More Disney...We Love It!

We are definitely a Disney family and love all things Disney.  In fact, the girls are going next week with Mike and his mom.  Yes, I know...they go A LOT.  They are 3 1/2 and this will be their FIFTH trip!!!

I'm far too busy at work to go.  Sad, sniff, sniff.  :-(  Of all the trips to miss, I hate to miss a Disney trip, but I took the girls with my mom without Mike twice last year.  I've definitely had some great times with them, so it's his turn. 

You know when you turn on a Disney DVD that you sometimes get an all inclusive "commercial" type ad where they hype all their films?  Well, Sleeping Beauty has such an ad, and at the end, there's a tag line...."There's only one Disney."  I almost cry every time I hear that...it's so true.  It is such a magical place, and we always have the best vacations there.  The girls absolutely adore it. 

Enjoy some more photos from the September Disney trip...only to be followed in a few posts from photos of February's trip.  :-)  Ok, well, I'll have to post Christmas in there somewhere first.  Man, I really am behind when I'm still posting September photos on the last day of January.

Here we are at the "A Dream Come True" Parade.  Can you believe that in all the girls' Disney trips, this was the FIRST time they saw this parade.  It was neat.  We always missed it because it was at 3pm and we used to leave for nap. 

We obviously had a good spot along the route because the Genie and the Rabbit both came over to give our girls a high five.  How cool!

Thursday at Disney Continued

Over by Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toon Town Fair (soon to be demolished to make way for the Fantasy Land expansion).  Good and bad feelings.  The girls LOVE Mickey and Minnie's houses, so I hope they put them back in some way, shape or form.  However, by the time they finish all of this construction years from now, the girls may have "moved on." 

Seems we were a bit tired.  I did say this was our first time doing Disney without a nap.  Maybe a quick snooze on a bench will do the trick.  (I doubt it!)

In the Judges Tent getting photos with Mickey and Minnie. 

Days at Disney After the Cruise

We spent two days at Disney after the cruise.  I had been to Disney twice earlier that year already, but this was only Mike's second trip with them (since March 2009).  They rode a LOT more this time.  I found that the past two trips, they were timid...still remembering what they did and did not like from the March 2009 trip (where we got them to ride everything because they didn't know).  Cousin Brett's influence (for the first day) really helped.  I think he got them to step out of their shells a bit.  We actually rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets this time.  We rode Dumbo for the FIRST time ever....boy, in the past, that ride has had the worst line ever.  Small World was closed for refurbishment, so we didn't ride that.  And I'm glad they opened up their minds to these other rides because without Small World, we could have been in real trouble.

This was also the first time we had done Disney and not left at lunch time to go back for a nap and come back refreshed for the afternoon.  The daily parade at Disney is at 3pm, so we had NEVER seen the Magic Kingdom parade.  It was neat.  That was a new experience compared to the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Street Party (which is still my all time favorite) or the Spectro Magic light parade.

Here are some photos.  Enjoy! 

First at the Tea Cups.

Hmmm...the blog isn't letting me upload any more photos, so I'll stop there for today.  More to come later....

Cruise Farewell

On the last night, at about 10pm or something, they have a "Farewell" where all the characters come out and say/sing goodbye.  Then, for about 30 minutes, it's a complete free for all - get as many photos with as many characters as possible.  Home cameras only, so the lines move decently fast.  Also helping the lines is the fact that there are probably 20 different characters out for photo opportunities.  This was the jack pot.  No Mickey Mouse - as expected, his line was ridiculous so we didn't even try.  We got 7 other characters in about 30 minutes though (camera battery died on Peter Pan, so no photo, but the girls still got to see him).  

Enjoy....and keep in mind how late I said it was if they seem somewhat sleepy eyed.  :-)  I think they hung in there quite nicely though.

And for those who aren't current on their Princesses, Nicole is dressed as Tiana (before she kisses the frog, she is wearing a blue dress...everyone thinks that she's Cinderella, but she's not) and Kaitlyn is Ariel (the Little Mermaid).