Disney Trip Report: Part 1 (of far too many)

Well, we did it. After five years of planning, pleading with the husband, scheduling and un-scheduling our trip, more pleading with the husband(he isn't wasn't a fan of Disney), obsessing over reservations and restaurants, a giant move just before said trip, and lots of other chaos in between, we FINALLY made it to Disney World! Yes, folks, the trip that has taken over our lives for so many years absolutely happened! So, for the next few posts, BE WARNED, you are going to be completely immersed in the "The Disney Zone." There will be lots of photos, stories, and reflections about our time there. I still can't believe we took on Disney for ten days and survived!

I decided to break our trip up into categories because, well, I like making lists and categorizing everything. It makes me feel like I might actually be a little bit organized somewhere in my life! Besides that, Disney is huge and the activities are endless so it makes it a little easier to keep track of where we are on this magic carpet ride(Yes, you are also going to have to put up with my awful quotes and Disney flecked comments!) Okay, still with me? Here we go...


First Stop: The Land of Characters

Seriously, I expected that we would grab a few photos with some of our favorite characters. We made sure that Stitch(my son) was well stocked on Sharpies of every color and an overpriced autograph book purchased at one of the shops in Downtown Disney (TIP: Make sure you have fat sharpies for the costumed characters. They are much easier for them to handle.) What I didn't expect was that we would be running into a character every two steps. EVERY. TWO. STEPS! You couldn't round a corner or walk out of a shop without finding a character spot. Stitch was in autograph heaven and we ended up with some wonderful photos and memories.

 

The best part, for us, was that even though we had to spend a bit of time waiting in lines (Elsa and Anna's line was the WORST!) each family was given special attention and each child really felt like they had the characters' undivided attention. Stitch never walked away feeling like his time was wasted.

 

 

 We also made sure to book a couple of character meals so that there was no chance we would miss out on meeting some of our absolute favorites. The meals were fun and it was nice that we were guaranteed the character interactions, but all of us agreed that coming upon the characters naturally was more fun because it added just that little touch of surprise and magic. Of course, being in an air conditioned building, eating good food and guzzling beverages while the characters did all the work was definitely not something to complain about!

One of my absolute favorite pictures from the entire trip. That smile never left his face!



So, who would we say was our favorite
character of all? Well, for my son, the answer was simple... Stitch meeting Stitch was definitely the highlight of this trip!

 

 

 

 

Anna and Elsa were definitely a close second, though. I've never seen him speechless before!

So, what have we learned today, Class? Have plenty of space on your memory cards, have plenty of batteries( learned that the hard way) have your autograph book and markers in hand, and prepare to spend a LOT of time in lines. Be prepared for surprises and make sure you get in on the action as well. No one is too old for Disney!