Disney

Our visit to the Magic Kingdom couldn't have been better. Cooler and less humid, yes, but the trip itself was awesome. We started out at Guest Services where Bill scored the family military appreciation tickets. The guy taking care of us was a really nice guy and made our day. He was asking the date of birth for each of us and realized Kaitlyn's birthday was two weeks earlier, so he gave her a Happy Birthday button with her name on it. As we walked down Main Street all of the greeters were giving her high fives and wishing her a happy birthday. It made us so happy to see the joy in her face it literally brought tears to her Mommy's eyes and I have a lump in my throat retelling it. You see, Kaity was really bummed that Bill couldn't be there for her birthday, so Mommy told her we would find a way to celebrate when he came home. We couldn't have planned this better! We headed over to Tomorrowland and hopped on Buzz Lightyear right away, then switched partners and rode again! After that we hit the Grand Prix Races where the kids had a blast "racing" cars. Kaity steered and Kim hit the gas. Kaity was a wild driver, even telling Mommy to stop doing that (stopping and going) when her erratic driving made the wheels hit the tracks and stop and go. Bill made the comment that teaching her to drive is going to be AWESOME! I think the boys may have been thinking, "crazy women drivers!" Next we hit the tea cups and the kids had a blast. I am hoping to find a way to upload the video, so you can see the silliness.


Ryan just barely skated through to ride his first real coaster, Goofy's Wild Acre Farm and loved every minute of it. Last time we were at Disney it was so crowded we didn't get to go through Mickey and Minnie's houses, nor did we get to meet them. This time however, the lines were only about 30 minutes long and we got to meet the famous mice. Ryan was so excited to meet them...until we got up there. He is so slow to warm up to new situations and was having his standard internal battle of wanting to do something, but being too scared. Out of all of the character meet and greets, Mickey got the best response, even getting a kiss, but clinging on to Mommy for dear life while sharing the love.

We rode a few more rides, including Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. Our kids are roller coaster junkies just like their parents and we love it! Kim rode with Kaity first on Thunder Mountain and the whole coaster she was yelling that she loves this ride and that this ride is her favorite. She rode for the first time on our last visit when she was three and loved it then too. Bill rode with Kaity first on Splash Mountain, which quickly became her new favorite. When Kim went with her, she kept telling me, "don't worry Mommy. It's just a teensy tinesy little drop," with that silly little giggle in her voice. We had so much fun with her. We came back a few days later and met the fairies, rode a few more rides, grabbed a nap and headed over to Hollywood Studios. McQueen and the crew are Ryan's favorites and they do appearances over there. He absolutely loves the movie Cars and any time he sees anything from the movie, he yells "QUEEN!!!!!" He wanted to meet McQueen and Mater and Ryan was so excited.....again, until we got there. Then he wouldn't let go of Mommy. At this point the rides were packed and the storms were racing in, so after getting drenched and grabbing a bite to eat we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for more rides, the Spectromagic parade, and the fireworks. The kids were beat by the end and Ryan was delirious. We got some good laughs in at his expense! While watching the fireworks, our sweet firecracker was holding on tight to Mommy and being super sweet. While holding him, Kim would rest her head against his head and then try to straighten up to watch the fireworks and he would put his hand on the opposite cheek and pull her back in to snuggle. Kaity watched the fireworks from the best seat in the house...her Daddy's shoulders.

When we asked the kids what their favorite rides were Kaity said, "Splash Mountain!" and Ryan said, "GO!" We clarified. "Ryan, you like the race cars ride the best?" "Mmm Hmm" with a smile and a head nod confirmed our guess. To see all of our great Disney pictures, please visit our picasa site and click on the Dinsey folder.
We joke with our family with much sarcasm that Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth (you know, with all the hot, sweaty, smelly crowds and overtired children and adults), but I think this week were were quite possibly the happiest family on earth, so maybe Walt Disney had it right after all.