Our awesome Disney vacation, part one

We spent the weekend at Disney World, and while it didn't go off without a hitch, it was pretty much perfect. Hitch: on the drive down, our van's air conditioner completely died. Boo. 87-90 degrees and sun out in full force. But we put the windows down at 78 mph and endured.

Upon arrival, we hit the hotel pool, which had a great kid area. We were lucky enough to have Mr. B's sister Carly join us for our vacation. She is so much fun and was a huge help. I think a 3:2 adult to kid ratio is pretty great.
So after sleeping at the hotel, I made everyone wake up at 6:00 a.m. in order to arrive at Magic Kingdom "on time." And it was worth it. We arrived at DW, parked, took a tram to the entrance where we picked up our tickets, and then took this ferry to the entrance.About five minutes after we arrived at the entrance, Magic Kingdom opened with a fun welcome show, featuring Mickey Mouse and friends arriving on a locomotive, dancing and singing a magical welcome to start our day. We loved it.

Our awesome Disney vacation, part two

So after the welcome show, we headed straight to the back of the park and rode Cinderella's Carousel and Dumbo.

And the Tea Cups.

Where we found Alice and the White Rabbit!
We headed over to Toon Town for a very magical experience:
Princess Aurora, Belle, and Audrey's favorite, Cinderella

Confirming Audrey's age (She was in such princess awe!)

Then we headed to Cinderella's castle to watch the Dreams Come True show. Ian danced to the music and Audrey loved the whole thing. She is really caught up with all the make-believe and magic.
And what's better than watching Cinderella dance with the Prince?

Our awesome Disney vacation, part three

Oh, I forgot that while we were in Toon Town, Carly, Mr. B and Audrey rode the Barnstormer, which FREAKED Audrey out (it's a fast roller coaster). She instantly clung to me afterward and said she wanted to go home. But I wanted my turn to ride (this was one of the few rides Ian couldn't go on), so she chose to go AGAIN rather than be separated from me. No one ever said three year olds were logical.

We also hit most of the Tomorrowland rides: Transit Authority, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain (twice for Carly and me!), and Astro Orbiter. We got ice cream and headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Our awesome Disney vacation, part four

So on our second day at Magic Kingdom, I let everyone sleep in and we got to the park around noon. This worked well because we stayed until 11 p.m.We started out in Frontierland, checking out Johnny Depp, er, Captain Jack Sparrow on the Pirates ride. Audrey started making this pose in pictures (she's pretending to take a picture).
And Aladdin, which was a great one. And Jungle Cruise, where Mr. B got to drive the boat.
Then we had a fantastic lunch at the Crystal Palace, with Winnie the Pooh and friends.
We headed out of lunch straight to Main Street for the afternoon parade, which Audrey especially loved.Then over to Belle's story time, another princess moment!

Ian had his only nap of the trip (at least one longer than 10 minutes) between the parade and story time, and after he woke up we let him run around the story area. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of the trip for the poor stroller-bound guy. He did like the rides though. But not as much as freedom.

Our awesome Disney vacation, part five (and last)

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening riding everything we hadn't yet: The Haunted Mansion, another go on the Carousel and Tea Cups, Splash Mountain.
We were making crazy faces at each other on the carousel.

So I had memories of churros from going to Disneyland as a kid, and had to relive the moment.

For Mr. B and Carly, the food moment was getting turkey legs.

We also took the train around Magic Kingdom.

Then we ended the night by watching the parade and the fireworks. Can you tell how tired Ian is? He hardly slept the whole trip--finally both kids crashed in the stroller around 10:30--stayed awake to catch every moment of the entertainment.

This is the Crystal Palace where we ate lunch.

Great end to a wonderful vacation. The next day we spent the morning swimming and then headed home!Packing to go, another round of crazy faces.