We left cold, dreary MSP on Sunday, April 21 and didn't look back! Liv was so excited to go on an airplane and immediately claimed her window seat. She watched parts of Finding Nemo and Toy Story and snacked the entire way. (I was willing to do whatever it took to have a happy kid on the plane!)
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| Breakfast of champions - yogurt and sausages |
We gathered up all of our luggage (there was a ton), picked up our rental van and before we knew it, we had arrived at Art of Animation resort. We had a Finding Nemo suite and it was very colorful and bright; it did not disappoint. My parents greeted us as we pulled up but Liv was fast asleep for her afternoon snooze. She quickly woke up and we navigated the lobby and grabbed a quick lunch. Our room was very close to the pool and lobby which was nice as the resort was HUGE. While my mom and I unpacked, Duane and Olivia walked around the hotel. While it rained in the afternoon, we ran to a grocery store and then grabbed a quick dinner. Even though Liv was so tired from her day of travel, she managed to get some pool time in before bed. Isn't this what all kids do on vacation - go to the pool?
Monday - Epcot in the morning and afternoon / Magic Kingdom in the evening
At 6:00am sharp, Olivia was standing up in her pack-n-play and telling us to wake up. We brought her in our bed hoping she'd sleep a little longer but she did not agree with that idea. So, we told her to walk out into the living room and wake up Grandma and Papa. She had no problem doing this and kept this routine every morning while we were there. It was probably a good thing we had her as our alarm clock every day; we knew we'd be up and at 'em! The forecast was mostly rainy for the day so we scratched our Magic Kingdom plans and went to Epcot. As soon as we walked through the gates, Liv saw Daisy and wouldn't take another step until she got a picture with her. It was very sweet seeing her so excited to see a character! She even picked up flower petals off the sidewalk and handed them to Daisy.
We headed straight for the Nemo ride and "Talk with Crush" show. After the Crush show, my dad thought it would be fun to show Liv a stuffed version of Crush but she found a bigger one than his and wouldn't put it down. We hadn't even been in the park for an hour and she was already getting a toy! She loved it, though, and carried it with her almost every day.
My dad and Duane caught the Michael Jackson 3D show while the girls went on a ride about imaginations. My mom and I were surprised Liv wasn't freaked out by it because it had a lot of loud noises, pitch black parts and blowing wind....she's a tough one! (She did get freaked out by the Bruce on the Nemo ride and would always ask if we'd see him on every ride.) We lunched in Mexico and Olivia was treated to a fruit Popsicle. We stood in line yet again for a photo with Donald.
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| Lady & the Tramp topiary in France |
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| she was almost asleep but rallied and woke up! |
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| on the bus to Magic Kingdom |
After the parade we headed back to the bus line (it was quite long) and made it back to our room pretty late. The whole time Liv was awake and never once complained!
Tuesday - Animal Kingdom
Our wake up call had us up and ready so early that we arrived at Animal Kingdom before the gates were even open! Everything I had read said to go to the safari ride first so that's where we went. We followed the herd (get it?) and walked right onto the jeep. We saw all kinds of amazing animals and really enjoyed the ride!
After the safari ride, my Dad and Duane rode the Mt. Everest roller coaster and then Duane rode it again with my mom. They all seemed to really like it; I'm not a roller coaster fan so I was fine watching Liv. We walked through the park until it was time for our character lunch at the Tusker House. We stood in line for a picture with Goofy and Pluto and when it was Liv's turn, she made a beeline for Goofy and totally passed up Pluto - it was pretty funny! |
| Tree of Life in the center of the park - it was HUGE and really amazing |
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| Character lunch at Tusker House - Safari Daisy Liv's thinking, "hey...this is my time, not yours Papa!" |
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| Safari Goofy |
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| Safari Mickey - her first Mickey sighting |
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| Liv with her hands up like it's a roller-coaster! |
Animal Kingdom closes pretty early so we were back at our resort with enough time to walk through the Cars section. Liv was excited to see Lightening McQueen and Mater.
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios in the morning / Magic Kingdom in the evening
Our alarm clock had us up promptly and we were on our way very early to Hollywood Studios on Wednesday; this was great timing because it was the park that had extra, early hours for those with Disney passes. We immediately grabbed fast passes for "Woody's Roundup" and then headed to "Honey I Shrunk the Kids." Olivia was a little hesitant in the morning but she soon pepped up.
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| (looks scary-fast but her shoes made it super slow) |
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| Disney Jr. Show! |
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| Alex - this could be you! At one point during the show, my dad leaned over and said to Duane, "I think we need to take this guy out back and beat him up!" |
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| Woody & Buzz! We left this line shortly after we saw the wait for a photo - 60 minutes. Seriously. |
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| Woody's Round-up - so much fun! |
I quickly and surprisingly was able to book another character lunch in Hollywood Studios with some Disney Jr. characters. Duane and my dad rode the Rock-N-Roller coaster so my mom, Liv and I sped into a showing of the Little Mermaid on stage. We had great seats and Olivia really enjoyed it.
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| Handy Manny |
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| Jake! She was so excited to see him! |
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| Julia from Little Einstein's |
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| going after a chocolate covered marshmallow |
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| she really, really enjoyed her ice cream....so much so that she drank the leftovers.... |
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| Minnie Mouse! |
After Hollywood Studios, we headed back to the hotel for a rest because we had a BIG night ahead of us! I will warn you - there will be a barrage of photos for this evening. Months before our trip, I managed to get a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle. The reservation wasn't until 8:20pm for dinner but Liv was such a trooper and she was SO excited all day for this experience. She woke herself up from her nap and immediately asked about Cinderella and if she could put on her "Belle dress." Once dressed, she climbed into her stroller and told us to hurry up!
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| "Hurry up, guys!" Isn't the décor in our room beautiful?! |
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| the little Princess - all Disney cast members (employees) called her that all week - she loved it |
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| After taking some photos, we rode Prince Charming's carousel. |
We checked ourselves in for dinner and then you wait....and wait and wait some more. We turned the corner of the line and there she was - Cinderella! The photo line weaves its way through a part of the castle and then it's almost your turn. The excitement must have gotten to Liv because as we step up to be next in line for the photo, she says, "I have to potty." Of course, why wouldn't it happen then?! I whisked her into the nearest restroom and then we finally had our opportunity. You can't see the excitement in Liv's face in the photo but she was truly having a great time.
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| all I was trying to do was fix her headband. "No Mommy." |
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| Cinderella and Princess Olivia |
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| the princess insisted on walking up the stairs herself |
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| Olivia and Snow White |
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| Olivia and Jasmine |
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| Sleeping Beauty - I love this picture and Olivia's wide open arms and smile |
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| Ariel - Liv said she was her favorite. She was really sweet and talked to Liv more than the other princesses. |
By the time all the princesses had stopped by, it was after 10pm and Liv was still hanging in there. What a great night it was, though - so many wonderful memories!
Thursday - Magic Kingdom
Knowing we needed to make the most of our time left, we decided to stay in the park all day and hope Liv would nap in the stroller. Let me tell you, it couldn't have worked out any better and we wish we had done this every day. All that I had read said to start in Fantasyland; this is Magic Kingdom's new park addition. We headed straight to the Ariel ride and walked right on. Liv was gawking as we walked through the line and took a bit of a tumble and scratched up her chin and leg. She was a little worse for wear during the ride but I hope she still liked it. After that ride, we started to head toward the classic Dumbo ride but got sidetracked by the Indy raceway. This ride was so much fun and Olivia had a great time "driving" the car; my mom and I suffered whiplash but we made it through. After the car ride, we treated Olivia to a Mickey Mouse ice cream treat. I had a proud moment, though, when she also asked for part of my orange....she was trying to be healthy! ;)
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| keep your eyes on the road, Liv! |
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| we're the 4th car back....see the little blonde head popping out the side? |
Duane and my parents rode Space Mountain so Liv and I headed to the bathroom to wash her chocolaty face and hands. On the way, we ran into a talking trash can (no joke!) and had a little conversation with it. Liv kept saying, "that's so silly!" The Dumbo ride was next but it was a little different than I remembered. They now have 2 rides next to each other with an air-conditioned circus tent between the two that you wait inside of until it's your turn. There is a playground in the tent and after our wait, all Liv wanted to do was play on the slide which was inside the tent. (I told my mom, "Umm...you have a slide in the backyard in Minnesota and you're in Disney World! Get a grip, kid!")
Next we stood in yet another line for a picture with Buzz; we rode his ride and then headed to lunch at Tony's. The train took us around the park and we got off in Frontierland; this was insanely busy and the most crowded part we had yet to encounter. My dad and Duane got their fast passes for Splash Mountain while my mom and I stood in line for a picture with Woody and Jessie. FIFTY MINUTES LATER (so annoying), Liv got a picture with them and was practically falling asleep standing up!
The crowd was starting to wear on all of us so we walked toward Pirates of the Caribbean. Duane, my dad and I rode that while my mom walked in the shade with Liv. She's a pro and managed to (thankfully!) get Liv to fall asleep in her stroller. After our ride, mom and I sat with Liv while the guys rode Splash Mountain and got passes for Big Thunder Mountain. Several of us rode Big Thunder Mountain, Liv kept sleeping and then she woke up all smiles!
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| homeless man in Disney World....so sad |
We rode a few more rides and then saw the Enchanted Tiki bird show. Okay talk about cheesy but watching Olivia made it all worth it. She was clapping her hands and looking all around - it was really cute! My mom remembered that show from her trip to Disney when she was in high school so you can imagine how kitschy it was....at one point my dad blurted out, "Oh come on!" We had a quick dinner and rode the Indy cars one more time. As we stood in line for the train to take us back to the main entrance, Liv said, "I want to go to Magic Kingdom." All of us just stared at her - we have no idea how she came up with that on her own! What a great way to end the day!
Friday - Magic Kingdom in the morning / Resort Pool / Downtown Disney in the evening
We still had rides to tackle so it was back to Magic Kingdom on Friday morning. As soon as we entered the park, I made a beeline for the Mickey Mouse photo line and we were quickly in and out of that, which was nice.
It was back to Fantasyland for the Barnstormer - a child's roller-coaster. Liv was just tall enough (thanks to her shoes, I think!) to ride it. She loved it so much, we went on it twice!
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| Liv and I are the 2nd car; if you zoom in on the picture, you'll see her smiling |
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| he claims it's an amazing experience with your eyes closed.... |
We had the craziest lunch of the trip (because it was so busy) and then sadly made our way to the gates to say good-bye. My mom had the great idea to get some cotton candy for Liv to try - it was a fun way to end the day. Olivia still cried when we left and said she wanted to "stay in Magic Kingdom." Me too, Liv....me, too!
That afternoon we headed to the pool and after Liv's nap, she joined us for a little bit. I think she could have run around all night chasing those shoots of water! We had dinner at our hotel and then drove to Downtown Disney. Craziness again (very crowded) so we went through the biggest Disney store in the world, bought a few things and called it a night. We packed and then it was time for bed.
Saturday - good-bye Disney / off to Vero Beach
The end of our time with Grandma and Papa came too soon and they left on Saturday morning. We headed to Vero Beach to visit with Jim and Sharon Baumgardt. They have an absolute gorgeous home and the 2 cutest dogs ever! We visited with Sharon's horse, Sweet Pea, and then had lunch at their club. Liv played in the baby pool after lunch and entertained herself well with the 2' of water in the pool! She later napped on their bathroom floor with their cat Bugsy (I'm not kidding!). Jim & Sharon stayed back at their house to be with Liv so Duane and I took a quick walk on the beach. She was awake when we got back and then it was time for dinner and we were off again.
We were home by 1pm on Sunday and we had everything unpacked and put away before dinner. Liv and I even managed to run to Target so we had groceries for the week and Duane washed both our vehicles! Now, can we please get a vacation from our vacation?
This was by far the most amazing trip we've taken with Olivia and we'll always remember it! Even if she doesn't remember it as well as us, I hope she can look back at this blog someday and see how great it was! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for being there with us and experiencing Disney again!
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