Just a warning: I took plenty of pics to preserve this special trip :)
Diana and Katy are at that magical age of little girl cuteness. They love testing out my makeup, will do their own dance classes for hours in their room, love playing pretend, and all the delightful sugar and spice of little girls. I wanted to take a sweet trip where we just enjoyed all the fun princess and girl things of Disneyworld as mommy and daughters. The biggest kudos goes to Jim, who dealt with keeping everything afloat (when school was let out early due to tornado watch, and then being cancelled the next day due to power outages in other parts of the city!)
We used credit card points to get a room at a Hilton. It was part of the Disney Springs hotels so we got all the perks of an on-site Disney hotel (earlier fastpass, early entry to parks, etc) but it was just a regular one building hotel instead of a sprawling huge maze of hotel buildings like all the onsite hotels. It was a business hotel so very few kids and a calmer atmosphere. Total win!
The heated lazy river was so heavenly. Warm water and 80 degrees is such a great break from winter.
Room service for dinner- this has to be one of the parts of vacation the girls loved most. Eating in bed!
Our plan for our first day. I sketch a possible best case scenario of things to see and do in a logical order. Doesn't happen this way, but keeps in my mind the shows we want to see and a good order, plus any reservations and fast pass. We ended up not doing slinky (they changed park opening time to 8am and I didn't know- so sad!) and didn't bother with Star Wars land. Super crowded that way, and we didn't want to do any of those rides anyways.
Ready to start the day!
The girls loved twirling around everywhere in their tutus!
Diana was so not happy that there was a 20 minute wait for this ride. So funny since there are hundreds of people waiting 2 hours for slinky or other rides. Her patience prettymuch matches mine though, so we did opt to skip a few rides that just weren't worth wasting that much of our life waiting for.
The girls loved seeing r2d2 and 3cpo
Katy was not a fan of the experience but she handled it just fine. She's a brave girl!
Twirling with Fancy Nancy
Next up was Little Mermaid
Puppeteers dressed in black move the puppets that are lit by black lights. Little sprays of water and laser lights made this a fun show
We had fastpass for Toy Story Mania. The line to the ride was full of fun!
Monopoly on the ceiling
Huge plastic monkeys hanging overhead
Katy firing away- we both had cannons and went for all the 3d targets
Our final scores!
They love toy story and thought John would love this pic
Diana's favorite game is checkers!
We got Mrs. Incredible's autograph and then went to get treats. She's a wandering character and she came right over to recommend which snack is best :)
The girls never took a nap or a break and we didn't bring a stroller or diaper bag. A happy day for me! And they were such troopers as we walked over 5 miles each day. Little snacks kept us going!
The Frozen Singalong
The best part is the falling snow at the end!
I had a smores cookie for dessert at lunch. Chocolate graham cracker with marshmallow inside and chocolate on top. Nothing special, so sad.
Mickey Ice Cream however is always a total win!
We had very close seats for the Indiana Jones show and it was so fun to be close! The girls were totally focused and Katy asked me many times if it was real. We had lots of little talks about stunts and special effects. They loved it!
We were about to get in line with our fastpass for another ride when the green army man drummers came right up and did their show with us in front. So fun, we made sure to get video for Jacob. They were so talented!
Alien Swirling Saucers didn't make me dizzy like the Teacup ride. I was very surprised there was a long line for this and glad we had fastpass. Not worth a long wait, but plenty fun!
This sounds hilarious, but we started getting kind of hot. Yes, it was over 80 degrees and we were wilting. In February. So we decided to wait in AC and meet Mickey and Minnie instead of walking through Star Wars land. Totally the right choice for these little sweeties!
They were totally unafraid to meet Minnie.
Twirled and smiled and loved every second!
While waiting next in line for Mickey, he had to take a break for a few minutes to, as a cast member said, "Practice a few spells." Diana said, quite loudly and with a laugh, "He just needs to use the bathroom!" Oh Diana! So she and Katy kept peeking towards the exit door that Mickey had gone through.
When he came back, he saw Katy peeking and did peekaboo with her, then had her take his hand to go back to the main room. It was cute.
We went to the Beauty and the Beast show and had front row seats again. A little frozen lemonade kept us going, but it was so sweet none of us could even eat half of it. Good thing we brought water bottles!
While walking to dinner, we saw the star wars show with all the main characters march across along with little clips from the movies.
A few fireworks at the end. For girls who've never seen Star Wars it was interesting but that was about it!
Unlike last time when we did character buffet dining a lot and about died from the lack of good food, I decided we'd meet characters other ways and I'd get a decent meal for dinner!
The girls would've had hot dogs either way haha
Buried treasure dessert! Cookie, ice cream, and a few gummy worms hidden under.
Grapefruit cake is the signature dessert of Hollywood Brown Derby. I was so excited to try it, and it totally let me down. I couldn't even eat half of it and I wanted to like it so much! Just a blah flavor, no crisp taste or delicious cake. Just blah and a watery sour taste.
Cruz from Cars 3
Waiting for the show and playing in bubbles!
The Lightening McQueen show was behind these giant numbers.
He was a moving car, with a light that made his lips look like they were really moving. His eyes were a digital screen that looked realistic too. Very fun!
He showed us that he can really do a simulator without ruining it, and then Chick Hicks took over and Lightening beat him in a race. Fun little show.
Winds gusts were so powerful that they cancelled the Fantasmic show. Too bad, but we've seen it before so it was no big deal. It was good to have some good rest before the day we were really looking forward to!
Breakfast in bed!
Nice and early to Magic Kingdom. Best thing ever was taking a "Minnie Van" via Lyft from our hotel. It takes you right to the front where buses (that are crowded and take forever) drop off, whereas any other taxi service or monorail takes you to the ticket and transportation center.
We were one of the first in line to get on Seven Dwarves Mine Train. So awesome!
They were so excited!! It was a little cooler this day, and was perfect weather all day, only getting a little chilly at dusk.
Diana rode by herself whenever we did 2 person rides. She loved every second of being an independent person!
Katy on the way up. She was pretty nervous! (We went on this ride again after dinner and she was screaming with delight, kicking her legs, clapping her hands and singing along. Totally loved it)
Next was Peter Pan! Early morning magic hour meant we had very short wait times for all the major rides. We didn't do any thrill big rollercoasters so got to do everything else easily.
It's a small world!
You ride a boat through a bunch of different rooms representing different parts of the world, with all kinds of instruments and singers all playing the same "It's a Small World" song. Definitely gets in your head, but it's cool to get a view of so many cultures.
Mickey's Philarmagic is always a favorite. The girls kept waving their hands at all the 3d things and were so surprised at the air puffs and water. Loved it!
Waiting in line for Winnie the Pooh was as interesting as the ride itself. As a mom, all I could think of was all the germs riding right along with it all.
Enchanted Tales with Belle is such a highlight! The kids get to be in a little skit telling the story of Belle's life.
Diana got to be Maurice shivering in jail. She loved being a star.
Katy was a portrait. She was SOOOOO shy to do this, and I was so glad she did it.
Lumiere looks like he's really talking to everyone, so cool.
I was waiting in line at Gaston's while the girls were trying to retrieve money from the fountain.
Cinnamon rolls and Lefou's Brew. All in front of Gaston's lovely portrait and many antlers.
Trying to get treasure in line for Little Mermaid.
The girls loved seeing all the montages and animations on the Little Mermaid ride.
Guess we're not meant to be the true ruler of England.
One of the most exciting parts of our trip was Bippity Boppity Boutique. The girls got a special changing room where the Fairy Godmother talked about transforming into a princess. They chose hairstyles they wanted from a bunch of pictures. Then they got their dresses on (I brought some instead of forking out hundreds for one there) and went with their personal Fairy Godmother to Cinderella's castle.
They both got buns that wouldn't move in hurricane force winds thanks to the amount of product and bobby pins used. It was perfect. Diana chose a pink hair braid and bow and Katy chose a tiara with yellow bow. They got to choose eyeshadow and lipstick, and both chose sparkly nail polish to match their gold sparkly shoes.
At the end, the fairy godmother showers them with fairy dust and says bippity boppity boo.
Diana's jaw dropped when she saw her princess transformation. So cute!
Katy got this tight-lipped look of surprise (she shows her emotions by holding them in) and you could see in her eyes the joy. She asked, quietly to her fairy godmother, if she could please be announced as Belle. It was so precious.
Ready to twirl the day away!
Twirling in front of Cinderella's Fountain
They loved the face gems. Part of the boutique experience was they got to keep the rest of the nail polish, face gems, and makeup.
You can see the net they used to keep the hair in perfect buns.
Waiting to ride Prince Charming's carousel
We had lunch at Cinderella's castle. While waiting in line to see her, you can spot to little mice- Jacques and Gus- watching the proceedings.
The beautiful dining room had lots of stained glass but the angle of the sun didn't let me get a good picture. The girls loved being in a "real" castle.
They got wands and wishing stars. Diana wished she could be a real princess. Katy's wish was a little convoluted- something about missing dad but wanting to do this every day with mom.
Katy could hardly eat because there were so many princesses around!
Partway through the meal, we all waved our wands and made magic wishes.
Making her wish.
Diana wishing on her star.
Desert was make your own cupcake and the girls loved that!
Finally a dessert that I absolutely loved. The Clock Strikes Twelve was a decadent, delicious dark chocolate mousse with a dark chocolate ganache. SO. Good.
As we left lunch, the girls were tapping everything in sight with their magic wands!
We opted to skip the parade so we could do the Jungle Cruise with our fastpass.
So much to see! This cruise was on a boat with a driver telling super corny, dry wit type jokes. The girls totally didn't get any of the jokes, but loved seeing all the animals (fake, but realistic).
The girls decided they'd use their magic wands to keep all the animals away so we'd be safe. They kept telling me it worked!
Magic carpet ride! Diana loved being the driver and trying to get me wet as we went by the water-spitting camel.
We also went to Country Bear Jamboree, which was kind of an odd show. I recognized one song my grandpa sang to us as kids. But everything else was just kind of like whaaaaaa. Girls had plenty of fun.
Giant bear hanging out of ceiling. Like I said, an interesting show!
We were not tall enough for this attraction. :) Somehow they couldn't quite jump together.
About time for dinner at Beast's castle!
They built Beast's castle to look like it's super far away and tall. The perspective of it is really well done.
Eating here was so fun and felt like we were really going to his castle.
Lots of gargoyles and mosaics. Intricate and true to the story.
We got to eat in Belle's room (there is the "West Wing" with an "enchanted" rose that loses a petal every now and then; there's also the main ballroom with a ceiling and chandelier that looks just like the movie)
Diana's appetizer
Lobser bisque
Katy didn't know what to do with this salad.
Dessert. So-so macaron, fun "grey stuff" with white chocolate Chip cup, and rasperry chocolate. Fun plate!
The girls got to paint their Chip cup. It all started so nicely.
Closeup on mine
Then it got quite messy and we were lucky to get out of there without everything being stained!
Katy made sure to plop her grey stuff in and the chocolate on top.
Pic of the ballroom
The "windows" were screens that made it look like it was snowing. Diana kept asking it was really snowing!
Katy was so excited and nervous to meet Beast. He got on one knee and was so sweet with the girls.
One last hug!
Hanging out at Rapunzel's.... well it's a bathroom area in front of her tower haha. It looks really cool though!
Some Japanese tourists had brought these lanterns and Diana was brave enough to ask if they could take a picture with it. Super cool effect!
Still full of energy- those princess dresses really gave them such a lift as they twirled and used their magic wands everywhere we went.
The Scare floor!
Diana sat on a row by herself. She was feeling very grown up!
Katy sat on the front row with me.
Diana got chosen to be part of a story, but didn't know what actions they wanted her to do so she just smiled a huge grin the whole time!
And sweet Katy got chosen to speak and tell about herself and what she wanted to be when she grows up. She managed her name. And then silence....the comedian then started flashing to shots of different people and asking if she wanted to be this or that (funny captions of job names with pics of people in the audience). Katy was practically squirming with shyness so I whispered for her to say "no way" and she said that for each job. Did a great job of being cute. Not the comic relief perhaps that they wanted, but it was HUGE for her to even say a few words with the spotlight and camera on her and a microphone in her face!!
Our last ride was the Carousel of Progress
They rotate your seats around to different theaters that showed progress through time. They started in the 1900s.
What a difference electricity made!
Modern day focused on virtual reality and voice activated everything.
Fireworks show! They light the castle up with different scenes and characters while music plays and fireworks go off. Such a fun show!
For 1/3 of the show Katy thought it was all too loud. Then she just put her hands down and enjoyed the rest!
After such a fun day we were very tired but so happy.
They walked so far! And the BEST part was after the show, I ordered another Minnie Van, we hardly had to walk far at all and got our own personal transportation within 18 minutes back to our hotel.
As hot as it was a few days before, it was not quite 50 degrees the morning we left. But we still went swimming anyways. As long as we stayed mostly underwater we didn't freeze. We had the whole place to ourselves! They insisted I bring my magic wand from our lunch the previous day. So all three of us were casting spells around the lazy river.
And ended up in the hot tub!
At this point I realized we didn't have towels! As we were racing back to the hotel, I saw a cart covered by a tarp and found towels under it so we didn't totally freeze, just mostly haha.
The bellhop kept our luggage so we could explore Disney Springs before going to the airport.
We walked across the bridge from our hotel.
Lots of shops and food. Fun to window shop and see all the statues. They insisted on wearing their new huge bows from their boutique experience. And of course their magic wands came along.
So. Many. Minnies!
They chose their souvenirs at the huge disney store. Bubble wands and Sorcerer Minnies!
They loved the bubbles, and most of all loved making bubbles in front of people so they could walk through the bubbles. It was fun to see their kindness!
In the Ron Jon surf shop, they had a Kelly Slater surf board!
Lego store had some fun statues.
Guess Legos are pretty durable! I bet this one was Kragled :)
More bubble sharing
The girls love their Minnies. We had lunch at a food truck with barbacoa- yum!
But the real reason we were even there at all- Ghiradelli!
The girls got a one scoop and couldn't finish it was so big!
Then it was off to the airport! We got there pretty early and for HOURS they played with their Minnies. I love those Minnies too haha.
Overall we had a wonderful time seeing lots of fun shows, riding plenty of cute and fun rides, and ate some great food. Most of all, we smiled and laughed together. These girls definitely can push each other's buttons back and forth! It was great to have time to make some forever memories. I feel so happy to be their mom and it was a blast taking the time enjoy their vibrant imagination and loving sweetness.
