Disney Days

We spent all day Wednesday at Magic Kingdom and then split Thursday between Hollywood Studios in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon. Today is all about Magic Kingdom since there's just a *few* photos to share...

I'd never been to Disney before so it was just as new to me as it was to Jake (and Reid). So I had no idea you could take a ferry to the park entrance! I took that time on the ferry to adjust settings for the camera and make sure we could easily reach what we needed from under the stroller.

Reid's little feet sticking straight out of the stroller just kill me. ;)

Talking to Grandpa!

As soon as we got to Main Street, the Dapper Dans started up a show so we paused for a moment to watch. All I could think was how hot those dancers had to be in their costumes! I don't envy them one bit. It was only about 9:00am and that sun was searing hot already.

Jake's first real ride--at Disney or anywhere else--was Aladdin's Magic Carpet. When I showed him the handle that lets you control moving yourself up and down, he was thrilled! When the ride was over he quickly hopped back in line to ride with Deric.

Reid's first order of business was to take a stellar nap. I love that kid! I was anxious about how we'd handle his naps during the day because of the heat. I had brought our Ergo carrier but really didn't want to carry him in it because it would be way too hot for either of us. Thankfully the stroller could cover him all the way to his feet and we had stroller fans to blow on both his head and his feet. So he had a nice little situation going on, better than the rest of us schlepping around in the sun! ;)

Family photo in front of the castle! Reid was grabbing Jake's hair and making him laugh. I'm sure this won't be the last time that happens. 

The whole family! We didn't stay together as a group for most of the day because the girls wanted to do different rides and meet the princesses, plus we had to be a little more flexible for nursing and whatnot. So we coordinated a few rides and meals together, and the grandparents hopped back and forth depending on what rides we were doing. It worked out really well this way!

While the girls were meeting a princess, we took Jake to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Jake and I rode first and I was a terrible driver! Trying to keep those cars from banging on the track was harder than I expected. And then Deric totally one-upped me in the fun parent category and let Jake drive the car on his second time through! How cute is he?? I'm not sure Jake could even see over the steering wheel.

I'm pretty sure Grandma didn't mind sitting this ride out...

 As we waited for the carousel to start, Jake named our horses and declared it a race. Somehow I lost the race...I'm pretty sure we tied. ;)

It's a Small World with his cousins!

We ate "dinner" around 3:30 and it may as well have been a Thanksgiving meal. So. much. food! It was delicious but despite our best efforts, we barely put a dent in it. 

Thanks to Disney's Fast Pass system, we didn't wait in too many long lines. And because Reid was too small for a lot of rides and someone had to stay back with him, we were able to ride most rides twice in a row without any wait and just swap out the person who stayed with Reid. 

By this point it was late afternoon and Jake was definitely feeling the heat and lack of a nap, but he kept it together really well! Deric, Jake and I rode the Barnstormer rollercoaster together the first time while Grandpa stayed with Reid, and then Grandpa and I switched out for the second time through.

Thankfully this roller coaster lasted all of thirty seconds because Jake started to cry after the first drop! But by the time he probably even realized what was going on, we were pulling back into the station. Deric and I praised him over and over for being so brave on his first roller coaster that he was able to get over the shock and he was up for going again! 

Equal parts terrified and brave...:)

We called it quits a few hours earlier than the rest of the family so we could get the boys into bed and get ready for the next day at the parks. The girls stayed through fireworks at the castle while we showered and headed to bed, and everyone was plenty happy. ;) More on Hollywood and Epcot tomorrow!