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Monday morning we left the house bright and early to head to the airport. It's always an adventure getting all the girls and luggage to the right place at the right time, by myself, but it's getting easier all the time. Tommy's flight was at 6:00am and required him to leave the house at 4am. I decided it was a much better choice for us to fly alone at 11. We arrived at our hotel ready for some fun around 3 in the afternoon. Mimi and Austin were unfortunately delayed at the airport for 3 hours so we were on our own. We toured the hotel and loved seeing all the MARS decorations they had put in place for the big convention. We explored for a few minutes and then put on our swimsuits and headed for the pool. We had a great time soaking up warm weather and sunshine while we swam, played in the sand and rode the water slides. Mimi and Austin finally got in around 6pm, just in time to meet us for dinner. Poor Tommy popped out to the pool in a suit for a few minutes to see hi and we finally saw him again around 10pm, back at the room.
Tuesday we were ready to start early and begin making the most of our Disney park tickets. I had in my mind to be at the park before they opened at 9, which worked out well, since everyone was awake at 6am. Bippity Boppity Boutique was already booked solid by the time we decided to go to Disney, so we had our own little spa session in the room before we left. Addison wanted her hair done and a crown, but she wasn't about to wear a princess dress all day. She is too hot-natured and also to grown-up for that!!! |
Pretty as a Princess at 8am.
My crew and I outside the Magic Kingdom Gates just before the morning welcome show at the Train Station.
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| We were on the bus and headed for the park by 8am, and I thought we were way ahead of the game! We might have been, but there were at least 1000 other early birds ready to storm the gates with us. I was shocked to see so many people crowded around before the park even opened, but it worked out great. We had our bags checked and tickets scanned and had a front row spot for the morning show. I really hadn't done much (any) research or planning for the trip, so this was a nice surprise. I have to admit, I got teary eyed when that train came through with all the performers and characters. No denying its a magical place to be and I just felt blessed to be experiencing the joy with my kids. |
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| Once inside the gates, a nice man directed us to the Main Street Theater, where we could meet Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. We ran right there, so the line wasn't too terrible. It worked out great for Gracyn to get her fill of princesses early in the day before my mom and Austin caught up with us. She was the only one too interested in characters, so that is the only meet and greet line we stood in. |
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| Gracyn with her favorite princess. |
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| Sleeping Beauty with my girls. |
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| Getting autographs from Cinderella. Gracyn and Reagan used our old autograph books, Addison wanted no part in it! |
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| After that, we found Mom and Austin and took the only group picture we have from the whole trip. I promise Austin was having fun!!! We loved that hat he bought, it was easy to keep an eye on him among the CRAZY crowds. |
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| We hit up a string of rides/shows for the rest of the morning. Big favorites were Space Mountain, The Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Splash Mountain, The Teacups, Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mountain Railroad. We found plenty to do to happily occupy all age ranges. |
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| Around 2pm we saw that they were beginning to rope things off for the afternoon parade. We were waiting for our Splash Mountain Fast Pass time and needed snacks anyway, so we found a spot and camped out. It ended up being super sunny and warm, waiting on the concrete. I loved it, but the kids got a little (a lot) impatient. |
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| They ended up spending some of their souvenir money on these water bottle/fans. They were thrilled with their purchases and finally stopped complaining about the heat. Apparently I took these girls out of Texas too early....they can't handle a high temps and humidity! |
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| Poor Austin did not enjoy the parade! To his credit, he never complained, he just looked like he would rather be having teeth pulled! The girls loved the front row view and Reagan even got a hug from Jessie. |
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| Somewhere around 6:30, we stopped for dinner 5 of us were tired, hot and hungry. Gracyn was in great shape, having had a 2 hour nap in the stroller. We grabbed some dinner and tried to decide what was next. Mom and Austin ended up heading back to their hotel, but I wasn't ready to give up. We had gotten a Fast Pass for Peter Pan at 4 in the afternoon, that had a return time of 9pm!!! Crazy Crowds!!! Peter Pan is Gracyn's favorite and I really didn't want her to miss that, so we decided to stay. It turned out to be great. We hit the new Fantasyland and were able to get in all the new stuff with very short waits. Considering you couldn't even walk through that area early in the day, it was amazing! |
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| If you have little girls and you make a trip there, don't miss Belle's new storytime experience. It is AMAZING!!! No flash photography is allowed, so I don't have any pictures, but the kids get to participate in acting out a story with her and then meet her. Even Addison was thrilled. It is truly magical. |
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| 9pm and still going strong! My mom and I had gotten the girls all their glowing treats at Target before we left home. Those glow wands and glowing hair pieces were a huge hit and cost under $10 total! People were stopping to ask where we got them from. |
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| We made it back to the Peter Pan ride in the final minutes of our Fast Pass window and just as I thought, Gracyn LOVED it. We saw a few minutes of the Electric Parade and began working our way through the crowds to get a bus back to the hotel. |
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| Hot, sweaty, sticky from sunscreen and hyped up on sugar, but oh so happy! We made it back to the hotel at 10:30pm, feeling so accomplished. We were bathed and tucked in to bed by 11pm, ready for the next day. |
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| Mimi and Austin ended up hitting the arcade and pool at their hotel. I don't think Austin was too sad to miss Fantasyland and my poor mom probably needed some rest! The vote from the kids was Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom the next day, so we had another full day coming up. |
