Princesses, EMTs and a Wedding
We've returned from our first travel crisis free vacation. I honestly can't believe that nothing bad happened with our flights. There was a small delay on our return and we thought we may have missed our connection but nope, it was there.
Our youngest daughter must have sensed our relief and decided she didn't like mom and dad being so relaxed. So after we checked in we headed to the pool to "wear the kids out" so they would take naps since they didn't sleep a wink on the plane. They were tired alright. Josie was stumbling her way back to our room and ate it on the concrete. Thankfully this kid has cat like reflexes and caught herself with her forehead. The goose-egg was so big I seriously thought it would burst. We booked it to our room and iced her head down. She was coherent and talking to me about the pool and plane ride so we were pretty sure she didn't have a concussion. She fell asleep fighting against the ice pack which was good because I got to ice her head down while she slept which meant less screaming AND less swelling.
The next day we got up bright and early to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom. We got there shortly after they opened the gates at 7 am and had the place practically to ourselves. There seemed to be characters everywhere and no lines to be seen. Sophie got to meet Snow White and Dopey first. This was the first test of Josie's interest in characters and it came out negative. She liked seeing them from a distance but had no interest in actually walking up to them. I think if Snow White would have been alone (stupid Dopey) she would have wanted to see Snow White. Sophie on the other hand was thrilled. Snow White commented that she and Sophie had the same hair cut and you could practically see the little girl walking on sunshine as she departed, autograph book in hand. We met Chip and Dale and Daisy Duck then walked up Main Street USA to see the castle. It was surprisingly magical. I honestly didn't know what to expect but all of us got caught up in it. We ran up to the castle and inspected the murals inside. Once on the other side, Sophie and I got to ride the Dumbo ride with no line. This was Sophie's first real amusement park ride and I wasn't sure what she was going to think. All the way up, as high as we could go! That in-utero helicopter ride from the folks at Nelson must have made an impression on her. We walked back to Main Street USA for breakfast at "The Bakery" and while we were eating, the Main Street Trolley and musical cast stopped and sang "Main Street USA", one of Sophie's favorite songs from her Grandma's Disney Sing-a-long tapes. After that we did all of Fantasy Land and had a blast. Minnie's house, Mickey's house, the Hundred Acre Wood, The ToonTown Fair where we met Pluto, Goofy and Donald. Donald actually came out and escorted Sophie by the hand back to have her picture taken. The Judges Tent to meet Mickey. Jake and Sophie rode on Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster (Sophie's favorite) then we took the train all around the park.
We headed back to the room for a nap (which didn't happen) then off to
Epcot for a Storybook Princess lunch with my grandparents. Now Josie
was definitely in to this. She called out the names of the princesses
as she saw them walking around. Then enjoyed posing with each of them
for a picture. We met Ariel, Alice (not a princess according to
Sophie), Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. Well worth the
advance reservation and $25 a person. We walked around Epcot and
visited the Finding Nemo "Sea" area. This was a nice indoor break as
it was in the low 80's and we haven't yet shed our winter coats. There
was a new ride/experience thing that we rode on. Just a long line of
Clam shell seats that moved along while various scenes played. It was
cool but "the light fish was scary" according to Sophie.
After cooling off a bit, we headed over to the Yacht Club for a rehearsal dinner for our friends Melissa and Daniel. We had packed some nice clothes in the back pack, hit the bathroom to clean up then met the fam in the bar while we were waiting to be seated. My Great Aunt and Uncle were there and hadn't met the girls so we were catching up and Josie started to walk maybe 5 feet over to Jake when the floor just reached up and tripped her. Down she went, straight to the forehead again. Jake scooped her up and when I got over to her her left eye was pointing off to one side and it looked as though her skull had been crushed right at her eyebrow. I ran to the lobby and asked for a doctor. I was hysterical and felt so guilty for not watching her take those steps as I knew she was tired again. Josie was screaming, Jake was glaring. My great (in more than one way) aunt brought out some ice and that started the Guantanamo like torture scream from Josie. A manager came, a front desk person, the security guard then two EMT's. By the time they arrived Josie had calmed down, the swelling had gone down and her eye was functioning normally. Josie seemed to be fine (other than the fact that she apparently can't walk on her own). And we ended up enjoying a lovely meal. Sophie even got her very own special dessert which was served on a plate that was formed like an artist palette. In the center was a bunch of white chocolate puzzle pieces then a cupcake that had a paint brush in the icing. There was "paint" food coloring that she got to paint her puzzle with. It entertained her for a good 30 minutes after which she ate every single piece of that puzzle.
Ah, bed.
The next day we headed back to the Magic Kingdom where we explored the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house, rode on the Magic Carpet Ride where we discovered that Josie loves rides just as much as her older sister. Then took the Jungle Cruise. Hilarious for the adults and the kids. We started heading over toward Main Street USA and on our way we walked through Frontier Land and heard Josie's favorite song "Woody's Round Up". This has been the song she requests you sing her before bed for at least 5 months now so when she recognized it she was beaming. "Woowy Woun Up!" Just then a staff member stopped us and said we would have to wait. Well we then became the front of the line to watch the Woody, Jessie and Bullseye parade walk by. It was amazing and the girls couldn't believe their eyes. We walked in front of the palace and there was a musical show with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Princess Aroura, Prince Phillip, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White and her Prince (what IS his name). There was dancing, singing and fireworks and again, we got a front row to it on accident. It felt magical.
We wandered over to the Crystal Palace where we had reservations to have breakfast with my grandparents again. This time the characters were Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. This was a buffet style breakfast with tons of yummy food. My grandma mentioned to the server how much she loved the potato casserole and at the end of our meal the server returned with a little card that had Mickey on the front. She had asked the cooks for the recipe! It was so sweet! The girls ate like champs and Sophie enjoyed seeing all of the characters and then having a parade with them around the restaurant after our meal. Josie liked seeing the characters but would cry and thrust her hands toward me if any of them tried to approach her. Eeyore must not have been listening when I told him she was scared because he went behind me and tried to give her a hug. I felt so bad for her. After that I made sure to place myself between any characters and Josie when there was potential for hugging.
We were successful in our nap attempts this day and actually had to wake the girls before heading back over to the Yacht club for Melissa and Daniel's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony held in an outdoor courtyard and gazebo. We had cake and champagne afterward. Sophie got her own flute of sparkling cider. There was a violinist who took requests during the reception. Sophie's favorite song lately is Darth Vader's theme so when he made his way to us that is what I asked for. Sophie loves violins and this seemed to seal the deal for her. "You can play Darth Vader's song on a violin???". The girls were beautiful gathering rose petals off the ground and then letting them float in the breeze. It was so nice to see them playing with each other and enjoying some down time. The wedding dinner was held at Narcoosee's located at the Grand Floridian. Sophie and Josie both got their first limo ride and were already trying to party like they were in Vegas. Sophie wanted to stand the entire way and Josie kept trying to open the door. Dinner was delicious. The only near health hazard happened when the server dropped my steaming duck eggroll onto Josie's bare arm. I almost threw in the towel but she was unscathed.
We ducked out early as the girls had passed their limit of sitting and caught the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom where we walked all around and explored Fantasy Land at night. We really wanted to see some fireworks but the first show was at 10pm and there was no way any of us were going to be able to make it that long. We did scout a spot for the lights parade which the girls enjoyed then headed out to catch the bus. Both girls were asleep before we exited the park.
Our final day at the parks we decided to visit Hollywood Studios. This was my least favorite park and I think it's partly because everything is meant to look like a movie set so I was constantly thinking we were in a construction area or some place that we shouldn't be. We wandered around and got to see some Star Wars items and pose for a picture on the speeder bike. Then we headed to Al's Toy Barn to meet the Green Army Men, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Sophie was beside herself. Again at this location, Woody came over and took her by the hand to the picture spot. We raced over (har har) to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars then tromped around a bit before having lunch. Our last stop was at the PlayHouse Disney Live theater where we got to see a live action Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. The girls really enjoyed the live action performance. We weren't sure what they would think as they have watched the show on television. Josie stood through most of the performance and danced while shouting the characters names as they came on stage. I loved this show. They made it extra special by dropping streamers, bubbles and paper leaves from the ceiling at various times during the story line.
Back to the room for a nap then off to Magic Kingdom one last time for a goodbye. We mostly just wandered around the castle, had some ice cream and mourned the fact that we had to leave. Jake and I were affected by it more than the girls. This was the first vacation we had taken since having kids where we actually enjoyed ourselves (despite Josie's efforts to crack her skull open). We headed back to the hotel where we met up with a friend and coworker who happened to be in town along with my grandparents. We all had dinner together then said goodbye to my grandparents. It was pretty sad as this was the last time we would see them before heading to New Zealand. There were some teary eyes but then I had to head back to the room, bathe the girls and get packed. Jake and Larry headed to the Muddy River for a drink and to talk shop.
I've mentioned this a couple times in this post and as corny as it sounds, we had a magical vacation. We were already talking about when we would go back.
After cooling off a bit, we headed over to the Yacht Club for a rehearsal dinner for our friends Melissa and Daniel. We had packed some nice clothes in the back pack, hit the bathroom to clean up then met the fam in the bar while we were waiting to be seated. My Great Aunt and Uncle were there and hadn't met the girls so we were catching up and Josie started to walk maybe 5 feet over to Jake when the floor just reached up and tripped her. Down she went, straight to the forehead again. Jake scooped her up and when I got over to her her left eye was pointing off to one side and it looked as though her skull had been crushed right at her eyebrow. I ran to the lobby and asked for a doctor. I was hysterical and felt so guilty for not watching her take those steps as I knew she was tired again. Josie was screaming, Jake was glaring. My great (in more than one way) aunt brought out some ice and that started the Guantanamo like torture scream from Josie. A manager came, a front desk person, the security guard then two EMT's. By the time they arrived Josie had calmed down, the swelling had gone down and her eye was functioning normally. Josie seemed to be fine (other than the fact that she apparently can't walk on her own). And we ended up enjoying a lovely meal. Sophie even got her very own special dessert which was served on a plate that was formed like an artist palette. In the center was a bunch of white chocolate puzzle pieces then a cupcake that had a paint brush in the icing. There was "paint" food coloring that she got to paint her puzzle with. It entertained her for a good 30 minutes after which she ate every single piece of that puzzle.
Ah, bed.
The next day we headed back to the Magic Kingdom where we explored the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house, rode on the Magic Carpet Ride where we discovered that Josie loves rides just as much as her older sister. Then took the Jungle Cruise. Hilarious for the adults and the kids. We started heading over toward Main Street USA and on our way we walked through Frontier Land and heard Josie's favorite song "Woody's Round Up". This has been the song she requests you sing her before bed for at least 5 months now so when she recognized it she was beaming. "Woowy Woun Up!" Just then a staff member stopped us and said we would have to wait. Well we then became the front of the line to watch the Woody, Jessie and Bullseye parade walk by. It was amazing and the girls couldn't believe their eyes. We walked in front of the palace and there was a musical show with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Princess Aroura, Prince Phillip, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White and her Prince (what IS his name). There was dancing, singing and fireworks and again, we got a front row to it on accident. It felt magical.
We wandered over to the Crystal Palace where we had reservations to have breakfast with my grandparents again. This time the characters were Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. This was a buffet style breakfast with tons of yummy food. My grandma mentioned to the server how much she loved the potato casserole and at the end of our meal the server returned with a little card that had Mickey on the front. She had asked the cooks for the recipe! It was so sweet! The girls ate like champs and Sophie enjoyed seeing all of the characters and then having a parade with them around the restaurant after our meal. Josie liked seeing the characters but would cry and thrust her hands toward me if any of them tried to approach her. Eeyore must not have been listening when I told him she was scared because he went behind me and tried to give her a hug. I felt so bad for her. After that I made sure to place myself between any characters and Josie when there was potential for hugging.
We were successful in our nap attempts this day and actually had to wake the girls before heading back over to the Yacht club for Melissa and Daniel's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony held in an outdoor courtyard and gazebo. We had cake and champagne afterward. Sophie got her own flute of sparkling cider. There was a violinist who took requests during the reception. Sophie's favorite song lately is Darth Vader's theme so when he made his way to us that is what I asked for. Sophie loves violins and this seemed to seal the deal for her. "You can play Darth Vader's song on a violin???". The girls were beautiful gathering rose petals off the ground and then letting them float in the breeze. It was so nice to see them playing with each other and enjoying some down time. The wedding dinner was held at Narcoosee's located at the Grand Floridian. Sophie and Josie both got their first limo ride and were already trying to party like they were in Vegas. Sophie wanted to stand the entire way and Josie kept trying to open the door. Dinner was delicious. The only near health hazard happened when the server dropped my steaming duck eggroll onto Josie's bare arm. I almost threw in the towel but she was unscathed.
We ducked out early as the girls had passed their limit of sitting and caught the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom where we walked all around and explored Fantasy Land at night. We really wanted to see some fireworks but the first show was at 10pm and there was no way any of us were going to be able to make it that long. We did scout a spot for the lights parade which the girls enjoyed then headed out to catch the bus. Both girls were asleep before we exited the park.
Our final day at the parks we decided to visit Hollywood Studios. This was my least favorite park and I think it's partly because everything is meant to look like a movie set so I was constantly thinking we were in a construction area or some place that we shouldn't be. We wandered around and got to see some Star Wars items and pose for a picture on the speeder bike. Then we headed to Al's Toy Barn to meet the Green Army Men, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Sophie was beside herself. Again at this location, Woody came over and took her by the hand to the picture spot. We raced over (har har) to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars then tromped around a bit before having lunch. Our last stop was at the PlayHouse Disney Live theater where we got to see a live action Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. The girls really enjoyed the live action performance. We weren't sure what they would think as they have watched the show on television. Josie stood through most of the performance and danced while shouting the characters names as they came on stage. I loved this show. They made it extra special by dropping streamers, bubbles and paper leaves from the ceiling at various times during the story line.
Back to the room for a nap then off to Magic Kingdom one last time for a goodbye. We mostly just wandered around the castle, had some ice cream and mourned the fact that we had to leave. Jake and I were affected by it more than the girls. This was the first vacation we had taken since having kids where we actually enjoyed ourselves (despite Josie's efforts to crack her skull open). We headed back to the hotel where we met up with a friend and coworker who happened to be in town along with my grandparents. We all had dinner together then said goodbye to my grandparents. It was pretty sad as this was the last time we would see them before heading to New Zealand. There were some teary eyes but then I had to head back to the room, bathe the girls and get packed. Jake and Larry headed to the Muddy River for a drink and to talk shop.
I've mentioned this a couple times in this post and as corny as it sounds, we had a magical vacation. We were already talking about when we would go back.
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