Disney Vacation Recap

Last Christmas, Lissie and Xavier gave their Lolos and Lola a family vacation to Disney World and Orlando. Last month, the vacation FINALLY happened and lots of unforgettable memories were made!

Both kids loved the plane ride there. Lissie enjoyed all of the snacks and fun new "busy activities" she found in her backpack. Xavier enjoyed being passed around to everyone and smiling at all the new faces.

We're going UP, UP, UP in an airplane!

Getting Comfy

Are we there yet?

We spent that first day at Downtown Disney (where Lissie happened upon a Princess Parade and got the BEST souvenir ever - a Disney Mr. Potato Head, which kept her and Xavier occupied for endless entertainment at the hotel), grocery shopping, and getting acquainted with our new digs for the long weekend. Lissie and Xavier were already having such a blast, with Lissie running from each room of our three-bedroom suite yelling "THIS IS THE BEST EVER, RIGHT HERE!!!!" and Xavier following close behind giggling endlessly. Little did they know that the real fun hadn't even begun yet!

She insisted on joining the parade but then had second thoughts.

Blowing kisses and waving to her people.

Giggle monster on the big bed

Getting ready for Disney

Blowing bubbles in the pool

The next day, we woke up early to have a buffet breakfast at the Magic Kingdom with the Pooh characters. Lissie, of course, was in heaven with the endless food AND seeing Winnie and Friends. Xavier was very curious about these guys and enjoyed devouring his meal, as well. We spent the good chunk of our day in FantasyLand since my shorties aren't big enough to ride most of the other rides, anyway. Lissie loved meeting Mickey and the Princesses, they both enjoyed riding Dumbo and the other rides, and they both conked out even before they got to the car by day's end. The rest of the day was spent lounging at the resort pool before dinner.

Taking "Where Dreams Come True" literally

Wiped out waiting for the train

SeaWorld was Day 3. I was very excited to see the new Antarctica exhibit and be up close and personal with the penguins. It was definitely my highlight of the day. Aside from the flightless birds, Xavier was not so impressed with SeaWorld, but Lissie had quite the blast - with getting soaked after making us sit in the Splash Zone at the orca whale show, being spoiled by Lolo Ernie with ice cream and sweets, and running around the splashpad and kiddie area where she enjoyed unlimited carousel and train rides since there were no lines. And, of course, we finished the day at the pool again before dinner.

Day 4 was when the kids enjoyed time with the grandparents - wandering around the resort, going to the bounce house, playing miniature golf, and enjoying the other pools in the area- while Justin and I snuck off to go to Hogsmeade and the Harry Potter exhibit at Universal. Justin is more of a Potter fan than me, but I had a great time at Hogswarts and getting immersed in this fantasy. We ended the day with dinner with one of Justin's pharmacy school friends.

And, as with all vacations, we had to come home.  Of course, as much as I planned for the flight to go smoothly with timing out Xavier's bottle and nap with takeoff, he decided to throw us for a loop and stay awake and upset for pretty much the entire hour and a half flight home. But, thankfully, we made it safe and sound.

We definitely had a wonderful trip, and the kids especially enjoyed spending time with their Lolos and Lola. We're already tentatively planning to go back when they are both old enough to ride on more rides - maybe when they are 7 and 8. It was definitely a fun vacation, or as Lissie kept saying, "BEST EVER, RIGHT HERE!"