Monday, May 21, 2012

Disney Disney Disney DISNEY!

Miss the first post? Click here to catch up.

Our day at Disney began with me losing the tickets. I start wracking my brains for where it could have gone and cursed myself for putting them in my back pocket. Amateur move, I know better. While I was panicking and seeing my visions of George standing in front of the castle fade away, El Hub kept calm and found the tickets in my shirt.

Apparently I cannot feel paper against my skin. Or maybe it was the panicking. Let's keep it real, it was probably the panicking. But DISNEY!

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First visit button.

Mickey's got a nametag.
I have three or four of those nametags in my closet. Ah, the good old Cast Member days.

On Main Street: Me, George, Rob and Cinderella's Castle.
DISNEY!

Our first stop was straight to the Baby Center. I knew the Baby Centers existed, but had never been in one and had no idea how awesome they are for parents and their kiddos. They have decked out diaper-changing rooms, a quiet nursing/bottlefeeding room, a little kitchen, and baby basics like formula, bottles, purees, diapers, and products along those lines for sale. But we went there to take advantage of the room with high chairs so George could chow down on breakfast. He even got to watch a Disney movie while he ate. I think he was thinking this place is better than home.

Magic Kingdom Baby Center.
Even the bananas taste better at Disney.


Then it was time for my top priority of the day, our photos in front of Cinderella's Castle.

Me, George, Rob and Cinderella's Castle.

Me, George and Cinderella's Castle.

Next we walked on over to Tomorrowland for a few rides, including my favorite Magic Kingdom ride that happens to be George-friendly: the Peoplemover.

Tomorrowland.

Rob's Disney face.
Handsome El Hub on the Peoplemover. Disney is very serious business for him.

Buzz Lightyear.
To infinity, and beyond!

It was George's naptime at this point, and we began keeping a closer eye on him. We headed to a nearby quick-service restaurant for lunch, and the manager came to see us personally to help us find something that George could safely eat due to his allergies. Again, huge fan of Disney customer service and concern for the health and safety of their guest. DISNEY!

A tip to anyone bringing a toddler to the parks is to bring a couple toys from home. The fan accidentally doubled as a toy, but the cat George picked out before we left the house. That cat saved a bit of our sanity in the line for Dumbo, when George was truly beginning to suffer from lack of nap.

A fan? For me?

Cat toy from home.

Curl boy waiting for the Dumbo ride.

Dumbo's flying.

Dumbo ride.

Rob and George getting into Dumbo's ride.

George's Dumbo face.
George's Dumbo ride face, aka OMG GUYS I REALLY NEED A NAP.

After that, we wanted to take a chance that George would maybe possibly consider deigning to sleep in his stroller. He hasn't done that since he was a few months old. But after being awake for nearly seven hours straight, George was in need of sleep. We decided to let him loose to burn off some walking energy before trying for a nap in the stroller. Spoiler alert: this strategy worked.

George pointing at the Indy car ride.

George in his Mickey shirt, 1.

George in his Mickey shirt, 2.

Happy George.

Passed out in the stroller.

During this time, I sneaked on over to the Haunted Mansion to see all the changes from the past few years. The change to the Hitchhiking Ghosts? Awesome. I just about lost my head laughing. Wink, wink.

When George woke up, we made our way over to the 3 o' clock parade.

Neither did I, actually. Why did the dancers look like time travelers from the 70's? Sorry Disney. Still love you. Mwah!
When is the three o' clock parade?

Cinderella's Castle.

Cinderella's Castle from below.

Mickey Mouse topiary in front of Cinderella's Castle.

Friends recommended the teacup ride as being amusing for kids George's age. This was less of a DISNEY! and more of an urrggh. Anyone who knows me enough to have traveled with me, even on just a short car ride, knows that I am prone to motion sickness. Going on the teacups with my family was an act of love. And nausea.

Tea cups.

George's tea cup ride face.

Our undocumented adventures included the Enchanted Tiki Room (which worked out fabulously because George is fascinated with birds lately, but unfortunately probably now wonders if any of them will break into song), the carousel, a ride for me on Space Mountain while El Hub let George burn off some running energy on a quiet walkway (thanks, El Hub!), and a walk through the future Storybook area. When we go back, I would like to do It's a Small World, the Carousel of Progress, the Jungle Cruise, and take photos of George with Mickey Mouse. Someday. DISNEY!

But there was one more thing we got to cross of my list...

George running from his daddy.

George, Mickey ears, and the castle.

Curls under that Mickey Mouse cap.

George in his Mickey ears.

My favorite of George in his Mickey ears.

My second favorite of George in his Mickey ears.

So there you have it. Our family's magical day at Disney. Sometimes, when we have long-standing high hopes for a moment, it can be so easy to feel disappointed if things don't go perfectly. I wasn't looking for perfect this day. Let's be real, George didn't even know where he was in the slightest. But he had fun. I had fun. I think even El Hub had a few moments of Disney magic. It was a wonderful day for which I will always be grateful. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for instilling this love of Disney in me. It's brought me a lot of joy over the years.

5 comments:

  1. So cute! I'm so excited to take Oren to Disney - we're hoping in the fall.

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    1. Awesome! I bet he will love it. There's enough distractions to keep him happy, and if he gets overstimulated just escape to one of the more quiet areas. That old restaurant between Main Street and Tomorrowland is closed, and we let George wander around all the tables and chairs for a good 20 minutes for some downtime. It worked out beautifully.

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  2. How awesome! What amazing pictures! George looks like he had a blast!

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  3. So, I'm just reading this, and even though I knew it was coming, I started tearing up at the pictures of George in his Mickey Mouse ears. This whole post made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

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  4. So, I'm just now reading this. Even though I knew it was coming, I started tearing up when I saw George in his mouse ears. This entire post gave me warm happy fuzzies.

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