During the first week of May, the Maslow's packed up their belongings and headed to Disney World. This is no small feat for our family of four. The trip had been greatly anticipated since it was presented to us from Nanny and Bubba during Christmas. For the past 5 months, every time a Disney commercial came on TV or we watched Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, Madeline would proudly tell us - and everyone in shouting distance for the matter - that she was going to see Minnie Mouse. Lucy, being one and half, hardly knew the difference other than her sister's outward exuberance.
When the time had finally arrived for us to go, everyone was excited. Jessica had spent the prior weekend packing, rather stuffing, our clothes, toys, toiletries, etc into three suitcases including one pink Minnie Mouse suitcase. For those of you who have traveled with little ones, the experience can be all but relaxing unless you mix in some calming juice served in those one ounce bottles that the flight attendants offer. Fortunately for us, the calming juice would be delayed until later that night. The kids were absolutely perfect, which for us was a relief since we had three seats for four people. Lucy shifted about between Jessica and I while Madeline stayed occupied the best she could.
The whole Disney experience was wonderful. We were greeted with remarkable weather. For most of the trip, the temperatures were in the 80s with partly cloudy skies. Considering that we spent three full days walking through parks, the occasional shade was a welcomed, as it can get very hot in the direct sunlight.
On Tuesday, we spent the day (9-10 hours) at the Magic Kingdom. Speaking from experience, traveling to Disney World in the off-season is the way to travel. While there are crowds comparable to your average state fair, it was very tolerable. The lines for the rides were light and the park was easy to navigate. The big event on this day was lunch with the Princesses. Madeline's face lit up and she managed to warm up to the ladies after some initial bashfulness. Speaking for both Jessica and I, this experience made our entire trip. The joy that Madeline showed was enough to warm Scrooge's soul. In addition, the food was spectacular. We were prepared a three-course meal. The menu items consisted of catch of the day, braised short ribs, and cheeseburgers for Madeline. The dessert was royally delicious too with chocolate mouse, cheese cake and, for Madeline, a design your own cupcake, a task that she took very seriously. During our adventure, we saw every part of the park, went on as many rides as we could, and obviously splurged on just about every souvenir Madeline requested. Each ride was met with some caution from Madeline, even "It's a small world," but at the end of each ride Madeline was a bit more receptive often saying, "I liked that ride" or "can we go on it again?"
Lucy participated as much as she could, but was often content just hanging out with Nanny and taking in the sites. From memory, the rides we went on were It's a small world, Tomorrowland race track, the tea cups, Lilo and Stitch - which had the most scare factor for our three year old, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's carpet ride, and the jungle the boat ride. As parents, Jessica and I were certainly transported back to our more youthful days. The Magic Kingdom is a park for both big and little kids a like. As for the characters, the lines for pictures were pretty long so we bypassed trying to find Mickey, Minnie, and company knowing the we'd see them on our other adventures to come.
On day two of our trip, we went to Epcot. When I was a little kid, I recall Epcot as being my least favorite. My mom toted around country to country as we explored every shop from France to Japan. While I know there are kid attractions, I was a bit skeptical of Epcot. Having spent an entire day there during this vacation, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised. Madeline enjoyed the park too. There was so much for her to do, from Spaceship Earth, to Finding Nemo, to pictures with each of the characters, eating bratwursts in Germany, and running through water spouts. We took our time while we took advantage of what Epcot had to offer. To our delight, the crowd on this day was sparse at best.
The following is a sample of the pictures we took. As time allows, we will post more from our trip. There will be many memories from our first Disney trip in addition to the above. They include dinner at Mickey's Cafe in the Contemporary Hotel, watching the girls "swim" in the pools, Sea World and sitting in splash row, and yes, even an impromptu trip to the ER....for me. We will miss you Disney, but you can be sure we will return.
Pre-flight excitement with "baby"
Tourist photo hotspot
At the front gate - meeting Daisy
She had to pose with Mermaid
Exploring the "Kingdom" where dreams come true
One of the more memorable events with Cinderellie
...and Ariel
Riding the Monorail
With no swimsuit, Madeline took off her top and went splashing in the water.
Hours of asking for an umbrella yielded results
We saw Minnie during the park parade
Another tourist hot spot
Madeline doing as the sign says.
One of our two princesses - Lucy did not join us in Epcot
Madeline was a bit timid of all the characters...
...except for Minnie.
Conducting music with Figment
Phone boths - and yes, Jessica, they actually do work.
When in Germany, eat sausage
Skoal Vikings
Make that two please!
On a hot day, nothing tastes better than ice cream...
...even if it is messy.
Jessica recommended that I take a flower picture for my mom. This time of year in Disney World Epcot has their annual flower display. It felt like we were in the Rose Bowl parade.
Time to go.
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