Disney World Part 1!

Greetings from sunny Florida! It is beautiful down here! We are half way through our week long vacation and here are some of the hightlights. Our first day in the park was on Sunday and we went to Magic Kingdom. And we weren't in the park for 5 mins before we had our first meltdown. It was Lila but in her defense, it takes quite a bit to even get into the park and it was a little harrowing to figure it all out. first you park the car, then walk or take the tram to the transportation center, then take a monorail to the park, then go thru security, then go thru the ticket gates. And we are doing all this with two strollers and three kids and two sets of grandparents. So once we got all settled from that and everyone was happy again, we headed right over to the Buzz lightyear ride in Tomorrow land. It was pretty cool and Ava was so excited! And when we came off the ride, Buzz was out signing autographs so the girls got to meet him and take a pic! Then we set off to find Lila's requested ride which was the Magic Carpets. She loved that and guess what - Jasmine and Alladin were right there signing autographs and taking pics! (Amazing that the characters are so conveniently located isn't it!) Lila was so excited and she told Jasmine "you are my favorite princess"! Conveniently located next to the Jasmine picture spot is the Jasmine souvenirs! Lila picked out a doll and a jewelry set. The jungle cruise was all we could muster up the strength to do before the girls were just way too hot and tired and cranky. We made the executive decision to head back to the house and hit the pool. So we headed back, took a swim, ate an early dinner and then went back to MK. It was one of the best decisions we had made so far. That little break, in the hottest part of the day, made a big difference. We got back to the park around 5 pm and went on the train, haunted mansion, small world, bought Olivia a tinkerbell and even made it to the Electric Parade at 9 pm! Ava actually fell asleep in the stroller while we were waiting but she woke right up when it started. It was pretty cool and it was awesome to watch the girls reactions to it! On our way out we stopped to get Ava a light up Buzz toy so everyone ended up with a souvenir from Day 1.
Day 2 started with a lazy morning. We decided that instead of going full steam ahead early in the day again and having to take a break, we would hang home and swim, eat an early lunch and then head over to the park in the hopes of making it until night time again. So at about 12 noon we went back to MK to hit what we missed the first day. This time we started at the theatre right on Main St. They have it set up as a permanent autograph and picture spot. Bell, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were there. After a short wait, we went in to see them and as we turned the corner and the girls could see the princesses, they got these huge smiles across thier faces! Ava said "I'm so excited!" They were staring in awe at them! It was so cool to see the girls! Olivia was less outwardly excited but I told her she didn't have to talk to them and that seemed to ease her anxiety about it. We got some great pics! Then we went over to do Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean (I love me some Jack Sparrow), ate some sandwiches, haunted mansion again, small world again, Snow white's scary adventure and I took Lila on the runaway train since she is the only one who will go on a roller coaster! After an ice cream break, we made the decision to head out for the night and get out before the parade crowd.
Day 3 started with torrential rains and wind! And it happened to be our Lunch with the Princesses day! So we packed the girls party dresses in a bag and headed over to Epcot. Umbrellas in hand we sloshed around Epcot for an hour or so before heading over to Norway for our lunch. Changed the girls in the bathroom there (a proper princess needs the proper attire for a lunch party!!) and met with Belle for a professional picture this time! Then we were sat at our table and a few minutes later there was an announcement that the princess procession would start! The princesses all walked around the dining room and picked up the little girls for a parade! It was so cute! But of course, guess who had to walk with my girls? Yes, I was in the princess parade! Lila and Cinderella led the parade! Followed by me, Ava and Olivia. About 10 mins later, it was time for another procession and this time the girls got up and followed Ariel with out me! Of course, they held hands the whole time but at least they went by themselves! During the course of our lunch the princesses came over and talked to the girls, signed their books and took pictures. It was really priceless to see them! The whole thing was just awesome! It makes me want to cry just thinking about it! I loved seeing the girls be so enthralled by the princesses. And the food was pretty good too! Never had Norwegian food before. By the time we came out of lunch, the rain had stopped so we spent the afternoon exploring the countries, went to Turtle Talk with Crush and went on the Nemo ride. We called it an early night at 8 and headed back to the house! Today was a down day, just swimming and resting up for the rest of the week! Still have to do Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom!