During our family vacation to Florida, we decided to spend one day at Walt Disney World. Miss Kate had never been to Disney which was a good enough reason for us to make the visit, but we were also no more than two hours away from any of our more long term spots (St. Pete Beach and Anna Maria Island) either! It was an easy decision!
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On the drive there, Kate sat with her blanket
over her head! |
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| We made it! |
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| Dreams really do come true here! |
We debated on spending more than one day but ended up sticking with the one because we wanted some good vacation time too. We didn't want to be running all around and then leave Florida not feeling like we had a vacation. In hindsight, we wished we'd booked a longer visit at Disney, but, mark my words, this will not be our only visit! I love Walt Disney World! I can remember going several times growing up! And Brian and I went to Disney for our
one year anniversary! With as much fun as we had this visit, we are already trying to figure out plans for another!
And that brings me to the very point of this post: Kate's first trip to Disney! She ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Seriously, people. If we had known how much Kate would love this day, we would have booked a lot more than one day. It was so much fun seeing how much fun she had! It was hot, really hot, and we only rode on four rides: It's a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and the Haunted Mansion; but she had a blast just being there.
This place is magic, I tell ya!
When we first arrived, Kate insisted on getting an apple. Of all the options that Walt Disney World has to offer, if Kate wants an apple, she's going to get an apple. I imagine in the not so distant future, apples will be a thing of the past and cotton candy, ice cream, and popcorn will have replaced them!
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| On the bus from the hotel headed to the Magic Kingdom! |
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| Zee cah-stle! |
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| Hendu 3.0 at Disney! |
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| It's still magical to me! |
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| Kate's apple! |
We didn't plan one thing in advance for this visit other than booking the hotel and getting tickets. We decided we would just go with the flow and see how we all felt. Our lack of planning meant that, in hindsight, we weren't able to use our time as wisely as we could have with fast passes and whatnot, but, again, the goal was not to jam pack the day. The goal was to experience Disney. And that, my friends, we did accomplish!
After we got our apple, we hopped into line at It's a Small World and rode that. Kate was entranced with all the visual stimulus and it was adorable to see her take it all in. We then headed over to ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant. People, this ride has a play area that you can play in while you are waiting in line. This idea is genius. You get a little restaurant pager and you go play in the play area. When it's your turn to ride, your pager goes off, you get back into line, you wait another 5 or so minutes and you are on the ride. It was awesome for Kate and the other kiddos to not have to stand in line!
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| Waiting in line for the boats at It's a Small World! |
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| Kate's first Disney ride! |
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| Nearly our turn to ride Dumbo! |
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| One of her favs! |
Kate LOVED Dumbo! Her little giggle on the entire ride just melted my heart! She was beaming from ear to ear while we rode!
After Dumbo, Kate fell asleep in her stroller. We decided to head back to the hotel to let
her get a little nap in us all get a little nap in, but she promptly woke up the moment we arrived back at the hotel, so we basically showered and regrouped for a moment and headed back to the park. Again, we went without an agenda. If we were able to stay late and see the fireworks, we were going to, but if Kate was too tired we were going to head back to the hotel.
Right as we arrived we got to enjoy the Dance Party parade and danced with Goofy, Mickey, and several other Disney characters in the streets! Then we headed to Ariel's Undersea Adventure ride because there was hardly any wait in the queue and rode that! After that, we headed to the Haunted Mansion which was WAY scarier than I remember. I actually kind of felt bad that we had Kate on there with us, but it didn't seem to phase her. We might reconsider this ride come future visits unless Kate says she would like to ride it.
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| Kate meet Goofy. Goofy meet Kate. |
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| Dancing in the streets with Mickey and friends! |
After the Haunted Mansion, we decided the day had been long enough. We were all hot and tired so decided to make the trek back to the hotel. The trek was not without a stop to the giftshop, however! We let Kate pick out whatever she wanted, within reason, and she picked out a stuffed Mickey! She is so adorable! We headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
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| You just can't get enough of that view! |
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| Love this! |
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On our way to Anna Maria the next day with our newest plush
addition: Mickey! |
Our first trip to Disney was a complete success. We all had so much fun and Kate enjoyed it so much more than we thought she would. Mark my worlds Walt Disney World, we will
definitely be headed back...for a longer stay...with a planned itinerary so we can make the most of our fast passes! And soon, very soon!
We heart Disney!
