Disney World was magical, exhausting, chaotic, happy, frustrating, and full of so many wonderful moments that I want to remember forever!
The first day we caught the 7 am shuttle (go us!) and made it to the park for Opening Ceremony where we got to watch Mickey and his friends arrive on the train and officially open the park.
We immediately raced back to the Seven Dwarfs Ride since we weren't able to get a Fast Pass. It was a success then we spent the morning riding rides while the lines were shortish. Cora loved rides and would often say, "I wanna ride it again!" before the ride was even finished. We had a bunch of different ages and interests so we did some things together and sometimes we split up so everyone got a chance to do their favorite things. The girls all got along really well and didn't seem to mind waiting in line or walking a ton.
Marie charged ahead on the Winnie the Pooh ride so we waited with Indie :)
Waiting for Peter Pan's Flight
Milan, Eden, Indie, and I went on the Haunted Mansion together. Eden was nervous during the entire wait, then ended up loving the ride. I love this funny picture of Milan!
Eden loved being able to drive her own elephant on Dumbo (she didn't even use the up/down lever the first time, but was smiling ear to ear about sitting by herself!) We all loved this ride because the have a play area with buzzers instead of a line. Genius!
Marie took one for the team by being the responsible adult on Dumbo. Dave stepped up and rode the Teacups several times. His highlight was riding at night, with both blinking Elsa Wands flashing bright lights, and the girls spinning as fast as possible. I'm just glad Dave and Marie were there, spinning in circles is the worst!
We ran into Snow White and I loved watching Cora's delight with the princesses. Marie took Brynn and Cora to see Cinderella and Elena and both princesses spent extra time with our girls to make it even more magical.
I wonder how many more years we will be visiting Princesses for Indie?
The rest of the day was filled with the Festival of Fantasy Parade with some nice people who let our kids sit in front, watching Elsa freeze the castle, so many rides, meeting Merida, waving to Tweedle Dee and Dum and the ugly stepsisters (since they weren't A list enough for us to stop) and a dance party with the Incredibles. After a full day, Milan started feeling sick from a flu that had been making the rounds through our family so we headed back to the hotel. There was an unfortunate bus incident, but fortunately, Milan was already feeling better the next day and ready to enjoy what I decided was going to be "the best day ever!"
Day 2 was a slower pace because I wanted the girls to really experience the magic of Disney World. We walked in after the crowd and took it all in.
Cora saw Minnie Mouse and really wanted to meet her so that's exactly what we did. (Eden, Brynn, and Marie went off to do rides and that was perfect for them.) Cora loved watching Minnie and Goofy the entire time we were in line then ran up to Minnie when it was her turn. Milan hopped right in for a picture too, but got more excited when we saw Mary Poppins.
Mary Poppins was pure magic! She took a long time to chit chat with the girls and Milan especially loved talking to her.
After Mary Poppins, we headed over to Adventureland and there was no wait for Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so we took advantage of that! Cora reviewed BTMR as "the worst ride ever," Milan loved them both and Indie and I found the perfect playground for waiting. Marie and crew rode a ton of Fantasyland rides then we met up for Rapunzel and Tiana. We stayed together for stories with Belle where Cora played the role of Chip the teacup and Milan was Pot.
We stayed together for a bit, enjoyed some frozen treats, then sent Dave and Milan off for the big rides. They used a bunch of my saved riders passes and Fast Passes and had a great time! Milan's all time favorite ride was Splash Mountain and they got to ride it twice.
Marie and I took everyone else to meet Ariel (which was one of Eden's favorite things), visit some favorite rides, cool off at the splash pad, and enjoy the perfect parade spot where Cora sat right in the front and waved to every single princess that went by (it was the best!)
At some point during the afternoon, Marie started feeling sick so we sent her off to the hotel and partied it up with Brynn.
We squeezed in as many rides as we could, bought some Disney souvenirs, and closed the park down at 7. As we walked out of the park in the dark, everything was lit up, bubble snow was falling all around, and none of us wanted to leave. We rode the boat back to the entrance and waved as we watched Disney World get smaller in the distance. What a magical trip for our girls.
