Back from the Magical World of Disney

We finished up our action-packed Spring Break week yesterday at Disney World. I wish I had posted every day as the week unfolded, but we were just too busy or too tired. So I am going to try my best to give a day-to-day recap so I can record it all for myself as much as for you guys. Some may think we were crazy to go to disney with a baby, but we took reinforcements in the form of my mom and sister as well as Alan's mom and Kit for half the week.

Day 1--Arrived in Orlando. We stayed in a wonderful 4 bedroom house in a neighborhood just five minutes from Disney World. If you are ever looking for a place, check out RomancingtheMouse.com and let us know so we can get you a discount. We had originally thought of staying on site at Disney, but decided having a kitchen and living area along with the bedrooms was crucial--not to mention a washer/dryer for baby accidents. It was well worth it. Our loving Florida/Pennsylvania grandparents met us there and had dinner going when we got there. Yum.  The kids were able to go for a swim in our personal pool after dinner. Unfortunately we discovered too late that Katelyn's ear had been hurting. So between the plane ride and swimming, she woke up crying at about 10 pm. We headed to a nighttime pediatric clinic to have it checked out, only to find out that they had closed early due to an emergency. So with a very unhappy little girl, we headed to the ER which confirmed that she did have an ear infection. The comedy of it all was that she also had a little boo boo on her arm. I asked for a bandaid, but instead, the nurse brought out antiseptic, a ton of gauze, q-tips and a bandaid. I have discovered one of the problems with health care. I am sure her one picked scab cost my insurance company $100. Not a great start to our vacation. We got home around 2 am, so needless to say, our plans for an early Disney start on Sunday wasn't going to happen.

Day 2--Animal Kingdom
Let everyone sleep in after an unexpected evening. Had originally planned to spend the day at Hollywood Studios, but chose to do a half day at Animal Kindgom instead. So began our Disney adventures.

Entering the park

The Girls had their own mode of transportation with Daddy and Kit

Grandmom Marilyn let them get their faces painted so they could be true fairy princesses.

Grandma Karen bought them Minnie ears. Ellie shared hers with Owen. 

While in Animal Kingdom, we saw It's Tough to be a Bug in 3D. We even got jabbed on the back with a stinger and felt creepy crawly bugs crawling under us on the benches. Yuck. Katelyn rode her first roller coaster--Expedition Everest. She loved it and became a roller coaster junkie the rest of the week. We got to see Finding Nemo--The Musical and ended by watching the parade. For those planning a trip to Disney, Animal Kingdom was the least favorite of our days which is why it was only allotted a half day. We didn't see any characters so the girls were a little disappointed. 

Day 3--Hollywood Studios

This was actually my favorite park. It had a much better feel to it than Animal Kingdom. It felt less crowded and rushed and was laid out very well. The girls saw characters as soon as we got there. They were excited to meet Minnie and then right afterwards ran into Pluto and Goofy.

Katelyn was invited to introduce the Voyage of the Little Mermaid Musical. She was super excited to have a role in it all. It was interesting to see a whole movie condensed into 17 minutes, but it was pretty good.  Ellie's favorite was actually the Beauty and the Beast show. They also got to play in a Honey, I shrunk the Kids movie set, saw Muppets in 3D, took a ride on the Star Wars simulator, and saw all the characters from Playhouse Disney. The Little Einstein's were a big hit. I rocked on the Toy Story Mania ride where you shoot at Targets. 

I got to see Katelyn's tenacity in line for the Rock n Roller Coaster. You had to be 48 inches to ride. She was just a hair short, so the lady would not let her get in line. Alan, Sherry and I rode it. While Kit and Katelyn were waiting for us, apparently Katelyn kept giving the lady a sulky look to the point that she finally went and got her supervisor who approved Katelyn to go on. Katelyn LOVED it. 

Day 4--Magic Kingdom (Owen turns 4 months)

Today was the day of the princesses. The girls dressed in their princess dresses for the big day. They were mesmerized by the castle from the moment they saw it from afar on the ferry over until we walked down Main Street.

Grandmom Marilyn bought the family tickets to have breakfast with the Princesses at the Royal Castle for Christmas. The girls were ecstatic. The food was pretty good and the princesses rotated around the room during breakfast, pausing to sign autograph books and take pictures with the girls. They were very personable and played their roles to a T. We saw Jasmine, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. The girls met Cinderella when they came into the castle, but didn't get to see her during breakfast.

 At the end of the breakfast, all the girls closed their eyes and made a wish on a wishing star. Katelyn and Ellie were very intent on their wishes, but wouldn't say what they were. Ellie looked down at herself after the wish and said it didn't come true, but I am still not sure what she wished for.

Katelyn showing off her  hula hoop skills

We spent the rest of the day on rides (Katelyn loved Space Mountain) and watching the parade before heading back to the house for a nap. After naps and quick dinner we returned to the park for more rides, fireworks and Spectromagic lights parade. The girls finally got to see Mickey and Minnie in Toontown that evening and mom got her picture with Mickey.

Sherry's must ride ride was the Teacups.

It was a late night for all, but well worth it.

Day 5--SeaWorld
After our late night on Tuesday, we decided to sleep in on  Wednesday. Kit and Marilyn had to leave on Wednesday to head to Jupiter to see the other Calhoun clan. We had a leisurely morning and then went to SeaWorld for a few hours in the afternoon. It was refreshing to sit down and watch some shows at SeaWorld after being on the go most of the prior two days. Ellie loved the shows and Katelyn gravitated towards the rides. The girls decided to sit down close during Shamu's show to get wet. Their daddy escorted them to front and was a good sport about it. They bought ponchos, but near the end decided they weren't going to get wet and took them off. Big mistake--they got drenched.

Day 6--Off Day and Heritage Farms
By Thursday we were pretty exhausted. We slept in and went for a family bike ride around the complex. I have a cousin that lives in Titusville, so we visited him and his family. He lives and works on an orange grove. The girls thought that was pretty cool. They ate more than their share of oranges while we were there, picking them straight from the tree. They also fed the fish at his pond out back. Cousins Dick and Joy Hartlage stopped by to visit awhile along with Katie. We had a delightful dinner with Gene and Scott's family.

Katelyn, Owen and Ellie

Gene showing us his orchard

Day 7--Magic Kingdom
We finished the week back at Magic Kingdom, hitting the rides and shows that we had missed--Big Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain. We watched two shows in front of the castle. One was a block party with the characters. Katelyn danced in the street for that one.

I think her face shows it all with respect to the fun they had. 

Day 8--Back to Nashville
Our flight left at 8:15 am, so we had to rise early, early, much to the dismay of the girls. The line was  a mile long at the airport and we almost missed out flight. We made it to the gate just as they were loading the first group. While the week was definitely not relaxing, we had a lot of fun. We couldn't have done it though without the help of mom, Sherry, Kit and Marilyn. It made it so that we could all enjoy the rides and attractions and have the extra hands available for Owen and Ellie. Just realizing that I didn't mention Owen at all in this post. He was the best baby every. He just laid back in his stroller, taking it all in, with hardly a fuss. We definitely made the right decision in taking this trip now, before he is mobile. I don't think we could have asked for a better trip at this stage in our kids lives. We're already thinking about when to go again so that Owen can remember it too.