Our Disney Memories

waiting in line for the Monsters, Inc. Comedy Show

You know that Disney vacation commercial that asks "What will be your Disney memory?" or something like that? I always thought that was cheesier than extra sharp, that I'd never buy into it....well, yeah...here we go:

1) Emily dressed herself with a tshirt and shorts.
2) Elizabeth rolled from back to tummy.
3) I cried twice on the animal safari watching Emily pointing and yelling out the name of each animal, once during the parade watching her dance on Len's shoulders.
4) Emily swam unassisted wearing an innertube.

*sniffles*

How about a few visual aids? :)


Right off, preface every day's description with "Emily was absolutely enthralled!"


Day 1 (my birthday!): The Magic Kingdom - Oh, how cool is this? They gave Nanette and I buttons for our birthday so every park attendant and even the paraders were giving bday wishes! On top of that, Nan got free parking and we both picked up free chocolate mousse desserts.

Ok, The Magic Kingdom - We ride the train into the park. There is a street performance of Mary Poppins songs (Emily sings along), a parade, the castlethe teacups and of course, Space Mountain.

Some of the bravest in our group: (left: Alexis, Bobby, Nikki, and Cameron/right: Bill, Caitlyn)

Elizabeth decided to forgo the rides and hang out with the cool kids. Dad took Emily on the racetrack.

Day 2: The Animal Kingdom - we parked in Peacock 8 lot. Emily kept reminding us.

The animal safari: (more photos on Laura's facebook) Emily rode on Len's lap. We got on the truck and we took off. We didn't even get to the first animal. Emily was just listening and looking around for the animals saying "See ___?" Len and I locked eyes and smiled in the mutual satisfaction of her delight. Len squeezed my hand. That was the first time I teared up. The second was when we saw the Giraffe, Emily looked up at Len exclaiming "He looked right at me!"

Otherwise, we spent most of our time in Dinosaur Land. The food was yummy. Strangely enough, the kids' meals were better than adult meals! You got a sandwich, fries, drink, grapes or carrot sticks and it all came in a bucket with a shovel you could use in their excavation exhibit!

The parade was fantastic. Please look at the photos on my facebook. Emily was dancing and swaying and waving her arms. This was the third time I had tears in my eyes from just the shear joy of the moments. All of a sudden I became a little kid, jumping and waving at everyone in the parade. Who knew?

Ok, last teary-eyed instance. Len and I with G'pa took Alexis and Emily to see Nemo, the musical. It's performed with the puppeteers in full view, giving a performance with the puppets just like The Lion King on Broadway. Absolutely enchanting! Better than the movie, in my opinion. Alexis and I bonded for that one...she sat on my lap the whole time and was generous with her hugs.

Day 3: Hollywood Studios - This was a weird day for us. The group got a late start and ended up at the park in time for lunch. Our little family group of 4 sat down at a lunch counter together. Emily and Len went to dance at the main stage show under the iconic wizard's apprentice hat. After that, the day continued to be weird. We met up; half the group rode Star Tours, Emily and I walked down through Muppet town, G'ma, G'pa and Lizzie sat in a shady area. When I got to the shady area, they weren't. (Turns out the shady area was the smokers' park.) When the group got out of Star Tours, we couldn't find them. How silly of them to choose a place so obvious as directly across from the main entrance of the ride, right? :-p Three of us walked right past them. Ah well, when that was all done, we left the park early to have fun in the pool back at the house.

The family returned that night with gifts for the girls! G'ma and G'pa had bought them some cute outfits. Emily immediately put her little dress on. (Pic on the facebook) Also, if you've never heard of them, this'll go over your head, but Emily also received a souvenir penny book loaded up with plenty of pennies to enjoy. She still hasn't put it down. :)


Day 4: Epcot - We got there REALLY early, parked so close we didn't have to ride a tram, and got to search out the "Leave a Legacy" picture that Grandma and Grandpa did.

Len and I rode the Test Drive ride. Emily and Elizabeth spent the time with Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Nan. When we got back, Emily had the remnants of chocolate muffin on her and a sticker awarded to her for dancing in the street! I was so proud.

Unfortunately, we missed taking a picture with Mary Poppins. If you hadn't guessed, Mary Poppins is Emily favorite movie. She knows the songs. She asks for the songs at bedtime... (It didn't even occur to me that she'd be one of the characters walking around...) We did get to go on the Nemo and Friends ride that ended in a two-story aquarium complete with a sea turtle and two dolphins. We also spent lots of time in the Imaginarium (I think). At the end of which you could create your own "Figment" picture and dance to different instruments. Some highlights from the world showcase: China's 360 movie, Germany's cuckoo clock, Morocco's bellydancer, and the train model between Italy and Japan.

The ride home was just as long as the ride down. On the way, we discovered a radiator leak. ($300+ repair)

Initially we thought G'ma and G'pa would be staying with us for a week but it got cut down to one day.

Our tired, unsung heroes, Bill and Nanette, drove those lovely grandparents up from Savannah and back again in one day. I don't think I'll ever be able to say thank you enough for everything they've done. Of course, I feel that way about all of my inlaws. Every one of them has helped us do SOMEthing during a visit. That's several different stories. So THANK YOU NANETTE and BILL!