Walt Disney World pt. 1

WALT DISNEY WORLD, it was fantastic!  We went for 4 days and spent our time at the parks from sun up 'till way past sun down.  When Matt and I planned the trip back in August we were a bit concerned with what the weather would be like in January.  I am so glad there was no need for worry because the weather was perfect!  Mid 70's in the day and 50's in the evening... it was lovely!

Cullen was my packing buddy 

My parents, Gigi and Pappy, joined us on the trip and thank goodness for that!  This was not their first rodeo at Disney World.  Their Disney trip count is up around 17, crazy!  The trip we just went on was different though because they came with us.  I was able to do most the planning and focused around Eli and Cullen...  this meant relatively low key.  It was nice.  We stayed at the Polynesian Resort, took advantage of the dining plan, and rode the magic your way bus to and from the airport.  The boys had a blast.  They became more and more brave each character they met and with each ride they went on.  Eli and Cullen made it home with quite the collection of souvenirs as well.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:
ELI'S:
Ride: Magic Carpet Ride and the race cars
Character: Goofy and Pluto
Treat: Popcorn and Ice Cream Cookie
Toy: Pirate Sword

CULLEN'S:
Ride:  Disney Jr. Show and Safari Jeep Ride
Character: Donald and Mickey
Treat:  Mickey Mouse Sucker
Toy:  Donald Duck stuffed animal

MATTHEW'S:
Ride: Rockin' Roller Coaster
Character: Mickey
Treat: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie and the tasting he had with my dad at the pub
Restaurant: Raglans Irish Pub

MINE:
Ride: Space Mountain and Rockin' Roller Coaster
Character: Goofy
Treat: Coffee and Bread Pudding at the Raglans Pub
Restaurant: Raglans Irish Pub

  In my opinion, airports are stressful!  It doesn't matter how early you get there, if you're seats are assigned or not, traveling with kids or not, they are stressful.  Once we finally made it through security things eased up a bit.  We were able to get coffee for us and Mc Donald's for E & C.  On board the boys were situated, entertained and filling their tummies... then we were made aware of a "minor" problem.  The engine was down.  Don't worry though, we had a worker come on board and tell us "I think we fixed it!"  I THINK! That was not comforting.  So, after an hour of waiting on the runway the man was right and we ended up having an easy breezy trip.  The boys were very well behaved and despite the fact they didn't nap, we had no crying.  Yay!

Backpack On Waiting to Board

  

Cullen's In Flight Entertainment = Matt's iPad

On the Bus Ready to 

The  Bus Took A Long Time

Finally Arrived at Hotel at 6:30

Thank You Mrs. Rebecca For Our Surprise 

Monorail!  Eli Couldn't Stop Looking For It

7:30 pm and at Magic Kingdom

Made it Just in Time for Fireworks

Eli's 1st Ride= Buzz Shooting Game 

Cullen Couldn't Stop Watching the Animated Buzz 

About to Get on The Ride

Eli Wasn't Afraid Of Still Life Characters 

  After the 1st successful ride we moved on to the race track, but not without getting fast passes to the ride Space Mountain.  

Cullen Loved the Bars as Much as the Car Ride   

Eli Kept an Eye on Each Passing Car

Patiently Waiting to Jump 

Added This Because Matt Really Does Make Me Laugh

Loving It!  He Was The Driver.  

   After the race track we headed over to Fantasy Land.  It was nearing 10:30 at this point... I know, we're crazy.  The shortest line in the area was Snow White's Scary Ride and the longest was Winnie The Pooh and Peter Pan...BOTH 90 MINUTES!!!  Let's just say that there was a reason the Snow White ride was so short.  It was terrifying; It was dark, loud, neon and the witch was all over inside.  Both Eli and Cullen hid their faces in our shoulders the majority of the time.  Eli made sure we all knew that he did not like that ride once we were off.  

Food, we needed food so we headed over to the Harbor House for fish and chips, our 1st non paleo indulgence, and it was delicious!  The dining plan allows each person over 3 yrs to have an entree, drink, and dessert of their choice each meal.  Dessert... wouldn't that be lovely,  Matt and I opted for yogurt over the apple tart my mom and dad ate.  I couldn't resist a taste, it was worth it!   After the Harbor House we got in line for the last ride of the night.  You'll laugh when you hear what the boys were afraid to ride on due to the Snow White scaring them.  

It's A Small World!  Eli and Cullen didn't want to go on It's A Small World!  Neither boy believed that there was nothing scary inside.  They discovered soon enough that that ride is VERY happy and the only scary thing may be the creepy clowns hanging from the hot air balloon toward the end.  Ok, so that may have just weirded me out but come on, clowns are strange in general! 

Everyone was filled to the brim with happiness once we got off the ride (dramatic) but really, the boys loved it.  We still had fast passes to use for Space Mountain, and after all the kiddie rides, Matt, my dad and I were ready for a little thrill!  It was around 11:30 now.  My mom watched the boys while we went on the ride because they were exhausted.  I really wanted to take Eli on the ride with us.  Matt and my dad refused to indulge me on this.  They knew Eli would be tormented if he went with us on Space Mountain.  After the ride we found this:

Adorable 

It was time to go to sleep so we could wake up and do it all again the next morning.  

Goodnight Cinderella's Castle 

To be continued...