The Patricks take on Disney World!

Well, we made it! The trip we have been looking forward to for the last month and a half or so has quickly come and gone! It is always sad for me to leave Disney World because it is such a "magical" place, but, I feel like we had the perfect little trip and I would not have changed a thing!! Ali's first trip to Disney World was one we will never forget!

We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge on Saturday morning - it only took us 3 hours so it was a nice little trip. We went to my parents Beach House in St. Simons on Friday afternoon and met my little brother, Sig, and his girlfriend, Frances, and then got up early Saturday morning to head to WDW. Ryan, Sig, and I all stayed there the last time we went to Disney and enjoyed it so much that we thought it would be the perfect place to stay again this time since it is close to the parks. (great for afternoon naps, etc.) The minute we walked in - we were all so excited to be there! Ali kept talking about "Mickey Mouse!" (she sounds so cute when she says it!) and they gave her a "First Visit" pin to wear at check - in and I also got a "Happy Birthday!" pin to wear since it was my birthday! What a way to spend my birthday! Being the huge nerd I am, I wore it from time to time (Ali would only wear her pin when I wore mine so I'll use that as my excuse - but, when in Rome...) and it made my birthday special b/c everyone we saw (well, mainly the "castmembers") would wish me happy birthday. We spent the rest of that day hanging out at the pool! It was very nice and VERY hot and extremely crowded, but still a great time! After a fun afternoon, we headed to Downtown Disney that night for my birthday dinner at Fulton's Crab House (I think that's what it is called). I always make a BIG deal out of birthdays and Ryan is good about letting me enjoy it and surprising me. He even sent me flowers to my room at the hotel! Anyway, we enjoyed Downtown Disney for a little while and came back just in time to go out to the big deck on the lake at our hotel to enjoy the water light parade that night! It was a great and exhausting day!!

The next day, all five of us headed to the Magic Kingdom. After a quick breakfast near the pool at the Roaring Forks cafe at our hotel, we headed to the boat deck to catch the boat to the Magic Kingdom. That is one thing I enjoy about the Wilderness Lodge. It is just a short/fun boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom and I thought it would be fun for Ali to get to enoy her first boat trip too - she loved it! We got to the MK and after watching the show at Cinderella's castle (Ali's first sighting of Mickey Mouse - she was so excited!), we were already sweating! It is SOOO hot down there!! Ryan also told Sig and Frances that at our last doctors appointment (when I told my doctor that I was going to DW and she looked at me like I had lost my mind!) that my doctor told me to be sure to drink lots of water, wear sunscreen, and rest often b/c if I didn't I could go into labor. I do not remember this at all (the part about labor if you get overheated!) but that's what Ryan said, so it freaked me out and I just drank a ton of H2O all day long. Sig and Frances headed to Space Mountain and the Patrick clan headed to Fantasyland. Ali is typically all smiles but you should have seen her face all morning - she was like "where in the world am I and who in the world are all of these people?" - she as just a little bit overwhelmed. :) That's a lot of new things for an 18 month old to take in all in one trip! We had a full/fast morning with really no lines, so that was nice! (although not that I would mind standing in lines since they were air conditioned!) I got nervous b/c when we started to get on our first ride (Small World), Ali started going "No, no no no no no no" but then after getting on and sitting in the comfort of her mama's lap, she was fine! After we rode It's a Small World (I actually enjoyed it!), SIg and Frances enjoyed us to ride Dumbo, Mickey's Philharmagic and then Peter Pan! Ali and I needed a break at that point so Ali got in the stroller and we cruised into some air conditioned stores until our lunch reservations. We had lunch at the Crystal Palace. This was our first real test of how Ali would react to the characters. I had been nervous about this b/c Ali was TERRIFIED of the Easter Bunny, etc - but, I had hope b/c Ali LOVES Playhouse Disney and talks about Mickey, Pooh, etc often! :) Lunch at the Crystal Palace was a nice buffet and lunch with Tigger and Pooh and friends. At first Ali started to whimper a little when she saw them, but then when they got close, she was very excited and got all of the characters to sign Autograph book that Sig and Frances got her. It was such a treat for us! Plus, they came out with a cupcake/candle for me and sang me Happy Birthday! From there, we all headed back to the hotel for a nap/pool break and made it back after dinner at the hotel - it was soo much cooler then! We rode a bunch of rides - Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Buzz Lightyear, Mad Tea Party, Adventures of Pooh, and Ali even got to meet her beloved Mickey Mouse at the Judge's Tent! It was so much fun! The Magic Kingdom was actually open until 2 a.m. that night for resort guests - but with an 18 month old toddler and a 21 week preggo - we were way past being beat by 10:30/11. We slept great that night, to say the least!

Yesterday was a much more low key day. After stopping in and buying Ali her own personalized Mickey Ears and a water fan for Mama, we headed to the train! Ali was not up for this today and behaved but I felt like we were pushing her too hard to ride things and that the girls should just take it easy on Monday! Unfortunately, Sig and Frances were at Hollywood Studios this morning, but Ryan got a Fastpass (we love Fastpass - no lines!) and rode Thunder Mountain by himself after our lunch break. Ali and I walked over to Pooh's playground at that time and to be honest, I think that was the biggest hit for Ali of the entire place. She was grinning from ear to ear for at least an hour straight and probably could have stayed there for 12 straight hours if we let her. Ryan met back up with us there and we headed to Toontown to tour Minnie's House and Donald's boat (which wasn't working) and buy a few souveniers! Ryan, Sig and Frances went to go check out the line for Space Mountain (too long! and even the Fastpass was too long! It was much more crowded on Monday for some reason) and Ali and I went to go see the 3:00 parade. Luckily, Ali was finally taking a nap at this point and unfortunately missed the parade! We took lots of pictures though to show her later! :) We had fun the rest of the afternoon but no big events to talk about! We hit every part of the park that we wanted to and had such a "magical" time. There really is no place like it! I was already asking Ryan on our way home (to the beach) when we should go back next! We had a fun-filled and exhausting trip and there is nothing like seeing the excitement in your little ones face when they get to meet the one and only Mickey Mouse! There was one moment where I was sitting there holding my little munchkin and looking at her face and wishing time would just stand still and thinking that these were the little moments in life that I never want to forget!

I will try to post pictures later this week but I have hogged the computer for enough time now and need to get out to the beach with my family! The Patrick's first trip to Disney World was a success and we look forward to many more! Now...on to enjoy the beach!! (and the cooler weather - compared to blazing hot Orlando!)