Disney World 2014
We spent the last week with my parents in Disney World and stayed at the Beach Club Villas. Oh, the Vacation Club benefits are a nice thing to have thanks to my parents. :) Everyone was in good health (a rarity for a Wood Family Trip it would seem), and I think everyone had a good time.
We spent the first day in Magic Kingdom. While Gabriel seems to enjoy rides once he's on them, he's often reluctant to do so. It took us a few days to learn to not ask him…just take him on a ride. He was never disappointed that he did. He even rode Thunder Mountain!!! He LOVED it!
After Dumbo…we had a popcorn break. I don't know what it is about the popcorn in that spot, but I love it. We splurged on some candied almonds as well. Y-U-M!
We rode some classics…like the carousel. Lorelai rode "Cinderella's Horse". (Well, she thinks she did.)
On Monday we had our princess dinner. Really, this trip was all about princesses. Gabriel is terrified of characters…and Lorelai…well…while still a bit shy I think she is mostly in awe that she just met one of her idols (she's 3…so, ya know.). She wore her Snow White Halloween Costume to the dinner...
When you walk in you meet Belle first and take an official picture with her. They gave those to us "complimentary", so I have really lovely prints. They turned out fantastic! While originally resistant to the idea of an autograph book, I'm so glad I finally swayed her. Brian took this picture of her tracing over Belle's signature over, and over, and over again. So sweet!
Cinderella was kind enough to ask who made her dress…she thought maybe Lorelai had some mouse friends.
And Ariel was super sweet to Lorelai. It was an all around special experience for everyone (well, except Gabriel maybe. He was glad that they mostly ignored him.).
Gabriel enjoys spending time at the hotel more. He's definitely a Lipscomb and enjoys more of the relaxation side of vacation…where I find the Wood side to be more of the mind of…lets see as much as we can. I definitely fall into the "lets see" category. So, I was glad Gabriel was able to get some down time in around the hotel. He also got to visit the giant Lego store and came home with 3 boxes for souvenirs! He was a happy boy!!!
Lorelai is thrilled that they have come out with Disney Princess Legos. So she got a set of those, and two princess dresses as well. We snagged one of the few Anna dresses left and a Rapunzel dress. Speaking of princesses. We had intentions to buy an Elsa dress, but they were all gone. Everywhere. Until March. :( So she picked Aurora…those were all gone too. :/ We also hoped to meet Elsa and Anna…that was a no go as well. Despite 3 attempts (two not very well planned) on Friday my mom and I set out with Lorelai at the opening of the park (9 a.m.)…waited in line for an hour and half, in 30 something degree temperatures part of the time near a waterfall (brrr!!!), only to find out we were (at best) in the 1:00 p.m. group!!!! We asked Lorelai if she wanted to stay or go to Animal Kingdom. She chose to leave, and she handled it well, but she did declare that her "worst day ever." Poor kiddo. I did feel really bad for her, especially after the dress disappointments. I promised her we'd write Elsa and Anna a letter.
Gabriel was a fan of the Living Seas.
Who doesn't love a good lollipop?
I love this silly picture...
And this one is so sweet...
One of Gabriel's favorite moments was waiting for the boat at the dock. Both kids enjoyed watching the ducks.
Hollywood Studios was a hit. We took Gabriel on Star Tours and had an AWESOME "trip" for his first time…it was also probably the scariest one I've ever seen. I don't think he'll be riding that again anytime soon. Both kids enjoy the Honey I Shrunk the Kids area. It was super crowded this time, so we didn't spend a lot of time, but I was thrilled that Gabriel wasn't scared of the ant this time so I could take his picture on it. This kiddo LOVES the spiderweb climb in there, and Lorelai always enjoys a good slide.
At Animal Kingdom we did the Dino Dig. Lorelai mostly dug up and recovered the same bone over and over again.
Gabriel could have spent all day in there.
On our last day, Lorelai wanted to hit up pretty much every single park for one last go. We settled for some fun time spent in Epcot. Gabriel went to the beach with Brian to play in the sand. Yes, Beach Club has it's own sandy beach!!! :) Then Brian and the kids spent the afternoon in the heated pool despite the air temperature of 68 degrees.
We had a wonderful time, and the kids enjoyed the individual attention from Grandma and Grandpa Wood. Sadly we had to depart on my mom's birthday, but we look forward to our next trip there. :)
We spent the first day in Magic Kingdom. While Gabriel seems to enjoy rides once he's on them, he's often reluctant to do so. It took us a few days to learn to not ask him…just take him on a ride. He was never disappointed that he did. He even rode Thunder Mountain!!! He LOVED it!
Twins!
If you want to see more pictures (especially of Lorelai with other princesses…check out my mom's most recent blog post here.)
Lorelai is thrilled that they have come out with Disney Princess Legos. So she got a set of those, and two princess dresses as well. We snagged one of the few Anna dresses left and a Rapunzel dress. Speaking of princesses. We had intentions to buy an Elsa dress, but they were all gone. Everywhere. Until March. :( So she picked Aurora…those were all gone too. :/ We also hoped to meet Elsa and Anna…that was a no go as well. Despite 3 attempts (two not very well planned) on Friday my mom and I set out with Lorelai at the opening of the park (9 a.m.)…waited in line for an hour and half, in 30 something degree temperatures part of the time near a waterfall (brrr!!!), only to find out we were (at best) in the 1:00 p.m. group!!!! We asked Lorelai if she wanted to stay or go to Animal Kingdom. She chose to leave, and she handled it well, but she did declare that her "worst day ever." Poor kiddo. I did feel really bad for her, especially after the dress disappointments. I promised her we'd write Elsa and Anna a letter.