Disney World Wrap Up

Had to share pictures that I took from my phone -- I think I would die if for some reason I lost my phone pictures.  They are the best snapshot of our life, for sure!

We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast on the way down and Ellie thought it was great to go in public in her pajamas.

 We made it to the resort and our view from our room was so awesome.  We saw sweet giraffes, zebras and ostriches daily outside our window.  We wish we had had more time to explore the resort.  I hope next trip we can work a non-park day in to do that.

 We took the bus over to MK the day we arrived so that we could ride the monorail around and Ellie could get a view of the castle -- we discovered they had already decorated for Christmas!

 Ellie's first ride was the tea cups!  So so so fun!

 She's a carousel lover too!

 My personal favorite treat in Disney is the Mickey bar!  Ellie was a fan as well!

 Pictures with the princesses at Akershus...

Ariel (as a human)

 Cinderella (Ellie's favorite)

 and Mulan (Ellie has no clue)

Days 2 and 3 -- Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom

We started off Day 2 back at Magic Kingdom -- we went straight in to meet Tinkerbelle and Mickey Mouse.  Tinker belle was a great character interaction and we loved her!  Ellie really loves a meet and greet -- no matter if it's after a play at the Peace Center or Santa Claus -- so Disney World did NOT disappoint.  Disney has made it so special, allowing each family individual time with the characters and never feeling rushed or hurried through.  Much different than having to "catch" them walking around the park when we were little.

 Ellie and Tink talked about twirling hair (Tink suggested it was back she was just trying to make it curly, even though it's Ellie's nervous habit) and she showed Ellie how to pose just like her.

 Ellie had no clue who Rapunzel was but she did know she was a princess so that was enough for her!

 Cinderella stole Ellie's heart. 

 We had lunch at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends.  The lunch was great.  The character interactions pretty disorganized.  Luckily we had met them the day before at Park Fare so it wasn't a huge deal that we didn't get an opportunity to see them all but she and Tigger bonded and gave hugs and fist bumps before we left our table.

 Ellie saw Eeyore from across the restaurant and went running to give him a big hug and he couldn't see her (because of his costume) -- he was going to plow straight over her -- luckily Josh saw that he didn't see her and snatched her away before he trampled her.  We are still giggling about it -- SO funny.

 Ellie was fairly upset so I told her Eeyore didn't mean to do it and poor Eeyore just buried his face in shame.  Staying true to his character!

 Saturday morning we had breakfast at Tusker House with Mickey, Daisy, Donald and Goofy.

 Mickey kisses.

 Mickey giggles.

 Daisy and Ellie compared jewelry and hair accessories.

 Christmas Mickey and Minnie!

 We had dinner at Akershus that night in Epcot!  We weren't too impressed with the meal or the princess interactions but she of course didn't notice either being off!  

We had plans to catch the Light Parade in MK after dinner but we lost our beloved lovie and I spent an hour searching Epcot, weaving through massive amounts of people through Food and Wine Festival.  Unfortunately we didn't find it but Ellie has handled it like a champ -- much better than her mommy has!  

What a MAGICAL three days we had at the HAPPIEST place on the planet!

Disney Day 1!

We started our first day in Disney at the Park Fare breakfast at the Grand Floridian.  It was the perfect beginning to our Disney trip.  Mary Poppins was the best!  The way she cradled Ellie's face when she was talking to her was just the sweetest.  

 Ellie's never seen Alice and Wonderland but Alice showed her how to pose just like her!

 The Mad Hatter was SO funny and completely overwhelmed Ellie.  

 Pooh and Tigger made their rounds last and Ellie loved them.

 With the Tigers being ranked #1, Tigger held up the 1 sign with Ellie

 Waiting in line for Dumbo

 Riding Dumbo with Bubba

 Nervous Nelly Ellie meeting Anna and Elsa

 Luckily we had a Fastpass for Ariel!

 outside of Ariel's grotto with Grammy

Disney World 2015!

I can't say enough about our first trip to Disney with Ellie!  We are all in somewhat of a Disney hangover -- it was the absolute best and we are ready to plan our next visit.  We decided to pay for the Memory Keeper and we're so glad we did -- they had photographers all over the parks and they took super sweet shots and they came directly to our account when they scanned our bands.  It was an awesome feature and one we'll do again for sure.  I haven't dumped my own personal pictures yet from my camera but here are a few from Memory Keeper.

 We were shocked when we found Mickey and Minnie dressed for the holidays at Animal Kingdom.  Ellie thought Minnie was so wonderful!  

 Family shot in front of the tree of life.  

 We had an unexpected girl's dinner at Akershus with the princesses Saturday night.  Banks was watching football and poor Josh got sick in the middle of the day so was back at the hotel.  We also lost lovie while walking to the monorail from dinner -- not the best way to end a trip but despite the illness, Clemson playing like garbage, and a lost lovie, we still have nothing but sweet memories.

 Ellie got to meet Belle before we sat down for dinner.  She was one of Ellie's favorite princesses besides Cinderella.

 We had breakfast at the Grand Floridian and it was probably our favorite meal.  It was SO good and the character interactions were perfect.  Ellie had on a Mary Poppins shirt and when she came to our table she told Ellie to not spill any of her breakfast on her.  I think that was my favorite part of the characters -- they stayed in full character, no matter what.  

 Ellie did not care for the mean stepmother and step sisters but they were some of my favorites.  I want to book a character meal with them next time!  Ellie asked them why they ripped Cinderella's dress and the stepmother said "I cannot believe Cinderella is out spreading rumors about us."  One of the stepsisters responded to Ellie with "I was only taking back what was mine.  They were MY beads."  So funny.

 She was more willing to take a picture with the Godmother.

 We luckily had a fastpass for Enchanted Tales with Belle and it was great.  Ellie was shy and didn't want to participate in the reenactment but I think we could get her to do it next go round.  Belle was beautiful and Ellie loved her gown.

 Ariel was another favorite!  She had her dinglehopper and was showing Ellie how to comb her hair with it.

 Banks was less than enthused with the castle picture and wanted this photo session done asap.  It was so fun to see MK decorated for Christmas -- they were actually filming the Disney Christmas Day parade while we were there.  We saw Jesse Palmer who I guess is moderating it -- and Ellie LOVES LOVES LOVES a parade so she enjoyed catching the floats here and there as they went by.  It wasn't a continuous parade -- they would film 2-3 at a time.  We are excited to watch it christmas morning. 

 Ellie girl got so nervous with Anna and Elsa.  I was expecting a horrible wait time to meet them but Daddy stood in line for us and we met him at the front after riding Winnie the Pooh and the carousel. Ellie got that little tight lipped grin on her face and twirled her hair faster than she could think.  She really thought she was meeting a celebrity.  

 She has no clue who Rapunzel is but took a picture with her anyway!

 and oh Cinderella.  Ellie loved her!  Before we left we told her she was allowed to choose one souvenir  before we left and she chose the Cinderella gown.  (of course Uncle Bubba bought her a necklace and Grammy bought her a bracelet and what's a trip to Disney without Minnie ears -- but she was really good about not asking for every single thing she saw)

 Tinkerbelle was a great character interaction!  They talked about hair twirling and she told Ellie she was sure she was doing it to try to get her hair curly -- then tried twirling her own to see if she could get it curly.  Then, she showed her how to put her hand on her hip and pose just like her.  

 and the talking Mickey.  He was so awesome and we couldn't believe when we heard him speak!  He spent a lot of time with each family and made Ellie feel so special, even though she was just asking about Minnie.

 and we couldn't go to Disney World without a family picture with Mickey!

Thank you so much to our grammy for treating us to the best first trip ever!  It was a magical 3 days and we are counting down until our next!