Tomorrow finally came! Part II of our vacation started with a drive over to Orlando. The kids did great in the backseat sleeping most of the way. My mom decided to take a two week trip to Orlando at the same time so we met up with her and my brothers. Our original plan was to go to Disney World all day Tuesday then fly out early on Wednesday. We ended up getting to Orlando early in the afternoon so we decided to take the whole gang to Disney World on Monday afternoon too. The park is open until 11:00pm during the summer and with the heat we figured one afternoon would be worth the money.
Day one at Disney was fun. Haley was super excited to see Cinderella and her castle. It was raining when we got there but it quickly passed. What came next was the sweltering heat! Wow, it was HOT. The lines for many rides were long so we stuck to the no line rides or shows.
Family shot #1 - Jackson was busy looking at Walt & Mickey behind us
Family photo #2
Our first stop was
Fantasyland and Haley
immediately spotted Cinderella's
Carousel. Haley, Daddy and Grandma posed for a picture
We wondered around for awhile and decided to take a boat ride. Haley enjoyed looking at all the animals
Jackson had a prime seat on Grandma's lap. My mom had surgery on her foot so she was pushed around by my brothers in a wheelchair so she didn't have to walk to much.
Uncle Nathan, Jackson, Grandma and Uncle John checking out the
scenery.
A very hot Jackson enjoyed the ride
To cool off we went shopping. Haley was in heaven. At first she was stuck on the Cinderella dress, wand and glass slippers. Then Daddy showed her the pirate's sword. She LOVES Barbie and the Three Musketeers and was pretending to be one with the sword. The pirate hat stayed but Grandma bought her the sword (which is already broken!).
Of course you can't leave Disney World without personalizes hats!
The castle looks beautiful at night.
The biggest
excitement came with the electrical parade at night. I can't even describe how excited Haley was during the parade. Every float she would scream with
excitement and say, "Daddy, Daddy... It's Cinderella..." etc. It was so precious. Jackson enjoyed the parade too. He was sitting on Grandma just watching everything go by in amazement. The kids had a great time and finally crashed around midnight!!
Day two at Disney was just Haley, Daddy and Me. My mom's foot was hurting so she stayed behind to watch Jackson for us. Jackson was pretty hot the first day and cannot go on many rides. We missed sharing the experience with Jackson but Haley was super excited to get back to Disney World with just her mom and dad.
At the entrance about to start day 2
Daddy and Haley
The first ride we ventured off to was Pirates of the Caribbean. Haley was a little scared at first but once I got her to look for the animals she thought it was fun.
We hit up a few more rides and then waited in line to meet the princesses. Our princess was in awe.
Haley and Sleeping Beauty
A big hug from Cinderella
Haley and Belle
The absolute best was dinner with Cinderella. Once we had decided to go to Disney I booked us a dinner with Cinderella. We kept telling Haley about it and she couldn't wait. She got all dressed up in her Snow White gown and off to our adventure we went.
The first guest was Cinderella when you walk in. Haley got her picture made with Cinderella and they gave us the copies during dinner.
During the course of dinner they introduce the princesses and they walk around to each table and meet everyone. We were one of the last tables they all visited so the anticipation and waiting was hard for Haley but she did GREAT. She was super excited to meet Snow White.
Haley was the only little girl dressed as Snow White. Snow White was comparing her dress to Haley's
Big smiles
And a big kiss from Snow White. This little Snow White was so happy
Next to come around was Sleeping Beauty
Ariel and Haley
Haley couldn't figure out why Belle wasn't in her princess dress? She loved her anyways!
The food was so so but we would do it again in a minute. I would highly recommend dinner with Cinderella to anyone going to Disney World! Haley had a blast. Afterwards we went over to the princess
boutique and told Haley should could pick out two items. Lucky for us we got off pretty easy. She picked out a Sleeping Beauty mini doll set and her Cinderella glass slippers, of course!
We were all getting a little tired and hot so we took the train around the park a few times
Then we decided to do a little shopping and get a front row seat to the electrical parade. I couldn't believe people line up an hour before for this parade! Haley passed out in the stroller in her glass slippers so this gave her a chance to rest. She was so hot her glass slippers fogged up!
Haley woke up right before the parade and was just as excited as the night before.
As a parent there is no greater joy then watching your kids face light up with happiness. Disney World was a huge success and we can't wait to go back in a few years when Jackson is a little older to enjoy it as much as his sister. What a great trip!!
Once we returned from Disney, Grandma and Grandpa Vara came to watch the kids while Matt and I were off to Mexico. More on Part III of vacation later this week...
