Disney Diaries, Post 3 (St. Patty's Day...Magic Kingdom style)

Sunday finally arrived and the boys were so excited to begin our adventures in the parks! Josh had a couple more hours of conference to put in. I decided to brave the park for the first few hours alone hoping we could get in some rides before things got too crowded. After a slight delay, the monorail broke down just before we got on, the boys and I made it to the Magic Kingdom. I had tried to read up on all the expert tips. I was prepared for the Rope Drop, but instead this was one of the mornings where you must wait outside the Main St, USA train station before being let in. I had envisioned the boys having a bit of roaming room while we waited, but instead we were just among a big clump of people. They were a bit giddy and wild, but we survived, and those around us didn't seem to mind. I met a nice family from Birmingham, who were seasoned Disney travelers. She gave me some great tips about using our FastPasses.

Once the gates opened we milled onto Main Street USA. There's a city hall a couple stories tall to the left as you walk in. Jack said, "hey, look, it's the castle!" I told him that was most definitely not the castle, so we rounded the circle and positioned ourselves dead center, and I pointed out the castle. His eyes were as big as saucers as he said, "Oh, WOW!"

After the obligatory photos of our first moments with the castle, which the boys were very sweet to comply with, we headed straight into the castle. Directly on the other side, the boys saw Prince Charming's Carousel and wanted to ride it first!

We spent most of our morning in FantasyLand, hitting the new Little Mermaid ride, Dumbo and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Then we headed to TomorrowLand and became Galactic Space Rangers on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Not long after, Josh joined us and we repeated a few rides and hit the TomorrowLand Speedway. Sam could hardly wait to race those cars. In FrontierLand, Sam was so excited to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Jack couldn't help but love getting scared at the Haunted Mansion. We stopped in on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Magic Carpets before making our way back to the hotel. Somewhere in there, Sam fell asleep. Josh grabbed fastpasses for Peter Pan and we hopped back on the monorail.

When we got back to the resort, Sam just looked so comfy. We hated to disturb him, so we didn't. A little over an hour later, it was time to head back for our dinner reservation and Sam was still napping. After we re-entered the Magic Kingdom he finally woke up. Sweet thing never even knew we left the park. That's a boy who loves (and needs) his sleep.

Dinner was at Be Our Guest restaurant, which is in the Beast's castle and is a recent addition to FantasyLand having opened last fall. The interior was so much like the movie. Our table was right by a window, which simulated snow falling just outside. The food was great, and we had heard to ask for the grey stuff...it's delicious. Don't believe us? Ask the dishes! After we finished up, we had the opportunity to meet the Beast himself. He was quite friendly; thank goodness that Belle came into his life!

We hit several more rides and then looked for a position for the Electrical Parade. People line up well in advance, but that wasn't really our M.O. We were able to find a pretty good spot near the beginning of the route, which worked out nicely because we then followed the end of the parade all the way up Main Street to snag a spot for Wishes. While we waited for the castle illumination and fireworks to begin, Josh got ice cream for everyone. The boys were a sticky mess, but oh so happy.

Our favorite memories from Sunday were...
Jack: "the haunted house" (Haunted Mansion)
Sam: "the big train roller coaster" (Thunder Mountain)
Mom: Jack's reaction when he first saw the castle
Dad: When the boys and I came out of the Monsters, Inc. Laugh floor and he was waiting on us. The boys gave him a big hug! We were so happy he was joining us now!

Disney Diaries, Post 1

I recently shared a few hundred photos of our recent trip to Disney. Bless you if you actually took the time to go through them all. That was less than half of the snapshots. That place really has an effect on the young, the old and those in between! The boys are still talking about the trip a month later and wondering why we couldn't just live there. For the sake of capturing the memories before I forget all the fun, I thought I'd blog a bit about our days at Disney.

We were fortunate enough to redeem reward points to fly to Orlando, which made the journey a breeze. After the 10 plus hour flight we survived with the boys last summer, a one-hour flight to Orlando was a cinch! To maximize Josh's days off, we left on a Thursday evening and arrived about 10:15. The boys were too excited to be exhausted. Jack was a bundle of energy and excitement on our 35-minute bus ride to the resort.

If you've ever visited the Grand Floridian, you know it's a pretty spectacular place. Upon entering the huge and rather grand lobby, we began the check-in process. Sam, who can get rather chatty in the later hours, pulled his suitcase up to the counter and used it as a stool to get a better view. He then talked dear castmember Linda's ear off as she did her work. She was so accommodating. I've heard that the Grand Floridian is not a great place to stay with kids, and while the kids were a bit outnumbered by adults, I felt the staff was a gem. Maybe because it is primarily a conference and event hotel, they don't have quite as many children. It seemed to me that the smaller number of children made the staff more eager to talk to and indulge our children. Anyway, I highly recommend the resort. We were able to snag a pretty good rate because Josh was attending a conference, and now, I'm not sure I'd want to stay anywhere else!

The next morning as Josh began his conference, the boys and I explored the property. They looked longingly at the splash pool, but with temperatures in the high 50s/low 60s I wasn't so sure it was warm enough to indulge. We decided to cruise around on the monorail. The boys were excited to get a closer look at the castle when we passed the Magic Kingdom entrance and the big ball at Epcot. We learned our way around pretty easily. After our tour, the boys were itching to swim so I let them head to the pool. It was still only in the low 70s, but they didn't seem to mind.

After a while, Josh joined us and delighted the boys with his willingness to get in the pool. I tried, people, it was just still too chilly despite that the pool was heated. It wasn't heated quite enough for this gal. We enjoyed lunch by the pool. The boys capped off their pool fun with frozen treats, which practically became part of our daily schedule.

We talked the boys into a nap, although Jack never gave up the fight and ended up on a walk with Josh. Sam got a good snooze in, and then we headed to dinner at Chef Mickey's. It was a great start to our trip. We enjoyed getting to meet all the characters. Sam had become rather excited about Minnie's arrival and kept asking about her. At one point, he had to use the potty, and of course, that is when Minnie arrived. I was so afraid he was going to miss her. Jack and I stalled her at our table, and finally Sam finished up. When he spotted her at our table, he ran and gave her the biggest, sweetest hug! I'll remember that moment for a long time; it was definitely one of my sweetest memories of the trip.

After dinner, it was still early so we thought we'd catch a bus to Downtown Disney and hang out. We had to wait for quite a while for a bus at the Contemporary, but finally we hopped on. After making a couple more stops the bus was quite full and a bit warm. That combined with a bumpy ride and the tummy full of orange soda, signaled a belly ache for Jack. Once we arrived at DD, he was a pitiful mess. He was so miserable. Not long after stepping off the bus, he emptied that belly and seemed to feel a little better. We still decided it might be best to just head back to our resort.

By the time we got back, Jack was feeling himself again. One of the lovely perks of our hotel was the nightly entertainment. Music played for hours each night, between the grand pianist and the jazz band orchestra. The boys found their own personal stage and danced for a long while. Before heading to bed, we positioned ourselves at the marina near our room, which had a perfect view of Cinderella's castle. The boys loved watching Wishes, the nightly fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom.


At the conclusion of each day, I asked everyone their favorite part of the day. Sam's favorite was almost always whatever we had done most recently. On Friday, Jack's favorite was the fireworks. Sam loved getting a chance to dance. I loved the big hug Sam gave Minnie, and Josh loved watching how sweet Sam was to his brother when he didn't feel so good on the bus ride. Friday was a wonderful start to our fun-filled week.

Enjoying the Sand & Shore

Here are a few photos from day one at the beach. Taken by dear old dad. We just finished breakfast and are about to go hit the shore again. (Sam's still asleep!!) Might have to go wake him up so we can get our ocean enjoying started.

Anyway, Josh & I won the first game of golfshoes in dramatic fashion Saturday evening. Yesterday was full of beach time, picnics by the pool, shopping, seafood, homemade ice cream on the beach followed (eventually) by fireworks. Jack couldn't wait up :(

Fun on the Fourth

We had a wonderful holiday weekend. The fun began on Thursday afternoon when Jack's Grandma and Grandpa arrived for a visit. We played all afternoon and made trips to both marts (Wal & K) looking for printer cartridges. (Thanks, mom & dad...I dread these trips a lot less with shopping companions!) Once Josh was home from work, we loaded up and headed out for dinner at one of our favorites, Zanzo's Italino Ristorante (it's on the square in Clarkesville.) For those of you from around here, you know how great it is and should go more often. Those of you reading from afar should put it on your list for when you make your mountain and lake trips and pass through Clarkesville.

On Friday after breakfast, we headed to the booming metropolis that is downtown Demorest to watch the July 4th parade. We had never been and weren't sure what to expect. I kept asking friends, but most of them skip out on this event (I guess everyone is usually out of town). I've been pretty adamant about checking out as much stuff in our community that is offered. I guess I feel like it's the only way for us to decide what traditions we'll continue as Jack gets older.

We arrived downtown in plenty of time to walk around and see the dozen arts and crafts booths (kind of slim pickings). We found a spot in the shade to watch the festivities...although it happened to be across from the stage, which meant very loud singing. Anyway, Jack fell asleep just before the parade began, but awoke in time to catch part of the show. Overall, it was a decent parade, but was mostly full of candidates for office and lots of candy for the kids.

After lunch, I filled Jack's pool with some water and took him out for a swim. He enjoyed it, but not as much as he likes the big pools. It took him a bit to warm up to the cool water. He even recovered nicely after a tipping over incident, but was pushed over the edge when Josh created a mohawk with his hair. It was pretty funny to everyone but him. We're still working with him on taking a good joke.

We grilled out for dinner before mom and dad headed back home. Then Josh and I packed up Jack and headed over toward Piedmont College for the fireworks display. We weren't really sure where would be a good place to watch from, but we found a place that we were tickled over. There was plenty of grassy areas and the fireworks were out over the pond. It was so picturesque. We've already decided to return there next year even earlier in the evening with a picnic, games, etc. Maybe we can talk others into joining us!

We weren't sure how Jack would enjoy the fireworks, but he didn't cry at all. He was pretty exhausted from a long day hanging out with his grandma and grandpa. He was a little fussy while we waited for them to start, which explains why his outfit is soaking wet...we appeased him with water from a water bottle. He would take in a bit and spit about half of it back out. Once the show began, he watched pretty intently. It was a perfect day (except for the fact that we made it to DQ at 10:03...no ice cream to cap it off)! Oh, well!

As usual...there are dozens more photos on our Picasa site.