Disney!

I have finally found some time to sit down, away from the kids (well, not really away - they are painting about 7 feet from me) and tell everyone about Disney.  To say that we had an amazing trip would be an understatement.  Although Ted and I probably walked about 10 miles, alternating pushing a double stroller and/or holding at least one of them, we loved every minute of it.  Well, not every minute as there was the usual whining and some fighting, but you get the picture.  The kids were great and I loved seeing the "magic" in their eyes.  It was the perfect time for their first trip - no need to go back to the room for naps, but they were in bed by 8 at the latest so Ted and I did have some time to ourselves.

I will probably have to break up all the pictures as I don't want this post to be too long.  Here are some shots from our first day.  We left Bham at 7:30 in the morning, which was exhausting, but gave us a full half day in the Magic Kingdom which was nice.  We were checked in, unpacked and on the monorail by 12:30 Eastern time.  When we first got into the Magic Kingdom, the show that plays on and off all day in front of Cinderella's castle was playing - a great way to start!

The kids watched from our shoulders and really got into the spirit!  Next, we headed straight to "It's A Small World" which was one of our favorites.  On the way, they stopped to pull the sword from the stone - just like the movie, as Ward repeatedly told me!

After riding "It's A Small World" we got a FastPass (best invention at Disney) for Pooh's Ride and played in Pooh's playground while we waited.  The kids loved this area as well and Ted got some really cute pictures.

As I am sure all of you are aware, Disney is a marketing genius.  There are toys everywhere and at the end of each ride, you have to walk through a store to get back into the mix of things.  We knew we were in for 4 full days of "I want this" and "I want that" so Ted came up with a rule that they could get one thing a day (and we had veto power if it was too expensive).  This worked well and we didn't end up spending a fortune (except for Ann Park's Ariel dress, but it was just too good to pass up).  Here is the loot from the first day:

(I know, I know, Ted is such a great actor!)

Thursday morning we had our one and only character meal.  (As an aside, we stayed in a villa at Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary and it was GREAT.  You don't go to Disney to eat - the food is awful - so it was so nice to have a place to eat our own food.  We had a driver from the airport to Disney and he took us to Publix on our way in.)  On the recommendation of my friend from college, Erin, we went to breakfast at Chef Mickey.  The food was pretty good (you can't really screw up breakfast food) and all the classic characters come to your table.  Ann Park was scared and wouldn't get near them, but she warmed up by the end of our time there.  Ward was in hog heaven!

After breakfast we headed to a full day of fun at the Magic Kindgom.  I will have to do that in another post.  Lots of pictures and my time is up with the kids!  More to come, I promise!