WDW Day 3

Day 3 started at Chef Mickey's character breakfast. This was located in the Contemporary resort which was just a skybridge walk away from our resort room. We took this day off from the parks and decided to eat, swim, and relax.

While we were waiting for our table Reese was spun around on Daddy's shoulders.

Wheeeeee! 

Life is great.

The buffet food was just okay, but the real treat was seeing Reese's reactions as she met the original Disney characters. 

There was Goofy and he was well...pretty goofy.

Then there was Donald Duck.

I have to give major love to this Donald who let Reese hold him for over a minute. Wow, that's pretty special.

Then she met the main man--Mickey Mouse!

And let's not forget Minnie!

And sweet, sweet Pluto.

The rest of the day was spent swimming at our resort. The shark sun hat Reese is wearing is a funny story that I have to share. 

Before leaving for WDW I told Reese she could pick out ANY sun hat to wear, because we were all going to wear hats when we went swimming. So, we're at Target, in the sun hat section, and I am holding up all these different hats for Reese's rejection or approval. I say, "What about this purple one?" No. "What about this pink poka-dot one?" Nope. Then Reese spots this sun hat with the sharks all over it. She says, "BRUCE! Sharks!" I panic. "Oh, yeah...ummm...that's not Bruce from Nemo...that's just some sharks." 

Reese loves Finding Nemo--it's her favorite movie at the moment. There was no convincing her of buying another hat besides this shark hat. So we left with it. 

I seem to be the only one that cares that (1) it's a boy hat and (2) that it doesn't match any of her clothes, but whatever! She is who she is. I need to let go of some control and let her be herself. I do try.

I must say though she wears it with style.

She so stinkin' cute with a bit of a stubborn streak.

I must admit--I do love that about her--most of the time anyway!

So to quote Dory in Finding Nemo...we decided to just keep swimming...

Just keep swimming...

Just keep swimming...

Swimming...Swimming!

There were Mickey Ice Cream sandwiches to munch on.

Let's just say--All things nutritious and wholesome were thrown to the curb this week.

Hey, it's vacation! Right?
Plus, look at that face! Sheer happiness.

After a long, long nap (Thanks Reese!) we headed to a wonderful dinner at Narcoossee's. The food was delicious. Joe's favorite meal.

We timed dinner to end right about the time the nightly Magic Kingdom firework show "Wishes" started. Narcoossee's is located at The Grand Floridian resort and has a dock that has amazing views of Cinderella's Castle and the fireworks. The restaurant also has audio connections to the show so we got to hear everything that was happening in the Magic Kingdom without the crowds. Very relaxing.

We all enjoyed the fireworks (Reese kept naming all the colors she saw) and then headed back to the resort for the night.

WDW Day 4 is coming up!

WDW Day 2

Our second morning started at 1900 Park Fare for their Supercalifragilistic Breakfast . It's held inside the Grand Floridian resort. The food was actually quite good for a buffet. They had an omelet station, fruit, bacon, sticky buns (yum), Mickey waffles and a bunch of other goodies.

More importantly though, Reese met Tigger.

It was love at first sight.

Tigger even "bathed" her. This is so sweet.

She also met Alice. We own the movie Alice in Wonderland, but it's not one of Reese's favs, so she was pretty clueless as to who she was. She basically ignored her or looked at her like, "Excuse you, I've got other large stuffed animals to meet."

Like--Winnie the Pooh!
He used to be her favorite lovey (before Eeyore) so I think she still holds a special place for him.

Reese was interested in Mary Poppins, but again didn't really know who she was. I loved this movie growing up and I plan on introducing it to Reese when she's a bit older. She definitely thought she was a pretty gal. 

The Mad Hatter was there also. This character actor did an AMAZING job. Again, Reese didn't know who he was, but Joe and I enjoyed his performance.

After breakfast we made our way over to Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. It was more like a Nightmareland with the crowds of people there. 

We had planned this trip for the first weekend in May because several Disney websites and blogs claimed this was a non-crowded time to go, however, it was still pretty crowded in my opinion. A Disney employee, I ended up talking to, told me it had rained 6 out of 7 days the week before we arrived (which is very unusual). This made the week we came busier than normal. 

Whatever the reason, we high tailed it out of there and escaped to a different section of the park. A much less crazy section.

We rode the People Mover

and The Carousel of Progress. Reese didn't care for this one. She kept saying, "All Done!" I think it bored her. For me, it's a childhood memory kinda ride so I always like to revisit it. 

Before we made the earlier exit from NightmareFantasyland we did make a smart move and got a Fast pass to the Under the Sea Adventure ride with Ariel. Reese liked bits of this ride, but she was frightened some when she saw Ursula (the Giant Octopus/Sea Witch). She said, "Who dat?" I said, "Ursula." She then said, "Her mean!" I agreed. I had to hold her during this ride and she didn't say, "Again" after it was finished, so I'm guessing she wasn't a big fan.

It was very clear Reese was getting tired and was in need of a nap, so we headed back to the hotel a bit earlier this day. We did purchase her a Mickey Balloon and it gave her lots of enjoyment during the rest of our vacation. She seriously loved this 10 dollar balloon. Yeah...that's right...10 dollars...for this thing. Man, Disney is making a killing off these things. Every where you looked kids had these. I will say it still looked this good on the day we left (almost a week later) and Reese was very rough with it. 

Naptime when you're pregnant is so wonderful. Thank you Reese for napping this trip.

After napping, we rode the Monorail to Magic Kingdom (again). Reese was a Monorail pro on day 2.
Just look at that big 2 year old holding onto the bar by herself.

The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was the first ride of the evening. Before we had left the park earlier we got a Fastpass to it, but wasn't sure they'd let us use it several hours later. We lucked out because they did! Yay! Hardly a wait and it was a pretty cute ride.

Then it was a Carousel ride with dad. In. the."peacock". of. course.

Then while we were waiting on our dinner reservation I decided to take Reese on the Carousel (again). She  kept saying, "Again, please." "Again!" Well, guess what? The coolest thing happened. I walked her to the "peacock" bench and she jumped off of it and shouted, "Horse!" I said, "Reese, you want to ride a horse this time?" She said, "Horse! OK!" So her and I rode a horse. This was a majorly big deal for this girl and I was one proud Momma. She was so brave and loved it! I didn't get a picture (kinda difficult when you're preggers and riding a horse), but I did get a picture of it on a different day when she rode it with her Daddy.

Our dinner was at the new Be Our Guest restaurant. It was located inside the Beauty and the Beast Castle. Joe and I both got their French Onion soup and then Joe got a steak and I got rotisserie chicken. Both were very good. Dessert was also very good--we both ordered some sort of strawberry cake thingy.

The candlelight, the rose napkins...special Disney touches.

Inside it made you feel like you were in the movie. When you looked out the windows it was made to look like it was snowing. Very pretty atmosphere. We would definitely revisit this place.

After dinner, we headed to a new Fantasyland attraction where you get to do story time with Princess Belle. Reese loves both stories and Belle so we thought this was right up her alley. It might not have been geared towards toddlers, but she still seemed to enjoy it. She was in awe seeing Belle that's for sure.

Our last ride for the evening was a repeat of It's a small world. She loved it (again).

We walked back to our hotel and were in bed as soon as possible.

WDW Day 3 details coming soon!

The Disney Overload Posts Start NOW!

I am going to break up our Walt Disney World trip into days. We experienced and did so much in 8 days. It would be too difficult to do just one WDW post!

Before our magical vacation could begin, we had to travel by plane (2 planes to be exact) from OKC to Orlando and...oh how we love traveling with a 2 year old! You can be as prepared as possible (DVDs, snacks, games, loveys, drinks, stickers....) and still flying with a 2 year old is unpredictable.

Reese was scared on the first set of flights. I didn't see this coming. She wanted to sit on my lap, but for take off and landing this is a no-no, so basically she screamed from the moment she was placed in her own seat until we got up in the air and were able to hold her. Good times.

We got all kinds of looks from our fellow passengers--the "I feel for you look", the "shut that kid up" look, the "my kid will/would never act like that" look (from the childless folk), and the "how come I always get stuck riding next to the screaming child" look. Again, good times!

So we finally make it to the Orlando Airport, hopped on the Disney Magical Express Bus, and arrived at the Bay Lake Towers. I had never stayed at the Bay Lake Towers. They are kinda new-ish suite style rooms that have a mini washer and dryer and a separate living area, kitchen, and master bedroom. Originally, I thought I would rather stay somewhere else, but it ended up being the perfect place to stay this trip. We used the washer/dryer almost daily, we were a 5 minute WALK to the Magic Kingdom, had easy access to the monorail, and Reese really enjoyed the resorts swimming pool and splash pad area.

The first night we ate dinner at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. Joe and I had eaten here before, so we knew it would be yummy. Plus, I love, love, LOVE this resort, so I always make sure to book this reservation. It might just be my favorite. Dinner is served family style and it's all you can eat. 'Nuff said--right? Pregnancy + All you can eat = heaven. There is bread, salad, dumplings, chicken, steak, pork, shrimp, noodles, sauteed vegetables, and bread pudding/ice cream for dessert. The servers just keep coming to your table with more and more food. This is a must do every trip!

These aren't great pictures (I realize) but it gives us a good memory of our first dinner at WDW. We all look pretty tired after our full travel day. Reese is yawning...yeah we pretty much ate, unpacked, bathed, and went to sleep that first night.

After all, we had to get our sleep for...

Day 1

We walked our 5 minutes to the Magic Kingdom park.
First stop was Chateau's to get Reese her first set of Mickey Ears.

I felt like a kid again when I walked up Main Street and saw Cinderella's Castle in the distance.

There is something magical about this castle.

Then it was time to go inside the castle for breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. The food was just okay, however the atmosphere was wonderful. You're treated like royalty (they call you king, queen, princess) and the princesses come to visit you at your table while you eat. We got our picture taken with Cinderella before breakfast

and then during our meal we were able to meet Jasmine, Ariel, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty.

After breakfast, Reese and I rode the Carousel per her request. We rode on the bench. She never rides the horses. She only likes to ride in the bench or "peacock". The OKC Zoo has a bench that is in the shape of a peacock, so that's what she calls it. I always ask her if she'd like to ride the horses, but she always says, "No, peacock." I don't pressure her. Whatever makes her comfortable and happy is fine by me.

Next up was a 10 minute 3D movie called Mickey's Phillharmagic. It really is a cute show. Reese wore her 3D glasses for about the first 20 seconds (or so) then refused to put them back on. She still laughed and enjoyed the show even without being able to see it in 3D. She would shout out character names that she saw.

I was surprised she got as much out of it as she did since she wasn't wearing the glasses, but whatever works! Joe and I both liked it in 3D.

It's a Small World was a ride I was sure Reese would love and she did.

After the ride I asked Reese if she liked it and she said, "again!" Joe and I were happy she enjoyed it, but man that song stays in your head for a while! It's a small world after all...It's a small world after all...

We had gotten a fast pass to ride Peter Pan's Flight. Apparently, this ride is pretty popular. We thought it was a cute ride, but it was very short overall. Reese seemed to like it okay. Not as much as the carousel or It's a Small World boat ride, but hey--every ride can't be your favorite.

Minnie and Mickey's "Dream Away" Show started as soon as we left Fantasy Land, so we decided to watch it. It's nice to stumble upon shows at just the right time. This was Reese's first glimpse at Minnie and Mickey Mouse. It kept her interest.

We decided to walk back to the resort for a swim and a nap, but not before letting Reese experience her first Mickey chocolate ice cream bar. There was no good way to feed it to her, so we just gave it to her and said have at it.

Before

  After

What were we thinking? Anyhoo, she had fun with it and enjoyed the bit she got into her mouth. It was actually a pretty easy clean up, too (despite what the bottom picture shows).

We spent some time swimming at the pool and then headed up to nap before our evening festivities.

We all enjoyed the nap.

The evening was spent at Hollywood Studios. We ate at Mama Melrose's. We signed up to do dinner and the Fantasmic Show. The major perk is that you get a pass to the Fantasmic Show which lets you enter earlier than the rest of the park goers wanting to watch it, too.

I chose this restaurant because Reese loves pasta. Anytime I ask her what she wants to eat at a restaurant or at home she almost always says "pasta."

See what I mean? LOVES pasta!

After dinner, (but before the Fantasmic Show) we went on The Great Movie Ride.

Now, I remembered bits of this ride, but had totally forgotten the Alien movie part where the alien tries to attack you from the ceiling. This scared poor Reese and she kept saying, "All done!" "All done!" I was sorry I took her on it. I hated to see her upset. We made it through though and she wasn't too traumatized in the end.

While Joe used his fast passes for The Rockin' Rollercoaster and The Tower of Terror, Reese and I watched The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This is such a cute show. They have glow in the dark puppets and Ariel sings. We both really enjoyed it. Mother-Daughter time at its' best.

We ended our first day watching Fantasmic. This is an absolute great outdoor show. We bought Reese a light up spin toy and some popcorn and we were set. She seemed interested in the show overall, however, in the end Mickey is surrounded by fire and this visibly upset Reese. She said, "No, Mickey! Nooo!" I tried to explain to her that Mickey was okay, but tears still formed in her eyes. It might have been a combination of tiredness and not being able to fully understand what was going on. Either way her reaction was kinda sweet and kinda sad, too. In the end, evil is conquered (whew) and a bunch of Disney characters come out singing on boats, so at least we ended Fantasmic on a good note.

Needless to say we were all tired on our first full day.
We rested up to get ready for WDW Day 2.
Stay tuned!