Disney Day 3: Magic Kingdom

We had to do a little changing around on our plans for Tuesday because the chance of rain for Wednesday was 90%!  When we planned our trip we were not doing park hoppers so that meant we were at the same park all day each day.  That was not a problem but we all know that we can plan and plan and plan and sometimes nothing goes as planned!  Since the chance of rain fell on wednesday which was our day planned for Magic Kingdom, we wanted to go to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday now to be sure we had a pretty day at Magic Kingdom.  That park is THE park you go to Disney for and it is the favorite!  On Monday night we made our decision to cancel our Hollywood Studio plans and fast passes and head to Magic Kingdom.  We had a breakfast reservation to start the day at O'Hana.  So Tuesday morning we plan to go to MK, hop on the monorail and go to breakfast at the Polynesian.  Well fitting with the other plans for the day things didn't work out and due to transportation problems we were running late and the monorail was having maintenance!  After sitting on it for what seemed like forever we decided to just skip out on the reservation and try to make the best of the situation and go on into MK to grab something quick for breakfast.  We were all a little bummed because not only were we losing our sit down character meal, but we were pretty sure getting a new reservation would not happen.  When we got inside we were taking some pictures at the castle and I asked Kelly to just go over to the Crystal Palace to see if they might have anything and it was our lucky day because they did!  Seating 11 can be a task but they gave us 2 tables side by side and it worked out so good.  This was even better because the characters at the Crystal Palace are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore.  These are Pop and Sug's favorites!   We couldn't have written a better plan if we had tried/planned!  I love how God works out even the small problems.  This meal was one of our favorites, and one of the best.  I'm so glad our plans were completely messed up and changed so that we could get new better ones!  

Someone was all smiles ready to start the day

Notice that Bryce was not having any pictures this particular morning...His face tells it all

Since Sug calls Pop Eeyore it was only fitting to get their picture together

After breakfast we started our park fun.  We rode rides and met Cinderella and Elena.  I think seeing Bryce meet Elena was about the sweetest thing ever.  He had already been precious meeting Belle in Enchanted Tales with Belle but meeting Elena was even sweeter.  He was mesmerized with her and she got down and danced with him.  A true Prince Charming!

Blurry, but so much fun riding Under the Sea!  Bryce loved the rides!

 He was pointing at everything on "Its A Small World"

Attempting a group selfie

My friend Tara got to come up for the day on Tuesday and have some fun with us.  She was waiting on us when we got off of "Its a Small World".  I was so happy she could come hang out!  It was getting close to lunch time and the kids were starting to tire out so everyone was going back for a little nap and lunch.  Tara and I were going to stay on at the park and ride some fun rides.  We did have to battle long wait times.  Some longer than we thought since we didn't read the sign right but it was fine because I loved getting to catch up with her.  And waifs can make waiting a lot more fun!

Add in a dole whip and everything is good!

Kelly and everyone else met back up with us that night.  We rode a few more rides and got to watch the fireworks.  Tara had to leave to get back to Daytona and we stayed and closed the park down.  Its always amazing at how much you can do late at night when the lines get shorter!

One cute thing, when the first firework burst, Bryce quietly just laid his head down on me and kept his eyes shut tight the entire time.  He is not a fan of the noise but instead of crying or saying anything he is just so sweet and cuddles up.  I took advantage of the snuggle time for sure!  

I never get tired of this view!

DISNEY!! Days 1 and 2

We had the best winter break at Disney!   I absolutely love Disney and we love to go any chance we can.  Winter break has been the time 4 of the last 5 years!  This year we had a big family trip planned with the family.  All 11 of us loaded up on Sunday and headed down to Orlando.  We had made reservations at another hotel in Orlando for Sunday and then Monday we moved to POP Century on Disney property to begin our fun park time.  Since Sunday was mostly driving we didn't do much once we were there.  The hotel did have a fun kid area that the kids played in but after dinner we were so tired and ready to rest up for the next day.

Ready to go!! And yes Disney vacations mean Disney outfits!

Sometimes you just have to make do on a diaper change!

 Our hotel had all sorts of fun kids games and things to do.  Bryce was loving it.  As you can see he was on the move constantly...one little blur!

I loved these little signs that were hanging on the wall! They fit these 2 to a tee!

Hotel rules...I mean yes, you do need to always kiss your mommy! 

dinner fun includes snapchat filters and selfies!

 Monday morning we were up early and headed to POP Century to drop off our bags and hit the bus to Animal Kingdom.  It was so nice to be able to hand over our luggage and be able to head on to the park for some fun!   We wondered how this trip would go with a 2 year old BOY.  Never underestimate the power of the word boy.  We had been to Disney with Kate before she turned 2 and when she was 2 1/2 and she was so easy.  Bryce is a different story.  He is so active and on the go.  Throw in some terrible two tantrums and we were a bit nervous.  Kelly more so than me, but he really did so good the entire trip.  We also had a lot of help with Pop and Sug.  You will notice his little lion backpack leash.  I admit to being that mom who always wondered why you would put a child on a leash.  Well fast forward to Bryce and I totally get it, bought my own, and did all the bribery to keep it on him when I could.  He really wasn't bothered by it too much and we made it a game.  The best part was meeting Rafiki, the monkey in the Lion King.  He actually got the leash and held it to play around with Bryce.  He was a lot of fun with the kids.  And a sidenote, Bryce LOVED all the characters.  He was not shy one bit with them and gave hugs and high fives out to each one he met.  Princesses mesmerized him as you will see on later posts!

princesses on the move

trying to get a family selfie...attempt 1

attempt 2 was more successful.  Bryce made it in by the top of his head! Kate who knows??

This little nature girl loved the outdoor scavenger hunt

my own little animals

We found autograph books for the girls and they loved getting all the signatures from the characters.  We have done this every time we go and Cohen still loves it and gets all into it!

Meeting Rafiki!  Rafiki quickly took Bryce's leash and signed autographs while holding it and posed for pictures!

He then had some picture fun with Kate...

This was Bryce's face on the entire safari ride.  He LOVED it!

The baby elephant was too cute!

We took a break after lunch for naps and to get our stuff settled into our hotel room.  Bryce was out!

Later that night we had our first character dinner at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.  We met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy.  The kids had a parade as well.  The food was great!  Bryce loved the characters again and even posed for most of the pictures!

Cohen had chosen a Pocahontas costume to wear and since you can meet Pocahontas at Animal Kingdom she was excited to wear it.  We had a full day and got our chance to meet Pocahontas in at the last minute of the day!  Thank goodness we made it.  They bonded over talking about what to carry in their satchel bags.  It always amazes me how well these princesses play their roles when meeting the kids.  They do such a good job!

Pocahontas...meet Cocohontas

Terrible picture of me but I had a blast taking Savannah on the Primeval Whirl.  This was her first "roller coaster" ride and she was a champ the whole time.  We even took a video of us laughing the whole way!

The tree of life at night!

Day 1 was a success!  We were tired by the end but so much fun.  Rain was clearly staying in the forecast for Wednesday so we had to do some schedule changing for Tuesday.  I wanted to be sure we were at Magic Kingdom on a pretty day!  The kids were so excited that we had adjoining rooms with Sug and Pop!  Every night one of them would be in there sleeping with them.  Sometimes 2 of them!  Kate and Pop were pooped out on this night and fell asleep together.  They would watch some fun National Geographic shows at night.