Mama Musings: Disney Day 1 and 2

Day 1

On our first Disney day, we got to Port Orleans around 11am. Much to my surprise, we were able to check in, and our room was ready. While I was checking in, Jason and the girls found the gift shop. Just a few minutes into our trip, Jason had already found a Mickey shirt, and Caitlyn was eyeing a pin for her lanyard. Thankfully, Lorelei was being a good baby, and she was content to watch!Shortly after we checked in, MeMe and the Underwoods arrived from the airport! Caitlyn nearly bowled over Rylee in attempts to get a hug, but Rylee was not in the mood after her long morning. After they got checked in, we decided to hop on the water taxi to explore Downtown Disney and eat some lunch.

Much to my delight, mainly because I have felt like a total sucker, Amanda bought Rylee some pins and a lanyard. Disney makes adorable pins representing every event and ride, which you can buy and trade with cast members at the park. It is a cute concept, but a total marketing ploy, so I was happy that I wasn't the only one who fell for it! The girls had lots of fun with their pins!

This trip was also our first experience using the Disney Dining Plan, and that was one of the best decisions we made. It was great to have all of our meals already paid for, and our choices were endless. For every night of our stay, we were allotted one table service meal, one counter service meal, and one snack. AND our meals included drinks and a dessert. Disney puts out a brochure about the meal plan, but it only gives a few examples for snacks- popcorn, popsicle, water. What it doesn't say is that there are HUNDREDS of items that you can use as snacks- fudge, root beer floats, egg rolls, cakes, milkshakes, funnel cake . . . do I really need to go on?

Consequently, after a really good (and huge) lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express, we went to Goofy's Candy Company to break in our snack credits. In an answer to every child's wish, this place has a counter where you choose your snack (giant Oreo, 3 pretzel sticks, rice krispie treat or marshmallows), choose a chocolate for it to be dipped in (milk or white), choose a topping (m&ms, nuts, sprinkles, candy bar pieces, cookies), and then choose a drizzle (caramel or chocolate).

YUM. Can we say insulin shock? And YUM again???!!! These snacks were nibbled on all week long, and may have been partially responsible for the fact that Caitlyn took only 2 naps the entire week we were there.

After lunch, we headed back to the resort to do some swimming and get cleaned up for our Cinderella dinner. We took the bus and monorail over to the Grand Floridian (note to self: stay here with Jason one day, without kids!), and were quickly seated for dinner.

The characters here are Cindy and the Prince, Lady Tremaine aka Wicked Stepmother, and the stepsisters. Everyone is in full character, and it was a riot. The stepsisters were screechy, whiney and hilarious. Lady Tremaine was . . . not amused and very dry. They cracked us up! One of the sisters had to sit in time out in the center of the room, ordered by her mom to repeat 10 times, "I will not fib to my mother!" which she did at an ear-splitting decibel.

Being a stepmother and constantly fighting the "wicked" stereotype, I of course needed a picture with Lady Tremaine. Unfortunately, the little girls were shell-shocked by the characters and would not budge one inch from the booth to take a picture with anyone! They were happy to watch the show, eat dinner, and enjoy dessert, saving all of their energy for dancing around the grand lobby after dinner.

Day 2

Our second day dawned bright and early as we raced to hit the Magic Kingdom by opening time. It was hot, crowded, and sticky, but it was well worth the inconvenience once we actually got into the park. There is just nothing like that wonderful view of the castle at the end of Main Street- it always gives me goose bumps.

Our first ride of the day was the carousel, where all three little girls claimed a horse and happily rode. The Pooh ride was a big hit, probably in part because Amanda and I kept up a constant narrative of what we were seeing as we bounced around in our honey mobile. Next we were off to ride Peter Pan's Flight, where despite coming prepared with small flashlights for the dark, Caitlyn refused to get on. She was adamant that she wanted nothing to do with that particular ride, so she and Jason waited while the rest of us rode.

Small World was the next big hit- a ride that will always have a special place in my heart. I just love it- silly song, dancing puppets and all. Add that to a long boat ride and air conditioning, and I don't understand why more people don't love this ride!

We were able to practically walk onto Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, two rides that the girls did well on and seemed to enjoy. Caitlyn even put her hands up on the drop during Pirates.

We headed back to the resort for some much needed pool time and naps. Let me just interject that Caitlyn is very anti-nap. She napped exactly 2 times on this entire trip, and if full days at Disney and the pool can't do her in, then I don't have a chance when it is just us at home. So, officially, we have given up naps!

We went back to Magic Kingdom for the evening and were able to ride some bigger rides, swapping off the kid-watching duties. The big hit of the evening was waiting and watching the riders at Splash Mountain. There was an area on the bridge that got splashed with every ride, and Caitlyn and Rylee danced, jumped and hopped away the time. They were pint-sized next to the other kids, but they each held their own.