After all, it's where Andrew's hero likes to hang out!
Meeting his buddy, Buzz was a highlight of the trip. I don't think Andrew could even believe it. The moment brought tears to my eyes seeing the look on his face when he saw Buzz. Absolutely worth every penny spent!
After meeting Buzz we checked out Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin ride. Another one of our favorite rides. You ride in a little spaceship and shoot at targets. It is like being in the video game at the beginning of Toy Story 2 where Buzz is trying to defeat evil emperor Zurg.
Another priceless expression caught on camera... watching the joy on his face was the best part of the whole trip.
I told Andrew to get in there with Zurg and act scared so he grabbed onto the bars and went "AAAHHHH!"
Of course we couldn't leave without his first set of Mickey ears- Toy Story ones!
We headed to Main Street USA for the afternoon parade with all the best characters! Andrew was again in awe. He couldn't believe it when he saw Woody and Jessie parading by... don't worry photo shoot with them is coming up! Ha!
I should do a post on Disney tips for people taking a trip there soon... I had a lot of people share things with me that made all the difference (thanks Lisa and Alissa!) Anyway, people start lining up for these parades very early! If you want to be in front, get there early!
It was a long, hard day with no nap so Andrew got a little pampering with the spray fan from mama! Ha! He napped for a few minutes in his stroller, but he did really good the whole day. We kept saying what a good boy he was the whole time- he really was. Much better than I thought! We were lucky we never really had to wait in too long of a line for rides, and if we did, Andrew was easily entertained.
After the parade we headed over to the Crystal Palace for dinner with Winnie the Pooh and Friends!
Andrew noticing the characters through the window- he was very excited!
The Crystal Palace is beautiful- I highly recommend eating there (but get the dining plan because it is much cheaper to eat with characters that way!) Another tip... :)
The characters come right to your table. It is just amazing. They sign autograph books, pose for pictures... and spend one on one time with your child. This camera loving mama just relished in that opportunity! Ha! You just can't put a price tag on that! It is soooo worth it!
They even have a little kids size buffet for the kids to carry their own plates and get their own food. Too cute!
After you get your food, the characters start coming around. They have a route so they go in order so you can see them coming. Andrew's face was again...priceless. Look at the joy! You can barely eat because it is so fun and exciting when they get close to your table.
Look how excited he was to have Piglet's autograph!
It was so funny, Tigger was the last character to come by, and the one he wanted the most. Don't get me wrong, he was excited about every single one of them. But the second one would leave, he'd get all excited and say "Okay! Tigger's comin!"
Another expression. :) This time he was saying "Eeyore" because he knew he was coming next!
He gave Eeyore a big hug!
Tigger was just awesome! He rubbed noses with Andrew and Andrew couldn't keep his hands off him! He kept giving him hugs it was so sweet.
We all decided the character meals were our favorite part. No lines, inside air conditioning, you could relax and let the excitement come to you! Not to mention the great food!
Another tip- tell them if you're celebrating your birthday. They give you a button to wear and everyone you see wishes you happy birthday! My mom was celebrating her birthday while she was there and I think she got told happy birthday more times in 3 days than she has her whole life! Ha! Plus at the character meals they get a little treat!
After our delicious meal we continued the fun on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride! My boys were pretending to be pirates! Arrrrrrr! Andrew has been really into pirates lately, I think that is why the obsession with Peter Pan, too.
He found Captain Hook's hook!
Andrew loved the pirate ride. It was so nice not having to worry about him being scared of stuff! I swear he is not scared of anything!
And we couldn't miss the most spectacular part of the Magic Kingdom! They recently brought back the Electrical Parade- the same one I saw as a kid. We actually even have a record with the song on it, and I have an actual light bulb from one of the floats when they stopped doing it several years ago. I was so excited they brought it back. It brought back so many memories from my childhood and I was so happy bringing Andrew back to see it too.
It is way beyond pictures and words... you just have to experience it. Craig video taped the whole thing so we can watch it over and over again but it just doesn't do it justice. It is just magical to watch.
After the parade they have amazing fireworks over Cinderella's castle that are again, too awesome to describe.
The castle changes colors and they play music from a variety of Disney movies in sync with the fireworks. The neatest part is at the end when Tinkerbell jumps from the window in the castle and "flies" down Main Street!
They set off fireworks in different shapes- I had to get a picture of the heart shaped ones!
And notice the skull and crossbones on the side of the castle. There were also fireworks shaped like skulls which I couldn't get a picture of because I was running two video cameras and my camera! Ha!
By this time we had been at Magic Kingdom for over 12 hours! Andrew did so well all day- he kept up with us (more like us keeping up with him!) and he was so happy all day. He started dragging during the fireworks- even though he loves them so much! He tried so hard to stay awake but ended up falling asleep halfway through in daddy's arms.
Here is a clip from part of the fireworks...
Here is a clip from part of the fireworks...
When we got back to the hotel he went right to bed and cuddled with Ga Ga. His legs crossed like this just cracked us up! He had a long day!
**Side note- You may have noticed my blog has been changed a little bit. I am working on some new features and have added a new way for you to comment on my updates. It is MUCH easier than before- you just click where it says comments after my update and you don't have to type in a code. You just include your email and it posts the comment right away (as easy as it was on the care page...try it!) :) We love hearing from you! The posting area is now larger also, so I can make my pictures bigger. With these updates from Disney, the smaller pictures weren't doing it justice! :) If this changes your view for my email readers, let me know. I hope you will like the new changes as much as I do! Thanks to my friend Stef for helping me with it! :)
