1stvisit0909
09-15-2009, 11:46 PM
We woke up like normal. DD8 was getting ready for school. DH and I had placed the WDW Minnie Mouse ear hats, with invitations from Cinderella on the dining table. DD4 came in and saw the hats, and said “what is that?” and called her sister. DD8 came in, saw the stuff on the table and gave me a funny look. She opened her invitation and read it out loud for her sister. (more detail in the pre trip report)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0965.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0968.jpg
When it finally sunk in, they went nuts.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0977.jpg
We had some errands to run before the flight, so we got those things done. Then, we loaded up the van and off to the airport we went. Not only was this the princesses first trip to DISNEY, it was also their first flight. They breezed through security like champions. We got settled in at the gate and they watched planes take off and land. They were very cooled out by the airport activity.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0979-Copy.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0980-Copy.jpg
We boarded the plane and they did very well with the flight. I love Southwest. The flight crew was great. They went the extra mile on the flight down. A great first flight for the kids.
We arrived in Orlando and made our way over to the magical express counter. Easy, no problems at all. Boarded our bus and away we went. The driver even slowed down to nearly a stop to let us take pictures of the Walt Disney World sign.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0993.jpg
We arrived at Old Key West and were blown away at how nice the resort is. We were one of the lucky families who had been picked for the free upgrade from the value resort, so we were more than pleased. I had checked in online, and there was one family there already…so one of the regular line people called us over. When I told her who we were, she pulled up our stuff and looked up and smiled…gave the kids some balloon flowers, and said she’d be right back.
She came back with our packet, it even already had the 1st visit buttons in it for the girls. Then she said, oh my, here is a surprise…you have been picked as Family of the Day! The manager came out with a bouqet of balloons, a family of the day certificate, and pins for us all. He also had princess crowns and wands for the girls, and they were dubbed princesses of the day. He had a white crown and a purple crown..but when both girls said they wanted purple he went back for another purple. He commented that the princesses of the day get the crowns they want. Too cute. We got our room keys and away we went. Every resort cast member we passed greeted us with a hearty hello family of the day! And many bows and curtsies to the princesses of the day, greating with “hello princess, and good afternoon princess”…DD4 really got into it…giving curtsies back and saying “Why thank you”. DD8 was quiet…but I could tell by her face that she was totally enjoying it.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0995-Copy.jpg
We got to our room…and we had been upgraded AGAIN to a two bedroom!! It was HUGE! And very very nice. DH and I looked at each other….I wanted to call and see if it was a mistake, but he said, babe, just take it as Disney magic!! So we did. We dropped off our backpacks, repacked one for the park. Then we realized that we forgot to pick up the stroller from Orlando Stroller Rental so we had to go back to the hospitality house. Then, we boarded the bus for our first Disney Park….Magic Kingdom.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1001.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1002.jpg
As an aside, about the stroller, I was TOTALLY glad we rented it. It was worth its weight in gold. We went ahead and rented the one that DD8 could ride in if necessary, and she did ride in it some…but DD4 really needed it. She feel asleep in it on the way out of the parks almost every night. I was glad we didn’t rely on the park strollers. It was comfortable, easy to maneuver and fold, and very nice. Two thumbs up for OSR!
So we get to Magic Kingdom…the kids (all 4 of us hehe) were excited. We walked in and saw Pluto first thing. DD4 started screaming PLUTO!!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1004.jpg
And all my concerns the characters would scare her melted away. We forgot to bring our autograph books the first night, but we still posed for photos and hugged Pluto. I snapped a few pictures of the kids and their faces when they first saw the castle. We were all so happy! We didn’t really have a touring plan for MK…we thought we’d just wander around and get the lay of the land, do some rides if we could, but the main goal was some food and Spectromagic and Wishes.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1009.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1012-Copy.jpg
We walked in as they were doing the Dreams Come True show in front of the Castle, so the girls got their first glimpses of the princesses…they were thrilled. After that was over we wandered around…and realized the crowds were REALLY light. We ate a CS meal at Pecos Bills in Frontierland. It was “ehh” ok according to me. The burgers were kinda bland, but we were so hungry we would have eaten shoe leather at that point. The first ride the kids spotted was Magic Carpet…and we just walked on to it. They loved it. Since we were on that side of the park, we just started doing rides. There were NO waits for anything. So we did the Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and then Haunted Mansion, 0 wait…walked on to all of them. Very cool. I looked at DH and he looked at me…and we were like, SWEET! We got a LOT more done than I expected…which turned out to be a really good thing!
HM kinda freaked out DD4, so we moved in to Fantasyland…and rode It’s a Small World. Nice ride to calm her down. The kids loved it. (me too, actually). Peter Pans Flight had a 20 min wait, and we were trying to see what we could see, so we skipped it for then. We rode the Tea Cups…DH spun the Tea Cup too fast for me…ick! I felt weird for a few minutes afterwards. We wandered in to Toon Town, and saw Mickey and Minnie’s Houses…but since the autograph books were at home we didn’t wait in line to meet anyone. I noticed the princess line was 15 mins and Pixie Hollow was 60. The kids did the “all the My little pony stuff you can cram in a box” back there for their first souvenirs.
By this time it was time to try to find a spot for Spectromagic. We spent 3 snack credits on lemonade slushes…that was nice and refreshing for the parade. We ended up in front of the castle off to the right…I wanted to be under Tink’s flight path. No one else knew about her flight…I hadn’t told any of the family. Saw Spectromagic…the kids thought it was awesome. I did too, actually. DH had to put DD4 on his shoulders so she could see, but considering we got to the castle about 15 mins before the parade, it wasn’t too bad.
We just relaxed taking in the atmosphere and watching the castle change colors. Every time it changed, DD4 would say “wow mom, look” “wow sissy, look” priceless!
Wishes started…and it was cool. We didn’t have the best view of the fireworks…but it was still good. When Tink flew RIGHT over our heads….DD4 screams “ITS TINKERBELL!!!!!!!! MOMMA….TINKERBELL!!!!” I loved it. DD8 was like…MOM! That was totally cool! Then DD4 feel SOUND asleep in the stroller. And stayed asleep the rest of the time we were there.
We got to the OKW bus stop and I glanced at the value stop…DH and I looked at each other, our line and theirs, and said…wow…not only did we get a sweet upgrade…we don’t have to be in that line…it was a madhouse! I assume its because of free dining. Anywhoo…only about 10-15 people got on our bus. DD4 slept the entire way home in my lap on the bus…she was one tuckered little girl. We got to the resort, to our room. Our luggage was waiting on us, so DME…SWEET! I was helping them get ready for bed. DD4 opened her tired little eyes…and said real softly…”momma….today was the best day evah”. They were both sound asleep in seconds.
NEXT: 805 ressies for Akershus in EPCOT…would we make it??
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0965.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0968.jpg
When it finally sunk in, they went nuts.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0977.jpg
We had some errands to run before the flight, so we got those things done. Then, we loaded up the van and off to the airport we went. Not only was this the princesses first trip to DISNEY, it was also their first flight. They breezed through security like champions. We got settled in at the gate and they watched planes take off and land. They were very cooled out by the airport activity.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0979-Copy.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0980-Copy.jpg
We boarded the plane and they did very well with the flight. I love Southwest. The flight crew was great. They went the extra mile on the flight down. A great first flight for the kids.
We arrived in Orlando and made our way over to the magical express counter. Easy, no problems at all. Boarded our bus and away we went. The driver even slowed down to nearly a stop to let us take pictures of the Walt Disney World sign.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0993.jpg
We arrived at Old Key West and were blown away at how nice the resort is. We were one of the lucky families who had been picked for the free upgrade from the value resort, so we were more than pleased. I had checked in online, and there was one family there already…so one of the regular line people called us over. When I told her who we were, she pulled up our stuff and looked up and smiled…gave the kids some balloon flowers, and said she’d be right back.
She came back with our packet, it even already had the 1st visit buttons in it for the girls. Then she said, oh my, here is a surprise…you have been picked as Family of the Day! The manager came out with a bouqet of balloons, a family of the day certificate, and pins for us all. He also had princess crowns and wands for the girls, and they were dubbed princesses of the day. He had a white crown and a purple crown..but when both girls said they wanted purple he went back for another purple. He commented that the princesses of the day get the crowns they want. Too cute. We got our room keys and away we went. Every resort cast member we passed greeted us with a hearty hello family of the day! And many bows and curtsies to the princesses of the day, greating with “hello princess, and good afternoon princess”…DD4 really got into it…giving curtsies back and saying “Why thank you”. DD8 was quiet…but I could tell by her face that she was totally enjoying it.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_0995-Copy.jpg
We got to our room…and we had been upgraded AGAIN to a two bedroom!! It was HUGE! And very very nice. DH and I looked at each other….I wanted to call and see if it was a mistake, but he said, babe, just take it as Disney magic!! So we did. We dropped off our backpacks, repacked one for the park. Then we realized that we forgot to pick up the stroller from Orlando Stroller Rental so we had to go back to the hospitality house. Then, we boarded the bus for our first Disney Park….Magic Kingdom.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1001.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1002.jpg
As an aside, about the stroller, I was TOTALLY glad we rented it. It was worth its weight in gold. We went ahead and rented the one that DD8 could ride in if necessary, and she did ride in it some…but DD4 really needed it. She feel asleep in it on the way out of the parks almost every night. I was glad we didn’t rely on the park strollers. It was comfortable, easy to maneuver and fold, and very nice. Two thumbs up for OSR!
So we get to Magic Kingdom…the kids (all 4 of us hehe) were excited. We walked in and saw Pluto first thing. DD4 started screaming PLUTO!!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1004.jpg
And all my concerns the characters would scare her melted away. We forgot to bring our autograph books the first night, but we still posed for photos and hugged Pluto. I snapped a few pictures of the kids and their faces when they first saw the castle. We were all so happy! We didn’t really have a touring plan for MK…we thought we’d just wander around and get the lay of the land, do some rides if we could, but the main goal was some food and Spectromagic and Wishes.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1009.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/vealley/IMG_1012-Copy.jpg
We walked in as they were doing the Dreams Come True show in front of the Castle, so the girls got their first glimpses of the princesses…they were thrilled. After that was over we wandered around…and realized the crowds were REALLY light. We ate a CS meal at Pecos Bills in Frontierland. It was “ehh” ok according to me. The burgers were kinda bland, but we were so hungry we would have eaten shoe leather at that point. The first ride the kids spotted was Magic Carpet…and we just walked on to it. They loved it. Since we were on that side of the park, we just started doing rides. There were NO waits for anything. So we did the Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and then Haunted Mansion, 0 wait…walked on to all of them. Very cool. I looked at DH and he looked at me…and we were like, SWEET! We got a LOT more done than I expected…which turned out to be a really good thing!
HM kinda freaked out DD4, so we moved in to Fantasyland…and rode It’s a Small World. Nice ride to calm her down. The kids loved it. (me too, actually). Peter Pans Flight had a 20 min wait, and we were trying to see what we could see, so we skipped it for then. We rode the Tea Cups…DH spun the Tea Cup too fast for me…ick! I felt weird for a few minutes afterwards. We wandered in to Toon Town, and saw Mickey and Minnie’s Houses…but since the autograph books were at home we didn’t wait in line to meet anyone. I noticed the princess line was 15 mins and Pixie Hollow was 60. The kids did the “all the My little pony stuff you can cram in a box” back there for their first souvenirs.
By this time it was time to try to find a spot for Spectromagic. We spent 3 snack credits on lemonade slushes…that was nice and refreshing for the parade. We ended up in front of the castle off to the right…I wanted to be under Tink’s flight path. No one else knew about her flight…I hadn’t told any of the family. Saw Spectromagic…the kids thought it was awesome. I did too, actually. DH had to put DD4 on his shoulders so she could see, but considering we got to the castle about 15 mins before the parade, it wasn’t too bad.
We just relaxed taking in the atmosphere and watching the castle change colors. Every time it changed, DD4 would say “wow mom, look” “wow sissy, look” priceless!
Wishes started…and it was cool. We didn’t have the best view of the fireworks…but it was still good. When Tink flew RIGHT over our heads….DD4 screams “ITS TINKERBELL!!!!!!!! MOMMA….TINKERBELL!!!!” I loved it. DD8 was like…MOM! That was totally cool! Then DD4 feel SOUND asleep in the stroller. And stayed asleep the rest of the time we were there.
We got to the OKW bus stop and I glanced at the value stop…DH and I looked at each other, our line and theirs, and said…wow…not only did we get a sweet upgrade…we don’t have to be in that line…it was a madhouse! I assume its because of free dining. Anywhoo…only about 10-15 people got on our bus. DD4 slept the entire way home in my lap on the bus…she was one tuckered little girl. We got to the resort, to our room. Our luggage was waiting on us, so DME…SWEET! I was helping them get ready for bed. DD4 opened her tired little eyes…and said real softly…”momma….today was the best day evah”. They were both sound asleep in seconds.
NEXT: 805 ressies for Akershus in EPCOT…would we make it??