Here is our MASSIVE DisneyWorld post. I don't have a lot of pictures (we used my mom's camera mostly) but will post what I have. Mom and Ben, can you pretty please send me CDs with your photos???????
Okay, here we go!
So when Erin and I started planning this trip and then got my mom involved, Brandon was grouchy. He's a cheapskate and was VERY unhappy about spending money on a DisneyWorld trip for a 2.5 year old and an 8 month old. "They won't even remember it!" was muttered at me more times than I can count. BUT after just 24 hours in the magic that is Disney, Brandon was already planning our return trip! (January 2011, in case you're wondering. Mom, Dad, Bev, Kevin, Michael, Bri, Nathan, Malinda - Start saving now! Brandon wants it to be a big family Christmas-y trip).
Back to this trip...we got there on Thursday the 8th. The girls were VERY good on the plane and at the airport. Allison was wearing her monkey blanket around her neck like a cape and Brandon taught her to say, "I am Batman!" He also called her a "super-sleuth" when she was looking for something right in front of her and she liked that phrase as well.
We (well, my mom...Brandon and I and the girls sat and played) had to wait in quite a long line to get on the Disney's Magical Express, but it was moving about as fast as they could. Overall, really not bad at all. We took a bus to our resort and then a few hours later, our bags "magically" appeared in our room! Ben, Erin and Mary came and met us at the hotel with flowers (from Brandon to my mom for my birthday). We visited with them for a little while in the lobby and then they had to go check-in for the race and we were going to go to dinner.
Our hotel, the All-Star Music Resort, was wonderful. We stayed in a family suite and I am very glad we did. We had a little extra room (the All-Star rooms are SMALL) and 2 bathrooms. Plus, we could put the girls to bed in the living area and then stay up in our bedroom. We were in the Calypso building. We were right by the guitar-shaped family pool but surprisingly, the noise wasn't too bad. (I never had trouble going to sleep!) The couch and a chair pulled out to beds, so mom and Allison each had their own bed (although a few nights, Allison did sleep with my mom).
We had dinner at Planet Hollywood. Mom and I had a very good meal (and the kids meal was HUGE) but Brandon's burger was just okay. (Mom and I split a Turkey-Swiss-Avocado sandwich and the Spinach Salad). The bus was very crowded going to Downtown Disney and on the way back, we had to wait for a second one (the first was full). Overall though, not too bad. The buses came every 20-30 minutes (sometimes it seemed, sooner). We then went back to the hotel and TRIED to go to sleep (I was too excited about the next day!)
Friday was our day at the Magic Kindgom. We got there before the park opened and watched the opening show at the railroad station. Allison was excited to see Mickey and his dog (Pluto). We went straight to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo. Dumbo was the first ride that Brandon's mom and dad let him and his brother ride on their own (together). So this was an important ride for Brandon! He rode with Allison, I rode with Jordan and mom took pictures. Allison really liked being "high in the sky." Then mom and Brandon took Allison and Jordan on Cinderella's carousel. Allison LOVES carousels and this one was no different (I took pictures this time). Next was Mickey's Philharmagic (a 4D theater experience). Allison's favorite part was beforehand, standing in the lobby with the 3D glasses on. She was not a fan of this. First, it was in the dark, which we soon discovered, she does not like. Second, she couldn't grab things that were coming towards her (like Flounder). Third, because it was 4D, you got sprayed with water and little puffs of air. Lastly, she didn't like having to "dodge" the things that were being "thrown" at her. (Brandon's chin and chest didn't either!) When we got done with this, we met up with Ben, Erin and Mary. Next we got Fastpasses for Peter Pan and went on the Winnie the Pooh ride (which replaced Mr Toad's Wild Ride). Allison was with Brandon but asked for me the whole time (I rode with Ben). Allison was not a fan and I must say, I didn't really "get it". She LOVED the gift shop afterwards though! She beelined for a Tigger and wouldn't let go. We had some spending money (thanks Aunt Mary!) so of course, she got it! I rode with her on Peter Pan next and she was not a fan (again, the dark). Up next was mom's favorite - It's a Small World. It turned out to be Mary and Allison's favorite too! They both danced and clapped the whole time. Allison kept saying, "Baby! Baby!" and pointing at all the kids.
It was getting pretty close to lunch at this point, so we said goodbye to Ben, Erin and Mary (they were going back to their room) and we went to Pinnochio's Village Haus for lunch. We were a little worried about going there (well, I was) because a Disney "expert" on our bus ride to the park said that the restaurant gets REALLY crowded with no room for strollers. Well, we must have gone at the perfect time because it was not crowded at all. With our dining plan, we each got a combo meal (nuggets and fries), a drink and a dessert. TONS of food. Allison decided that she LOVES chocolate cake (over daddy's strawberry cheesecake) and had to call Papa to tell him. After lunch, we went back to the room for naps. The girls and my mom took naps and Brandon and I walked around the gift shop and played in the arcade. Brandon found a set of Mickey ears for dogs and we decided to buy it for Monkey (yes, we are that big of a nerd family).
After naps, it was time to go back to the park! We went straight to Toontown so Allison could meet Mickey and Minnie. She SPRINTED to Minnie! It was so cute! She gave her high-fives and showed her monkey. Then she gave her a HUGE hug. Mickey, on the other hand, she was not so sure about. She gave him the "guy-on-guy," butt-out hug. She was happy when they "colored in her book" (signed her autograph book). Jordan just smiled at everyone. We caught up with Ben, Erin and Mary and headed back to Main Street to get the girls their ear hats. Allison chose a Minnie hat which she made us put on her immediately. Then Brandon presented Monkey with Mickey ears and Allison was sold! It was a fight to take either off for bath and bedtime for the rest of the trip!
We went to the Golden Palace for dinner with Ben, Erin and Mary. This is a restaurant where you can have dinner with the characters - Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. It's really neat; they come around to every table. While we were waiting for our table, Allison decided that since Jordan was grabbing her face, she'd bite her finger. Not maliciously, just bit down on her finger since it was in Allison's mouth. As soon as Jordan started to cry, so did Allison. She really seemed genuinely upset that she hurt Jordan. I think she was harder to calm down than Jordan was! Pooh came to our table first. Allison was SO excited to see him and have him "color" in her book. But then he left to see other tables. This is where the MAJOR DRAMA started. Apparently in her opinion, "dinner with characters" means they should stay and eat with you! In all the confusion, we weren't really paying attention to Jordan and she grabbed a broccoli spear off Brandon's plate! We look over and everyone said at the same time, "What is she eating?" When she dropped the broccoli, she immediately grabbed the carrot slice! Allison and Mary also got to meet Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. The other character greetings went a little better (Allison was SUPER excited!) but she was so distracted, she didn’t eat very well.
After dinner, we went to Adventureland. Mom and Brandon decided to take Jordan and ride the Pirates of the Caribbean and Allison and I would go on the Magic Carpet Ride (very similar to the Dumbo ride). Mom and Brandon walked from the entrance straight onto a boat. No line at all! Jordan then promptly fell asleep. Allison enjoyed the carpet ride. She likes when they go “high in the sky.”
Also, at some point this day, Brandon started saying, “Come here, you!” to the girls. This was another phrase that Allison truly enjoyed mimicking.
Saturday we went to the Animal Kingdom. Allison (and Jordan) woke up VERY early and Allison kept saying, “GO!” and grabbing her purse and her stroller. She was excited!
Again, we got there before the park opened so we could watch the opening show. It was pretty cute. Then, we hurried over to Expedition Everest. Brandon and I were in a line very similar to his and mom’s on Pirates (ie – almost none). It was FUN! (Brandon had to ride it again though because he missed the Yeti).
While Brandon was re-riding Everest, Mom and I took the girls on the Tricera-Top Spin (another ride like Dumbo). There was no line here either so we stayed on for 3 or 4 rides. When Brandon came over, we headed to Africa to ride the Safari ride. On our way there, we passed Baloo and King Louie (from Jungle Book). Jordan was awake this time so we were able to take pictures of all 4 of us. She LOVED King Louie and Allison really liked Baloo. 
The Safari ride was fun. Jordan really enjoyed when the car would go quickly down the bumpy hills. Unfortunately, Allison was getting tired. She was asleep in her stroller before lunch!
Lunch was WONDERFUL. We ate at the Flame Tree BBQ. An added bonus to this restaurant, they serve beer! Brandon was THRILLED. The weather was perfect. He said that had we not had the kids with us, we could have just sat there in the outdoor dining area and drank the Safari Amber beer all afternoon!
After lunch, Allison perked up a bit. We headed over to Camp Mickey Minnie where the characters were on a greeting trail. It was pretty cool. They had little gazebos set up for each of the characters. We got to meet Daisy (we thought we were in line for Donald), Goofy, Minnie and Mickey. Allison gave all of the characters her monkey (wearing his Mickey ears of course). She was the crowd favorite! (Lots of oohs and aahs when she’d go meet the characters).
Both girls fell asleep on the bus so we thought that they’d go down for nap easily. Brandon went to the arcade; mom went to the pool and I laid down with Allison. Well, we were wrong. The girls had other ideas so we got them dressed and took them down to the pool. Jordan enjoyed the baby pool and Allison liked the big pool with the water squirters.
Because their nap was so late, we had to wake them up to go back to the Magic Kingdom for our dinner reservations at Tony’s. Tony’s is an Italian restaurant themed after Lady and the Tramp. Allison was a little out of it at first (she didn’t even eat her pizza!) but she enjoyed watching the movie in the waiting area and playing with the dogs in the gift shop. Mom’s friend Jocelyn (who ran the 5K and whose hubby was running the marathon on Sunday) met us for dinner. We also ran into Ben and Erin (Ben was carbo-loading!).
After dinner, we headed to Tomorrowland for the Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor. It was an interactive show. VERY cute! Allison likes the monsters (the only Disney movie she’s seen) so she enjoyed herself. I think Jordan fell asleep.
Getting out of the park was a JOKE. We hit parade traffic coming down Main Street. It was like you were on Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras with kids and strollers. We FINALLY got to the exit, where we ran into Ben and Erin again!
I thought the girls would crash on the bus (and Jordan did) but Allison chatted the whole ride back to the hotel. With me, with Brandon, with my mom, with strangers…. When we got back though, she said, “Nap” (which is also for bedtime) and put herself to bed. No bath, no Elmo!
Sunday was my birthday. I got up and went into the living area. Brandon and Mom told Allison to tell me Happy Birthday and she said, “Mommy, there’s a door” and pointed at the door. Nice. Apparently, she was ready to leave. Sunday was also the marathon, so the bus dropped us off in a different spot. Our driver was an IDIOT and we waited on the bus for almost 10 minutes in the dropoff area before he opened the door. We then raced up to the monorail only to discover that the hotel we needed to go to was the last (4th) stop.
When we FINALLY got to the Contemporary Resort, we made it to Chef Mickey’s restaurant just a few minutes past our reservation time. We then had to wait for a while before we finally got seated. Allison and I were getting a little hungry (crabby) by this point. BUT when we got in line for the buffet, we were happy. They had breakfast pizza, Mickey shaped waffles and all kinds of fun stuff. Allison LOVED seeing the characters (who again, came around to every table). We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. Donald even danced in our area for my “Birthday Celebration.” They brought me and 2 kids cupcakes with sprinkles and candles and everyone sang. Fun! (Allison LOVED the sprinkles…Mickey shaped of course!) While everyone was having fun, the little girl sitting next to us who was probably about 18 months or so came over to Jordan’s high chair. We had to pry the two of them apart! It was very cute!
We then went back to the Magic Kingdom so I could spend my birthday money. Disney is doing a free admission on your birthday but if you have a package that includes tickets (or a season pass), you can get a card with the amount of a ticket ($75!!!) to spend in the shops! Whoohoo! And guess who we saw as soon as we walked in the park???? Mary Poppins! My favorite! So we waited in line to see her. While in line, the cast member who was escorting her and managing the line started talking to Allison. She was wearing her Minnie ears (of course) and started jabbering about Minnie. The guy starts looking at his pins and pulls off a Mickey one (he seemed genuinely upset he didn’t have a Minnie one for her!) and gives it to Allison! How sweet!!! We put it on her hat since we didn’t think she was old enough to start pin trading yet.
After meeting Mary Poppins, we went shopping! Allison picked out a Minnie doll (weird!) and Jordan picked Piglet. Jordan then proceeded to hug and pat Piglet and then stick his ear in her mouth for the rest of the day. While I continued to shop, Mom and Brandon took the girls on It’s A Small World, the Carousel and Dumbo. I got a small snowglobe (which I collect), a Minnie necklace (for Allison), and a Minnie purse (again for Allison) as well as some other gifts for other people.
We then went to Frontierland for lunch. We ate at the Pecos Bill restaurant. Very good! I had a wrap and it was HUGE. Brandon got a bbq sandwich (I think…) and Mom had a salad. Allison ate yogurt and pieces of mine and my mom’s chicken. Brandon started playing “Super Baby” with Jordan (throwing her in the air) and everyone in our seating area started laughing at how much Jordan was giggling. Allison had to join in the fun, so she started taking her Minnie to everyone’s table to talk to them. She especially liked these two ladies behind us.
We then headed back to our hotel for naps. Brandon and I got ready to go out. Our dinner reservations weren’t till 545 but we decided to leave early so we could go back to the park on our own. We rode the Haunted Mansion and Pirates. They were both as fun as I remembered!
Dinner was back at the Contemporary Resort at California Grill. We got there early and headed to the bar to start on a bottle of wine. The view up there is AMAZING. It was sunset which made everything look even prettier. Our wine (a Malbec) was great, even if it was the 2nd cheapest on the list!
Then we were led to our table. It was covered in Mickey shaped confetti!! Our waiter, Gary, was great. He recommended we start with the cheese platter and then split the sushi deluxe platter and the filet mignon (which are their 2 signature dishes). The cheese platter was an assortment of 5 cheeses. I think Brandon liked the Comte the best and I of course loved the Blue Cheese. Gary was right about the sushi and the filet. Heavenly!!!! He came and chatted a few times and seemed to know EVERYTHING (about the park, about San Antonio and Houston, etc). I also got a chocolate cake slice for my birthday and Brandon ordered the molten chocolate cake (because that’s what I REALLY wanted!) Overall, a FANTASTIC birthday!!! Gary recommended that we go on the monorail to the Polynesian Resort, walk around and then come back to the Contemporary to view the fireworks from the deck outside the restaurant. I was too full and tired to do it so we went back to our hotel.
When we got back, Allison was still awake. Mom told us that she gave Allison her milk while she was getting their dinner ready. Allison comes running over and goes, “Uh-oh!!” So they go back in the living room and Allison had given her cup to Jordan who is now drinking the milk. Mom said, “Well, I guess I’ll know soon if she’s allergic!” (Luckily, nothing happened!)
Monday was our last day so we decided to sleep in. Unfortunately, Allison was still pretty sleepy while we packed up and when we got to the Magic Kingdom. We stopped at the photo place and they told us that we could upload all our personal photos so people could view them online with our PhotoPass (professional) photos. We decided to do that AFTER we went to see the Princesses.
Ah, the Princesses. The line was NOTHING. We practically walked right in! (Great because earlier in the week when we saw Mickey, the Princess line was over an hour long!). Jordan LOVED the Princesses. Allison wanted nothing to do with them. We still got some cute pictures though. Jordan’s favorite Princess was Cinderella and her favorite dress was Belle’s.
We rode It’s A Small World (again) and then headed back to Main Street for lunch. Then it started to get COLD. Thank goodness we had jackets for the girls and I had thrown in Jordan’s blanket too. We had corn dog nuggets at Casey’s (very good!).
We headed back to the Photo Place where Brandon fed Jordan and I uploaded our pictures and did some last minute shopping (scrapbook stuff). I also hit up the candy store for gifts for my dad (Mickey shaped rice-krispie treats!).
We went back to the hotel to wait for our bus to the airport. Allison fell asleep on Brandon. She was OUT too. We headed to the airport where I got my sunscreen confiscated at security (forgot we had it in the diaper bag). The flight home was nice. I can’t remember if the girls slept or not but overall, I think they were pretty good.
Okay, so there’s my Disney novel! Let me know if you’ve got a trip planned with your kids. I’ll give you our pointers!
And Mom, Dad, Michael, Bri, Bev, Kevin, Nathan and Malinda…..get ready to go in January 2011!!!!
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