Disney World was a blast!

Unfortunately the weather was abnormally cold, and we weren't exactly prepared for it. Luckily I packed long sleeved shirts, jeans and jackets for the girls but I wished I had packed their winter coats. It was COLD. It didn't help matters that since we stayed in a cabin at Ft. Wilderness and had to take a boat to get to and from Magic Kingdom. The first 2 days we layered the girls in 2 shirts, plus their jacket and even borrowed towels from our room that the girls used as blankets to keep warm. By Saturday it was halfway decent weather, but certainly still not the warm 80 degree weather we enjoyed last year in Florida. We didn't let he cold weather ruin our trip though.

The girls (and mommy) flew on a plane for the first time. The girls weren't scared or apprehensive at all. It seemed like an old hat to them - no big deal. Mommy on the other hand was not impressed....I got a little motion sick on the flight down to Florida and wasn't sure I was thrilled about having to fly home at the end of our vacation. I don't know if it was what I ate during the near 2 hr delay that made the ride uncomfortable, or if it was the turbulence, or the apprehension that goes along with flying for the first time, or the fact that I looked out the window almost constantly (something I cannot do while riding in a car because it makes me sick). Maybe it was a combination of all everything. The flight back was no problem at all though, so I guess I would be willing to try again someday. Still not a huge fan though.

Once we finally arrived in Florida, and made it to our resort we had to rush to drop our stuff off in our cabin and then hop in a cab in order to make it to our dinner reservation in time. I'm so glad we didn't miss that because the girls really enjoyed it. We went to the "Happily ever after dinner" with Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. It was EXPENSIVE, for mediocre buffet food but the entertainment was worth it. Cinderella, Prince Charming and Lady Termaine each visited the girls, we got to see Cinderella and Prince Charming dance. The girls though Lady Termaine looked unhappy and sounded mean (which we thought was a hoot). Tabitha was able to join us, which was very nice and I'm glad it worked out that way.

We spent the next day at Magic Kingdom. We were lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time when Snow White came strolling through the park and asked the girls to go on a walk with her. She lead them around the circle and over to a little gazebo are where she was signing autographs and taking pictures. The girls loved it. They thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the characters and didn't complain about waiting in the lines or anything. We waiting in lines to see Chip n Dale, Daisy Duck, Pluto, Snow White (twice), Princess Aurora (twice), Cinderella (twice), Belle (twice), Mickey & Minnie, White Rabbit, Buzz Lightyear, and Lilo n Stitch. That's a lot of time spent waiting in lines, but that's what the girls wanted to do so who were we to argue? They rode lots of rides too: Snow White's Scary Adventures, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion (Emily's the only one who liked it and immediately asked to go again), Buzz Lightyear's spaceranger spin, It's a small world, Cinderella's carousel, Mad tea party (twice...ugh), Goofy's Barnstormer (3 times), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice), Dumbo the flying elephant, and the magic carpets of Aladdin. The roller coasters were there favorite. They wanted to keep riding them over and over - and they even talked Mamaw Linda into riding both roller coasters! We also saw several good shows/attractions like: Mickey's philharmagic (LOVE it), Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, Minnie's cottage, Mickey's country house, Swiss family tree house, the Hall of Presidents, and the Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! street parade. We got to see most of what we wanted to during the 2 days we spent at Magic Kingdom, and the girls were even treated to Princess makeovers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside Cinderella's Castle!! Cousin Tabitha spoiled the girls by arranging and paying for their makeovers. We brought their dress up dresses that we had at home and each girl got their nails, make up and hair done (complete with tiara and magic fairy dust). The girls were so thrilled and loved the attention they got by wearing their dresses/makeover so much they they kept everything on for the entire day. It was such a special treat for the girls and we are so thankful to Tabitha for it! We felt bad for her though because she was terribly sick and barely made it at the park long enough to see their makeovers before she had to go home.

In between the 2 days we spent at Magic Kingdom, we spent a day at Hollywood Studios. It was a lot less busy there (and not as big) which was kind of nice and gave us a leisurely day to enjoy. The girls saw Mike Wazowski (Monster's Inc), Playhouse Disney live on stage, Honey I shrunk the kids movie set, Muppetvision 3-d, Great movie ride, Voyage of the little mermaid, Toy story mania (twice - it was fun), Block party bash, and Beauty and the Beast live on stage(very good). It was absolutely no comparison to Magic Kingdom, but still nice to see. After our day at Hollywood studios, we took the bus to downtown Disney. It was crowded and busy, but the girls were never so excited to see a McDonald's! We ate there, looked at some shops (including a candy shop) and stayed there much later than we intended to, but still had a nice time....even if the girls were falling asleep on the bus ride home!

Overall our trip was very enjoyable. The girls behaved themselves very well (so did the adults) and everyone got along. I think it was very much a successful vacation and we have some really great memories to treasure.