It was a romantic sort of day. Well, as romantic as you can get between a mom and her 12-year-old son.

My husband and two daughters stayed at our Disney resort for breakfast, swim time, and nap time. The girls were crabby on and off yesterday, so we thought it would be best to try a slow start for them today. That left me and my son free to take the shuttle to Epcot for a quiet morning, just the two of us.

Our time together started off great!

We had the photographer take our photo at the entrance to Epcot. Nice. Calm. Collected. Simple photography in front of Spaceship Earth. No fighting. No refusing. Just stand. Smile. And voila! A beautiful photo with my near-teenage son.

When we were at Epcot earlier in the week, we decided that I’d return with a kid or two and make our way through Epcot’s World Showcase, a circular path that takes you on a tour of 11 countries around the world. So that’s just what we did!

We arrived at Epcot at 10:40 a.m. and noted that Mary Poppins was going to be meeting and greeting in United Kingdom starting at 11:00, so we made our way right around the circle with her in mind.

As we approached, my son told me that he LOVES United Kingdom, that he wants to visit and maybe even live there someday. I had no clue. He’d never told me this before. I said, “Awesome! You go for it! We’ll come and visit! You can live wherever you want. That would be great!”

We waited in line for about 10 minutes. I taught my son how to take pictures with my camera, had him try a few, and when it was my turn, he snapped my photograph with Mary Poppins. “I hope you like them,” he said as he smiled slightly, gave me sweet eyes and handed me the camera so I could take a peek at the photos. They were good. “Great,” I said! “Thank you very much.”

We continued to make our way through the World Showcase. At this point, I should mention that from the moment we arrived at Epcot, my son was persistent that I get a glass of wine. He remembered that part of our last visit to Epcot two days ago was a bit off, that I’d wanted a glass of wine. I’m pretty sure he wanted that treat for me today. So as we approached France, he told me again, “You need to get a glass of wine. We’re going to get you a glass of wine now, mom.” So we stopped at the Food and Wine Festival kiosk in France and bought me a glass of chardonnay. It was small, but lovely. Particularly special because my son knew that was a treat for me. I rarely drink. So as odd as it sounds, inviting me to buy and enjoy that glass of wine was his gift of love to me.

I told my son that he got to choose where we ate for lunch, anywhere along the World Showcase. We went into a few places before he decided on American fare. A hamburger for him. A grilled chicken burger for me. Fries, Rocky Road Brownie and Diet Coke for both of us. All included in our Disney dining plan. He LOVED the fries. As in, he commented on how good they were several times.

We had great conversation during lunch. Great conversation with my son means I ask questions, and he actually answers, and sometimes even with a sentence or two or three. We talked about all kinds of things. His favorite moment of the day so far, his favorite day of our vacation so far, team building activities he’d done with classmates at school, a book that his favorite YouTuber is releasing this week, the fact that he’s decided sauces cover up the flavor of food, and a bunch of other random things.

I felt like a “good mom” for once. We were sitting together casually, chatting, loving each other through mutually enjoyed meals and simple conversation. There were definitely people around, but no crowds. So the experience was relaxed, quieter and more intimate than normal.

After lunch, we continued to walk through Epcot’s World Showcase. It wasn’t long until we came upon a white bridge. Several smiling people were standing behind the bridge holding a sign. I couldn’t read any of the words, but I could see the tops of a few letters, enough to realize that the sign said “Will You Marry Me?” I took a closer look at the situation, including a Disney cast member who was standing on our side of the bridge with a camera, another Disney cast member who seemed to be providing updates, a woman who peered behind the bridge at the sign and responded with surprise and delight, as well as a small crowd of people hanging out across the way. WE WERE ABOUT TO WITNESS A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL!!! I was psyched!

Watch and learn, son. Watch and learn what true love looks like.

We waited and watched for about 10 minutes before we heard word that the couple was walking “through America.” They were close! They were coming! The people behind the sign started smiling big. The small crowd that had gathered broke out their cameras. I was getting nervous! It sounds silly, but I had a few butterflies for this couple I didn’t know at all!

I had no idea who I was looking for, but it was incredibly clear that they were coming when the people holding the sign broke out in huge smiles.

There they were! I saw the couple coming down the path. I watched the whole proposal go down in real, live time and shot as many photos as I could. It was so quick, but so awesome. What a great experience. I’ve never witnessed anyone’s engagement except my own. What a privilege and delight to watch everyone, especially the beautiful bride-to-be.

After the proposal, I asked my son what he thought. “Cool,” he said. I put my arm through his and he escorted me down the World Showcase path. It might’ve been a little cheesy, but I didn’t care. This was a rare gig and I was soaking in every moment for all it was worth.

We visited Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse and got some big hugs. We visited a few stores together. And we grabbed some beverages before the rest of our family arrived at Epcot. It was a relaxing morning full of love. What more could I ask for? Sun. Warm weather. Four uninterrupted hours with my son at Epcot. Love lessons from all angles. Best case scenario.

 

 

 

 

This post is part of a month-long series titled 31 Days of Disney! If you’d like to read more posts from the series, click here and you’ll be directed back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page. ALL posts from the series are linked within the body of that post. Find a title or topic that intrigues you, click on it, and the post will pop up for your Disney reading adventure!

I also placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page, so click it anytime and it’ll bring you back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson. You can also find me on Instagram at instagram.com/AmyBPederson, and I might even do a few scopes live from Disney World, so follow me on Periscope at @AmyBPederson to see if I get brave!

So glad you stopped by! Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.

We started the morning with a crabby preschooler. She got 11 hours of sleep last night and we gave her breakfast before we left our resort for Animal Kingdom, but apparently that wasn’t enough. She was STILL a crab.

Things turned around notably when we arrived at Animal Kingdom. No surprise to me. Magic Kingdom is my favorite, but Animal Kingdom ranks right up there as my second favorite Disney Park.

We had Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safari and got right in. It was amazing, probably the best safari we’ve had of our six visits to Animal Kingdom to date. Animals were everywhere. A whole variety. Right near our vehicle and easy to see. Elephants. Giraffes. Zebras. Wildebeests. Hippos. Rhinoceroses. Lions. Cougars and a bunch more. The guy behind me was in awe. “Wow! This is awesome!” And our three-year-old Maisie agreed. “Oh. My. Gosh. This is so cool.” I applaud Disney for a job well done with the safari, as well as for the care and tending of the animals and property. It’s truly top notch and was a great start to our day at Animal Kingdom.

After Kilimanjaro Safari, we headed straight to the Festival of the Lion King. It’s a live performance featuring various songs from the movie Lion King, and is something we never miss when we go to Animal Kingdom. Honestly, it’s one of the highest quality live performance shows you’ll find in all of Walt Disney World. It is simply that good. Another must see. This performance was as excellent as any other show we’ve seen in the past. So good I got goose bumps when the first song began. And I couldn’t stop taking photos. The show is incredibly pleasing to the senses. Near Broadway quality for sure. Our little crab magically disappeared during this show. She must’ve loved it as much as the rest of us!

After the Lion King, we had the perfect amount of time to head over to Pangani Forest, a fairly lengthy walking trail next to the safari that has a lot more animals to see. If memory serves me well, Little Miss Crab went missing during this excursion as well! She must have loved the gorillas, fish and tropical birds.

Crab #1 returned after our walk through Pangani Forest. And along came another crab. We’ll call her crab #2. She was an older crab, so she didn’t put up near the fuss, but she was getting really, really hungry. The two crabs joined me for some AWESOME live African music while the boys checked us in for lunch at the Tusker House. These dudes had it going on, I’m telling you. They were awesome. They had everyone rocking and dancing up a storm. Sweat was beading and dripping off their faces, but they didn’t blink an eye. They just kept rocking it like mad men. SO. AWESOME. Great going, guys.

It wasn’t long and we were in the Tusker House, waiting for our name to be called for buffet lunch and character dining with Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy! We’d eaten at Tusker House in the past, but never with the character dining, so this was a real treat. Just as I recalled, the food was amazing! Excellent for a buffet. The flavors were superb, rich and appealing to my palate. It’s one of those buffets where you have to be willing to take risks. The food doesn’t always LOOK amazing, but once you try it, you realize it TASTES truly amazing! Cous Cous and Salmon. Oh my. SO GOOD. Hot molten lava cakes. Goodness gracious. My husband noted that many adults were taking mac and cheese. Please! No mac and cheese for adults at Disney! Be daring! The food at Tusker House is awesome! We saw all the characters, got autographs and photos. Our server, Sylvie, was incredible as well.

But hmmm…as much as everything was delightful, so good and amazing, our little crab showed up again half way through the meal. She didn’t want to eat her pork tenderloin and green beans. She just wanted more and more mini hot dogs and that’s it. Some parents would leave it at that and let her eat corn dogs all day long. But I have little tolerance for super picky eaters (including the boy whose parents only gave him bananas and cheese at the table next to us), so an all-corn-dogs meal wasn’t cutting it for me today! All I asked was that Miss Crab take three bites of veggies, garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and pork tenderloin for decent nutrition, and she simply wasn’t cooperating. I picked this battle. So she went in time out. Poor Miss Crab. She got the break she needed, ate her three bites very well, and got one tiny dessert of her choosing! Hooray, Miss Crab!

Crab #2 crawled away during lunch. Food made her feel much, much better. But Crab #2 came right back after lunch. She wanted to get a $15 henna tattoo on her arm, and dad told her no. She wanted to go to see “It’s a Bug’s Life,” but we told her not now, LATER. So she was crabs again. Crabs wear sunglasses sometimes, you know. They like to look cool even though they’re crabby.

We decided to split our family. It’s become a strategy of ours this week. It’s worked when we have Fast Passes. It’s worked when kids become crabs.

The boys went to Mount Everest Roller Coaster to use their Fast Passes. I went with the two crabs to use Fast Passes we had for another character meet and greet.

On the way to the character meet and greet, Crab #1 took a ride in her stroller. Strollers help crabs a lot. I also took time to acknowledge and really listen to Crab #2’s frustrations. She was tired. She needed a nap. She wanted to rest. Did I mention she was tired? We decided we’d do two more things and head back for rest at the resort. Tears welled in Crab #2’s eyes. Crab #2 got a big side hug from mom. Things seemed to turn around.

We’d just met Mickey at lunch, but we’ll take Mickey any day, all day long. He’s awesome! A classic. Our Fast Passes were amazing. Top-notch meet and greet. Short line. Long and incredible personal engagement with Mickey and Minnie. A sure WIN for Crab #1 and Crab #2! So much a win that they weren’t crabs anymore!!! Hooray! Mickey and Minnie worked their magic!

We met the boys for one last attraction, “It’s a Bug’s Life.” The show was awesome as usual. Enjoyable for all.

Crab #1 returned in full force as we made our way to take a family photo in front of Animal Kingdom’s The Tree of Life. She was sitting in the stroller with her blanket, and didn’t want to get out. Crab #2 was quietly crabby. She got her sunglasses back on. She just needed her break. I already knew I was heading back to the resort with our two crabs, so we snapped the photo however it came out and I beelined straight for the shuttles that brought us back to the resort.

Crab #1 and Crab #2 have been sleeping peacefully for an hour and a half now. I’m feeling lively and jovial, despite the fact that I’m stuck in a hotel room at 5:30 p.m. on a BEAUTIFUL DISNEY DAY in Florida. It’s all good. Hopefully these crabs will turn into beautiful, oh-so-very-polite and patient princesses during their sleep. The boys are meeting us at Magic Kingdom for the electrical parade and fireworks later tonight! (And we’re already planning a nap time exit strategy for half of our family tomorrow afternoon.)

Have a magical day, y’all. Signing off until tomorrow’s second visit to Epcot.

 

 

 

This post is part of a month-long series titled 31 Days of Disney! If you’d like to read more posts from the series, click here and you’ll be directed back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page. ALL posts from the series are linked within the body of that post. Find a title or topic that intrigues you, click on it, and the post will pop up for your Disney reading adventure!

I also placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page, so click it anytime and it’ll bring you back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson. You can also find me on Instagram at instagram.com/AmyBPederson, and I might even do a few scopes live from Disney World, so follow me on Periscope at @AmyBPederson to see if I get brave!

So glad you stopped by! Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.

We started the day with a stroller rental. It was bound to be good.

As we moved towards Epcot’s Spaceship Earth where we told the kids we were going to take a family photo, I envisioned a glorious day. I wrote a delightful storyline in my mind. We’d make a hundred magic moments. Maybe a Disney cast member would do something out of this world. Perhaps a fellow Epcot guest would be super inspiring and leave a mark on my memory for years to come.

I used to call myself a pessimist.

Now I know the truth.

I’m unrealistically optimistic.

Maisie hid her head for our family photo by Spaceship Earth. No big deal at all. Truly, no big deal. I moved on knowing we’d have another 10 opportunities for family photos this trip. One head hiding in the shoulder? No loss there. Just real life at Disney. That’s all.

I was resilient at this point.

But things didn’t turn beautiful and magical so quickly.

It was too hot for one of us.

Too bright for another.

Three people wanted to stop and look at Disney trading pins.

Another didn’t want to stop at all.

And another didn’t really care one way or the other.

Maisie’s morning fresh fruit cup wasn’t sufficing as breakfast. She was “hangry” yet again, while the rest of us were just fine. So we beelined to a cafeteria and bought her an Uncrustable, which turned her mood for a bit.

My husband went with the two oldest on Soarin’. But Maisie wasn’t tall enough, so we got a “parent swap” pass and I wandered with her over to the parent/baby-toddler-preschooler waiting area.

It was dark, full of little ones and caregivers just sitting and waiting for the rest of their party to return. I imagined the place remodeled and reinvented to meet the needs of busy little ones and ridiculously patient caregivers. It was all so beautiful in my mind.

The couple next to me fought hard. They yelled at each other for a good two to three minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore. A yelling match? At Disney World? In front of 20-30 people? Not okay. Even if you’re ticked. Leave the building and take care of the issue in an off-the-beaten-path place. I didn’t understand what was going down. They were yelling in another language. All I knew was that they were TICKED at each other. Big time.

Did I mention it was DARK down there?

I had to leave.

I took Maisie by the hand, up the escalator, around the long rotunda and we went outside. I texted my husband and told him we weren’t going to be able to wait any longer. That there were people yelling at each other and I had to get out of there.

We got some fresh air. We took a cute outdoor photo by Nemo and friends. My husband texted me back, told me they were almost on the ride, that we should come back. So we did.

We reunited quickly and went back outside to pick up the stroller. Things should have been looking up, but they weren’t. People seemed super crabby with their kids. There were wheelchairs all over the place, more than normal. Moms in wheelchairs. Kids in wheelchairs. People with amputated legs in wheelchairs. Sons who looked like they’d never been able to speak in wheelchairs. People just seemed off. I wasn’t feeling the magic at all. I started to wonder if I WASN’T supposed to see or feel the magic today. So I silently prayed that I would be able to experience what I was supposed to experience today, that God would show me what He wanted me to see in this place, whether that was magic, pain or a mix of the two. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t supposed to just blow it off and move right along through it as if everything was gloriously perfect.

Why was I just seeing pain?

Why wasn’t I experiencing the magic of Disney?

What was it with this day?

It wasn’t anything in particular. The day just felt off all the way around.

Four of us ate fast food Chinese for lunch. My husband didn’t care for Chinese, so he sat with us, then took a moment alone at a salad place while we got photos with Daisy Duck.

Our first Fast Pass for the day was about to expire, so we booked it over to Turtle Talk. We waited 10-15 minutes before the show started. While we waited, my eyes drifted nearby to a notably overweight father figure, and a young mama who was incredibly ticked off with her baby. “STOP!” she exclaimed, as her baby continued whatever it was that was ticking mama off. I saw the fire in her eyes. She needed a break. This mothering gig wasn’t living up to her expectations. I saw a sister figure look at the reprimanding mama with wonder. I wondered what the sister figure was thinking.

Turtle Talk was great. Funny. Relaxing. Good for all ages. A breath of fresh air. The best thing that happened to us all morning besides the stroller.

I think I saw what I was supposed to see in that dark room where brilliant technology allowed animated turtles to engage personally with people. I was beginning to piece together the puzzle. Today wasn’t about seeing and experiencing the magic. Today was about me seeing the REASON we NEED the magic, the reason we SEEK the magic, the reason we LOVE the magic, the reason we’re all so DESPERATE for the magic.

Life is great. Yes.

Fun. Yes.

Beautiful. Yes.

Lovely. Yes.

Life-giving. Yes.

Holy. Yes.

But it’s also painful.

Difficult.

Challenging.

Boring.

Stressful.

And very real.

We need an escape.

We need something, someone, anyone to take us away.

We need hope.

We need a little magic.

Disney’s all about the magic. They work their magic every time without fail.

Honestly? I don’t think it’s magic that Disney creates. It’s a sense of hope, a sense of purpose, a sense of peace, a sense of fulfillment and enjoyment, love and connection, a sense that everything’s gonna be alright. Disney reminds us that we’re making it. That things are good. That life is incredibly hard, but it can be incredibly beautiful, too. That we’re loved and cared for, gently and tenderly received. Just as we are. Wherever we are.

Disney Magic. It’s hope. 

Adults and kids alike, we filed out of Turtle Talk into the hot, Florida sun. The mood hadn’t shifted outdoors. But we knew better. Good things, magical things were going on inside that Turtle Talk building. We’d been there. Done that. And it was good.

As I watched the people file out, I was reminded of the crazy-thick Walt Disney biography I’ve been plodding through for the past two years, how the author surmised that Walt intended to create a magical, alternative world where everything was as it should be. I remembered how that struck me, how that captured my attention as probable truth. Perhaps that’s why Disney has been so successful all these years. Because it is an alternative world, an escape of sorts.

Maisie got her “hangry” back on. And I sensed the older kids’ tiffs getting my husband in a bit of a tizzy. So I suggested we separate again. Me with our baby. My husband with our oldest, in pursuit of the next big-kid ride Fast Pass that opened in 15 minutes. We knew we were going to have to separate for this part of the afternoon, anyway.

They went their way. We went ours.

We went on another ride where we sat in clam shells and were transported to an underwater world with Nemo and Friends. I watched Disney cast members stop the shells to load a boy in a wheelchair. He was the most peaceful and grateful looking boy I’d seen all day.

We escaped, me and my baby, to the underworld, an underwater world with Nemo. For five minutes, maybe six or seven. I took a deep breath. Leaned into the hard, clam shell. Hummed with the delightful tune that drew me in like nothing else. Bathed in the moment.

After, I gave my daughter my snack allocation for the day. She chose an orange creamsicle pop. It melted fast with the hot sun. I got a couple of the first bites, then a bunch of licks to help a dripping girl out.

She was thirsty after she ate.

We’re still hungry after we eat.

Still thirsty after we drink.

I was suddenly wishing for a glass of wine. Or maybe a frozen margarita. It is Epcot’s annual Food & Wine Festival, you know. The line for wine was long. I stood in line for a frozen margarita, but their Magic Band machine was broken and I didn’t have cash or credit along, so the margarita was a no go for me.

My husband and two oldest were still on Mission Space.

I was with the “baby,” searching for more magic, waiting for the day to take a turn.

We began the long walk around Epcot’s lands. Donald Duck was hiding in Mexico with a long line. So we kept walking.

And there it was, the moment where the day took a turn for me, the moment I heard the magic before I saw it.

A little mariachi band. Heck, I don’t know what it’s called. All I know is that it’s what I needed.

It was a quaint little something to delight my heart. Lovely. Pure. Music. A live performance by three. For a small audience of five, six, seven. We were tucked away behind the Mexican souvenir shop where most passed by. But I heard. I knew I needed this kind of magic, this kind of hope, this kind of peace.

It was beautiful. These guys were so in it to win it. So in it for the sake of their art. So in it for the few. So in it because that music was the right thing to do.

I made myself comfortable on the ground, and we listened to several tunes, my baby and me. I smiled at the dudes and clapped generously after each song. Every song was an invitation to be present.

I loved it.

They announced that they were done, that they’d be back at 2:30 to play again.

I thanked the men. Each one. They acknowledged us personally. One smiled, called my daughter princess and asked how she was today.

Do we really need anything more?

Walt Disney found a market. He filled a niche.

A niche where people can stop. Pause. Just be.

A niche where people can love and be loved.

A niche where people can wander and wonder.

A niche where people can listen to a song, sing a tune, hum along a little longer.

A niche where we can hang with family and meet new friends.

A niche where we’re all in this together.

A niche where things are a-okay.

A niche in which we can come as we are, and no matter what ugly we bring, we’ll always find a little magic.

A niche where we’re called princess. Where we’re asked how we are. A niche where someone will play us a little song and say hi at the end of the day. A niche where we can sit down and rest for a while. A niche where our burdens are eased, if even for a few moments. A niche where our senses are delighted and dazzled in unique and glorious ways.

Disney.

It did all those things for me today.

But what about the days we’re NOT at Disney. What then? Can we fill a niche, create a little Disney magic right where we are? I don’t know about you, but I need to do more of that myself. I need a little song, a place to rest, a place to be called princess, a place where someone stops to look me in the eyes and ask how I am today. Yes, I’d like more of that for me. And I’d like more of that for you. How are we going to do this, friends?

I saw the ugly, the downtrodden today. The worn out. The weak. The disabled. The meek. The mad and the angry. The hungry. We’re hungry for more, something more. We’re hungry for magic. We’re hungry for hope and connection, peace and place.

Walt Disney filled the niche right here. In the parks. He got it. He understood the need. Let’s bring it right out of these parks, friends. Let’s get a little magic stirring in the real world.

Because once that magic’s stirred, you never know what might happen. Today, a brother and sister decided they want to be friends. A near teenager put his arm around his mama and walked with her in public. A family had a delicious dinner after a long, kind-of-off day. A hangry “baby” enjoyed a swim followed by an early bedtime. And a mama felt a little more sure of her mission. To bring this Disney magic OUT into the real, everyday world. Because Lord knows, we need more magic.

 

 

 

This post is part of a month-long series titled 31 Days of Disney! If you’d like to read more posts from the series, click here and you’ll be directed back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page. ALL posts from the series are linked within the body of that post. Find a title or topic that intrigues you, click on it, and the post will pop up for your Disney reading adventure!

I also placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page, so click it anytime and it’ll bring you back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson. You can also find me on Instagram at instagram.com/AmyBPederson, and I might even do a few scopes live from Disney World, so follow me on Periscope at @AmyBPederson to see if I get brave!

So glad you stopped by! Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.

I do my best to convince my husband that we need to START and END our Walt Disney World vacations at Magic Kingdom. There’s just something special about that place, something magical.

This is our three-year-old baby’s first visit to Walt Disney World. I’d been especially looking forward to her first day at Magic Kingdom, because it’s my favorite, a classic without a doubt.

With the exception of 45 minutes to get ready for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party early in the evening, we were away from our resort from 8:30 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. So you can imagine the day wasn’t 100% magical. We had some meltdowns. We had some moments in which my husband and I were on the edge of getting a little fed up with our near four year old. And let’s just be honest – she had a few “hangry” moments, didn’t get a nap or swim time, and needed to be held more than we wanted to admit. (We might be renting a stroller tomorrow.)

But being there to experience my baby’s first magic moments far outweighed any trouble we experienced with her the rest of the day. These are the memories we’ll relive for a lifetime. These are the images we’ll roll around in our mind when we think of her first Walt Disney World vacation.

Her first time seeing Cinderella’s castle from a distance.

Her first picture by the castle with mama, sister and brother.

Her first SUPER SCARY roller coaster ride. Oops. She was tall enough for the ride. I even asked if kids her age go on the ride and the cast member said yes. But it was way faster than it looked and she screamed bloody murder the whole way through. Sorry, Maisie! 

Her first time watching a Disney World street party!

Her first time experiencing the Haunted Mansion. It shut down for a couple minutes half-way through and was actually a tad creepy during that time. But still…pretty awesome as usual!

Her first time meeting Belle. It was one of my most magical moments of the day as well. Enchanted Tales with Belle is Magic Kingdom’s hidden treasure.

Her first Disney parade! She kept waving and yelling the names of each character that passed until they responded (or didn’t). I was shocked at the number of characters that actually waved to her, smiled at her, and stopped to give her a high five. Guess all that yelling and waving worked its magic! 

Her first SUPER “hangry” moment (hungry + angry). And her first relief snack on Main Street. Thank goodness for strawberry banana smoothies at 4:00 p.m.

And her first character dining experience. PIGLET!

It was all magical. Every bit. “Hangry” and all.

First magic moments. Irreplaceable memories for a lifetime.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Epcot. Join us, will you? I’ll be back with another post at the end of our day!

 

 

 

 

This post is part of a month-long series titled 31 Days of Disney! If you’d like to read more posts from the series, click here and you’ll be directed back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page. ALL posts from the series are linked within the body of that post. Find a title or topic that intrigues you, click on it, and the post will pop up for your Disney reading adventure!

I also placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page, so click it anytime and it’ll bring you back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson. You can also find me on Instagram at instagram.com/AmyBPederson, and I might even do a few scopes live from Disney World, so follow me on Periscope at @AmyBPederson to see if I get brave!

So glad you stopped by! Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.

She woke up in the morning looking something like this. Mickey ears and all, she was ready to go to Disney World!

We packed our final items in suitcases, cleaned up the house a bit, dropped off a CD of photographs at a friend’s house, picked up some waterproof bandages at Target (our son had a frisbee golf accident two days ago, which required a doctor visit and Durabond), and made our way to the airport!

Maisie, our three year old, was sad she had to leave her Sofia the First suitcase with the guys at airport check-in. She couldn’t understand why they were TAKING HER SUITCASE! She even cried when she watched her suitcase disappear through the hole. We took time to explain they’re taking our suitcases to the airplane and we’ll get them back at Disney World later today! Later when we were on the plane, she asked where her suitcase was. Still not sure she fully understood that experience!

We had a few minor issues at the airport. Nothing big. We got stopped for 10-15 minutes going through security because my husband and son had all of our Disney trading pins in their carry-ons. After exhaustive searches by TSA staff, we were cleared! Maisie bites her fingernails and also happened to bite some skin off one of her fingertips today (ouch!), so we had to pull out the Sofia the First bandaids while we were waiting for our pins to get through security. She also went full-on IN the MEN’S bathroom, so I had to yell at her to come back out! Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any men in there at the time.

Once we arrived at the gate, things went swimmingly. Cooper, our 12 year old, did crossword puzzles in the book I bought him. SCORE! And Elsa, our 10 year old, did half of her homework on commas. SCORE! Both without us asking. Thank you, children, for getting our vacation off to a peaceful and wholesome start.

Before we knew it, our row was called for boarding. Cooper and my husband sat together on one side, and I sat with the girls on the other side. It was Maisie’s first plane ride, and if I do say so myself, it went quite well. During takeoff, she said “Oh, this is making me crazy! We’re high up in the sky like the clouds!” And then there was this. “How long until we get there? Three minutes?” Ummm…more like three hours?!

When we arrived in Orlando, we headed straight for Disney’s Magical Express, the shuttle service that delivers guests to their Disney resorts! I was shocked when my husband told me that we didn’t even have to pick up our luggage from baggage claim. For some reason, I’d forgotten that about past stays. What a lovely thing to not have to worry about picking up luggage first thing off the plane! That’s Disney customer service for you!

It took about five minutes to check in at Disney’s Magical Express station. We activated all five of our Magic Bands, snapped a photo, got in line and were on our bus within another five minutes. Super slick. Super convenient.

We spent 5-10 minutes sitting on the bus before it departed, but no big deal. The two oldest sat quietly across the way while while our youngest peeked through the seat in front of us. 30 minutes to our Disney Resort, and BAM! We’d officially arrived at Walt Disney World!

We spent literally ONE minute checking in (we didn’t really even have to check in because we’d done that online back at home) and made our way back to our building. We were shocked to discover that this resort is extremely similar to the one we stayed at in 2010 and 2011, only this is new and designed for “bigger” families (of 5+) like us. It was like coming home, only we’d never been here before!

Our room is lovely and family friendly, with plenty of space for all of us. Even one of those cool, pull-down-from-the-wall beds! What are those called, again?

After a 10-15 minute orientation to the room, we made our way to transportation, hopped on a shuttle to Disney Springs (aka Downtown Disney), and arrived at our first non-resort Disney destination!

Disney Springs was crazy busy. Before we knew it, Maisie had found some Winnie the Pooh sculptures and wanted to visit them! Three year olds are easy to please….sometimes?!

As fun as it was to visit Winnie the Pooh, we knew we didn’t have much time to waste before Maisie had a meltdown. With the time change and all of the day’s events, it was already 8:30 p.m. by the time we got to downtown Disney. We hadn’t eaten anything of substance since 11:15 a.m. So we desperately needed to find dinner. And quick! Luckily, we found Earl of Sandwich, which was also crazy packed full! But the line went quickly and there was a lovely Disney cast member who delighted my heart by fulfilling her simple duty of asking guests if they had questions about the menu and how their day went. Lovely. Delightful. Totally Disney. Because they give top notch service. It’s easy to forget how excellent customer service can be until you return to a Disney park.

Dinner didn’t come quite soon enough for Maisie, though. She had a meltdown at the table while we were waiting for our sandwiches to be delivered. Chips didn’t suffice. (No surprise, there.) And she wasn’t too interested in drinking anything either. When her grilled cheese came, she looked at it like it was from another planet. It didn’t look like a standard grilled cheese sandwich. It was much, much better, in fact. But we had to convince her so by taking a few bites of it ourselves!

Things turned around for Maisie after a little food and beverages. All was well with the world. We went to the Disney trading pin store across the way from Earl of Sandwich and bought a Minnie Mouse pin lanyard for Maisie. She wanted a picture next to Minnie and Mickey, then the two of us hopped a shuttle back to the resort for an “early” 10:30 bedtime while the other three stayed for some late night fun!

It was a good day, friends. But primarily a travel day at that. Looking forward to a restful sleep for us all, then we’re at Magic Kingdom for a long and incredibly magical day tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

This post is part of a month-long series titled 31 Days of Disney! If you’d like to read more posts from the series, click here and you’ll be directed back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page. ALL posts from the series are linked within the body of that post. Find a title or topic that intrigues you, click on it, and the post will pop up for your Disney reading adventure!

I also placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page, so click it anytime and it’ll bring you back to the 31 Days of Disney landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson. You can also find me on Instagram at instagram.com/AmyBPederson, and I might even do a few scopes live from Disney World, so follow me on Periscope at @AmyBPederson to see if I get brave!

So glad you stopped by! Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.