We decided to drive down to save money and I must admit, I was worried about the long drive down there and back. I thought it would be too long for Abby, but she did great!! I bought a portable DVD player over Thanksgiving break so we packed up a huge bag full of toys and movies and headed off. The DVD player worked wonders and she never said, "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?" (that is, until about an hour away from home). She was a real trooper!
Our time share room was upgraded, which was a big surprise, so we had two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, and a huge fully equipped kitchen. The porch was even screened in so we could leave the sliding glass doors open. I was expecting to sleep on the pull -out couch and Abby on a blow up mattress, so two double beds and a bathroom of our own was the icing on the cake! Abby kept calling it our "apartment" instead of a hotel.
We headed off to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday. Abby was excited and loved every minute of it. I worried that it was going to be busy since it was Christmas time, but we didn't have to wait too long. The longest wait was to meet Princess Ariel, which was Abby's only request. Her face when she saw all the princess' was priceless. We loved the Buzz Light year Ride, Mickey's Philharmonic 3D movie, the Peter Pan ride and Mickey's Christmastime parade, which had all the characters so it was doubly great!
Much of the week was spent making puzzles, shopping at the outlet malls, playing with Christmas toys, reading books, playing card games, and trying out a new restaurant every night.
We headed over to Animal Kingdom on Friday. I had never been to Animal Kingdom so I was excited. The shows were fantastic! We were able to walk right into all the shows and onto all the rides. It wasn't busy at all! The Lion King show was awesome and so was the jungle ride through the safari to see the live animals. In fact it was so good we got off and went right back on it to see it all over again. A giraffe, ostrich and rhino were so close to the truck that I could reach out and touch them!
All in all, it was a perfect trip. We had great company (my mom and dad went with us), great weather, and a very relaxing time. It was exactly what I needed before life gets crazy here with a new baby and changes in routine. Now we're home and there's snow on the ground and it's freezing. But, at least I still have another week home to play and spend time with my amazing family.
Abby was so excited to go on vacation. She's been camping before, but this was her first long trip away from home.
We drove and drove until we found the palm trees!
Pooh and Tigger were the first characters we saw at Magic Kingdom. I was concerned that Abby would get scared of them, but she ran right up and gave them hugs.
Meeting Ariel was a dream come true! I waited in line for over an hour for Abby to get her picture taken, but it was worth it. If you ask her what her favorite part of Disney was, she'll answer "Meeting Ariel!".
Here we are sitting on the back porch in glorious weather playing a mean game of Crazy 8's.
My parent's room was attached to a bathroom with a HUGE whirlpool tub. Abby went in a couple times during the week. Each time she entered the water her name changed to "Princess Ariel". :)
Here we are entering Magic Kingdom. Can you see the excitement on her face?
Here we are entering Animal Kingdom. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. At the front of each park was a huge Christmas tree filled with ornaments that matched the park.
Meeting Minnie Mouse was also a big hit! The characters were by far more interesting for Abby than the shows or rides. Seeing them in real life was incredible. It was a great trip!
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