We've put away our trees, and finally turned off the Christmas music.
so it's official for me.....Christmas is over.
I finally found the time to go through our December photos, and..... oh my heart... what a month we had. It most certainly is the most wonderful time of the year.
The first weekend in December couldn't have been any sweeter....
....as we were Disney bound....
.....with the loves of our life!!
Davis, Dunaway, December & DISNEY!?!
Is there anything better?!
(Juliet's first flight!)
If you don't consider yourself an over the top Disney fan.... you may want to stop here. As ahead you will find WAY too many photos of a 7 day stay with Mickey. Because this is our family photo album, I include notes and memories for us to have for future enjoyment. Each Disney trip is different, and I like to remember why.
It may be one of my longest post yet (turn back now!!).
But my babies...... Mickey.... AND Christmas trees...there's no way to make this short.
Arriving in warm sunny Orlando.....
.....we checked into our beautiful condo and quickly changed into summer clothing. It was 78, sunny and perfect.
Mickey delivered a surprise shortly after our arrival......
We unpacked, headed to Disney Springs for dinner ......
.....and travel day was complete.
Day 1: Magic Kingdom!!!! Boarding the monorail and so excited....
Disney at Christmas time is too magical for words. Photos do not do it justice, and it's impossible to take it all in......
Walt and Juliet taking in all the sights, smells and sounds of Main Street....one of the sweetest spots on Earth!
Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, It's a Small World..... lots of good memories....
But this was by far my favorite moment of our first day. Walt was chosen to play the role of the Beast in the Enchanted Tales with Belle experience...
....and Grandad, the knight!
I love the following photos.... Walt dancing with Belle (my heart can't take it!).... but even more so, I love seeing Grandad's face in the background. He stood at attention(face covered) through most of it, but when the time came for Walt to take his dance with Belle, Grandad had to peek. The smile on his face as he watches Walt is so sweet to me...
I'm not sure that Walt will remember this special experience with Granadad, but I sure will....
When we exited the Belle attraction, I told Troy that we could go home now. My vacation heart was complete : )
On our way out of the Magic Kingdom, we stopped to take this photo.... I couldn't resist getting it again....
We ended our first day with a rest at Disney's Polynesian while waiting for dinner....
.....and watching fireworks from our condo balcony....
Day two began with another delivery from Mickey. Safari Minnie and Mickey could only mean one thing....
It was ANIMAL KINGDOM day!
Best AK memory for me was lunch with Safari Mickey and friends at Tusker House.
I simply can't resist a Disney character meal, and I love seeing Walt's face light up, (almost as much as mine does)....
After two full days in the parks with littles, we knew it would be smart to have some down time. The weather was perfect for a late morning December swim.....
After long naps, it was back to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!!
So much sweetness!
This night was unlike any party we've attended in the past and comes with it's own crazy memories! Crowds were heavy and rides malfunctioning (definitely a first on both accounts), which I know will make for future funny stories. Walt already likes to talk about how we got stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean for 45 minutes (interesting to say the least!), and Haunted Mansion for 25 (in the first pre-boarding room that "stretches" for my Disney readers!).
I love ride camera photos! Walt's little head barely poking above the gun, and Grandmom is definitely on a mission! ; )
Parade time!
I usually only like to include photos that we've personally taken on my blog. But when Disney included these professional shots on our Photo Pass, I couldn't resist including them. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Parade will always make me weak in the knees.....
Day 4 was spent at Epcot!
Walt loved meeting Baymax, Grandmom and Aunt ForFor loved Soarin', Troy loved San Angel Inn (sorry honey, couldn't resist), and we all LOVED the new Frozen ride!! By far my favorite memory of the day.
If you mourned the closing of Maelstrom, like I did, rest assured that it will be a distant memory once you've been on this. So so good.
And another ride photo.... Kandice is obviously the only one certain that we're not going to die : )
Anna, Elsa and tiny Juliet..... this would melt any frozen heart ; )
St. Nicholas Day (a long family tradition), fell while we were in Disney, and it's how we began the morning of day number five...
.....and then it was off to Hollywood Studios!
Walt's first sighting of a Storm Trooper. He didn't know what they were, but he sensed it was special to Dada, and has talked about them ever since.....
There are too many photos of this memory, but it was by far my favorite of the day...... absolutely magical for a 3 year old Toy Story loving boy....
This moment wasn't too bad either ; ) .....
I have to include this next one! Troy and I have an insane amount of photos of just the two of us at Disney, from previous trips. We spent several years, and multiple trips getting in all our "pre children" Disney time. We figured future trips with (hopefully) babies in tow, would be about them. We figured right, as now most of our photos include babies and strollers and stuffed Disney animals.
But this only photo taken of just the two of us, reminds me of where it all began... and of how everything we talked about and dreamed of.... became ours.
We ended the day at Hollywood Studios with writing a letter to Santa.....
....and delivering it to him, personally.
How will we ever visit the mall Santa again!? The most beautiful Santa and setting!
Our last day arrived much too quickly, but we started it in the yummiest way possible....
.....an early breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends!
Mickey Waffles are my favorite way to start a Disney day!
And speaking of before babies.... I used to hear about the napkin swinging at Chef Mickey's and think..."gross... everyone having their food crumbs flailing about.....why??" And now I see the joy on my baby's face and I guarantee you, I'm the best napkin swinger in the room!
After breakfast, we took the monorail (Juliet's favorite ride) over to Magic Kingdom for a final day...
Dumbo was the highlight of this last day. Something about seeing all my loves... flying high....happy... the castle, and very symbol of Disney happiness, in their background...
... the view from my Dumbo was so beautiful to me....
On our travel day, we awoke to cold temperatures, rain and high wind. If you have to leave Disney, it was a good day to say goodbye....
After a quick visit to the Grand Floridian gingerbread house and the tour of trees at the Springs, we headed to the airport...
We had our own gingerbread and trees waiting on us, which made it a bit easier to leave this time. The magic of Disney was coming to an end, but the beauty and holiness of Christmas... just beginning.
Grandmom, Grandad and Aunt For For-
Thank you for a beautiful family trip to Walt Disney World! Thank you for being willing to go anywhere, do anything.... ride whatever (Tiki room!), eat whatever (what exactly was that queso at San Angel Inn?!....and my many character meals that I can't resist!), and for being sweet and easy going in every way. Thank you for stocking the condo with goodies (oh how I miss Blue Bell), and all the extras that you did. Thank you for loving Mickey, too. We know that you could have vacationed anywhere, and we love that you chose to be with us. You made our trip enjoyable, and extra special.
Troy,
Thank you for continuing to fill my Disney loving heart with so many memories. For being sweet and patient when I said "can you help me get these 3 dozen decorated cookies on the plane to Orlando...oh...and I don't want anyone in our family to see them..." and for being okay with my answer of "it's daily surprises that Mickey will bring..." when you asked why we had so much luggage. Thank you for Juliet's reindeer Pluto (with the crooked antler!?) and Walt's Chip & Dale from the Magic Kingdom Christmas shop.... that moment (though claw machine like- ha!) will always be a favorite memory from this trip. Thank you for being the calm to my Disney chaos, and especially for seeing the joy in Disney that I do. It's because of you and all the memories that we've created together that makes all of this, precious to me. I love you.
