In the wee hours of the morning on February 28th, our adventure to DisneyWorld began. It was a journey I had been planning for months. Jared and I were as excited as the children. I have been to DisneyWorld three times. Jared, Morris, and Thomas were all having their first visit. We couldn't wait!
Our flight departed Birmingham at 6:45am. Yes, 6:45am... that was not easy. Two children four and under, five bags, a double stroller, the list of struggles could go on and on... I was really proud of Jared and I and how seamlessly the traveling seemed to go. The boys loved flying! They were close to perfect!
Looking back, we are so glad we made the decision to leave early. We were in Orlando, at the Grand Floridan, bags in our room, and ready to head to the Magic Kingdom by lunch.
Let's just say managing the double stroller is not an easy task. We knew from the beginning it was exactly what we needed to take for both boys. The challenges of navigating elevators, tight spaces in our room, and the monorail were a tiny struggle on day one. Jared and I stayed positive as we boarded the monorail for the first time heading to Magic Kingdom.
Walt Disney said it best...
I guess we walked by this saying above our head for days. It truly clicked with me the first day what I magical experience we were about to have. We were entering a land unlike any other. We were entering a land of fantasy and magic where children believe anything is possible.
The boys eyes were huge as we walked into Magic Kingdom. The sun was shinning and it was a warm 70 degrees. It was our most beautiful day while we were at Disney. I really think the boys were in awe. They kept looking around and asking questions. There were so many people. We were all in shock of how big Magic Kingdom was. I hadn't been there since I was 18 and I don't think I remembered the grander.
We knew that lunch had to be one of our first priorities. Besides our breakfast at 4am, the only food we had enjoyed was airplane pretzels. As Jared and I looked over the map and planned our course of action, the boys watched the castle and the show that was happening in front of the castle with all their favorite characters.
Jared and I were off to lunch. On the way, we looked in the stroller to find two boys, dressed in their cutest Peter Pan outfits passed out. Disney was just too much for these boys!
The boys slept like this for an hour to an hour and a half. Jared and I quickly learned this is how they would take their nap everyday. Riding around the parks they would go and go until they were exhausted. They would then crash in their stroller. Jared and I let this be our quiet time together. Sounds silly, but in Disney you don't really have adult time. Jared and I would stroll the boys while they were asleep talking, picking up a snack we might want, riding any adult rides, talking, and thinking just how lucky we are. It was a special time for us too.
The boys woke up and we headed to our first lunch. We had a quick service meal for lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus. It was delicious. Jared and I had flat bread pizzas and the boys had chicken fingers. I had planned for us to eat lunch at another quick service, but both boys woke up wanting chicken. I wasn't going to fuss or disappoint on the first day.
Pinocchio's Village Haus was next door to It's a Small World. What a better way to start your Disney vacation except with an original ride. I know the boys didn't know it was a classic ride or the importance the memory would be in my mind. The loved that we were riding in a boat on the water as a family. The line was only about 15 minutes, they could look through the fence to see below, it was an easy introduction to Disney.
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| Waiting in line and spying on other as they load the boat. |
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| Oldest and Youngest first trip and ride at Disney |
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| Loving it! |
The rest of the afternoon was filled with many rides:
The Barnstormer (Amy/Morris) - Buzz LightYears Space Ranger Spin (all) - Mad Tea Party (all) - Monters Inc. Laugh Floor (all) - Space Mountain (Amy/Jared) - Stitch's Great Escape (Jared/Morris)
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| Tea Cup Fun |
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| Thomas loved the Tea Cups and Spinning round and round |
Our introduction to Disney was great. There was so much more to happen that evening when Morris and Thomas met M-I-C-K-E-Y... more to come!
FUN times! RIP lovely Tory Burch sunglasses. :-( So how did you and Jared ride Space Mountain just the two of you? Did your parents go? Are there people that will watch the boys while you ride? I am so green when it comes to Disney... :-)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing as Kendall! This was the sweetest post!
ReplyDeleteKendall and Catherine, yall are too cute! My parents did not go. It was just us! The adventure continues with just us and we get worn out. We needed a vacation from our vacation.
ReplyDeleteIt's called "rider swap". You walk up and tell the ride attendant, you need to do rider swap: Meaning you have small children that are not height eligible. One parent will go through the fast past line while the other parent strolls children. When that parent comes out, the other parent heads right in. We both did space mountain in about 15-20 minutes total! We would always do "rider swap" during naptime. It worked and Morris wasn't curious why he couldn't ride something.
I can't wait to keep writing more about it. We had a blast!