Through the Eyes of a Child

    Even though Disney is fun for any age, there is nothing like seeing a little kid experience it for the first time; I got to watch this on Wednesday when my cousin, Julie came with her husband and their two daughters to visit for the first time. When the girls first caught a glimpse of Cinderella's Castle they were both excited, but in their own ways: the 4-year-old's face light up and spread into a giant smile as she squealed with delight, while the 3-year-old just looked all around her completely overwhelmed. Their happiness was so infectious, you couldn't help but smile with them. We then headed toward the castle but were stopped by the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it parade, so we watched the end of it from a great spot! Once the parade was out of the way we continued on our way into the castle; unfortunately, because there was a stage show coming on shortly we couldn't walk all the way through. However, when we walked passed the Bippity Boppity Boutique in the castle I remembered that you can get "pixie dusted" (a "fairy godmother" sprinkles glitter in your hair) so I asked them to do the girls; only the 4-year-old was up for it, though. 

    Our first ride of the day was the Royal Carousel; it was a good choice since the line was pretty much nonexistent! From there we headed to Dumbo (which I have never ridden before); the wait was much longer than the carousel, but inside the queue there is a circus-themed play area for kids to be entertained while they wait. Was it worth the almost hour wait? Yes, if only to see the kids' sheer delight as they flew on the adorable elephant! When we arrived in the morning to the park, we had grabbed fast passes to meet the princesses at Town Square Theater (another thing I've never done!); after finished Dumbo it was about time to use them. Again, watching the girls as they saw their favorite characters was so, well, magical! They were so in awe! Next, it was time for an ice cream break...of course, it was Mickey Bars. We started heading back toward Adventureland for Aladdin's carpet ride and the parade before using our fast passes for Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid Ride was an absolute hit....especially for Julie! The girls kept reminding us that "Ariel is mom's favorite". Tea Cups ride followed Little Mermaid and I felt like we were in the Disney commercials where they show the family laughing together in the spinning cups! It had been beautiful out the whole day thus far, but suddenly appeared like it was going to rain, so we decided to wind down and head into Mickey's Philharmagic, which is a 3-D attraction that showcases a few of the classic animated Disney movies and their songs. The 3-year-old's favorite is Lion King and unfortunately, there is little in Disney World that features Lion King; luckily, in the Philharmagic show, "I Just Can't Wait to be King" plays. Julie tapped me while it was playing and motioned to the 3-year-old who was singing along! Too cute! When we finished the show, it was time to call it a day and end on a good note. I think everyone had a great time (I know I sure did!) and it was so much fun to spend time in Disney with family who have never experienced it before (or at least in a long time). 

Move it Shake it Celebrate it Parade

Royal Carousel 

Julie and her princesses

playing in the circus before riding Dumbo

riding Dumbo!

meeting princesses

my Mickey ice cream sandwich

waiting for our carpet ride

watching the Celebrate the Magic parade

enjoying the Little Mermaid ride

Mad Tea Party!

 

Hoppy Easter (a little late!)

    I hope all of you had an enjoyable Easter wherever you may have been. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend it with family in Naples, FL. Grandma and Grandpa live down there for the winter and it is about a 3hr drive from Orlando, so I packed up and left after work on Saturday morning at 5am. Also visiting while I was there was my aunt, uncle, and cousins from Baltimore...I don't get to see them that often so it was so nice to spend the holiday with them too! The drive was very easy and the weather was perfect; no traffic that early either! I arrived in time to go the 9:00 Easter basket blessing with Grandpa at their church just like we used to do when I had Easter break. Saturday afternoon we relaxed at the pool and dyed eggs, and that night went for our Easter dinner at the delicious Mangrove Cafe and did some shopping along 5th Ave. Sunday was Easter mass at 7:30am followed by our traditional breakfast at home complete with kielbasa, butter lamb, our colored hard boiled eggs, makowiec, and more. We also did an Easter egg hunt; my cousins (all three under 14) found all of their eggs, but I couldn't find the last three of mine....and we never did so they're still out there somewhere! We finished off our Easter Sunday watching the sunset on the beach. Monday I needed to be on the road around 1pm to get back for work, so Aunt Laure, Uncle Alan, and the kids and I went to the beach for a few hours in the morning. I was so sad to leave and wish I could have stayed longer, but all good things must come to an end. I am so blessed to have had the chance to spend the weekend in Naples, though, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Easter bunny out on the town Saturday night

my best Easter egg this year

more eggs!

5th Ave

me with Grandma and Grandpa enjoying ice cream 

the family (with glowing eyes?)

sunset at the Naples Beach

Easter baskets

beach was crowded!

Water Parks

    I'm starting to forget what I've posted about already and I don't feel like reading through my posts again, so if anything I write about today sounds just a little too familiar then it probably is someplace else on here...sorry!

    As much as I love the sunshine and the warm weather here in Orlando, I must admit I really did miss the snow and Buffalo winter. Not to worry though, because Disney has an answer for that in the form of a water park: Blizzard Beach! Okay, not the exact same since the snow's not real and there's no windchill, but there is a Christmas soundtrack, "ski" hills, and icicles. A few weeks ago on my day off, I met a couple friends from work there. Just like my first time at Typhoon Lagoon, I was blown away by the size and detail of the park. Blizzard is completely winter themed from the snowcapped mountains to working chair lift to the kiddie area named "Tyke's Peak". Their main attraction is the HUGE water slide, Summit Plummet....it's a 120ft slope that feels like it's almost a 90* angle!! To get to it, you can either climb Mt. Gushmore, or you can take the chair lift. Christina and I took the chair lift; the views while riding it are awesome and it's definitely a worthy ride in itself. Once at the top of the chair lift you still need to climb the stairs to get the summit for the slide; finally there, I look down and was rather nervous to slide. Now, I'm not one to get scared on rides, but this one honestly terrified me; however, I'm also not one to chicken out easily, so I did it....and loved it (not enough to do it again that day but hey I did it)! Going down the slide gave me such a rush of adrenaline I didn't know what to do with myself haha :) Just like Typhoon, there are a lot of slides and tube rides and, of course, a lazy river. We did most of the attractions before calling it a day and heading back to the apartments.

   Overall, I must say the Disney water parks far surpassed my expectations. With Typhoon's swimming with sharks and Blizzards chair lift, I don't think I will be able to go to a basic water park now! Disney magic is at it again.

Mt. Gushmore

"ski lodge"

winter decor 

kiddie area

Summit Plummet

wave pool