DISCLAIMER: This is my first TR ever. Forgive me if I add too many pictures or leave out detail. I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with you! 
So back in May, Amy and I decided to buckle down and start planning our next trip to Disney. We hadn't been since November of 2010, and that Four year break is definitely too long for us! Despite some criticism that our daughter (who is 2) is too young to enjoy it or remember it really didn't phase us. Because one, I'd remember it, and two, who wouldn't enjoy Disney!?
We flew out on Nashville on Monday, September 29th. This was our daughters first plane trip and despite my worries of her not being able to sit still and throwing a fit, she did tremendous! She actually slept most of the way on the plane ride to MCO (Orlando International)!
After One and a half hours, we arrived at MCO! Now I will say, I was disappointed with the fact that I had NO clue on where the Disney Magical Express bus was. For whatever reason, I was expecting to come out of the terminal and see a huge sign that said MAGICAL EXPRESS BUS THIS WAY ----->. No such luck (or maybe I'm just blind). We finally found a map of the airport and located the ME. Soon enough we were on our way!
Quite possibly the best feeling in the world is to see this sign and know that all your worries are outside!
We arrived at Pop Century, where we met up with my Mom and Dad. They had actually driven down the night before and were already onsite when we arrived. My sister and her Fiance would join us on Wednesday night (the start of her fall break at WKU). Since we didn't have a ticket for Monday, we stopped by Giordanios (right outside of WDW's campus) and enjoyed dinner. I had the Chicken Alfredo, which quite possibly was one of the best I'd ever eaten. Of course, without fail, while we were in the restaurant, it comes a flood. So any plans of going to Downtown Disney for the evening to shop around were a bust. So we just went back to our room and rested up for the upcoming week. Payton (my daughter) wasn't feeling the best (Other than a short nap on the plane, she hadn't rested any) so we went ahead and went to bed.
Day 2: Magic Kindgom
RISE AND SHINE! We got up around 7am Tuesday morning, everyone feeling much better after a good night's rest, so we went down to get breakfast and then to wait for the bus to Magic Kingdom!
We ended up on one of the new articulating buses, which was pretty neat. Also, for the record, this was our first time staying in a Walt Disney World resort. For the previous Six trips, we always stayed in Downtown Disney. I'm a huge fan of the Buena Vista Palace, however, we wanted to take advantage of the Magical Express, Luggage service, and all the other ammenties that were offered to resort guests... So we opted for Pop Century this time around.
Soon enough, we arrived at Magic Kingdom. I was finally HOME!
We go straight through Main Street USA (which is probably one of my favorite theme park areas of all time. How magnificent would it be to have the liveliness in every small town USA?), then we head straight through Cinderella's Castle and take Payton on her first ever Disney World ride, The Carosuel. Meanwhile, I had scheduled a fast pass for the Little Mermaid ride (which didn't even have a line, but I set up my fastpasses for that day to be oriented in favor of what Payton would want to or could ride.) and I had noticed that there was a very small crowd lined up to see Ariel. So we took Payton in to see her and to see her reaction. (Would she be accepting of her? Or would she freak out and want to run away?). Luckily, she loved her!
She sat up next to her like a big girl and just gibber gabbered away! We went on to ride The Little Mermaid Ride, Dumbo, People Mover, Haunted Mansion, and pretty much every other little ride you would expect a 2 year old to ride. However, our big Fastpass was for Princess Fairytale Hall to see Anna and Elsa! I was suprised that we were able to walk right in and see them, I figured we would have had to wait a little while even in the Fastpass line.
Now, Payton wasn't so crazy about Anna. I'm not sure why, I think it was the fact that she was up moving around and came to Payton. Apparently Payton needed some space, she would talk to Anna from a distance. Amy was able to pick her up for a photo opportunity.
Next up we were able to meet Queen Elsa! Kind of the same scenario, but this time Payton was sing to Elsa (Let it Go! Let it Go!)
Such wonderful CM's that play the characters!
By Mid - Afternoon, Amy and Payton had went back to the room for a nap and rest, however I stayed in the park and met up with Mom and Dad. Got a couple of rides in on Space Mountain, got a viewing of Hall of Presidents, and a couple of other attractions. Around 4-5pm, I decided to hit up the Mickey and Walt statue area and people watch. I'm sure glad I did! A man came up to me and asked me if I knew how to work an iPhone. I said sure, and then he requested that I take a video of him proposing to his girlfriend! I was pretty excited to say yes! I stood next to a Photographer that was taking pictures of them in front of the castle (I was pretending to take photos as well with his phone), and then he dropped down to one knee and popped the question. It was a pretty cool experience that I was happy to partake in!
(Proposer in the Green, Proposee in the White dress)
Right afterwards, Amy and Payton came strolling up through the crowd and met back up with me. Just in time for the Magic Kingdom Street Celebration! And what a cool performance! This was the first time I was able to witness it and it was awesome! It was pretty special seeing the CM's and entertainers come up to my daughter and shake her hand, or blow kisses, or just even wave at her! She absolutely had a ball!
We walked around a little more and got our spots for the Electrical Parade and Wishes. The Electrical Parade was nice, but Payton started to get a little ancy. However, this sweet little girl came to the rescue! Her and her mom stood next to us while we waited for Wishes to begin and was an absolute angel to Payton. She played with her and Payton loved her so much, she was giving her all kinds of hugs and was really talking to her! We will probably never see her or her mom again, however, I took a picture of her and Payton together that way we could always look back and tell Payton about her "Magic Kingdom Buddy".
Wishes soon started, and at first Payton was a little skeptical about the loud booms. However, after her Papa (my dad) picked her up, she really began to enjoy "Boom Boom!"
It was absolutely the most magical and perfect ending to the most magical and perfect day! Our standard was already set and it was only Day 1!
Coming up next... DAY 2: EPCOT
So back in May, Amy and I decided to buckle down and start planning our next trip to Disney. We hadn't been since November of 2010, and that Four year break is definitely too long for us! Despite some criticism that our daughter (who is 2) is too young to enjoy it or remember it really didn't phase us. Because one, I'd remember it, and two, who wouldn't enjoy Disney!?
We flew out on Nashville on Monday, September 29th. This was our daughters first plane trip and despite my worries of her not being able to sit still and throwing a fit, she did tremendous! She actually slept most of the way on the plane ride to MCO (Orlando International)!
After One and a half hours, we arrived at MCO! Now I will say, I was disappointed with the fact that I had NO clue on where the Disney Magical Express bus was. For whatever reason, I was expecting to come out of the terminal and see a huge sign that said MAGICAL EXPRESS BUS THIS WAY ----->. No such luck (or maybe I'm just blind). We finally found a map of the airport and located the ME. Soon enough we were on our way!
Quite possibly the best feeling in the world is to see this sign and know that all your worries are outside!
We arrived at Pop Century, where we met up with my Mom and Dad. They had actually driven down the night before and were already onsite when we arrived. My sister and her Fiance would join us on Wednesday night (the start of her fall break at WKU). Since we didn't have a ticket for Monday, we stopped by Giordanios (right outside of WDW's campus) and enjoyed dinner. I had the Chicken Alfredo, which quite possibly was one of the best I'd ever eaten. Of course, without fail, while we were in the restaurant, it comes a flood. So any plans of going to Downtown Disney for the evening to shop around were a bust. So we just went back to our room and rested up for the upcoming week. Payton (my daughter) wasn't feeling the best (Other than a short nap on the plane, she hadn't rested any) so we went ahead and went to bed.
Day 2: Magic Kindgom
RISE AND SHINE! We got up around 7am Tuesday morning, everyone feeling much better after a good night's rest, so we went down to get breakfast and then to wait for the bus to Magic Kingdom!
We ended up on one of the new articulating buses, which was pretty neat. Also, for the record, this was our first time staying in a Walt Disney World resort. For the previous Six trips, we always stayed in Downtown Disney. I'm a huge fan of the Buena Vista Palace, however, we wanted to take advantage of the Magical Express, Luggage service, and all the other ammenties that were offered to resort guests... So we opted for Pop Century this time around.
Soon enough, we arrived at Magic Kingdom. I was finally HOME!
We go straight through Main Street USA (which is probably one of my favorite theme park areas of all time. How magnificent would it be to have the liveliness in every small town USA?), then we head straight through Cinderella's Castle and take Payton on her first ever Disney World ride, The Carosuel. Meanwhile, I had scheduled a fast pass for the Little Mermaid ride (which didn't even have a line, but I set up my fastpasses for that day to be oriented in favor of what Payton would want to or could ride.) and I had noticed that there was a very small crowd lined up to see Ariel. So we took Payton in to see her and to see her reaction. (Would she be accepting of her? Or would she freak out and want to run away?). Luckily, she loved her!
She sat up next to her like a big girl and just gibber gabbered away! We went on to ride The Little Mermaid Ride, Dumbo, People Mover, Haunted Mansion, and pretty much every other little ride you would expect a 2 year old to ride. However, our big Fastpass was for Princess Fairytale Hall to see Anna and Elsa! I was suprised that we were able to walk right in and see them, I figured we would have had to wait a little while even in the Fastpass line.
Now, Payton wasn't so crazy about Anna. I'm not sure why, I think it was the fact that she was up moving around and came to Payton. Apparently Payton needed some space, she would talk to Anna from a distance. Amy was able to pick her up for a photo opportunity.
Next up we were able to meet Queen Elsa! Kind of the same scenario, but this time Payton was sing to Elsa (Let it Go! Let it Go!)
Such wonderful CM's that play the characters!
By Mid - Afternoon, Amy and Payton had went back to the room for a nap and rest, however I stayed in the park and met up with Mom and Dad. Got a couple of rides in on Space Mountain, got a viewing of Hall of Presidents, and a couple of other attractions. Around 4-5pm, I decided to hit up the Mickey and Walt statue area and people watch. I'm sure glad I did! A man came up to me and asked me if I knew how to work an iPhone. I said sure, and then he requested that I take a video of him proposing to his girlfriend! I was pretty excited to say yes! I stood next to a Photographer that was taking pictures of them in front of the castle (I was pretending to take photos as well with his phone), and then he dropped down to one knee and popped the question. It was a pretty cool experience that I was happy to partake in!
Right afterwards, Amy and Payton came strolling up through the crowd and met back up with me. Just in time for the Magic Kingdom Street Celebration! And what a cool performance! This was the first time I was able to witness it and it was awesome! It was pretty special seeing the CM's and entertainers come up to my daughter and shake her hand, or blow kisses, or just even wave at her! She absolutely had a ball!
We walked around a little more and got our spots for the Electrical Parade and Wishes. The Electrical Parade was nice, but Payton started to get a little ancy. However, this sweet little girl came to the rescue! Her and her mom stood next to us while we waited for Wishes to begin and was an absolute angel to Payton. She played with her and Payton loved her so much, she was giving her all kinds of hugs and was really talking to her! We will probably never see her or her mom again, however, I took a picture of her and Payton together that way we could always look back and tell Payton about her "Magic Kingdom Buddy".
Wishes soon started, and at first Payton was a little skeptical about the loud booms. However, after her Papa (my dad) picked her up, she really began to enjoy "Boom Boom!"
It was absolutely the most magical and perfect ending to the most magical and perfect day! Our standard was already set and it was only Day 1!
Coming up next... DAY 2: EPCOT
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Even though I remember much more from when I went as a teen, my strongest memory is yet again Pizza Planet.
But even if kids can't remember it they enjoy it at the time. It frustrates me to no end that my cousin, who lives in Orlando, won't take his daughter to disney until she is "old enough to remember". Or to zoos or birthday parties. Really anything.