The Riley Bunch

This year we had our first trip to Disney.  We all had a GREAT time.  We stayed 6 days and 5 nights at one of the Disney resorts.  This was the kids first airplane ride, but I think I was more nervous than they were.  Caitlyn, being the adventurous one, wanted to jump out once it got up in the sky!

 

 

First adventure of the trip….the moving walkway at the airport.  The airport itself was an adventure.  The check through security went pretty well.  They tested the juice in the kids cups and mom had to part with a new can of spray cheese.  No cavity searches or security breaches!

 

Cody did pretty good on the flight but for the first 15 minutes or so he was the one kid that no one wanted on their flight!!  He did NOT like being strapped down (note to self, we will not be doing this on the return flight).  Once the plane was in the air he did GREAT and was out cold right as we landed.

 

 

The trip package we got included airport transportation and baggage transportation so once we checked our bags at the Memphis airport we didn’t see them until we got to our hotel later that night.

 

Even though we didn’t have luggage we had already had a visitor.  Mickey Mouse had been in our room….he left his signature on one of the beds!!

Caitlyn really liked this!

 

Since we got checked into our rooms around 2:00 and didn’t have to worry with our luggage we headed off to Epcot.    We rode a couple of rides and walked around the park long enough to stay and see the fireworks that night.

 

Once we got back to our room around 10:00 or so Mickey had been to our room again, but this time he left the kids a surprise!  They each got a mickey mouse hat, an autograph book, and pen along with a few chip n dale pretzels and some other snacks.

and of course everybody had to try the hats on!

pink…..just the color for cupcake!

 

Tuesday – Animal Kingdom

 

We started Tuesday off at the Animal Kingdom. 

We were having breakfast at the Rainforest Café and got to the park as soon as it opened.  We just so happened to catch Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto as they were coming by to greet everyone!

 

One of the main things we wanted to do while at Animal Kingdom was the animal safari.  I got some great pictures and it seemed to keep the kids attention.

 

If you look really close you can see the king lion up in the rocks!

 

This is one of my favorite snapshots…..it could have not been a more clear day!

 

The Tree of Life…with some 300 animals carved into its trunk. We never seemed to make our way back around to getting an up close look, but if you look really close you can manage to make out a few.

 

Caitlyn was determined she was going to make her brother look at the camera…

 

Our very first character spotting and first autographs…

 

Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki from Lion King

(Cody wasn’t quite sure what to think of him so he was keeping an eye on him!)

 

Alright, when you take a 6yr old and a almost 2yr old to a park full of people you tend to loose sight of things around you. Just trying to keep an eye on them and everyone together is a task all on its own.   That being said, when trees and vines start moving….it’s a little creepy!

Yes….this is a lady painted and dressed up….she blended VERY well into the trees!

 

Some monkeys just hangin around…..

 

 

One of the rides Caitlyn rode with her daddy…she had fun, but was so mad when she got off because she didn’t get wet enough….she wanted to get soaked!!

 

Other characters seen at Animal Kingdom

 

We did get to watch an afternoon parade at Animal Kingdom but by the time it started we couldn’t see all that well.  We learned our lesson with that one.  If you get there early,  get right on the line because empty spaces fill up fast!

 

Wednesday – Hollywood Studios

 

There wasn’t any specific rides that we had to do at Hollywood, but we had been told that the “Block Party Bash” parade was one we HAD to see……and it was.  This parade Caitlyn was pulled into the show to dance…..you know she loved that!!

 

One great ride we rode while at Hollywood Studios was the Toy Story Ride.  It was a lot of fun.  We also took a back lot tour which took us through a simulated tanker truck explosion.  Joey and my dad did the tower of terror and my dad and brother did the rocking roller coaster.  It goes from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds….no thank you!! 

 

Characters we saw at Hollywood Studios

 

We finished up late afternoon at Hollywood Studios so we decided to take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and see the Electric Parade and the fireworks.

 

We got there around 6:15 or so and it was already soooo crowded.  The fireworks started at 8:00 and thank goodness we got there early because by the time they actually started people were stacked on top of each other.  It was crazy but very worth it!

 

Thursday – Surprise Day!

 

On Thursday, we had several surprises planned for Caitlyn.  We started the day off at Downtown Disney.  We walked around for a little bit when we first got there, but Caitlyn didn’t know what she was in for…….

(These were made from Legos…pretty neat!)

 

 

She had an appointment for the bippity boppity boutique.  She was in for the the royal treatment.  She had her own fairy godmother to help turn her into a princess.

She got the full Royal treatment…she got to pick our what princess she wanted to be, which came with the dress, shoes, crown, purse, and gloves, what hair style she wanted, makeup, nails, and lots and lots of sparkles….just what every princess dreams of!  She even got royal pictures made.

 

 

Since she was already a princess, what better thing to do than to have lunch like a princess.  So off to the Magic Kingdom where we went to have lunch with the princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table……

Each princess came around to every individual table and signed autographs and took pictures.  It only took once for Cody to get the hang of it.  As soon as they would start getting close to our table he was ready to get down!

 

After our princess lunch we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for our last surprise, but on the way out we happen to catch the “Celebrate A Dreams Come True Parade”

 

 

The last surprise of the night was the Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween at the Magic Kingdom.  So we headed back to the room to get ready and get back to the park.  The kids got to dress up in their Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat around the park.  Most of the characters were dressed up in their Halloween costumes too.

 

 

 

We rode a couple of rides and went for a visit to Mickeys House and Minnies House

 

We missed the fireworks display and the last parade was at 10:30.  We had decided not to stay and were heading back to the front of the park to catch the bus back to the  hotel.  By the time we got to the front…..there we were again, in the perfect spot to catch the parade just as it was starting….so we stayed.  We were close enough to the front gate to make a quick dash for the exit once it was over.

 

 

 

Friday – Magic Kingdom

 

Out last day!!! Although we had already been to the Magic Kingdom several other times we went back our last day to do those things we just couldn’t do the other times.  The main ride Joey wanted to do here was Space Mountain. We stood in line once, the wait time was an hour.  After standing there maybe 15 or 2o minutes they shut it down due to ‘technical difficulties” and made everyone leave.  The did give us a  fastpass incase they got it back up so we wouldn’t have a long wait if we wanted to try and ride again.  We went and did the Buzz Lightyear ride with everyone and by that time Space Mountain was back up.  Joey convinced me to get back on it……  it was a rollercoaster…not my thing but I did have fun.  Joey didn’t get the full affect because all the lighting features were out but he can still say he did it. 

 

While we were standing in line the first time, Mom took the kids over to ride the flying Dumbos.  They seemed to like it!  Caitlyn was wanting to do a roller coaster but wasn’t quite big enough for the Space Mountain.  We did find one over in the kids section that we decided to try.

 

It still went pretty fast even for a kids ride and she seemed to have a good time.

 

 

The last ride we did was Splash Mountain, everyone but mom and Cody.  It had a 50 foot straight down plunge into the water.  Again, Caitlyn was mad when she got off because she didn’t get wet enough…..

 

Here are some of the characters we ran into while at Magic Kingdom

 

The end was getting closer as sad as it was.  It had all gone by way to fast.  We made our way back to the hotel, had dinner, and started gathering things up to leave the next morning.

 

We each picked us out a Mickey Mouse shirt to wear home.  We took a couple of quick pics and then off to check out, eat breakfast, and catch the bus to the airport.

 

 

Leaving the airport was just as much an adventure as it was when we left home.  Cody really thought he was something special when we put him on the escalator…

 

 

Cody did better on the return flight home, I didn’t force him to sit still in a seat belt and again he was out cold right as we landed.

 

It was a great trip but didn’t seem to be quite long enough.  My kids really surprised me.  I left here wondering how Cody would do with the characters, would he be scared of them.  He totally shocked me!  He was just as big as his sister on this trip.  They both loved all of the characters.  Not once during any day that we were there did they fall asleep in the strollers, guess they thought they might miss something.  I know they had to be exhausted, we were, but they kept going and didn’t let not getting naps affect their moods which was shocking. 

 

We all enjoyed all of the parades and fireworks we got to see.  By the end of the trip if we kept the stroller sitting still for too long, Cody was climbing out of the stroller to find his spot on the curb waiting on the parade to come by.  That’s one of those memories I hope I never forget. 

 

We can’t wait to go back and hope its real soon!