Disney Vacation- the Back Story

This summer we decided we should do Disney before we lost that magical age. Of course the only time we could fit it into everyone’s schedules was the week of Thanksgiving. So I called up a friend and booked it.
We told Caroline the same way she hears all important news in our family- through shaped pancakes. She guessed her Mickey Mouse ears and we were off to the races. Every day we talked about our plans on the way to school; we created countdown calendars and list of rides. I even made a powerpoint of our decisions to show to Hunter each Sunday so he could be in on the planning fun

Disney Vacation – Day 1 traveling

We left our house at 5:15 am on Tuesday. Caroline slept in her clothes so all we had to add was shoes to get her going. She told us not to wake her until we got to Florida, but she was too excited to go back to sleep and started talking immediately. She told everyone we saw where we were headed. Though I can’t imagine anyone who couldn’t guess it since she was wearing a Mickey and Minnie shirt, a red polka dot skirt, red polka dot leggings and carrying Zazu who was dressed like Cinderella.

In Orlando, Disney snatches your bags for you and sends them straight to your resort. So we hopped in our first of many lines and rode the Magical Express straight to the Caribbean Beach Resort.
The hotel was decorated for Christmas with an island theme and looked wonderful. Our travel agent had sent a gift for Caroline and she tore into it before I could even get a picture. Her very own pink Minnie ears! She immediately put them on (and wore them every day of the trip through rain and shine). Our room faced the courtyard (that we would later find out was full of bunnies- the live kind not animatronic) but our building was on the beach. It was decorated with Nemo spreads and borders. We dropped our gear, grabbed the cameras and headed straight to the Magic Kingdom!

Disney Vacation Day 1- Magic Kingdom

We arrived around 2pm and definitely needed some food- but first we had to stop at First Aid for some Band-Aids. Caroline who lives in Crocs got a blister on each foot from her croc straps. So off to the first aid station and then to Casey’s for hotdogs and fries- and to figure out the Disney dining plan. We grabbed our food and realized people had ammased on Main Street and there was nowhere to eat. So, we grabbed a bit of sidewalk and chowed down while waiting for our first parade. Some very nice neighbors let Caroline join them on the curb and she got her very first taste of Disney Magic. Lots of characters walked the streets and shook hands with the kids as they went past.

When the parade (and lunch) was over we headed straight to Cinderella’s castle. Now I had read every guide book and printed out the touring plans I thought would work best for us, but this afternoon was a free for all since all the guidebooks say you are crazy to go to the park in mid afternoon when the lines are the longest and the kids are the crabbiest.

We went through the castle to Fantasyland. C and I rode Prince Charming’s carousel with no waiting. Our next adventure was right next door at Mickey’s Philharmagic- a 4D movie. We waited about 30 minutes, but Caroline was so enthralled with the hidden Mickey idea (they paint tiny Mickey heads into scenery to entertain you along the way) that she spent the entire time looking at a star mural finding them. I should stop now and tell you that Caroline is not the bravest of kids. She does not like loud noises and she likes to know exactly what is going to happen. She tends to take her glasses off at 3D movies and cover her ears. So, the very first scene of this giant movie is an orchestra of instruments flying through the air- not good for my little jumpy one, but the next one was Ariel and she was reaching out to catch the floating jewels. Afterwards she agreed that the movie was great and she dragged us to the next thing.

Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan were both right there, but had waits over 70 minutes and no fast passes left so we walked over to It’s a Small World. Here the wait was listed as 45 minutes but the line kept moving and there was lots of chatting with other kids to do so it didn’t seem too bad. Caroline was amazed at the dolls and would have rocked the boat with all her wiggling and pointing if it had not been on a track. When we got off she wanted to go again! Her parents were not up for that on this day, but we had plenty of days left.

We carefully went around Dumbo without stopping to ride, wheew. Around the corner was the Mad Hatter’s tea party. This definitely had to be our next stop. A side story:
My dad went to Disneyland with his mom and brother when he was about 4. We have a picture of the three of them in a tea cup. When I went to Disney World with my dad, Mary and Jill in 1988 we took the same picture in the same teacup. So I was determined to ride in the same teacup and take a picture with Caroline.

The Teacups are not a ride for those with a weak stomach, Caroline was trying to spin it as fast as she could and I was making the motions but definitely trying to break the wheel to slow us down!.

One of the things I had read was that you should go on the barnstormer kids roller coaster to bolster your kid’s courage and bravery before heading to the big mountains. So, off to Toon Town we went. The line for the barnstormer was not too bad and t was lined with great Disney imagery. We arrive at the front of the line and Caroline and I are in the first car. I was silently praying that this not ruin my chances of getting her on anything else for the week. So with Caroline as our pilot we were off. Barnstormer is fast and curvy but not very droppy so it is just perfect. As we were going around our second curve- with hands in the air- Caroline screams “ I feel so alive” I was sure I was good on rides from then on!
Mommy then made the mistake of going to Mickey’s house and the Judges tent to meet the big man himself. The line took forever and we were all hungry and tired. Caroline actually sat on the ground and stared off into space while we wound our way through. But at the end we were treated to both Mickey and Minnie. C got their autographs and we got to take pictures. Her face when talking with them is pure joy.

So we gathered up our belongings and took young children by the hand and rode the railroad back to Main Street USA and headed home for the night. She fell asleep in mid sentence as we were planning our next day.

Homecoming 2010

As told by Caroline:

Friday Daddy was in Port Aransas so Mommy and I went to the Ball high homecoming football game. Homecoming means the people from college came back to see the game. There were duchesses and dukes, princes and princesses, and even a king and queen.

We sat in the front row behind the cheerleaders. They threw waterbottles and tshirts. I caught a waterbottle. My teacher's daughter is one of the cheerleaders and her name is Ashley. Tuffy the mascot is my mom's student. she pated me on the back and gave me a high five. She is a funny dancer.

The band was fun to watch because the music made me dance. Some people in the band even played the trashcans.

At halftime I got to go out on the field and pass out flowers to the princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses. But we didn't know who the king and queen were until they put a crown on the them. I didn't have purple on so my mom bought me a tshirt from her students. It was too big but we used a rubberband just like the big girls.

The football players did a good job in the middle.

Mommy took pictures with her phone and will post them later.

Love, Caroline.

a double header

Sunday night we had the repeat of the bloody elation! C has now joined the ranks of all those kids before her with no way to start an apple. I hope the hole sticks around for awhile. It is pretty cute.

The bloody conclusion

C had a great Saturday. We skated for several hours, found the perfect "earrings" for her Halloween costume, and learned to play guitar from a confident Brownie friend (their challenge for this week was to teach someone something that you are confident about). She went to bed early and happily. Then an hour and half later she came running out with this face.

She had been working on the loose tooth while reading (note to self, unplug her lamp) and it "squeaked right out". She is pretty excited to add her name to the second grade tooth graph. Her mom is pretty happy that the tooth fairy keeps a stash of $2 bills for just this occasion.

Dinty Moore Stew

The weather has finally cooled off in Texas and it was a pretty busy week. So, Thursday night mom brought out the Dinty Moore Stew. I don't think C has had any since she was really little. Usually when items of this nature (also to include pot pies and chicken noodle casserole) make it to our table C asks "What is this" and Hunter replies "Mommy is trying to show us some of her culture and heritage" Not laughing!!!

So C picked around and identified all parts (we added frozen peas to cool it down for her) and tentatively tasted it. Then a big smile spread across her face and she looked at me and said"This is good. Why don't we eat this more often." She then proceeded to finish her bowl and look through the Hunter Dan section of the Cabela's catalog.