The day after thanksgiving our Elf, "Elfie", left a gift with a treasure map inside and a note from the Big Guy himself. The map led the kids to a treasure box containing chocolate coins and the news that we would be leaving for Disney in only 21 sleeps!
As you can imagine, the anticipation intensified with each passing day. The morning we left, Elfie dressed up and had a special good bye message for us. :)
We all piled in our mini-van, the morning of the 17th and braced ourself for a nice long ride. Of course, when you have five people in a car for 9+ hours, things are bound to get a little wild and crazy!!
I wish I could say that things calmed down once we got to the hotel, but no such luck! These kids were literally bouncing off the walls beds. (I don't recommend this, by the way. We thought about it a few minutes later and realized we didn't want any broken bones at Disney)
No rest for the weary. Poor Daddy just wanted to sleep after driving all that way...
And who do you think was most excited??
This guy. Because he was going to see Mickey for the very first time!
I know you couldn't tell at all, right? ;)
They did finally settle, and we were all able to get enough rest for Day 1 of Disney World.
We spent our first day at Animal Kingdom.
Sense the excitement again??
These guys were excited too!
Upon entering the park, we took the obligatory family photo (AKA: Mom insisted that we stop to take one)
And then we got on our merry way, seeing the sights
We weren't in the park long before we had our first celebrity sighting, Dug and Russell from the movie "Up"!
Before we left, we gave the kids an early Christmas Present, These Disney Character Encyclopedias, to collect autographs. Each character was able to sign on their own picture, which will be such a wonderful keepsake for them! I highly recommend these books if you are taking a trip to Disney soon.
Also, she has ALWAYS wanted to get her face painted at Disney. And since our sweet Uncle Ricky and Aunt Charlotte sent them some spending money, she chose to use some of it right away.
What a gorgeous Peacock!
Another celebrity sighting! But he had no time for pictures or autographs. Bummer!
Instead, we decided to check out the Tree of Life!
The Tree of Life is a gargantuan, man-made, tree in the middle of Animal Kingdom. It is beautiful to look at far away, but when you get closer the detail will amaze you!
(Disney gets credit for this amazing pic)
How many animals did you spot?
Our next stop was to see Baloo and King Louie....
...Who came up with some fun poses for Cory and me :)
And even though it was December, it was HOT. We took a minute to cool off with some icy treats!
Next stop, EXPEDITION EVEREST!!! Our Roller Coaster Man, Eli, could. not. wait.
He went once with me....
....once with Cory...
and he was VICTORIOUS!!!
Our Safari was next, where we saw Hippos, Giraffes, Rinos and the works!
Oh, when mama Lion is licking her lips, its never a good thing. What you don't see are the Zebras she is staring at!!
And Daddy Lion is just waiting to see what his wife brings home for supper!
Speaking of Lions, the next place we went was the Festival of the Lion King Show! This show was not playing on our last trip, so I was really excited to see it this go round. Of course we had to wait in a line to get good seats, but by this time these guys had learned to make the best of it.
And the show was WELL worth the wait!
And after all this, we had worked up a real appetite! Dinner at the Tusker House was the perfect fix, especially since Mickey, Donald, Daisy AND Goofy were there to spend time with us!
"Everyone make a duck face!!"
I think Cooper has spotted someone special
It's MICKEY!!!!
And last but not least, Goofy!
Goofy loves being, well.....Goofy :p
But he also has a sweet side <3 p="">
We ended our night by watching the Tree of Life come to life.
And then we headed to our hotel to reenergize ourselves for Day 2!
Stay tuned for Day 2! :)
