Disney World At Christmastime

This was our first visit to the Most Magical Place on Earth at Christmas. Imagine combining two of your favorite, festive, happy things and Disney World all decked out for the holidays is the amazing result. Here are way too many photos of our recent family trip to see that very special mouse.

Nine...In Disney World!

My baby turned nine last week. Nine! We celebrated her during our recent trip to Disney, and she was thrilled! Flynn brings such joy to our days, and we were so happy to bring joy to her all week long.

Disney does an amazing job recognizing any special event you may be celebrating...especially birthdays!

An Underrated Disney Princess

It is no secret that Flynn adores Cinderella. She currently has no less than thirty Cinderella dolls, as well as many other Cinderella inspired items. She still talks about meeting Cinderella at her castle during our trip to Disney World. And she watches the movie as many times as she can. : ) Cinderella is and always will be her very favorite princess.

Recently, however, Flynn discovered a long forgotten video on our movie shelf. And fell in love. As soon as she played it the first time, memories flooded my heart. It is a movie my little Madison watched over and over again. It is the story of a beautiful and brave princess who lived long ago. Her name is Pocahontas. And her movie, while slightly historically inaccurate, is full of amazing music and beautiful animation.

I am so happy to have this movie playing again in my home after all these years. If you need a break from the new "Frozen" type Disney movies, take a look at Pocahontas, one of the wonderful classics. And sit back and enjoy.

The Easter Bunny brought a new DVD for Flynn to enjoy. 

Rest assured, I am keeping the old and loved video.

Because. Memories.

The sneaky Easter Bunny also brought a Pocahontas dress...

And my little Flynn wears it every single day.

Have you ever seen Pocahontas?

What do you think about it?

And what is your favorite Disney Princess movie, my friends?

I'd love to know. : )

How We Do Disney

And by that I mean...How an entire family that strongly dislikes the heat, crowds, and sun manages to have an incredibly wonderful time at Disney World in June. We love Disney. We visit every other year, and always go as soon as the kids finish school. I am by no means an expert, but I do have some tips on ways to make the most of your family vacation at the happiest place on Earth.

1. Plan. Plan. Plan. We are Disney Vacation Club Members so we start planning as soon as we can, which is six months prior to our trip.

• Use the My Disney Experience on the official Walt Disney World website here. You can also download this app to your phone. With this, you can do everything...book rooms, make dinner reservations, reserve FastPasses, purchase Dining Plans etc.
• Make dinner reservations. Do not wait to book reservations at popular places like Cinderella's Royal Table or Be Our Guest Restaurant. They go fast! Also, don't forget to reserve FastPasses for popular rides like Peter Pan's Flight and Space Mountain.
• Plan your dinners and FastPasses at the park you will be visiting each day. It is not so much fun to spend the day at Animal Kingdom and realize you have a dinner reservation at Epcot that same day. We decide what restaurants we want to visit first. Then we book the FastPasses for the park that the restaurant is located in on that day.

2.  If Possible, Stay In Disney. Even better, stay in one of the resorts located on the Monorail loop.

• It is much more convenient with children of any age to hop on the Monorail and head back to your resort any time of the day.
• Staying at a Disney resort allows you to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours...times when the parks are open exclusively to Disney Resort guests, as well as allows access to Disney transportation, including transportation to and from the airport.
• Ask for things you normally wouldn't think of. I always ask for an extra clean room...because... well...me.  I also ask if any have been recently renovated and request one of them. And this seems silly, but I also ask for a room near the elevators. If not sometimes you walk for what seems like miles to get to your room after a long night at the park. The Disney Staff are always so kind, and will tell you they cannot promise anything, yet I have never been disappointed. : )

3.  Be Realistic.

• Disney World is huge. No matter how many times you visit, or how long you stay, you will not be able to do everything. And that's ok.
• Remember, it is your vacation. Don't spend it in a frenzy trying to accomplish everything you've ever seen or heard about Disney. Prioritize, and be content with the memories you are making.

4.  Do What Works For You. But be smart about what you do.

• Depending on the ages of your children, spending the entire day in the parks under the hot sun with huge crowds may not be the best idea. Just because you bought a park ticket does not mean you have you spend every minute there.
• When our children were small, we woke early and had breakfast, followed by an hour or so swimming at the pool. Then we all showered and put fresh jammies on. We snuggled and watched the adorable Mickey Mouse cartoons they play on the television and even took a quick nap. Then around four in the afternoon, we dressed and headed to the park for dinner and an evening of fun! We arrived as many were leaving. And honestly, the parks are just as beautiful in the evenings as they are in the daylight.
• Now that our children are older, we sleep later. Then we grab breakfast and eat by the pool, before returning to the room for showers. The older kids still rest so that we can stay as late as possible at the parks. We head to dinner and park fun around four and stay until almost closing.
• Do not. I repeat. Do not stay until closing. Leaving the park at closing means you are among all the other exhausted people heading to the Monorail and buses all at the same time. Recipe for disaster. Leaving a half hour or so earlier allows you to exit the park ahead of the crowd. Winning!
• Disney World can be overwhelming for little ones. When our kids were little, we allowed for a day in the middle of our trip to be a Rest and Relax Day. We slept in, spent more time at the pool, and went to the park later. This allowed for the kids to get caught up on sleep and enjoy the rest of the trip even more.

5.  Miscellaneous Things To Know Before You Go.

• Don't let rain spoil your day. It rains a lot in Disney. Sometimes it is a quick shower, other times it's a downpour. One of the best times to be in the park is right after a storm. Everyone else leaves! One particular night after a thunderstorm, we were able to ride all the popular rides over and over again with no wait! Again...Winning!
• Purchase The Photo Pass Memory Maker. It allows you to have photos taken at any park by Disney photographers, and then download them as soon as you get home.
• Be comfortable. This isn't the vacation to pack your finest. Shorts, sundresses, sneakers and a light sweater for restaurants are about all you need.
• Ladies, leave your purse at home. I don't bother with a purse in Disney. I take my driver's license and have Steve carry it in his wallet. Then I carry a Disney backpack into the parks.
• Pack it lightly with sunscreen, hand wipes, a camera, and autograph books.
• Bring treats for your littles from home. There are Disney toys and stuffed animals everywhere!!! We always let our kids get a balloon the first night at Magic Kingdom, and then a few things throughout the week. I usually bring small surprises from home to leave on their beds at different times during our stay. : ) I get Cinderella barbies from Walmart, and jammies and shirts from The Disney Store website on sale. Just something extra to make memories without spending a ton of money!
• Above all...Enjoy. It is a magical place for you and your family. Relax and have fun. After all, it's not called The Happiest Place on Earth for nothing.

That's it, my friends. If you have any of your own tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

And...Have a Magical Day. : )

 

Magical Memories...Part Two

Our fourth day at Disney ended with the arrival of Madison's boyfriend Nicolas joining us from across the ocean! He finished his exams at University in time to spend the last part of vacation with us. And Madison was excited, as she hadn't seen him since February. We were happy to have him join us as well.

Madison was right...

He loved the shirt I got him! : )

Day five was the big day...Dinner at Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom! We slept in and ate a late breakfast at our hotel before getting our little princess ready. Madison and Nicolas dined together in another restaurant and met up with us after for our traditional Main Street USA photo. But first...

On our way...

Flynn spied her favorites Jaq and Gus Gus while we waited to meet Cinderella...

Pure joy.

After visiting with our favorite princess, we went upstairs for dinner...

And it was amazing.

During dinner, Cinderella's friends come around to say hello...

And Flynn wanted me to get a picture with MY favorite princess...Aurora.

After dinner, we changed our little princess, met up with Madison and Nicolas, and had our traditional "Picture in front of the Castle" taken. : )

My littles.

Not quite so little anymore. : )

Young love.

We spent the evening in Magic Kingdom...our favorite...

And enjoyed the parade...

And fireworks. : )

Day six found us slowing down a bit...

With swimming...

And breakfast by the pool.

Followed of course by showers and fresh jammies and afternoon naps.

For all of us. : )

Then we got ready for an evening at Hollywood Studios!

She couldn't wait to meet Woody and Buzz!

Trying to get a good picture of me and Steve...

"For the Blog" you know. : )

First glimpse of Tower of Terror...

And you can see the flags flew at half staff all week long.

First up.

Dinner.

My favorite from the entire trip.

Being that I am a 1950's gal at heart. : )

At the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre, you actually eat in cars while watching old movies.

And they serve the BEST milkshakes. Ever.

I mean EVER.

I'm still dreaming about them.

Seriously.

After dinner the big kids went off to ride the scary rides, while Flynn and I waited in line to see her favorites.

And they did not disappoint. : )

Buzz loved her dress...

And she loved him.

Woody felt bad about her dress, until I told him she wore a dress with him on it last time.

He remembered!

Hollywood Studios.

Success.

Day seven. Our last day.

We returned to Magic Kingdom.

One more time.

We saw a parade.

Peter Pan.

Love.

And had a great dinner together at Tony's Italian Restaurant.

I always eat here.

Every time.

In honor of my Daddy.

He loved it. : )

These two. : )

We spent our last night walking and visiting and riding our favorites one final time.

And a few tears were shed as we left that magical park as the music played and fireworks filled the sky.

Suddenly it was Day eight.

Time to come home.

The kids released their Disney balloons with wishes before we headed out...

Then we loaded Disney's Magical Express for the ride to the airport.

Along with the wonderful memories, I brought home some magic to remind me of this amazing trip...

Because you don't have to be in Disney to feel the Disney Magic...

You carry it in your heart.

And into your home.

And home is the most magical place of all, don't you agree?