Wanderlust : Disney World 2013 - Day 1

Visiting Disney with children is amazing, but TOTALLY different than with just the two of you.  Profound statement.  I know.

Seeing the magic through a child's eyes - through your child's eyes - is probably one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had.  Sure, there are constant potty breaks, naps taken in the stroller when you really want them to meet Peter Pan, fevers that come up in the middle of the fireworks show, and tantrums thrown by the sheer overwhelming awesomeness that they just can't handle.  But there is also that moment when they see the castle, or ride the teacups, or meet Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, that makes every bit of the craziness and stress worth it.  No, I am definitely not tearing up thinking about these moments.

We took Canon in March of this year to Disney World.  We told him that we would be celebrating his birthday there, and did we ever!  All of the meals included a birthday cupcake and candle, with songs and shouts of "Happy Birthday" throughout the entire trip.  He loved every moment and still talks about the things we saw and did (and who we met) while we were there. I love to hear him talk about the "mondee-rail" and the "horses" (carousel).  When he sees a city bus on the road, he will say "I rode a bus yesterday at Disney World!"  'Yesterday' means any day that happened prior to the present day.

Riding the bus to the Magic Kingdom for the first time.  

I may or may not have taken 2,086 photos in 6 days.  Don't worry, I only edited half of them. I will only subject you to a portion of the edited ones.  You are welcome.

  I will walk you through day-by-day because I know you are dying to see what we did and where we ate.  I mean, really we are the most entertaining family ever.  Even more than the Kardashians.  Probably.  I hope.

Also, it is important to note that although Canon knew we were going to Disney World at some point, we stopped talking about it completely with him for two weeks prior to the trip.  We wanted it to be a surprise.  He is used to road trips so there were no curious stares during our 7 hour trek and our stay in a random hotel in Orlando the first night.  Of course, I had to videotape him when we drove onto the property, and although it may not look like much to anyone else, that video is something that Craig and I cherish.

Without further ado, welcome to day 1.  We visited the Magic Kingdom, of course, because what better way to introduce the most magical place on Earth to your child than the park with the castle!

By a stroke of sheer luck, we happened upon a parade as soon as we set foot in the park.  What a great way to introduce Canon to the magic of Disney. 

 There isn't a whole lot that can compete with the excitement of seeing the castle.  Well, except maybe Christmas Eve night.

 Fun fact:  I lost Craig and Canon while I stopped to take this shot.  I had to wait for a ton of people to cross in front of me (because of course, crossing behind me is out of the question).  So when I finally get my picture, I turn and the boys are nowhere to be found.  Thankfully, we were right beside a restaurant so I tracked them to the food.  Naturally.

Canon got to choose what to ride and in this particular instance he picked the People Mover.  He thought he was on a roller coaster and loved it.  Surprisingly, it was pretty fun for all of us.

 The teacups were his favorite.  We rode them three times over the course of our trip. (Note: We weren't actually spinning when this picture was taken.  I asked them to act like we were.  Yeah, I am definitely that mom.)

 This hat fits me a little too well.

 We watched this parade in Frontier Land and it was the perfect spot!  There was only one layer of people.  We sat on the ground and had a snack.  There was no trampling of crowds or anything.  Lovely.

Day 1 ended on a great note (though we missed the fireworks because we had the time wrong.  Parent fail.).  We had a blast and Canon was officially in the Disney mode. Ok, yes we were all in the Disney mode.

 Day 2 shenanigans will be up tomorrow!


P.S. - See recap of day 2, 3, 4, and 5 here!