Fife's go to Disney

After a couple months of planning, and excited anticipation, both from myself and the kids, it was finally time.  The Fife's were headed to Disney!  Disney World with a 4 year old, and a two year old can be summed up in two words: Magical and EXHAUSTING.  Thankfully we were armed with some of the best advice from very seasoned, self-described "Disney Families".  They helped us plan our trip down to some of the most minute details, with tips and tricks that saved our sanity for the three days that we spent in the most magical place on earth.  

We started the day in Houston, SUPER early.  Jordan and I woke up around 4:30AM, dressed, packed up the last of our things, and woke up our very sleepy little sweeties.  Isla perked up as soon as I reminded her where we were going, but poor little Holden was dazed for the first hour or so of our trip.  The early departure time worked in our favor as Holden, (who was just getting over his first flu), slept during the second half of our flight.  

After arriving in Orlando, boarding the Magical Express, checking in at the Animal Kingdom, and loading onto the bus heading the Magic Kingdom, we finally made it to the park at around 12:30.  You can imagine how hard this was for our little 4 year old, who I don't think could have contained her excitement one second longer.  

The Magic Kingdom

The first couple of minutes were spent wandering around in awe, but we quickly reverted to our schedule, (I actually carried around a clipboard)!

One of Isla's favorite things was the various live shows throughout the parks.  She was particularly obsessed with the "Castle Party" show that Mickey puts on at Cinderella's castle, I'm pretty sure every hour on the hour.  If we were walking by the castle during a show, we were basically obligated to stop and watch.

Now that we are home, she requests that we watch a YouTube version that I found.

Surprisingly, even though we got to the park mid-day, we were able to do a lot with the help of our "line-friendly" schedule, and fast passes.

As we expected, the princesses were a big deal for Isla.  It's basically all she could talk about leading up to the trip, and once we were there, her eyes were constantly searching for long flowing dresses, and glass slippers.

Isla said she wasn't nervous, but she was totally starstruck when she met Flynn Rider and Rapunzel.  She moved her lips, but I seriously don't think any words came out.  Seriously.  

Since we visited the park on Valentines Day, a lot of the Princesses were joined by their Prince Charmings.

Snow White's prince took extra time to try and include Holden in the meet and greet, but he wasn't having any of it.  We would soon find out that he was most excited to see the big man, Mickey himself.

She got better as the meet and greets went along, and even started peppering the princesses with questions, (in true Isla fashion).  Her questions were just much quieter than at home with us, or her teachers and friends.

Something that I would highly recommend to anyone going to Disney, is the Memory Maker package.  Anytime there are any sort of characters around, or you are in front of a famous Disney landmark, you'll see a bunch of photographers waiting to take pictures.  Basically all of our character pictures, and any pictures with the whole family together, were taken by Disney photographers.  Jordan and I joked that Disney World is the place where we will have the most family photos, since one of us is usually the one behind the camera.

This was such a fun experience - Enchanted Tales with Belle.  You basically get to act out the story of Beauty and the Beast with the help of magical characters and even Belle herself.  Isla got the part of Chip (the teacup), and hopped around like the cutest little teacup you've ever seen.  

This was one of those things that we just wouldn't have been able to do without a fast pass.  The wait time for this experience is generally an hour and a half!  Clearly just not feasible with a two, and four year old.  

The end of the first day, we found out what Holden was most excited about at Disney World.

As soon as we saw Mickey (who by the way turned out to be a TALKING Mickey - I'm told that this is not always the case), Holden lit up.  He giggled through the whole Mickey meet and greet.  He was so excited, we made sure we went to visit Mickey again at Epcot.

Isla was super excited to be getting her autograph book full of signatures, and was especially amazed that clearly she got the "real Mickey", I mean, he was talking to her - it had to be the real one!  

Holden was basically enamored with any of the characters he recognized from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  In true Holden Fashion, after so long, he basically just started swiping at the characters, grabbing their noses, etc…  Which he also found pretty entertaining.

And then there were the rides…

The teacups were a clear favorite for Isla.  I have to say - I was pretty nervous, I am not one for spinning rides, but I loved them just as much as her.

There was something about riding the teacups at Disney World.  Magic...

Holden didn't exactly agree...

The day we rode the teacups, we took some of the

best

advice I've ever gotten: GET TO DISNEY EARLY.  Like, before they open.  Like

thirty minutes

before they open.  They'll let you halfway into the park, and then at opening, you are the first in line.  We rode our favorite rides over, and over, and over… and over.  By 11am, we were looking for things to do because we had literally ridden all the attractions we wanted to, multiple times.

An added plus is, when you're there early, Mickey and all his friends come and greet you at the gates with a little song and dance (in typical Disney fashion).

After excitedly riding The Barnstormer over and over, we felt that Isla was ready for Big Thunder Mountain, (much to Jordan's delight)… We were wrong.  She totally flipped out in line, and Jordan and Isla had to take the "walk of shame" to get to the exit.

A favorite of both kids was Tommorowland Speedway.  Isla's driven her own go kart before, and I'm not sure that she was aware that this was not the same thing, (it's on a track), but Holden didn't seem to care.  As is obvious from my attempt to take a picture from our car, he had us swerving from side to side during the whole ride.  Many times I had to grab the wheel from him, as he happily screamed ("drive, drive, drive, drive drive" (in Holden speak)). ;)

Epcot and Hollywood Studios

With only three days at Disney World, we opted to spend the majority of our time at The Magic Kingdom.  However, we spent Saturday splitting our time between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.  This is also where we had our two character dining experiences.  The first of the two was at Epcot.  

Our plan was to get there early - like before it opened, in an effort to ride "Soarin", which typically posts 70 min wait times.  But, it was the day after we had gotten to Disney, and after waking up at 4 in the morning to travel the day before, we decided to take a moment to sleep in and relax on a very frenzied and exhausting, (but totally amazing and worth it), vacation.  

Instead, we got to Epcot just in time for our Breakfast with the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.  

Unfortunately, this dining spot was right across from the Frozen character experience.  Isla was mere feet away from Anna and Elsa, and she could barely contain herself.  I think the whole breakfast she half expected to see her two favorite princesses appear.  

With the recent success of Frozen the wait time to see the sisters was three hours.  I am not exaggerating.  THREE HOURS.  Needless to say, this was not on our list.  

Nevertheless, the Princess breakfast was a HUGE success, and one of Isla's favorite moments.  

The princesses weren't the only characters we caught up with at Epcot:

With her pink princess gown on, and sparkly slippers, Isla was treated exactly like the little princess she looked like.  I think while she was a little embarrassed at the attention, she ultimately ate it up.

And of course, Holden was just as enamored as the day before…

Our second character dining experience was at Hollywood Studios at the Disney Junior hotspot Hollywood and Vine. Looking back, we should have woken Holden up for this experience. These were all his favorite characters - he actually knew these people - unlike these crazy princesses we kept hanging out with. However, he fell asleep, and as any parent knows, you never wake a sleeping baby. Especially at meal time. Even MORE especially, when that meal takes place at a restaurant!

The rest of the day at Hollywood Studios was a success, the kids were able to run around at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, while Jordan and I pretended we were part of a childhood adventure into our respective giant backyards.

And of course there were more rides…

It was a totally magical trip - we even made a believer out of a skeptical Dad, who thought Holden was too young and unpredictable, and didn't have super fond memories of Disney World from his trip as a kid (apparently the rides were just too small for my daredevil husband).

Look closely…  Isla even missed her, but got to see what she was holding later on in the pictures. :)

Holden did great - although, he was kinda just along for the ride most of the time (the carrier was a lifesaver).

I'm pretty sure the walk back to our hotel room was the longest he walked on his own the whole trip.  To be fair, our room was a full 1/4 of a mile from the lobby.  I know because I actually clocked it on my fit bit.  

Even the hotel room was fun.  Every night from our balcony we said goodnight to our new animal friends, and woke up to see them first thing in the morning.  

T

he rides back to the hotel were also fun...

And the breakfast funnel cakes weren't so bad either.

With such a wonderful trip to look back on, and a pool sized hole in our backyard, to look forward to, flying home by myself, with both kids wasn't even that bad, (Jordan had to stay back in Orlando for a work conference).

And of course, our trip according to Instagram:

Finally, a compilation of all of the unforgettable moments we made and captured on this trip.  Can't wait till the next time.  Maybe Isla will finally work up the courage to ride Big Thunder Mountain.