Disney (4.75 year old and 3.25 year old)

We wanted to excite the kids about Disney. That is part of the fun watching them be excited for it.   I used my Cricut machine and made Mickey heads and the kids put numbers on them. Then they were taped on our front door so we had a countdown.  We started with 20 days left. They got even more excited when there were just a few days left.  Finally it was Saturday morning and there were no more Mickey’s left on the door.  It was time to go to Disney!  Austin remembers Disney from last year. However Sydney does not.  This should be a lot of fun for both of them. 

For the first time, we didn’t have an early flight. Our flight wasn’t until noon. So we got up like normal. I did not allow them to watch their Kindles just because I knew they would watch them a lot on the plane.  They helped me get ready to leave.  Austin even took out the large suitcases to the van.  He was really excited to go!

We arrived to the airport with plenty of time. I packed us lunch and we ate it there. We like to save money on food when we can. Once we boarded the plane, we found out the plane did not have enough fuel. They were having issues getting in touch with the fuel truck.  We ended up being an hour late.  Luckily the kids are seasoned travelers.  They did great on the plane. They only had their leapster game, Kindles, and coloring books.  They did them all but mostly used the Kindles. Sydney actually fell asleep for about an hour. 

Once we landed in Orlando, we went on the Magical Express to Disney. Once we arrived to our hotel, we checked in.  Since our vacation package did not start until Sunday we were on our own for dinner on Saturday. Luckily I knew there was a McDonald’s nearby. I really didn’t want to pay extra money for our hotel meals when I knew we would eat them a lot starting on Sunday.  We walked to McDonald's’ and had dinner. 

Once we got back to the hotel, we went swimming.  The kids loved it!  They even swam with us without life jackets for a while. They are getting really good at swimming.  They had fun with it. We enjoyed watching them swim alone to the wall and jumping to us.  They are doing really great!

After swimming, Brian took the kids around the hotel to see things while I unpacked. I appreciated that. I like to unpack and get organized, especially since we are here for a week.  Once they got back we got ready for bed.

Unfortunately Austin can’t sleep in.  He was up at 6:30am.  He will lay down for a bit longer but never goes back to sleep.  He kept talking and it woke up Sydney too.  We got ready and went to breakfast and the front desk to check in and check out.  After breakfast, we went to Hollywood Studios. 

I finally got a fast pass for Toy Story.  This is the first year we rode it. Sydney was a little scared because she didn’t know what to expect.  She went with Daddy.  She always does better with Daddy when she is scared.  Brian is better at distraction techniques.  Austin and I rode together.  Austin loved the ride. He enjoyed the ride/game.  He was sad it ended so soon.  He wanted to do it again but that wasn’t an option because of the long waits. 

We went and saw Mickey Mouse.  There was no wait which was amazing!  The kids enjoy getting character autographs.  They run up to them and hand them their books.  Then they pose for a picture.  It’s so fun to watch them be so excited about the characters.  They also got a picture with Santa Goofy. 

The next fast pass I had was Frozen sing along.  The kids were tired at this point.  I think I enjoyed it more than them but they still liked it.  After it was over, we decided to go back to the hotel. 

Once back at the hotel, we all took a nap. It felt amazing to take a nap.  Austin woke up first and went out and about with his Daddy.  Once Sydney woke up, we went back to the park.  There were characters at the entrance so we checked that out before going in. 

Then we went to the Disney Jr Characters.  Sydney got to see Sofia the First. Austin got to see Jake. Then we went to Disney Jr Show.  After the show, we checked out Doc McStuffin.  While Brian was at Doc McStuffin with the kids, I went a got dinner.  We were pushed for time because Brian wanted to see Indian Jones and the last show was 30 minutes away. 

We managed to eat dinner and get to Indian Jones.  Austin loved the Indiana Jones show.  Sydney was scared and said she never wanted to see that again.  Then we went and meet up with Melissa and Jonathan.  We took them to see Lighting McQueen and Mater.  Camden loved that. 

Then we walked around the Osborne Family Lights.  This is the last year of them. We are lucky we get to see them one last time.  It was neat to see.  Then we saw the Little Mermaid Show.  Sydney was excited to see Flounder but was scared of Ursula. 

After the saw, we went back to the hotel. We decided not to stay for the firework show.  The kids watch a little bit out the outdoor movie at our hotel. Then we took them swimming again.  They loved our pool.

On Monday was a first day at Magic Kingdom.  We got there and Brian’s family was already there.  We tried to meet up with them.  Brian took the kid on the tea cup ride.  Then we had a fast pass to see Mickey Mouse.  This Mickey Mouse actually talks and it is really cool!  Austin and Sydney loved it. 

We finally met up with Brian’s family.  We rode the Barnstormer with Melissa and Camden.  Austin and Camden liked it.  Sydney did not!  She told us she never wanted to do that again.  Then we all had fast passes for the Jungle Cruise.  That was cool with everyone. 

We went to lunch together.  It’s great for us because Austin and Sydney feed themselves and are so much more independent than years past.  We have to make sure a drink or something doesn’t fall but they mostly do it all.  After lunch, Melissa and the boys went back to their hotel. 

Nana and Grandpa stayed with us for a bit.  We had a fast pass for the Mine Train.  It was great because Sydney stayed with Grandpa (she wasn’t tall enough and even if she was she wouldn’t want to ride it).  And I got to ride with Brian while Austin rode with Nana.  It was fun.  It’s probably my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom.  Austin loves roller coasters so one of his favorites too!  Then we went up the Swiss Family Robinson house.  We all walked up it. 

The next ride was the Aladdin carpets.  It was about a 15 minute wait which is kind of crazy but it was just crowded there.  The heat did not help.  Brian and I were getting tired and cranky too.  After the ride we tried going to Tomorrowland but the lines were way too long and it was just too hot. 

We went back to the hotel and went swimming.  The kids played pool games for about an hour.  Austin participated in them.  Sydney and Austin did the balloon toss together.  Then Sydney decided she was done and went swimming.  Austin played with a stranger and did great!  He’s come a long way with his shyness.  They had some dancing at the pool that Austin did a lot of.  He was so cute doing that.  Then there was a parade around the pool both Austin and Sydney did.  They had a great time doing it.  Part of us feels bad, for hanging out at the pool so much while at Disney but they enjoyed it.  It was too hot for the park during the day. 

Then we went back to Magic Kingdom for the evening.  Sydney fell asleep on the bus.  We let her sleep in the stroller for a little bit once we arrived back at the Magic Kingdom.  Austin rode the Barnstormer and Dumbo.  Then we woke Sydney up.

We went to the speedway ride and drove the cars.  Austin drove me and Sydney drove Brian.  Sydney’s car was broken so she got to go again.  Then we went across the way to dinner.  After dinner, the kids got an autograph and picture with Buzz Lightyear.  Then we rode the Astro Orbiter.  Brian really likes that ride.  The kids do too. 

We decided we were not going to make the 10pm fireworks.  There really wasn’t a nap and they were exhausted.  We took the bus back to the hotel and went to sleep. 

On Tuesday, we went to Hollywood and Vine for breakfast.  I tried getting breakfast reservations for everyone but I could not.  Luckily about a week before we left for Disney, I found reservations for this date for 4 of us.  I took the reservations.  I wanted to go because the kids are young and not sure how much longer they are going to like Disney Jr. 

At the restaurant, it was very nice because they explained to us how the characters were going to come.  It was so nice to know what to expect.  The first character was Jake.  He came right as we were going to get food but since they told us we rushed back to our seats.  We also saw Handy Manny, Princess Sofia and Doc McStuffins.  During the breakfast, there were opportunities for the kids to go out and interact and dance with the characters.  Sydney was all about doing it.  Austin was more interested in eating sometimes but he did go out there sometimes. Austin loves his breakfast.  He eats the most in the mornings.  They both joined in on a parade around the restaurant though.  It was fun!

After breakfast, we took a bus to Epcot.  We had a fast pass for meeting Mickey and friends.  After the character meeting, we went to the around the world part of Epcot.  We decided to buy the kids passports and have them go around the world and have them stamped.  We started in Mexico.  After there, it was time for our fast pass at Test Track.  Sydney was not tall enough to ride Test Track.  I waited outside with Sydney.  She played in the water sprayers for a while.  Then we looked at princesses she could see.  Then Brian and Austin were done.  It took a while for them to ride it.

Austin really wanted to go again so I took him and Brian took Sydney to find some princesses.  I am glad I rode it with Austin.  He showed exactly what to do.  He was proud that he had done it before.  Sydney got to see one princess.  Then we met up again so we could go around the world together to get their passports stamped.  It was cool because at each country the person stamping the passports was really from that country.  They wrote a message inside the passport too.  They also enjoyed coloring the bears at each location too but that got to be a little time consuming just coloring. 

We stopped and had an ice cream break for lunch.  It was so hot out but we were having fun so we decided not to go back to the hotel for break or nap.  After, ice cream we finished up all the countries.  We decided to eat dinner in China which was good. 

After dinner, we went to rode on Figment ride but it was closed.  I was bummed about that.  I wished I knew it was going to close so we would have made it there sooner.  We met up with Brian’s family and went on the Nemo ride together.  Then Brian and I took the kids to see Crush.  Austin and Sydney sat up front with the other kids.  We were once again impressed with their independence. 

Brian found the perfect place to watch the fireworks.  We got there about 45 minutes before the show started so we could have a good spot.  The kids were good waiting.  They had fun showing everyone their passports.  The fireworks were great!  We will definitely watch from there again!  The kids fell asleep in the stroller right after the fireworks.  We made Austin wake up to get on the bus.  On the bus they both slept on me.  Once at our hotel, Brian had to come back on the bus to help me with the kids to move them to the stroller.  They didn’t even wake up. 

On Wednesday, we met Melissa and Jonathan for fast pass Pirates of Caribbean first thing in the morning.   It’s a cool ride.  Sydney wasn’t as scared as last year.  Then Brian and Austin went and rode Splash Mountain.  I took Sydney to see Tinker Bell.  Unfortunately the wait was too long and we didn’t get to see her. 

Then we all had a fast pass for see Ariel.  They got her autograph and a picture with her.   Then we stood in line for about 30 minutes for Under the Sea ride.  That was cool.  Sydney really likes Flounder.  She has a stuffed Flounder from when I was a child.  She calls him fishy since she has never seen The Little Mermaid movie.  After the ride, we went to Belle’s Castle.  Luckily we had a fast pass for that too.  Austin and Sydney even participated in the show.  All kids are able too but I was worried they wouldn’t because of shyness.  However this year, they have become more outgoing and separate from us to do things on their own.  It was a fun little show and Sydney and Austin got her picture with Belle. 

By this time, it was really hot and crowded.  We went back to the hotel.  I had to do a load of laundry. We ate lunch at our hotel.  We all had pizza.  It’s ridiculous the amount of food you get with the meal plan.  We were all so full.  Then Brian and the kids went swimming in the pool while I finished up laundry.  We even got the kids to take a nap. 

After nap, we went back to the Magic Kingdom.  We rode the Astro Orbiter with everyone. Brian and Melissa rode it together and it was so funny!  I rode with Austin and Nana rode with Sydney.  Then we went on Buzz Lightyear ride.  Austin really enjoyed that along with Toy Story at Hollywood. 

We stayed for fireworks at the Magic Kingdom that night.  Before the fireworks, we all had some ice cream.  Then when it was time for the firework show we sat under where Tinker Bell slides down from the castle.  That was cool watching that.  Kids got popcorn to eat while watching the show.  They loved it. 

After the fireworks, we went and saw Monster Inc show.  We knew the buses were going to crazy busy so we decided to stay even later.  The nice part was the lines where not as long too.  Austin enjoyed the Monsters Inc show.  Sydney was pretty tired and wasn’t as interested.  Then we thought it was time to head back to the hotel.  The electrical parade was going on and we stopped and watched it per the kid’s request.  They both really liked that.  We made it back to our hotel around midnight. 

On Thursday we spent the day at Animal Kingdom.  We got there when it opened and rushed to Kilimanjaro Safari ride.  The wait was about 30 minutes but the line continued to move so it went by fast.  The safari ride was cool.  They seemed to like looking at the animals. 

Since we rushed to Animal Kingdom, we didn’t have breakfast at our hotel.  So we had breakfast at Animal Kingdom quickly.  We had breakfast sandwiches and kids had pastries.   Austin was sad he didn’t get pancakes.  Austin really likes big breakfasts with pancakes and eggs. 

After breakfast, Brian and Austin went and rode on the dinosaur ride.  I took Sydney on the dinosaur ride like Dumbo.  Sydney would not have liked the bigger scarier dinosaur ride.  Then we met everyone to see the show Finding Nemo. 

After finding Nemo, kids played in the dinosaur area.  That place is scary since the kids easily get lost.  Brian is calmer about it but it freaks me out.  Then we moved over to the sand area.  Kids love digging up dinosaur bones.  After playing in there we went to our fast pass to meet Mickey and Minnie.  The kids got an autograph and picture.  Then we headed back to the hotel after getting a Mickey pretzel for a snack. 

Thursday night we had reservations at Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.  We had to take a bus to Magic Kingdom then a boat to the campground where Mickey’s Backyard BBQ is at.  It was a cool setup.  We sat a picnic tables and had dinner. 

Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Goofy were there.  They were out on the dance floor and the kids went and danced with them.  Sydney really enjoyed dancing with the characters. In fact she would chase them around to dance with them.  She got to dance with them a few times.  They got their picture taken with the characters too!  It was a fun night.  We were one of the last people to leave.  We even let the kids have an extra ice cream bar and we ate it outside the pavilion.  It was a fun night. 

Austin remembers last year at Pop Century hotel.  He really liked that hotel.  We told him we would go visit it.  We took a bus from the magic kingdom to Art of Animation.  While at the Art of Animation the kids got pictures taken with all the Cars.  They also saw the treasure chest from The Little Mermaid.  Then we walked to Pop Century.  We found the bike tricycle that Austin really likes.  They got their picture with it.  Then we took a bus to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs it is now called).  There we got on a bus back to All Star Sports.  It was pretty late by the time we got back.  It was a cool night though. 

Even though we got back late, we knew that Friday was our last day there.  We woke up early at 6:30am to get breakfast at our hotel.  Austin really wanted the pancakes.  Then we got to the Magic Kingdom at 8am.  Sydney wanted to see Ana and Elsa but the wait times are crazy for them.  Unfortunately I was not able to get a fast pass for them even though I tried at midnight when they became available to us.  Brian said he would make sure Sydney could see them.  So Brian took Sydney and ran to them as soon as he got in.  I had Austin with the stroller.  Austin and I went to Mine Train and Splash Mountain.  Disney was filming a commercial that morning so there were a lot of things closed with a lot of people watching the filming of the commercial.  Austin and I rode the mine train with no wait then he took me to splash mountain.  I was nervous about splash mountain.  That hill is big but I couldn’t let Austin know I was scared.  Splash mountain is actually very cool with lots of scenery to see during the ride.  I really enjoyed it.  That special time with Austin was awesome.  I am so happy that Brian did that for Sydney and I could spend time with Austin.

Sydney got to see Ana and Elsa with about a 30 minute wait which isn’t bad at all.  Brian kept calling her Anna and Sydney got very mad at him trying to tell him that her name is Ana.  Finally Brian understood.  Brian got some pictures and videos with Sydney and her favorite princesses. 

While meeting up with us, Sydney got to see some of the parade for the commercial.  Kristoff even came up to Sydney since she was the only one there.  After we met back up, Brian had our picture taken with the castle in the background.  I made Austin mad by telling Brian we needed to ride It’s a small World.  Austin wanted to tell him and I did so that made him really mad so the picture didn’t turn out that well.  But we tried.

We went to ride on Winnie the Pooh ride.  The great part about that ride is the line to wait in there are so many things to the kids to play with while waiting.  I love that!  After that ride, we went to Small World ride.  The kids remembered the song from the ride.  That is a cool ride with little kids.  Sydney likes that they are her size. 

We headed back to Tomorrowland and we rode the people mover.  The kids absolutely loved that ride.  In fact, we had to ride it twice per their request.  Luckily it did not have any wait.  Brian and I were shocked how much they loved that ride.  Austin requested that go to the Incredibles dance party.  Austin and Sydney did a great job there.  They danced with them for about 15 minutes.  They had so much fun doing it!

We had a fast pass for Peter Pan ride.   It was shut down for a little bit so the fast pass line wasn’t that short.  We had to wait about 20 minutes but much better than 90 minutes.  The kids had fun riding it.  Austin thought it was too short though.  After Peter Pan, we went next door to the Mickey’s Philimagic movie.  It was a 3D movie.  We all liked it.  This was the first time they remember seeing a 3 D movie.  It was so funny watching them try to get things in front of them.  They really thought they were there. 

We had lunch next to the small world ride.  I really like that place.  It was so busy though. Finally I found a table with the kids.  Austin requested that he ride the Goofy roller coaster one last time.  Brian and Austin rode that while I let Sydney ride Dumbo one last time.  Sydney played in the 

Dumbo play area while we waited to ride it. 

Unfortunately when Brian had Sydney to see Ana and Elsa they left her autograph book in the bathroom.  They went back to find it but it was gone. I even checked lost and found but he wasn’t there.  Luckily Sydney wasn’t too upset about it.  We went back to the hotel for a nap. 

After nap, we went back to Hollywood Studios.  We saw the Muppets 3D movie.  Again the kids loved it and tried to get things in front of them.  Then we saw the Osborne’s family lights for one last time. Austin wanted the Christmas light necklace and Brian got them both one as their one gift from Disney.  Then we had dinner.  After dinner, we met up with Brian’s family for a bit.  Then we were hoping to go to Disney Springs but we didn’t make it.  I was sad we didn’t go but we just ran out of time.  However next year we will be able to do it. 

We had a great time in Disney.  It is busy and sometimes exhausting but it’s totally worth it.  I love Disney and so grateful we can take them yearly.