Doug, Deb, & the girls (and Jeorgie!): Disney 2011 *****Warning extremely long post*****

The problem with digital pictures is that I take WAY too many of them. We have been home from Disney for over a month and I still haven't made it through the mountain of images we took while we were there, over 1000 photos! I did however buy the disc with the photopass pictures. I wanted to share them with you all sooner, but time gets away from me these days. So for now I will do what I can, here is how the trip went...

We were lucky enough to take advantage of Doug's job and were able to take the auto train down to Florida. It was a lot of fun; we boarded the train at 3 pm, and immediately were invited to wine and cheese in the lounge car. The train departed for Florida an hour later and we got settled in our rooms. We had 2 adjoining sleeper compartments. The compartment consisted of a couch which folded down into an extra wide single bed, and then a bunk that came down from the wall, also a private bathroom with a shower and sinks. It was nice to be able to have that space. So we relaxed until 5pm when we were called for our on board dinner. The girls loved eating on the train. There was a movie in the lounge car following dinner, but because the girls are still a little young for a feature length film we opted to head back to our room and set up the laptop with Beauty and the Beast. The girls cuddled up with their blankets and tucked their dolls in next to them and enjoyed the ride.

Doug and I moved over to our side of the room, pulled out the table and played a few hands of gin. We relaxed, I drank wine, we read the paper, Doug played Sudoku and I did a crossword. We lounged and just enjoyed the ride. I would take the auto train again in a heartbeat!

By 9pm the girls were in bed, we were back at the table playing gin for a few more hours. Then it was off to bed, and before we knew it we woke up for a light continental breakfast at 7am and then pulled into the station in Sanford, FL at 8am. We were off to our condo, and were checked in by 9:30 am. We decided to unpack, and put the girls down for a nap, Doug was off to Walmart to stock the condo for the rest of the week and after a shower we were all ready to hit the ground running.

We decided to go to Epcot the first night we were there.

The first thing the girls saw when we got into the park was a place to meet Mickey and his friends. They both ran up to the windows and plastered their faces against the glass to see all of them inside. Doug and I decided to go ahead and wait in line to meet them all. The wait was trying at times, but Epcot was set up with TVs playing cartoons so that anywhere you were in line you could see a screen. That helped alot. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the girls very first time meeting Mickey and friends:

Isabel had Lexi distract Donald so she could check out his tail feathers!

Next we headed over to the Finding Nemo ride. We all loved it. We wanted to see if the girls would be okay staying up late for the laser light show, but needed to eat first. Unfortunately, the show wasn't until 10 pm and the girls were going into meltdown mode right around 7pm, so we got some food at the Chinese place hoping it would rejuvinate the girls, but no luck. We headed back to the condo because the next day would be a long one!

We woke up early Tuesday morning and were so excited to go to Magic Kingdom. Our moods were only dampened slightly when it began to rain on our way over; by the time we got off the bus is was a full on Monsoon! So we stood under a covered walkway for a long time, I headed to the giftshop and purchase 4 ponchos, and a hat. When the rain finally subsided enough for us to just go for it, we did! The girls didn't care about the rain, they just wanted to jump in the puddles.

So we made our way over to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house, it was open and there was no line! So we headed up the tree.

Next we headed over to the pirates of the Carribean ride:

and ran into Goofy:

Then we headed over to Frontierland and there was Donald...

And then it was time for our very first character meal! We headed back to the front of the park to the Crystal Palace to have lunch with Winnie the Pooh and Friends. I had planned several character meals to give the girls a chance to see the characters up close and to relax/eat while waiting. At first, Doug wasn't sure about this decision, because let's face it, we overpaid for the actual meal but after the wait to see Mickey and all his friends the night before at Epcot, Doug declared it a GREAT idea! The girls were VERY excited to see all the characters, no fear here. A couple of my favorite moments:

Isabel seeing Eeyore for the first time:

Her first picture with a character:

And right when it was Lexi's turn to meet Eeyore, she saw Tigger enter the room! Eeyore was so heart broken! It was perfectly played by Eeyore as he covered his eyes as if he was crying and lower his head without skipping a beat!

He forgave her after a big hug.

After lunch, the rain had stopped completely and we had a full day of Magic. Rides and shows, and parades and of course what trip to the Magic Kingdom would be complete without meeting the princesses!

First they met Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):

Then Belle:

Last, but not least, Cinderella:

Check out our Picasa pictures to see all the magic we experienced on our first day ever at the Magic Kingdom.

After meeting the princesses it was time to watch the parade one last time and then head home for the night because Grandma Bobbie and Papa Jim would be arriving soon! At least one of us, was very tired!

The following morning we headed over to Sea World. We spent the next two days, watching shows with dolphins and whales, and assorted other marine life.

We rode rides and even fed and petted the sting rays.

The girls finished up their trip to Sea World by getting just as wet as the rest of the animals there! They had so much fun in the water park area. It was really hot both of those days, so it was a great ending to our time at Sea World.

The park closed at 6 pm, which was perfect so we could head out to dinner, and get to bed early because the next day was the big day, the girls 3rd birthday!!!!

On Friday morning, we woke up early and were headed over to Magic Kingdom again. Unfortunately for us, the weather didn't cooperate and it was pouring once again. We had a really full day planned, and the girls were excited. Our first stop was breakfast at the Grand Floridian Hotel!

Happy Birthday Isabel and Alexa!!

The girls birthday breakfast was shared with Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, The Madhatter, and Alice. As much as the loved seeing Pooh, and Tigger, I think the highlight at this breakfast was Mary Poppins!

They haven't even seen the movie yet, but boy were they struck by her. They didn't want her to leave. They loved her lipstick and asked her to give them some, so she touched her lips and then touched theirs and blinked and the girls believed she had painted their lips the same as hers. It was so sweet to watch.

Then it was birthday cupcake time! Yes, the girls had a great breakfast, complete with Mickey Mouse shaped waffles, fresh strawberries, eggs, and a huge cupcake too!

Then came the Madhatter and the girls had no clue who he was even though we had just watched the movie a week before our trip....

It wasn't the same story when Alice came around they knew who she was! Alice sang Happy Unbirthday to herself, and even borrowed one of the girls birthday cupcakes to blow out her unbirthday candle! It was cute and the girls could not stop watching.

After breakfast the rain was gone, but the heat and humidity had arrived! The girls didn't care, they just wanted to go ride more rides and see the other half of the park; but first we need to dance in the streets and watch another parade! (I got some great shots of the characters, you can see them in our Picasa Pictures).

Next we headed over to the Merri-go-round and a great 3D movie, and a trip through Brear Rabbits and Winnie the Pooh's neck of the woods.

Finally we were off to meet a personal favorite Lexi's, THE FAIRIES! Rosetta was there and so was Tinkerbell! The girls were so curious and very taken by the fairies!

Rosetta:

Tinkerbell:

Finally it was time for the GRAND FINALE of our time at Disney World. The girls birthday dinner at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. It was to be the granddaddy of all birthday dinners! It may have fallen a little short but these girls never noticed! We were all exhausted, but still managed to enjoy our last meal at Disney World and celebrated with birthday cakes!