Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Most Magical Place on Earth

When we arrived in Orlando this summer, there was one thing that we couldn't wait to do... Go to Disney! I grew up in Orlando so Disney was part of my childhood! We didn't go all the time and I've never been a season ticket holder, but some of my fondest childhood memories are at Disney- like the time we got dressed and in the car for school and my parents said "Guess what? We aren't going to school today, we're going to Disney!"

Coming into my teenage years I was able to go a little more often once I could drive and had money from babysitting. My friends and I would go for a day or we would go on free tickets from a friend's employee family member. Every fall I took part of a fundraiser for a children's charity and went at night. It really is a magical place.

Ian and I have gone many times together to Disney throughout our dating and engagement and a couple of times before we left the States. We always swore that we wouldn't be those people who bring their baby or preschooler just to have total meltdowns and a sleeping child in a stroller.

Well.....

When we got back to the States, Ian's parents gave us season passes for our time here and since both the girls are under 3 they get in for free! We figured, why not? So we headed to my favorite Disney Park, Magic Kingdom.

We met up with Ian's parents and then started walking down Main Street towards the Castle. A show happened to be going on right then so we paused to take a look, and, wouldn't you know it, Cinderella was there.

Surprise, surprise! Grace FREAKED OUT. I really had no idea that she would do that.

She pointed her finger at Cinderella and started hysterically sobbing. I just stared at Grace wide eyed, trying to figure out how she even knows who Cinderella was (I mean, she's seen the movie once but that is it!)

She sobbed the entire time Cinderella was dancing on the stage, then laid her head down on my shoulder, said "I so excited! Cinderella here!"

And that is how we began our Disney day!

I won't bore you with a play by play of our day, but we did get to go on at least ten rides, meet some characters, have a good lunch, and the girls were able to nap in our (amazing) stroller and the adults took turns riding rides then.

Grace wasn't crazy about meeting costumed characters but she loved Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, and the new Ariel ride. The girls' first ride that they ever rode on was It's a Small World, and they were enchanted from the very beginning. All throughout our time in Orlando, whenever we go to Magic Kingdom, we make a beeline for Small World because the girls love it so much!

We've gone nearly a dozen times in the past three months and I have a bunch of tips for you, both from the perspective of a native and a mom!






2 comments:

Emily Powell said...

HA! was she really crying?! was she crying becuase she was excited?! This is so funny!

Lauren said...

I'm sure it was adorable with Grace crying from excitement! Of course I probably would have been pulling my hair trying to figure out what was wrong! ha!