We've just returned from a week of vacation. We spent the time visiting Mike's parents' rental home in the center of the state and capped off the week with a day at Disney! Di, Q, Rhys and Charlie were with us as well. We had a great time! We spent 12 hours exploring just one section of the Magic Kingdom. Ava did great and Mike and I were surprised with how much fun we had too!
We arrived in the late morning and Ava saw the castle from the boat transport to the park. She was very excited to see a "princess castle!" I was surprised at her interest as she's never shown interest in princesses before. We entered immediately she spotted a Donald Duck character and really wanted to see him. Meltdown #1 happened when we saw the 100-person deep line in front of Donald and had to pass right by. We then walked to the castle where a little show was going on with all the characters. She sat on my shoulders and was enjoying that quite a bit until there were fireworks. Meltdown #2: "I want to go HOME!". Ava doesn't like fireworks. More on that later. We then moved back into the Fantasyland section of the park where the majority of the little kid stuff is located. We first hit Cinderella's Golden Carousel. This was hit and I was excited to learn that even big, pregnant kids can ride it. Ava did freak out about part way through the ride so I was leaning over my big belly sideways trying to hold her and cuddle her on her horse while our horses were going up and down alternately. I'm sure we were a silly site to see! Our next stop was the Dumbo Flying Elephants. Here we encountered about a 45 minute wait but a very fun ride that Ava enjoyed. After riding Dumbo I pressured our group to wait in line for Ariel's Grotto which is not a ride or a show but just a chance to have your photo taken with Ariel. Perhaps her flipper gets in the way of walking around the park for photos? Ariel is the only Disney character Ava knew prior to our trip due to her favorite "girl shirt" pajamas and I really wanted Ava to see her. We waited in line for 1 hour and 15 mins at the hottest part of the day with no shade. 
When we finally got to see Ariel sitting on the rock Ava freaked out and wanted nothing to do with her. Meltdown #3. Rhys and Charlie happily sat with her and chatted but Ava wanted no part. I felt like a goober but I was happy that the other kids were smitten. Rhys asked Ariel if she liked rice milk (Rhys' favorite beverage) and Ariel responded that she'd never had rice milk but she thought she'd like it if it tasted like seaweed sandwhiches.
By now it was about 4 hours into our day and time for the afternoon parade. We grabbed a spot and watched the parade go by. It was nice and quick with all the characters going past one after the other very quickly. After the parade we had to find some shade and food. We packed lots of snacks but everything was eaten quickly. We relaxed, ate. cooled off and then hit the rides again. We got in line for it's a small world. Ava LOVED this one. She called it the "doll ride." She would have happily gone on this ride over and over the rest of the day. There was so much for her to see! Encouraged by the shorter lines we then rode Peter Pan's Flight which she didn't love, a little scary, and then went to Mickey's Philharmagic which is a 3D movie featuring all the characters. Ava was having a blast waiting for the movie to start and she just loved her glasses but Meltdown #4 happened when the movie started.
Ava has never been to a movie before and she doesn't like loud noises. The 3D part probably wasn't helping matters. She screamed throughout the entire movie. Whoops! The next stop was the Mad Hatters' Tea Cups. I thought Ava would hate this ride but she absolutely loved it. She was grinning ear to ear and wanted to ride it again. We then rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which is much scarier than you might expect and was therefore wasn't on Ava's fave list. At this point it was about 6:30 and Ava was hungry and tired. We decided to look around other parts of the park. We ate dinner in Frontierland and while in line I leaned down to ask Ava which kid's meal she wanted and she opened her mouth to answer and then her head dropped back and she passed out asleep in her stroller. 
We let her rest while we ate and then rode the train that goes around the outer edge of the park. It was dark by now and nearly time for the fireworks and night parade. I grabbed Ava a quick dinner over by Aladin's Magic Carpet ride and she said "Mommy, can I ride that?" which melted my heart so Mike and I took her for a late night ride. The lines were gone and it was wonderful. Just the three of us, in the dark, overlooking the park.
Time for the fireworks. Did I mention that Ava hates loud noises? Meltdown #5 happened as the fireworks exploded over the castle and Ava screamed and trembled in my arms. There was no where to hide. I held her on the curb and she buried her head in my chest. The show was over; it was quiet. I told her it was over, everything is OK...but then the grand finale started. Meltdown #6 for both of us. I felt pretty rotten having lied to her, albeit unintentionally. By now it was nearing 10 PM and time for the night parade. We grabbed a good spot in Liberty Land. While the family held the spot Mike and I took Ava to the Hall of Presidents which is a movie/animatronic view of all the presidents. We thought it would be educational but after the previous experience at the theater Ava sat through the entire show with her hands over her eyes, poor thing.
Time for the parade! Ava watched this without incident or distress. It was pretty cool. We all enjoyed it. Finally, 11 PM and time to head home. We walked through a gift shop on the way out and Ava picked out some Minnie Mouse ears which she's been wearing around the clock since we've returned. We hopped on the monorail and then hopped on the parking shuttle and then hopped (or was it hobbled) into the car for the ride to the hotel. I don't think any of the kids were awake by the time we were out of the parking lot. We were able to transfer them to their beds without their knowledge and we all happily laid in bed with throbbing feet. What a day!
We were so proud of the kids for being so amazing all day. That was lot for little 2 and 3-year-olds to absorb. They were truly wonderful. All of Ava's meltdowns were because she was scared. Not because she wanted an ice cream cone or a toy or wanted to ride a different ride. She was such a good sport. We would go back in a heartbeat! We have a lot more to explore!
We arrived in the late morning and Ava saw the castle from the boat transport to the park. She was very excited to see a "princess castle!" I was surprised at her interest as she's never shown interest in princesses before. We entered immediately she spotted a Donald Duck character and really wanted to see him. Meltdown #1 happened when we saw the 100-person deep line in front of Donald and had to pass right by. We then walked to the castle where a little show was going on with all the characters. She sat on my shoulders and was enjoying that quite a bit until there were fireworks. Meltdown #2: "I want to go HOME!". Ava doesn't like fireworks. More on that later. We then moved back into the Fantasyland section of the park where the majority of the little kid stuff is located. We first hit Cinderella's Golden Carousel. This was hit and I was excited to learn that even big, pregnant kids can ride it. Ava did freak out about part way through the ride so I was leaning over my big belly sideways trying to hold her and cuddle her on her horse while our horses were going up and down alternately. I'm sure we were a silly site to see! Our next stop was the Dumbo Flying Elephants. Here we encountered about a 45 minute wait but a very fun ride that Ava enjoyed. After riding Dumbo I pressured our group to wait in line for Ariel's Grotto which is not a ride or a show but just a chance to have your photo taken with Ariel. Perhaps her flipper gets in the way of walking around the park for photos? Ariel is the only Disney character Ava knew prior to our trip due to her favorite "girl shirt" pajamas and I really wanted Ava to see her. We waited in line for 1 hour and 15 mins at the hottest part of the day with no shade. When we finally got to see Ariel sitting on the rock Ava freaked out and wanted nothing to do with her. Meltdown #3. Rhys and Charlie happily sat with her and chatted but Ava wanted no part. I felt like a goober but I was happy that the other kids were smitten. Rhys asked Ariel if she liked rice milk (Rhys' favorite beverage) and Ariel responded that she'd never had rice milk but she thought she'd like it if it tasted like seaweed sandwhiches.By now it was about 4 hours into our day and time for the afternoon parade. We grabbed a spot and watched the parade go by. It was nice and quick with all the characters going past one after the other very quickly. After the parade we had to find some shade and food. We packed lots of snacks but everything was eaten quickly. We relaxed, ate. cooled off and then hit the rides again. We got in line for it's a small world. Ava LOVED this one. She called it the "doll ride." She would have happily gone on this ride over and over the rest of the day. There was so much for her to see! Encouraged by the shorter lines we then rode Peter Pan's Flight which she didn't love, a little scary, and then went to Mickey's Philharmagic which is a 3D movie featuring all the characters. Ava was having a blast waiting for the movie to start and she just loved her glasses but Meltdown #4 happened when the movie started.
Ava has never been to a movie before and she doesn't like loud noises. The 3D part probably wasn't helping matters. She screamed throughout the entire movie. Whoops! The next stop was the Mad Hatters' Tea Cups. I thought Ava would hate this ride but she absolutely loved it. She was grinning ear to ear and wanted to ride it again. We then rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which is much scarier than you might expect and was therefore wasn't on Ava's fave list. At this point it was about 6:30 and Ava was hungry and tired. We decided to look around other parts of the park. We ate dinner in Frontierland and while in line I leaned down to ask Ava which kid's meal she wanted and she opened her mouth to answer and then her head dropped back and she passed out asleep in her stroller. We let her rest while we ate and then rode the train that goes around the outer edge of the park. It was dark by now and nearly time for the fireworks and night parade. I grabbed Ava a quick dinner over by Aladin's Magic Carpet ride and she said "Mommy, can I ride that?" which melted my heart so Mike and I took her for a late night ride. The lines were gone and it was wonderful. Just the three of us, in the dark, overlooking the park.Time for the fireworks. Did I mention that Ava hates loud noises? Meltdown #5 happened as the fireworks exploded over the castle and Ava screamed and trembled in my arms. There was no where to hide. I held her on the curb and she buried her head in my chest. The show was over; it was quiet. I told her it was over, everything is OK...but then the grand finale started. Meltdown #6 for both of us. I felt pretty rotten having lied to her, albeit unintentionally. By now it was nearing 10 PM and time for the night parade. We grabbed a good spot in Liberty Land. While the family held the spot Mike and I took Ava to the Hall of Presidents which is a movie/animatronic view of all the presidents. We thought it would be educational but after the previous experience at the theater Ava sat through the entire show with her hands over her eyes, poor thing.Time for the parade! Ava watched this without incident or distress. It was pretty cool. We all enjoyed it. Finally, 11 PM and time to head home. We walked through a gift shop on the way out and Ava picked out some Minnie Mouse ears which she's been wearing around the clock since we've returned. We hopped on the monorail and then hopped on the parking shuttle and then hopped (or was it hobbled) into the car for the ride to the hotel. I don't think any of the kids were awake by the time we were out of the parking lot. We were able to transfer them to their beds without their knowledge and we all happily laid in bed with throbbing feet. What a day!
We were so proud of the kids for being so amazing all day. That was lot for little 2 and 3-year-olds to absorb. They were truly wonderful. All of Ava's meltdowns were because she was scared. Not because she wanted an ice cream cone or a toy or wanted to ride a different ride. She was such a good sport. We would go back in a heartbeat! We have a lot more to explore!
1 comment:
It looks like you guys had a wonderful time! What a fun way to spend a very looooong day! So glad to hear Ava enjoyed the visit and that you both did too! Would love to get together and catch up sometime soon!
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