Our Disney Summer, Part 1

It's no secret that our family LOVES Walt Disney World!  My husband has been invited to speak at conferences in Orlando the past few years, and we've been so fortunate to be able to tag along and squeeze in a few days at Disney while he works.  We have really enjoyed introducing Lindsay to the magic of Disney!

This time, my husband was invited by the Mouse himself (well, the Mouse's tech division), and we couldn't pass up the chance to spend a week in sunny Florida!  Since Lindsay is still a little too small to ride the bigger or scarier rides (ex: Pirates of the Caribbean is scary because it's dark), this trip was focused on doing fun little kid things like character meals, autographs, and lots of Carousel rides.

On our way via Magical Express!

During the first two days, we visited Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  We had breakfast with Winnie the Pooh, lunch with the Princesses, and watched evening fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian Resort.

Get the family picture early before we all start sweating in the Florida sun! :)

Our little princess on Main Street USA in front of  Cinderella's Castle

Breakfast at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh
This was a fun breakfast, but it took about an hour for all of the characters to get around to our table, and it was a little hard to keep a 2 year old from getting antsy. :)  But she sure was excited to see them when they came by!

Winnie the Pooh

Bouncing with Tigger

For the rest of the day, we met more characters and rode almost all of the kiddie rides, sometimes getting back in line over and over and over.  Prince Charming's Regal Carousel and Small World were at the top of Lindsay's list, but Dumbo was an unexpected big hit!

So fun to dance with Daisy!

The Dumbo Ride -- we can fly!

Taking the boat from the Contemporary back to our hotel

Princess Lunch at Epcot

We had lunch at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway in the World Showcase.  It was a little pricey, but it definitely lived up to the hype!  We had one-on-one time with lots of princesses as they came by our table, and Lindsay was absolutely entranced by Snow White, who kneeled down and told her a whole story about a princess that liked to read books.  A priceless moment that this Mommy definitely appreciated!  I love that Disney makes every little one feel special!

Excited for Day 2!

We wandered through the Mexico Pavilion and found this awesome sombrero.  And a fun little Small World-type boat ride about Mexico!

Lindsay completely in awe of Snow White telling her a story.

Lindsay and Belle

Meeting Cinderella

Ending our day watching Magic Kingdom fireworks on the beach at the Polynesian.  She still crawled in our laps once they started because they were "scary",  even from the other side of the lake!