Day 1 - Magic Kingdom

We woke bright and early and headed off to the most magical place on Earth: Magic Kingdom. Upon entering the park, we met Pluto and got BIG hugs for everyone.

The park had been decorated beautifully for Autumn!



We had planned this trip for days and knew exactly which rides and attractions we'd want to see, but once there, some of our plans went out the window and we just rolled with it. On this first day we rode the carousel, Winnie The Pooh, The Mad Hatter, It's a Small World (three times), Ariel's Grotto, Enchanted Tales With Belle, Peter Pan's Flight, and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.


We had lunch at Columbia Harbour House (delicious) and then headed back to the hotel for a swim and a rest since the temperatures had us a little lethargic.

Later on in the evening, we headed back to Magic Kingdom as we had dinner reservations at Crystal Palace. On the bus ride to MK, Pea fell asleep and once in the park, Chick fell asleep, too.


Since we were a little early for our dinner reservations and still had a fastpass for Splash Mountain, J. and I decided to ride it while the kids slept (taking turns, of course). When I arrived at the front of the line, the cast member asked me if I wanted to sit in front. I said, "I don't know. Do I want to sit in the front?" and he said, "It's the BEST!". So I did. I got SOAKED. Like, wring me out, soaked! Fun, though.

We then headed to Crystal Palace to have dinner with Winnie, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger. So fun! Of course, both kids had "issues" upon waking from their naps and were difficult to console until the friends came to hug them.

Security

If we ever lose one or both of the above items, our entire lives will change.

The receiving blanket on the left was "lent" to us by a dear friend when the twins were first born.  She will never get it back (and knows it) because it turned into Pea's beloved security blanket.  Pea never took a soother (though we willed him to take one quite desperately) and we tried a myriad of items, all of which failed,  to help soothe him.  I'm not sure when it happened that he took the blanket on as his security item, but it had to have happened over the course of feeding him his bottle each night before bed.  I used the blanket to catch any spills and to wipe his mouth.  I suppose there may have been times when I put him in his crib with the blanket as I made every effort not to disturb him too much as I left him. Now, he sleeps with it every night and for every nap.  When he is hurt, he asks for his "Bankey" and his whole being lights up when he sees it.

Chick used MANY soothers (often at the same time) for the first two years of her life.  They helped her sleep like a champ, but I was getting more and more concerned about her bite after age two.  So, after our trip to Disney in January, we cut her off cold turkey.  It was TOUGH for a while and there were many occasions when I wanted to give in and give the soothers back to her, but I knew that the difficulty wouldn't last and she would be okay after a while.  Interestingly, her new security item became "Daisy" (pictured above).  Like, Pea, Chick sleeps with Daisy for every nap and at night and cries for Daisy when she is hurt or scared.  When she was having a tough time at pre-school, the teachers told me that she could bring something from home to make the transition a little easier.  So, Daisy went to school with Chick.

I love that each child has a meaningful attachment to something that helps them feel safe, but losing either one terrifies me more than anything I've ever known.

Traveling Home

After a glorious week in Orlando soaking up sun, fun and everything Disney, it was time for us to head home.  Though our flight was only set to take off at 8am, the shuttle to take us to the airport left the hotel at 4am, meaning we had to be in the lobby of the hotel by 3:45am.  Waking toddlers that early is never on my "fun" list, so we left them in their PJs and put them in the stroller in its reclined position hoping they would continue to sleep.  However, it was so cold outside that between traveling from room to the lobby of the hotel, they woke up shivering.  Thankfully, they weren't grumpy about it, so it made the early morning wake-up a little easier to deal with.
The airport check-in and security went well and we were able to grab some breakfast before boarding.  The flight was a mere 2 hours and 15 minutes from Orlando to Toronto and, while Pea fell asleep for most of the flight, one little girl stayed wide awake.  That is, until we began our descent into Toronto.

Poor little thing. Just as she was nodding off, we had to wake her up to go through customs and baggage claim.

Catherine and Hannah were waiting for us when we arrived at the airport and after hugs and loading our luggage into the car, we were on our way home. There really is no place like it...not even Mickey's home.

Disney World Day Six - Port Orleans Riverside and Magic Kingdom

After the spontaneous and adventurous day we enjoyed at Animal Kingdom, we decided to stay put in our hotel on this morning.  Our touring plans had us heading back to Magic Kingdom for the day, but we were all dragging a little and decided it would be best to have some fun (without traveling) in the hotel's pools.  Sure, it was only 54˚F (12˚C) but we're CANADIAN, dammit, and we weren't going to let a little chill stop us.  The hotel's pools were heated, but not overly.

So, after a lovely breakfast at the Riverside Mill (the hotel's quick service food court), we donned our bathing suits and spent the morning shivering swimming in the pools. I took these photos of my super-cuties at breakfast.  J. was gone to get some food for all of us and we were entertaining ourselves by smiling big into the camera.

Since it was SO cold on this day (warm by our winter standards) we were the only people in the pools.  We started off in the quiet pool by our room, then headed to the main pool and wading pool afterward.  I even dipped into the hot tub while J. played with the kiddos in the wading pool.  Bliss.

After naps, we headed out to Magic Kingdom.  Just inside the entrance, Chip and Dale were signing autograph books and taking pictures with kids.  Chick and Pea had no idea who these large characters were, but they were drawn to them nonetheless.  Chip and Dale hugged the twins and took pictures with them.  Then, Chip (or was it Dale?) grabbed Chick again and gave her more hugs.  It was super cute.  We were putting the kids back into the stroller and Chip and Dale were signing autographs for other kids when one of the chipmunks stopped and ran back over to Chick in the stroller and hugged her again.  She was beside herself with glee.

We walked around the park, rode the carousel and played in the Swiss Family Treehouse before catching the Resort Monorail to the Contemporary Resort for our dinner at Chef Mickey's.  J. and I had had enough of the buffet style eating for one week and opted to stick with a light salad instead of gorging on the other foods before us.  Chick and Pea also didn't have much of an appetite on this night.  The characters, as usual, were a huge hit with the kids.  In particular, Goofy made Chick's night when he came to our table.  I told Goofy that he was Chick's favorite and Goofy gave her some special hugs and one on one attention.  Chick was still her the high chair and Goofy kept motioning for me to take her out.

When I did, he grabbed her hand and walked away with her!  Chick and Goofy walked a little bit, then turned and waved, then walked a little more, turned and waved, etc. 

She had NO reservations whatsoever about going along with Goofy.  She was happy to head out with him and say goodbye to all of us.

What a sweet experience for Chick.  Usually, Pea is the one who is outgoing and personable with people, but this was certainly Chick's night to shine.

After dinner, we took the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom and rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin before calling it a night at catching a shuttle back to the hotel at around 7:45pm.  I really, really wanted to stay to watch the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular  at 8pm, but we had to be on a bus for the airport by 3:45am and I knew we needed to get back to the hotel to get some rest.  Next time!

Disney World Day Five - Animal Kingdom

Earlier on in the week, J. and I had made a decision to skip Animal Kingdom in lieu of spending a quiet day at the resort swimming and playing.  We had thought that the kids would enjoy a day off from traveling on buses and from the hustle and bustle of park life.  Catherine had scheduled us for an early morning breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom, though, so we thought we would get up, go for breakfast, then come back to the hotel for the rest of the day.
Because our reservations were set for before the park opened and since we arrived early for our reservations, the kids had the run of the park and they LOVED it.  J. and I quickly realized that this park was right up our kids' alley and that they would likely enjoy this park more than any other since it allowed them to run, walk and see all the animals we read about in books at home.
Before breakfast, we saw some flamingos, talked to one of the zoologists about flamingo diet, met some lovely park staff who gushed over the kids while giving high fives to each of them, and traipsed through some amazing and lush grounds on our way to Tusker House. This park was definitely suited to our kids' personalities and we knew immediately we were in for a great day together.
Our breakfast was another buffet and the kids ate well.  They mostly enjoyed seeing all of their favorite characters once again and Pea especially loved when Mickey Mouse took him by the hand to lead the morning celebration parade.

After breakfast, we took an adventure ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris.  Man, we expected to see some animals, but we didn't expect to see so many up close and personal!  This was likely my favorite adventure of the trip (I really liked Soarin' but this one was amazing in its own right).  We learned so much through our guide and saw some beautiful animals along the way.

This giraffe came right up to the door of the truck we were riding on. We easily could have reached out to touch it, it was that close to us. So cool!

These gators were "too 'cary" for the kids.

Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant?

Once the safari was over, we walked onward toward the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Here, the kids ran from exhibit to exhibit and loved seeing all the creatures in their habitats.

This Komodo Dragon was very cool and I learned a great deal by talking with his keeper.  It was all fine and dandy until I asked about Komodo mating.  Then, it was all kinds of awkward.

We then headed toward Finding Nemo - The Musical and learned that we were just in time for the next show. It was spectacular and the kids really loved it.

After the show, it was time for a snack for the kids, so while the kids and I sat and ate more Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars, J. decided to ride Expedition Everest. I don't have any pictures to share of this time because I spent the 30 minutes we sat there talking to a man whose family was also riding Everest.  After a few minutes speaking with him, he asked me where in Canada I lived.  At first I thought he knew I was Canadian by my apparent accent, but then he told me it was because I was so polite.  Funny!  He was from Saskatoon and his wife and grandchildren were there on vacation.  They all had matching t-shirts and he said they were having a great time.

After snack, we headed over to TriceraTop Spin.  Chick rode it once, while Pea wanted to ride it several times and because there were no lines, I was happy to be his riding companion.

We had many more sights to see, but it was late and the kids really needed naps, so we headed back to the hotel for a little rest.

That evening, we had reservations for dinner at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian, so we took a shuttle to Magic Kingdom, then hopped on the Resort Monorail to get to our waiting dinner.  We had fed the kids a very late lunch after their naps, so we knew they wouldn't be hungry for dinner and this worried us, since we thought they might be antsy during our dinner. However, the cafe provided colouring sheets which kept them quite happy throughout the meal.  Something else that made them happy was picking out desserts from the display case.  Oh man, the desserts at this restaurant could send anyone into a diabetic coma!  Chick chose the Kona Kone.  A HUGE waffle cone surrounded by blue (raspberry) cotton candy with two scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and M&Ms. 

Seriously.

J. and Pea shared a dessert called Kilauea Torte.  They each enjoyed it a great deal.

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel where J. took the kids swimming in a little wading pool beside the main pool.  They had an incredible amount of fun there and met some other children who were splish splashing away.  I stayed warm in my clothes and took pictures from the sidelines.  I'm no fool.

I love this video of Pea splashing in the water. He became VERY brave during this trip and was able to swim clear across the length of the main pool with his floaties on and without help. Here in the wading pool, he was enjoying the freedom of no floaties.



Soon, it was time for bed and time for all of us to get a good night's sleep. This was definitely one of the most enjoyable days we spent at Disney World.

Disney World Day Four - Hollywood Studios

Despite (or, more likely, as a result of) going to bed rather late the night before, the kids were up extra early on this morning, so we all got up, had an oatmeal breakfast in the hotel room then headed out to catch a shuttle to Hollywood Studios.

This was the only day that we experienced cloudy/rainy weather, but we were prepared for it with the cutest ladybug and froggy ponchos for the kids.

Once again, the park was quite empty and we were able to gain entrance by walking right up to the turnstiles.  January is awesome for crowd levels. We quickly headed to Toy Story Mania as we'd been told by several people to get there quickly for fast passes.  We waited 30 minutes (the longest wait we encountered in the parks) for this ride and it was just okay.  Our children were a little too small to really understand how to work the toy guns and the experience was lost on them.  J. and I enjoyed it, but couldn't figure out what all the hype was about.

We then watched an incredible performance called The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.  Pea LOVED this, but Chick was restless throughout the show.  When it ended, we were slated to see Disney Junior Live On Stage, but the next show wasn't going to start for another forty minutes, so we opted out of that wait and moved on to Muppet Vision 3D.  While J. and I enjoyed it, the kids wouldn't keep their 3D glasses on and missed the jokes as a result.

Since the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground was near the Muppet Vision 3D show, we decided to give the kids a chance to have some free play before lunch.  They enjoyed the playground a great deal and we enjoyed the chance to stand and watch them as they climbed, slid, and hopped.

As noon approached, the weather turned even more bleak and we had to seek shelter from the spattering of rain.  Luckily, we found a covered outdoor restaurant that served some yummy vegetarian sandwiches.

After the delicious lunch, we headed back to the resort for naps and by the time naps were over, the weather had cleared up and the sun began to shine through the clouds just in time for us to head back to Hollywood Studios for our dinner reservations at Hollywood & Vine.

An ice cream bar at Hollywood & Vine was a HUGE hit with the twins.

Our touring plan included more rides after dinner, but there was so much going on and the kids really wanted to walk freely amid the "streets" of Hollywood Studios that we decided to throw our plans out the window and just enjoy the sights and sounds of the park instead of standing in line for more rides.

The kids had a great time splashing in this water fountain. So much so, that we let them get good and soaked.




The park officially closed at 7pm, but we stayed until 7:30 enjoying the people and the shops.  We then caught a shuttle back to the hotel, gave the kids a bath and settled in for another night's sleep.

Disney World Day Three - Magic Kingdom

We were most excited about this park as we had read so much about how wonderful it is for children.  The truth is, it's wonderful for ALL ages.  Since we had breakfast reservations at The Crystal Palace for 8:30, we were in the park before it opened to the general public which offered such a spectacular introduction for us. I was asked about my favorite memory of the trip a few days ago and I revealed that it was this one.  Seeing the kids running ahead of us toward the Castle we've only seen in pictures was truly "magical".



After a few pictures and some touring around, we made our way to the restaurant and checked in.  Our table was situated beside a window overlooking a little pond and many beautiful flowers.  Soon, we were being greeted by Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eyore.  The kids' eyes were so bright as each character came to our table for hugs and J. and I beamed with pride.  It was a lovely breakfast and a great way to begin our day at Magic Kingdom.

After breakfast, we headed to Peter Pan's Flight.  While both kids really enjoyed the ride, Chick LOVED it and hopped like a bunny all the way to the exit giggling and laughing.  It was so cute! We skipped across to It's A Small World, where we all sat in a boat riding through the cultures of the world.  What an amazing ride!

Off we went to the Many Adventures of Pooh, then to the Mad Tea Party (which we rode twice because Chick loves to spin), and then to Tom Sawyer Island. Chick fell on the stairs at Tom Sawyer Island and required a band aid and some TLC to remedy her scraped and bloodied knee.  We cut that adventure short and came back to dry land for a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar.  The second of my favorite moments was seeing the kids' faces as they ate their way through these bad boys.  So many people stopped to watch the kids as they ate these ice cream bars and I'm sure it was because the kids kept offering "yicks" to people.  Thankfully, no one took them up on their offers.

After a ride around the park on the century old steam engine, we headed back to the resort for naps. While Chick fell asleep quite easily, the ice cream did a number on our boy who had a more difficult time with slumber.  So, off he and I went for a walk around the property.  Luckily, he fell asleep in the stroller and had a good nap after all. When we finally returned to the room, Chick was just waking up, so J. took her for a swim in the hotel's pool so that Pea could continue to sleep a little more.

When he woke, I got him all suited up to join Chick and J. for a swim.  The main pool had a small water slide that both kids wanted to try, so each one took a turn coming down.  J. was with them at the top and I was at the bottom to scoop them up when they came down.  Both said it was "Too 'cary" and didn't try it again for the remainder of the trip.  I'm so glad that they are each so adventurous and will try just about anything once!

We decided to have a meal at the hotel's quick service restaurant and before we knew it, it was 7pm.  Although we really wanted to head back to The Magic Kingdom to watch the "Wishes" fireworks extravaganza, the kids were looking a little too tired.  We opted, instead, to head to Downtown Disney for an hour where we bought the kids some Mickey Mouse Ears and had their names embroidered on the backs.  A lovely souvenir to have for our children.

We capped off this day with a boat ride back to our resort.  Definitely a magical day.