We went to Disney World in Florida two weeks ago. We had the trip planned since April, but we didn't tell Sam we were going until about two weeks before the trip. He was soooo excited! He asked multiple times a day when we were getting on the plane, when we were going to Disney World, when we were going to see Mickey Mouse.
The flight from Dallas to Orlando was only supposed to be a little over two hours. Unfortunately, they found a leak in a hydraulic line in the landing gear. It took them about 45 minutes to fix it. Then they found another leak, and it took another 45 minutes to fix that, so we sat in the plane for almost two hours before we even took off! I hate flying. I'm simply terrified of flying, so with the delay plus the storm we flew threw, I was a mess. Sam did pretty well, but he got a little bored and a little scared by the end.
We arrived at Disney World hours after we had planned on getting there. It was 9pm EST by the time we'd checked in and headed out for dinner. The worst part was that our luggage wasn't delivered until 11:30pm EST, so we couldn't get Sam ready for bed until midnight. (We did the Disney Magical Express where your luggage is specially tagged and delivered directly to your hotel so you don't wait at baggage claim.)
We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas which is part of the Epcot resort area. This area is within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
They offer boat service to those resorts instead of bus service. The boats run every 20 minutes, so it was definitely faster to walk since the boats stop at multiple hotels. We honestly liked walking. I miss it now that we are back home.
We got a late start the first morning since we'd been up so late the night before. We were headed to Magic Kingdom, but we wanted to ride the monorail instead of the bus, so we walked through Epcot.
Sam wanted to stop and see everything in Epcot, so it took us a while to get through there. At this point we asked him if he wanted to rent a stroller, but he said no. He's never really been willing to go in a stroller, even when he was really little. He (and Chris) preferred the Baby Bjorn carrier. By the time Sam outgrew the carrier, he was basically walking and had no interest in sitting in a stroller. That's why we didn't even really think it would be worth it to pack a stroller.
Waiting for the monorail.
Monorail
When we got to Magic Kingdom, we road the WDW Railroad to the section of the park named Mickey's Toontown Fair. Sam loved the train, of course. He was convinced it was one of the trains from Thomas the Train, and we didn't argue with him.
Goofy's Barnstormer was the first ride that Sam and Chris rode. I couldn't ride it because I'm pregnant, so I ran over and got FastPasses to the Winnie the Pooh ride for later.
Here are Chris and Sam in line.
This is a video of The Barnstormer. Chris and Sam are in the front car. It was the most roller coaster like ride that Sam could ride due to height restrictions.
Taking a water break on a chair in Minnie Mouse's house.
We went in this store to get a break from the heat. It had a big build-your-own Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head area in the middle of the store. All of the parts were Disney themed. Sam loved it and we spent a long time there.
One of many street performing groups at Disney.
Posing in front of Cinderella's castle.
Better shot of the castle
This is Cinderella's carousel. I was proud of Sam for actually getting on a horse. He usually wants to sit on a bench on the carousel's around Dallas. He did not want me to touch him or his horse!
One of many birds around Disney looking for a bite to eat.
We were actually looking for Stitch when we ran into Buzz Lightyear. Sam was pretty shy, but he was still willing to pose for a picture. He was a little star-struck too!
DeeDah and Sam taking a break in the shade.
By about 3pm that afternoon, Sam was hot and exhausted, and it started raining. We tried to talk him into going back to the hotel for a nap, but I don't think he understood that we had four more days at Disney and he was determined to keep going.
He really tried to smile for the camera! You can kinda see the little heat rash he had on his chin.
Chris on the Mad Tea Party spinning tea cups ride. I don't think I'll ever be able to ride that ride again, especially pregnant. I'm surprised I didn't get sick.
Of course you can't leave Magic Kingdom without riding It's a Small World.
It's a Small World is one of my favorite rides of all time. I remember going to Disney when I was little and the park wasn't busy, so we got to ride it three times in a row without getting off the boat.
Here's a quick video of us on the ride. You can see Sam wide-eyed and mouth open.
A shot of Cinderella's castle from the train station.
A hug for DeeDah
Sam and DeeDah with the castle and parade in the background.
We had a great view of the parade from the train station.
Here's a map of all of the rides that we did the first day in Magic Kingdom. Peter Pan's Flight was Sam's favorite. We got off of that ride and he said, "That was REALLY good!" Goofy's Barnstormer was a close second. He and Chris rode that one twice.
We headed back to Epcot for dinner at the German pavilion that night.
Sam caught his second wind and we had a lot of fun at dinner.
Of course we had to stay and watch the band. They were a lot of fun and Sam clapped and danced along.
Here's a shot of all of us before we headed back that night.
Sam fell asleep on the stroller ride home that night. And, yes, we bought a stroller. Sam was ready for a stroller by the time we got back to Epcot. He couldn't walk another step. It was actually cheaper to buy a stroller than to rent one every day that we were going to be there.
We had so much fun the first day. I loved watching the expressions on Sam's face each time he saw something new. I couldn't wait to get going the next day.
