Well we made it safely back home this afternoon and I am already wanting to go back! Wyatt had such a great time on vacation with Mimi, Pop, Aunt Ray-Ray, and Uncle Jay. He loved all of the attention and didn't mind the spoiling at all!
On Tuesday morning we got up early and once again hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom but this time we meant business! We arrived around 8:30am and spent a loooonnng, hooootttt day at the park. Originally we planned to spend a few hours in the morning and then come back for lunch and naptime and then head back for the evening. The main goal for the morning was to meet Mickey but Toontown did not open until 10am so we got in line to ride Dumbo which went surprisingly well for a 30 minute wait.
There was also Ariel's Grotto with water fountains and splash mats so we stopped in there to cool off and then picked up a fast pass for Winnie the Pooh before we walked over to Toontown. We toured Mickey's house and then found out where we needed to get in line to meet the mouse himself. The wait was about 70 minutes and we almost bailed a couple of times when Wyatt was really not happy to be stuck in that queue. The winding lines of people and tired sweaty kids were especially harsh but we were thankful for the air conditioning and occasional distraction of the cartoons playing on the screen over our heads. Wyatt could see the light from the double doors where we had entered and kept screaming "outside!" more and more emphatically until we were just a few people away from that precious roped off entrance. As soon as we crossed that threshhold into Mickey and Minnie's back stage room, we had a different kid on our hands. Michael asked him if he wanted to go outside now and he said "NO!" and Michael asked him if he wanted to see Mickey and he said "YES!" He would have run right over the three families in front of us if we had let him. Finally it was his turn and I was still worried that he was going to falter as we came within feet of THE Mickey Mouse! I tried to set him down and he didn't want to go so I picked him back up and asked him if he wanted to give Mickey a high five and that was all the ice breaker he needed. Soon he was honking Mickey's nose and give hugs one after another to Mickey and Minnie. In case you haven't noticed it yet, the video is at the top on the right side of this page. I could have gone home right after that and been completely satisfied with the whole trip.
After that we used our fast passes for Winnie the Pooh and then came off the ride just in time to give Tigger a high five as he crossed our path.
Wyatt fell asleep in his stroller around noon so we took the opportunity to have some sandwiches in a bakery on main street for lunch. Wyatt slept for well over an hour so we decided to stay at the park and tough out the rest of the day as best we could. We visited the Jungle Cruise,
Aladdin's Magic Carpet
and then watied for the 3pm Celebration parade. Wyatt waved to all the characters on the floats and jammed to the music. Mimi headed back to the resort after that but Rachel, Michael, Wyatt and I stayed a bit longer. We tried to get to the Peter Pan ride or Small World but they had lines that were too long for our taste so we headed to main street to shop for souvenirs. We decided to ride the train around the park before we left to cool off and also because we figured Wyatt would enjoy the scenery.
After the train ride, as we were leaving the park, we jumped in line just in time to meet Pluto. Wyatt was already tired but did enjoy honking Pluto's nose and giving him a high five and hug as well.
We tried to get Wyatt in the pool every day and luckily Wyatt was a big fan of long afternoon naps which allowed me a chance to lay in the sun by myself and read a book (something I haven't done in about 18 months). We hit the pool on Sunday after unloading the car and relaxed the rest of the evening.
On Monday we took a bus to the Magic Kingdom and jumped on the monorail from there to ride check out the new Contemporary Resort and also just to ride around the track and people watch. Wyatt began his week long fascination with "BUS!" which he managed to point out each and every time we passed one. If you've ever stayed on Disney property, you may realize just how often a "BUS!" can be spotted. When we saw a matchbox replica of a disney bus, we just had to have it for Wyatt.
We swam again on Monday evening and then played on the playground when the campfire with smores was called off due to the winds and a brief downpour. Wyatt made friends quickly and kept Uncle Jay and Aunt Ray-Ray busy chasing him up and down the slide.
On Tuesday morning we got up early and once again hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom but this time we meant business! We arrived around 8:30am and spent a loooonnng, hooootttt day at the park. Originally we planned to spend a few hours in the morning and then come back for lunch and naptime and then head back for the evening. The main goal for the morning was to meet Mickey but Toontown did not open until 10am so we got in line to ride Dumbo which went surprisingly well for a 30 minute wait. There was also Ariel's Grotto with water fountains and splash mats so we stopped in there to cool off and then picked up a fast pass for Winnie the Pooh before we walked over to Toontown. We toured Mickey's house and then found out where we needed to get in line to meet the mouse himself. The wait was about 70 minutes and we almost bailed a couple of times when Wyatt was really not happy to be stuck in that queue. The winding lines of people and tired sweaty kids were especially harsh but we were thankful for the air conditioning and occasional distraction of the cartoons playing on the screen over our heads. Wyatt could see the light from the double doors where we had entered and kept screaming "outside!" more and more emphatically until we were just a few people away from that precious roped off entrance. As soon as we crossed that threshhold into Mickey and Minnie's back stage room, we had a different kid on our hands. Michael asked him if he wanted to go outside now and he said "NO!" and Michael asked him if he wanted to see Mickey and he said "YES!" He would have run right over the three families in front of us if we had let him. Finally it was his turn and I was still worried that he was going to falter as we came within feet of THE Mickey Mouse! I tried to set him down and he didn't want to go so I picked him back up and asked him if he wanted to give Mickey a high five and that was all the ice breaker he needed. Soon he was honking Mickey's nose and give hugs one after another to Mickey and Minnie. In case you haven't noticed it yet, the video is at the top on the right side of this page. I could have gone home right after that and been completely satisfied with the whole trip. After that we used our fast passes for Winnie the Pooh and then came off the ride just in time to give Tigger a high five as he crossed our path.Wyatt fell asleep in his stroller around noon so we took the opportunity to have some sandwiches in a bakery on main street for lunch. Wyatt slept for well over an hour so we decided to stay at the park and tough out the rest of the day as best we could. We visited the Jungle Cruise, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and then watied for the 3pm Celebration parade. Wyatt waved to all the characters on the floats and jammed to the music. Mimi headed back to the resort after that but Rachel, Michael, Wyatt and I stayed a bit longer. We tried to get to the Peter Pan ride or Small World but they had lines that were too long for our taste so we headed to main street to shop for souvenirs. We decided to ride the train around the park before we left to cool off and also because we figured Wyatt would enjoy the scenery.
After the train ride, as we were leaving the park, we jumped in line just in time to meet Pluto. Wyatt was already tired but did enjoy honking Pluto's nose and giving him a high five and hug as well.
We caught the bus back to the resort and short of a minor meltdown during the ride back, we had a magical day at the Magic Kingdom! It turned out that we were very glad that we stayed longer because soon after we left, there were severe storms and huge downpours that entire evening. We would have been stuck at the park had we left and come back for evening activities. Instead, Wyatt went to bed early and we ordered pizza and watched some tv.
Wednesday was a slower day. We took a boat from our resort over to Downtown Disney for an afternoon of shopping. There are a lot of neat shops such as the Lego Store, Once Upon a Toy, and the candy stores of course that are uniquely built as only Disney can. We came back on the boat and then had a quick swim while Pop and Uncle Jay grilled steaks for dinner, yum!
Thursday was again a very hot day so we beat the heat at the main pool where Wyatt was able to splash away in the baby pool with a little more freedom. 
Later on Thursday evening we had another bout of severe storms, quick but furious. In the aftermath, we discovered little tree frogs all over the side of our building. They were climbing up from the base of the trees, they were no bigger than quarters and there were hundreds of them!
Since the storms cleared up pretty quickly, we decided to take a trip over to the Boardwalk to watch Epcot's evening fireworks display from the bridge at the Yacht and Beach Club. Wyatt enjoyed them but it's just not the same watching them from farther away rather than being inside the park. But that was the best we could do on our last night in Orlando. 
1 comment:
I didn't realize you had that many pictures of our activities. I'm glad you did---it's fun to go back and reminiscence. It was a fun, fun time!!!
Love, Mimi
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