Vacation Post #5: Disney World!!

I was nervous about our day at Disney World. We had been talking about it for SO long. What if Audrey didn't want to wait in lines or ride any rides? What if she had major meltdowns/tantrums? She is a two year old, which means she is unpredictable and often emotionally unstable! =) I really wanted the day to live up to all the excitement that we have been building for the last few weeks, and I wanted us all to have FUN!

The weather could not have been more perfect for our day at Disney. It was sunny with a high around 75...not too hot, not too cold...just perfect!

As soon as we got there, we headed straight for the Dumbo ride. It was the only ride that Audrey really knew about it, so we wanted to make sure that she got to ride it before the lines were TOO long. Daniel and Audrey still had to wait in line for about 40 minutes, which is a long wait for a two year old to ride a very short ride. But she did a good job in line, and she seemed to like the ride...so ride #1 was a success!While in line for Dumbo, she saw the carousel and wanted to do that next. "One elephant, then one horsey" she kept saying. So I took her over to the carousel. On the way there, she asked what turned out to be her favorite question of the day, "Will this be fun, Mommy? This be fun?" Of course, the answer was always--"Yes! This will be lots of fun!"

After the carousel, we went to It's a Small World...which may have been Audrey's favorite ride. She liked riding a boat and looking around at everything. She kept saying, "Wow! Look at that!" (another favorite expression on this trip).

We started walking to lunch after It's a Small World, and Audrey crashed in her stroller. She slept all the way through lunch, probably about an hour. So we got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and had her eat it while we waited in line for our next ride. That was a marvelous idea, because it gave her something to do during our 45 minute wait!

We were in line for Peter Pan's flight, which was probably Audrey's least favorite ride. It was dark and a little scary for her I think. And it was super short, which made it lame for us adults too.

After Peter Pan, it was about time for the parade...a huge hit with Audrey. She got to see every Disney character that she knows, and a lot that she doesn't know. She wanted to know who everyone was, and she got really excited when they came up to her to pat her head or give her a high five!

After the parade, we headed to Tomorrowland where we stopped for some ice cream. Then we rode on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I thought Audrey was going to be kind of scared during that one, as it seemed a little intense in parts, but she acted as if she liked the whole ride. We wanted to ride the People Mover, but it was not working.

We stopped for a few pictures in front of the castle. I don't remember telling Audrey much about the castle, but we must have described it to her. Every time we saw it, she would say, "Wella's (cinderella) castle. Princess go there."

Next up was a train ride around the park.

Then we saw Pluto and posed for a few pictures.

After that, we headed to the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland.
After the Jungle Cruise, Audrey finally started to get the idea that after going on one ride, we would then go on another ride. She kept saying, "New ride. Do it again!" We were planning to just walk past the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride because it looked just the same as the Dumbo ride. But Audrey saw it and was very insistent that she "Ride that one!" So she and Daniel took a little ride on a Magic Carpet.

Then we went to the Country Bear Jamboree. I thought it was kind of boring, but Audrey liked it and she clapped along with the beat (sort of ) when everyone else started clapping.

By this point it was about 6:00 and we were all getting very tired. Except for Audrey who was as excited and hyper as can be. "More rides! Do it again!" she kept saying. So we took her for one last ride on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Then it was time for dinner, followed by a little shopping. Grandpa bought Audrey a stuffed Pluto and Donald to add to her collection (she already has two Minnies, but she calls one of them Mickey). While we were shopping, the fireworks started, but Audrey was not a fan of the fireworks. They are "TOO loud" according to Audrey. We left the park just at the end of the fireworks show, and we managed to beat most of the crowd.

In summary, Disney World was a ton of fun! Audrey behaved so well, probably because we were so busy she didn't have time to misbehave! This was such the perfect age to take her, because everything is so exciting to her. And it helps that she is completely obsessed with all the Mickey Mouse characters. It was a very enjoyable day. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we're thinking about going back to Orlando a day early next week to go to another park!