It all started this spring with a sticker chart, a very stubborn child and mother about to loose her mind. After months of battling with Jentry every morning about getting dressed, I had had enough. Something had to change or I was going to quit as a mother...or at least that is what I told myself. If Jentry could get herself dressed each morning for two months, we would take her somewhere really fun. Fortunately, the sticker chart worked extremely well. Unfortunately, she decided somewhere really fun equaled Walt Disney World. And so began the planning of a family vacation to Orlando.
It actually seemed like a great time for the three of us to go somewhere as a family before we added any additional little members. After hours of research, I determined that October was the best time to go and I booked the tickets. I have to admit that for the money Nathan and I were not exactly thrilled about going but we hoped that in the end we would feel that it was all worth it.
The personalized magic bands arrived a few weeks prior to our trip and we all thought they were pretty cool. These bands are fairly new at Disney and with just a touch they allow you to enter parks, unlock the door of your hotel room, check in at FastPass locations and charge purchases to your room account. Pretty handy if I do say so myself.
Jentry knew we were going to Walt Disney World but we decided not to tell her when we were actually leaving. We didn't want to hear the question, "Are we going today?" for months on end. I thought about telling her the week of, however I didn't want it to be a distraction at school. So, Friday came and we picked her up early from school. I had her put on some Mickey ears and then asked her, "Jentry where might you need to wear Mickey ears?" She immediately said, "Walt Disney World!" I then asked her when she was going, "I don't know." I then replied, "How about today? We are headed to the airport right now!" All she could say was, "FINALLY!" She then pretended to that she knew we were going the whole time. Too cute!
Checking out the map to see where Orlando is located.
First time on an airplane and oh so excited!
We arrived in Florida late Friday night and made it to our hotel room at Wilderness Lodge Resort. The next day we took a boat to Magic Kingdom.
I can't believe my eyes...It's the real castle!
Oh...this is just too much!
Merida from Brave
Snow White
Rapunzel
The castle at night before the Electrical Parade and Wishes Fireworks Spectacular
The second day we headed to Animal Kingdom and it was amazing. Our favorite attraction was the Kilimanjaro Safari. We got to see all kinds of animals up close and personal and a couple of warthogs doing something a little too personal, if ya know what I mean. I will spare you the pictures of that!
Tree of Life
Everything Mickey!
The third day we tromped all around Epcot. There was actually more there for Jentry than we had anticipated. She loved it and wanted to ride the rides several times. Her favorite ride was the Test Track. She was definitely more of a thrill seeker than I had expected. We ate lunch with the Princesses in Norway and Jentry was beside herself. She could hardly eat her meal.
Cinderella
Aurora
Snow White
Ariel
Flower Mickey
The "golf ball" at night before the Illuminations fireworks display.
On the fourth day, I let Jentry pick which park she wanted to back to while Nathan spent the day seeing his favorite princess...the Magnolia Golf Course. Jentry and I had a wonderful day at Magic Kingdom and we seemed to accomplish a lot more without Nathan. I'm sure it was just being more familiar with the park and had nothing to do with women being more efficient or anything. It was fun to see all the Fall decor, however the ninety degree temperatures made everything seem a bit out of place.
Tomorrowland Speedway
Mad Tea Party
Flying Elephants
Terence
Tinker Bell
We were just about to head back to the hotel for one last afternoon of swimming when the parade began. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful trip.
Parade of Dreams
Walt Disney World is really quite amazing and we all had a better time than any of us could have imagined, however my favorite part of the trip was the time spent together. At home we are never forced to spend the entire morning, noon and night together. We definitely bonded a bit further on this family vacation and I am so grateful for the special moments and the memories made.
Have a Magical Day!
