Our trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth" (Part 1)

Warning---The next several posts are going to be VERY picture and word heavy!  There is just so much to share and say about the hapiest place on earth:)  I know it is a lot to read, so feel free to skim or just look at the pics:)  I wanted to type it all out since this blog also doubles as our family scrapbook:)

After MUCH anticipation and counting down, May 1st finally arrived on a Tuesday.  We were heading to Disney and were so excited about it!  Many of you may not know that I am a bit of a Disney fan.....well I guess that may be a bit of an understatement.  I LOVE Disney and have been eagerly anticipating this trip since we officially booked it in January.  I love the "planning" aspects of vacation and this trip was no exception.  So when we were finally able to pull the last Mickey head off of the countdown calendar, I was just as excited as the kids to be heading to the airport to fly to Florida.  Our flight was at 2:59 p.m. so we attempted to go about our morning and lunch routines as best we could.  Addy went to school in the morning and Carter and I did some last minute and errands.  We made our 5 minute drive  to the airport around 2:00 and eagerly waited for departure. 

Waiting to board the plane

The kids did pretty well on the plane.  Addy sat by Derek and Carter and I sat together.  Carter got a little fussy during the last twenty minutes of the flight, mainly because he had not napped that afternoon and was really fighting sleep.  We made it through and headed toward the Disney's transportation center to board our bus to our resort. 

Once getting to our resort we were suprised with a little "Disney Magic."  One of the front desk cast members was standing outside holding a sign with "Freihaut Family" on it.  We got off our bus, gathered our kids and luggage and soon learned that the cast member holding the sign had chosen us as the resort's family of the week!  Our picture was taken and we were checked in.  As a perk, we were given reservations for preferred fireworks viewing at Epcot and our room was upgraded.  We then went to check out our room and were suprised to see that the magic continued in our room.  It was decked out with balloons, autographed pictures from Mickey, Minnie, and Mary Poppins, and stuffed animals for the kids.  It was a wonderful way to begin our magical vacation. 


Day 1--The Magic Kingdom
Our first "park day" was Wednesday and we kicked our touring off with the Magic Kingdom.  We headed to our hotel's bus stop early and got to the park well before rope drop.  The kids were really excited about their first rides on Dumbo.  We rode him and then rode Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster a few times before heading to the other parts of the park.  That morning Addy and Carter met Woody and Jessie and Donald Duck.  I wasn't sure about how Carter would react to the characters but he loved them and was very willing to give them hugs, high fives, and fist bumps.  We rode several other rides and ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's and headed back to the hotel for a break.  The kids had a short rest and then we headed towards Downtown Disney on the boat for Adalyn's appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for her princess makeover. She really enjoyed being pampered and "done up."  After the appointment we boarded the bus for the Magic Kingdom and our dinner reservations at Cinderella's Castle.  On our ride there Addy announced that Cinderella was going to be confused on whose castle it really was her's or Addy's...that's our sassy little girl! 

Eagerly waiting to get into the Magic Kingdom

Our first view of the castle

Riding on a purple Dumbo

Carter was SO looking forward to this ride!

I love this hippo!

Jessie and Woody were great!

Wiped on on the bus

Before the makeover began

Our little princess

Dinner at the castle was very special.  Our family got our picture taken with Cinderella and were then seated at our table for the meal.  Throughout the meal princesses were announced and traveled from table to table to meet the diners and sign autographs.  It was a very special experience that we will remember forever.  Addy fit in very well in her Cinderella dress and played the role very well.  She was so excited to meet them all and talk to them.

Blowing out the candle on one of the many birthday cupcakes Disney delievered to me during our stay.

Addy loved decorating her own princess cupcake!

Carter loved the ice cream!

Addy and Ariel

After dinner we enjoyed more rides.  The kids loved Small World and are still singing that wonderful, not at all annoying song.  Addy and Carter enjoyed their first Mickey ice cream bars and I got to have my favorite Disney treat--a Dole Whip Float.  We had a great spot for the Electric Light Parade and fireworks show and headed back to the hotel for park closing.  It was a wonderful first day of touring for the Freihaut Family.

Wide eyed and watching fireworks

Family picture at one of our favorite places to pose:)

Day 2--Hollywood Studios
On Thursday we headed to Hollywood Studios.  We were there when the gates opened and headed straight for Toy Story Mania since it gets crazy busy later in the day.  We loved the ride so much that we got fast passes to ride it again later.  Then we got in line to meet Buzz and Woody.  Carter has recently become a huge fan of Buzz "Yightyear" and was so excited to meet him in person.  He was a bit overwhelmed with his size and how real he was, but quickly warmed up to him and didn't want to say goodbye.  After that we headed to our reservations for the Hollywood and Vine Breakfast where the kids met Oso, Handy Manny, June, and Jake.  The kids enjoyed dancing and celebrating with the characters and also loved the Mickey waffles. Derek enjoyed the ice cream for breakfast:)  We had a fabulous rest of the day at Hollywood Studios and were having such a great time that we decided to forgo our plan of a midday break for more ride riding and sightseeing.  In the afternoon we headed towards the Tower of Terror to see if Addy was up for the challenge.  She mustered up all of her courage and headed to the que line with her Dad.  Carter and I waited around the exit and were surprised to see our little girl come out with a huge smile on her face.  She LOVED the ride and went on it two more times.  We really enjoyed our time at Hollywood Studios and found ourselves wanting more time there to ride rides again.  It was our second favorite of all the parks.

Addy strapped herself to a rocket!

Carter with his current idol

We love Jake!

Tower of Terror three times!

Our little mouseketeers sporting their new hats

Day 3--According to my Vacation Planning Folder Friday was suposed to be the day we headed offsite to explore Sea World.  However, after spending two days at the parks with the kids we decided to forgo that plan and have a day of no park plans.  We had early morning reservations at Chef Mickey's and then hoped to swim in our hotel's pool in the morning and head to Downtown Disney in the early evening.  I am so glad we decided to take a rest day!  We got up early for our Chef Mickey reservations and headed to the Contemporary Resort.  The breakfast was really yummy and the kids got to meet Mickey and all of his friends.  I recieved another cupcake for my birthday.  Somewhere along the way of booking this vacation, I must have let a cast member know that my birthday was on May 15th, so I received a birthday cupcake and card at many of the table service meals during our trip.  What a special surprise!  Disney certainly knows how to treat their guests!

Up bright and early to eat breakfast with Mickey

Mickey waffles and Goofy!!  I doesn't get much better than that!

After breakfast we hopped on the monorail that left from the Contemporary and made a pit stop at the resort lost and found to retrieve Adalyn's tennis shoes and outfit.  We (or I) left them at Bippidi Boppidi Boutique when Addy had her makeover.  I guess I was so excited for my princess that I left her things on the bench!  Well all things lost and found on Disney property are sent to a central location and thank goodness her shoes and clothes had made it there.  She was so excited to get back into her tennis shoes and out of her flip flops.  Little did we know that those shoes would be too small for her a week after we returned from Florida! 

The rest of the morning was spent poolside.  The kids had been looking forward to swimming in the "alligator pool" and were so glad to hear that they finally got to swim in it!  Addy enjoyed the sea dragon slide and Carter hung out in the kiddie pool.  The water was a bit chilly for mom and dad, but we braved it anyway:)

Our hotel pool and slide.

After lunch and a wonderful nap for everyone, we headed to Downtown Disney via boat for some souvenir shopping and dinner.  We ended up eating at T-REX Cafe.  The prehistoric decor was a lot of fun to be surrounded by while eating, but the food was just OK. After dinner the kids spent some of their Disney dollars at the giant Disney Store and then we headed back to our hotel to take in the movie on the lawn.  Each night our resorts showed a movie (a Disney one, of course) was shown on a huge inflatable screen on the large lawn.  They provided large towels to lay out to make your own comfy area.  Friday night they were showing Princess and the Frog, so we headed to the food court to refill our resort mugs and spend our daily snack credit and chose a spot on the lawn to take in the movie.  It was a great way to end a relaxing day!  Stay tuned for a post about the remainder of our trip.

We loved checking out all of the lego creations at Downtown Disney.

To be continued....