Oh The Places We'll Go...: DisneyWorld! June 2011

So we did what we said we would never do, what we thought other parents were crazy for doing. We took our (then) 8 month old sweet baby girl to DisneyWorld. And ya know what, we would do it again IN A SECOND!!

We had a last minute trip opportunity come up towards the end of June. Some great friends of ours asked us if we would like to join them for the week, as they were taking their 3 year old daughter as well. We were so excited that it worked out that we could go. It was a bit unlike us me to do something so last minute (I had about a weeks notice) because I normally plan/research our vacations A TON! However, with an 8 month old and a 3 year old in tow, our "plan" was to do what worked at the moment and let them lead. That plan was successful!!

The trip started super early with a 6:20 a.m. departure out of KS City, this put us in Orlando before 11:00 a.m. eastern time. This was my first worry, how would Tenley do on the plane? I really didn't want to be "those" people on the jet! Since she is normally not even out of bed in the mornings until 7:30ish, waking her up at 4 a.m was bound to throw her off. However, she proved to us just how sweet she is (of course) and was a doll. She didn't' get fussy until just before take off. This was actually perfect because we wanted to give her, her morning bottle on takeoff and climb out to keep her ears clear with the pressure changes. We also didn't have a full flight so we were able to have a full row (3 seats) to ourselves. This allowed her to have some room to play and stretch, however, Mommy wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to cuddle her while she slept!! So we played and napped, and then we were starting descent, I nursed her again on this portion of the flight to again keep her ears clear. It worked like a charm and before we knew it we were taking on DisneyWorld!

Since we got there so early we still had basically a full day to get settled, get our tickets, and check out a park. We decided to start at Animal Kingdom. It was fantastic, we saw a great parade pretty much as soon as we got there. It was at this point that Tim and I knew we had made the right decision to bring Tenley. When the parade started she started giggling, clapping, and was glued to all of the movement, colors, and characters in front of her. It made my heart erupt with joy to see she so happy! After that we took on a safari, which was so neat. We all loved it, but Tenley was getting super tired, and fell asleep on Daddy while we "toured" Africa! We also met Minnie at Animal Kingdom. We turned in fairly early that day since it had been such an early morning, and we wanted to get a good start the next day.

Wednesday, we started at one of the water parks, Typhoon Lagoon. We got there mid-moring which was perfect because the heat of the day hadn't set in yet, and it was much less crowded. The girls loved it, and so did we! After the water park we headed to the main event...Magic Kingdom!! We had about half a day left and then we were also staying for the light parade and fireworks that night. It was all amazing! We went and met Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella before taking in some of the park. What fun, it is interesting because the characters are constantly "in character" even to the adults...Belle told me about her new teacup :) Tenley did great meeting all of them! We thought the light parade and fireworks may be asking for a meltdown since they began at 9:00 eastern (8:00 central....ie...bedtime), however, again our sweet girl was up for the challenge. We ended up standing in one spot for about 1.5 hours so that we had a PERFECT spot for the parade. She fell asleep at the beginning of our camp out (as did Layla, our friends girl). She got a good, hard nap, and then as if on que, when the parade started she woke up and was is such a wonderful mood. She LOVED the parade, she would watch one float until her little head couldn't turn anymore and then she would find the next one. She also loved the laser show on the castle, but I think the fireworks may have been her favorite. With each display she would clap, and cheer, and giggle! It was such a special moment to watch them with her and her Daddy, I actually got really choked up. I so enjoy creating all of these moments and memories with my wonderful little family!

The next day, we slept in a bit since we had kept everyone out late the night before. Thursday we took in Sea World and Epcot. It was blazing hot that day which lead us to go back to the condo for awhile for a nap and cool off for the girls. Tenley

Friday, we were back at Magic Kingdom to take it all in at a slow pace. We saw all of the park that we wanted, found some great meals, and met Mickey and Minnie! It was fantastic! Tim and I both agree that Magic Kingdom was our favorite! So much to see, rides to ride, shops to check out, and just a great place to enjoy. We look forward to taking Tenley back many times!

Here is a very brief photo recap: