Florida Vacation 2011: Have A Wild Time!

Oh, it was wild all right! Word of advice...when experiencing Disney with a toddler, take a rest day in between park days!

Our day began with an action no parent should ever make...we woke a sleeping toddler. When the hair dryer doesn't wake a child, you probably should leave him be. Anyway, we had breakfast and headed to the Animal Kingdom.

When we arrived we headed straight for the Safari in hopes to see the animals out for their morning feeding. Charlie really enjoyed seeing all of the animals, especially the baby elephant.

As we exited our safari adventure Charlie looked at me with a serious face and said "map", in Charlinese this means "nap". It was 9:30am! dun dun dun...we were doomed!

He dozed in the stroller for a minute, but couldn't get comfortable. It was a blazing hot day!

Just when Charlie would start to lose it we would spot a character...funny how he can turn the charm on when need be.

Stitch thought Charlie's foot was quite tasty!

Ohana means family!

Smooches for Donald!

Favorite family photo of the trip!

Daddy and Charlie with "ChipDale"

Animal Kingdom has a section called Camp Minnie Mickey solely dedicated to character meeting...thank God for the mist fans in this area!

We decided to have lunch at The Rainforest Cafe...big mistake. Every 15 minutes or so a simulated rainstorm would occur, and fake apes and monkeys would go ABSOLUTELY NUTS! Charlie was scared out of his gord. He did not eat and spent the whole time clinging to Mommy!

This is GREAT!

The Happiest Child on Earth...ha!

He wanted to see Mickey so bad...but man was he tired!

Hugs and a smile for Mickey Mouse!

Family with The Mouse

After Mickey we tried to head over to Dino Land...Charlie had a complete MELT DOWN! That is until he spotted Pluto.

Hugs for Pluto

Over Sized Plush Disney Characters = Charlie Smiles :)

He actually wanted to ride the Dinosaurs :)

After the flying dinos we tried to take Charlie to the Finding Nemo show...he would not have it! We ended up calling it a day.

Even though Charlie was more than cranky and tired, we had a good time. Charlie is good at putting on a smile even in a not so great situation!

Hope you all have a wild weekend! Get some rest :)

Love to you all!

JP

Florida Vacation 2011 - The Most Magical Day

On Sunday we headed to Orlando. We walked around Downtown Disney for a while, had a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then headed to our hotel to rest up for our big day at Disney!

Early Monday morning we headed to the Grand Floridian Resort (no pics dangit) for breakfast. We were treated to Mimosas on the house to celebrate our June wedding anniversary's...5 years for CR and I, and 35 years for Gramma and Poppins. Charlie had Mickey Mouse waffles, and was completely enamoured by all things Mickey at the resort. He had no idea what was to come!

We finished up breakfast and took the Monorail over to the Magic Kingdom.

Charlie on the Monorail

I have been to the Magic Kingdom many times but this was my favorite trip yet. It was so much fun to see Disney through the eyes of my child! There are so many things that you pass up as an adult... It was truly a magical day! Brace yourself, this is gonna be a long post with lots of pics!

After entering the gates we immediately took Charlie to City Hall to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse...what a way to start the day!

Charlie's first view of Mickey!

Family Photo :)

Charlie talked about hugging Mickey for weeks before our trip!

A little boys dream come true!

We headed to Fantasy Land next. Our first ride was Dumbo! He was scared as we strapped in, but really enjoyed the ride once we were up in the air.

Charlie and Daddy in line for Dumbo

Charlie chose the green elephant


Mommy and Charlie mid flight :)

After Dumbo we headed to Philharmagic...Charlie was not to keen on the 4D effects and chose not to wear his glasses. A little young for that one I suppose.

Next up ...Peter Pans flight! Peter Pan is a favorite movie at the moment, so Charlie made sure to point out all of the characters on the ride, especially Hook and Smii!

After Peter Pan we headed to the Carousel...this was by far Charlie's favorite ride!

As soon as we got off the Carousel Charlie spotted Pinnochio! The line was short so we ran over for hugs and pictures :)

Next was It's A Small World...no pictures needed.

And this next moment is something Charlie is still talking about! Charlie got to meet Mary Poppins! This is one of the first movies Charlie would sit down and actually watch.

As we approached her Charlie turned a bright shade of red. She looked in his little eyes and said, "I heard that you know all about me"...at that moment Charlie leaned in for the kiss (and almost exposed his mothers unmentionables). So precious! This is one of my favorite memories of our trip :)

After flirting with "Poppy" we were off to Pirates of the Caribbean! Most of you now that Charlie is a little pirate obsessed lately...He even loved the line leading up to this ride!

Being goofy with Daddy in line

Arrgh Matey!

After a little "Yo Ho Ho" it was time to meet the duck...Donald Duck!
As you can tell, Charlie's favorite part of our trip was meeting all of the beloved characters!

We then went on a Jungle Cruise

And made our way over to the Crystal Palace for a character lunch with Pooh and the gang. One our way there we came upon Cinderella's Castle and stopped to watch Dream Along With Mickey.

Charlie had a magical lunch and got to meet ...

(see the guy in the yellow t-shirt? He was kicked out of the restaurant for smacking Piglet in the head...we turned him in! ha!)

Piglet

Eyore

Tigger...Charlie loved Tigger!

And Pooh Bear!

Even Poppins got in on the Pooh love

And then it was naptime!

And an adult beverage and cigar time back at the Grand Floridian

After our rest we headed back over to the magic Kingdom for the evening!

We rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin...where Charlie clung to me in terror.

Charlie was much more excited to meet Buzz in person...what a line!

This picture is from the dark tunnel in the People Mover...this cracks me up!

Our solution to many of the longer lines was to have Charlie sit with Gramma and Poppins while Mommy and Daddy waited in line. When we reached a point close to the ride we would make the toddler hand off!

Here we are on the Tomorrow Land Speedway!

After the Speedway...and by popular demand we went back to the Carousel!

weeeeee!!!

After the Carousel we headed over to Frontier Land for Corndogs and boat watching...we sat on the dock and let Charlie relax! We were doing our best to keep Charlie in good spirits for the Electrical Light Parade

And then it was time...we position ourselves near the front gates for the parade!

Daddy and Charlie as the parade began

Alice In Wonderland

Peter Pan and the Pirate Ship

Shock and Awe all over his face!

Cinderella

oooohhhhh....ahhhhhhhh

I enjoyed watching Charlie's rection more than the parade!

American Egle with Flag...Awesome Float!

A million thankyous to Gramma and Poppins for making this trip possible! We have shared so many wonderful Disney memories with you guys, but none was more special than this day! We can't wait to go back!

And by the way, this is my 100th post! What a special memory to share for this milestone!

Still to come...Disney's Animal Kingdom!

Love to you all!

JP