A Disney Day (or two!)

Our first Disney experience with Isabel has now officially wrapped up and we have had a day to recover and unwind at Grandma and Grandpa's house! So, now I have the energy to blog about it and post some photos! The photo above is Isabel standing on Minnie Mouse's gazebo!

Our original plan was to take in Magic Kingdom on Friday, the day after we arrived in Florida. However, the forecast as of Thursday night was for a 90% chance of rain, along with probable thunderstorms throughout the day on Friday. Disney World in a Florida soaker and thunderstorm with a toddler...we decided that wasn't the greatest idea in the world. So, we changed our plans to do Magic Kingdom on Saturday, and another park on Sunday if we felt like we were all up to it!

Saturday dawned sunny :) but chilly for FL, with lows in the low 40s and a forecast high of around 60. So we bundled up in the warmest clothes we all had brought and set out, not knowing what the day would bring but curious to find out!

The positive: Magic Kingdom was beautifully decked out for the Christmas season, which is something I have never seen before. The Disney team is definitely top-notch in creativity and leaves nothing to be desired! Cinderella's castle with thousands upon thousands of Christmas lights was particularly impressive and Isabel was saying her classic "Ooh, ahh!" that Daddy has taught her to say when she sees pretty lights!

The negative: Magic Kingdom was packed from front to back, side to side, with MORE PEOPLE than either Luke or I have ever seen in a theme park (and we are both avid theme park-goers, plus Luke grew up in Florida and has been to each Disney park several times). He commented that he has literally never seen a theme park more crowded, by a long shot. Navigating through the park, with a stroller, was challenging in and of itself. The crowds also meant that we were not able to take Isabel on as many rides and to see as many shows as we had wanted to. We did manage to get a FastPass for a couple of rides, but for those that we could not, the wait each time we checked was at least 60 minutes, if not 75-90 minutes. Waiting in line that long with a toddler, especially when you cannot take your stroller in line, was just not feasible for us, so we had to miss out on It's A Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and the Mad Tea Party, all rides that we know Isabel would have enjoyed. But, despite the crowds and lines, we were determined to make the most memories we could that day!

Our favorite Magic Kingdom experience was getting front-row seats for the beautiful show Celebrate The Season, which took place right in front of Cinderella's castle and featured Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto (all of whom Isabel knows by name since she has been watching the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). We had to arrive about 30 minutes in advance in order to get the front row, so I saved our front-row seats by sitting in the stroller to rest my aching legs and back (yes, I sat in the stroller, and yes, I fit, even 6 months pregnant!) while Daddy took Isabel on the carousel that was not too far away, where he informed me upon returning that she had ridden all by herself on a horse for the first time, and giggled and laughed as she spied herself in the mirror going up and down!

Our favorite Disney experience actually happened at Disney's Hollywood Studios (which was much less crowded than Magic Kingdom had been), where we had decided to go on Sunday. Shortly after arriving, we found out that Mickey was available for greetings and photos near where we were going to see the show Playhouse Disney: Live On Stage! We stood in about a 20-minute line, where Isabel was pretty shy and clung onto Daddy the whole time we were in line. We were not quite sure how she would react to Mickey since she tends to be a little shy and introverted with new situations, but we had high hopes because he is one of her favorite characters and we had been telling her for weeks that she was going to get to meet him! The minute we got to the front of the line, she was practically jumping out of Daddy's arms to get down. She walked right up to Mickey with no trepidation whatsoever, just like he was an old friend! Mickey bent down and Isabel got within inches of his face, touching his nose, letting him tickle her and give her kisses, and at one point she gave him a big hug, which caused the whole crowd behind us to let out a collective "Awwwww!"

Our second favorite experience of the trip was when we decided at the last minute to go see the show Beauty and the Beast. Isabel has never seen the movie, but I have been teaching her the Disney princesses from some toys that she has at home, and I have been wishing that Belle (the Beauty) would become her favorite since they share a name! So, we decided to brave it and hoped it would keep her attention for the 25-minute duration (pretty long for a two-year-old!) Well, keep her attention it certainly did! From the moment the curtains parted until the final applause, Isabel could barely tear her eyes away from the stage. She sat almost perfectly still in Daddy's lap and watched the entire show, leaning to one side or the other in order to see around the people sitting in front of us when she could not see what she was trying to see! In fact, every time a scene would begin that Belle was not in, Isabel would look at us and say "Belle? Belle?" We would assure her that she would be back in a minute and then she would calm down and continue watching. She enthusiastically clapped at the end of the show and kept saying "Bye-bye!" and waving to Belle and the rest of the cast. Now the plan is to get her the movie for her birthday party later in January!

Luke also had a favorite experience of his own during our day at Hollywood Studios. Ever the roller-coaster enthusiast (as am I, but couldn't go since I am pregnant!), he got to go on Rockin' Roller Coaster, which he has never been on and has had his eye on since it opened several years ago. While he went on the coaster, Isabel napped and Mommy got to sit down for 45 minutes to rest her legs and back!

A couple of things we were SO thankful for during this two-day Disney excursion were:

1) Isabel's lovey and the middle two fingers of her left hand that she sucks on to self-soothe. Isabel tends to be a little bit of an introvert and gets overwhelmed easily by new and different situations. This is part of what makes her who she is, and we love her for it. Much of the time, Disney world was very overwhelming for her, and she was generally fine as long as she had lovey and her fingers, as you can see in the photo below. We saw a LOT of this pose throughout the day!

2) The stroller canopy that our dear friends the Polzins let us borrow. Isabel, who has always had a tough time napping in her stroller, actually napped BOTH days in her stroller (an hour at Magic Kingdom and 45 minutes at Hollywood Studios), thanks to lovey, her fingers, the fleece pants we brought for her to nap in, and that canopy which darkened the stroller and prevented her from seeing all that was going on around her. Our days would have ended much earlier if not for those naps!

All in all, the two days were exhausting but fun, and we are glad that we gave Isabel this first Disney experience, but a lesson was learned for sure! Going to the parks the weekend before Christmas is not something we will ever repeat! We think the experience would be even more magical if there were just a few less people at the park and the lines were just a bit shorter! Oh well, life is all about lessons learned and we feel blessed that we have a happy, healthy daughter and the ability to take her to Disney World!

To view photos of our family in front of Cinderella's castle, and of Isabel meeting Mickey Mouse, please click here to view them on the Disney PhotoPass site, as we are unable to download them and haven't had a chance to order prints yet!