Disney Travelogue, Part Two

We began our first full day at Disney World in Cinderella's Castle, having breakfast with her highness and friends. Needless to say, meeting Cinderella was a HUGE highlight for a certain little girl.

We'd gotten so little sleep the night before, that the little one was on a bit of an edge during breakfast, and there was one minor meltdown. Also, she read the back of the wand and star they gave her, and reported, LOUDLY, "They gave me a wishing star...and it is MADE IN CHINA."

Fortunately, most of the day was happyhappyhappy, and not a little bit silly.

From there, it was off to ride the greatest carousel ever, which to tell the truth, Mommy probably enjoyed as much as Daughter. Heck, we ALL rode the carousel.

I want topiaries now, worse than I ever did before. And I wanted them pretty badly before. If you can make baby elephant shrubbery, a poodle ought to be a snap.

Yep, Mommy rode the Dumbo ride. And I'm glad I did.

Highlights from the Magic Kingdom were Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D show. Bella FREAKED during the 3-D show. She'd never seen anything like it, and kept reaching out trying to grab things, dodging projectiles, and squealing when we got "splashed" with water (there are tiny sprayers on the backs of all the seats that squirt a little water at certain times during the show). It was a hoot. This 3-D show was really good, but the ones at the other parks were pretty pitiful in comparison. It was kind of too bad that we saw this one first, because then we thought they'd all be that good. Nope!

Bella loved "It's A Small World," but it freaked Alex and me out more than a little.

After hitting most of the rides and attractions Bella was interested in, we hit a lull. When a five-year-old, who is in the middle of THE MAGIC KINGDOM, says to you, "I think I need to take a break," then it's time to TAKE A BREAK. Besides, by this time, she was drawing attention away from some of the performers.

So we undertook the torturous journey back to the Grand Floridian resort (this is an important part of the Disney experience--they do NOT make it easy to get back and forth between your hotel room and the parks, because if you are not in the park, you are not GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY), where we all took LONG naps. I can't speak for everyone, but for me? That was one GOOD nap. That evening, Alex and I let his mom get a little more rest, and we took Bella back out to the Magic Kingdom so we could hit the rides we'd missed during the day: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. It was great; there were no lines, and riding the rides in the dark made for a dramatic experience. Bella LOVED Splash Mountain, which really surprised me. I expected it to frighten her, but no. She'd have ridden it all day. Since there were no lines, we went directly from Splash Mountain to Big Thunder Mountain, where the roller coaster does a lot of twisting and turning and short drops. She loved THAT one, too. After it was over, she was practically VIBRATING, and I asked her, "So, what did you think of that?" She said, "It was just...so...nervous, and...and...annoying...AND GREAT!" Hey, whaddaya know? Just like Mommy--nervous, annoying, and great!

On our way out of the park, we just had time to slip into the last voyage on the totally Depp-u-tized "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction. We were underwhelmed, for the most part, though the multiple appearances of wax Johnny Depp-as-Captain-Jack-Sparrow figures was at first impressive and then unsettling. It was somewhere around this time that I wondered aloud if Disney had a morgue, or holding area for folks that drop dead from heat exhaustion, and Alex opined that they probably just prop you up in the POTC attraction until your body is claimed.

We got back to the hotel just in time (barely) to get ready for our 9:00 dinner reservation that Alex's mom had arranged for our anniversary, which happened to be that day. But that's another post.

Disney Travelogue, Part One

We set out last week, bright and early, and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Yaaay, us! And then we were promptly fogged in. For HOURS. Thank goodness for Webkinz and Leapster.

Even so, it wasn't long before Bella was losing patience, and crying, "Can we just go to Disney World already? THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE." Our original flight was delayed, delayed, delayed again, and finally canceled. If you want to witness a really sad scene, hang around the airport terminal when they announce the cancellation of the day's only flight to Orlando, and then watch two dozen Disney-bound children burst into simultaneous tears. Eventually Alex got us another flight that, unfortunately, went through Atlanta instead of directly to Orlando. Bella was really excited about flying, and thoroughly loved it. I was apprehensive at first, mostly due to the good-sized crop of trepidatious (the correct word is "trepid," just in case you're relying on me for vocabulary enrichment, but it's not nearly as satisfying as "trepidatious"), sobbing children all around us. I thought their anxiety would be contagious, but I needn't have worried. It wasn't long before she was an old hand at flying, and was ordering snacks and beverages like she'd been doing it her whole life.

And yes, those are MY iPod earbuds, and yes, they fit my five-year-old daughter. If you are similarly afflicted with teeny-tiny ears, and standard iPod earbuds are a problem for you like they are for me (and my kid), then I highly recommend this model, that my mom found. They're made by Sony.

So it was that we arrived in Orlando not around noon, as intended, but something close to eight hours later, and dog-tired. We took Disney's Magic Express (definition: comfy bus with a perfectly-timed Disney infomercial playing on GPS-driven television sets) from the airport to our hotel, leaving our checked bags behind for Disney to pick up and deliver to our suite. In hindsight, if we'd picked up our own bags, we would have been able to go to sleep in our own pajamas that night, but we weren't exactly thinking straight.

No matter what time you arrive, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is one heck of an impressive place. Bella and I were both well-entertained by the ginormous Christmas tree and life-size gingerbread house (yes, made of real gingerbread) for the duration of the checking-in process. Alex's mom had secured us some first-class lodgings, and we were verrrrry grateful.

In that backpack is her Webkinz pink pony, "Alice." She wore it ALL DAY LONG, never once taking it off.

Once the concierge had us finally settled into our rooms, albeit without luggage at that point, we ordered room service and went to bed, which caused our luggage to be delivered at last. No, I can't prove causation, but that's how it played out.

The next morning, we were off to the Magic Kingdom, where we had reservations in Cinderella Castle for breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. I cannot possibly overstate the anticipation for this event in one five-year-old girl. Having said breakfast reservations gets you into the park shortly before it opens, along with the opportunity for pictures like this (click it, please--it's so pretty!):

But be aware that while you're taking that picture, you're just about to miss THIS one:

And you really want to document that first glimpse of CINDERELLA'S ACTUAL CASTLE in person...which will be followed shortly by a near-meltdown due to overwhelming emotions. I believe the sentiment expressed at this point was, "THIS IS JUST BLOWING MY MIND!"

Click through to see the note on this photo, and how we very nearly lost Bella to Disney Princess Delirium. More to come.