My husband and I have been trying to plan a Disney World vacation with my step daughter since we first moved in together (about 4 years ago). I'm pleased to announce we finally made it happen-and on New Year's Eve and Day on top of it! Unfortunately, our funds only allowed us to stay the two days, but we had a blast during those days and are hoping to return in a couple of years (for a longer stay).
We arrived in Oralndo on Dec 30, and began our Disney experience in Downtown Disney to pick up our tickets. Downtown Disney is a GREAT place to start the magic of the parks. Honestly it felt like a party. Everywhere we went music was playing, souvenier shops were easy to find, and restaurants were all around. It really set the mood for a fun, exciting vacation!
The next day was New Year's Eve and we spent the day in Magic Kingdom! It sounds really exciting, but in retrospect I wish we had come a different day only because it was soooo crowded. Usually I am one that loves being a part of a big crowd, but Disney is something we don't get the opportunity to do much, and the large crowd really put a damper on how much we were able to accomplish. There was a LOT of waiting in line and when all is said and done we rode the tea cups, space mountain, met 2 of the 4 princesses in the princess castle (Elsa and Anna), Mickey, Tinkerbell, and Merida. That was all we could fit in in about 12 hours. Our plan was to stay and count in the new year, but as evening wore on, they had many events planned and they typically involved closing a large portion of the streets so that no one could get anywhere. We ended up frustrated and left early.
In spite of the large crowds, however, there were definitely a fair share of magical moments. The lines were long but the prizes were worth it. Upon entering the park there was a little welcome to the park show on Main Street USA featuring Mickey and his pals as well as many other disney heros, villains and princesses. I will never forget the look on Pumpkin's face (14 months) when she saw her favorite characters in the stage. Her face absolutely lot up as she pointed and looked at me with huge smiles in her face. She was awe struck! It also was Pumpkin's first time riding a ride (teacups) and all the characters we met were VERY well cast. They truly embodied the characters they were playing and did great with both my step daughter and Pumpkin.
The next day we hit the Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was a great way to rap up our stay and everyone in our group enjoyed it. Here we went on an African Safari that was much more exciting than any zoo we have ever visited, but perhaps the most memorable part was seeing a giraffe chilling by the edge of the trail. He was lying down in the shade and as we passed someone could literally reach out and pet the giraffe (if it were allowed, which it is not). Animal Kingdom did a great job putting together the various "countries" you could visit. They really felt authentic! I also really liked that one of the stands served items like fruit, crackers and cheese-a perfect snack/light breakfast for a 1 year old. While there (among many other things-lines were not really an issue in this park) we also come to my step daughter's favorite part of the trip-a ride called Dinosaur. The basic gyst was that you must travel back in time and bring a Dino back with you. My step daughter was absolutely delighted.
Our main reason for planning our trip in spite of the lack of days was our desire to make it to Disney before my step daughter became too old to be excited about things like meeting the princesses, and I'm afraid we just missed that age with her. Looking back, I should have treated the whole experience as I did the Dinosaur ride. On Dinosaur, I made the experience real, even though we both new it was just a ride. If I could go back I would have treated the entire trip that way because it really brought the experience alive for her. The big surprise though was Pumpkin. I think of everyone that went, she enjoyed herself the most, and we all thought she would be too young to "get" any of it. Boy were we wrong! She danced, drank juice, and def recognized her favorite characters. The magic of Disney was completely real and alive in her, and it made the magic real for me too.
I'm excited to announce that the magic of our disney experience is not quite over yet, however. I returned from our vacation to discover that I have been selected to host a #disneyside @ home party! Perfect timing!
*I have received a free Disney Side @ home party kit. All views and opinions expressed are my own.
