House. I did my research on things to eat at Disney and one was the lobster roll at this place. I love lobster. And I have had lobster rolls before. But for me, I like my lobster hot and not cold. I hate my sandwiches cold, actually. The sandwich was very meaty for being at amusement park. I gave it a thumbs up! I got the fries with mine because I was coming down with a migraine but the house chips are delicious!

Next up was to ride the Seven Dwarf Mine Train...SO MUCH FUN! I have to say that this was R's first time in 28 years to ever ride a roller coaster. He came off the ride asking me, "WHY have I waited so long to ride one of those?! Are we riding more? That was fun!"

 At nightfall, we surrounded the castle for the Frozen themed castle lighting.

 We had a perfect spot to see the castle. Notsomuch the whole "show" they put on, but the main thing is show that leads up to Elsa freezing the castle. It. Is. Beautiful!

This is a postcard picture! 

 We are Frozen fanatics! Walker was SO excited!

So, one thing to add about Disney to someone who has never been. I went with my high school dream team, like, 15 years ago (how is that statement even possible?!). I couldn't remember too much about stuff. This was Walker and R's first time. One thing that disappoints me about this place is that there are not characters just walking around. On the cruise, which to me in a benefit, is that you will find characters all over the place. 

Magic Kingdom, Day 1 down!

Our Itinerary:

Fastpass+:

Enchanted Tales With Belle

Meet Ariel in her Grotto (not worth a fastpass. It's just a picture with her)

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train